Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000060S
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00:01 - It doesn't take long to discover
00:02 that life can be, well, incredibly painful. 00:05 Today on Authentic, 00:07 we're going to explore the possibility that you and I 00:09 have been blaming the wrong person for all our troubles. 00:14 [upbeat music] 00:35 Quite a few years ago now, 00:36 I made this horrible discovery 00:38 while using a payphone in a hotel lobby in Canmore, Alberta. 00:44 Now, the fact that I was using a payphone 00:45 should probably tell you that this is an old story 00:48 because I don't even think those exist anymore. 00:51 But back in the day, that was the only option you had 00:54 when you were traveling. 00:55 You had to use a calling card from the phone company 00:58 or you had to use your credit card 01:00 to make a long distance call. 01:01 So I plugged in my Visa number and my card was denied, 01:06 which seemed really strange because Jean and I 01:09 never ever had problems with our credit card. 01:12 So I called Visa and they told me I was maxed out. 01:17 Well, that's impossible I said 01:18 because I knew that wasn't true. 01:21 And that's when I discovered that somebody somewhere 01:24 had stolen my credit card number 01:26 and they were spending a lot of money. 01:29 They purchased stereo equipment in Alexandria, Virginia, 01:32 a city I'd never been to, 01:34 and what it made it really interesting was the fact 01:37 that they had been in the store with a physical credit card. 01:41 In other words, they actually counterfeited my card. 01:46 Now at the time, credit card fraud was a problem, 01:49 but today in the online world, it's a plague. 01:53 A Nielsen report from 2019 revealed that worldwide losses 01:56 that year approached $28 billion, 02:00 and the trend is moving upwards such 02:01 that the cost will top 40 billion 02:04 by the time we get to the end of this decade. 02:07 Now, some people shrug this off 02:09 as if it's a minor crime 02:11 because most credit cards insure you against fraud 02:14 and you're probably never going to have to pay it. 02:17 But let's be real about this. 02:20 Someone somewhere has to pay those costs, 02:24 and if the merchant doesn't absorb the loss, 02:26 then the credit card company does 02:28 and they pass it on to their customers. 02:30 This is not a victimless crime, 02:34 but today it's actually worse than credit card theft 02:36 because we're dealing now with identity theft 02:40 where a perpetrator doesn't just take your visa number, 02:43 he actually pretends to be you, 02:45 and that can have a devastating impact on your life. 02:48 By harvesting your personal data, 02:50 he or she can assume your identity 02:53 and they can take out massive loans 02:55 that you won't know about 02:57 until the creditor comes looking for you. 03:00 Worse than that, these people can commit horrendous crimes 03:03 on the internet and you get the blame. 03:07 Take for example, the horrendous case of Simon Buns, 03:10 a UK man who was suddenly arrested out of the blue 03:14 and the police seized all his computer equipment. 03:18 To his horror, he was accused of possessing child porn 03:22 because somebody overseas had managed 03:24 to steal his credit card and they used it 03:27 to buy indecent pictures of minors. 03:30 When his boss found out why he'd been arrested, 03:33 he was immediately fired and he lost his salary 03:35 of 120,000 pounds a year. 03:38 Members of his family, including his father and siblings, 03:41 cut him off when they found out what he'd been charged with. 03:45 And of course, 03:47 he knew that he'd never been to any of those websites, 03:50 and so he had confidence 03:52 that the police would exonerate him, 03:54 but it can take months for investigators to do their work. 03:58 So in the meantime, 03:59 he was jobless and he had to consider selling his house 04:02 just to make ends meet. 04:04 Not only was his credit now in tatters, 04:06 but his reputation was absolutely destroyed. 04:10 And honestly, when somebody accuses you 04:13 of something that horrible, 04:15 it can be like cutting open a pillow in a wind storm. 04:18 The gossip mill will spread the story far and wide 04:21 and you will never get all the feathers back. 04:24 And unfortunately, gossips are seldom as motivated 04:27 to clear your name as they were to destroy it, 04:30 which is one of the reasons that the Bible condemns 04:33 the act of gossip so strongly. 04:35 It does real damage to people and often for life. 04:41 So as Simon waited for the police to do their work, 04:43 he decided he would do a little investigating of his own. 04:46 The company that cleared the charges 04:48 was an American company, 04:49 so he used the Freedom of Information Act 04:52 to get a copy of the transaction, 04:54 which gave him the IP address 04:56 that the computer used to commit the crime. 