Mailbag Friday: Did God Command Killing in the OT? Magic Tricks + Righteous Anger

Summary

---

Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

Episode: Mailbag Friday: Did God Command Killing in the OT? Magic Tricks + Righteous Anger
Date: March 20, 2026
Host: Todd Friel
Producer/Co-host: Jimmy Hicks
Platform: Fortis Institute

---

Overview

This episode of Wretched Radio is a classic “Mailbag Friday”—a format featuring listener questions on topics ranging from biblical ethics to personal Christian living. Todd Friel and Jimmy Hicks tackle challenging theological questions, offer practical advice, and share biblical insight with characteristic candor and humor. In this episode, major discussions include God’s command for killing in the Old Testament, whether magic tricks are sinful, righteous anger, finding rest, and the Christian approach to insurance and workplace language. The tone is direct, often witty, but always aiming to ground advice in Scriptural principles with an emphasis on heart motivation.

---

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. God’s Command for Killing in the Old Testament vs. the Quran

[02:35] Listener Q: “How should a Christian respond to objections about God commanding the Israelites to kill in the OT compared to the Quran?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • The answer doesn't change for believers vs. unbelievers. God, as the author of life, can take life as He desires, and this is never sin.
  • Quote: “God can command the taking of a life anytime he wants to because he's the one who's responsible for life and death. And he never sins. If he takes a life, whatever the mechanism or tool that he uses.” (03:00)
  • Contrasts this with Allah, stating “Allah can’t [command life and death] because he doesn’t exist.”
  • Encourages explaining God’s sovereignty and justice, noting the weightiness of God’s ability to bear the sorrow of every death throughout history—a burden humans are not meant to carry.

---

2. Christian Headship and Income in Marriage

[05:29] Listener Q: “Is a Christian husband in sin if his wife earns significantly more?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • No sin if both are working and supporting the family; the income disparity is not a biblical problem.
  • Quote: “I wouldn’t put you in any sort of time out box or imply that you’re not being manly... I would see it as a blessing and carry on.” (05:58)

---

3. Are Magic Tricks Sinful for Christians?

[06:33] Listener Q (from Mike, age 10): “I want to do magic tricks—is that sorcery or lying?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • Differentiates sleight of hand/illusions (okay) from true divination (sinful).
  • Advises to describe such acts as “illusions” and “sleight of hand”—never as supernatural powers.
  • Quote: “If you’re presenting it as if you actually have the power to do things that suspend the laws of n[ature]. Well, that’s getting into the side of witchcraft, divination and sorcery…” (06:41)
  • Connects confusion over words like “tongues” to misunderstandings in the church, advocating for precise language: “The gift of languages—that is so different...much better word choice than tongues.” (07:42)

---

4. Righteous Anger vs. Anger Toward Sinners

[08:24] Listener Q: “Should Christians ever be angry at sinners, or just at sin?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • Distinguishes righteous anger from personal offense.
  • Righteous anger is appropriate when God is defamed or attacked, but this can easily slip into sinful anger if driven by personal annoyance.
  • Quote: “When God is assaulted… we should get angry. And furthermore, it can be at the individual. God isn’t angry at sin every day. He’s angry with the wicked every day.” (09:06)
  • Warns against both ditches: never being angry and using “righteous anger” as an excuse for constant irritation.

---

5. Encouraging Grieving Parents Estranged from Adult Children

[18:24] Listener Q: “How can I encourage my mom since my siblings resent her and are estranged, even though she was a faithful Christian parent?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • This situation is extremely common and not a unique parental failure.
  • Remind her she did her part; her children are responsible for their choices.
  • Normalize the trend of children “ghosting” parents, and emphasize the biblical value of honoring parents and family.
  • Quote: “It’s almost the norm rather than the exception…a plague.” (18:59)
  • Encourages teaching youth to rightly value family, marriage, and generational unity as “the big things.” (21:34)

---

6. Practical Rest in God—What Does This Look Like?

[23:39/30:23] Listener Q (from Hope): “How do I find rest in God and His Word amid busyness?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • Resting in God means trusting His character and sovereignty in everyday frustrations and trials, recalling His goodness, faithfulness, and control.
  • Quote: “He never does anything to his children. He only does things for his children.” (24:13)
  • Addresses semantic range of “rest”—physical relaxation vs. spiritual contentment.
  • Suggests practical steps: discipline; seeking help for schedule management; being aware of idolatry of busyness; enlisting accountability from family or church.
  • Quote: “Work is a priority over play…We work and rest only to regenerate ourselves so we can get back to working. Why? Because God has assigned us work…” (31:09, 32:35)
  • Jimmy adds: “Busyness…can be an idol.” (36:01)
  • Both stress heart motives—rest and work must be in biblical balance.

---

7. Insurance and Trusting God’s Sovereignty

[45:29] Listener Q (from Athul, India): “Is it untrusting for a Christian to buy insurance—health, term, etc.?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • Insurance is morally neutral; heart motive determines if it becomes an idol or shows lack of trust in God.
  • Quote: “If you’re freaking out, ‘Oh, I’m going to die and I’m going to end up in a gutter and nobody’s going to care for me and God is nowhere to be found…’ then you got an idol problem…” (46:16)
  • Wisdom issues: catastrophic insurance makes sense; don’t let anxiety drive decisions.

---

8. Responding to Irreverent Workplace Language

[50:08] Listener Q: “How should I respond if my boss refers to a report as ‘our Bible’—I find it offensive?”

• Todd’s Response:
  • Address it privately and gently if it really bothers you.
  • Quote: “I don’t think I’d turn it into a big deal… just [say], ‘Hey, every time you say that this report is our Bible, the Bible is actually really special to me…’” (50:26)
  • Don’t embarrass the supervisor or make it public; Christian confrontation is direct and charitable.
  • Connects principle to church unity—direct communication is essential for healthy relationships (52:09).

