{"id":302492,"date":"2012-04-02T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/awakened-to-the-messiah\/"},"modified":"2012-04-02T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-02T15:00:00","slug":"awakened-to-the-messiah","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/awakened-to-the-messiah\/","title":{"rendered":"Awakened to the Messiah"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you burdened by an unbelieving family member?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-04-02.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"26.1M","filesize_raw":"27367102","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2821],"tags":[4133,4679,2639],"podcast_series":[7868],"cwp_profile":[8950],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302492","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reaching-out","tag-coming-to-christ","tag-salvation","tag-sharing-your-faith","podcast_series-bringing-the-gospel-home","cwp_profile-randy-newman","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302492\/awakened-to-the-messiah","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302492\/awakened-to-the-messiah","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"AxFcYFRtJX\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/awakened-to-the-messiah\/\">Awakened to the Messiah<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/awakened-to-the-messiah\/embed\/#?secret=AxFcYFRtJX\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Awakened to the Messiah&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"AxFcYFRtJX\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Are you burdened by an unbelieving family member?","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-04-02.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 As a college student, Randy Newman had other priorities than trying to figure out the meaning and purpose of life.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 For a full year-and-a-half\u2014it was either, laughing at it\u2014watching the crazy movies, getting drunk\u2014or really wrestling with, \u201cWhat is the point of all of this?\u201d\u00a0 It all seemed so absurd!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen this friend of mine died, in the middle of my sophomore year,\u2014that was sort of the siren call of, \u201cOkay.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to make some decisions.\u00a0 Was Jesus really Who He said He was?\u00a0 Is the Christian explanation about life coherent or is life absurd and meaningless?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Monday, April 2nd.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Randy Newman\u2019s wake-up call his sophomore year turned out to be more than a wake-up call.\u00a0 It was a new life call for him.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us on the Monday edition.\u00a0 You know, holidays like Christmas or Easter, when they come along, can be a time that we look forward to; but oftentimes, if you\u2019re going to be getting together with family members and if family members don\u2019t know Christ, that holiday can be something that there\u2019s some anxiety about.\u00a0 You want to communicate your own faith in Christ, and yet you want to make sure your relationship with your family stays intact.\u00a0 Sometimes that turns into a burden that can put a damper on the holiday.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It does!\u00a0 A lot of our listeners are burdened by family members who don\u2019t know Christ and who don\u2019t share their religious convictions\u2014core convictions\u2014about the Scriptures, about Jesus Christ, His work on the cross, the empty tomb.\u00a0 When they get together over family holidays or celebrating an anniversary or a birthday, there\u2019s a sense of loss.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that we want to shove something down a family member\u2019s throat.\u00a0 We really desire to introduce our family to the One that we love the most, Jesus Christ; but it does represent one of the biggest challenges in sharing our faith with anyone that we\u2019re ever going to face.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m glad that we have the author of <em>Bringing the Gospel Home:<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em><em>Witnessing to Family Members, Close Friends, and Others Who Know You Well<\/em>.\u00a0 Dr. Randy Newman joins us on <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\u00a0 I\u2019m emphasizing <em>Doctor <\/em>because he\u2019s in the process of getting it.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You\u2019ve just gone ahead and conferred it on him right here.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I just want to just declare it.\u00a0 It\u2019s done, Randy!\u00a0 Welcome back to the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thanks!\u00a0 It\u2019s great to be with you, and thank you for that doctorate.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see if the academic community will accept it.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 I\u2019ll take it any way I can get it; thanks!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Randy is a fellow staffer on Cru<sup>\u00ae<\/sup> staff\u2014formerly, Campus Crusade for Christ.\u00a0 He has served for more than three decades with college students\u2014most recently, I guess, in Washington, D.C., with a number of colleges there\u2014faculty members, students, staff members.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe has had a burden for evangelism because of being on staff.\u00a0 That\u2019s a good place to express it; but I want to go back to your own personal faith, Randy, and how that was developed\u2014or <em>wasn\u2019t<\/em> developed, maybe better stated\u2014in the family you grew up in.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou grew up in Long Island, New York; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 What did you learn about God from your family?