RADIO

Max Lucado Explains the REAL Christmas Miracle

This Christmas, pastor Max Lucado joins Glenn to explain the real meaning and miracle of Christmas in the context of the End Times: “Christmas initiates what Easter accomplishes…Jesus came to deal with sin.” But the story doesn’t end there. “God has high plans for all of us,” Max says. “He’s recruiting for himself a people who will populate His eternal kingdom.” This is why, although we celebrate God coming down as a baby, we must remember that He’s coming back again in a much different form: “according to the Book of Revelation, He will return on a white horse as a conquering King and He will destroy those who have destroyed His children.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Max Lucado is here with us. Max, how are you?

MAX: I'm great. You're telling me, that's an 18 -- was that a recording of her singing?

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah. She put out a new CD.

MAX: Wow. She sounds so mature!

GLENN: Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of.

MAX: When I had an 18-year-old voice, I don't -- she sounds like she's been, I don't know, a 30, 35-year-old. A real developed -- what a gift. Congratulations.

GLENN: Yeah. Thank you.

So, Max, I wanted to have you on. Because Christmas is always made about the baby.

And that's truly a miracle.

But the real miracle is that he grew up without full understanding, I think, for probably most of us his life, of who he was.

He still was human. And he chose to take on the sacrifice for all of us.

MAX: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And so the Christmas miracle really is just the beginning of the Easter miracle.

MAX: Uh-huh. Yeah.

GLENN: That his birth and his death gave us a chance to clear out all the garbage in our life. And everybody talks about depression at the holidays. Loneliness at the holidays. And I think if we actually seat meaning behind Christmas, that takes a lot of that away.

MAX: Uh-huh. It does. It does.

And that's why I think, what you said, is absolutely true. That Christmas initiates what Easter accomplishes. You know, he --

GLENN: Right. Right.

MAX: The accomplishment of the Easter miracle is where we truly find our hope. But it's -- if T begins with the Christmas incarnation. You know, when -- when Joseph was told by the angel what to expect.

He said, you shall give him the name Jesus. Because he will save people from their sins. So your point is right on, Glenn. Jesus came to deal with sin. To deal with sin.

And, in fact, the rename Jesus, in the Hebrew language, traces its origin to Yahshua, which is a shortening of Yahashua, which means God saves.

So every time someone said the name Jesus, they said, God saves. God saves. Come to dinner. You know, his very name was a reminder of what he came to do.

GLENN: Wow.

And when I'm -- I'm -- you know, people look at Jesus. And they think, well, I can't be forgiven for what I've done, or whatever. And he was perfect, whatever. He was still human.

He still had a choice. He asked in the Garden of Gethsemane. Please, please, let this cup pass from me. Please, I don't want to do this. But he chose to do it anyway.

Which just shows, everything in life is a choice of, are we going to stand?

Are we not going to stand?

And it all matters.

But if we fail, he's got us covered.

And he understands!

MAX: He does. He does.

And the fact is, he came to save us.

And not just save us from enemies or challenges. Or difficulties.

But he came to save us from sin.

And here's why that really matters. God has high plans for all of us.

He's recruiting for himself, a people, who will populate his eternal kingdom.

And his plan is to restore this planet. And his children, into the Garden of Eden's splendor.

What we see in the beginning, is God's plan for the end, and that is a perfect paradise.

One word describes heaven, and that's perfect. And one word describes us, and that's imperfect.

And so God had to have a way, to pay for our imperfections, so that he could welcome us. He's not going to lower the standard of heaven, and welcome imperfection into heaven.

So what he did. He became flesh. He became one of us.

And he really lived to the life that we were intended to live. Adam and Eve were intended to live.

And that is in a similar state. But when we don't, and we don't, his provision is that he will save us.

We don't save ourselves.

He saves us. He rescues us.

And that's why the Christmas message is such a miracle.

MAX: So we're talking to Max Lucado. Kind of the Ted Lasso of pastors.

And how do you reconcile -- you know, we always -- oh, well, Jesus was very forgiving.

