Reliable Truth

Dr. Mark Gignilliat from Beeson Divinity School, joins us today with a special Advent message from the book of Isaiah.

Do you feel overwhelmed by the busyness of the Christmas season? And what about all the chaos of the world? 

Just like the story of Charlie Brown's Christmas, things don't seem to be right in terms of what this season is all about. But let me just encourage you to find, by God's grace, some time for reflection, some space, to think and to pray. To open your heart and your mind to the work of the Lord to draw you back to himself again. Because our ultimate identity is wrapped up in this tension that we live in, namely, we're in the old age, but we're already citizens of a heavenly kingdom.

Advent does two things for us as a season. Advent pushes us back in time, but it also pushes us to the future because just like the prophets, we too live in the in-between times right now. 

We're in the old age, and we're awaiting the new age - but there's an overlap. Some call it the "already" and the "not yet." We're caught in the "already" because we know that Christ has come and brought his kingdom into the world. But we also know that it's "not yet" because that kingdom hasn't been completed yet.

This overlap helps us understand the tensions that we live in as Christians. For example, knowing that Jesus has come, and yet also recognizing that Jesus is absent. We feel the reality of Jesus' absence. We pray during this season of advent, Lord Jesus return again. Advent is a gift to us, to call us into a season of repentance, of reflection and of renewal. 

Dr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew, and also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children. Watch video on YouTube here

How do we make wise decisions? It is learned through making mistakes, or is it more than that?
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I believe that the more clearly we see the reality of the world, the better equipped we are to deal with the complexities of life. But the more our minds are clouded by falsehood, misperceptions, and illusions, the harder it will be for us to determine correct courses of action and make wise decisions.
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Our view of reality is like a map with which to negotiate the terrain of life. If the map is true and accurate, we will generally know where we are. And if we have decided where we want to go, we will generally know how to get there. But if our map is false, if it's inaccurate, we generally will be lost, stumbling in the darkness.
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I wonder how many of us are living with false ideas about life - false ideas about reality. I wonder how many of us might have false ideas about God and spiritual reality. One of the things I find when I meet with men is that many have false ideas about God and Christianity.
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Proverbs tells us that a key to growing in wisdom is to first realize you're not wise - recognizing that there's so much that I don't know yet. That's where you and I need to be. If you believe that you've "arrived", that you are wiser than everybody else - well, you just stepped back into the darkness.
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So a good place to be is to recognize, "I do like wisdom. I am needy." That's a great place to be. In James 4:6, scripture tells us, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
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Then Proverbs 3:6a, 7-11 says, "For the Lord gives wisdom... knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you."

Imagine that you're at work and, and things aren't going well in your marriage, or you and your wife are going through a dry season. You're invited to go to lunch with an attractive single woman. And you reason to yourself, there's nothing wrong with going to lunch. There's nothing morally wrong with making that decision. 

Several weeks later you're working late on a special project and you're finally finished. All of a sudden the two of you are there at work and you say, well, let's go get a bite to eat. There's nothing wrong with going to dinner. Over dinner, you begin to share the struggles of your marriage. Again, nothing wrong with that, with sharing with somebody what's going on with your marriage. But, we shouldn't be asking, is this right or wrong? We should be asking, "Is this wise?"

Is there anything more important in life that we should be pursuing more than wisdom? As we go through this study, I believe that we will all conclude that wisdom has such great value because of its impact on our wellbeing and on the quality of our lives and our relationships.

In your eyes, what is a good man? To be caring? Honest? To put others' needs ahead of your own? 

Now, what does it mean to be a real man? Many men would eagerly answer: "a real man takes charge, takes risks." Some might say "a real man walks like a man, talks like a man, and never cries." There's a real disconnect between the description of a good man and of a real man. 

Many men today are confused about what it means to be a man. I believe we have false ideas on what it means to be masculine. In today's podcast I discuss some of the traps men fall into, like the fear of failure or what I call the performance trap. These things steal our joy and weigh us down. And guys, if we fathers don’t know this, what do we teach our sons about manhood?

Who is the most important person in your life?

How would it change you if Jesus were the most important person in your life? I would tell you that it would change you radically, and would set you free from the performance trap and put you on a path to becoming Christlike.

Is there more than one path to God? 

You see, all of the world's religions make certain objective truth claims about the nature of God, about spirituality, and most significantly about what happens to you when you die. Either only one of them is true or none of them are true. To say that two or three of them are true or that all of them are true is absurd. It's logically impossible. In today's episode, I am discussing the real reason that the religious pluralist believes what he believes. 

