 teaches you, so glad you joined us here on Hope Today. Hope you're having a great day already and we know you're gonna enjoy this program. I'm Tom, I'm here with Sydney and Angela. Great day guys, Angela tell us about our guest. Oh, I am so excited to talk to you guys today. Do you know that God loves you? Yes, you. And it's not some kind of fickle expression or self-centered manipulation, but a boundless truth that he's written and is demonstrating all around us all the time. Today we're going to come into a deeper understanding of God's passion for us with author Carol Engel Averyt. Tom and Sydney knowing the depths, the widths, the heights of God's love is so transformational and it stands and start contrast to the way love is interpreted within the world and our culture. And I just love this whole topic of love because when you encounter the love of God, everything changes. Just even I think back to this place of when I remember I first encountered God's love. Like I knew God loved me, I understand that I know a lot of times we sing about that in church, but when you know the love of the Father, it's like this knowing and I love it in Hebrew, it's like this yadah, it's this intimacy that he desires with you and me. So we want you today to grasp and gain hold of the love of God like never before come. It's funny where my mind runs. Sometimes when you're saying you, yes you, I'm thinking of Miss Piggy. Mwah? Mwah? You know, she always was like me? Well, yes, you and me. Guys, I remember, I always knew the words that God loved me, you know, I always knew that growing up in the church, but I remember feeling, struggling with acceptance and struggling with am I really accepted by God? So it's going to be a great conversation that we'll have with Carol today. Well, right now we're going to have some other fun for you. We're going to do something called Stump the Hosts. All right, so play along. We have not seen these and we have not seen the answers. So play along with us. Carol's going to be on the line as our phone a friend if we need, if we need a lifeline here. But let me ask you the first one here. Who was the first king of Israel? Is it Saul? Because they asked where a king and God wanted to be their king. I think that it, because I remember we just talked about this in church, I'm pretty sure, because there was the judges, right? And then the people wanted the king and God was like, well, I want to be your king and rule over you, but then gave them Saul. That's right. I think that's right. We'll go with Saul. Yeah, oh yeah. We'll do it. It's funny, one time, I always remember that when Saul was being introduced, he was there, they couldn't find him. He was hiding back behind the luggage. Like he was like afraid. He was really nervous about that, you know. Well guys, let's get ready for our second question. In the book of Galatians, who was accused of hypocrisy by Paul because of the way he treated the Gentiles? Oh, this was Peter. I'm pretty sure this is where he confronted Peter, I think. Okay. What do you think we're good? You're gonna go with that? So is it mean one person, right? I think he, I think this might mean, yeah, I think it's Peter. Do we go with? It's Peter. All right. Yeah, he actually confronted him and said, you know, why are you expecting them to live like Jews? That's interesting. A lot of theology there. So, all right, last one. Where in the Bible is this verse found? There is no peace says God, says my God for the wicked. Psalms? Cause I feel like Psalms has all the words in all the Bible mostly, so. I don't know. Are we asking for an exact address here or is the book good enough? Where is this? The book is good enough, all right. I feel like that's a very Psalm saying, but I don't know. I'm just guessing Psalms. Just a minute, let me bring in a phone or friend. Carol, are you there? Do you have any idea? Where is this? You know, I can think of several places that might, but as far as the exact book and verse, I'm gonna have to pass on this, but Psalms is the good, I think Psalms is probably a good guess, so. All right, maybe we'll go with, let's go with Psalms. Oh! I say it, let's say a 57. I was just there yesterday reading, no, just kidding. You have to write that on the board, right? Yeah, it's one of those ones, it's on the board. Thanks for playing along, guys. That was wonderful. Have you ever longed for someone to understand your heart, your intention, or your feelings better? Maybe feeling misunderstood. Well, today in her latest book, Extravagant Love, Exploring God's Passion for Us, author Carol Angel Averyt shares how God knows every backstory to every circumstance in your life. And even though you may feel deprived of his love at times, you're not. It's more extravagant than we dare to believe. Welcome, Carol, to Hope Today. Thank you so much, Angela. It's delightful to be with you guys. We are so honored to have you. And reading a little bit more of your story, Carol, I know that you didn't come to know the Lord until you were in your 30s. So could you share a little bit with us of your journey? I would be delighted to. I was raised in a Christian home, went to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, back then it was every Wednesday night, too. But the only way that I can say it, I kind of was reminded by some things that Tom said and Sidney as well. Christianity just did not take on me. I had so many questions. I felt like there was just things around me. People would say they were Christians, but I couldn't really see that in their lives so much. And so when I became a teenager, particularly through my 20s then, I really made so many poor, poor decisions, put my life on a really difficult, bad path. And when I was 30, I really had reached the end of my rope. I did not know where to turn. I'd made a mess of things, made