Election Day: Feeling Alone When Loved Ones Vote Differently Than You

As I write this it is Election Day and I am struggling to maintain my angst and frustration. 

Leading up to this day I have interviewed a few people on the radio who have talked about how there are said to be millions of Christians who don’t bother to vote. This fact drives me crazy. I will never understand that choice and the fact that fellow believers are making it gives me the unmistakable feeling of being out on the front lines and glancing around me only to find out I am here alone.

Now, am I really out here alone? No. 

Am I even really on the frontlines? Not really, not compared to so many others. I’m just voting, it’s not even like I’m running for office. 

Have there been times I haven’t voted? Yes, once, because I wasn’t physically able to get back to my hometown to vote. But, when people live right down the street from their polling place and they don’t have to fight their way through some sort of militia to get there, I don’t understand how they can avoid doing something so easy. Especially because there have been and are people who have fought and died for the right to vote. They’ve sacrificed to make it easy for us, and some people are just like…, “Nah, no thanks.”

I’m not delusional, I know that one vote in a sea of millions can seem futile. But that’s how so many things in life work which are still worth doing. One step may seem futile, but without a bunch of single steps we wouldn’t be able to walk anywhere. One hour of work may seem like barely a drop in the bucket towards paying your bills, but without every single ‘one hour’ you’d have nothing at the end of the month. You can’t create a ‘bunch’ without a bunch of ‘ones’.

I also know that many people are skeptical about our votes being fairly counted. I too am skeptical about that. But, if they aren’t, then me voting doesn’t hurt anything and at least I tried. However, if they are counted fairly and I didn’t vote, then I messed up. So, the better gamble is to do what is in my power and vote.

---

Alas, I know people won’t be able to read this in time for me to try to convince them to vote in this election, so that is not why I am writing this.

“I am writing this for anyone who feels like their soul is being crushed by the people they expected to help them fight these battles but who have instead decided to turn a blind eye to them.”

— Amanda Hovseth

Instead, I am writing this for anyone out there who is struggling with the same thing I am at the moment. Anyone who knows people they care about who for some reason couldn’t be bothered to care enough to go cast a simple vote against the horrors which keep us up at night. Anyone who has that same churning in their stomach that they’ve come to associate with the desperation for people to just understand the importance of some things in this world. Anyone who feels like their soul is being crushed by the people they expected to help them fight these battles but who have instead decided to turn a blind eye to them.

What if that person causing this distress is your friend, your sibling, your parent, or even your spouse? Maybe you can’t help but think, “I don’t think I’d have married them if I knew they wouldn’t care about these things that are vitally important to our way of life.” Or, “I’d rather skip family get-togethers than have to pretend like I’m not bothered by my siblings’ indifference.”

To you, my fellow ball of distress, I say the same thing God so aptly made sure I heard this morning on the radio during the Focus on the Family Minute: 

“You didn’t marry the wrong person, you’re looking in the wrong place. You’re trying to find life from a person, from a job, from an amount of money, it’s never going to satisfy you. You have to look vertical, that’s the whole point. Look to God instead of your spouse to find fulfillment.”

God is still there, look to him instead of your spouse, your parent, your sibling, your friend.

---

At least for me, a huge part of that twisting in my gut is the fear of being alone in an important fight. The fear of feeling like I am screaming into a void and no one is there to hear or to care. The fear of looking to my left and right and finding out I am all alone…but I shouldn’t be looking left or right, I should be looking vertical. I should be looking to God, because God is always there.

Slowly, as I am reminded of that truth, the churning in my gut always begins to settle. The angst against people I love begins to fade. And the fear which was threatening to engulf me, disappears.

As God reminds us in Psalm 46:10 (NIV), “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Everyone is on their own journey, facing their own struggles, and growing at their own pace. Let’s give the people we love–and even those we only kind of like a little–the benefit of the doubt.

Yes, talk to them about the important things, about how you feel about their indifference, about how you wish you had their support, but do it from a place of love, not fear or anger. After all, it’s not them who will guide the course of history, that task is God’s alone.

---

I’m going to sign off for now, but I want to leave you with this: when I’m feeling really angsty about world events I take a moment to read Job 38 to be reminded of just how awe inspiring and powerful God is, and it puts my mind back in its safe little place under God’s “wing”.

Here’s just a little snippet of it to get you started:

Job 38:4 (NLT), “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, then, if you know so much.”

---

This series of blog posts titled, “Holding on to Reason”, is named after Amanda’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote: “Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.”

Click here for more things written or transcribed by Amanda Hovseth.

Why Do You Think Thomas Doubted?

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Johnathan Hernandez and Gary Schick.

Garry Schick
So, this is one that came to you, Jonathan. Somebody asked you the other day, "why do you think Thomas doubted?" And we were just talking this morning that this could even be a good springboard to talk about all 12. I mean, obviously Jesus is the center point. He's the focus of the gospels. But we do read about these other 12 guys who we get quite a bit about. Others only have their name, really. And then there's guys like Thomas that, and he kind of has this nickname, Doubting Thomas. Actually, if you're reading the gospels, he had a different nickname. He was also known as, "the twin." So he had a brother. But we're going to dig into all that a little bit today. But anyway, Jonathan what have you got?

Jonathan Hernandez
So, we see this right after the resurrection. The disciples were all together and Jesus comes. And unfortunately, or fortunately, I don't know how we want to look at this, but Thomas wasn't there. This is what? John 20:24, "One of the 12, Thomas, was not with the other disciples when Jesus came. And so the other disciples told him, 'we have seen Jesus." And this is where we see that whole, where we have given Thomas this nickname of, the doubter.

Garry Schick
But he didn't just doubt. He said, "I don't believe it." That's a little different.

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah. And he's like, "unless I see the nail marks, if I not only see it, but I want to put my hand on, so maybe my eyes won't deceive me. I have to be able to touch it and feel it." And, you know, that's intense. I think, as we look at the story, there's a lot of things that jump out to me. Like, why was Thomas not there? Right?

Garry Schick
Yeah.

