May 18, 2026 • 27 mins
Glory to God with everyday simple tasks
What to pray for
The First Council of Nicaea
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
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 AM sixty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Charlie. Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show. Hi, Hi Charlie.
How can I help you?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
I I just had a question about, like, how do
I give glory to God in the like everyday simple
things in life, like going to a movie with friends
or mowing the grass or everything like that.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know, well, there's it really comes down to. If
you hear a child talk about their parents and you
ask that child what you know, would you give your
life for your parent? They'd say yes, But you asked
that same child if they'll mow the lawn or do
the dishes, and they'll go, ah, I don't want to.
(00:50):
And Christians do this sometimes too. It's like they you
would lie lay down your life for your God if necessary,
but you won't live your life for God. And that
means every little born thing. Your parents don't want to
be you to be at their foot every ten seconds
going gosh, you're the greatest parents in the whole white world.
I love you. They want you expressing that in the
(01:11):
things that you do, showing them that the life they've
given you will be a life that's productive and righteous
and filled with purpose. And God wants the same thing. Yes,
God wants you to worship him. God wants you in church.
God wants you to pray. God wants you to do
all those things that have become religious in nature. But
(01:35):
truly God wants you to live a life that is
filled every single day with creativity, with exploration, with curiosity.
And for instance, it says in Scripture to pray without ceasing,
and truly it's it doesn't mean NonStop like a mantra.
(01:59):
It it means kind of like an incessant cough. It
means always be in that state of knowing that God
is there and that you're thinking about God. And that's
kind of what you do with everything. And if you
partake in something Charlie where you feel like how can
I bring God into this and it doesn't quite work,
then maybe that's something that you want to not do
(02:20):
in your life.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yes, I had a question about like what about like
going to see like scary movies? Like to me, it
doesn't affect me, like I don't think it's bad, but
like is it not giving glory to God? Like if
I were to go see like a scary movie.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Well, it's what the purpose is there? Are many scary
parts to scripture. And I know that movies depict, you know,
angels and demons as particular types of creatures, but if
you saw a good angel, it would creep you out
at first. The concept it's not the single pair of wings.
(02:59):
Angels have multiple pairs of wings on their feet, on
their shoulders, on their backs, and there are things that
would be quite frightening. As a matter of fact, there
are times in scripture where people were frightened of good
angels or godly experiences. If you put scripture on camera
(03:20):
and on film in a very articulate and legitimate way,
there would be horrible sex scenes, there would be horrible
scenes of violence, there would be scary things, there would
be exciting things. So really it's not about those things.
In general. There's a whole psychology that surrounds the concept
(03:40):
of fear and why people like to be afraid and
get scared when that's why they go on roller coasters.
A scary movie, within reason, is no different than going
on a roller coaster or experiencing something else that would
give you a thrill. But it's the context of what's
being done. And the divider really is if something's prescribing
(04:04):
you to do something bad, then you're not a part
of it. But if something is describing something bad, then
that's just a description of things that are taking place,
or something that is causing you to think about the
way the world works, or things like that. So different
people go see them for different reasons. Some people see
(04:26):
them because they're movie buffs, and then they're fascinated by the
concept of special effects or the storyline, or the like
the thrill of not knowing what's coming next. But you
could say that about a lot of things that, you know,
some people would think are benign. You know, some people
think of Stephen King novels okay, but a Freddy Krueger
(04:47):
movie is not, or you know, and go back and
forth in these concepts. Having said that, Charlie, there are
some things that really focus and are done by people
with dark intent and really focus on evil things. And
in that case, I would use great discernment as to
whether you were bringing those images or those thoughts or
(05:08):
those concepts into your life. You have to decide where
that line is for you, because like many things, there
are specific commandments and admonitions by God that are for everyone.
Don't murder don't steal these types of things. And then
(05:30):
there are ones that are specifically for you. For the alcoholic,
they can't drink period. That becomes a new commandment in
their life, because any drinking becomes a sin, whereas someone
who's having wine with dinner or something, it's not necessarily
a sin. So with you, you may have a tolerance
for certain films because you like the genre, whereas for
(05:52):
someone else it could be a problem because of tendencies
in their life or things that excite them in a
way that shouldn't, or things like that. And you have
to just be honest with yourself as to why why
you explore those things or why you're curious about them.
Are you a horror fan?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Buff I am? I?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
I just I like to watch them with my friends,
and we like to laugh at some of the scenes,
and it's just it's just kind of amusing. It's not
I don't ever really get scared by them. But I
have a friend who thinks that it's it's glorifying satan,
and I just don't know if.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Well, some may be, and that's that's a decision you're
gonna have to make as you look at them. There
have been some now, I don't think they're going to
throw you into the arms of the devil if you're
a Christian and that is that is your faith, and
on the contrary, it may make you run closer to God.
