: Welcome to Real Truth for Today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. Now, here's Pastor Jeff.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, good Monday morning, and welcome to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff here, and I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. Debbie and I had an exciting weekend. We had a. Our grandsons, our middle daughter Amy, and her husband Travis brought the family with them. We had a weekend with the Vanhoys, Little Jack, Chase, and Drew. Jack is five, Chase is three, and Drew is one. We only had one trip to the emergency room, which was a great praise. I, grew up, in a large family, and so I went to the emergency room a lot as a kid with cuts and broken bones and stuff like that, but having girls. So Debbie and I have three girls. Girls don't play quite like boys do. Boys. It's a miracle of God that any boy makes it through childhood, without dying because they just are so rough, and they, they get themselves into difficult, situations. So little Drew, the baby, he fell and cut his lip. And we were thinking he might have to get stitches, but turned out it was okay. But it was a great weekend. And being with those little guys, it's just so fun. Went swimming a couple times. And, our neighbors down the street, Joel and Cindy Miller, so gracious, they said, yeah, use our pools. We had a great time. And, just being together with the family, it's always special. Well, yesterday we had a wonderful service at First Baptist Texarkana. The Lord was really blessing through the music and the message, everything that was done. Had a couple come up to me after this service, and he is from Scotland, and she, his girlfriend from Wales. And they were visiting, because he has a job that brings him to the States every month or so. They just happened to be in Texarkana. They said nothing drew them here as far as saying, oh, we watch you on tv or something like that. They didn't know about the church. They didn't know who I was. They just ended up at First Baptist Texarkana. And they were so encouraging and said, we've been to a lot of churches in, In America, probably 30 or 40 churches in our travels. And, this one is special. And just, how the people were so friendly, and they said we could just, you know, sense that the Lord was here. And it was just a special, special encouragement for me. Then we had our membership class last night. We had a couple of people pray to receive Christ, and we had people that said, hey, I need to get baptized. Many joined the church. So a great, great praise for the weekend. It was, one of those weekends, that you wake up on Monday morning, you just say, lord, thank you for my family. Thank you for my church family. Thank you for all that you're doing in our midst. But, I want to talk to you today. I was thinking about. Woke up this morning thinking about, okay, what is in the news? What do we want to talk about? What is something that would help people? And as I often do, I pray through that and say, lord, what do you want me to speak on today? I thought about this subject, the futility of life without God, you know. In the news has been Hayden Panettiere, who died at the young age of 36 years old. Cause of death is still uncertain. And she was the childhood star. She was in her first. Had her first act, quote, unquote, acting gig when she was 11 months old. And her mother was her manager. Her mother really was more of a manager than a mother mother. And Hayden wrote about that in. In a book that came out, just, I don't know, six months, a year before her death. this is my life, something like that. but just a sad, sad life. Now I remember talking to a guy, a movie producer. He had produced the movie Rich Cristiano. He had produced the movie the Secrets of Jonathan Sperry with Gavin McLeod and, Hayden Panettiere's brother. I think his name is Jason or Jansen, something like that. Anyway, he was the young boy in the movie. And it's about this boy that comes to faith in Christ because Jonathan Sperry, Gavin McLeod's character, lives, a life of fruit and walks, in the light with Jesus, and his life impacts, these boys, and they come to know Christ. And so a really, good movie and a solid theology. But I remember talking to Rich, the producer, and he was talking about that family and how they were pushing Hayden, you know, into. She's the older sister of this guy, Jason or Jansen. And, he said to me, he Said that girl has no chance. He said, she's. That Hollywood is going to chew her up and spit her out. That's the way it goes there. And he just was, very concerned about her. I think at that time she was, she was in the movie, remember, the Titans. You know, she was that, the, the daughter of the coach. She was a single parent. And, she was really good in that role. She was a great actress. But, dies at 36. And I was thinking about how, it's just so sad. And it's like, okay, so you, you're famous in life, but at what cost? And what do you get for it? So my mind immediately went to the book of Ecclesiastes. You know, Ecclesiastes is a different kind of book in the Bible. many have thought, why is this book even in the Bible? Because it starts off very, famously vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.

