You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadanshah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis. Welcome to another great week here in the Clearview Today Studio.
We got lots of great conversations on the books for you guys today. But before we do any of that, we want to start the week off right and introduce our host, Dr. Abadan Shah, who is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show, Dr. Shah. Welcome to the studio.
Here we go, here we go, here we go. There it is. Too many things are happening. Too many things are happening. Starting off the week right.
It's so good to see it. Air horn applause, majestic drum roll flies overhead. Drum roll. Hey, listen, it's a new confetti cannons. It's a new week.
Today's a new day. Maybe it was a tough weekend for you guys, but guess what? Today is a chance to start over. Absolutely. That's right.
That's right. Well, just a reminder for you guys as we're getting started. Make sure you guys, if you're not already, go over to Pray.com, one of the fastest-growing platforms for Christian content, and follow Dr. Abadan Shah on Pray.com. You know, one of the greatest things about Pray.com is that it's, number one, it's available in the palm of your hand on your smartphone.
It's also a place where you can get a piece of content from Clearview Church, from Dr. Shah. Every day of the week. Did this mother just say every single day? I don't believe it.
I can't believe it. Monday through Friday? You get to hear the radio. Leave you today, Chev. That's what you're listening to now.
Saturday, you get the devotional lighthouse that drops with Dr. Shah. And then on Sundays, of course, you hear Dr. Shah's messages. That's crazy.
Every other week. Oh, Oh, wow. Every single day of the week. It's a free day of the week, and it's free. You can access content, and there's things available on Prey that aren't available anywhere else.
That's true. That's true. Prey has a lot of exclusive content. And we just announced at the end of the last show on Friday of last week that we are about to start a month of Prey Radio. If you guys like that, you can leave comments, you can leave testimonials on Prey and let them know: hey, we want Dr.
Abadan Shah on Prey Radio more. It's going to be a big thing, man. Y'all's testimonials, and people are leaving a lot of testimonials on Prey. You guys don't know how powerful those are. That lets the people over at Prey and our team know that you want to see more of that content, or should I say, hear more of that content.
Dr. Shaw, how exciting has it been for you to see the response of people from Prey.com? Oh, very much. We've been having. These messages on for a long time on YouTube and Facebook and here and there, different places on our website.
But to now have them on pray.com and to see the engagement from the people. It has been nothing short of the work of God. God has been drawing people in. People are responding. They are asking us questions.
They are supporting. And if you haven't supported, please support. If God lives on your heart to help us in this ministry, in this endeavor. Our goal here is not Profit in the sense of just sitting here with money. Our goal is to keep expanding the message.
If these messages are touching your life, If these shows are helping you on a daily basis, Support so that we can help others also hear these messages. Anybody? Yeah, anybody out of the, we're approaching 60,000 followers. That means 60,000 people have chosen to respond with a follow because these messages and these shows have touched your life. It's because somebody else gave.
So it's only right that we give as well. It's a way that we show our obedience. That's right. Guys, being Monday morning, I did want to ask you guys about some financial benefits that I have for you guys. Oh, wow.
So it's Million Dollar Monday. Dr. Shaw, I want to ask you, you're a coffee drinker, right? You like coffee and tea, but primarily I see you drink coffee. I'm going to give you $1 million.
But for every cup of coffee you drink, there is a 5% chance that you will teleport somewhere randomly in the world. Wow.
So wait, wait, wait.
So every cup of coffee you drink, you basically roll a celestial D20 dice.
Okay, but it was only 5% chance. 5% chance.
So now it will be somewhere else. Yeah, you will never teleport to the ocean. You'll always teleport to a place. Like, it might be Paris. It might be Brusaval, India.
No, why not to the ocean? Like Lagman. Because it's just like. How would you get home? You'll die.
Oh, yeah, that's right. It's not like dropping to the ocean. Oh, yeah. You won't teleport somewhere that's dangerous to you. You'll just wind up in a yeah, you won't teleport like to the top of Mount Everest.
It'll be like somewhere that you could feasibly. And I get a million dollars. But every cup of coffee. There's a so basically, let's say you get a cup of coffee and roll a 20-sided dice. If you roll a one, That's 5%, right?
