Radioland

I listen to the radio a lot. When I'm not listening to music or conservative talk radio, I like to listen to radio preachers. But you have to be careful about what you hear and filter out false teachers. There's a lot of wacky teaching -- everything from post-modernism to teaching about the emergent church.

I'm blessed that I can hear my former pastor in Amarillo. His Sunday morning sermon is recorded and played on the radio throughout the week. Billy Nickell is one of the best preachers of the Word that I know. I was blessed to sit under his ministry when I was at college in Canyon and then again when he moved to Amarillo. I'm glad I can stay in touch with my church there and still hear Pastor Nickell preach on the radio.

I like to hear some of the old-time preachers, too. Some of them apparently didn't have much schooling. There's one old guy who always says, "Is ya borned again, friend? Is ya, is ya?" Well, thank God, I is!

There's another preacher that I hear a lot on the radio. I like him because he is bold in speaking the truth without all the political correctness that has invaded the church world today. He's not afraid to call sin sin, and he still preaches a message of repentance. Some churches seem to have abandoned that message.

This preacher does have some rather strange views, though. He takes every word very literally.

For instance, if someone tells him to "take care," he'll say, "No, I cast my care on the Lord." Well, that is what the Bible tells us to do. But I still tell people to "take care" when I close an e-mail or phone call.

He's also very particular about the songs he plays on his radio show. He calls the old song "One Day At A Time" a "dumb" song. He objects to the lyrics, "I'm Only Human, I'm Just A Man." Apparently, he must think he already has his glorified body and never goes through tough times. That's great. But I haven't reached that place yet. I'm still very much human, and I need God's help every day. Besides that, I like that song.

So the radio is great for hearing the Word, but you do have to test the mixed messages you hear. If it doesn't line up with God's Word, reject it and cling only to the truth!