Jonathan Hernandez
Thomas, he was a huge part that we see throughout different parts of scripture. He's a leader in a sense. He's part of this group, and so why is he not in the room at that time? And we can read into it and have some, I think I was reading one commentary. They said that they think he was out running errands doing some things like that and just missed it.

Garry Schick
Did he work for DoorDash?

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah. Maybe Uber or picking up the Walmart order, going to grab the fish. Who knows, right?

Garry Schick
Something fishy about that.

Jonathan Hernandez
And it's sad to think that he wasn't there. I think of another story---

Garry Schick
But it wasn't like Jesus said, "by the way, guys, I'm going to be here at six."

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah, and then Thomas just missed it. Right. But he did miss it. He wasn't there. There's a story in John 11 when Lazarus was sick. And, you know, Jesus, they haven't gone there yet. Cause he said, "let's wait. And then we'll go." And all the disciples are like, "whoa, wait. Let's not go. Because last time we went, they tried to kill you Jesus." And Thomas goes, "if he goes, I want to go. If he's going to die, then I might as well go die too."

Garry Schick
Yeah. But that's the way you phrase it. We might as well go die with Him.

Jonathan Hernandez
Yeah. So we've dubbed him, "Doubting Thomas," from that later event, but we also see where he didn't doubt anything in this moment. He's like, "Jesus. If he's going there, I'm going there and I'm going to go and die with him. I'm going to be part of this." And so we know that Thomas is just like, "I am going to do this. I'm going to be a part of this." And then we find him later on not being a part of it. And the question is, why do we think that he wasn't there? And to me, I always wonder, is it because of the hurt that he experienced at the cross? Thomas gave up his whole life to follow Jesus. He gave up everything to be a part of this group of people with Jesus. And maybe his expectations weren't met. And I think about us, like there's many times that we become hurt. And what do we do? We put up a wall. And I'm wondering if, from the moment of Jesus dying on the cross, did Thomas put up a wall? And was he walking around with hurt and pain and depression or whatever it may be that he was dealing with in that time. And then the disciples, obviously, they know where he's at, because they go and tell him, right? And they go, "Thomas, we've seen Jesus." And he's like, "oh, there's no way. It's impossible. There's no way that you've seen Jesus." And then we're like, "he totally missed it. He missed everything." And to us it feels like it should be the end of the story. And yet Jesus says, "no, that's not the end of the story. I'm going to come back and I'm going to show him." And He comes and he shows Thomas, and Thomas is able to see and everything, right? And he gets that extended grace that God gave him in that moment for him to be able to experience that breakthrough moment again for him.

Garry Schick
Well, and the breakthrough is not just that Jesus is alive, but also his statement as he falls at Jesus' feet. And, "my Lord and my God," he saw more clearly than anybody what this means. Jesus is not merely a man. I mean, we know this because we're looking at it from the other side. We've already seen the end of the book. But we have to remember, these guys are coming in to him. To them, I mean, the beginning of the gospel, he's called Rabbi. In fact, Mary Magdalene even calls him after the resurrection, 'rabbi,' which means teacher, an ordinary human teacher. But over time, well, "but this teacher does miracles. But this teacher teaches stuff that we haven't heard before that is clearly of God." It brings the scriptures together like we've never heard it brought together. What does this really mean? I mean, when he stilled the storm, the question of the disciples was, "who is this man?" Even with the wind and the waves, they still didn't know. But in Thomas, at that resurrection moment, "put your hands in my nail-scarred hands and in my side." And, you know, my thoughts on Thomas were exactly yours. One of the things about this that I love is it reminds me, and it reminds us. When we're reading the gospels, we're not reading good fiction. We're reading the real story about real people in the real world. I don't know if some of our listeners are fans of fantasy fiction, but in the fantasy world, in those stories, people always assume whatever the fantastic is---if you read a Greek myth where there's, what do they call them? A centaur or whatever, that's half man, half horse. Nobody is freaked out by this creature that is half man, half horse. They don't go, "did you see that? They're real?" No, they assume it. In fantasy, centaurs are real. Magic is real. Unicorns are real. Whatever it is that the fantasy is about; flying horses. I guess I'm tapping into a lot of Greek myth here, but nobody is surprised when a Pegasus flies into the room with his wings, because that's part of the reality of the fictional. But if it happened while we were broadcasting, where a faun, like Mr. Tumnus from Narnia. He comes in, this bare chested guy with the legs of a goat comes clomping into the room. I'm not sure what we would do with that, Jonathan, because this is the real world. And in the real world, people who are dead, stay dead. People in the biblical era, were far more aware of death than we are because all of our meat comes packaged from the grocery store. Where does milk come from? "Well, it comes from a bottle." No! These guys grew up on the farm. They drank it from the cow. They slaughtered the animals that they ate. They caught the fish, and they filleted them. They cooked them on the fire, and they saw the life go out of them. And one thing they knew, once it's dead, it's dead. And that includes those they loved. He was such a realist. "Well guys, let's go with him." Or even, you didn't mention that right before Jesus dies, Jesus is trying to comfort them. "Guys, do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me and my Father's House. There are many mansions, so I've told you. I'm going there to prepare a place. And if I go, I'll come back and take you to be with me. And you know the way to the place where I'm going." But Thomas is the one who speaks up. "Lord, we don't know where you're going. How do we know the way?" Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." And that was actually the last thing he hears Jesus say personally to him that we know of before the crucifixion. "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by me." And then the next day, Jesus is on a cross and dead. How does Thomas deal with it? I think you're right. I think he was grieving. I think he needed to be alone. He needed to be by himself. And when first he first heard the story, "Jesus is alive!" He thought, "Oh, come on, get on with your lives. This is over. And feel the pain. It's real." But then Jesus stood before him. And so we live in that real world. And Jesus is real, guys. You can embrace him. You know, Jesus said, "blessed are you who've seen and believe. Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe." That's us. But we've seen the testimony. And the first testimony that we're talking about is Thomas'.

What’s in the Cross Reference Library? The Librarian’s Top Three!