a mess of my life. And one night, very dark night of the soul, I had a radical encounter in my mind and in my heart with the living Lord. And I simply turned to him and said, I belong to you, take me, mold me. And I felt, I slept that night for the first time in weeks. I felt like this enormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Now, I could not have explained to you the following morning what exactly had happened to me. I mean, I was that much of a babe in the woods, but I knew that something incredibly important and incredibly radical had happened to me. And in fact, I was standing that morning, I had a little boy, a little toddler. I was standing at the stove cooking in bacon and I was shoveling the iron skillet back and forth and it felt, I felt warm all over. I thought, my goodness, I really got this stove turned up high. So I stepped back, it wasn't the stove. I just felt a warmth around me that lasted for almost a couple of three days. And I asked my parents to send me a Bible and they immediately did. I began reading at first, I didn't want to read anything except the Gospels. And within the Gospels, I didn't want to read anything except what Jesus himself had said. And through that journey and in the years following, I became a Bible teacher. One of the funniest things is that I had no idea where to go to church. I didn't want to go back to the denomination I'd been raised in. Through a series of incredibly only God orchestrated coincidental events, I wound up going to being asked to go to a denomination that I had sworn all during my atheistic agnostic years that I would have never stepped door and that was Southern Baptist Church. And yet that was exactly where God led me. I know, you know, he has such a sense of humor in dealing with us and he loves us, he loves us so much. He loved me so much all the while that I was in my rebellious years. And those are just such incredible things. And it was really out of all of these experiences that the book Extravagant Love was born. And I just wanted to write a book about what I have found to be his love. You know, how would you define the Extravagant? I think most of us would say it has to do with material possessions. You know, riches, wealth, maybe fancy clothes, cars, whatever. But would you describe as Extravagant, a person who only had one change of clothes who didn't have a home? Really, he was homeless, basically. Was I tenorate? Well, I walked from place to place and mainly lived on what other people gave him and supported. And yet Jesus was the most ex-gravagant person who ever lived. And he remains that way today. We're just living in such a hurting world. Probably like you, I don't know anybody. I mean, I don't know anybody that could not use today. A reassurance or a touch of God's love. And so out of all of that was born this book and I've prayed over every page. I hope that it hits the mark for so many people out there that perhaps have been disappointed in human love. And God's love is so different from the way we love. You talk about Extravagant character traits of Christ. Jesus in your book and even as you're articulating your experience of him, his warmth, his peace and all of that. In these character traits that you share, is there one that you think we would be surprised by? Well, I think actually there are two or three and let me just quickly say what the structure of the book is. It'll give your listeners and viewers a little bit more of an idea. I decided to choose 12. Characteristics are facets of God's love as I identified them in the Bible. I'm sure there are many, many more, but I chose 12 that I thought would be interesting and that people would enjoy reading about. And so probably two or three, four of those are ones that you might not necessarily think about. For example, when he loves us, he loves us through his Extravagant creativity. He treats each of us differently in that he might answer my prayer when I'm asking for something or about something in a different way than he would say answer a prayer for you asking about the same thing. So his creativity has not stopped, in other words. He's continuing to be creative even as he loves us, but thoughtfulness is one that I think and I deal with that in the very first chapter. His thoughtful for us is so Extravagant. You know, we sometimes think of, we judge love, his love, through the lens of what we have experienced maybe. And I wonder how many of us and your listeners or maybe one of you have ever experienced someone loving you, let's say, with a skimpy love, with a love that's thin. And if we were honest with ourselves, we've probably loved somebody in our life before with that kind of love too. Oh, we say, you know, we'll love you till, you know, whatever we, but our love tends to be so fickle. Human love really does tend to be fickle. It tends to be conditional. You know, you'll love somebody just as long as they love you back. You know, it's that kind of thing. God's love is exactly the opposite. It is so deep. It is so wide. It has no end to it. The Bible says we love wine because he first loved us. It's out of that Extravagant heart, out of that Extravagant love that his thoughtfulness is just beyond belief. Well, that's so good Carol. Let me ask you about people who have not been loved or they've been harmed. By the people that should love them, maybe their parents, maybe a relative, maybe someone that they trusted, that they expected love did not receive love from them instead received harm. And then they have trouble breaking through with God. How can they break through to receive that Extravagant love from God? Well, you know, I think Tom, this goes along with what I was just talking about and a little step further. I often have people say to me, I just don't feel God's love. I don't sense it. And so one of the