The American Family association is working to help rebuild America
>> Jeff Chamblee: The political climate in America has changed. We've been given a reprieve, and we have to work together to take advantage of that momentum and effect even more cultural and spiritual change. We can rebuild America. The American Family association is working to do just that. And when you join, with your support, it helps maximize the impact. As our thanks, we'll give you a DVD of biblical financial advice from Rob west called Biblical Stewardship. Please visit afa.net and get started today.
Tim Wildman hosts Today's Issues with Fred Jackson and Chris Woodward
Welcome to Today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody, and welcome to Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network on this Thursday, May 15, 2025. Tim Wildmon here with Fred Jackson. Good morning, Fred.
>> Fred Jackson: Good morning, Tim.
>> Tim Wildmon: And good morning, Chris Woodward.
>> Christopher Woodward: Hello.
>> Tim Wildmon: And good morning to, Ray Pritchard up in Kansas City. Good morning, Ray.
>> Ray Prichard: Hey, Tim. How you doing today?
>> Tim Wildmon: Doing good. appreciate you asking. and I wanted to get a weather check for Kansas City today. Y' all been hotter than.
>> Ray Pritchard: Yeah, I mean, it's cooled down to about 85 today. It's sunny, a little breeze. It's good golf weather. I can get you tea time.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm ready. I'm back.
>> Ray Pritchard: Come on.
>> Tim Wildmon: I read where there's some, like, superstorms gonna happen across the Midwest.
>> Ray Pritchard: They are. And we're kind of on the, on the tail side of it, but they're, I think, Fred, up in Illinois, maybe Indiana.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Kentucky.
>> Fred Jackson: They're getting the kind of threat that we get in the south earlier in the year. They're starting to get it up in those parts of the country. So, it's like we're going to.
>> Tim Wildmon: Be for the next few days. Yeah, right.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, they're. They're under threat, so. Yeah, we know what that's like.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
>> Fred Jackson: Down.
>> Tim Wildmon: anyway, we have a guest, coming up at the bottom of the hour that most of our listeners are familiar with. Dr. Jeff Shreve, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, will be with us. and, he's got a new book out we're going to talk about, so you want to stay tuned for that. Give us a good word. Speaking of the book. Give us a good word from the, from the good book, Ray, if you will.
Do you ever doubt? Do you ever struggle with unanswered questions
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, Tim, here's a question for all of our listeners. Do you ever doubt. Do you ever doubt? You go to church, you read your Bible, you pray to Jesus. Hey, you listen to afr. Do you ever doubt? Do you ever struggle with unanswered questions? you don't have to answer because I already know the answer. All of us do.
>> Fred Jackson: Unanimous.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's unanimous. That's right. It's all of us. Every single one one of us doubts. And not just includes you. That certainly includes me. And I want to give a good word of encouragement today. What do you do when you're struggling with a season of spiritual doubts in your life? and I want to say doubt isn't necessarily a terrible thing. It's what you do with it that makes all the difference. And one of the things you got to do when you're going through that period is to, admit your doubts and ask for help. And I'm thinking today of Mark, chapter nine, the story of the man whose son was possessed of a demon and was throwing himself in the water, in the fire, and he was just completely out of control. And you know the stories. The disciples tried to heal him, they couldn't. Here comes Jesus. But he says to the man, do you believe? And the man says back to him, speaking for all of humanity, I believe. Help my unbelief. Help my unbelief. If you're in a period of personal spiritual struggle, doubt your doubts, not your faith. What that simply means is going through a hard time. Don't cast away your faith because you're in the Valley of darkness. All of us, every single one of us, we end up in the Valley of darkness, the Valley of sadness, the Valley of uncertainty from time to time. And, you know, some of us spend a lot of time there. And, I think for most of us in our spiritual journey, you're going to spend some time in that valley of darkness more than once. So remember these two words then. If you find yourself in the valley of darkness or doubt, keep going. Keep going. You may be in the valley of doubt, but you don't have to stop and build a condo there. The only way out is to keep on walking. Every step forward is a way to doubt your doubts. And soon enough, the light will shine again. One last word, guys. Jesus said, come unto me all, who labor, that's you and me and are heavy laden. And some people, some really good Christians, are heavy laden this morning with doubts and fears and worries. You know what Jesus said? Come to me. Come with your doubts. Come with your fears. Come with your worries. Whoever you are and wherever you are, come to Jesus and bring your doubts with you. Because here's the good news. He never turns. And honest doubter, away Amen.
>> Tim Wildmon: Amen. Amen. anything, Fred?
