WEBVTT - Putting God Back in the Holidays | Dr. Bill Thrasher 0:00:00.140 --> 0:00:04.160 Today on building relationships with Doctor Gary Chapman. 0:00:04.190 --> 0:00:08.720 I entered the holidays with some very unconscious expectations. I 0:00:08.750 --> 0:00:11.810 sort of resented some of the demands of the holiday. 0:00:11.810 --> 0:00:13.850 I'd like to put God back in the holidays, but 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:17.210 others have a different agenda. Whatever. Being content with your 0:00:17.210 --> 0:00:20.720 role and being light in a dark place, even sometimes 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:23.480 being around ones that maybe can't fully appreciate you, fully 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:25.729 understand you, there is a battle in regard to this 0:00:25.730 --> 0:00:26.480 time of year. 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:34.640 Welcome to building relationships with Doctor Gary Chapman, author of 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:39.019 the New York Times bestseller The Five Love Languages. Today, 0:00:39.020 --> 0:00:41.240 as we head toward Christmas and New Year's, we have 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:43.400 a program that will help you keep God at the 0:00:43.400 --> 0:00:45.170 center of your celebrations. 0:00:45.170 --> 0:00:47.540 And on today's program, we're going to have a practical, 0:00:47.540 --> 0:00:50.659 spiritual discussion that's going to help you not just get 0:00:50.659 --> 0:00:55.160 through the holidays, but enhance your relationships as you navigate 0:00:55.190 --> 0:00:58.010 what's ahead. Doctor Bill Thrasher is going to join us today. 0:00:58.010 --> 0:01:01.660 He's the author co-author of Putting God Back in the 0:01:01.660 --> 0:01:05.199 Holidays now. The book deals with the whole year, with 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:09.009 holidays throughout the year. But for the purpose of this conversation, 0:01:09.010 --> 0:01:13.240 we're going to focus on Christmas and New Year's. And, Gary, 0:01:13.270 --> 0:01:15.250 I know this is one of your favorite times of 0:01:15.250 --> 0:01:19.720 the year, but it can also be stressful on relationships. 0:01:19.750 --> 0:01:22.660 Well, it can be, Chris, you know, thinking about all 0:01:22.660 --> 0:01:25.690 the food we've got to cook and all the places 0:01:25.690 --> 0:01:27.880 we've got to find for relatives to stay when they 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:31.660 come in. And, you know, those logistic things can really 0:01:31.660 --> 0:01:34.899 be kind of overpowering sometimes. And then, of course, you know, 0:01:34.930 --> 0:01:37.990 many families have an Uncle Claude, you know, who you 0:01:38.020 --> 0:01:39.670 got to put up with. And you know, he's going 0:01:39.700 --> 0:01:41.500 to be here and you've got to figure out, well, 0:01:41.770 --> 0:01:43.810 how are we going to, you know, treat him and 0:01:43.870 --> 0:01:46.450 let's be nice to him and we'll listen to his 0:01:46.450 --> 0:01:50.140 stories and all kind of things, all kind of things 0:01:50.140 --> 0:01:54.160 related to the holidays. So I'm glad that today we're 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.150 going to discuss how to make the holidays Christian. I mean, 0:01:57.180 --> 0:01:59.970 you know. Yes. So this this will be a good discussion. 0:01:59.970 --> 0:02:00.990 I'm excited about it. 0:02:00.990 --> 0:02:03.660 And I'm trying I'm still trying not to be Uncle Claude, 0:02:03.660 --> 0:02:08.520 but I think I've become. Let's meet our guest. Doctor 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.940 Bill Thrasher is a beloved professor at Moody Bible Institute. 0:02:11.970 --> 0:02:16.049 He's been teaching for 45 years. He is a graduate 0:02:16.050 --> 0:02:19.799 professor of Bible and theology at Moody Theological Seminary, frequent 0:02:19.800 --> 0:02:23.220 speaker for churches and retreats around the country. He's the 0:02:23.220 --> 0:02:26.070 author of a number of books, including Believing God for 0:02:26.070 --> 0:02:30.120 His Best A Journey to Victorious, Praying, and Living the 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.480 Life God Has Planned that our featured resource today is 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:36.299 written by Doctor Thrasher and his wife, Penny. It's titled 0:02:36.300 --> 0:02:39.600 Putting God Back in the holidays. You can find out 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:42.299 more at Building relationships.us. 0:02:42.330 --> 0:02:45.600 Well, Doctor Thrasher, welcome back to Building Relationships. Well, I'm. 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:47.580 Honored to be back with you. I love you too, 0:02:47.580 --> 0:02:50.490 and so very grateful for all you've done for the 0:02:50.490 --> 0:02:52.980 Lord's work and for Moody. It's honor to be to 0:02:53.010 --> 0:02:53.700 know you. 0:02:53.820 --> 0:02:57.230 Well, you have had a long career of teaching both 0:02:57.230 --> 0:03:01.040 undergraduate and graduate students at Moody. Uh, it must be 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:04.640 rewarding if this happens, that students actually come back from 0:03:04.639 --> 0:03:07.760 time to time and return and reach out to you 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:11.630 and let you know what your teaching is meant to them. Uh, 0:03:11.630 --> 0:03:13.460 have you had those kind of experiences? 0:03:13.490 --> 0:03:16.280 You know, that has been one of the greatest gifts 0:03:16.280 --> 0:03:18.620 that God has given me. Yes. Uh, just thinking. This 0:03:18.620 --> 0:03:21.770 past summer, my wife and I, we traveled to Manila, uh, 0:03:21.770 --> 0:03:25.160 a student that I had over over 40 years ago. 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.470 And he's been a missionary for 40 years. And I 0:03:27.470 --> 0:03:31.790 did a mission conference there for 100 Christian missionaries all 0:03:31.790 --> 0:03:33.739 over East Asia. And that was one of the highlights 0:03:33.740 --> 0:03:36.530 of my life. And and that was dear Tom. Tom 0:03:36.530 --> 0:03:39.290 was a very skilled carpenter when he came and, you know, 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.290 doing high end work. And he began to work in 0:03:42.290 --> 0:03:44.960 his church and be involved in evangelism. And since God's 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:46.790 driving him to the mission field. So he was headed 0:03:46.820 --> 0:03:49.040 there and someone says, well, you know, he probably ought 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:50.930 to get some training. And he says, where should I go? 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:52.760 And he said, Moody Bible Institute. So he went to 0:03:52.790 --> 0:03:54.720 Moody Bible Institute and he said, I guess I'm supposed 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:57.270 to apply. They said, have you ever taken the SATs? 0:03:57.390 --> 0:04:00.690 I don't know what the S.A.T. is. So. But anyhow, 0:04:00.690 --> 0:04:03.150 he came in, and even when he was an undergraduate student, 0:04:03.180 --> 0:04:06.120 he began, he enrolled with. Then it was called a 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:09.630 different name. Now it's called Crestar. But he began connecting 0:04:09.630 --> 0:04:12.060 with students there and in the churches in the 80s. 0:04:12.090 --> 0:04:13.710 He said, do you have people that are friends of 0:04:13.710 --> 0:04:16.080 the mission? And yeah, we do. And so he began 0:04:16.110 --> 0:04:19.680 just doing Muslim awareness seminars in the 80s. It wasn't 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:22.080 quite we weren't quite as aware of that. And he's 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:26.040 been a faithful, faithful. So that's just one. I'm privileged 0:04:26.040 --> 0:04:28.410 to have students and even now have the sons and 0:04:28.410 --> 0:04:31.230 daughters of former students, and it is a great blessing. 0:04:31.230 --> 0:04:33.450 Sometimes they give me credit for more than I deserve, 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:36.450 but truth matter, they were pretty amazing people when they 0:04:36.450 --> 0:04:38.280 came and God did a work in their life, and 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:41.280 maybe I didn't mess them up. So. But it's a 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:43.440 great joy to to have been a part of that. 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.320 And I'm grateful now in these, these years, my wife 0:04:46.320 --> 0:04:48.450 comes with me to school and she sits in the 0:04:48.450 --> 0:04:52.880 class and and that's a huge help to my students 0:04:52.880 --> 0:04:56.000 as she shows interest and love and encouragement and prayers. 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:58.909 And so anyhow, that's a it's a good area we're 0:04:58.910 --> 0:04:59.870 in right now. 0:04:59.900 --> 0:05:04.010 Yeah. Well, I'm sitting here thinking about some of my 0:05:04.010 --> 0:05:06.320 professors at Moody when I was there back in the 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:11.390 dark ages. And I'm asking myself, did I ever express 0:05:11.420 --> 0:05:16.310 appreciation to them? Doctor Kenneth Weast I had for Greek. Yes. 0:05:16.339 --> 0:05:19.669 And Doctor Harold Gardner and Christian education. Yes. And I 0:05:19.670 --> 0:05:22.070 think there's a lot of students that that really don't 0:05:22.100 --> 0:05:24.560 reach back, you know, to say to professors along the 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.530 way how much they appreciate them. But, uh, it's nice 0:05:27.529 --> 0:05:30.830 when they do. But as you said, what's really rewarding 0:05:30.830 --> 0:05:33.020 is when you see how God is using those students 0:05:33.020 --> 0:05:33.740 around the world. 