Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right. Let's talk the truth. I can't hide it. I can't hold it.
A daily program powered by the Truth Network. This is kind of a great thing, and I'll tell you what. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together. Speak your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host.
Welcome to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you today. Peter Rosenberger.com, R-O-S-E-N-B-E-R-G-E-R. If you'd like to join the conversation, here's the number, 866-34-TRUTH.
That's 866-348-7884.
Now, many of you may have that number on SpeedDial, and some of you may even remember the old days when you had to use a rotary phone.
Well, we've come a long way since then. We've made it a little bit easier.
So go ahead and call in 866-34-TRUTH-866-348-7884. I wanna do something a little bit different today, if you don't mind, as we launch the program. You're always welcome to call in about any topic that's on your heart. There are a lot of things going on in current events, there are a lot of things going on in the church. I'd like to throw out a specific question, though.
Are there passages in Scripture? maybe just a sentence or two. That makes you stop and say, hey, hey, hey, hey, wait, wait, wait a minute. Go back one verse. Just go back one verse.
You know, we marvel at the miracles of God. There's so many things in scripture that we just stand with our mouths open looking at. The wonder of it. But do you ever marvel At the responses of some of the people in the story.
Sometimes their reactions. Are just incredibly puzzling, more puzzling sometimes than the miracle. I have no difficulties whatsoever believing the miraculous accounts of scripture, the things that God has done. People say, Do you really believe all this stuff happened in the Bible? Absolutely.
What I struggle with sometimes, or marvel with, or question, I don't really struggle with it, but I look at it with a raised eyebrow, is the response of some of the people that it's like, what was going through your mind here? And let me give you an example. Let's go back to the book of Numbers. That's one of the first five books of the Bible: the Pentateuch, five scrolls in Greek, the Torah in Hebrew, the Law. Numbers chapter 22 is the story of Balaam and his donkey.
Do you remember that story? Balaam was what you might call a freelance prophet, a prophet for hire. You know, if he'd had a business card, it might have read prayers, prophecies, and curses, competitive rates. You know, and he was not a faithful servant of God, he was kind of like a religious mercenary. Uh Do not try to make the correlation to some of the people you see on television today.
I'm just saying this right here. But the king of Moab, his name was Balak. Wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites because they were moving through his territory, and he was terrified of them, and with good reason. The Israelites were wiping people out as they marched through the promised land, and Balak was pretty worried about this, so he sent some officials with some money. to hire Balaam.
Okay, and Balaam's got a big sign out front: says, How do we do it? Volume prophecies. That's the key.
So they go there, and Balaam said, I'm going to check with God. And God says, Don't do this. And do not go with them. You must not curse these people, for they are blessed.
Well, that's pretty clear, right? But then Balak sweetens the offer to Balaam, gives a little bit more money, sends higher-ranking officials more reward, and Balaam says, Well, you know, maybe I need to go back, God, get a little clarification. Are you sure, Lord?
Now that's where things really start to go south for Balaam. Number one is, God was clear the first time. Balaam didn't need clarity he wanted permission. And he saw the money and he decided to go ahead and do this.
So he gets on his donkey and he. Travels over there to do what he's going to do, and he's going to go curse the people of Israel and pocket some change in the process. And along the way the Lord sent this angel And blocked the path, and the donkey turned aside and went out in the field.
Well, Balaam got kind of mad about that, and he. beats the donkey and goes back up on the on the road and and then the donkey gets in between these two walls kind of thing and and it ends up really messing up with Balaam's foot, kind of hurt his foot p pressing up against it and Balaam's beating the donkey some more. Finally, the donkey just lays down because he sees this angel with a sword, and the donkey speaks as Balaam is beating this donkey. And the donkey speaks to him. Balaam's beating this donkey and the donkey says, What have I done to you that makes you beat me these three times?
This is the place where I stop, because Balaam answers the donkey. And he he started talking. He said, if I had a sword, I'd kill you right now. He started talking to the dog. He didn't say, hey, wait a minute, you just talked.
We have livestock, we're surrounded by livestock out here. where we live in Montana. And let me tell you something. If one of them started talking, I think I would take a moment's pause. I would stop for a moment and say, Come again.