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I grew up in a Jewish family.\u00a0 I learned a lot about God, totally from the Jewish perspective\u2014celebrating Jewish holidays, going to Hebrew school, in addition to public school.\u00a0 I certainly never heard anything about Jesus, growing up.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tGod was very important to me, but God also seemed really distant from me.\u00a0 I really wrestled with that for a while.\u00a0 When I got into high school, I met some Christian friends who said that probably God did seem distant from me for a good reason because of the fact that my sin had separated me from God.\u00a0 They shared the Gospel with me.\u00a0 That started, for me, a long process of wrestling about, \u201cWho is Jesus?\u201d and, \u201cWhy would a Jewish person ever believe in Him?\u201d and those kinds of things.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 When you were growing up, did your mom and dad read the Scriptures?\u00a0 Did they read the Torah out loud in your home?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 No.\u00a0 No, my parents were not very religious, but they wanted their sons to get training in Jewish faith.\u00a0 I\u2019m not totally sure why, but I think that is a very common thing.\u00a0 It certainly was a common thing back then in the 1960\u2019s and later.\u00a0 I ended up taking Judaism more seriously than the rest of my family\u2014certainly than my parents.\u00a0 I was really, I think, searching and trying to connect to God; but He always seemed distant.\u00a0 In fact, I have a pretty vivid memory--when I was 15.\u00a0 I decided that on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, that that was the year I was going to finally get it right and finally get right with God!\u00a0 I was going to obey <em>all <\/em>of the commandments, and there were a lot of them with Yom Kippur.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI walked to synagogue instead of riding in the car.\u00a0 I went the evening before and the whole entire day of Yom Kippur.\u00a0 I did <em>all<\/em> of the prayers.\u00a0 I confessed <em>all<\/em> of the sins\u2014they give you a whole list to confess.\u00a0 I confessed them all, even ones I didn\u2019t understand; but I figured, \u201cWho knows?\u00a0 Maybe some time this past year I might have committed it.\u201d\u00a0 As I was walking home at the end of the holiday, watching the sunset, I remember thinking, \u201cGod doesn\u2019t seem any closer now than 24 hours ago.\u00a0 What did I do wrong?\u00a0 What didn\u2019t I do right?\u201d\u00a0 I mean, \u201cCome on!\u00a0 I fasted\u201d\u2014you don\u2019t eat on Yom Kippur\u2014I only drank water.\u00a0 \u201cI did everything you\u2019re supposed to do.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAs I was walking home, I looked down and I see that I am wearing leather shoes\u2014dress shoes.\u00a0 I am wearing a suit and dress shoes. I remembered there was this kind of obscure, rabbinic rule\u2014not in the Scriptures, but a rabbinic rule that you\u2019re not supposed to wear leather shoes on Yom Kippur.\u00a0 I remember thinking, \u201c<em>That\u2019s<\/em> what I did wrong!\u00a0 I wore the wrong shoes!\u00a0 <em>That\u2019s<\/em> why God still seems distant.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen, I thought, \u201cThat\u2019s the stupidest thing in the world.\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to be kidding me!\u00a0 That\u2019s how you get to know God\u2014by remembering every single, minute detail, \u2018Do this.\u00a0 Don\u2019t do this.\u00a0 Wear these kinds of shoes\u201d?\u00a0 I remember thinking, \u201cThere\u2019s got to be some other way!\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember praying; but I think it was a prayer of, \u201cGod, You\u2019ve got to show me some other way to know You, other than remembering these billions of rules.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Was there something that took you from that place of, \u201cThere\u2019s got to be something more,\u201d to a place of beginning to investigate that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, I look at it now\u2014and I think the answer to that prayer was this friend of mine, inviting me to his church youth group.\u00a0 He was inviting me simply because there were lots of fun things and the girls were cute.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I went.\u00a0 He was right!\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 They did lots of fun things and the girls <em>were <\/em>cute!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You were how old at the time?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Sixteen\u201415 or 16.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I did lots of fun stuff with this youth group.\u00a0 We went roller skating.\u00a0 We went to the beach.\u00a0 We did all sorts of different things, but they also wove their faith into everything that they did.\u00a0 They prayed about everything.\u00a0 I remember one time we were getting on the church bus, going to the beach\u2014this was on Long Island, near the beach.\u00a0 The bus leaves the church parking lot and somebody stood up at the front of the bus and said, \u201cOkay everybody, let\u2019s pray!\u201d\u00a0 I thought, \u201cPray?!\u00a0 We\u2019re going to the beach!\u201d\u00a0 The person at the front said, \u201cWe pray, Lord, that we\u2019ll have a fun time at the beach and that nobody will get badly sunburned and that the bus won\u2019t break down.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 Name,\u00a0 Amen.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI thought, \u201cThese people are crazy!\u00a0 You don\u2019t bother the Almighty with things like sunburn!\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 \u201cUnless\u201d\u2014and then the gravity of it hit me\u2014\u201cunless you really <em>know<\/em> Him!\u00a0 Unless you know God in the kind of way that you can talk to Him about sunburn, or the bus breaking down, or anything.