0:05:33.770 --> 0:05:36.620 Amen. Amen. And I'm sure that's a reward to see 0:05:36.620 --> 0:05:39.680 how God is using you. You know, I, uh, maybe 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:41.240 this is a well known fact, but I didn't know 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:43.550 it till you spoke in chapel a number of years ago. 0:05:43.550 --> 0:05:45.890 That no one would publish your first book. You had 0:05:45.890 --> 0:05:46.789 to self-publish it. 0:05:47.510 --> 0:05:51.850 That's right. And it was before. Before self-publishing existed, I 0:05:51.850 --> 0:05:53.320 literally self-published it. 0:05:54.070 --> 0:05:54.580 Wow. 0:05:55.390 --> 0:06:00.430 Wow. Well, for you, we're our topic today. What does 0:06:00.430 --> 0:06:04.120 it mean to put God back into the holidays? And 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:07.930 how do you keep Christ central during this time of year? 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.750 Well, you know it to some degree. That goes back 0:06:10.750 --> 0:06:13.570 to the to the why I wrote the book and 0:06:14.110 --> 0:06:17.050 and my dear wife helped. But it was it's this 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:19.900 way back when, when I was a student, years ago, 0:06:19.930 --> 0:06:23.380 I noticed that the holiday time. Like I said, if 0:06:23.380 --> 0:06:26.560 you charted my spiritual life, the holidays would have been 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:28.539 a valley, not a peak. As far as time of 0:06:28.540 --> 0:06:32.260 really being vibrantly alert to the Lord. And so I 0:06:32.260 --> 0:06:34.870 just sense a special battle around the holidays. Part of 0:06:34.870 --> 0:06:38.140 it was because I would be going from being very 0:06:38.140 --> 0:06:40.599 busy and then sort of having a break and and 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:43.180 so I remember when I sensed God calling me into 0:06:43.210 --> 0:06:46.240 teaching and ministry, and I remember keeping a list of 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:48.780 what I wanted to do if God ever opened that door. 0:06:48.779 --> 0:06:51.299 And one of the things was prepare my students for 0:06:51.300 --> 0:06:54.000 the holidays for the last 45 years, this would be 0:06:54.450 --> 0:06:57.450 the last class during the fall semester. I do talk 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.539 about preparing yourself spiritually for the holidays, so I do 0:07:00.540 --> 0:07:03.390 that out of sensing my own need. And I've not 0:07:03.540 --> 0:07:05.909 only shared that with students, but also many, many other 0:07:05.910 --> 0:07:08.700 people and whatever. And people come to the holidays from 0:07:08.700 --> 0:07:11.970 many different backgrounds, you know, from a strong Christian heritage 0:07:11.970 --> 0:07:15.420 to a heritage that's hostile or indifferent, or from a 0:07:15.420 --> 0:07:18.750 strong marriage to a difficult marriage, to never marry, to 0:07:18.780 --> 0:07:21.930 a new marriage and divorce and all of those things, 0:07:21.930 --> 0:07:25.800 and maybe a parent and a single parent, but so 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.860 but whatever the situation is, you know, our faith is attacked. 0:07:28.860 --> 0:07:30.960 And I came to find out about your faith I 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.530 read today in Thessalonians. He says, lest the tempter having 0:07:34.560 --> 0:07:37.500 tempted you. First Thessalonians three five so you see, he 0:07:37.500 --> 0:07:40.080 attacks our faith. And I think, But God wants to 0:07:40.110 --> 0:07:42.929 strengthen our faith, that word be strong in the Lord 0:07:42.930 --> 0:07:44.550 and the strength of his might. That same Greek word 0:07:44.550 --> 0:07:48.530 is used in Romans four that Abraham was strengthened to believe. 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:52.730 So I want individuals just to be strengthened to believe God. 0:07:52.940 --> 0:07:56.750 Christ left heaven to come to earth in this broken 0:07:56.750 --> 0:07:59.630 world that was fallen and rebellious against him, to enter 0:07:59.630 --> 0:08:01.640 into the world. And he wants to enter into your holidays. 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:03.800 They may be the most joyous days of your life. 0:08:03.830 --> 0:08:06.230 You may have a great community of faith, or you 0:08:06.260 --> 0:08:09.260 may be the only person there that's crying out to God, 0:08:09.260 --> 0:08:12.620 but he wants to enter in and to communicate his comfort, 0:08:12.650 --> 0:08:15.770 his love, his encouragement, his hope, and to know that 0:08:15.770 --> 0:08:18.770 you're not alone. And so that's what I desire. I 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:22.280 desire that for whoever. Whatever your situation is, we want 0:08:22.310 --> 0:08:25.910 to believe God for that. Yeah, I've charted this. Why 0:08:25.910 --> 0:08:28.070 is there such a battle? I've got. I've noted five 0:08:28.070 --> 0:08:30.440 reasons there is such a battle. And I'm sure you 0:08:30.440 --> 0:08:33.200 could maybe alert to others as well. But part of 0:08:33.200 --> 0:08:35.449 it is you look at all the holidays. There is 0:08:35.450 --> 0:08:38.840 a spiritual significance of them, even though we've greatly secularized 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:42.979 them in our culture. But but even when everybody doesn't 0:08:42.980 --> 0:08:45.550 want to say Merry Christmas. I want to say Happy holidays. 0:08:45.580 --> 0:08:49.630 There is a focus on Christ during this particular time, 0:08:49.630 --> 0:08:52.780 and Satan hates Christ. And certainly you would expect him 0:08:52.780 --> 0:08:56.319 to attack people who truly represent him, even people whom 0:08:56.320 --> 0:09:00.280 all people whom Christ has created. And so it's no, statistically, 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.890 there are more suicides and more depression and all that stuff. 0:09:02.890 --> 0:09:05.979 That's part of the battle. But also now maybe not 0:09:05.980 --> 0:09:08.590 everybody because, you know, Gary says it's the most joyous 0:09:08.620 --> 0:09:10.090 time for him. And I want it to be in 0:09:10.090 --> 0:09:12.820 his become that for me. But, you know, I usually 0:09:12.820 --> 0:09:16.030 enter this time of year very tired and very depleted. 0:09:16.059 --> 0:09:18.550 I finished up a semester, I'm preparing for a new one. 0:09:18.550 --> 0:09:20.920 And I think you're always more vulnerable when you're tired 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:24.550 and depleted. And I don't think my situation is that unusual. 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.130 I think others have told me that at this time 0:09:27.130 --> 0:09:31.630 of year seems to just exalt an unattainable ideal. I 0:09:31.630 --> 0:09:35.590 remember we were doing some caregiving for my precious mother 0:09:35.620 --> 0:09:37.960 in law, who is with the Lord now, and it was. 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:41.650 I think it was it was right around Christmas Eve 0:09:41.670 --> 0:09:45.330 or close to it. And and she required 24 hour care. 0:09:45.330 --> 0:09:49.170 We covered those things and with some help from brother 0:09:49.170 --> 0:09:51.030 and sister in law and a few other people, and 0:09:51.030 --> 0:09:53.699 sometimes we hired a service called More Than Family. And 0:09:53.700 --> 0:09:57.270 this dear lady had done one shift, and I was 0:09:57.270 --> 0:09:59.220 talking to that lady before she was going to leave. 0:09:59.220 --> 0:10:01.199 And I said, you know, I told her what I was, 0:10:01.230 --> 0:10:03.420 you know, I said, well, that was my last day 0:10:03.420 --> 0:10:05.220 of my class for the semester. And I've talked about 0:10:05.220 --> 0:10:08.610 preparing spiritually for the holidays. I said, holidays can be hard. 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:12.000 She says, oh, can it be hard? She says, I 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:16.860 was preparing supper years ago for my extended family, and 0:10:16.860 --> 0:10:19.530 I saw my husband's phone go off. And so I 0:10:19.530 --> 0:10:21.390 went in there. I wanted to get his call, and 0:10:21.390 --> 0:10:23.760 that's when I discovered an affair he'd been in for 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:26.790 many years that ultimately ended our marriage. And she says, oh, 0:10:26.790 --> 0:10:29.280 it's a very hard time before she left, says, you're 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:32.880 not leaving. You're having supper with us. And she spent 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:37.230 the evening with us. Now, even sometimes the painful memories, 0:10:37.230 --> 0:10:41.800 sometimes just unfulfilled Dreams, any kind of brokenness in our life, 0:10:41.830 --> 0:10:44.230 you know? For me, I think part of my struggle 0:10:44.230 --> 0:10:46.900 was this took me a while to realize this, that 0:10:46.900 --> 0:10:51.400 I entered the holidays with some very unconscious expectations. You know, 0:10:51.429 --> 0:10:55.390 my unconscious expectation was I deserve a break. I sort 0:10:55.390 --> 0:10:58.390 of resented some of the demands of the of the holiday. 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:00.850 I think other people have told me, you say, boy, 0:11:00.850 --> 0:11:02.980 I like this idea of putting God back in the holidays, 0:11:02.980 --> 0:11:06.220 but he or she said, I'm not in control of 0:11:06.220 --> 0:11:08.559 my holidays. I'd like to put God back in the holidays, 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.500 but others have a different agenda or whatever. So, you know, 0:11:11.500 --> 0:11:15.010 being content with your role and being light in a 0:11:15.010 --> 0:11:17.920 dark place, even sometimes being around ones that maybe can't 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.920 fully appreciate you or fully understand you, that's a challenge. 