Join Barbara Carmack as she delves into the delicate balance between cherished traditions and the powerful truths found in scripture. In this episode, the conversation navigates through personal stories and biblical lessons that reveal how some traditions, while comforting, may have unknowingly taken precedence over our spiritual growth. Against the backdrop of a post-holiday reflection, listeners are invited to consider which traditions enrich their lives and which may be hindering their path to divine truth.
Welcome to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. This is Jimmy Lakey, and I’m delighted that you are joining us for this half hour. You can reach Call to Freedom at Box 370367, Denver, Colorado, 80237, or by going to the website at www.freedomstreet.org. If you want to leave a message or order a Word Power Daily Reading Bible Guide or a Freedom Street Express newsletter, you can call us toll free at 1-877-917-7256 and leave your name and address, including your zip code. If you want to talk to Barbara right now, she is expecting your call. You may call that same toll-free number, 1-877-917-7256 to speak to her. And now, let’s join Barbara in the studio.
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. in your workplace, in your home. Like the words of the song written by Andre Crouch, How can I say thanks for the things you have done for me? Things so undeserved yet you give to prove your love for me. The voices of a million angels cannot express my gratitude. All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to you, Lord. To God be the glory and God bless you in this holiday season.
SPEAKER 03 :
I hope you had as delightful a holiday as we had at our house. We had family in, and Barbara, it was a good time all day long.
SPEAKER 02 :
It was, and received your Thanksgiving greeting, Richard, and I appreciate that. So many times we have people that have requests and prayer needs and everything on our office phone, and we pray for you. We really do. But yesterday it was such a delight to go down there and receive a Thanksgiving greeting from Richard and And I appreciate that. On a day when he could be around the table drinking coffee and eating pumpkin pie, he left a greeting on the office phone. So it was great.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I tell you, I need prayer. I ate too much yesterday. I hate to admit this, but I had some chocolate chip cookies early in the morning, and then I had some coffee chocolate cake about mid-morning. Whoa. Amen. Oh, you didn’t tell me that. Let’s see. What was that? Pecan pie.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s why I have this beautiful crystal cookie jar that I got from Irene. And I appreciate it so much because it’s wonderful. But not only that, you can’t get a cookie out of that jar without it clanking. And I must have been somewhere where I didn’t hear that lid coming down.
SPEAKER 03 :
I have learned to beat the system. I learned how to get a cookie out of there without it making noise. Anyway, yesterday I was thinking about traditions. In fact, we woke up early this morning. We’re talking about traditions. Last night before I went to sleep, we’re talking about some of the traditions that that are good and some that need to die. And here’s a scripture kind of interesting in Matthew 15, verse three. It says, why do you yourselves transgress? Lost my page here. Transgress the command of God for the sake of your tradition. In verse 6 it says, Thus you have invalidated the word of God for sake of your tradition. Now yesterday I was thinking about a little thing that might seem kind of silly to bring up at this point, but I like cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving and Christmas and any other time I can get my hands on it. I just love it. But I like it with the whole cranberry. But part of your family likes it with all the cranberry removed.
SPEAKER 02 :
Jellied, yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s really just jellied.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, and that’s why in the grocery store you see the whole berry. Ocean Spray was very wise. They got the jellied cranberry sauce, and they’ve got the whole berry cranberry sauce. And the relatives that were there yesterday, most of them like the jellied, you know, the smooth-tasting cranberry. But my mother brought the cranberry sauce, and she brought it because she knew that Darren liked the whole berry this year. So she kind of blessed you.
