Voluntary familial estrangement has become a silent destroyer. But God is a restorer.

Hamilton: God has called us to be ambassador even in this dark moment

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Darkness is not an affirmative force. It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light. This is the, Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio. It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite, delivering people out of the bondage of mainstream media and the philosophies of this world. God has called you and me to be his ambassador even in this dark moment. Let's not miss our moment. And now, the Hamilton Corner. Good evening everyone.

Abraham Hamilton III hosts the Hamilton Corner podcast

Welcome to the Hamilton Corner. My name is Abraham Hamilton iii. I am the host of the program, joined by the Corner contingent right across from me, my man, 100 grand, Mr. Bobby Rosa. And in the screening room, produce extraordinaire, often imitated, never duplicated. The real J. Mack, ladies and gentlemen. And he is accompanied at the moment by the ever elegant, soon to be published author blog entries. Of course, no. Our soon to be departing intern, Kennedy Greene, had the privilege last week of reviewing an article she's written for AFA's website. She probably want me to say anything. She is such a shy person. But man, I so enjoyed reading her article. And as soon as it's up, I definitely make sure I share it on all my social media channels because it is greatly encouraging, having to do with waiting as you're trusting God, in prayer, facing life circumstances. It's an amazing, amazing piece. I definitely look forward to sharing it with you once it is available. And we will have the Woodaholic, our friendly neighborhood woodaholic, will be in the screening room shortly as we will open the phone lines because we want to continue our conversation with voluntary familial estrangement.

We had a phone bank filled with people discussing family issues

And we had the phone bank filled with people and, I want to give you an opportunity to share what was on your mind and hearts, as we delved into that conversation. As you see, this won't be the only time we discuss this issue because I'm learning the more I study this issue, the more research I do, I'm learning how prevalent it is. And it is a combination both of its prevalence and an unspoken reality facing it. Because lots of people who are dealing with it are, dealing with all kinds of, guilt, in some instances, shame, embarrassment. And so you have lots of individuals and families that are kind of suffering in silence. And one of the things I want to do is, to break false perceptions surrounding that so that we can bring this issue into the light and then deal with it with the truth of God's word, with the counsel of his spirit. At this very moment, many of you if not, most of you are making your transition from your part time jobs where you generate an income to your full time jobs where you cultivate an outcome. And as you do so, I want to remind you to do so with intentionality. Understanding the primacy that God places on family.

Satan hates family because God designed the family to be the core

This is one of the things we're going to get into this today. this is one of the reasons why this estrangement issue is coming up, is because Satan hates family. Satan hates family. That's why there's such a voracious attack on identity, such a voracious attack on marriage, as well as an attack on family. M Because the chief counterfeiter wants to try to undermine God's work. God has designed the family to be, the core, if you will, of course, of his church. He's designed the family to be the core of society. But by undermining the family, causing divisiveness within familial units and causing people to abandon, their formational families in favor of other allegiances, man, it's quite demonic in its design and it's meant to further Balkanize our society. Just as the efforts to reduce fathers and mothers to, you know, parent one and parent two, to reduce mankind into an amalgamation of human goo, there is a desire to do the same with familial relationships. it struck me, I wouldn't even plan on talking about this yet, but a lot of you saw, there was an interview, just yesterday when Shannon Bream interviewed the co chair of the Democratic Socialists of America and she let something slip. Oh yeah, we have this, a long range goal for this agenda item because we want to make it conducive to international norms. Yeah. So we want to eradicate borders and eradicate the concept of illegal immigration. it's amazing how there's such a consistent effort to, to try to eliminate borders and language and culture in order to kind of make us fit for a one world kind of deal. Isn't that interesting how that keeps happening over and over and over again? And it's no surprise that one of the things that, that Moses Mordecai Marks Levy sought to destroy was the family.