Caroline: All.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: All is empty. All is meaningless. So you read that and you think, that's kind of strange to have in the Bible. The book of hope, the book of, you know, God's in control. And the book that teaches us to trust God. Why would it start off? And why do you want to have a book in the Bible that says everything is empty and meaningless? It's, obviously, obviously not empty and meaningless with God. Ah. but the key of the book of Proverbs, book of Ecclesiastes is what is life like without God? And the answer is vanity of vanity, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. You know, the writer of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, was given wisdom like the sand of the seashore. The wisest man who ever lived outside of Jesus Christ, obviously. But he tells us in Ecclesiastes 1 what he is doing in the book of Ecclesiastes. I, the preacher, that's what he calls himself, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my mind, this mind that is so wise and so knowledgeable. I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom concerning all that has been done under the sun. It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun. And behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. Now, the key phrase in Ecclesiastes is the phrase under the sun. He uses that 29 times in the book. Under the sun. Under the sun. Under the sun. And what is he saying? He's saying, I look for satisfaction in life under the sun, keeping God out, keeping heaven out. What can I do with my life, and how can I invest my life? And what can I get involved in that will satisfy me and fill up my soul under the sun? And the answer is nothing. He says, you know, I tried wisdom, and that didn't do it. I tried wine, and that didn't do it. Pleasure. Test yourself with pleasure. He said, that didn't do it. I tried, women and sexual fulfillment. That didn't do it. You know, he had 700 wives and 300 girlfriends. called them concubines. And, that didn't do it. He tried to, He said, I built parks and gardens and enlarged my works. I built houses for myself. I planted vineyards for myself. Look at all this that I created. And he said it was just vanity. he said, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men and many concubines. I did all this stuff, and it was vanity. He says in verse 17. Amazingly, he says this. This is Ecclesiastes 2:17. So I hated life. For the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me, because everything is futility and striving after wind. And then he says this one of my favorite verses is in Ecclesiastes 2:25. He asked this question. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without him, Without God? No one. It's a rhetorical question. No one can have that. And so you're seeking and you're searching for satisfaction in life, in achievement, in fame, in money, in success. You're not going to find it. It's not there. You know the line. Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. as the person on the boat is looking around and he's covered in, you know, surrounded by seawater. And I have so much water, yet I'm dying of thirst because I can't drink the sea water. Because that won't satisfy my soul. The world is filled with seawater. Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. It will not satisfy. So I was thinking about Hayden Panettiere. So she's in. She begins her acting career. Her mother pushes her forward in her acting career at 11 months. And she gets these parts, and she becomes, well known. Remember the Titans? People recognized her. She did really well as that little girl that was, so boisterous and Precocious. And then she gets a, gig on the show Heroes. I didn't watch Heroes. Debbie watched Heroes, so I didn't watch it. But she gets a, name for herself on that show and then she's on Nashville and. But she's a troubled person. She has a terrible relationship with her mother. And, it's just sad that she died at 36 and caused a death unknown. We knew. She said herself she had postpartum depression. she lost custody or gave up custody of her child because she wasn't able to handle that. She, didn't have a role model in her mother. She asked her mother to be her mother and not her manager. And her mother reportedly responded, you owe me, and so I'm managing you so I can make money off of you. And it was very, very sad. Well, Megyn Kelly, I don't typically read a lot from Megyn Kelly, but I read this article that she wrote about Hayden Panettiere and she said, talked about the pitfalls of childhood fame. And she writes this. Do not put your child into any industry that will make them a star. As a minor, don't do it. No matter how badly you need the money, no matter how badly your child tells you it is her dream or his dream, the answer is no. If you love them, it could be as a singer, like Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Could be as an actress like Hayden or Amanda, Hayden Panettiere or Amanda Bynes. It doesn't tend to end well. Look at what is happening to Ariana Grande right now. She made her start on Nickelodeon and a disgusting cesspool of child abuse. And separate it apart from whether you happen to drop them into a cesspool of toxicity and abuse like Nickelodeon was, you are just setting them up for massive life failures. Unless that kid has got the strongest emotional resolve of all children out there, that doesn't tend to be the case. She goes on to say, for every Jodie Foster, there are far more River Phoenixes. Gen Xers will remember Phoenix as the brother of Joaquin Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose out in front, of a club where he was very young and had been a child star in movies like Stand By Me. It's just so rare that they grow up and have well adjusted lives. She goes on to say, and, it was interesting to think about this. You know, if you peak in life as a 12 year old or a 14 year old or you're Macaulay Culkin home alone, you're peaking at how roll the kid was 1012. that doesn't do well for your emotional psyche. You have a lot of years to live, and, your best years were when you were a preteen. That's not good. I recall the statement that, coach Mack Brown made the coach of the Texas Longhorns when they won the national championship in 2006. Such a, such an insightful comment. He said, guys, do not let this become the greatest moment of your life. Go on and be good husbands, be good fathers, make a difference in your community, and let this be a stepping stone, not the top of the mountain for you. Great, great advice. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today, Pastor Jeff Schrieve. Here we're talking about the futility of life without God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without him? Answer no one. Because you and I were made for God and made to enjoy him forever. We'll be right back.

