Tuesday , Nov. 8th | Election Day

Today is Tuesday, November the 8th. I'm Ryan Hill.

I'm John Galantis. And you're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadon Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can find us online at ClearviewTodayShow.com, or if you have a question for Dr. Shah, anything you'd like for us to talk about on the show, you can send us a text at 252-582-5028. You can also email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com.

You can follow Dr. Shah on his website, AbadonShah.com, and you can support us financially here at Clearview Today by visiting ClearviewTodayShow.com. You'll find a link, a button to give there, and every donation that you make goes to fostering this partnership where we can team up together with you and get the gospel out to as many people as possible. That's right.

That's right. You can help keep this conversation in the airwaves by supporting this podcast. Number one, you can like us on iTunes. You can give us a five-star review. Every single one of those reviews help because it keeps the conversation forward.

It keeps the conversation up in the air, and it pushes the gospel forward. See, iTunes works like that, where the more reviews, the more people are talking about it, the more that they push it towards the top. So leaving those reviews is important. Leaving those five-star reviews especially.

Don't be cute. You know, don't give us a one-star review because I said to take a cold shower. By the way, Rachel, from North Carolina, I was going to say you got some backup on the cold shower thing.

Love you, Rachel. For those of you who aren't familiar with that, at the end of our shows, we have Last Minute Advice. John's advice one week was to take a cold shower or end your shower with cold water. It wasn't a cold shower, totally. No, end it with cold water. Just kind of chilly. It feels good on the back of your head, and Rachel said what? Rachel said, totally agree with the cold water at the end of the shower. It's good for your health.

There you go. I think it was good for your health, Rachel. That's why I said it. That's why I said it.

Good for your health. But you guys can definitely help us out by reviewing the show on iTunes, sharing it, Spotify, listen to it on the Truth Network, listen to it on one of the dozens of radio stations that we're on and talking about it, spreading it. Yeah, absolutely. Anywhere you can find Christian Radio, anywhere you can find digital podcasts, anything like that. Today's verse of the day, also a recommendation from Rachel, we've added it to our regular rotation. The rest of the day comes from Psalm 25 and it's verses 9 and 10. The humble he guides in justice and the humble he teaches his way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimony. Beautiful.

Beautiful. I love that. I love that balance between mercy and truth because that, I mean, that's the gospel. That's the heart of what we're doing here on Clevee today.

You know, we want to tell the truth. At the same time, we want to be compassionate. Those things don't have to be in conflict.

In fact, Jesus showed us that they can't be a part. Yeah, in fact, I was going to say, in fact, they shouldn't be in conflict. They should be held together. Right. Right.

Absolutely. So John, I have to ask you, I saw you walk into the studio today with something in your hand. Why did you bring pumpkin pie? Hold on.

This is very important. I thought this was pumpkin spice coffee creamer. This is not. This is pumpkin pie coffee. Nobody wants spicy coffee.

That's an important distinction. We've talked about coffee creamer on the show and John, you've, you've, you've introduced us to some, I feel like gourmet flavors. I feel like I'm, I feel like I'm a connoisseur when it comes to coffee creamers. I feel like I'm, I don't know if I'm like a, like a tastemaker or trendsetter, but definitely I think I'm at least a connoisseur.

Okay. Um, we, as you know, I threw a legendary hissey and I even toned it down for the, for the podcast for the radio show, but I threw a hissey about Walmart not having blueberry creamer, cobbler creamer year round. I thought that was a personal insult. But my wife actually picked up this pumpkin pie coffee creamer and I felt like it was almost just as good. I mean, it's seasonal of course, but really, yeah, I mean it's, oh, oh, why did that happen? Oh, it's thick. It's coffee creamer. Of course it's thick. Oh, I'm very uncomfortable. I did not enjoy that stuff has been really, has been really rocking me this fall.

Usually I kind of dread fall, but pumpkin pie coffee creamer, I would, I would say this is not last minute advice, but I would suggest you guys pick some of this up. Yeah. It is. Is that Walmart brand? Yeah, I see.

It's great value. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Do you want to try some? I don't want to try some directly out of the bottle. Yikes.

I wouldn't. It does. It does. It tastes good in coffee, but it doesn't taste good on air. It's not made to be a beverage.

