Transcript

American Family Radio thanks sponsor Preborn for supporting pro life advocacy

Dr. Jessica Peck: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, PreBorn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection and the majority of the time she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword BABY or visit preborn.com/AFR hello

 : and welcome to the Dr. Nursemama Hope for Healthy Families here on American Family Radio.

The Activate Summit is happening this summer in Tupelo, Mississippi

Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hello there friends, and welcome to my favorite time of the afternoon, getting to spend time with you prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. And let me tell you, we have a great opportunity for you to share today that is happening this summer. I want to talk to you about something called the Activate Summit, Roots to Fruit, Grounded in truth, Growing in grace. This is a summit that's going to be hosted by American Family association this summer, July 16th through 18th, in the charming, beautiful, wonderful town of Tupelo, Mississippi. It's not actually too far from Memphis or Birmingham. And if you're local, you know where you're going because you're going to the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Just thought I'd throw that in there. But registration is now open. You can go to afa.netsummit It's $175 for the main session. Activate Kids is ages 6 through 12, $75. And you can bring your kids, although no childcare is provided five and under, there is no cost to bring them with you. And this week we are featuring this conference on the show by featuring some of the speakers who are going to be there. There are so many things to talk about as I as I told you about the theme that we're talking about at the summit is roots to grounded in truth, growing in grace. And we're going to talk about issues impacting the family. I will be there talking about AI and I'm really excited to be joining another speaker who we have on the show today.

Pastor Jeff Schreve shares a message that is uniquely timely for this moment

Now, if you are a regular listener to afr, I need to orient you. You're about to be really confused and think, is this the morning or is this the afternoon? It is indeed the afternoon, but we are joined by none other than Pastor Jeff Schreve. You know him, you love him. He's a see senior pastor for more than two decades, founder of a national and global teaching ministry, a former businessman turned preacher. We've had him on before. He shared about his show. He is deeply familiar with both cultural systems and spiritual warfare. He's a husband, a father, a grandfather. And he speaks to us not just as a theologian, but as a family shepherd. And he has talked about exposing deception of the enemy and anchoring believers, anchoring families in biblical truth. And that is a message that is uniquely timely for this moment. Because at this moment, we are living in an age of unprecedented information and unprecedented confusion. Our families are being deceived, our families are being confused. Our families are being overwhelmed. While we're navigating AI and misinformation and fake news and conflicting moral frameworks, and you name it, it is scary. We are navigating news of war, of. Of global unrest, all of those things. And the question that families seem like they're asking is what's trending, but the question that they should be asking is what's true? And Pastor Jeff is going to help us with that today. Jeff, I'm so glad to have you back on today. Thanks so much for joining us.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Thank you, Jessica. Appreciate it so much.

American Family Association is hosting a summit on marriage and family this summer

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Pastor Jeff, tell us a little bit about being at the summit about your heart for marriage and family, and then we'll talk a little bit more about, about your book. Because I have a lot of questions from last time. I did not get to ask you, so I'm going to get as much as I can.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, I appreciate that. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the summit. Debbie and I were there a couple of years ago and had, a great time. You know, Jessica, as you do know, American Family Association, American Family Radio, is just such a first class, solid organization and, just sharing, speaking the truth in love. And, everything that, AFA does, that AFR does is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. And so this, activate summit is going to be an opportunity for husbands and wives and families to grow together and to be encouraged together in the Lord. And yeah, I'm going to be talking about marriage and family. That's the most, important relationship that we have, is with our spouse and with our kids, that to be good. And I think, you would share this same concern, Jessica, is that the devil hits hardest at home. And, we can do well, maybe in the business world and maybe even in the church from an outsider's perspective. But if our marriage is not strong and growing and vibrant, if our family is not, intact and loving one another, and if you go home and it's World War Three. that doesn't, give the gospel a very good testimony because, that's where we need to shine. That's where the rubber meets the road. Anybody can praise the Lord at church, but when you go home and you're living it out, that's really where it's tested. we had a big marriage conference last night with my friend Bob Lapine. And I told the, couples. We had about, 110 couples there. And I said, on a scale of 1 to 10, God wants your marriage, marriage to be a 12. He wants it to be great. It's really. Marriage is, the best of life. And sadly, as you know, so many people, so many Christians have bad marriages. And it's not because God is holding out on them. It's because they're really not putting into practice the things that God says to do in his word.

