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In a world filled with deception, how do we discern truth from lies? The biggest falsehoods often gain traction precisely because people lack the spiritual discernment to see through them. When it comes to developing genuine discernment, honesty is the essential foundation.
Mailbag
Spiritual discernment requires looking at the whole of scripture rather than cherry-picking verses to create a narrative. It means not being swayed by threats of punishment for disagreeing with popular perspectives.
Climate Change: A Case Study in Discernment
One of the most pervasive examples today is climate change. Looking back to when it was called global warming, about 15 years ago as Al Gore was just at the tail end of his grift, you'll find that Time magazine covers in the 70s were warning about the coming ice age. The narrative keeps shifting, but it's always conveniently "12 to 15 years away."
They keep saying "the sea levels are rising, the sea levels are rising," while others say "no they're not." What's going on behind the scenes? Who's making money? When you look at locations like the Statue of Liberty, Alcatraz, and coastal cliffs that have been photographed for over a century, the sea levels haven't changed at all.
Remember the BP oil spill? They claimed it would keep the Gulf in terrible condition for a dozen years. Within less than one year, the ocean ate it. The ocean ate it! God has a way of displacing water, doing things His way, and His word will not be mocked.
Don't get suckered into this idea. Don't worry about nuclear Holocaust much because it's all in God's hands, but as we get closer to the end, scripture tells us a quarter of mankind dies. You've got to trust in the Lord and go to him for your discernment, and when people are lying, don't buy into the garbage.
Where is the Love and Acceptance?
This question comes from Rachel from Grand Rapids, Michigan: "Emilee, can't you see how constantly putting down the left hurts Christianity? Where is the love? Where is the acceptance?"
Most of these complaints come from people not in the church who don't believe the Bible is true. It's very interesting that non-churched people who are not believers love to tell churched people who are believers how church people should act. It's an oxymoron.
If we didn't say anything and just let people go off to whatever detrimental thing we believed they were headed toward, that would be unloving. You see a child walk out into the street - what do you do? You yell, you scream, you run, you grab them. You do all those things even though it's going to scare the child because you love them.
Here's the reality: The Democratic cult is a religion of self-hatred that teaches whites to hate their race, men to hate their strength, women to hate their femininity, and Americans to hate their country.
Christian Democrats don't exist anymore. Maybe they did 20 years ago, but they don't anymore. Either they're born-again Christians sold out to Jesus who just don't understand the Democratic platform, or they're not really Christians and fully support what is, frankly, a demonic platform - a culture of death.
The beautiful thing is we are seeing people come out of sin when they are born again. They become new creatures, adopted as children of God, and their minds continue to open in a sanctification process.
Husband and Wife Pastors?
From JT: "I like listening to the show because I learn a lot from both of you even while I'm laughing at you. What do you think of churches who have husband and wife pastors? Would you go to a church like that?"
It depends on their doctrine and how they're structuring it. If it's co-equal for sure, then no. I would avoid it. The Bible says to mark and avoid false teachers, and it's pretty clear that women are not supposed to be lead senior pastors.
There's a big difference between being a pastor and ministering. We're all ministers of the Gospel - all Christians are. But when it comes to the church, there's an order of things, and God's pretty clear when He lays out the role of men and women in families and church.
Women can minister in exceedingly fulfilling and probably just as important ways because the Bible backs that up. Think about it - there are eight billion people on the face of the Earth, and the vast majority are women and children. Women can minister to those people with no inhibition.
I believe the husband and wife pastor arrangement often comes down to one main issue: how do we get my wife paid out of the church? How do we dip into the coffers? You can only pay me as senior pastor this much, but if I'm co-pastor with my wife, then you've got to pay her this much too. That's probably behind 7 or 8 out of 10 of these arrangements.
When to Move On?
From AD, responding to a meme that says: "When a door closes, knock on it a few times, but if it doesn't open, let it stay closed. In career, in love, in life, when you see the period at the end of the sentence, don't try and turn it into a comma. Know when something is over and move on."
How do you know it's over? You don't. That's the downfall of man. We can't see beyond the here and now. But we can turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. God tells us in His word, "If you turn to me, I'll show you great and wonderful things you didn't know."
I always ask dads what they'd say if their son or daughter came to them unsure about becoming a doctor or lawyer. Most would support whatever the child commits to. Our heavenly Father is the same way. He wants us to commit to something and honor Him by seeing it through.
