Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper. You are live from the path. And you're listening to live from the past. We're swimming from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston Proper.

Yeah. We're here. I heard so I made a mistake. On last week's show, I think I said, hey. We're done till the New Year. Oh. And I think I had been doing that all week. Like, I had for some reason in my mind, like, that was it. Were done. Expected us to go two weeks in a row. Right? Yeah. Yeah. I actually I thought about it when we were gonna have a show. I thought, you know what? We'd probably do more shows next year. And then it occurred to me that it's not next year, we should fall back on our lazy We should bail. Yeah. And not do one. Wait. I can't make it. But I find this show edifying to me, and so here we are. Hey. Yeah. I actually talked to a legit dude, not two days ago who I was just kinda just talking to with him about the show. And he's like, that sounds awesome. I'm like, well, we fooled you once. Yeah.

Alright. Supporter? So here we got here this we got going on the show tonight. So we're gonna try to clean up some stuff that we've we've kinda hit and and not finished out on. So on some previous weeks, we were walking through 15 proposals for church renewal. We got through some, and we're gonna see if we can pick out the rest of them. And it just again, as we head into 2020, I mean, they seem relevant. One, do they do we agree, and do they seem relevant for the types of work that we're doing? Because wasn't most of it like, yeah, you should be like high church as I recall. Yeah. I think the last two I remember is is is Liturgy. To do liturgy and then have a cross Yeah. Because folks folks were taking them out. Yeah. We had I went to a church for a funeral here this week that that didn't have a cross in the sanctuary. And for the life of me, I thought, why? I mean, I I know there's I know why people might do it or might, you know, might take it out of there or whatever and and and I I missed it. You know, I just I just missed it. I don't know why it's not there. Yeah. We we did an ad for a Christmas Eve service and had a picture of the front of our auditorium from, like, a few years ago or something. And it didn't have a cross in it. And someone put a little post in there, where's your cross?

And I was kind of feeling a little snarky. I said, probably in the ninety five percent of the building that's not showed in this picture. And then they said, but your altar's up there. And I just stopped. I was like, I'm not it's gonna yeah. Yeah. That's true. That's where Baal comes. You're right. You got us. Because that that makes us even worse. We don't have an altar either. So I just left it. But Oh, man.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So we'll we'll we'll swing back through there. There was a there was a a Christian Post article that I I thought was kind of interesting. It was, what are God's resolutions for you in 2020? Oh. And so, I thought we'd take a quick scan through that. Do you guys read about the church, the California church that was

This is so praying for you already. Praying for the two year old who who had died and they were praying for resurrection? Yeah. No. Yeah. So we'll we'll talk through that story a little bit. But, I mean, essentially, the the the child died and they're like, look, our god is a god who resurrects, and so we're not gonna give up yet. And we're gonna do focused prayer on resurrection for this two year old. Okay. So I think it it brings up legitimate questions, which is well and I could be wrong by saying what are what what most people's responses, but I think initial response is like, I don't know. Well, actually, I that's a good question. Right? Is there is there some danger in that? Is there any danger in that? Yeah. Or or is this something that we're like, we we, like, we should be more normal? We're like, yeah. Yeah. That's of course, you did that. Know, actually, that's yeah. That's That doesn't make sense. A decent discussion because I think I'd have a hard time throwing down on that while giving false hope to,

parents and making what was, what was Moses' what was Moses' explanation to God about when he was about to wipe out the Israelites? And he said, hey, man. If you do this, then all the Egyptians are gonna laugh at you and go, Yahweh couldn't do what he promised. Yeah. Yeah. Right? Like, I just feel like there's a there's a danger in there. See, I've always figured I would never be the guy who says, let's dig a trench around my altar, fill it with water, douse my offering with water, making fun of the other guys, you know, was your god going to the bathroom? Yeah. I really knew from god, hey, by the way, I'm gonna do this. Yeah. Right. But we don't even know that he knew that. Right. He he just like

That's the thing. Maybe we're terrible. Maybe this whole thing's a bad idea. I don't know. I've prayed that prayer Yeah. But I've not made it public. Right. I didn't go around and say, hey, everybody. This this gal died here prayed for her together. I've just quietly said, god, you can do anything you want. Right. I'm not gonna embarrass you by Could you do this thing? No. Yeah. I've been there. I've done that. Maybe that's a lack of faith. I don't know. Okay. Good. We'll go through it. Okay. We'll tell you. We'll talk about it. Alright. Also, there was a It's not good, Dan. I'm certain will. There was I don't even know what this website is, Dan. I don't know where you get news, but Dan found an article on jubaie.net. I don't remember how I saw that. And it was, pastor makes underwears with this is not this is a foreign website. Makes underwears with a print of his face for female members. We're gonna fire this one off. Here we go. Okay. Are pastors stretching their professional ethics too far beyond their limit? The Naked Truth Liberation and Empowerment Ministries, church located in The United States owned by a controversial pastor, Thaddeus Matthews. We've known this guy known as the cussing pastor for his profanity laced messages. We talked about him month like, few months ago. Was he where cussing leads you? That's right. Put in your face on underwear. That's right. You think I belong in the in the regions. This time, the pastor set the Internet on fire for designing panties for his female congregation. Nope. Period. Through an Instagram post, the pastor shared innerwear garments being washed inside a sink, claiming to be one of his followers washing the panties.

In the picture, the panties have different colors in a picture of his face. Pastor claims that he made the inner garments for all body sizes, okay, and assured his followers for bigger sizes are also available. Ladies, get you some teddy bear underwear from a small to a five x, he said on the post. It's not the fur it doesn't tell him why, though. Oh. Hold on. This is not the first time the pastor's been criticized for his remarks. Later this year, Tennessee pastor, went viral after going on a rant about how real he was while he was cursing. According to the pastor, he claimed that also Jesus cursed. He said, see, I don't play. It's about being real, the truth, and I don't give a damn what none of you be say or none of you hope that I can't even It's finish

about telling the truth just like it is. I mean, I didn't see that in Matthew. Wait a minute. So, like, this wasn't part of a campaign to ward off premarital relationships something. Why I was interested. I'm like, hey, man. What why did this occur? Stupid. But, I mean, what what was he going for? Or just this? This is what he was going for? I'm guessing this is one of those churches. There are churches out there where where where, the women are simply the playground for the pastor. Oh, that's awful. And he just wants to remind them, hey. Look down at your underpants. That's me. Oh. So now here's the thing. So we went when did we talk about this? We talked about this when the John Chris thing came up and then we talked about this again when

that psycho pastor from Chicago. And then there's one other situation where we said, listen, as a body of Christians, it is our job to weed this out, to to stop allowing this to happen. Right? So, like, this guy is completely off the rails nutty, not following Jesus at all. Right? And, like,

my response is, what a doofus. Do you do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like, oh, we talked about this with the with the the the the child sex abuse stuff, like in the Catholic church. We're we're we're we're basically saying, look, we whose job is it within the the following Christ body of Christ to to do something about these fellows? Or do we just let them autonomously just do whatever they want? If people are stupid enough to not see it for what it is, then, you know, what are we to do to stick our noses in it?

So is the point that, like, after reading this article, we should have we should be doing something? What? What are gonna do, Mike? What? This is what I'm saying. Like, so should should our response be after reading this article that, like, literally 50 pastors from all over the country get on planes, and they all roll down there and go that you're done here. That's it. You're just you're done. We can't we're not gonna allow this to happen anymore. And if it's not our response, I'm asking why not. Right? Is that is that too far? I I don't see anything real happening from that. He'd just be like, to his congregation, see, I'm I'm I'm suffering for you, and and people don't get it, and and I'm just being real and they're being fake. And So you think it would my underwear. It would produce no fruit. I don't think it would. So it's just my it's just my knee jerk reaction. Right? Maybe it's good for us to tell the public, hey, he's really not one of us. I mean, that Yeah. Maybe. You know, that that's sometimes you gotta say that. Yeah. I I suppose that's a broad question. It's like, how do you if if if people are being suckered in, how do how do you battle this stuff? Yeah. Like, what what do we actually do here? Besides because, like I mean, what we can say is, oh, well, we talked about it on the radio. Yeah. We showed him. Thanks you guys for hanging out, like, a 100 a 100 or less on the, the Get The Podcast on a weekly basis. Okay? So we did what we could, but, like, to what extent is that enough? Or is this is this is this

a not pulling over to the guy who's on the side of the road type of deal? Like, you see that there's help, and you're like, oh, somebody else is handling this, or I don't know if I can help. Is it that? It's like we just assume that we don't have the ability to to influence it or it won't matter. I mean, here's the thing. What do we have to lose, really? Right? And I'm let's say I'm only asking for 50. Right? And we're saying 50 pastors. 50 pastors with with and and we'll say, look, the ones that have the budget that can do this missionary work down to Tennessee Yeah. And the ones that have an open schedule, let's say you have a full time pastor that that, you know, they they work at the church. I mean, what are we talking? A day? I mean, you go to conferences more than this. You know what I'm saying? Like, just go down there, get together. The 50 of you can pray around the church and say, god, look, if it's yours to get rid of this thing look, this is just this has gone too far. I think what we need is a bus tour, and we'll pick people up along the way. Yeah. We're gonna go talk to panties man down in Tennessee. Right. We're going. We'll put great graphics on the bus to attract attention. Let me let me ask you this question. I don't wanna see that. Not not of panties. Wait. Hold on. I was very I was very careful. Yeah. Not careful enough. We're gonna get the wrong people following us down here. So is there

this put this starts to to to to a place where where I at least on the show, we've talked about this, where this starts to rub, which is, I find that protests don't work. But but but it's not really a protest. Can we take the notion of protest and swap out the action of prayer and still go. And say, look. This is enough that we need to be k. Here's the thing. Like, where where where there's a a losing battle is that people are the there are people that are, rip all things are equal. In the Internet age, all things seem equal. Right? Yeah. This guy is a Christian pastor. He's not. He's not a Christian pastor. He's not a pastor at all. He's a perv. Yeah. Right? He's a perv who put his face on a pair of underpants Right. In all sizes. And so, like My face is real big. So I got the five x here.