You just said what? You just talked to me. You know, if my dog said something, if any animal said something, I would stop. But Balaam was so intent on what he was doing that he just. I guess lost the ability to reason and stop and see, wait a minute, something else this donkey just talked uh I mean, I didn't I wa there's no evidence that animals talked a lot back then, except that in the garden, the serpent.
But that's it there's no other evidence that any other animal talked. And so, I don't know if that's a regular occurrence in ancient times that animals just talked, because I would have been. a little bit stunned. But then again, I have to look at my own life. How many times have I argued with something.
That God was clearly doing. simply because I was intent on my own desires my own path. My own stubbornness. I was just too busy arguing. Too busy.
pursuing what I wanted to pursue for my own gain. that I not only ignored what was right in front of me, but I argued with it. And I think what Balaam showed there is the human condition. that we could see something so magnificent, and completely miss it. Because we're so focused on what we want and what our desires are.
That's the lesson I got from them. And I was just stunned when I read that. We've all read the story. Rembrandt, when he was like 20 years old, did a magnificent. painting of this thing.
And it's a story that is ingrained into our our our consciousness worldwide. Because it's such a a s a strange story. But I I I When I read this, I'm just struck by the fact that this man argued with a talking donkey. And I thought, is that where so many of us are? Have you ever been there?
Have you ever done that? You ever argued with Ta. talking talking that you just what what am i thinking here Maybe you're doing that right now. Maybe that's something that you're struggling with right now, and you need to just take a moment and. Stop and pause and say, you know what, Lord, what are you showing me here?
Because like Balaam, I I It seems to me that the human condition is filled with people who want permission, not clarity. God is never ambiguous. Did you notice that? He's not vague. When he says don't do something, He he's not being unclear.
There's no murkiness to his will. There it is. Don't do this. Don't do this. And yet We want to, eh, did you did he really say and who does that sound like?
In the Old Testament, the only record I see are two Animals that talk one is the serpent in the garden that question the word of God And the other one is this donkey. who is questioning why Balaam is beating her. after years of faithful service. And you get the feeling that Balaam is more aligned with the serpent in the garden, saying, Did God really say this? Can I is there a loophole here?
See when you hang out your shingle to be a a profit for hire, And do not think that Balaam was the last one. And do not think for one moment that we don't have quote unquote profits for hire. in this world. who will tell you what you want to hear, As long as you keep those checks coming. Do not think for one moment that they're not out there.
Some of you may have encountered them. and it may have been a pretty painful experience for you. But God is never vague. His stuff is hard. His commandments can be very difficult.
He told Jonah, Here's what I want you to do. Jonah didn't want to do it. God wasn't vague, Jonah just didn't want to do it. He told Balaam, don't do this. God wasn't vague.
Balaam just wanted money. And he uses crazy things to get our attention sometimes. Things that we think are obstacles, but in reality, their God's provision and protection. That donkey was protecting Balaam from being killed, and yet Balaam argued with the very thing protecting him. Are you arguing?
with the very thing that is protecting you. Robbie Dilmore would say right now that some of you may be listening to a donkey right now, and we can make a case for that. 866-34-TRUTH 866-348-7884. Tell me what your thoughts are. Is there a passage in scripture that made you raise an eyebrow like that and say, hey, wait a minute, go back just a little bit.
866-34-TRUTH-866-348-7884. This is Peter Rosenberger. This is Truth Talk Live. We'll be right back. Truth Talk Live.
You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you, 866-34 TRUTH, 866-348-242. 78, 84.
We had a little technical difficulty, got cut off when I said some of you may be arguing with a donkey right now. And you heard me say Robbie Dilmore.
So there needed to be some clarification on what I was saying. Robbie Dilmore would have said some of you may be listening to a donkey right now. That's what Robbie would have said. And Robbie, yes, you know that you would have said that because it's funny. 866-34-TRUTH 866-348-7884.
But it was a. The the the the scripture just really stuck with me. And and to watch this guy argue with this donkey. And it it it will A talking donkey. And so it made me think so many times in my life where I have been so intent on doing what I felt like I wanted to do.
that I was missing something miraculous right in front of me. And I wondered if I was the only one with that. And if that's an experience that you've had, if that's something you've. um seen in your own life or You know, whatever you want to share about that, that'd be great to hear from you. 866-34-TRUTH 866.