SPEAKER 03 :
you this year we could have had both but you know these little things come up in discussion at the table sometimes it’s over well i like this kind of dressing on oh if you ever taste my mother’s dressing you know you hear things like that now those are the traditions that aren’t going to hang you up and keep you from living victoriously but there are the traditions that we really need to look at. In fact, I prayed the prayer today in my personal devotions. Lord, show me any traditions that I have left over, and I have some left over from my childhood, and who knows how they all got there. but that invalidate or certainly hinder the Word of God in my life. And I’ve heard three different men of God teach lately. There’s one thing stronger than the Word of God. And you stop and think, wow, what is that? I’ve always thought that the Word of God is the strongest thing. And here it says that traditions can invalidate the Word of God, meaning that in our lives, traditions can be stronger than the Word. And when we get into that, we lose.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wow, that really is. It’s such a statement. I know, Darren, that a lot of marriages are broken up because one person’s traditions are trying to override another person’s traditions. And when you come together as a couple, you need to make adjustments of all kinds. And that’s, well, I did it this way. Well, I did it this way. My family always did. We’ve done this for generations. And we have to kind of break the mold there and say, all right, what’s going to be best for you and what’s going to be best for me? And we’ve even allowed our children to start their own traditions. And we don’t demand that they come at Christmas, and we don’t demand they come at Thanksgiving, and we don’t demand that they send us things for our birthdays. I know a lot of families are stuck on that kind of tradition. And, Darren, sometimes that really begins to destroy from the roots of families.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I think there are that types of traditions that, you know, when they come in conflict, when they come in cross purpose with what somebody else has been used to doing all their other years. For example, when your brother and his wife left yesterday, they said, well, we’re going to go home and decorate the Christmas tree. Now, as I remember, that’s a tradition in their family.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, that is. It really is.
SPEAKER 03 :
That they decorate Christmas tree on Thanksgiving.
SPEAKER 02 :
And they have this wonderful little train that they’ve had under the Christmas tree. And when I go to their home, that’s what I expect to see. And it’s tradition. Now, some of these things are wonderful things to start for your family. And I know a lot of you do those kind of traditions. And those are good because I know some of you, you put ornaments on your trees when your children are small. And then when they have their own families, those ornaments go to start their own Christmas tree. That’s a good, that’s a feely good kind of a tradition. But there are others, Darren, that you’re talking about that ruin families.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, and there’s some traditions that I’m concerned about more than that. Those kinds of things we’ve just been talking about. And that’s the traditions that come from between the lines of Scripture. It might be, well, healing us a certain way.
SPEAKER 02 :
Or healing’s not for everybody.
SPEAKER 03 :
Or giving us a certain way. And, in fact, in the last few days we heard a gentleman say, well, in our church our pastor hasn’t. And if I got the number right, he said 14 years he has not preached on tithing. I said, well, you know, basically I think he’s robbing the people. And I don’t really believe that. There are some pastors just afraid to teach on giving for fear people get offended and leave. Well, we’re not afraid to teach on salvation for fear people might get offended and leave. Or on doctrines of the Holy Spirit, we’re not afraid to teach about that. And we shouldn’t be afraid to teach people about how they can really bring their finances in line with the Word of God. I believe we cheat the people when we avoid teaching about some of these subjects. Yeah, some people get bent out of shape, but I’m sorry. You know, we have to depend on Holy Spirit then to work with their hearts to bring them the round of what the truth is.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you’re reading a scripture where Jesus deeply offended the leadership here of Israel. I mean, deeply. And they finally were out to kill him and destroy him because he came against their tradition so mightily. And there are people, Darren, that we. that we try to teach and we desire that you have such abundant lives and your tradition, you’re so caught up in your tradition, you won’t change. You wouldn’t change if Jesus stood in front of you and told you that the change was very best for you. And we desire that Holy Spirit comes in and begins to move so that you can know that the Bible is more than your tradition you grew up with or that you’ve learned through your church or through a certain person that you believed in. Darren, there are people that I really… I admired so deeply in my walk and I discovered they weren’t in the word at all. I just took their word for gospel. And lo and behold, when I got old enough to begin to read the word, I discovered they weren’t right at all. And I so respected them when I was younger.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I was reading an article in the last week here and the person there was ministering in this article said, the word says, submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he’ll flee from you. The key there is not resisting the devil, but it’s submitting to God.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes, that’s right.