And and we could say, look, this is this is nothing there's nothing we can do about it. It's his corner of the world. But, like, I mean, and I this I this is this is there's all kinds of conflict in my mind. But, like, well, you could go down there and say, look. At at least we're gonna make it clear by number, look, this is not Christianity. This isn't what following Jesus looks like. But here's the thing. The the reason this starts to rub is because you start that track. I mean, you're gonna be going to every house on every block in every city for the rest of your life. They would look like Westboro Well to the world. They don't know the difference. So there's that's right. Yeah. Oh, so so here's the thing, though. It's like, what you don't ever see is is churches protesting other churches. Right? We will protest Except for Westboro. So yeah. So right. Right. So so so look at the these are terrible examples. Right? But look at the look at the people that will hit the streets for what they believe in, the Westboro Baptist Church. Mormons. And the Mormons. Right? They will they will put foot to pavement to get to get this thing going. Right? Yeah. And and, like, if that does not smell like Paul to me, I don't know what does. We were just talking about Paul and Peter before the show started. Right? Yeah. He didn't let the Peter thing go. He didn't say, hey, man. I see that you're just sitting with the Gentiles. He stands up at the crowd and goes, Peter, look at everybody look at Peter for a minute. Hey. Look what Peter's doing. Right? Like, there's and and and Jesus, same thing. Right? Like, I see that you're selling temple goods. It's hard to do with a table that's flipped over. What cow? Right? Go on. And so I our reaction to everything and even on the heaviest subjects,

which was some of the abuse stuff with children and some of the lighter subjects, like some kind of nutcase in Tennessee, our reaction is the same. Yeah. Someone will handle it. Or, oh, no. I can't believe this happened. Right? And, like, if if if the one thing that that that, you know, you say to a new Christian or or or to your kids, what you try to in in in embolden them is is listen. If they've agreed to follow Christ, these are the things we hold them to. If they have not agreed to follow Christ, you're not holding them just to anything because they're not trying to follow Christ. Other non pastor wants to make panties with his face on it. I mean, that's kind of his deal. It's not our business. Because then then we go back and forth. Well, do we let the weak grow with the terror? What do you mean? I mean You mean well, I'm not saying to burn the place to the crown. No. Is that what you're saying? That's the point. Jesus is like, don't try to separate them. I'll I'll take care of that later. Oh, man, Dan. That could easily be interpreted to say, you let the priest go on priesting the kids because they're supposed to grow up together. Well, oh, yeah. Yeah. And I assume that's not what you meant. No. So the question is if if there's a line there somewhere Every time we see something like, I mean, hey. It's really weird you're putting your face on a on a underwear. I'm gonna protest you. Or do we just say, you know what? God's got this figured out. This guy's not real. Yeah. See, that's I that that's think where that's where I struggle is,

if we I think there's every indication from the New Testament that God expects his justice and work to be done by his followers. Yeah. Like, grand scheme. Yes. Like, he ultimately sorts it out. We get a grand scheme of justice. But, like, at his core, if if if we're not the hands and feet, I don't know. So here's the thing. It's it's it's it's build it by example. Let's say there's a dude going to our church, and we find out he put his face on panties. Yeah. Right? There's absolutely zero things that would stop me from going to his house and saying, look, Ted, that's enough. That's it. Yeah. We're done with this. I'm taking your complete stash. We're burn it in the yard. And, you either need look. Here's the thing. I'm gonna bring another breath with me. We're gonna talk to you. If you don't change your ways, we're gonna congress is gonna talk to you, and then you're out. Right? These are the options, man. And so now blow that up. If if the guy is a a Christian brother, I don't think he is. Right? I think he's a Flandern doofus. But he's also teaching people who honestly think that they're following Jesus or at least taking his word for it. Yeah. Well, let me okay. So let me let's let's relocalize a bit. Dan, within within the the two square miles of this building Mhmm. Of we got three churches. Maybe four. Yeah. Yeah. Not you. You find one of them's printing panties with his face on it, would you ever knock on their door? Realistically,

would you ever knock on Probably not. Probably not. Because here's the deal. True. There's probably some some bigger doctrinal issues that I have different than them that I think are more important than whether they put panties on someone pictures on someone's panties. So that's it. I mean, we'd all be after each other all the time. Yeah. That is so there is a division although the question is, is there is there a right thing well, are those on even grounds? That's interesting, Dan, because I'm not sure I I think there are there are smart people who love Jesus who baptize babies. And I'm I'm not into baptizing babies. That doesn't make sense to me. But I do I do think there are smart people who love Jesus who are doing it. I find those people in a different category than face on panties.

Different different category, but with false teaching, which I would call that, less or more important than someone who's just a little bit weird in the ecocentric world So versus that is interesting. Right? Because I would say I but, like like, on if you put those two subjects together, one of them sounds willful and

self aggrandizing, and the other one, I I think sounds like, an interpretation of scripture problem that we don't agree with. Right? Not willfully against God or against other people, just a misunderstanding. Where the panty guy is I mean, that could that's that's his kingdom only. It's also not isolated to I mean, he's also the custom pastor. Right? Right. Right. Yeah. And then you have Paul saying, hey. At least Christ is being preached.

But is it, though? I mean, he he he dealt with people that were just out make it I'm pointing to my phone bible. Yeah. Right in there. Right in there. So somewhere in that phone, there were people, you know, making money off the gospel and says, hey. At least Christ is being preached. Can I be like, dude, Paul, go after them guys? Paul's donating to Osteen. He says, you know what? Build it bigger. Right? Hey. Christ is being preached. Get the hair. Well, this is a tough sell. Easy. So I so I think that's the core. That's the core of it. Right? It's like reading mere Christianity in here. Yeah. Boy, if you think that, you'd be a fool.

Dang it. I think I think there is a tug here that says, I don't know I don't know that we're allowed to sit in the back and and smoke a smoke a cigarette and go, whoo. Seems rough there. I don't how that applies to you personally is the rub of every healthy and mature prayer life.

Is this a grand question of from a New Testament perspective actually, Bible perspective. Here are the things of Jesus' life as an example. Here are the things that we know that the church is responsible for. In what way or under what circumstances or guise am I to be involved? Because you could easily say, every Christian in The United States, hey. We're supposed to go help to feed the poor, and we all move to Africa. I I don't think that's probably the deal, but you could easily make the case that, well, I mean, that's where poor people are. Couldn't everybody goes there. And so in what way or what unique way does that apply to your situation, I think, is the focus of every thoughtful and mature fair life. And so at the very least, I think the broader question let's let's ignore a panty face man for just a second. Is to say,

in what way are we supposed to engage with either, other Christians or purported Christians on things like this. If that if that's not part of what I'm praying about or open to, I think that's I think that's the problem. See, I think that's the nail on the head, though, is is I I believe it only carries any weight is because I know for a fact that nothing will get you out of that pew smoking a cigarette. Nothing. There's nothing that would get somebody up

out of their chair and go confront something. Yeah. Okay. Just to refresh our memory on what Paul said, it is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I'm put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerity, supposing they can stir up trouble for me while I'm in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ has preached. And because of this, rejoice. Yes. I will continue to rejoice. I don't the context the context doesn't seem that broad, though. Those though this seems to be associated with people intentionally either preaching the gospel to either antagonize Paul or recognize in support of Paul. It seems like a stretch to me to say it's either preaching Christ or not preacher or or or preacher Christ for any reason. That he's specifically defending against people who are trying to harm him personally. Right. Money. So I so right. So I get that part, but, like, it it seems to be attached to something that is related to making Paul look foolish. But but how how's that any different than

does not couldn't I say that a dude putting his face on underwear is harming my me? Because he's he's harming what I do. He's harming the respect that people have for pastors. He's he isn't that as basically because is he are these preachers attacking Paul by getting money, or they're they're cheapening the gospel by doing? I I don't know. It's it's it does seem a bit like, the way that it reads seems more personal to me than just, like, pastors in general. Well, to be fair To that or Paul? Pastors. Right? Like, the amount of Christian pastors at the time was, like, 50.

Well, I don't know the All of them were on a bus heading to this guy's place. Carrying signs. I here's I I I I still think you're right, though. I think the reason that I care is because I don't know if if if child sex abuse doesn't do it and panty man doesn't do it. What does it? Yeah. What in the flying heck gets you off gets off the chair to say no. This is not What gets what gets us to start not meeting out God's justice but policing the integrity of his body? Because our our the sense of equality of of, yes, they have a right to do so, is an American sense. I don't that's not a Christian sense. Right.

Paul's very open about people who aren't doing things the right, which is actually, no. That that that puts that in an interesting context. Because, like, it's not like Paul's unwilling to call people out. He does it all the time. All the time. The example with Peter is super interesting. Right? This is a this is a dude, who, like, he does ministry with, and he's willing to say in front of others, hey. You're not handling this right. But he's not. I I wonder if it's not to say that I wonder if we should be careful about not taking Paul to say, look. He wouldn't o still openly rebuke those men. It's at least we can say at least Christ is being preached. I don't know that that's him saying, don't do anything about it because Christ is being preached.

