The Light of Christmas and the Spirit of Giving

SPEAKER 02 : 0:09

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-powered 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 01 : 1:04

Well, welcome to called a freedom. I’m so glad you joined me today. And if you’re like me, a little confused about the date and where you are and what time it is, but God will help us keep us steadfast. So come along with me. We’ll just help each other. Praise the Lord. Oh, hold fast to him and serve him because James one 17 says every good and perfect gift is from above. Coming down from the father of lights in which there is no shadow of turning. He doesn’t change his mind. He’s not a partial God. He loves all of us equally. Remember, if you had children and your little children would come to you and who’s your favorite, especially when there’s two or three of them or four. And who’s your favorite? And you’d have to say, I have no favorites. I love you all the same. You have to say that. Or there will be strife. So we’re so grateful that every good and perfect gift from the Father is for everyone who believes in our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s wonderful. Oh, and while I get my mind and my thoughts all in order here, let’s do the Monday Bible slogan. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I do what it tells me to do. This is my Bible. It has given me new life. It is the Word of God. And I want you to know, and you probably know by now, that Kimberly is in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Wow, what a wonderful month I had with her. And I hope that you enjoyed those programs also. You can go back online. to freedomstreet.org. Click on Resources, and under there is Radio Shows. And if you’d like to go back to Thanksgiving, and that’s when Kimberly joined me, so you can have those days, Monday through Thursday, when Kimberly was here for the month of celebration of the wonderful birth of Jesus Christ. And also, I want to recommend, we watched The First Christmas, produced and directed by Kevin Costner. And I recommend that. It’s a little bit more difficult to get hold of because it’s on Hulu and special platforms. But if you Google The First Christmas, I learned some things. I have known about this for, well, I’m not going to say, well… 75 years I have heard the Christmas story but there were some truth and facts there that I had never heard of and I asked Kimberly about them and she said oh yeah mom I’ve heard about this this is historical in the Jewish history so Go to The First Christmas by Kevin Costner. C-O-S-T-N-E-R. He is still one of my favorite actors. And enjoy one more movie. Also, if you would like to see some spectacular lights before this season is over, I recommend going to Cherry Creek North. And there are… Three or four streets east and west that are just covered with bright white lights. There are no colors unless you look at this huge crane that is sticking up almost to heaven. And it’s all colored. And also the bare oak trees and the trees that no longer have the evergreen on them. They are draped with, it’s like weeping willows, draped with color after color and streaming. Oh, we just were so in awe as we went up and down those streets. Cherry Creek North, you go down Speer Boulevard until you get to University, and then you get into the Cherry Creek North area. And you won’t be disappointed if you can take the drive. Or I went online at Cherry Creek North Christmas Lights. And you can walk through the beautiful avenues right there online if you can’t go in person. But, oh, I recommend going in person. Oh, it was beautiful. I told Kimberly while we were going slowly up and down these streets, oh, Kimberly, if we had a convertible, wouldn’t that be beautiful? And people were all over walking. Oh, it’s just a really great. I recommend Cherry Creek North Christmas lights. And that’s a beautiful thing. Also, and you can donate. Oh, I need to tell you, because this is last call, really. When you donate to call to freedom and you can go online at Freedom Street dot org and there’s a donate button online. Or you can actually mail a donation to Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. And two more days, if you give during the month of December donation, any size donation, then I will send you a 2026 motivational calendar. Oh, so good. I’ve enjoyed all through the years that I have sent these out. And I do keep one for myself. Yes, I do. So you know that. So come on, write that check, send in that money order, or I’ve received cash as well. When you donate to Call to Freedom and it will help on your income tax. Yep. When you give to a 501c3 organization, which Call to Freedom under Fire and Rain Ministries is. So God bless you and thank you so much. Oh, through your faithful giving. Your faithful giving is just astounding to me. And I know that God gives you that wonderful opportunity. And also he blesses you when you write those checks to Call to Freedom. Thank you so much. And our memory verse for this week is found in Nehemiah. This is the last I’m going to talk about Nehemiah. A beautiful book, but a heart-rendering book. What they went through. And it’s Nehemiah 9, 17b, the second part of the 17th verse. And this is the New American Standard. But thou art a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. Oh, love that. Nehemiah 17 in the New Living Translation. But you are a God of forgiveness. Holy Father, thank you. Thank you so much. Gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich, rich in unfailing love. And you know his unfailing love. Does away with all fear when we embrace all that he is in love. In 1 John 4, verse 18, it says that fear is gone because you have found the love of your life. And