God isn't playing three-card monte with your life, making you pick the queen to find the right college or spouse. For things like trading in your truck - when you pull the trigger, have contentment with godliness and stick with that decision.
It gets back to the question of morality. The moral aspect, the holiness aspect - that's where God's really wanting you to move. Some decisions just have no bearing on that.
Right On or Way Off?
In this segment, statements are evaluated as either "Right On" or "Way Off" from a biblical perspective.
On Government Spending
"I literally want my tax dollars to support national parks, Science, Education, conservation, mental health, and helping marginalized people."
WAY OFF!
The government's role is to build roads, defend the country with a strong military against foreign foes - not all these other things. The church should help the downtrodden more than the government, but that flopped during the Johnson Administration and just kept steamrolling to where we are today.
When it says "support science," that includes a lot of crackpot science out there. You've got research projects that cost $100,000, yet they'll pull in $2 million to do it. Everything in that statement screams waste.
National parks are a nice value-add - thank you, Teddy Roosevelt for Yellowstone - but they're not essential. All that other stuff is just bloated. We want a small government. We want people to be able to take care of themselves, and if their neighbors or church family need help, we're supposed to lift each other up, not rely on the government.
On Being Called Names
"I don't need to be insulted when people call me names because I sing hymns on Sunday that call me much worse things."
RIGHT ON!
I open up church service with 200 people by saying "Hey sinners!" We come to church every Sunday because we worship the King, and the reality is that we are all sinful. If we could just understand that all of humanity is fallen, sinful, doomed, and without hope, and that the whole of scripture is to show us the Savior, we would be a lot better off.
A Scottish comedian once talked about how hard it was to go to church as a kid because every hymn sounded the same, singing over and over: "God is great, we are crap. God is great, we are crap."
The Bible calls us some crazy names - "brood of vipers," "whitewashed tombs," "sheep" (which aren't that bright), and even "worms." As RC Sproul said, "Christianity is literally just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread."
When you have this perspective, it takes the pressure off and allows us to live free, alive, joyful, knowing we've been given the bread of life and nothing can take it away.
On Culinary Innovation
"Fried egg on top of your spaghetti."
WAY OFF! (According to Chris and Mike)
RIGHT ON! (According to Emilee)
Why would you put a fried egg on a pile of spaghetti? I mean, fried egg on burgers I can see, but not on spaghetti. Mike's half Italian, quarter Sicilian - his Sicilian grandma taught him how to make the family sauce, and there are no eggs on top of that!
But Emilee insists it's good - a soft fried egg on top that you break, and it all goes into the sauce and mixes in. She cites Deuteronomy 22:6-7 about taking eggs but letting the mother bird go, claiming this biblical support for eating eggs: "that it may go well with you and that you may live long."
Kitchen Ministry with Ross Thygesen
Ross Thygesen joins from the kitchen, where he's smoking pork butts for the church's dinner. The smoker was donated brand new to the church ministry by a generous member.
Ross shares how he got involved in the food ministry when the previous leader got sick: "I looked at my wife and said, 'What if I jumped in and helped out the church in a need?' She laughed at me and said, 'Ross, you've never fed over 10 people, how are you going to feed 100?'" His response: "Honey, Jesus fed 5,000 with a Lunchable!"
It's a testimony that if God calls you to do something, He'll equip you. At home, Ross would "burn cereal," but last year, their little church kitchen pumped out over 3,000 meals.
Throughout the Bible, there's so much eating going on - from Jesus's first miracle at the wedding in Cana with the wine, to the Last Supper, to "if you love me, feed my sheep." The ministry of feeding people creates camaraderie and connection: "Family connections happen at the dinner table."
Final Thoughts
Mike Shaw:
To be content with a little or a lot is great gain. Many of us come to that the hard way. When you don't have a lot, it hurts, it's hard, it stinks. But God is really good because He'll provide for your needs, and you'll make it.
He's not moving - you have to move. As you begin to trust Him because what other choice do you have except disaster? Then you really begin to trust Him because you know you have nothing else. And when you get to the other side of it and He blesses you, it's just so much sweeter. He really knows what He's doing, so trust Him.
Chris Danielson:
We are really enjoying the fact that Fresh Road Media is starting to grow, and the interaction with the audience is something I've always appreciated. It's probably the only thing I've missed from being on a nationally syndicated radio show - that interaction with the audience. Even when they say I'm just, you know, negative.
So send your emails, your questions, your memes - we'd love to hear from you.