But these things are our judgment calls on your own
(06:52):
to say all things that deal with violence or ugliness
or different spirituality or are bad would really put you know,
everything aside. Think about the Christian police officer who is
in crime scene investigations that ask to come on actual
(07:13):
scenes of these things every day, or see even ritualistic
killings or things like that. Does that mean that they
would cut that out of their job and say I
can't go on those. It depends what the purpose of
these things are and as to where they are and
if you're using them for good and how you're applying them.
(07:33):
If you think that it's something that's become to you know,
it's kind of a rite of passage. Passage for men.
A lot of them see these things and kind of
a lot of gallows humor and laugh at the things
that are they're not sens to build a thick skin
and to establish yourself into manhood and things like that.
Kind of the part of the warrior process, and that
(07:56):
can be fine. If it becomes an infatuation or something,
you know that you're the that you're getting just totally
caught up in the macob, then you've got to check yourself.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
A little bit.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
M fair enough, Yeah, you're very welcome. It doesn't mean
that every single thing that deals with the macab or
oh my gosh, I'm throwing out all my Tim Burton stuff,
or any of these things. It's just it's not fair
to the concept of of different types of literature and
art and filmmaking. There is many types of art, paintings
(08:34):
or otherwise that could be considered macob that are quite
brilliant and wonderful and insightful. And that goes for movies
as well. But you have to use the discernment. If
it starts to become a thing, then maybe you should
check it, check yourself every once in a while and
be introspective about it, pray on it and and think
that way, ah, discernment. Isn't it just easier to just
(09:02):
say no to everything. One of my pet peeves, if
you will, is the concept of zero tolerance. You see
this a lot in schools, so that a child that
brings an aspirin to school is considered as big of
a problem as someone who brings illicit drugs marijuana, whatever,
(09:27):
it might be, cocaine, but they're all drugs. Even though
it's aspirin, everyone gets expelled. So that kind of concept
of all or nothing that it really points to laziness
then it does anything else. And if you're going to
be lazy in your faith and not use discernment, then
(09:50):
why did God put you here and give you the
tools like scripture and prayer and say things like there
is wisdom. I'm in a multitude of council, so the
people around you to get insight if you're just supposed
to go, okay, not doing this ever? Are there not
doing this ever? Type things? Sure there are. But even
(10:12):
the Ten commandments you talk about thou shalt not murder,
thou shalt not kill, because if you're in law enforcement
or military or things like that, that could become an issue.
And you know, not bear false witness. However, if you
are a Christian in nineteen forties Germany and the Naziss
(10:35):
comes to your door and asks if there's Jews in
your floorboard being hidden, you say no. So the context
is very important. In the purpose in which you do things,
and that has to be part of your decision making.
If you just throw out all your skills of decision making,
(10:56):
that just becomes spiritually lazy. You're just looking for a
reason not to have to practice your faith, not to
have to apply your understanding and scripture. Well, you know
what if I don't just cut it out now, I
have to read scripture and really understand things and know
whether this is right or wrong in this context, and
(11:18):
it just takes too much effort. I'm just going to
say no. And that kind of spiritual laziness is permeating
the church in a way that the concept of being
a sheep becomes the negative or the pejorative of being
a sheep and just stupid and doing whatever. Whoever in
(11:38):
front of you says, that's not the purpose. The concept
of sheeps in scripture is to show the purity and
the kindness and the simplicity of following your Master. But
doesn't mean you do that in everything you do at
church and all of those things. And I want you
(12:00):
to be able to think through things and use that
brain in the top of your body. Kurt, Welcome to
the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Good morning. I'm trying to understand a balance between God's
sovereignty and his promises. Your promises are pillars in our faith,
and they seem to be a contract between believers in you.
On the other hand, your sovereignty is like the fine
(12:38):
print of that contract, and I'll be there in your
hour of need, I'll provide, I'll heal, and then the
fine print says, if it's my will. And so it's
kind of hard to know what to pray for. And
I sort of started thinking about this, or started being
(12:59):
troubled by it a year ago when a good Christian
friend committed suicide and I talked to him the day
before and he was in such despair, and he told
me that he was his prayers seemed to go unanswered,
and it was like praying to a brick wall. And
I was going, wow, you know, why weren't you there
(13:20):
for him in his hour of me So, I mean,
I was really confused and trying to understand.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
That, rightfully. So when you experience it, when you experience
something like that and you go through it with someone,
or even experience it yourself, it's hard to separate the
emotional feelings of the moment versus the intellectual feelings versus
the spiritual feelings, and they all kind of get jumbled together.
(13:54):
And it's really incredibly difficult to take a situation like
that that is right righteously emotional, the loss of a friend,
seeing someone who's distraught, seeing someone go through those things.
