The Ron Edwards American Experience - 261016 Faith Day

God, I love this station. Program loaded and ready. Hi, I'm Pete Cunningham from Lancashire's Lighthouse Radio Ministries, and you're listening to the Ron Edwards American Experience. On with the show, this is it. Prepare for launch in three, two, one. And away we go. Ladies and gentlemen, it's the Ron Edwards American Experience Talk Show. Where our unalienable rights are celebrated. And now, your radio refreshment, Ron Edwards. Welcome, my friends. This is the Ron Edwards American Experience Fake Day Edition. I'm Ron Edwards, and yeah, I am your radio refreshment, and we've got a great show lined up for you today. We're going to take a different approach than we normally do. Today's focus is the light of Jesus extinguishing the darkness of the mob. In 1968, there was a band formed called. Rush. And it's considered one of the many, one of the greatest bands of all time, in fact. And the band was known for its highly skilled musicianship and complex and eclectic compositions, which drew primarily on science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy. Rush helped to popularize the idea of concept albums and long-form storytelling in rock music with albums such as 2012, which came out in 1976, Hemispheres in 1978, and Moving Pictures in 1981. Geddy Lee, the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for Rush, was born Gary Lee Weinrib on July 29th of 1953 in Toronto, Ontario, to Moshe Mir Wanrai and Malka Now, both were from Poland. His parents, that is, were Jewish Holocaust survivors who survived the ghetto in Stachowicz, where they had met, and the imprisonment at the Auschwitz, at Dachau, and Bergen also. And they were separated. And after four years, during the Allied they were reunited and they were married. And eventually they migrated to Canada. And so Geddy Lee's family history may have played a role in the composition of one of Russia's hit songs, Witch Hunt, which debuted on their Moving Pictures 1981 album and for many years has often been part of their song lineups when they go to concert tours all over the world. Now, the song begins with the sounds of a gathering mob being whipped up into a furious state by semi-distinct ominous voices calling on them to seek out the objects of their anger and to kill them. And so, when you think about that, it kind of looks like today sometimes, doesn't it? While Hunt is also reminiscent of the infamous Salem witch trials that took place between February 1692 and May of 1693, where a group of young girls in Salem, Massachusetts, claiming to be attacked by the devil, accused several local women of witchcraft. A wave of hysterical accusations spread throughout the town, and many of the charges of witchcraft were leveled by envious, poorer residents. against more prosperous ones, by those who were prejudiced against certain families over property lines and grazing rights, and by those who had disputes with them and their neighbors over church practices and certain privileges. By the end of the Salem witch trials, more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft. Mobs would form at times. And, you know, to make a long story short, A few years after the trials, several of the young girls who initiated the accusations of witchcraft admitted that they had fabricated the whole thing. Of course, about 19 people were hanged. Five of them died in a jail that was filled with disease. One was burned. And it was just a horrible situation. Now, the Code Witch Hunt provides a grim warning of how human nature can be twisted by false narratives, generating fear, envy, and hatred against groups or individuals that can be left unbattled or unabated and lead to atrocities such as the Salem Witch Trials or the Holocaust or even the October 7th attack on Israel. You know, it's, again, kind of like today's Reminds me of a story that I talked about earlier this week in which a store owner in Brooklyn, New York, is still to this very second being attacked by leftist-leaning individuals who are fans of Kelly Clarkson. And remember I told you about how she went into the store and She was going to buy several items. And then there was one particular item she wanted to buy. And the store said, this is not for sale because they would not sell it to her. She went to Nutsville and said that she was treated like a nobody. Okay. In other words, they didn't kiss her backside. So she went out, went on X and told her followers, which are many, that she was treated cruelly. And she doxed the store. And the store has been under, the store owner and the staff have been under death threats. They've been getting horrible reviews, etc., etc., etc. This is a story that up to that moment had been very popular, very well liked in the neighborhood where they are in Brooklyn, etc., etc. etc. And this is kind of reminiscent of the kind of situation that we've had in our society today, where when people decide someone is guilty when they know they're not, like the seventh