Yes, he was. Jesus, he was a lamb. Well, yes, he was.

He was so sweet. The baby is so sweet. Yeah.

And then reconcile that with, all the smote, that went on. In the Old Testament.

And also, what's going to happen, in the future.

I mean, he is not just that -- he's fierce, as well!

MAX: And -- and though we love the baby Jesus, in the manger, we -- our next vision and our next encounter with Christ, of his return to earth.

He will return, according to the Book of Revelation.

He will return on a white hour or so.

As a conquering king. And he will destroy those who have destroyed his children.

I think when we take this -- the smiting and the smote, out of context.

And just say, there were times in which, you know, these people were all destroyed, we don't realize what is taking place here.

We don't realize, that there were times in which babies were being sacrificed on altars.

We don't realize that the Promised Land was initially inhabited by people who were engaged in every -- even more immoral activity than we can imagine.

The vast majority of which was against children in temples.

So these people who have -- who just -- it's not that they have a disagreement with God. They just have a hatred at God, and a hatred of his creation.

GLENN: So I don't know how Biblical this is. This is just me and my thinking.

And I don't know if this is even really Biblical, so you're here to correct me.

But I always look at those things. The smiting and, you know, the smote.

That really, he's just saved us from. In this last election. He stepped in. He wasn't neutral in our affairs. And he -- he gave us another chance.

That I don't think we deserved.

But it's -- it's like right now, he can put his blessings on us. To expand the time that it takes for us to reap the harvest that we have sown.

Or he can just remove it, and the -- the smiting is not really from him. It's from us!

We do it! We bring it on ourselves.

It's our belief, our policies.

Our everything that we're doing in our lives, that brings that to us.

He's just the dad going, no. That's a glass door. Don't run -- don't run into the glass door. That will hurt. That will leave a mark. I Think that's what he does.

And his system is so perfect, that he tells us, don't do those things, because this will happen!

And it's not him carrying out a judgment. And looking at each of us. And going, well.

I think it's just automatic.

And only Jesus can -- he -- only Jesus can take away the sin.

That we have. But that doesn't mean that the consequence isn't paid.

Here in life.

MAX: Absolutely. Absolutely.

GLENN: Is that -- is that a correct way to look at it?

MAX: Oh, yeah. Yeah.

You know, Christ will always save us from our sins. He does not always deliver us from our consequences.


GLENN: Correct.

MAX: Of those sins. You know, if I say, Lord, I'm so sorry.

I've been disrespectful to my wife for 20 years of marriage. I repent. Please forgive me.

You can bet forgiveness is issued.

That does not mean that my wife, whom -- and I haven't done this, by the way.

But that doesn't mean that my neglected wife is going to have warm feelings towards me.

I'm damaged -- there's damage there.

And there will take time for reconciliation.

There are many prisoners. Being imprisoned right now.

And they would themselves tell you. And they told me this.

They're forgiven.

They're going to heaven.

But they will serve out their sentence. Because they violated the law, that the country created.

So, again, God forgives us for our sins.

He doesn't always deliver us immediately, from the consequences.

What he does do is give us power to move forward.

As he removes the guilt. He also disempowers the devil, who wants to keep us in that trap, in that stropping hold.

But he'll give you power. So that you don't make that same mistake again.

GLENN: Max Lucado, has been called America's pastor. And the best preacher in America, and I tend to agree with those.

Let me give you two minutes here, just to deliver any Christmas message that you feel compelled to do.

MAX: Oh, what a blessing. Thank you.

Well, Jesus came to save us. Colossians 1:19 said. God was pleased for all of himself to dwell in Christ. So do you want to see the face of God? Then look at the face of Jesus.

All the love of God was in Jesus. All the strength of God was in Jesus.

All the compassion of God was in Jesus. And God for a time, was in the body of an earthly carpenter. Jesus did this work for us, to show us who God is. And how much he loves us.

He saved us from the guilt of our sin. And we're being saved from the problem of our skin. And upon return of Christ. He's going -- we will be saved from the punishment of sin.

God saves. Again, that's the name Jesus.

