 This is going to be a great sister-to-sister. We have questions like this. How do you see God changing you? And also, when you get to heaven, what do you want to ask God? Well, I'm going to be right with you. And I'll be with you and you. Hello, and welcome to sister-to-sister. I am so happy that you've joined us today. You have joined a very peppy panel of five ladies who love the Lord so much, and we bring answers from the Bible to the questions that you send us. And listen to this question. This is a good one. And it goes like this. Cory, I'm going to ask you. Okay, listen. When you get to heaven, what question do you want to ask God? Well, when I was a kid, I was a question asker. I still am a question asker. Yes, you are. I've always been a question asker. And I think my parents were like, okay, we'll get this girl to stop asking questions. We're going to tell her. When you get to heaven, you can ask Jesus whatever you want. So I started a list of questions. Jesus, you really did. Yes. And the number one question on that list was, is Santa Claus real? My parents would never tell me. And I was like, I need to know. So that was my number one question. But as I've matured, that list has changed, obviously. And, you know, I've come up with, you know, questions that were, you know, like those trick questions, you know, and I feel like the Pharisees, we're always trying to, you know, trick Jesus. And, you know, I feel like a lot of those questions I have on that list could be categorized in that way. And I think when I get to heaven, those are going to fall right away. And I'm going to be so in awe that it's just going to be questions of how, why, you know, it's all going to be about the depth of Jesus' love and God's love for me. And just how, how did you create the world and how did you speak light into being? And I think that's what it's going to be all about. I like that list. I love that. I love that. You know, dovetailing off of the end of her statement, you know, 1 Corinthians 13 and 12 says that, you know, we know in part, but then I will know even as I am known. So the truth of the matter is when you get to heaven, you're not going to have any questions. You're going to step into the wisdom and knowledge and understanding of God. And so there won't be any questions to ask. But I love the idea that I'll have that final opportunity, that thing that I've been pressing for, that just being His presence and to just worship Him and to stay in just being all of Him, you know. I love that. To my question asker. Yes. I do have a question. I bet you do. And it's John 8.8. What did Jesus write in the sand when the woman was caught in adultery? And I've been asking that for many years. And just recently I went to a Bible study that talked about, and I'm going to get this scripture right if I have it here, Jeremiah 17, that it says that, if those who forsake me, their names will be written in the dust of the earth. Okay. So I don't know if that's the true answer or not, but I've been asking it for many, many years. I do have another one too. So the dust in the sand means we're better to be written in the Lamb's book of life. Instead of the dust of the earth that's going to perish. I had one more question. I don't know if it's a good thing to say here on TV. Should I just say it? We want to hear it. You should just say it. You know, since I was a kid, I loved the stars, and we're going to have questions about that later. But I was like, okay, what's after the universe? On the other side. I used to think like that. Like what's after the universe, God? Like how is time not end? How does, and I know as Flo and Corey said, we're not going to have those questions anymore, because they're going to get answered. But I remember on The Origins, a physicist was on that said the universe is continually expanding. So, you know, God gives us, like Flo said it, a dim light or just a little answer that enlightens, but we're going to know completely. And just so you know that Origins, what she referred to is a show here on The Origins Network that is amazing. And Amy, I'm going to come to you with this next question. My pastor, Amy. This seems so simple. Amy, what does it mean to be a Christian? I love this question, because it just gets right back to the basics. Like what makes us different than any other religion, any other, you know, person walking down the street? What does the Christian and the non-Christian or the believer versus the non-believer? What does that look like? And I would take you right to the scripture in Romans 10, 9 and 10. And in the Amplified, I love how it breaks it down, because I believe it'll bring a little bit of enlightenment, because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, recognizing His power, authority, and majesty of God, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes in Christ as Savior, resulting in His justification. And I love this word. That means being made righteous, being freed of the guilt of sin, and made acceptable to God. So to me, being a Christian is being saved. It is being born again. It is being justified just as if I've never sinned. You've been made right with God. All of your sins have been forgiven. So for me, a Christian would be somebody that believes in Jesus in their heart and confesses Him as Lord. And I like walking the talk, too. That's how I feel. What does it mean to be Christian? Walk