So kind of on a lot of levels, you have
to look at this from different angles, one of which
that clause, if you will, that always seems to end
(14:19):
those promises should it be my will, if it is
my will, those types of things are very important. The
process of prayer is not for man to convince God
of what man needs. On the contrary, the process of
prayer is to teach man the process and the importance
(14:42):
of God's will. Doesn't mean you're always going to understand.
Doesn't mean you're always going to go hip hit parade.
That was the best choice ever, and the consequence of
that choice seemed to make everything better. Everybody stars in
their own movie, So you kind of are living your
(15:03):
life through kind of through your own experience, right, So
everything kind of is how it deals with you in
its level of importance, and when the perspective of God
is always going to be up and outside of that
to the point where it's looking to the total sum
of everything that's going on simultaneously, not just what's going
(15:26):
on in your life. So if you truly seek righteousness,
not just righteousness that betters your life, or righteousness and
justice that makes you feel better or your life to
go easier, If you really seek the will of God,
it's outside of your individual and specific experience. Sometimes you
(15:48):
see families with lots of kids and you kind of
get a very small sliver of what that's like. Or
a large company being run, you can see that not
every part or not every individual within that department is
going to see the benefits of decisions that are made
that are made for the whole and not just for
(16:09):
that one person or that particular department. And God has
the need by the very necessity of being God, not
God himself having a need, but the need is a
must to do that which is just for the entirety
in all ways, at all times, not just the individual
(16:29):
per se, which is why these clauses come in now
and always says my will. So when you're praying one,
you pray because God says to period. It's just a
command that's throughout scripture it says, pray without ceasing. The
concept there is to always be in touch with God
and always being reaching in a state of reaching out
(16:51):
to God. However, when you are petitioning God or requesting things,
it's not so you get what you want. It's so
that you may learn what God wants and you can
give up on that, just like you can give up
on anything. And you could sadly even give up on
life because it's not what you think it should be
(17:12):
or going down the path you think it should be,
or not fast enough or in the way you thought
it was going to be. And this is very similar.
And the analogy, the analogy we give on the air
often is that concept of going to the grocery store
with your parents. As children, you point at everything you
(17:32):
want and you ask for everything, and you say, I
want this sugar, cereal, I want this whatever it is.
That's not so you get what you want as a child.
It's so the parent can teach you what you need
and that means no, you can't get that or you
can't get that now. And in that process there should
(17:52):
be this give and take where the child actually learns
that those things may not be good for them. That's
the process. And it's similar to prayer. So prayer is
not about wrestling God to see your point of view
or getting everything you want or getting all those things,
including certain types of comfort. It depends what the comfort is.
(18:14):
It depends what the desire of the individual is and
how it plays a part. Now, what you do with that,
as ugly as it is, even taking your life is
an individual decision to give up on that process and
to say, I just I don't want it to be
that way. So you can either think I'm going to
(18:37):
buck the system or fight it or try to continue
to understand it. But often when prayers are quote unquote
not answered, the answers know or wait for whatever reason,
whether it be to learn a certain type of patience
or understanding that is going to build you for a
later goal. And it's no different. The confusion lies quite
(19:02):
a bit, Kurt in the fact fact that adults are
no longer in that learning state and mentality the way
a child is. A child does kind of know, well,
I have room to grow because I can tell physically
I have room to grow because I'm smaller and I'm
still learning. But adults tend to think that they're done,
(19:23):
and I should know this, and I just need this now.
But really, God is continually in the process of training
all humans at no matter what age they are, to
learn and understand His will. It's a long process to
the point of death. It's not something you're gonna know
(19:44):
and capture and consume in one bite. Doesn't mean that
it's always pleasant, but justice often isn't. It's just right
because it's right.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
And.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
That is one of the most difficult parts about being
human is interacting with God and being told no, when
you yourself may think yes, this is right, and God
is saying no, it's not right in the overall scheme,
across the entirety of the universe, with all that matter.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
But didn't you say that you would provide a way
of escape rather than to tempt this beyond what we
can endure something to that effect.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yes, that you're never going to have more than you
can handle. Yeah, but it doesn't mean people won't give
up prior to that point. How many stories do you
hear in the other sense where people say I was
just down at the bottom, I didn't think I could
take anymore. I waited it out. I just didn't want
to give up and then it came if you walk
out in the middle of the movie, No, there is
(20:47):
no happy ending. You don't get that experience. You don't
get those things. That's like anything in life. And you
have the free will and the ability to do that,
to get up and just walk out and just say, know,
I don't want to, but you then you have to argue, well,
was that really all you could handle or was that
(21:07):
all you wanted to handle. There's a difference, and it's
a it's a real.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
You will never know what was going on in it said.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
It's a real creuddy cretty way of looking at it
when you're talking about the loss of a dear friend.
But academically, when you remove all the emotion from it
and try and look at these pieces, there's much more
to it than one might think. And there is a point.