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sure that my experience was similar to what Paul talks about in Romans 9, 10, and 11.\u00a0 I got jealous!\u00a0 These Gentiles knew God better than I did.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 They did a good job of relating to you?\u00a0 They didn\u2019t point their bony fingers and tell you that\u2014or condemn you to hell, in a judgmental spirit?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Not at all, but they didn\u2019t back off either.\u00a0 They talked about the fact that Jewish people should believe in Jesus, too.\u00a0 Jesus was Jewish.\u00a0 His disciples were Jewish.\u00a0 The New Testament was written, for the most part, by Jewish people\u2014those kinds of things that really shook me up because, I think with a lot of other people, I would say, \u201cI\u2019m Jewish,\u201d and that would kind of end the discussion; but they were a group that said, \u201cWell, so?\u201d\u00a0 <em>That<\/em> started me questioning, and digging, and eventually reading Matthew\u2019s Gospel and C.S. Lewis\u2019 <em>Mere Christianity.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>\u00a0<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Did your mom and dad have any problem with you hanging out with the boys and going to the beach with them?\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 You know, they really prided themselves on being open-minded.\u00a0 That was in the late \u201860s and early \u201870s.\u00a0 The world was kind of crazy and lots and lots of people were getting involved with drugs.\u00a0 Probably lots of my parents\u2019 peers had kids who were so messed up that, \u201cWell, if the worst that Randy is doing is hanging out at the church youth group, it could be a whole lot worse.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t know, to be honest.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, when you started reading Matthew and C.S. Lewis, and God started to stir in your life, tell us what happened.\u00a0 I also want to know what happened when you went to mom and dad and said, \u201cHey, guess what I found?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I didn\u2019t go to mom and dad and tell them what I found until much later.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Okay.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 What I found, in reading, was that this was a totally different religion than I thought it was going to be.\u00a0 I thought it was going to be anti-Semitic.\u00a0 I thought it was going to be <em>very non-Jewish<\/em>\u2014totally different way of thinking.\u00a0 I really thought I was going to find that Jesus was a good guy, a nice guy, a good rabbi who taught some things about love.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat I found was, actually, that this book was remarkably Jewish.\u00a0 Matthew quotes the Old Testament all over the place and says that they fit together.\u00a0 It was a very Jewish style of ministry.\u00a0 It <em>felt<\/em> like the Old Testament and that Jesus made ridiculous claims about Himself.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t just this good teacher who taught some nice things.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHe taught radical things, all about Himself, by the way.\u00a0 He made these amazing claims to have been God, to have always existed, to be the Messiah.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t just a good rabbi.\u00a0 That\u2019s where C.S. Lewis\u2019 argument really drove it home for me.\u00a0 Either this guy really is God Himself in the flesh\u2014the Messiah, the One Who fulfills all these Jewish prophecies\u2014or He\u2019s crazy!\u00a0 Lewis\u2019 statement of, \u201cWe can fall down at His feet and worship Him or write Him off as a lunatic.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 In the process of reading Matthew, Jesus summarized all of the Old Testament and all of the Law and the prophets through the Great Commandment to \u201clove God and love your neighbor.\u201d\u00a0 Do you remember reading that for the first time and hearing this authoritative rabbi is making such a summary statement of all that you had read about?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, it was as if things that were isolated were now fitting together.\u00a0 Things that just seemed arbitrary all started fitting together.\u00a0 Then, very early on, after coming to faith, I met an older Jewish man who was a believer.\u00a0 I read about, and celebrated Passover, and saw all of these traditions just culminating in the ultimate Passover.\u00a0 That began to open of how these things were foreshadowings of the fulfillment in the Messiah.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It sounds like that point in your sophomore year, when you came to faith, was the culmination of a process; but was there a catalytic event that brought you over the line?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, there was a tragic event, I\u2019m sorry to say.\u00a0 A friend of mine in college died in a very tragic accident; and up until that point, you know, I was wrestling with some of these religious things.\u00a0 I was also wrestling with a lot of stuff I was learning in college, which was pretty absurd existentialism.\u00a0 My whole first year of college was reading a lot of existentialist literature, watching a lot of Woody Allen movies, and drinking a lot of beer.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s a combustible mixture right there!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 If life is really as absurd as the existentialists say it is, then getting drunk is not just recreation\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and Woody Allen makes sense.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, that\u2019s right.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid so!\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo if life really is that absurd, it\u2019s probably best to do whatever you can to mask it and laugh at it.