your talk. But I want to ask you, you know what? Because you've been a missionary. To me, it seems like when I see on Facebook or something, thousands and thousands of people in other countries rushing stages to become a Christian, why is it easier flow in other countries to have people accept Jesus? And what does it mean to be a Christian? Let me go to what doesn't mean to be a Christian. I think, first of all, it is just what you said. You're a doer of the word. You are an earthly point of contact. You are a representative of God's New Testament covenant with man. So for me, that's what it means to be a Christian. Why do we see other cultures respond? Don't you agree? So with that, you know, with the call to come to Christ. And I think that in other cultures, they are very aware of the different spiritual dynamics. When the Western culture, you know, we tend to dress our demons up. We tend to camouflage our stuff. See, our demons come in suits and live in nice houses and drive fancy cars. And so when you are dealing with, and we associate poverty with, you know, with something that's evil, you know. And so it's just like if I took a team of people downtown to witness, people would rush to the homeless, rush to the person it's, you know, doesn't look like they have so much. But the business person, not so much. So why is that in other countries that, you know, they, I believe that they have a depth of spiritual awareness that we just simply don't, because some of our material needs are met. And so I think that there is just a hunger there that unfortunately we have substituted our appetite. Yeah, I like that. I like that. Girls, what does it mean to be a Christian? I immediately thought of Romans. I mean, Romans is my favorite book of the Bible. And Romans eight, one and two. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. That's what it means to be a Christian. You are free from the law of sin and death. That's what it means to be a Christian to me. My dad's testimony, I think, is one of the most amazing I've ever heard. And it's not some crazy, you know, like he literally wasn't a Christian. He started reading the Bible as an adult and the Holy Spirit moved in him. That to me is like, yes, if you're going to start reading somewhere, just start reading Romans, because it's all there in Romans. You know, it is literally laid out there in Romans. And that verse right there to me is there's no condemnation and you can be set free from the law of sin and death. You knew the sun sets free as free indeed. She just made me think of something about other countries too. They're coming to God and not a denomination. We tend to bring, we categorize Christianity. Am I Lutheran, Episcopalian, Evangelical, Baptist, so on and so forth. But when you are on that platform and you are ministering and people can witness and have an encounter with God, they're coming to him. No, I think that's amazing. Do you have something for me? Yes, I do. Good. Jesus said in Mark, all the law and the prophets rest on these two things. When somebody was trying to trick him with a question, Corey said, he said, love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Amen. Bingo, that's it. Love God and love your neighbor. One love's got you. One love's got you. Yes, okay. Get me. You can take. This is a topic. Yes, I can. I'm giving it to Roxanne because it's kind of hard. It is a hard question. How do you make sense, how do you put this to us, of bad things happening in the world when God is so loving? You just said how loving he is. Yes. How do we make sense? If we believe our Bible, God created everything perfect. And when man sin, God says the first man, Adam sinned, the world was cursed because of that sin. And Jesus said, the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. And I've come to give life and life more abundantly. So evil, sin, wrong choices, the power to choose has come into the world. And even if you didn't do anything wrong, the Bible says the rain is falling on the just and the unjust. But I want to turn to this question. The question is not why didn't God stop it or why does he permit it? It's what are you going to do about it? Because the choice is still ours. You know, the good Samaritan, the priest went by, the lawyer went by, but the Samaritan who was thought as Flo said, the lesser person, the half Jew, half Gentile, stopped and ministered to that person, paid for him to go. So what are your hands and feet? What are our hands and feet going to do when their thief comes and hurts somebody? And also what are we going to do when it happens to us? And James says, be patient like a farmer. He compares someone like a farmer planting a seed and waiting patiently because God says when he returns, he will judge the earth. He is justice. He will bring forth justice in his time. What do you have girls? Bad things happen. Well to me, it kind of goes with my answer to the first question, questions I would ask God, maybe not in heaven, but things I'm asking right now, you know, about human trafficking and sex trafficking and why certain leaders got in position that they did to and that oppressed God's people. And I just, I do have questions but I think about like, like Roxy was saying, Adam brought destruction and Christ brought salvation. So there is this lease on the earth that happened when Adam gave Satan and Satan became a God of this world and Jesus