Participants: Bill Santos, Jaime Jorge
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201305
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00:11 >>Announcer: It has stood the test of time....
00:15 God's book, The Bible 00:19 Still relevant in today's complex world 00:23 It Is Written 00:27 Sharing messages of hope around the world 00:39 BILL: I want to welcome you to the It Is Written Canada television program. 00:42 My name is Bill Santos. 00:44 Thank you so much for joining us. 00:46 Well, if you were with us last week, you already know who our guest is this 00:50 week. 00:52 But if you weren't with us, let me introduce Jaime Jorge. 00:56 Jaime, welcome JAIME: Thank you. 00:57 It's great to be back. 00:59 BILL: It's good to have you back. 01:01 For the benefit of those that don't know Jaime, who is not an unknown 01:05 commodity in Canada, 'cause you have been on Canadian television quite 01:08 a bit, Jaime is a world-renowned concert violinist. 01:12 That's quite the introduction, isn't it? 01:14 JAIME: Phew, man. 01:15 I should pay you for this. 01:16 BILL: But more importantly than his, I think, talent at playing the violin is 01:22 his heart for mission and to see people. winning people to Jesus Christ. 01:29 JAIME: Yeah. 01:30 BILL: Last week, we got a sense, a little background of your life. 01:35 And I thought it'd be important this week to sort of, with your 01:41 permission, you know, to delve into one aspect of your life that you 01:45 identified as one of the most trying moments in your life, which was the 01:49 breakdown of your marriage. 01:51 JAIME: Mmhmm. 01:52 BILL: Because I believe, Jaime, you know what? 01:55 It's not to air, you know, dirty laundry or anything, but I believe that, you 01:58 know, your testimony and your experience can benefit someone that's 02:02 watching us here today. 02:05 JAIME: Amen. 02:06 BILL: Maybe just a very quick, for the benefit of those that maybe are 02:09 tuning in for the first time, very quick bio on who you are and where 02:12 you're from. 02:13 JAIME: Okay. 02:14 Well, I'm born in Cuba. 02:15 I started playing the violin at the age of five. 02:17 When I was ten years old, my family was fortunate to be able to leave Cuba and 02:22 go to the United States where I received a Christian education and 02:26 continued taking violin lessons. 02:29 And over the last 25 years, I've had the privilege to travel around 02:34 the world, because music is the international language. 02:36 BILL: Yes. 02:38 JAIME: The violin doesn't need translation. 02:39 BILL: Yes, you're absolutely right. 02:40 JAIME: Everybody understands it. 02:42 The only continent I haven't been to is Antarctica. 02:44 And I don't think I'm going to be doing a concert for the penguins 02:47 anytime soon. 02:48 BILL: You never know, right? 02:50 JAIME: Maybe. 02:51 So I get to travel around and share the Gospel through music and 02:54 testimony. 02:56 BILL: So last week, I asked you, you know, any regrets? 03:01 We talked about some of the highlights. 03:03 You mentioned playing in a hut church in Mexico. 03:06 JAIME: Yes. 03:08 BILL: And watching some folks as you played ve their life to Jesus 03:10 Christ. 03:12 And you said that was one of the highlights of your ministry. 03:14 JAIME: Yes, indeed. 03:16 BILL: And I sort of follow that up, and sort of unintentionally. 03:18 I hope I didn't put you on the spot, you know. 03:20 Well, were there any regrets? 03:23 And you made reference to the breakdown of your marriage. 03:26 JAIME: Yes. 03:28 BILL: And that's sort of what prompted this discussion today. 03:30 What happened, man? 03:33 JAIME: Well, I can tell you, it wasn't anything bombastic. 03:36 It wasn't any one thing. 03:38 It was a gradual breakdown of the relationship. 03:42 And for those that have been married or that are married, marriage is work. 03:48 BILL: Yes. 03:49 JAIME: Now, it is a good work. 03:51 But it's not something you can sit back and kick your feet up, and just because 03:54 things were good last week or the year before, you can rest on those laurels. 03:59 You have to continue to feed the relationship. 04:02 You have to continue to devote time to nurture that relationship. 04:06 And what began to happen is, as the Lord blessed, and I was travelling more 04:12 and doing more concerts, and at first, my wife travelled with me. 04:16 She was also a musician. 