December 21, 2025 • 28 mins
Defending The Nativity
Are Pets In Heaven
Santa = Satan?
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to KFI A six forty on demand. Betsy,
Welcome to the Jesus christ Show.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Oh, it's so good to talk to you. Merry Christmas,
Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas too. I wondered if you agreed
with what I'm about to say in regard to people
who defend the Nativity scene at Christmas, and they do
it in such a way that kind of drives me crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Oh, well, they say it's it's baby Jesus's birthday, it's
your birthday, but they don't really elucidate or they don't
really give the full meaning of what Jesus did as
a man, and any more than like when people say
happy birthday, George Washington, it's not just a baby, it's
what he did in life.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I see. So you're saying, focusing just on the birth
is missing the point of the life, the death, and
the resurrection. Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I did a little thinking about why we celebrate Jesus' birthday,
your birthday, and it came to me that knowing the
man as we do through the Bible and what he did,
what you did, my gosh, it's the most powerful word
in the entire world. He overcame you evercame the world,
(01:18):
the flesh and the devil, and through the resurrection and
with love. So I just think that it sometimes when
people try to defend why they want the Nativity scene,
or why they want displays of Christmas, or even why
we say Merry Christmas, it's because we are then focusing
(01:43):
on the most powerful word in the world, because it's love.
So anyway, that's my definition of I wanted your thoughts
on how to define the christ life.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Well, well, yeah, christ it comes from the Greek word Christos.
It means the anointed one, and obviously it is a
translates the Hebrew word that is used to mean Messiah.
So the anointed One is very, very powerful. And I
hear what you're saying that ultimately they're focusing so their
(02:19):
site seems narrow. They're focusing so much on this one part.
It's not illuminating the reason why the birth would be
important at all, which is about the life and the
times and the death and resurrection. I think that you
can get super hyper focused on that, and you too
can lose sight of what's going on. I think that
(02:40):
the defense sometimes is the feeling that Christians get what
they feel they're being picked on or that their rights
are kind of becoming second class, and therefore that you know,
everyone else, even pagan belief systems around. You know, you
can put pagan symbols up around Halloween, and schools and
(03:01):
everything else is fine with it. But if you do
any Christian symbols, people start getting up tight. And I
think that's kind of what they're defending. Now to your concern, Betsy,
I think that you're you're right in saying that that
people should understand the fullness of what's going on. We've
said on the show many times that the term Jesus
loves you means nothing unless you know who Jesus is,
(03:21):
what love is, and who you are. So yes, the
defining the principles and why why the Nativity scene would
be important at all would be a wonderful thing. Sometimes
in battle, words become abbreviated because it's the focus is
to those people to save the Nativity scene for what
(03:44):
it stands for. But ultimately, if you don't stand, if
you don't save what's what it stands for, then the
Nativity scene means nothing, and people get lost in that,
and and really it's kind of just an understanding that
there would be no death in resurrection if I hadn't
been born, And so to celebrate the beginning and all
(04:08):
parts of it. If you understand God and his fullness,
God is a god of beginning, middle, and end. Most
certainly a god of gaseimone, Calvary and the empty tomb.
All three are important. And so that time spent in
the garden was important, the time on the cross was important,
and the time of resurrection obviously ultimately important. But each
(04:31):
part is talked about in scripture because they all play
an importance to the entirety of the story, and that
can't be lost either. So you see the balance of
those two things. That some people are fighting for something
in its infant stage because of what it means in
its fullness, and I can see where you like to
hear the entirety of it, and that this word is important.
(04:54):
That Christ is a powerful statement because it's talking about
the anointed one of God. But I think that's certain
in there, in what they're fighting for and what they're defending.
You know, I've said this before that this time of
year brings out a lot of that that quarreling, it
brings out a lot of the fights, and you know,
the atheists will put up some sign about how I
(05:16):
didn't exist or something silly like that, and and the
theists and the Christians come out of their churches and
put up billboards and signs. Then you hear about people
fighting for Nativity scenes, and really, ultimately that the what
those Nativity scenes stand for really is the most important.
(05:38):
Absolutely that if it wasn't for the birth, death and resurrection,
then all of Christianity is for not And to defend
that's a wonderful thing. But symbols and symbolism and we
want our our particular belief system represented is really more
(06:00):
about culture than it is about faith. Faith cannot be
dictated by any government, especially Christianity, because of the fact
that it can be practiced in your heart and that
you want to be able to worship as you please,
most certainly in the United States. But the concept of
(06:21):
who God is never changes no matter what anybody says.
And you can put up a Nativity scene and you
know it won't necessarily help anybody, and you could take
it down. I won't necessarily hurt anybody. The important thing
is that Christians are living in a way that other
people can see and experience in a very very real way.
(06:41):
Otherwise you just see people that are fighting for their
cultural likes or dislikes or there once, and it gets
lost in that. So as this holiday tends to bring
out those people defending the Nativity, which I think is fine,
just keep in mind that the Nativity is just a thing.