The Orphan’s Wish by Melanie Dickerson - Orphaned and alone, Aladdin travels from the streets of his Arab homeland to a strange, faraway place. Growing up in an orphanage, he meets young Lady Kirstyn, whose father is the powerful Duke of Hagenheim. Despite the difference in their stations, Aladdin quickly becomes Kirstyn’s favorite companion, and their childhood friendship grows into a bond that time and opposition cannot break. Even as a child, Aladdin works hard, learning all he can from his teachers. Through his integrity, intelligence, and sheer tenacity, he earns a position serving as the duke’s steward. But that isn’t enough to erase the shame of being forced to steal as a small child—or the fact that he’s an orphan with no status. If he ever wants to feel equal to his beautiful and generous friend Kirstyn, he must leave Hagenheim and seek his fortune. Yet once Aladdin departs, Lady Kirstyn becomes a pawn in a terrible plot. Now, Aladdin and Kirstyn must rely on their bond to save her from unexpected danger. But will saving Kirstyn cost Aladdin his newfound status and everything he’s worked so hard to obtain? 

What I love about this book: I’ve read and enjoyed the other books in Melanie Dickerson’s Hagenheim Fairytale Romance series, but this one really stuck out to me. Usually, when you hear about the story of Aladdin, what comes to mind? Do you think of the wishes? The genie? A cave of wonders and temptation?Well, what fascinates me about The Orphan’s Wish, is how the author decides to focus on the redemption of Aladdin. As a child, he stole money and food to survive. But when he escapes that life and becomes friends with the duke’s daughter, it becomes Aladdin’s mission to become more than his past. In a way, this version of the story feels more real to me. Now, I know the original is folklore and isn’t meant to feel real, but the fact that Dickerson’s Aladdin finds a way to achieve his new life without magic wishes is a lot more inspiring.

To Hell With The Hustle by Jefferson Bethke - Modern life increasingly makes us feel more wired, chaotic, and burned out. To Hell with the Hustle fights back. Jefferson Bethke shows you how to: 

• Quit the cycle of more, more, more

• Question the noise all around us

• Set boundaries and cultivate discipline

• Push back the demands of contemporary life 

• And rediscover the fundamentals that make us human

If you are weary of the pressure to be more, do more, have more, you have permission to opt out. To Hell with the Hustle is your necessary guide to resisting  our culture’s frantic madness and embracing the pace of Jesus. 

What I love about this book: I’d be lying if I said that my life wasn’t busy and stressful. And that’s why when I first read To Hell with the Hustle, I found that the author had a lot of good points on slowing down and finding ways to really be in the presence of Jesus in your daily life. Jefferson speaks to the individual reader where their at in their fast-paced chaotic life.

The Chronicles Of Narnia by C.S. Lewis  - The most well-known out of the seven, The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children who enter the magical land of Narnia through a mysterious wardrobe. Through their adventures, they meet talking animals and learn of a prophecy that speaks of them defeating an evil witch who has terrorized Narnia with an eternal winter. With the help of a powerful talking lion named Aslan, the children defeat the witch and become kings and queens of Narnia. And so followed a prequel story and five more adventures in the magical land of Narnia. These books are known for their religious themes. Featuring parallels to Genesis, Revelation, Jesus’ resurrection, and several stories about redemption as well.

What I love about this series (I expressed this in another post a few months ago): https://www.kcmifm.com/blog/2024/10/1/whats-new-at-the-cross-reference-library-something-pretty-awesome

What’s New in the Cross Reference Library? What Story Are You Writing?

The Novelist - What happens when a writer’s story begins to change the story of her life? To the world she’s Jordan Casey, creator of the wildly popular series of novels featuring international spy Rex Tower. To her family she’s Jordan Casey Kerrigan, a loving wife and mom with an almost empty nest, and an unexpectedly successful midlife career. To the diverse class of community college students she’s agreed to take on for a fiction-writing course, she’s a complex teacher determined to prove that with a plan and some dedication, any one of them can do what she does. To show what she means—and to respond to a challenge from an egotistical student—she decides to actually write a novel for the class. But not a Rex Tower novel. Not a spy blockbuster. Something more personal, something closer to home. Something that touches on her faith and might even speak to her deeply troubled younger son, Zack. But something strange is happening in the midst of it all. As she struggles to keep the novel on track, Jordan starts to realize it holds a deeper mystery than she could ever plot. And she and Zack are part of it. The stirring outcome is something the novelist could never anticipate…or dare to dream. And the truth is stranger than any fiction. 

Paperback Writer - Paul James Watson is the writer of mid-list paperback novels. His humdrum life is flat, routine, and generally unimpressive, and his spiritual life follows suit. But Watson’s escape is his craft. He becomes absorbed in his novels and his character, Toby McKenna, a highly successful detective who always solves the crime, heroically putting his life on the line for justice. But there is another Paul James Watson. He is the Watson of his imagination, who is living a life in his mind of new and exciting situations, conversations, and relationships. It is not long before the lines of reality, fiction, and imagination become so entwined that the real Watson threatens to become lost.

My Thoughts -  For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by those who write for a living. Especially those who write novels. Their attention to detail when it comes to characters, plot, and world-building is quite spectacular in my opinion. When these two books were donated, I thought it was funny just how similar they were. They each step into the shoes of authors who write about spies/detectives for a living, and they have reached a point in their career where they feel hollow and the passion is slipping away. But what really caused me to want to share these novels here, were the taglines on the back of each book. For The Novelist it says, “What happens when a writer’s story begins to change the story of her life?” And with Paperback Writer we get, “Paul James Watson is a paperback writer. But is he writing fiction or living it?” They seem to let us know that, “you’re about to, as the reader, discover what it feels like to be the author.” And what’s even more awesome is how that author, the main character of the novel you’re reading, gets their chance to experience a full character arc. Written by Stephen Bly and Angela Hunt, those character arcs have allegory in their veins. With the intention to show their readers a loving God. But also to show that the Author of our lives has our story written and has a perfect plan for our lives. There is a song by Katy Nicole that goes like this: “God is in this story. God is in the details. Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart.” So come on into the Cross Reference Library and check out these novels and discover their incredible messages.