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 : This is Real Truth for today. Podcasts of the program are available on the podcast [email protected] now back to Pastor Jeff Schrieve.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. We're talking about the futility of life without God. I was thinking, this weekend about Hayden Panettiere, the actress who died at the young age of 36. She wrote a book before she died about her life, talked about the terrible relationship she had with her mother. And it just, basically from Hayden's perspective, her mother just used her as a meal ticket. And Hayden, said, you know, when I was a kid, I was the one that was paying rent and, you know, buying the cars and doing all the things for the family to Keep us afloat. Because my parents and her mother was my manager. And, when I asked her to quit being my manager and just being my mother, she said, no, you owe me. And just, a sick, twisted, perverted relationship. Hayden felt like a, you know, like a commodity, a piece of meat, so to speak. I'm just putting you out there and making money off you and, just a very sad, sad life that didn't last very long. Well, I had mentioned that, the article from Megyn Kelly, she said, hey, parents, don't put your kids. Don't let them as little kids be, these childhood stars. Because the chances are it's not going to end well for them. We have a long list of people who, it doesn't end well. They can't handle it. They're not, mature enough to handle all the fame and then all the, the abandonment that they feel as they grow older. And she said this. If your child has her peak or his peak at 11, age 11 or age 17, it's going to be very hard for them to feel like a, success after that. And the problem is child actors don't tend to make it in Hollywood. They may make it as children, but then what? Look at Macaulay Culkin, one of the top three child stars ever in our country. What's he doing now, do you know? I don't know. He's got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a couple of years ago. I'm not ripping on him at all. She says the opposite, actually. But he did not make it as an adult actor. Not in any meaningful way, at least. The industry that builds them up then rejects them, and they can't ever reclaim that top of the mountain moment. they feel like a failure. They are setting you and your child up to fail. And even if they don't get kicked out of the industry, like Justin Bieber, how do you think he's doing? how does he look to you? Totally well adjusted, Comfortable in his own skin, the picture of happiness. No, not to me either. And he was never kicked out. He made it as a star, and he maintained his stardom to this moment. Here's what I think. You know the futility of life without God. Now, Justin Bieber, I don't think he would say I'm living life without God. But, you know, in that industry, it's all about money and it's all about fame, and that becomes God. And when God is not God, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It's the beginning of knowledge, as Solomon says at the end of the book of Ecclesiastes. The conclusion, when all has been heard, is, fear God and keep his commandments. Because this applies to every person now. What does it mean to fear God? I still remember this definition from my pastor demonshuk when I was, growing up under him, as a young guy in my 20s. He said, the fear of the Lord is giving God his rightful place as king and taking your rightful place as Doulos as slave. He is the master, you're the slave. He is the king, you are the servant. He is everything, and he is the focal point of life. he is to have first place in everything in your life. If you're seeking after money, if you're seeking after fame, if you're seeking after your own glory, you're barking up the wrong tree. You're never going to find satisfaction in that. It's just going to leave you empty. Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink, as the poem says, or the play or whatever that line is. I think it's from, the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. I said it was from something of Shakespeare. My mom corrected me. I think it's the rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. But, you can't drink salt water. If you drink the salt water, guess what? You die. It will not quench your thirst, but it will kill you as the salt levels, increase. And you, ironically, you end up dying of thirst because you're drinking the wrong thing to quench your thirst. What you're drinking ends up making you more thirsty because of all the salt. So here's the question. Are you living your life to please him? Who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? I just got a report from my engineer, Jay Budzielowski. What did he tell me? This famous line comes from the 1798 poem the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. So I remembered that. I didn't remember it was written by Coleridge, but, the rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, that is so true. Okay, so what do we do? Well, the wise person looks around and learns. He sees the evil and hides himself. The naive go on and are punished for it. Proverbs 22, verse 3. We learn from these people's failures, as sad and tragic as it is. We learn from that and say, that's not the way to do life. That person, life was not a success. So what? You had a lot of money. So what? You had A lot of fame, your life was miserable. And, you didn't have peace and you didn't have joy and there wasn't love. And you were hurting inside. You had a child and you