>> Fred Jackson: Amen. Amen. And Ray is exactly right. We all enter those periods of doubt. Sometimes we get health news, you know, you may get laid off from a job. there may be problems inside of family, family relationships. And, you know, you just throw up your hands and say, you know, I've been trying to do my best. What's going on here? And, so those doubts are natural. But Ray and God's word, obviously exactly right, is, you know, we serve a God who doesn't change. We serve a God who loves us unconditionally. And we have to bring. This is where, memory, you know, memorizing scripture comes to mind. I will never leave you or forsake you. We have been told this is God talking, so we never have to doubt. God doesn't exaggerate, and he never lies, so he'll never leave me or forsake me. He'll never let anybody grab us out of his hands. So we have that security that's built in. So we go to those verses, and my God is consistent. The other thing is, as we go through life, we go through those periods of testing and doubt. God comes through. He has the answers. And you go back to those incidents and you say, I remember when I was in this situation how God came through big time. I served the same God. He hasn't changed. And he's gonna. He's. He'll show me a way out of this.
>> Tim Wildmon: So amen.
>> Fred Jackson: You know, it's. It's. We serve a wonderful God and never lose fact that he loves us more than we could understand. He loved us so much that he sent his son to die on the cross for us.
>> Tim Wildmon: Amen. Amen, Brother Fred. And, amen to what Ray had to say there.
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on issues including birthright citizenship and nationwide injunctions
All right, Chris, what's your first news story?
>> Christopher Woodward: Well, as we speak, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on issues including birthright citizenship here in the US as well as nationwide injunctions. Nationwide injunctions. Being a judge in, let's say, Hawaii, saying, hey, President Trump, you can't have a border wall on the southern border. Those kinds of issues. nine justices, of course, are hearing arguments over this. We have a couple of. Well, first of all, we do have coverage of this on afn.net, so you can find a story that Fred posted this morning. Do check out the Today's Issues Facebook page as well, because I've posted that as well as a link to C Span, where after this show, you can watch or listen to that on Demand, if you. In the meantime, we do have a couple of sound bites here from legal experts as to, whether or not district judges should be able to get in the way of the President's agenda. one person that says no is our own Jenna Ellis, host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning, and she made these comments to AFN. Clip 12.
>> Speaker F: We know constitutionally that the two political branches, the legislative and the executive, have their own power that is vested by virtue of the U.S. constitution that the judiciary cannot circumvent. And so how much authority does the judiciary actually have over the executive?
>> Christopher Woodward: Now, three justices that Jenna told us she was really watching for today were Chief Justice John Roberts and then Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch. But Fred caught an interesting exchange just before the show between Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah, well, Sotomayor, one of those three really liberal judges, just was going at the Trump, US Solicitor General this morning and wouldn't stop throwing questions. And finally, the Chief Justice Roberts had to basically tell her, calm down. He told her, I want to hear the rest of his answer. So this is the Chief Justice, De Sotomayor.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: And, so that's what's going on.
>> Tim Wildmon: Trying to keep order. We don't have that clip. Right?
>> Christopher Woodward: We do not.
>> Fred Jackson: We do not. This just happened in the last few, minutes. But this is a case, if you imagine a car, the grill of the car in this case is this birthright citizenship. And if you're not familiar with what this is, the 14th amendment of the Constitution reads this way. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside, end quote. Here's what, the Trump administration is. He issued an executive order back a couple of months ago, would deny citizenship to children if neither parent is a citizen or lawful permanent resident. The argument from the Trump administration is that people who are in this country illegally, are not subject to the jurisdiction thereof. They're saying, okay, we agree with the 14th Amendment, but if you're in this country illegally, if you're not in here as a citizen or as a permanent resident, therefore, that amendment does not apply to you.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. What this is addressing is the anchor babies.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: So you may say, what's an anchor baby? This is when people come to our country illegally, to have a baby.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And then they have a baby. Their claim is because the baby was born to people here, even though they were born here, even though those people, the Mother, for example, is an illegal alien. That they're saying, the liberal side is that the baby is an American citizen automatically just by being born in the hospital here on our soil. And Trump administration is arguing, no, that's not the correct interpretation of the 14th Amendment. So that's been, you know, that, that expression anchor baby has been used forever because that's what, that's what a lot of these folks, do. Right? They just come over here to have babies, you know, so that then they can, stay, say, well, my child is an American citizen, therefore I can stay with them. Go ahead.
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, number one, this has happened for decades. I've got some friends who, we shall simply say that's what they did. They came from another country to the US And I understand why they did it, but I think it's really important to get some clarity from the Supreme Court on this issue. I think, Fred, it's fair to say it's a hot, it's a hot topic, even among conservative judicial scholars, it's a hot topic about what the Constitution permits, here. So, I think we're going to, don't you think we're going to end up with another 5, 4 decision, probably going one way or the other.
