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- [01:35]
A
Well, hello, my Bible in 365 brothers and sisters. I gotta tell you, I am so excited about today. We are doing a live Q and A. I cannot wait to get down to answering some of these questions, but I want to say something right off the bat, and that is, our dear Erica is very much under the weather, and it's got to be kind of bad, because most of the time, that's not enough to keep her from doing anything, especially when it comes to stuff like this. We've been looking forward to this Q and A for quite some time. Obviously, we're going to continue to do it, and we're gonna have Kate join us in just a second, which I'm looking forward to, but I just wanted you to know that. And what I wanted to do was just open up in prayer. Open up in prayer for her. Then we will take on some questions. I am so looking forward to it. If you have not caught on already, and I want to make myself clear. The whole obligation that we carry forth as given to us by the Lord, that is to serve you. We want to better equip you to read the Bible, to understand what you're reading, to be changed by it for your life, to just dynamically grow as a result of it. And we know that there's amazing power in the word of God, and that's what we hope to be able to put in your hands. It's. It's something that I know was Charlie's heart. I know it's always been Erica's heart, and it's. It's amazing because the marriage that they had together was just, like, unbelievable. It was such a blessing. And I got to be on the inside of a lot of that to see how the Bible drove the strength that existed with the two of them together. And they loved what they gained from it so much that this ministry was so important to them. So I hope I get to do everybody justice by answering these questions. Let's pray for Erica. We'll pray for our time together, and then I'll have Kate come on. And Kate's awesome, by the way. Many of you already know who she is. You've met her. I absolutely love her. I think she's wonderful. So let's pray, Father. We just thank you, Lord, for your goodness and your faithfulness. Lord, first and foremost, we just pray, Lord, that you would heal Erica's body right now, Lord. I just pray that you would give her grace. Cover her with your strength, Lord. Watch over her filler with your spirit, Lord. And we Pray for everybody here. There are so many here that have come hungry to hear your word, to get answers to some very difficult questions. Lord, may they be blessed. May you open up their hearts and their minds to understand the things that are being asked that, Lord, they would grow as a result of it. We pray that this would be edifying and that the benefit of this would just grow into the ages, because we know that's what your word does. So, Lord, we love you and thank you. We look to you and we ask these things. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Okay, where is Kate?
- [04:42]
B
I'm here. I'm here. Thank you, Pastor James. That was a super generous introduction. Hi, everybody. I'm Caitlin. I have been with Proclaim and Bible in 365 for the past couple years.
- [04:56]
A
So.
- [04:57]
B
So if you've emailed our customer service line, called our phone text, you may have spoken to me in the past, but along with the rest of our team, we just want to say it's just such a joy to serve you and to be on this journey with you. And I just wanted to take a minute before we launch in to answer a couple questions. We saw come in repeatedly with our q and a RSVPs, and so we just wanted to make sure everybody's on the same page. For all of those that you have asked us what version of the Bible we use, we use the English Standard Version, esv. We use this because it's the most word for word accurate. It captures the style of each Bible writer. So again, esv, English Standard Version. And then one other thing I want to encourage you all on is we're going to do our best, obviously to answer your questions. But praise God, we have record numbers of people joining us this year. So if we don't get to your question, we'll do our best to answer it at one of our future events. But we do just want to remind you that in the daily reading, there is a link called Dig Deeper at the end of each section. And if you go there, you will find a fantastic commentary verse by verse. So if you get stuck on what the meaning is of a certain part of the text, by all means we encourage you to explore that resource. I think it will be super helpful to you. And then the last thing we've gotten a lot is are we reading in chronological order or why did we kind of go in the order that we went in starting this year? So, Pastor James, if you want to speak to our reading plan and kind of why we organize it the way we do, I think A lot of people would find that helpful.
- [06:29]
A
Yeah, that's a great question. And, and I also wanted to add to this because in the videos that we make where we summarize the Bible, what I always do is also point you to my website, which is james cadiz.com if you want to listen the Bible being taught to you. It's all available there. There are thousands and thousands of Bible studies throughout every section there. The commentary in the Dig Deeper is phenomenal. It's very good. The man who put that together is a very dear friend of mine, somebody that I have a lot of respect and admiration for. And so the whole goal is to give you the tools that are necessary to help you grow in your walk with the Lord and obviously to better understand what's going on. Now, let's talk about the heart of what we did with respect to the order of the Bible verses and the Bible books that we went through. Some people will assume that we did it based on chronology. Well, that was one part of it. Some people will assume, well, we kind of did it based on maybe spreading things out all across. But I think there was a little bit of that in virtually every category. So we, we had to balance out what we believed would be important for establishing a chronological basis for understanding what you're going to learn. And at the same time, we also wanted to give you an awareness of fulfilling prerequisites so that you can understand one thing upon the other. So let me explain what I mean when I say this. The Bible builds on precept, okay? And so if you understand the foundation for what you're going to pursue, it makes it a whole lot easier. I'll give you a great example of this, the Book of Revelation, which many of you might be familiar with. I, I actually wrote a book on that, which, by the way, just released. I'm very excited about that. But the Book of Revelation, you're never going to understand the Book of Revelation unless you know virtually all of the Old Testament, and that's just a fact. So if I were going to teach you the Book of Revelation, I will actually go over an overwhelming majority of the Old Testament so that you can understand what it is that's being said. So the idea here is that you would be able to establish a more firmer foundation and allow the fluidity of what you're reading to kind of move through. And I'll give you a great example of this in your. Amongst the first days of your reading at the beginning of this year, if my memory serves me correctly, you were reading Genesis, Matthew, and I think it was the Psalms at the same time, maybe even Proverbs. I. I don't quite remember it. I have to go back and look. Maybe Kate, you can confirm that for me. But those are great places to start if you're going to want to understand the very foundation of mankind and, and the problem with the fall, you go through Genesis if you want to understand the solution to that problem. Matthew gives us a really, really good introduction. And the poetic beauty of all of it coming together is very much founded in the Psalms on a prophetic level and very much on a linguistic level. So the Psalms. Reading the Psalms would help you better be able to acclimate yourself to the general ebb and flow of how biblical text is read and understood. And Genesis would give you the. The foundation from what happened in the beginning, while Matthew was establishing a picture of the Gospel that is critically important, especially as it relates to the Messiah from the eyes of those that would be Jewish. So there's a lot there. But the idea here is that there's a strategy behind it. We are giving you these books in a very specific order so that one precept will be built upon the other. And as you go through each section, it begins to make a whole lot more sense to you because you. The things you had to learn in order to build up on another principle was given to you. And that's kind of why we did what we did. Hopefully that makes sense.
- [10:50]
B
I think it made perfect sense. And you are correct. Matthew, Psalms, Genesis. So, okay, perfect explanation for our readers. And so what we'll do now, let's go ahead and just jump into some lifestyle questions first. Then we'll get into our scripture questions. And we just want to remind you too, for all of you who are our seasoned readers who have been with us for many years, we're so grateful for you. We know some of these questions might be ones that we've answered in the past, but we want to remind you, you know, we, like I said, we have record numbers of people joining us and we have so many who are coming in who have never opened a Bible before. So for all of you who are brand, brand new, we're so excited to have you and we want to make sure that we address your questions and welcome you into this community. So that being said, our first question is coming from Aiden. What advice would you give to a new Christian who's attempting to study the Bible for the very first time?
- [11:43]
A
Okay, so this is a very good question. We get it a lot and it's important that it be answered because generally people will assume that you would just know this by default. And in reality, that's why lots of people struggle oftentimes with the Bible. So there's a couple things I want to say right off the bat. Number one, you need to understand that engaging in studying the Bible is a spiritual activity and you have an enemy, the devil, who hates you. And so when you engage in spiritual activity to try to learn, it will be much more difficult. Okay? You just have to accept that for what it is. I can read the most boring white paper on RF theory as it's applied to it, to the attenuation on an antenna that carries a signal, you know, at a specific space and just be bored out of my mind and stay awake. But the moment I, I read in the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God. And the Word was God. I'm like, okay, that's the enemy. We are engaging in spiritual activity. He hates you. He's going to keep you from doing it. So just keep that in mind. Okay. The other thing that I would say, and this is like super important, do not make the mistake of using a translation that you don't understand. Ok. By the way, Kate, in response to your text, all the time in the world. Don't worry about it one bit.
- [13:08]
B
Perfect.