Now, that gift is nothing. If we don't accept it.

When I was a Boy Scout.

I earned a lifesaving merit badge.

I actually didn't save anyone. The only people I saved was Boy Scouts who didn't need to be saved.

And that was during training sessions. And I would tell them, quit kicking. Let me save you!

I wonder how much times God is saying that today. Maybe there's somebody listening right now.

You're kicking against God. You're straining against God.

You're fighting against God. Maybe he's saying, why don't you just quit kicking?

Let me do the work! Now, you can save yourself from a lot.

Maybe you can save yourself from running out of gas, or going broke. But you're not good enough to save yourself from your sin. You're not strong enough to save yourself from your death. You need a savior.

But because of Bethlehem, you have one.

GLENN: Max Lucado. Merry Christmas, thank you.

MAX: Merry Christmas to you, my friend. All the very best.

GLENN: Yeah. Thank you.

Max Lucado.

TV

The ONLY Trump/Epstein Files Theories That Make Sense | Glenn TV | Ep 445

Is the case closed on Jeffrey Epstein and Russiagate? Maybe not. Glenn Beck pulls the thread on the story and its far-reaching implications that could expose a web of scandals and lead to a complete implosion of trust. Glenn lays out five theories that could explain Trump’s frustration over the Epstein files and why Glenn may never talk about the Epstein case again. Plus, Glenn connects the dots between the Russiagate hoax, the Hunter Biden laptop cover-up, and the Steele dossier related to the FBI’s new “grand conspiracy” probe. It all leads to one James Bond-like villain: former CIA Director John Brennan. Then, Bryan Dean Wright, former CIA operations officer, tells Glenn why he believes his former boss Brennan belongs in prison and what must happen to prevent a full-blown trust implosion in American institutions.

RADIO

Rumors explained: Is Fed Chair Jerome Powell OUT?!

After rumors spread that President Trump would soon fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Trump has said that he's "not planning" on it right now. But is it possible for Trump to fire him? Will he resign? And how is the Fed Chair even chosen in the first place? Glenn and his head researcher Jason Buttrill explain ...

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Well, last night, I was rapidly looking the lie some of these rumors, on X.

Pretty incredible people on what's going on with Jerome Powell and the fed.

What the heck?

I was actually popping popcorn and watching this. It was so crazy.

GLENN: So it's just the rumors, that he is going to be stepping down?

JASON: Well, yeah.

Yeah. Anna Paulina Luna. Congresswoman. She was saying, it was almost imminent, that he was about to be fired. Actually fired.

There were other rumors saying, well, we're not sure about fired.

But he's considering resigning.

GLENN: Yeah. You know why.

JASON: We were like, what the heck is going on?

GLENN: So do you know why?

Do you know why he's resigning? Any guesses? I mean, you had popcorn out. I would love to hear what you have come up with.

JASON: So there was the CPI stuff coming out. The interest rates going up.

We know that the President wants interest rates to come down. I'm assuming that is what the deal is, and there's some sort of internal battle going on.

GLENN: Well, and the president can't fire the Fed chief. Okay?

So the Fed chief is the one that nominated. The federal reserve is the biggest crock of bullcrap I've ever seen in my life.

It's nothing, but the five biggest banks. Okay? And you know which ones they are. They're the ones that keep getting bigger. And everybody else is falling to the wayside.

So the Federal Reserve is the arm of those five banks.

Okay?

And they suggest, who the president can select from.

So the president can't say, I don't want any of these guys. I want this guy. Can't do it.

He has to take a look at the list that all the banks have put together. Is. Say, pick from this list, Mr. President.

Did you know that?

JASON: It's kind of how Iran chooses their next president.

GLENN: It's exactly. It's exactly that way. Except, this religion is all about the almighty dollar.

Okay. So he can't -- he can't pick on his own. But the president has a right to pick one, you know, every term. If it comes up in his term.

The president wants this guy out. And I think he's been really, really bad.

Because he's been wrong on almost -- on almost everything. But show me the -- show me the Fed, you know, the guy who the Fed was right ever.