Psalm 128 shows God's view for unfolding, constructing society

We'll get into it, but before we do, let us turn to the word of God. Psalm chapter 128. It's just six verses in this Psalm, Psalm 128. And I want to go here because in this brief psalm, we see God leading, with divine inspiration to articulate various spheres of kingdom, sovereignty, which shows his view for unfolding, constructing society. Unsurprisingly, it starts with a transformed individual. Psalm 128, verse 1. How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord who walks in his ways when you shall eat the fruit of your hands. Notice that I didn't say the fruit of your hands. Subjected to a governmental, centralized politburo who confiscates and redistributes from many according to their ability to many according to their need. You notice that's not in there. You know, you notice that that's. That's not. That's not in there. No. It says, when you shall eat the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you. Your wife, verse three shall be like a fruitful vine within your house. Your children like olive plants or, olive shoots around your table. Behold. For thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion. And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life. Indeed, may you see your children's children. Peace be upon Israel. We've talked about this psalm before. If you notice the movement in the psalm, it begins with an individual, a transformed individual who submits himself wholly to the lordship of Yahweh. Blessed is every individual, everyone who has reverence, respect and fear of the Lord. Most of your texts you'll recognize the Lord is all capital, all, capitalized. This is a reverence to the sovereign Creator, King of glory. All right. Blessed blesses everyone who walks in his ways. Verse two, it notices that it is a blessing of God for an individual to be able to eat the fruit of our labor. That is a blessing that is provided for us by God. Then it presses from the transformed individual. What's envisioned here is a man, because the next verse in verse three, it says, your wife shall be like a fruitful vine. So he goes from the transformed individual, serving as an anchor for ultimately building a transformed family. Being joined in God's divinely designed and ordered primary institution, which is marriage and ultimately family. The transformed individual is enjoined by. By his wife. The two of them, kind of like the Lord said that you'll equal bearers of my image qualitatively, while being complimentarily distinct from one another. The two of them progress to the latter part of verse three, that now the wife is a fruitful vine within your house, and your children like olive plants around your table. So the transform individual is joined to a wife. A wife then, joins a husband and founding a family. The family bears children together the place of fruitfulness and cultivation and nurturing and admonition is around the table, is within the family, not outsourced into secondary sources, not outsourcing to tertiary sources, but around the table. This forms a foundation for what is then referenced in verse five with a spiritual reference to the Israeli society in which he says, the Lord bless you from Zion. The Lord bless you from Zion, referencing it being the lo. The location, if you will, for spiritual oversight, provision and well being. Then correspondingly, may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem. This is a civic reference to the city. You have the spiritual reference first, then the civic reference. This transformed individual joined to a spouse. This husband and wife together form a family with children around their table. This husband, wife, with children around their table are now invested into the spiritual community with a reference to the Lord blessing from Zion. And the spiritual community then is invested in the civic society. May you see the prosperity, the well being of Jerusalem. How long? All the days of your life, indeed. May you notice this intergenerational connectivity. May you the blessed man, what it started with the blessed wife who joined together to form a family. May you see your children's children. God always connects societal development with generational cultivation. And then the concluding reference, peace be upon Israel, the nation as a whole. This is the way that God envisions the ordering of society. But what we are witnessing is an atomization of society, a, stratifying of our society even within families, with this not too recent phenomenon to where we have created a false representation, a lie that has been passed on for law for far too long in our society there is as if there is a such thing as a right to murder one's own child. We finally have the correction that that's not in the US Constitution. But as the scripture prophesied, wicked men love darkness rather than light. When the lie that has been passed on as law for too long at the federal level gave room to create this fiction that led people to actually fight for the right to kill their own children at the state level. Not only that, you have this horrendous, dullness of mind and heart. As Romans 1 prophesied that as men abandoning women and burning in lust for one another, women doing the same, abandoning men, burning with lust for one another. So much so that we've now, regressed to the place where you have men and women confused about what is a man and what is a woman. And with the cumulative result of all of those heinous realities, the birth rate in our country is plunging towards a demographic winter. Then you not only have that on the earlier end of the spectrum concerned of the decimation of one's own children, then we now have this phenomenon. Instead of, as the scripture says, children arising to call their mothers blessed sons, heeding their father's counsels, you know, sons having their mother's wisdom around their garland, around their neck as a garland. Well, we now have this familial estrangement. Oftentimes what we are experiencing is a weaponization of verbiage with kind of the psychobabble speak to kind of lessen the significance of words like trauma. To now say, everything is trauma. And I don't in any. Any way want to diminish the reality that in this fallen world we have people who have suffered traumatic things, traumatic instances, traumatic circumstances where they've been sin against, sinned against horribly. I have witnessed it firsthand just anecdotally in my own life. I've experienced it firsthand in my professional life. But not everything that the psychobabble community today is saying is trauma is trauma, guys. That's not the case. That's not the case. And then some things that are traumatic instances and experiences would not historically have had the enduring impact that oftentimes it has now. Because we are. We are cultivating a society that is not. That is lacking in resilience in many ways. In many ways. In terms of this estrangement, the data shows that it's most frequently perpetuated by adult children cutting themselves off from their parents and not the other way around. That we have allowed, in many instances, disagreement to metastasize into the inaccurate perception that we're incapable of having relationships with one another. What I want to tell you that it is not merely a phenomenon of modernity. What I want to say is that it is a demonic scheme. And we want to expose the demonic scheme and be reminded of Jesus instructions.