male college students from Cornell. They're being told, everyone is being told that they are automatically guilty without any evidence. Prosecutors, a couple of years ago when all this transpired, they said, well, there's no evidence of them forcing themselves upon that young lady. But now all of a sudden, because they've decided, well, we want to get these guys anyway, no matter what, The protruding face female, Leticia James, has been sicked upon them. And so she wants to throw them in jail as a prosecutor. Now, how can she oversee a trial, by the way, when she's already said they're guilty? But it's a mob mentality. A couple of them, they've been thrown out of school. Their names are out all over the place. But of course, the female that accused them now Before she didn't say that they raped her. She said, oh, it was all, you know, consent. She did everything she wanted to do and they wanted to do, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Turns out she wasn't intoxicated when she said she was. But yet they want to leave her name in secret. And this is the kind of leftist activity that is, you know, prevalent today. And I can see how this can be used against the church on a larger scale if the church doesn't hurry up and wake up. Anyway, we've got a very exciting rest of the show for you today. We've got a very great guest. He's going to be showing up on the other side of the break. We shall introduce him then. I'm Ron Edwards, and this is the Faith Day edition of the Ron Edwards American Experience. The Ron Edwards American Experience, a charter member of the emerging new mainstream media. Because I hear a. Voice and he calls me every day. When others say I'll never be enough. And greater is the one living inside of me than he who is living in the world. And greater is the one living inside of me. The best offense is a great defense. Clean slate. The root brands.com forward slash Nisi. Any ICY is a major move in the right direction. Detoxify safely and wisely remove metals and toxins that debilitate your body. The root brand.com forward slash Nisi. Any ICY order clean slate today. and push those toxins away. Hi, everybody. Adam here at Patriot Foods. PatriotFoods.com is U.S.-only fighting for the American farmer. Cheap imports are putting the U.S. farmer out of business. We need your support. Go to PatriotFoods.com and use Ron's promo code. That's 4USRon. Go to PatriotFoods.com and shop today. The book The Mouths of the Wicked is the true January 6th story they don't want you to read. This is Tom Caldwell. Join me on a thrill ride of corruption, persecution, survival, and victory. Find out for yourself what treachery hides behind The Mouths of the Wicked. Available now in print and e-book at bookbaby.com and puffinpublishers.com. I am an American veteran. I'm proud to have served this country. Helping veterans is something all Americans can participate in, and it's as simple as donating an old car that you have sitting around. When you call the Veteran Car Donation Program, they'll explain how their program works, and then arrange a time they can come and pick up your vehicle for free. Running or not, it doesn't matter. 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This is Pastor Emil Grettersen of Open Arms Ministries, and you are listening to the Ron Edwards American Experience. Jesus, come quickly. I need you. For my surprise. Welcome back, my friends. And you are listening to the Landover-Termegren Experience on your radio refreshment. You know, woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness. Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. From the book of Isaiah, chapter 5, verse 20. Our society is on a path of destruction when it reaches the point of where those who perpetrate or condone evil acts, and they in fact turn around and defend them, justify them, reward them. And evildoers are not held accountable and being responsible or responsible for their wickedness. And those who standing up for what is good and righteousness are vilified, harassed, and threatened with destruction. Yep, that's America and the world. Not just America, but the world. Well, anyway, we have a great guest today, and we welcome him. His name is, as we bring it up here, he's Minister of Open Arms Ministries, and we welcome him. His name is, boy, did I lose his name off the screen? You've got to be kidding me. Here we go. This is most embarrassing. Anyway, let's welcome our guest today with Open Arms Ministries. Hello, sir, and welcome to the Ron Edwards American Experience. How are you doing, Ron? Emil Gretterson here. Yes, thank you so much. We know you've been pretty busy. Anyway. We do thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be with us today. And I don't know if you heard my monologue, but the main focus is that it amazes me how today there seems to be a mob mentality, not only in the political realm and even sometimes in the church realm, where those who should be uplifted for doing what is right, for standing up for