The spiritual condition of America, politics, culture, and current events, analyzed through the lens of Scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Romans 14-12 is a New Testament verse that should give every thinking person pause to evaluate, pray, and reprioritize.
Romans 14-12 says, quote, So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Hi, Alex McFarland here, and I wish you a happy new year. Welcome to 2025.
Here it is. Hard to believe, isn't it? You know, the turning of the calendar, the turning of a page, a new year. People everywhere think and evaluate. And in this message today, this is our first pre-recorded radio broadcast of the new year.
I want to share a couple of verses and talk about the things in life you'd better get right. You know, for a lot of people, the holidays are a sad time. Sometimes people think about the past 12 months with regret.
Maybe they wallow in introspection for their life. A lot of people rejoice, and that's good. And I know in any given year, families can experience changes, bereavement, things like that. But really, I think for the Christian, if you're a born-again believer, every new day, every new year can be viewed as a gift from God, something the Lord has entrusted to us. And we can really, with great enthusiasm and absolute confidence, we can face each new year.
Now I want to share a few scriptures and talk about the things in life we'd better get right. Listen, I bought a car about a year ago, and I really have had great success in cars. And those of you that know me know that I'm really, really into cars. And over the years, because I do a lot of research, I've had great success buying used cars, get two and three hundred thousand miles out of them. But I bought this one car, and I mean it was a dog. This car, I owned it about a year and a half, and at least 30% of the time, it was in the shop.
And I spent a ton of money on it, finally got it repaired and sold it, lost money. And my wife said to me, she said, you know, in 35 years we've had really good luck with cars. Not luck, but God has looked after us. But here's the thing, if you get a bad car, you can get another car.
If you lose your job prayerfully, diligently, you can get another job. But I want to encourage all of us, myself included, to remember that very valuable resource that we take for granted, we should be grateful for. And it's a non-renewable resource, and that's the resource of time. If you lose money, you can get some more money. And I don't advocate wasting or squandering anything.
But you cannot get more time. Time is a non-renewable resource, and every day really is a gift from God. And Romans 14, 12, every one of us will give an account of himself to God as a reminder that we should really view life as stewardship, and then especially time. I've often quoted from 1 Corinthians 6, 19, and 20 where Paul asks a lot of rhetorical questions.
And a rhetorical question is one where the answer is really obvious. But Paul says this, do you know that you are not your own? Don't you realize that? You're not your own. You're bought with a price. And even as a human being, whether or not a person is a Christian, they are not their own. Life is entrusted to us from God. That most valuable of all properties, philosophers talk about the property of existence.
The technical word is ontology, ontos, O-N-T-O-S, to exist. We call it life. God has entrusted us with life. Now if you're a Christian, you've been doubly blessed because you not only have physical life, if you're a believer you have eternal life.
And thirdly, you have, according to John 10-10, abundant life. So we need to remember that we've got to get some things right. And I want to challenge you, if the New Year coming leaves you blue and apprehensive. I think about this quote by Tony Robbins, the success coach. He says, stop being afraid of what can go wrong.
Be excited about what can go right. And I look at myself, over the years, God has been so good to us. We've seen the ministries grow. We've seen God help our families. And my goodness, when I got married to Angie 36 years ago now, my mother and dad were in bankruptcy and were almost put out of their house.
They were in their 60s at that point. And yet, over the years, I followed what God called me to do, prayed diligently. My dad survived a life-threatening illness, and we got a will made. And Angie and I, even though I was making like $18,000 a year as a youth pastor, that was not a lot of salary. And yet we were able, I completely give God the glory, we were able to help my parents get out of debt.
And as father, mother, and then Angie's mom passed on, we were able to shepherd them and do their funerals and settle their estates. And I look back and I think about all that has gone right. And eventually God had to cure me of pessimism and realize that God is for us and God helps us. And yeah, there's hard work a lot of times, but life, and I share this from my own personal journey and crucible as we start another year.
Yeah, I think about Churchill. I love Winston Churchill, but Winston Churchill said, success is not final and failure is not fatal. It's the courage to continue on that counts. And so let's remember, if you're a believer, you are an overcomer and you've got prayer and a call from God to keep on keeping on and a promise of God that he will help you. So let's talk about what we've got to get right in life.
And this new year is as good a time as any to think about these things. Life's most important question, why am I here? What is my purpose?