Reading and meditating on God's Word is so valuable

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall see God. A, discipleship minute with Joseph Parker. Time. Reading and meditating on God's Word is so valuable. It blesses you in ways that you and I don't fully comprehend. But remember this. When you're reading the Word of God, you're spending time with Jesus. You're spending time in the presence of Jesus. Jesus is touching you, ministering to you, giving you wisdom, insight, and the knowledge of God. And let me say to every parent listening again, having your child to read the Word out loud to you every day, I can't overemphasize how important that very important spiritual habit is in Your home for you and your family as well. Remember, when the child is reading the word of God out loud to you, they're spending time with Jesus. Jesus is touching their life. He's ministering to them. He's pouring grace, peace and light into your child's heart and mind. Nothing will bless your child more than the powerful word of God. Shining light into the darkness. This is the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Marx specifically sought to destroy the family, Kennedy says

Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. I wanted to correct my quotation from the Matthew 5 reference. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. It is God who calls his people to be ministers of reconciliation. And so, this is a part of our inheritance as, disciples of the King of Glory, you know, and it's. And I just wanted to point out, you know, this is, if you're watching the show, you look, I'm holding up the Communist Manifesto I'm reading before he divides this demonic screed into separate books. I am in. This is on page 780 of, this edition because it was published in many languages and many different, fonts and things of that nature. So the pages don't always line up depending on which edition you have. but Marx and Ingalls, man, they, they just said plainly what they thought. Just like the democratic socialists of America are starting to say. And, you know, people will say, abraham, you didn't. You saying Mark said this? No, he didn't. I'm like, have you read, have you read it for yourself? You know, I'll read directly from the book. It says his quote, abolition of the family with an exclamation point. He said, the bourgeois family will vanish as a matter of course when its complement vanishes and both will vanish with the vanishing of capital. Marx specifically sought to destroy the family. He viewed the family as an agent of oppression. He wanted children to be severed from their nuclear families and to be made children of the state, to be children who value the state even above their personal families. And Kennedy, you'll find this interesting because among his objectives, Marx and Engels, their objectives, I should say Marks and Ingalls also said specifically. Oh, yeah, but you will say we destroy the most hallowed relations when we replace home education by social education. End quote. Yeah, yeah. So he also wanted to destroy the family because at, ah, his time, the family was a primary unit institution responsible for the education of our own children. Isn't that interesting? And it's funny. One of the most consistent questions I get all the time. Well, hey, what about socialization? Oh, yeah, yeah. Moses, Mordecai Marks Levy wanted them socialized. All right. Can't make this stuff up. Cannot make this stuff up. And so. But we're seeing this manifest itself at a later stage, you know, when we think about it.

