The Eric Metaxas Show - Carrie Headington

Episode Date: December 28, 2023

Canon Evangelist Carrie Headington joins to discuss Christmas 

Folks, welcome to the Eric Metaxus show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m. Investments.com. Show this holiday season. I'll let you in on the little secret. Eric dreads Christmas Eve because he knows he has to put up with those three annoying ghosts again, just like every Christmas Eve. Hey, you think one of these Christmas seeds, we finally get the messy, right? Tell us. Say Merry Christmas to Eric, the humbug, Matt, Texas. Hey there, folks.

As I hope you already know, I am very excited because this is the month of the year where we all get to be part of something, frankly, exciting and super positive. There's a lot of bad news in the world. It's wonderful when we get to do something. something good, unmitigated, wonderful, good. And every year at this time, and again, right now, this month, we partner with CSI, Christian Solidarity International. To do something that I'll get choked up if I think about it too much, you know, many of you know the story of what CSI does each year and you get to participate and most of you do participate. I

I thought, why don't we bring on, he's one of the spokespeople for CSI, Ambassador Todd Chapman, is my guest right now. Todd, welcome back. Hey, thanks, Eric. Always a pleasure to be on your program. And can I just, first of all, just say a big thank you to the Eric Metaxus listeners. I was just looking over back on the year, how many slaves were freed by Eric Metaxus listeners. and it is over 1,200 human beings freed from slavery and set on the path to having a new life, hearing the good news that Jesus loves them.

And he is the reason why they have been set free because other Jesus lovers have set them free. And they're onto a new. It's 1,200 miracles. And so I just wanted to, man, that gives me goosebumps and chokes me up because it just shows that the love of God's people is alive and being transformative in the world. So thank you for being an emissary for CSI and what we do. Well, thanks for saying that. I guess, you know, it's one of these things where I always say the same thing. I say it's hard to believe that we're living in a world where human beings are genuinely enslaved, not sort of enslaved, like genuinely enslaved.

And we know that in parts of Africa around the world, but specifically in Africa, this is real and it's horrible. and when you hear the details, it's horrible. But then when you realize CSI is on the ground, actually doing something about this, all they need is some money because they can't do it for free. It's a gigantic operation. So, Todd, you've had such experience with CSI over the years. So tell my audience, because there are people tuning in today

who actually don't know what CSI does and what CSI does with this program and the listeners of this program make possible during this time of year. so talk about that. Sure, yeah, absolutely. So CSI, first of all, does many, many things. We've been around since the 1970s, late 1970s. And we really are, we're a Christian civil rights organization, basically, in essence. And we campaign for religious liberty, human dignity.

We assess victims of religious persecution all around the world, but especially in Africa in the Middle East, where it's very prevalent. And, of course, we free enslaved captives in Sudan. that's a work that we've actually been doing since the mid-1990s, freeing captives that were taken captive back when religious persecution in Sudan was very, very prevalent. Arab-backed militias were basically set free to go and enslave anyone who didn't convert to Islam. And they took them back in those days to North Sudan, where they've been held captive ever since. And there's tens of thousands of people still in captivity today.

every year, CSI, thanks to generous donors like yours, is able to go and negotiate the release of those captives, bring them back to South Sudan, set them on the course to having a new life, reuniting them with their families when they're able to find, we're able to find their families. And it's just a beautiful picture of God's redemption. And really a work that I think, Eric, we agree. I know we agree, but hopefully our listeners do as well. This is a work that every Christian needs to know about and at least consider being involved with. It's a $250 gift. We're asking you to give. And with that, CSI affects the freedom of one of these Sudanese slaves. And so we have what we call slave retrievers. They go and they negotiate with, it's pretty typically cattle ranchers and farmers that have these captive slaves. And they've had them for 25, 30 years now. And we're able to negotiate their freedom.

No money. They exchange his hands. We actually use a cattle vaccine that they need and they can't get. we provide that to them. We've set the captives free, bring them back to South Sudan. We set them up with what we call a bag of hope, which has all sorts of things to get them started on a new life. Also a goat.