0:11:20.920 --> 0:11:23.470 So those are some of the reasons that there is 0:11:23.470 --> 0:11:25.300 a battle in regard to this time of year. 0:11:25.990 --> 0:11:29.410 Well, Doctor Thrasher, we've just come through a contentious election 0:11:29.410 --> 0:11:32.679 season and all the divisions that we've heard about in 0:11:32.679 --> 0:11:36.610 our country, just a real political divide. Do you think 0:11:36.610 --> 0:11:40.170 the message of Christmas can help bring people together. 0:11:40.230 --> 0:11:43.050 Well, I think if the true message is is digested, 0:11:43.050 --> 0:11:46.800 it certainly can. It's unifying. It's a message of hope. 0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:49.890 It's a message of of love. God putting his love 0:11:49.890 --> 0:11:53.189 upon us when we were his enemies and helpless and 0:11:53.190 --> 0:11:57.689 indifferent and unquestionably, you know, it's a time of great 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:00.300 time where God wants to restore us. It's a time 0:12:00.300 --> 0:12:03.900 of joy. Joy is a slippery concept in Scripture, but 0:12:03.900 --> 0:12:05.880 the key to joy is when you and God are 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:08.820 in harmony. You can be joyful. That's why Jesus was 0:12:08.820 --> 0:12:10.650 said to be the most joyous person who ever lived. 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:14.100 Hebrews one nine that was love, righteousness, and hated lawlessness. 0:12:14.100 --> 0:12:16.140 Therefore God has anointed you with the oil of joy 0:12:16.140 --> 0:12:18.780 above all your companions. So he came to restore us 0:12:18.780 --> 0:12:22.020 and unite us to him. Anytime we're focused on something 0:12:22.020 --> 0:12:25.620 outside of ourselves together that brings real unity, let us 0:12:25.650 --> 0:12:29.790 exalt his name together. So I'm praying it will be. 0:12:29.790 --> 0:12:34.200 I pray that God we will see an unprecedented harvest 0:12:34.230 --> 0:12:36.980 of souls. I mean, I'm here because of the incredible 0:12:36.980 --> 0:12:39.620 revival that was happening in the 70s. I'm not sure 0:12:39.620 --> 0:12:41.390 we really fully realized it, but that was when I 0:12:41.390 --> 0:12:44.059 was in college and and there was just a stream 0:12:44.090 --> 0:12:47.449 of people going into the Lord's work. Campus ministries were. 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.850 And that not that God has not worked since, but 0:12:49.850 --> 0:12:53.960 it was a very incredible time that God worked there. 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:56.420 And so I'm praying for a great harvest of souls 0:12:56.420 --> 0:13:00.470 in this time. It's dark, it's challenging. You're all right. 0:13:00.470 --> 0:13:02.540 We've gone through a difficult season, but we just cry 0:13:02.540 --> 0:13:04.490 to God for him to pour out His Spirit upon 0:13:04.490 --> 0:13:07.880 us and and do an unprecedented work here in our land. 0:13:08.210 --> 0:13:11.449 Well, that's my hope to God loved us while we 0:13:11.450 --> 0:13:12.320 were sinners. 0:13:12.350 --> 0:13:12.860 Amen. 0:13:12.860 --> 0:13:16.309 And so we must love people even though we disagree 0:13:16.309 --> 0:13:18.560 with them on a whole lot of stuff. But we're 0:13:18.590 --> 0:13:21.380 the ones that will be reaching out to love them, 0:13:21.410 --> 0:13:25.550 you know? Love your enemies. Jesus said so, right? Wow, wow. Well, 0:13:25.550 --> 0:13:28.250 you were single for many years before you married and 0:13:28.250 --> 0:13:32.000 had children. How did you approach the holidays as a 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:36.069 single person and what advice would you give for singles today? 0:13:36.070 --> 0:13:37.150 Who are listening to us? 0:13:37.179 --> 0:13:39.940 Well, you know, I was married at age 36. And 0:13:39.940 --> 0:13:43.179 so I will say, you know, God gave great grace 0:13:43.179 --> 0:13:45.610 as I threw myself into the ministry God called me to, 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:47.620 and I felt his calling on me on that time 0:13:47.620 --> 0:13:50.470 was to be single. There was a great contentment, but 0:13:50.500 --> 0:13:53.830 holidays were a harder time. I think there in the 0:13:53.830 --> 0:13:58.240 holiday time. I think your singleness is sort of accentuated. 0:13:58.240 --> 0:14:00.550 I think you have to be prayed up that not 0:14:00.550 --> 0:14:03.339 to be vulnerable to some lies. I mean the the 0:14:03.340 --> 0:14:06.070 lie that can say, hey, if you're not paired off 0:14:06.070 --> 0:14:08.440 on a particular day of the year, maybe is something 0:14:08.440 --> 0:14:11.110 wrong with you? Are you as special as God really 0:14:11.110 --> 0:14:13.840 says you are? I think you can even be vulnerable 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:17.170 to start a wrong relationship. I would keep a list 0:14:17.170 --> 0:14:20.470 of things that God esteemed in a woman scripturally, just 0:14:20.470 --> 0:14:22.540 to keep my eyes on what God esteemed. As I 0:14:22.570 --> 0:14:26.920 waited on God for his timing, spending time with him 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.410 and letting him affirm listening to him, and they say 0:14:29.410 --> 0:14:32.020 the greatest influence about what we think about ourselves is 0:14:32.020 --> 0:14:34.180 as what we our perception of what the most important 0:14:34.180 --> 0:14:36.310 person in our life thinks about us. So when God 0:14:36.340 --> 0:14:38.560 wants you, let him erect himself as the most important 0:14:38.560 --> 0:14:42.220 input and listen to him. The devil is cruel. I 0:14:42.220 --> 0:14:45.280 think also as a single Christmas he came not to 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:47.830 be served, but to serve and give his life a 0:14:47.830 --> 0:14:50.290 ransom to many. This is the principle of sowing and 0:14:50.290 --> 0:14:52.600 reaping was a big help to me in when I 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:55.270 saw that, uh, I would just say, okay, when you 0:14:55.270 --> 0:14:59.050 feel like you need encouragement, you need so it give it. 0:14:59.050 --> 0:15:01.270 I would keep a people like a list of people 0:15:01.270 --> 0:15:02.770 that I could just give a call to that I 0:15:02.770 --> 0:15:05.860 think would appreciate a call or whatever, and it'll come back. 0:15:05.890 --> 0:15:08.140 I mean, it's just like plant a crop of kindness 0:15:08.140 --> 0:15:09.670 and it'll it'll come back. Not in the way you 0:15:09.670 --> 0:15:12.310 think it will, but it'll it'll come back. Maybe not 0:15:12.310 --> 0:15:14.140 in the timing. You think it will, but it'll come back. 0:15:14.140 --> 0:15:16.960 So it is a challenge. Sometimes in the church things 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:20.020 are are very family oriented and we praise God for that. 0:15:20.020 --> 0:15:22.090 I thank God for some key families that were a 0:15:22.090 --> 0:15:24.940 tremendous help to me during my single years. I taught 0:15:24.940 --> 0:15:28.300 here almost nine years, eight and a half years single, 0:15:28.300 --> 0:15:30.590 and those were very, very precious time and my wife 0:15:30.590 --> 0:15:34.160 and I, we esteem singles. There was a time that 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:36.560 we ran a family class at our church, and we 0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:39.560 did all our socials with the singles groups so they 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:41.479 can be a great help to us and and we 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:43.970 came to them. In fact, we still have some very, 0:15:43.970 --> 0:15:47.120 very close friends that are single that have never married. 0:15:47.150 --> 0:15:50.750 You mentioned that whole concept of serving as following the 0:15:50.750 --> 0:15:55.640 example of Christ. Uh, the holidays often give us more 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:59.660 opportunities for singles to be involved in serving, right? And 0:15:59.660 --> 0:16:02.300 in various situations. Absolutely. 0:16:02.300 --> 0:16:04.250 I think that's one of the ways I think we 0:16:04.250 --> 0:16:06.440 can be prayed up in regard to making the use 0:16:06.440 --> 0:16:07.850 of this of this season. 0:16:08.150 --> 0:16:11.840 What are some practical ways that families can center their 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:17.270 Christmas celebrations around Christ rather than just, you know, festive activities? 0:16:17.510 --> 0:16:20.900 This is maybe the longest answer, and it relates to 0:16:20.930 --> 0:16:25.940 a particular passage of Scripture. The familiar Mary Martha story 0:16:25.970 --> 0:16:28.310 has become one of my favorite Christmas texts, text. I 0:16:28.310 --> 0:16:30.380 know there's really nothing about Christmas there, but it sure 0:16:30.380 --> 0:16:34.700 sounds like Christmas when it says Martha was distracted with 0:16:34.700 --> 0:16:38.450 all her preparations. To me, that's Luke 1040. That sounds 0:16:38.450 --> 0:16:41.780 like Christmas. But the thing Martha did right. We usually 0:16:41.780 --> 0:16:43.970 don't talk about what she did right, but what she 0:16:43.970 --> 0:16:47.150 did right. She welcomed Christ into her home. That's a 0:16:47.150 --> 0:16:49.760 strong word. Just used three other times it's used of 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:53.930 Zacchaeus welcoming Christ into his home and Jason welcoming the 0:16:53.930 --> 0:16:56.780 Christians in his home in acts 17, and even Rahab 0:16:56.780 --> 0:17:00.710 welcoming the the messengers in her home. That passage was 0:17:00.710 --> 0:17:04.070 the origin of a tradition that God gave me the 0:17:04.070 --> 0:17:06.290 idea for. And we've instituted in our home to have 0:17:06.290 --> 0:17:09.260 a special meal at the beginning of the holidays, um, 0:17:09.260 --> 0:17:11.840 usually at the beginning of December. Now we of course, 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.810 our boys are grown now, so getting it scheduled is 0:17:14.810 --> 0:17:16.640 not as easy as it once was. But we have 0:17:16.640 --> 0:17:19.639 a special meal, have our finest China there, and we 0:17:19.640 --> 0:17:22.940 have an empty place setting for Jesus, and we welcome 0:17:22.940 --> 0:17:25.429 him to the holidays. And even my boys were very small, 0:17:25.430 --> 0:17:27.739 but we would just talk to Jesus as if he 0:17:27.740 --> 0:17:29.660 was at the table, because he is at the table 0:17:29.690 --> 0:17:32.060 and he's at every table, but in a special way. 0:17:32.060 --> 0:17:34.490 Just talk to him about our plans and say, Lord, 0:17:34.490 --> 0:17:35.750 we want you to be in the midst of this. 