came to redeem us back but we still live here on the earth but one day his reign will be over and Jesus is coming back for the church. I mean, there's a hope in this and I do believe while we're here on earth as much as we can, we pray out and we bring thy kingdom come and I will be done on earth as it is in heaven. If anything's going to be done on the earth, God's going to use man. So we've got to do all that we can to believe him, to move, to be the body, to be his hands and feet on earth and to the best of our ability, be the light and be the salt in a dark world. What do you have? Flow, quarry, somebody? Bad things. I just heard this recently and I thought it was really profound. Sometimes God calms the storm but sometimes he lets the storm rage and he calms his child. Amen. That's so good. I just thought that that was so profound. It was like, God kind of created us as robots. He could have made us like his play set and we could have been like the angels where we didn't have as much choice involved but he didn't. He gave us a choice and in that choice we get to experience all the emotions, all the love. We get to experience all the wonderful things that come with choice but with choice also comes experiencing pain. So we have to see it like that, that God was loving and giving us choice but we also have to see that there's pain in that. You have had pain. You have had joy. Sometimes bad things happen. And all of those things, Kathy, have played a role in shaping me and making me as my sisters have already proclaimed, yes, Adam, but even before Adam there was Satan. Before Satan there was Lucifer. So Lucifer was this wonderful angelic being created by God who rebelled against God and that was really the first fall and contaminated the atmosphere. Prince of the power of the air, you know. Well I hope that you wrote that question to us and I hope that we gave you some insight onto how we feel when bad things happen in a good loving world. And what Corey said is so good. Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes he just calms his people. That would be me and you. Hey, we'll be right back. Stay there. While you're getting a cup of coffee because it is tough stuff today. And here's a question that's a little tough. You wrote and that's this. How do you see God changing you? You, Amy Schaefer. Isn't he so sweet that he's so gentle and loving and wonderful when he's dealing with us and trying us and testing us. And I mean recently how God is changing me because here's the deal. I want my kids to change. I want, you know, there should be something in us that is a change of growth that is moving forward that is coming up that is that is not staying. You know, my kids are going back to school. They're going to the next level a senior and a new high schooler and it's good. And lately I have been really heart tests have been hitting me in the face and it's so obvious when it happens. It's like that is a test. I can see it. A fence is in my face. Fear is in my face. Disappointment is hitting feet. I mean, and it's like, you know what, that is a test. And I'm going to pass this test because the trying of your faith work at patience and endurance and steadfastness. I mean, we're not in this just for a sprint. This is a long term thing. And so I and I think a lot of people that I've been talking to in the body of Christ have been dealing with major tests that are just obvious, but it's so good because it changes you and it adjusts things in your heart and ways of thinking and ways of navigating. So I mean, I think it's great and beautiful and God changes us. Usually I don't answer these questions, but I read them all and have an answer in case I need it. I was just on vacation in an airplane looking down specks of houses and I thought, I'm just a little speck. I'm just a little speck in one little area. So that could make you feel insignificant, right? But then I'm studying Daniel and Daniel. Oh, he was so kicking. But here's what happened. An angel came to him and said, God heard your prayer and sent out a command when he first heard you. So guess what? We are not insignificant. God hears our prayer. So that's what I'm saying. I mean, how is God changing me? I'm a Christian 30 years. For me, it's been wisely, gently and strategically, very strategically, line upon line, precept upon precept. As we go, you know, we ended on the question concerning the things that like happen in our life. Why do bad things happen to good people? Yada, yada, yada. But the thing of it is that God doesn't, you hear people say, well, God doesn't waste anything. I am finding that he does use everything, even if it was me, Cory, who made the mistake, you know, or whether it was something that apparently came from the outside. God tends to use those as tools in the master's hand. It's something about going down to the potter's house, that Jeremiah experience. And there are places that, you know, ladies, I would have chosen not to go had I had had the option. There are experiences I would have chosen not to walk through. But I have to say that as a result of having going through them, not getting stuck by the grace and mercy of God, but going through them, it has created, I think, more compassion, more empathy, more understanding, more knowledge. And as the word says, and all thy, get wisdom is the principal thing, and all thy getting, get an understanding, you know. And I