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On God’s Sovereignty:
  “He has witnessed every single human atrocity, every one, he bears it, every death. He is the one who authored it. And yet he doesn’t crumble because everything he does is just and right. And he can bear that weight. We can’t, can we?” (04:15, Todd Friel)

• On Magic and Deception:
  “Instead of calling it magic, call it sleight of hand, call it illusions, because that’s what they are. There’s nothing sinful about that.” (06:41, Todd Friel)

• On Righteous Anger:
  “God isn’t angry at sin every day. He’s angry with the wicked every day.” (09:06, Todd Friel)

• On Idolatry of Work:
  “Busyness as Hope described it is…good to keep your schedule busy, but…it can be an idol.” (36:01, Jimmy Hicks)

• On Christianity as Heart Religion:
  “Christianity is a heart issue… God wants us to make decisions based on our attitude and our affections toward him, distinguishing Christianity from every other religion in the world.” (49:50, Todd Friel)

---

Timestamps Guide to Key Segments

• 02:35 – Responding to commands for killing in OT vs. Quran
• 05:29 – Husband’s headship when wife earns more
• 06:33 – Magic tricks, sorcery, and spiritual gifts
• 08:24 – Christians, anger, and righteous response
• 18:24 – Encouraging parents estranged from children
• 23:39/30:23 – Finding rest in God and striking life balance
• 36:01 – The idol of busyness and Christian rest
• 45:29 – Insurance: faith vs. wisdom
• 50:08 – Workplace language and addressing offense

---

Tone & Style

The conversation is lively, conversational, peppered with wry humor, but always circling back to biblical authority and heart motives. Todd is frank and sometimes playful, Jimmy adds supportive and sometimes self-deprecating commentary. Direct answers are provided, but always with a call to examine motives and the condition of the heart as key in Christian life.

---

For Further Reflection

If you’re wrestling with how theology shapes everyday life—whether it’s ethical dilemmas, family tension, emotional health, or workplace interactions—this episode models both a robust doctrinal anchor and a compassionate, realistic application in modern contexts.

Transcript

[Todd Friel]

Wretched radio begins in 3, 2, 1.

We've had 35 resurrections of the dead. The closer they are to freshly dead, the easier they are to resurrect.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So I see this giant angel and I asked him his name. It's a financial company. And I realized this angel is here for our finances.

[Todd Friel]

And that's a true, literal story, by the way. These people are charlatans. And it's about time we draw a line in the sand and stop fraternizing with the wolves.

It's time for Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

Let's do this.

It's the Wretched Radio Mail call delivery bag, Q and A infotainment nationwide extravaganza featuring your voicemails, correspondences, communiques, dispatches, memorandums and missives.

Any special message for all the kids watching at home. What we need right now is a clear message to the people of this country. You have 1200 messages.

[Jimmy Hicks]

That is a bit above average.

[Todd Friel]

Now, here's your host, Todd Freakishly Tall Friel is here.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Ooh.

[Todd Friel]

This is Wretched Radio. Jimmy. How is my tough guy? Over opening. Let's do this.

[Jimmy Hicks]

That's what that. That's what that was.

[Todd Friel]

Well, you be the judge. This is CHID Radio. Do you know who used to be a tough guy? Yeah, he used to be a tough guy. He's not anymore.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Who's that?

[Todd Friel]

Emil Zwayne? No, he was a punk. A first class punk. He was a Crypt or a Blood. One of those.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Really?

[Todd Friel]

Yes, Emils.

[Jimmy Hicks]

I know he's a nice guy.

[Todd Friel]

Can you name anybody nicer? Now, there's people that probably could equal his. His kindness and. But I don't know anybody who exceeds it. He is like so. And you have to ask yourself the question, how does a young man go from being in the Crips or the Bloods? Don't want to offend anybody. If you happen to be a member of one of those gangs, how do you go from that to leading Living Waters as one of. And it's remarkable. Everybody knows it. You just meet the guy and it's like, is he really that nice? It has to be gifted. But it also has to be something that was cultivated because you just. I don't think you can bear that much fruit without an awful lot of fertilizer. So the good news is, as bad as my tough guy impersonation was, it's better than Emil's Waynes. There, I just said it out loud. What is on your wretched screen? Would you kindly send it to us? Ideaetched.org. if you would like to text, you may do so at 877282.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay. If you remember, we received an email from James last week who asked the question about the difference between the Quran and the Old Testament where God directs his people to kill those of other nations. Yeah. So he wrote a follow up question. He says, todd, I accept your answer as a Christian, but how would you respond to somebody who's not to an unbeliever? Yeah, that's right.

[Todd Friel]

I don't think I would change a thing if that is the right answer. And you can make that determination for yourself. The one that I gave, basically what I said is that God can command the taking of a life anytime he wants to because he's the one who's responsible for life and death. And he never sins. If he takes a life, whatever the mechanism or tool that he uses. Allah can't because he doesn't exist. I would stick with that and I would explain that to the unbeliever that first of all, Allah just isn't in the picture because he's not in the picture. But I would spend time helping people to understand that God is the one who makes the determinations of life and death. He is the author of life. He is the one who determines when your life on this side of the veil has ended. And he does that for every single life in all of human history. Can you imagine? This is, I think, an aspect of God that we don't often appreciate. I think that we can get a even greater understanding of the bigness of God, the strength of God, the weightiness of God. When you consider that he has witnessed every single human atrocity, everyone, he bears it, every death. He is the one who authored it. And yet he doesn't crumble because everything he does is just and right. And he can bear that weight. We can't, can we? We all experience some people dying in our lives, but it's probably less than a dozen, two dozen, maybe billions of people. And yet he bears up because his shoulders can handle it. And I can't help but think about fame. I think that's something that we aren't meant to bear the burden of. I don't think that we are made to be receiving applause. I don't think that we are to receive accolades and that people are to be worshiping us. I think that's why so many mega celebrities go bonkers. They aren't meant to to receive glory. Only God can receive that. So how would I explain this to an unbeliever? Same way that I would explain it to a believer. 877-282-2337 all right.

[Jimmy Hicks]

This is from Anonymous.

[Todd Friel]

Todd.

[Jimmy Hicks]

I'm 42 and I own a pretty successful business. My wife is in real estate. We've been married for over 20 years, have two children ages 12 and 16. Our schedules are flexible so we share parenting and household responsib equally. My question is this. My wife's income is significantly higher than mine. Am I living in sin as the head of the household for not being the main financial supporter?