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.360 Is there anything you want us to change? And maybe 0:17:38.390 --> 0:17:40.430 are there ideas that we haven't thought about? But we 0:17:40.430 --> 0:17:44.030 talked to him and we dedicate those holidays to the Lord. Um, 0:17:44.030 --> 0:17:45.679 I remember the time that it was going to be 0:17:45.680 --> 0:17:48.920 the first Christmas that we didn't have. My wife's father, 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:52.250 my son's grandfather, my father in law with us. And 0:17:52.250 --> 0:17:54.139 I felt like there at that table, God gave us 0:17:54.140 --> 0:17:57.050 an idea that said, let's just let's address the elephant 0:17:57.050 --> 0:17:58.700 in the room. He's not going to be there. But 0:17:58.700 --> 0:18:02.120 let's talk about give our favorite grandfather memories or whatever. 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.090 And that was a special time. So welcoming. Christ. See, 0:18:05.090 --> 0:18:08.600 Martha is rebuked not because she's serving. Somebody needs to serve. 0:18:08.630 --> 0:18:10.159 You talked about all the things that need to be 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.950 done during the Christmas holiday, but they're in verse 40. 0:18:12.980 --> 0:18:16.070 It says she was distracted with all her preparations. She 0:18:16.070 --> 0:18:20.000 was worried, and she was troubled and bothered about so 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:22.790 many things. And I think that's the way the the 0:18:22.790 --> 0:18:26.020 devil works. He says in one Corinthians 11 three, it says, 0:18:26.020 --> 0:18:30.460 he leads us astray from the simplicity and purity of 0:18:30.460 --> 0:18:34.390 devotion to Christ. So that's for what she's rebuked. Now, 0:18:34.390 --> 0:18:36.970 why is she rebuked? I would want a person to realize, hey, 0:18:36.970 --> 0:18:40.660 God loves you in your most distracted moment, your most 0:18:40.660 --> 0:18:42.910 worried moment. You're there. Be hope for none of us 0:18:42.910 --> 0:18:45.670 or the most trouble moment. Why he does. He loves 0:18:45.670 --> 0:18:47.650 us so much. He hasn't sent us, us to live 0:18:47.650 --> 0:18:51.129 that way. You see in that verse 40, what it 0:18:51.130 --> 0:18:54.490 leads to, it leads to doubting his care. Lord, don't 0:18:54.490 --> 0:18:57.970 you care that my sister, she begins to criticize Mary? 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:00.760 She's left me to do all the serving alone. It 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:04.510 makes you doubt and be critical, and also feel alone 0:19:04.510 --> 0:19:07.960 and abandoned. And the worst thing in verse 40, you 0:19:07.960 --> 0:19:10.720 begin to have a demanding spirit toward Christ. Notice how 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:13.720 she talks to Jesus. Tell her to help me. Uh, 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:17.800 Martha did right. She invited Jesus to her home, but 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:20.740 she did not enjoy the visit. And I think a 0:19:20.770 --> 0:19:24.730 lot of people don't enjoy Jesus's birthday earlier years when 0:19:24.760 --> 0:19:26.530 you know we would have our little Christmas. They would 0:19:26.980 --> 0:19:29.350 go over to my in-laws house and the other relatives 0:19:29.350 --> 0:19:32.889 were there. Whatever. We had to so rush to get there. 0:19:32.890 --> 0:19:35.200 We said, hey, this is not right. We want to 0:19:35.230 --> 0:19:37.750 enjoy both. So we put a different day on the 0:19:37.750 --> 0:19:40.629 calendar earlier. We're not going to answer calls. We're not 0:19:40.630 --> 0:19:43.120 going to just going to be off and just really 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:46.300 relax and enjoy. And so that was a help. Even 0:19:46.300 --> 0:19:49.060 when we knew whom we were going to have to 0:19:49.090 --> 0:19:52.420 host or whatever, let's say let's let's be relaxed as 0:19:52.420 --> 0:19:54.939 we host. But we needed to have our Christmas at 0:19:54.940 --> 0:19:57.790 a different day. So that's part of whatever, whatever you 0:19:57.790 --> 0:20:00.429 have to do to take that hurry. In the rush, 0:20:00.430 --> 0:20:03.340 Mary is commended not because she's lazy and not because 0:20:03.340 --> 0:20:06.310 she's not helping. It seemed to imply in the scripture 0:20:06.310 --> 0:20:09.100 that she had helped earlier, but she's a picture of 0:20:09.100 --> 0:20:12.520 abiding in the Lord, and she's attentive to him, devoted 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:14.830 to him, sit at his feet, willing to do anything 0:20:14.830 --> 0:20:16.900 he would ask her to do. But he says she 0:20:16.900 --> 0:20:19.390 chose the good part that will not be taken away 0:20:19.420 --> 0:20:21.830 from her. It leads to eternal fruit. You know, the 0:20:21.830 --> 0:20:27.380 thematic placement of this particular passage, it's not chronologically related 0:20:27.470 --> 0:20:29.870 to what's before and afterwards, but I think it's thematically 0:20:29.869 --> 0:20:32.480 related before it is the story of the Good Samaritan 0:20:32.480 --> 0:20:35.540 that that story of spontaneous compassion, that one of them 0:20:35.630 --> 0:20:38.240 and the other is the teaching on prayer. I think 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:41.600 that hurried spirit, we can't see anything. We're just in 0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:44.600 a survival mode. You can't see the spontaneous compassion, and 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:47.570 it certainly destroys the spirit of prayer. So I think 0:20:47.570 --> 0:20:51.950 there's great fruit in listening to the Lord's rebuke. He 0:20:51.950 --> 0:20:54.560 loves us. He cares about us. And it's a work 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:56.990 of God to be able to enjoy this holiday, especially, 0:20:56.990 --> 0:20:59.420 quite frankly, the one who is the host or the hostess. 0:20:59.450 --> 0:21:02.479 It's it's a it's a greater challenge to have that 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:06.320 relaxed attitude. I like the diligent, diligent Christian worker of 0:21:06.320 --> 0:21:09.800 the past, John Wesley. He said, although I'm always in haste, 0:21:09.800 --> 0:21:12.379 I'm never in a hurry. I never do more than 0:21:12.380 --> 0:21:15.770 I can do except with perfect calmness of spirit. I said, Lord, 0:21:15.770 --> 0:21:18.820 that's a that's a diligence that I didn't grow up with. 0:21:18.820 --> 0:21:20.980 I grew up with diligence because I had a diligent mother, 0:21:20.980 --> 0:21:22.420 but not that kind of diligence. 0:21:22.450 --> 0:21:23.830 Yeah. Yeah. 0:21:24.670 --> 0:21:27.760 Oh, well, those are good words. I think that, you know, 0:21:27.790 --> 0:21:31.479 I like the idea of starting earlier in the, in December, like, 0:21:31.510 --> 0:21:35.140 you know, and do some things leading up to it. Yeah. Well, 0:21:35.140 --> 0:21:38.889 you know, Christmas of course, is a time of gift giving. 0:21:39.220 --> 0:21:43.030 But how can Christians approach the giving of gifts in 0:21:43.030 --> 0:21:46.149 a way that reflects the love of Christ and not just, 0:21:46.180 --> 0:21:47.650 you know, materialism? 0:21:47.830 --> 0:21:49.210 Well, when. 0:21:49.210 --> 0:21:53.650 We realize, okay, whose birthday we're celebrating, that dawned on me. Well, 0:21:53.680 --> 0:21:56.380 should we be giving a gift to Jesus? And so 0:21:56.590 --> 0:21:58.540 now I'm not a great gift giver either. You know, 0:21:58.570 --> 0:22:03.250 my wife is. I'm not. And I'm too practical. Even 0:22:03.250 --> 0:22:05.139 as a boy, I didn't like to get a gift 0:22:05.140 --> 0:22:06.850 that I felt like I really didn't need. You know, 0:22:06.880 --> 0:22:09.159 I just, you know, it was just the waste. I mean, 0:22:09.190 --> 0:22:12.609 the idea this has been a tradition we've done is 0:22:12.609 --> 0:22:16.740 the idea. Everybody announces what gift they're giving to Jesus 0:22:16.740 --> 0:22:19.379 that year. And we'll write it down and I'll rehearse, 0:22:19.440 --> 0:22:21.090 tell them, tell them about what they've done in the 0:22:21.090 --> 0:22:23.370 last year. You know, that meant so much of my 0:22:23.400 --> 0:22:25.620 boys were growing up, and one member one year says, 0:22:25.619 --> 0:22:27.270 I want to give the gift to Jesus. I want 0:22:27.300 --> 0:22:29.850 to make a greater investment in my younger brother. Or 0:22:29.880 --> 0:22:32.100 I remember my wife saying, I want to put more 0:22:32.100 --> 0:22:34.650 music in our home or whatever. Well, that's been the highlight. 