There's a lot of things and this is part of
(21:37):
the teaching process, a lot of things in you know,
humanness and the experience where humans can rise to great occasion.
And I fear that the world is kind of trying
to teach them how not to do that, and how
to cheat that experience rather than fully run it to
its to its end point and Unfortunately, sometimes the consequences
(22:02):
of that are quite quite ugly. Patrick. Welcome to the
Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 5 (22:13):
Hi, Hi, you doing.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
I am well Patrick, how are you good? Thank you
so much for taking my call, my pleasure. What's up?
Speaker 5 (22:20):
I'm just wondering about the historical uh, the individuals that
run the nice Seen Council that canonize the Bible. Do
you know much about them as far as were they
politicians under Constantine or were they members of the underground
Christian Church which wasn't the church kind of illegal up
(22:43):
until up until Constantine converted.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Well, there was many areas that you asked kind of
a bunch of questions here, let me try and sift
through something. No, not a problem. First of all, it
wasn't about canonization. And there's a lot of confusion when
it comes to some of these councils as to what
really was going on. A lot of it had to
do with imagine this, You've got something new starting, and
(23:09):
it starts and it takes on great speed and starts
bringing in people and excitement and interest, and then you
get branches of heretical teachings that start popping up. And
this was going on during the time you know, the
earliest parts of the church. That's if you read the epistles,
which just means letters. But if you read the letters
(23:31):
in scripture to the different churches Colossians, Thessalonians, and the
like Corinthians, you read these, you'll notice that really what's
going on is them trying to correct or get focused
the churches that were new and kind of sprouting. These
these little rabbit trails that go down these rabbit trails,
(23:51):
and and these letters were hey, hey, get back to
the focus of things. This is what's important. And this
this council was at the behest of Constantine the Great,
but it was about certain parts of theology and belief,
some of it dealing with the date of Easter, some
(24:14):
of it dealing with certain theological concerns about my nature
and my relationship with the Father, those types of things.
And this council, there was eighteen hundred bishops that were
from the Christian Church that were invited. You had a
group of them from the East, a group of them
from the West. Now that many did not show up,
(24:36):
it's probably one sixth that ended up being in the
actual council. And some of them, you know, heavy hitters,
but the concern was about agreement. So essentially, you get
a belief system like Christianity growing, and then you get
a leader, in this case Constantine, who was yes, now
(24:58):
a believer and going, let's make sure that we all
agree as we move forward. Because it's very easy to
get the barnacles on the boat and then the boat
looks completely different at the end of it. So as
a lot of people you hear them talk about, oh, well,
scripture and Christianity is like the telephone game, and people
(25:19):
just added things to it and then all of a
sudden it means something completely different than it did at
the beginning. Well, this was the process. These councils were
the process of getting as many of the bishops, and
it's an ecumenical council, so they're really coming together and
saying we all still agree on this, right right, we
don't agree on this other stuff that's popping up right right, Good, Well,
(25:43):
then we'll continue down the path we're going and make
sure we don't say okay to any of this other
stuff to make sure that it doesn't get polluted. So
it was a process of purification.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
That is so.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Interesting because that period, to me is such an interesting
time as far as our faith goes, and is that
is at the time when the Catholic and the Eastern
Orthodox diverged and when separate directions or did that happen later?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Well, no, you have a lot going on at this
time as a matter of fact, during these times, and
you even alluded to some other parts about Constantine and
his conversion, because that causes a whole different thing as well.
But for the sake of time, I will say this
that these councils really are. The misconception is that these
councils Patrick were kind of like forcing, forcing or injecting
(26:33):
things into scripture or the church and saying, Okay, this
is what we want and that's what we don't people
think that there was like these votes to get rid
of certain things. We believe this for so long, but
let's get rid of it. It wasn't that. It was the
purification process, like a filter saying, hey, these people are
popping up saying they're Christians, but they're teaching something very
(26:54):
different that we've been taught by the early Church fathers
and the apostles. So now we're at this place and
so much time has been removed from X, Y, and
Z let's make sure that we continue to go down
that path. Everybody in favor, yes, and they would argue
about certain things and what they meant, and it would
(27:15):
get very heated. It wasn't just you know, everyone say I.
But the purpose the whole time was to make sure
that heresy didn't creep into the church. It wasn't about
getting rid of things that everybody had done for a
long time, but now, you know, let's make it a
little different. It really was more about keeping heresy out
(27:36):
than trying to interject a belief into Christianity. So very
important time, fascinating time, and I'm glad that you're interested
in it at all. Thank you for joining me. Remember
these words, I Am with you always.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
KFI A six on demand.
You're listening to KFI AM sixty on demand.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Charlie. Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show. Hi, Hi Charlie.
How can I help you?
