CIAM Radio

Debra Fileta discusses the importance of self-examination and offers guidance for assessing your mental, physical, and spiritual health so that you can walk a path toward healing and wholeness for the entire family!

Years ago, I was at a youth conference where we needed to raise some money for a camp scholarship fund. So we challenged the kids to buy their counselor into this Friday night food fight. Well, the kids found the money alright pretty quickly! So, Friday night all of us leaders showed up on the field of battle with the campers watching like sadistic spectators at the Roman Coliseum. Now, for starters, we got hosed down so everything would cling to us. I have to tell you, in retrospect, I'm embarrassed about the food we wasted.

But we did it, so I'll tell you about it. Round One was flour. The campers got their money's worth as we redecorated each other with this blizzard of flour, followed by eggs, then fudge sauce. Can you imagine this? Get the idea? The last round was the worst - lard. Yea, from our hair to our toes, we were totally gross by the end of this massacre. Our only satisfaction was at the end when we went after those kids and gave them a big, gooey hug. Yeah, it was great! I couldn't wait to get a shower, though. And I was there for a long time. Ever try to get lard off? Probably not. Well, I have never felt dirtier - but clean has never felt better!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Feeling Dirty, Getting Clean."

If you've ever felt real dirty, you know how much you enjoyed that shower that made you clean again. If only there was a shower that could make us clean on the inside, where we carry the guilt, and the regrets, and the dirt of the things we wish we'd never done, or the things we should have done and we didn't do. Unfortunately, there's no medication, there's no therapist, not even a religion that seems powerful enough to remove the dirt on our soul.

That's why our word for today from the Word of God is such good news. Acts 3:19 - "Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." Now look at this! All the sins of your life can be wiped out, erased from God's records forever. God says you can be clean - that you can have a new beginning. He is actually offering a cleansing spiritual shower for those who repent and turn to Him. That means you acknowledge the wrongness of what you've done and that you're ready to turn from your sin-choices and turn to Him for a new beginning.

Look, we all have things we're ashamed of, things we're not proud of, things that make us afraid of what God will do when we meet Him on Judgment Day. According to the Bible, the sins of our life will, in fact, make it impossible for us to ever enter God's Heaven because there is no sin there. Our only hope is if somehow God will forgive a lifetime of choices that have left Him out.

And there's only one place where a spiritual shower like that is available. It is at the cross of Jesus Christ, the place where every sin of yours was paid for. You carry all the garbage of your life up that hill, you give yourself in total trust to the One who paid for your sin on that cross with His life, and you leave your sin at that cross forever. You may have started this day guilty, but you could go to sleep forgiven tonight and finally clean. God's promise: "Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through His Name" (Acts 10:43). There is nothing you've done that is so bad that Jesus did not pay for it on the cross.

Today could be the day you are finally clean. If you've never trusted Jesus to be your own Savior from your own sin, would you tell Him you're doing that right now? Your sins will be erased. He promised. And you'll never carry them again or face them when you meet God. And the only thing that would keep you from heaven can be gone today.

We've put the information on how to begin with Jesus at our website. Please go there today. That's AN

Climbing Jamaica’s Dunn’s River Falls is an exhilarating experience. Water cascades over the smooth rocks of the Falls on its way to the Caribbean. It’s a challenge as climbers battle the water’s flow to make their way to the top. For a teenager named JW, it’s a near impossibility. He’s sight-impaired, with only a pinhole view of the world.

But JW was determined to climb, and his friend Josiah was willing to team up with Him. Josiah was JW’s eyes—telling him which slippery rocks to avoid and where to put his hands and feet. And JW was Josiah’s heart—showing him what courage looks like.

So much of life is like that daunting climb: we shouldn’t walk alone. King Solomon points us to that truth. “Two people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed” (Ecclesiastes 4:9 nlt). Both Josiah and JW were attempting something special—and they could do it only in tandem. The passage continues: “If either [person] falls down, one can help the other up” (v. 10). But neither fell and neither failed. Together, they reached their goals.

God’s design for people, presented clearly by Solomon and demonstrated vividly by these two teenagers, is that we work together. The tasks God calls us to do are best done with others—each using what skills and emotions God has given to bring an outcome that points to Him.

What is said in Scripture about tithing—and does it still apply to Christians today? For some, the tithe feels like a doorway to trusting God to provide. For others, it’s a source of guilt, confusion, or even division in the church. On the next Faith & Finance Live, Rob West and John Cortines help us take a fresh, biblical look at this ancient practice. Then, it’s on to your calls. That’s Faith & Finance Live—biblical wisdom for your financial decisions. That’s weekdays at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central on Moody Radio.

Faith & Finance Live is a listener supported program on Moody Radio.  To join our team of supporters, click here.

To support the ministry of FaithFi, click here.

To learn more about Rob West, click here. 

To learn more about Faith & Finance Live, click here.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Segment 1

• Conflict is universal—but Scripture calls us to reconciliation, not mere peacekeeping.

• The real issue isn’t the other person’s behavior; it’s the heart.

• True biblical reconciliation begins with self-examination—owning your part before God.

Segment 2

• Conflict isn’t caused by personalities—it’s fueled by idolatrous desires that demand control, comfort, or respect.

• Even good desires become sinful when they replace God as the highest priority.

• Real peace comes from surrendering our sinful desires and letting Christ rule the heart.

Segment 3

• Repentance isn’t a one-time event—it’s the daily rhythm of the Christian life.

• True repentance means more than “I’m sorry”; it’s a Spirit-led change of direction.

• Without repentance, conflict festers; with it, relationships are restored stronger than before.

Segment 4

• Forgiveness is the final step to true reconciliation—it mirrors God’s grace toward us.

• To forgive repeatedly takes faith, but remembering how much God has forgiven you makes it possible.

• Forgiveness frees you from the prison of resentment and rebuilds trust in God’s justice.

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Being a Christian inevitably puts you in conflict with culture. Dr. John Neufeld explores 1 Corinthians 5-7, examining how believers navigate sexuality, disputes, marriage, and singleness differently than the world around them. Christianity requires accountability within the church community, not just individual faith. As believers live obediently to Scripture, they naturally stand apart from cultural values by faithfully following Jesus.

The Gospel Alternative to the Cultures of Men: Being a Christian inevitably puts you in conflict with culture. In this three-week series, Dr. John Neufeld examines 1 Corinthians 5-7 to explore how the gospel creates a distinct counter-culture in the church. Addressing sexual purity, church discipline, and Christian identity, Dr. Neufeld challenges believers to live faithfully in a broken world—not by condemning culture, but by demonstrating Christ's transforming power through humble accountability, moral courage, and authentic community that offers hope to a watching world.

Listen to today's Laugh Again with Phil Callaway, "Silly Church Signs." Enjoy!