About 27% of US adults are experiencing familial estrangement

One, of the things I want to, disabuse this audience of is the unbiblical notions of understanding of, children and parent relationships. You know, because I'm my, my father and my mother's son for the remainder of my life. That doesn't mean I'm in perpetuated adolescence, but I am a son for the remainder of my life, and my children will be my children for the remainder of my life and their lives. Should the Lord. Terri. this, this concept of, you know, well, when they turn 18, they got to fend for themselves. I just challenge anybody I know, I know that's what our culture says. But I'll just challenge anybody to search the scriptures and see whether or not that ideology lines up with scripture. Now, I'm not an advocate for perpetuated adolescents, not at all. In fact, I've said before, I tell my sons this, that my responsibility in their lives is to train them to be men and to help them understand that by God's design, they will be men. Far longer should the Lord bless them with long life than they ever were boys. Tell my daughters my responsibility to train you to be women. But they will always be my children. The mechanisms and the details and the context of our interactions will change as they mature and as I grow into various life stages. But we've got to get out of this notion where we allow the culture to dictate to us what our standards and expectations are. You know, and one of the major, one of the major things is the scripture provides an expectation of children's involvement in our parents lives and our parents later stages. The Bible talks about this. The Bible talks about this. But I want to read this to you. This was provided by a woman by the name of, Hera Estrof Marano. And I'm sharing this is one anecdote and I'm sharing this with permission. but I'm telling you, all of the people who are waiting on the phone bank. I can't tell you how many messages I've got from other people sharing their stories of suffering in this voluntary familial estangement, familial estrangement phenomenon. And it is heart rending. It is heartrending. And I want to tell you now, if just as we did, I guess now is about two weeks ago. We're going to open the phone lines in the third segment for those of you, if you are willing to share what your experience has been with this. because as I shared then, the data that I've been compiling consistently shows that about 27% of US adults are experiencing familial estrangement. 27% of US adults. So that exceeds 68 million people, guys. That's a lot of people that are experiencing. This is a relatively new, thing that has been experiencing. And as I shared with you from the data that it dates back largely about 2015. Isn't that sad? Isn't that sad? But Hera Estrof Morano wrote this

>> Caroline: and

>> Abraham Hamilton III: her testimony reads thusly. My 20 year old daughter stopped talking to me, her father and her sister two years ago. This has been devastating for us all. She moved to another state with her boyfriend and they may have married. We were so close before she left. This still makes no sense. We've tried reaching out through letters, emails and even gifts. The only response was that she needed to do this and to please respect her decision. The pain I experience is unbearable at times. I want to visit her, but my husband and others think I shouldn't. What can I do? those are the kinds of things that are happening. And so many of the testimonials that I've read from others that were not a part of an empirical study, they line up with those that were parts of empirical studies that you often have an adult child who just one day decide, no more contact and with no warning, with no buildup. And it's just, man, it's sad. It's grievingly sad. Then there's a professor who, published a book titled Fault Lines, Fractured Families and How to Mend Them. His name is Dr. Carl Pelimer and he also works in the medical department of Cornell University. And he is talking about this same phenomenon. And he said something when I'm saying he said something, he wrote an article about this and he mentioned that there are some features that are consistent when reconciliation takes place. And one of the things is that there is an humility that is exhibited on both ends of the estrangement spectrum. and then he says, quote, reconciliation clearly isn't for everybody, but I found that no one regretted being reconciled, end quote. And, this is, I would say, a secular confirmation or affirmation of what is articulated biblically that oftentimes reconciliation is hard, man. It's hard, but it's so worth it. Then in one of his concluding remarks, and this is something that I drew great encouragement from. He said, quote, what I learned from studying the estranged and the reconciled is how important the family still is. That in a world where things are fluid, the relationships with our families of origin are the most stable and important that most of us will ever have. End quote. You have this consistent thread that again, and I don't want to overuse the reference to a demonic scheme, but that's what it is, man that's woven throughout human history where efforts are to infiltrate and usurp and then to divide the family, to be the antithesis to Psalm 78 coming to fruition, or even Psalm 128. When it starts with the transformed individual, the blessed man, it concludes with he, his wife, he and his wife seeing his children's children, and peace being upon Israel. You have Marx, the abolition of the family, seeking to accomplish that, as well as the supplanting and replacing of home education with what he called social education, which is always, you know, pronounced in my mind. We have people who would challenge the concept of home based discipleship by saying, what about their socialization? Don't realize. And they're walking right into Marxist trap.