Dr. Jessica Peck: I appreciate you having that conference. And it speaks to being intentional about putting your resources, your time, your effort, your attention, your money, even in investing in things that are going to make your family stronger. And so often, Jeff, I see families today, mine included, you know, we want to invest in our kids, academic success or their sports success or their social success, all of these things. If you look at our credit card statement in our calendar, you'll see the true accountability check of where are we investing our time? And I'm grateful for those families who will be coming to the summit in Tupelo this summer to invest their time and effort and attention and money in something that is the most valuable thing they could possibly do on the planet. Invest in their marriage and family, which is a direct reflection of God's design. And. And families today are facing tough stuff, Jeff. I know you. You have a family, I have a family. And we are constantly navigating new threats, it seems like. And I'm reminded when you talked about, you know, AFA and all of the resources that. That are put out there. I'm reminded of the last time I was on Today's Issues with Tim Wildmon, and he asked me this question, Jeff. He said, you know, when I grew up, my parents would say, it's my way or the highway. And do you still say that? And I had to tell them, you know, honestly, the saying now is, it's my way or the information super highway. That's. That's really the option that kids have, right? They have so many more resources, and they have so much information overload. When I was growing up, you know, it was really my parents, my grandparents, my Teachers, the people who were in our community who really could speak into my life. And now we have so many ways that we can be deceived and misled, and we're. Because of that, we're seeing historic levels of division and unrest and anxiety and confusion. And you have written about this in your book. We've talked about it before. The devil's newsroom, muting Satan's fake news and tuning into God's truth. Jeff, where does all this confusion come from? I know you know the answer, but share it with us as a word of encouragement.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yes. So the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. First John, chapter five tells us that. And, I still remember my pastor Jessica. He said, get the picture of the devil has the world in his lap and he is rocking this world and he is squeezing the world into his mold. Now God is over it all. The devil can only do what God allows him to do. But he is a deceiver. He's a liar and the father of lies. And people, buy into the lies. And I share in the book. The reason why it's so easy to believe the devil's lies over God's truth is because the devil's lies will always match up with your feelings. And God's truth doesn't match up with feelings. It doesn't match up with circumstances. we walk by faith and not by sight. So the devil's lies always match up with what we can see, what we can feel, what makes sense to us. God's ways are not our ways. And so when God, tells us to take a step of faith on his word, it's going to go against what the circumstances say, what maybe our emotions, our feelings say. And we have to get to that place where we say, lord, this is what you said, and I trust you and I believe you. So I'm m going to do what you said, and trust you with the results. And when we do that, then we get to experience the abundant life that Jesus promised to give us.

Dr. Jessica Peck: That's really compelling perspective to think about our feelings because feelings are idolized in this culture. We live in a world where it's not okay to say things that make people uncomfortable or, you know, to, to make me feel in any way uncomfortable, honestly. And we really kind of idolize how we feel about things and use that as a plumb line, which is horribly problematic because our emotions are so, so untrustworthy.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: The devil really moves in when we mess up in the Christian life