that’s the Lord Jesus. Oh, and it goes on to say in Nehemiah 9, 17, you do not abandon God. You did not abandon your people, even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, this is your God who brought you out of Egypt. They committed terrible blasphemies. But in your great mercy. Mercy drops round us are falling. You did not abandon them to die in the wilderness. Praise the Lord for that. Oh, he is so good. Well, as I was reading through Nehemiah this past week, and it was a busy week. It was a fast week. Boy, talk about crunching time, collapsing time. And Nehemiah went through so much. I want to go through just a little bit of what he had to face in opposition. Also, the gigantic, enormous assignment this was, the project that he had to bring together. So I’m just going to read a little bit about this project. And I want you to know that this project, it was heart-stopping to them and a discouragement beyond belief when they faced in front of them what was something they had never, never encountered again. Now, I know they’d gone through building projects before, like the temple and the great buildings that King Solomon built during his reign. But they had never had to clear debris from the place they loved, like the debris that was left by the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. Now, 42,000 people came back with Ezra and Nehemiah, and 30,000 of them were men. So you know that they did the brunt of the heavy work. what was involved i just can’t imagine and so you know that the rest were women and children who probably helped in the cleaning up and all of that folks we cannot be effective or successful without god almighty’s input and help it is a lie from the enemy to think we can accomplish anything without god and i’ve been there my i’ve been there dear friend to say look what i’ve done Well, look what I did. No, we’ve got to get rid of that I, I, I. Oh, and that me, me, me. We’ve got to get rid of all of that in Jesus’ name. I wondered what it would have been like in my own life, you know, looking back as we all do, looking back in the memories, especially around Christmastime. And when Darren was here, it was a challenge to think of what the radio program would be like. And I have to believe that we had each other then to plan the work ahead. And as I look back at 30 years on the radio and realize I couldn’t do it. I could not do it. I could not do the 60 hours that we spent in the spiritual and in the wonderful organization that God had given us, Fire and Rain Ministries. With the fire of Holy Spirit, we are kings and priests who reign on this earth. And that’s how Darren came to that title, Fire and Rain, R-E-I-G-N, Ministry. So I praise God. I’m here. I’m here. I think it’s Monday. Yes, it’s Monday. I’m here to thank God that I am here with you. Yes, I may not ever meet you on this earth, but thank you. Thank you for being there. Thank you for listening. Oh, and I got to go on. I think of Nehemiah’s situation. I never could have accomplished what Nehemiah and those dedicated people did. And as you read through Nehemiah, meditate on all the prayers that they were engaged in as they worked. Not just the weapons they held, but the prayers. When the enemy came around with innuendos and threats that caused the builders to question what they were doing, they went to the Lord in prayer on their knees. And here’s Nehemiah 4, verse 9 in the message. When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard the repairs of the wall of Jerusalem were going so well that the breaks in the wall were being fixed, they were absolutely furious. Now, Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, those were enemies of God. You’ve got fear, doubt, unbelief, hate everywhere. discouragement, divorce, and divorce in itself is not a sin, but the consequences from that divorce, yes, the unforgiveness involved, all those are enemies. They may not be in person, but they’re spiritual enemies of us today. And they were furious. And they put their heads together and decided to fight against Jerusalem and create as much trouble as they could. You see that going on in our country right now. The left is doing as much trouble and as much damage as they can and keep us distracted. We countered with prayer to our God and set a round-the-clock guard against them. Verse 10 of Nehemiah 4. But soon word was going around in Judah, the builders are pooped. Sometimes you feel pooped, don’t you? The rubbish piles up. We’re in over our heads. We can’t build this wall. We can’t. We can’t. Have you ever? I can’t do this. I can’t. Oh, I’ve got rid of can’t. I can’t. I got rid of can’t. And I said, Father, this is yours. And in my own power, I am very weak. So thank you, Lord. I can fully relate to their cries of discouragement and negativity. They were looking at the mess and not seeing what cooperation with our God would result in. And 11 and 12 verses says, and all this time their enemies were saying they won’t know what hit them before they know it will be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work. The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, they have us surrounded. We’re going to be attacked. If we heard it once, we’ve heard it 10,000 times. We’re going to be attacked. It’s coming. We can’t do anything about it. And so verse 13 and 14 says, so I stationed armed guards at the most vulnerable places of the wall and assigned people by families with their swords, lances, and bows. Okay, what are our swords now? Our swords are the word of God, the word that we have in our mouths. In our mouths, his word is powerful and effective. And our weapons of defense are those spiritual coverings that he puts on every born-again believer in Ephesians 6. Read that chapter. So