couldn't even care for that child. And you were dealing with depression and substance abuse, pills or alcohol or whatever it was. And I mean, it's just a tragic, tragic life. And so we grieve for those people and we, need to learn from those people and say, I don't want to travel those same footsteps because that just brings misery. If you want to find, satisfaction in life, the conclusion when all has been heard, Ecclesiastes 12, is, fear God and give him his rightful place as king in your life. you were made by him, you were made for him, and you're only going to find satisfaction in Him. Satisfaction in life does not exist outside of God because He's the Creator of it all. And when he fashioned you, as Pascal said, Blaise Pascal, in every human heart there is a God shaped vacuum, a God shaped puzzle piece. And until we get that peace, ah, put into our hearts, until we get God, to be the center and the circumference and the hub and everything in our life, until we get that peace in our hearts, we're always going to be restless. As Augustine said, Lord, my soul is restless. you have made us for yourself, and our souls are restless until they find our rest, its rest in you. And so, if you're looking at other things to satisfy your soul, guess what? Take it from Solomon, the guy that had. He, was wiser than you, he was richer than you, he had more privileges and more abilities. When he seeks out a matter as he said, it gave my mind to wisdom to seek this thing out. When on a search for satisfaction, he's able to search things, from top to bottom, from left to right, every nook and cranny of a, of a situation, of a, you know, whether it be work, whether it be achievement, whether it be pleasure, whether it be, women, you know. He wants to find satisfaction and pleasure. Well, guess what? He doesn't have, you know, five or ten sexual experiences to say, I'm exploring this. He has a thousand. He has 700 wives and 300 girlfriends. And the implication is he has, sexual relationships with a thousand women, so he can tell you you're not going to find satisfaction in that, Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank, he said he went crazy when he became famous. And he was having all these one night Stands and things like that. He said, it's very shallow, it's very empty. It does not satisfy. It can bring you cheap thrills, for a moment, as the Bible talks about the passing pleasures of sin, but it does not satisfy. The only thing that satisfies is the Lord. And, wise is the man, the woman, the boy, the girl that learns that early in life and sets his sights, her sights, on following the Lord and doing his will. Because it's in that pursuit that you will find love and joy and peace. Well, let me shift gears a little bit. You know, one of the things we talk about on this program is how can you make a difference? And so I was, doing a little research this morning and, talking about how to fight the good fight. What can we do? What can little old you do? What can little old me do to make a difference? Well, there's a nine year old girl, Brooklyn Rivera, she lives in Massachusetts, and she wrote a letter to President Trump and his wife Melania talking about the situation at her school. She's nine years old and this was her letter to President Trump.

 : Ah.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Read by an adult, obviously.

Speaker F: Dear Mr. President and Melania, my name is Brooklyn Rivera. I live in Rochester, Massachusetts. I need your help. You see, I was in the bathroom of my school and a transgender boy walked in. He started to peek through the stall and then he pushed my door open. He embarrassed me. I was crying after it happened, but my school did nothing to help me. My mom and dad have been back and forth with the principal, but the school says the boys can go into the bathroom with girls. Now I feel scared to use the girls bathroom. And the boy didn't get into trouble at all. I go to Rochester Memorial School. I'm in the third grade. I'm nine years old. If you wanted to call my parents, you could. Any help that you can give me would be great. Thank you. Signed, Brooklyn Rivera.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Ah, that's a nine year old girl writing to President Donald Trump and his wife Melania. Help me. What kind of an upside down society do we live in where a school district will say it's okay for a boy, a biological male, to go into the girl's bathroom and peek under the stall and they don't do anything to the kid and they're not going to protect the girl? Well, this little girl, Brooklyn Rivera, her dad is starting a campaign, in their community to get rid of these people that are on the school board saying, you guys are not doing what you are supposed to be doing. I mean, your common Sense has gone, has left the corral. I mean, this is insanity. It's Romans, chapter one. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and God has given people over. They reject God. He gives them over to, a reprobate mind, a depraved mind, a mind that no longer functions. And these people, I don't know who they are on this school board and this, the people in leadership of this school, but, you have so given yourself over to, a perverted woke ideology that you're not protecting what is so basic in terms of protecting little girls from, peeping Toms. I don't care how old they are, if they're their own age, but they're allowing those boys to come into the girls bathrooms, and they're not going to do anything about it. Well, this is what Brooklyn Rivera's dad is doing about it.