>> Fred Jackson: The speculation is that the, Well, the conservatives are likely, to agree with the administration on this. How Justice Roberts goes on this is the other question. But the bigger argument in this case today, that everybody's watching is the idea of local district judges issuing national, injunctions. National injunctions. This case is being used as the front door to the bigger argument before the court today.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I think on that case they're going to come down. Seems to me they're going to come down in favor of restriction.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because otherwise there's no need to have, jurisdictions, district judges, because just say they're all federal judges and they can rule. Their, their, their, their rulings go, nationwide. Their injunctions go nationwide. What, what the court system, especially the Supreme Court, is, therefore one of the main reasons they're for, is to, make a final decision when lower courts, may clash with one another or may disagree with one another. You may have a 9th Circuit Court ruling, federal court I'm talking about, which is like seven or eight states out west. They may have a ruling that is, in contradiction to a 5th Circuit Court ruling, which is Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, I believe. And so who, who decides? Well, the Supreme Court then has to decide who's right and who's wrong. But this but the federal judges, on the, on the lowest level are district judges for for example we have one here in North Mississippi or one or two. And so it would be as if they make a ruling on a case bait before them and then they say well this applies to people in Alaska.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Or people in California. Well the people. No it should not, it should not. A, a federal lower court ruling should not be in. It should not be able to enact national injunctions. And I think that's the way the, the Supreme Court will rule. But we'll have to see. They may, they'll make. What happens is the Supreme Court has they hear cases now, and up until I guess the 1st of June or so and then in the middle of this of June I believe they will make. Yes they will, they will release their decision.
>> Christopher Woodward: Right. So usually on a Friday, the most boring say, you know, they usually don't.
>> Tim Wildmon: They do like they'll release some Wednesday, some Thursday, some Friday or something like that.
>> Fred Jackson: Uh-huh.
>> Tim Wildmon: But usually say the juiciest one.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, yeah. We always joke like, you know.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Christopher Woodward: Can't have Friday off because you know the Supreme Court's gonna rule on something.
Ray Norton: President Trump says commerce comes first when dealing with Middle East nations
>> Tim Wildmon: Alright, so that's big News in Washington D.C. meanwhile, the President states is in the Middle east still.
>> Christopher Woodward: Sure is. he's still over there wheeling and dealing with agreeing to this and that with the Saudis, the Qataris, other people in the Middle east that he's the guitar.
>> Fred Jackson: They make guitars to him.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Well I wondered about that.
>> Christopher Woodward: The people from Qatar. Or Qatar. Or Qatar, however a news outlet wants to pronounce it. We had the debate earlier today. people from that country are called Qatari.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. I really didn't know that. They're called Qataris.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah. That's your early Friday trivia.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Okay. Sorry. Family.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah. but yeah, so people are still you know, watching President Trump for what he's saying. Meanwhile people are still talking about him being over there in these deals. For example, I've got a couple of things here. one of them is from Ben Shapiro. he was on the Will Cain show yesterday and he said, you know, people are upset about Trump going over there and doing things, but he's trying to basically reorganize the region based on commerce and not chaos like we've had for a long time now.
>> Speaker F: Clip to President Trump believes that commerce comes first when it comes to our dealings with a lot of these nations. And as he said in Saudi Arabia, American interests come first. So all of the broad statements about democracy and human rights that Democrats like to speak about, Joe Biden and Barack Obama used to say this sort of stuff about, for example, Saudi Arabia. President Trump said, listen, all that stuff matters, but from the American perspective, what matters the most is how does this stuff affect America. And when it comes to Saudi Arabia or even Qatar, the amount of money that is spent in America, the number of jobs created by that sort of investment, that of course is a very big deal. And I think that when it comes to Middle east more generally, what President Trump would like is a situation that is more stable in the Middle East, a situation in which there are burgeoning alliances based on commerce. He said in Saudi Arabia he's looking for a regional reorganization that is based on commerce, not chaos. And so he's giving all sorts of goodies to the Saudis who are investing a lot in the United States, for example, but he's also suggesting that the Saudis should join the Abraham Accords or Syria should join the Abraham Accords. Now, all of that is part of his broader reorganization of the Middle east in a new way.
>> Tim Wildmon: okay, Ray, this is always a point of debate and contention, that human rights are our way of life here as we know it in the United States. How we treat our citizens versus the way the world does or the different areas of the world does and should. I remember when this debate came up about China, you know, okay, China is a communist country. Their citizens don't have civil rights. They have, been known to persecute people and imprison people. And look what they've done. They, the communist Chinese, the people would say to the, what is the Muslim, minority over there in the, in the Eastern West?
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, the Uyghurs, Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: For example, and the Christian church over.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right, Absolutely.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. So some people would say because of their human rights violations, we should not do commerce with communist China. We, the United States, government, our businesses. And I can understand the arguments both ways. but that's kind of what President Trump is facing here with some of the critics is, okay, you're, ah, going to countries, Muslim countries that, listen, they ain't going to be celebrating a June pride month, tell you that.
