FaithTalk Magazine Fall 2018

Where Is God In The Midst Of A Broken Relationship?

Page 7

Overcoming Our Giants Page 15

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Page 26

Barb Yoder

General Manager

barb@salemtampa.com

ph - 813-349-8232 f - 813 639-1272 5211 W Laurel St. Tampa, FL 33607

Greetings dear friend, Thanks for taking a few minutes with God to read the sage advice of the writers in this issue themed Facing Your Giants. We all have problems that seem like giants out to derail our path in life and our walk with Jesus. In fact, when we chose the theme for this Fall FaithTalk edition, little did I know that I would soon be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and be immersed into the world of chemotherapy. Anytime you hear the “C” word, typically fear ensues. But God… God has completely taken the ‘fear factor’ out of this journey for me. Since earth is not our final destination – Heaven is our home – I’m joyful that whatever this outcome, God has a plan for me whether he heals me here or whether this is my ‘ticket’ to my ultimate home in Heaven. And I’ll praise Him in either situation.

When we trust our lives in salvation through Christ, God is our ever-present strength delivering us from fear. Psalm 23:4 “Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me…”. And 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.”

God wants us to see our ‘giants’ as David saw Goliath – in perspective as compared to how big God is, not how big we are. And after we’ve put these always temporary, but no doubt painful, ‘giants’ in perspective, we then can see how we, through our trials, can be a blessing and comfort to others. We read in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”.

There is purpose in our challenging path – God always has a plan for our good and His glory. Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present suffering are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

In addition to my church’s teaching, it encourages me daily to listen to my own station – FaithTalk WTBN – to hear the wise teaching and Biblical preaching that inspires and educates me on the Word of God. I encourage you to listen and grow your faith, despite and because of your ‘giants’, and then share that faith with others.

Serving you and our ever-present God,

BARBARA J. YODER GENERAL MANAGER FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM and 102.1 FM

7 Where Is God In The Midst Of A Broken Relationship?

by Jim Daly

10 How To Trust When You Are Troubled

by Charles R. Swindoll

15 Overcoming Our Giants

by Rabbi Steven Weiler

21 Land of Giants: Living In Tough Terrain

by David Jeremiah

26 Why Does God Allow Suffering?

by Joni Earieckson Tada

29 Christ Above All: The Reason We

Should Worry Less And Trust God More

by David Jeremiah

Pastor to Pastor

34 You Can't Apply What You Don't Understand: The Practicality of Biblical Interpretation

by John MacArthur

Inspiration behind the theme for this edition of FaithTalk Magazine "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

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2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NIV)

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FAITHTALK 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM

by Jim Daly

Few things hurt as deeply as a broken There’s a miracle taking place beneath the relationship. soil that has nothing to do with you and everything to do with God. You can’t make a You know how true that is if you’ve ever seed sprout. You can’t force a shoot to push suffered one. This is especially relevant in through the soil and to flower. marriage. Your emotions get pushed to their breaking point, and your wounds are Relationships are like that, too. If our faith so deep, you ask yourself, “Where is God is in Christ, God’s grace is already at work. in all of this?”

We can trust Him to intervene according to His perfect will. This trust was the secret of If that’s where you’re at, I encourage every successful couple in the Bible. you to find your hope in God, the master gardener.

Adam and Eve. Abraham and Sarah. Isaac and Rebekah. Joseph and Mary. They all Relationships are a lot like gardens. A had God at the center of their relationships. garden is beautiful when things are going They all sought to infuse His wisdom into well, but it can also be a messy, dirty place every step of their journey. Because of their plagued by weeds and bugs and the battle faith, God worked through them to bring to balance sun and water. Marriage and about His purposes in their lives and on gardens both require a willingness to get the earth – a plan that pinnacled in the knee-deep in the mud. salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ and the conquering of suffering and death.

At heart, gardening is an act of faith.

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Jesus’ tender and healing response to hurting people shows how God feels about pain. Jesus wept at death and suffering, and He will heal both, fully and completely someday.

In the meantime, it’s through His grace that we survive the dark days that accompany a relationship that’s fractured.

We’re like the woman at the well, whose life was so broken she chose to draw water in the oppressive heat rather than endure the scorn of local villagers. Jesus met her underneath the burning sun and infused her brokenness with His healing grace.

God meets us in our messiness, but He also expects us to take action and to participate in our own healing. We can’t make a seed sprout or a flower blossom, but there’s still a lot for us to do. Before a miracle can take place beneath the soil, we have to till the ground, plant the seed, and keep the ground watered.

