CIAM Radio

Scott Hamilton is an Olympic gold medal figure skater and former national television commentator. His compelling story begins with being adopted and overcoming physical illness as a child to compete in skating, followed by cancer and multiple brain tumors. Reaching the pinnacle of his sport couldn’t fill the hole in Scott’s heart. Not until he found his identity in Christ did he arrive at true peace and joy. He’ll share about his lifelong journey of overcoming as he inspires others with the Gospel.

Many years ago I shocked my kids. I told them I could remember life without television! Yeah, I know you can't believe the reaction to that. It's inconceivable to them that there was ever life before TV. Well, I was there I'm afraid to say.

Now, I've seen a lot of changes since we got our first tv. I think I was about five or six years old, and my dad brought home this little box with a seven-inch screen. My mother and I would, like, burn out our eyes, sitting next to it trying to find whatever was on in that little box. And if you didn't like what was on, there wasn't a lot of choice; there were not very many channels.

Over the years independent networks began to develop and they began to have more choices. And then, cable TV, and then you got like hundreds of choices. And finally, along comes the remote switch and you don't even have to get up if you don't like what's on the screen. You just push a button! I'm really good at that thing! You just change the channel or turn it off. Of course, you might just be turning off a message you need.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Needing to Hear What You Don't Want to Hear."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from 2 Chronicles 26. It's about a Jewish king, King Uzziah, who was a legend in his own time. He was blessed by God. He defeated the ancient enemies of Israel. He built these impressive towers. He had the most advanced army of his day. But, 2 Chronicles 26, beginning in verse 16, says this: "But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense." Now, you might remember that only a High Priest, a consecrated High Priest could enter into the Holy Place of God and do that. But, this is a proud, arrogant, spiritually insensitive act on the king's part.

"Azariah, the Priest," it says, "with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. They confronted him and said, 'It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests - the descendants of Aaron - who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you've been unfaithful and you will not be honored by the Lord God.'" Well, it says, "Uzziah had a censor in his hand ready to burn incense, but he became angry.

While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead." And we go on to read that he had leprosy until he died, and had to live in a separate house.

Here's a story of a powerful man, and courageous priests. He didn't like what he heard from them, so he just changed channels. He didn't get angry at what he had done; he got angry at the people who cared enough to confront him with what he'd done. Now, the important exhortation in this story is this: listen to your confronters. The more successful we get, the more we need them and the less we want them. The best friends you have are the ones who are willing to tell you the unpleasant truth about you; who hold up a mirror.

So, how do you react to your critics, your confronters, your correctors? Think about your reaction to the suggestions of the corrections that you've gotten say from your parents, or from your spouse. Did you blow up? Did you walk away? Or did you honestly consider whether there might be at least some truth in what they said?

Right now, God is probably assigning someone to be your confronter. He does that because He loves you. You need one. Who is it? Are you listening even if the news is hard to take? Or do you leap to the defensive and you shut down if you don't like what you're hearing? Your confronters may or may not say it well. They may or may not have the right a

Read: Psalm 143:8-10; 1 John 4:1-6

“Dad, what are those ropes on the side of the road?” asked six-year-old Arthur as they drove down the highway.

“Those are called guardrails,” Dad replied. “Sometimes guardrails are made of wide metal bands, and sometimes they’re heavy wire ropes. They’re to make sure people driving on the highway stay on the road.”

“Why would they want to leave the road?” Arthur asked.

“They wouldn’t want to leave the road,” said Arthur’s brother, Keaton. “But sometimes people have accidents. Like in winter. If the road gets slippery, cars might run into each other and go off the road.”

Dad nodded. “Or drivers may not be paying attention to what they’re doing, or they may get sleepy and swerve off the highway. Then those guardrails would catch their cars before they could roll down the hill at the side of the road. Without the guardrails, the cars would suffer much more serious damage—and the people inside them could have more serious injuries.”

“Wow!” Arthur said. “Then I’m glad they’re there. They’re really important!”

“Yes, they are.” Dad smiled. “You know, God’s Word can be like a guardrail. Just like guardrails protect us on the highway, reading the Bible can protect us from false teaching.”

“What do you mean?” asked Keaton.

“The Bible shows us what comes from God and what doesn’t,” said Dad. “It shows us who God is, and if we know Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit to help us understand His Word and use it to test ideas we come into contact with. The Bible helps us recognize when something is false teaching and not the truth.”

“Like what that person was saying on the radio earlier?” asked Keaton. “The one who said all religions lead to God?”

“Right. That’s not what the Bible says—it says the only way to have eternal life with God is by trusting Jesus to save us from sin.” Dad sighed. “We hear so much in the world that’s untrue, which is why we need to be careful not to veer off the right path in our spiritual lives. As we read the Bible and learn about it at church, we can trust the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom about what it says so we can guard our hearts against falsehoods.”

–Robert Truesdale

How about you? Do you read the Bible regularly? Do you check it when you’re not sure about something you’ve heard? As you learn what God says in His Word, the Holy Spirit will use it to give you wisdom and help you recognize Satan’s lies. So keep reading the Bible and studying it, and trust God to use it to help you stay on the right road in your walk with Jesus.

Today's Key Verse: Do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. 1 John 4:1 (NLT)

Today's Key Thought: God’s Word contains truth

Learn how to view any situation as a healthy challenge to your growth and spiritual maturity.

Donate: https://store.intouch.org/donate/general

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elijah had accidentally ripped a ten-dollar bill while playing with his friends. But instead of admonishing him, his father offered to exchange the torn bill with a fresh one from his wallet.

“Why would you do that?” Elijah asked, confused. “For one, you’re my son,” his father explained. “It’s also a reminder of what Jesus did for us. Because Jesus came and gave His life in exchange for ours, we can now live new lives.”

Every human life is valuable to God because He created each of us. But our sinful nature—“the body ruled by sin” (Romans 6:6)—keeps us from living a life worthy of God’s holiness. So God, in His great love for us, willingly gave up His Son to pay the price of our sin. Our old self was put to death, and in exchange, He offers us a new one—“no longer . . . slaves to sin” (v. 6). When we accept God’s offer of new life, we can be assured that even though we were sinful and broken—“corrupted by its deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22), we are now being perfected “to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (v. 24).

Elijah’s father was willing to offer him something of his own because he loves him. But the even better offer is the one that God extends to us, the redemption of our lives. When we accept His offer of new life, we are not the same as we were before.

Segment 1

• Massive cultural moments, like last night’s Superbowl, promise fulfillment but fade almost instantly.

• The halftime show controversy shows us how our entertainment is driving moral numbness for our nation and world.

• A sharp challenge: if the biggest moments don’t last, why do we keep living for them?

Segment 2

• Here’s what suffering for Christ’s sake in our life tells us about the character and attributes of God.

• God values something more than your comfort – and this changes everything in your life.

• First Peter’s uncomfortable but hope-filled call to lift your eyes above temporary victories.

Segment 3

• How sentimental slogans weaponize empathy and shut down moral clarity.

• Phrases like “love is love” feel compassionate but smuggle in serious worldview assumptions.

• A smarter approach: asking the right questions instead of taking rhetorical bait.

Segment 4

• Bible sales are up—but biblical literacy may not be.

• What church closures, entertainment trends, and AI-driven depravity reveal about spiritual decay.

• A sobering reminder: sin never satisfies, no matter how advanced the technology gets.

___

Thanks for listening!

Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners.

If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/

If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Listen to today's Laugh Again with Phil Callaway, "Corny Joke Day." Enjoy!