>> Tim Wildmon: You got that right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: So, so I'm just saying they have, those countries have their own laws and, and they forbid many of them even having Christian churches in their countries. Those are Muslim dominant countries. So, but President Trump, I think. What, what's the gentleman's name? We just heard from, Ben Shapiro. Ben Shapiro, he's a Jew, by the way. and he, so he would, he would be seeing things favorable eyes for what is good for Israel as well as us, I would think.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: But, so President Trump is there and if he, he, he has to deal in reality and he has to deal in. As he said, I'm speaking for President Trump. it would be hard for a president to negotiate and deal with people around the world if he was handcuffed, by. Okay, I can't deal with you, I can't talk to you. I can't work out anything because of maybe your laws in your own country or the way you've, where you've operated internationally or something of that nature. That's, that's a judgment call, don't you think?
>> Tim Wildmon: Well, it is. And it's going to be different in dealing with say, South Sudan versus Saudi Arabia versus Yemen versus Iran. Okay. The situations are different in each country. I was thinking as you were talking, you, you know, there are times in history where you need an ideological type leader who moves from certain deep, deep principles. Ronald Reagan was, in my mind, ideological leader, strong conservative, got a lot of great things done for America. Then sometimes in history you need a transactional leader, a man who can get in there and get the deal done. That's, that's, that's President Trump to, to the nth degree. He's a deal maker. does he understand the problems inside Saudi society? the problems, well, as you said about Christians don't have m many freedoms inside Saudi Arabia or China. Or China. Yeah, China is a huge, yeah, huge example. I think his theory is, let's make a deal. Let's get these countries, let's get them more into the conversation and maybe over time things will change. So from, from where I sit right now, are looking at this trip, this looks to me like unvarnished five star success for the President. I think everything he wanted to do has gotten done so far. Tremendous success.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah. To Ray's point, when you talk about commerce, this has been a huge success. I was just reading, the latest report there on the deals that Trump has made in these three countries. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and now United Arab Emirates. You ready for this, folks? All together, over $3 trillion, not billion, $3 trillion in deals with these three countries. So very successful. But to the other point, on the principal side, the ideological side, he's just done a deal, a couple of deals with, with Qatar, but Cotter allows Hamas terrorist leaders to live in their luxury apartments there in Qatar, in Doha. So there's.
Maybe there are diplomatic, um, and uh, negotiations happening behind the scenes
>> Tim Wildmon: But maybe, just maybe, yes, that is correct. Maybe, just maybe President Trump, and maybe this isn't necessarily something that he would talk about out in the open, although there's very little that Donald Trump doesn't talk about in the open that we know of. But maybe there are diplomatic, and you know, negotiations happening behind the scenes. Again, I have no verification of this. I'm just. That would move these countries to a more favorable pro American, pro freedom, pro business, position where President Trump would say to Qatar, for example, all right, listen, I'm not going to go out here in front of the microphones and say this to the world, but I'm telling you, if you keep housing, if you keep Hamas, leaders, there's going to be a price to pay. You see what I'm saying?
>> Fred Jackson: Sure.
>> Tim Wildmon: so can we work something out? Because if you, if you'll do, like we want you to and not house, or hold that Hamas leaders stay in your country knowingly, then we will reward you in some way, with a business deal or something financial. You see what I'm saying?
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: So a lot of these things go on behind the scenes that we never hear about and never know about. You remember when Biden went over there to Joe, Biden, the former president went over to Ukraine. Remember that infamous, scene where. What was that about, that he went over there when, when he was VP for, for Barack Obama and he told, he said openly, he said, well, if, if Ukraine doesn't fire this investigator. And well, he's talking about an investigator who was investigating Burisma, the company his son was making all that kickback money from. What really wasn't kickback? It was straight up bribery. Huh? No, I say bribery. It was, it was, access money. They, they paid, they paid Hunter, Biden to have access to Joe Biden basically is what was going on there. But, you remember. So that's, I'm just saying. What's the old saying? Money talks.
>> Fred Jackson: Oh, yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And, President Trump is trying to use that to the positive here in his trip, to the Middle East. We'll be back momentarily. Stay with us.
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>> Jeff Chamblee: This is today's issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the archive@afr.net now back to more of today's issues.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Foreign.
American Family Radio welcomes back Jeff Shreve with today's Issues
>> Tim Wildmon: Welcome back, everybody, to the program. Today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Fred, Chris and Ray. And as always, we thank you for listening to afr. well, one of the, programs we have here Monday through Friday, and the weekends too. But, on American Family Radio, we have real truth for today, which is, heard, weekdays at 8pm Central Time on American Family Radio, the, program with brother Jeff Shreve. And he joins us now from Texarkana tx. How you doing, Jeff?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Hey, Tim. Doing well. How are you doing?