[Todd Friel]

The dynamic that was just described? I don't think so. Because you are out there, you're doing it. You are working to support your family, so's your wife and the fact that her income happens to be greater. I wouldn't put you in any sort of time out box or imply that you're not being manly and leading and providing for your family. I would see it as a blessing and carry on. 877-282-2337 all right, here's a text from Mike Todd.

[Jimmy Hicks]

My name is Mike and I'm 10 years old. I want to do magic tricks and I was wondering if it's considered sorcery and lying.

[Todd Friel]

It depends on what you're doing. If you are doing actual divination, which I'm pretty sure you're not, Mike, then it would obviously be a sin. I would encourage this. This will actually help guide you. Not unlike a spiritual gift. I'll get back to that in a moment. Instead of calling it magic, call it sleight of hand, call it illusions, because that's what they are. There's nothing sinful about that. If you're presenting it as if you actually have the power to do things that suspend the laws of n. Well, that's getting into the side of witchcraft, divination and sorcery business, which Exodus 18 says huge thumbs down on that. So to not even find yourself in that territory, just call it. You do allusions, you do sleight of hand, and then I think you're operating on the right side of the line. Now what does that have to do with spiritual gifts? I think the issue of one word and understanding the original Greek language would clear up so much confusion. Have you guessed the word tongues? We call it tongues. Speaking in tongues. If we just use the original language understanding of what that was intended to be, especially as we see it manifested in Acts chapter two and called it languages, I think that we would have far fewer debates on the subject. The gift of languages, that is so different. Different. So I When I go about the business of reading, say, 1 Corinthians 14. Or I read Acts, chapter 2. Languages, much better word choice than tongues. You're welcome for that. Excursus 8, 7, 7, 2, 8, 2, 2, 3, 3, 7.

[Jimmy Hicks]

All right. This is a text from Jonathan.

[Todd Friel]

That kind of sneaky. Yeah, kind of throwing that in like that.

[Jimmy Hicks]

No, you didn't say anything about first Peter, so you're good.

[Todd Friel]

Oh. Oh, don't make me, Jimmy.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Don't make you.

[Todd Friel]

You know, you gave me a cannon the other day, and you know what I'm talking about. You gave me a cannon that I could fire at you at any time, but I'm not gonna. Don't make me.

[Jimmy Hicks]

That's a double barrel kit. This is a text from Jonathan. Todd, as Christians, we should be angry at sin, but should we ever be angry at sinners?

[Todd Friel]

Righteously angry, sure, but just indignant and. No, no, no, you can't. There's a fine line, and I Grinch you. It's very easy to cross that line and have fleshly anger because it offends me, annoys me somehow, or I've been offended in some way and I got to get my pound of flesh back. Yeah, that's sinful anger. But when God is assaulted, when God is attacked, then we should get angry. And furthermore, it can be at the individual. God isn't angry at sin every day. He's angry with the wicked every day. And I think all too often I see a ditch on each side of the issue of anger. I see people are like, you should never get upset about anything because that would be a sin to be angry. No, there's righteous indignation, and that is something that is totally in alignment with God's character and nature. I think there's another ditch that people use righteous anger to just be torqued all the time. And that's not the right ditch either. It's one of the finer lines that we have to walk as Christians, but walk it we must. 8, 7, 7, 2, 8, 2, 2, 3, 3, 7. Just, just, just go.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Todd, do you want me to ask you a question? That's the question.

[Todd Friel]

No, no. Yeah. No, that's not the question. Yes, I do. Now. Look at the time.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Look at the time.

[Todd Friel]

We could have handled this.

[Jimmy Hicks]

No, we could.

[Todd Friel]

There was 52 seconds, 28 seconds.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It would have taken that long for me to ask the question.

[Todd Friel]

It's a text. Go ahead. What text do you have in front of you? Go.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It's this long.

[Todd Friel]

Is it really? That's the only one you got.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It's the only one I had queued up.

[Todd Friel]

Yes, all right. Aye, aye, aye. If you would like to make a request for your money back for what you just had to experience, please send a letter to Jimmy at Fortis Institute. Somewhere this now my cannon has another ball inside of it. This is wretched radio.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Most men don't make one big decision that takes them off course. No, it happens gradually, and eventually you look up and you realize you. I've been coasting for years. Dr. Adam Tyson has created Walk Like a Man. It's available now on Fortis Plus. Dr. Tyson knows that's the story for way too many guys right now. And so he gets into God's word and he lays out what it actually looks like to walk with wisdom and live with real conviction. And the way he teaches it, you'll walk away from every episode knowing exactly what to do and why it matters. This is biblical teaching that puts solid ground under your feet and gives you a clear path forward. It's streaming right now with new episodes dropping every Monday on Fortis. For free. Download the Fortis plus app right now. Wherever you download apps on your smartphone, your smart TV, or just go to fortis plus.org and walk like a man.

[Todd Friel]

Is it possible a Christian university can actually be ranked high when it comes to preparing students for the real world? The hat tip to master's university. You want to send your kids someplace where they actually still teach the Bible, not just based on a document that they may be having a file cabinet someplace, but they actually use the Bible there. The education at the master's university, not only biblical, but oh, so practical courses, diplomas, degrees, they can be achieved online or of course, on their beautiful campus in Southern California. Would you like to learn more about the master's university to prepare you or your child for the future? I encourage you to visit Masters. Edu Wretched. Masters. Edu Wretched.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So we decided to run the gospel through a Focus groove and they loved the part about love. Then came the notes. Sin sounds a little bit harsh. So they suggested we call it personal brokenness. Hell. Well, that's a big negative. Maybe spiritual separation, saying Jesus is the only way, well, that's just intolerant. You have to make him one of many meaningful paths and the call to repentance. Believe that just raises a little bit of friction. How about like and subscribe? We thank them for their time and kept the message. If you're done rounding off the edges, Witness Wednesday here at Wretched Radio will help you share the Real gospel, a holy God, real sin, a just wrath, a crucified and risen Savior, and a clear call to repent and believe. And we'll do it kindly, clearly and without the sales pitch. It's Witness Wednesday on Wretched Radio. You can listen to your heart's [e-mail].