The goat doesn't go in the bag, but they get the goat along with the bag. And it's a beautiful picture of God setting them free. And you doing that in Jesus name, $250 gift. But I've got to tell you, Eric Metaxus listeners, not uncommon for people to give $1,000, $5,000, even $10,000. And I think it just speaks to people catching the vision of the power and the impact they can have as they partner with CSI. Well, I want to say, again, this is something, folks, you should be excited that you can do this. This is a big deal. You can get your kids involved in this.

You can say, you know what we're going to do for Christmas? Here's the meaning of Christmas. Jesus came to set the captives free. He came from heaven to earth. He became a human being. You tell that story, why did he come? He came to set the captives free on every level. And this is a literalization that these are people that are actual captives in our day.

This is not a metaphor. This is not a history lesson. These are people today who, for no reason, there's no self-interest in it for you. You do this out of the goodness of your heart, out of gratitude to God. That to me is Christianity in a nutshell. You get nothing back. You do this because you can. You do this because it's the right thing.

You do this because it's a beautiful thing. And that's what Christians do. And we Christians, frankly, we've imported this Christian idea into the wider world so that every atheist and agnostic says, oh, I got to do good things. I got to care for the poor. I got to, you know, like this comes from the scripture. This is not a normal thing in history. In history, people enslave other people. That's what they do.

Setting slaves free. that's the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so I want to say to my listeners, folks, you get to live this out. This is an opportunity. I haven't told you how. Go to metaxistalk.com. You'll see the banner right at the top. Metaxistalk.com.

There's the banner. When you click on the banner, you can follow it through and you'll see everything. Metaxistalk.com. If you prefer to call, we have a phone number. You can do it right now as we go to a break. 888-253-3522. If you call 888-253-3522, you'll talk to somebody there. And I want to say what I always say, if anybody is able to give $250, that frees a slave, folks. That doesn't just free the slave. It sets them up in a life of freedom. You just heard Todd talk about all the details.

We'll talk cover it in other programs, so you'll know more. But it's exciting. that that amount of money literally will free a person. This is not an idea. This is not a hope. This is actually going to happen because we've done it in the past. We do it every year at this time. Anybody who can give $15,000, I just throw this out there. Anybody you can do that, it's tax deductible, and you can do the math on how many slaves will be freed because there are people who can give a gift like that and who will give a gift like that. I offer myself for the evening to have dinner to spend time with anybody who wants to give a gift like that. That's just something I can do.

And so I just put that out there in case anybody is inclined to do that. But whatever you can give, whatever you can give, if it's not $250, if it's a fraction of that, just think about what you're doing. It's amazing to me that this is real. We get to be a part of this. Todd, how long have you been with CSI? I've been with CSI now for about four years. And so I'm a newbie.

I mean, you know, you consider we've been around since 1977, but I love the work the CSI does. And it's so powerful. I mean, thousands of slaves are freed every year. And again, we do many other things. But this is kind of at the core of what we've do. We've done it for a long time. And Eric, we're not going to stop until we get every slave that we're aware of out of

North Sudan and back home. It's just extraordinary. Folks, again, I want to say, I am so excited. I'm excited for you. You get to do this. You get to be a part of this. I get to be a part of this. go to metaxis talk.com, click on the banner. Please do it. 888-253-35-3-35-2. 888-25-2, 8-8-253-35-22, or Metaxist Talk.

God bless you as you give. Folks, right now in other parts of the world, people's lives are being threatened simply for believing in Jesus. People have been enslaved for their faith. So listeners to this show know that I'm passionate about the work of Christian Solidarity International because they protect and free those who are being persecuted and enslaved for their Christian faith. I've got to thank you for your life-changing generosity for years now. If you've given a CSI through this program, you have played a role in freeing literally thousands of captives. So as we near the end of this year, can I ask you to give once again your gift of just $250 will free a woman in Sudan who has been enslaved for years?