Speaker 3 (00:11):
I I just had a question about, like, how do
I give glory to God in the like everyday simple
things in life, like going to a movie with friends
or mowing the grass or everything like that.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
You know, well, there's it really comes down to. If
you hear a child talk about their parents and you
ask that child what you know, would you give your
life for your parent? They'd say yes, But you asked
that same child if they'll mow the lawn or do
the dishes, and they'll go, ah, I don't want to.
(00:50):
And Christians do this sometimes too. It's like they you
would lie lay down your life for your God if necessary,
but you won't live your life for God. And that
means every little born thing. Your parents don't want to
be you to be at their foot every ten seconds
going gosh, you're the greatest parents in the whole white world.
I love you. They want you expressing that in the
(01:11):
things that you do, showing them that the life they've
given you will be a life that's productive and righteous
and filled with purpose. And God wants the same thing. Yes,
God wants you to worship him. God wants you in church.
God wants you to pray. God wants you to do
all those things that have become religious in nature. But
(01:35):
truly God wants you to live a life that is
filled every single day with creativity, with exploration, with curiosity.
And for instance, it says in Scripture to pray without ceasing,
and truly it's it doesn't mean NonStop like a mantra.
(01:59):
It it means kind of like an incessant cough. It
means always be in that state of knowing that God
is there and that you're thinking about God. And that's
kind of what you do with everything. And if you
partake in something Charlie where you feel like how can
I bring God into this and it doesn't quite work,
then maybe that's something that you want to not do
(02:20):
in your life.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Ye.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yes, I had a question about like what about like
going to see like scary movies? Like to me, it
doesn't affect me, like I don't think it's bad, but
like is it not giving glory to God? Like if
I were to go see like a scary movie.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Well, it's what the purpose is there? Are many scary
parts to scripture. And I know that movies depict, you know,
angels and demons as particular types of creatures, but if
you saw a good angel, it would creep you out
at first. The concept it's not the single pair of wings.
(02:59):
Angels have multiple pairs of wings on their feet, on
their shoulders, on their backs, and there are things that
would be quite frightening. As a matter of fact, there
are times in scripture where people were frightened of good
angels or godly experiences. If you put scripture on camera
(03:20):
and on film in a very articulate and legitimate way,
there would be horrible sex scenes, there would be horrible
scenes of violence, there would be scary things, there would
be exciting things. So really it's not about those things.
In general. There's a whole psychology that surrounds the concept
(03:40):
of fear and why people like to be afraid and
get scared when that's why they go on roller coasters.
A scary movie, within reason, is no different than going
on a roller coaster or experiencing something else that would
give you a thrill. But it's the context of what's
being done. And the divider really is if something's prescribing
(04:04):
you to do something bad, then you're not a part
of it. But if something is describing something bad, then
that's just a description of things that are taking place,
or something that is causing you to think about the
way the world works, or things like that. So different
people go see them for different reasons. Some people see
(04:26):
them because they're movie buffs, and then they're fascinated by the
concept of special effects or the storyline, or the like
the thrill of not knowing what's coming next. But you
could say that about a lot of things that, you know,
some people would think are benign. You know, some people
think of Stephen King novels okay, but a Freddy Krueger
(04:47):
movie is not, or you know, and go back and
forth in these concepts. Having said that, Charlie, there are
some things that really focus and are done by people
with dark intent and really focus on evil things. And
in that case, I would use great discernment as to
whether you were bringing those images or those thoughts or
(05:08):
those concepts into your life. You have to decide where
that line is for you, because like many things, there
are specific commandments and admonitions by God that are for everyone.
Don't murder don't steal these types of things. And then
(05:30):
there are ones that are specifically for you. For the alcoholic,
they can't drink period. That becomes a new commandment in
their life, because any drinking becomes a sin, whereas someone
who's having wine with dinner or something, it's not necessarily
a sin. So with you, you may have a tolerance
for certain films because you like the genre, whereas for
(05:52):
someone else it could be a problem because of tendencies
in their life or things that excite them in a
way that shouldn't, or things like that. And you have
to just be honest with yourself as to why why
you explore those things or why you're curious about them.
Are you a horror fan?
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Buff I am? I?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
I just I like to watch them with my friends,
and we like to laugh at some of the scenes,
and it's just it's just kind of amusing. It's not
I don't ever really get scared by them. But I
have a friend who thinks that it's it's glorifying satan,
and I just don't know if.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Well, some may be, and that's that's a decision you're
gonna have to make as you look at them. There
have been some now, I don't think they're going to
throw you into the arms of the devil if you're
a Christian and that is that is your faith, and
on the contrary, it may make you run closer to God.
But these things are our judgment calls on your own
(06:52):
to say all things that deal with violence or ugliness
or different spirituality or are bad would really put you know,
everything aside. Think about the Christian police officer who is
in crime scene investigations that ask to come on actual
(07:13):
scenes of these things every day, or see even ritualistic
killings or things like that. Does that mean that they
would cut that out of their job and say I
can't go on those. It depends what the purpose of
these things are and as to where they are and
if you're using them for good and how you're applying them.