I I don't know. I'd have to go back and look at it some more. Yeah. Yeah. Because that otherwise, that seems a little inconsistent with the rest of what his, at least, attitude seems to be. The thing is, like, you mentioned policing. Is that right? To to be able to police, you have to have some authority. We have no authority other than in Jesus. But then if the guy's not in Jesus, he doesn't care. He's like, wait. Wait. You know? Hey. This is my building. These are my people. I'll do what I want. I mean Yeah. My thought is, can you do anything of value? So so why if you can't, then what's the purpose? Okay. So here's the thing though, is is is in in in my perspective, that doesn't that's hard to swallow because it's not first of all, it's not efficient. It doesn't feel like it's an like it's worth it. Right? Even if it is. But it just doesn't feel like, like, was literally we're all gonna go down there. We're gonna take the plane. We're spend the money. We're gonna take the time just because some wackadoo has done something ridiculous. Right? Guys headlines. Right? But I've not known

God never mentions efficiency to be any part of his character. And the way I've seen him work in not only my life, but the people around me, it is possibly the most inefficient way to do things. And so I not to say that God does not know efficiency. He just doesn't seem to give it any value. It's not of credence. It's it doesn't matter. Right? So this goes back to the example, I think, of people in the road. I don't I was talking to my kids. We write down some gold stuff for next year. And and I was I was trying to give them categories to think through, like, either some maintenance goals of, you know, prayer and, how you're treating each other and relationship things. I said, don't don't limit to just, like, trying to be better at processing the widgets of your life. Like, think think bigger. What what skills would you like to have that you don't have? Or, in addition to that, like, what kind of person what kind of person do you wanna be? And, like, what let's call that out. And, like, the thing that the first thing that popped in my mind was I wanna be the type of person who stops. I don't stop. I don't stop at the side of the road when there's somebody who's because because similar

to this conversation, think, well, so either someone else is already handling it. I can't help anyway. What do I know? They probably have a cell phone. Yeah. They probably called somebody with it. Like, they need to borrow mine. What is this? 1996. Made 20 nefarious choices that put them on the side of this road. Maybe they need to learn something. Right. And so and, like, I was in the I work in this the the downtown Des Moines, and so there's a skywalk. And I was walking back from from lunch one day, and there was a woman just crying, just bawling. And I walked by. And I I I got on the elevator. I go up there. I'm right at table. I like, what? Why didn't I stop? And I know very well why I didn't stop. I'm like, what am I gonna do? I don't know this person. What am I gonna say? Hey. I'm a total stranger. Can I help? But here's the thing. I might be able to, and it might be a it might very well be the position of which she very well could have used help. Same thing. This is very embarrassing, and this shows you the length of how bad this is for me. I was driving to,

to the grocery store three weeks ago. I passed by, and there was a car accident in the middle of an intersection. There were two people stopped. There were three cars involved. There were people up and walking around, and you saw some cars kinda just pulling around and and taking the left turn to get around this thing, go to the grocery store. And, I drove by. I just drove on by. And then I once I got in the grocery store parking lot, I'm like, you see any police cars there, Ben?

No? How do you know someone called the police? Well, surely somebody called the police. I mean, would it have cost me anything to check? Right. Would it have cost me anything to get out and go, hey. Is everything alright? Because, like, people were wandering around, but, like, those are people who were just in a car accident. Right. Doesn't mean that they got everything under control. They're shocking. But the things that are going in my mind are, like, I don't have any medical training. I I'm gonna be a a bother because I'm gonna be, like, asking the same thing to two other people that probably already stopped and said, oh, is everything alright? Oh, did somebody call the police? And I don't really wanna make things worse. Yeah. What can I do if there is something that alright? Sorry. Right. But here's the thing. I there's there's this there's every part of me that says I can't I shouldn't be living that way. I shouldn't just be going, oh, I thought of nine reasons why I'm probably not the right guy to help. When like, I've seen story after story of people around me who stopped in certain circumstances and prayed for people they didn't know and checked on people who who didn't weren't looking for any help or weren't even obviously crying, and it got them to be able to be of service to someone. And I always have 15 reasons as to why it would be a bother if I did. It's not sitting right with me. Well, and you know what? My wife just asked me this couple weeks ago. She was explaining the situation and blah blah blah and wondering if she should go to this thing or whatever. And I said, well, is there anyone else that loves Jesus there? No. I said, well, I think you should go. Right? So so, like, one of the qualifications that puts you stopping is is, like, there could be 10 people there, but, like, ain't no Jesus people there. You need to be there. Right? Like, somebody who loves Jesus need to be there. I don't care what the problem is. Yeah. Right? God's perspective on what's happening right here, probably the best. And I suppose if you don't know,

you are at least incumbent to find out. Yeah. Hey. I stopped. Oh, hey. How's it going? And I I like, at the very least, you could be praying with people. Like, it's just so think I've seen so Dan and I have a mutual friend who's, works with the police department, or the highway patrol or whatever. And think how many times you arrive on the scene and, like, you're you're providing comfort to someone just by being around. Just by being around. Maybe there's multiple accidents going on in town, and the comfort man's on the other side down. I I would never know because I don't ever stop. I'm like, now that it just doesn't feel right to me to to have thought, well, I don't know if I can help, so I'm not going to try, which brings me back to our other conversation. I don't think we're going down with the bus to the pantyman church. However,

I don't know that that with that, it's on the opposite end that it's right to be, hey. I don't know if we can do anything, so we're not going to. Okay. I see what you're doing here. This is not our problem. This is the Tennessee church's problem. Why isn't anyone close to him yelling at him? Do we know anybody from Tennessee Does that sound better? If it was happening in our old backyard, we should be ashamed of ourselves. But, like, there's no reason for us to go hauling down there. So I was thinking about that. So the example I gave with the churches around here, was thinking about the churches in in in my community, and, I probably would. I think but here's the thing. I know those guys. I know some of them. I intend intentionally know some of them. So, like, I probably would go like, hey, man. You putting your face on a pair of underpants? Because Right. That's a real problem for me. It's causing, like, help me. Help me understand this body. Believe it. I need it. If it was a complete stranger, it would feel out of left field. But then, like, I don't you can't go on a crusade. It's what every dude, this this is what Westborough was about. Yeah. Everything they disagree with, they're gonna show up, and it's not helpful. It just entrenches you. And You're on the defense. Yeah. Yeah. This busload of people came up. It's like, you know what?

I'm gonna do bras now too. Yeah. I mean you know? But, like, here's the deal. In the in the in the currency of the kingdom, I can think of a 100 ways that it will fail. It doesn't mean that there's not a way of which god will make it work, but it's back to I think it's back to a prayer thing. It's back to a prayer thing. And, frankly, I think the default is to say you're much better you if your personal relationship is gonna make this go away differently than you representing, some sort of position right or otherwise.

But then again, every prophet of God, which I'm not necessarily putting this in the same bucket, but, like, every prophet of God was the one that had to go up and say the thing that nobody wanted to hear and nobody and and everyone kicked him out for it, and God still said, yep. It's exactly what I want you to do. So now it feels too pansy ish to say what you're saying. Right? Because, like, you're right. Like, that was their job is to go call things what they were and say, look, you're straying this way. And, like, we are saying

there's little to no circumstance in which we would do that. But we would be willing to pray on it and see if it turned around, which is obviously not a bad tactic. But I can I can almost tell you right now, if someone just said, hey, would you like to help plant a church in Africa? Yes. You need to pray on that? I mean, I will. But yes. Yes. We're in. I mean, even if we don't go over there, we'll figure out some financial support or whatever. Whatever you need, you let us know. We'll do what we can to help. Yeah. So there's certain things where we step and pray at the same time. And there's other things that that we don't wanna do that we will pray on

and see if the Lord convinces us that we should go. Not to say that you get to cut your own trail and just and and and ask for the Lord's blessing as you go. But to a certain extent, all the things that you've ever said, look, I just need to pray on that and see where that leads me. I bet half of those, you don't wanna do at all. Zero, you don't wanna do it. Right. And and and the Lord would literally have to drop a rock on you for you to go, alright. Fine. Yeah. So so maybe the maybe the right thing is this, is that, Lord, for protection of your people and for the strength of your word and the honoring of your character, we're begging you to send a prophet, and we need you to make it as clear as it can be as a sandwich on a plate if that's to be us. Yeah.

And then am I willing to see it? Because, like, there are some things where, like, frankly, I don't I don't wanna take it in. It is it is a broad point thing. It's like we we will spend are we call maybe that's a good question. It's like the great commission was not nothing in there was to police the body. Right? It's it's it's Christ's body and it's his to police. And so maybe the thought is irrelevant. Right? But, like, there are plenty of, scriptures that that reference false teachers and and and and whatever. But not not that god's not that god can be stopped through a false teacher. So The advocation you know what the advocation is? Is Paul's warning Christians.

This goes back to the point you were making, which was Which was good before I rambled. Well, even even a few weeks ago when I was talking about the John Chris thing is that, like, like, I I I think you're worried how it came off. But the broad point of as people who follow Jesus, we do have to have discernment. Like, just because someone says they're a pastor doesn't mean they're doesn't mean they're a legit pastor. And far from me, I'm not a guy I'm not a credentials man. I don't require you that you've gone to certain level of schooling or something, but you do need to faithfully love and follow Jesus and bear witness to his life. And, like,

if you can't if if if that's not who, then you're gone. Just you're you're out. There are structures in place to try to say, hey, kick the pastor out or elders who are supposed to be stepping in. But, like, as a follower of Jesus, if you get the weird tingly, it's okay to bail, man. Yeah. It's perfectly fine to bail. And, like, I do I individual Christians, you are responsible for that. You're responsible for the podcast you download. You're responsible for the Christian books that you take in. Like, some guys are, like, really firm on, like, the types of books they want people reading, and and there's pastors that'll tell you that. I generally won't go that far, but, like, I need you to be real clear that, like, not everything's what the lord made and rejoice to be glad in it. It's not. And so, like, there's stuff on Christian books on bookshelves and Christian stores that you shouldn't dream of reading. It's bogus, and you shouldn't and you shouldn't read it. And I'm not getting rid of the prayers of JBS, Ben. JBS is out. I love prayers of JBS. It's this is it's one of so, like, I I think this is the problem is oh, and I almost had a I almost had a pope style with this, but I cannot land. It's a ten minute ramble, and that's the best I got on this particular topic because it it encompasses probably 50% of what we talked about this past year. It encompasses the the reactions to the president. It encompasses all these things, which is we live in a time of nuance.