It's made to be an addition to a beverage. Yeah. Yikes. Oh, well let me change the subject quickly from that because I'm getting a little nauseous as, as you drink out of the coffee creamer bottle.

I don't feel good. Today is election day. You know, we've been doing everything we can to keep the conversation up in the air, but today is the day and we want you guys to get out there and vote. You know, hopefully by the time you're hearing this episode, you have already voted depending on when this episode is airing, where you are, right? We're going to bring Dr. Sean in the studio in just a few minutes to talk with us about election day, about voting, about the importance of this, but if you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes, things you'd like for us to talk about, you can send us a text at two, five, two, five, eight, two, five, zero, two, eight, or visit us online at clearviewtodayshow.com.

We're going to get Dr. Sean, we'll be right back. What will people say about you when the crisis is over? Will they say that you lived out what you proclaimed all your life? Will they say that your actions matched your confession?

Ultimately, what will God say about you? Not only that, but as a Christian, are you being a lighthouse for others during the storm? Dr. Abedan Shah and his wife Nicole have composed a book of 30 daily devotions to help you navigate your faith through whatever crisis you may be facing. The book is called 30 days through a crisis, daily devotions to navigate your faith. Our prayer is that as you read this book, God will guide and strengthen you through his word into the image of his son by the Holy Spirit.

That's 30 days through a crisis and you can pick up your copy on Amazon right now. Let us know how it's helped you by emailing us at info at clearviewbc.org and don't forget, you can also support what we're doing at Clearview by visiting us at clearviewbc.org forward slash give. Thanks for listening. We'll be right back to the show. Welcome back to Clearview Today with Dr. Abedan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can visit us online at clearviewtodayshow.com or if you have any questions or recommendations for things for us to talk about, send us a text at 252-582-5028. Dr. Shah is with us in the studio today.

Dr. Shah, how are you today? Well, I'm anxious in a way, being election day. Yes. Today is election day. But Nicole and I already voted last week.

We loved the early elections. Go get it done. So we're done. And I know you guys went yesterday. Yeah. Ellie and I went yesterday.

It was good. It was a long line, but a lot of people out there, which was encouraging. It's discouraging to be like, Oh man, I got to wait in this line. But then it's like, well, a lot of people are here. They're voting. They're doing their duty. So that's a great point. Yeah.

The longer the line is here, it's like, okay, people are taking this seriously. Yeah. People are actually going out. That's right. That's right. You hear oftentimes like no one goes out and votes anymore and then complains about the election results.

So to see people turning out in numbers, Elizabeth and I went yesterday as well to see people turning out in numbers to vote. That's a good thing. Absolutely.

Yeah. The line was wrapped. When we got there, the line was wrapped around like the built.

The building is here. What? You can't see it from the radio, but just imagine a building and there was, there was people wrapped around and then back around to where the cars were. Oh wow. So yeah, I mean, it was a lot of people. Wow. Mm-hmm.

You good? Well, I was waiting on you to take your line. Oh, my line. I forgot my line. I was going to give it to you. Sorry. You know what?

After yesterday's debacle. I just kind of assumed that was your thing. You just gave up on it. You were looking at me. If you guys are joining us for the first time, if you've never been the show, seen the show before.

Never listened to it before. Unfamiliar with Dr. Shah's work, Dr. Abedan Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism. He's a professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and he's the host of today's show. See, you do it so well. Listen, I practiced in front of the mirror every night before bed. Right.

Yeah. And I was, I was practicing in line yesterday when we were, um, just to yourself. I was like, my, my, uh, co-host stole my line today, sir. Could I please, can I run this by you?

He was like, sir, I'm in the booth. Get out of here. Well, we've, we've said it already today is election day. So we want to open up the conversation and really just talk about this whole idea of elections voting, why this is important, why this matters, and how we as believers and as Americans should feel about the voting process. Dr. Shah, what are your thoughts on this whole, you know, the idea of elections, getting out there and voting? What, how should we approach this conversation? Well, I think, uh, just from my observation, it's, it's similar to previous elections where people have a sense of, you know, either reminiscing over the past and how things used to be or how good things were, uh, or a sense of resignation that I'm kind of done with it.