[Todd Friel]

Know your church fathers. Jerome was a 4th century Christian theologian and one of the original four Doctors of the church. His most important work was the Latin Vulgate, a translation of the the scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, the vernacular of his day. The Vulgate remained the preeminent translation of the Bible for a millennium. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

Delight or heebie jeebies? Those are the two options. This is Wretched Radio. If you find something wretched, would you be so kind to send it to ideaetched.org if you have a question, comment, conundrum, snark, text 877-282-2337. Jimmy, I'm gonna share an idea that you haven't heard yet.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay?

[Todd Friel]

You're either gonna be delighted or you're gonna get the shakes. Okay, you ready? I was thinking we could kind of go back in time and do something that we used to do on Wretched Radio years ago, but we stopped doing it simply because of the different formats in which this program goes out. What if we. I'm scared of your reaction. What if we had got phone lines in again and people could call and we could actually talk to them on air? Okay. Asked and answered. Then we're doing it.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Jimmy, can it be done? Yes. Oh me.

[Todd Friel]

You love the idea.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Absolutely.

[Todd Friel]

Uh huh. We'll see. 877-28-2233. It's fun. It's fun.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Absolutely. It would be fun.

[Todd Friel]

It is so fun. Do you know, do you remember? Okay. Laura Ingram. I don't think she does radio anymore. I don't think she's done it for years. She just does the Fox News thing. Do you remember listening to her talk show and how she would treat callers? Oh my. All right, Jimmy, we'll do a dramatic recreation. You're going to be the caller. I'm Laura Ingram. I don't like the role I'm playing, but nevertheless, let's go with this. I started it. And you call in with a question and just kind of be nice and you know, what's my question? Introduce yourself. Just whatever you're looking at to ask a question about it, but don't get to it immediately. Okay? Okay, you ready for your.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Your don't get to my question to me.

[Todd Friel]

Okay, go ahead, call her.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Hello, how are you?

[Todd Friel]

Let's get to it.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Let's. No, I bet. How are you?

[Todd Friel]

Okay, next. And hang up on them. Seriously. It was that like. And she would just scold them like, okay, look, you got to get to it. Like, this is boring. Next.

[Jimmy Hicks]

She had a schedule to keep.

[Todd Friel]

Unbelievable. It was so. So if we. If we do do won't sound like that. Eight, seven. In the meantime, we'll do it the old fashioned way. We'll text this morning. This is so amazing. I had a meeting that's been scheduled for a bit and we were going to do it via zoom. My zoom thing didn't work. There's nothing new. Zoom machine broke it just while it's spinning and spinning and it's like, okay, I'm supposed to be on the thing right now. So right away the guy texts and he's like, yo, you getting on the zoom? And it's like, I can't. And he said, let's do it the old fashioned way. We talked on the phone.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Wow.

[Todd Friel]

That's the old fashioned way. Alexander Graham Bell would just be thrilled to learn that. 8, 7, 7, 282-2337.

[Jimmy Hicks]

All right. This is a text from Anonymous. Todd. My mom is feeling grief over my siblings resentment of her. Our parents certainly failed in the ways common parents. That's common to all parents. But they raised us in a Bible teaching and church and sought to protect us from many traumas they experienced in their own childhoods. None of my siblings will likely ever have children of their own and therefore likely will never come to a place of understanding and forgiveness as I have. They all claim to be Christians, but I struggle to see any fruit in their lives. How can I best encourage my mom and her hurts?

[Todd Friel]

Oh, you're a good. You're a good child. Because what was just described is commonplace. It's almost the norm rather than the exception. It is that prevalent, the ghosting of good Christian parents. You can just keep saying the same stuff. You've probably been telling her. You're a good mom. You're a faithful mom. I'm so grateful for you as a mom. And you can also, I think you can do a couple of other things. First of all, you can remind her that their sins are their sins. Now, did she do everything right as a mom? Of course not. None of us do everything right as anything, frankly. And yet she was a faithful mom. She did not cause their behavior. She is not the one who repelled them. They have made that decision and you might want to repeat that regularly and often. But I think the other thing that you could share with her is the fact that this is an absolute trend. Go Google it. Just ask. Just ask Google to pull up all of the articles on ghosting parents, toxic parents, and you will see that this trend, it is, it's a plague. And she has simply been caught in the plague. So that maybe, just maybe, that helps her to understand she isn't this. She doesn't have to be this closeted Christian parent because her k won't talk to her anymore. It's like, no, you just, you just join the club because this is happening to millions and millions of parents. And mom, if you're listening, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. They I. All of the aforementioned things I said, plus, they don't know what they're missing. They just don't know what they're missing. I think we talked about this maybe two days ago, something like that. The big things and the little things. The world has itself. Here's another example, I think, of Romans 1, where everything is flipped upside down. Here's Isaiah 5 for you. It's what's up is down. What's down is up to the world. The big things are the little things and the little things are the big things. The world sees little things, like kids that honor their parents. They see that as something that's small and trite. That's a big thing. That's an excellent thing. That's an awesome thing. That's a rich thing. That's a profound thing. They've got it flipped. A family that stays together, a couple that stays married for 50 years, that's a big thing. And the world says it's a little thing. And the things that you and I rightly see as little things, like fame and success, the world sees those as big things. And this is a constant war that is going on. And I think that the world has persuaded far too many young people that being in a great relationship with their parents, it's not just a little thing to them, it's a terrible thing to them. It's horrible. Because they're probably a white Christian oppressor anyway. And all the other nonsense that goes with wokeism, the world, they've just got it flipped. And that is why I think the church does well to remind young people especially what the big things are. What the big things are. Then someday you're going to want your kids to be honoring you. And wouldn't it be cool? Just imagine The Courier and I've seen. It's three generations, it's four generations. Everybody's loving one another around a Christmas tree. That's what you're after. That's the stuff that should be on your list of priorities. Those are the things that are profound and good. Don't let the movies deceive you. Don't let social media trick you. They only promote little things, trite things, silly things, or downright sinful things. Go for the big things. And the big thing, honestly, is family, getting married, staying married, making babies, having grandbabies, and everybody loving each other and staying together. And the youth learning from the wisdom of the elderly, and the elderly benefiting from the energy of the youth. And the cycle goes on and on and on. Ah, those are the big things, Church. We got to encourage that. We got to teach that. If you lead a youth group, I would encourage you to consider letting young people know on a regular basis what the big things are and what the little things are, because they're missing out. 8, 7, 7, 2, 8, 2, 2, 3, 3, 7.