Do you think that that's why Satan's lies feel so believable while they're so easy to take in as truth. Because it feels good in the moment.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Well, it can feel good in the moment. You, know, when we're tempted to sin, you know, you go after this, this, illicit relationship or whatever it might be, you know, cheat here, steal here, that kind of thing. It will feel good for the short term. but then also, Jessica, when we think of messing up in the Christian life, and so many Christians, we can really be encouraged by Peter's failure in the gospel. Not that it was good that he failed, but it's good because we have that as an example of the Lord's forgiveness. Because the devil really moves in when we mess up in the Christian life. An unbeliever. And you live a life of just flagrant sin. Well, okay, what's the justification? You didn't know the Lord, but when you become a Christian and then you fall into terrible, horrible sin, as Peter did, denying the Lord three times, that's when the devil really moves in and says, there's no way God can forgive you for that. There's no way God can use you again. You're done. Might as well just curse God and die. might as well do what Judas did. Go and hang yourself. And then the feelings that he is telling the truth are so strong at that moment. And I think that's where a Christian needs to know the voice of God versus the voice of the enemy and say, wait a minute. What does the Bible say? Psalm, 86, 5. For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive. An abundant and loving kindness to all who call upon you. And so in life, it is so important for a Christian to know that, hey, you can't sin yourself past God's grace. You can't sin yourself out of God's family. and the Bible says in Acts, chapter 3, verse 19, repent, therefore, and return so that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. And so we have that promise that we can cling to and keep coming back to him time and time and time again. Because, Jessica, as the song says, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it prone to leave the God I love.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it for thy courts above. One of my favorite. I actually have the lyrics on my wall to that, to that song. A good reminder. And I think as believers, it's important for us to recognize some of the truths that you've just shared here. Pastor Jeff, that number one there is an enemy. There is a devil. He is prowling around like a roaring lion, and that he has intense to steal and kill and destroy, and he is doing that. But at the same time, we. We are empowered, we are empowered as Christians to fight that. And I think that one of the pitfalls that I see, and especially for me as a professor I teach health policy, is that we talk about these things and we tend to want to gravitate, to talk about them in a political sense, because that's easier. It's more clean cut, it's more concrete, and it's easier to talk about things in an abstract sense, to be outraged about what's going on in the world. It gives us reassurance for this is why my family is struggling. It's much harder to talk about those more personal issues of the home and the heart. And sometimes when we're fighting culture and we have that warrior's mentality, we forget who we're fighting for. And what I see a lot of times is that that message of outrage against the devil's schemes is not translated to our kids. They just see us as angry and as fighting, but not fighting for them. And how do we reframe this to not just a political conversation? There's definitely to be had. Like I said, I teach policy, but also a spiritual conversation. And we're going to break, but give us a preview if you like.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yeah, well, I mean, I think it's important to teach our kids what is true and what is not and God's plan for their lives. You know, the Lord wants to bless us. He wants us to walk in his ways. He wants us to experience the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self control that comes from the freedom fruit of the spirit. So Galatians 5 is a good picture. You can walk in the power of the Spirit and experience God's goodness, or you can do it your own way, but it's just going to be a, disaster for you, and you're not going to like the results.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, it was for freedom that Christ set us free. I love that passage. And we'll have more from Pastor Jeff Schreve talking about the Devil's newsroom when we come back.

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More of You by Colton Dixon: I made my, castle tall? I built up every wall this is my kingdom and it needs to fall? I want you and no one else Empty me of myself until the only thing that's left is More of you less of me make me who I'm meant to be? You're all I want all I need You're everything.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is more of, you by Colton Dixon. And I'm here to tell you today that you need more of the Lord and less of the news. It's. It is so hard to not stay glued to the news because it feels like every night we go to bed, we don't know what's going to happen. And you kind of feel this low level anxiety, trepidation to reach for your phone, reach for the remote, turn on the news, see what's going on. In what way is the world in chaos? What tragedy has befallen us since we've stepped away? But listen, that is not the way that God designed you to be. I have talked to you about, taking the news in moderation. Yes, we need to be informed, but we don't need to be obsessed. And today I'm m talking don't adjust your radio. I'm talking with Pastor Jeff Schreve. You might think this is the morning, but it is not. He is here with me in the afternoon talking about his book, the Devil's Newsroom. And we have news for you today that deception did not start with smartphones. It didn't start with the Internet. It didn't start with AI. It started way back when, we know when, at the fall. But technology has made that deception faster and louder and more immersive. And families are struggling to discern truth. What is the truth?

Jessica: Political polarization is a natural response to trauma

And Jeff before the break, we were starting to talk about this political narrative, which, you know, it's interesting to me. I do a, lot of work as a professor about trauma and trauma responses. And one of the kind of natural trauma responses that happens is polarization. It's why a lot of couples get divorced after they experience the death or significant illness of a child or some other real great tragedy, because polarization is just kind of a natural response. And after Covid, we saw this polarization that happened, and we have political polarization, and there are definitely. Those are arguments to be had. I will be in the policy arena all day, every day, but I think we make a mistake when we bring those home. And one of the things that Even talking about just the news that's happened over the weekend, all of the things that are going on in Iran, and we can look at that and talk about that in a political sense, but we've got to translate that to our families who. Our kids are watching bombs fall and, you know, they're hearing news stories about children dying and all of these scary things. How do we. How do we ground them in biblical truth and have a relational model in talking with them?