04:59 It was located in the city of Jakarta 05:01 on the other side of the planet, 05:03 so he was able to prove that he had used 05:05 that same credit card on that same day 05:09 in a restaurant in London 05:10 so there was no way he could be the perpetrator. 05:14 By September, the police informed him 05:16 that the charges were being dropped, 05:19 but in many ways, 05:20 it was too light because his life was already ruined 05:24 and to this day I understand he never ever shops online. 05:30 Now chances are you've been notified at some point 05:32 or rather that your personal data has been compromised 05:35 in a leak at some big company 05:37 because well this happens all the time now. 05:40 In September of 2017, 05:42 Equifax announced that they had experienced a data breach 05:46 involving 147 million people. 05:50 And as of this moment right now, 05:51 as I'm sitting here in this studio, 05:53 the FTC is still processing claims 05:56 against the company with a deadline in January of 2024, 06:02 and that's just the tip of the iceberg. 06:04 During the 12 year period between 2008 and 2020, 06:07 there were more than 12,000 reported data breaches 06:11 in the United States 06:12 with more than 11 billion records stolen. 06:18 The thought that somebody might be out there 06:19 pretending to be you is enough to keep you up at night. 06:22 How much money are these people borrowing? 06:25 What kinds of crimes are they committing in your name 06:28 and how much trouble will you be in 06:30 when you finally discover what they've been doing? 06:33 According to the FTC, 06:34 identity theft almost doubled between 2019 and 2020, 06:38 partly thanks to pandemic scams 06:40 where the criminals tried to pirate 06:42 people's unemployment benefits. 06:45 It's a serious problem and it makes me think 06:48 of perhaps the worst case of identity theft 06:51 the world has ever seen. 06:53 It's a problem every bit is serious 06:55 is when your identity gets stolen. 06:58 I've been in ministry long enough 06:59 to know that when bad things happen, 07:01 most people have a tendency to blame God 07:04 or at least barrage him with questions 07:07 about how in the world 07:08 he could let something this bad happen. 07:11 And to an extent, it's completely understandable. 07:14 The God of the Bible claims to be all knowing 07:17 and all powerful. 07:18 And so our natural instinct is to hold God accountable 07:22 when bad things happen. 07:25 But a careful study of the ancient records 07:27 indicates that blaming God for evil 07:29 might just be the biggest case 07:30 of stolen identity ever perpetrated. 07:34 I mean, what if somebody else is responsible for evil? 07:37 What if God is truly innocent 07:40 and yet everybody thinks he's the one 07:41 causing pain and suffering? 07:44 Thousands of pages have been written mocking the notion 07:47 of a loving God because of the evils 07:49 that unfold every single day all over this planet, 07:52 producing untold suffering for millions of people. 07:56 Every day, the cries of millions rise toward heaven, 07:59 demanding that God explain himself. 08:03 But what if God isn't really to blame? 08:05 And what if God has already explained himself? 08:09 I'll be right back after this. 08:15 - [Speaker] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 08:19 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 08:23 If you've ever read Daniel or Revelation 08:26 and come away scratching your head, you are not alone. 08:29 Our free focus on prophecy guides are designed 08:32 to help you unlock the mysteries of the Bible 08:34 and deepen your understanding of God's plan for you 08:37 and our world. 08:38 Study online or request them by mail 08:40 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 08:44 - In his best selling book Night, 08:47 Eli Wiesel vividly described 08:49 some of the unbelievable horrors he witnessed 08:51 at the hands of the Nazis. 08:53 One of the most painful stories he tells 08:56 has to do with the execution of a young boy. 08:59 He'd been implicated in an active sabotage 09:01 against a power plant. 09:03 After a stint in solitary confinement 09:05 where the boy was tortured, 09:07 he was eventually condemned to death. 09:10 Eli Wiesel writes the SS seemed more preoccupied, 09:14 more worried than usual. 09:15 To hang a child in front of thousands of onlookers 09:18 was not a small matter. 09:20 The head of the camp read the verdict, 09:22 all eyes were on the child. 09:23 He was pale, almost calm, but he was biting his lips 09:27 as he stood in the shadow of the gallows. 