Lighthouse Faith

If there's one thing Phil Robertson isn't shy about, it's telling people about Jesus, and that they need Jesus; that we all do. Robertson's new book, "Jesus Politics: How to Win Back the Soul of America," is a candid and blunt take on where the country has come from and where it's headed. The "Duck Dynasty" star chastises his own generation of some 60 years back, that took prayer out of the schools, took God out of public discourse and relegated Jesus to the corner of 'a nice teacher of love,' instead of Divine, Creator of the universe. We're only a few weeks away from the general election in which both presidential candidates declare they are out to win the soul of America. But to Robertson, that's an evil claim, for there is only One Being that has a right to assert ownership over the human soul. On this episode of "Lighthouse Faith" podcast, listen to Robertson boldly assert, who is "The way, the Truth, and the Life."

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The recent deaths of Rep. John Lewis and Herman Cain represents something larger than the loss of two prominent Black politicians, although that is significant. The two men represent diverging paths of the Black vote. Lewis a Democrat, Cain a Republican. Both men are sons of the South and faithful believers in Jesus Christ; benefiting from the political power wielded by the Black Church, which historically favored the Democratic party. But in 2020, African Americans are benefitting from the hard-fought Civil Rights battles of the generations before, that of Lewis's and Cain's. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Tony Evans, author, radio and TV broadcaster and megachurch pastor, reflects on the roles these two men have played in several years of politics and civil discourse. But looking forward, Evans is also a prominent voice for "Our Church Votes," a movement aimed at Evangelical churches to register members to vote their biblical values; to know the issues and each party's platform. Evans wants Christians to know that, "God created government. So, if you leave God out of government, not only does it demean God's name, it demeans God's policies. And that will always lead to chaos." And that, he says, is what appears to be happening in our world today.

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A Father's role in today's culture has been more or less sidelined at worst, or undefined at best. But Author Tyler Rowley says a Father's faith is critical to a child developing his or her own faith. A father's faith that is lived out not just in words but in deeds in everyday life, has a tremendous impact on his children. Even when a mother's faith in Jesus is strong, if the father's faith is weak or non-existent, the child will drift from the faith. In his book "Because of Our Fathers," Rowley has collected the testimonies of 23 devoted Catholics who draw a straight line from their faith to that of their fathers; like St. John Paul II, the first Polish pope, who as a young boy, watched his widowed father on his knees in prayer daily; or John Castillo, whose son lost his life confronting two shooters at his high school. His faith strong because of not only his father's but his grandfather's faith. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith, we shine a light on the power and purpose of father's with strong faith. We also look at what happens when a father has no faith, and the sometimes tragic results that follow for the lives of his children. Father's have a crucial role in rearing children. Rowley wants them to know they must take their stand and be defenders of the faith. Their children's lives depend on it.

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Michelle Kim appears to be a normal, twenty-something year old, first generation American, living the American dream in California. But over the last few months the dream is starting to become a nightmare because of her membership in the Shincheonji Church of Jesus. The church has been labeled a cult, accused of brainwashing its members into submission, and claim its founder called himself Jesus. The church, with its 300,000 members, is based in South Korea but has branches in 20 countries including the United States. Kim attends the church in California where she was born. The South Korean church became the focus of the government's blame for the Coronavirus spreading in the country. "Patient number 31," as the 61-year-old woman is called, was a member in the Daegu branch. In mid-February she was diagnosed with COVID-19, a diagnosis made after she attended services. She thought she had a cold, but it turned out to be the deadly virus. It spread to 4,000 members. The government demanded the church hand over its list of members, including those outside of South Korea. According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, "The government of Seoul locked down Shincheonji churches in the capital, and some mainline Protestant groups have accused the church of deliberately spreading the disease." On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Michelle Kim tells her side of the Shincheonji controversy, and how being a member has made her fear that once people know her church association, she could be ostracized, lose friends, or worse yet, her job.

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"God is eternal," and everything else is temporary. That includes the Coronavirus, loss of jobs, relationships, even our homes. None of us want to be tested in losing those vitally important things in our lives. But the Bible assures us that putting our faith in God will help us navigate those stormy waters and come out stronger and better for it. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. David Jeremiah, author and founder of Turning point, an international Christian ministry, talks about his heartfelt thoughts on "Sheltering in God," a book he was compelled to write as the world grapples with the COVID-19 shutdown, and millions of people dealt with (and are still dealing with) the loss of so many routine activities. Dr. Jeremiah says that although he can't explain why God has allowed a pandemic to wreak havoc throughout the globe, he does remind us of what God has done; that the Bible is filled with God's victories over difficult times. And ultimately, that the "Battle belongs to the Lord."