Abe Palmer: God is a reconciler and is a restorer

But one of the things I want to mention is that the God that we serve is a reconciler, you know, one of the things that we have in Scripture, you read Jon chapter 10 and 11, the Bible explains that Lazarus was, dead. Four days dead, you know, in fact, when his sisters Martha and Mary learned, that Jesus said, show me where you laid him, you know, and they said, my Lord, if you'd have come early, you certainly could have done something about this. but now he's dead, man. He's four days thinking, you know, and then when they rolled the gravestone away, the odor filled the atmosphere, right? And it is in that condition, that specific condition. Jesus says, lazarus, come forth. Now, one thing that we can sometimes miss in the face of the miraculous display of, God's power in the Lazarus account is that when you have Lazarus who comes basically hopping forth from the burial site, he still comes out with his grave clothes on, right? And then they had to have others to come to loose Lazarus from his grave clothes. And, I'm saying this to say that there's a reality that a resurrection can occur, but oftentimes the Lord requires his people to be his hands and feet, to remove the grave clothes from a situation that's been resurrected, but it still bears the markings of death, you know, but it requires intentionality, clarity, discernment. To recognize, oh, no, no, it's not dead any longer. But it sure has the markings of death. And there needs to be a loosing of the grave clothes. But the Lord includes that encounter Scripture to convey first and foremost that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. What is death to him? Who is the resurrection and the life? but I would add that the most important desire that would even, exceed the human desire for a restoration of relationship is for relationship with Christ first. That the foremost objective should be for Christ to be glorified. There's a reason why, when you have in First Peter, chapter three, the seminal apologetic scripture, when we are to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have. But what does the Lord say to the apostle Peter? That you precede that, Sanctify Christ in your hearts as Lord? That has to be the prerequisite. Because our desire is not merely. Should never be merely to win an argument. Our desire should be to win a person. To win a person. And what is death to him? Who is the resurrection and the life? Based on what I know personally, the stories I've heard directly, the messages you've sent me, the callers who've tuned in. I know that the circumstances are very difficult. In some instances, I want to encourage you to refuse to lose heart. To refuse to lose heart. To welcome the Lord, to give you a Holy Spirit induced, stamina. To pray without ceasing. there's so many circumstances, I think about our dear sister Laura Perry, who's now, Laura Perry Smalls. And the nine years she spent living as a man, living as Jake, you know, how many times during that time period do you think that Laura's parents were tempted to give up, you know, to stop praying for her, to stop loving her, to stop declaring truth to her, not in a belligerent fashion, not attempting to bludgeon her with it, but remaining a consistent and compassionate source of both love and truth. In fact, love requires truth, consistently communicating, the necessity, or not the necessity, but the reality, that she, Laura, was still important to her parents. And I'm not saying this to say that this is the model that everybody should follow. And everybody is guaranteed the same results. I am not saying that at all. But what I am saying is that our God is a healer and is a restorer. And while I appreciate the offerings of people like, Dr. Palmer and others, that there's a great physician who supersedes their knowledge base, you know, and I'm telling you, I don't want anybody to think I'm saying this on this microphone in a cavalier, disconnected and distant fashion. because you could easily say, but Abe, you don't know about my circumstance. And I don't know all of the details of every individual circumstance, but what I do know to be true comprehensively and across the board is that the God that we serve does not change. So at the moment where you may be tempted to, give up and kind, of have an all is lost disposition, I would encourage you with the words of scripture. Do not be grow. Do not grow weary in well doing. Do not grow weary in well doing. Because God is the one who knows what the due season is. And one thing I've learned in my own experiences, even in people who would shout me down in front of groups, that when life hits in a peculiar way, people tend to seek out those who will direct them to truth. Do not grow weary in well doing. Continue to cry out to the Lord for your loved ones. Hi, I'm Tim Moore, senior evangelist on Christ in Prophecy. With all the uncertainty in the world today, it's good to know that God's promises never change. On Christ in Prophecy. We'll examine the signs of the times and consider what's really happening in the world today through the lens of God's prophetic word. To hear more biblical hope for the future, join me for Christ in Prophecy Sundays, at 11:00am Central right here on American Family Radio and find out what's really going on in the world. If we lose this cultural war, we're going to have a hedonistic humanistic society. Discover the story of the culture warrior Don Wildmon and how he went head to head with Hollywood playboy, the homosexual agenda and the Disney empire. The movement Don started paved the way for Christians to boldly stand for truth and righteousness in a hostile culture. Watch Culture Warrior today for free. Visit CultureWarrior Movie, The Hamilton Corner podcast and one minute commentaries are available at afr.net back to the Hamilton Corner on American Family Radio.