Maybe you grew up in a church that recited the shorter catechism. And the catechism, the different editions, the question is always a variant on this. Question number one, what is the chief end of man? And the answer to glorify God and enjoy him forever. And end is teleos, purpose, design, intent. What is the purpose of man?
To glorify God and enjoy him forever. And so let's talk about that. Do you know God? And is Jesus really Lord of all?
Not Lord of some, but Lord of all. When we come back, we've got a brief break. We're going to continue on getting started right. And no matter what your past has been, God loves you. He will forgive you, restore you, empower you, lead you. And in this new year, this is going to be the year of God's blessing and favor. And that begins today, folks. We'll talk more about this when we come back.
Stay tuned. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this.
Hi, Alex McFarland here. You know, I was at a college speaking and I guess we ministers get too wordy. Somebody said, can you describe Christianity in only two words? And instantly this came to me and I said it, loving substitution.
And students raised their hands and they said, what does that mean? Loving substitution. Here's the thing, because Jesus Christ loves you, he was our substitute on Calvary's cross. The appropriate measure of God's wrath that you and I deserved was put onto Jesus. You don't have to die and suffer for your sins because he was the substitute who died for you. So if you call out to Christ, he will save you. He will forgive you.
I urge you to do that today because Jesus Christ has a plan for your life and it begins with you putting your faith in him. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your support. Learn more about this at AlexMcFarland.com.
He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to the Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarland here, a blessed 2025 to you. I'm very excited about what God has in store for our nation this year, for our world, for this ministry.
I'm excited what God has in store for you this year. You know, life is sometimes hard work. I read a quote in this Pennsylvania school journal by someone named Eugene Burton.
It said, to avoid losing your shirt, keep your sleeves rolled up. That's a good thought, isn't it, to embrace life and remember, especially as a Christian, that we have this wonderful calling to face each day with confidence and assurance and joy. See, joy is different than happiness. Happiness is very much a transient emotion tied to good fortune. Maybe you found a quarter on the ground and for a moment you felt happy.
Maybe you got a new car and you felt happy until that first payment out of 48 was due. But joy is a peace and a contentment of soul that comes from the reality that Jesus Christ is your identity and your rock and your foundation and your self-worth and your peace of mind. It's all in the Lord that can't be taken away, is never shaken. You know, Tony Evans, he said this, and this is a great reminder. He said, everything that happens in the universe is either allowed by God or caused by God. Now, God does not cause evil, but when bad things happen or tragedies occur, God did allow it. He didn't cause it, but he allowed it. And Tony Evans says, and I think it's very true, never do we have to fret and think, oh my goodness, why did such and such bad thing happen? Was God looking the other way? Did God not see this coming? Even when we don't understand, we can know.
Everything in the universe was either caused by God or permitted by God. So, number one of the questions we'd better get right, why am I here? Well, to know God and grow and then bear fruit and represent the Lord.
Secondly, the second question you'd better get right is what should I do with my life? Now, if maybe you think I've not really been pursuing that, or maybe I've made choices that weren't the right choices, well, praise God, you can start right now and change. And listen, maybe for years you've been running from God or living in a state of known disobedience. Well, admit that to the Lord and he'll forgive you beginning today. Ecclesiastes 9 verse 10 about what do we do with our life and how do we steward this time that we've got?
Maybe three score in 10, maybe not so many years, or maybe just like President Jimmy Carter, our 39th president who just passed away, he lived to be 100. That in itself is a great blessing. But Ecclesiastes says, Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work nor device nor wisdom in the grave where you go. Hey, while you're in this world, be a great husband, if that's part of your multifaceted calling. Be a godly wife.
Young people, be a respectful child and appreciative of your parents. Do something with your life, and the Lord will reveal that to you. It's been said that your calling is where your deepest desire intersects with the world's greatest need. What you're good at, what you're competent at, your gifting, and I've said it many times, and my definition for a gift is that thing that you can do with excellence, nearly effortlessly, on a consistent basis. Your gift is that thing you can do with excellence, nearly effortlessly, and you can do it on a consistent basis. There's some things that come hard, and it's a struggle, and on your best day, you're maybe adequate. That's not your gift. Now we do some things that are a little bit out of our comfort zone, but find your gift, praise God.
And when I say gift, I'm not talking about something flashy or something that might bring you notoriety, but that thing that can honor God and bless the lives of others and put food on the family's table. And maybe you're a gifted employee. Maybe you're an anointed business person.