It's the setting up of this display is just a
(07:04):
thing that really the value of it lies in the
life changing power of the death and resurrection. That that's
where the power lies. That's where what it's all about,
and that's what Christmas is all about. I know everybody
focuses on that on Easter, but really Christmas is just
as much about that. It's about the beginning, the nescient
stages of Christianity and the importance and the power of
(07:29):
the things to come. Cheryl, Welcome to Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Happy Birthday.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Well thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
My cat had died two weeks ago and I was
wondering if cats or animals have souls they go to
the heaven.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Animals do not have souls the way humans have souls.
So when you say that, you you know theologically you
say you have a soul. If you imagine it this way,
I would have had to have come and died on
the cross, as you know, as a dog, as a cat,
as all of these things to cover all of those affected.
Animals are instinctual. They don't deal with morals. They react
(08:11):
instinctually based on self preservation and things like that, and
not based on moral right and wrong. So it's a
different situation. So there are some theologians that would say,
no cat, there's no you know, cats and dogs in heaven.
But scripture doesn't necessarily say that. Scripture doesn't say that
that animals are redeemed through the blood on the cross,
(08:31):
but it doesn't say anything about the heaven being absent
of any animals. So one could say theologically that your
animal could be in heaven, but not in the same
way that you would go to heaven based on your
relationship with God. So don't give up hope and just
(08:52):
know and trust this that Scripture is very clear that
there will be no tears in heaven and there's not
going to be any that that feeling of loss or
absence or any of those things. So be confident that
there's no reason to think that that your animal couldn't
be there. But also if someone or an animal is missing.
(09:16):
It's not like you'd be disappointed that. Yeah, it's really
great to be in the presence of God, but I
wish fill in the blank was here. That's just not
the way it'll work. There's uh, you're going to be
standing in the presence of the glory of God. You'll
you'll be fine. You will be absolutely positively fine. Derek,
(09:43):
welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Oh, thank you very much. I don't want to say
it's an honor and it's a pleasure. I consider myself
a borderline Christian of non denomination only because well, I
think I said too much.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Hey, so border a border borderline Christian.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Well, yeah, I'm not the Christian I wish I could be.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Well, I think that stands for most Christians as a
work in progress. Of course, there's more to be done.
Hopefully you're not in a state of rebellion where you
just do anything you want.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
No, not at all. Okay, high standard of morals?
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay, good? Well, how can I help you?
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Well, I've been toiled. I have a question regarding trees,
Christmas trees and Santa specifically. Let's see, to my knowledge,
Christmas trees is an ancient pagan tradition, let's see, and
the shiny bulbs represent the ancient sun god bow. So
for that reason, I don't bring him in my house
(10:41):
on Christmas. And the word Santa actually can be crossed.
You can put the two words, oh, don't.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Say, don't say satan. Yeah, oh my goodness, really well, God,
God could spell dog if you put it in a mirror.
What was that? God spells dog if you look at
it in the mirror.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Yeah, but that's too much of a coincidence. Don't you
think you can put the two words side by side
and draw a line to each letter.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
No, because you're dealing words. Here's the thing when it
comes to words, and I know there's a lot of
people get caught up in these things and all this
word and numbers too, and they get caught like a
lot of people are superstitious about six six six, when
in all honesty, it's not really the number of the beast.
So there's people get caught up in numbers and words.
(11:27):
But really, satan is is not the technical term for
Satan anymore than Santa is the technical term for Saint Nick.
So there's it depends what you're looking at. It's kind
of far fetching. Yeah, way, there's many names. You've got
the Devil, You've got Satan, You've got Lucifer, You've got Beelzebub,
(11:50):
the Father of darkness, the Prince of darkness. You've got
all kinds of names. So really you start nitpicking at
that point. As far as the tree goes, it's not
about what the Pagans you used it for. It's what
you used it for. Hitler was a vegetarian because he
had stomach issues. That doesn't mean that anybody who's a
vegetarian is somehow a Nazi. So just because trees have
(12:14):
been used, the fact that Christmas comes is celebrated during
a time when it wasn't. My birthday wasn't in December.
I have more on this, don't go anywhere. We were
chatting with Derek about some of the seemingly pagan attributes
(12:36):
of Christmas, with Santa Claus and a tree and the
glass bulbs and all of these things, and Derek you
were saying that you know, Santa and Satan are so close,
but really it's you can't start comparing different words like that, because.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
But Jesus is not just the word you're looking.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
For an excuse to find a devil under the now,
I will ask you, are you married?
Speaker 4 (13:02):
No, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Okay. Do you have you seen the ring that is
bestowed upon the man and woman when they get married.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Do you think that that's a problem to wear rings? No?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Actually I don't. Being a bachelor, I'd never had.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's not a problem for you. But rings come from paganism.
There's a lot that comes from paganism. There's many festivals
and feasts that Christians still celebrate today. Even the seasons
were based on paganistic feasts and a like. So if
you start weeding out everything because they had a pagan background,
(13:42):
there's a lot more in your life that are going
to be weeded out than you think. So making that tie.
People don't bring trees in. Kids don't go, oh mommy, daddy,
can we get the pagan tree in the house this year?
They just don't. So it seems like a fight. That's moot.