You can buy a believer's freedom and provide her with food and other supplies necessary to start her new life. Just $250. Maybe you can give more and free more people. Call 888-2533522. 888-2533522 or go to metaxistalk.com. Please do it metaxistalk.com. Legacy precious metals has a revolutionary new online platform that allows you to invest in real gold and silver online. In a few easy steps, you can open an account online, select your.

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Visit legacy pminvestments.com to get started. You're going to love this free new tool that they've added. Please go check it out today. That's legacy pm investments.com. Folks, welcome back. I'm happy to say that I have as my guest right now, Carrie Headington, who's an evangelist and apologist who speaks throughout the U.S. and around the globe. that pretty much covers the planet and all of geography. She's a graduate of Oxford University with degrees in theology, evangelism, apologetics.

She got a BA from Yale University and an MA from Harvard University. And despite these extraordinary degrees, she's just not that bright. Carrie, welcome. Thank you, Eric. It is great to be here. It's great to be with you, my fellow Yale. Listen, that's my first question. I want to ask you, Yale is about as secular as it gets. It has been for a long time. When I went there, I lost what little faith I had or drifted away from it. You got your bachelor's degree from Yale in history. I got my bachelor's degree from Yale in English. Where were you in life at that point? And how did you migrate? to the God of Scripture.

How did that happen? Yes. Well, I just went back for my 30th reunion, and I saw so many friends who were saying, you've become a Christian? How did this happen? Because I was not a believer at all at Yale, and you probably remember the Yale political union. I was frequently debating believers in that public forum.

I did not believe. I was a staunch feminist. I was a social activist, quite progressive to the left. And I think my ongoing question is, how do I make a difference in the world? and I saw followers of Jesus as intellectually weak and following this myth, this myth. But I was a history major, and when I was there, as I'm sure when you were there, Yarisov Pelican, the great historian of the faith was there. And so I couldn't get away from the reality of the historical Jesus.

So I was convinced that Jesus was a figure in history, but absolutely not the son of God. When I graduated, I went and went into acting, and soon my mother became sick with cancer, and I moved back home, and I began to explore these life questions. And I began to, I was surrounded by some believers who offered to pray with me. and every night Eric they would pray using scripture and they would say Lord in your word you will promise us you will never leave us in your word you promise that you will be our strength when we feel weak and I was absolutely undone my mother was my best friend and so one night I said listen where are you getting these words that you're reading over me at night and they said, have you ever read the Bible?

And if I'm honest, I'd never really explored it in depth. Where did you, where were you geographically? Where did you grow up? I grew up in a small town called Longview, Texas. So in East Texas town. East Texas. Okay. So you grew up in a world where faith is a thing,

but you, of course, having gone to Yale University and then into the acting world, you had drifted far away from that. So suddenly your home, away from your Yale friends, and you're facing real life and death stuff, and God is in the middle of that. All in the middle.

And I remember going in my room and reading the gospel of John for the first time with an open mind and encountering Jesus, encountering the risen Jesus. And looking at, he's clearly clear, claiming to be much more than this wise teacher that I had always purported him to be. And I experienced what I would say as an encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Now looking back, that's what happened. I was filled with peace. But, you know, as we are and as history majors are, I said, look, I've had this newfound joy and just this joy. And the way I describe it is life went from black and white to just technicolor. I began to see life through totally different lenses. But I wanted to, as a history major, I said, look, if I'm going to follow this, I want to study, I want to look for the evidence. Am I really encountering Jesus? or is it that my mom is dying and I'm trying to hold on to anything that will give me hope?

So I applied to Oxford University. I started reading Alistair McGrath and theology, found out where he was at Oxford, and went and studied for three years. And my friends were going, no, you found this new joy. Don't go to Oxford. It will absolutely dismantle your faith. Do not go there. They were so worried.

