CIAM Radio

Read: Romans 4:6-8; 5:6-8

“Dad’s here!” Keziah peeked her head around the side of the house. “Jonah!”

Jonah stared at his older sister. “No. He can’t be here yet.”

Jonah’s eyes filled as he heard his dad greeting his sister. He wanted to join them, but he’d been working on painting the fence for their mom all afternoon. He didn’t want to look all messy when they reunited.

He heard his dad’s voice. “Where’s my Jonah?”

Jonah couldn’t stop himself from running to Dad as soon as he rounded the house. “You’re home!”

Dad opened his arms. “I’m home.”

Jonah let his dad hug him tight, then pulled back. “I’m probably getting your uniform dirty. I wanted to get cleaned up before you got home…”

“It’s fine.” Dad chuckled. “I’m just happy to be back home with you.” He pulled Jonah back into a hug. “I missed you.”

“I’m a mess,” Jonah muttered.

“You don’t have to get cleaned up for me.” Dad patted his back. “I love you even when you’re messy. You don’t know how much I’ve been looking forward to being back with you, your mom, and your sister.”

Later, after Jonah had taken a shower and put on clean clothes, his dad took him out for ice cream.

“You know,” Dad said. “I was thinking…I told you that you didn’t need to get cleaned up for me, and that’s true. God feels the same way—and isn’t it great that He does? When we make a mess of our lives with sin, we don’t have to get cleaned up before we go to Him—we can come to Him just as we are, and He will make us clean.”

“I could’ve used some help getting clean today—that paint was hard to scrub off!” Jonah teased.

Dad rolled his eyes. “You could take care of that yourself. But we can’t clean ourselves of sin. Yet God loves us even when we’re messy—that’s why Jesus died and rose again to save us. When we trust in Him, we become God’s children—clean and forgiven.”

–Emily Acker

How about you? Have you ever felt too messy for God? Have you wondered if you’ve done too many wrong things for Him to love you and accept you? The amazing news of the gospel is that God loved us while we were sinners. We can’t clean ourselves up, so Jesus died for our sins. When we trust in Him, He will forgive us and make us clean. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's Key Verse: See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: God loves us at our messiest

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In 2023, Kenyan police intervened to end to what’s being called the “Shakahola Massacre”—in which hundreds died after following a cult leader’s directions to starve themselves to meet Jesus. The leader had allegedly promised he too would leave earth in this way after his followers did. After his arrest, he denied ever teaching this.

The tragedy is a troubling example of how dangerous it is to blindly trust those claiming to be spiritual leaders. Cult members were so deceived that they resisted those who came to save them from starvation. One survivor described getting “addicted” to the leader’s teachings.

Christ is the true leader of those who trust in Him. He loved us so much He was willing to die for us to have life (1 Thessalonians 5:10). He calls us to live for Him, “awake and sober” (v. 6) and to test any teaching of others against His teaching (vv. 20-22).

We respond to Christ’s love not by harming ourselves or others but by “encourag[ing] . . . and build[ing] each other up” (v. 11). By living “in peace with each other” (v. 13) and striving “to do what is good for each other and for everyone else” (v. 15). Through daily reliance on and trust in Christ’s Spirit (v. 19), we can live a life of love as we eagerly await Christ’s coming (v. 23).

Segment 1

• A popular teaching claims Christians become “little gods”—but what does Scripture actually say?

• Todd exposes how modern theology elevates man while diminishing God’s exclusive glory.

• Why confusing your created nature with God’s uncreated, divine nature leads to catastrophic spiritual consequences.

Segment 2

• A shocking confrontation reveals how moral outrage is now directed at the wrong targets.

• Todd explains how Romans 1 warns us of the collapse of moral reasoning—and why we’re seeing it so frequently today.

• The real question: How do you reach people whose thinking is fundamentally broken by sin?

Segment 3

• Why modern political outrage often ignores genuine evil while obsessing over symbolism and seemingly insignificant details.

• Todd exposes the inconsistency between public virtue signaling and true moral contradictions on a deeper level.

• What happens when cultural compassion and morality lose their grounding in God’s truth?

Segment 4

• Most gospel presentations today may be missing a critical—and biblical—element.

• Paul Washer’s prison sermon reveals what people must understand before grace makes sense.

• Todd confronts a sobering possibility: Have Christians softened the gospel too much?

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What do you do when evil people seem to prosper while you struggle? In this episode, Dr. John Neufeld explores Psalm 37, where an elderly David offers timeless counsel for navigating difficult seasons. David gives three key commands: don't become emotionally distraught, keep your heart centered on God, and remain obedient regardless of circumstances—whether facing persecution, illness, or betrayal.

God's Provision: The sheep don't know what they need, but the shepherd does—and he arranges everything for their care. This is why David declared, "The LORD is my shepherd"—because God provides all we truly want and need. In this five-message series, Dr. John Neufeld explores Psalms 23 and 37, unpacking what it means to trust the Good Shepherd who guides, protects, and provides for our deepest needs.

Listen to today's Laugh Again with Phil Callaway, "Confessions of a Hypochondriac." Enjoy!

Perspective is a wonderful thing. It helps us when we look at the familiar and with fresh perspective see something we’ve never noticed before. It changes our thoughts and our behaviour.

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Jabez emerges in the midst of epitaphs on tombstones as the Spirit of God is pleased to hover over his life a bit longer than any other mentioned in this context. Because God singles out Jabez, we are wise to pause and learn the truth of the story. By doing so, many who feel their lives are marked by obscurity and insignificance can gain fresh courage to excel.

From the Series: Fascinating Stories of Forgotten Lives: Rediscovering Some Old Testament Characters

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