Likewise, the seeds you’re planting to heal your relationship will never grow and thrive if you fail to prepare the soil or provide adequate moisture.

You have to immerse a seed into the soil and allow the process of sun and water to take its course.

A broken relationship won’t heal overnight, and it won’t thrive until you and your spouse immerse yourselves in a process of recovery and give helpful people and resources time to breathe life back into your relationship.

It’s easy to lose hope when your marriage is on the brink of divorce, but I urge you to trust the Lord for

a miracle. As the president of an organization dedicated to strong marriages and families. I’ve seen great things happen again and again.

It isn’t easy. You have to fully commit yourselves to the influence of wise people and do the work that needs to be done. But I believe willing couples can turn almost any situation around.

just a good feeling, it’s a commitment.

It’s action!

If you and your spouse will embrace that deeper understanding of love, the tough things you’re going through right now can be the experiences that knit your hearts together later. I know things look bleak, but I hope you’ll take what I’m about to say to heart: Healing a broken relationship Don’t give up hope! With God’s grace, starts with this: Set aside the how for you can turn things around. a moment and focus on the why. The mechanics of fixing a relationship are As the well-known saying goes, important. They’re the practical tools “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” that will help breathe life back into It’s true in many different areas of life, your marriage. but never as much as in rebuilding a broken relationship.

What will inspire you to put both feet on the floor and to implement A good place to start the process those tools each and every day, is to speak with one of our caring however, is the why? You find it by Christian counselors on staff here at remembering why you fell in love Focus on the Family. Call us during in the first place, by resurrecting business hours at 1- 800-A-FAMILY the dreams you once held for your (232- 6459). relationship together and creating new ones, and by catching a vision If your marriage is on the brink of for what your marriage can be once divorce, our Hope Restored marriage it’s healthy and whole. intensives can go a long way toward facilitating healing between you and You also have to do some soul your spouse and bringing restoration searching about what love is really to your relationship. The number is all about. True, covenant love in 1-866-875-2915, or visit online at marriage usually doesn’t show its HopeRestored.com. deepest colors when things are easy, but when they get hard. That’s when Where is God in your broken you discover that love is more than relationship? He’s working beneath the surface just as sure as He brings the flowers in your yard to full bloom in Spring. He’s your comfort in your suffering, and He’s operating through the wisdom of others and your good choices to take you on a journey of healing and teach you how to thrive again.

Jim Daly is the president and host of the National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast, Focus on the Family. Focus on the Family airs weekdays starting at 2:30, 7:00 am and 7:00 pm on FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM. 8

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by Charles R. Swindoll

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Some of you are facing what through deep waters of suffering? could easily be called an unsolvable problem. It’s you I hope to encourage In Job, we have a unique and rare today. Often the situations with no look within the veil of heaven and human answers form the basis upon behind the scenes on earth. which God does some of His best work.

The LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan This is illustrated beautifully in answered the LORD and said, “From the life of Job, who, in my opinion, roaming about on the earth and is a living example of unsolvable walking around on it.” The LORD problems. Job’s biography includes said to Satan, “Have you considered a clipboard full of questions about My servant Job? For there is no one suffering. like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning Is God fair? Is this situation just? away from evil.” (Job 1:7-8) What is a person to learn when going

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What would God say about you if He were to address Satan right now and tell him about your life? “Have you considered _______,” and then He calls your name.

As he describes you, what would He say? With some of you, it might fit very closely to what He said about Job—“blameless and upright.”

Job’s life was a wonderful model of courageous living.

Job trusted God in the good times. Now the scene was set to determine if Job would trust God in humanly impossible situations.

The next chapter of Job’s life is a dark one. He endured loss like few have known. His home . . . destroyed. His family . . . perished. His health . . . ruined. His finances . . . wiped out. His friends . . . questioned his godly reputation.

Lastly, Job looked within and was shaped by God’s instruction. Job 42:6 states that he looked at his life, and he repented “in dust and ashes.” He saw that God had instructed him in his suffering and illness as in no other way. He said, in effect, “Lord, for the first time, I honestly can say, ‘I give myself to You as never before.’”

In the long process of working through his questions and struggles, Job finally resolved to trust God—no matter what. He had worshiped. He had humbled himself.

He had sat in silence. He finally responded to his wife, “I accept what God has sent. I have accepted good, now I It’s a courageous thing for a believer to give himself accept adversity.” (Job 2:10) Read that once more. It is the to a sovereign God while facing impossible situations. secret of his stability.

Perhaps that’s exactly what you need to do right now. I I find three real reasons Job could respond like this. recall what a wise and surrendered person once prayed: First, he looked up and was comforted by God’s sovereignty.