348-7884. I was listened to at the top of the hour. Stu Effortson talking about Mandaming And what's going on in New York? And um with um the new mayor and socialism and and communism and all those kinds of things. And I wanted to share this parable.
And some of you may have heard this. But it was an old parable. I don't know what the origination is from it. If you know it, let me know. but a man tied his horse to a post.
Later, The devil came along and The horse wandered into a farmer's field and began trampling the crops. Furious, the farmer grabbed his rifle and shot the horse. When the horse's owner saw what had happened he became enraged. he took his own gun and killed the farmer out of revenge. The farmer's wife, seeing her husband dead, picked up an axe and killed the horse's owner.
Then the owner's son, driven by anger, killed the farmer's wife. The neighbours, horrified by the bloodshed, turned on the young man and burned his house to the ground. And when people asked the devil why he had done all this, He simply replied, I didn't do anything, I just set the horse free. The devil doesn't need to do too much. in that regard Sometimes it's a small innocent looking act, the rest we do ourselves, because the devil knows the evil that is already hiding in the human heart.
I don't know where that parable came from, but it really struck me is that we hear a lot of people promising things. Oh, we're going to do this, and it's for the children, and we're going to have this kind of society, and we're going to do this, and this. not realizing or acknowledging, maybe they realize it and just don't want to acknowledge it, don't know. We have a bigger problem. And sin is truly a bigger problem.
And no political party. No one. Not capitalism, not liberalism, not conservatism, not communism. None of those things. are going to be able to address those issues.
We need a Redeemer. We need a Savior. We don't need a political party, we need a saviour. for our biggest problem.
Now, I'm all for being involved in politics and getting involved in helping make our society more civil. and better better roads and all the things that go along with a civil government, the Lord established civil government. to protect people and property. That's why civil governments exist. And if they don't do those things, if they fail to do those things, Then there is consequence from God.
There is judgment for this for le these leaders. They will have to answer to God. But the primary responsibility of a civil government is to protect property. And Protect lives. And if you see government officials not doing this.
Well, what does Proverbs say? When you know when the wicked rule, the people groan. But understand, they're not Mm. No matter whatever they say they're going to do. The human condition is so broken is so damaged because of sin.
They're not going to be able to do anything. Other than a cursory look at maybe just put a little varnish on it. Because there is depravity everywhere. And we're seeing it. And sometimes And this may cause some people to...
flinch a little bit, but sometimes I think we confuse Conservatism with holiness Just because there may be some. Moral High ground. In our political ideology, it doesn't mean that it's holy. And doesn't mean that we're holy. And if you noticed We keep compromising.
Did you see what happened with the Supreme Court this week, by the way? They refuse to hear the case that could possibly overturn Gay marriages. And so We've accepted gay marriage. in this culture of ours. This is just the way it's going to be.
That's what God in Scripture calls an abomination, and by the way, I go back to what I said in the last block: was God vague? Was scripture vague on sexual Immorality? Is there any ambiguity in what Scripture says about this?
So What happened? What changed? How many of us as a people. have been like Balaam said, well, let's go back and see what God really meant. God, you want to take another stab at that?
Would you like to Address that a little bit more. He was pretty clear. And yet look at where we are. And so this is the law of the land now. And you're going to see more and more of this.
There was a um a political commentator several years ago said, Watch what happens. When Homosexuality is accepted in our society. And people just say, Okay, just live your life and You know get married, whatever. They're no longer an oppressed group of people, if you will. Then that is only going to set the stage for even more depravity.
To keep going down because there always has to be a victim status.
So now we got the trans folks. who are just convinced that, you know, now we have to have there's trans Rights for everything, and then you saw what's happened with the Olympic Committee now saying that no, we're not going to let trans men compete in girls' sports. Why are we even having this conversation? As a as a society. I mean, what happened?
And I think you can go back to Basically, what Balaam did with the donkey, and goes back even further to what Eve did. with the serpent. We start arguing. We start questioning the veracity of the Word of God. Do you know your scripture?
So when people ask you Have you have you memorized Scripture? How many of you just out of curiosity, how many of you memorize scripture on a regular basis? and make it a point to do so. Do you study it? Do you understand things and and push yourself to to understand more.