You're you're not fighting something real. It's it doesn't exist
(14:05):
anymore in that sense. If anything, Christians have co opted
these things and are using them for their own desire.
If they're commercialized, you don't have to use them or
what have you, But they're not. They don't have the
pagan attributes anymore.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
To the believer, I see, it seems more Satan than
the trees.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Jesus is the concern that bright.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Red children only think of him and getting what they
can get for Christmas. They don't think of Christ's birthday.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Okay, but but what where do you get red in
the devil?
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Everything I've ever seen that?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Yeah, exactly, So you're talking about so you're talking about
the the character of the devil that people have created. Yes,
the devil is not what it's not a guy in
red pajamas with a goatee and a pitchfork. Okay, that's
what man has drawn, you know, just like you see
every time you see Jesus. He's this this white guy
(15:00):
with blue eyes. Do you think that's what I look like?
Speaker 4 (15:04):
None?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Yeah, yeah, So that and even that is in context
of a second coming, so that that is in a
different state as well. So you you start putting these
things together and really you're reacting to uh kind of
caricatures that aren't real to begin with. Satan is real,
(15:28):
but he's not this guy who's red. That's man's depiction
of the devil because matter of fact, scripture says that, uh,
the devil masquerades is an angel of light, so real.
So now you're not gonna have any angels of light
in the house because that's what Okay, okay, but you
see what I'm saying, where you're gonna start weeding these
things out and getting concerned based on you know, oh,
(15:51):
well this and that, and you're gonna be chasing the
devil and that's what he wants you to. He wants
he wants you to just strip your life of everything.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Thing.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So you're sitting there naked and then go, well, God,
why do you have me here sitting naked? Don't don't
look for the devil. He'll find you, trust me. Look
for God. Focus on God. The tree is just a
tree with ornaments on it that in your home should
be reminding you of God. If you don't want to
(16:22):
bring it in there, fine, but don't use the excuse
of paganism for goodness sake.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I see, thanks for clearing that up.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
You're welcome. The devil under every stone gets to be,
gets to be a little much if you if you
want to, you know, have guidelines. There was I remember
a conversation on radio listening in and somebody was talking
about how they wouldn't buy a VW because the original
(16:52):
VW bug or something therein was designed by Nazis or
by Hitler himself and UH VW has nothing to do
with Nazi Germany anymore, nothing. And the person said, well,
I just won't buy a car that's built by someone
(17:15):
who was an enemy of the United States. And and
when he was asked what he drove, he drove drove
a Japanese car, which at one point the Japanese were
in conflict with the United States. So you start getting
in this place where you start putting these these moral
(17:36):
markers in your life, and you'll find out that really
there is a lot Even the very concept of the environment,
uh it comes from and loving the environment. Protecting the
environment is a very pagan concept. You wouldn't say that
it was bad. Many things, clothing and uh food, the
(17:58):
way you eat it, in the preparation and all kinds
of things can be tied back to pagan So be
careful when you just get on that rant, because you
might end up editing a lot more out of your
life than you think. And it doesn't glorify God. All
is made by God all is to be enjoyed, it
says in Timothy. Let no man try and take food
or certain things from you based on festivals or whether
(18:20):
they were you know, slaughtered for a pagan god. It's
about what you worship and who you believe they are
for that's important. Hi, Dorothy, welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Hi, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
My pleasure. What's going on?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I was my husband died in July.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Dorothy.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Thank you. Yeah, kind of an astra life question, okay,
but I came across Randy Alkaline's books and I've been
digging through those and the realizing I hadn't realized a
bottom heaven in real terms, and also the fact that mhm,
I can't imagine our relationship in heaven without all of
(19:07):
the the angst of human life and interactions that seem
to build over the years of relationship.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Are you saying, what are you going to? What are
you going to do in heaven if you can't bicker
with your husband?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:22):
And to really to really know the person you know
without the he has the assistance, abuse problems and stuff,
so you know, to really know someone without all that
it's just going to be amazing. And actually to have
myself in the non critical state also absolutely makes me
(19:43):
think about these things in real terms, that we have
a lot to look forward to.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Well, if you could imagine that, you know, when you
see something newly minted or something so brand new it's
never been touched, or or any of those privations that
happen in life. Yes there's something and that still is
imperfect because it's you know, here on earth. But to
think that the things that you know about someone and
(20:08):
the things you experience with someone over a lifetime is
really their imperfections as well. But though and so it
is an interesting thought to think, well, how are you
going to recognize somebody when their faults are gone? And
really you're going to be looking at all those things.
The things that compelled you to someone was not the
(20:28):
problems in who they are, but the way they dealt
with them and the dealing with them and the way
they work through problems, or their sense of humor or
any of these things are really coming from that perfect
place and not the privation the absence of the things
that were designed by God that should be there. And
so you will you're going to see a more concentrated,
(20:49):
purified version of that individual, which is what truly compelled
you to them in the first place. It's just not
something that you have an example of on earth. There's
just not something you can put it against and say, oh,
it's going to look, feel, taste like this, because it
just doesn't exist in this place. This world is filled
with a lot of pollution, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and those
(21:10):
things skew and change the appearance of things, but not
the not the essence. The essence of your husband is
as well as your essence will be exactly the same.