- [13:08]
A
Yeah, sorry, I just noticed you sent it to me. I'm sorry. So the one thing that I would say is you need to read a translation that you understand. Now, I, for one, when I teach, I teach through the King James Bible. But I would be derelict in telling you to get a King James in order to study the Bible because most people don't understand Elizabethan English. I'm a language guy. I study the Bible in other languages. Okay. So I get the fact that it can. There's sort of this stigma that exists with you've got to read the King James. Well, if you read the King James, you're going to hate it every time you open up because you're not going to understand what's being said. You need to grab a translation that is more modern. You need to grab a translation that, yes, we'll do justice to what is actually said in the text because the Bible was written in three languages, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. But you need to make sure you read something that's in plain English. The other thing that I would say, which, by the way, there's a couple of great translations, very good translations, I always recommend the New King James, the new American Standard. It's A great translation. The HCSB, the translation that we use here at Bible in 365 is a good one. My whole point behind it is it's got to be plain English. The other thing that I would say is pray. You know, before you open up your Bible, just say a simple prayer to God. You say, lord, help me to understand what I'm reading. Help me understand what I'm reading. The other thing that I would do is I would journal things. So as you're reading, if you don't understand something, write it down and then take that information and dig deeper. Maybe go to a, a commentary or a Bible study where something is read, and that will absolutely help you. But just understand, you will become more acclimated to what you're reading as you read it more often. There is no way in the world you can expect to know the Bible well if you're not reading it on a regular basis. So understand that the first, you know, whatever hundred times you read, you're going to struggle. There's going to be a part of you that's, that's going to be like, man, I just don't understand this. But the more you do it, the more acclimated you will become to what it is you're reading. And before you know it, you will have a good grasp on what it is you're reading. The other thing that I would tell you one last thing, and that's this. Look for solutions in the Bible to problems that you actually have. Okay? And the way that I would do this is not like, okay, well, I have a problem. How do I fix it in the Bible? As you're reading through the Bible, I want you to identify what might be a solution to something that you've been dealing with for a little while and write it down and you'll be blown away. Listen, if you want to learn how to do well in business, if you want to succeed financially, if you want to be a better investor, if you want to be better in your relationship, right? Marriage, relationships, you go to the Bible for it, you know, and it's something that is, is super, super important because the Bible solves problems, right? And that's why, by God's grace, my marriage is not affected. Because the more the enemy tries to attack, we have the word of God that we can go to and find the solutions. You know, that's the story of Charlie and Erica. It's the story of anybody who puts their faith and trust in the Lord. I know. Kate and her husband, for example. Amazing to see you Rely upon the word of God. You listen, he gives you the solutions to problems and it makes your marriages stronger. And if you're not in a marriage, well, praise God, because God is preparing you for that time. And the word of God will help you do it. But that's one example of many. There's lots of places where the Bible can speak to you directly regarding issues. Start looking for it. So don't read the Bible from the perspective of, well, I just got to do it to kind of get my few chapters in. Start reading the Bible from the perspective of I'm desperate for some answers to, to some problems I'm trying to solve. And you'll be blown away with how much more effective your Bible study will be.
- [17:21]
B
Love that. That's great. Marguerite wants to know, how does one find a church and know it's a good church? She says, how can I convince my husband to give church another try? He's a believer but has had bad experiences.
- [17:37]
A
Yeah, this is a very, very difficult question. It really is. Because where you find a good church is where they are preaching the word of God. They have teaching the word of God. If they're not teaching the word of God, it's not going to be a healthy church. But I have to take it a step further, and that is the pastor has to believe that the Bible is the answer for their worldview. In other words, that pastor cannot be fearful of taking his biblical worldview into politics, into everyday living, into a whole plethora of, of areas that the Bible applies to. Because the Bible does apply to all of these areas. And if you get to the point in your mind where you say, well, the Bible only applies in this context or in that context for that matter, but it doesn't apply here, you've got a problem. And many churches compartmentalize God's word and they become very unhealthy. The other thing that I would also say is we live in a world of coverup culture. There's a lot of people. We see it in the charismatic movement, we've seen it in the Catholic Church, we see it everywhere. It's not just, you know, oh, one type of church does this or does it, but there's a lot of COVID up going on. There's a lot of lack of accountability. If you have a church leadership that is accountable, if you have a church leadership that is dedicated to the Word of God, and if you have a church leadership that is seeking to examine the word of God with you and show you how to apply it, and in everyday life. They're speaking up on political issues. They're showing you how it applies to your finances. They're teaching you how to take extra steps of faith in business based on the precedent that the Bible gives. There's where you know you're in a healthy church. And unfortunately, most churches nowadays aren't doing this. Actually, that's not a fair statement. I would venture to say that there are more churches that are doing this that aren't, but we just don't hear about them, unfortunately, because many of the large churches that aren't doing it ruin it for everybody else. So again, the idea here is that you need to look for those things and you will be more than good. You will be more than okay.
- [19:49]
B
Thank you for that. And actually, that kind of segues into this next question. There's a couple parts to it. It's from a reader named Allison. I was a conservative atheist. A year ago in December 2024, when Charlie said his wife ran a company called Bible and 360. I heard Erica say no one regretted reading the Bible. I was terrified, but signed up within a month. I felt peace sweep over me. Not only was I doing the readings, but I was seeking online Bible studies, podcasts, books, classes. It's really amazing, Allison. She says, I found a church with a great pastor, but he said something that worried me. He said, if you don't live with other Christians, you can't come here and I don't. He also said you can't partake in the Lord's Supper if you haven't been baptized. I was baptized as an infant, but he said that doesn't count. Should these things exclude me? I did like his gospel based preaching, but not if I'm not accepted. She mentions finding another church with a female reverend that she says is not woke. She hadn't been to church in 50 years, but has been going ever since September and says, how will I know when I'm a Christian? I'm waiting for a sign. I pray for one. I ask God for one.
- [20:55]
A
Okay, wow. There's a lot there. There's a. There's a whole lot to be said. First of all, what that pastor told you is wrong. That's crazy. There's a lot of people who live with non believers. I know of lots of people who live with family members that don't know the Lord. And if they're non believers, that does not disqualify you from going to church. As a matter of fact, I would like to think that that would encourage you to go to church. The other issue is, I think there was a question, maybe I missed it, that they can't have communion. Did I get that right, Kate? That they can't have communion if they're not baptized? Is that what.
- [21:31]
B
Yes. So he said, can't partake in the Lord's Supper if you haven't been baptized. She was baptized as a baby, but he said that doesn't count.
- [21:38]
A
Yeah. That's insane. Okay. I'm sorry. That's a place you've got to run from. Because the question that I would ask is this. Where does scripture explicitly command baptism as a prerequisite for the Lord's Supper? Matter of fact, let me take it a step further. Where in the Bible does the scripture actually command the baptism in order for salvation? Okay. Now, baptism is a command. We seek to obey that command. But is it a prerequisite? No, actually, no. As a matter of fact, there's not a single passage in the Bible that says you must be baptized before you partake. As a matter of fact, let's talk about the institution of communion for just one second. Because when you read about how God instituted what we call the Lord's Supper In Matthew, chapter 26, he literally gave it to his disciples. There's no discussion about their baptism status. There was no. No discussion about that. As a matter of fact, one of the guys that was getting ready to take that communion was the guy who actually betrayed Jesus. Okay. And if that isn't Enough, how about First Corinthians, chapter 11? In First Corinthians, chapter 11, Paul says, as a prerequisite for communion, he says, let a man examine himself. Okay. By the way, when it's a man, it's man or woman, right? Okay. And so the idea isn't let him examine himself to see if he's baptized. No. Okay. He's talking about what makes you worthy to eat and drink of this baptism? No, of the Lord's Supper. Baptism is not involved. The requirement, if you look at first Corinthians, chapter 11, is really simple. It's self examination, okay? It's discernment. That's. That's an important one. Faith. Do you trust in the Lord? Okay. Paul doesn't say, let a man be baptized, you know, examine himself. Let him. Let a baptized man examine himself. That's just absolutely crazy. So, so there's. There's just a lot to say there. So definitely that would not be the case here. Okay. I would not believe that. It's. It's wrong. It's not biblical. The other problem, and I Want to be genuine as I say this, and I want to be gentle as I say this, I believe that the Bible prohibits women from being pastors in the church to the point that they are the ones in standing authority. Now, there are lots of women involved in ministry who teach, who are missionaries, who do all that. That's. There's room for all of that. But the person who would take on the role of the overseeing pastor, that is prohibited in the scripture. So if you're saying that that pastor is also one who is a woman who is saying all of these things, again, you should. It just. Should just show you the premise is wrong, the foundation is wrong. Okay, you want to go again to a place that will teach you the word of God, that will allow you to participate in all of these things as the Bible allows you to. There's nobody that should be more graceful than the Bible, and there's nobody that should be more judgmental than what the Bible says. Now let's go back to knowing if you are going to heaven, knowing if you are walking with the Lord. Listen, it's really simple. The prerequisite is this is your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that if you will put your faith and trust in Christ Jesus, then you will be saved. Okay? That's the prerequisite. You put your faith and trust in him. Yes. We oftentimes talk about declaring with our mouth. That's an outward show of what's happened to us. Inwardly, we talk about repentance, meaning we change our ways, you know? But the reality of it is, the only thing that can get you to heaven is by living the law of God perfectly. And the only person who's lived the law of God perfectly is Jesus Christ. So when you go to Christ our Messiah. Okay, when you go to Jesus our Messiah, that would be the more direct, the more correct term. Okay? You are basically saying, I trust you that the perfect life you lived will now be used to give me credit so that I can go to the Lord and he can say, well done, good and faithful servant. So think about it like this. When you go before the Lord one day because you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, Jesus takes off the robe that he wore. This is a metaphorical term, the robe that he wore where he lived his life perfectly on this earth. He hands it to you, and God looks at you and he says, well done, good and faithful servant. Look at the perfect life you live. Now, did you live a perfect life? No, I haven't. I would go to hell based on just the time that we've had in this Q and A. You know, I mean, think about that. I mean, we all have fallen short of God's perfection. But you are getting credit for the perfect life that Christ lived. And that's the best part. The only work is that you would trust in him. And that's an amazing place to be. And just understand this, Allison. We are going to see one another. If we don't see each other here on this earth, we will see one another in eternity. Because when you put your faith and trust in him, that's it. It's a wrap. You get credit for Christ's perfect life.
- [26:52]
B
That's great. Thank you. Because we actually had another reader. Julie, if you're listening that wanted to know. It says, if you only need faith, the small does the mustard seed to go to heaven. But the Bible says you also have to do a lot of things to get into heaven. I'm confused about how to get into heaven. So for all of you, we had a lot of readers asking about how to get to heaven. So that was a great explanation to cover a lot of bases. And this one, this next one kind of ties into that. But I do think it'd be great to address specifically. It's from an anonymous reader. It says, I'm new this year to proclaim. I've tried to read the Bible a few times but have got gotten confused. I'm making changes in my life to be better for myself and welcome the Lord into my life. However, I'm divorced and I just read Matthew 5 about divorce and feel like because I'm divorced and now married again, I have no chance of getting to heaven. Am I reading this wrong?