0:22:34.680 --> 0:22:37.230 Now I've expanded it to not only talk about the 0:22:37.260 --> 0:22:41.160 gift you're giving Jesus, but also what gift. As you 0:22:41.160 --> 0:22:43.560 look back on this past year that Jesus has given you, 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.889 are you especially grateful for even also expanded? What gift 0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:49.560 has Jesus given you that you see in the family 0:22:49.560 --> 0:22:51.540 members that are with you today and that you'd just 0:22:51.540 --> 0:22:53.910 like to verbalize, thanking them for the gift of God 0:22:53.910 --> 0:22:57.510 you see in their life. And then also, fourthly, they 0:22:57.510 --> 0:22:59.669 don't have to answer all of these, but the idea 0:22:59.670 --> 0:23:02.400 of what gift are you trusting God for for this 0:23:02.400 --> 0:23:05.220 next year? So, you know, putting that in there, have 0:23:05.220 --> 0:23:07.350 the story there in the book about the white envelope 0:23:07.350 --> 0:23:09.660 that you've probably heard. It's a well known story. The 0:23:09.690 --> 0:23:12.330 but there was a, a family that she knew her 0:23:12.330 --> 0:23:15.280 husband hated Christmas. Not the true meaning of Christmas. But 0:23:15.310 --> 0:23:17.800 he hated the hurry, the rush, the running around to 0:23:17.830 --> 0:23:19.540 maybe get a gift just to get it. But it 0:23:19.570 --> 0:23:22.420 didn't really need it. And so what she did, her 0:23:22.420 --> 0:23:24.609 son had gone to a had a wrestling match with 0:23:24.609 --> 0:23:27.760 an inner city school and and they didn't have enough 0:23:27.760 --> 0:23:30.520 money to even have the headgear, the wrestling headgear. And 0:23:30.520 --> 0:23:32.650 what she did, she went out to a sporting goods 0:23:32.650 --> 0:23:35.500 store and she bought that headgear, made a donation to 0:23:35.500 --> 0:23:37.450 that school, and she put a white envelope on the 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:41.770 on the Christmas tree, and he opened it and she 0:23:41.770 --> 0:23:43.989 informed him what she had done. And that was the 0:23:44.140 --> 0:23:46.899 he says his bright smile was the highlight of that year. 0:23:46.900 --> 0:23:49.420 And every year she would do that. And the kids, 0:23:49.420 --> 0:23:51.490 even though they would have toys, they couldn't wait for 0:23:51.490 --> 0:23:54.879 the white envelope. And one year when you know, he 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:56.590 was no longer with him, it was, she said, it 0:23:56.590 --> 0:23:59.200 was so hard to get ready for Christmas. Oh my goodness, 0:23:59.260 --> 0:24:01.419 we missed him so much. And but then when they 0:24:01.420 --> 0:24:03.699 got to the cry and said, when they got to 0:24:03.730 --> 0:24:06.820 the Christmas Day, there weren't one white envelope. There were 0:24:06.820 --> 0:24:10.090 several white envelopes. Everybody had put a white envelope in 0:24:10.090 --> 0:24:12.310 honor of their father so that that that. 0:24:12.310 --> 0:24:12.609 Is. 0:24:12.630 --> 0:24:15.000 The origin of our little thing. We don't have the 0:24:15.000 --> 0:24:17.640 white envelope, but just what gift we're giving. Jesus. 0:24:17.730 --> 0:24:19.560 Oh, yeah. That's great. 0:24:25.500 --> 0:24:29.910 This is the Building Relationships with Doctor Gary Chapman podcast. 0:24:29.910 --> 0:24:33.720 Thanks for listening and for telling others about our conversations. 0:24:33.720 --> 0:24:36.869 When you go to five Love languages.com, you can find 0:24:36.869 --> 0:24:41.370 more ways to strengthen your relationships. Just click the resources 0:24:41.369 --> 0:24:44.880 tab and you'll find the podcast there and today's featured 0:24:44.880 --> 0:24:48.899 resource again go to five Love languages.com. 0:24:51.119 --> 0:24:53.820 Doctor Asher, before we took our break, we were talking 0:24:53.820 --> 0:24:57.060 about gift giving and how to honor Christ in that. 0:24:57.240 --> 0:25:00.689 You know, I remember several years ago I said to 0:25:00.720 --> 0:25:02.550 our church, and I don't know, this just kind of 0:25:02.580 --> 0:25:05.070 came to me. It was our missions offering. We're taking 0:25:05.100 --> 0:25:08.159 a missions offering in December. What if we give our 0:25:08.160 --> 0:25:12.109 largest gift to the missions offering. Give it to God 0:25:12.140 --> 0:25:12.980 for missions. 0:25:13.070 --> 0:25:13.580 Mhm. 0:25:14.030 --> 0:25:17.120 And that year we went from the previous year our 0:25:17.119 --> 0:25:21.260 church gave 250,000. That year we gave 500,000. Wow. 0:25:21.290 --> 0:25:23.450 Wow. Wow. That's beautiful. 0:25:23.480 --> 0:25:25.399 And our pastors kind of picked up on that and 0:25:25.400 --> 0:25:27.739 followed that through the years. You know, we're up to 0:25:27.770 --> 0:25:28.640 a million now. 0:25:28.940 --> 0:25:30.230 Wow. Wow. 0:25:30.260 --> 0:25:33.919 So that's another thought for putting Christ, you know, at 0:25:33.920 --> 0:25:35.300 the heart of Christmas. 0:25:35.510 --> 0:25:36.350 Amen. 0:25:36.619 --> 0:25:41.360 Now, in what ways can the church community serve those 0:25:41.540 --> 0:25:44.450 who are in need during the Christmas season? And we 0:25:44.450 --> 0:25:46.879 know that that that's a real, you know, segment of 0:25:46.880 --> 0:25:50.419 our society today. And and how does that embody the 0:25:50.420 --> 0:25:51.410 love of Jesus? 0:25:51.440 --> 0:25:54.560 You know, when sometimes even when we think about, you know, 0:25:54.590 --> 0:25:58.550 what gift we're giving to Jesus, sometimes God may give 0:25:58.580 --> 0:26:01.910 us an idea that we need other people to help. Now, 0:26:01.910 --> 0:26:04.310 we've done this a few times during Christmas season as 0:26:04.310 --> 0:26:07.940 an expanded family, you know, extended family. We visited a 0:26:07.940 --> 0:26:10.240 nursing home on Christmas Day. People that are in a 0:26:10.240 --> 0:26:12.490 nursing home on Christmas Day are really alone, or else 0:26:12.490 --> 0:26:15.189 somebody would have taken them somewhere, you know? What are 0:26:15.190 --> 0:26:18.010 the good works that God has caused us to walk 0:26:18.010 --> 0:26:20.530 in during these holiday times? And I believe if God 0:26:20.530 --> 0:26:22.540 gives an idea and God's in it, God will give 0:26:22.570 --> 0:26:25.390 the people a want to motivation to do it. And 0:26:25.390 --> 0:26:28.810 thank God for that idea about that mission project or whatever. 0:26:28.810 --> 0:26:31.390 That's that's extremely and it seemed like that's continued to 0:26:31.420 --> 0:26:33.369 go on. So we praise God for that. 0:26:33.400 --> 0:26:34.210 Yeah. 0:26:34.720 --> 0:26:37.900 What do you think is the most important goal for 0:26:37.900 --> 0:26:39.010 for Christmas? 0:26:39.430 --> 0:26:41.860 Well, I think the first thing to trust God for 0:26:41.859 --> 0:26:44.410 our Lord during these holidays. Lord, I'm asking you for this. 0:26:44.410 --> 0:26:48.609 I ask you to enhance my relationship with Christ. If 0:26:48.609 --> 0:26:52.450 that happens, you've had a successful holiday. You know what 0:26:52.480 --> 0:26:54.340 God said to the ancient king? As long as he 0:26:54.369 --> 0:26:58.060 sought the Lord, God prospered him. God, send things into 0:26:58.060 --> 0:27:00.760 your life that encourage you to to seek him. You 0:27:00.760 --> 0:27:03.190 don't seek him in a vacuum. I sought the Lord, 0:27:03.190 --> 0:27:06.040 and he delivered me from my fears. There's fear that 0:27:06.040 --> 0:27:08.820 causes us to seek him. You don't cast all your 0:27:08.850 --> 0:27:12.390 cares upon him. God entrust us with cares. So. Trusting 0:27:12.390 --> 0:27:15.300 God to enhance your relationship with him. And sometimes difficulties 0:27:15.300 --> 0:27:18.030 will be involved because some of his good gifts come 0:27:18.030 --> 0:27:21.209 in strange packages. Um, I said, it's not often in 0:27:21.210 --> 0:27:23.159 a prayer meeting that a person will pray, oh, God, 0:27:23.160 --> 0:27:25.590 would you give me the good gift of loneliness tonight? 0:27:25.590 --> 0:27:29.370 But if if loneliness causes you to seek the companionship 0:27:29.369 --> 0:27:31.980 of Christ, it's a good gift. Mhm. 0:27:32.010 --> 0:27:37.379 Yeah. You know there there is positive results from the 0:27:37.410 --> 0:27:42.180 hand of God when we use Christmas to celebrate the 0:27:42.180 --> 0:27:43.380 coming of Christ. Right. 0:27:43.410 --> 0:27:45.000 Amen. Amen. 0:27:45.030 --> 0:27:49.200 Now you have five key prayers for us as we 0:27:49.200 --> 0:27:52.230 enter the Christmas season. Can you share those with us? 0:27:52.260 --> 0:27:54.690 Be glad to. I need them and I pray them, 0:27:54.690 --> 0:27:56.909 and I share them with my students. I share them 0:27:56.910 --> 0:27:58.950 with groups, them. And the first one is what I've said. 0:27:58.980 --> 0:28:03.150 Go into it actively asking God to enhance your relationship 0:28:03.150 --> 0:28:06.470 with Christ. That's your that's your goal. If that happens, 0:28:06.470 --> 0:28:10.790 you've had a wonderful holiday. I'd say, secondly, ask God 0:28:10.790 --> 0:28:14.389 to rest you and refresh you. That is a work 0:28:14.390 --> 0:28:17.720 of God in Psalm 23, which so many people know, 0:28:17.720 --> 0:28:21.200 but it says it's a causative stem. He causes us 0:28:21.200 --> 0:28:23.840 to lie down in green pastures, makes us lie down 0:28:23.840 --> 0:28:26.750 beside the still waters. In other words, I'm a sheep. 