good. And after looking things over, I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else. Don’t be afraid of them. Put your minds on the master. Great and awesome. And then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. Okay, put your minds on the master, not on the problem. That’s right. Don’t be afraid of them. It reminds me of Colossians 3, verse 13. Three, or excuse me, I think it was verse two. Set your minds on things above and not on things on the earth. Boy, that’s so good. That’s the key, folks. And why am I bringing this up at the end of a busy and complicated year to face a year of unseen events and issues that we may have to face, such as income tax and the monthly bills and the expenses that we have no idea of how to pay? The enemy seems to come in during these times of questioning about our future for this next year. These are the times that just as Nehemiah and the faithful followers of God look to him, we must also give our heart cries and our unknown issues to him. All those future fears, give to him, give to him. Put our fears behind us, not going into the new year with fear piled upon fear. No, don’t do that to yourself. Don’t do that to the people around you. And remember, 2 Timothy 1.7, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. Remember that. Just as Nehemiah stationed guards at the vulnerable places of the wall, we have the blessing of knowing that Holy Spirit and the angels of God are stationed around us at vulnerable times when doubt, fear, and unbelief seem to dominate our thought life. Here in Deuteronomy 10, 10 through 17, Moses is telling the people, and now Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you? But to fear and worship the Lord your God with awe-filled reverence and profound respect. To walk, that is, to live each and every day in all his ways and to love him. To serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, your choices, your thoughts, your whole being. and to keep the commandments of the Lord and his statutes when I’m commanding you today to do good. And it reminds me of Acts 17, verse 28. In you, Lord God, I live and move and have my being. Yes, in him. So Deuteronomy 10, verse 14 goes on. Behold, the heavens and the highest of the heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth and all that is in it. Yet the Lord had a delight in loving your father’s and set his affection on them, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. And he chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. So circumcise, that is, remove sin from your heart. Circumcise is removing all that stony heart. removing the sin from your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. Excuse me, this translation. And be stiff-necked, stubborn, obstinate no longer. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, the awesome God, who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. It reminds me of the verse in James 1.17. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, which he has no partiality towards anyone. And so he does not show partiality or take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow. Oh, thank you, Father God, for the words that come from my mouth are from you, Holy Spirit. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow and shows his love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. Verse 19 of Deuteronomy 10 says, Therefore show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall fear and worship the Lord your God with awe-filled reverence and profound respect. You shall serve him and cling to him, hold tightly to him, be united with him, and you shall swear oaths by his name. Yes, yes, Lord. He is your praise and glory. He is your God who has done for you these great and awesome things which you have seen with your own eyes. That’s why I keep a journal. Every day I write in that journal things that have happened in that day, the praise reports. Not often, you know, all the little aches and pains and the things that go wrong, because they’re less and less, friend. As we thank him, they’re less and less. So I just keep my journal open every day I’m writing in it, and I’m soon going to be opening a new journal for 2026. Oh, so here was a people with a huge project facing a threatening and evil enemy who was trying to dislodge them from their assignment. I’m here today to tell you that we serve and worship the same God who rescued and enabled his people in Jeremiah. Not only to finish their assignment, but to finish victoriously. Oh, Emmanuel, Emmanuel. That wonderful name, Emmanuel. That’s his name. Lord Jesus, wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. We read that in Isaiah 9, verse 6. But the first is Emmanuel. Emmanuel. And we read that in Isaiah, the same book, two or three, four chapters before. And it says he was going to be a baby born of a virgin. And he was going to be called Emmanuel. God with us. God with us, friend. God is with you every moment of the day. The rewards for obedience and following after God are enormous. And I can safely say unending rewards. Those rewards, friend, and the harvest that you’ve been looking for. Oh, don’t give up. He is there. He is giving it all great mighty things. Follow after God this next year, and you will see super abundant hope and faith well up in you. Now, this song that Rachel is going to be playing for us, it’s a little loud, and there’s a lot of clapping, so I’m I want you to understand that I’m looking for the words of this song. Emmanuel, Emmanuel, wonderful counselor, Lord of life, Lord of all. He is the Prince of Peace, mighty God, holy one. Emmanuel, Emmanuel. Remember that in him we live and move and have our beings. Here’s Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant.