And if you do, What what prompted that? And if you don't, Why not? Why not? I have found a lot of people know pretty much the top forty. you know I mean they just kind of have the the big picture scriptures and And but they couldn't articulate the plan of redemption.
They couldn't articulate. Why Jesus had to even die?
Well, he came to die for our sins. What does that mean? And that's where it stops. Peter, I just finished going through a study with. Uh with 1 Peter.
And he says very clearly in his letter. Be ready to give it a defense. Be vigilant. Be ready at all times. to speak about this.
Are we? Do you think we are as a culture? Do you think our church culture in America is ready for this? If not, why not?
Something to think about, isn't it? This is Truth Talk Live, 866-34-TRUTH TOLL. We'll be right back. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live.
This is Peter Rosenberger. Glad to be with you, 866-34 TRUTH, 866-348. 7884. I was listening to Pastor Greg Laurie there on the break talking about how beautiful are the feet and I gotta tell you that that scripture always resonates deeply with us. Because my wife has prosthetic feet.
And You know, she lost both of her legs below the knee many, many years ago. And so when I read that verse, it said, you know, it doesn't say it has to be flesh and blood feet. And how beautiful the feet. And one time we were on the Today Show. And uh this many many years ago.
And so we were going to go up to New York and do this. This is back when we lived in Nashville. And you ever had a foot washing service? You ever been to one? Have you ever ever done that?
Well, I had one for Gracie the the night before we were flying out to New York and I was washing her feet, but I was washing them in the in the kitchen sink with some comet and a brush because I took her feet in there to wash them. And then I wrote on the bottom in a Sharpie John three sixteen, on the bottom of her souls. on her prosthetic feet, so that her feet were shod with the gospel. And she got the biggest hoot out of that. And one time she was on one television show.
And she took her, um One of her prosthetic limbs off laugh on the show. And I didn't know she was going to do this. It kind of.
Well, I gave up trying to figure out what she's going to do sometimes. And there was a Bible sitting right there on the coffee table. This is on a Christian show. And she put her. her prosthetic foot, she Gave it to me.
She was trying to make her point, and I was holding it. But she put it right there on the Bible. And I looked at the host. I said, Look, she's standing on the promises. And so they didn't quite know how to deal with that.
But this was. You know, I think that when we see these things and hear these words, how beautiful are the feet, and she took it literally, and then we launched this prosthetic limb outreach. to uh her fellow amputees. We've been doing that for 20 years over in West Africa. When you put a leg on someone.
and then point them to Christ. And it's astonishing. The transformation when somebody stands and walks. And you say to them, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give. In the name of Jesus, stand up and walk.
And they do. And they go walking and leaping and praising God. And and I I so I love that verse that Pastor Laurie talked about how beautiful are the feet. And when Gracie showed up for the first time in West Africa with her prosthetic legs. And and what that did to the people that saw her.
I don't know how many you've been overseas in developing countries, so forth, but this is our first visit to Ghana was 20 years ago. And It's not a very wealthy nation. And but they think America is just filled with wealth. And we are, comparatively speaking. I mean, did you know that if you own a car In the United States, if you own a car, Whatever kind of car it doesn't mean, not in the United States, if you just own a car.
of any kind. You're in the top five percent of the wealthiest people of the world. That's a little bit of perspective, don't you think?
So America is, you know, they just, all they see is what's on television. For the most part, and people come over there and they just see that we're just dripping with money. and all our problems would be solved if we just go to America. And then Gracie shows up over there. And they see this beautiful White woman.
Who is Okay. Main. Like so many of them are. And when they came to the clinic there and they saw her, they just couldn't get enough of her. And Autumn just wanted to touch her.
Because she was just like them. And Believe me, they listened to what she was saying. And they fell in love with her because they just couldn't. They couldn't wrap their minds around America's supposed to be where everything is solved. And here's this woman with this broken body that shows up to say, No, no, I'm just like you.
and I'm going to give you the same kind of legs that I'm wearing.