What’s New in the Cross Reference Library? Who do you put your trust in?

Emotional Confidence - Tired of up-and-down emotions stealing your peace, sabotaging your relationships, and filling your mind with self-defeating thoughts? What if you had a scientific and biblical emotional management tool to help you work through your feelings with both compassion and clarity? In Emotional Confidence, certified Christian life coach and award-winning podcast host Alicia Michelle shares her proven three-step method to:

• Process emotional overwhelm, overthinking, and avoidance

• Acknowledge feelings without judgement

• Filter emotions through God’s clarifying lens of truth

• Courageously choose scriptural responses

With helpful exercises, client stories, scientific evidence, and heartfelt honesty, this book overflows with practical ways to partner with God to manage your emotions for better relationships, less anxiety, and a more confident you. 

Messages of God’s Abundance - At the height of Nazi power, amid the horrors of a concentration camp, the seeds of faith and forgiveness grew to fruition in the heart of a young Dutch woman named Corrie ten Boom. Outlasting  Ravensbruck and Hitler’s regime, Ms. ten Boom went on to accomplish what brute power never could: conquer hearts across the world with healing words of hope, forgiveness, and trust in God. Broadcast across Europe using the very radio equipment the Nazis had built to spread propaganda, the inspirational messages of Corrie ten Boom appear here in print. These writings reflect the broad experiences of a woman who preached the gospel around the world, yet who found her greatest adventure exploring the endless riches of God’s Word.

What's in the Cross Reference Library? Melody Carlson Christmas Books!

A Simple Christmas Wish - Rachel Milligan never imagined that she and her seven-year-old niece would spend the week before Christmas on a quaint Amish farm in Ohio. But with so many unexpected occurrences of late, perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised. With her young niece Holly in tow, Rachel anxiously makes her way from Chicago to Ohio’s Amish country. As love begins to blossom, family secrets emerge, and old wounds are healed, Rachel realizes that she will do whatever it takes to ensure that Holly has the loving family she needs. Join bestselling author Melody Carlson on an emotional journey into the heart of what family truly means at Christmastime. 

The Christmas Swap - All Emma Daley wants this holiday season is a white Christmas. But the young teacher and struggling musician sure can’t find that in sunny Arizona. Luckily, there’s someone living in a perfect mountain home in the Colorado Rockies looking to make a vacation trade. West Prescott is an in-demand song-writer and talented musician who put his own singing career on hold to write songs for celebrity acts to perform. When his mother convinces him to do a vacation trade  for Christmas, he never imagined one of the houseguests would be so sweet—or so strikingly pretty. Naturally, he decides to stick around, and to get better acquainted, he poses as the caretaker of his own house. But when Emma’s friend Gillian discovers his true identity and sets her sights on him, things get…messy. 

I love Christmas! The lights, the decorations, the delicious cookies, hot chocolate, and especially the contagious happiness and cheer in everyone’s hearts. What causes that cheer and happiness? Well, at this time of year, the answer to that question could be one of four things. Maybe for a lot of the kiddos in our lives—or even those of us who are young at heart—the joy is found in the seasonal decor and treats. 

Another reason could be that it makes us feel good to give and receive at Christmastime. Whether we are giving gifts or even giving our time to someone else this holiday season, seeing the gratitude and delight on their faces always makes it worth it. Every time. For the past three years, my mom and I have made a point of picking a name from the Angel tree at Riverstone Bank. As I go through the store, or even as I hand the clothes and toys off to where they need to go, I get this wonderful feeling of hope and excitement for the child I picked from the tree. And when I’m with my family on Christmas, I get to visualize what that little girl or boy thought of their gift. Especially now, I’m grateful that my Heavenly Father has given me and my family the opportunity to bless a few of the boys and girls whose names have been placed upon the Angel tree. 

The third reason to consider has a little bit to do with these two books: A Simple Christmas Wish and The Christmas Swap. All over the world, great merriment is found when a family is brought together to look at lights, eat the cookies, and as I said before, giving and receiving special gifts! But unfortunately, there’s also a big percentage of people who have lost a loved one, and the holiday season will never be the same due to their absence. In the first chapter of A Simple Christmas Wish, we are introduced to Rachel as she is taking care of her niece Holly during the Christmas season. After a fun night of decorating together, Rachel gets a horrifying call that inevitably changes her life—and Holly’s—forever. After taking up guardianship of Holly, Rachel doesn’t exactly know where to turn. So after a trip to Ohio’s Amish country—and a few ups and downs to call for—Rachel and Holly were able to gain a new family while grieving the family they had lost. Now, with our other Christmas novel, The Christmas Swap, our main character technically hasn’t lost anyone, but after her past experiences with the Christmas holiday, spending it alone just feels like the better option. Emma’s parents left the states to start a missions school in Africa before she graduated from college, and she’d been spending Christmas with her best friend’s rich family ever since. As you can imagine, and as these books usually go, by the end of this novel Emma realizes how fortunate she was that she didn’t stay home that Christmas and got to meet West. 

To conclude, I realized something kinda cool. I was directed recently to Hebrews 4:14-16 and verse 15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” So then I started to wonder, “If Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses, does He sympathize with the joy we feel during the Christmas season?” I bet the answer would be, “Yes,” and here’s how:

Joy in the Food and Lights

I’m not sure if Jesus ever got to taste anything similar to hot chocolate and sugar cookies, as we know them today, but the star that lit up the sky around the time of His birth was so much more spectacular than any of the lawn decorations we see today. 

Joy in the Gifts Received and Given

On His birthday (our Christmas), Jesus received gold, frankincense, and myrrh as a gift. But as the Messiah, He gave the greatest gift of all! Jesus gave His life for us and now we can continue to grow in a relationship with Him during the Christmas season, and on every other day of the year. 