I don't want to deal with it. Or even a retreat, which is, I'm just gonna, you know, I just love Jesus and that's all I care about. The end time is times are here.

I'm ready to go. And I believe none of those reactions are appropriate as a Christian and as an American citizen. Right. And I'm, I'm grateful because a lot of people are very optimistic of where these elections are headed and hopefully, hopefully we'll see a good turnaround of Christian values in our nation. Amen. Absolutely. It's one of those weird things where people, it's almost like young people are way too young to be this cynical about America.

You know, I've, I've heard people say that, you know, America's best day, even though I didn't live to see them, America's best days are over, you know, it's all gonna be just downhill from here. Right. And that's just not right.

Right. You know, let's back up for a moment. People often make this very unfair comparison between America and Rome. You know how Rome sort of fell. Rome was one of the wealthiest countries or empires, if you will, with the largest military, largest multi-ethnic population. And then look what happened to Rome. Rome sort of got corrupt from the inside, it was just a matter of time when the barbarians knocked on the door, the doors fell backwards.

Right? I mean, that's what, that's what they say. But yeah, we, we have problems similar to what Rome did with the moral problems, with the breakdown of the families, too many weird laws and restrictions and lawsuits. And I mean, yes, there are a lot of similarities. Right. And when people make that comparison between Rome and America, it's a very, very unfair comparison because Rome was not founded on biblical values. Right. Right. Rome was sort of founded, I would even say, kind of on a Greek foundation, learning from Greek philosophy, democracy, Republic, learning from them and kind of making it their own.

Rome had that penchant for borrowing from cultures and making it Roman, but America was founded very differently. Right. Right. So if we are founded on this Judeo-Christian foundation, then we're not headed the same way Rome was headed or ultimately went.

Yeah. And it's, it's one of those things, it's just almost a, I mean, I guess it is, it's a fallacy where you can find comparisons between any two things, but to say that those comparisons are strong enough to where they're the same thing and you can predict, but based on what happened here, I can predict what's happening here. I mean, it feels like there's way more differences between America and Rome than there are similarities. I mean, bottom line differences in Rome, church and Christians had no voice. True. Very true.

In America, Christianity is, is the foundation and Christians still have a strong voice or at least Christian values are still valued in America. Right. Right.

I think the comparison is unfair and I don't think we need to necessarily just reminisce over the past, the past glory of America. Yeah. No, I think our best days are ahead.

We need to keep looking that way. Do you feel like that's something that happens among, among older people, like that they just spend their time thinking about how, how much better it was? Yeah.

I mean, it's natural. Yeah. I guess so. We all have the idea that we are the last one standing. Yeah. Back in my day.

Back in my day, I remember when gas costs a nickel and I, who I voted for actually won. I can see that kind of beat attitude of. And that's true. There's some extent, there's a lot that we will lose with each generation, right? But then there are lots we're going to gain too.

And we have to make sure that we keep sharing those values with our children, our grandchildren of what America is and what we stand for and the positives and also the negatives that we need to work on. Right. And we're just with blinders on our eyes thinking that, oh, it's all good.

It's all wonderful. No, there are things we have to work on. Right.

Right. And so nothing wrong with admitting that, but we don't have to just live in the past. That's a great point, especially as I'm thinking about my kids, my kids are all, you know, on the younger side of things, elementary age and down and thinking about how to communicate with this to them, that, you know, this is, we don't live in a perfect nation. There is no perfect nation.

I live in a perfect country, but we do live in a great nation. That's right. And here are some things that we can be grateful for and here are some things that we need to work on. That's right. As an immigrant, you know, I always wanted to go see the important sites in America, sites that I heard about as a little kid, believe it or not. I heard about Jamestown, read about James. Oh yeah. So yes.

In our history books, we had to read the story of America, the colony that got lost in a Roanoke colony and then Jamestown colony and the Massachusetts Bay colony and the pilgrims that came. Wow. That's interesting.

I don't know why that's surprising to me. I mean, well, because we don't, wow. But we don't really have to learn about the history of other countries unless America is directly involved. Yeah, right. Yeah. But see, we learn about the civil war growing up and what Abraham Lincoln did and all this. I mean, this is, this, this is part of our history books. That's surprising. That is surprising to me. Yeah.