Speaker G: This is what happens when a school administration fails our female students. my daughter was sexually harassed by a boy that decided it was okay to push her stall. Bathroom door in. The school has been silent. They're not responding. I've been forced to file a Title 9 on them. They continue not to answer the community. So I bring awareness this way. our local school school, which is the Rochester Memorial School, has been silent on this. And, the people are fed up. we're not going to take it anymore. So these signs have been around town. I have people come in tonight to sign petitions to continue to remove all five school committee members and replace them with people who care for us, for our children, and for this community.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, amen. M. That's Brooklyn's dad, Mr. Rivera, and he's. He's doing all he can and getting people together. This is how we make a difference. We jump on that bandwagon and we say, yes, we're going to fight for, what is right. Woe to those. Isaiah 5:20. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Whoa. And we need to fight against that. And we need to say, hey, this is wrong. And, as Jesus said, I used this verse yesterday in my message, Revelation 2:10. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Speak the truth in love, and, stand up for what is right. Jeremiah, chapter 29, where the Lord tells the captives who are in Babylon. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. To all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands that they may bear sons and daughters and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have welfare. For in its. The Hebrew word there for welfare is shalom. In its shalom. In its peace, you will have shalom. You will have peace. Hey, we live as my good friend, E.W. Jackson, the bishop, B.W. jackson, says we live in America just like I live in my house. Well, America is my home, and I want my house to be a certain way. I want America to be a certain way because I want to seek the welfare of my city. This is where I live. The welfare of my nation. This is where I live. I want it to be a good place. And as we have said repeatedly on Real Truth for today, hey, it's incumbent upon us to pass the baton of America and the freedoms that we enjoy onto the next generation. And, blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. And guess what? Cursed is the nation whose God is not. Well, you're listening to Real Truth for today. Pastor Jeff Schrieve here. We're talking about the futility of life without God. We're talking about fighting the good fight of faith, standing up for what is right. When we come back from the break, we'll be taking your calls. 888-589-8840. That's 885-89840. If you have a question or comment, love to hear from you. If you have been listening and you've never called in, it would be a, lot of fun to hear from you first time callers. So 888-589-8840. Give me a call and let's talk.

 : If you'd like to contact Pastor Jeff, email pastor jeffromhishheart.org now back to Real Truth for today with Pastor Jeff Schrieve.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Welcome back to the program. Pastor Jeff here. We're opening the phone lines. 888-589-8840. That's 885-89840. If you have a question, comment, brief testimony, love to hear from you. And I do want to let you know, just as a, reminder. So I'm leading two trips, one in October and one in, April. We have the October trip going to Washington, D.C. i'm teaming up with my friend Dr. Gary Frazier for a week in Washington, D.C. the nation's capital. October 11th, which is a Sunday. We leave that Sunday night, and the trip actually starts on the 17th of October. We go through the week. We fly back on Friday, so really Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for sightseeing. And, William Federer, the historian. Bill Federer, my friend, is going to be leading us through a tour of the Capitol building. We have a private tour of that, and he'll be doing all the, emceeing for that. He is a man. He's a wealth of knowledge. But that's going to be a great trip. And then in April, April 2nd through the 11th, we have our Holy land trip. And we are trusting the Lord that things will be calm and quiet, very soon in that part of the world. And so, we're going to have a great time following in the footsteps of Jesus and visiting all the places that you've read about in scripture. And, so that's August 2nd through the 11th. August, April, April 2nd through the 11th. A great time to go. It's not too cold, not too hot in, 2027. So you can find out everything at. From his heart dot org. That's from his heart dot org. And we can give you all the information, that you need. And you can call the church office if you have any questions. 903-83-16000. And, we're looking forward to a great, great time. Well, we've been talking about the futility of life without God. you know, the devil uses things that appeal to our eyes. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life to get us off course. The Bible says all that is in the world and mentions those three things. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. The devil doesn't have a lot of bullets in his gun. He just keeps recycling things. And he'll come at us with those three temptations. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life. That's what he did with Jesus. Hey, after he'd been fasting for 40 days. If you're the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. what is that? That's the temptation, the lust of the flesh. You're hungry. Satisfy your physical desires. And Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone. But every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And then he takes him up on a high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms of this world, and said, all those have been given to me. I can give them to whomever I choose. I'll give them to you if you'll just bow down and worship me. Look at all these things. Jesus. What is that? That's a temptation for the lust of the eyes. And, Jesus didn't buy that one. He said, worship you. He said, it is written, you shall worship, God, and him only shall you serve. And then he takes him to the pinnacle of the temple and he says, jump down. And he uses scripture against Jesus. He said, doesn't, it say, he will give his angels charge concerning you, lest you strike your foot against a stone? And Jesus responded with scripture and said, it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. But that was a temptation for the boastful pride of life.