Joy in the Time Spent With Others

Every year on His birthday, Jesus got to spend time with His earthly family: his parents Mary and Joseph, his other relatives like Elizabeth, Zechariah and John. And even on the night of Jesus’ birth, and the many years that followed: the shepherds spent Christmas/His birthday with Him and his family, and about a year later the wise men attended as well. So Jesus does know what it’s like to spend the holiday surrounded by those who love Him. But for those of you out there who have lost a loved one and you aren’t sure how you’re going to make it through the holiday without your friend, sister, or maybe even a father, I want to say a couple things. The first is that you are not alone. While your earthly friend or family member is gone, your heavenly Father will never leave you or forsake you. Especially this Christmas season! I bet it makes Him even more excited that He gets to celebrate His Son’s birthday and grace every single one of us with His presents every Christmas. And the second thing is that I recommend the song, The Sweetest Gift by Craig Aven. The chorus goes like this:

It gives me hope and joy as I remember where you are

You’re with the Son of God

You’re with the Prince of Peace

You’re with the one who’s celebrating

And that thought amazes me

Sometimes I still break down

Grieving that we’re apart

But the sweetest gift is knowing where you are

You’re with the Son of God

Oh, and before I forget, do you remember how I said at the beginning that the reason for joy at Christmas could be one of four things? Well, my hope for each and every person who reads this post, is that their reason for Christmas cheer this season is, of course, Jesus! Place the reminder of His birth and of his gift on your heart this holiday. And stop on by the Cross Reference Library and check out these heart-warming Christmas novels. 

—Merry Christmas!

What’s New in the Cross Reference Library? Christmas Books!

The Shepherd’s Cross - Christmas Eve is the wrong time to be laid off, especially for twenty-seven-year-old Chipper Gaines, with a wife, two kids, and another on the way. A return to the bottle, a crutch in hard times since his homecoming from World War II six years ago, seems Chipper's only recourse. But three mysterious encounters that night before Christmas begin Chipper on a journey to healing for himself and his family.

Heartwarming Christmas Stories - In Heartwarming Christmas Stories, twelve short stories capture the very essence of the Christmas season—love, wonder, family, faith, and sacrifice. Each memorable tale is thoughtfully illustrated with an original line drawing that beautifully portrays the heart of the story. These moving stories are penned by some of today’s most beloved Christian fiction authors. Authors such as Angela Hunt, Jack Cavanaugh, and Robin Jones Gunn. 

My Thoughts: When these two books were donated just about a month ago, I was excited in two different ways. First of all, the covers are absolutely gorgeous. The gold trim on the Heartwarming Christmas Stories cover took my breath away when I first saw it. But I also loved how these books reminded me of the Christmas movies I grew up watching with my mom. Films such as: It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Christmas Oranges, and even Charlie Brown Christmas. What makes those movies, and these new books such good Christmas stories, is the heart and messages infused within each one. There is a certain comfort I find in those kinds of Christmas stories. A kind of comfort I will never find in watching films like Home Alone, Elf, or The Grinch for that matter. Like that of the first Christmas story, of the night Jesus was born, there should be hope and love. And that’s what can be found in these new Christmas books. So, merry Christmas from The Cross Reference Library and have a happy new year!

Did God Create The World In A Literal Six Days?

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Camp Pastors Adam Sanders, Colby Houchin, and Art Devos.

Colby Houchin
So, we've been asked this question before and we're going to answer it, or respond to it in this format. So, we were asked the question, "did God create the world in a literal six days?" That was the way that we were asked. So Art, I'm curious about what you want to say.

Art Devos
Yeah, no, absolutely. This is a question that I used to sit in the camp of. "It really doesn't matter, because it's not a salvation issue, if I'm being honest." That was the camp I sat in. I said, "if you want to believe that God used evolution, so be it, as long as you believe God created it and it's not a salvation issue." So that's where I used to sit. And then I actually started studying the Book of Genesis more. I started to understand how that was actually a very flawed way of my thinking. Because, if I could think that about this, I could also think that about other parts of scripture. And that's why I love how you started this out. About this kind of being, the theme of this podcast is, what is your view of scripture? How do you hold it? Because if we don't hold it in a high esteem, if we don't look at it as, this is all God's word, then it's very easy to take a passage like Genesis 1 and it's very easy to turn it around and say, "it's just poetry or it was just," and you could add in whatever you wanted to. You could try to then say, "well, God created it and then let evolution take place over the next couple of millions of years and do that." But there's problems with that way of thinking, because if you want to say that there were millions of years after God created the world, and in between these days, there's a lot of issues with that because evolution is also based on the premise of destruction and death. So that would mean that all had to come before Genesis 3. But you're trying to say that it came before man, but otherwise that would say that then something's wrong in the Bible. Also, when you study the Hebrew and in these passages, and it's, Ken Ham has some great resources on this and there's one in particular that I'll make sure to share. I can't think of it off the top of my head what it's called.

Colby Houchin
Put a link, maybe, in the YouTube notes.

Art Devos
Yeah, I'll make sure that's all on our website as well and with this video. Because he explains it incredibly well. And he's absolutely right, that it's kind of odd that biblical scholars will universally agree throughout all of scripture that when the Hebrew word "Yom" is used, that it represents a 24 hour day. And they agree all the way through the rest of the Old Testament, whenever that word is used for the word 'day,' that's a literal 24 hour day. But then they argue that it can't be in Genesis 1, that there are those that argue that it can be. Well, that's kind of fascinating in and of itself. But then, you go a little bit deeper, anytime that there is a number associated with a day, it always means a literal 24 hour day all through the rest of the scripture. But then people still try to argue that here in Genesis 1:1, it isn't. And then to go even a step further, he also says that there was morning, there was evening. And anytime that that statement is made, it talks about a literal 24 hour day, all throughout the rest of scripture. And Bible scholars agree to this...until it comes to Genesis 1:1. Then there's suddenly all this argument. But yet, it's like God is saying, "I'm going to make sure they understand." There was evening and there was morning, the second day. There was evening and there was morning, the third day. There was evening and morning, the fourth day. And so you start to get into that, and when you really start to look at it, it's like, "okay, I think it's a literal 24 hour day. I think that's what God is trying to get across to me." And oh, by the way, God can do that. Like I said, I really have changed my stance. And I believe to give God His ultimate sovereignty and His all ultimate authority of scripture. And when it goes through Genesis 1 and you see the statement, God said, "and it was so." Then I believe it to be true. So that's where I start on it. That's where I want to start.