Lord, I am willing to receive what Thou givest. I am He saw more than God’s actions; he saw His heart. He accepted what God gave and took away. He saw God’s willing to lack what Thou withholdest. I am willing to sovereign love, and he said to his wife, “Should we not relinquish what Thou takest. I am willing to suffer what Thou inflictest. I am willing to be what Thou requirest. receive both without question?”

Lord, I’m willing.

Job also looked ahead and was reminded of God’s My friend, if your days have been difficult and nights promise. In chapter 19, Job said, have been like a tunnel, dark and long, find your comfort in God’s sovereign control and everlasting love. Your “I know that my Redeemer lives, Savior knows your breaking point. The bruising and And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” crushing and melting you are enduring are designed to (19:25) reshape you, not ruin you. Your strength and courage Job was reminded of God’s promise that at the end all increase the longer He lingers over you. Remembering Job’s secret can make all the difference. will be made right. Looking ahead, he felt spurred on.

Tune in Saturdays at 5:00 am to hear Chuck Swindoll’s Paws and Tails Biblical Wisdom for Kids on FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM. Adapted from Charles

R. Swindoll, “How to Trust When You’re Troubled,” Insights (February 2002): 1-2. Copyright © 2002 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

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FAITHTALK 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM

by Rabbi Steven Weiler Giants come in all sizes and shapes, but one thing we’re sure about – they are BIG. They might not appear large to other people, but we know how much space they consume in our mind and heart. Our giants appear in the areas of our health, finances, relationships, our sinful nature, family, work, etc.

Sometimes we defeat the giants, like King David did with Goliath.

When we receive a quick answer like King David, it is an amazing feeling that immediately strengthens our faith.

Even when we overcome our giants, we can still face reminders of them that tempt us. Often, our giants are addictive and come in many forms: food, drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, depression, and more. These are the giants that can haunt us as believers. We try and

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hide their grip over us and say; “I can handle it”. However, these secret, and sometimes not secret, giants have a destructive hold on us and our relationship with God. When we have a wound (giant), though the rest of our body is fine, the wound speaks loudest and gets more of our attention – even more attention then we give God. When a giant takes up residence in our heart and mind, the solutions are more difficult because the giants are deep-seated within our being, and not easily removed. Fear, anger, dependency on others, and poor selfesteem can be examples of giants whose shelf-life don’t seem to have an expiration date. These giants seem to rule our inner thoughts, causing at the very least, great anxiety because of the war that is being raged in our gut.

Two things that I have learned from facing these type giants: First, I can’t defeat them on my own. As much as I want to change an existing trait, my discipline and self-control are usually over matched by my giant, and lead to greater frustration and anxiety. Those feelings cause me to give up, and things get worse.

Second, in order not to deal with this negative characteristic lingering within me, I blame something or someone else. This way I don’t have to deal with the ugly truth that my reaction is ungodly. There is a part of me that wants to repent, and another part of me that seeks to protect myself, not realizing that I am building up resistance to the truth.

To blame is to lose the battle against your giant.

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My solution came years ago when I realized that I needed to change and that this could only be accomplished

by God. I believed that it was His will for me to change, and that I would have to partner with Him in this massive undertaking.

out of my mind and heart. This still requires discipline and self control, but if I do my share, God will do the rest and the pressure won’t be on me, it will be on God.

them, and let God’s Word be imprinted on your heart. f- You will find yourself spending 15 minutes or more on each verse.

I learned how to pray scripture and it allowed me to be set free from my 2- Through Isaiah 61:1, God deeply I needed to get rid of my outbursts giant. It took about 6 months, but deposits in you, your purpose and of anger and my ugly behavior that for the most part, it was and is; gone! who you are in Him. surfaced when I didn’t get my way.

Here is how I did it. a- I recommend you continue Praying Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the doing a portion of Isaiah 61:1Lord God is on me, because the Lord Certain scriptures caught my has anointed me to proclaim Good 4 each day. attention: Psalm 1:1-3 and others News to the poor. like Psalm 119:11 which says: “I have 3- After a number of days, follow the treasured Your Word in my heart, so 1- Take each key-word and talk to same procedure with Philippians I might not sin against You.” Couple 4:4-8 God about it, meditate on it, those with Psalm 5:4 and Isaiah think of other words or scriptures 55:11 which says: “so My Word will that would further describe these 4- It is better to do one verse be that goes out from My mouth. It thoroughly than to try and go words to your heart. will not return to Me in vain, but will through four verses in a day. accomplish what I intend, and will a- There are 4 key-words in the first succeed in what I sent it for.” phrase of Isaiah 61:1: Spirit, 5 - Take your time. Praying scripture is like stream-of-conscious Lord, God, and me.