(07:33):
If you think that it's something that's become to you know,
it's kind of a rite of passage. Passage for men.
A lot of them see these things and kind of
a lot of gallows humor and laugh at the things
that are they're not sens to build a thick skin
and to establish yourself into manhood and things like that.
Kind of the part of the warrior process, and that
(07:56):
can be fine. If it becomes an infatuation or something,
you know that you're the that you're getting just totally
caught up in the macob, then you've got to check yourself.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
A little bit.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
M fair enough, Yeah, you're very welcome. It doesn't mean
that every single thing that deals with the macab or
oh my gosh, I'm throwing out all my Tim Burton stuff,
or any of these things. It's just it's not fair
to the concept of of different types of literature and
art and filmmaking. There is many types of art, paintings
(08:34):
or otherwise that could be considered macob that are quite
brilliant and wonderful and insightful. And that goes for movies
as well. But you have to use the discernment. If
it starts to become a thing, then maybe you should
check it, check yourself every once in a while and
be introspective about it, pray on it and and think
that way, ah, discernment. Isn't it just easier to just
(09:02):
say no to everything. One of my pet peeves, if
you will, is the concept of zero tolerance. You see
this a lot in schools, so that a child that
brings an aspirin to school is considered as big of
a problem as someone who brings illicit drugs marijuana, whatever,
(09:27):
it might be, cocaine, but they're all drugs. Even though
it's aspirin, everyone gets expelled. So that kind of concept
of all or nothing that it really points to laziness
then it does anything else. And if you're going to
be lazy in your faith and not use discernment, then
(09:50):
why did God put you here and give you the
tools like scripture and prayer and say things like there
is wisdom. I'm in a multitude of council, so the
people around you to get insight if you're just supposed
to go, okay, not doing this ever? Are there not
doing this ever? Type things? Sure there are. But even
(10:12):
the Ten commandments you talk about thou shalt not murder,
thou shalt not kill, because if you're in law enforcement
or military or things like that, that could become an issue.
And you know, not bear false witness. However, if you
are a Christian in nineteen forties Germany and the Naziss
(10:35):
comes to your door and asks if there's Jews in
your floorboard being hidden, you say no. So the context
is very important. In the purpose in which you do things,
and that has to be part of your decision making.
If you just throw out all your skills of decision making,
(10:56):
that just becomes spiritually lazy. You're just looking for a
reason not to have to practice your faith, not to
have to apply your understanding and scripture. Well, you know
what if I don't just cut it out now, I
have to read scripture and really understand things and know
whether this is right or wrong in this context, and
(11:18):
it just takes too much effort. I'm just going to
say no. And that kind of spiritual laziness is permeating
the church in a way that the concept of being
a sheep becomes the negative or the pejorative of being
a sheep and just stupid and doing whatever. Whoever in
(11:38):
front of you says, that's not the purpose. The concept
of sheeps in scripture is to show the purity and
the kindness and the simplicity of following your Master. But
doesn't mean you do that in everything you do at
church and all of those things. And I want you
(12:00):
to be able to think through things and use that
brain in the top of your body. Kurt, Welcome to
the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Good morning. I'm trying to understand a balance between God's
sovereignty and his promises. Your promises are pillars in our faith,
and they seem to be a contract between believers in you.
On the other hand, your sovereignty is like the fine
(12:38):
print of that contract, and I'll be there in your
hour of need, I'll provide, I'll heal, and then the
fine print says, if it's my will. And so it's
kind of hard to know what to pray for. And
I sort of started thinking about this, or started being
(12:59):
troubled by it a year ago when a good Christian
friend committed suicide and I talked to him the day
before and he was in such despair, and he told
me that he was his prayers seemed to go unanswered,
and it was like praying to a brick wall. And
I was going, wow, you know, why weren't you there
(13:20):
for him in his hour of me So, I mean,
I was really confused and trying to understand.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
That, rightfully. So when you experience it, when you experience
something like that and you go through it with someone,
or even experience it yourself, it's hard to separate the
emotional feelings of the moment versus the intellectual feelings versus
the spiritual feelings, and they all kind of get jumbled together.
(13:54):
And it's really incredibly difficult to take a situation like
that that is right righteously emotional, the loss of a friend,
seeing someone who's distraught, seeing someone go through those things.
So kind of on a lot of levels, you have
to look at this from different angles, one of which
that clause, if you will, that always seems to end
(14:19):
those promises should it be my will, if it is
my will, those types of things are very important. The
process of prayer is not for man to convince God
of what man needs. On the contrary, the process of
prayer is to teach man the process and the importance
(14:42):
of God's will. Doesn't mean you're always going to understand.