And I said, look, why would I want to follow a lie for my life? And so I went to Oxford. I spent three years with Michael Green, with Alastair McGrath, looking at the evidence for the resurrection, looking at the veracity of Scripture, looking at the historical Jesus. And Eric, I left more convinced than ever that Jesus was and is the Son of God. And I've committed my life to following him and telling everyone I know. Well, I have to thank Cannon Jay John, our mutual friend, for connecting us. When I heard about you, I thought, how have I not met Carrie?

So it's great to meet you, to hear your story. It's a beautiful story. It's similar to my story in some ways. And I think that, you know, it is, one does pay a price, right? In other words, there are plenty people. You mentioned going back to your reunion. I can't even bear to go back this year. or next year, because Yale and a lot of the elite institutions have become dedicatedly

secularist to the point of being very hostile to people of faith. And so it's wonderful to have your voice, you know, within the body of Christ at this point, helping people see the truth. Now, obviously, we're coming into the Christmas. See, we are in the Christmas season. I want to talk to you a little bit about that. Jesus is the reason for the season. How do you see it?

What do we do at Christmas? What do you think of at Christmas? I love Christmas. I love Christmas. I want to say something briefly about the university, Eric, and then go into Christmas. I want to thank you for the work you're doing. And we need to equip our young people who are in the universities and professors to speak into that public sphere as believers. So thank you for the work you're doing. I'm making my way through your

book letter to the American Church, and I'm so grateful. That's my shortest book ever. I just want you to know. All my books are longer than that, but unfortunately, that may be the most important one, Letter to the American Church. We're making a documentary film. Actually, it's made. It'll be coming out in the next month or so. But I just, I mean, before we leap Christmas word, I just want to say that the work that you do as an apologist, an evangelist, it really is important for people to know that what we believe is true. It's not a philosophy. It is true like physics and math are true. We can debate about some details, but the basics are true. And I think that oftentimes believers haven't been bold enough, particularly in the secular West and places like Yale and in

elite culture in Manhattan where I live, they kind of shrink from being bold. And I think it's like talking about flat earth. It's like, ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry if you think the earth might be flat if there's a debate to be had. There's not much of a debate. We can debate other things, but what you believe and what I believe, it's simply true. And the evidence becomes clearer and clearer over time. I wrote a book called His Atheism Dead. The level of apologetics in science, and fine-tuning. It's really almost unbelievable that God in these last days is revealing himself this way, and I know that's a big part of the work you do. Yeah, and we just got back from the Middle East, the more archaeological digs they're uncovering, the more it corroborates

with the biblical narrative. And so God really did enter into human history. And of course, that's what we celebrate here at Christmas. And Christmas is a time, I think, for believers to go back to that bedrock. And if we have questions to explore those questions because the answers are there. God entered into human history. I always say, you know, for believers, this is a time where we celebrate the invisible God has been made visible. The unknowable God has been made knowable. I think in our world we're so bombarded in the news media with war and famine and distress and division that we can become, we lose sight that God is real and alive and at work and that God is good.

and we need to recapture, in this season particularly, going back to the irresistible Jesus. We're going to be right back, folks. We're talking about Christmas. We're talking about the reason for the season. My guest is Carrie Heddington, don't go away. For more than 10 years, Patriot Mobile has been America's only Christian conservative wireless providers standing behind their values and their exceptional service. They're an example of putting the cause ahead of profits, and it's why I am proud to partner with them.

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Heddington, who has degrees from Oxford, Yale, and Harvard. And yet, believes in the resurrection of Jesus. I have to, I tease people that I like, and I already like you because we have a mutual friend, and Jay John, and I love the work you're doing. We're talking about Christmas, and I think, you know, part of the larger narrative of what we're discussing here is what's called, it's called the good news, but I think a lot of times believers lose sight of how good it is. Jesus is the answer to everything.

when Jesus enters the equation in history or in our lives, he brings truth and life and beauty and goodness. And I think that as things get dark in the world, it's an opportunity for we who are believers to give people hope. And Christmas, of course, is the ultimate example. It's the ultimate opportunity because people are open more than ever around the year to talking about Jesus. So I'm glad to be talking to you in the Christmas season.