Hamilton Corner opens phone line for those experiencing familial estrangement

Welcome back to the Hamilton Corner. Abraham Hamilton III here the phone number to call if you'd like to join us. This segment is 888-589-8840. That number again is 88840. We're opening the phone line specifically for those who would like to share their own experiences with this, voluntary familial estrangement where you where a family member, has made the determination to sever relationship. and I want to tell you that the purpose of these conversations is one of the Things I want to accomplish is to help others to understand that you're not alone. This is something that is far more common than many people are familiar with. Frankly, I was not aware of how prevalent this was until I started digging into this. And this is an evil thing that needs to be exposed. Secondarily, I wanted to say very plainly, that there is hope in Christ. So if you would like to share, especially those of you who are on hold, we did this before and you didn't get to come on the air. I want to invite you to call in again and we'll try our best to get you on. The number to call is 888-589-8840. The number again is 888-589-88420. I'm inviting you to share your experience, with familial estrangement. It can be directly or with a family member. 888-589-8840. As the callers are making their way in. And it's already starting, just over the weekend, you know, and, and I'm going to share these stories because I'm not trying to paint with an overly broad brush or to try to present this in the wrong light, but there were two attacks, one early this morning, one yesterday, in Europe, one in Paris, France, where it wasn't a lack of gun control, but it was, you know, a guy who hit the streets of Paris with two kitchen knives, butcher knives, and he stabbed three women. Mm One of whom was pregnant, a 19 year old, a 24 year old and a 36 year old. And witnesses on the scene said the man repeatedly stated that he did this because Allah commanded him. That's why he was stabbing, stabbing women in Paris and the day before, I guess less than 40 hours before. You haven't had another, Muslim who ran his vehicle into a bunch of people who were going to a pride parade in Germany. Then he hops out of his vehicle with a machete, hacks a person to death, leaves more than, leaves more than 29 others injured. Turns out this, this, this dude had already been arrested for trying to join ISIS though, by the way. He was 21 years old, by the way. He'd already been arrested for trying to join ISIS in Syria. he is Lebanese ethnically, but his mom became a German citizen two years prior to these, three years prior to these attacks. but remarkably, you know, in, in Paris when, when they detained the knife wielding Allah Commanded Me assailant, they said that, well, they weren't sure what the motivation was, I'm not, with investigation still underway, I'm not sure what the motivation was. And then, and in both instances, I, I just, just want to ask, is this consistent with or in violation of, of what Muhammad and the Hadith taught? Is it consistent with or is it in violation? Listen to, I'll start first in Paris. Listen to and watch clip number four. Clip four, go.