09:31 The men who were usually charged with performing executions 09:34 refused to do it because it was so horrible. 09:37 And so three SS officers took their place. 09:40 The boy and two other prisoners were placed on chairs 09:43 and nooses were placed around their necks. 09:47 And it's at that point that someone standing 09:49 behind Mr. Wiesel suddenly said, where is merciful God, 09:55 where is he? 09:56 The chairs were tipped and the two men next 09:58 to the boy died quickly, 10:00 but the boy was too light 10:01 and it took half an hour for him to go. 10:04 And again, the man behind Eli Wiesel asked for God's sake, 10:08 where is God? 10:11 Now, personally, I've never had 10:12 to witness anything quite that horrible, 10:15 but I have seen some pretty terrible things. 10:17 I've seen heaps of human bodies lying in a crypt 10:20 behind a church in Rwanda. 10:22 I've seen good people linger for months in the hospital, 10:25 enduring unimaginable pain before the merciful hand of death 10:29 finally takes them. 10:31 I've sat with people who have been horribly abused 10:34 by a trusted family member or a spouse to the point 10:37 where most people would experience a psychiatric breakdown. 10:41 And the same question always naturally emerges, 10:44 where is God when bad things happen? 10:49 Eli Wiesel shares the thought 10:50 that crossed his mind one day 10:52 as he joined a worship service on Rosh Hashanah, 10:55 the Jewish New Year. 10:57 The officiating prisoner following the liturgy 11:00 for the occasion said blessed be God's name 11:04 and Eli Wiesel describes his reaction. 11:06 He writes, why, but why would I bless him? 11:10 Every fiber in me rebelled 11:12 because he caused thousands of children 11:14 to burn in his mass graves, 11:16 because he kept six crematoria working day and night 11:19 including Sabbath in the holy days. 11:22 Because in his great might, 11:23 he had created Auschwitz, Birkenau, Buna 11:26 and so many other factories of death. 11:29 How could I say to him, blessed be thou almighty, 11:33 master of the universe who chose us among all nations 11:36 to be tortured day and night, 11:38 to watch as our fathers, our mothers, 11:40 our brothers end up in the furnaces. 11:42 Praise be thy holy name for having chosen us 11:46 to be slaughtered on thine altar. 11:49 It's completely understandable, 11:50 and I'd be lying if I said that those kinds of thoughts 11:53 have never ever crossed my mind. 11:56 I mean, I've suffered, 11:57 maybe not like the victims of a death camp, 11:59 that's for sure, but I have suffered. 12:02 And when the pain is sharp, it can be hard to think clearly. 12:06 Some days it can be difficult to find assurance in the Bible 12:09 because, well, the stories in this book 12:12 suddenly seem so distant. 12:15 They're the stories of other people who lived 12:17 a long time ago on the other side of the planet. 12:20 And of course, 12:22 we think of those people as spiritual heroes and giants 12:24 of the faith and I know I'm not those things, 12:28 but what if all these horrible atrocities 12:30 are not God's fault? 12:32 What if we're dealing with a case 12:34 of mistaken identity or worse than that, 12:36 what if we're dealing with a case of stolen identity? 12:40 I mean, what if God just is not to blame? 12:42 The problem of suffering is one of the oldest questions 12:45 in the world, 12:46 and one of the oldest books of the Bible 12:47 spends 42 chapters discussing it. 12:53 So let me take you to the Book of Job 12:54 where a really good man suddenly suffers unimaginable loss 13:01 and it's the kind of stuff that populates our nightmares. 13:03 First of all, 13:05 a band of raiders suddenly swept down from the hillside 13:07 and stole all his livestock and killed all his servants, 13:11 which meant the complete loss of his wealth. 13:13 He was financially ruined. 13:15 Then as if that wasn't bad enough, 13:17 a natural disaster destroyed the house where his children 13:20 were having a party and it killed every last one of them. 13:24 It was unimaginable. 13:27 And the Bible says that Job felt the pain acutely. 13:30 Here's what it says. 13:32 Then Job arose, tore his robe and shaved his head. 13:35 Now those are the traditional signs of emotional distress 13:39 and mourning back in those days. 13:41 And he fell to the ground and worshiped and he said naked, 13:45 I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return there. 13:48 The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. 13:51 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 13:54 In all this, Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. 13:59 So up to this point, Job isn't blaming God, 14:02 but then he loses his health and he's covered 14:04 with painful boils from the top of his head 14:06 to the soles of his feet 14:08 and it's at this point that his wife cracks. 