If you roll a one, you get you teleport somewhere randomly in the world. And it's up to you. It's like up to you to get home. I don't know. That's a because that really will throw off my schedule because I have so many things to do.
All of a sudden, I'm like in Spain, which is great, but now I have to find a way back and get a ticket and all this stuff.
Someone calls you and they're like, hey, Dr. Shaw, are we still on for our three o'clock appointment? Yeah. Unfortunately. I'm so sorry.
I'm in the Swiss Alps. I can't. Yeah. I'm not going to be able to make it. That would be tough.
I just saw you this morning. Right. I'm trying to. I've been really trying to find one that you wouldn't say yes to. Do you think this is an official turn down, or could you make it work?
I don't know if I can make it work. You could just give up coffee. Ew. But I mean, how would that work? You just don't drink coffee anymore, and then there's never any chance that you'll teleport anywhere.
Because it's every cup of coffee you drink, you can't. But you have to drink coffee. Oh, you don't have to. You could conceivably take the million and just give up. Yeah, you could just take the million dollars and just give up coffee.
Oh, well. But. It's only 5%.
So, like, if you're at a Denny's or something, they're like, Would you like a cup of coffee? You're like, I could probably get away with it. 5% is still not zero. Yeah, it's still a lot there. Yeah, if it's like giving up coffee, yeah, I can give up coffee if I wanted to, I don't want to.
But I could give up coffee and then to keep the million dollars. Do you think there's any part of you that would look at your schedule and be like, today seems like a pretty easy day? Maybe I'll teleport somewhere nice. Maybe I'll teleport to like Hawaii or something. But this doesn't work like that because now I have to find my way back, right?
Yes. Yeah. Once you've got it, it's not a day thing anymore. It's going to take me a whole week to get back. What if there are no flights?
What if they serve you coffee on the plane? then I'm I'm gone I'm gay somewhere.
So is that an official official? I would have to turn down because I have so many responsibilities, especially preaching and working at Weirview.
So on the weekends I have to be here.
So what if I drink Coffee between services. Between services, and you just I'm gone. You do drink coffee between services. I do. Yeah.
I do. That would not be good. Would you do it? Or I drink it on Saturday and I'm gone until next. Wednesday.
Do you think you could just switch to T indefinitely? Just indefinitely switch to T? David said, drink monster. I just drink tea. There's no way in the world, Dr.
Shell is going to drink monster. No, I don't drink monsters. No, I don't do it. Nothing but monsters. It's just that it gets your heartbeat up, and I've seen people going crazy.
Crazy drinking those things. Oh, I drank in college. I would drink three or four a day a day. Wow.
And I laid down one night. I don't think I've ever told the story on the show before, but I laid down one night and my heart was beating so hard and so fast. I was scared. I was crying. I called my mom and I said, Mom, I don't know what I've done.
She was like, Don't do that, son. Don't do that. And I remember praying, and I said, Lord, if you said, If you will see me through tonight, I will never drink another monster as long as I live. And I haven't. You never drank again?
No. I drank the coffees. I drank, I don't anymore, but after that, I started drinking the monster coffees. They don't have nearly. The caffeine and the taurine and all that stuff.
But a monster, did you drink? No, I've never drank another one. Whoa. It's that since that. I made a deal with the Lord.
It cured me. Yeah. The. Don't drink monster, guys. Don't don't PSA, don't drink monster.
Our verse today is coming from Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
So, we wanted to read this as the verse of the day because we got a check-in. From someone who wrote to us, a new, well, they're not a new believer. They've rededicated their life to Christ, but this is a check-in from someone over in Texas. A lot of our check-ins come from Texas. I didn't realize, but we have a huge audience in Texas.
Hi, Dr. Sha. I've recently, they didn't leave their name. I've recently rededicated my life to Christ. And lately, I've been trying to stay consistent with my morning devotionals, but I feel like I'm not really getting anything out of them.