things that I think I would say, in fact, I know I would say, I have said it. I have taught, this is a little sideline, but I teach a ladies Bible study every Thursday morning and we have been together now for 10 years. So in that decade, we've really gotten to know each other and many of them have come into that group. At first, they had not experienced love just like you just described. And I would always say there are lots of things that you could say, but number one, there are three things. Number one, go to Jesus. Talk to him, tell him you don't sense his love. You don't sense. And just be open and honest with him. Go to Jesus, number one. Number two, go back to number one. Go to Jesus. And number three, just go to him. He stands with open arms and he loves each of us before we ever come to him. He wants us far more than we have any idea about. And I say to parents all the time, I was the prodigal daughter. I say to parents all the time, do not stop praying for that child. I say to grandparents, do not stop praying for that wayward grandchild. Just continue to pray, continue to lift them up. I dedicate this book, the whole book to my dad and I say at the beginning, it's for him because his strong prayers helped save me. And so if you don't feel, if you've been mistreated in love, you've been disappointed in love, who hasn't at some point or another in their lives? Go to Jesus, talk to him about it. Let him wrap you in his wonderful love, the warmth of that. That night when he came to me in that radical experience, I felt like I was suddenly being swept along in this mighty surge of his love, just like sticking my hand in an electric current or another sense that I had of that, it was like a day I'm breaking forth in the water rushing forward. And I was caught up in that warmth and in that love and it's only grown deeper and more wonderful with each passing day. It's so beautiful for you to express it in that way, Carol. And I love the life first that you choose that just clings to you. Would you share just briefly your Mark 645, why this speaks so profoundly to you and what it can call us to respond and how we should show up into the world like the verse demonstrates? Right, you know, I told you that I call my parents when I became a Christian and they were the first to know and wanted them to send me a book. I was working on my PhD at the time. I had three or 4,000 books probably in my house. I did not have one copy of a Bible. Looking back on that, I can hardly believe it, but I called my dad, he got off the phone, he called my mom and he said, send that girl a Bible immediately. I was working as an editor with Southern Living Magazine at the time. So send that girl a Bible and he did. My mother to the day she died said there was only one copy of a Bible when she went to the bookstore and it was the living Bible, the translation, the living Bible. She sent it to me and it was, I had never read a modern translation before, only a King James version. And it was so easy to read and of course later I had a good laugh when I found out it was translated by a gentleman, a biblical scholar for his six, seven year old child so they could read and I thought, well, you know, Lord, that's about how old I was spiritually when I started reading this. But as I read that Bible, the Gospels and just what Jesus said, I came across and you'll only find it in the living translation. Now, now I use all sorts of study Bibles. But in that translation, the translator gathered together a few sentences and he came up with Mark 645 and this is what it says. It's after the feeding of the 5,000. So there were, as you can imagine, just hordes of people all around him and they were leaving, the event was over, he had fed them, he had taught them. And this verse says he himself would stay and tell the crowds goodbye and get them started home. And I, Angela, I read that verse, I had to put my Bible down and I just wept and wept. I mean, for the longest time, even now it brings tears to my eyes to think about that verse. He, the disciples were tired. They were physically exhausted after this day or two of crowds and feeding and teaching. And they said, Jesus, let's pull away to some place else. Let's rest. What did Jesus say to them? He said, no, he said, you guys go on. So I'm gonna stay here and tell the crowds goodbye. Have you ever been to a big party and the hour was getting late and you couldn't find the host? So you turned to someone and you said, would you just tell the host that I had to leave and that I love the party and goodbye? But Jesus wouldn't even do that. As tired as he must have been in his physical body, he stayed and I'm certain that he stood on that hill and said goodbye and gave a touch every single one of those 5,000 or plus people that were there. And as they were going over the last hill, they could turn over their shoulder and he was still standing there. He himself would stay. He will never ask us to do anything that he wouldn't do for us himself. And tell the crowds goodbye. He had to leave. He knew his time was running short. Had to leave and say goodbye. But what had he done for them? He had gotten them started home. And the moment any man or woman on the face of this earth turns to Jesus and comes to him as Lord and savior, how, what is our journey then defined by? We at that moment have begun our journey home, home one day to be with him in his kingdom in heaven to live with him eternally. What a magnificent verse. He himself would stay and tell the crowds goodbye and get each one of them started home. I love that life first, Carol. It has spoken profoundly to me. Thank you so much for your beautiful book. Again, extravagant love, exploring God's passion for us. Carol, thank you for being with us. Oh, thank you so much for having me. It's been my absolute honor and