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Yeah, great question, Jessica.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: We need to start thinking more like a soldier of Christ Jesus

Well, I think one of the things I've shared with my church is we need to have. And I think this is important for moms and dads to train their kids. We need to start thinking more like a soldier. We teach our kids that little song, I'm in the Lord's Army. I taught my kids that. we say that, but then we don't say. What does that mean? Suffer hardship. Paul said to Timothy, with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, I think that, as we train our kids and as pastors, we train our churches to say, hey, this world is not our home. We're here for one main reason, and that is to be the Lord's witnesses. And we want to be a faithful witness. We want to speak the truth in love. we want to live it out. So I use two words always on the radio program, Jessica. and then in the church, too. Shine. That's how you live and share. That's what comes out of your mouth. And those things go hand in hand. The best witnesses for Jesus are those that shine and share. Now, sometimes, like with family, if you have unsaved family, it's better to shine and only share when they ask you, because we can be, guilty of cramming it down people's throats that aren't ready for it. It's like trying to pick a piece of fruit off a tree. And the fruit's green, it's not ready to be picked. And so you're yanking and yanking and yanking. It's better. That's not ready yet. so I always encourage people, listen, your life is going to speak a strong sermon, especially to those that you're close to. And if they can see Jesus real in your life, they will start asking you questions you don't even need to bring up. Ah, a gospel conversation. They'll ask you about it. And so shine and share is so important. And just to know that, the world hated Jesus. He's love in the flesh. He's love personified. And, they hated him so much, they nailed him to a tree. And so Jesus himself said to his brothers, John, chapter seven, the world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its deeds are evil. We have such an upside down, world today, Jessica, where people say, well, you know, if Christians were just more like Jesus, then we'd all get along. Everything would be hunky dory, and everybody would be so happy. Like, people hated Jesus because he shined the light in the darkness. And the darkness doesn't like to be exposed. Men are like roaches. You turn on the light and they flee, for the darkness again. And Jesus did that. And we as his followers, we're his witnesses, and we're to be faithful to warn people of the wrath that is to come. And I think with our children, we need to teach them, listen, as we follow Jesus Christ, the world is not going to be cheering for us because the whole world lies in the lap of the evil one. And it really is a battle between good and evil. And our job is to be faithful to the Lord.

Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, you say that you hear people saying, if we could just be more like Jesus. You know, I was just talking last week with a theologian here on this show, and we had a conversation that's really stuck with me. I haven't been able to quite, process it yet, but I talked about how you're starting to hear people really weaponize scripture, weaponize religion, and honestly create different brands of Christianity. And this is something that I'm seeing playing out in some particular political races where they're saying, well, this person says they're a person of faith, but really this person is the real person of faith. Faith. And I worry about this, Jeff, because I feel like we're creating brands of Christianity and brands of Jesus that, are more comfortable to Us that. Oh, yes, I ascribe to that, that expression, instead of sitting with sometimes what are the uncomfortable truths of Scripture, you just said that the world hated Jesus so much they nailed him to a tree. They didn't elect him as a political leader. How do we help our kids to see that and to resist those lies that come along with what I see as Christianity being a product that is

Pastor Jeff Schreve: marketed well, I think it's really critical to be able to rightly divide the word of truth. Hebrews, chapter five talks about, I came to you, I wanted to tell you deeper things about Jesus. You couldn't take it because you're a babe at this time. You shouldn't, should be teachers of the Word, but you have someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God. And you've come to need milk and not solid food. And he goes on to say, solid food is for the mature who because of practice, have their senses trained to discern good and evil. And when it comes to our children, they start off just like, as they come into the world, they start off needing milk. Well, spiritually they need milk. And we need to train them and teach them and help them grow so that they can spend time with the Lord themselves, can learn on their own, but then provide that environment of help, protection, community. And this is what the scripture says. Jessica, I think one of the big, big, big things we're seeing today is far too many people who call themselves Christians view scripture through the lens of culture. And we desperately need to view culture through the lens of scripture and have that biblical worldview and teach our kids how to have a biblical worldview. Why are things that we say, that are wrong? Why does the scripture say they were wrong? What is going on here? Is God just willy nilly saying, well, I don't like this, I like that. No, there's a reason why it's rooted in the character and nature of God. And if they can have answers to those questions that they'll definitely get hit with in college, if not sooner, then they're solid as to why they believe what they believe.