04:18 And so she sang. 04:20 BILL: Okay. 04:21 JAIME: We had a great team as we went from place to place. 04:23 But this travelling, gruelling schedule can break people down 04:31 physically. 04:32 And I've spent 25 years doing it. 04:35 And sometimes I get sick. 04:36 Sometimes I get worn out. 04:38 And she certainly sort of got tired. 04:41 She got worn out as well, and so she started cutting back. 04:44 And then she had other opportunities to sing locally. 04:48 We live in the Chattanooga area. 04:50 Well, the country and gospel meccas are in Nashville, just a couple 04:54 hours away. 04:56 And she had great opportunities in singing in Nashville. 05:00 And so she went there. 05:02 And so I began to travel more and be home less. 05:05 And she was spending more and more time in Nashville. 05:08 And over the course of time, what happened was, we didn't spend enough 05:14 time together. 05:16 We didn't work out, you know, the little things that became big things. 05:19 And we just gave up, is probably the best, you know, answer I can give. 05:26 We gave up. 05:28 And you know, the reason why the Bible says that God hates divorce is 05:32 because of the pain that it causes. 05:36 BILL: Right.. JAIME: And divorce is also a symbol of the breaking down of 05:40 our relationship with God, because our union with Him is like a marriage as 05:46 well. 05:48 And so the pain, you know, the devastation that we both suffered. 05:52 Only, I think, if people have gone through it can you relate, because it is 05:58 so deep. 06:00 It is so despondent. 06:02 I remember one period of time I went eight days without eating. BILL: My 06:08 goodness. 06:10 JAIME: .not realizing it, you know. 06:12 It was such a difficult time. 06:13 I didn't even get out my front door, I was hurting so bad. 06:16 I cried out to God. 06:18 But you know, if I had had my relationship with the Lord in the right place, I 06:23 would've listened to Him saying, "Take time to devote to your marriage. 06:29 " Because doing God's work never takes the place of taking care of your 06:34 family. 06:36 Sometimes we can be so busy doing God's work that we can forget to do the 06:39 things that he has called us to do first and foremost. 06:43 And that's what happened. 06:44 And the years went by. 06:47 And the pain didn't go away. 06:49 The nights alone, you know, crying and crying out to God and blaming 06:55 God. 06:56 'Cause what happens is you say, "Well, why did you let this happen to me, 06:58 God? 07:00 " BILL: Right. 07:00 Here I'm doing a good work. 07:02 JAIME: I'm doing your work. 07:03 BILL: Yeah. 07:05 JAIME: And all of a sudden, my life falls apart, you know. 07:06 And it took a long time for my heart to heal. 07:08 And yet, God is in the business of healing. 07:11 And God is in the business of miracles. 07:15 And God worked a miracle in my heart and in my life the same way he can work a 07:19 miracle in anybody's life that comes to Him and says, "Lord, take over my 07:24 life. 07:25 " BILL: Yes. 07:26 JAIME: There's a song that I want to share coming up and it's called "I 07:28 Surrender All. 07:30 " And I have learned that the best place we can be is surrendered to Jesus 07:33 Christ. 07:35 I used to love the saying that goes like this: If you want something done 07:38 right, do it yourself. 07:40 'Cause I used to think that if I could just get my hands on the situation 07:44 or the problem. BILL: You could fix it. 07:46 JAIME: .I could fix it. 07:48 But you know, when I look in the rear-view mirrors of my life, when I'm in 07:50 control is when things have been disastrous. 07:54 But when God has been in control, it's a totally different thing. 07:58 It's amazing how wonderful. 07:59 Doesn't mean that there aren't going to be challenges. 08:02 But we have this peace knowing that God is really the one carrying us. 08:06 And that's how I want to live my life every day, you know. 08:10 BILL: Jaime, you're a well-known musician. 08:13 I mean, like you said, you've travelled around the world doing a 08:16 magnificent work for God. 08:19 And you were under attack from the devil. 08:22 The enemy wanted to do whatever he could to destroy. JAIME: Certainly. 08:25 BILL: .your ministry, your wife's ministry, your ex-wife's ministry. 08:28 And you mentioned last week that you actually, as you were going through 08:35 this painful separation process, you actually considered abandoning your 08:42 ministry. 