[Jimmy Hicks]

This is from Hope. Todd, I know God should be my source of rest, but how do I practically implement that in my daily life? What do you recommend to find rest in God and his Word?

[Todd Friel]

Oh, you just set me up to sin, what you're doing. There's a book coming out December 1st called Go Serve your king. I'm just saying it kind of deals with that. How do you rest in God? How. Wait, I want to get this exactly right, to be as helpful as possible. The question was, how do I rest in God? What does it look like to rest in God?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah. How to implement that in my daily life?

[Todd Friel]

All right, well, you just, first of all need to make it a discipline in your life. So as you're going through your life, when you hit traffic, when you hit a speed bump, when you hit a relational issue, you can stop and go, all right? What does God have to say about this? How does God inform this Lord? What are you doing in this, Lord? What do you want me to learn in this, Lord? I remember your character and your attributes. You are sovereign. You're good, able and faithful. I'm going to trust you. I'm going to trust you. You have determined I'm going to be late for this meeting. I trust you in that, Lord, because you're good and you're in control. And if you wanted me to be at that meeting on time, I left faithfully. I timed things out rightly. But you put traffic in my path. So I'M going to trust that you have something in this, and I'm even going to thank you for it. And that's just, I think, one example of how you can go about the business of resting. Let's go back to the brokenhearted Mom. Mom, God is good. He's able and he's faithful. He could restore those relations. He could do it, but apparently he's letting them continue in their sin because that's what's best for you. And you go, oh no, it's not. I want my relation. Wait a second. God is sovereign. He's good, he is able and he's faithful. He never does anything to his children. He only does things for his children. And you can rest in his decision because you remember the attributes, the character and the nature of God. Remember who he is and rest. This is Wretched radio,

[Jimmy Hicks]

And it's now time for your daily Fortis News breakabout production of Fortis Institute. Planned Parenthood's Illinois chapter just cut a half million dollar check after the EEOC found reasonable cause to believe the organization was segregating employees by race. That's right. The same outfit that lectures America about equity was running mandatory racial affinity caucuses, basically where white employees were forced into separate sessions and told they do not feel racism the same way. Meanwhile, the Trump DOJ finds a itself in a very awkward position defending a gender doctor against a detransitioner's lawsuit. Leighton Ulrey, a woman who escaped 18 years of cult abuse only to be funneled into testosterone treatments by a therapist who convinced her she was transgender, is now suing the federally funded clinic that altered her body. Her attorney says the administration should be protecting people like Leighton, not fighting them. And the DOJ says it's fundamentally opposed to gender ideology, but claims the case is procedurally barred by the statute of limitations. Aubree still suffers chronic vocal cord inflammation and body disfigurement every day. New York governor Kathy Hodgel is now begging former residents to come home from Florida. Here's the irony in that the same taxpayers that she's begging to come home she told to leave in 2022. Hochschel's pitch at last week's Albany summit blamed Trump for the activity, rather than to say New York's crushing taxes and policies are what drove people out in the first place. California taxpayers are learning a similar lesson about government overreach. The state now owes gun rights groups over $1.3 million after its ban on advertising firearms to minors was struck down twice by the ninth Circuit. The court found zero evidence that any minor in California ever illegally bought a gun because of an advertisement. The Second Amendment foundation noted that Governor Newsom passed the law in response to a.22 caliber rifle marketed to junior shooters. That political stunt is now going to cost Californians up north. A former senior Canadian official is warning that Chinese made electric vehicles could function as surveillance tools for Beijing, transmitting data from onboard cameras, microphones and GPS back to China. And here's the genius response from Prime Minister Mark Strike a deal to drop tariffs on these very vehicles and then flood the Canadian market with them. Finally, Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse dream continues its very expensive collapse. Meta is shutting down VR support for Horizon Worlds after Reality Labs burned through $6 billion last quarter alone. Zuckerberg now mint AI 23 times per conference and the Metaverse just twice. That wraps up today's Fortis news break. I'm Jimmy Hicks. If you want more, you can download Fortis or sign up to become a Fortis Insider for exclusive daily content. Both you can [e-mail], also don't forget, you can subscribe to Fortis News on your favorite podcast app in order to get these updates daily. And until tomorrow, go serve your king.

[Todd Friel]

Important Dates in Christian history 1675. German Lutheran minister Philipp Jacobs Spener publishes Pia Desideria, which becomes a manifesto for pietism. While both Catholicism and Protestantism define the faith in largely communal and societal terms, pietism emphasized the personal experience of being born again. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

Well, that question was a. Was a good deal. Kind of a twofer. This is Shed Radio. Jimmy.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yes?

[Todd Friel]

Why didn't you define rest?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Well, I'm sorry, that was my fault.

[Todd Friel]

Email. The email that. Did you edit it down or something?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I did.

[Todd Friel]

All righty then. So if you. If you missed the aforementioned debacle, Jimmy asked the question, somebody wrote in and said, hey, how do I. How do I learn to rest in God on a daily basis? Right? So I took that to mean that you rest that you see, cease striving to be in control of everything. You quit kicking against the goads. And you trust that everything that God is doing in your life is for your good and for his glory. You know, the way the Bible says it, how do you rest in that? But now you inform me that wasn't the. What are we talking about napping a little bit?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah. So I didn't set it up properly and I apologize. But so let me just ask the whole question as it was written in this is Again from Hope Todd. My life has been so busy lately. Lots of ministry, working on my master's and working. In addition to building a new social circle and planning big things for next year, there's always more to do and it's getting harder for me to slow down and rest. My best attempts at resting mostly involve watching something or scrolling through my phone.