what is right, And people that are doing the right thing seem to be most under attack today. And it's in the political realm, the church realm, and just about anywhere you go today. To the point where, for example, what happened on that fateful October 7th day when Israel was attacked. And the people just went to Nutsville and they've turned it around. And 90% of the people are blaming Israel for that attack and acting as if Israel has been the perpetrator of all the evil since day one. What say you? Well, I think you're hitting on something that's really at the heart of most of our current turmoil in American culture and around the world. We are just. I think we underestimate just how often we should expect to be punished for doing the right thing. I think, I don't know what it is, I know. I struggle with this, like, oh, if I do the right thing, I'll be rewarded for it. And certainly there's biblical passages that talk about that, but there's also plenty of biblical evidence that says when you do the right thing, no good deed goes unpunished. I mean, you've got Jeremiah saying, lamenting this, doing the right thing and being attacked mercilessly by his own people. And then, of course, we see this culminating Jesus, who is really the only person in history that has ever done everything right. And what did it get him? It got him abandonment and betrayal and so much worse. He suffered on the cross, bearing the weight of the world's sins. He was laid in a tomb, you know, just mocked. And I think we forget that part and we want to jump to the resurrection, right? So Jesus is, in fact, rewarded for his good behavior, but it's in God's time and it's in God's way and it's not apart from the cross. And so I think we need to I think that's ultimately what keeps people from doing good, is we don't really want to do good if it means we're going to have to suffer for it. We want to do good if it gets us something in the present. And this is the reason why we need Jesus. This is why Jesus went after. The self-righteous, the Pharisees, the religious leaders, the people that put him on the cross, because they were fine doing good as long as it got them something, but when it came down to it, when everything was on the line, they would much rather look good than be good. And so our battle is really, it's not against flesh and blood. As the Bible tells us, right? It's a spiritual battle. It's the lies of Satan that what we have in this life is far more important than the right thing. What we have in this life and protecting our life and protecting the blessings we have is far more important than standing up for truth. But we're neglecting what Jesus himself has. Told us, right? You shall know the truth and the truth. shall set you free. Not keeping everything you have, not avoiding painful, difficult circumstances as a result of following Jesus. No, the truth will set you free. So there are a lot of things I was thinking as you were going through your monologues. One story that came to mind was the story. Of John Adams. I don't know how familiar you are with John Adams, our U.S. Second president. Oh, yeah, very. The Boston Massacre. Okay, good, good. So maybe this will be right up your alley. John Adams in 1770, there was a Boston Massacre. And one of the things I found fascinating about this, there was an HBO miniseries about the life of John Adams probably about 20, 25 years ago. I think you can still find it out there. But one of the things that just really impressed me about John Adams and what I think is really the secret to what made America successful, but also what is lacking in the moment. And it goes right to what you're talking about. OK, John Adams, this Boston massacre, colonists and redcoats getting into this scuffle, a bunch of colonists dying, getting shot at by these. this mob around them, right? And no one wanted to defend them. No one. No one wanted to take the case to give them a fair trial. And finally, John Adams stepped up, and he was willing to do it, even though he did not really want to help that team, right? He didn't want to help the Redcoats. He didn't want to give them a win. And yet what he couldn't get past was the truth, the need for the truth. There's a quote I pulled up. Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. That's credited to John Adams in his closing arguments on December 4, 1770. So I think if we were... more willing to call out the things that we may be most reluctant to, rather than the things we find great joy in pointing out. I think John Adams gives us this example of being absolutely, just relentlessly in pursuit of truth wherever it leads us. And sometimes the thing that we are most unwilling to do is to point the lens of truth at ourselves. There's a popular Bible verse that gets thrown around a lot when people are talking about revival and all this other stuff. If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, Then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin and heal their land. That's 2 