Doesn't mean you're always going to go hip hit parade.
That was the best choice ever, and the consequence of
that choice seemed to make everything better. Everybody stars in
their own movie, So you kind of are living your
(15:03):
life through kind of through your own experience, right, So
everything kind of is how it deals with you in
its level of importance, and when the perspective of God
is always going to be up and outside of that
to the point where it's looking to the total sum
of everything that's going on simultaneously, not just what's going
(15:26):
on in your life. So if you truly seek righteousness,
not just righteousness that betters your life, or righteousness and
justice that makes you feel better or your life to
go easier, If you really seek the will of God,
it's outside of your individual and specific experience. Sometimes you
(15:48):
see families with lots of kids and you kind of
get a very small sliver of what that's like. Or
a large company being run, you can see that not
every part or not every individual within that department is
going to see the benefits of decisions that are made
that are made for the whole and not just for
(16:09):
that one person or that particular department. And God has
the need by the very necessity of being God, not
God himself having a need, but the need is a
must to do that which is just for the entirety
in all ways, at all times, not just the individual
(16:29):
per se, which is why these clauses come in now
and always says my will. So when you're praying one,
you pray because God says to period. It's just a
command that's throughout scripture it says, pray without ceasing. The
concept there is to always be in touch with God
and always being reaching in a state of reaching out
(16:51):
to God. However, when you are petitioning God or requesting things,
it's not so you get what you want. It's so
that you may learn what God wants and you can
give up on that, just like you can give up
on anything. And you could sadly even give up on
life because it's not what you think it should be
(17:12):
or going down the path you think it should be,
or not fast enough or in the way you thought
it was going to be. And this is very similar.
And the analogy, the analogy we give on the air
often is that concept of going to the grocery store
with your parents. As children, you point at everything you
(17:32):
want and you ask for everything, and you say, I
want this sugar, cereal, I want this whatever it is.
That's not so you get what you want as a child.
It's so the parent can teach you what you need
and that means no, you can't get that or you
can't get that now. And in that process there should
(17:52):
be this give and take where the child actually learns
that those things may not be good for them. That's
the process. And it's similar to prayer. So prayer is
not about wrestling God to see your point of view
or getting everything you want or getting all those things,
including certain types of comfort. It depends what the comfort is.
(18:14):
It depends what the desire of the individual is and
how it plays a part. Now, what you do with that,
as ugly as it is, even taking your life is
an individual decision to give up on that process and
to say, I just I don't want it to be
that way. So you can either think I'm going to
(18:37):
buck the system or fight it or try to continue
to understand it. But often when prayers are quote unquote
not answered, the answers know or wait for whatever reason,
whether it be to learn a certain type of patience
or understanding that is going to build you for a
later goal. And it's no different. The confusion lies quite
(19:02):
a bit, Kurt in the fact fact that adults are
no longer in that learning state and mentality the way
a child is. A child does kind of know, well,
I have room to grow because I can tell physically
I have room to grow because I'm smaller and I'm
still learning. But adults tend to think that they're done,
(19:23):
and I should know this, and I just need this now.
But really, God is continually in the process of training
all humans at no matter what age they are, to
learn and understand His will. It's a long process to
the point of death. It's not something you're gonna know
(19:44):
and capture and consume in one bite. Doesn't mean that
it's always pleasant, but justice often isn't. It's just right
because it's right.
Speaker 3 (19:56):
And.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
That is one of the most difficult parts about being
human is interacting with God and being told no, when
you yourself may think yes, this is right, and God
is saying no, it's not right in the overall scheme,
across the entirety of the universe, with all that matter.
Speaker 4 (20:18):
But didn't you say that you would provide a way
of escape rather than to tempt this beyond what we
can endure something to that effect.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yes, that you're never going to have more than you
can handle. Yeah, but it doesn't mean people won't give
up prior to that point. How many stories do you
hear in the other sense where people say I was
just down at the bottom, I didn't think I could
take anymore. I waited it out. I just didn't want
to give up and then it came if you walk
out in the middle of the movie, No, there is
(20:47):
no happy ending. You don't get that experience. You don't
get those things. That's like anything in life. And you
have the free will and the ability to do that,
to get up and just walk out and just say, know,
I don't want to, but you then you have to argue, well,
was that really all you could handle or was that
(21:07):
all you wanted to handle. There's a difference, and it's
a it's a real.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
You will never know what was going on in it said.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
It's a real creuddy cretty way of looking at it
when you're talking about the loss of a dear friend.
But academically, when you remove all the emotion from it
and try and look at these pieces, there's much more
to it than one might think. And there is a point.
There's a lot of things and this is part of
(21:37):
the teaching process, a lot of things in you know,
humanness and the experience where humans can rise to great occasion.