- [27:37]
A
Yes, you absolutely are reading it wrong. And I would love to spend some time talking about this if I just spent time talking about that section in Matthew, which I believe is near the Sermon on the Mount. Um, I, I, I will just tell you this right now. It would, I could spend hours and hours and hours and hours talking about it, but that has absolutely nothing to do with your salvation. You were who you were before you knew the Lord. You walked in being lost, and now you are living a new life. You are living as a new creation in Christ. And so it has absolutely nothing to do with your salvation. And my prayer and my hope is that God will bless your marriage and that God will allow your marriage to grow as the both of you seek one another and grow in one another and, and, and, and seek the Lord together as a married couple. Listen, understand this. The Marriage that God has created for each and every single one of us is designed to make our walks with God even closer. So the reality of it is because of a bad decision you may have made back in the day, it has nothing to do with where you are today. Today, do you have faith and trust in Christ? Then it's a wrap. You've got nothing to worry about. You are absolutely going to heaven. You've got nothing to worry about. You and your bride or your husband. I don't know who this is. It's talking male or female. But the reality of it is you can rejoice in the fact that your salvation is not predicated upon a relationship.
- [29:12]
B
Next we're hearing earthly one. For that matter, you know, next we're hearing from grace. Non believers I know always ask if Jesus is the only way to heaven. What about the people who never got a chance to know about Jesus? I want to be able to answer this, but I do wonder the same thing.
- [29:29]
A
Yeah, I would recommend going to my Bible Study on James cadist.com in Romans chapter one. I spend a lot of time actually talking about this. And the gist of the answer is that God is just. God knows exactly the heart of the person that goes before him. And again, the Bible says that the heavens declare the glory of God. And so we know that there are people who simply see God in creation because creation speaks out loud and they have a relationship with God. They may not necessarily go through the motion that is understood, but to know and to recognize the fact that there is right and wrong because the Spirit of God has makes us aware of those things. And when you respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, doesn't matter what context it may be in, God is just and he understands. So the way I would, I would describe that is I just simply don't know in terms of, I don't know a person's heart. God does and he will judge on that basis. But what matters is for those of us that are hearing these messages that do know, we're now accountable because we are aware.
- [30:40]
B
That's great. Melinda and an anonymous reader both have questions coming up about marriage. So Melinda says, my husband lost his job and was taking it well. We'd been reading the Bible together, praying and loving each other. He spoke with his sister and everything changed. He's become angry, mentally abusive, controlling and mean. Will the Lord let me know if I should leave? For 29 years, the love of my life, I feel like he's gone. And then another reader asks, I'm Wondering why I'm feeling lost in my relationship. I can be so happy, and then it changes so quickly with doubts in my head. Is God telling me something, or should I push through and keep trying? God says marriage is meant for learning, to be more godlike. Is this what's happening?
- [31:20]
A
Yeah. So these are two very different questions. Let me speak to both of them. One I think I have license to use as an example. If I don't, then I'm gonna get in trouble. But let me go over the first question with Belinda. First of all, Melinda, let me make myself clear. If you are being physically abused right now, or if you're being abused at any level, God gives you a tool, okay? And that tool is separation. If through that abuse or through that separation, the abuse continues. I do believe without getting into, like, a big old description here, you have justifiable grounds to move on. But let me just explain something. When I say that moving on doesn't mean going and finding the next relationship, there's some big consequences to that action. Not to your salvation, but to that action. My recommendation is that you go to a pastor who knows the word, who can counsel you through this. But whatever you do, remember, abuse is never to be tolerated in a marriage relationship, or any relationship, for that matter. And if you are being abused, he cannot be allowed to continue doing that. If that means you separate immediately to get yourself out of danger, great. And if you so choose to continue to work through the marriage relationship, then by all means, may God be with you when you do so. But so long as he can aptly demonstrate the fact that he will not go back to any type of these behaviors because he has to be held accountable. Men are not allowed to beat their wives. Men are not allowed to speak harshly to their wives and to tear them apart. It's just not biblical, and actually, God hates it. Okay? So with that said, please go to your pastor. Please have a conversation. Try to bring in some counseling into the picture. Abuse is never a part of this. If a pastor says you've got to put up with abuse, that pastor's got something going on. There's something very wrong. So make sure you go and find one that will counsel you biblically. Right? But at the same time, if you. If you desire to fix the relationship, don't do it while you are together to allow him to continue to abuse you. Take advantage of some separation so that you both can reflect on reconciliation. Come back and get that right again. All of this is caveated with the understanding that you need to speak to A pastor or somebody who loves the Lord, who knows the word of God, who has a healthy marriage that will be able to walk you through this. And I think that's very, very important. You shouldn't just, based on what I say, go and run off. I think it's really important. However, I will say this, something you should do based on what I say. Get out of an abuse situation. If you're being abused, there's no situation where it's justifiable for you to stay somewhere and continue to be abused. Okay. But do it with the heart of reconciliation. But again, those are, there's some caveats there. So go and speak to a pastor. It's really, really important. Okay. With respect to the other one. So as Kate, just help me out. Can you, can you read that question to me one more time? Because I think I'm hearing it correctly. I think it's kind of an important, an important thing.
- [34:48]
B
Yeah. This reader feels lost in their relationship. It sounds like they're married because they, they mentioned marriage at the end, and they say, I can feel so happy. And then it changes quickly. And I have doubts in my head. Is God telling me something? Should I push through and keep trying? God says marriage is meant for learning, to be more godlike. Is this what is happening?
- [35:06]
A
Yeah. So let me say this because I think that this is kind of, kind of an important thing. I, I. And boy, I hope I don't get busted for saying this. I hope I. Well, anyway, I'm just going to do it. I'm just going to say it. I have had the privilege of being able to counsel lots of really wonderful people over the years. And through that counseling, I've been able to tell very quickly what a good marriage looks like and what a bad marriage looks like. And because I've had an amazing mother and father who, who demonstrated very effectively what a healthy marriage should look like. I can see a healthy one a mile away, and I can see one that's in trouble a mile away. So with that said, let me make a, let me make a comment on Charlie and Erica. Now, I know it's not fair because Charlie's with the Lord now, okay? And he's more alive than he ever has been. But one of the things that I used to love about watching the two of them together were moments where they, for one another, in very unique times, ignored the emotions that they were feeling in the moment, understanding what the scriptures taught them to do, and as a result, they were rewarded for it. Okay, let me, let me just explain what I mean, when I say this, I knew Charlie and Erica before they were married. I knew what Turning Point looked like before they were married. I knew what even these ministries look like, the proclaimed ministry, all these other things that surrounded them look like before they were married. They get married, and as they come together, they learn to love God more than they love one another. But in doing so, when two lives come together, you learn something very quickly, and that is you die to self. Now, I say this with great pride in my heart because Erica's a lot like my wife. My wife is a woman who has given herself to loving her husband through self denial. And all the conversations I've had with Charlie, he very much has his heart for his wife, the same way I had for mine. And I bring all of this up because my church would never be where it is today, never, if it was not for my wife. When my wife came into my life, oh, my goodness, there was a lot of self denial that had to happen. There were emotions that were telling me something different than what was true. There were things that irritated me, things that bothered me. And I know for a fact it was the same way for Nicole. But we both denied those emotions. We did what we knew the scriptures taught us to do, and our love for one another grew in ways you can't even begin to imagine. When I first met my wife, our church was doing well, but it's nothing like it's doing today. As a matter of fact, we're doing so well, we need another building. We might have an opportunity to buy one if you guys could think about it. If anybody looking for a church to give some money to to buy a new building, we need to come up with some money within the next few weeks, if you're interested. I just thought I'd put it out there. But my point behind it is God has immensely blessed the ministry of Calvary Chapel Signal Hill, has blessed the YouTube channel, has blessed the family enterprise, my business, the things that we have, our business, the family business, our finances, all of it through the strengthening of our marriage. The same thing can be very easily argued for Charlie and Erica. Look at how they denied themselves that they may obey God in their relationship. And the love that they had for one another was so unbelievably strong that people who don't know God will look at it and go, well, that's just. That's fake. That's just not real. That's. And I know that's the truth because people do it with me. Oh, that just can't be Real, she's just sticking with him because it's some kind of an arranged thing and blah blah, blah, blah, blah, blah blah blah. That's what they do, right? But here's the reality. There is a reward that comes from self denial within the context of marriage. And in your question, when you ask and it is gold, so gold you say, God says marriage is meant for learning to be more godlike. That's one of the reasons. That's exactly what seems to be happening based on what you're saying. And I can tell you that I am the man that I am because of my bride. And my bride can say that she is the woman that she is because of me. And that's the thing that I absolutely love about what God does through marriage. And by the way, can I just say this, I'll make this comment and look, there's like I'm not in it for anything other than just an interest to do the right thing. When the Lord chose to bring his servant home on that terrible day in September, man, it was hard. Look, a lot of us had a super, super hard time with it. There was some why Lords. There was a lot of that stuff that happened. But the natural question that everybody began to ask was, well, how's everything gonna go? How's Turning Point gonna go? What's gonna happen? He's gone. He was the center of it and so on and so forth. And I knew it. I didn't have to say anything. Matter of fact, my wife asked me that question. James, honey, how's it going to work out? I mean, there's so much to take on. I said, you wait and see. You wait and see. Because of the wonderful marriage that Charlie and Erica had together and still have it in many ways. I mean, he's with the Lord, right? That organization is going to grow. It's not going to, it's not going to falter. It's actually going to grow because there's a spiritual principle here. So whatever it is your hands are in the middle of. Anonymous Go through the difficult labor of marriage. Marriage is not easy. Okay, here's the one thing I learned about people who attack other marriages. People who attack other marriages or second guess the motives in other marriages are people who don't have healthy marriages themselves. Because marriage is hard. I know I can say this about my wife. My wife came to me. Literally there was so little that I had to teach my wife. My wife came to me about as perfect as a woman can come to any man. She is the best wife any husband could ever ask for. And she's beautiful, okay? Matter of fact, people see me with her all the time. They go, are you rich? They say, but here's the thing. I am the beneficiary of somebody who could not be more perfect. And still, I will say this marriage is hard. Marriage is hard. Why? Because if it's done right, you have to deny yourself. And the denial of self feels like the denial of a whole bunch of other things. But the reward that comes is extraordinary. And I would not rather have any other way other than the way I have it with my. With my bride. That's, by the way, the reason why I ask you to continue to pray for Erica. Because she's feeling completely, completely at a loss. Why? Because her husband was everything right. And I think that's the way it should be with any widows. This is a huge, huge loss. Marriage is important. Invest in it, do the hard work, and God will bless you.