>> Tim Wildmon: Good. Are you in Texas or Arkansas?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: We're in Texas.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Right on the border.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know where? Arkansas.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yes, I've been. I've been there.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Okay. so, how does that work? Two separate, state. Two separate municipal governments.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah. Everything is duplicated here. It's. It's not greatly efficient because of that. But, yeah, we're a twin cities, so we're. We're Texarkana, usa. When you're talking about the both of them together and, about 70,000 people.
>> Tim Wildmon: I just remember a couple times I've been through your city, en route to Dallas or back, and I've eaten at a restaurant called on the Border.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. You like that? See what I did there on the Border?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: There really is. There really is a Tex Mex place, isn't there?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Called on the Border. Yeah, It's a big chain right there.
>> Tim Wildmon: And it's on the border so how long have you been one of them Baptists, Jeff? Because I got a few of them right here in front of me.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah. So, I got saved when I was 17 years old, out of a Catholic background and started going to a Baptist church soon after that. So a long time. I got baptized at, Allendale Baptist Church in Austin, Texas in 1981.
>> Tim Wildmon: 1981. now you got a brand new book out. We're going to talk about the book. How long do you have to stay with us, Tim?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: You. As long as you want me, I'm here.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. I was going to say, you're probably going to answer, as long as you want to talk about my new book, I'm here. Just, I'm here to talk about.
Fred: Jeff Shreve's new book exposes Satan's lies about Christianity
Hey, I want to get back to some of your personal story, but let's talk about your book for a minute because it's brand new, it's out. You were on with Jenna the other day and the books doing really well. It's called the Devil's Newsroom, which is one of the most intriguing titles I've ever heard by, Dr. Jeff Shreve. the Devil's Newsroom. What is this about?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: So the subtitle is Muting Satan's fake news and tuning into God's truth. It exposes the lies of the enemy by, dragging those lies into the truth of scripture and showing that this is what God says and this is how the devil distorts it because he's a liar and the father of lies. so many people believe the lies. So many Christians believe lies, when it comes to their walk with God. And we get into a performance based acceptance with God and we live lives where we feel condemned when the Bible clearly says there's therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So it's, as one guy told me that I was doing an interview with, he said, you know, I was expecting your book to be, kind of discouraging, and I was, pleasantly surprised that it was very hopeful and encouraging, and that's what I hope the readers would get from it.
>> Fred Jackson: Jeff, when I first heard the title, Fred here, when I first heard the title, I thought you were talking about cnn.
>> Tim Wildmon: What a boon.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: That would work, wouldn't it, Fred?
>> Fred Jackson: No, it wouldn't. Or are the ladies on the View or something? You know, that's the image that I had there for a moment.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yes, well, obviously there are a lot of news agencies that, are influenced greatly by the devil. He is, the Prince of the power of the air. And the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. So, that is taking place in a spiritual dimension that people don't see. But all of that, that's going on in our world today, the devil is chiefly involved with all of the unrest and all the deception.
>> Tim Wildmon: The devil? You believe in the devil?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: I do.
>> Tim Wildmon: has he got horns and, tail and a pitchfork?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: No, he does not. He disguises himself as an angel of light.
>> Tim Wildmon: Where are you getting this information?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah, well, Second Corinthians.
>> Tim Wildmon: Being funny. But I'm serious, too, because that's the stereotype that pop culture especially has of the devil. They don't believe in the devil in the first place, but if they do, they. They make it a comical figure. And what you're talking about when you say the devil's newsroom, you're being serious, about satanic influences on planet Earth, right?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yes, for sure. And, one of the things that, I remember Bill Maher, he loves to, poke fun at Christians, and he's saying, if you believe the Bible, oh, you believe in a talking, snake in Genesis 3. My response to that kind of question is, I believe in a talking devil. And, the devil is the one who came to Eve in Genesis chapter 3 and says in Revelation chapter 12, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan. So it makes it very clear that's who that was. And the devil surely can talk and he can reason, and he, is a murderer and a liar and the father of all lies.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ray.
>> Tim Wildmon: Jeff, thank you for writing this book. It needed to be said. It needs always to be said.
Jeff: How can we still believe that God is really good in today's world
And one of the issues you deal with in the book masterfully, I think, is, is the lie of the devil that God isn't really good? Is God good? Okay, I've got a question coming here, but I want to frame it this way. In theory, we all believe there's a God, and we believe he's good. We're not going to vote and say God's bad. But, Jeff, what do we do in the face of children who die in car wrecks and motorcycle accidents and sudden cancer and the war that fill our headlines? So much sadness and difficulty, so much sadness in the world. In the face of the pain of a fallen world, how can we still believe that God is really good?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, the scripture makes it clear that God is good. when they were dedicating the temple, you know, the glory of the Lord fell on the temple, and the priests couldn't go in to minister because the Lord was so heavy his glory in the place. And they fell down on their faces and they said, truly he is good. Truly his loving is everlasting. Now, the goodness of God does not, alleviate the world right now from the, consequences of the sin of man. And so when Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, they opened up Pandora's box of evils on the world and death and disease and just horrible things came out of that sin. And we've, been reaping the consequences of that for all these thousands of years. The, Lord is going to put that to, to death one day. And, you know, we're looking forward to the reign of Christ. We're looking forward to, not only the millennial kingdom, but then the end of the millennial Kingdomnomics where Revelation 21 and 22. There's no mourning or crying or pain. All those things are gone. And there is no more evil, and there is no more suffering and disease. But right now, we're not there yet. And so the Lord allows these things to happen, not because he's not good, but because he's working a, that will work, to where we all say one day, Lord, you did all things well. Because God is, perfectly wise and he has all the knowledge and he is working things according to his goodwill.