You cannot paint with broad strokes, and, I fully support. I fully reject. Well, he's the pastor. I should obey. It doesn't work like that. If he's not if he's not a faithful pastor, then no. You get to bail. He should he should be watching over me. Yes. He should. You still have to watch out for yourself. Elders should be doing the job. Yes. It's okay to keep an eye on those types of people and make sure they're doing the work. We live in a a fallen world. And so, like, if if anything feels like you found the the great niche of life firmly on side a or side b, I'm telling you you're mistaken. And it's not because there isn't firm truth. It's because it isn't as clear as that. We live in a murky, muddy bog of a place. And, like, nothing is gonna nothing is simple except for the love and justice of Christ. That's it. Past that, everything, as soon as it involves people, it's not gonna be clear. And you have to be willing to live in nuance. You have to be willing to say, I'd I'd be willing to to, that there are people I I was thinking about this on some someone was saying on the radio on the way here.

I have to be willing to say there are people who are homeless who want to be. They wanna be, and your help is allowing them to perpetuate a life of which you shouldn't be helping them perpetuate, and it's wrong to give them money. And in the same breath, you should be able to say, there are people who ended up in a circumstance that they fought to stay out of, or they made mistakes, and they're trying to get out of them, they just don't have the means. There's a dude I know who's he he's got out of got out of jail, and he can't register his car because of his fines. What kind of position now here's the deal. I understand what we're after here. But, like, what kind of position you put in someone who gets out of prison, owes,

I don't know, $5 or something because they've been in jail, and they can't register car? Now what are they gonna have trouble doing? Getting to a job. Are are we cranking the right screws here? I know what we're after, but I don't think we're cranking the right screws. And so, like, can I in in both breaths say, yeah? It's both. Both of those situations exist. There's people that need help. There's people I shouldn't help, and they're gonna look exactly the same. And a lot of the problem we have comes from our attempt to administrate things too high a level where we can't actually know the difference. Right? We want this is why the government can't do it well. They have to paint with a broad brush. They don't have any choice. Right? It's like every public school where you got 30 kids in the class. You cannot you cannot give them individual plans. It's impossible. And right? So they have to do their very best to paint with a broad brush. And you're gonna feel imperfect on the kid that's not getting enough attention, and you're gonna feel like, oh my I feel like my kid should should get way more or bogged down with homework. You're never gonna feel right. Now take that same concept, apply it to the government trying to help every homeless person and to do things to help make sure people are getting medical care and budgets are being spent to make sure everyone's heritage is honored. Like, whatever it is, you ain't gonna feel right because it can't be done at that big level. It's too broad of a brush. This is why Christianity is local. It's a local deal. The the minute we start pushing it to higher and higher up, you recognize the fallibility of trying to make distinctions that are incapable of making. And it starts introducing risks that, like, don't exist if you're shaking hands with people and looking them in the face and having dinner with them and praying over them over church. And so if if we can grasp this at a local level, we don't have those problems. Now us trying to police a man with panties on face or face on panties x states away introduces all kinds of risks. Not being completely ineffective and a waste of the Lord's time and money is paramount.

That's one of them. It should be at a local level, and maybe they're doing it, and maybe we don't even see it. Right. Maybe they're trying. But the thing is, you you know what makes the news? The guy with his face on pair of pair of underpants. That's the best I can do in four minutes. I couldn't make a fine point, though. It's just a screed. It's a long rant about something. It's because it's a nuanced. Alright. He gets to live another day. No buzz. I think we're watching. I think there's more. I think I I'm I here's it always seems risky to me because I believe it. If I say, Lord, send a prophet that way. And if it'd be me, make it clear to me. I'm always like, Lord, don't do it. Don't do it. Don't make it me. I don't even know what I would say. So so once again,

defining it down a little bit closer, like, the thing that this man is doing, like, not reading too far into whatever he's got going, it's just stupid. Almost laughable stupid. Yeah. It's comical. It's comical. Right? But, like, take that same problem and then reel it back to the three other things we talked about this year where pastors were behaving abhorrently. Mhmm. And it just you just kinda let it go. Right? Like, the the church just let it happen. Yeah. Yeah. Same truth, though. Right?

Because, you know, while we're on this bus tour, we need to go talk to Drisco too. Right. I mean, we're well, we can't stop at underpants, man. Yes. He fired up his ministry again. You know? Or the next guy. I mean, mean, there's all Well, every guy we said wasn't qualified for ministry. They're all out doing it. Yeah. What do you do here? I I here's the deal. I don't know. I I think I I I don't think I don't think it's fair to be like, well, we we can't do anything. Come, lord Jesus. No. True. Don't know. True. But when's the last time that, like like, during your time with god, you actually prayed for the renewal

of his entire body? Right? Like, who said that really well? I think it was a letter to the letter to the churches. Oh, Chan. Chan. Chan. He it's it's a great book anyway. Right? But, like like, one of the he he was completely talking about reforming the way that most, you know, organized

American churches run to be a little bit more organic. And, like, some people who think they need to be in leadership probably need to be out. And some of the people that believe that they're that that know that they're called but don't wanna do it because they're scared need to be in. And, like and and and so, like, it's but I spend no time praying on that. I'm I'm too self centered. Mhmm. Right? Like me and maybe the five people around me. I'm like, lord, watch these people. You know? But as far as principles go, I I mean, I'm not affecting change in South Carolina. So

is it weird to not devote any prayer time to the churches in South Carolina? Probably not. No. I'm because I'm not willing to get involved in that or I'm not involved in it. And so it seems, you know, boisterous. Am thinking of? Arrogant. Arrogant. Right? Like, now that I've mentioned South Carolina churches, the lord will step in. Right? That seems arrogant. So I I don't know. I I know that that we're probably not gonna land on the thing because I don't think there is the thing. But I do know that that

I am, a, not willing to get involved with just about anything. And so why that's why this conversation is coming up again is because my willingness to get involved with anything, which I think is a symptom amongst a lot of Christ followers, is it's sad. Right? I cannot confidently say that the Lord asked me to get involved in something and I did it, or he asked me to get involved in something and I didn't do it. So is it odd to me that the lord doesn't speak about me getting involved in anything? Yes. That's not right. That seems odd. That does seem odd. For a man that prays and and and asks the lord with with with weeping and gnashing of teeth, lord, I just wanna further your kingdom. Show me where to go. And god stands with his back to me and goes, I have nothing of concern today, Mike. Go about your life. That doesn't seem right. Right. So so point that to a more individual problem maybe across Christ churches like, are you even asking? You know? Is somebody asking? Or am I asking? Is Mike does Mike ask? So so I think it goes back then to is one, where

where it's local, we gotta stop. We should be stopping. I should be willing to talk to the guy across the street. If I expect the Tennessee man to do it, I'm gonna talk to the man across the street. He's just a dude, baptizing babies or otherwise. I'm probably gonna talk to him. And that's saying in the in the hierarchy of the world, he holds a he holds

a pastoral position at a church. In the in the body of Christ, he's the elbow. I'm the finger. I'll come over. Right? I'll see you through the arm. Right? I don't have a problem stopping because I'm the guy who follows Christ here. I don't care how many medics you got or how many well meaning Samaritans are there. There can always be a Christ follower in a situation. It never hurts to have God's voice or God's words or God's heart in any situation. So it should take all fear and precaution out. It doesn't matter what's going on or who's there. And if he chucks you, he says, no. I think the Lord has blessed these panties. He's like, dude, I'm telling you. Right. It's not. I pray I pray this bends bends in the way of the Lord for you. And here's the thing. And Joe And I'll let you go. Because if he says, oh, no. I've if he Davids it and goes, oh, no. I have done this, and it is wrong. But I would like to we'd to repent. If you Nathan him and he Davids, then we're good. That's true. That's a great example. That's true. David did do it. But now, you know, if I look think of my the examples in the book of Revelation. Right? Warning. Warning. Warning. Warning. No repentance. No repentance. No repentance. One time. One time in the book of Revelation, does anybody repent on all these things going on around him. And yet,

he still calls them to repentance. And so the thing that guy that goes back to the thing. I don't know if I can do anything because, like, I don't care. I expect you to go and do the thing and say the thing. And then if they chuck you, they chuck you. That's It's me they hate, not you. What do you care? Go. I do care. Dang it. I think that's the deal. I don't wanna be yelled at, especially a guy who baptized babies. You know what saying, Dan? Dan, give me a amen. That's right. I mean, you serious what I mean, do you really wanna go to the Episcopal church down the road and cause a bunch of stir with your non with your open bible philosophies or whatever you bring in over there? No. You don't wanna cause no rifts. They got their people. We got our people. We're not having a big fight. Whatever. We're fine. We coexist. Right? But as soon as you walk in there and go, hey, Phil, the panty thing. Look, man. We follow the same king, and I'm just getting that this is not the king following vibe. You wanna talk for a minute? Right? Nobody wants to do that because no one want no one wants to bring drama in. Drama comes on its own. Right? Like, there's enough parishioners in your church and enough people that attend your church with broken families and wayward kids and addictions and all kinds of crap that you're dealing with as a pastor anyway that you shoulder you attempt to give to God, but it stays, you know. And then you wanna create more by picking a fight with Episcopal men. No. Nobody wants to do that. That doesn't mean you don't get to. Doesn't mean you don't have to. It just means you don't want to because it sounds terrible. No one wants to be John the baptizer yelling at everybody. No. It sucks. No.