think that makes us, puts me in a position where the word of God, the spirit of God, I am more in a position to be able to impart that unto people so they can have an encounter. And the word becomes more applicable because of the experience. So you're changing still. Girls, are you changing? Is God changing you? Oh, amen. You're changing. Yes. And many ways, accountability of other Christians who know me, my kids, my husband, speaking into my life. One thing, though, that God seems like he warns me. Remember the scripture I said, God put a guard over my mouth that I might not sin? Well, you know, I said that scripture here on the set and I felt God was telling me, warning me, well, you know what? I just went a couple weeks later and opened my big mouth the wrong way. No. And the word says, all discipline for the moment seems grievous. But in the end, it yields the fruit. A fruit of righteousness and a fruit of peace. Who could believe that God's discipline yields the fruit of righteousness and peace? Yes. So, okay, open my mouth and the person or couple persons, I did it a couple times, are disturbed with me. And they're rightfully so disturbed and now it grieves my heart. Lord, you warned me. Put a guard over my mouth and there I go in an emotional moment saying things I shouldn't. So, I'm repenting of that and hoping for forgiveness someday from these individuals. But I'm being disciplined by the Lord. That you're being changed. And I'm being changed. Right, I'm being changed. So, keeping my mouth closed. Always being changed. But you know what, Flo, I'm gonna come back to you because this last question is so similar to what you were just saying to us. What does it mean to give thanks in all circumstances? And you kind of touched on it. Yeah, I think, you know, one of the things that when we quote that scripture, we tend to, some of the thought pattern with that is and you know, as when things happen I should be thankful for everything. Right. And I kind of get that to some degree but I also think it's in everything. Yes. I'm giving thanks. Why I'm in that circumstance? Why I'm in that place of pain? Why I'm in that place of disappointment? Thank God. Thank God, you know, that I'm hitting under the shadows of the wings of the Almighty God. Right. Thank God that, you know, his thoughts are more toward me than the numbers of the sand that, you know, the very hairs on my head are numbered. Thank God that all authority and power has been given unto me. Thank God that no weapon formed against me is gonna prosper. Right. I've been in that. I don't know that I necessarily, you know, some teachings have kind of been like no matter what you're going through, thank God for that thing. Right. So I kind of feel a little different about that. I had an experience just not so long ago. My nephew passed away at the age of 27 and we loved him. He lived with mom for a while while he was going to school. He did family things with us, you know, like another son. And I'm saying, why God? Why? You know, why? Show me. Why did this happen? You know, you ask all those questions, you're weepy, you're angry and everything and suddenly the scripture. I didn't thank him for his death. I thanked him in the circumstance as Flo was saying. I started walking around the house saying thank you that he lived to 27. That's right. Thank you that he was kind and gentle. Thank you that he was the best performer at his job. Yes, yes. Thank you that he loved family. Thank you that he went with us everywhere. Thank you God that last summer I took so many pictures of him. I don't know why because he was like a son. So I began to thank God and then my sister-in-law, his mom texted me about a dream the someday and maybe I'll be able to speak about his dad had, about him in glory. So, you know, we cannot thank for but we can thank in. That's right. The pain is still there, yes. But the thankfulness that God gave us this precious life and it was, it's his timing not ours. This was a difficult show because the questions were tough and they were deep. And I'm so grateful to each of my sisters for answering from their hearts so that you have a feel for what God means to all of us. What a program today. What do I want to ask God? What does it mean to be a Christian? I mean, we all have these questions. Why do bad things happen? Well, let's go to the scripture today and find out some truth. And I believe the truth today could absolutely set us free. And it is in 1 Thessalonians 5 18 in every situation. No matter what the circumstances be thankful and continually give thanks to God. For this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. If you're asking today what is God's will for my life? What is his will in this situation and this grief and this pain and this loss and this sorrow? His will is for you. Not for everything, give thanks. But in everything, give thanks. Give thanks for the victory. Give thanks for the healing. Give thanks for the peace. Give thanks that he hears you. Give thanks that he, you know, no matter what question or situation you bring before God, he hears you. He answers and he's faithful, Kathy. I think the whole key right there is giving thanks. And I'm so thankful for all of you watching and we end with this scripture as iron sharpens iron. So just the countenance of a man or a woman or a sister sharpen the other. You see family, these girls are a much better Kathy.