- [42:47]
B
Thank you for that.
- [42:48]
A
Sorry, I know that was an earful. I know it was an earful, but I think it was important.
- [42:51]
B
It was very important. And I actually want to skip down one question just because, you know, speaking about Charlie's life, I think this is something a lot of people are processing right now. Megan says God knows our story and the plan for our lives. He never promised a life without heartache and troubles. But when someone gets cancer, is murdered, or dies in a car accident, was that his plan for them? Did he already know the moment they were born that that was going to be their story?
- [43:18]
A
Well, God would have known the moment they were born that that was going to be their story. God would have actually known it before they were born, before they were a thought in their mother and father's mind. God would have known it before he created the universe. The problem is we live in an imperfect world. And the Bible says through one man, sin entered the world. That means when Adam chose to disobey God, then sin was introduced. Sin and death. And so all of these things, murder, cancer, pain, suffering, that all comes as a result of sin. And God knew that sin would have its toll on mankind. And God knew that sin would have its toll on a body that was designed to be eternal, but stopped being eternal when this happened. But yet God still, in his love for us, found a solution by sacrificing his son. Which, by the way, I would not sacrifice my son for anybody, under any circumstance, for any reason. So the fact that God did it with his son, it's mind boggling to me. He sacrificed his son that we Might be able to have salvation. So, yes, you know, death is painful. Death is hard. I still, personally, I won't forgive. It's hard. Maybe I'll say I won't forget. Maybe I can forgive, but I won't forget. The dirt bag that sent me the video of Charlie getting killed, it was the. One of the worst videos I've ever seen in my life. Just absolutely terrible. But I know for a fact that the Enemy has always hated Charlie and Erica, for that matter, because of the gospel, because of the introduction to the things of God. And it's a terrible part of reality in the world in which we live. Now. Here's the joyful part. When we are taken, whether it be car accident, cancer, murder, we become more alive than we ever have been. Why? Because that's the God that we serve. And. And salvation speaks to something that goes into the ages. And so Charlie. Now, when people tell you Charlie's dead, you really shouldn't believe that. Okay? And I'm not talking about some cuckoo conspiracy. Oh, he's off in a wall somewhere hanging out. No, Charlie is more alive now than he ever has been because on that day in September, he heard the words, well done, good and faithful servant, and he began to experience the joy that he wanted to introduce everybody to. I don't know if you guys noticed that about Charlie. You know, when Charlie first started his ministry at Turning Point, it was very, very political. There was a lot of politics. And of course, that's his. That's his field. That's kind of where he lived. He's in the political arena. But as time went on, especially near the end of his life on Earth, he spent a lot of time begging people to go get married, to have children. Why is he asking people to get married and have children? Because he loved his wife and he loved his children. And not only did he do that on a regular basis. Right. But he also wanted people to come to know the Lord. Why? Because the Lord was everything to him. The Lord changed his life, and he knew. He knew the Lord could change everybody else's life. So it goes back to that. The sorrows that we experience oftentimes drive us to the joys which bring us greater reward. And I think that that's a very simplistic. I'm not going to say simplistic, simple way to look at it, but it's important because God in his faithfulness, always gives us the better that comes out of the pain.
- [47:04]
B
Thank you, Pastor James. Thank you. And next, we have a couple similar questions, and we'll taper off from lifestyle here in a second. But these are just really important. This next one comes from Mandy. I've been feeling the nudge to jump into my faith for some time after what happened to Charlie. I dove in, I walked into church, cried hysterically, felt the Lord and have been attending ever since. Praise God. My question is, I've been struggling with believing the Bible really happened or that Jesus is real. I want to believe so badly. I know I need Jesus in my life, but how do I accept that Jesus is real? And then we have one other reader kind of off that same note. Sophia says, when a non believer asks, how do I know God exists? When what's the best response? Or how do I prove to them that he's he's real without. Without having to use the logic of error or that we were not created by coincidence.
- [47:56]
A
Yeah. So these are very, very good questions. And the reality of that is we have to go based on what we understand and know to be true. The Bible is true. It is not disproven. We know the declarations that the Bible makes. The other issue that you also have to stop and consider is the fact that God gives us tools to, that are tangible that we can use to viably understand the depth of how real he actually is. Okay. Bible prophecy is a great example of that. All throughout the Bible there are remarkable predictions that have been made that were fulfilled absolutely perfectly. So we have Bible prophecy. We also have what the book of Hebrews describes as faith. Now, the way he describes faith is he says faith is the evidence of things hoped for. Let me go back. I'm. I'm just going to read that here. No, the, the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen. Okay. And my brain just jarred a little bit. Here's the amazing thing about how this works. God's track record is perfect. The same person who would make the argument that I don't believe in God because I don't really see him, or I don't see anything that would seem to point me to Him. You have to look at it from several perspectives. Number one, the Bible says it, so you've got to trust that that is true. Now, that might seem abstract to you because you think, well, how do I trust something that I really can't tangibly believe or I can't really explain or understand fully. Well, you turn on a light switch in a room and you expect the lights to turn on. Yet the average person cannot understand or, or cannot describe how electricity works. And even if they can describe how electricity works. Many of them do not have the physicist background to be able to get to the nitty gritty of it. And even if they can get to the nitty gritty of it, there are elements within physics that they just simply don't understand, nor can they explain. Okay, there's lots of buzzwords in this one, but the reality of it is there's so many things we just don't know. Some people say, well, I. I've seen electricity. That's why I believe in it. No, you have never seen electricity. You've only experienced the effects of electricity. Well, I've seen lightning. Yes. That is the effect that comes as a result of the existence of electricity. So you have to look at it this way. If you see a watch on somebody's wrist, like my apple watch, you might think, what is the likelihood that this apple watch just evolved on my wrist and then evolved on everybody else's wrist out of nothing? Maybe out of some functional primordial ooze or whatever? What's the likelihood? No, you. You would say it's impossible. Why? They have trademarks on it. They all have uniform software. They do the same things. They react together. They're tied into the same network. So you believe that about a watch that is sitting on a wrist that has far more complex electronics within it? When I say electronics, meaning the nervous system, neural function, the way electrical signals are sent within the body, Far more complex than anything you will ever find on a watch that you refuse to believe was not built, manufactured, created by somebody. So the evidence is there. We see it. Okay, morality. Where does morality come from? So there's a lot of questions like that that only the Bible can answer. And it's all fundamentally predicated upon the existence of God. So that's how we do it. We do it by what we know.
- [51:39]
B
I love that. I love those analogies. Are you speaking of the existence of God? Are you ready to jump into our scripture questions, pastor James?
- [51:46]
A
Yeah. Yeah, let's do it.
- [51:48]
B
Caitlin asks in Genesis, when discussing creation, where did God come from? Was he just all alone in space? He created the heavens and earth. Does that mean when he created angels? Or did he? Or did they already exist? And when was the fall of Satan? Was it before creating the heavens and the earth? How much time do we think each day was in creation?
- [52:08]
A
Yeah. Okay, so I think that the days in creation were literal days. I guess we'll go backwards to this, right? I think they were literal days. So I'll go backwards from end to beginning. The fall of Satan, was it before the heavens and the earth were created? I don't know. The Bible doesn't tell us. And by the way, when people think that there's a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 and that's where Satan fell, I don't believe that. I actually think that just is a reflection of the fact that they don't understand the Hebrew language and that's why they come to those conclusions. So the answer to that one is I don't know when Satan fell. Now, I do know that we have some descriptions of it, we know what the implications were behind it, but that's the way it goes. Now when it says he created the heavens and the earth, that is one that involves a lot more complex of a discussion. But the reality of it is we get answers from this not only in the Hebrew language, but also in the Greek language. Now this probably would be a good spot to maybe talk about how languages work for just a second because it is kind of important when we translate languages. We translate languages in two primary ways. And yes, I am over seven simplifying this. Okay, I'm not going to give you a Wes Huff description. I'm going to give you an over simple discussion because I recognize the fact that we are talking with, talking about a lot of people who are new to the Bible. But when I speak from a biblical language, there's lots of problems in interpreting from old languages. Okay, first of all, if a language has been gone for a long time, it's difficult to be able to understand how it all works. So we have two different approaches to basically interpreting language. One is what we would call a word for word method or a thought for thought. Now we know them in other ways. We can call it word for word dynamic equivalent. There's lots of other ways that we can actually describe these translation processes, but it is a little tricky. So let me just explain myself when I say this and I am going to get to an answer on the Genesis thing, but it'll help you understand when I say something like this, and I'll use a language that's modern and that everybody's familiar with, I'll just speak a Semitic language like Arabic. If I were to say what I just asked you literally word for word is go into the ice and get me something cold. That's literally what I say, word for word. Now if I were to translate it in its dynamic, equivalent fashion, meaning it's thought for thought. The translation is go into the fridge and get me a Coke. Now, context determines that vocal intonation determines that location, can determine that where I'm pointing might determine that. And so it can be very, very tricky. Now, when you look at the Hebrew language, Hebrew is a language that demands or necessitates a thought for thought approach because of the way it is structured. The Greek language is a word for word approach, meaning it's a lot more specific. So when those of us are researching something in the Hebrew Bible and we're having a difficult time understanding what it means or what it implies, we will oftentimes go to the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Now, why do we do that? There's two reasons. Number one, we do it because Greek is word for word. And a lot of the ambiguities that may exist in a language like Hebrew get erased from what you might read in Greek. And the reason why we really appreciate that is because the translators of the Hebrew Bible that translated it into the Greek Old Testament were a lot closer to the days of that language when that language was still alive. So they would have had a better understanding of what was being said. So when you read about accounts concerning the creation of mankind going to the Old Testament, using the Hebrew or the Greek translators will make a huge difference. Now, there's one area where that becomes even more incredible and more useful, and that's when you go to an author who writes in Greek who was familiar with the Bible about the same subject. So if you want to understand where God was when everything was created, one of the places I would go to might be John 1, for example, where John starts off by saying this in Greek. He says, that's the original language that it was written in. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. Now, this is interesting because of the rendering of the imperfect. What we know for a fact is that God always existed. Based on the language structure of what we read in John 1:1 and the translation from what we read in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis, God was always there. He never was not there. That's a long explanation, but that's how I can definitively tell you that God didn't just come out of nowhere. He'd always been there. Now, how does that work? I don't know. We were created by God. Our minds. Our minds cannot contemplate something so significant. If that makes any kind of sense.