So that you can stand. And your feet'll be beautiful too. And uh and we recycle prosthetic limbs. We've done that for years. We collect limbs from all over the country.
and they go to a prison Where inmates volunteer to disassemble them for us. I used to do it in my garage all the time. It was kind of weird coming to our house sometimes because we'd have. Prosthetic legs and arms scattered about.
Sometimes it looked kind of like a freak show. And I would. Pick up legs.
Sometimes I would meet people who called and say, I have some legs. Can you meet me somewhere? It was like in the middle Tennessee area. I don't do that as much anymore now because we're out in Montana and it's a little bit further to drive, but I I would pick him up and I always thought, You know, if I ever get pulled over, why, yes, officer, those are legs in the back of my car. Why do you ask?
You know, kind of think it was a little bit of a freak show sometimes. But now there's a prison that's been working with us now for 14 years. To help us dismantle these things because we can reuse so much of it. And we can disassemble the leg, the socket you can't use. That's the part that's custom fit to the patient.
But the pylons, the knees, the feet, and so forth. And we've been moving into our new addition. And I just found... A box. We were I'm emptying a storage room where I've had stuff for for some time.
As we've been, you know, figuring out what we're going to do out here.
So it's been the stories for six years. and I found a box of some of Gracie's old prosthetic supplies. That she had put in a box, but somehow it got misplaced and it was buried way back in the back of the storage room. And I'm just now getting it out, and I saw these are prosthetic liners and sleeves and prosthetic socks. There's some prosthetic feet in there.
Uh that are brand new. They're still in the package. She just can't wear them anymore because they're foot shells. They're not the actual foot. They're foot shells that go over the metal part of it.
And so I'm packing all that up to send. um to our work in West Africa. How beautiful are the feet. of those who preach the gospel. You know, it when Gracie gave up her legs.
One in 91 and the other in 95. She never dreamed that she would. This was not on her list of things to do. was to have a prosthetic limb ministry. She's a singer.
And when she had her wreck, Which was 42 years ago next week. Forty two years ago, next week, She never dreamed what God would do with that. God is not limited. My disability? By broken bodies?
By broken lives? By broken marriages? He's not limited by those things. In his hands he weaves redemption Yeah. It's astonishing.
He can reach into the most horrific circumstance. and pull out something ext extraordinary.
Now, my question to you is. Do you believe that? And you said, Well, Peter, you know, you're just on the radio, you're talking about this, you know. What do you know? I know I've watched a woman who's had ninety eight surgeries, and both her legs amputated, and lives with severe pain.
since Ronald Reagan was president. And I know In fact, I was just before I come on the air today. She was FaceTiming. with her dear friend Johnny Erickson Tata. The two of them are talking.
Now between the two of them They have over a hundred years of disability. And Johnny said, Gracie, would you sing for me? And I was in the kitchen working, getting ready to come on the air, and I heard Gracie singing Heaven came down. and glory filled my soul. You know that old hymn?
So here's two women. Johnny has a wheelchair ministry. Gracie has a prosthetic limb ministry. Both of them are severely disabled. 100 plus years of disability.
between the two of them. Enormous amount of suffering. And they're both singing praises to God. How beautiful are the feet of those Johnny can't move her feet. Gracie doesn't have feet.
She has prosthetic feet. But Scripture still says how beautiful are the feet Who preach the word, preach the gospel, share the great news. What's holding you back from doing that? You heard at the top of the hour, Stu Epperson's there in New York City, walking up and down the streets there, witnessing to people. I'd personally like to have footage of that because I think it'd be great to see.
Big old tall Stu. going to the people in New York. How you doing, brother? I want to tell you about Jesus. I think that'd be great to see.
and you know he's doing it with nothing short of exuberance and excitement. Is there anything keeping you from doing the same? Maybe not going to New York City, maybe not going to West Africa like Gracie's done. Maybe just Right where you are. God is not limited by broken lives.
He is not limited by broken hearts. He is not limited. of broken marriages. Will you trust him with yours? Whatever's going on with it what's broken with you today, will you trust him with that brokenness?
And so you don't learn. You're the god of impossible. It's not impossible to heal. It's the, you know, you think, well, you don't understand what was done to me, Peter. I I had there's a doctrine in the church called the doctrine of divine concurrence.
You know what that means? That no matter what goes on God is still superintending this. for his purposes. You belong to him. No matter what has happened, He still superintends this.