These verses provided me a path speaking to God. You allow all to the solution. As I meditated on godly thoughts from each word b- Start by picturing the word them, I realized the power of God’s and phrase to flow into your “Spirit”. Let your mind dwell Word, and how much I needed His mind. Those thoughts form a on who He is, what He does, Word in me. Often times, when I descriptive narrative with God. how He helps you, and His had prayed for a solution, I prayed This will cause God’s Word to importance in your life. Remind the problem and found I was focusing deepen in your soul. yourself of other scriptures on the negative and seeing no results. about “Spirit”.

Try this for a few months and c- Dwell on each key word in this watch how God changes you as you Here is the principle that God showed overcome your giant. I call this brainmanner me. God’s Word has power! When it washing. God is washing our brain resides in me, it will change me and I d- Now go back and think about with the power of His Word. My won’t have to try and change myself. brain needs daily washing – how that phrase.

My giants will leave because God’s about yours?

Word living in me is greater than any e- Go to the next phrase; identify giant. His Word will push that giant the key words, dwell on

Rabbi Steven J. Weiler is ordained as a Messianic Rabbi and serves at Shoresh David Messianic Synagogues. Listen to Rabbi Weiler’s show Heart of Messiah, Sundays at 9:00 am on FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM. 16

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by David Jeremiah Seen any giants recently? You can meet lots of them in old movies. Remember the 1965 camp classic, Village of the Giants?

No? Well, it’s about a handful of teenage hooligans who eat a chemical compound called “Goo” that transforms them into thirtyfooters. In their altered state, they take over a small California town and terrorize grown-ups for a while. The “savior” in the story is eleven-year-old Ron Howard (Mayberry’s Opie). He invented the chemical compound to begin with (in his basement with his chemistry set), so he’s the only one able to restore the teens to normal.

In popular stories, these giants are clearly symbols of our own challenges in life.

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episodes appeared in Technicolor on ABC, starring Gary Conway and Don Marshall. It seems a supersonic, suborbital spacecraft, traveling between Los Angeles and London, encountered a strange storm and was blown through a space “wormhole” into a world where everything was ten times the normal size. Many of the episodes of this series, which lasted two years, revolved around crew members trying to evade the giant inhabitants, or trying to escape when they were caught.

I confess I’m not very interested in this category of entertainment, but I do find its popularity curious. There’s something about “giants” that intrigues us, whether we’re talking about movies and television shows, or books like Gulliver’s Travels, or fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk.

If that movie appeals to you, you’re in luck. There are lots of other size-themed flicks, many of them from the 1950s: The Amazing Colossal Man, War of the Colossal Beast, Attack of the Puppet People, The Giant In popular stories, these giants Behemoth, The Cyclops, and are clearly symbols of our own the ever-popular King Kong and challenges in life. Sometimes Godzilla. we seem so small in the face of adversity that our problems can You can find giants on the appear giant-sized. We need small screen, too, in the old reassurance that giants can be 1960s television series, Land of conquered by little people like the Giants, the namesake of this us. We need to feel we can slay article. A total of 51 hour-long the giants in our lives.

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Giants in the Bible

In the Bible, one such group of giants was known as the Anakim, and You don’t need sci-fi movies for they were NBA size. If a basketball that. The Bible will do just fine, thank coach could have visited this tribe, he you. It’s full of giants, and the giants would’ve been in recruiting heaven. of Scripture aren’t supernatural monsters or science fiction images.

Goliath, a Gittite warrior of There were ancient tribes of humans about nine feet, was discovered by who were… well, big. When the recruiters—military recruiters for Bible speaks of “giants,” it’s not the Philistines. That’s how he ended talking about towering ogres with up in the Valley of Elah, taunting feet the size of elephants. The giants the armies of Israel and defying the in the Bible weren’t eighty or ninety people of the living God. Everything feet in height, but eight or nine feet about him was intimidating. His body tall. armor weighed 125 pounds, and his spear added another 15 pounds.

Robert Pershing Wadlow, who He was a champion of evil, and day stood just shy of nine feet, is after day he challenged the Israelites: considered the tallest man in medical “Choose a man for yourselves, and let history. He died in 1940 at the age of him come down to me.”

22. But if you look at the players in the NBA, you can see there are still King Saul compared himself with very tall individuals in the world the giant instead of comparing today. the giant with God, and he was

“dismayed and greatly afraid” (1 Samuel 17:11). And his troops were also “dreadfully afraid” (verse 24).