I didn't know that. And right down to the times that I grew up in India, you know, going into, going, going to school in the seventies and the eighties. So history up until that point, just a little bit about the cold war that's going on. But unfortunately at the time India was pro Russia. So we were looking at it from another perspective, a different, a different spin on things. All the Christians did not agree with that perspective. Let's just say it that way. We were not happy that Pakistan and United States were, you know, United and then India and Russia were one, you know, we are in solidarity.

Christians didn't like that. Yeah. Huh. Yeah. I guess I can see why. Yeah. I guess I can see why. Yeah. Because communism is, is atheism.

It's, it's not what we want. Was when you were growing up, did people vote in India? Where's it? Oh, yes. It was, it was a democracy.

Like where? Okay. Yes.

Of course there were election problems. Right. Yeah.

This whole sabotaging the elections is nothing new. Right. If you read about Indian history going back to the time of Indira Gandhi, there was an emergency declared in India because, uh, the votes were, um, how do I, how do I say it? The stolen?

They turn up missing. Yeah. There was some craziness that went on. Yeah. And of course, you know, she declared emergency, stopped the whole process. And still to this day, you know, there's a lot of controversy over, was it the other side that did this?

Or was it Indira Gandhi herself? I mean, we don't know for sure. Wow. These votes coming up short. What's happening here? Suspicious. Yeah.

So, um, uh, you know, but again, Congress party at the time in India was very pro-Christian, and we were very grateful for them. So you know, it's, it's, it's funny that you mentioned that kind of, that kind of corruption, because I think that's something that we're starting to see here in America now, especially among a lot of young people where there's this almost resignation of just like, I don't care anymore. The politics are a waste of time.

What's the point? The government is evil, we all know that the Republicans are evil, Democrats are evil. Everybody in charge is evil. I'm, I'm out. Yeah. And, and I guess this just, it's kind of like what I was seeing earlier, the young people of today are just too young for this kind of cynicism. Right. And I understand where they're coming from.

I do understand because there's a sense of uncertainty and a sense of, uh, you know, lack of vision. Who's, who's leading us? Where are we headed? What are the promises these politicians make?

Are they going to keep those promises? So I understand that, but still we cannot just wash our hands off. Right. We have to get involved. I mean, I've told that to our children, you know, Hey, you need to, you need to be involved in politics.

You need to vote, maybe even run for offices. Yeah. I've, I've talked to all four of our kids at different points, you know, maybe run for office one day or work in some kind of position that may impact our nation for good.

Yeah. We've taken them to historical sites. I mean, I'm talking about Washington DC. We took a trip, uh, all up and down the mall and went from, um, went to the white house. I didn't go inside the white house.

We went to the white house. Uh, and then I remember Thomas's, uh, sandals tore off. So we had to makeshift that sandal and was it yours, Nicholas? Oh man. I remember that.

Nicholas is your store off. Wow. Yeah. He was just like hobbling around.

Got a flat tire as I'm walking around. Yeah. They went to the, uh, um, a Washington monument and then the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial. Of, of course we even went to some of the museums on the left and right. Oh, we had such a good time.

Yeah. It was a hot day. I can imagine. It was so, so hot.

It was over a hundred degrees. Yeah. Wow. I bet. And, but we were just drinking water and keep on trucking.

Yeah. All those people there too. Hot and crowded. Well, it wasn't that crowded. Oh really? It wasn't that crowded. Okay.

It was in the summer, but there were some people out there, but it was great for us to teach our children. Right. Look, this is America. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that wonderful? And I know we have a lot of work to do, but hey, this is a great country and we've taken them to, of course, Jamestown, like five, six times through schools, but we've been to Williamsburg and we've taken them to, uh, the, you know, Manassas went down the Shenandoah Valley, took nice to, um, you know, some of the museums there. I mean, just, and then of course we've been out West in different places, just finding ways to help them appreciate this great nation. Yeah. I think that the active role that you and Nicole have taken is, is so crucial.