Joseph said this to his brothers. You meant it for evil. God meant it for good. You meant it for evil. But God meant it for good.
How about that? Would you give some thought to that to day? Eight six six three four eight seventy eight Eighty four eight Six six three four eight 7884 And remember this. How beautiful are the feet of those That was a great word from Great Glory on that. How beautiful was the feet are the feet of those who share the good news And we will um Oh, by the way, on those boxes of of limbs that I found.
All those supplies, I'm sending those over there. That's the treasure that's found. Those aren't going to expire. I can still use those. And we will be sending those over to Africa.
And there's like, I don't know how many liners are in there. And There will I don't know how many people are going to be able to walk because of this. They'll have beautiful feet as well. How beautiful are the feet of those. who shared the gospel.
Truth top line. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Welcome back to Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberger, 866-34-TRUTH, 866-348-7884. And by the way, just piggybacking on the last block about the prosthetic limb, if you know somebody who has a prosthetic limb that they don't know what to do with, maybe you had a family member that passed away, a child that outgrew it, maybe they were like us, they had a box of stuff they didn't realize in their storage room, and then they finally found it.
Please don't throw that away. We'll take it. Standingwithhope.com. StandingwithHope.com. And you'll see where it says at the top there about donate prosthetic limbs.
It's an exceptional program, and I think you would be real proud to share that with other people. We always need the parts. Um when we build a socket, for example. For the patient, it's custom fit for that patient. We don't recycle that.
But the foot, the pylon, the knees, the screws, the adapters, all those things that can be reused. liners, sleeves, belts. There's so many things. And you can give the gift that keeps on walking at standingwithhope.com, and we would welcome the help on there this time of year. We're going into the days, they are shorter, the pressure's more because we've got the rush of the holidays and.
And I wanted just to take this last block here today to talk to my fellow caregivers, because that's what I do. I talk to caregivers. More than 65 million Americans right now are serving as a caregiver. Maybe you're one of them? And chances are you're?
Or you have been. If you love somebody, you're going to be a caregiver. If you live long enough, you're going to need one. And we are living longer, our bodies are living longer, but our minds aren't necessarily living longer. And so you you you're going to find yourself in this situation at at some level.
just because of the aging process. But then you throw in trauma. like what happened with my wife. Uh then you throw in Um You throw in things such as children with special needs, autism. Down syndrome.
Then you have mental illness. And and I think you can see that Apparent all over the spectrum there of mental illness and what people are dealing with. Then you have alcoholism and addiction. These are all chronic impairments. And see, a caregiver is someone who is taking care of somebody with a chronic impairment.
It's not going to get better.
Somebody called up and said, Well, I'm a grandmother, I'll take care of my grandchildren. I'm a caregiver. No, you're not. You have some tasks that intersect with being the caregiver. Being a caregiver is taking care of somebody who is chronically impaired.
And they're not going to get better. In fact, they're probably going to get worse. And that is a big, big issue for so many people. And nowhere does that get more difficult than at the holiday time, because now we have all the extra things, and then you have that pressure of thinking, okay, maybe this is mom's last one. Maybe this is Dad's last one.
And we got to make it special. We got to do this, we got to do that. Caregivers get lost in what I call the fog of caregivers, fear, obligation, and guilt. And that obligation can turn into resentment in about a second. And you can always tell when somebody feels burdened by obligation.
I got it, I have to, I must, I should, I'm supposed to. Those are words that come out of their mouth. And it's very difficult. Particularly when you go into Thanksgiving and Christmas. And the pressure is there.
So How do you help these people?
Well, first you gotta know who they are. and see them. And then you got to be able to speak to them in a way they can understand. I got friends of mine who are Bible translators with Wycliffe. And they've been over in the Democratic Republic Republic of Congo.
And they have two languages they speak nationally over there, Swahili and French. Almost everybody speaks it.
Well, the Bible's been translated in French and Swahili. But They have so many tribal languages. And the Congo is basically the size of California. It's a big place. And there are a lot of tribal languages.
And that's what Wycliffe is. called the language of the heart. The language of the heart, So if you speak to somebody there in French, they'll understand what you're saying. If you speak to them in Swahili, They'll understand what you're saying. But if you speak to them in their tribal language, the language of their heart, They will connect to what you're saying.