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One of the hardest lessons in the Bible we face is the reality that we are all sinners and "fall short of the glory of God." Intellectually we get it; praise it, and preach it. But if we all know it's true, then why is there a Black Lives Matter movement? Why is it necessary? Why is it so hard to see someone of a different race as fellow image bearers? It's because all of us are prone to sins we aren't event aware of or even recognize as sin; it's the "crouching tiger," concealed from even our peripheral vision. And one of the biggest sins that remains hidden to us as bot individuals and as a society is racism. The political phrase today is "systemic racism," but that doesn't begin to explain its origins. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Jim Denison, author, biblical scholar, pastor and founder of the online platform "The Denison Forum," talks about the Bible and racism, and how Jesus's teachings, if we really take them to heart, would end this scourge that has become a gaping wound in America's soul. Both Dr. Denison and I reveal personal experiences about racial encounters we've both had, and how some have been scarring while others have brought healing. We both agree that the Gospel is the only source of wisdom for a world battling this sin of the heart.

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Musician, Broadcaster, radio host, Journalist; John Tesh has a long list of accolades and accomplishments. He became a household name as co-host of the television show "Entertainment Tonight" for a decade starting in the mid-80's. His classic good looks; tall, blond hair, blue eyes and affable personality plus that velvety voice gave him staying power in an industry that is fickle at best. But while his career seemed heaven-sent, underneath all his successes loomed a host of failures, missteps and doubts. His faith at first nominal, grew over the years with the help of his wife, actress Connie Sellecca. But in recent years bloomed with intensity as he faced the greatest challenge of his life, cancer. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Tesh talks about his life of struggles and triumphs, and his victory over one of the most dreaded diseases, which he recounts in his book, Relentless: Unleashing a Life of Purpose, Grit and Faith. Tesh is a shining example of how God's power works with us, through us, and for us.

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Faith begins in the home. It's a legacy that Yael Eckstein, a young Jewish mother, believes is essential to moving forward in life. It's her father's faith that lives through her today. That father, the late Rabbi Yachiel Eckstein, began a legacy of bringing Jews and Christians together, not in spite of their faith, but because of it. Rabbi Eckstein was the founder of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, "the largest charitable organization helping Israel and the Jewish people." He understood that the two (of three) Abrahamic branches, are bound together inextricably through their Holy books, the Hebrew Scriptures. What Christians call the Old Testament, Jews call the Torah and the Tanach. Now Yael has taken over the IFCJ after her father's untimely death more than a year ago. But she says, only because her father taught her his faith in both words and deeds, could she be prepared to take the reigns of an international organization at such a young age. On this episode of the Lighthouse Faith podcast, Yael talks about how the faith of her father lives in her only because it lived in him first. That may sound simple, but Yael says giving children a faith foundation on which to build their lives, is the  most important task of parenting. Yael writes about the importance of passing on one's faith to the next generation in her book, "Generation to Generation: Passing on Our Faith to Our Children." It is not just a 'how-to' book, but a mea culpa of her own grief at losing her mentor and best friend, and then moving forward with a new foundation of faith that had been slowly, over time, grafted onto his.

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For a lot of people, myself included, the sum total of what they knew about Alexander Hamilton was that he was the face on the ten-dollar bill. That is until his life as one of America's Founding Fathers, and the first U.S. Treasury Secretary, was made into a Tony Award-winning musical called Hamilton, that many people who've seen it call a religious experience. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also stars as Hamilton, it is a rap and hip-hop retelling of Hamilton's legacy as one of the architects of the U.S. Constitution; his beginnings as a poor orphan in the Caribbean, to his meteoric rise to political power; his nearly equally fast plunge to political pariah and his tragic untimely death in a duel with a political rival. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Kansas Pastor Kevin Cloud talks about the 'religious experience' audiences are feeling watching the show. He was so moved by its spiritual power of grace, forgiveness and mercy that he wrote a book about it called, "God And Hamilton: Spiritual Themes From the Life of Alexander Hamilton and the Broadway Musical He Inspired." For five years Hamilton has been the hottest ticket on Broadway. It's been sold out for months even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the lights to go dark on the Great White Way. However, just in time for the Fourth of July, Disney will stream the show on July 3rd with the original cast. Listen to the podcast, then watch the show. Happy Birthday America!

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You can either be comforted by the biblical prophecies that Jonathan Cahn writes and speaks about, or you could become extremely fearful. Lately there has been an almost laser focus on whether the Coronavirus is a sign that the end of the world is near. Cahn is world known as a "pastor and rabbi," who "caused an international stir with the release of his first book "The Harbinger," which became an instant New York Times best seller. He has written several books since and each one takes modern events and weaves them into divine providence. He is called the prophetic voice of this generation, known "for opening the deep mysteries of Scripture." In this episode of Lighthouse Faith Podcast, Cahn divulges whether the COVID-19 pandemic was predicted in the Bible, and whether it is God's judgment on a sinful world. That being said, there is a growing movement that believes our problems in the world are caused by us turning away from God, and Cahn is part of that movement that is now organized to convince people to Return to God. The Return, as its called, is a national and global movement to give us quote, "chance to humble ourselves before the Lord," and will culminate in ten days of prayer in September and a gathering on the Washington Mall on September 26th. It is based on the Old Testament Scripture that says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)

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