You were just making a point, and I want to make sure that you get a chance to finish that. Well, I think just going back to the historical reality of what we're celebrating at Christmas is that God has come into human flesh. God has come to Earth. He has walked among us. He has revealed God.

to us. So it's time for us to fix our eyes on him. And, you know, often he is, Jesus is relegated to one of the many paths or one of the many roads or he's deluded to one of the many gurus. And we need to, as believers, look at what makes Jesus utterly unique and proclaim that into our culture, into our world. And then as we do that, to say, here is what he teaches and speak that into the dark world where Jesus says, I am the light of the world coming into the darkness.

I guess a lot of times maybe it's a cliche, but people say that at Christmas time, it's traditionally it's a time a lot of people, go through depression. Sometimes for various reasons, the Christmas season is difficult for people. What do you say to those folks? Yeah. Jesus is the great healer.

Jesus is the great healer. And he said right at the beginning of this ministry, he said he has come to bind up the brokenhearted. He has come for that reason and that purpose. And as we look at the New Testament, we see God who is reaching out and bringing healing. I think about lesion who had all of these voices speaking to him and was hurting himself. He was like a modern-day cutter. You hear about young people cutting themselves and acting out in depression.

And Jesus comes and meets him and puts him in his right mind. And Jesus's first words after the resurrection were peace be with you. Peace be with you. So he brings this peace. And so what I want to say to people who are struggling is God is real. He is alive. He is good. And he said he has come to comfort his people.

And so I encourage people to spend time with Jesus. I think one reason why it's particularly hard. this time of year is we have all these expectations and people and family let us down. And I want to say exactly, human beings will always let us down because we are broken, fallen people. But God never will. He says that he loves us with an everlasting love. He says that we are precious and honored in his sight. He says he will never, ever, ever leave us. So in a world that is gripped by loneliness, over 80%, I was just looking, Eric, at the data just in DFW. 38% of people are grieving.

Over 50% say they're depressed or anxious. 78% of people purport to being stressed out. Now, that's in Dallas, which is like the buckle of the Bible Belt. And the rest of the world, it's even worse. People are groaning. And that is why it is imperative for followers of Jesus to talk about his uniqueness, to talk about his goodness, and to talk about the reality that this pain, this suffering, that we are going through, our God does not sit removed from our pain.

The story of Christmas is he entered into it and ultimately overcame it. This is the best news in the world. That's the one thing that I think is compelling to people. When we're talking about God generally, people say, how can a good God allow evil? And those are all, of course, good questions. And yet, Jesus is an example, and that's the meaning of Christmas, God comes into the world and suffers.

He suffers with us. He suffers for us. He gives meaning to our suffering. there's nothing like it. In the world religions, there is simply nothing like it. The idea of a God who would willingly enter time and space, to leave eternity, and enter time and space to suffer and to be a picture of us of ultimate love.

I mean, it's absolutely mind-blowing if we can see it afresh. And sometimes it's difficult for us to see it afresh, and we need to make an effort. One of the reasons I love C.S. Lewis. He helps us to see these things anew. We'll be right back talking about the meaning of Christmas with Kerry Hedington. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, lots of companies are coming out saying they'll pay for employee abortion travel and expenses. Most of you've heard about some of these companies.

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today. Go to inspireadvisors.com slash Eric. That's inspireadvisors.com slash Eric. Advisory services are offered through Inspire Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor with the SEC. Are you tired of not getting a good night's sleep? Well, my friend, Mike Lundell, has created the perfect solution. He didn't just stop at the pillow. He also created the Giza dream bed sheets made from the world's best cotton called Giza. These sheets are ultra. soft and breathable yet extremely durable. And now for a limited time, you can get 50% off the Giza Dream Sheets with prices starting as low as 2998.