Arriving on the scene, the young sheep-herder, David, sized up the situation, compared the giant with God, and determined that the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Giants Ancient and Modern Goliath represents all the giants we face in our lives today. Several years ago, I wrote a book about this subject entitled Slaying the Giants in Your Life, and I listed some of the heavyweights that challenge us. Looking across our society today, I notice that none of the giants are shrinking. They seem to be expanding, and we need to face the fact that there are real Goliaths taunting us today just as in ancient times.

There is…

The Giant of Fear.

At the height of her popularity, the advice columnist, Ann Landers, received ten thousand letters a month, each dealing with a different problem by a different person. She was once asked if a common denominator linked all the letters, and she said that the one overriding theme was fear.

People are afraid of what is happening, what might happen, what will happen, and the effects of it all. When fear comes calling, claim this promise: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

The Giant of Discouragement.

Fear reaches its tendrils out to everyone around us—it is contagious. When you give in to it, you make the world around you an environment of discouragement. That word, dis-courage means to take away courage. Remember to claim this promise: “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

The Giant of Loneliness.

Loneliness is no respecter of persons—you can be a lonely senior, single, spouse, or even a lonely servant of God. Remember in times when you feel you are running on empty and feeling alone that God is with you. “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may

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boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6) He is our ever-present companion and friend—we are truly never alone with God at our side.

The Giant of Worry.

Winston Churchill said, “Worry is an emotional spasm which occurs when the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.” The American physician, Charles Mayo, called worry the “disease of doubt” that can affect the circulation, the heart, the glands, and the whole nervous system. Perhaps you’re battling this Goliath right now. This is the time to “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22). As you take the step of casting that burden upon the Lord you will find “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

The Giant of Guilt.

This giant is the most invisible, but the heaviest of all; and people around the world are being slowly crushed, slowly suffocated by this slow-killing monster. Genuine guilt is an honest friend that leads us to the blood of Christ, but there are two deadly kinds of guilt: (1) Lingering guilt over sins long ago confessed and nailed to the cross of Jesus; and (2) False guilt over things for which we bear no responsibility. These are giants to be confronted and conquered by the power of the blood of Christ. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).

The Giant of Temptation.

Too many times during my ministry, I’ve seen how the Giant of Temptation can, in only a few moments, tear down a reputation that it’s taken a lifetime to build. It’s almost like watching a child knock down a tower of blocks. The Giant of Temptation comes to church every Sunday looking for victims—the pastor, the deacons, the elders, the staff members, the church leaders.

We have to learn to consistently, constantly resist this enemy. He has no power over us unless we yield to his demands. Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman said, “Temptation is the tempter looking through the keyhole into the room where you’re living; sin is your drawing back the bolt and making it possible for him to enter.” James 4:7 offers this promise for those facing the Giant of Temptation: “Resist the devil and he will free from you.”

And there are many others. Goliath has a lot of kid brothers who taunt us—the giants of anger, resentment, doubt, procrastination, failure, and jealousy. Are any of these enemies in your personal Valley of Elah right now?

Giants. We’re on tough terrain; but I want you to know that the biblical definition of a Christian includes being a “Giant-Killer.” Like most giants, Goliath was a bully who thought he was invincible, but whose demise was inevitable. He thought he was facing a little shepherd boy, but We’re living in the Land of the he was really nose-to-nose with that

little boy’s Almighty God. And if God is for us, who can be against us? That’s why it’s time to stop comparing ourselves with the giants, and start comparing the giants with God.

Dr. David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point for God Radio and Television Ministries and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in California. Tune in weekdays at 4:30 am, 8:30 am and 1:30 pm to hear the teachings of Dr. David Jeremiah on FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM. LETSTALKFAITH.COM

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Moments Of Hope with Pastor David Chadwick Weekdays at 8:00AM & 10:30PM Listen as Pastor David Chadwick tells you why you have a reason for hope and a future in Jesus. Through teaching, interviews and storytelling, David takes the mystery out of Scripture with humor and humility, giving you moments of hope for your daily life.

Unfiltered Radio with Bryant Golden Weekdays at 6:30 PM Bryant speaks to both the skeptic and the longtime Jesus Follower in Unfiltered Radio and presents the Scriptures in a unique, real, and easy to understand way. He draws out your questions and frustrations and yet encourages you with the hope, love, truth, and forgiveness that Jesus offers.

Pick and Roll Show with Korey Seibel & Adam Smith Weekdays 7:00 AM Adam “AKA The Mayor” Smith and Korey “The Sports Socialist” Seibel talk all about sports through a biblical view. Whether it is passion for God or sports, they will strive to be in accordance with God’s purposes and plans.