SPEAKER 03 :
And that’s the key. Some of you want to resist the devil. You want to bind him and get him out of your house and off your property and away from your family and away from your job and your business and so on. But the key there is to submit to God first. And then when you resist the devil, because you’re under the submission of God, you’re under that authority, then the devil will flee from you.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, he will. You know, in reading the book of Daniel, and I’ve been doing that, and I’ve been staying kind of in the book of Daniel. I know our devotions go on and on through books, but sometimes I’m stuck in a certain chapter and verse. And I know some of you have come to me and you said, I can’t get out of this book. I know your devotions are on this other book, but I’m still in this book. That’s great. If Holy Spirit keeps you in a book, that’s wonderful. But here Daniel is confronted with by Satan over and over and over again, Darren. And he submits to God, he submits to God, and he submits to God. And it doesn’t say very much about him saying, I rebuke you, devil, or I rebuke you, Satan. It says he prayerfully acknowledged God and gave God his petitions. He prayed before God with sackcloth and with fasting and prayer. It doesn’t say anything about resisting the devil, but God came with his mighty angels and defeated the devil on Daniel’s behalf. And we see here a man who is so devoted to God. He submitted to God throughout his entire lifetime. God kept him out of so many opportunities for death. And he grew to be an old man in captivity, Darren, because he submitted to God.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, you said something to me this morning that really opened my eyes about Daniel. When he was thrown into the lion’s den, he was an old man.
SPEAKER 02 :
He was.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, because of the artist renderings that I’ve seen since I was a kid, you know, we see a boy that might be 12 to 18 years old cast into the lion’s den. Oh, poor little Daniel. Well, it wasn’t poor little Daniel, it was poor old Daniel.
SPEAKER 02 :
Old Daniel, white beard, yes, white hair.
SPEAKER 03 :
And you’re talking about the number of Persian kings that he survived. He went through several of these Persian kings, so he survived their reign. And yet the king that had him thrown in in the areas yes in the dungeon there he said your god whom you constantly serve will himself deliver you that’s before he threw him in the lion’s den well and of course they starved these lions so they were ready to really tear you apart if they did throw somebody in the lion’s den it was a horrible way to die but the lions of course their mouths were closed and they didn’t do anything
SPEAKER 02 :
What was profound is since we’ve been little children, we’ve heard about Daniel in the lion’s den and this story about they threw him. We didn’t know why they threw him in there. We didn’t know how God delivered him. We didn’t know the gist of the story was very spiritual, that he would not submit to the rules of the king and his court. And so that’s why he was thrown in. And the other thing, Darius was so profoundly… uh… affectionate towards daniel even though he brought about this rule and he had to keep his that he had to keep uh… his word well it’s a word of the needs in the persian that’s right he had to keep his word so he had to throw daniel in but this king actually did not sleep all night dairies did not sleep all night he did not eat any food He wanted Daniel to be alive when he went the next morning. And lo and behold, he was alive. And then when he brought Daniel up out of that pit, he threw all of the men who had accused Daniel, plus their children, plus their wives into that pit. And they were devoured. They were all devoured. So we know these were not tame lions. These were animals that were fierce. And hungry. And hungry. And they devoured the men who had accused Daniel. That’s our God, Darren. He protects us.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, I know we have some people listening today that are in work situations, financial situations where you might say today, man, the alligators are after me. I’m up to my eyeballs in alligators. I’ve heard people say that. Or, you know, I feel like the lions are after me or I’m about to be eaten here in this situation. You know, if we go with God, as Daniel did here, God hears what people say about the believers. Yes. And something I heard a man say the other day when somebody was coming against him, he turned and he said, God, did you hear what they’re saying?
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that’s good. That’s good.