I read and I pray, but as soon as I head into the day, it's like I forget everything. I don't feel like I'm retaining the wisdom or carrying it with me. And by lunchtime, it feels like I never spent time with God at all. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong?
How do I keep that spiritual insight alive throughout the day instead of just in the morning? Mm-hmm. I get that question a lot. Because people feel like if I just read the Bible, all my problems will just dissipate. I would have just a wonderful sunshiny day.
But it doesn't happen that way.
Sometimes you forget.
Sometimes bad things happen.
Sometimes you make bad choices.
Sometimes you sin, even after you've done a devotion.
So how do you get back Uh in in You know, back in line and start living a Christian life. One thing is to realize that. Devotions or meditating on God's word is not a cure-all for the trials of life. This is not going to somehow protect you and fend off all the attacks of the Evil One. Problems will still come.
Meditation helps you to keep your head in the midst of the struggles. Yes, that's true. It helps you to stay focused, it helps you to turn to God. That's the most important thing. When it comes to the benefit of meditation on the Word of God or devotional time, is to help you turn to God and not.
Just do what comes natural. That's true. Because it says that it says you will meditate in it day and night that you may observe it.
So, if we're just meditating, but we're not actually doing the things that scripture tells us to do that. That's true. You know, I feel like there's, I've been there where I've like. Done devotions and then gone throughout my day. And if someone asked me what my devotional was that morning, I was like, Oh man.
I can't even remember. I don't think I can remember. I know I did it. Yeah. Well, to begin with, what is meditation?
What is uh devotion? Meditation is uh a time you set aside to read God's Word and reflect upon it. Mm-hmm. When you Do that. It it allows God to speak to you.
Prayer is you speaking to God. Meditation is God speaking to you. That's a great way to look at it. And meditation does not happen in a vacuum. It happens through the Word of God.
So, right now, in my personal devotional time, I'm reading through the book of Isaiah. Mm-hmm. In the Old Testament. And I'm reading through 2 Thessalonians, I'm sorry, from 1 Timothy in the New Testament.
So I'm reading these two books. Books of one of the old, another one of the new. simultaneously or one after the other during my devotional time. In Isaiah today I was reading and I'm just trying to make sure I remember correctly. I was reading on uh how Jerusalem was a uh was such a sinful city.
It was supposed to be a righteous place, but unfortunately it had become a sinful city and God's judgment was upon it. And that's what Isaiah was telling the people.
So it made me think about where we are as a nation. We are supposed to be a righteous nation. But because of sin, we have become unrighteous.
So it helps me look at What's happening in our world through the lens of scripture, and go, okay, you know, this happened before. This has happened with God's people. It is happening with us right now. What is the solution? We need to turn to God.
What is the solution? We don't need to get discouraged. Dissolution, but turn to God.
So that helped me from the Old Testament. And I think about that for a little bit. When I went to the New Testament, that's a little harder to remember. But if I'm not wrong, I was reading about How Paul was telling Timothy to remember his calling. And And I had to remind myself: you know, the God gave me a calling in life, calling to, number one, be a good husband.
Calling to be a good dad, calling to be a good pastor, calling to be. A leader in the community, calling to be a good academic, these are some of the callings that God has given to me. And I shouldn't forget that. 'Cause sometimes when problems come in life situations happen Unexpected trials come. We tend to lose sight.
And we get disillusioned, we get disheartened, we get discouraged. And we we start to drift away, or we just kind of like just exist. We just begin to exist. And sometimes we even become cynical.
Sometimes we lose. Hope we lose faith. We don't know if God is working. What is God doing? I don't know what He's doing.
Is he even real? It's all this just It just a it just You know, a dream of some psychopath somewhere that we're existing in. What if all this is just. Just a illusion. And then When I come back to the truth, which is don't forget your calling, these things happen, stay focused.
Okay. Yes, Lord. And I get back on track. And then I'll find out. Yeah.
Everything is fine. Right. Is there a reason that you are are in Isaiah and First Timothy not like did you pick those books specifically in response to something going on? Or or were they just sort of like next in line of a of a greater plan that you're going through?