No. And I don't know. I think it's I think it's too shallow to be like, well, I don't feel like God has called me to this thing. I just like, here's what general philosophies. I think the the ways of Jesus were, are called upon everybody. I I think the things that we do wanna do, we're like, yes, I do it because Jesus did it. The things we don't wanna do, we're like, yeah, he didn't give me a personal call for this particular thing. Correct. I'm not saying he doesn't do that. I'm just saying just be mindful of it's a pretty normal human behavior to be like, well, I need real some real firm on this thing I don't wanna do, but I just need a slightly open door with some cheesecake on the other end for this thing that I really wanna get in Right. I I mean and just just looking at the and maybe this is a created in my mind characterization of the man. But do you feel like before John the Baptist opened up his big bearded mouth towards king Herod

that he said, lord, I need a direct call on my life that I should mouth off to Herod in his sinful ways? He doesn't ring that way. Right? He rings like he's baptizing people, yelling repentance, and goes, and by another thing. Herod Right. While we're on the subject? Let's tidy this up. I gotta head up the temple. Right. I you know, I've maybe the the broad brush thing. I can't believe this silly man has produced such a discussion. But, like, broad brush thing, I think we're just flat out afraid of people. Or or we don't wanna Or conflict. Or Yeah. Well, here's the thing. And this goes back to, I think, little bit, Dana, what you were talking about. Like, no one wants to jump into what feels like a losing war or a war that you feel like you don't even belong in. Right. Like, I mean, who wants to do that? Hey. It's like it's like seeing two a couple fighting somewhere, and you're gonna step in and mediate. That's dope. You should be careful. Like the failed revolutionary Jesus you're saying.

There's a there's a 150 other churches in within 20 miles of us. I could spend my entire life going from church to church saying, here's why you're wrong because you're not like me. And I got give them verses and they'd give me verses and we'd sit there and fight over it. Okay. So that's the thing. It's like, I don't know that we're talking about I mean, is is the face on the underpants it's a doctrinal issue. That's not giving a verse on that. That's what I'm saying. It's like, there there Christians might have more grace in this area. I think there's there's Christians who, I think, are fighting for what they believe to be true, and it's not it's not they're not fighting their own personal ground. They're just reading scriptures coming across different to them in their tradition than where you're at. I find that different than a guy I don't I don't see any verse that he could possibly justify his face on a pair of underpants. This is the guy going, we believe in the authority of scripture. Where we're coming out as a result of that is different. This is a guy who's in it for himself.

I I and frankly, I think it seems like he's running a risk of manipulating, using it as a as a proving ground for perversion. And I'm saying, I I find that different because they're not justifying it. They're just trying to hide it. Okay. But then let let's knock out the churches that that are honestly seeking scripture. There's those who just don't believe in the scripture, but they still call themselves the church. Yeah. Yeah. So that's that's it's And they're open about not believing in the bible or Christ. Yeah. So the the question is is is so this is where Dan makes a an entirely salient point. There's so many, many hours in the day here. Yeah. You're gonna end up at every church again or or again, every door. Good luck finding me. I'm a house church. But I'm I'm still talking about stuff that you may or may not disagree. I'll find you. Me and my goons. Could see if it please me. Yeah. House church has gotta be two or three. Thing, Dan. Does the holy spirit lead you? Because then you would go. It's a rub. Hey. Here's the deal. I'd put this record on the playlist and let it spin a little bit every once in a while and just listen to it and see whether it's telling you something.

I think that's the right reaction to it. I I don't know that I'm leaving here thinking this is gonna be my soundtrack for the year. But I'm saying, you pull it off the shelf and you better let it spin. Because I there there might be something in there. Yeah. Because there there are guys that I know who are preachers that just give me the creep factor, but I I can't go up to them. I mean, I I can't be like, here's here's the verse. Here's here's where you creep me out. They just give me the creep factor. Oh, yeah. Well, I I don't know that they're putting their face on on a I feel like I would find that extremely refreshing. You know what I'm saying? Like, just to witness a guy walk up to a pastor and go, I gotta be honest, friend. This this whole thing doesn't smell like Jesus to me. Can will you pray with me? Because there's there's just something funky here. And once again, if you Nathan the man and he Davids, I think we're good. I think we go to we we take the whole thing to the throne and go, king Jesus, what say you? Give me peace about this creepster or convict him that something's wrong. But, like, if he shies away and be like, no, ain't gonna pray about that, then he's a legit creep. You just settled it right there. Yeah.

Isn't that the isn't that the deal? It's like at the other end of some some tragedy, whether it be in the church or outside, everyone looks back and goes, oh, I had the the signs were there. Yeah. But they but, like, no one no one wants to be the guy that says, look, you might be it's the same thing with there's there's people that that take their lives, you're like, boy, I just I saw it. I saw it. And the signs and, like, no one wants to be the guy that goes, hey, dude. Are you feeling like you might do this thing? Because they're like, I don't wanna introduce it, and I don't wanna be the guy who was thinking negatively of them, and now I might push them over one way or the other. Or are you thinking about no. We remember we talked about this when we were talking about the guy who might have attraction to kids when we talk about the church thing. And we were like, hey, man. It's alright to be the guy who goes, hey. I need to I need to ask. Are you attracted to children? Like, no one wants to be the guy who goes, that guy accused me of finding kids attractive. Right. Because if you're wrong, you look terrible. But here's the thing. I don't if you at all feel like it's justified, I I don't Right? I'm worried about looking bad, and the consequence is they're attracted to children. So, I mean, I feel like I'm willing to sacrifice me looking bad to to just throw throw an arrow out. Oh, this empowers every jerk I've ever met in the church, don't it? Yeah. Mean, here's the thing. Like, the the guys who are totally willing to do this are always the wrong guys. Yeah. Right? They're always the wrong fellas. That disqualifies me. That means I can't go to any of these. That's great. I won't prey on it.

Yeah. The the guys that already don't have any boundaries. Yeah. You know? And it's and so they're yeah. So shoot. So we get This is it's conundrum a that doesn't stop, man. Here's the thing, though, is I think I think the presence of this tug this this push and pull here probably tells you you you could be the rude right dude for this. Right? Because if you don't have this tug, if you're like, heck, yeah, I'll do it anyway. I'll be that guy's house tomorrow. I'll tell his wife. Okay. You're wrong. You're the wrong guy to do it. You have no humble heart, and you're likely going on some kind of weird crusade. Right? But if you're like, oh, man. I I know what this is gonna feel like. And I I hate really hate to be wrong. But in light of the fact that God's name has to be honored here, I'm willing to say this thing to anybody. And, like, get get rid of, Tennessee man. Now look now we're talking about your friends or the guy who's not a good husband, and you don't wanna make him mad. Or the people in your church who's been you know, you've known him for thirty years and you're like, boy, I just don't wanna bring this up. But dang it. It's that. It's that stuff. And, like, yeah, you're you gotta be the guy that says it. Says this is not gonna work out. This we need to talk through this. Like, god be glorified, the truth should be told, and we'll both be free on it. Let's do it. And once again, if they rich young ruler leave, then you go Dang. Right? If they David, then we're good. Right?

Yeah. I mean, you're not weeping more than Jesus is weeping, and so let's let's at least put your your skin in the game as to what it is. So really, at the end of the day, I think we're just talking about a fear of a lot of things. And we're just talking about looking at fear and going, look, you know, this is not something that of of of people consequence, of personal consequence or whatever. Like, these are all fear based things. And that's the reason we don't wanna get involved in just about anything. And it's misappropriated fear. Like, ultimately, do I have all of Yahweh or don't I? Where where he says, hey, I want you to do this thing and I'm like, I don't really want to. I'm obviously fearing something else. And and that that goes for even the people having to make a nuance. Hey. If I don't make this nuance in this position, the people from my political party, right or left, the people from my church are gonna be upset. And, boy, I just don't know if I wanna shield it. And Lord's like, it's the the nuance is the truth. So do you fear me or not? Do you have awe of me and my lines, or you serving some other type of line of which you don't wanna get involved in x, y, or z? And, like, to the extent that we don't have a proper, awe, wonder, and fear of Yahweh,

then we get entangled in all this crapola. Okay. We're not going down there. That's the end of that. No. Diplock it. Okay. If he visits here, though, we're gonna talk to him. Here's the deal. You want me see if he wants to come on the show? Oh, I kinda really do.

Look, man. We just you give us the creepsters. Tell me any any type of of of of god glory or you joy that is coming here. He try but here's the deal. I I think Dan's point is right that, I mean, he thrives off this kind of thing. Like, a guy like that's looking for attention. And here's the thing. The guy the people that pick this story up are just wanting people to click on it. It's like, oh, that's outrageous. Yeah. Here's thing. We all agree that's outrageous. That's why you read it. If it looked like, oh, local pastor baptizes three, no one reads that because they're like, yeah. That's not what he's supposed to do. Yeah. When it says local pastor puts face on underpants, you're like, what the flying crap is that? And so you click on it, which generally means you don't need probably don't need to waste your energy protesting this Jack and Apes because everyone knows it's wrong. That's why it's in the news. Yeah. The only people who are trying to treat this as if it's normal are the people that hate the church anyway or the people looking for an excuse to say, yes. See, that's why I don't do that.

Well, okay, broad brush friend. This obviously isn't the reality here. Yeah. True. So True. We probably I don't think we have to chase every every doofus, which unfortunately, though, puts you back in the realm of talking about reasonable but but wrong things that people believe. And, like so and so now I think about this. I've had this conversation with a guy within the last six months who is in leadership at a church of different I'm not really a denomination, but, like, he's in a different, he is in a domination. And there's just things that that, like, his domination and what I believe just we don't agree.