SPEAKER 03 :
So we need to realize that God is on the scene. Jesus is on the scene. Holy Spirit’s there. And we need to remind God, do you hear what they’re saying about you and about me? Do you hear how they’re putting us both down? Well, here, Daniel here really had that figured out, I really, really believe. But God turned that mess into something glorious for this young believer in the Most High God. I want to say this to some of you that are in horrible work situations where you get a terrible evaluation from somebody that doesn’t like you. Maybe somebody’s trying to hustle you for sex, and you turn them down, you push them away, and they’ll tell you straight out, well, it’s going to show up on your evaluation. Well, we’ve had people tell us that. If you hang in there with the Lord God, he’s going to bring you out of that mess and elevate you, I believe, and bring judgment in that situation if you stay true to God.
SPEAKER 02 :
I agree. I think of that little phrase I grew up with, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade. And Daniel here had lemons for life. I mean, this whole book is written when he’s in captivity. And here it says not only did he have much favor and he was second in command to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. But when he died, Belshazzar gave him favor. Then here when Daniel was under the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus of Persia, and it says here in Daniel 6.28, Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus. Now here he was a captive from Israel, and the word says he had success even in captivity.
SPEAKER 03 :
But, you know, he did it God’s way. He refused to eat their food, bow to their gods, even though, you know, they tried to change his name, give him a heathen name, which they did.
SPEAKER 02 :
They did.
SPEAKER 03 :
But he stayed true to God. He stayed true to God and God bailed him out here. Folks, you need to know that some some of you have a nickname where you work. It’s just plain gross. I have been in those situations. I’ve I’ve had name calling toward me, but. More often I’ve seen it toward other people in the workplace, and it was just downright ugly, filthy put-down. And that’s what they were called. You know, when old so-and-sos come to work, well, you know, and they talked about them in that way. In some ways, that’s what they were doing to Daniel here, putting him down, changing his identity.
SPEAKER 02 :
We were watching a football game the other day, and there was this one player whose name was a really strange name, Tug something. And his teammates call him Tug. But here you said, as we were watching, he says, well, I’ll bet he was teased when he was in grade school. I mean, that is what happens when you have a very strange or a different name.
SPEAKER 03 :
It was a hockey game.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, was it a hockey game? Okay, it was a hockey game. I’m sorry.
SPEAKER 03 :
I think his name was Tugnut or something like that. You know, growing up, they probably called him Lugnut.
SPEAKER 02 :
Lugnut, yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
But I think they called him Tugger, which sounds like a fairly affectionate name, which is probably to the positive. You know what we’re talking about here, folks? We’re trying to be just as real with our ministry here to you, to minister to you where you are in the situation you’re in. And God has an answer for the mess. Now, some of you have felt a real sense of impending doom or you felt a sense of heaviness and you haven’t been able to put your finger on it and you looked around and said, boy, what’s the matter with me? I just don’t feel good or, you know, whatever. I want to tell you, you may not be sophisticated in spiritual realities, but But in the spirit world right now, there’s a real blanket over our nation, and it has to do with this election that hasn’t yet been settled. You need to pray, and don’t take it so personally that you’ve done something wrong, that you feel maybe you’re trying to say, well, I’m being convicted here of something, or is God after me, or am I getting sick? You need to stop and say, Lord, I believe I’m going to pray here. And we’re inviting you to pray. And just cover our nation with the blood of Jesus. If you have sins in your life, confess them and ask God to forgive you. And you know, God is going to rule and reign here. None of us know really how. I know some people have made some prognostications, and that’s dangerous. But I do believe this. I think it’s about over, folks, and God is going to lift the veil. He’s going to lift this heaviness, this wet blanket that’s been over all of us. So that might help some of you sort in the spirit world what’s going on here. And I’ve had this. I’ve had this sense of heaviness and oppression and depression. I said, God, what’s going on? And he’s been telling us, you know, this is this is.
SPEAKER 02 :
And this is a time for prayer, yes. If ever there was a time for prayer, it’s a time for the body of Jesus Christ to get together and pray, yes.