It's so important in, uh, communicating the importance of treasuring what this country is and having an active role in shaping this country, letting your voice be heard. Yes. There are issues. Yes. There are things we need to work on. I mean, specifically there are some concerns that people have, but if we don't get out there and vote, you can't wash your hands of it. Exactly.

Right. Do you ever get Christians trying to do that? Like, look, no matter who's in the office, Jesus is my president. So that too, or, uh, the end times are here and I agree. We are closer to the end than we were before automatically, logically, but I think we are very close to the end.

I do believe, uh, it's getting wild and wicked out there, but it could also mean that some times God sends a revival at the last minute to give people a chance to come to him. So we should never pack up our bags in such a way that we cannot unpack and quickly help people. Yeah. That's a great way to put that.

What a great visual. Yeah. So that's what I would say.

Yeah. I mean, I'm, I'm, I just think back to what if your Christian ancestors at fault, cause they thought they were in the enzymes too. That's true.

But your Christian grandparents and their great, great grandparents, what if they had felt the same way? Right. Like I'm, I'm not going to vote because whoever wins or whoever's in office, Jesus is still king.

So no need to even worry with it. And I believe that I believe Jesus is Lord, Jesus is King of Kings. Right. And, but he's also called us to be the salt and light. He's called us to make a difference wherever we are. And Christians throughout the history of the world or the people of God, I should say, wherever they were, they made that place a better place for God. Yep. I would say more specifically for Jesus Christ, they made that place a better place for Christ. Yeah.

For the gospel. And that's what we should do. That's right. How do you think we're supposed to live as Christians then? When if, let's say, let's say, you know, we vote our biblical values and yet as we've seen in the past, in the, in the very recent past, a lot of times it doesn't pan out the way that we want to, you know, is it, is there, you know, cause we talked about this submit over this comply, but resist sort of language.

Is there a correct way to view it? Yeah. We have to start thriving in exile. Yeah.

Yeah. We're going to talk about that tomorrow as well. Yes, we will. We have to start seeing ourselves like Daniel, like Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, like Esther, like Nehemiah. They're powerful examples of godly men and women who were in a place where godly values or the living true God was not worshiped.

And yet they're shown and they're shown brightly for the gospel. So my prayer is that we will, we will have the reign of King David or Solomon, right? That Hey, no, we have, we have great people in office. What a great turnaround. What a wonderful thing. Okay, great.

But if it doesn't, that's okay. We're going to shine another way. Yep. Yep. There's a lot of discussions that you and I have been having recently about this whole power shift during Samuel's time, shifting from the judges to the Kings. I don't know how much we want to reveal now because it may be a couple of years away, but we're working on a very big project as far as Samuel goes. Absolutely. And I'm just thinking about like this, the way that culture and power shifts and how God showed us through Samuel, how that can be done and done well.

Yes, exactly. To have an understanding of the Bible in one hand and the understanding of politics and how, how power shifts and powers move and kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall and how we as Christians need to be wise and effective in these times. How can we be like Daniel of whom was said, there's a man in whom is a spirit of God, right? He has the wisdom of the gods in him. We need more men and women, boys and girls like Daniel.

We need men and women, boys and girls like Esther, you know, with the courage to go before the King and fight for her people. Yeah. Right. So I would say these are exciting times and we as Christians cannot lose faith, cannot lose heart, cannot lose hope. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of hope. So we don't talk in a sense of hopelessness like, ah, it's all over, it's done, man, it's, you know, just kind of, it is what it is. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of hope and hope is more than wishable thinking. Right. It's a promise of a better day coming.

That's right. Maybe we have some people who are listening or some people who are watching who have young people in our life, maybe, maybe they're, you know, their own kids or maybe they work with students. What encouragement would you give to them in order to captivate this, ah, generation that's coming up to be involved in politics, to, ah, let their, let their beliefs, belief shape the way that they vote. What encouragement would you offer those people?

I would say exactly what John was talking about. This project that we're working on of the change and the shift in, in, in the structure from judges to Kings. It's so interesting. It is.

It is. It is so interesting and it has so much more packed into those verses than we realize. We just read them as stories of, you know, Hannah having a little, you know, dilemma that she cannot have children and then she cries and God gives her a child and she gives a child back to the tabernacle and then he's raised as the next priest. No, there's so much more that is taking place, the shift of power and how people were positioning themselves and all under God's direction to bring the nation under one rule that rule was the King that God would appoint.