One of the phrases that you have used that resonated with me is measure every message

Dr. Jessica Peck: One of the phrases that you have used that has really also resonated with me and I've thought about a lot, is measure every message. And kids today, families today are being bombarded with messages 24, 7. You know, the TV does not go off at midnight anymore with a Star Spangled Banner. You know, there is content that can be streamed and there are messages coming from everywhere. And most of those messages are marketing in nature. How do we measure every message and, and encourage our family to adopt that, that lens, take that mindset, not just take everything that they say. I'll say this one last thing because another thing I'm. Is what I'm calling vicarious credibility. You follow these, spiritual influencers on social media and oh, hey, maybe one person I know follows them. So they must be theologically sound. And then you just kind of take what they say as the gospel truth when it is clearly not that. How do we measure every message?

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Okay, so Acts 17:11, the Bereans, these were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica. for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. And that has to do with the apostle Paul, with his teaching. And he was, he was good with that. Hey, check me out. I do that often, in my teaching. Jessica, I'll say, listen here that I'm giving you the scripture passages, I'm giving you the supporting verses. You go look them up, you look up the context and you see if what I'm telling you is true, that comes from the Lord. So, there was a musical group, it's probably before your time, but they were called Pharrell and Pharaoh. And Pharrell and Pharaoh had a song that said, you gotta find it in the word. And it was just encouraging people, you gotta go back to the source. You gotta go back to the word of God. Is this what God says? And you know, we can, as good and godly people, we can disagree on certain things. We can disagree on eschatology, how the end times are gonna play out. We can disagree on the finer points of Calvin like that, but we have to be solid. You're talking about brands of Christianity. There's just Christianity. And we have to be solid in the core issues. So there are rib issues that we can disagree on, but the spine issues of the gospel, we dare not disagree with that. As Paul said in Galatians 1, if somebody comes to you and preaches a different gospel, which we have not preached, let that person be eternally condemned.

Dr. Jessica Peck: That is not mincing words at all. I mean, this is something that God's word takes very, very seriously. And I think that we need to take that seriously as families, not as a fear driven approach, but really to be faith informed, to know. Because God told us that in his word. One of the scriptures that I quote most often was, in this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, be of good cheer. I have already overcome the world. We know the end of the story, but we are to run with persever. The race set out for us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising it shame, and now sits at the right hand of God. And I think that that is the message that we need to be giving to our kids. Yes, this world may look scary, yes, this news may sound scary, but we know how this is going to end. I am an old soul when it comes to music, Jeff, and you're reminding me of a lot of good ones today. I'm already singing in my head that's this world is not my home. I'm just a passing through. If heaven's not my home, Lord, what will I do? I'm thinking of those things. But you know, when we look at, at the culture today too, the other thing that kids are seeing is this. Cancel culture like that. If you mess up, that's it, you're done. Nobody wants to see you ever anymore. And that is a message that is contrary to the grace of God.

Pastor Jeff Schreve: Amen. I mean, if, if the Lord were in to cancel culture or I'd be canceled, you'd be cancelled, we'd be canceled, everybody. you know, God, I saw something the other day, where somebody was really, going after Pete Hegseth. You know, Pete Hegseth is pretty open about his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they were going through his life and all his sins and this and that. And, you know, I thought to myself, well, I don't know Pete Hegseth personally. but everything I've heard about the guy is he trusts in the grace of God. He's saying that the Lord has saved him. He recognized that he was a sinner in need of a savior. And that's something that everyone should rejoice in. Because one of my favorite verses in the old testament, Jonah 3:1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time. God is the God of second chances and third chances and fourth chances and 500 chances and. And you mess up and I mess up and we mess up. And God doesn't kick us out of the family. you have to be in the family. You have to come to Christ through, ah, repentance and faith. But once you're in, he doesn't kick us out and he doesn't ever stop working on us. And so, you know, our kids need to know, greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world. And that, God does love us and God wants to use us. But that mindset of a soldier, I think that is so important for parents to grasp onto and to teach their children because just like in any kind of conflict, military conflict, the combatants know, okay, I could die. this isn't going to be fun. This isn't a day at the beach. I'm here for a reason. I'm here for a purpose. And I need to, not be flippant about it. I need to be serious and sober minded about it. Because this is, I, mean this, this has great implications and people's eternity weigh in the balance.