And we talked about it. And I said, look. I just don't it doesn't sniff right to me. Can you help me with where biblically this is coming from? And he walked through it, and the truth is, and I think this is probably true for more than one person in his domination, he's like, I'm not I'm not seeing it myself. Like Mhmm. He goes, I I and I'm not frankly, I'm not sure what it's gonna mean because we look around and we say there's so many good things that are that we're doing. We know we're serving Jesus in these things, but, like, this thing, he's like, I just don't I don't know. He goes, I I'm not sure. And so I said, okay. I had a reasonable conversation with a guy who's trying to follow Jesus, and he's trying to sort it out, and he's open to being changed. And I'm like and and and I said, look. I I'm I'm open to being wrong here. I just it just has to come with some sense of authority beyond here's what I think. Because that's what I'm asking, and that's what I I assume that's probably what you're after too. It's like, yeah. That's what I want too. And so I mean, I mean, I nobody shifted lanes. Uh-huh. But, I mean, we had a reasonable conversation of two people who love Jesus who just fundamentally disagree on a fairly hot button item.

So okay. Where were we at? Good night. Let's see what we can pick up here. What are okay. Here we go. This is from Christianity Today. New Year's Day brings with it some interesting traditions. People in Romania wear bear costumes and dance around. In Scotland, they make balls from wire and paper, light them on fire, and swing them while walking through the streets. Seems dangerous. In Italy, people throw pots, pans, and old furniture from their windows as the clock strikes midnight. In Turkey, they wear red underwear to bring luck to their loved ones.

In Latin America, people wear red red underwear if they're looking for love and green underwear if they're looking if they're seeking wealth. What's with this underpants thing? Is it I make zero investment in my underpants. No. I guess as long as it covers my goods, I I I pretty much call that Yeah. Satisfactory. I'm like, hey. Those look clean. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Out the door. One of the most ancient New Year's resolute, customs has to do with resolutions. Babylonians apparently began this tradition four thousand years ago. They vowed to return borrowed farm equipment. If I have borrowed your tractor, I promise to return it this year. Doesn't that mean stole it? Yeah. I feel like you stole it. The Christians just wait for the jubilee. They say, well, you got forty six more years to go, friend. Oh, man. Oh, okay. I'm gonna let that go. Sorry. Statistic brain, Brain Research Institute has compiled some interesting facts regarding New Year's resolutions.

Forty five percent of Americans usually make New Year's resolutions. That seems kinda low. Yeah. I I thought most people do it. Now I something. So You think people give it up as they get older and go, look. Man, this thing's failed. I ain't going to do it. Three times. I'm Yeah. I don't know. I've been embarrassed the last two days. I've been thinking about it. It's like, hey. Here comes the New Year. It's like, crap. It's the same resolution I've had. Like, it's like, how how pathetic is that? That is pathetic. Right. Wear red underpants. Yeah. I'll go for green this year. So I I I I did the same thing. I was looking back on a list that I made two years ago. I'm like, uh-huh. Yep.

Shoot. Lots of lots of repeats. Yeah. I mean yeah. Yeah. At what point do you say, hey. I've grown a little bit. Yeah. I've grown as a human being. Made a little progress. In the wrong direction, But I'm certainly Well, so I in vain of that, only 8% are successful in achieving them. This imply these these don't work.

Like, as a whole, can't we just say, oh, man. Shoot. I almost had another post sale. Here's here's the thing that I could oh, you you remember I did a segment one time called things I could do without? Yeah. Dang it. I it's on my list of things to bring back. Because I was thinking about this last week. Things I could do without is refusing to concede a small point because you're the person who always look like, yes, but it applies all the time. So you find this during Christmas. Hey, man. We should we should be kind to people. We should take food to to the needy because it's Christmas. Yeah. I let's can we just agree that that's okay? Now granted, someone's always gonna sail in from left field and go, we should be kind to the needy all the time. Of which then I would say, yes. Isn't Christmas encompassed in all the time? Yes. Then let's give to the needy now. This is fine. And so I the the I've I've noticed this, start showing up in, responses to Christian teaching.

So, like, people will go listen to a sermon somewhere or, like, a topic of a of a blog post or something, And immediately, what they do is they go, yes. I understand what this author is saying or what this pastor is saying. However, we really should be doing it all the time. And, like because a lot of times what people are trying to do, and pastor specifically, is they're trying to get you to hone in on something so that you can you can place a marker there and say, look. At this as of this point, I'm gonna focus on this one thing. Mhmm. And as I focus on this one thing, I will see it start to cascade into the rest of my life. But it it does require that I'm not below the ocean here, that I focus on this one thing. And so, you know, as a church, look, we're gonna do we're gonna focus on this thing for three months, and it's gonna be we're gonna remind ourselves. We're gonna post the scripture. We're gonna put in the bulletin. But then people are like, oh, well, I see you focusing on marriage, but doesn't that apply to all our relationships? And what about divorced relationships? And, ultimately, I think this points us back to our relationship with God. And we're like, yes. Of course, it does that. But can we not agree that the the thing that we were focusing on was actually okay too? Like, it was okay. Because what happens at the on New Year's resolutions, we're like, oh, why do we have to wait for the New Year? Like, you don't. Everyone knows you don't. But it does work, or, like, where it does give you the opportunity. Yeah. It does not work, apparently. Only for what? 8%? Yeah. For 8%. This is their bandwagon.

Yes. Yes. It's the New Year. Oh, I better come up with something. I better do something. Yeah. But I but here's the thing. Is it like, I I I remember hearing someone talk about it. They're like, hey. You know, it's don't don't set New Year's resolutions. Like, you you can change your life anytime you wanna change your life. I'm like, yes. I totally agree. Doesn't New Year's count? Isn't that an anytime? Yeah. Because if I can pick anytime, what's the matter with that one? Nothing. Then go ahead and do that. If you're thinking about it now, this is a good time. Yeah. So I could yes. So I could do without people completely rejecting the micro story they can show that they're smarter than everyone else by telling you a macro story even if both are true. Alright? It doesn't make you look smart.

It makes you look arrogant. And let's just say, hey. Let people focus on stuff. It's fine. It's perfectly fine. Right. However, 49 Yeah. I'm totally guilty of that thing Mitch just said. That's what I'm saying. And here's the here's the thing, though. It's right, and I know it's right. You Nathaned me. Yes. But

and I think there's probably a time for it. I'm just saying if that's you all the time but, actually, this is what usually people use to bounce off of having to engage in the mind in the in the place. They don't wanna engage in this one. So the way they say no is by saying yes to everything instead of yes to this one thing, and that that that should stop. Okay. I do this at work a lot. This is where it's really pinning me down is they'll someone will show up and be like, hey, Mike. We did this thing or whatever. I'm like, yeah. But what about this other big thing that I asked you to do whatever? Don't go back to me till this is till this has been I don't care about what piddly thing you've done or what the big thing handled. Think about what you do with those kids. Right? Like, kid this happens with your relationship with your kids. It's like you asked for this one thing and, like, they've done 10% of it or something. And they're like, okay. I got that done.

And I I could be wrong, but I feel like sometimes we're like, okay. Great. Where's did you finish everything I asked you to do? Shoot. Now here's the thing. It's okay to go, hey. That's great, man. I'm glad you got your bed made. How's it coming on the rest of your room? That's okay. Okay. Now so hold on. Now I got now we gotta put it in perspective because now I'm feeling super guilty. The kids go, hey, dad. I got the room clean. I go, okay. And then they'll look at me and go, well, it's not dad clean. I'm like, what do you mean? No. That's not the same thing. That's not the same thing. What do you mean it ain't dad clean? What is there food on the floor? Yeah. It's not dad clean. Why you come look at it? I said, why you clean it right the first time so I don't have to come up there twice? No. All fine. That's like saying I made the bed, and really what you did was just put a sleeping bag over the top of it and then left the everything else messed up. That's doing the thing wrong. Dan, did I tell her to tell you that that Ben and I invented the neat sheet in high school? It's basically like a sheet, like a fitted sheet with a sheet sewn on top of it so you never had to make the bed. Then you it's like a you know, it's open at the bottom so you can kick your feet out, but then otherwise, the sheet never gets crumpled up. You just kinda slide into it. It's like a permanent sleeping bag. Yeah. Yeah. It didn't take off. No. We got beat out by Matt Whitmer who invented a spaghetti fork that it you just turn the handle. Like, the fork sticks in the spaghetti, and all you do is turn the handle and it winds up. I thought like his uncle's Ron Papille. Yeah. That's really unfair. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. That's yeah. Yeah. Alright. Forty nine percent, have at least oh, wait. Eight percent are successful. Forty nine percent have at least infrequent success. That's all wait a minute. Half of eight percent are successful. Half people

succeed but infrequently. And only twenty four per twenty four percent never succeed in fulfilling their resolution each year. Here's a fact I found particularly interesting. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions. This data makes no sense to me. Eight percent succeed, but you're 10 times more likely to succeed when you set them? This is blowing my mind. Oh, yeah. Okay. I'm gonna finish it. I'm gonna assume that his premise is correct. Don't trust So it's a clearly a good idea to have goals whether they take the form of New Year's resolutions Yeah. Or What should ours be? I feel like he just wanted to tell the back half of this article and should have just started there. According to a 2016

survey by Money Magazine, the most popular New Year's resolutions were okay. Here we go. Mike, let's do it. What's the what's the feud? It's the feud. It's the family feud. The Mike Foose versus the Dan Hudsons. Okay. Top answer, wait. Hold on. 1234. Top six answers are on the board. Six answers. Mike, most popular New Year's resolutions? Lose weight. Okay. And, Dan.

That's all that matters. I will go to We're running out of smokers, Dan. It can't be the smoking. What was it? That'd be a good one. Yeah. Quit smoking. Quit smoking. Okay. Only smokers make New Year's resolutions. I mean, I it gotta we gotta be down to, like, eight percent of the population smokes. Survey says lose weight is the number three answer. Oh. Three? Number three answer.