It's all the luggage and the garbage that has been
in the pollution that's been piled up over the years
by you guys and by you know, your lineage, that
(21:35):
that you see here. But trust me, it's it won't
be a disappointment, No, not at all.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
How it can live better in this life with that
kind of attitude without double.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Nature, Well, that's the that's the honing process. That's the
you know, just as metal is heated and heated and
then the draws is scraped from the top and it's
heated again, that's a process. You know, it's easy to
get confused with Christianity and think, well, Christ died on
the cross, here, I paid for your sins. My blood's there,
and then it's all over. Well, that's not the case.
(22:10):
There is a pure it's all over as far as
the payment being made, But the learning process still has
to be there by definition because it has It's like patience.
You can't give someone patience, they have to earn it
and uh, and so there is still learning that needs
to be done. You're just not earning salvation and so
you know, so this process in life is part of
(22:33):
purifying and honing and growing and learning and uh and
then experiencing that perfection and that a whole different expression
when you're in heaven.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Something to look forward to there is, Yeah, it is
a great thing.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
And you're holding together well with your husband's loss. You
sound very strong.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Well, I'm thinking of all the positive. I'm really seeing
a huge gift that he was to me with our
children and with all of the adventures we went on together,
and his heart for God's heart for people, and through
all the struggles. He was really strong, strong, loving person
(23:20):
and gave us huge amounts of things to think back on.
And like we went all over the world together and
he wanted the kids to see the world and to
see the work of God around the world and stuff.
So we you know, he just had that adventures and
spirit as well as that giving and loving heart. And
we bring people into our lives from needy areas, and
(23:40):
we both had that same attitude of wanting to serve
God and help people. Yeah, I have to think it's
a positism. I just I just realized that my whole
life was kind of wrapped around a lot of the
negatives over the years. When we get so close to
the the issues of life, it's hard to speke a
(24:01):
bigger picture when you're in the midst of it.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
You know, dying is it's the last act that's done
on this planet and oftentimes ungraceful, unpleasant, and all the
ugliness that goes with it. Yet it's the one thing
that those that are left on this planet tend to
focus on when someone leaves and so and that saddens
me that a whole life was lived with all the
beauty and all of the things that you just described
(24:25):
so perfectly. That it's okay to have a time of morning,
of course, but then to make make somebody's entire life.
Their death it just it's it really reduces the beauty
of the individual. And so I like, I like to
remind people that if you're still living, that you're kind
of the curator of the museum of the of the
(24:47):
person who's passed. And that's exactly what you described to
me right now. All the different things that that you've
seen and experienced, and that you've passed those along to
other people is a beautiful way to keep such an
amazing life alive and understood and fragrant and real, rather
than you know, just summing it up as well, this
person lived this long and then they died, and this
(25:09):
is how they died, and now we're alone. And then that,
to me, so cheapens the beauty of life when it
goes beyond the normal realm of mourning and sadness for
a loss, of course, But when you get to that
point where you reduce them to just their death is
when they truly die. So, Dorothy, I keep doing what
(25:30):
you're doing. You absolutely have inspired people, trust me, that
are listening to your voice today. This time of year
brings up a lot of different emotions and it's very
easy to get caught up in that all and pulling
between family members, the loss of family members, the loss
(25:53):
of a job and pain that goes with it, and
really about standing tall in the midst of it is
really what shows others what you're made of. As I
said earlier, Christianity does not solve your problems. It helps
you deal with them, which is much different, and others
(26:16):
see that from the big to the small, the little
things that you do in life that show that you care.
We talk often about returning the grocery cart to where
the grocery carts should be returned, small things that people
see that you care, or that there's importance to the
finest details, to very large things. When you lose somebody
(26:39):
in your life and you see that there is that
that belief, that faith that there's more out there is
now in practice, and now that belief becomes so real
because you're looking saying, hey, now I have to trust God.
I have to trust that there is a God, there
is a heaven, and that we will be together again
(27:02):
and let people see that in a very very real way.
And others might miss that at times. And so that's
part of who you are and what you're called called
to do on this planet in this lifetime is to
be that example for others so they can come to
(27:25):
a real, true meaning of faith. I know a lot
of people just to go around and try and force
their beliefs on others. But as a believer, you shouldn't
be doing that. You should be living in a way
that compels them. Nobody's forced to eat chocolate cake. They
(27:47):
understand it's deliciousness by design. And so when you live
in a way that compels people to want to know
more about you and which you believe, and that's when
it becomes real and that's when it sticks with somebody,
is because they choose it, they want to know more
(28:08):
about it. And so that I pray during this time
right now, is there's a lot of ugliness and sadness
that you focus on on living a life that would
be an example to others that would motivate them to
find out about that hope that lies deep inside your heart.