- [57:23]
B
Yep, it goes into the mystery box and we're gonna know one day.
- [57:27]
A
Yeah.
- [57:28]
B
Kathy asks, knowing that God is omniscient, why did he create Satan? He knew what would happen. I just don't understand.
- [57:37]
A
Sweetheart, your, your, your question is so good that I can tell you with great confidence. I don't know. God is sovereign. I don't know. What I do know is that God is just. God is loving, God is caring. And whatever God did and why, why ever he allowed it is a much better reason than I could ever contemplate or explain or think of, even though I don't know or don't understand. And there are going to be times where we're going to have to be okay with saying we don't know or understand why, because the God who created us is far greater than us. No one wants to worship a God that's less complex than us, if that makes any kind of sense.
- [58:15]
B
Amen. Colleen and Derek both have questions that are kind of similar. Colleen says there were many people on Earth before Adam and Eve as evidence with fossils, etc, native Indians in the usa for example. I would love to discuss on how to reconcile this. And Derek says where and when do the dinosaurs come into history? We all know that these creatures walk the earth. Could it be that the world was already present but in darkness?
- [58:40]
A
Yeah. So there are a lot of people that make the assumption that there were a lot of people who lived on the earth prior to Adam and Eve. I completely categorically deny that assertion. I actually believe that Adam and Eve were the first people to live on this earth because the Bible actually makes that very, very clear. The Bible also tells us that through one man, sin entered the world. And we know, of course because of sin, then death. So it was Adam's sin that introduced all of that. I am going to assume that what we know and understand to exist within the fossil record that allows us to make the assumption that there were men on Earth billions of years ago or millions of years ago or whatever it might be, is all a effect of what happened during the flood that we read about in Noah later on in Genesis, which would have been after the time of Adam and Eve. And there's a lot, and I mean a lot to this, the science behind it is pretty remarkable. There's so much to say about what drives those conclusions. And, and it's ever changing the science behind it. And every single time it changes. It would seem to agree more with what the biblical, the biblical description or the biblical record is for it. So that's, that's how I would answer that. And as far as dinosaurs, again, I think dinosaurs were around during the time of Adam and Eve. We certainly know they were around Because Job seems to describe some dinosaurs. But I think that when the flood happened, I think it changed everything.
- [60:09]
B
We got a couple questions about the fall. So Jessica says, I need help understanding the fall. God created Eve. He had to know she would sin. He created the serpent. It just seems like everything in Genesis 3 was predetermined and God knew all of this would happen, but then he punished Adam and Eve. If God created all, he sees all, he knows all, why go through this entire experience with Adam and Eve? Why not just create two sinners? Did God do all this and create all this pain in the world because two people failed to obey him? And then Patty asks, I have always wondered why God instructed Adam to eat from any tree, but not the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why would God do that? It feels like he was setting up Adam for failure. And wouldn't God want humanity to have the knowledge of good and evil?
- [60:52]
A
Yeah. So this is very, very important. These are very important questions, and I think they rest in understanding a much deeper issue. Okay. First and foremost, if God just went ahead and created sinners, as you would describe it, Jessica, you would understand this. Then we wouldn't have the relationship with God that we have today. There would be no free will. We would not be where we're at today. So, unfortunately, the cost of, of allowing people to have free will is the fact that they're going to make bad decisions. This is the part, by the way, that I hate about being a father. I. I love my babies, and I don't want my babies to go through hard things. I don't want them to fall off a tree ledge. I don't want them to climb something and get hurt. I don't want them to run really, really fast and scrape their knees. But the reality of it is, if I'm going to teach them to be people who act as free agents, governed and submitted to God, they must learn how to be able to make these decisions on their own and fall into these categories of error. And so that would explain the idea behind God allowing to happen what happened, because they needed to have free will. With respect to the serpent, that was Satan infiltrating into something that God had made beautiful. The Bible says that the serpent was actually something that was quite beautiful at the time. And then after it was cursed, is when it became what we understand or know to be the snake. Now, with all that said, let's go back to the discussion of why would God, you know, restrict one tree? Okay. Well, it's really simple, because if there was if, if, if everything was allowed and there was no discipline within the context of what could not be allowed, then what was allowed would never be able to be understood. And as enjoyable it would all be regular, full blown indulgence. It would just be like going on one big party binge forever and never really appreciating what you have. And this is something that Charlie and I used to talk about all the time. As a matter of fact, this is why Charlie, many many years prior to, to going to be with the Lord, many, many years, he just chose, I'm not drinking ever again. I'm not going to drink. Why? Did he have a problem with alcohol? No, but he stopped drinking because he knew that there was a greater benefit in saying no to something like this and experiencing the mechanism that that discipline provided in enjoying all the wonderful things that God has now. The message of the tree of the knowledge of good and Evil had nothing to do with them knowing good and evil. Satan framed it that way. Okay? But what it had something to do with is how you understood good and evil. The way good and evil was understood by Adam and Eve prior to the fall was that evil was something that was so dark it was not tangible to them. It was not within the realm of possibility. When they entered into the decision to choose to rebel against God, their knowledge of good and evil changed. The relationship of their knowledge of good and evil, their perspective on good and evil changed. At one point it was not even. It was so unacceptable, it wasn't in the realm of their thought. And then one day later, it was part of something they actually desired. Now this goes back to a much bigger principle and this actually goes back to one of the problems that I'm seeing with this younger generation today. Which by the way, in my opinion, Gen Z, this younger generation, the smartest generation to ever live in humanity's history. I really believe that. Okay? Charlie believed that. The problem is this. The enemy did this at the very beginning in the garden. The enemy wanted man to focus so much on what they didn't have that they would ignore what they did have. And what they had was substantial. Think about it like this. God said, of every tree you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you can't eat it. So in other words, the whole world is yours. Just don't eat that. If that was me, I would figure out a way to build Fort Knox around that tree. Never touch it, never look at it again. Why? Because I have trillions of dollars to my name. I have the Whole world to my name, so long as I don't touch that. But the enemy, our enemy, the devil, he wants us to focus so much on what we don't have that we ignore what we do have and we lose out on the opportunity, on what God wants us to do. By the way, this is a principle of wealth creation. Okay? We talk about this a lot when we talk about the. The need for us to be able to build into our family enterprises and to create wealth. You will never be able to create wealth if you spend more of your time focusing on what you don't have instead of focusing on what you do have. And so the people who are constantly complaining, this policy, that policy keeps. I don't have enough money to buy this. I don't have enough money to buy that. I don't have enough money to go buy a house. I don't have enough money to do this. Okay, stop for a second. Stop it. Stop focusing on what you don't have and start focusing on what you do have. And what most people in Gen Z will realize is they have a whole lot more than they think because they've wasted so much time focusing on what they don't have that they've been deceived into realizing that what they have is not enough to do whatever. Okay, Elon Musk became the richest man in the world. Well, maybe Putin's richer than him, but Elon Musk became the richest man in the world not because he spent time focusing on the less than a hundred dollars he had coming into this country. Okay, again, what has God given you? What do you have? You have an intellect, you have this resource, you have that resource. You have relationships. When you focus on what you do have and you deal with that, only then will you grow into the greater thing. And by the way, this is a huge, huge principle when it comes to building wealth. Huge principle. You will never do well if you don't understand this. And so this lesson in Genesis is important. It's not to show that. Excuse me. It's not to show. Look at how cruel God is because he kept them from having one thing. It's to show a very important principle, and that is if you want to succeed in your life, understand how critical it is to pay attention to what you do have instead of what you don't.
- [67:27]
B
That's good. William says in the Bible, I've read parts of countless. I have read parts of countless times. Times. It states lineage, so and so begot so and so and so and so, be so and so and Then their ex generations. Now, some of the names are recognizable, some are not. What is the purpose of telling the generations?
- [67:46]
A
Oh, yes, okay, go through my study on the book of Genesis because I can spend a lot of time talking about that. That is super important. The generations are critical. The generations are super critical because they relate to understanding the Messiah, okay, And who he is and actually establishing the fact that Jesus Christ is who the Bible said he would be. The genealogies mean something, by the way. We have a hard time understanding this in the west, because in the west, we don't name people according to a story or according to the family patriarchy that we've established, okay? We just name people something because, oh, that name sounds really pretty, but we don't really understand what they mean. All of my children have Hebrew names, and every single one of those names speak to a very specific issue related to their existence. And it's something we will teach them for the rest of their lives so that they can appreciate how God foreordained them, right? How he basically preordained everything about their lives. And so it becomes critical for them to yield and submit to him because of their very names that have been given to them.