>> Fred Jackson: Jeff. President Trump often refers to the mainstream media as fake news.
>> Fred Jackson: And I think we live in a day and an age when Christians have to be very discerning because sometimes the fake news comes from a pulpit.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yes. very good.
>> Tim Wildmon: And name names. Go ahead.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, Tim, you know, I call you my favorite Methodist, but, in a lot of Methodist pulpits, actually I'm a former. Just for my favorite former Methodist. yeah, so, you know, it talks about that in Ephesians 4, where Paul says, we're no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness and deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we're to grow up into all aspects, into him who is the head, even Christ. And so it's incumbent upon preachers to follow the command of 2 Timothy 4 and preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and understanding. Because we live in that day and age. As Paul said to Timothy, the time will come when you're going to have ear ticklers in the pulpit. Well, the time is now where we have that. And so, Christians in the pew need to be discerning. They need to be like Bereans. They need to listen to what's being said and then examine the scriptures daily to see whether these things are so. And if you're going, if our listeners are going to a church where the pastor is not preaching the truth of the word of God, they need to get out of there. you don't need to be going to a restaurant that's feeding you rotten, food. And that's going to make you very, very sick physically if you go to that restaurant. Well, spiritually, if you go to a place where the spiritual meal is laced with all kinds of poison, you're going to be sick. If you stay there very long, you need to get out of that place.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, so why should people buy your new book, the Devil's Newsroom?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, I think it, will open their eyes to the roots of where did the devil come from? That's the very first chapter. Chapter we go back to. Okay. Why did God create a devil? Well, he didn't. He created this beautiful angel known as Lucifer, whose name means light bearer. And, Lucifer fell. He wanted to take over heaven. He's the first rebel. And, very persuasive because he got a third of the angels to join his team and they rebelled against God. God kicked them out. And then from that moment on, he has been working to, try and destroy, the promises of God, try and, you know, destroy humanity. And he comes to steal and kill and destroy. So I think the book will help people to recognize the devil's lies and, help people, if you don't know Christ, hopefully open your eyes to the truth that Jesus died for you, rose again from the dead for you, and you can have a personal relationship with him. And then for Christians to be able to walk in the light and walk in the love and grace that Jesus has for us as his children and, to not be living, you know, as Jesus said, come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest to enjoy that rest that the Lord wants to give us.
>> Tim Wildmon: Talking to Dr. Jeff Shreve, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, and host of Real Truth for Today, heard weekday mornings here on American Family Radio, 8 O' Clock Central time. A couple things. One is, by the way, credit where credit is due. The United Methodist, split over the last year, and, those who do adhere to the scripture left and are. So that is taking place. So your, your admonition for people to leave churches that they've been a member of for a long time, even if they've been a member of a long time, if that church goes astray, right? The teaching as teachings, the Bible as inerrant, and the word of God, and then people need to leave. They need to get out. As Jeff said, you don't need to corrupt your soul with bad spiritual food. So that's happening.
Tim Wildman: Why do Christians suffer the actions of others
Now, I want to ask you a question, and I don't hear Christians talk about this much because it's a hard topic. And, so it's easier to avoid. Not everybody. But the question that I struggle with is why do Christians suffer the actions of others? that's a hard one for me to grapple with in understanding if God loves me, why did he allow a drunk driver to hit my daughter and kill her in the car when she was just going to college and she was a fine young Christian lady? That didn't really happen to me. I'm just using that as an example. And so you, you talk to a parent who that did happen to, who is a believer, and they go, well, what happened to the, what happened to the promises of God that he would protect me and be with my family? And this happens to us. So that's the, that's one of the things I can't ever come to a. I'm just being honest here. I can't ever come to a satisfactory, satisfactory answer for me as a human being. I just have to say, well, I don't know the answer to that. Probably never will. And if I dwell on it, it'll drive me crazy. And you know what? we're all. This sounds terrible to say we're all going to die. Even the people Jesus healed died. So we're all going to die one day for one reason or another. But the tragedy like I've just described, when Christians suffer the actions of others, how do you, how do you deal with that one, Jeff?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah, I encourage people, to have three, statements chiseled into their hearts. And the first one is that God loves me. And the Bible clearly tells us that the cross clearly screams that out, that the Lord loves us. for God so loved the world individually. Individually, he so loves Tim Wildmon that he gave his only begotten son, so God loves me. Number two, God is good, truly. He is good, truly. His loving kindness is everlasting. And number three, that he works all things together for good to those who love him and are called According to his purpose. And so my, my stance, Tim, is when you have those three things down in your heart and they're, they're non negotiable. I mean, you're going to hold to those until you die. That you can get through any problem, any difficulty in life, even if you don't understand, you just say, okay, Lord, I don' have to understand. As long as you understand and, God knows what he's doing.