SPEAKER 03 :
I believe that. And, you know, we can pray. And I guess what I’m telling you is don’t take it personally as if you’ve done something wrong. And sometimes we just have to grow into that.
SPEAKER 02 :
I’ve noticed it’s been 17 or 18 days. And I’ve noticed even the Tuesday meetings, I’ve noticed people that have felt this heaviness. And it is a spirit of heaviness that has tried to creep over this nation. But our prayer can defeat that in Jesus’ name. We believe that with all of our heart.
SPEAKER 03 :
Good morning, Kay.
SPEAKER 01 :
Hi, how are you?
SPEAKER 03 :
Wonderful, how are you?
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, fine. I believe the same thing what just now Barbara said. Yes, I believe that God can… Answer the prayer, everybody. Yes. And not the reason I’m calling. I’m calling for my daughter. So she’s in the hospital now. She’s having a baby. She called me at 730. She said her dialed for three and said she hadn’t called me. But I know she’ll be all right because we’re praying. A lot of them are praying for her. And she’s doing okay, but I wanted you guys to pray for her. You have a son, that baby.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now she has other children, right?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes, she’s got three. She’s got three boys, and this is going to be a girl. Oh, well, good. So this will be special about a girl. I don’t have any granddaughter.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is the first one. Oh, well, good for you, Kay. Thank you. And how many grandchildren do you have? I’ve got four grandsons. Four grandsons. Well, let’s pray.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you, Father.
SPEAKER 02 :
I praise you, Lord, today for this wonderful time for Kay and her family. I thank you, Lord, that they’re all over the nation. There are children being born to wonderful Christian grandmothers and grandfathers. and fathers and mothers. And I praise you, Lord, that you are going to be victorious in everything, in our personal lives as well as in our national lives. And I thank you, Father God, for this wonderful new life coming into the world. And, Father, that you will be there in that hospital room and that they will give you the glory. I thank you, Father, this mother and father are going to give you the glory for this precious baby. And bless Kay today especially. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. God bless you, Kay. Thank you for the prayer. And I thank you for you sending the letter. And, you know, I don’t know. I can’t remember what to say. Anyway, you sent a note in the letter to me. Oh, yes. It’s a wonderful word. And I just thank you so much for that encouraging word. And that’s a wonderful word.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, thank you, Kay.
SPEAKER 01 :
And I just thank you, Lord, for you guys doing that. And… The problem is I can’t write you the answer back, and that’s why I feel so bad. Don’t feel bad. Don’t feel bad. Your prayers. But God knows what my heart is.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’ll tell you, I’ll make you a deal.
SPEAKER 01 :
All right.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’ll make you a deal.
SPEAKER 01 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 03 :
Are you ready?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
When I can write you in Korean way.
SPEAKER 01 :
Oh, my God. Then I’ll write you back in Korean. That’s not going to happen. See, I don’t think terrible.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, yes. I open mine. Well, God bless you. Okay. Thank you. God bless you. Bye. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER 03 :
I’m glad I don’t have to communicate with her in her native language.
SPEAKER 02 :
She would be shocked, wouldn’t she?
SPEAKER 03 :
Sometimes my hand scratching probably looks like a foreign language.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. We really respect the people that have come into this nation and had to change from their native language to English. And that is important, though, I believe. If you come to America, I believe that is one thing that you need to do is to learn English. And I know all of our forefathers that came from Ireland, from England, well, England, they spoke English. Boy, sometimes you can’t understand the English from England and also from Germany, so many different countries, and they learned English, did very well. So I know that’s possible.
SPEAKER 03 :
I know I’ve been in a couple of Chinese restaurants where the server took the order in Chinese. I hope they know what they’re doing. I hope I get what I ordered here.