- [68:53]
B
So.
- [68:53]
A
So if you understood that, which most people wouldn't because of the way, you know, we are here in the west, then you'd understand how valuable that is. So go to my study that I do. I believe it's Genesis 10, where I. Where I. I talk about this for the first time. Or even more importantly, go to my study on Matthew chapter one, where I talk about the genealogy of Jesus, and it'll blow your mind. You'll understand why. They're very, very important. And they are important, by the way. They are very, very important for that reason, because they tell us way more than you can possibly imagine.
- [69:23]
B
Next question comes from Jessica. Where did people go when they died before Jesus came?
- [69:29]
A
I think they go to heaven. If they were righteous, they'd go to heaven. If. If they. If they were not, they would go into some kind of place that resembled hell, not the lake of fire, but some. Some place of punishment, but actually heaven. How do I know that? Because Jesus, as he is looking at the thief on the cross and the thief on the cross is asking for redemption. He says, today you will be with me in paradise. Okay? That word is heaven. He's talking about the place where God abides. So that same word, by the way, is the same word that we would use for Abraham's bosom when that story is told. So understand this Doctrine of like a purgatory type structure where there's like a temporary holding tank is not a biblical, is not a biblical precedent. It's actually something that's based on something mythological more than biblical. But I, I believe they are right in heaven. Now, where they stand in heaven is a little bit different. Right. You know, the saints that were prior to the time of Christ are going to be in a slightly different category than the saints after the time of Christ. Right. And then, of course, then the Jews that will be dealt with beautifully by the Lord, by the way, they will be in a, in a, in a different category. So there's different people in different categories from different dispensations, but that's, that's how that works.
- [70:50]
B
Our next question comes from Fauna. I've always thought that all of the references to any of the Godhead were to be capitalized, but when reading, I kept coming across a lot of he's and hymns that were lowercase that reference God. Why is this?
- [71:03]
A
Yeah, typically the way it would work with respect to capitalizations is you would see this typically within the context when Jehovah God was being referred to. Then you would see capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. And there are many contexts in which the H for he referring to God the Father would be used. But God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, sometimes not. And that just depends on the, the translation and how it was actually worded. But that, that would be the case right there. That would be the reason.
- [71:35]
B
Next question comes from Jasmine. How did people live to be more than 700 years old? In Genesis 5, we had a lot of people asking about the ages.
- [71:44]
A
It's a great question. And quite frankly, we just don't know what our best guess is. Radiation affects the way that we live. Longevity. And the belief is that prior to the flood, the canopy that existed around the earth, the firmament that the Bible is talking about, filtered out the kind of radiation that affected aging. And it's very likely that they lived that length of time, basically because of that effect. Now, it could have nothing to do with that, and it could be that God just snapped his finger and said, man will no longer live this long anymore. That's something that God just created, and it's just part of the ecosystem that he built in this world. But my guess is it's probably related to the firmament that existed prior to the flood.
- [72:26]
B
Speaking of the flood, Jennifer says if God promised he would never flood the earth again, does that mean that he regretted doing so? If he regretted doing so that would mean God thought he made a mistake. And God does not make mistakes.
- [72:39]
A
Yeah, I think the regret is a different. The word. The word regret here would not be, I wish I never made that mistake. The word regret is. This is regretful for me. In other words, I am saddened that this happened. But we cannot conflate regret for necessity or, Or. Or lack thereof. So the idea here is that God was saddened by it, but that was the case. Now what's important to understand is God promised he wouldn't destroy the world by flood again, but we know he's going to destroy the world by fire. So it's just the way that he chooses to destroy the world. That's kind of where that. All that went, by the way, that has a lot to do with Babel and a bunch of other things that happened a little bit after that time, which, again, we could spend hours talking about. But I think that's. That's probably the gist of it right there.
- [73:27]
B
Thank you. We're going to skip down a couple of questions, down to Frida's question. We had a couple in a row that were kind of similar. So Freda says, I've wondered why some interpretations of the Bible say you shall not kill, while other versions say, you shall not murder. Is there any historical evidence that supports one interpretation over the other? And then Marianne asks, please explain the difference between the commandment thou shalt not kill and an eye for an eye.
- [73:55]
A
Yeah, okay. Both very good questions. First of all, murder is the term that we would understand. Sometimes in translations you will see kill. Kill is a word that tends to be more, include, all, ex, all inclusive for us. But the function is the premeditation tied to it. So again, there are situations where you are justified in taking another life, and the Bible is not prohibiting those moments where that takes place. And that's a very big, massive language issue. That. Which, by the way, when I go in that section of Genesis, I cover. So that's kind of an important thing to. To be mindful of. Okay, then also, thou shalt not kill and an eye for an eye. They're two completely different things I just talked about. Thou shall not kill. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Let me just tell you what that means. It is not God saying that if you pluck out an eye, that your eye now must be plucked out. That's not what that says. Okay. The command, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, or that statement, eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, means if my Eye gets plucked out. I'm not allowed to cut a guy's head off. In other words, the maximum infliction of retaliation that can be brought would be the removal of his eye. Because of the eye that he removed from me, it prohibits going beyond that. Okay? So I would never be good with the eye for an eye command because, you know, I, I, I can be a vindictive person. So it's like, you know, you slap me in the face, I might throw you on the ground and just keep kicking you. You know what I mean? But the Bible says, no, you don't do that. It's literally you cannot go beyond that which they did to you. Then that's what that, that's what that means.
- [75:49]
B
Taylor asks God doesn't punish or discipline kids for their parents sins. So how is the 10th plague which caused the death of Egypt's firstborn? Okay, do these things contradict each other?
- [76:01]
A
No, they actually do not contradict one another. The problem is this. The problem is we oftentimes default to blaming God for what he inflicts on people, when in reality we are the ones who inflicted it upon ourselves. With respect to the plague of the firstborn dying, the one caveat that most people don't catch is the one that actually created the celebration of the Passover. And that's this. God said, I'm killing the firstborn of everybody. I'm taking it from the people in Goshen, meaning the Jews and the Egyptians. But anybody who does not want their firstborn to be killed can kill the perfect lamb, put the blood on the doorpost of their home, and the death angel will pass over. So the people of Egypt who did not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, made a decision to put their faith and trust in a God that, that could not save them. And as a result, they were the ones that added or allowed the infliction of the pain of their children. So you've got to think about it like this. As parents, we make decisions that will bring grave consequences to our children. And if we allow ourselves to do those things, we are now held liable for what happened to our children because our bad decision allowed our children to be judged. I'll give you one great example of this. My sister one day wanted to go on a ride along with, with me when I was a police chaplain in southeast Los Angeles County. And I called up one of my partners and I said, hey, can we take her on a ride along? I'll go with you, I'll jump in another unit. Well, one of the very first calls my sister went to, unfortunately, was a triple homicide. The oldest victim of that Triple Homicide was 12 years old. The youngest victim was 6 years old. All three of those children had weapons in their hands. All three of those children were present at a gangster party. All three of those children were killed at the same time, at one o' clock in the morning. The question that you have to ask is, where are the parents? If parents allow their children to be put in those, in those situations because they're bad decision makers, you can't blame God for judging children for the sin of their parents. The sin of their parents will have consequences on the children. As a matter of fact, God in his grace and his mercy oftentimes saves children from the consequences of their parents terrible decisions more than he does it. So it's, it. There's a big difference between God judging a kid because of their parents and parents doing something that puts their children in immediate danger, if that makes any kind of sense.
- [78:55]
B
It does, it does. It's really good example. Madeline has a question about the Tower, Tower of Babel. She says, I'm confused about why a chapter in Genesis mentions how there were many different languages. And then it says later how there was only one language. So I think Madeline's referring to Genesis 10, 5 that says from these coastland people spread their lands, each with their own language. And then Genesis 11, the whole earth had one language.
- [79:18]
A
Yeah. So Madeline, there's just been a little bit of a, of a conflation there, maybe a little bit backwards. They started speaking one language and God in his grace and mercy broke them up from speaking one language to making them speak multiple languages. That's what the Genesis account says. And by the way, that's a very important thing to keep in mind, because when they were building the Tower of Babel, God said, they will do anything they put their minds to. Why? Because it was the combination of all human intelligence that existed at that time, and they were all speaking one language. And God in His grace and his mercy, decided to judge them by breaking up their languages so they would not be able to achieve what they knew or what we know to be the spirit of Antichrist, literally absolving themselves of God's judgment because they themselves wanted to assume the role of God. By the way, the reason why they built that Tower of Babel, Josephus tells us, is because they wanted to avoid a consequence of another flood. And that's why they built it so tall, so they could avoid that consequence and, and thus continue to maintain the role in the position of God. God said, I'm going to stop you from doing this by breaking up your languages. That's why the time in which we live today is really scary. Because with AI, we all speak one language now. And by speaking all one language, intelligence is growing faster and faster and faster and faster. But the way God will deal with this, this time eventually is by destroying the world. And we know that that's going to happen sooner than later.
- [80:40]
B
So Pastor James, would you say just to elaborate on this, because I think Meline's issues maybe with the chronology that the multiple languages is discussed in Genesis 10, but then it's Genesis 11 that talks about one language. So could you speak to the chronology there for her?
