#250 - Joby Martin // Christmas Without The Chaos

Summary

The Daily Blade: Joby Martin & Kyle Thompson
Episode #250 - Joby Martin // Christmas Without The Chaos
Date: December 16, 2025

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Overview

This special Christmas edition of The Daily Blade centers on finding peace, purpose, and godly priorities in the midst of the holiday hustle. Joby Martin offers a devotional reflection on how to avoid the chaos that often accompanies Christmas by focusing on honoring God, serving family, and resisting the temptation to get swept up in busyness for the approval of others.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Winning at Christmas Means Glorifying God

• Joby reframes “winning” at Christmas:
  • Not about decorations or presents.
  • About “bringing God glory in the way we conduct ourselves in this season.” (00:27)

The Danger of Busyness

• Seminary professor’s wisdom:
  • “If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy.” (00:42)
• Joby challenges listeners to reflect on over-scheduling and misplaced priorities (“too many parties… too many expectations from other people… too much travel… too many events” - 00:44).

Schedule Your Priorities, Don’t Just Prioritize Your Schedule

• Joby emphasizes:
  • Time with God and family must be intentionally protected.
  • “You schedule your priorities. You don’t just prioritize your schedule.” (00:57)
• Reminder that “your family are not your parents and your in-laws anymore… If you are married with kids, that is your family and that’s who you need to serve first and foremost.” (01:14)

Seek God’s Approval, Not People’s

• Biblical grounding in Galatians 1:
  • Quoting scripture: “For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God?... If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (01:22)
• Warns against letting family pressure or social expectations dictate choices.

Make the Best Use of Your Time

• Ephesians 5 cited:
  • The Bible urges believers to “look carefully then at how you walk… making the best use of your time because the days are evil.” (02:01)
• Assess your calendar:
  • “Does it scream wisdom?”
  • “God's will for your life is to love God, to love people, and to date the gospel to the ends of the earth. Is that what your schedule reflects?” (02:29)

Find Rest in Jesus, Not Your Schedule

• Matthew 11:28 referenced:
  • Jesus invites, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.... I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (03:10)
• Challenge: “Your schedule will not give you rest. Jesus will.” (03:32)

Balancing Rest and Service

• Anecdote about Tim Tebow:
  • Tebow’s “greatest fear is that he would go to heaven well rested.”
  • Rest is biblical, but so is kingdom work.
• Joby asks: “Are you living for the applause of man or the applause of heaven?... Heaven cheers when the lost are saved, when the poor are served, when the gospel is preached.” (03:53 – 04:18)

Practical Encouragement

• Prioritize inviting others to Christmas services.
• Don’t focus on “eggnog, parties, or that stuff,” but on “the Father’s business.” (04:38)
• Closing call: “Don’t get too busy—be about the Father’s business.” (04:49)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Joby Martin on priorities:
  • “You schedule your priorities. You don’t just prioritize your schedule.” (00:57)
• On people-pleasing:
  • “If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (01:28, quoting Gal 1:10)
• On Jesus’s invitation:
  • “Your schedule will not give you rest. Jesus will.” (03:32)
• On balance, quoting Tim Tebow:
  • “One of his greatest fears is that he would go to heaven well rested.” (03:42)
• Final exhortation:
  • “Don’t get too busy—be about the Father’s business.” (04:49)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:20 — Introduction to “winning” at Christmas
• 00:40 — Dangers of busyness; Professor’s maxim
• 01:14 — Redefining family priorities
• 01:22 — Galatians 1: People-pleasing vs. God-pleasing
• 02:01 — Ephesians 5: Using time wisely
• 03:10 — Matthew 11:28–Rest in Christ
• 03:42 — Tim Tebow story: balancing rest and service
• 04:38 — Practical invitation for Christmas focus
• 04:49 — Closing challenge: avoid busyness, pursue God’s will

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Summary Tone and Takeaways

Joby Martin brings a direct yet pastoral tone, urging listeners to resist cultural chaos and align their schedules with God’s will—not others’ approval. With humor, real-life examples, and biblical truth, he calls men (and all believers) to practical changes for a Christ-centered Christmas season.

For listeners:
This episode delivers a clear message: Prioritize what truly matters—God, family, and gospel impact. Don’t let noisy obligations rob you of meaningful rest and mission during the holidays.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

[B]

All right. Welcome back. Day two in this Christmas edition of the Daily Blade. These are my tips and tricks from the scripture on how to win this year at Christmas. Again, I said it yesterday. Winning at Christmas is not about how many delights you have up or who gets the best presents. Winning is bringing God glory in the way we conduct ourselves in this season. My tip for today is this. Don't get too busy. One of the only seminary professors that I ever got along with used to tell me this. If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. Are you scheduled for too many parties, too many expectations from other people, too much travel, too many events? You see, what you got to do during this Christmas season to make the most of it is make sure that you schedule your priorities. You don't just prioritize your schedule, that you schedule your priorities. That means you take the most important things. Your time with the Lord, your time with the family, the time to be grateful. You schedule your priorities. You don't just prioritize your schedule. You don't let everybody else tell you where you have to be. And you need to do whatever honors God and what is best for your family. And by the way, your family are not your parents and your in laws anymore. If you are married with kids, that is your family and that's who you need to serve first and foremost. Galatians, chapter one. The Bible says this for am I now seeking the approval of man or of God or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. So are you too busy? Do you have too much travel? Are you stressed like crazy? And the only reason that you're doing these things is because you are trying to seek the approval of man. It might be your in laws, it might be your outlaws, it might be your parents, it might be your boss, but are you doing these things and what you're actually doing is serving the wrong master. You've got to do whatever Jesus tells you to do, what's best for your relationship with him in regards to your schedule and best for your family. Ephesians, chapter 5. Beginning in verse 15, the Bible says, look carefully then at how you walk or how you live. Not as unwise but wise. Making the best use of your time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. So this Christmas season with all the parties and all the expectations, are you making the best use of your time? Well, the way to evaluate that is you gotta understand what the Lord's will is. So look at your calendar. Does it scream wisdom? And what is God's will for your life? Well, God's will for your life is to love God, to love people, and to date the gospel to the ends of the earth. Is that what your schedule reflects? Or is your schedule burdensome and you're not doing anything good or godly? And because of your schedule, you're actually hating people and not loving them. You see, God loves you, and God put you in charge of your schedule. Okay, Now I know you have work obligations and those kind of things. I'm talking about all of the extra things that take away all the time where God has given you enough time to accomplish his will. Matthew 11:28, following Jesus says these words. And so if you are very, very busy, if you are running on E, I want you to hear the invitation of Christ. Christ says, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, let me ask you, is that you? And Jesus says, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Your schedule will not give you rest. Jesus will. Now what I don't want you to do is overcorrect and just sit around and not do anything for the kingdom of God. I was listening to an interview of Tim Tebow very recently, and he said that one of his greatest fears is that he would go to heaven well rested. Now again, he said, I get rest. I get the Sabbath principle. And so what are you doing this Christmas season? Are you living for the applause of man or the applause of heaven? Because you know what heaven cheers at? Heaven cheers when the lost are saved, when the poor are served, when the gospel is preached. And so may we find our rest in Jesus, and may we do the right things this Christmas season for the applause of heaven. Maybe one of the things you could get very, very serious about is you can invite people to your Christmas Eve service if you go to the kind of church where the gospel is shared and get really, really, really focused. Not on the eggnog, not on the parties, not on that stuff, but get really focused on the father's business. Don't get too busy be about the father's business.

[A]

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