>> Caroline: French police have detained a man after he attacked three women with knives in Paris. That's according to the Interior Minister. Ah, she says that the man attacked the three women who are 19, 24 and 36 years old, attacking the three women with two kitchen knives and severely wounding two of them. Now there was video that was airing on X. It was verified by Reuters. It showed a man with long black hair wearing a cream tracksuit and wielding a large knife in each hand, stabbing and attempting to attack a young woman. It is unclear whether that specific woman was injured. And then there's another part of the video that shows the same man lying on the ground, immobilized by bystanders with those two knives lying nearby. According to the man, he said, quote, it is Allah who commanded me. So that is what the man is quoted to have said as he was on the ground. The French Interior Minister said that the man had been detained by an off duty police officer.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: But the investigators weren't sure what his motivation was.

Suspect in Berlin Pride attack shot and killed in confrontation with police

I'll give you the next one in, in Germany. Clip number five. Clip five, go. So from overseas, big story over the weekend. The suspect in that deadly Berlin Pride attack shot and killed in a confrontation with police. He's accused of killing one person, injuring 29 others. Could have been a lot worse. The suspect, a German citizen with Lebanese roots. Authorities say it ah, ties to Islamic extremism and by all accounts he was on their radar of some sort.

>> Caroline: Jeff,

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Paul's got more from London. And Jeff, what have you learned? Investigators say the attack happened on Saturday. They believe the suspect, Abdul Balat, intentionally drove a van into a crowd at the Berlin Pride festival. Police say he then got out and started stabbing others with a machete. And he was on the run for a day. And when officers found the suspect, they say he ran towards them with a knife. Police then fired at least one shot, killing the suspect on the scene. I mean, the dude has already been arrested for trying to join isis. Somebody want to explain to me why they still had him in the country? I mean, you trying to join isis, you've already been arrested and served time for doing so. Then you Just let them back out in the country to the phone lines we go. We'll start in North Carolina. Pam is on the line. Pam, welcome to the Hamilton corner. Go right ahead. We gotta get Pam on. There we go. Go right ahead Pam.

>> Caroline: I just wanted to, I tried to, I thought about calling last time but I did, I didn't feel led to do it but I do tonight. And I just know that from my experience, once I became a believer as an older person I was in my. I got baptized when I was 28. I always say I got my fire insurance at a Southern Baptist church in NewSong Orleans right up the road from opw.

>> Caroline: Oh.

>> Caroline: But anyhow, what I know now is that when I did that later in life I wasn't really discipled and I was still on the milk and I really didn't understand that the devil was going to be on me like white on rice. And he really was and he proved himself to how can I put this? I was married and my, in my marriage I was unequally yoked and my husband at the time decided to cheat on me with a 19 year old Sunday school teacher. The whole point of that exercise was because the devil wants us to think poorly of God's people. Not just of God, but God's people. And so I know now that even though I've gone through with my daughter from that marriage, he was estranged from me, Ghosted me for 8 plus years. M But by the blood, by the grace of God, we have a pretty good relationship. M Still not, she's still not saved yet. Notice how I say yet.

>> Caroline: But we are, we are in good relationship. We're in a good relationship. Perfect. No, also I have found that you know where the scripture says bear with, we test the spirits because we're not. Every spirit is a good spirit. And even those who are in the church unfortunately have what I call a Pharisee equal spirit. And that goes with our family. My family who claims to be Christian definitely has a Pharisee. Ah, A spirit where I've learned that they have, I get tested a lot by them.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: I might have missed this. When you explain this. Did you say that, that you became a Christian after you were already married?

>> Caroline: Well, I got baptized.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: But you were already married before you did that.

>> Caroline: Yes, yes, yes. And he was a non believer.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Okay.

>> Caroline: And, and from what I understand he still is a non believer. But my daughter who is a product, product of that marriage was very emotionally abused because of that situation and now, you know, I see, I can see that the devil was trying, and he still does, try to make her think poorly of God's people.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: And that is something that is a consistent, effort. You know, when you said something key. Which is why we, as the body of Christ have got to understand that the great commission is to make disciples, not merely converts. That as we have people who come to faith in Christ, that we commit, to investing in our new and younger believers. And I don't mean young in terms of age, chronology, but in terms of, time spent in walking with the Lord and making disciples, as Jesus commanded us to.