0:28:26.750 --> 0:28:28.820 And I used to think, well, boy, give me some 0:28:28.820 --> 0:28:30.350 time off. That's the way I looked at it. And 0:28:30.350 --> 0:28:32.149 just I can take care of that. Truth of the 0:28:32.150 --> 0:28:33.860 matter is, you can't. You could sleep till noon every 0:28:33.890 --> 0:28:36.169 day and not necessarily be rested and refreshed. If you 0:28:36.170 --> 0:28:39.020 have some unresolved things in your heart, it's God who 0:28:39.050 --> 0:28:41.240 what knows how to rest and refresh you. And I 0:28:41.240 --> 0:28:43.460 think you see that in our precious Lord's life. He 0:28:43.490 --> 0:28:45.590 got up a great while before day. He was went 0:28:45.590 --> 0:28:48.530 to a lonely place and was praying there. And praying 0:28:48.530 --> 0:28:50.840 is not used primarily for intercessions for others, but for 0:28:50.840 --> 0:28:53.300 the outpouring of his own soul to find refreshment from 0:28:53.300 --> 0:28:57.080 his heavenly Father. So even Jesus, as the God man, 0:28:57.110 --> 0:29:00.440 did have emotional limitations and had to get refueled. So 0:29:00.470 --> 0:29:03.350 trust him to rest you and refresh you. And sometimes 0:29:03.350 --> 0:29:05.300 he can do that in strange ways. There there are 0:29:05.300 --> 0:29:07.760 times that I'd say, boy, I just need to to 0:29:07.790 --> 0:29:09.890 get away. And I'm not able to get away because 0:29:09.890 --> 0:29:13.070 I have responsibilities. But God, sometimes right in the midst 0:29:13.070 --> 0:29:15.410 of it, he can do it and think about a 0:29:15.410 --> 0:29:18.080 single parent. Sometimes they never can get away, but somehow 0:29:18.080 --> 0:29:20.690 God knows how to rest him and refresh him also. 0:29:20.720 --> 0:29:23.630 I'd say ask God to show you how he wants 0:29:23.630 --> 0:29:26.000 you to be a vessel of love. Let God fill 0:29:26.000 --> 0:29:29.210 in the blank to to family, to friends or ones 0:29:29.210 --> 0:29:32.000 in need and included. That would be the gift that 0:29:32.000 --> 0:29:34.340 he wants you to to give to Jesus that year. 0:29:34.580 --> 0:29:37.370 Another is to trust God to keep a measure of 0:29:37.370 --> 0:29:39.920 discipline in your life. All of these things have come 0:29:39.920 --> 0:29:43.850 out of times that I didn't have that you know? Now, 0:29:43.850 --> 0:29:46.820 there's nothing wrong with having leisure times, but but it's 0:29:46.820 --> 0:29:49.610 even asking God to somehow, in the words of Philippians, 0:29:49.610 --> 0:29:52.310 that prayer, approve the things that are excellent even in 0:29:52.310 --> 0:29:56.180 your leisure times, asking him for that spirit of self-control 0:29:56.180 --> 0:29:59.270 and eating. Sometimes there's nothing wrong with feasting, nothing wrong 0:29:59.270 --> 0:30:02.160 with celebrations, but sometimes I'll walk around. The block is 0:30:02.160 --> 0:30:05.340 better than the third desert. So just just just keeping, 0:30:05.370 --> 0:30:07.860 you know, a measure of discipline in your life and 0:30:07.920 --> 0:30:10.890 things that maybe you would not trip people up, but 0:30:10.890 --> 0:30:13.860 maybe sometimes they they expose themselves and waste much time 0:30:13.860 --> 0:30:17.490 on media where at best and and defile themselves at worst, 0:30:17.610 --> 0:30:20.880 keep a measure of discipline. And also I would say maybe, 0:30:20.880 --> 0:30:22.980 you know, things that have tripped you up, trust God 0:30:23.010 --> 0:30:25.590 to prepare you for any, any temptation that you know, 0:30:25.590 --> 0:30:27.780 tripped you up in the past have been making no 0:30:27.780 --> 0:30:31.830 provision for the flesh. Having people praying with you about that. 0:30:32.040 --> 0:30:34.500 Those are the five things that I trust God for myself, 0:30:34.500 --> 0:30:36.450 and I trust God for others as well. 0:30:36.480 --> 0:30:37.260 Yeah. 0:30:37.800 --> 0:30:40.560 Those are powerful. I think folks who are reading the 0:30:40.560 --> 0:30:44.670 book will working their way through those five. It's a 0:30:44.670 --> 0:30:49.320 great for Christmas prayer times. Absolutely. Doctor, what about the 0:30:49.320 --> 0:30:52.980 family who has members of the family who are not 0:30:52.980 --> 0:30:57.420 believers in Christ? And at Christmas, they're thrown together. Uh, 0:30:57.510 --> 0:31:00.100 how can we be true to our own beliefs and 0:31:00.100 --> 0:31:03.610 yet respectful of those who do not know Christ. 0:31:04.270 --> 0:31:07.090 I think getting before God I look one of my 0:31:07.090 --> 0:31:09.370 favorite verses that I cling to. It says when my 0:31:09.370 --> 0:31:12.040 enemies turn back, they stumble in pairs before you. For 0:31:12.040 --> 0:31:14.620 you have maintained my just cause you sit upon your 0:31:14.620 --> 0:31:17.650 throne judging righteously. I think the just cause we have 0:31:17.680 --> 0:31:20.110 is just what God I want to be blameless in 0:31:20.110 --> 0:31:23.620 love toward my loved ones. Philippians one nine through 11 0:31:23.620 --> 0:31:24.969 I pray that your love will abound more and more 0:31:25.000 --> 0:31:27.670 in knowledge and discernment. That's the Scripture we have engraved 0:31:27.670 --> 0:31:30.220 in our wedding rings, and a part of the pain 0:31:30.250 --> 0:31:34.090 of that. Is it really. It's a suffering to be 0:31:34.120 --> 0:31:37.600 not be understood when you're around people who just do not, 0:31:37.630 --> 0:31:40.060 at this point don't have the capacity to fully understand 0:31:40.060 --> 0:31:42.790 and appreciate what drives you. Uh, you got to give 0:31:42.790 --> 0:31:45.340 that right up. And that's very painful. But say, Lord, 0:31:45.340 --> 0:31:47.290 I just want you. Would you give me your insight 0:31:47.290 --> 0:31:50.080 and be prayerful about it? I had people pray in 0:31:50.080 --> 0:31:52.960 my in my class before we recorded this to in 0:31:52.960 --> 0:31:55.090 regard to the situation, they would be like, But God 0:31:55.090 --> 0:31:57.930 just help us to be free and be love and 0:31:57.930 --> 0:32:00.600 and to do everything I can. And so I think 0:32:00.600 --> 0:32:04.500 prayerfully asking God for that. Sometimes you can think of 0:32:04.500 --> 0:32:07.710 of activities that could make everybody feel comfortable and can 0:32:07.710 --> 0:32:11.280 be bonding, but it's a prayerful thing and it's a 0:32:11.280 --> 0:32:14.880 painful thing, and it's a suffering when you want them 0:32:14.880 --> 0:32:17.160 to understand you, but they don't fully understand you. 0:32:17.430 --> 0:32:20.670 Well, Doctor Thrasher, we've been talking a lot about Christmas celebration, 0:32:20.700 --> 0:32:24.060 but let's focus in our last segment here about New 0:32:24.060 --> 0:32:27.750 Year's and celebrating the New Year. It's more than just 0:32:27.750 --> 0:32:31.920 a ball dropping on Times Square. You believe that the 0:32:31.920 --> 0:32:36.600 principle of First fruits gives us guidance for approaching a 0:32:36.600 --> 0:32:38.250 new year? Explain that. 0:32:38.310 --> 0:32:40.920 Well, I remember as a Christian leader one time talked about, 0:32:40.950 --> 0:32:43.260 had you taken the principle of first fruit and applied 0:32:43.260 --> 0:32:44.940 that to his time? And he says, you know, as 0:32:44.940 --> 0:32:47.370 I've given the first few moments of a day to God, 0:32:47.370 --> 0:32:48.630 as I've given the first day of the week to 0:32:48.660 --> 0:32:50.400 the Lord, and it's given the first part of the year, 0:32:50.400 --> 0:32:52.620 that was the part that was the most foreign to 0:32:52.650 --> 0:32:53.910 me the first part of the year. I had no 0:32:53.910 --> 0:32:56.030 idea what that meant. I was trying to give the 0:32:56.030 --> 0:32:57.920 first part of a day and honor the Lord the 0:32:57.920 --> 0:33:02.150 Lord's day. But I remember when, okay, when January came around, 0:33:02.180 --> 0:33:04.250 I was in April. I heard that. So I'd put 0:33:04.250 --> 0:33:07.220 on my daytimer. Okay. When January comes around, I think 0:33:07.220 --> 0:33:08.720 I have a few days that I can be a 0:33:08.720 --> 0:33:11.390 little more available to the Lord. So this was over 0:33:11.390 --> 0:33:14.030 40 years ago, and so I one thing I did, 0:33:14.030 --> 0:33:16.640 I decluttered some things and gave away things I wasn't 0:33:16.640 --> 0:33:18.140 using that helped a little bit. Then, as I was 0:33:18.140 --> 0:33:21.200 looking through some past journals, three things sort of began 0:33:21.200 --> 0:33:23.570 to surface. And so the idea came to my mind, 0:33:23.570 --> 0:33:26.600 why don't you go into the year trusting God for 0:33:26.600 --> 0:33:28.760 these three things and being attentive to those as you, 0:33:28.790 --> 0:33:30.800 as you look to the Lord for that. That was 0:33:30.800 --> 0:33:33.440 nothing in Scripture says you have to do that. But 0:33:33.440 --> 0:33:35.600 that was a very special year. And so when the 0:33:35.600 --> 0:33:38.450 next year came around and nothing magic about three, but 0:33:38.450 --> 0:33:40.490 that's about as many as I can handle. So I said, Lord, 0:33:40.490 --> 0:33:42.140 what three things do you want me to trust you 0:33:42.140 --> 0:33:44.150 for for this year? In the in the book, on 0:33:44.150 --> 0:33:46.640 page 24 to 26, I list some of those first 0:33:46.640 --> 0:33:49.040 of year requests that I've seen God be very faithful in. 0:33:49.040 --> 0:33:52.700 I remember the the very first year this obvious things 0:33:52.700 --> 0:33:54.760 hit me in that first Corinthians 13 1 to 3, 0:33:54.790 --> 0:33:56.920 talking about how if I speak with the tongue of 0:33:56.920 --> 0:33:59.080 men and angels don't have love, I'm just making those 0:33:59.080 --> 0:34:02.350 first three verses says that love is what absolutely essential 0:34:02.380 --> 0:34:04.750 to give meaning to anything I said, Lord. And then 0:34:04.780 --> 0:34:06.640 I'm not sure I know what love is. But then 0:34:06.640 --> 0:34:10.120 I remember in first John four, we love because he 0:34:10.120 --> 0:34:11.890 first loved us. I said, okay, I'm putting those two 0:34:11.890 --> 0:34:14.979 things together. If love is the most essential thing that 0:34:14.980 --> 0:34:17.440 gives meaning to everything, and we love because he first 0:34:17.440 --> 0:34:20.140 loved us, I'm going to ask you, Lord, to overwhelm 0:34:20.140 --> 0:34:22.870 me with your love, that I can better love you 0:34:22.870 --> 0:34:25.360 and love others. You know, as I laid that before 0:34:25.360 --> 0:34:28.390 the Lord, number one, I understood that only God can 0:34:28.390 --> 0:34:31.270 love me the way I really yearn to be loved 0:34:31.270 --> 0:34:33.850 and need to be loved. Only God can. What? Think 0:34:33.850 --> 0:34:36.130 about me day and night. How precious are your thoughts 0:34:36.130 --> 0:34:37.780 to me? Oh God, a vast is the sum of them. 0:34:37.780 --> 0:34:39.190 If I were to count them, they would outnumber the 0:34:39.190 --> 0:34:40.540 sands of the sea. And when I wake, I am 0:34:40.540 --> 0:34:42.850 still with you. You. It would be foolish to put 0:34:42.850 --> 0:34:45.969 that demand upon any other your most precious human relationship, 0:34:45.969 --> 0:34:47.530 that you've got to think about me day and night. No, 0:34:47.530 --> 0:34:49.180 they're going to have a bad day sometime. They've got 0:34:49.180 --> 0:34:52.440 to sleep too. So that just that God loves you 0:34:52.440 --> 0:34:54.450 in a way no one else ever can or will. 0:34:54.450 --> 0:34:56.850 Even the depth of his love for me. Your passages 0:34:56.850 --> 0:35:00.240 that I had even memorized, you know, Romans five, you know, 0:35:00.270 --> 0:35:02.760 he set his love upon me when I was ungodly. 