SPEAKER 01 :
Did you get what you ordered?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, as I remember, I did. But I thought it was fascinating that they used the ancient language or what we would say, the old language, to communicate with the cooks. I don’t know if the cooks could even speak English. You know, we’re up against so many challenges in our country, this being a melting pot of the world. But, folks, I’ll tell you, the devil is after our country. And one of the reasons he is is this is a breadbasket for missions to spread the message of evangelism, the message of Jesus Christ around the world. Why wouldn’t the devil want to put our country out of commission? Why wouldn’t he want foreign interests and evil interests to take over here? Well, he does. And if you stop and think about it, many nations are, even on their flag, it’s Islam. Their national language, everything to do is to do with an ancient religion. Well, we would say a godless religion. We need to protect these United States because we’re the ones that are sending missionaries out around the world. Now, some nations, like even Korea, we just mentioned that. But there have even been Korean missionaries coming to the United States because there’s been so much degradation here. I mean, that embarrasses me, but it’s true. So we need to keep standing up for the truth, standing up for the word of God. And folks, if you ever needed to hear the voice of God, see, a while ago I talked about this feeling or this sense of oppression. Do you know the Lord God well enough? Do you know his word well enough? And those times come against all of us. That you can bow your head and pray and say, Lord God, I sense that I need to know something here that I don’t quite have it figured out. Well, one of the first things I pray, Barb, is, Lord, are you trying to convict me or tell me something or is that the devil harassing me? I don’t want to be binding the devil if that’s you, Lord, talking to me. And sometimes that’s happened.
SPEAKER 02 :
It really has.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I want to know what it is, Lord. How come I feel a sense of oppression here? How come the food doesn’t taste quite as good? How come I’m not sleeping quite as well? And I haven’t slept as well. I usually sleep like a log, as you know.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, I believe it’s a time for prayer. I believe it’s a time for when we’re awakened in the night, as Daniel was, I believe it’s a time for us to go to prayer. And as David said, I prayed on my pillow or I cried on my pillow or my pillow is full of tears. And we’ve read that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Where I cried out in the night.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yes. Now in Daniel 7, after he sees this great prophecy and he’s troubled by it, but in the 11th verse of chapter 7 he says, I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking. Now when the devil comes to you and his mockery comes to you, it’s going to be in boasting. It’s going to be in great boasting. And he says, I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. And you can know without a shadow of a doubt that when it all comes down to the end, that beast is going to be slain. The dragon is going to be tossed into the lake of fire, burning destruction forever and ever. Satan will be rewarded with what he has done to God’s people, and that is to burn forever and ever in a lake of fire. And you say, do you believe in that literally? Yes, I believe in that literally. And you can see that in Luke 16 with the parable of the rich man that went to hell, that he was tormented. I believe that. And I believe in Revelation 22, I believe, or wherever it is, 21.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I’m going to suggest that our listeners get your Bibles out. You’ll read what Barbara’s talking about here.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, it’s so good.
SPEAKER 03 :
But I would read the last four chapters here, at least 20, 21, and 22, the last three, or add four to it, and you will see what we’re talking about here. I tell you, it’s wonderful. And all it took was one angel to grab the devil by the neck and throw him in the pit.
SPEAKER 02 :
That’s right. Well, my goodness. Oh, hallelujah.
SPEAKER 03 :
We have all kinds of angels at our disposal. We’ve heard a lot of angel stories over the years from people who said, wow, I had this angel encounter, this angelic encounter saved my life, saved my kids’ lives. They were right there when I needed them. And we do have an angel series available for you, and we put this in a newsletter also, but it’s called Angels Among Us. And it’s $24. It’s a lot of angel stories on there that we put together already on tape for you. It would be a great addition to your tape library. It might be a real encouragement to you. because we deal every day whether we want to admit it or not whether we’ve been taught about it we deal every day with the supernatural yes we do supernatural and uh we’re trying to be here on the everyday monday through friday to bring up the awareness of what’s going on in the spirit world we don’t need to be afraid of the spirit world that’s our turf not the devil’s turf but don’t give in to him 877-917-7256
SPEAKER 04 :
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