Colby Houchin
So I think we talked about this beforehand, just because it's a really important question to be like, "Hey, how are we going to approach this?" We could probably go for about three more hours on this topic, because there's a lot of implications for what Art just said. And there's also a lot of counter arguments that people will throw back in this. And so I wanted to throw it back over to you, Adam, because you had a really interesting perspective or that came up when Art was talking that came to my mind. It's almost a question to ask, and I think it's going to set you up well. A question to ask on this is, what comes first in your mind? Does what you heard in 10th grade biology class come first or does scripture come first? Because what often happens is, people will go, "well, I'm reading Genesis and it says this, but I've heard all of these different things. And because I've heard all these different things, I've got to figure out, what holes do I shove scripture into and anything that I don't like is just not going to be shoved in there. I'm just going to push that aside. I think one temptation that we have is to take things and to flip the hierarchy away. And so, I'm saying this poorly. Scripture is meant to be authoritative. And so, we switch that in our minds. We have a temptation to switch that in our minds where we say, "well, it is authoritative, but not as authoritative as what I read in this one textbook." And so that relationship is kind of important. But what were you going to say? We talked about this at the beginning.

Adam Sanders
Oh yeah, no, I think what you're saying is, I think it's a good question to ask yourself. Especially if the question is probably coming from a Christian perspective. I think something Colby was getting out there is just the question of, why is it in your mind? Do you immediately default the Bible to the lesser authority position that must prove itself while elevating your scientific textbook to the higher authority that demands an answer?

Colby Houchin
Thank you for being smarter than me in your wording.

Adam Sanders
But yeah, and it's a fantastic question. It's something that probably needs to come from us, and starting from a heart issue. And we were talking about earlier, something I found a lot of times is that there is maybe a weakness in another area that kind of gives way for that line of thinking. To where we are maybe unknowingly or knowingly pursuing worldly things. And so as a result of that, we were growing affection for worldly things. And maybe that is causing us to elevate worldly wisdom above godly wisdom as a default position, whether we recognize that we're doing it or not. And I think, so it's a good opportunity to have a heart diagnostic under those circumstances for sure. Part of me goes back to the thought too, kind of what angle are you asking this question from? Is it a personal question or is it something you get asked from a lot of people? I feel a little bit like Art, a little bit like a fire hydrant that's trying to maybe just give a trickle right now and not just kind of let the floodgates open up. One thing I think we've talked about on here before, but something I think bears repeating is that, the world is really not truly broken down into these kind of separate binary categories. Where we have science here, and we have religion here in almost all of these areas. I think the more you study scientific inquiry, and especially a lot of theories like evolution and the age of the earth, and you really are leaving the realm of science. I know we said that before, but it bears repeating over and over again. You're getting into philosophical questions as soon as you start to try to ask things like, "where did the world come from? Why is it here? Why is there purpose?" I think we give a little too much credit to the secular perspective without asking the same degree or even a higher degree of probing and hard questions back towards that.

Colby Houchin
Yeah, I think a way to say that is, the enlightenment is this time period where just thinking through really hard things became very popular. There's a million and one good things that came from that, but there was also a lot of negative things. Where we became very critical as a just human people group. We became incredibly critical of all kinds of things and it ended up leading to a lot of people saying, "Hey, you know what?" Going back to our first question, "maybe marriage isn't that important. Maybe it's okay if I just, maybe a monogamy is not important. So, I could be married, but I can also have people on the side that I sleep with. Or maybe this rigid fundamentalist structure of loving your children and raising them as a husband and wife; maybe that's arbitrary and old and we can throw that out." A lot of these movements are birthed out of a very similar time period, a similar university movement. And when you look at church history, and just history in general, you see a lot of correlations to where a lot of these different societal things changed. And that's also where a big push of questioning scripture, and like you said, questioning scripture where you don't have the same scrutiny of what is said by the scientists. That causes some issues. Did you have anything else you wanted to say before I kind of switch it up a little bit?

Adam Sanders
No, I just think, like I said, I'm kind of trying to refrain maybe from just diving headfirst in. I definitely don't ever want to promote a sense of anti-intellectualism, or causing you to always be very harshly, overly skeptical of all authority figures or that kind of thing. I think there's too much of that in our culture today. I will say, a lot of the ideas that affect the Western world today are born out of, like what Colby was saying, an era and a time where there was a desire first and foremost like, "Hey, we don't want Christianity. How do we get rid of it? Oh, Charles Darwin went to this island and he found these bird beaks. Maybe this is how all of life came about. Oh, Karl Marx has come up with this new system of government in which we don't need to have a higher authority power to tell us how to do things. We can do it on our own through rationale and reasoning." Mind you, when I say this, all of these things have been terribly bad for human beings. The record proves.

Art Devos
Adam, what did you go to school for originally?

Adam Sanders
To be a science teacher.

Art Devos
I mean, let's just say I went to school to be a history teacher.

Colby Houchin
I went to school to be a physical therapist, so it doesn't really help.

Art Devos
No, but knowledge is a good thing. We need to continue to learn and grow, and there is a lot of great things. But as Christians, there is one thing that we are called to do, and that is to test all things by what scripture has to say, which is the importance of knowing God's word from the very beginning. And so when you do sit in that science class that is talking about evolution and things like that too, test it by what scripture has to say first, and you're going to find out it's not the truth. Look, evolutionary theory is just that it's only theory. And they stopped using words like theory because they realized that people are like, "oh, well, it still says theory, so therefore it's not proven." They're trying to now teach it as that it's a proven fact that evolution is true. And they do those kinds of things, because the world is trying to lie to you. Satan is using those things to try to lie to you. Test all things by what the word of God has to say, and you will realize that the word of God actually continues to be proven true over and over and over again. And so a lot of these tools that they try to come up with to prove their theories to be true, sometimes even accidentally prove the Bible to be true. And oh, but what about carbon dating? Carbon dating is actually a very faulty science.