Maybe you're a good teacher. And whenever you have opportunity, and sometimes you have to go looking for those opportunities, but use your gift in the local church, as well as the home and the workplace. Know, and God will reveal, if you ask him, he'll reveal it, what you should do with your life. The third question in life that you'd better get right, whom should I marry? Now, many people hearing this are married, praise God. Then give yourself to that home and that marriage.
But no matter your age, I've got an individual now that sought me out for counseling, and they're well into middle age, and they've never been married, but they want to be married. Proverbs 18 22 says, He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. You know, I tell the 1200 teenagers that are in our seven summer youth camps that the second greatest gift God will ever give you, second only to salvation, is the gift of a Christian spouse. And so make sure if you're pondering marriage, Amos 3 3, how can two walk together except they be in agreement? Make sure that you're both on the same page spiritually. That is the most important criteria more than any other.
It's not, you know, good looks and a winning personality and all those things that the world says look for in a mate. Number one, are you both committed to the Lord Jesus Christ? Number four, of seven questions, you'd better get right. Who is God? There are a lot of people that are believing things that simply aren't true. The biblical God is the only God that exists, folks. Isaiah 42 8, the scripture says, I am the Lord, that is my name. My glory I will not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. It's another story for another day, but before we take this second break, let me just say that if you want to know who God is, look to Jesus. If you want a personal relationship with Almighty God, you want to be forgiven. If you want to know that you're ready to leave this world whenever you do and face God, then you must have a relationship with Jesus.
There is no other way. If you go to my website, which is alexmcfarland.com, there's a tab, what does God say? And it's a small little book.
We've given away thousands and thousands and thousands of copies. What does God say about my relationship with Him? Let me tell you, you can come to Christ or come back to Jesus Christ today.
He's as close by as a prayer. And how do we know God exists? Because He has revealed Himself. How do we know what God exists? Because there is only one who claimed to be incarnate God, claimed to be able to forgive sin, and proved it by rising from the dead. There's only one option, and that's Jesus. All the other famous, infamous, venerated, now dead and buried personalities. They weren't the Savior.
Jesus is, and that empty tomb proves it. Well, stay tuned. If you need spiritual help, go to my website, alexmcfarland.com. When we come back, we're going to start this new year right and talk more about the questions of life and God's answer to them.
Don't go away. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Christian author and speaker Alex McFarland is an advocate for Christian apologetics. Teaching in more than 2,200 churches around the world, schools, and college campuses, Alex is driven by a desire to help people grow in relationship with God. He arms his audiences with the tools they need to defend their faith, while also empowering the unchurched to find out the truth for themselves. In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex is a sound voice who speaks timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. With 18 published books to his name, it's no surprise that CNN, Fox, The Wall Street Journal, and other media outlets have described Alex as a religion and culture expert. To learn more about Alex and to book him as a speaker at your next event, visit alexmcfarland.com, or you can contact us directly by emailing booking at alexmcfarland.com.
He's been called trusted, truthful, and timely. Welcome back to The Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back to the program. Alex McFarland here. Hope you're doing well. We're going to talk about the seven questions you'd better get right, but I want to remind everybody we've got an incredibly exciting year coming up.
Youth camps, citywide crusades in places like Alabama, Mississippi, and Kansas. My travel schedule is on alexmcfarland.com. We've got a book coming out in September on 100 Bible questions and answers on prophecy and the end times.
I give God the glory for that. Let me mention the Cove. July and August, I will be there twice. First, I'll be there teaching the book of Job.
Why is there pain and suffering in the world? Then the second time I'll be there with apologetics legend J. Warner Wallace. You've seen him on Dateline with Keith Morrison, cold case Christianity. He and I will jointly be there in August teaching a session on how to defend the faith. The website for that is thecove.org. T-H-E-C-O-V-E. Thecove.org. You might want to check it out, and I'd love to see you there.
You won't be disappointed. The Cove is phenomenal, and together we'll drill down deeply into the word of God. I want to say a big shout out and a thank you to all who have prayed for us, supported us financially, and we depend on the support of God's people to help us do what we've been called to do, and we have a growing staff, and I give God the glory for that. But I want to continue with a challenge to all of us, myself included, as we start the new year thinking about the questions that really we have an obligation before our Creator to get right on these questions. Why am I here, and what is my purpose, and what about marriage and commitment to family, and who is God?
And then finally, let me ask you this. How is your relationship with God? Because even as a born-again believer, we have the obligation to grow.