So he can't fire him. But he wants him out. Because he wants interest rates dropped.

And, you know, the jobs are coming back. Things are coming back.

But interest rates keep coming up.

And the -- and the interest rates, if we keep our interest rates high, we have a harder time borrowing money for our debt.

And it just gets more and more expensive for everybody all along. So the president wants him to back off interest rates. But the Fed chief believes that that could cause more inflation.

Which I think he's right on that one. And I hate to say he was right on anything.

Because I don't think he was ever right.

Makes me question myself. When he's like, well, I think he might have a point on that one. But the president is like, no. He can handle it.

I want them down. I want cheap money again.

He refuses. So what has the president done?

The president can only fire him, with cause!

So what do you do when you can only fire somebody with cause, and you want them out.

You find a cause, and this one is easy.

So the Fed has been the one leading the way saying, we can't keep borrowing money.

We've got to have some fiscal sanity. Right?

This is going to kill us. We have to keep these interest rates high, because you are borrowing too much money. And maybe this is the only way to stop you.

So we got to keep it high, because you've borrowed too much money. And how many times has he testified in front of Congress? We've got to cut. We've got to cut. You can't keep spending like this.

Okay? Well, did you know that the Federal Reserve, with our tax dollars, the five biggest banks, a/k/a the Federal Reserve, is redoing their offices. To the tune of two billion dollars!

Now, I don't know what kind of wallpaper they need there.

But that seems like a pretty hefty renovation, especially when everybody is looking at cutting things. And you're lecturing me about spending money. So they get money from the government, okay? They're telling us, stop spending.
Stop borrowing.

Except, okay. What you've borrowed. I need $2 billion of that, to redo our offices in Washington, DC.

Excuse me?

Why don't you do that yourself. Okay. I think banks maybe have some money.

So they're borrowing that money, and there's $700 million over.

So it's $2 billion. $700 million over budget. And they're still not finished.

And the problem is: They're putting in water features.

They have a rooftop garden they're building.

JASON: Okay.

GLENN: I mean, it is -- it's insane. The president now knows, really? You want to play this game with me. I will sit your ass down in front of Congress, and you answer to the American people, how you're lecturing us about spending. And you're putting in a rooftop garden and a water feature in your office. No! No.

So the president is now threatening, I'll fire you for this. You want to quit, now would be the time to quit.

Otherwise, I'm dragging your butt in front of Congress.

You answer to the American people for this. And they will beg me to fire you.

That's what's happening.

JASON: I looked at that a lot.

Because I was like. There's got to be some leverage that the president had, because they can't get rid of.

But that is a pretty big cut. That sounds like a Babylon Bee article. $2 billion.

GLENN: It does. It does. $2 billion, 700 million over budget.

JASON: Oh, my gosh.

GLENN: I mean, and these are the responsible bankers. No, I don't think so.

It just shows, they don't mean what they say. They'll just keep doing it for themselves. You know, if you really believed that America was really on that financial cliff, why would you do that?

You would lead the way and say, guys, we are going to be the only responsible ones here.

We will lead by example.

No renovation. You know what, go to IKEA?

You need a new desk. Go to IKEA, and get a new desk. Well, we have to keep up our image. We're not going to have a country.

So what do you say, we go to IKEA?

Our image should be, we are going to lead the way out of this madness!

That's what a leader would do.

JASON: So, Glenn, I still don't think I get this disconnect between Trump and Powell on -- we know Trump wants to lower interest rates.

Powell is standing back and saying, basically, he doesn't want to do it.

Is he trying to undermine President Trump on this?

GLENN: President Trump thinks so. President Trump thinks so.

I think so, to some degree.

I mean, I'm worried about inflation.

Look, you know what happened. Do you know what's happening with yap?

JASON: What's happening with Japan?

GLENN: So what's happening with Japan, is Japan has always had this really amazing image of, we're solid. We're absolutely solid.

This is target to crack. The foundation.

1989.

Let me go back to 1989.

This was the crown jury trial of the global economy.

Back in 1989, you probably aren't old enough to remember.