Colby Houchin
It's absurd.

Art Devos
Yeah, it is very faulty. It's like, "well, we've come up with a way to count carbon atoms and figure out the deterioration, and-"

Colby Houchin
It's built on about 15 assumptions. All the assumptions have to be correct for their measurements to be correct.

Art Devos
And if one assumption is false, it completely then throws the whole thing off. And so it is not a factual science in any way, shape, or form. Which is why, again, test all things by scripture. And that's why too, when you can go back through scripture and you can follow the genealogies and you can get back, and you're suddenly like, well, the genealogies, when you add this all up and there's a way to do it and to do it accurately well, the world is just over 6,000 years old. And then you kind of look at it and you're like, even outside of the Bible, when they have done archeological digs and things like that, they continue to find artifacts of people that truly did exist that are biblical figures. And you're like, yeah, because they're real. They're here in the Bible. We can see that it's true. And they find these things and it only emphasizes more and more that the Bible is true. And that's why when we look at, "did God create the world in a literal six days," we can say with confidence, "yes, and this is why."

Colby Houchin
I want to change the perspective and kind of speak directly to you, the listener. Because I've watched people get themselves in trouble on this topic a couple different ways that people can get themselves in trouble. The first thing is my students, and I am sure some of you are listening, and you guys are going to roll your eyes. But you know that if you ask the questions on a Sunday morning of, tell us how to win these arguments or help us learn how to argue these things in school. So when they say this, we can combat it. And what I will never do is just say, "here's your argument." I can't just learn my words and recite them in front of you. Because what's going to happen if you know the words, but you don't actually understand what you're saying or understand the nuances of how we're talking about this. What you're going to do is, you're going to say, "well, 'this,' 'this,' and 'this." And then a educated, informed person on the other side is going to push back and you're going to crumble and you're going to have no idea what to do. And so I encourage kind of a sparring to boxing idea. My job is not to just put a boxing glove on your hand and go, "okay, go hit somebody whenever this comes up." My job is to spar with you. I have my ring at the table. I swung my arm to spar with you, to box with you, to train you and to help you learn how to box so that when you get in the ring, you're not just doing what I tell you, but you know how to do it. And so with these topics, I want to encourage you that you don't, first of all, you don't need to be an expert in all of the nuance of this thing. You don't need to be an expert on Genesis 1-3 in the Hebrew, in the original intent of everything in order to be a good Christian. You don't need to know any of those things. It's good to know, I don't want to say you don't need to know any of it. You don't need to be an expert on all of these things. You don't need to be overwhelmed by these things. But you also don't need to be intimidated by people that are really good at arguing specific elements because I'll find it all the time. I've been a pastor for years. I am about six weeks away from having my master's degree. I feel like I'm pretty knowledgeable on some things, but people will ask me a question even on a topic that I know really well. They'll just ask it in a way that's weird, or they'll catch me at the wrong moment and I'll be like, "oh man." I'm like, "I don't know what to say." And they're like, "ah, you're an idiot. You don't know anything." And I'm like, "that's not true though." And so one thing I want to encourage people, and when I kind of found this out, it just liberated me in a lot of areas. You don't need to answer questions that are not asked in good faith. That's one thing that I have found. Unless you are really solid in where you are at in your knowledge of things. If somebody is asking you a question and you can sense that they're asking me this question, hoping that they can trick me and trap me, you don't have to answer them. You can present a brand new question. That's one thing that I've taught my students. If somebody goes, and I did this at senior camp, some of the students might remember it. We had a counselor kind of test me, ask me a question about, "well, you're telling me about the gospel and you're telling me about all these different things, but I believe," and this was a character he was playing, "I believe that the world is 780 million years old." And I think that disproves scripture. And I went, "okay, well, Adam was created with a history because he was created as an adult. And so maybe the world was created with a history, but here's what I want to tell you about Jesus." And so what I did is, I was like, here, I'm going to sidestep the bullet that you shot at me. I'm going to present my own question, and I'm going to answer that question, because that's a very valid thing to do, to go, "Hey, you know what?" At the end of the day, this is an important topic, but we can recognize that this isn't the evangelistic conversation that's going to change everybody's lives. When we convince people that Genesis 1-3 can stand up against the academic rigors of evolutionary biology, I don't think the church walls are going to be stormed by a bunch of people repenting. It's actually the message of Christ that does that. And so that doesn't mean that this isn't important, but it shows us, "Hey, at the end of the day, you don't need to box yourself into a corner and be afraid of this topic." We can stand on the truth of the gospel. We can lean against the truth of the cross and the resurrection, and that can be our strength.

Art Devos
And if someone is trying to entrap you and to get you into that kind of an argument, give them Colby's number.

Colby Houchin
I'll fight them, like I said. I'll put on my boxing gloves.

Art Devos
This is great. And again, it really boils down to, what is our viewpoint of scripture? Is this the authoritative word of God? And you believe that it is and you should believe that it is, then we should also take it at its value in what it says.

The 12 Books of Christmas - Peace On Earth

The Sound of Sleigh Bells - Beth Hertzler works alongside her beloved Aunt Lizzy in their dry goods store and serves as a contact between Amish craftsmen and Englischer retailers. But remorse and loneliness still echo in her heart every day, and she still wears dark dresses to indicate her mourning of her fiance. When she discovers a large, intricately carved scene of Amish children playing in the snow in an Englischer store, something deep inside Beth’s soul responds, and she wants to help the unknown artist find homes for his work. Lizzy sees the changes in her niece when Beth shows her the woodworking, and after meeting Jonah, the artist, she is determined that Beth come to know this man whose hands create healing art. But it’s not that simple—Beth has cut herself off from any possibility of romance. Will Lizzy’s elaborate plan to reintroduce her niece to love work? Will Jonah be able to offer Beth new hope and a second chance at real love—or just more heartbreak?