Chronicles 7.14. And I think, you know, people read that in a way that I don't think really gets. At the point of the passage. The point of the passage is, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. I think you kind of were close to this. I think you may have said something along those lines about things kind of inside the church. Yes. We're going to have to hold it right there. Folks, our guest today on the Right Over It's American Experience is Emil Grettersen. And he's with us today. And we'll be right back on the Ron Edwards American Experience, Faith Day Edition, after these important messages. Hello out there. This is Pastor Junior from Hawaii, from Hearts of Worship, LOC, Lighthouse Outreach Center. And you're listening to the Ron Edwards American Experience. Amen. Thank you. The founder of the world-renowned Hilton Hotel chain, Conrad Hilton, who lived from 1887 till 1979, published a heartfelt prayer on full-page magazine ads in 1952. Hello, I'm Ron Edwards. On today's page from the Edwards Notebook, Mr. Hilton's prayer goes as follows. Quote, Our Father in Heaven, we pray you save us from ourselves. the world that you made for us to live in peace, we have made into an armed camp. We live in fear of war to come. We are afraid of the terror that flies by night and the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that walks in darkness. and the destruction that wastes at noonday. We have turned from you to go our selfish way. We have broken your commandments and denied your truth. We have left your altars to serve false gods of money, pleasure, and power. Forgive us and help us. Now darkness gathers around us and we are confused in all our counsels. Losing faith in you, we lose faith in ourselves. Be swift to save us, dear God, before darkness falls. Let us today seek forgiveness for allowing the leftist darkness now permeating our entire republic, and may we, the people, quickly regain the will to defeat the darkness so that America will be great again. I'm Ron Edwards. Do you seek inspiration? Do you think your story can make a difference? Pick up a copy of On the Call on the Wall. This book will make you laugh, make you cry, make you feel hope. Life matters to God even when we think he may have abandoned us. Read the testimony of my life. I share my pain and my victories in Christ. I learned trust under the most adverse of circumstances. My dad said, a lesson earned is never forgotten. I paid well for the faith developed in me, and I'm forever grateful for the mercies afforded me in that experience. God will bring you through, and he deserves the glory for it. Read today on the. Call on the wall. Now available on Amazon. The Ron Edwards American Experience, the talk show that celebrates America and reminds everyone she's worth fighting for. Join me, host Ron Edwards, and also don't miss a daily page from the Edwards Notebook Commentary right here on KSTAR Talk Radio Network. Liberty Works Radio Network. V-A-R-A Network. Lancashire's Lighthouse Radio. K-E-L-Y-W-E-H-E. Liberty News Radio. LibertyTalk.fm. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to many people. Ron Edwards, the new voice of America. Now only you be fit to come down from the heavenly of the heavenly to die for me. Only you'll be here to go. Down to the depths of hell to rescue me. No mountain high, no valley low. Not if you separate me from your love. You're there with me, I'm not alone. You'll never fail me. This I know. Yep, this I know. Yeah, this is the Ron Edwards American Experience. Welcome back, my friends. I'm Ron Edwards and this is the Faith Day edition. And our guest today is Emil Grettersen. And he heads up a wonderful ministry called Open Arms Church. And yeah, we're going to talk a little bit about that. But we should never forget that Jesus Christ was perfect. And despite being perfect, he was wrongly treated. He was persecuted. accused, maligned, despised, beaten, tortured, and murdered. And we find that today, as in many ages throughout human history, those who seek to do the righteous thing have been the most persecuted amongst us, usually. And yet, at the same time, we are commanded to go about doing the right thing and to seek to do justice, to seek to uphold a righteous standard in our nation, in our republic. And it seems that, and I want to talk to our guest today about this thin line that I think that we need to walk. and learn how to navigate between the fact that, yes, we are commanded to do such things, but yet at the same time as frail human beings, we are more tempted, not all of us, but some of us are tempted to say, you know what, forget that. I'm going to avoid all that. I'm not going to make the devil angry at me and try to live a smooth life. That's even amongst Christians. But I have a sneaking suspicion that my guest today doesn't agree with that. What say you, sir? I don't agree with what specifically? What are you worried? Oh, with the fact that there are some within the Christian realm who say, you know what? We're not