Abraham came to faith late in life, also a believer

We'll go next to Texas where Randy is on the line. Randy, thank you for calling the Hamilton Corner. Welcome to the program.

>> Caroline: Thank you for calling the Hamilton Corner. Welcome to the program.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Turn your radio down please, Randy, so we can reduce the echoing.

>> Caroline: I did not realize that.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Okay, go right ahead, sir.

>> Caroline: Well, Abraham, I'll try to make this quick. First, thank you for all you do. I am a believer. like the last caller, I came to faith late in life, quite a bit later than her. I was 49, I'm currently 61. married a woman about a year later, also a believer, Also came to faith late in life and we have been estranged from my, mother, who's not a believer, and her second husband, not my father, also not a believer, for nine years now. We had a good relationship before I became a Christian. After I became a Christian, it got a little weird because they're not, but still maintained a good relationship. when I met who is to be my future wife, we also all had a great relationship. Family loved her. She loved the family. As soon as, a year later when I proposed to my wife, as soon as we announced an engagement, my mother had a 180 and became a different person and started becoming very hostile in a passive aggressive way to my future wife. Mm, kept getting worse and worse. We got married, it got really bad. A lot of interference in our marriage. More, passive aggressive behavior. With my wife constantly wanting to visit, calling us at all times, called us repeatedly on our honeymoon, I started setting boundaries, you know, tried to keep the relationship, but set some boundaries. She never honored, the boundaries. And then after months and months of that, and my poor, my poor wife, you know, dealing with all this, I had to set a permanent boundary and break contact. It's been nine years. Every once in a while my wife and I talk about it, and, she's frankly even nine years later traumatized and not very pleased with the idea of being in touch with my mother and pastoral advice that this is a legitimate boundary. M. But, I wonder sometimes and wondering what your take is on it, Abraham?

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Well, it's very challenging. Obviously. Gave me a summation. I don't know all of the details and things that are going on and I definitely wouldn't want to, rival pastoral counsel. And it seems like it's something that you initiated on your end. I do wonder, as you just said, you wondered, if there could be, ah, some kingdom of God related impetus to seek some level of restoration, a certain level. And if that could be done in a healthy manner. I tend to think at a minimum. At a minimum, that you and your wife can. And I'm not saying you're not because you didn't say you're not. but if you're not, or if you are, continue spending, time in prayer, for your relatives. Because as I mentioned at the very beginning of this program, that God is a restorer. And it. It would be a wonderful situation if you and your wife's testimony, of life lived before the Lord would be something that would be, an evangelistic tool for your relatives. We'll go next to Iowa where Anne is on the line. And thank you for calling the Hamilton Corner. Go right ahead.

>> Caroline: Hi. Thank you, for what you do. And it's an estrangement. My two daughters, they got in. Raise them in the church. And they both in supposedly Christian colleges became lesbians. And now when they. I kept a good, decent relationship with them, loving them and their. Their partners, even though they knew I believed in Christ. And still when they got engaged, I said I couldn't come to the wedding. I had to obey God and not. Not celebrate. But I love them and they won't let me. They cut me off completely. They won't talk to me. And it's because I won't come to the wedding. They said I had to put them before God. And I'm shocked how this has happened. When I raised them and.

>> Abraham Hamilton III: Oh. And. Oh, I'm so sorry. The disrespectful music, the disrespectful clock. Oh, there's so much I want to say. I wanted to continue that conversation with you longer. I can sense your heartbreak as you're sharing this, guys. This is a real phenomenon. It's a real phenomenon.

Voluntary familial estrangement has become a silent destroyer. But God is a restorer.

Voluntary familial estrangement has become a silent destroyer. But God is a restorer.

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