 : Look at me.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: I can jump off the pinnacle of the temple. Hey, everybody, believe in me. Because who else can do this? And, the devil comes at us the same way. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life. And the answer. Here's what's so amazing. How does Jesus deal with the devil? Every time he quotes scripture, he quotes the Old Testament to the devil. And even when the devil tries to take the Old Testament and use it against Jesus, Jesus comes back with scripture. Now, the thing that makes that so, intriguing and so eye, opening is that Jesus is God. And what is scripture? Scripture is the word of God. Anything Jesus said to him was the word of God. Anything he said would have been scripture. But he quotes from what is already written as an example to you and me to get the word of God down in our hearts. And when the devil comes with his temptations, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life. We can come back with, it is written, it is written. It is written. What does God say about these things? Because what God says is true. Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar. And if you and I will train ourselves on the scripture and to really, train our minds, don't let your mind be squeezed. Don't let the world squeeze your mind into a mold. Romans 12:2. but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Every time you succumb to sin. Every time that I succumb to sin, whatever it might be, whether it's lust, greed, bitterness, anger, whatever it is, we're believing a lie. And, we have failed to set our minds on the truth of Scripture. We're trying to find satisfaction in those things that cannot satisfy, especially the lust of the eyes. You see things that you want. Oh, if I just had this, then I would be happy. If I had that, thing, that person, whatever it is, then that would really satisfy me. If I had that job that I want so badly, that promotion that I want so badly, then I would be satisfied. I was talking to Tim Wildmon when he was here Wednesday and Thursday. We played golf. Thursday morning, we were talking about things. And, you know, Texarkana has one of the greatest golf courses. Texarkana Country Club. they were talking about it on the Golf Channel yesterday, about how it's just a hidden Jim here in Texarkana, Arkansas. And, Tim was just like, man, you have this beautiful course just in your backyard, and it's not all that crowded. They don't even take tee times at Texarkana Country Club, because they just want to make it to where, hey, we're a country club. It's not that crowded. You just come out and you tee off when it's open. And so it's a wonderful place. And I said, you know, there are guys, I've noticed over the years, guys, pastors that are always looking at the next church and the next church, and wherever they are, they're looking at that next church, that bigger church. And I said, you know, I didn't. I didn't really approach it that way. It's just like, God, where do you want me to be? And, granted, I had some trouble when I first came here to Texarkana from Houston, but, you know, once I. Once I got, stabilized and, we went through the bumps that often happen, in a pastorate at the early stages there, Debbie. And I just love living here, and I love to play golf, and I love to be able to go out after work and walk 9, 10, 12 holes, whatever it might be. And there's not a lot of people out there. And I said, you know, God, has used me. He's put me here when I wanted to go somewhere else. you know, he didn't allow that to happen. And so I'm so glad, the way the plan has worked out. And so it's a privilege to be able to pastor First Baptist Texarkana. It's a privilege to Be able to found, the ministry from His Heart Ministries and, to be able to share the gospel around the nation and around the world through radio, television, and the Internet. And then to be able to come on, American Family Radio. We've been on American Family Radio for a number of years. We with, from his Heart Ministries, 6pm Central Time right here on AFR. But then to have this program and to be able to talk to people, on a live basis, that is a great, great privilege. And so I just praise the Lord for that. And if I had been bouncing around, that may not have happened. So I just give the Lord all the praise. Well, I know we have some callers. Nothing is lighting, up, so I don't know. Jameson, are these ready to go? Okay, so we have Tina on the line from Texas. Tina, welcome to Real Truth for today.