going to anger the devil. We're going to just keep it real quiet. We're just going to keep a low profile. Yes, we believe in Jesus, but But we're not going to get out there and get involved in these issues of the day. We're not getting involved in all that. We're just going to keep our little quiet existence and go about our lives until the end and stay out of the fray. We're not called to do that as Christians. What say you? Well, yeah, I think we are definitely plagued by exactly what you're talking about. But I think it's even... deeper than just the big issues. I think it's the, the day to day issues, the tough things in our own lives and in our own families that our own household that, that we don't want to address. And so we end up with, if when we do step out and we do start entering into the fray, which I don't think that we should not, uh, But when we go out into the fray and we've got all these, you know, we've got the big giant log in our eye, how can we see the speck in our neighbor's eye kind of thing, that doesn't mean you don't ever call out things that are wrong. The trouble I think the church is having is that the church, like you said, righteousness exalts the nation. I don't know if that was you or. One of the recordings in between during the break here, but I think that is what we're lacking. We're not holding ourselves to the same standard that we need to. We're much more interested in calling out the things that make us feel good and rally our team. But again, 2 Chronicles 7.14 says, if my people will, right, if they will turn from their wicked ways, and there's so much stuff I've been in a church in some way, shape, or form close to 20 years now. And, man, there is just. So much just inside the church and amongst Christians. And I think our inability or our unwillingness to address that is hampering our ability to do the things out in the world, right? You know, for example, abortion, right? That's a big thing. I do think God is pro-life. He is the author of life, and life begins at conception. I looked at this a few years ago now. I don't know what the actual statistics are currently, but I would not be surprised if they are the same. But something like 70% of abortions were abortions had by Christians. And to me. You know, we want to fight this battle, but really the battle is in our congregation. The battle is there. That's the first line, right? Right. And, you know, why is that? Why are they doing that? Well, on the one hand, like you're saying, it's not being talked about. But then on the other hand, it's, oops, you know, here I am now. I have this unplanned pregnancy thing. is my congregation going to receive me and support me? Or are they going to, is it going to be like the Salem witch trial? I mean, is it going to turn into that? Am I going to be chastised and become an outcast or thrown into a pond to see if I float or something? You know, like I think that's, there is the same thing that you're describing about what's going on out in the culture, which is terrible. I mean, like, You mentioned the business in Brooklyn and there's plenty of other situations like this. That's happening in our churches too. And we have to address that. We have to deal with that. We have to truly love one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have to be willing to hear the truth, the uncomfortable truth that we don't want to hear so that we can be set free by the gospel of Jesus Christ And then actually have something to offer the world. Because the world, I think, is going to be the world. The devil is going to use all the people that he can use that are like, hey, yeah, use me. I mean, there's plenty of them out there, right? But if you bring the gospel to someone... They confess faith in Jesus Christ. They are filled with the Holy Spirit then. Well, now we've got something to work with. John Adams again, right? One of the other things he said, you know, this government is basically only fit for, you probably know, what is it? A virtuous people. Correct. And we are not a virtuous people. The standards from just 20 years ago, 30 years ago, let alone 100, 250 years ago, have just really dropped off. And I think that has a lot to do with us Christians not practicing our faith, getting complacent, having it easy for a long time, doing the right thing was rewarded. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you this real quick. By the way, folks, our guest today is Emil Grettersen. and he's with Open Arms Ministries. Before we get further into the discussion, why don't you tell folks about your ministry, and what is the focus? Well, we are a. Church that branched off into a couple of different ministries. We've got our church, of course. We've got a child development center, which is birth to five. So, Parents that want a good, solid place where kids are going to hear about Jesus and come to know Jesus. We've got about 100 kids in there. And then we have what we call the Open Arms Community Center, which is a big gym and several classrooms and all kinds of fun stuff going on there. We have before and after care. So before school, parents start work a little earlier than the school is ready for the kids. So we bring them into school. They drop them off here. We bring them to school, and then we go pick them up after school, and they stick around with us until school is done and parents are done with work. And we've got camps. So whenever school is out, Thanksgiving camps, Christmas camp, New Year's camp, Easter camp, all kinds of different camps. times of the year when school's out, we've got a place for kids that's kindergarten through eighth grade about. But that's kind of what we do. But we open up our facility for a variety of groups as well. We have the Slidell Ministers Association meets in our building. We have Narcotics Anonymous has a group that meets in our building just about every night. We are trying to help change lives, trying to help people encounter the love of Jesus. Our mission statement is loving generously. We connect all to Jesus. That's our goal, at least. Sometimes you do it better than others. But really, it's been a great place, a very welcoming place. And certainly we have our challenges, but it's been good to be here. I've been here almost seven years here. Excellent. Well, we're going to have to hold it right there. Folks, you're listening to the Roundover It's American Experience, Faith Day Edition with our guest today, Emil Gretterson. And we'll be right back after these important messages. Greetings from the pastoral splendors of the Northwest Arkansas Ozarks. I'm Lois Christie and you're listening to the Ron Edwards American Experience. I know that God is in the midst of his city. And with God, no one can fresh do to me. Oh, It is God in whom I trust. It is God whose word I praise. Is your portfolio up over 1,000% since the year 2000? Let me ask you that again because it sounds a little shocking. Is your investment portfolio up 1,000% in the last 25 years? 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Latin America, or South America, it's the Ron Edwards American Experience emanating from the United States of America and throughout the world. Yep, folks are tuning in from throughout the world, listening to the Ron Edwards American Experience Friday edition. folks in Russia, South Korea, Japan, even China, believe it or not. China, of all places. It's funny, though, that no more listeners in Canada ever since the little dust-up between President Trump and Carney, the carnival barker of Canada. Our Canadian friends have said, bye now, but that's okay. We've got the rest of the planet and things are continuing to grow. And one of the reasons why our show grows is because of great guests like today, Emil Grettersen, and he's with the Open Arms Ministry. And Emil, I would like to share with you the fact that because Jesus Christ did rise from the dead after the third day, after his crucifixion, his righteousness was The righteous, you know, the righteous need to stand before God in peace is credited to anyone who presents, you know, repents of their sins and believes in him. For he was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Romans 4 verse 25. Now, Pastor, it seems that today that is not taught in our churches. Now, I know that my experience is only anecdotal, but all with the exception of maybe two churches, and those were in my childhood. Not one church that I have visited in more recent years teaches the Ten Commandments. And that basic element is left out of church teaching, and then we wonder why there's no standards, just the same way as the first Ten Amendments were. are no longer taught in our government schools. And so those two elements, which, by the way, are elementally tied together by the founding fathers when they wrote them. They were inspired by the Ten Commandments when they wrote our first Ten Amendments. So without those standards being a regular part of the message, the gospel message that's preached every Sunday, is it any wonder then that that people are not strong in those, you know, standing up for what's right and seeking to do what's right. And in many cases being afraid to stand up for what's right because of what might happen. What say you? Oh, absolutely. I think we have softened the, the impact of God's word to, you know, because it, It's weird. I've wrestled with this a lot as a pastor because I know it's at work, but I have this unfortunate character trait that forces me to say what's true, even if it is not in my best interest. But when you're a pastor and your salary is tied to basically whether the people that gather there continue to gather there and give, it puts you in this awkward spot. And I have seen time and time again where guys, they just don't give the full weight of God's word, the full weight of the law. And I know I've been tempted also to do it in a way that isn't what God actually says. But if we actually take the Bible seriously, there is no one There is, you know, you mentioned