08:43 JAIME: Yes. 08:44 And I think it's sort of natural, you know. 08:48 BILL: Yes. 08:49 JAIME: People sometimes look at those who are up front and think and expect 08:53 and project that everything. BILL: Everything is 08:56 perfect. 08:58 JAIME: .is perfect. 08:59 BILL: Yeah. 08:59 JAIME: Things are not. 09:01 And I didn't want to project something that I was not or somebody that I 09:03 was not. 09:04 But you know, I think it was the devil saying to me, "You're a loser. 09:07 You're a fake. 09:09 You don't have any business getting up there in front of people and 09:12 telling them. 09:13 " But you know what? 09:14 It's those people that have experienced God's grace that can share that 09:19 with others, because there are others that are hurting silently out 09:23 there. 09:24 There are others who don't know where to go, you know. 09:26 I didn't know where to turn to. 09:28 I was afraid. 09:30 What if somebody finds out I'm having problems? 09:32 And so I didn't know who I could talk to or where I could go. 09:35 And eventually, we did go to counselling, but you know, those things didn't 09:39 help, unfortunately. 09:40 You need Christian counsellors that can help. 09:43 BILL: Yes. 09:45 JAIME: We need. you know, there are things that churches have set in place 09:47 to help. 09:48 I sort of recoiled, you know, and hid in a cave, and that only made things 09:54 worse. 09:55 We need to be able to help others and share. 09:57 We need to be able to talk about it openly. 09:59 BILL: I want to pick up on that, but I want to take a quick break now, because 10:03 earlier, you had the chance to tape some songs, and I believe now we're 10:09 going to listen to "I Surrender All. 10:11 " JAIME: Yes. 10:15 [Violin Music] 13:26 BILL: Well, that was beautiful. 13:28 We're going to get a chance to hear another number from you a little 13:29 bit later. 13:31 But a couple things. one thing I want to say to you. 13:33 I commend you on your honesty, man, and your openness. 13:37 And I think you're doing a lot of good. JAIME: I hope so. 13:44 BILL: .as you open up and share some of this that you went through. 13:46 JAIME: That's my desire, is for people to be able to be blessed, to be able 13:50 to be encouraged. 13:52 And again, to point to Jesus Christ as our only answer, as our only 13:56 solution, as our only hope. 13:58 BILL: I have to tell you that sometimes, I'm afraid that our churches are not 14:00 places where we can come and be as honest as we would like to be. 14:04 JAIME: Yeah. 14:06 BILL: .for fear that someone might think that, "I'm having problems. 14:07 " But if we could foster within our churches, within our church 14:11 communities, you know, an environment where I could come. 14:15 You know, we're afraid to sometimes tell that, "I spent the whole night 14:18 crying over an issue in my life," because, "Should I share that with my friends 14:22 and my church, lest they're going to think I'm weak? 14:24 " JAIME: Exactly. 14:26 BILL: And so you're doing a lot of good, man. 14:28 And so God bless you. 14:30 JAIME: Praise the Lord. 14:32 BILL: But you know, it is a challenge. 14:34 I mean, you are up front. 14:35 You are there. 14:37 And you're right: people are looking up to you. 14:39 And the devil is hammering on you, saying, you know, "You're not worthy. 14:42 You're not worthy. 14:43 " JAIME: And he's right. 14:45 BILL: And you know what? 14:46 We're not worthy. 14:47 JAIME: Jesus is. 14:48 BILL: But Jesus is worthy. 14:50 JAIME: Amen. 14:51 BILL: And that's the promise that we claim. 14:53 And I'm happy to say that that aspect of your life has had a happy 14:57 resolution. 14:59 JAIME: Yes. 15:01 BILL: Why don't you share a little bit with our viewers about that? 15:03 JAIME: Okay. 15:04 Well, for nearly nine years, I basically gave up. 15:09 I looked for other things to take up my time. 15:14 I worked hard. 15:16 I travelled. 15:16 I spent time with family and friends. 15:18 I did good things, you know. 15:20 But it wasn't until I believe that I came before the Lord and I said, 15:24 "Lord, the only thing I really need in my life is You," that he opened up a 15:29 door that hadn't opened before. 15:32 You know, I certainly tried. 15:36 I pursued a relationship. 15:40 I gave it a try, but you know, nothing was working. 