And I fear that the world is kind of trying
to teach them how not to do that, and how
to cheat that experience rather than fully run it to
its to its end point and Unfortunately, sometimes the consequences
(22:02):
of that are quite quite ugly. Patrick. Welcome to the
Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 5 (22:13):
Hi, Hi, you doing.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
I am well Patrick, how are you good? Thank you
so much for taking my call, my pleasure. What's up?
Speaker 5 (22:20):
I'm just wondering about the historical uh, the individuals that
run the nice Seen Council that canonize the Bible. Do
you know much about them as far as were they
politicians under Constantine or were they members of the underground
Christian Church which wasn't the church kind of illegal up
(22:43):
until up until Constantine converted.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Well, there was many areas that you asked kind of
a bunch of questions here, let me try and sift
through something. No, not a problem. First of all, it
wasn't about canonization. And there's a lot of confusion when
it comes to some of these councils as to what
really was going on. A lot of it had to
do with imagine this, You've got something new starting, and
(23:09):
it starts and it takes on great speed and starts
bringing in people and excitement and interest, and then you
get branches of heretical teachings that start popping up. And
this was going on during the time you know, the
earliest parts of the church. That's if you read the epistles,
which just means letters. But if you read the letters
(23:31):
in scripture to the different churches Colossians, Thessalonians, and the
like Corinthians, you read these, you'll notice that really what's
going on is them trying to correct or get focused
the churches that were new and kind of sprouting. These
these little rabbit trails that go down these rabbit trails,
(23:51):
and and these letters were hey, hey, get back to
the focus of things. This is what's important. And this
this council was at the behest of Constantine the Great,
but it was about certain parts of theology and belief,
some of it dealing with the date of Easter, some
(24:14):
of it dealing with certain theological concerns about my nature
and my relationship with the Father, those types of things.
And this council, there was eighteen hundred bishops that were
from the Christian Church that were invited. You had a
group of them from the East, a group of them
from the West. Now that many did not show up,
(24:36):
it's probably one sixth that ended up being in the
actual council. And some of them, you know, heavy hitters,
but the concern was about agreement. So essentially, you get
a belief system like Christianity growing, and then you get
a leader, in this case Constantine, who was yes, now
(24:58):
a believer and going, let's make sure that we all
agree as we move forward. Because it's very easy to
get the barnacles on the boat and then the boat
looks completely different at the end of it. So as
a lot of people you hear them talk about, oh, well,
scripture and Christianity is like the telephone game, and people
(25:19):
just added things to it and then all of a
sudden it means something completely different than it did at
the beginning. Well, this was the process. These councils were
the process of getting as many of the bishops, and
it's an ecumenical council, so they're really coming together and
saying we all still agree on this, right right, we
don't agree on this other stuff that's popping up right right, Good, Well,
(25:43):
then we'll continue down the path we're going and make
sure we don't say okay to any of this other
stuff to make sure that it doesn't get polluted. So
it was a process of purification.
Speaker 5 (25:53):
That is so.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Interesting because that period, to me is such an interesting
time as far as our faith goes, and is that
is at the time when the Catholic and the Eastern
Orthodox diverged and when separate directions or did that happen later?
Speaker 2 (26:06):
Well, no, you have a lot going on at this
time as a matter of fact, during these times, and
you even alluded to some other parts about Constantine and
his conversion, because that causes a whole different thing as well.
But for the sake of time, I will say this
that these councils really are. The misconception is that these
councils Patrick were kind of like forcing, forcing or injecting
(26:33):
things into scripture or the church and saying, Okay, this
is what we want and that's what we don't people
think that there was like these votes to get rid
of certain things. We believe this for so long, but
let's get rid of it. It wasn't that. It was the
purification process, like a filter saying, hey, these people are
popping up saying they're Christians, but they're teaching something very
(26:54):
different that we've been taught by the early Church fathers
and the apostles. So now we're at this place and
so much time has been removed from X, Y, and
Z let's make sure that we continue to go down
that path. Everybody in favor, yes, and they would argue
about certain things and what they meant, and it would
(27:15):
get very heated. It wasn't just you know, everyone say I.
But the purpose the whole time was to make sure
that heresy didn't creep into the church. It wasn't about
getting rid of things that everybody had done for a
long time, but now, you know, let's make it a
little different. It really was more about keeping heresy out
(27:36):
than trying to interject a belief into Christianity. So very
important time, fascinating time, and I'm glad that you're interested
in it at all. Thank you for joining me. Remember
these words, I Am with you always.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
KFI A six on demand.
Popular Podcasts
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 MeatEater Podcast
Building on the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all of our lives, host Steven Rinella brings an in-depth and relevant look at all outdoor topics including hunting, fishing, nature, conservation, and wild foods. Filled with humor, irreverence, and things that will surprise the hell out of you, each episode welcomes a diverse group of guests who add their own expertise to the vast world of the outdoors. Part of The MeatEater Podcast Network.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.