Christ in the Carols -  “This Christmas will be different.” Every year you tell yourself that. Every December you promise that you’re going to make time for wonder. For pondering the Story of stories. But somehow the crush of holiday activities often leaves us feeling like lonely observers instead of participants in the true meaning of Jesus’ birth. So come closer to Christmas. To Christ. Let this devotional be your guide as it leads you through thirty-one readings guaranteed to leave you awestruck at Jesus, our Emmanuel. Discover little-known stories and meaningful insights about your best-loved carols. And experience the warmth of the songs of the season. This Christmas season really can be different. Let Christopher and Melodie Lane take you on a journey toward the Jesus of Bethlehem. We promise you’ll love every minute you invest in discovering Christ in the Carols.  

Cosmic Christmas - We know the Christmas characters well: the singing angels, the simple teenage girl, the surprised carpenter… We know the Christmas story so well: journey to Bethlehem, no room, stable, shepherds, star, hosts of angels, wise men… But do we know all the characters? Do we know the whole story? What about the hidden happenings that might have led to the Savior’s birth? Was the arrival of Jesus a quietly profound event? Or could it have been the result of heavenly battles, angel armies, and a scheming Satan? Envision a confrontation in heaven between the King of creation and the rebellious Satan. Threats, challenges, a gauntlet laid on the floor of the sky. And then the passage from heaven to earth — “There was a war in heaven” the Bible states (Revelation 12:7). Angels battling Satan’s armies as they transport the essence of heaven itself. Come along as author Max Lucado takes us on a journey into his imagination — pulling back the curtain as we see what might have taken place one “Cosmic Christmas”

The Purpose of Christmas -  Why is Christmas such a big deal? If you stop to think about it, it is astounding that the simple, unassuming birth of a peasant baby boy more than two thousand years ago in the Middle East can today cause traffic jams every December in places like New York City, Tokyo, and Rio de Janeiro. The night Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a small group of poor shepherds were quietly tending their flocks of sheep in a nearby field, looking up at the stars. Nothing seemed any different from a thousand other nights. But what was about to happen would transform not only their lives but billions of other lives as well. The world would never be the same again. Regardless of your background, religion, problems, or circumstances, Christmas really is the best news you could get. In his powerful yet compassionate voice, Rick Warren explains how God designed Christmas to meet your three deepest needs and how understanding and receiving God’s three Christmas gifts to you will transform your life forever. An instant classic, this book is one to be read every Christmas season and then passed on to friends, family members, and loved ones. 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” The famous praise that the shepherds heard the angels proclaim the night of Jesus’ birth, is brought back every Christmas season. Either through home decor or holiday cards, we are presented with the hope of “Peace on Earth.” And in the holiday books that I chose for this week, the characters and authors are all either: hoping for peace, finding peace, fighting for peace, and also proclaiming peace. In The Sound of Sleigh Bells, we find Beth weighed down by grief with the recent loss of her beloved husband. Her Aunt Lizzy longs to help her find peace in this hard time but through this story, that proves to be quite difficult. While Beth’s peace in life is everyone’s hope, authors Christopher and Melodie Lane help us find Christ in the Carols. This holiday devotional gives us a brief history of the carols and also what we can take from their messages. For example, even though it wasn’t technically wasn’t a Silent Night, author Joseph Mohr captures a moment of peace, a holy hush that surely settled over Bethlehem as all of heaven viewed His birth. And speaking of heaven’s view of things, Max Lucado’s Cosmic Christmas gives us an interesting view of Christ’s coming through the eyes of the angels. God asks Gabriel to deliver a couple important things to earth, a message to the virgin Mary and God’s ultimate gift. But the journey from heaven to earth was not going to be easy. The angels knew that the devil would do anything to prevent God’s gift from making it to earth. This battle for everlasting peace put in this perspective reminds me of the song, The Champion by Carman. The Champion represents the fight between Jesus and Satan during the time of the crucifixion. In a very powerful way, this song describes the excruciating pain Jesus underwent in this gruesome battle between good and evil. The song ends with Jesus’ victory and peace on earth finally gained. After all, that is why He is the Prince of Peace, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 4:6-7. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and discover some of these amazing holiday reads.

What’s in the Cross Reference Library? New Christmas Books!

The Promise and the Light - It was a time of defeat, of disappointment, of darkness. But one day…one day, the ancient promise said, there would be light. A young carpenter, a teenage girl and an elderly priest find themselves in the middle of one of the greatest adventures in history. They will encounter soldiers and rebels, angry relatives and mysterious visitors. Donkeys will escape, doors will be slammed, and friends will be lost and made. And they will see the light begin to dawn. The promise is coming true. But no one ever thought it would happen quite like this. 

This Christmas Night - Christmas is the most thrilling season of the year. As we look back over the years, memories of many Christmases flood our minds. Christmas cards that we read and reread, the smell of pine drifting through the house, the fireplace crackling—all of these things turn our thoughts to those we love. Most of all, Christmas is when our minds go back to that lowly manger in Bethlehem, and we hear beyond the noise of our materialistic world the soft flutter of angels’ wings. We see the tenderness of a mother with her first-born Son…we feel the softness of a Baby. Amid the glitter and busyness of the season, Billy & Ruth Graham hope that you will experience anew the miracle and meaning of that Christmas night.  

Christmas Quotes From Billy Graham - “Don’t leave Jesus in the manger; don’t remember Him only at Christmas. Instead, learn to walk with Him every day, as you pray and read His Word and ask Him to help you.”

“Mary and Joseph were just as familiar with the facts of life as we are. But they also realized something was happening that had never happened before: God alone would be the child’s father. In other words, this child would be absolutely unique—not only because He would be born of a virgin, but because He would be both fully man and fully God. God was coming to live among us!”

“As this Christmas approaches, I pray you will look at Jesus—as He is revealed in the pages of the New Testament—with an open heart and mind. When you do, you’ll discover not only that God is real, but that He loves you and wants to transform your life.”

“On that first Christmas over 2,000 years ago, God did something that we can barely grasp: He became a man. Think of it: The God who created the universe stooped down from Heaven and became a human being!”