(28:31):
And during this holiday season, I'm thankful that you spent
the time with me. I want you to remember these
very special words. I am with you always. KFI AM
six on demand
You're listening to KFI A six forty on demand. Betsy,
Welcome to the Jesus christ Show.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Oh, it's so good to talk to you. Merry Christmas,
Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas too. I wondered if you agreed
with what I'm about to say in regard to people
who defend the Nativity scene at Christmas, and they do
it in such a way that kind of drives me crazy.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
What's that?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Oh, well, they say it's it's baby Jesus's birthday, it's
your birthday, but they don't really elucidate or they don't
really give the full meaning of what Jesus did as
a man, and any more than like when people say
happy birthday, George Washington, it's not just a baby, it's
what he did in life.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I see. So you're saying, focusing just on the birth
is missing the point of the life, the death, and
the resurrection. Yes.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
I did a little thinking about why we celebrate Jesus' birthday,
your birthday, and it came to me that knowing the
man as we do through the Bible and what he did,
what you did, my gosh, it's the most powerful word
in the entire world. He overcame you evercame the world,
(01:18):
the flesh and the devil, and through the resurrection and
with love. So I just think that it sometimes when
people try to defend why they want the Nativity scene,
or why they want displays of Christmas, or even why
we say Merry Christmas, it's because we are then focusing
(01:43):
on the most powerful word in the world, because it's love.
So anyway, that's my definition of I wanted your thoughts
on how to define the christ life.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Well, well, yeah, christ it comes from the Greek word Christos.
It means the anointed one, and obviously it is a
translates the Hebrew word that is used to mean Messiah.
So the anointed One is very, very powerful. And I
hear what you're saying that ultimately they're focusing so their
(02:19):
site seems narrow. They're focusing so much on this one part.
It's not illuminating the reason why the birth would be
important at all, which is about the life and the
times and the death and resurrection. I think that you
can get super hyper focused on that, and you too
can lose sight of what's going on. I think that
(02:40):
the defense sometimes is the feeling that Christians get what
they feel they're being picked on or that their rights
are kind of becoming second class, and therefore that you know,
everyone else, even pagan belief systems around. You know, you
can put pagan symbols up around Halloween, and schools and
(03:01):
everything else is fine with it. But if you do
any Christian symbols, people start getting up tight. And I
think that's kind of what they're defending. Now to your concern, Betsy,
I think that you're you're right in saying that that
people should understand the fullness of what's going on. We've
said on the show many times that the term Jesus
loves you means nothing unless you know who Jesus is,
(03:21):
what love is, and who you are. So yes, the
defining the principles and why why the Nativity scene would
be important at all would be a wonderful thing. Sometimes
in battle, words become abbreviated because it's the focus is
to those people to save the Nativity scene for what
(03:44):
it stands for. But ultimately, if you don't stand, if
you don't save what's what it stands for, then the
Nativity scene means nothing, and people get lost in that,
and and really it's kind of just an understanding that
there would be no death in resurrection if I hadn't
been born, And so to celebrate the beginning and all
(04:08):
parts of it. If you understand God and his fullness,
God is a god of beginning, middle, and end. Most
certainly a god of gaseimone, Calvary and the empty tomb.
All three are important. And so that time spent in
the garden was important, the time on the cross was important,
and the time of resurrection obviously ultimately important. But each
(04:31):
part is talked about in scripture because they all play
an importance to the entirety of the story, and that
can't be lost either. So you see the balance of
those two things. That some people are fighting for something
in its infant stage because of what it means in
its fullness, and I can see where you like to
hear the entirety of it, and that this word is important.
(04:54):
That Christ is a powerful statement because it's talking about
the anointed one of God. But I think that's certain
in there, in what they're fighting for and what they're defending.
You know, I've said this before that this time of
year brings out a lot of that that quarreling, it
brings out a lot of the fights, and you know,
the atheists will put up some sign about how I
(05:16):
didn't exist or something silly like that, and and the
theists and the Christians come out of their churches and
put up billboards and signs. Then you hear about people
fighting for Nativity scenes, and really, ultimately that the what
those Nativity scenes stand for really is the most important.
(05:38):
Absolutely that if it wasn't for the birth, death and resurrection,
then all of Christianity is for not And to defend
that's a wonderful thing. But symbols and symbolism and we
want our our particular belief system represented is really more
(06:00):
about culture than it is about faith. Faith cannot be
dictated by any government, especially Christianity, because of the fact
that it can be practiced in your heart and that
you want to be able to worship as you please,
most certainly in the United States. But the concept of
(06:21):
who God is never changes no matter what anybody says.
And you can put up a Nativity scene and you
know it won't necessarily help anybody, and you could take
it down. I won't necessarily hurt anybody. The important thing
is that Christians are living in a way that other
people can see and experience in a very very real way.
(06:41):
Otherwise you just see people that are fighting for their
cultural likes or dislikes or there once, and it gets
lost in that. So as this holiday tends to bring
out those people defending the Nativity, which I think is fine,
just keep in mind that the Nativity is just a thing.
It's the setting up of this display is just a
(07:04):
thing that really the value of it lies in the
life changing power of the death and resurrection. That that's
where the power lies. That's where what it's all about,
and that's what Christmas is all about. I know everybody
focuses on that on Easter, but really Christmas is just
as much about that. It's about the beginning, the nescient
stages of Christianity and the importance and the power of
(07:29):
the things to come. Cheryl, Welcome to Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (07:34):
Happy Birthday.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Well thank you.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
My cat had died two weeks ago and I was
wondering if cats or animals have souls they go to
the heaven.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Animals do not have souls the way humans have souls.