On Common Ground with Pastor Joe Kelly Saturdays at 11:00 AM The vision for The Common Ground Movement was given in 2014 as a platform for churches around the area to come together for a night of worship. The desire is to see our youth, who go to school together, know that as believers we can depend on each other because through Christ we have Common Ground.

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by Joni Eareckson Tada We may not say it out loud, but we sure think it: why does God allow suffering?

Theologians have always wrestled with that, but when you hurt, do their answers satisfy? “Suffering is a result of sin,” they say. “So, if God were to get rid of suffering, he’d have to eradicate all sin.

But that would annihilate all sinners. Thus, he permits suffering so the human race can continue.”

Does that response satisfy you? Probably not, if you are watching your child die of cancer or you’re battling bone-deep weariness from chronic fatigue syndrome.

Intellectual answers to tough questions about God and 26

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suffering can often sound dry and technical. When a person is deeply afflicted, he doesn’t ask “why?” as though raising his hand in class; rather, he pleads “why?” out of an anguished gut.

It’s how I felt 50 years ago after I broke my neck in a horrible accident that left me a quadriplegic. Two decades later, I started living with chronic pain. Then, eight years ago, I was hit hard by stage III cancer. I know suffering.

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I also know that answers don’t always help where it hurts – that’s in the gut and in the heart. When we are afflicted and ask “why,” we are like a suffering child who cries to Daddy, “Why?” That child does not want answers.

He wants Daddy to pick him up, hold him close, and hear him whisper, “There, there,

sweetheart, it’s okay. Daddy’s here.” delight in it) because he prized The child wants fatherly assurance something above it: our salvation. that everything will be okay.

So, the world’s worse murder became the world’s only rescue. How merciful Over decades of hard suffering, I and glorious of God! have found the God of the Bible to be the loving Daddy who is not so When my friend finished quick to give answers, but quick to explaining this, he quietly added, give himself. For he is the Answer. He “And Joni, the same is true in your life. does not dispense a bunch of words; God permitted what he hated, your he is the Word, the Word made flesh, spinal cord injury. But he purposed it Jesus, the Man of sorrows acquainted to accomplish what he loves; that is, with our grief. For when the Son of honing the image of Christ in you.” I God is impaled on a cross like meat quickly learned that in our terribly on a hook, he should have the last broken, sin-soaked world, God word on suffering. permits all sorts of things he doesn’t approve of. But God wills what he Early on, when I was still getting despises for reasons that are always used to my wheelchair, I challenged wise, specific and good, yet often a friend to explain how a good God hidden from our understanding here could allow terrible things to happen, on earth. especially in the lives of his children.

My friend cleverly countered, “Joni, When it comes to suffering, God's how could God allow terrible things ways are much higher than ours, John to happen in the life of his own Piper says that God has the capacity Child? Think of the heinous crimes to look at the world through two God allowed leading up to the cross: lenses -- a narrow lens and a widetreason, injustice, torture, and murder. angle one. When God looks at a But God permitted what he hated – the painful event through a narrow lens, cross – to accomplish what he loved – He sees the tragedy for what it is, and salvation for a world of sinners.” is deeply grieved. In Ezekiel 18:32 He says, "I take no pleasure in the death Only God could pull off a paradox of anyone." God feels the sting in His like that. Even Lamentations 3:32- chest when a child dies of cancer or 33 says, "Though he brings grief, he a husband is killed in an accident. will show compassion, so great is his However, when God looks at that unfailing love. For he does not willingly same event through His wide-angle bring affliction or grief to the children lens, He sees the tragedy in relation of men." In the span of a single verse, to everything leading up to it, as the Bible asserts "the Lord brings well as the good things flowing out grief," but "he does not willingly from it. He sees a beautiful mosaic bring... grief." If that doesn’t make stretching into eternity. sense, remember that God tried it out on himself. He willed the gruesome In heaven, people whose suffering death of His own Son (taking no seemed confounding on earth will

delight in this marvelous mosaic, like a tangled embroidery of scarred lives flipped right-side-up to reveal the delicate and beautiful pattern never observed on earth. Those who have been martyred or tortured -- like the genocide of Christians in Nigeria -will stand and adore God for His plan in their suffering. It is this mosaic with all its parts, both good and evil, that brings Him delight.

So, take comfort. When God looks at your suffering through His narrow lens, His heart is moved. Jesus wept at the graveside of Lazarus (John 11:35). Throughout the Gospels, you can see how emotion choked his throat and empathy filled his eyes as He looked out on suffering people, like a shepherd gathering bewildered sheep. Our sufferings matter to the Almighty and He weeps with empathy time and again.