>> Tim Wildmon: So did he do it?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, he allowed it to happen. Obviously God is in control. Just like with Job. Satan couldn't do anything to Job unless God let down the hedge. And, you can't live in a world theologically where God is not in control because then you talk about fear. That would be great fear. But God, he works all things according to his purpose and his ways. his ways are not our ways.
>> Tim Wildmon: So que sera sera.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, not que sera sera. God is using that for a purpose, just like he did in Job's life. But that doesn't mean he never said that. you know the old song, I beg your pardon. I never promised you a rose garden. I never said you weren't going to have difficulty and hardship and suffering. I told you the opposite. In the world you have tribulation, but be of good courage. I have overcome the world. And the Lord does wipe away every tear. But, that's probably not in this life. That's going to be in the next life. And we will say, Lord, you did all things well. Once we see it, as Corrie Ten boom says, you know, you see the tapestry from the other side, it doesn't look, very good until you turn it around and it's. Wow, this is a beautiful picture.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ray, do you have anything to say or add to that?
Tim: I would highly recommend Pastor Jeff's From His Heart broadcasts
>> Tim Wildmon: Jeff, you got a, chapter in your book I just want to ask you about because it's a, it's a one word title next to last chapter. It simply says disqualified. But there's a question mark there that's intriguing. What's that chapter all about?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah, it's. So it's all about, Simon Peter. And it's all about his great denial of the Lord, his great sin. The three times, you know, I don't know the man, very similar sin to Judas. You know, Judas betrayed Jesus. Simon Peter denied Jesus. And he was the. He. He was one of the closest guys to Jesus. The number one name in the disciples is always Peter. And what even makes his sin worse is, he argued with Jesus and told him that he was ready to go with him to, prison and to death. And Jesus told him, you're going to deny me three times before the cock crows twice. And he said, no, I will never do that. And then, sure as the world, he did it. And, you would think that, no doubt the devil. And now the Bible doesn't tell us this, but the devil moves in, in a situation like that and tells people, you're done. God's not going to. He doesn't love you anymore. He can't forgive you for this. You've crossed a line. you need to go hang yourself like Judas did. but the truth and the reality is God wasn't done with Peter. And God, had grace for Peter, and Peter could repent. And he did, and the Lord did restore him. And one of the greatest, verses in the Gospel of Mark, the only gospel that mentions this, although the, early church fathers say Mark wrote Peter's gospel. And the, angel at the tomb says, go tell the disciples and Peter that, he is risen. And so God wasn't done with Peter. And the good news for us, even when we blow it terribly, is God's not finished with us either. As long as you have breath in your lungs, God can use your life and you can live your life to his glory.
>> Tim Wildmon: Chris?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, this is more or less like an observation or a recommendation more than a question. And I say that because, we are blessed at afr from time to time to have people that are completely new to us, maybe they've stumbled across us on the radio or, or for whatever reason, under the Lord's, direction and guidance, they've, you know, turned to us for the first time in a while or first time ever. I, I can, I can say that from my own experience, in addition to, getting Pastor Jeff's book and listening to Real Truth for today, I would also highly recommend listening to the From His Heart broadcasts because many of the things that he shared with you guys in our audience today are topics he has done on the From His Heart broadcast. Pastor Jeff, it's been a couple of years, maybe longer. It's hard to tell time in this news cycle. but you actually talked about kind of the origins of Satan, and it got into the question of why would a loving God create Satan? And you, and you addressed that. And so I recommend especially for parents out there who have kids who maybe got saved at a young age, but now they're teens, and they kind of have questions, not that they're Doubting God, but they're having questions. I would highly recommend for our parents out there, or just anybody, to listen to all of Jeff, and his whole library. Yes, it will be a great blessing, to you. And, you know, I don't you need Bible more than a couple, three times a week. So in addition to reading your Bible and listening to your pastor, I would highly recommend Pastor Jeff's work in addition to Ray, of course, who's always been a blessing to us here.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, thank you so much. I appreciate that. Yeah, Tim, you need it. Have you not been. Have you not been listening, Tim?
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, the Bible says thou shalt not lie, so I'm not going to.