15:43 And so I said, "You know what? 15:44 I'm going to focus on pursuing God. 15:46 " BILL: Hmm. 15:47 "Seek ye first the kingdom of God. 15:49 " JAIME: Precisely right. 15:50 And when I did, God healed my heart. 15:53 Because I told my mother eighteen months ago, "I am never getting married 15:59 again, Mother. 16:00 " I said, "I'm going to marry my violin. 16:02 " I spend, you know, so many days on the road already with the violin. 16:06 I said, "She makes beautiful music. 16:09 She only talks back when I tell her to. 16:11 You know, I'm going to focus on that and I'm going to focus on family 16:15 and friends and you know, my life is full. 16:20 " And she said, "That's great. 16:22 Just don't close the door to what God may have for you. 16:25 " And I put it away in the back of my mind. 16:28 "That's just my mother talking, you know. 16:30 She means well. 16:31 " But indeed, as the Lord worked in the right ways in my heart, because 16:36 everything He does is right, He brought me to the place where I was 16:40 ready. 16:41 And I met a young lady three years ago at a concert, just like many 16:46 people that I meet. 16:48 Nothing happened for months. 16:51 And then we exchanged some communication on Facebook. 16:54 I saw her, I visited her, because she was nearby where I lived. 16:58 We spent a little time together. 17:00 But I didn't think of anything else. 17:02 She was a professional women's football player. 17:06 And I'm talking about American football, not soccer football. 17:09 BILL: Wow. 17:10 JAIME: So when I saw her face to face and we talked, she's a wonderful, 17:12 sweet, young lady. 17:14 But the prospect of having somebody put on her uniform and run me over 17:19 and tackle me if I did something wrong, it's like, you know, maybe I 17:23 don't want to mess with this. 17:24 And so a little time went by, a year and a half, as a matter of fact. 17:28 And it was in September of 2012 that, out of the blue, I was doing some 17:36 concerts in Hawaii. 17:37 And I went to her Facebook page. 17:38 And she had a picture of the beach in Puerto Rico where she was. 17:44 And I thought, "Oh, hey, I'm at the beach, she's at the beach. 17:47 " I sent her a little text message saying, "I hope you're having a wonderful 17:50 time," you know. 17:51 And she texted back and we began to talk. 17:53 And in the next couple of months, as we communicated more, we both realized 18:00 that the Lord was doing something in our hearts and in our lives to bring 18:04 us together. 18:05 She had also gone through a very sad divorce. 18:07 She had given her heart to the Lord years before. 18:11 BILL: Wow. 18:12 JAIME: So this was a new phase for her as well. 18:15 But we were both scared. 18:16 When you've had your heart broken, when you've suffered so much, you 18:19 don't want to jump into something. 18:20 But we prayed and we said, "Lord, if this is your will, open the doors. 18:24 " And you know, He did in an amazing way. 18:28 Now at my age, I certainly don't have to be, you know, calling or writing 18:35 and waiting and seeing. 18:36 When I knew that this is what the Lord had for me, man, I went after her and 18:41 I told her, "I'm going to pursue you until you tell me to go away. 18:44 " And she said, "All right. 18:46 " And I did. 18:47 And the Lord brought us together. 18:49 And in July of 2013, this year, we got married. 18:55 BILL: Oh, to God's glory, man. 18:56 Congratulations. 18:57 JAIME: And he is calling us. thank you. 18:59 He has brought us together and equipped us perfectly so that we can do ministry 19:02 together with her background as a professional athlete. 19:05 She has a passion for inviting people to live their lives to the fullest 19:10 to serve God to the fullest. 19:13 And so we want to encourage couples to stay together, to do the things 19:18 we're doing, to keep the marriage alive and happy and burning for the Lord 19:25 and with the right love that he's placed in our hearts, and to also 19:29 encourage people, eat right, exercise right so that you can have more 19:33 energy and more capacity to serve the Lord in everything that you do. 19:38 BILL: I mean, isn't it incredible how God. we have a saying in 19:41 Portuguese. 19:42 And I don't know if you have it in Spanish. 19:44 That says: God can write straight even though the lines may be crooked, 19:47 right? 19:49 JAIME: Yes. 19:51 BILL: And so you know, the devil. and I believe with all my heart it was the 19:54 devil that brought this into your life, that destroyed your marriage. 