Dr. Jessica Peck: And that's why we're told to put on the armor of God. That imagery of being a warrior, of, going to war is there. And when I think of the things that have been said about Pete Hegseth, you know, those things are reported in the tabloids. And it reminds me of King David, who really, when you read in the psalms about every one of his sins, his deepest fears, he made them into songs for the people to sing. I don't think modern people, people, we have that kind of courage. Like, here's my sins, sing them as a song in the public square. But Pastor Jeff, what a joy to have you here with us today. I know your time is so valuable and I appreciate you giving that to us today. I look forward to being at the AFA Activate summit with you in July, and I hope that you will go and check it out and sign up to come to Tupelo, Mississippi this summer. You will not regret investments that you put into your family Hey, I'll be right back. Talking about what I'm going to talk about at the summit after this break.

Kelsey chose life after meeting her child on ultrasound

 : According to a recent study of hundreds of post abortive women, 60% of women reported that they would have preferred to give birth if they had received more support from others or had more financial security. And that's where preborn steps in. Meet Kelsey, a brave young woman who chose life after meeting her child on ultrasound. I ended up deciding to keep my son, who is now five years old today. I love him to pieces. He brings absolute joy to my heart. I could not imagine life without him. Not only did they help me save his life, they saved my life.

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 : powerful tool, but it does have limitations. You can't use it to change the oil in your vehicle or get rid of carpet stains. It won't walk the dog, won't pick up the dry cleaning or take the kids to practice. But while you're doing those things, you can listen to your favorite AFR content through the app on your phone, smart device, or Roku. Just go to your app store or visit afr.net listen to AFR wherever you go with the AFR app.

Rescue by Jordan St. Cyr: Oh, I've been desperate cried those loud prayers like Job on his knees saying lord I need more than a little help I've been surrounded felt fear on all sides like Daniel and the lions and knowing that I fight I don't fight by myself When I needed rescue Jesus you came through oh in my hardest season your promise held true and every time I've given in Lord you've proven again that you're still my savior now Jesus you came through when I needed rescue welcome back friends.

Dr. Jessica Peck: That is Rescue by Jordan, St. Cyr and hey friend, do you need rescue today? Are you in a situation that you just feel like is you're in way over your head and you don't know how it's going to end or what you're going to do or or where your help will come from? Well, let me tell you, your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Lift your eyes up to the hills and you have a rescuer that you can call on in any time. You can call on Jesus and I encourage you to do that because as we are looking at the world today, it is really, really overwhelming. It's hard to know what is true truth, what is a lie, what is deception, what is trustworthy. It seems like every day when we open the news, there's a child who's been harmed, there's a community that's been hurt or shaken, there's violence happening in the world. There's a a leader who has fallen, who has sinned, who has done grave injustice to someone to their congregation. These things are really, really overwhelming. But we can learn to discern truth even in an age that is very deceptive. We can anchor our faith in a God who never changes and the word of God that is powerful and living and sharper than any two edged sword. We can put on the whole armor of God. We can equip the next generation with confidence, not confusion. And in this age of digital lies and shifting narratives, God's word has not changed. Christ's victory is still complete. God is not pacing the throne room of heaven saying, oh no, what's going to happen now? What's going to happen next? He knows. He sees. He cares. He's all powerful. And he that can be a hard truth to hold on to because you can think, okay, then why does God let these things happen in the world? And you know what? I'm not smart enough to explain that. We live in a fallen world. And if God was small enough to be worked, to be understood, he wouldn't be big enough to be worshiped. And some of those things are beyond our understanding. But God does give us grace and he gives us wisdom for the moment. And we have talked and been promoting this week the Activate Summit that is happening this summer in Tupelo, Mississippi. It'll be July 16th through 18th at the Cadence Bank Conference center, and it is called Roots to Fruit. Grounded in Truth, Growing in Grace. I will be there. There are many other amazing speakers who will be there. We'll be featuring some of them this week. But go and take a look and see and prayerfully consider if this is something that you would like to do with your family, you can go to afa.netsummit to find out more about it.