14:10 Here's what it says in verse nine, 14:12 then his wife said to him, 14:14 do you still hold fast to your integrity, curse God and die? 14:20 And for the next 40 chapters, 14:22 Job wrestles with the question of why? 14:26 Why would God permit this to happen? 14:27 Why do good people have to suffer? 14:32 Now, Job has three friends 14:33 who probably meant well when they came to visit, 14:36 but instead they managed to make him more miserable 14:39 when they tried to explain why God had allowed this. 14:43 A guy by the name of Elephes for example 14:46 tells Job that he must have sinned. 14:48 He must have done something wrong to deserve this. 14:51 He asks whoever perished being innocent? 14:54 Then his friend Billded suggests the same thing, 14:56 suggesting that Job should repent for his sins. 15:00 If you were pure and upright, he says, 15:01 surely now he would awake for you 15:04 and prosper your rightful dwelling place. 15:08 These are the kinds of things that many people think, 15:11 but the truth of the matter is that bad things happen 15:13 to good people, and that's the way it is in this world. 15:16 It's not a matter of fair, it's not a matter of right, 15:20 it's just a matter of the way it is. 15:22 Eventually the suffering became so acute 15:24 that Job actually longed for death. 15:26 I mean, just listen to this passage from Job chapter three. 15:30 It says, after this, 15:32 Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth 15:35 and Job spoke and said, 15:36 may the day perish on which I was born 15:39 and the night in which it was said 15:41 a male child is conceived, may that day be darkness. 15:45 May God above not seek it, 15:47 nor the light shine upon it, 15:49 may darkness in the shadow of death claim it. 15:52 May a cloud settle on it. 15:53 May the blackness of the day terrify it. 15:56 As for that night, may darkness seize it, 15:58 may it not rejoice among the days of the year, 16:01 may it not come into the number of the months. 16:05 It goes on for quite a bit after that, 16:07 but you get the point, 16:09 and chances are at some point you've felt like this. 16:12 You've tried to build a good life 16:14 and you've tried to do what's right, 16:16 but the cruel arm of fate seems to turn against you anyway 16:20 and you're tempted to think that somehow, 16:22 God must have done this to you. 16:24 And that's where this story really becomes very useful 16:27 in the 21st century. 16:29 Now, I know you might be tempted to think 16:32 that the Bible is a collection of mythology 16:36 comparable to the tales of the ancient pagan Pantheon, 16:40 but maybe for a few moments, 16:41 willfully suspend your skepticism and just hear me out. 16:45 After all, if God does not exist, 16:47 then you don't really have anybody to get mad at. 16:50 And yet somehow most of us shake our fist at heaven 16:53 when life becomes hard as if God is real. 16:57 And what that means is that most of us choose to believe 17:00 in God when it hurts and we want him to answer for our pain, 17:04 but we reject the existence of that same God 17:08 when he's busy explaining himself. 17:10 So for now, let's just hear God out. 17:13 The Book of Job opens with a sort of cosmic council 17:17 where the sons of God assemble for a really big meeting. 17:21 You and I are not told what the agenda of this meeting is, 17:24 but that becomes irrelevant when a decidedly unwelcome guest 17:28 suddenly appears in their midst. 17:30 Let's pick up the story in Job one in verse six. 17:34 It says, now there was a day when the sons of God came 17:37 to present themselves before the Lord 17:40 and Satan also came among them. 17:42 And the Lord said to Satan, from where do you come? 17:46 So Satan answered the Lord and said, 17:48 from going to and fro on the earth 17:50 and from walking back and forth on it. 17:52 Now when God asks where the devil came from, 17:55 he says he was walking on the earth 17:58 and that is a really important detail and I'll be right back 18:02 after this to tell you why. 18:07 - [Speaker 2] Life can throw a a lot at us. 18:10 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 18:13 but that's where the Bible comes in. 18:16 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 18:19 Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 18:20 we've created the Discover Bible guides to be your guide 18:23 to the Bible. 18:24 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 18:26 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 18:29 and they're absolutely free. 18:32 So jump online now or give us a call 18:34 and start your journey of discovery. 18:38 - Now, I'm pretty sure I've discussed this on other shows, 18:39 but in the ancient biblical world, 18:41 the foot was a symbol of ownership. 