We're not just static. It's not just you pray the sinner's prayer, and then you live, and decades later you die and go to heaven, although if you have prayed the sinner's prayer sincerely, you will go to heaven. But we are to be proactive about our growth, because as Romans 14-12 says, we will give an account of ourself to God. As 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20 says, we are not our own.
We're bought with a price. But let me share another verse about how my relationship with God is, and then a corollary, have I accepted responsibility for myself? And here is a verse that I want to ponder with you. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 7, Paul, another one of his rhetorical questions, he says, what do you have that you did not receive? Now, in the larger context, he's trying to straighten out some things in the church at Corinth, but he says, what makes you to differ from one another, and what do you have that you did not receive? Now, if you did receive it, why do you glory as if you had not been given it?
So you think about this. Maybe you're a great musician. Maybe you're athletic. Maybe you're good looking. Maybe you're prosperous and successful. Whatever your strengths and gifts are, don't be proud and arrogant as if it came from your own efforts. Paul asked this question, 1 Corinthians 4, 7, what do you have that you did not receive? And the answer is nothing.
If you have anything, it's a gift from God who loves you and who made you. God has enabled me to do a lot of writing, but it's certainly not me. I was a C student in high school, and when I first went to college, I was barely a C student. I told my mother, my grades are all wet.
They're below sea level. But when I found Jesus and got saved, it really was an epiphany. One day I went to a college class, and I thought, I'm going to make my grade a worship offering to God. And I said, Lord, if you will help me, I'll never make anything but A's moving forward for your honor and glory. And I always did, except for one.
I was like in fifth or sixth semester Greek and made a B, and I give God the glory here. But the thing is, let's stop living as if our time, our resources are our own. What do we have that we did not receive?
Nothing. God's entrusted. God has allowed you to steward some things, and it will be revelatory.
It will be so liberating. Your life will change if you see your journey here as a stewardship. Your children are a stewardship issue. Your ministry, that committee you serve on at church, that it's burdensome and you're thinking about quitting or something.
It's a stewardship. So let's accept responsibility and be in right, joyful, obedient relationship with the Lord, mindful that He's blessed us with life, given us opportunity to know Him, serve others, do things that count for eternity. What a blessing all of this is.
And then the final question, am I prepared to die? You know, over Christmas I did two funerals, and both believers, and when someone is a believer, it's not hard to do the funeral so much. But the obituary of this one saint of God, this man, he had operated a service station, been a businessman, raised a Christian family. It named a few things, but the best of all, of course, he was a believer. But I love this, it said he lived a quiet and simple life as a Christian believer. Now, do you know 1 Thessalonians 4, 11 and 12 tells us that we should aspire to lead a quiet life in all godliness.
Isn't that something? And I thought about that, the man that I did his funeral service, he was a Christian man who lived a quiet and simple life. That's life's most important question, am I prepared to die?
Twice in my ministerial journey I did a funeral for someone who, after they died, some horrendous, unspeakable, heartbreakingly evil things came to light. Don't be like that. Have your house in order. Know that you are ready and you will leave a blessing and a legacy, not wounds and heartbreak. And so with this new year, maybe it's time that you want to say, Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me.
Dear Jesus, forgive me. Lord, fill me and use me. You know, I love Thomas Jefferson, we've done much research and writing and study on Jefferson, our third president. Here's something Jefferson said, and it's a great thought for the new year. Here's a man, the last decade of his life, he led in the reading of the Apostles' Creed in a church in Charlottesville, Virginia, we're told.
Jefferson said this, quote, if you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done. Maybe this is going to be the year that you allow the Spirit of God to reign in your emotions. Maybe this is going to be the year that you're going to, with God's help, get out of debt and begin tithing and giving to the gospel.
Maybe this is going to be the year that you mend fences with that person that you've not spoken to in a long, long time. Maybe this is going to be the year that you daily read a devotional or you read through the Bible this year. Give a certificate every year to those that read the Bible through. You read three chapters a day, five on Sunday. Take you about 20 minutes a day, you'll read God's Word in its entirety in the year.
So let's have a great 2025 and let's remember God's giving us an opportunity regarding the most important questions of all, to get them right and live for His glory and not just let the time passively elapse, but let's make use of every moment with God's help and for God's glory. Alex McFarland Ministries are made possible through the prayers and financial support of partners like you. For over 20 years, this ministry has been bringing individuals into a personal relationship with Christ and has been equipping people to stand strong for truth. Learn more and donate securely online at alexmcfarland.com. You may also reach us by calling 1-877-YES-GOD1. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again on the next edition of the Alex McFarland Show.
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