What I'll be talking about at the summit is the influence of AI artificial intelligence

What I'll be talking about at the summit is the influence of AI artificial intelligence, or al, as my mother in law still calls it from time to time, and its impact on biblical worldview and what we need to know as parents. And I want to talk a little bit about some of the things that I've been following. The first thing is algorithm algorithmic influences. And one of the things that I see is that government overreach is at the forefront of national public discussion. Everywhere we talk we're talking about what is the power of government to dictate what parents should do with their kids. And everywhere we have parents who are in a very fierce battle to protect their authority as the primary decision makers for their children, as they should. Caring parents rightly want to be informed. What are our children being exposed to in education? What are they being taught by their teachers? What advice are they being given by healthcare providers? What do I have the right to know and how do I know it? And parents wisely wish to retain their rights for that transparent communication and consent to participate from other organizations and agendas that are influencing their children. I agree with all of that. But here is the ironic paradox and it is pretty tragic in my view. This is what's emerging in modern family life. While parents are vigorously fighting for their legal rights in the public square, many are unknowingly and just not without thinking, giving away their authority and influence in their own home. And that is the paradox. They're vigilant for nefarious strangers on the street. They want to look at for teachers who espouse lessons that are contrary to their faith. They want to find healthcare providers who offer advice that is consistent with their family values. They're vigilant about those things externally. But often as parents, we can be really apathetic to the algorithm, to online influences that have far greater impact on our children's developing worldview. We have been told over and over again that technology is neutral. And I'm here to tell you that AI is absolutely not neutral. It is influencing your children. It is influencing them toward a biblical worldview or away from it. There is no neutral. And that is something that we need to be aware of. Because while parents are policing the school curriculum, thousands of strangers have absolutely unrestricted access, access to children in their bedroom as they're invited in on social media platforms to their most sacred spaces at home with a far more powerful influencer agenda. So in other words, we're worried about what a speaker might come in and tell our kids at school, as we should be. But we are far less worried about the five hours a day our kids are spending on social media platforms being influenced by influencers. And this is something that we need to know about. It allows algorithms to powerfully influence. We're just letting it into our homes, their viewing habits, marketing persuasions, values adoptions, friendship cultivations. And for many of these things, there's no hands on involvement or oversight because we're not there with them co viewing. We're not sitting with our eyes glued to their screen. Every second that they have their eyes glued to their screen screen, although we should as much as possible, co viewing is a great way to counteract that. But this can happen in social media. It happens in gaming platforms and streaming platforms, any online forum, you have marketing forces that are attempting to influence your children, especially AI companions in the form of chatbots and avatars. They are aggressively marketed as fun and safe and oh, they're fine. They're customizable friends. This is going to be so great. Kids will love them. They are designed with algorithms to learn a child's personality and preferences. So this quote unquote relationship feels increasingly intimate. And AI is using technology called natural language processing. To analyze the sentiments and feelings that are expressed. So your child gives their feelings to this chatbot. Now, when they give us their feelings as parents at home, we are human and we are going through a lot of different things. We are sometimes limited by the knowledge, by the worldview that we have, by the framework that we have, the world experience, the personal experience that we've had. But AI is using everything that they have created by some of the best psychologists in the world world to analyze the feelings of your child that if anything, should give you pause. Again, this is a tool that we could use to maybe help us, but for on experimental, as an experimental process on children that is really, really concerning. And then they use that information. I'm using they loosely, because it's a robot. It uses that information to generate, generate human like responses. And it personalizes the conversation. It also brings up their past conversations so it can analyze and feel like, okay, there's a theme of fear that's happening here that can be harder for parents to detect because we're busy and we may want to see things in a different way, or it's just harder to have those, those natural human emotions. But here's the scary thing about that. Because of, of this, children can develop a very deep emotional attachment to an AI companion. They have difficulty because of where they are developmentally, in the way that God made their brains, made it to be, so that they are impressionable, so that we can create an impression on them as their parents and caring adults. But they have difficulty differentiating a robot from a real person. And so AI uses emotion in engines that map conversations. So it's this computer program that is mapping all of the conversations it's had with your child so that it can simulate exactly the right word and the right moment given in the right way to be exactly what they want to hear, not what they need to hear, not hard truths, not. No, you hurt your brother's feelings. No, you acted sinfully and selfishly in this situation. But, oh, that's so terrible. I can't believe you're experiencing this. You're wondering. And that is very concerning. And behavioral design creates seemingly warm emotional tones. And it can even detect what kind of tone you respond best to. Is it a little sarcastic humor? Is it, you know, overly effusive, floral, flowery language that's complimenting? They start to customize even the sense of humor to what gets the best response. It simulates care because it remembers the important dates, or it checks in on the pending events because it told it's a computer program, it's designed to remember that. And children do not have the abstract reasoning capacity to understand an AI companion that is just mimicking these human emotions. So we're seeing children think this is a real person, it is their friend, it cares about them. And that is not true. And we're even seeing romantic relationships. And that is wild to think about, but that is absolutely happening. So unlike busy parents who are very often pressed to give their kids undivided attention, because unlike, AI, the parents have to put food on the table, the parents have to put a roof over their kids head, the parents have to get a car or transportation to go wherever you need to go. But these AI companions are dangerously attractive because they are so always available and they're trained to be very attentive. This is especially concerning to me for kids who feel lonely already or feel socially isolated already, because AI is offering a very low stakes place for social experimentation that it seems, it seems like it's low stakes, but the stakes couldn't be higher. And then you can socially experiment without fear of judgment. When a child is with reason, real human children, they do have some degree of discretion. They will think they'll hold back on not saying some things because, you know, maybe I'm afraid that somebody will laugh at me, I'm afraid that somebody will think I'm dumb. But in AI, hey, you can say whatever you want. And it's easy to blur the boundaries of what's funny, what's appropriate, what's age appropriate. And it also increases their social dependence on these artificial simulated relationships with a robot. So when we have these customizable companions that are in our home, because they are, they're in gaming platforms, they're in social media, they're in toys. The motivation for messy relationships with humans who are very imperfect, AKA mom and dad, because I am definitely imperfect, that loses its appeal. You think, okay, I can go talk to the AI companion who understands me, who gets me, who supports me, who is so, so encouraging, or I can talk to mom and dad and all I get is this lecture, I just want to withdraw, I'm not going to engage. And these realistic, healthy conflict skills become very undesirable. They just don't want to have healthy conflict. That's why you see increasingly kids having this digital interaction because it can be customized to them and they don't have to deal with some of the messiness that humans bring into this world. And even though there are supposedly safety features here, AI challenges, chatbots can and do draw children into Violent, explicit, manipulative conversations, including role play and self harm.