All of a sudden, Japan owned everything in America. We were just becoming Japanese, and everything was being purchased by Japan. Kind of like it feels a little bit like China now.

JASON: They even owned Nakatomi Plaza, Glenn, that Bruce Willis had to save -- they owned everything in every '80s movie!

GLENN: Oh, yeah, they owned absolutely everything.

Okay? And the -- things were so insane in Japan. The grounds of the imperial palace, in Tokyo, on paper was worth more than the entire value of the state of California.


JASON: Wow!

GLENN: Okay?

So their land. Everything just shot up. And so they had all of -- they were flush with all this cash.

And people believed that Japan had suddenly, you know, cracked the formula for, you know, eternal prosperity.

That's the problem. Then it all started to fall apart. And the asset prices. That they had mortgaged against.

Okay?

They had borrowed. Well, the imperial palace was worth more than California.

That doesn't make any sense. You wouldn't mortgage it like that. At least long-term. I will do this real quick, and pay it off.

You would never, ever mortgage, because you know that's inane. Well, nobody ever wanted -- and it seems in governments, nobody ever wants to believe that this is just a fluke. Okay?

So the asset prices collapse. The stock markets plunged. And for three decades, they have gone into this very polite political coma.

Okay? Economic coma. And so the central bank did something radical. They were the first ones to set your interest rate at zero. They lowered the interest rate. They made money so cheap, it was nearly free. Zero percent interest. Sometimes, they would pay you to take out money.

So the -- they had negative interest rates. Can you imagine that? Now, you're not fixing the problem. You're just printing wallpaper to cover the mold. All right?

So they've done this for decades.

Now their debt is I think 260. Or 280 percent of their GDP.

I think, what is ours?

100?

80 percent.

Something crazy. 120. You never believe back.

The death threshold is usually 120, 140.

They're 260 percent of their entire economy is debt.

That's not a crack. That's a fault line.

So this week. Or was it last week? Things started to creek and grown in Japan.

And the government bonds, which are like our treasuries. Is this getting too complex.

Are you following this still?

JASON: Yeah.

GLENN: Okay. So their government bonds.

They were the safest investments on earth.

One of them. Okay?

It's us. Japan, Germany.

They started to fall.

Hard. And when bond prices fall, interest rates were the easily go up.

All right?

So they borrow all this money.

260 percent of their GDP is borrowed. Okay?

So they borrowed all of that money. And they had it at like 3 percent interest. Whatever.

2 percent interest.

And they were paying people.

2 percent.

Well, all of a sudden, the cracks started to appear. And people were like, I'm not sure this is stable at all.

And then the belief of the system started to -- to go away. So people started selling their Japanese bonds.

Once they do that, now the yields have to go up.

What happens when yields go up?

What happens when interest rates go up? For a government. You have to pay more interest on your debt!

Okay?

You add two or three points.

Just imagine, you have an adjustable rate. Okay?

This is a government having an adjustable rate. Except, they have 260 percent of everything they make, in debt!

And it's all leveraged.

And now, their adjustable goes up two, three, four points.

You're not able to afford that anymore, okay?

So massive problem.

Because what it really means is. People don't believe in Japan.

They know the con game is now over.

And investors are saying, you know, I want a whole lot more in return.

Because I just don't believe you anymore.

And it's not just Japan's problem. This is not a neighbor's house on fair.

This is -- imagine we're all living under the same roof. This is the neighbor's apartment, on fire.

We're all under the same roof. We all have the same foundation. And so when this happens to Japan, you should pay attention. And I'll show you the ripple effects in just a second.

First, let me tell you about Relief Factor. There comes a point where the pain in your life goes from being something that is just irritating to something you have to deal with every single day.

Maybe it starts small. A tweak in your back. A sore knee. A little stiffness in the morning. But, you know, those things happen. But over time, the playbook starts to make decisions for you. It changes how you move. How we sleep. What you say yes to. And what we have to start saying no to.