Romans 4. Romans 3 says, no one is righteous. No, not one. And he's quoting the Old Testament there. And then you get Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and fall short of the. Glory of God. And then 1 John 1, it says, if we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But that word is not if, like, well, maybe one time I may sin. It No, whenever we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. And so the law has a function for us as Christians, and we dare not soften it. I am actually, you wouldn't know this from the name of our church, but I was trained at a Lutheran seminary, and our church is affiliated with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, And I just want to point out one thing. I listened to one of your programs, and you were knocking the Lutherans for not believing in the divinity of Jesus. And I just want to say, I'm a Lutheran, and I know about a million at least that believe in the divinity of Jesus. So, you know, go Lutherans. But one of the things that Luther. Can I jump in here real quick? The Lutherans I'm talking about are very liberal. I know who you're talking about. I've been to their church. I've seen them in action. I've read about them and they're very liberal and they call themselves Lutherans and they're there. I know. I just wanted to point out that we're not all off. The deep end. We do believe that Jesus was divine and that he rose again, literally rose from the dead. It's not just a memorial or a symbolic or a metaphorical thing. He is alive currently in a glorified body and he's coming again. So, Just want to throw that in there. Okay. Appreciate that. Hey, yeah, great. One of the other things that Lutherans bring, though, that Lutheran teaching is the law has these three functions as a curb, a mirror, and a guide. And the curb is basically, hey, people are pretty terrible. and if we don't have some laws, the whole world is going to descend into chaos, right? Order is better than anarchy, just generally, right? And so that's one purpose of the law, that if you're fearful that you'll be punished if you break any of these laws, then you're less likely to do it. It doesn't mean you won't. It doesn't mean you won't break it for the right reason either, but at least you won't and it protects people. The second one is the mirror, and that just is used to show us that we are who Paul is talking about in Romans 3. We are not righteous in and of ourselves. None, you know, all sin and fall short of the glory of God, right? So that shows us our need and pushes us To Jesus, where we hear the good news that, hey, yeah, you're a sinner. Jesus died for you, and now he calls you to follow him. And that's where the guide part comes in. And I think a lot of churches struggle with that part where, okay, well, you're forgiven in Jesus. And they just kind of leave it there like, okay, so I'm forgiven, so I don't really have to try anything. But follow Jesus. I don't have to actually do what he says to do. And no one's going to do it perfectly. But it should be like, you know, when you turn 25 and you go, oh, my gosh, you know, all the adults in my life, my parents, my grandparents, they were all right. You know, we're going to have to hold it right here. Our guest today is Emil Grettersen. And Pastor Gretterson, we have a tradition here on the Fifth Day Edition of the Rhyme of Rich American Experience, and we ask our guests to offer a prayer. We have about, what is it, two minutes, Doug? If you would be so inclined to offer a prayer for our nation, or as God leads you, if you're willing to do that. Absolutely. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for just your incredible blessings. We thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus, who shows us your incredible love for us, even though we were sinners. While we were still sinners, you demonstrated your love for us in this, that Christ died for us, the ungodly. And in so doing, transformed us into something new, a new creation, Lord. And We just ask that you would be with each and every one of us, that you would be with our leaders in America, in each of the 50 states and around the world, Lord, that you would be with all leaders, that you would work mightily in and through them for truth and for all the blessings that you want to bestow on us, that you would work to bring things together to be in accord with your will, that we might be blessed living in accord with your will, that the people in darkness might be led to the light that comes in and through the light of the world, your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and that you might be glorified. In all that we do. And that all would rejoice in the wonderful blessings that you have in store, not just in this life, but in the life to come, where all of these terrible things that we have to talk about and discuss and address, that one day all of those struggles will be gone, the weight will be lifted, and we will rejoice in your presence forever. Give us