But you can't just you know, show up and start translating the Bible. In that language. You can't do that. You have to spend some time in the village. You have to spend time with them.
You have to spend time understanding their culture. You have to spend time understanding the references and establishing that language understanding. And for caregivers, it's no different. And I've been doing this for 40 years. I've lived in the village.
I understand it. I speak it fluently. And that's why I do what I do on my show that airs on this network. My books, I've got several books out. My newest is called, you know, a caregiver's companion: scriptures, hymns, and insights, 40 years of insights.
for life's toughest role. And I speak in a way that caregivers can understand.
So if you don't know what to say to a caregiver, don't worry about it. I do. But we gotta say something. We gotta get to them. We gotta share with them.
Help them understand the gospel in the language of their hearts. I've learned to speak caregiver. I've learned it over these four decades. But the great news is It's our Saviour's native tongue. It's who he is.
He speaks to us in a way we can understand. And that's who he is.
So as you Maybe you're a pastor. Look at the people in your church. Maybe look at the ones that aren't showing up. And ask why. Do they feel comfortable coming?
They want to come, do they feel comfortable? I recently wrote an article about the church drinking downstream. Because so much of what's going on in our culture is now seeped into our churches. And guess who gets hurt first when the church starts? Deluding the waters, the people who suffer, because they're going to church to hear something that's going to strengthen them, and all they're getting is just.
Yeah. And it's just I've seen it. You see, we talked about this earlier with the sexual immorality that's just invaded the church. And you see it where they're having homosexual marriages in churches. Homosexual pastors?
Pastures that are involved in all kinds of stuff. That's not exactly going to strengthen somebody. who is dealing with the kind of things that so many caregivers are dealing with and other people are dealing with.
So we got to be prepared to to to reach out to them and they may not be feel comfortable coming to your church. If it's not handicapped accessible, Can they get in? Maybe they got a loved one who has a lot of dysfunction going on. And maybe X out. or has bodily functions going on.
and they feel embarrassed. Can you help them? Be more comfortable, and not be embarrassed. Can you help them understand that they're welcome there? Do they feel welcome?
Are they being welcomed? What does Luke fourteen say? Go out to the highways and the byways. Bring him in, the lame. Blind, crippled.
Bring him in. And and th this is our Call. This is our mandate from our Savior who did this for us. We're not able-bodied. We can't save ourselves.
We don't realize how Destitute our estate is And yet he did this for us. Are we prepared? Are we willing? To go out and do the same. He asked us to.
So what's stopping us? What's keeping us from doing this? And if you don't know what to say, that's okay. I've spent time in the village. And I've got a great book out there for him.
Get the book. Put it in their hands. Give it to your pastor to give out to people who are. In the congregation or want to come to church, but they can't. They're taking care of somebody with Alzheimer's, they're taking care of somebody with whatever.
And and but but say something. Don't Don't ignore them. And if you're a caregiver right now, And and and you feel for the first time somebody's talking to you? Hughie. What you're doing.
is modelling the very hands and feet of Christ. But I will tell you this: that healthy caregivers make better caregivers, and if you're not healthy, Emotionally, spiritually, financially, Physically You're not going to be much good. to your loved one. Today's a great day to start getting healthy. A lot of people say, Well, I just want to be happy.
Yeah. Happiness is a little bit elusive. Have you ever noticed that? Happiness can be very elusive. But healthiness is something you can chase today, and I found that the healthier I become, the more happiness chases me.
And you could start being healthy today. And one of the and the healthiest thing you can do. is dig into your scriptures. And if you don't know where to start Peter, I don't even know where to start.
Well, start with Psalm one. Just dig into your scripture. Start with Psalm 1. And then just go through it. Those are the emotions of Scripture are right there, of everything you're feeling.
The angst, the sadness, the grief, the loss, the sorrow, all those things. All of that is in Psalm. The Psalms. And if you don't know where to start, just start Psalm 1. That's a good place to start, as any.
And and you watch what happens. Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of markers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night. That's Psalm 1. Start there. And that is.
Truth Talk Live. This is Peter Rosenberg. PeterRosenberger.com. We'll see you next time.