Smoking, not didn't make the list. Oh. You my my first answer was eat better. Mike, do you wanna pass or play? I would like pass to Dan for pure comedy reasons. Okay. Alright, Dan. What what's what's the next one on the list? Wow. Wait. What's number three? Save more money.

Ding. That was answer four. Save more, spin less. Oh, which I There's a nuance to that one, but that you got that one. That's number four. What's the next answer? You gotta keep going. You have to finish the board or Mike wins. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Okay. So eat healthier. That was oh, you know what? I'll give you that one. That's number two. Live a healthier lifestyle. Okay. That was number two. Does that count exercise?

Yes. Okay. Yeah. So you got hold on. You got three more. Boy. Spend more time with family. Oh, Dan Nerlo. That's number five. Spend more time with family and friends. Dang. Okay. Dan's got two That's great. It just came. He's got two left to go. One of them with the people. One is related to one that you said already. Had to do with the the healthy eating. Right? I'm not I'm not at liberty to speak of it.

Related to it. So pretty pretty wide. I'm not allowed to see. It's a survey. I'm looking deep into your eyes. To to eat to, gosh, two less

sweets. No. That's not on the list. You got you got two more chances or you lose. Oh, okay. To eat more vegetables. Lose. Oh, wait. One more. Okay. So to I already said more time with family. Right? Mhmm. Yep. Yep. Yep. To to to to

take a vacation. That's that's three wrong. Mike wins the game. So the two remaining ones the points go to Mike. Two remaining ones. The sixth answer, sixth survey says pay down debt. Oh, duh. Yeah. Pay down debt. And then everybody missed the number one answer, which is very wishy washy. Enjoy life to the fullest. Oh. How do you know when you did that? Yeah. Tell me that's in Acuff's book. Yeah. I mean That's a win every day. I love life. Yes. Check.

Okay. I still think none of this is part of the list. No. This I'm getting angry now. I'm getting a bus tour. You can't control how people answer the survey. I'm going to everybody's house. What did you mean?

Okay. So the article continues. How many of them focus on us? How many on others? How many on God? What New Year's resolutions does our father want us to make? I always find these very iffy. See what he says. As I prayed about that question, a passage came immediately to mind. Let's explore together and see how it can guide us into God's best plan and purpose for us in the New Year. He didn't say a chapter came to mind, Ben. Oh, he's gonna get them. I'm ready for a context to debate. Alright. On Tuesday of holy week, Jesus was teaching in the temple area where his enemies lined up to debate him. In two days, Jesus will be betrayed, and three, he will be crucified. So it is that the pharisees gathered together to plot against our lord. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law? Let's understand the strict question. The Jewish authorities counted 248 positive commandments as many as the members of the body and 365 negative commands, one for every day of the year. For a total of is that true for that calendar? That wasn't true for the Jewish calendar, don't think. I don't remember. I I'm just saying you you're stretching. That's pithy. Yeah. For a total of 613, as many as the Hebrew letters,

of the 10 commandments. But we're really stretching now. Boy. This he sounds like an end of the world, doesn't he? Alright. Which which is most important? If Jesus chooses one, he'll be accused of denigrating the others. I mean, Moses Jesus turns the debate into a proclamation for the ages. Here we find God's two resolutions for our lives. The first, and he said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. Love translates agape, the unconditional commitment to place the other person first. Is not a feeling, but a decision, a lifestyle. In this case, it's choosing to honor God in all you do to put him first in every dimension of your life. In Jewish theology, your heart is the will for your practical dimension. Your soul is your I don't care about all this. Yeah. Jesus tells us to look he's My will. He's blathering on. Me and this guy get along. Jesus tells us to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Put him first with your decisions, your attitudes, and your thoughts. There's to be no part of your life that is not his, no part where you do not value him first. Seek relationships with him first to please him first. Okay. Agree. Imagine a world where everyone sought to please God with every thought, decision, and attitude. That's God's God's intention for our culture today. The second resolution,

and the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commands, depend all the law and prophets. We are to agape our neighbors, the next person we meet, as much as we do ourselves. What does this mean? We have an instinct for self preservation. We must seek the preservation and good of that person as we do for ourselves. We tend to excuse our own mistakes. After all, we know what we meant to say or do. We must do the same for others. We think first about how this will affect us. We must think first how this will affect our neighbor. Imagine a world where everyone, loved their neighbor as themselves. That's God's intention for our culture today. So, generally speaking, okay. I agree. Mike, how are you feeling? Just god god says, put this on your resolution lift list. Love love god more than that. Yeah. I mean, here's the thing. This is the this is the crux of the Christian existence, unless it's different for other people than it is for me. But, like, I will I will go through half my day and go, dang it. I forgot to include the Lord in, like, whatever I've done up to this point. Mhmm. Right? I remember this morning when I was praying, I was I was good to go. Right? And then I left the house and stopped and got something at the gas station, and then someone had a conversation with me. And then here we are three hours there. I'm like, oh, dang. I I I I should have submitted half of this to the Lord, and I I I did not do that. Shoot. Okay. Fire up again. We'll start over. Big reset. Right? So so

that covers that covers the first one. Right? Love the lord your god with all your heart, all your right. Like, that's the struggle. Right? That's that's the whole thing. The whole thing of your Christian reality is that. And then the second one, I I struggle with in in common sense terms. Right? Like, if it's taking it just on its face to love your neighbor as yourself and to put their needs before yours, you will find yourself quickly not having the ability to help anyone because you have gotten taken all your all your ability to care for yourself and others and and gotten rid of it. And then you have nothing.

You can't offer someone a home, a room in your house if the room doesn't exist. Right? And so if you treat it if you take everybody else and then take care of them over you, then you live in a one room shanty and everyone else around you lives in a well equipped house. That I don't under I don't understand the practical applications. Mhmm. Mhmm. Like, where the where where where the lines are, where the reasonable lines are. Right. Right? I can't lend a guy a car if I don't have a spare car. If I don't have if I and I can only get the spare car by buying the car with money that I didn't give to somebody else. Yeah. See, think of the think of the good Samaritan.

He didn't take him back to his place. He put him up in a hotel for a while Mhmm. And said when he's I'll pay for it until he's till he's it has to go. That's that's that's generous. Yeah. Certainly generous. But it he didn't put him up in his own house. Right. And the lord and lord Jesus didn't go, you selfish bastards. Right. I can't believe this is what you've done. You've ruined my parable. Yeah. So I I guess what I'm saying is is, like, and maybe I should have waited till the end of the article. But what what I'm getting at is is the two things that you just nailed on are the two things that that that I'm I'm already attempting to define my life by and struggling. I think everybody know like, I guess that's the thing. It's like, hey. These are the two resolutions we want. I I get it. Like, to make sure that you've you've included the things that really matter in the list of things that you're trying to move. I totally understand that.

It's not revolutionary, really. Like, like yeah. I mean, if you are literally battling whether to buy the second Corvette, I feel like you and God's heart aren't aligned anyway. Right? If you're trying to decide whether you should sell your place and give it to somebody else and you'll just downsize because that's the right move, I feel like you're already thinking in the way that Yahweh operates. And now we're just talking about nuanced decisions that the Lord that you can deal with in prayer. Right? Like, is this really the thing? Right? Like, you're right. It's the tug. It's the push and the pull. Right? Like, are we really doing the right thing? I I I gotta source this out through God and and blah blah blah. Right? But, like, I mean, if you're if you're the guy that's like, this year, I wanna make more money and so I can have it, so it could be so I could store up treasures in this world. Well, mean, here's the thing. And I wanna build some barns. Yeah. I'll have some silos that, want. You know? And I'd like the balls to have something to eat after I'm gone. You're not following the lord anyway. You know? Actually, so I think now now that now that you've said that out loud, if if you feel like a push, like a tug on your life on those types of things, I I think there is there is something very good about that because it says, I I'm relying on the lord here to have to tell me. I don't know. And not not because, like, it can't be known, but because we're saying, if it were up to my my human heart doesn't quite know where to land, and I recognize that. I'm sowing, god. What what am I supposed to do here? How do you want me to to to suss this thing out?

How how should I handle this particular situation? It's it's a it's a Makira, it's it's it's a happy is the is the person who knows they rely they need to rely on god. God. Right? It's a beatitude. So look. I'm relying on you to help provide direction on things of which my heart is tugging. I'm fighting for what aspect of your character is to be honored or if both if multiple are honored in this way. Like, if that's what your life feels like, don't look at that push and pull as a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. It's and it's it's it's it's hey. I'm seeking I'm looking at the word to try to figure out what how God has spoken on this. If there's something unique to it, I'm asking God to speak or show or guide in some way or another on what I'm supposed to do. I think it's alright. I don't I I think sometimes that feels like, oh, if I was a if I was a real Christian, I would always know what to do. I think that's wrong. I think that's a false way of thinking about it. So, actually, that that car example is a great example. I've I've just like, in the last week, I thought it really makes me happy to be to have a vehicle around that I can let people borrow. I just I just like to do that. And, generally, since I'm slightly mechanically inclined,

I can maintain it and not have to, like, take it to a separate oil changes and, you know, whatever. Like, I can I can keep care of it pretty well without having to put a bunch of money out? Right? So it's not a big deal for me to take it on, I guess, is what I'm getting after. So but once again, it it occurs to me it I'm I'm just I'm owning another vehicle. Right? It makes me happy to to do it, and, like but there's gonna be costs associated with it. I gotta put insurance and gas. You know? Like, I might have to keep it up. You know? And is it me that wants to be able to do that for other people, or is it an unwise way to spend my money that the lord will just they will they they'll take care of the others without me having to put a stake in the ground like a spare car guy? That's Mike. That's how I'm gonna define my life. Right? I that's not I didn't put near as much thought into that. Right? But, like, those are the kind of things where I go, do you do you walk and and and bless and and and say, god, here's what what I'm doing. You know, please bless it or shut it down, whatever you wanna do. You know? Or do you spend weeks in prayer before you get the car? And is is that is that the

is there is is there a nuance to that? Is there some things where, like, I mean, in the grand scheme of things, does it matter? Is it is it that big of a deal? Yeah. But then if I'm in, say, constant prayer and the first four hours of my day washed out without Jesus, well, maybe I was talking about the car in the first four hours and I didn't even run it by him. You know what I'm saying? Like, these are the things that that that that maybe they they can either do one of two things. Either they can embolden you to what I was gonna say, I'll sound real old steamish. Claim your part your place in the kingdom.