19:56 Anything that involves separation can't be from God. 19:58 But how God healed and has brought the two of you together. 20:04 And now the two of you can speak to this reality that is a plague in our society 20:10 today, marriages breaking down. 20:12 It's a tragedy. 20:14 And you can speak to that at a level that I can't because, I mean, 20:18 thankfully, and I hope I never have to go through that. 20:21 JAIME: Praise the Lord, that's right. 20:24 BILL: You know, through what you've gone through, Jaime. 20:26 You know, and I have my issue and we each have our own issues. 20:28 JAIME: Certainly. 20:30 BILL: But it's incredible to me, listening to you, how you just see God's 20:31 hand saying, you know, "When you put your life in my hands, I'm going to 20:35 take you," and he's going to do a wonderful work through you and your wife 20:40 to impact many, many marriages. 20:44 I believe that with all my heart, man. 20:47 For someone that's listening that's going through that right now, 20:50 saying, "Yeah, man, that's for you, but that'll never happen to me," what advice 20:54 would you give to someone that's sitting there in that pit of despair that 20:58 you were, you know, just a few short years ago? 21:01 What would you say to them? 21:03 JAIME: Get down on your knees and ask God to be in control. 21:08 You know, marriage is not everybody giving 50/50; it's everybody giving 100 21:15 and 100. 21:17 And it's the same thing in our relationship with God. 21:19 God gave it all. 21:21 He gave Jesus and he's still giving all. 21:23 We have to give all. 21:24 We can't just keep a little something for ourselves. 21:26 So in a relationship and a marriage, you can't have that pride saying, "I'm 21:30 going to do it my way because I need to show her I'm boss. 21:33 " No. 21:34 It's all about giving. 21:36 Because when we give, we receive. 21:38 You know, the more time I spend with my wife, the more I romance her, the 21:43 more she gives me her love. 21:46 And so the more we give, the more we're going to get back. 21:50 And so I invite people to invest the time to spend in prayer and in laughter 21:55 and singing and holding hands and doing special things to continue to make 22:01 it special so that the relationship will thrive and not shrink and die. 22:06 BILL: We're short on time. 22:09 We have another song we want to get to before we leave. 22:11 What is this one we're going to hear now? 22:14 JAIME: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. 22:16 " BILL: Let's listen to that, Jaime. 22:28 [Violin Music] 26:02 BILL: We'd like to offer you a DVD of this program. 26:04 I think Jaime touched on such important principles for those that are 26:08 married, those that are thinking about marriage, those that maybe are going 26:11 through some struggles in their marriage. 26:13 And we'd like you to have this on DVD in your homes. 26:17 You can share it with your friends and family. 26:18 It is our gift to you. 26:20 Here's the information you need to get your copy. 27:25 BILL: Well, Jaime, thank you again for being here. JAIME: Thank you. 27:28 BILL: .this week also with us. 27:29 JAIME: It was a pleasure. 27:30 BILL: Please remind our viewers of your website. 27:32 JAIME: JaimeJorge.com. 27:34 BILL: We'll make sure to put a link on our website, itiswrittencanada.ca. 27:38 JAIME: Thank you. 27:39 BILL: On the website, Jaime has a beautiful 25th anniversary concert DVD. 27:44 He has it on Blu-ray. 27:45 You're going to want to get that. 27:46 You can get that at JaimeJorge.com. 27:48 Tonight, I will be at the Windsor Seventh-Day Adventist 27:53 Church for our Countdown to Life Bible seminar. 27:56 Why don't you come out and join us? 27:58 If you're not in the Windsor area, you can still join us. 28:00 How? 28:01 On the internet. 28:02 Go to our website, itiswrittencanada.ca. 28:05 Click on the "watch live" tab and you will be able to watch our Bible seminar 28:10 from Windsor on any mobile device, iPhone, Android, iPad. 28:16 You name it, you can watch it. 28:19 I hope you will join us. 28:20 We hope to be back next week. 28:22 In fact, we'll be praying that you will be here with us. 28:26 Until then, remember, it is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but 28:32 by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-02-06