0:35:02.760 --> 0:35:06.540 One summer day I felt particularly ungodly, but my spirit 0:35:06.540 --> 0:35:08.310 was able to just drink up his love for an 0:35:08.310 --> 0:35:10.890 ungodly man we I never had before. And then. Then 0:35:11.190 --> 0:35:13.890 every time I would see an exhortation that I was 0:35:13.890 --> 0:35:16.440 to love, I'd back away and say, okay, God, I 0:35:16.440 --> 0:35:19.710 know I'm supposed to do that. Like Proverbs 717 A 0:35:19.710 --> 0:35:21.419 friend loves at all times. Lord, I know you want 0:35:21.420 --> 0:35:23.370 me to be that kind of friend, but most of all, 0:35:23.370 --> 0:35:25.230 I'm just. How do you love? Lord, I thank you. 0:35:25.260 --> 0:35:27.420 You're that to me. You loved me at all times. 0:35:27.450 --> 0:35:30.450 Or he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends. But 0:35:30.480 --> 0:35:33.989 who covers the transgression, seeks love. Proverbs 17 nine. In 0:35:33.989 --> 0:35:36.870 other words, if when you have a close relationship with somebody, 0:35:36.870 --> 0:35:38.910 you'll know things about them. If you could keep bringing 0:35:38.910 --> 0:35:42.480 up their failures, you could destroy that relationship. That's not loving. 0:35:42.480 --> 0:35:44.700 God doesn't do me that way. When I woke up, 0:35:44.700 --> 0:35:46.890 if he put every failure in my face I couldn't get. 0:35:46.920 --> 0:35:48.720 He doesn't do that because he's seeking to build a 0:35:48.719 --> 0:35:52.370 relationship with me. A love relationship. So anyhow, he'll never 0:35:52.370 --> 0:35:55.340 ask me to do something to others that he doesn't 0:35:55.340 --> 0:35:57.260 abundantly do that to me. So I'm just saying that's 0:35:57.260 --> 0:36:00.440 one thing. But just believing God, he's a living God. 0:36:00.440 --> 0:36:02.299 What does he want you to trust you for? For 0:36:02.330 --> 0:36:04.969 that year is a is a tremendous help in regard 0:36:05.000 --> 0:36:06.739 to starting the new year. 0:36:06.770 --> 0:36:10.399 Yeah, it's a great idea. Well, you know, during the 0:36:10.400 --> 0:36:12.680 year it would come to it. People are making New 0:36:12.710 --> 0:36:17.120 Year's resolutions, Christians and non-Christians, New Year's resolutions. But for 0:36:17.120 --> 0:36:19.430 those of us who are Christians, how do we approach 0:36:19.430 --> 0:36:23.000 New Year's resolutions with a Christ centered perspective? 0:36:23.420 --> 0:36:25.730 I remember reading one time in Andrew Murray's book, The 0:36:25.730 --> 0:36:27.950 Three Stages of the Christian Life. Quite frankly, I think 0:36:27.980 --> 0:36:30.620 you go through the three stages multiple times, but the 0:36:30.620 --> 0:36:32.930 first stage is I can do it, and that's going 0:36:32.960 --> 0:36:36.020 to lead to failure. The second stage is I can't 0:36:36.020 --> 0:36:38.870 do it now when we're in that stage, nobody said, 0:36:38.870 --> 0:36:40.760 nobody's going to psych me up to make any kind 0:36:40.760 --> 0:36:42.590 of goals or any kind of resolutions I'm not getting. 0:36:42.590 --> 0:36:44.630 I've already been through that kind of failure. But then 0:36:44.630 --> 0:36:47.239 there's the third stage. First. I can do it. Second, 0:36:47.239 --> 0:36:49.390 I can't do it. Third stage I can't do it. 0:36:49.390 --> 0:36:51.399 But I must do it. And I'm going to trust 0:36:51.400 --> 0:36:54.550 God to do it. That's how you do resolutions. I 0:36:54.550 --> 0:36:55.960 can't do it, but I must do it. And I'm 0:36:55.960 --> 0:36:57.880 going to trust God to do it. A professor I 0:36:57.880 --> 0:37:00.460 had a well-known professor in seminary. He said when he 0:37:00.460 --> 0:37:02.650 became a Christian, he was told to write these words 0:37:02.650 --> 0:37:06.640 in the front of his Bible. When I try, I fail. 0:37:06.640 --> 0:37:09.969 When I trust he succeeds. And here he's talking to 0:37:09.969 --> 0:37:11.380 me 40 years later and he says, you know, it's 0:37:11.380 --> 0:37:13.690 taken me all this time to understand what those words mean. 0:37:13.870 --> 0:37:16.960 When I try, I fail. When I trust he succeeds. 0:37:16.960 --> 0:37:21.010 So trusting doesn't necessarily mean without effort, but it's in 0:37:21.040 --> 0:37:23.890 that spirit that we we discern what is it God 0:37:23.890 --> 0:37:25.569 wants us to trust him for, and we believe him 0:37:25.570 --> 0:37:26.260 for it. 0:37:26.320 --> 0:37:30.640 Yeah, yeah. So what role does faith play in setting 0:37:30.640 --> 0:37:33.160 life goals and New Year's goals? 0:37:33.190 --> 0:37:35.380 Well, I think the posture of faith as we come 0:37:35.380 --> 0:37:37.779 before God and say, God, what do you want me 0:37:37.780 --> 0:37:40.359 to believe you for? You're the master and I'm the servant. Uh, 0:37:40.360 --> 0:37:42.280 what do you want me to believe you for? I 0:37:42.280 --> 0:37:45.040 was just talking to a class earlier saying, you know, 0:37:45.070 --> 0:37:46.339 if you take out a sheet of paper and you're 0:37:46.340 --> 0:37:48.440 about on the top of that sheet of paper, God 0:37:48.440 --> 0:37:50.480 want you to want me to trust you for for 0:37:50.480 --> 0:37:52.549 my life, if that's all you did, that's a good 0:37:52.550 --> 0:37:54.919 start to a life goal. And you okay, Lord, this 0:37:54.920 --> 0:37:57.890 is a blank sheet. Would you help me discern what 0:37:57.890 --> 0:37:59.300 is it you want me to trust you for from 0:37:59.300 --> 0:38:01.130 my life? See, it's not a matter of coming up 0:38:01.130 --> 0:38:04.460 with my dreams. It's laying hold of God's dreams for me. 0:38:04.460 --> 0:38:06.860 I like Philippians three, that I may lay hold of 0:38:06.890 --> 0:38:09.200 that for which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 0:38:09.230 --> 0:38:12.380 When God laid hold of us as believers, he had 0:38:12.380 --> 0:38:14.630 a plan and a purpose, things that he wanted to 0:38:14.630 --> 0:38:16.640 do in and for us and through us. And so 0:38:16.640 --> 0:38:19.310 it's a matter of trusting God for that. He says, I, 0:38:19.340 --> 0:38:21.440 you know, don't give you very long to live down here. 0:38:21.440 --> 0:38:24.230 You know that Psalm 90 I took literally, you know, 0:38:24.260 --> 0:38:25.790 teach me the number of my days and I may 0:38:25.790 --> 0:38:28.910 acquire a heart of wisdom, 70, maybe 80, he says. 0:38:28.910 --> 0:38:31.070 I remember in my 20s, I started doing that. I 0:38:31.070 --> 0:38:34.700 multiplied 70 times, 365 and a fourth. I subtracted the 0:38:34.700 --> 0:38:37.370 years I lived at that time and every year since then. 0:38:37.370 --> 0:38:39.920 Now I'm 72 now, every day since then, I put 0:38:39.920 --> 0:38:42.320 one number less on my on a paper day timer. 0:38:42.350 --> 0:38:44.680 I'm probably one of the five people in the world 0:38:44.710 --> 0:38:48.190 still use the paper at daytime now. Now I'm numbering up, 0:38:48.219 --> 0:38:52.120 you know, because I'm past 70 or whatever. But, you know, 0:38:52.150 --> 0:38:55.000 in that deadline, God has something he wants to do. 0:38:55.000 --> 0:38:57.819 And I take a couple of days a year at 0:38:57.850 --> 0:39:00.760 least to just say, Lord, I'm listening to you today. 0:39:00.790 --> 0:39:03.940 Would you just make any adjustment you want me to 0:39:03.969 --> 0:39:06.670 make in my life? Any adjustment? I'm just listening to 0:39:06.700 --> 0:39:09.190 you today, and I'll write those down on a sheet 0:39:09.190 --> 0:39:11.439 of paper where I've written those down, and there's a 0:39:11.440 --> 0:39:14.560 page 32in the holiday book, some of those things, insights 0:39:14.560 --> 0:39:17.290 from those days or whatever. But God's a living God. 0:39:17.320 --> 0:39:20.200 Now that's in regard to a life goal and year 0:39:20.200 --> 0:39:23.830 by year. I have just some categories there on page 0:39:23.830 --> 0:39:27.460 23 and 24 about spiritual goals or relational goals or 0:39:27.460 --> 0:39:29.560 physical goals. Nothing says you have to make goals in 0:39:29.560 --> 0:39:31.239 all these years, but you can lay them before the Lord. 0:39:31.239 --> 0:39:37.780 Intellectual goals, financial, recreational, vocational, academic, outreach, whatever it may be, it's. 0:39:37.810 --> 0:39:39.609 But it's a matter of God. What do you want 0:39:39.610 --> 0:39:42.180 me to trust you for? And and believe him for 0:39:42.210 --> 0:39:45.600 that and being attentive to that. Now sometimes when you say, okay, 0:39:45.630 --> 0:39:47.370 maybe I've misread you, I need to adjust that and 0:39:47.370 --> 0:39:51.090 that's okay. It's you and God. And I think when 0:39:51.090 --> 0:39:54.779 you quit dreaming or whatever, something something's something's wrong. 0:39:54.810 --> 0:39:55.170 Yeah. 0:39:55.200 --> 0:39:56.460 We die inside. 