18:45 When God told Abraham he was going to inherit the land 18:48 of Kane and he told Abraham to go and take a walk, 18:51 he said arise, 18:53 walk in the land through its length and its width 18:55 for I give it to you. 18:57 You see, in order to step on something, 18:59 you probably need to own it. 19:01 So what the devil was suggesting in the Book of Job 19:04 is that he now owns this planet. 19:07 The human race abandoned God and gave the keys 19:09 to another master. 19:12 So in essence, when God says, where have you been, 19:14 this incredibly wicked character answers by saying, oh, 19:18 that planet you think belongs to you, God, 19:21 that place where you made the human race in your own image 19:24 and you thought they would trust you forever, 19:27 that place belongs to me now, 19:30 which is why God replies as he does down at verse eight. 19:34 It says, then the Lord said to Satan, 19:36 have you considered my servant Job 19:38 that there is none like him on the earth? 19:40 A blameless, an upright man, 19:42 one who fears God and shuns evil? 19:46 In other words, hey, not so fast, Lucifer. 19:49 You might think the human race has abandoned me, 19:52 but did you happen to notice my servant, Job? 19:54 Turns out that not everybody on the planet 19:57 has joined your rebellion, 19:58 and not everybody's heart belongs to you. 20:02 And that's when the accusations start to fly. 20:05 Well, of course, Job loves you the devil counters 20:08 because you've made him incredibly wealthy. 20:10 He's just in this for the benefits. 20:13 And if you take that all away, 20:14 he's gonna turn on you in a heartbeat. 20:17 So listen to what God says next 20:19 because this is really important. 20:22 And the Lord said to Satan, 20:24 behold all that he has is in your power, 20:27 only do not lay a hand on his person. 20:30 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. 20:34 It was true the human race had rebelled against the creator 20:37 and they had changed the face of this planet forever. 20:40 Instead of trusting God, 20:42 we decided to do things our own way, 20:44 which has led to incredible heartbreak, why? 20:48 Well, because we're not smart enough 20:50 to run this planet well. 20:52 Every time we try to improve our lot, 20:54 it almost always generates a lot of unintended consequences 20:58 and we usually make things worse. 21:01 I mean, just think of the Soviet central planners 21:04 who were convinced 21:05 that human ingenuity could plan an economy so well 21:09 that it would usher in an era of peace and prosperity. 21:13 In the end was food shortages, poverty, death. 21:18 You and I just don't have what it takes to create paradise. 21:22 So in other words, 21:24 we really did seize control of this planet to somebody else 21:26 and that's why God says all that he has is in your power. 21:33 He's not giving the devil power over the planet. 21:34 Rather, he's affirming that the human race has chosen 21:37 to place itself in this fallen angel's hands. 21:40 And the same thing happens again in chapter two 21:43 where it says again, 21:46 there was a day when the sons of God came 21:47 to present themselves before the Lord and Satan 21:51 came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 21:54 And the Lord said to Satan, 21:55 from where do you come? 21:57 Satan answered the Lord and said from going to and fro 22:00 on the earth and from walking back and forth on it. 22:04 So again, the devil is still laying claim to the earth. 22:07 And again, God points to the faithfulness 22:09 and devotion of Job, 22:11 a man who in spite of being a sinner, 22:14 still loves God, it continues. 22:17 So Satan answered the Lord and said, skin for skin. 22:20 Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life, 22:24 but stretch out your hand now and touch his bone 22:27 and his flesh and he will surely curse you to your face. 22:32 In other words, if you let me take away his health, 22:34 Job will stop loving you. 22:37 And the Lord said to Satan, behold, 22:39 he is in your hand but spare his life. 22:43 Now, you can read this to mean that God gives the devil 22:46 the right to destroy our happiness, 22:48 but in the context of the rest of the Bible, 22:50 that's not what it says. 22:52 We decided to give the devil that right 22:55 and the devastating consequences of that horrible choice 22:58 cannot be laid at the feet of God. 23:01 Of course, we might ask why God didn't stop us 23:04 from making such a harmful choice 23:06 right away in the beginning, 23:08 but that would be contrary to the very character 23:10 of who God is. 23:12 Hands down, the most frequent descriptor of God in the Bible 23:16 is love and real love is only possible 23:19 if you have the power of choice. 