It steals moments from your life. Moments you just can't get back. Relief Factor is designed to help you take those moments back. It's 100 percent drug-free solution. Specifically formulated to fight the inflammation that's causing your pain. For thousands and thousands of people. It's helped reduce and eliminate the daily struggle. So they can get back to living the life they want, not the life their pain dictates. Pain may have changed your life, but it doesn't to have define it.

Get their three-week Quick Start. Give it a try now for 19.95. ReliefFactor.com. 800-4-Relief. 800-4-Relief. It's ReliefFactor.com. Ten-second station ID. We're back to the show.
(music)

GLENN: Okay. So now if Japan -- that means there's a stampede out of Japan.

And people are starting to look and reprice the risk of their money.

Now they're like, wait a minute.

The most stable. You know, if you're driving a car and it is the safest car in the world and all of a sudden, they just start blowing up on the highway.

You're like, I don't think that's the most -- that's the safest car on the highway.

And if that's the safest car, what does it mean for the car I'm in?

You know what I mean? So now, this is going to push US interest rates going up.

Which makes our mortgage rates go can up. And our car loans more expensive. And the national debt. Which is already costing us $1.2 trillion a year, just in interest.

Now, they can't sell their treasuries. People are skittish on treasuries. Maybe they come to the United States, but they're not so far.

They're getting out of the Japanese interest. Or the bonds there.

Japan has to pay their bills.

What do you do when you have to pay a bill?

And you don't have any money coming in.

You don't have enough money coming in. What do you do?

You sell something. Right? You sell your car. You sell something that you have of value.

Well, what do they have? What do they hold of value? US Treasuries.

So now, we are trying to sell our bonds, for our new debt, they hold our old debt.

They're saying, hey. Anybody want to buy this debt? Because I have to sell it. Fire sale. What do you give me for it?

Okay?

Which makes that debt more attractive, because they can get a better deal there.

Which means, if we want to have new debt, we have to raise our interest rates. Which means, we pay more for interest for our mortgages and everything else.

And it floods the market with bonds, crushing the prices, skyrocketing the costs for us.
And causing even more trouble, in other countries, that have US bonds. Because they start to look and go, nobody is buying these bonds.

Well, of course not. You have two countries. The two stablest countries besides Germany.

You have the two stablest countries now selling US Treasury bonds.

Okay? Really, really bad.

Now, let me add this on.

Germany is now having to pay for their own army.

And so they said, they're going to borrow money.

To build the army.

And they're going to lower their interest rate. So they can borrow more money. All right?

And now, the German bund, which is -- you know, like our Treasury. That's now starting to fall apart.

Well, Germany has some assets, they can sell.

What do you think that asset might be that they want to sell?

US treasuries.

We have been playing an extraordinarily horrible game.

This is why I believe the president wants somebody else in charge of the Fed, because the Fed can say, we're lowering the interest rates.

Because he's got to get more money into the system. So people can spend money, can start businesses. Borrow money.

Get things moving, so we can increase the amount of taxes that we collect.

The more people money -- the more people make, the more taxes we collect.

So he's like, we've got to grow the economy. And the only way we can grow the economy is to lower the interest rates.

But at the same time, interest rates around the world because of what's happening with the bonds is going through the roof.

We are in a very -- we've never been in this position before.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

Why the Term "Conspiracy Theory" is CIA-Created Weapon for Control

Conspiracies are of course real and occur every single day. But yet, many in the media and elite political circles attempt to use the term "conspiracy theory" to smear and discredit those who are skeptical of conventional narratives. Where did this term come from and how should we understand it? Journalist Alex Newman joins Glenn Beck to break this down and how it impacts the world as we see it today.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Journalist Alex Newman HERE

TV

Chalkboard Breakdown: How George Soros & the 'Deep State' funnel YOUR money to radical groups

Where do these massive left-wing radical groups get all their money from? Much of it is effectively a scam that occurs using your tax dollars to fund these groups that you would never support on your own. Glenn Beck heads to the chalkboard to expose the connections so you can visualize exactly how someone like George Soros manipulates the system.

Watch the FULL Episode HERE: Deep State ON NOTICE: New Tech Traces the USAID, Globalist Money Trail