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t, you\u2019re really going to be despairing.\u00a0 I really did bounce\u2014for a full year-and-a-half\u2014it was either, laughing at it\u2014watching the crazy movies, getting drunk\u2014or really wrestling with, \u201cWhat is the point of all of this?\u201d\u00a0 It all seemed so absurd!\u00a0 Having some Christian friends who said, \u201cNo, life isn\u2019t absurd.\u00a0 It does make sense\u201d\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen this friend of mine died, in the middle of my sophomore year,\u2014that was sort of the siren call of, \u201cOkay.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to make some decisions.\u00a0 Was Jesus really Who He said He was?\u00a0 Is the Christian explanation about life coherent or is life absurd and meaningless?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, I\u2019ve said to my boys just exactly what you\u2019re saying.\u00a0 Over the years, as they grew up, and as they were reading Nietzsche, and they were reading Kierkegaard, and they\u2019re reading the existential writers, I said, \u201cYou know, honestly, you can read all of the philosophers; but if there is no God, Nietzsche\u2019s right.\u00a0 The right way to live is in response to absurdity, \u201cLive an absurd life\u201d; but if there is a God, that changes everything.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat\u2019s exactly what you were experiencing and finding out; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 It also makes you re-read the book of Ecclesiastes in a different light.\u00a0 If you take a look at reality, either it is absurd, and pointless, and meaningless, \u201cEat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die\u201d\u2014or there is a God behind all of this and knowing Him is the point of all of life\u2014\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful, and it\u2019s joyful, and it\u2019s meaningful.\u201d\u00a0 The contrast is really stark.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFor me, midway through spring semester of sophomore year at Temple University, was all of this coming together with a big, \u201cThank You that Jesus died on the cross to pay for my sins.\u00a0 Jesus <em>is <\/em>the Messiah.\u00a0 Life is not absurd and meaningless.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Was there a moment you look to where you stepped over the line, Bob was talking about, and you said, \u201cI believe, and now I want to become a follower of Christ.\u00a0 I want to be baptized, and I want to embrace others who are also following Christ\u201d?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m in!\u201d\u00a0 Was there an, \u201cI\u2019m in\u201d moment?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I remember the culminating moment, but that was probably after all sorts of other things happened.\u00a0 The culminating moment was when I sat down and wrote my parents a letter, telling them what I believed.\u00a0 As you might guess, that was followed with a phone call.\u00a0 I believe they made the call.\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 It was a tense phone call.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you remember the conversation?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, yes!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Were they angry?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 No, they were truly open-minded and liberal.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Disappointed?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I think very!\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 I told them that now I was a Christian, and I thought Jesus was the Messiah, and that I believe the Old Testament and the New Testament fit together.\u00a0 My mother said, \u201cWell, if that\u2019s what makes you happy.\u00a0 We just hope that you won\u2019t\u2014\u201dand they had three statements.\u00a0 One was, \u201cAs long as you don\u2019t shave your head, join some crazy commune in Colorado\u2014they said Colorado\u2014and, \u201cthat you don\u2019t go try to change the world.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well now, what about telling other family members?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, eventually came, \u201cDon\u2019t tell Grandma and Grandpa,\u201d and, \u201cDon\u2019t try to push this on your brothers,\u201d especially my younger brother.\u00a0 My younger brother was six years younger.\u00a0 That was my sophomore year\u2014so I was 20, and he was 14.\u00a0 They were more concerned about the shaving the head and the doing the commune thing.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And the \u201cchanging the world.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s interesting that they didn\u2019t want you to try to go change the world.\u00a0 So you joined a movement where the founder is saying\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cCome help change the world!\u201d\u00a0 (Laughter)\u00a0 And, \u201cLet\u2019s gather every other year in Colorado.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Colorado!\u00a0 (Laughter)\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 I love it!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Here\u2019s my question for you, \u201cAfter that pursuit\u2014from the time you were a boy, beginning to feel distant from God\u2014how did that process of becoming a believer in Jesus Christ\u2014placing your faith in Him, surrendering to Him\u2014how close did God come?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, all of that angst, and longing, and thinking that God is far away\u2014it was, \u201cOh, no!\u00a0 He\u2019s right here.\u00a0 You can talk to Him anytime.\u201d\u00a0 I think the most joyous moments, starting then and still to this day, I would read parts of the Old Testament and just see it fulfilled in the New.\u00a0 It all fits together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThese are not two alienated books\u2014they are woven together.