Well, for quite some time I was uh reading uh In different Books like Genesis and Exodus. because uh where we are preaching, you know, I I want to stay Stay. close to those passages about God calling Abraham to follow him and all that. Because we're going to be doing a series on the role of Israel in end times prophecy. I'm talking about ethnic Israel.
So I decided to move away from that. I finished it, finished reading those passages. I said, you know what? Let me go to. Isaiah because I haven't read through Isaiah in quite some time, I would say a couple of years.
I've read portions here and there, but not comprehensive. It's a complete work.
So I'm going to. That's the reason I chose that. First Timothy is because. Uh It it's been a busy summer. And summer ended, and then we were on our Greece tour, came back.
So I'm kind of getting back into the rhythm of things and leading the church, being the pastor. God has called me to be not just a public figure or a preacher or a scholar. I also want to be a pastor.
So I said, maybe I need to read. First Timothy. One of the areas I struggle with, and maybe you can kind of hear it, because I think this person who wrote in, or really someone, even lots of people might have the same struggle, is I wonder if I. Fixate too much on getting the answer. Let me find the application to this.
And so I can tell you what I mean. Yesterday, I've started doing my devotions in the morning, listening. I listened to them on pray. with my son. Um, as I'm taking him to school, we listen.
So, yesterday was John 15. We listened to all of John 15 and the whole I am the vine, you are the branches. If you're not in me, you can do nothing on your own. That's a pretty self-evident application. Today, it was John 5.
And so it's where the man... Can't Get into the pool of healing by himself. And Jesus helps him, and then he goes and tells the the people, the Jewish leaders get mad at Jesus for working on the Sabbath. And then the rest of it is Jesus' response: like, hey, you've always hated, if you hate me, you hate the Father. He talks about how this relationship between the two.
I struggled on the way home. Trying to find out what How do I use this today? Because I don't. I understand at least Discernible degree, the relationship between the son and the father. I don't feel like I hate the son or hate the father and I'm not constantly looking for signs.
And the man that goes into the pool, I'm not sure how this relates to me.
So, a lot of the drive home where I was trying to meditate on it was just. Lord, what is this? How do I use this today? Is that a. Is that a good way to do devotion?
Oh, yeah, absolutely. That is it. I mean, meditation means just thinking on that and letting God speak to you. I was going to say, is it okay if you don't arrive at an answer by the time you stop your devotion? Yeah, I mean, that's that's.
Many times God takes me down a different path, and that path is more applicable to where I am. in my journey as a family man or as a Churchman, or as an academic, somewhere God is speaking to me. And that's where some of my thoughts come in. And it may have nothing to do with the passage I read. Like for you, it was the man who was paralytic.
But it will help you understand something else about a song that you're writing or a radio show that we're going to do.
So God takes you down a different path. Gotcha. And that's perfectly fine. Many times. That's how it works for me.
I start out here, and then before I know it, I'm on a whole different planet. Point, but When I look back, I realize, yes. That's exactly what I needed. Even though the Genesis was here, This God knew the intendant and. And he supernaturally guided me to that point.
Yeah. Is there anything that you do practically that you can share with the readers that are readers, the listeners, those who are reading the transcript of the show, I guess, that you do to help yourself stay focused during that meditation time? Because I know for myself, if I'm sitting thinking, I'll stay focused for a little bit, but then my mind starts to wander, and I start thinking about this thing, and I start thinking about that. And I've lost the original concept of like. Asking God, like, how do I apply this to my life?
So I always have a devotional book with me, or some kind of a book which is not directly connected to what I'm preaching or what paper I'm writing, anything like that. This is just a book that I'm reading because I want to read it. And it has to be a It's Christian Bible-focused, Jesus-centered book. It cannot just be like I'm reading on. How to break bad habits by a secular author, or how to be a better leader by some secular author.
It could be. A book on bad habits, it could be a book on leadership, but it has to come from a Christian worldview. has to come from a Christian biblical foundation.
So the book I'm reading right now is a book on stress. Not because I'm stressed out or anything, but I came across this book. It's written by. Gay S. Davis, who was at one time kind of like a Surgeon General of the United Kingdom.
Wow.