- [80:58]
A
Yes, thank you. Thank you for the. I, I misunderstood the question. Yes, that's very easy. So let me explain how this works because this also is very, very important. Okay. Genesis 10 is the table of nations. It, it tells us where everybody went and the languages that they ended up Speaking. Okay. Genesis 11 is the story that tells us how they got there. So Genesis 10 is the story of these are, who all these people are. Genesis 11 goes back and tells us how it all began. By the way, this is very common in Hebrew chronology. Okay, one great example of this. Genesis chapter one, God created the heavens and the earth. Then Genesis chapter 2, God begins to describe what he did in creating the heavens and the earth. God is the one who created the heavens and the earth. Well, he started with the earth, becoming without form and void. That's Genesis chapter two. Then in Genesis one, we see the whole account of everything that he created, mankind, all the animals, all that stuff. And then God goes back to the story of the creation of mankind by explaining how Eve came about. So God says he create. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1 that God creates man and woman. But then later on in Genesis chapter two, we see an account of Adam existing before Eve was created, even though Genesis chapter one says she was created. So what, this is what happens if, think about it like if you're watching a modern day movie today. You ever watch the movie or at the very beginning of the movie, you see like a police chase, it's all kinds of crazy things going on. And then they get in an accident, some big crazy thing happens, an explosion happens, all kinds of weird high action type stuff happened. And then the screen goes black and then it says 45 days earlier. And it takes you back to something that happened in the beginning. That's exactly what's happening here. And by the way, that is very common for Hebrew storytelling, which is actually what drove the way we ordered the books in Genesis or the books of the Bible for your reading. But it's the same thing. That's exactly what happened here. Thank you, by the way, for that clarification. I. I did not understand it correctly.
- [83:01]
B
Yeah, no, no problem. Our next question comes from Laurie. This one goes back to the book of Job. God made a deal with Satan and allowed him to ruin Job's life in order to test his faith and prove that Job is faithful to God. Do you think that all of our hardships in life are a result of the spiritual war between God and Satan? And if. And that if we are going through tough times, it's ultimately God testing our faith?
- [83:24]
A
Yeah, I think it's a little bit of all of that, believe it or not. Now, is it Satan specifically conspiracy to destroy you? No, probably not. I think it could be a demon. I think it could be something like that. But I think everything starts in the spiritual realm. And I think we can prove that biblically. So that's a. That's a great assumption to make because it's predicated on truth.
- [83:45]
B
Lynn asks. I'm curious about the priesthood from the Old Testament. As I understand the priests came from the tribe of Levi and had to be descendants of Aaron. Jesus, our great high priest, was from the tribe of Judah. And I'm wondering why the change in tribe.
- [83:58]
A
Such a phenomenal question. What a great. You are a Bible student. I love that, Lynn. Okay, Hebrews answers that question for us because that was the question that the author of Hebrews is making. You know, Paul, when he's writing this, which I believe it was Paul that wrote it. He begins to make this argument with the Hebrew church because these are Jews that he's writing this letter to. And the problem with the Jewish church at this point is they were saying, okay, we believe in Jesus as our Messiah, but just in case we're going to still go to the temple and make sacrifice. And the apostle Paul was saying, well, that sacrifice isn't going to mean anything because Jesus is the superior sacrifice. He's superior to the angels. He's the superior sacrifice that you might experience redemption. And then he says that Christ is the superior priest. Now, how could that be? Jesus comes from the tribe of Judah. You could not be a priest unless you came from the tribe of Levi. Well, the argument that the apostle Paul makes is that Jesus did not come from the Aaronic priesthood, meaning from Aaron. Why? Because Jesus came from what was called the Melchizedekian priesthood. We read about Melchizedek in Genesis a little bit later from the right around. I'd have to go back and look at it. But, you know, early Genesis, we read about Melchizedek. He was a priest that served, by the way. It's interesting. He was. Interesting thing about Melchizedek, he was actually called the King of Salem, okay? Which basically Jesus is called the King of Peace, the Prince of Peace. Eventually, who will become the King of peace? What the writer of Hebrews was saying was that Jesus did not come from the Aaronic priesthood because the Aaronic priesthood is not a priesthood that represents somebody who did not have to sacrifice for himself. In other words, if the Aaronic priesthood existed, they had to make sacrifice for themselves. We read about this in Leviticus early on in Leviticus, matter of fact, Leviticus chapter 8 and on, you start looking at the. The ceremony of consecration. The priests had to sacrifice for themselves and because they were sinners in order to be able to sacrifice for everybody else. The only priest that never had to do that would have been Melchizedek. And what the argument that the author of Hebrews is making is that Jesus comes from the Melchizedekian line, not from the Aaronic priesthood. So Jesus came from the order of Melchizedek, which, by the way, it's interesting because Melchizedek is the only one understood to be a priest who was also a king. So he came from the line. And that order, which a lot of people believe Melchizedek was actually an Old Testament appearance of Jesus. So that's how that authority gets established. And it's interesting because when people say Jesus is king today. Let me just explain something that's very, very important. Jesus in this moment is still the priest. He becomes the king later on in Revelation, where he rules in perpetuity as a result of the Davidic promise made in the Old Testament. That's why there are some people right now who say Jesus is king as a way of basically brushing off Jews, because their mindset is, well, he's not your king anymore because you guys are not valid. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Christ is our high priest right now after the order of Melchizedek, who will one day rule and reign as king forever and ever. So it's a complicated yet simple thing, but that's why it is what it is. And Lynn, that's a brilliant question, by the way. Absolutely brilliant. I love that question. That's a thinking person's question right there.
- [87:51]
B
Go, Lynn. We Have Pastor James a handful more of questions. I think we can power through them. Yeah, let's do it. I mean, they're big, but we can do it. But this first one comes from Lexi. They're men in Genesis that had multiple wives and servants they had children with. Was God okay with that? Was it because there weren't very many people on earth yet?
- [88:12]
A
He wasn't okay with it because he later let us know that he wasn't okay with it. But men are imperfect and they do lots of things where they walk in disobedience and actually is. Early on in Genesis, we saw the consequence of men taking on multiple wives and how that was a detriment to them and how it created lots of problems even though God worked despite it.
- [88:29]
B
You'll find everyone, if you haven't cracked open the Bible before, there's a lot of stories about a lot of people that are doing things they're not supposed to do.
- [88:36]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah. God features the good, the bad, and the very ugly. That's for sure.
- [88:42]
B
This question comes from D. Why did God require sacrifices of animals for atonement? So, and this was one. Pastor James, we've had a lot of new believers asking just to understand animal sacrifice.
- [88:54]
A
Yeah. Super important, because there's a consequence for sin, and sin requires death, and life is in the blood. And actually, scientifically, we know that now. Right. You don't have life if you don't have blood. And your blood doesn't work if you don't have oxygen. And it's that whole ecosystem. So the idea is animal sacrifice had to take place because blood had to be shed in order to restore life, where sin took that life away. And that's why Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, was so critical, because he was the last time a lamb ever had to be sacrificed in order for us to find redemption of sins.
- [89:31]
B
Stacy wants to know Matthew 18:20 is confusing for her. She says, I thought, God is with us always. Why does it say, if two or more gathered, God is with us, isn't he already there? And so for everyone that's not got their bible out, Matthew 18:20 says, for where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.
- [89:50]
A
By far one of the most misquoted passages ever quoted. I hear this all the time, guys in ministry say, lord, you say, where two or three are gathered, you're here in the midst. Ah, wrong. That's not a. That context has nothing to do with God always being with us. That Passage has everything to do with confrontation. It has everything to do with going to somebody and confronting them for their sin. And, and the idea is you go to them one on one if they have erred, okay? If they, if that person that you confront does not receive what you're saying, you bring in another witness. If they don't receive, you bring in the church. And if they don't receive, then in essence, you have nothing to do with them. Why? Because where two or three are gathered, I am there in the midst. In other words, as you go to confront them, I will be with you. I will be backing you as you go confront. In other words, you will put the weight of my acceptance to this behind you. That's what that means. Can I, Can I, can I also really quickly comment on this, because it is kind of an important thing. I just want people to understand this. When Moses goes before the burning bush and God tells him to go to the Pharaoh, Moses asks a question that I think is really important. Some people say, he must have been crazy asking this question because it's obvious. He says, if I'm going to go to the Pharaoh, basically, and I'm paraphrasing this, tell me who sent me, who should I tell him sent me? Now some people say, what a crazy question. Well, it's not a crazy question, because here's the question that I would ask. When is the only time that a private has more authority than maybe a general? Well, the private has more authority than the general when. When he acts on the word of his commander in chief. So if I'm. If I'm a guy that has no authority, but yet my boss comes to me and says, I need you to go do this, I will actually have more authority than all the other people that rule over me because I'm going on the authority of the one who carries the ultimate decision making. So the same thing happens here. Jesus is saying, when you go and do this confrontation, I will be with you. Because, in other words, I want you to know you have my authority when you confront them. That's what that basically means.
- [92:07]
B
And Pastor James, you brought up Pharaoh. And I did respond to a lot of emails from readers about why God. You know, the passage describes God hardening Pharaoh's heart. So I don't have a specific reader here that asked that, but I know that's on a lot of people's minds, and I suspect there are many wondering if you want to touch on that too.
- [92:24]
A
Yeah, the subject of God hardening Pharaoh's heart was really simple. Let Me give you the language translation for this so it's a little bit easier to understand linguistically speaking. What it's saying is, God made hard the position that Pharaoh already had. That wasn't going to change. Okay. In other words, Pharaoh, you're stubborn. You don't want to change your mind. No problem. I will encapsulate it into eternity. Here you go. I'm honoring what you have to say. I'm hardening your position. So that's basically what he's saying. So it's not saying that God took Pharaoh, who had a soft heart, and made it hard. It was. No, I am making permanent the decision that you have made to harden yourself. That's what that means.
- [93:02]
B
Thanks for touching on that. I think that's going to help a lot of people. Marlise wants to know, why is it that Jesus so often tells the people he healed not to tell anyone? Isn't the goal for everyone to know Jesus and be able to recognize him as the Son of God? And these works would be evident of that?