So when you say that, you you know theologically you
say you have a soul. If you imagine it this way,
I would have had to have come and died on
the cross, as you know, as a dog, as a cat,
as all of these things to cover all of those affected.
Animals are instinctual. They don't deal with morals. They react
(08:11):
instinctually based on self preservation and things like that, and
not based on moral right and wrong. So it's a
different situation. So there are some theologians that would say,
no cat, there's no you know, cats and dogs in heaven.
But scripture doesn't necessarily say that. Scripture doesn't say that
that animals are redeemed through the blood on the cross,
(08:31):
but it doesn't say anything about the heaven being absent
of any animals. So one could say theologically that your
animal could be in heaven, but not in the same
way that you would go to heaven based on your
relationship with God. So don't give up hope and just
(08:52):
know and trust this that Scripture is very clear that
there will be no tears in heaven and there's not
going to be any that that feeling of loss or
absence or any of those things. So be confident that
there's no reason to think that that your animal couldn't
be there. But also if someone or an animal is missing.
(09:16):
It's not like you'd be disappointed that. Yeah, it's really
great to be in the presence of God, but I
wish fill in the blank was here. That's just not
the way it'll work. There's uh, you're going to be
standing in the presence of the glory of God. You'll
you'll be fine. You will be absolutely positively fine. Derek,
(09:43):
welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Oh, thank you very much. I don't want to say
it's an honor and it's a pleasure. I consider myself
a borderline Christian of non denomination only because well, I
think I said too much.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
Hey, so border a border borderline Christian.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Well, yeah, I'm not the Christian I wish I could be.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Well, I think that stands for most Christians as a
work in progress. Of course, there's more to be done.
Hopefully you're not in a state of rebellion where you
just do anything you want.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
No, not at all. Okay, high standard of morals?
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Okay, good? Well, how can I help you?
Speaker 4 (10:20):
Well, I've been toiled. I have a question regarding trees,
Christmas trees and Santa specifically. Let's see, to my knowledge,
Christmas trees is an ancient pagan tradition, let's see, and
the shiny bulbs represent the ancient sun god bow. So
for that reason, I don't bring him in my house
(10:41):
on Christmas. And the word Santa actually can be crossed.
You can put the two words, oh, don't.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Say, don't say satan. Yeah, oh my goodness, really well, God,
God could spell dog if you put it in a mirror.
What was that? God spells dog if you look at
it in the mirror.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Yeah, but that's too much of a coincidence. Don't you
think you can put the two words side by side
and draw a line to each letter.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
No, because you're dealing words. Here's the thing when it
comes to words, and I know there's a lot of
people get caught up in these things and all this
word and numbers too, and they get caught like a
lot of people are superstitious about six six six, when
in all honesty, it's not really the number of the beast.
So there's people get caught up in numbers and words.
(11:27):
But really, satan is is not the technical term for
Satan anymore than Santa is the technical term for Saint Nick.
So there's it depends what you're looking at. It's kind
of far fetching. Yeah, way, there's many names. You've got
the Devil, You've got Satan, You've got Lucifer, You've got Beelzebub,
(11:50):
the Father of darkness, the Prince of darkness. You've got
all kinds of names. So really you start nitpicking at
that point. As far as the tree goes, it's not
about what the Pagans you used it for. It's what
you used it for. Hitler was a vegetarian because he
had stomach issues. That doesn't mean that anybody who's a
vegetarian is somehow a Nazi. So just because trees have
(12:14):
been used, the fact that Christmas comes is celebrated during
a time when it wasn't. My birthday wasn't in December.
I have more on this, don't go anywhere. We were
chatting with Derek about some of the seemingly pagan attributes
(12:36):
of Christmas, with Santa Claus and a tree and the
glass bulbs and all of these things, and Derek you
were saying that you know, Santa and Satan are so close,
but really it's you can't start comparing different words like that, because.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
But Jesus is not just the word you're looking.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
For an excuse to find a devil under the now,
I will ask you, are you married?
Speaker 4 (13:02):
No, I'm not.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Okay. Do you have you seen the ring that is
bestowed upon the man and woman when they get married.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Do you think that that's a problem to wear rings? No?
Speaker 4 (13:14):
Actually I don't. Being a bachelor, I'd never had.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
It's not a problem for you. But rings come from paganism.
There's a lot that comes from paganism. There's many festivals
and feasts that Christians still celebrate today. Even the seasons
were based on paganistic feasts and a like. So if
you start weeding out everything because they had a pagan background,
(13:42):
there's a lot more in your life that are going
to be weeded out than you think. So making that tie.
People don't bring trees in. Kids don't go, oh mommy, daddy,
can we get the pagan tree in the house this year?
They just don't. So it seems like a fight. That's moot.
You're you're not fighting something real. It's it doesn't exist
(14:05):
anymore in that sense. If anything, Christians have co opted
these things and are using them for their own desire.