pleasure. When we return in 60 seconds, we're going to break down a pretty familiar scripture and tell you just how impactful it really is. And when it comes to our everyday walk, the impact that it leaves is invaluable. We'll be right back. Cornerstone Television has believed in the power prayer sits in Synception 44 years ago. We invest heavily in our prayer line to provide you with 24 seven personal prayer, knowing it brings breakthrough, healing and wisdom. Last year alone, we received over 65,000 prayer calls. And if you had partnered with us, thank you so very much. And when you give this month, I am so excited to share with you my new book, Praying On Another Level. It's a 30 day journal to take your prayer life to a new dimension in God. You see prayer is how we separate good ideas from God ideas. It's how we unlock the door to revelation and it's where we get our strength to build up our spirit man, to hear from God throughout our day. All that and so much more. So call us now at 888-665-4483 or give at ctvn.org forward slash donate to request your copy. Eat is time to take your prayer life to another level. We're so glad that you're with us on hope today. And we just wrapped up our conversation with Carol talking about this word called love. And like always, we like to share scripture with you that sets up the theme around how we like to round out our show. And it's a one that we're all very familiar with. And it is John 3 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. You know, this is such a common scripture and sometimes I think we truly take it for granted and what it means. You know, we see, you know, I think of Tim Tebow writing 3 16 like back in the day and all these, you know, sports athletes and you see it on people's social media. And I just want to take you to a moment that God actually brought me to recently when I've just been really in this season of my life just really trying to be intimate and spending time with him, listening to what he wants to share and reveal to my heart. And he brought me to this whole thing of love and what he began to speak to me and what he began to reveal to me is that we have to go back to the Hebrew when God first talked about love. It's this word, ahava. And you'll see it over and over again in the scriptures. And did you know what ahava essentially means? The basis, the premise of love, it means to give. Love means to give. And we see demonstrated in John 3 16 that God so loved the world that he gave. See, that was an act of God's love of giving. Love is an action. Love comes out of this place of selfless sacrifice. That even now, and I just think about in the times where we are hurting the times when we need God so much that it's not that he's just up there and he's watching us cry. No, he's giving of himself. He's pouring out his presence. He wants to reveal himself in his glory and a new way to you so you don't feel alone. You don't feel abandoned. That's what separates this God from every other God because there are no other gods, right? Because this is the only God that said, you know what, I'm gonna come down to my people. I'm gonna come down to those because I see the pain and I'm gonna step into that place and walk among them and spend time with them. And he's still doing the same thing with us today. And so we just wanna encourage you. And just ask you, do you know of this love? Or has it been a love that is out of obligation? That is a love that is out of rules. And maybe that's what your family context has looked like all your life, that you have to do this and that to earn love. There's nothing to do. We don't have to do anything to earn God's love. He paid it all for us. So today, if you're watching, we just wanna share with you the best news, the biggest breaking news that has been happening that we want you to take part in is knowing that Jesus died for you. He laid his life. He gave his life for you. He hung on the cross for three days and was resurrected. He conquered death on the grave. And because he did that, we are set free from our iniquities and our sins and our bondages and the things that hold us. And it's really simple. All you have to say is, Jesus, I receive you as my Messiah. I receive you as my Lord and my Savior. In that moment, friend, we'll change your life for eternity. And then you get to receive Emmanuel, God, with me, God, with us. So if you want to receive Jesus in your heart today, give us a call at 888-665-4483, Tom. You know, I think it's so important to remember that in every other religion, we have to sacrifice to gain approval of the God. But in Christianity, God sacrificed himself that we might gain approval. It was his sacrifice, something we could not achieve, something we could not do, something we could never, ever do enough to receive that love. He just said, here, I'm gonna lay down my life for the sheep. I'm gonna lay down my life for you. For God so loved the world, he gave his only son. I have a son. I could not give my son even to save the world, but God did. God gave his son to save us, to save myself, to save Angela, to save Sidney. And he's offering that to you today, as Sidney just said. So don't let this day go by without realizing how much and how important that love is and that God loves you unconditionally. But he wants you to know him. All you gotta do is open that door. Today could be a day just like it was for Carol, that everything changes. Have a wonderful day. On tomorrow's Hope Today, reaching Pittsburgh with the gospel of Jesus. Discover how a group of next generation believers are demonstrating God's love with an exciting upcoming prayer walk in the city of Pittsburgh. That's tomorrow on Hope Today. Cornerstone Television wishes to thank all our faithful viewers, whose consistent prayers and financial support have made this program possible.