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019d even go so far as to say I don\u2019t think we can make sense of the New Testament if we don\u2019t really understand the Old Testament.\u00a0 We can\u2019t make sense of the Old Testament unless we see it fulfilling.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very frustrating, incomplete, unresolved book\u2014the Old Testament\u2014unless we see it culminating in the cross.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And Jesus said in John, Chapter 14\u2014He said, \u201cI am the Way and the Truth and the Life.\u00a0 No one comes to the Father except through Me.\u201d\u00a0 Someone who\u2019s been listening to us for the past few moments\u2014introduce them\u2014introduce God to that person, just like you came to faith.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, He is Who He said He is.\u00a0 He did what He said He did.\u00a0 He died to pay the price for sin.\u00a0 The reason we feel distant from God is because we are!\u00a0 He is distant because our sin has made a separation between us and our God.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Isaiah, the prophet, said.\u00a0 His death on the cross pays the price so that distance doesn\u2019t have to be there anymore.\u00a0 What we need to do is to say, \u201cYes!\u00a0 That\u2019s what I want to trust in\u2014not in my abilities to do this, or do this, and wear the right shoes.\u201d\u00a0 But it\u2019s to say, \u201cYes!\u00a0 You died to pay the price for my sin.\u00a0 I want to trust in that payment for my sins so that I can know this God and enjoy Him forever.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s really that simple.\u00a0 It\u2019s just receiving a free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Randy:<\/strong>\u00a0 Amen!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 He meets us right where we are.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You know, we have, on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com, a link that says, \u201cTwo Ways to Live.\u201d\u00a0 I would encourage our listeners to go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click on that link.\u00a0 Explore and look at how you\u2019re living your life, and see whether it matches one way or the other way, especially if you don\u2019t know God.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click on that link.\u00a0 Spend some time just thinking about your life, where you are, and where you ought to be.\u00a0 Is it time for that point of surrender for you?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, the website is FamilyLIfeToday.com.\u00a0 If you are interested in beginning a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we\u2019d love to send you a book called <em>Pursuing God.<\/em>\u00a0 You can request that online at FamilyLifeToday.com, or you can call us toll-free at 1-800-FL-TODAY.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s free\u2014there\u2019s no obligation.\u00a0 Just ask for the book, <em>Pursuing God,<\/em> when you go to FamilyLifeToday.com; or call us toll-free at 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhile you\u2019re on our website, check out information about Randy Newman\u2019s book, <em>Bringing the Gospel Home<\/em>, especially if this has been a challenging area for you and your family\u2014you know Christ, family members don\u2019t.\u00a0 This would be a great book for you to read\u2014<em>Bringing the Gospel Home <\/em>by Randy Newman.\u00a0 Order a copy from us online at FamilyLifeToday.com or call to order at 1-800-358-6329.\u00a0 That\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, last week, we mentioned a brand-new devotional book that Barbara Rainey has written for families called <em>Growing Together in <\/em>Forgiveness\u2014seven stories about the power of forgiveness\u2014the gift of forgiveness.\u00a0 This book is designed to be read aloud at the breakfast table or at the dinner table with stories that will engage members of your family at every age.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThis week, we want to make a copy of Barbara\u2019s new book available to any of you who can help support the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>with a donation.\u00a0 All you have to do is go online at FamilyLifeToday.com and click the button that says, \u201cI Care\u201d; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and make a donation over the phone.\u00a0 When you do, ask about receiving a copy of Barbara Rainey\u2019s new book, <em>Growing Together in Forgiveness.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>It\u2019s our way of saying, \u201cThanks for supporting the ministry of <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 We are listener- supported.\u00a0 If we didn\u2019t hear from folks like you, this daily radio program wouldn\u2019t continue.\u00a0 We appreciate those of you who step forward from time to time to help support the ministry.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, you can request a copy of Barbara Rainey\u2019s new book, <em>Growing Together in Forgiveness, <\/em>when you make a donation this week.\u00a0 Either call 1-800-FL-TODAY to make your donation and ask about receiving a copy of the book; or donate online at FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0\u00a0 Click the button that says, \u201cI Care\u201d; and we\u2019ll send a copy of the book out to you automatically.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLet me encourage you to be back with us again tomorrow.\u00a0 Randy Newman\u2019s going to be here again.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to talk more about growing up in a Jewish home.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to talk about the Passover, and other aspects of Jewish life, and how all of that changed for him when he became a follower of Jesus.\u00a0 I hope you can be here for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright \u00a9 2012 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 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