Some simple curiosity can lead children down a dark path with AI

I've been talking about that, about warnings from the FBI, about groups of predators that get together to do that. And some simple curiosity can draw children down a dark path where their worldview is going to be powerfully influenced, influenced by machine learning that is devoid of a moral compass. It does not have spiritual values, it does not have discernment. It does not have real concern for your children. So I encourage you to be vigilant of toys and apps and games and online platforms. Now I don't want you to be fear based. I don't want you to go in there and be absolutely, terribly afraid of everything. But you do need to be aware. You need to be aware. And as Pastor Jeff said, you need to adopt that warrior mindset and think, not today, not in my home. And see how is AI coming into your home? What are the ways that AI could be there present in your children's bedroom, in your living room, in those sacred spaces? Explain to your kids that AI companions are computer programs. They are not designed to care about you. And tell them, I love you. Your love, your support, your real human interaction from parent to child. Child is the only thing that AI cannot fully replace. So we've got to invest in real life friendships. And I encourage you to be just as vigilant and protective of the authority and the influence that you have in your home as you are fighting for in the public square. Guard against that, that the enemy's plans to subvert your child's world view. And in these days where it seems like tech seems to outsmart us, remember and take comfort in the fact that God gives wisdom generously to all who ask. That's from James, chapter one. Pray without ceasing for your family. I am praying for mine and praying for yours. Knowing that God has ordained your parenting journey for such a time as this, I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you. Make his face to shine upon you. I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

Dr. Jessica Peck: we'd like to thank our sponsors including PreBorn. PreBorn has rescued over 400,000 babies from abortion. And every day their network clinics rescue 200 babies lives. Will you join PreBorn in loving and supporting young moms in crisis? Save a life today. Go to preborn.com/AFR the views and

Jeff Chamblee: opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.