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Take advantage of this amazing offer. Go to Mypillow.com and click on the radio podcast square and use promo code Eric at checkout. Don't wait any longer to get the best sleep of your life. Call 800-978-3057 or go to Mypillow.com now and use promo code Eric. Welcome back. We're talking to Carrie Headington. And Carrie, I think, you know, part of where I think people get confused is they're sort of,

they have a vague sense of God, God, God, and they, they, people will say things, you know, you hear it your whole life like, you know, don't, don't all religions say the same thing? Absolutely not. And what is it about? Why do I have to believe in Jesus? I believe in God. So talk about something you talk about often, the uniqueness of Jesus and why the uniqueness of Jesus is not just worth seeing, but vital for us to see.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And this, people will often say to me, we'll prove, you know, prove Jesus was God. And I always say, you know, there are very few things we can actually prove. Most of it is mathematical. But we can know things to be true. And how do we do that? We know things to be true by looking at the evidence. And I always think of eight things that point to that. I know we don't have much time. So I just want to encourage people to take a look at it for themselves. the birth narrative Jesus, which we are celebrating in this season that he was born by the direct action of God in the womb of Mary. There's all sorts of extra historical biblical evidence that corroborates that birth narrative. We even have the cuneiform tablets in England at a museum in England that talk about the star over Bethlehem coming. Now, wait a minute. What museum is this the Ashmolean? What museum do they have the cuneiform tablets?

Yes, it's in the Ashmolean. I guessed it? The Ashmolean Museum? They've got lots of great stuff. They've got Guy Fawkes' lantern. But wait a minute. You mean to tell me that they have cuneiform tablets from what period and what? Right from the first century.

Predicting the star over Bethlehem. So that's why the wise men were looking. looking for this vision in the heavens. So that's phenomenal in and of itself. There's a lot of extra historical, biblical writings about the character of Herod. So there's a lot there that I want to commend to people to look at. But it's exciting. And I'm a history major.

I love it. I love it. The second are his teachings, the way he taught, in a culture that wouldn't even speak the name of God out loud. He would say, truly, truly, I tell you, come to me if you're weary and burdened and I will give you rest. I will quench your thirst. So he was speaking as God. And I think when we read the New Testament, we don't see that right away, but it's right there. And of course, you know, and you've written about this at length, his teachings are at the part of the most powerful social reform movements in the world.

And so the teaching, so his birth, his teaching, his perfect life, he's the only human being who's lived a perfect life, treating all people with dignity. We see no evidence pointing other than a perfect life in Jesus, a perfect life of love, so powerful that when he was being crucified, he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Powerful. The fourth are, of course, his miracles. My husband and I just got back from Cuba.

Miracles are still happening today. And we see the compassion of God. He never turned one person away. I love number five would be the fulfillment of prophecy. Scholars say there are over 322 prophecies. that are fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Now, statisticians have said, if Jesus just fulfilled eight of them, the chances would be one in 10 to the 17 zeros,

which is like covering the state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep to find one silver dollar. The chances of Jesus fulfilling that. We see things predicted 800 years before fulfilled in the life of Jesus. It's mind-blowing. Number six, of course, is the death of Jesus, utterly unique. He rose again from the dead. And it was the resurrection that I could not escape from in my own personal conversion. He rose again from the dead.

Some of the greatest books ever written on the evidence for the resurrection were people who set out to discount it. our fellow Yale at Lee Strobel being one of them. And so we have eyewitness accounts. We have the 500. We have the changed lives of the disciples. They all became martyrs. We see the day of worship being changed from Saturday to Sunday. I mean, the evidence goes on and on.

There's so much richness there. And, of course, the last are his claims. He claimed to be God. He said, I and the father are one. If you've seen me, you have seen the father. So as C.S. Lewis said, he was either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord himself. And last but not least, that we can bank on this Christmas, he's alive. He's alive because 70 to 110,000 people per day purport to following Jesus and making him Lord of their lives.

He is alive. He's transformed our lives. And everyone can meet him because he came for the whole world. That's so, so beautiful, Carrie. And it is true that every day people are coming to know him, to hear his voice, to experience him. You did. I did. We're pretty educated. We were educated away from this kind of faith. And yet God condescended to read. us, which is amazing. Now, do you have a book about this? How can people find you? On my website, Good News Initiative. I have chapters in books. I don't have a book out yet, but I'm working on one. Good News Initiative.com or at Carrie Hedington. And I do have a Christmas letter from Jesus to you that talk about the gifts Jesus brings this season. and it's on the website and that you can download it there. And which website is that?