Yeah. He was um You know, you know, the Surgeon General, like, he he's like the main medical voice for the nation. We've had. Yeah one There's one right now for the United States. Gayus Davis was a Christian man, and he was a medical doctor, and he was the surgeon general for United Kingdom.
And he wrote a book back in the late eighties on stress. And on counseling and on depression and things like that. I hadn't planned on reading that book. But I saw someone quote from that book and I was like, huh. That's interesting.
And I looked at some of the people who had recommended that book and I said, Maybe one day I'm gonna get it. And so I put it in my Amazon cart, and then I would say maybe a couple of months ago. I was going through my cart and I was like, oh, that book. You know what? I'm going to go get and get it.
And I got it. How many books do you think are sitting in your cart right now? I would say hundreds. Wow.
Hundreds of books. I mean, I would love to see the potential price tag on your Amazon cart.
Well, they're not in the cart, they're in the architecture. The wish list got you, gotcha.
So they sit there. And so I was like Okay, I'm gonna get it. And I got it. And then it was sitting by the dining table where I sit and do my studies. And when my last devotional book ended, I was like.
Why not? Yeah. 'Cause sometimes I can get stressed out over things.
So I picked it up. And I began to read it. And initially, of course, you know, you're going through the foreword written by different people. Like J.I. Packer wrote the foreword to that book.
So I was like, okay, all right. Got into the book. It was not a book just on like stress. It was a book on depression. It is a book on depression and how we can.
help people going through depression. And I was like, Well, that came out of nowhere. Out of nowhere, it came because lately we have seen people. In our circle of influence. Face depression to the point of taking their own life.
That's true. And I think some of you know about that. There was not a person here at church, but he was in our community. And uh very sad, very tragic, heartbreaking. And so here I'm reading this book.
And how interestingly, this is how God works.
So, if you don't believe that there is a God, there is a God. One of my friends or church members. contacted me And said he wanted to start a d a support group for people going through depression. And so I was like.
Okay. And I mean, what are the chances that I picked up this book thinking it's about stress, but it's really about depression and how the church needs to understand people going through depression and how real it can be, even if you're a Christian and it's not a product of sin. Um He used the example of William Cooper. I know people say Cowper, but it's really William Cooper. Uh last year, which is 2024.
I went to Alne, England, where William Cooper And John Newton lived. John Newton was the pastor of the church where William Cooper was, and together they wrote many songs. I mean, John Newton wrote Amazing Grace. William Cooper. you know, wrote many, many songs and that became the All Me Hymns.
And um so Gayus Davis talks about Cooper's battle with depression. And why do you think it happened? And you know, there are a lot of suggestions. Maybe John Newton was too hard on him or this and that. Who knows?
Right. And and Gauss says no, that's not Why he went to depression. He went to depression because he was. Built that way. Yeah.
or he went through things in his life early on that caused it. But how interesting that as I'm reading the devotional Somebody in the community dies and is very tragic because of depression. And then a person in the church who did not know about somebody dying in the community, because when he called me, I told him, I said, You know, there's a young person who who took his life because he was So depressed, discouraged. And he's like, really? Who?
And so I had to explain to him who that person was.
So completely unconnected and yet Connected by God.
So, if you're not doing your devotions, there are ways and avenues that God is trying to work that you're missing. If you're not taking that time, especially in the morning, if you're not taking that time to sit down and do these things, you're going to miss those. Like, God will still get his will done, but you're going to miss out. Exactly. 100%.
And I hope people understand that. That's why we're talking about this because. How crazy? Crazy it is that. I'm picking up a book and reading by accident.
And things happen. In our community, and then things happened with a person who wants to start.
So now we have a support group for those going through depression. And um set to start in about two weeks. On a Tuesday night. Which that opens up a larger conversation, too, about, you know, if you want to, people talk all the time, I want to know God's will for my life. I want to, I want to make sure I'm in God's will.
Well, start taking little right steps. Right. Start taking small right steps and trust that God, if you are, if you are in a right relationship with him, trust that he's going to put your feet on the path that you need to follow. That's right. Instead of being paralyzed, like, which choice do I make?