0:39:56.610 --> 0:39:59.160 I'm sure that there are listeners. In fact, there's a 0:39:59.190 --> 0:40:04.440 lot of people who have regrets over past mistakes. How 0:40:04.440 --> 0:40:08.190 can we let go of our past failures so that 0:40:08.190 --> 0:40:11.580 we can step into the new year with faith and hope? 0:40:12.180 --> 0:40:16.320 Well, I love Proverbs 2416. The righteous man falls seven 0:40:16.320 --> 0:40:19.709 times and rises again. Uh, remember those individual that lived 0:40:19.710 --> 0:40:21.930 on my dorm floor in seminary? He said, our greatest 0:40:21.930 --> 0:40:24.029 joy is not in ever falling, but in rising every 0:40:24.060 --> 0:40:26.879 time we fall. Uh, one of the church fathers says 0:40:26.880 --> 0:40:29.070 the danger is not that we fall, but that we 0:40:29.070 --> 0:40:31.710 remain on the ground. And so I think God was 0:40:31.710 --> 0:40:35.310 christened him. But God is ready to forgive. Psalm 80 0:40:35.340 --> 0:40:38.040 65I had a person who became like a second father 0:40:38.040 --> 0:40:41.120 to me. He had that Greek word to telestai. It 0:40:41.120 --> 0:40:44.149 is finished. He had it engraved, and it was behind 0:40:44.150 --> 0:40:46.070 his desk that every client had to come in and 0:40:46.070 --> 0:40:49.070 see that funny Greek word. It is finished. Paid in full, 0:40:49.070 --> 0:40:52.070 paid in full. Sometimes you need a verse with the 0:40:52.070 --> 0:40:55.520 word all in it. Colossians 213 and 14 is one 0:40:55.520 --> 0:40:58.339 of those verses. You know, in Martyn Lloyd-Jones book on 0:40:58.340 --> 0:41:01.700 spiritual depression, one causes what this one thing I did, 0:41:01.730 --> 0:41:05.150 you know, regret they couldn't get over. I like Hebrews 1017. 0:41:05.150 --> 0:41:10.160 I'll remember your sins no more. Micah 719 says, he 0:41:10.160 --> 0:41:12.470 takes our sins, and he puts them into the depth 0:41:12.469 --> 0:41:14.330 of the sea. Corrie ten boom, as you well know, 0:41:14.360 --> 0:41:16.640 used to puts up a sign saying no fishing. He 0:41:16.640 --> 0:41:18.350 takes our sin and puts them in the depth of 0:41:18.350 --> 0:41:22.430 the sea. So sometimes we may need somebody telling us 0:41:22.430 --> 0:41:25.069 what God says to us. We don't need another mediator 0:41:25.070 --> 0:41:28.430 between because we just need one mediator, and that's Jesus. 0:41:28.430 --> 0:41:30.890 But sometimes we need somebody telling us what Jesus would 0:41:30.890 --> 0:41:32.810 say to us. I'll sprinkle clean water on you. It'll 0:41:32.840 --> 0:41:35.000 be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, 0:41:35.000 --> 0:41:38.770 from all your idolatry. God can restore. He can restore. 0:41:38.800 --> 0:41:41.830 Now to a to a repentant heart. An unrepentant heart 0:41:41.830 --> 0:41:43.330 can abuse what I'm about to say. But to a 0:41:43.330 --> 0:41:46.780 repentant heart, a person needs to know God can work 0:41:46.780 --> 0:41:50.169 together for good. That which was not good. My sin 0:41:50.170 --> 0:41:52.600 is not good. But God is so big and so 0:41:52.600 --> 0:41:55.750 great and so wonderful, he can overrule that and work 0:41:55.750 --> 0:41:58.630 it for good. Yeah, sometimes he doesn't wipe it out 0:41:58.660 --> 0:42:01.210 of your memory, and you sort of have to attach 0:42:01.210 --> 0:42:04.180 a new meaning to it. The dear lady that anointed 0:42:04.180 --> 0:42:06.670 Jesus and the Pharisees rebuked him. So if you, being 0:42:06.670 --> 0:42:08.050 a prophet, you ought to know what kind of woman 0:42:08.050 --> 0:42:11.590 that was. And he said, she who has forgiven much 0:42:11.590 --> 0:42:14.890 loves much, and so is he reminded of that thing. Okay, Lord, 0:42:14.890 --> 0:42:17.110 would you just use that to well up in me, Lord, 0:42:17.140 --> 0:42:19.509 a greater love for you and a greater forgiveness, and 0:42:19.510 --> 0:42:22.270 even use me as an instrument that other people would 0:42:22.270 --> 0:42:25.330 be spared from this, this mistake. You know, sometimes what 0:42:25.360 --> 0:42:27.520 grieves me is when I know my sin has hurt 0:42:27.520 --> 0:42:31.899 somebody I love. When the father of faith, Abraham, when 0:42:31.930 --> 0:42:35.440 fear struck him and he lied to Abimelech in Genesis 20, 0:42:35.469 --> 0:42:37.770 I love there in verse 17 and 18. Well, God 0:42:37.770 --> 0:42:39.420 did exactly what he said I'll do. I'll bless those 0:42:39.450 --> 0:42:40.980 who bless you and curse those who curse you. So 0:42:40.980 --> 0:42:44.340 he closed the wombs of Abimelech and all of their household. 0:42:44.340 --> 0:42:46.650 And and they weren't able to bear children. And though 0:42:46.650 --> 0:42:49.469 when Abimelech said to he rebuked the the prophet, saying, 0:42:49.469 --> 0:42:54.270 you've lied to me. And then it says, Abraham prayed, 0:42:54.270 --> 0:42:57.990 and God healed Abimelech. And that's what I want a 0:42:57.989 --> 0:43:00.750 person to say. God is so big and so wonderful. 0:43:00.780 --> 0:43:04.200 He can even heal the hurts that we have caused. 0:43:04.380 --> 0:43:06.479 So I worship him for that. You can't give God 0:43:06.510 --> 0:43:08.969 a perfect record, because none of us have but the 0:43:08.969 --> 0:43:10.589 eyes of the Lord look to and fro throughout the 0:43:10.590 --> 0:43:12.810 whole earth to find a heart that's completely his saying, 0:43:12.810 --> 0:43:15.120 God give you everything. Dear God, I want to look 0:43:15.120 --> 0:43:17.820 to you and you alone so God can restore. God 0:43:17.820 --> 0:43:20.129 can work and I praise God for that. 0:43:20.160 --> 0:43:23.760 Yeah, absolutely. As we near the end of our time 0:43:23.760 --> 0:43:28.260 together today, Doctor Thrasher, what are some practical steps that 0:43:28.260 --> 0:43:31.290 we can take in the New Year to strengthen our 0:43:31.290 --> 0:43:32.520 walk with Christ? 0:43:32.640 --> 0:43:35.469 You know one thing that recently this has been a 0:43:35.469 --> 0:43:38.980 tremendous help to my wife and I, and I owe 0:43:38.980 --> 0:43:41.290 it to a mentor that I had in college that 0:43:41.290 --> 0:43:45.010 I've just reconnected with. And 50 years later, we start 0:43:45.010 --> 0:43:47.109 the day with what we call a four fold praise. 0:43:47.110 --> 0:43:50.740 And it's not mechanical. It's relational. First, before I try 0:43:50.770 --> 0:43:52.480 to do it before I get out of bed, I 0:43:52.480 --> 0:43:55.990 praise God for some attribute. I have a bookmark. I 0:43:55.989 --> 0:43:58.569 know exactly what attribute today. It was fateful and I 0:43:58.570 --> 0:44:01.810 go through those those attributes each month, each one of 0:44:01.810 --> 0:44:03.850 them twice. So I praise God for it. Also, I 0:44:03.850 --> 0:44:05.770 praise God for what he's done for me. I have 0:44:05.770 --> 0:44:07.960 a list of all that the blessings of God, but 0:44:07.960 --> 0:44:11.200 I summarize it in a succinct way. God, I praise 0:44:11.200 --> 0:44:13.570 you that I'm accepted by you. I'm secure in you. 0:44:13.570 --> 0:44:16.000 I'm significant in you. And I pray God somehow my 0:44:16.000 --> 0:44:18.940 life could ministry could overflow and that countless others would 0:44:18.940 --> 0:44:21.250 be able to rest in those blessings too. Third, I 0:44:21.250 --> 0:44:23.650 ask him for just for a fresh filling of the spirit. Lord, 0:44:23.650 --> 0:44:25.750 I thank you. You know I'm not adequate, but Lord, 0:44:25.750 --> 0:44:27.430 would you take my life? And would you use it 0:44:27.430 --> 0:44:29.680 today to walk in the good works you have for me? 0:44:29.680 --> 0:44:32.669 And then, fourthly, I take my position in Christ. Above 0:44:32.670 --> 0:44:36.120 all principalities and powers. Just claiming the spiritual authority and 0:44:36.120 --> 0:44:39.900 the spiritual battle over my life and my family. Each 0:44:39.930 --> 0:44:42.360 of my sons and their families and my ministries. And 0:44:42.360 --> 0:44:45.149 so those four four things praising God for who he is, 0:44:45.150 --> 0:44:47.219 for what he's done for me, the gifts he's given 0:44:47.219 --> 0:44:50.009 for the filling of the spirit and for the spiritual 0:44:50.280 --> 0:44:52.530 authority that he's given me in the warfare I have. 0:44:52.560 --> 0:44:55.140 Those things are a tremendous help to me. And my 0:44:55.140 --> 0:44:57.810 wife would say that, too. And so we thank God 0:44:57.810 --> 0:45:00.870 for that. And we thank God for you and Chris there, Gary. Very, 0:45:00.870 --> 0:45:01.770 very much. 0:45:01.890 --> 0:45:05.580 Well, thank you, Doctor Thrasher. These are wonderful ideas. I 0:45:05.580 --> 0:45:07.920 do hope that many of our listeners will get the 0:45:07.920 --> 0:45:11.610 book because as we said earlier, it's not just Christmas 0:45:11.610 --> 0:45:14.280 and New Year's. You also deal with some of the 0:45:14.280 --> 0:45:17.940 other holidays. And as Christians, we want to use the 0:45:17.940 --> 0:45:22.469 normal holidays that that are designed to celebrate Christ. So 0:45:22.469 --> 0:45:25.259 thanks for being with us today. Thanks for investing time, 0:45:25.260 --> 0:45:27.750 you and Penny investing time in writing this book. 0:45:27.989 --> 0:45:30.090 Thank you very, very much. It's a pleasure to be 0:45:30.090 --> 0:45:30.739 with you. 0:45:30.920 --> 0:45:34.100 We hope something you've heard today is encouraged you helped you. 0:45:34.100 --> 0:45:37.790 As we move closer to the Christmas and New Year celebrations, 0:45:37.790 --> 0:45:40.640 find more practical help in the book. That's our featured 0:45:40.640 --> 0:45:44.989 resource Putting God back in the holidays. You can find 0:45:44.989 --> 0:45:50.990 out more at building relationships.us again. Building relationships.us. 0:45:51.230 --> 0:45:55.250 And coming up next week, David and Barbara Lehman take 0:45:55.250 --> 0:45:58.310 us on a guided tour of the Christmas hymns and 0:45:58.310 --> 0:45:59.960 carols that we all love. 0:45:59.989 --> 0:46:03.770 Don't miss the conversation and music in one week. A 0:46:03.770 --> 0:46:06.980 big thank you to our production team, Steve Wick and Janice. 0:46:06.980 --> 0:46:11.150 Backing building relationships with Doctor Gary Chapman is a production 0:46:11.150 --> 0:46:15.410 of Moody Radio in Chicago in association with Moody Publishers, 0:46:15.440 --> 0:46:17.870 a ministry of Moody Bible Institute. 0:46:17.870 --> 0:46:19.250 Thanks for listening.