[Todd Friel]

Well, this would have been helpful information.

[Jimmy Hicks]

I'm so sorry.

[Todd Friel]

You know there's a semantic range to the word rest, don't you?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I do now. Right, so then the question. I know God should be my source of rest, but how do I practically implement that into my daily life?

[Todd Friel]

You might find some helpful articles at Chali's website, Tim Challley's website. He talks about subjects like this and time management and finding balance in life. You might find some really helpful articles there. He's also got a productivity book, do More Better, Do More Faster or something like that. But at any rate, that might be a good source. Here's my Cliff's Notes version of what he might say. You might need help in opening up your calendar to somebody to help you make some decisions that perhaps put things in order for you. Because, look, your bandwidth might be super wide, sounds like it is, but it still has limits because we're not God. His bandwidth infinite, ours very finite, some skinnier, some wider than others. But you ultimately have a breaking point. You can only do so much. And so you would need perhaps some help, somebody to give you perspective and say, let's take a look at everything you've got going on. Because even Jimmy, as you read through that laundry list, as it started to get longer and longer, and I'm like, well, you sure you need to be making those plans for next year already? I mean, yes, you do some planning, but it's like, hold on, is everything on that list a necessity? And let somebody help you make some of those decisions and then hold you to them. Recognizing this is not being a quitter. Look, there are some people who are lazy. They're quitters. This is not being a quitter. When you cut some things off of your list, it is nothing but a reminder or that you're not divine. Then you can't do everything, enlist help and then enlist that same help or somebody else to hold you accountable. I can resonate with this letter. I get it. I like working. I like to do everything. I mean, I just like it. I don't care what the. I just like it. And I can see it as just being super important and it needs to be done. And I've got to get to. Hold on. Here's some people that you can check in with that will also help you know whether your schedule is too packed or not, those that are nearest to you. So in this instance, what does your husband think about your schedule? What do your kids think about it? What do your friends think about it? There is a balance in life. And the Bible doesn't give us this many minutes with this group of people in this many minutes doing this. The Bible is too brilliant for that. We've got Christian liberty in so many regards. But there should be something of a life balance. And I think the Bible lays out those priorities for us. Believe it or not, work is a priority over play the world. Once again, Flip. No, no play. That's the most important thing. Life balance. I need to work as little as I can to play as much as I want to. Wrong. We work and rest only to regenerate ourselves so we can get back to working. Why? Because God has assigned us work. Because God is a working God. And so our priority is work. And then you rest in order to do that work. Now, you've got other considerations. You've got your church responsibility, You've got your family responsibility. And there can even be some of this discretionary time where you just do need to sit on the couch and just chill out a little bit. That's okay. Historically, haven't we seen confusion about this where it's like, there's an imbalance, perhaps in society or in one's life, and you go, hey, wait a second, you need to be doing that, too. And then suddenly that you need to be doing that too becomes you need to be doing that exclusively. So you got to be constantly working on just thinking about your schedule and your balance. What does my family think about it? How am I doing with my church responsibilities? Am I getting downtime? Am I over scheduled? Am I getting frazzled? Then you need to make some adjustments, and then make adjustments again and make adjustments again because life is not tidy. And you'll need to continually go about the business of tweaking that schedule because you've got a lot of commitments. And if your current schedule is keeping you from priorities that God wants you to have, then you got to change your priorities and get them in alignment with God's. And to do that, most likely, you need somebody's help, Hence the necessity of a good local church. You got anything to add to that?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Oh, I've got a lot to add to that. I actually just preached a sermon on that this weekend. But.

[Todd Friel]

Well, then why didn't you answer the question?

[Jimmy Hicks]

But she asked you.

[Todd Friel]

Okay, all right, then I'm asking you what say you, Jimmy?

[Jimmy Hicks]

No, no. So I agree with everything you just said there. I mean, busyness as Hope described it is. I mean, it's good to keep your schedule busy, but I mean, it can be an idol, so.

[Todd Friel]

Oh, that can be an idol, you're right.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Absolutely. But, you know, the pattern. God built a pattern into our lives. I mean, he's a working God, like you said, and the pattern that he built into creation is six days of work, one day of rest.

[Todd Friel]

Oh, you're becoming. Okay, here we go with the Sabbath business.

[Jimmy Hicks]

No, no, no, I'm not talking about Sabbath, period. I'm just saying the principle is there.

[Todd Friel]

You gotta rest sometimes.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah, you've got to for sure.

[Todd Friel]

And look, everybody's built differently. Jimmy, you're a worker. I know that. I see it. What time did you get here this morning?

[Jimmy Hicks]

6:15.

[Todd Friel]

Okie dokie. So bless your heart, but were you up till about one reading last night?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I was not.

[Todd Friel]

Okay, I rested my case. The point is everybody's got different bandwidth and there needs to be different balance. But, yeah, rest does need to be a part of it. The problem is when rest becomes all consuming, you're out of balance. But so too is too much work. And you're right, Jimmy, work can be an idol, especially for men. We find a lot of satisfaction in work. It's something controllable. You can see the tangible results of your efforts, and it doesn't usually have a lot of emotional baggage connected to it.

[Jimmy Hicks]

And it's so hard to see because you think you're being faithful, you're working hard, providing for your family and the world. Everybody in the world's calling it a strong work ethic, but, man, it can just really become an idol.

[Todd Friel]

So it's a heart issue, too. That's a part of this. That would be a good component to consider. Also, why are you so busy? Do you know who I. Sorry, I had a synapse in my brain. There may or may not be some sort of connection here to the aforementioned conversation. I think his name is Benny Johnson. Does that name ring a bell?

[Jimmy Hicks]

I don't think so.

[Todd Friel]

Jason just sent me a clip of this guy. He was being interviewed on the Theo Vaughn podcast show, I guess. Theo Vaughn is a comedian. He has a popular podcast. We've talked about this Benny Johnson before. He's the bazillionaire who wants to live forever.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay, yeah, I know what you're Talking about.