Which choice do I make? Trust that God's going to help you make the right one. And I think one of the things that people may take for granted is that time of meditation, that time of doing nothing. You know, I think we're so preoccupied with getting the day going, getting started, is that we don't allow that time. Like we, we will do the devotion and then immediately move on to something else.
But. And I don't know where that comes from. Maybe it's this idea that if we're sitting down and thinking, it's wasting time. I don't know where it comes from, but do you find that that time of just sitting there and just allowing your mind to think? Uh I mean, I'm sure at this point in your life it doesn't feel like wasted time to you, but did you ever struggle with it?
Yes, uh I I don't know if I struggle with it because I always Would take the time to think. And I learned that from like Michael Hyatt. You know, he's a leadership expert. And in one of his podcasts years ago, I heard him say, you know, take the time to think. Just sit there and think.
And I was like, I do that. And it helps me. It helps me. Think about the organization. or the church.
Uh it helps me think about my work that I'm doing helps me think about The impact I'm making in the community helps me. Think about Family issues. And where is God working?
So that time of 30, 40 minutes, sometimes it gets longer. And it's not because I'm trying to, it's just. there are other things come into my mind. And at one time I used to journal. And I need to go back to doing that because I haven't done that in quite some time just because of the busyness of life.
But I'm going to go back doing that again. And it was very helpful. Yeah. I think one of the biggest things that I've learned that helped me is like taking that time. You don't do that because you're privileged.
A lot of people think, well, it's good that you have the time to sit there and just reflect, but I don't have that kind of time. But you really do. Everybody's got the same amount of time. I don't have that time either. Right.
I mean, I get up in the morning, then I go work out. I mean, of course. devotion and then work out, but I could go work out earlier. Yeah. If I didn't have to read the Bible, pray, and spend time reading a devotional book and thinking and meditating and praying, I could.
just leave quickly I would save good two hours. But those two hours will cost me heavily something. That's right. That's exactly it. That's the point: it would be costlier on the other side if you don't take that time.
Yeah, taking the time to meditate is not a position of privilege. That's one of the bare minimums. That's one of the, not bare minimum, that's the foundational thing that's going to set your day on the way that God wants to do it. Absolutely. 100%.
Well, guys, make sure you join us next time. Same time, same station. We're going to be diving into another great topic here on the Clearview Today show. Thanks again to our sponsors, LaBlue, Ultra Pure Water, and Vitamin Messiah. Thank you for making today's episode possible.
Don't forget that you can support us by subscribing to the show on iTunes, Prayer.com. We talked about Prayer.com at the top of the episode. Make sure you guys have downloaded the app and that you're following Dr. Abedan Shah on Pray.com with closing you on $50,000. Yes, we're getting there.
We're getting close. Thank you guys for following. We very, very much appreciate it. We appreciate all of your financial support. We appreciate all of just your verbal support, all of you guys who are leaving testimonials.
It's very important to let Pray know what you like and what you don't like because they are listening. We meet with these guys at least. I would say a couple of times a month we talk to them, and I promise you, if you're on any platform at all, they are listening to what you have to say.
So let them know: hey, we love Dr. Abadan Shah, we want to see more of that content. I promise you. The brink. That's right.
And if you'd like to support the show financially, and God's laid it on your heart to do that, you can do so. Abadanshah.com. And we're grateful for your partnership in getting the message of the gospel to as many people as possible. John, what are you going to close with today? Just want to say lots of great things are coming down the pipeline.
We are working on it. One of them that we can talk about is Dr. Shah's book, 30 Days of Seeing Christ in Judges. That's going to be coming out later in the fall. We are in the heavy editing stages right now.
I want to make sure that everything is just as perfect as it can be for you guys, but it's going to be a great 30-day devotional and the start of something new for our 30-day series where we walk through individual books of the Bible. We've got a couple of new shows that we're going to be talking about very soon. We might be doing them exclusive on pray, or we may release them to the general public through iTunes, Apple, all that stuff. But we will definitely let you guys know when they're ready. That's right.
We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on ClearBay.