SPEAKER 1 : 21:09

Oh Oh Oh We gotta add to the world We gotta add to the world We gotta add to the world We gotta add to the world We gotta add to the world We gotta add to the world We gotta add to the world We gotta add to the world

SPEAKER 01 : 23:44

Oh, praise God. It’s so exciting. And when you get in front of a crowd like that, I was just wanting you to listen to that. Emmanuel, wonderful counselor, Lord of life, Lord of all. You are the Prince of Peace, mighty God, holy one. Oh, and Jesus is the one you look to. Not other people. No, not people around you. Even closest friend. Jesus is the one you look to. You focus on. And they may sympathize with you, but do not benefit you in the things that really matter, the peace and the joy in the midst of trials. Jesus understands humanity because as a man who experienced everything we experience, he may not be in the exact way, but tempted in every way as we are. He has conquered sin and he knows how to deal with each and every one of us in his love and his mercy and his grace. And as a result, friend, we draw near freely and boldly to where that beautiful gift of grace is, and that’s Jesus. That’s Jesus himself. To receive mercy and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness. Remember, mercy means the bad that I deserve, Jesus took on himself. Mercy, he’s a merciful God. Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And we want to remember, too, that God is a God of wonder, and he’s a God of power. He’s a God of majesty, and he’s a God that loves you deeply, so deeply. Give him some of your attention, really, because even when you don’t think well of yourself, he sees you as a precious treasure forever. He sees you as something of great value because he’s not only a God of forgiveness, but he’s gracious and compassionate as a father is. I remember the times when I would be asleep in the car. We were 30 miles from the city where we went to church. And so by the time we got home on Sunday night, I would be asleep in the backseat of the car. And he would just lift me up and carry me into the house. And he would put me to bed. And it was just wonderful to know that I had a father. I have a father. You have a father, an everlasting father. And his name is Abba. And he is a holy God. He wants an intimate relationship with you. I hope you’re giving him your time. And I know it’s busy. I know it’s really busy. And we do a lot for ourselves, a lot for the loved ones around us. But give our Holy Father some time, this great, wonderful celebration of life that we’re going through in this next week. And remember, if you donate to Call to Freedom during the month of December, two more days, you’ll get a 2026 calendar and it will bless you. It’s a motivational calendar. So every month it gives you some strong adjectives to live by and to grow by, to learn by. So thank you so much for being on the air with me today. You were, you were on the air with me. I love you and I pray for you often. And I just pray that you will take joy.

SPEAKER 02 : 27:01

Thank you for listening to Call to Freedom with Barbara Carmack. You may get in touch with Barbara at Call to Freedom, Box 370367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may leave your message at 1-877-917-7256. Call to Freedom is a listener-supported radio ministry. Barbara and her power partners invite you to come on board with us and become a network of hands holding up Call to Freedom ministry. Our partners support Call to Freedom with prayer and monthly financial support. You will be blessed supernaturally. We invite you to visit Call to Freedom’s website, www.freedomstreet.org, where you can hear Barbara’s daily radio broadcast 24 hours a day or order materials. You may share your praise reports and heart cries by mailing them to Call to Freedom, Box 370-367, Denver, Colorado, 80237. Or you may email us at barbracarmack at freedomstreet.org. Until next time, remember, Jesus loves you, Barbara loves you, and take joy.