[Todd Friel]

And so just his whole day is consumed with taking care of his body. I thought if I could sit down with him, my first question would be, Benny, what are you so afraid of? There's something that motivates that all consuming obsession with being able to live forever. I don't want to die. What are you afraid of? There's something underneath it. It's a heart issue that is lurking behind the motivation to go about the business of spending millions of dollars to extend your life and to try to look like a teenager even though you're like 50 something. It's a heart issue that's going on there. I wouldn't want to talk to him. You know, Theovani's talking to him about, well, what about this and your blood level and the vitamin one, even sleeping, what have you. What's going on in that heart? What's going on in that heart? Because whenever you see behavior that's extreme and that can be health, it can be work, it can also be parenting, it can be your me good things, right things. The, the. These aren't things that are sinful, but they become that because they've been elevated to the status of idol and live for these things. And we find our identity in these things and we find our fulfillment and purpose in these things. And God, God will crash those things for you. He will to help you get it straightened out. And so that is why you always want to go about the business of finding those idols in your heart and trashing them and bringing them down yourself so that God doesn't have to do it to you. Refiners fire. Your heart's one desire is not to go through the refiner's fire. Put yourself through it. Do heart evaluation. So if you've got something out of balance, something that you're obsessed about, even a good thing, just do a little heart exam to make sure it hasn't become an idol. This is wretched radio.

[Jimmy Hicks]

As a Christian, at some point you're going to be in a conversation about abortion. Maybe it's at work, maybe it's at Thanksgiving dinner, or maybe even with your own kids. And when that moment comes, you're either going to be ready for the conversation or you're not. Life is best. Get you ready. It's hosted by Scott Klusendorf, one of, if not the sharpest pro life apologists in the world. This 13 episode series walks through every major argument you'll hear and shows you how to respond with clarity and compassion. You'll also hear from voices like Paul Washer and Dr. John MacArthur Bradley bringing the weight of Scripture to an issue the world wants to keep shallow. You won't find angry debate tactics or gotcha moments. This is thoughtful teaching that engages the mind and the heart, because the goal isn't to win an argument, it's to change minds and point people to Christ. Life is best all 13 episodes streaming now on Fortis for free. Download the app on your smartphone, on your smart TV, or just simply go to fortisplus.org ask most Christians what they know about hermeneutics and you'll likely get Herman who that sounds like somebody's uncle. Is that the guy that always comes and just stays quiet in the back of the small group? Hermeneutics is actually the art and science of interpreting scripture and if you don't know how to do it rightly, you're going to read the Bible wrongly. Worse, you're actually going to be an easy target for every false teacher with a podcast and a principal proof text. Herman who is basically a master's level education and how to read the Bible correctly and it's condensed into something that you can actually finish. You'll learn how to interpret a 2000 year old book in a 21st century world without twisting it into something it was never meant to say. By the end of it, you'll never read Scripture the same way again, and you'll never have the wool pulled over your eyes by someone who sounds confident but doesn't know what they're talking about. Herman who in a streaming right now for free on Fortis, Download the app on your smartphone, on your smart TV, or just simply go to fortisplus.org thanks for listening to Wretched Radio today. Let me ask you a question. Have you experienced any type of real change in the areas of your life that really need it the most? Or do you find yourself just getting by, just figuring out a way to manage to the next day? A lot of people have gotten really good at managing their anger, managing their anger anxiety, managing the habits they've formed. But management is not the same as transformation. That's why one of the world's leading podcasts today is transformed with Dr. Greg Gifford. Greg is a professor at the Masters University and a Fellow here at Fortis Institute as well. And his whole focus is helping people experience the kind of change that only comes through the sufficient Word of God. And this kind of content is only possible because of our Gospel partners. If you've been blessed by our ministry, I would love to ask you to prayerfully consider joining us as an ongoing monthly gospel partner. I know you have questions about that and we have [e-mail] Wretched Amazing Grace. Amazing Gospel.

[Todd Friel]

Books of the Bible. The Book of Psalms is a collection of divinely inspired songs of praise for every season in life. There are songs of lamentation, thanksgiving, praise, celebration and remembrance of God's mighty deeds, all to help us find our souls delighting God in all circumstances. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

Welcome back to Manly Wretched Radio. I'm your. You don't need to snicker in there. I'm your manly host, Todd. We got a Manly text number 877-282-2337.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Is your voice gonna hold up the entire seg?

[Todd Friel]

Probably not. You can also text Manly emails to ideaetched.org and anything else I can think of to say that doesn't include Jimmy, because it would kill me to call you manly. It would just. I die a little on the inside.

[Jimmy Hicks]

I won't make you.

[Todd Friel]

This is Wretched radio. Don't know why I think this was just. I think that it was good men coming together and going, we gotta do something. Because we didn't plan this, but we have been creating a ton of resources for men. And so we built actually a complete landing page for it, the be the man page, because it has gentleman. That's with Jon Krotz. We are just launching now. Adam Tyson's Walk Like a Man. You've got the thing on pornography. Play the Man. All free [e-mail] so if you're a young man, you're trying to find your way. You're trying to like, can I please get some voices that are clear and biblical and helpful and won't scold me and shame me? Then avail yourself of all of these manly [e-mail] then when you're done scrolling, please send wretched stuff to ideaetched.org or text 877-282-2337.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Here's a question from Athul. He's from India and he says, todd, my question is whether I can have health insurance or term insurance. As a Christian, would it be like not trusting in God's sovereign plan?

[Todd Friel]

Maybe, maybe not. It's a heart issue, I think. I think health insurance. Was it health, life, term? Which one are we talking about here? Yeah, all of them.

[Jimmy Hicks]

But yeah.