- [93:18]
A
Yes, today that would absolutely be the goal. At the time that Jesus's ministry was going on, it was very important that the timing of many things were happening in a very, very specific way, because the chronology of what Christ did while he was on this earth was super critical, especially as it relates to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and so many other areas, which is why Jesus would say, don't do this right now. It would be for that reason.
- [93:42]
B
Kathy asks about circumcision in the Bible. What does it mean? I've seen passages about an uncircumcised heart or uncircumcised lips. I think this is symbolic, but I don't understand the symbolism. Please help.
- [93:55]
A
Yeah, really simple. So as a Jew, if you were a male, on the eighth day, you were supposed to be circumcised. It was something that was actually required. And early on, those people who were first made as Jews, they would be circumcised. Very painful thought to think about it. And so the idea here was the circumcision of a Jewish was to show that you belonged to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was a symbol of your commitment. And so the idea here regarding the circumcision of the heart means you're removing the foreskin, so to speak, of your heart. The. The. The. The worldliness of your heart in order to dedicate yourself to the Lord. And that's what the circumcision of Christ would be. That's the picture. That's Being created circumcised of heart means that you are now dedicating yourself to the Lord, allowing your heart to be renewed. It's a symbol of dedication.
- [94:51]
B
Jennifer says the conversation of hell has come up many times recently, whether or not there's even a hell and if it's an eternal consciousness for the unbeliever. In the Old Testament, when Sheol is mentioned, it is my understanding it is a place where both righteous and unrighteous bodies were often placed. It is also my understanding that Sheol is referring to hell. What are the best scriptures to reference and what is the best way to explain to someone who does not believe in hell that hell exists?
- [95:16]
A
Okay, so this is a long study. I do have multiple studies on hell that I would recommend that you go over@James Cadiz.com. you could just go there and search hell. And, and, and I talk about this. There are some assertions made in this question that are not accurate. Like for example, many people believe that hell would refer to a place where good and bad people existed. And that is not the general belief that existed in, in Judaism. Now again, there are lots of arguments that go back and forth, especially in different writings by different rabbis who thought about different things. But hell, let me just simply say this. Hell is a place that Jesus talked about more than heaven. The Bible talks about more than heaven. It's a very real place and is a place for eternal punishment and judgment. And the Bible makes that very clear.
- [96:08]
B
We've got four more scripture questions left. Okay, four more questions, I should say, because a couple are from YouTube. But our last reader submission is from Jennifer. Why doesn't God talk to us audibly anymore like he did with Moses or Job? Reading Genesis and Exodus, it feels so direct back then. What changed? And reading the Bible does really show God talk to people out loud. First time reading for the Bible for this beginner or from beginning to end. And this really stands out to me.
- [96:37]
A
Yeah, so this is awesome. The Bible actually tells us what happened. The book of Hebrews says that God spoke through prophets and spoke in essence the audible way in which you're describing today. He speaks through his word. Now, can God still speak to somebody audibly? Of course he can. He's God. He does that. Does he speak to us still to this day? Absolutely he does. Through a still small voice often times. But I do want to encourage you with one thing, and that is don't make the mistake of assuming that God spoke audibly to every single person that we read about in the Bible that God spoke To Jeremiah, for example, we know for a fact how God spoke to Jeremiah. God spoke to Jeremiah by putting up thought in his mind and then confirming the circumstance. And we actually have evidence of that when Jeremiah went to go buy that piece of land. And by the way, I have a study on that. You can go online and you can read that as well. So that's the story there, and I think it's a very important one. They didn't have what we have today, and that is the complete counsel of God that we might be able to understand his voice in any situation or any circumstance.
- [97:37]
B
Thank you. We've got three questions from YouTube. We don't have names on these with people's usernames, obviously. So the first one says, do you believe in having a prayer journal or just speaking to God only?
- [97:51]
A
I think it's good for both. I tend to be one that speaks to God and doesn't really journal much in terms of my prayers. I did it early on, but the way my brain works, I see my words and my thoughts in my brain. Lots of people don't. I know there's lots of people who actually journal, and it's very good for them. And so I think it's. It's entirely up to you on that one.
- [98:15]
B
We touched on this a little bit, but this reader says, it's my understanding that there were two forbidden trees. One was the Tree of Knowledge, the second was the Tree of Life. Is that true?
- [98:25]
A
Well, no. They're being conflated. It's kind of an interesting thing. The Tree of Life is a different tree than the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which there's even debate as into whether or not it's located in the same garden. We read more about the Tree of Life in Revelation. There is a direct connection there, but the one that is forbidden is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Now, the Tree of Life there, the Tree of Life is an issue of accessibility. Obviously, those who refuse to put their faith and trust in Christ are not going to be able to touch the Tree of Life. They're. They're forbidden from doing it, and they in and of themselves will perish as a result of their decision to reject God.
- [99:16]
B
And the last question here, what is fasting and why is it important?
- [99:21]
A
Fasting is denying yourself of something that you would normally consume in order to keep your mind on the spiritual issue. So it could be you skipping out on one meal, it could be you skipping out on multiple meals. It could be you simply not eating for a period. Of time. And the idea of doing that is at the moment that you are refraining from eating the food that you are keeping yourself from eating. It should cause you to focus a little bit on your hunger and then motivate you to pray. By the way, I've always noticed this. I believe it's true. I believe it's real. Fasting causes you to gain a certain level of clarity spiritually, and that's why it's so important on so many levels. It's a spiritual activity, and it's one that God rewards and honors.
- [100:05]
B
All right, and that's a wrap for these.
- [100:08]
A
We did it.
- [100:08]
B
Yeah. We got through all our scripture questions, YouTube questions. We got plenty more lifestyle. So for all of you who asked, we're going to do our best to get those in the future. But these were great questions.
- [100:20]
A
Awesome. That is great. And I know that God is going to be with you guys as you dig in and you dig deep. And you know, I mentioned this before I even said it when we were at Amfest. I had brought it up. And that is the fact that there is this real opportunity to put more faith and trust in the Lord, gain trust in the Lord by studying Bible prophecy. And that's a tool that God has made available for us in His Word. And I do believe we have tools available for this online. I think there's a link to my book that I just wrote on Revelation that you can grab. We even have it on paper book, a paperback that will walk you through the Old Testament as you're going through. The Book of Revelation Part two comes out, by the way, later on this, later on at the end of the month. But we have lots of resources like this that will help you be able to better understand the word of God and just find faith and trust in what he has to say. Because the promises he makes are real and. And they. And they absolutely come true. I also want to say this if that's okay if I. If I can take the liberty to do this really quickly. Please pray. Please pray for Erica. Please pray for the team at Bible in 365. Please pray for the folks at Turning Point. I'm going to just simply say this. I think the devil absolutely hates Erica. I think the devil hates the people at Bible in 365. Especially Bible in 365. And yes, turning Point, because I think that the enemy does not want people reading the Bible. The enemy does not want people getting closer to the Lord. The enemy does not want people coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. Please pray. Spend time praying. Spend time asking God to protect them because they have a very, very difficult job. If you can think about it, pray for the whole team at Bible in 365. And there's some really amazing people. Pray for all of Erica's team and Erica herself and the children. We do it every night. We pray every single night by name for all of these people that I'm talking about, because it's important, and I want to ask you guys to do that. And I also want to say this, and I know I speak on behalf of Erica when I say this. We're so honored to serve you. Like, I just wish you would know how much we love you and. And how much of an honor it is for me to be able to do what I do in loving on you and ministering to you and giving you, showing you the grace of God. You are all very special people. And we will forever be grateful for the honor and the privilege that we have to bring this to you, that you might be able to grow in your walk with the Lord.
- [103:18]
B
Mm. Absolutely. I feel the exact same way. And just know all of you, we're praying for you, too. And like Pastor James said, you know, the enemy wants nothing more than to get the Bible away and out of people's hands. And so especially, you know, I've received several emails personally. I'm sure other members of our team have gotten them, but we've had. People have reached out already, worried that, you know, maybe they're falling a little behind or they feel a little disturbing, discouraged, because they don't understand everything yet. And I know Pastor James, me, the whole team, just want to say, absolutely. Just stick with it. Stay in the word. Keep learning. It's okay that you. I mean, listen, Pastor James is very smart, and you heard him say himself, there's things he doesn't know, you know, and so just don't be embarrassed. Don't be discouraged. It's just wonderful that you're reading and God is going to continue to reveal Himself to you in His Word. And so just. Just be encouraged and. And stick with it. It's. We're here to serve you. We're all in this as a community together. So we're praying for you, too. And Pastor James, would you pray for our community and pray us out?
- [104:25]
A
Absolutely. Let's do that, Father. I just thank you so much, Lord, for your goodness and your faithfulness, Lord. I thank you, Lord, for the fact that you are so good to us, Lord. Your love and your mercy continues, Lord, to never be cut short from us, Lord. Lord, I just pray God for all of the words that have been shared, that they will have been your words, Lord, not mine. That, Lord, you'd be honored through this time that we've had together as a fellowship of believers, Lord, we also pray for your hedge of protection upon all of these your people, Lord, that you would watch over them and protect them. Lord, we thank you so much, Lord, for Kate and the team. Pray that you would bless them. We thank you so much for Erica, Lord. We pray your blessing upon her and upon the babies. I pray that you would bind Satan from seeking to destroy any of them, Lord. And that, Lord, you would have your perfect way in all of this. So, Lord, we love you and thank you. We look to you and we ask these things now. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
- [105:24]
B
Amen. Thank you, Pastor James. We're so grateful for you.
- [105:29]
A
It's an honor. Love you. And I cannot wait to do the next one. We can keep doing these Q&As. They're going to be fun.
- [105:35]
B
Yes, everybody will get you a date as soon as possible, but yes, way more to come.
- [105:42]
A
God bless you guys.