CIAM Radio

It’s Mailbag Friday! You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers!

Segment 1:

• Is it hypocritical to oppose posting the Ten Commandments in schools if we use them for personal evangelism?

• Does separation of church and state mean Christians should avoid influencing public education?

Segment 2:

• Have churches failed to address unbiblical remarriage after divorce?

• What role does confession to others play in fighting pornography?

• What’s a God-honoring way to give away or dispose of unused ministry books?

Segment 3:

• Should we adopt a traumatized teen if it could put our younger children at risk?

Segment 4:

• If attention spans drop after 25 minutes, should pastors shorten their sermons?

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What kind of builder are you in God's eternal church? Dr. John Neufeld explores the sobering reality that while the church will stand forever, our individual work will face divine inspection. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 3:12–17, he contrasts lasting materials—gold, silver, and precious stones—with wood, hay, and straw that will burn in the fire. Some will receive eternal rewards, while others will be saved but see their life's work go up in smoke.

The Power of Christ in a Pagan World: Join Dr. John Neufeld for this 20-message series as he focuses on the book of 1 Corinthians. Covering chapters 1-4, The Power of Christ in a Pagan World looks at the many issues that confronted the church in Corinth; Problems that seemed to find their place within the church at every turn! This series helps us unpack the different conflicts and struggles of this early church in a relevant and practical way. Even though the church in Corinth existed a long time ago, they went through trials that might sound familiar to us in the 21st Century!

Listen to today's Laugh Again with Phil Callaway, "Stuck on Gecko Feet." Enjoy!

There is no pursuit more important than the cultivation of your family. That’s the one eternal thing you leave behind. While you can’t undo the past, you can work intentionally to reconcile and restore your relationships.

While it's natural to live resentful and selfish because we're sinful, fallen beings, Chuck Swindoll teaches us a better way so we can avoid the way of Jonah and, instead, walk in the way of Jesus.

From the Series: Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet

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Jill Garner discusses how we can raise morally courageous children, grounded in truth, and able to stand strong against the many temptations of today’s culture. Her book, StrongHeart, gives practical ways that parents can instill humility, gratitude, other-centeredness, respect, GRIT, and bravery in the heart of their child. Help your child discover all of who God has called them to be!

I can still remember my wife's excited phone call that day. She said, "Honey! The baby just turned over!" Hey! He was three months old; it was a big deal. It's hard to believe there was a time you couldn't turn yourself over. Can you imagine a time when you couldn't walk by yourself? You couldn't feed yourself?

Well, we took pictures of all these steps toward independence as all of our kids took those steps. There was a big cause for getting that old Super 8 movie camera out and getting the slide film out (come on, there was no iPhone then! You get it?). "Oh, look, he's crawling for the first time! He's walking for the first time! Take pictures! It's the first day they ever went to school." And then it happened, all three of our children were grown and out of the house, independent adults. But that's normal, right? I mean, the more you grow, the more independent you become. Right? Not necessarily.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Freedom of Total Dependency."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Acts 9. I'm going to begin reading at verse 7 - it's the dramatic conversion of that persecutor of Christians, Saul of Tarsus. What a life-transforming day! Saul has just been knocked off his horse by this light from heaven; he knows now that it is the Lord he's dealing with, and verse 7 says, "The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything."

Now, Saul of Tarsus is an intelligent, gifted, passionate leader. He felt sufficient, strong. He's all grown up, right? Wrong. Saul's road to maturity begins the moment after his conversion when it says, "They led him by the hand." Isn't it interesting to see here that from the moment of Saul's rebirth, God drives him to a position of total dependency?

Later in this chapter God refers to Saul as, "My chosen instrument. I have great plans for him." You know when those plans begin? With total dependency. The more a child grows the more independent they should become. The more a child of God grows the more dependent he should become.

Usefulness to God begins with a heart breaking. God will do whatever it takes to show you that dependency is maturity when it comes to spiritual adulthood. In fact, He may be doing whatever it takes right now. Paul would have to learn humility and dependency throughout his life. The stronger you are, the more it takes for you to learn to depend.

In 2 Corinthians 1 he talks about hardships that they'd suffered almost to the point of death. And he says the reason was, "That we might not rely on ourselves but on God." He had to learn it again. Now, 2 Corinthians 12 - he talks about his "thorn in the flesh that was given to him to 'keep me from being conceited.'" This strong, driven leader had to be humbled and broken, and then re-humbled and re-broken.

You say, "What strong and driven person? Paul?" In this case, I mean me. It's the Master's way to bring His strong-willed child to the end of their ability to control the situation; to make that child of His, in a sense, blind to where they need to be led by the hand. Maybe you're there now. God wants to pry open that tightly clenched hand of yours, empty it of self, and fill it with His power. Maybe He's brought you to the edge. It's going to be total dependency or total defeat.

Why don't you get you out of the way? Grow up to the point where you will let your Father feed you, let your Father carry you, let your Father lead you. You're never stronger than the moment you reach up a trembling, empty hand and say, "Father, lead me by the hand."

In Charles Dickens’ classic novel Oliver Twist, the sickly Oliver is born in a workhouse, an institution notorious for exploiting the poor. Orphaned at birth, the boy eventually runs away due to abusive treatment. Through an amazing set of “twists,” he learns he is heir to a sizable fortune. Dickens, who loved happy endings, ensured that everyone who harmed Oliver over the years either received justice or repented. His oppressors got what they deserved while Oliver “inherited the land.” If only life came with tidy endings like those scripted in a Dickens novel.

In the Bible we read a song by a man who anticipated such a day—when justice is served and the oppressed “inherit the land” (Psalm 37:9). Though he experienced evil firsthand, the poet David urged patience. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him,” he wrote. “Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes” (v. 7). He continued, “Those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land” (v. 9). Despite observing how the “wicked draw the sword” to “bring down the poor and needy” (v. 14), David trusted God to make things right (v. 15).

Life is hard and often unfair. Yet we hear in the words of Jesus an echo from Psalm 37. “Blessed are the meek,” He said, “for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).