Frankly, I am grateful that God has deferred answering the prayers of those who want suffering removed.

Thank the Lord he has delayed eradicating all sin. Why? Because he loves sinners. Second Peter 3:9 says plainly, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise [to get rid of suffering], as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

God is giving sin and suffering a “stay of execution” so that millions more might hear the Good News of salvation in Christ. When I consider that, I am more than happy to endure a few more years of hard affliction!

Joni Eareckson Tada is CEO of Joni and Friends, a global ministry reaching people disabilities for Christ around the world. For more info, visit joniandfriends.org. Her program Joni & Friends airs Monday - Friday starting at 10:50 am on FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM. LETSTALKFAITH.COM

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by Charles Stanley How well do you know Jesus?

If you’re a Christian, you know that He’s your Savior and the Son of God. But what if someone said to write down everything you understand about Him? Would you be able to fill up both sides of even one sheet of paper? Becoming a believer is simple—we need only to believe that He died to pay the penalty for our sins and then ask Him to pardon us. But we can’t stop there. After salvation, we have a responsibility to continually grow in our knowledge of Christ.

Here’s a simple test to determine how you’re doing: Are you anxious or worried about anything? Have you become discouraged because of a situation that seems hopeless?

If you answered “yes” to either of these questions, you may need to broaden your understanding of who Jesus Christ really is. Most of the things that trouble us result

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from a limited perception of the Savior. He is so much bigger than we can possibly comprehend, and none of our circumstances are beyond His ability to handle.

invisible.” And John 1:3 adds that nothing came into being apart from Jesus, so we can be certain He didn’t start with some form of matter and craft it into all that fills the universe.

Hebrews 11:3 explains how He did it: “The worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” Christ spoke everything into existence, and His energy was in no way depleted.

He was still omnipotent after He finished, because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Paul wrote a letter to the Colossians, who were beginning to doubt that Jesus was enough.

After listening to false teachers, they became convinced they needed something more. But Paul’s description of Christ in Colossians 1:15-20 refuted that misconception with a stunning portrait of the sufficiency and grandeur of the Savior. In this short passage, Paul The first chapter of Genesis uses the word all seven times to describes how the Lord said, “Let show that Jesus is supreme in power there be” before each element of and wisdom. heaven and earth came into being.

And because of the plural pronouns The Creator and Sustainer used in Genesis 1:26—“Let Us make man in Our image” (emphasis Verse 16 tells us, “For by Him added)— we also know that all all things were created, both in the three members of the Trinity were heavens and on earth, visible and involved in the process. From the

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intricacies of a single atom to the massive expanse of the universe, all came into existence at Christ’s command. This is the amazing creative power of the Son of God. To catch a glimpse of our great Savior’s handiwork, all we have to do is lift our eyes to the heavens on a dark, cloudless night. Too often, our time is spent indoors as we focus on earthly concerns. We’re usually so busy rushing around that we fail to stop and marvel at Christ’s grand nighttime display.

That’s why I love being out in the wilderness, where there are no manmade lights or sounds. As dusk falls, I watch the stars begin to appear.

At first only a few are visible, but gradually the darkness fills with countless luminous dots. Did you know that starlight travels 186,000 miles per second to reach us? That’s over 16 billion miles in a day. And from our earthly perspective, we can see only a fraction of the stars in the universe. There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies, and the one nearest to ours is 25,000 light-years away.

There is no way for a human mind to grasp the enormity of such a vast and unsearchable universe. But Christ knows exactly where every star is, because He hung each one in space and holds them all in the

hollow of His hand, so the universe moves according to His precise order: “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). The Son of God maintains the earth’s orbit around the sun and keeps it spinning on its axis at just the right angle and speed to sustain life. Everything Christ created is under His sovereign, all-powerful control.

A New Spirit Considering how vast and immeasurable God’s creation is, we can humbly agree with David’s words in Psalm 8:3-4: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” Think for a moment about the power, glory, and majesty of the Son of God, who is so far beyond our comprehension. How could such a one as this condescend to come to earth as a helpless baby and be crucified on a cross in order to reconcile human beings to the Father? Yet that’s exactly what He did (Col. 1:20).

Although the universe is a magnificent manifestation of Christ’s supremacy, there’s another aspect of His creative power that affects every believer personally. The moment someone places trust in Him, He comes into that person’s life and recreates his or her spirit. Before salvation, we were spiritually dead, but now we have Jesus’ very life through the Holy Spirit, who indwells us. This means we are the possessors of His eternal, indestructible being.