[Todd Friel]

All right. Well, there are distinctions that I think require a little bit of more fiddling, but let's just stick with health insurance for a moment. It Depends on your heart. It's a neutral issue. It's like this microphone I'm talking into. Is it a sin for me to be using this microphone? Now, if you're listening to me talk, you would say it absolutely is a sin for you to be talking with or without a microphone. But that isn't my point. The point is, if I'm just using this microphone in service of what I'm trying to do, which is talk, no problem. But if this microphone is the center of my life, this microphone is amazing, and I love talking into this microphone. This microphone is the best microphone. This microphone is better than Glenn Beck's microphone. It's not his. Probably cost about 70 times more. The point is, it becomes an idol in my heart, but it's just a microphone. Doesn't have to be an idol, but I make it one. In other words, it's a heart issue. And that is. I don't know what the percentage split is between issues that are clearly for boating in the Bible and issues that are just neutral. They're just this bottle of water. I can be sinning with it or not. It's just a bottle of water. It's what I do with it in my heart. The same thing is true with health insurance. If you're freaking out, oh, I'm going to die and I'm going to end up in a gutter and nobody's going to care for me and God is nowhere to be found, and he couldn't help me if I didn't have health insurance. Then you got an idle problem and you should repent of that. But that doesn't mean it has to be an idol. It can simply be a wise decision. And I'll just. This is. This is my side. Everybody's got to make their. Their decision about health insurance. Jimmy, it is getting so bonkers out there with the health insurance business, man. I'm telling you. Can we focus on some of these issues? Because this one is. This is a monster issue, the health insurance. You pay a fortune and you get nothing. It. You get nothing for it. Mrs. Friel and I added it up. We take a look at what we spend on insurance, and it's like we're spending that much per year. Now take that over, say, the last, I don't know, 20 years, we haven't praised the Lord, experienced anything. That was like a big bill. I get. That's the point of insurance, which is why I think catastrophic insurance is a pretty good idea. But we totaled it up. It's like, basically we could be rich if we hadn't spent that money for nothing. And then you try to get something approved. Now you got to get it pre approved so you're dying. But I digress. Now see, in this instance, health insurance would be a sin because my heart attitude toward it right now is quite hateful. But perhaps because it's health insurance, it's a righteous indignation. The issue of insurance, like so many things, it is a heart issue. You, life insurance, is there anything wrong with setting aside some money so that if something bad happens to you, you can provide money so that your family doesn't suffer? I, I would struggle to say that's a bad idea. Now if your reason for buying it is if I don't buy this, this life insurance, if I don't have this policy in place and I die, my kids, they're going to starve to death. And my spouse, she'll be sold into slavery and I'll never see my, the grandchildren will never get an education. I've got to get this life insurance. Then you're sinning. But it doesn't have to be a sin. It can simply be a wisdom issue. It all depends on the heart because that's what Christianity is. Christianity is a heart issue. You, it's a heart religion. It's all about the affections. God does not want little Pharisees that apparently keep up all the rules, but their hearts, their brood of vipers, their whitewashed tombs, they stink on the inside. God wants us to make decisions based on our attitude and our affections toward him, distinguishing Christianity from every other religion in the world. 877282 all right, here's a question from Anonymous.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It's a text. Todd. We have a very important report that we use to work off of at my job. During meetings, my boss frequently presses us to use this report as our bible. As any believer would. I feel incredibly frustrated to hear this. What would be the best way to respond?

[Todd Friel]

Depends on your personality. There are some people who can say things. Message sent. Nobody's offended. I'm not one of those people. And so you need to, to get your heart right in the first place and then consider your personality, your skills and your strengths and communicating confrontational issues like this and then launch it if you, if it's, if it's bugging you that much. Would it bug me? Yeah, it would bug me. I have to admit. It would bug me. Would I, would I feel the need to say something about it? I'd probably have to be in this situation before I could answer that issue that with any clarity. But what you could do is just talk to the guy privately. Hey, friend, coworker, boss, whatever. This is maybe going to sound kind of trite and silly. Could I. Could I ask a favor? I know you're not doing this to bug me, but every time you say that this report is our Bible, the Bible is actually really special to me. Would you be kind enough to do your best to try to avoid that phrase? I'd be just super grateful for that. And off you go. I don't think I'd turn it into a big deal. I don't think that I'd fire some sort of shot in a meeting that makes him look dumb. But I think the biblical principle of going to somebody, confronting them face to face, having prayed, making sure your heart is right, that would be the path that I would encourage. And by the way, that is an encouragement that is needed inside of the context of the local church. Do you know why, Jimmy? Because that's the sermon that's going to be preached this Sunday at Alpharetta Bible

[Jimmy Hicks]

Church from First Peter.

[Todd Friel]

How'd you know?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Oh, wow, good guess.

[Todd Friel]

You Karnak, You Greskin? You know what is going on in my mind? No. It is from 1 Peter. Because Peter is very concerned about unity. He wants to make sure that the body is healthy. We'll do this another day, and I'm probably going to do this when we finally get to the end of 1 Peter. I've been scanning, looking through the different pastoral epistles written to the pastor and churches. Wow. The duplication of the concern of the author, whether it's Paul or Peter or John, is staggering. It's like, hey, wait a second. Paul talked about that. Hey, wait a second. That was in Colossians 3. Wait a second. That's in Ephesians 4. Hold on. That's Titus 2 from 1 Peter. Because the issue of church unity and how we get along was so important to the apostles who wrote those epistles. Each one of them made a point about it. Get along, get along. Don't fight, don't squabble. Don't be unnecessarily critical of one another. Overlook one another's faults, communicate lovingly with one another, rescue one another so that we have unity, so that the world sees it and wants to know about our glorious Savior. That's a message that is so constant in the epistles. So to the local church, if you're in one, and I hope you are as a believer, we got to work hard toward it. All of these men would not have labored so long on the subject of unity in the context of the local church if it weren't a threat and a danger. And if it weren't an Achilles. There's some sinning that can go on in the church. Kind of no big whoop, if you will, in that. It's not going to be devastating, it's not going to be factious, it's not going to cause all kinds of division and people departing. But there are things that do. And it's how we treat one another, especially in the context of how we go about the business of interacting. When I don't know if you noticed this, none of us are perfect when we sin against one another. And so I think I'm making this commitment for Alpharetta Bible Church. This is going to be one of those subjects that we revisit somewhat regularly because it must be an ever present danger, otherwise it wouldn't be in so many epistles that God wants us to live together in unity and love. And one of the best ways to do that is to not gossip about folks, but to bring your issues directly to one another. And until tomorrow, go serve your king.