a foretaste of that, Lord, today. And every day, use us, lead us, guide us for. Your purposes and your glory. In the mighty name of our risen Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much. And we do thank you for joining us today. Our guest, special guest today, Emil Grettersen. And I pray that I pronounce your name correctly, that I didn't beat it up too badly. But. We do thank you again for being with us, and we do invite you to come back because you have a lot of wisdom, and I can tell. And so it's been a great time as far as I'm concerned, and I know my audience really appreciates your wisdom. And again, now that I see that my time is up, folks, I thank you for joining us here on today's edition of the Ron Edwards American Experience. That's all, folks. Tags that stage right. And as I always say at this time, thanking you again now that I see that my time is up. Thank you so much for your time. And I urge you all to please pray for your nation, pray for your family, your friends, and even your enemies that they get it right before it's too late. Yep, because we all face judgment eventually. Don't forget to treat others the same way you want to be treated. Until next time, I'm Ron Edwards. Be blessed. And this is the Ron Edwards American Experience. Thanks, Doug, for all you do as well. There's just one problem with Swan Quarter, North Carolina. It was a lowland town. Naturally, the choicest real estate was on the highest ground. In the event of heavy rain, the closer you were to sea level, the harder you got hit. A little more than 100 years ago, the Methodists of Swan Quarter had no church. The only lot available on which to build one was a plot of low-lying property on Oyster Creek Road. It was far from an ideal location. But they. had acquired the land and construction began. The church was to be white frame, small but sturdy, propped up on brick pilings. In 1876, the building was completed, and on Sunday, September 16, a joyous dedication ceremony was celebrated. Now, that was Sunday, September 16. Three days later, this was on a Wednesday, A terrible storm lashed Swan Quarter. All day the wind howled and the rain came down, and it was a gray wall of water. By nightfall, devastation. Much of the town was flooded. Many roofs were ripped from homes by cyclonic turbulence. The storm raged on all through the night and into the bleak morning. By Thursday afternoon, the wind subsided. The rain had all but stopped. For the first time, In more than a day, there was an almost eerie calm, and one by one the citizens of Swan Quarter threw back the shutters and peered out from what was left of their homes, and most saw only a desolate waterscape, a community ravaged by nature, but those within sight of Oyster Creek Road beheld the most incredible sight that they had ever seen, the church, the Swan Quarter Methodist Church. The whole building, intact, was floating down the street. I mean, the floodwaters had gently lifted the entire structure from its brick pilings on which it had rested and had sent it off slowly, silently, down Oyster Creek Road. Well, within minutes, several concerned townspeople were sloshing about in the street, waist-deep, fighting the rushing current, trying desperately to reach the still moving church so that they could more it with lengths of rope. And the ropes were fastened, but the effort was in vain. There was no stable structure secure enough to restrain the floating chapel. And as the building passed by, more attention was attracted, so more aid was enlisted, but again, to no avail, the church moved on. By now, The building had made it to the center of town. It's still on Oyster Creek Road. Then as dozens of amazed and helpless people watched, the Swan Quarter Methodist Church, it's still floating, made a sharp, inexplicable right turn, continued down that road as though the chapel were alive, as though it had a mind of its own. For two more blocks, the townspeople fought the ropes to hold it back, but unsuccessfully, and then in the same decisive manner with which it had moved in the first place, the church veered off the road and headed for the center of a vacant lot, and there it stopped. While the floodwaters receded, the church remained, and it is there to this day. Well, over a hundred Septembers have passed since the little white-framed Methodist church removed itself to the most desirable property in Swan Quarter. And in the process of making up your own mind as to why and how what happened happened, you need to know this much more. The choice highland lot where the chapel finally settled, that had been the first choice of the town Methodists. They had wanted that as the site for their church. But the shrewd, prosperous landowner whose property it was. Had turned them down. And yet the next morning. After the flood, after discovering the church in the middle of his lot, that same landowner went to the Methodist minister and with trembling hands presented him with the deed. And now you know the rest of the story.