Good Newsinitiative.com. Good Newsinitiative.com. Well, we've got to have you back because there's so much more to cover. But I'm just happy finally to meet you, Carrie Hedington. I look forward to further conversations. In the meantime, Merry Christmas to you and yours to be continued. Merry Christmas to you, Eric. the king to the listen to what I say pray for peace people listen to what I say folks welcome on the show you know at this time of year we partner with CSI Christian Solidarity International to actually free slaves in Sudan Todd Chapman is with us to talk about and Todd you were saying off the air about the timing with Israel right now.

Yeah, I just think I was thinking about this this morning as I was watching the news. I think all of our eyes have been fixed these recent days on the war that's happening between Israel and Hamas, but also what was going to happen with all of these hostages with these captives. And thankfully, in the past few days, we've seen some of them begin to be freed. And I couldn't help Eric but think that, you know what, there are freedoms of people being that have been enslaved for decades now happening every year. And I'm not minimizing. I'm celebrating actually what's happening in Hamas right now.

But by the very token that we're rejoicing that these women and these captives have been set free, we also want to remind you that you have an opportunity to participate in freeing people that have been captive for 20, 30 years now in North Sudan. And that's what CSI does every year. So I just think the timing of this is really great. But it was not lost on me that while, you know, the Hamas situation is going to be. getting all of this newsplay. Tens of thousands of slaves are freed nearly every year by Christians in another part of the

world. And the freedom on both sides is just equally as beautiful. But I just thought that was a good reminder that what we're doing here is absolutely significant. And even though it may not be played out of the mainstream media, God sees what his children are doing. And God rejoices. And he fuels us and funds us to do this work.

And so just wanted to offer that as kind of a different camera angle on what we're inviting our listeners to do today. That's a good way of putting it. And I have to say, you know, the older you get, the more you realize the mainstream media is a joke. Like they cover what they cover. And there's just an infinity of stuff that they don't cover. They don't cover this.

This could be in the news every single day. There are people enslaved for years and years and years. Today, in 2023, there are slaves today. And you think the whole world would be talking about what can we do to get them out. this is insane. We can't let this happen in this day and age. Is there anything we can do about it? Right.

Not a peep. Obviously, on this program, we talk about it because we know about it. And when you know about these things, I hope you talk about them. But I want to encourage my audience. Tell your friends about this. People are thinking, well, you know what? What do I give for Christmas? What do I do?

Let me tell you, folks, when you realize that $250 can free a human being from slavery, in Sudan. This is a reality. They're living this right now while we're talking on this program, while you're going about your life. They are living in slavery. Hard for us to believe, but it's true. And we're here to tell you that you can do something about it. So I want to remind you, if you go to metaxis talk.com, you can give, there's a banner right at the top of the page, the CSI banner, Christian Solidarity International, right at the top of the page. And you can give, or you can call 888-253-3522. 8-88-253-35-22.

And I want to encourage you, folks, you know, speaking about the mainstream media, we are the media. You can take this clip, we put this stuff on Rumble, we will put this on social media. You can send this to your friends. You can tell your friends about this program.

send these programs to your friends, tell them this is a great Christmas gift, or just send them the link to MetaxusTalk.com and say, have you seen this for $250? This would be really meaningful for your church to get involved in. There are human beings waiting for us to do something about it, or they're waiting for God to move on the hearts of those who profess faith in him to do something about this. You can be that person. I would dare say it's God's will that we be those people. So you can call 888-253-3522 or just go to metaxisotocetalk.com.

Metaxistalk.com you'll see the information right there. God bless you as you give. No caps to be had out there. I wish I knew how. Your eyes are like starlight. To break this spell. I'll take your hat. Thank you.