Caroline: hi, Pastor Jeff. Thank you so much for your, ministry. my question is, I have a friend that is Catholic selling her home, and she ran across something that said she should bury a St. Joseph statue, I think, in front of her for sale sign. And that could help her sell her home. I wanted so badly to tell her that. That or I feel like that's bearing, a, idol, you know, that's whatever or whoever St. Joseph is, that that is no use to her. And I don't know how to tell somebody that. Can you help me with that?

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes. you know, in Catholicism, oftentimes they're praying to saints, and, you know, their attitude, like, they pray to Mary and, you know, Mary has, pull with Jesus, and so you can't go directly to Jesus. I heard a clip from Jon MacArthur where he's just saying, you know, that is just such a slam on the character of God that, you know, Mary cares about you more than Jesus does. You don't pray to Mary, you don't pray to saints. The Bible says very clearly, first Timothy, chapter two, verse five. For there is one God and one mediator. One go between. Between God and m Men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all the testimony given at the proper time. So it doesn't make any sense to pray to any saint. It doesn't make any sense to pray to Mary. You pray directly to God through Jesus Christ because he is the mediator. we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. Hebrews 4:15 says, but one who's been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin, Therefore let us Draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. No one in NewSong Testament times prayed to a saint. you might get together with other Christians who are living and say, let's pray together. Would you pray for me? I'm having this trouble that's totally different. But once somebody passes, from this life into absent from the bodies present with the Lord, you don't pray to them. They're, in the Lord's presence. They're not hearing your prayers. And, why would you pray to them anyway, when you have direct access to God, through Jesus? So it can be difficult, Tina, when you're trying to tell them that, because they can take that as a personal attack. Well, that's what I'm taught in my religion, that kind of attitude. But, yeah, I would just get them to see that, hey, you don't have to pray to Joseph. You can pray directly to God through Jesus. he invites us to do that. And you can show them that passage in Hebrews 4, 15, 16. And, why would I want to talk to someone else when I can talk directly to the king? And the, king is the one who's in charge of all those things. So maybe you can go about it that way with them. Anything further?

Caroline: No, no. That. I just. I don't want to be offensive, you know, or. And I'm afraid. But you never know. I mean, you just have to say the truth. So. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Hey, thank you, Tina. Thanks for calling in. Thanks for that question. We have Robin on the line from Virginia. Robin, welcome to Real Truth for today.

Caroline: Oh, thank you so much, Pastor Schrieve. I, I have called in throughout the years, and I just. I sort of tuned in a little late, but I caught the last 20 minutes, and now I just felt led to call in to just say, you know, I so appreciate. You know, even though I lived for about four years when I was very young in Little Rock, Arkansas, I appreciate the fact that you have, a spot on afr on the radio as a preacher, because I really didn't hear you and the sermons, until maybe about six months ago or so, I would tend to hear and listen on the. The daytime, you know, radio talk show. And so I really, really appreciate. I just wanted to say thank you because you are, you're really good at this format. You know, having interviews with people or talking about scripture. You vary it, and you're just a certain kind of. You know, there's a side of you we get to see, and we get to enjoy your own kind of relationship with Jesus and how you walk out your faith. And yet when I heard you preach, because I can't. I'm in Virginia. I don't have the privilege of driving there. And it's just, such a cool experience to hear you as a preacher because there's a different part of your relationship to God and Jesus that comes out. And so I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you for staying there where you are and what God has blessed you with. And especially thank you for Aflat, because they offer so many different types of preachers and shows. And it's just a real blessing because you're so down to earth and authentic. And it's just, we need that. It's like, I feel like God's family is so large and so huge that each and every person could be like one teeny, tiny facet. Like millions and trillions of sides on a diamond.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Amen. How encouraging. Thank you, Robin. That's so sweet. And, boy, I received that. And, that is, that is encouraging to my heart. So God bless you for calling in today and for, sharing those things. the Bible talks about, Ephesians 4:29. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, for building up. And so, Robin, you built me up. Give all the glory to the Lord for that. But I, appreciate your kind words. I'm sorry, we ran out of time, Greg and our other caller. But I appreciate you calling in. Appreciate you listening to Real Truth for today here on American Family Radio. And, tomorrow I'm going to have a great conversation with my good friend Dr. Mike Courtney. Just got his doctorate, and he has a great counseling ministry branches. He has the book Failure and How I Achieved It. He is the brother of the comedian Shonda Pierce. We had a great conversation talking about, father wounds. And so you don't want to miss tomorrow. Go out today, shine for Christ and share what great things the Lord has done for you, and God will use you as his witness. God bless you.