Of course the people jumped the gun and put someone like Saul in power and it was a disaster from the beginning, but then how God turned things around and David became the King, but ultimately with the goal of the Messiah King, God's anointed King. So I would strongly encourage people, maybe sometimes put down the newspaper and read the Bible. Right.

Right. I mean, it's encouraged me, you know, you and I have been talking about this Samuel thing for almost a couple of months now, like almost every day we've been talking about it. And it's encouraged me because it reminds me that God didn't bring this change about, you know, just willing. He didn't get all these priests together and then say, all right, guys, here's what's going to happen. We're going to lay out the plan. Here's how it's going to work.

It's going to pull a King out of the ground. It came through sorrow and suffering. They had to go through and mistakes and the people at the time, they weren't like, you know, I'm sure they were like, oh, Israel's done for, we as a people are done. But once they got through it and once they got back on God's plan, David came, it encourages me because I remember that God is still working and moving in America.

He's not done until he says he's done. Exactly. And even when David came to power, he was not the perfect King. That's true. He made terrible mistakes. That's true. Nonetheless, it proved that only one King is a rightful, true, righteous King.

And that's God's son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.

Absolutely. Hopefully by the time you have heard this episode, you have already gone out to vote depending on when this airs. You may have the voting day election.

They may have already been over, may have already passed, but we hope that you had a chance to go out there to the polls, vote, vote your convictions, vote your conscience. If you have any questions about how you can get more involved, how you can be more equipped, better educated on what's going on, send us a text at 252-582-5028, or you can also email us at contact at ClearviewTodayShow.com. And don't forget at that same website, ClearviewTodayShow.com, you can support us financially. Absolutely. You can partner with us.

That's the terminology we want to use. You can partner with us, become a team member with us, and reaching the nations with the gospel. Well, we've already seen so many partners coming together and coming alongside us and supporting us financially.

It's just supporting us with their encouragement. Do you want to read the text that we got from Mike S? Yes. Absolutely.

I would love to. Yes. You guys told me about this. Pretty awesome.

Yeah. So Mike has written in before, but he texted again, messaged us again. He said, good morning. Long time, Clearview Today listener here with you since the beginning. And what he's talking about there is before Clearview Today, back in Carpet Mignana.

We're on a show called Carpet Mignana. So he's listened since the beginning. He said, first week in the books, smooth sailing from here. Very cool. Very cool. Thank you, Mike.

Still with us in week three, my friend. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mike. That's awesome. John, as we go.

Do you have any last minute advice for us? I do. This one is for, um, this one's for the musicians, specifically guitar players, and I hate to even cast anybody out, but if you're not a guitar player, what are you doing? Turn off the podcast. Yeah. Yeah.

Well, yeah. Actually start playing guitar. So here's, I have in my hand, this is something called a cut capo. This has revolutionized the way that I play guitar because normally, do you have a, for those, for those who may not know it, can you explain what, what the capo does?

So here's a regular capo. This is basically, you'd put it across the headboard of your guitar and it just clamps down the strings. So if you're lazy, you don't have to learn different keys. You, you play the same shapes no matter what. So if I'm in like, uh, if I'm playing open, I'm playing a G chord. If I put it on the second fret, I go up two steps, which is a, so this, a regular capo is just a way to make guitar players lazy. The cut capo is a way to make your life even lazier because it's, uh, you can see it's shorter. And so what this thing does is it clamps down three of the strings. It leaves the top one open and the bottom two open so you can literally play chords with one finger, just a single finger, especially it puts, it puts your guitar in the key E and then from there you can pair it with two. But what I love about it is it's literally just no effort at all. You put your one finger per string and you're playing like very rich open chords. This is, this is a, um, a saving grace for lazy guitar players.

Absolutely. You don't have to learn theory. You don't have to learn nothing.

Just buy a cut capo on Amazon link in the, actually I'm not going to link in the description, but get one of these. You will be very thankful. You did. There you go. All right. And if you're not playing guitar, you start playing. Yeah.

Start playing guitar. Obviously. Cool. We love you guys. Have a good one. All right.