If they're commercialized, you don't have to use them or
what have you, But they're not. They don't have the
pagan attributes anymore.
Speaker 4 (14:19):
To the believer, I see, it seems more Satan than
the trees.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Jesus is the concern that bright.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Red children only think of him and getting what they
can get for Christmas. They don't think of Christ's birthday.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Okay, but but what where do you get red in
the devil?
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Everything I've ever seen that?
Speaker 1 (14:39):
Yeah, exactly, So you're talking about so you're talking about
the the character of the devil that people have created. Yes,
the devil is not what it's not a guy in
red pajamas with a goatee and a pitchfork. Okay, that's
what man has drawn, you know, just like you see
every time you see Jesus. He's this this white guy
(15:00):
with blue eyes. Do you think that's what I look like?
Speaker 4 (15:04):
None?
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Yeah, yeah, So that and even that is in context
of a second coming, so that that is in a
different state as well. So you you start putting these
things together and really you're reacting to uh kind of
caricatures that aren't real to begin with. Satan is real,
(15:28):
but he's not this guy who's red. That's man's depiction
of the devil because matter of fact, scripture says that, uh,
the devil masquerades is an angel of light, so real.
So now you're not gonna have any angels of light
in the house because that's what Okay, okay, but you
see what I'm saying, where you're gonna start weeding these
things out and getting concerned based on you know, oh,
(15:51):
well this and that, and you're gonna be chasing the
devil and that's what he wants you to. He wants
he wants you to just strip your life of everything.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Thing.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So you're sitting there naked and then go, well, God,
why do you have me here sitting naked? Don't don't
look for the devil. He'll find you, trust me. Look
for God. Focus on God. The tree is just a
tree with ornaments on it that in your home should
be reminding you of God. If you don't want to
(16:22):
bring it in there, fine, but don't use the excuse
of paganism for goodness sake.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I see, thanks for clearing that up.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
You're welcome. The devil under every stone gets to be,
gets to be a little much if you if you
want to, you know, have guidelines. There was I remember
a conversation on radio listening in and somebody was talking
about how they wouldn't buy a VW because the original
(16:52):
VW bug or something therein was designed by Nazis or
by Hitler himself and UH VW has nothing to do
with Nazi Germany anymore, nothing. And the person said, well,
I just won't buy a car that's built by someone
(17:15):
who was an enemy of the United States. And and
when he was asked what he drove, he drove drove
a Japanese car, which at one point the Japanese were
in conflict with the United States. So you start getting
in this place where you start putting these these moral
(17:36):
markers in your life, and you'll find out that really
there is a lot Even the very concept of the environment,
uh it comes from and loving the environment. Protecting the
environment is a very pagan concept. You wouldn't say that
it was bad. Many things, clothing and uh food, the
(17:58):
way you eat it, in the preparation and all kinds
of things can be tied back to pagan So be
careful when you just get on that rant, because you
might end up editing a lot more out of your
life than you think. And it doesn't glorify God. All
is made by God all is to be enjoyed, it
says in Timothy. Let no man try and take food
or certain things from you based on festivals or whether
(18:20):
they were you know, slaughtered for a pagan god. It's
about what you worship and who you believe they are
for that's important. Hi, Dorothy, welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Hi, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
My pleasure. What's going on?
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I was my husband died in July.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Dorothy.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Thank you. Yeah, kind of an astra life question, okay,
but I came across Randy Alkaline's books and I've been
digging through those and the realizing I hadn't realized a
bottom heaven in real terms, and also the fact that mhm,
I can't imagine our relationship in heaven without all of
(19:07):
the the angst of human life and interactions that seem
to build over the years of relationship.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Are you saying, what are you going to? What are
you going to do in heaven if you can't bicker
with your husband?
Speaker 2 (19:20):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (19:22):
And to really to really know the person you know
without the he has the assistance, abuse problems and stuff,
so you know, to really know someone without all that
it's just going to be amazing. And actually to have
myself in the non critical state also absolutely makes me
(19:43):
think about these things in real terms, that we have
a lot to look forward to.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Well, if you could imagine that, you know, when you
see something newly minted or something so brand new it's
never been touched, or or any of those privations that
happen in life. Yes there's something and that still is
imperfect because it's you know, here on earth. But to
think that the things that you know about someone and
(20:08):
the things you experience with someone over a lifetime is
really their imperfections as well. But though and so it
is an interesting thought to think, well, how are you
going to recognize somebody when their faults are gone? And
really you're going to be looking at all those things.
The things that compelled you to someone was not the
(20:28):
problems in who they are, but the way they dealt
with them and the dealing with them and the way
they work through problems, or their sense of humor or
any of these things are really coming from that perfect
place and not the privation the absence of the things
that were designed by God that should be there. And
so you will you're going to see a more concentrated,
(20:49):
purified version of that individual, which is what truly compelled
you to them in the first place. It's just not
something that you have an example of on earth. There's
just not something you can put it against and say, oh,
it's going to look, feel, taste like this, because it
just doesn't exist in this place. This world is filled
with a lot of pollution, emotionally, spiritually, physically, and those
(21:10):
things skew and change the appearance of things, but not
the not the essence. The essence of your husband is
as well as your essence will be exactly the same.