>> Christopher Woodward: You can get some earbuds and listen. Playing golf.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Anyway, I. I, I do listen, quote from time to time, in quote to. From his heart. And that's how I got to know Jeff in the first place, because we began airing his radio broadcast on American Family Radio. And that led to a relationship. And then that led to the, Real Truth for Today daily program. Monday through Friday. We're talking to Dr. Jeff Shreve, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas, and host of Real Truth for Today. Well, the book. You did an interview with Jenna, and the book shot up the other day, didn't it?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah, Yeah, I did one Tuesday, night with, Janet Parshall, and I, didn't know what to expect. Janet can ask some pretty penetrating questions, but, that went really well.
>> Tim Wildmon: More than I do.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, you could be pretty tough, too, Tim. You always seemed. Not to. No pun intended, but you always kind of go with the devil's advocate. There's.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Boy, I don't know how to take that example.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is that a compliment?
>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Well, he challenges me to explain myself. I appreciate that, Ray.
>> Tim Wildmon: Anything else to ask Jeff, or all, the questions?
>> Tim Wildmon: Just to say, Jeff, a great job.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Tremendous.
Jeff Shreve's new book is available on Amazon and From His Heart Ministries
>> Tim Wildmon: And let me say to our listeners, go grab this book. The devil's newsroom. Grab this book by Jeff Shreve. Let me say this. Buy two copies, one to read, one to give to a friend. It's that good.
>> Fred Jackson: Where can people get it?
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Yeah. So it's on Amazon, and, it's also@fromisheart.org We're kind of pushing people to Amazon. We're working with a company that says, you know, the more sales you get out of Amazon, the more, people start talking about the book. And, as you guys know, writing a book, you run out of friends pretty quickly. And, so you have to have people that, you know, maybe don't know you, maybe have never even heard of you that'll pick up a copy of the book. And, and we just, pray that God would use it for his glory. All the proceeds go to From His Heart Ministries. I'm a volunteer from his heart, and I've never taken any income or salary at all from. From them. And so everything I do is just as a volunteer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Amen.
>> Tim Wildmon: Amen. All right, Jeff, take care. Thank you so much for being on with us.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Thanks, guys.
>> Tim Wildmon: Wish you the best with the book.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Thank you. Appreciate it.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right.
>> Pastor Jeff Shreve: Bye.
>> Tim Wildmon: Bye.
Dr. Jeff Shreve is author of the Devil's Newsroom
Dr. Jeff Shreve, joining us there. Author of the Devil's Newsroom.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: What a title.
>> Christopher Woodward: We were curious. Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Brett thought it was cnn.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, I can't.
>> Tim Wildmon: It could have been.
>> Christopher Woodward: I have, I've been in broadcasting now for 23 years, which is not as long as some others, but I can tell you I've been in some newsrooms. Not ours, but several other news.
>> Fred Jackson: I'm glad you added that, Chris.
>> Christopher Woodward: Where the devil was clearly present, especially in the TV control room when things go wrong.
>> Fred Jackson: Yeah.
M. Hale: McDonald's hiring thousands of workers for new stores
>> Christopher Woodward: So.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right. You're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Fred, Chris and Ray, on the program today. You, got anything last minute or so? You got something on McDonald's over there, don't you?
>> Christopher Woodward: I do have something on McDonald's. They're hiring, thousands of hundreds of thousands of people for a whole bunch of new stores. And that's interesting that we're discussing that because coincidentally, on this day in history in San Bernardino, California, brothers Maurice or Mac and Richard McDonald opened a drive in restaurant that gave rise to the fast food chain known as McDonald's.
>> Tim Wildmon: They are. That is a big news story the last couple days M. McDonald's, the, fast food burger chain, they are building a bunch of new stores.
>> Fred Jackson: 900.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. I mean, I didn't know there was any space left for McDonald's.
>> Christopher Woodward: When the leader of the free world is a McDonald's fan.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that's what I thought. You know, Is going to take credit for this.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah.
>> Fred Jackson: Yes.
>> Christopher Woodward: I'm loving it.
>> Fred Jackson: he goes to Saudi Arabia and they roll up a McDonald's trailer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Christopher Woodward: I didn't even know they existed.
>> Tim Wildmon: Anyway, so beautiful.
>> Tim Wildmon: So, that President Trump's just like King Midas now. Now, that's right.
>> Fred Jackson: He's probably going to buy McDonald's.
>> Christopher Woodward: He's got the Golden Arch everything he.
>> Tim Wildmon: Churches turns to the golden arches.
>> Christopher Woodward: There you go.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's right.
>> Tim Wildmon: I got that from Chris. I thought of it first, but I didn't have time to get it out.
>> Christopher Woodward: yours was better.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ah. All right. We're going to be back after this short time out with more of today's issues on the American Family Radio. So Steve Paisley Jordan will be in studio momentarily. Stay with us. M. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