What’s more, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that we have been given the mind of Christ. That means we can now understand what He has revealed to us through His Word, His Spirit, and His creation. A result of our new life in Christ is that we can grasp spiritual truths in the Bible as His Spirit teaches us. And digging into His Word helps us discover who Christ really is—then we see the evidence of His power and the imprint of His hand everywhere.

Each aspect of creation is one more example of how great and infinite Christ is. If He can hang the stars in space and keep oceans within their boundaries, can He not deal with our problems? We are held securely in His hands, but sometimes we act as if we have to scramble so He won’t drop us.

Peace and trust come when we finally realize He’s the one who has us in His eternal grip and will never let go.

No one is more sufficient, powerful, or loving than your mighty, majestic Savior. Jesus Christ has all the creative and sustaining power to handle whatever you’re facing. He wants you to stop fretting, so make that list of everything you know about Him. Read each of those amazing truths and take comfort, knowing that He cares for you and will meet all your needs according to His good will.

This article is reprinted with permission from In Touch Magazine, the bimonthly publication of In Touch Ministries. To receive a free subscription, please visit intouch.org/magazine. Tune in weekdays at 3:30 and 11:00 am to hear the teachings of Charles Stanley on FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM. 30

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At Argosy University, Tampa, we’re committed to your success. Our friendly, engaged faculty are passionate about teaching and mentoring students and are with you every step of the way. Our degree programs include: Associate of Arts in Psychology and Associate of Science in Business Administration, Master of Arts degrees in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy, and Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership and the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology.

For additional information, please call 813.463.7194 or email jeday@argosy.edu Argosy University, Tampa 1403 North Howard Avenue Tampa, FL 33607 813.463.7140 | 800.850.6488 argosy.edu/locations/tampa LETSTALKFAITH.COM

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Pastors Appreciation Day September 21- Tampa We celebrated our annual Pastors Luncheon with Keynote Speaker Dr. Albert Mohler.

CALIBRATE Worship Leaders Event

January 29 - Tampa A one-day conference designed to educate, encourage and equip worship teams to serve their community.

Ladies Night Out

March 22 - Brandon A night of Food, Fun and Faith at BellShoals Baptist Church that featured Christian Comedian Leslie Norris Townsend.

Pastors Masters Golf Tournament April 14 - Tampa We celebrated our third Annual Golf Tournament at Westchase Golf Club.

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Pastor to Pastor

by John MacArthur More than once I have been asked why my sermons focus so much on biblical interpretation and not as much on personal application. In a similar vein, verse-by-verse Bible teaching and an emphasis on doctrine are sometimes criticized as being irrelevant and impractical.

My response to that is simple—and may sound familiar to you because I communicate the principle at every opportunity. The meaning of Scripture is the Scripture. If you don’t have the true meaning of the text, you don’t have the Word of God. That’s why exegesis (a linguistically and historically sound interpretation of the text) is the absolute and primary essential in every sermon.

So my priority and driving passion is to make the truth of Scripture known. I want to help people know what God’s Word says. I’m confident that if I can help men and women understand the implications of

the Bible-to feel the full weight and meaning of divine truth-the Holy Spirit will guide them in the application of that truth to their individual lives and circumstances.

We see the evidence of that in the responses we receive from the people Grace to You is reaching through radio partners like WTBN. Daily we hear from men and women around the world, describing how the Lord is working in their lives through His Word and thanking us for our doctrinally focused resources.

Their stories bear witness to the practical value, universal relevance, and timelessness of in-depth Bible teaching.

Yes, some biblical principles may seem more practical or more immediately applicable than others.

But all Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Teaching people what the Bible means is inherently practical. In fact, until a person understands the Every day the Lord puts the implications of a verse or passage, no teaching of His Word in a position sound application can be made. to convict, rebuke, instruct, comfort, and encourage His people when and It is the work of the Holy Spirit to where He chooses. And while we make the most personal, individual affirm God’s sovereignty over whom applications of the truth of Scripture He reaches and how He works in in the heart of the hearer—and He lives, there is still a significant, human does that infallibly, in a way that I as component. You and I have roles to a preacher cannot. He instructs and fulfill, responsibilities to discharge, directs us in how to put God’s Word and blessings of a spiritual harvest in to work in our lives. which to share.

John MacArthur is founder and featured teacher of Grace To You. You can hear him daily on “Grace To You,” half-hour radio program dedicated to Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Bible, airing on FaithTalk 570 AM, 910 AM & 102.1 FM weekdays at 6:30 am, 1:00 pm and 11:30 pm.

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