It's all the luggage and the garbage that has been
in the pollution that's been piled up over the years
by you guys and by you know, your lineage, that
(21:35):
that you see here. But trust me, it's it won't
be a disappointment, No, not at all.
Speaker 3 (21:42):
How it can live better in this life with that
kind of attitude without double.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Nature, Well, that's the that's the honing process. That's the
you know, just as metal is heated and heated and
then the draws is scraped from the top and it's
heated again, that's a process. You know, it's easy to
get confused with Christianity and think, well, Christ died on
the cross, here, I paid for your sins. My blood's there,
and then it's all over. Well, that's not the case.
(22:10):
There is a pure it's all over as far as
the payment being made, But the learning process still has
to be there by definition because it has It's like patience.
You can't give someone patience, they have to earn it
and uh, and so there is still learning that needs
to be done. You're just not earning salvation and so
you know, so this process in life is part of
(22:33):
purifying and honing and growing and learning and uh and
then experiencing that perfection and that a whole different expression
when you're in heaven.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Something to look forward to there is, Yeah, it is
a great thing.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
And you're holding together well with your husband's loss. You
sound very strong.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Well, I'm thinking of all the positive. I'm really seeing
a huge gift that he was to me with our
children and with all of the adventures we went on together,
and his heart for God's heart for people, and through
all the struggles. He was really strong, strong, loving person
(23:20):
and gave us huge amounts of things to think back on.
And like we went all over the world together and
he wanted the kids to see the world and to
see the work of God around the world and stuff.
So we you know, he just had that adventures and
spirit as well as that giving and loving heart. And
we bring people into our lives from needy areas, and
(23:40):
we both had that same attitude of wanting to serve
God and help people. Yeah, I have to think it's
a positism. I just I just realized that my whole
life was kind of wrapped around a lot of the
negatives over the years. When we get so close to
the the issues of life, it's hard to speke a
(24:01):
bigger picture when you're in the midst of it.
Speaker 1 (24:03):
You know, dying is it's the last act that's done
on this planet and oftentimes ungraceful, unpleasant, and all the
ugliness that goes with it. Yet it's the one thing
that those that are left on this planet tend to
focus on when someone leaves and so and that saddens
me that a whole life was lived with all the
beauty and all of the things that you just described
(24:25):
so perfectly. That it's okay to have a time of morning,
of course, but then to make make somebody's entire life.
Their death it just it's it really reduces the beauty
of the individual. And so I like, I like to
remind people that if you're still living, that you're kind
of the curator of the museum of the of the
(24:47):
person who's passed. And that's exactly what you described to
me right now. All the different things that that you've
seen and experienced, and that you've passed those along to
other people is a beautiful way to keep such an
amazing life alive and understood and fragrant and real, rather
than you know, just summing it up as well, this
person lived this long and then they died, and this
(25:09):
is how they died, and now we're alone. And then that,
to me, so cheapens the beauty of life when it
goes beyond the normal realm of mourning and sadness for
a loss, of course, But when you get to that
point where you reduce them to just their death is
when they truly die. So, Dorothy, I keep doing what
(25:30):
you're doing. You absolutely have inspired people, trust me, that
are listening to your voice today. This time of year
brings up a lot of different emotions and it's very
easy to get caught up in that all and pulling
between family members, the loss of family members, the loss
(25:53):
of a job and pain that goes with it, and
really about standing tall in the midst of it is
really what shows others what you're made of. As I
said earlier, Christianity does not solve your problems. It helps
you deal with them, which is much different, and others
(26:16):
see that from the big to the small, the little
things that you do in life that show that you care.
We talk often about returning the grocery cart to where
the grocery carts should be returned, small things that people
see that you care, or that there's importance to the
finest details, to very large things. When you lose somebody
(26:39):
in your life and you see that there is that
that belief, that faith that there's more out there is
now in practice, and now that belief becomes so real
because you're looking saying, hey, now I have to trust God.
I have to trust that there is a God, there
is a heaven, and that we will be together again
(27:02):
and let people see that in a very very real way.
And others might miss that at times. And so that's
part of who you are and what you're called called
to do on this planet in this lifetime is to
be that example for others so they can come to
(27:25):
a real, true meaning of faith. I know a lot
of people just to go around and try and force
their beliefs on others. But as a believer, you shouldn't
be doing that. You should be living in a way
that compels them. Nobody's forced to eat chocolate cake. They
(27:47):
understand it's deliciousness by design. And so when you live
in a way that compels people to want to know
more about you and which you believe, and that's when
it becomes real and that's when it sticks with somebody,
is because they choose it, they want to know more
(28:08):
about it. And so that I pray during this time
right now, is there's a lot of ugliness and sadness
that you focus on on living a life that would
be an example to others that would motivate them to
find out about that hope that lies deep inside your heart.
(28:31):
And during this holiday season, I'm thankful that you spent
the time with me. I want you to remember these
very special words. I am with you always. KFI AM
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