Who in this life has the spiritual authority to point us to what is true? I contend that Jesus Christ stands head and shoulders above everyone else.

Who is caring for the caregivers? Today Richard's guest is Phil Reddick, along with a panel of speakers, each giving their perspective on decision making, coping with these issues, grieving, and how to prepare for your loved ones during this critical time. This special seminar was hosted by The Center and YBL 2nd Half. Here is our panel of speakers:

• Robert Atherton - Sales Executive with Temenos, who has gone through care-giving and loss with both sets of parents
• Christy Baynes - President and Care Manager of LifeCare Solutions, Inc, who deals with and helps others with these issues daily.
• Bill Nolan - The Alabama Elder Care Law Firm, LLC, who will discuss thinking through questions of legality and finances.
• Loring Muir - retired banker, who lost his wife to dementia and just recently remarried.

Watch on YouTube here

Find out more about The Center: https://thecenterbham.org/ More about YBL 2nd Half: https://ybl.org/2nd-half-ministry   

The most important thing that you bring to your marriage relationship, and really to any relationship, is yourself. And the healthier you are individually, the healthier your marriage will be, the healthier your relationships will be. Your character, your humility, your willingness to be transparent, to be honest, to be vulnerable, your ability to love, the wisdom that you attain, will all ultimately determine the quality of your relationships. 

You see, the person you are becoming is most significantly impacted by your relationship with Christ. As men, what do we focus on? We mostly focus on achieving and what we are experiencing through our work, sports, and our activities. Rarely do we stop and think about what God says is most significant. 

But in doing so, we are looking for something from our wives that only God can provide. In his book, Sacred Marriage, author Gary Thomas says,

​​“I believe that much of the dissatisfaction we experience in marriage comes from expecting too much from it. We want to get the largest portion of our life’s fulfillment from our relationship with our wives. And they cannot provide it.”

The deeper we go in our relationship with Christ, the greater the transformation that will take place in our lives. And consequently, the healthier we will be.

What kind of man or woman are you becoming?

What is love? Dr. Mark Gignilliat from Beeson Divinity School, joins us today teaching on the book of Song of Solomon, also called Song of Songs.

This book of lyrical poetry is a collection of 10 simple poems, where the couple speaking are freely describing their marital intimacy with joy and freedom. Song of Songs gives us a biblical example of God's beautiful gift of physical intimacy in marriage for a husband and wife. This kind of love is a foretaste of the eternal love we will experience in heaven.

Medieval theologian Bernard of Clairvaux had this to say about Song of Solomon, "If anyone desires to grasp these writings, then he needs to love. For anyone who does not love, it is vain to listen to this Song of love, or to read it, for a cold heart cannot catch fire from its eloquence." 

Dr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew, and also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children. Watch video on YouTube here

What would you say to Jesus if He asked you, "What do you really want?"

Jerry Leachman of Leachman Ministries joins us today with a message to inspire you to get creative - to get off the sidelines and get onto the field. With the time you've got left, when you're around people - build them up. Give them a lift. Be a blessing. Point them towards Jesus Christ. Every great coach will tell their team during training, "You've got to want it - you can't just show up in a uniform, you've got to want it - love it, eat it, breathe it, drink it. You've got to want it."

How will you spend the rest of your life?

Jerry is a favorite speaker at The Center's events. Along with being an associate Chaplain in The NFL for many years, Jerry has done ministry in Guatemala, Scotland, Russia, Europe and Africa as well as all over the U.S.

He and his wife Holly have been on Young Life Staff and continue to be involved with Young Life here and also internationally.

Do you find yourself in a game of comparison? 

Dr. Tim Keller says that we are the first culture in history where men get their sense of worth and significance based on how well they perform and achieve in life. 

It’s not that you want to be the greatest coach in America. What you find is that you just want to be a better coach than you, and you, and you, and you, and you. It’s a comparison thing. It’s a competitive thing. And, that’s where we get our sense of worth and value.

This creates envy and jealousy. Do you know what envy is? Wanting somebody else’s life. If I want someone else’s life, that means I’m not content with who I am, what I have and what I’m doing. And yet, contentment is God’s will for your life - that we would be content with where He has placed us, with the abilities He’s given us.

The question is: "How can I be set free from this trap of comparison that I’m in?”