23:22 Real relationships don't mean anything 23:24 unless you have the choice to walk away from them. 23:28 And what God craves most is the same thing 23:30 that every parent craves, 23:32 a child who willingly loves them back. 23:35 The only way that God can possibly bring us back 23:38 to a permanent trusting relationship 23:41 is to allow us to see that he was right 23:43 about the consequences of turning against him. 23:47 If you eat from that tree, he warned us, 23:49 it's going to cause death. 23:52 Of course, we chose not to believe that, 23:54 and here we are still learning firsthand 23:57 that God was absolutely right. 24:00 Discovering that a life disconnected from our maker 24:02 is incredibly painful 24:04 is part of learning to trust what God says, 24:08 and I'll be right back after this. 24:14 - [Speaker 3] Here at the Voice of Prophecy, 24:15 we're committed to creating top quality programming 24:17 for the whole family 24:19 like our audio adventure series, Discovery Mountain. 24:22 Discovery Mountain is a buyable-based program 24:25 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 24:27 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 24:30 from this small mountain summer camp and town 24:33 with 24 seasonal episodes every year 24:35 and fresh content every week. 24:37 There's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 24:43 - The Book of Job gives us a dramatic behind the scenes look 24:46 at how the moral universe actually works. 24:49 Job is not privy to the heavenly council. 24:52 All he knows is that his life is falling apart 24:54 and it seems really unjust. 24:57 Throughout the rest of the book, 24:58 the blame is placed either on Job or on God, 25:02 but God is not the cause of this suffering 25:04 and one of the core ideas that emerges from this story 25:07 is that those who are responsible for pain and suffering 25:11 are also the perpetrators of the biggest case 25:13 of identity theft in recorded history. 25:16 There are forces that are quite glad to wreak havoc 25:19 and pretend that God did it. 25:22 You might think about it like this, 25:24 and they've stolen God's credit cards 25:26 and the running up a debt so big that none of us can pay it, 25:30 which is why God himself became a human being 25:33 and paid the debt for us. 25:35 He's the victim of identity theft, 25:37 and yet he chooses unbelievably to accept responsibility 25:41 for the crimes committed in his name. 25:44 Here's how Paul describes it. 25:46 In his letter to the Colossians, he says, 25:48 and you being dead in your trespasses 25:51 and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 25:53 he has made alive together with him, 25:56 having forgiven you all trespasses, 25:58 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements 26:01 that was against us, which was contrary to us. 26:05 In other words, even though we ran up the debt, 26:07 God chose to pay the bill. 26:10 It continues and he has taken it out of the way, 26:14 having nailed it to the cross, 26:16 having disarmed principalities and powers, 26:19 he made a public spectacle of them, 26:21 triumphing over them in it. 26:24 Today, the the identity theft continues. 26:28 All kinds of outrageous crimes are committed 26:31 by people who claim to represent God. 26:34 I see it every time I turn on religious TV where people 26:37 claiming the name of Christ make an absolute mockery 26:41 of the life and teachings 26:42 of the the humble carpenter from Nazareth. 26:45 They take your money 26:46 and they claim they can heal you, they can't. 26:49 They paint mental pictures of God that make him look like 26:52 some kind of moral monster who promises 26:55 to torture us for all eternity. 26:58 These preachers say they love Christ, 27:00 but their lives are dripping 27:01 with financial or sexual scandal 27:04 and every single day, God gets the blame. 27:10 And meanwhile, God has told us quite clearly how to tell 27:13 if you're talking to the genuine article, 27:15 a real disciple of Christ. 27:18 Jesus said, by this, all will know that you are my disciples 27:23 if you have love for one another. 27:26 Now, I'll admit it, 27:28 I've been mad at God more times than I can remember, 27:30 but right now I'm reminded of the famous broadcaster, 27:33 Francis Cardinal Spellman, who answered the question, 27:36 where was God when I hurt? 27:39 By leaning toward the camera and saying the same place 27:42 he was when we nailed his son to a tray. 27:47 God is no stranger to pain. 27:49 He's been here, he's lived it, 27:51 and he promises that in due time, 27:53 he will personally wipe away all of your tears. 27:58 Thanks for joining me. 27:59 I'm Shawn Boonstra, and this has been Authentic. |
Revised 2022-12-28