They it can embolden you to be a confident son of the king and do things that are in line with his heart without putting unnecessary wait times in them. Right? God doesn't tend in my experience, God does not tend to answer me on my own timetable.

And that doesn't mean that my timetable for a decision was was sinful from the get go. And he just tends to do things in in his way. You know? So in a truncated timetable, I think I can move fairly confidently in God's heart and knowing that it was, you know, this this is all altruistic move. You know? But or you can you can let it weigh down on you as being guilt. It's like, boy, I screwed this up again. Even when I'm trying to do something good, I don't do it right. You know? And, like, maybe that is an accurate portrayal of you, is why we have a generous and graceful king. But it also hinders you from being very effective. I guess if you have to if you're like, hey. I I don't make two moves without doing any you know, without praying and waiting for an answer. I you know, God there's there's no part of the Bible that shows me that it's an everyday, I'm a tell you what to eat, where to go, whatever. You know what I'm saying? Yes. So think think about when they remember in in acts where they were sending sending letter to the gentile Christians. You remember how they worded the letter? It was like, well, we think it's best that these two things.

That's it. Right? And, like, there there's there's implication with the way that the that it's worded that, like, the holy spirit is the is is, like, affirming this. Like, this is fine. But, like, the holy spirit is present when when faithful believers are getting together trying to figure out, hey. How do we move forward? Like, it kind of implies as god as god lives within you, your instincts start to look like Jesus' instincts. And so, like, can you make a decision? Yeah. I think you can. Yeah. And so I I mean, same example probably for you guys. Right? Like like when the when the when the church gets together or the pastor sits down and pray and says, look, we have a fall teaching coming up. What are gonna teach on? You know? And sometimes the pastor goes, Ruth, you know, and doesn't sit in a monastery, the prayer closet for three months going, come to me for the fall sermons. Tell me what what you know I'm saying? You're just like, we're teach the roof. That's what we're gonna do. But you would still, like I I and I I yes. This is there's not attention here, and I think it's I think it's a mistake to feel it as attention. Certainly, I'd be like, hey, man. I don't think about what we're gonna teach this fall. Lord, you got can you

you burn my heart for something? If there's something that you feel like it is, can you like, I've I've I'm willing to do whatever you got. We got. And, like, however it shows up, through whatever means, like, I I I just don't there's not a there's not a point of unfaithfulness where you go, hey. You know what? I've landed on teaching the word and teaching it faithfully. Am I open that god might have something? Yeah. And it would be super awesome that god's like, you know what? Like, somehow makes it clear that he he look. I really want you to go through Jude. Okay. Great. And you're totally willing to do that. I think the point is to have an open heart about it. Like, is there a way that god looks down and goes, hey. Shoot. Now I'm thinking of example that's gonna that's gonna counter this just a bit. But, like, as you start to walk with Jesus, I you and the Holy Spirit is, having more and more of your life and become more and more of what you do. Like, you will just start making decisions that are aligned with God's heart because you want to. Like, you're asking for it, and God is helping you to do that. Now the only the only thing is if you think about the temptation of Jesus. Right? The first temptation, where where Satan goes, hey. You turn this rock into bread?

It's not wrong to turn rocks into bread. Generally speaking, we just say, hey. Look. If someone someone was hungry, talk about it broadly, and there was a rock available and you were capable of turning that into bread, is it okay to turn it into bread so they can eat? You'd be like, oh, yeah. I mean, eat hungry. I'll I'll dig it. There was something specific about Jesus' situation, though, however. He knew that he was in the time of temptation, and he knew he was to wait on God. And so even something that was otherwise good was shouldn't be done because it was clear that you were to wait. That and that's where I think the rub is for me is always, like, I don't know how it in what way Jesus has that clarity, but he obviously does. It doesn't negate the fact that it's okay to feed people who are hungry. But it does mean that, like, where it's clear that god if god god has made it clear that he's going to provide to try to get that provision for yourself in that moment is wrong because god said he would do it. It'd be like Abraham adopting kids or something like he said, god says, Or look having a child through his concubine. Or having a child through his concubine. Exactly.

I will I will bless you with this. Great. I'll make this happen. Right on. I got the thumbs up from the lord. Yeah. It's not even if the the it's ultimately is a blessing, that wasn't how god said it was to be done. And so that's the thing. I think you can, generally speaking, say, look. If this is if this is a good, unless and I and I've been praying on it, I left myself open to be changed, and nothing god is saying is saying don't do it, then I'm fired up. Buy the car. He says, look. That guy needs to wait on his own car, or I'm gonna give him a different car. Hold off. And you're like, yes, lord. I will buy him a car anyway. Then you have a problem. So here's the thing is let's get down to the brass taxes and steal. What he's basically saying is the two commandments that Jesus handed out, that should be our news resolution. Right? Yeah. And what he's getting to? Yeah. I mean, it's birthday and full of wind, but we got there. Right? These were the greatest. You should follow the greatest. I mean, greatest in Greatest is a That's a bad translation from the street grease. It's a little bit pregnant of a word. Okay.

It cover Jesus Jesus summed it up. Right? It covers it. It covers it. Like, great we think great, like, one, number two. But, like, generally, he's saying, you put these two things together, you've got this shaken out. If you love your neighbor as yourself, you're not gonna steal his donkey. Yeah. You wouldn't do it. If you love God, you won't serve Baal. Like like, these these are things that if you were to apply, you don't have a problem. Right. And so yeah. And so so so here's the thing. It's like, if if you wanna do let's say the biggest struggle, and I think this is probably true, if people well intentioned people that want to follow Christ, they go, how do I how do I do these two commandments? Right? I hear them. I understand their heart and where they're coming from. But I I mean, I gotta be honest with you. I'm failing at them. Like, I'm I don't feel like I'm doing very well here. Yeah. So he he he did provide things to do. He said I can think of two things, and and I think anything on top of that is probably unnecessary. But yeah. But wait wait. What were your two things? My two things would be to spend time in god's word to know his character k. And spend time in prayer with god to hear his voice. Now that about covers what we were just talking about. Mhmm. So he's so here we go. Four simple four simple steps are vital, he says. One, resolve to put god and neighbor first in all you do. That's gone. That's I I don't think that's the I don't think you have the will to do it. That's what I'm saying. Well, I I think it's a nothing burger. Yeah. I resolved like, it it doesn't mean anything. So I'm gonna How you know when you did that? Yeah. Yeah. Like, I could complete it right now. And once again, you're you're I mean, just the phrasing of that puts it underneath your own steam, which I hello, Christ follower, has failed you. Right? It doesn't work. Oh, he says, ask before every word or action. Will this honor Jesus? Listen here. This show would be ten hours long. I pray before I come in here,

and I say, you're gonna have to bless or change the whole thing. But, like, I mean, as things are flowing through my mind with his own Jesus, like, I'm just saying, it'd be very hard to keep Right. Keep a conversation. And what would the Lord's prayer be? Lord, I pray for our breakfast bread and our lunch bread and then our dinner bread. I get what he's after here, but, like, I don't think you can do it. I I I think that is a a failure of a modern Christian thought that, like, the the the wristband or, like, the what would Jesus do wristband or your resolve or whatever. If you think any of that is solved underneath your own steam, I just think you're setting yourself up for disappointment. I don't think you can do it. So things things that seem more practical. Number two, begin the day in God's word. I think that's a great idea. Okay. He says you need God's word to fulfill God's will. J. I. Packer was right. The Bible is God preaching.

God will speak to you through his word if you will listen. So set aside time at the beginning of every day to meet him in his word. Get a good study bible. I recommend the ESV study bible. You know what I noticed, actually? I have not used the study portion of my of my study bible for the last probably three years. I don't know if I ever have. Yeah. I I years ago. Maybe a map or two every once in a while just to make sure I got some right orientation, but, like, I just don't I'm not saying, hey, if you got one and you love it, fantastic. Don't but just one, know that your study commentary does bend some way or the other. It's It's just just inevitable in translation. Two, it's, it's okay. Fine for you use it. But I I just I just noticed that actually this week that I I need a new my Bibles will start to fall apart. And I was thinking about picking up another one. I thought, how? I don't know if I need a study Bible. Just don't use the study bar anymore. Get an oh, it says get a notebook so you can record what you hear from scripture. I do I do feel like I could benefit from that more than I do. Yeah. I don't and that's that's where I struggle with the with the electronic ones. Like, I'll read it, but I tend to chip shot it like I would a blog post or something on Facebook or, like, I'll just take it in and then it'll bounce. And even if I highlight something, I rarely go back and look at highlights. And so I've been trying to figure out a better way to do I think pen to paper is probably best for that. I just I'm not in a good habit of it. So I I I would recommend because I'm I'm I'm terrible at this. And even at times when I because here's what I here's what I imagine in my brain happening is I read the scripture and I think something has hit me. Right? And I'll make a note in it in my bible or write it down, you know, and then I will come back to it six months later and go, what? That does not even there's not even any weight to that. Like, I wrote this thing and it doesn't make any sense at all. And so and so sometimes

I wonder like, it gives me one of two two things. It's one is, like, some people are just naturally better bent for this. And so so if you struggle at it, just don't don't beat yourself up over it. Right? Like, we do this a lot with, like, notepads and and, like, prayer journals and whatever. Like, if you just stink at that, god does not create you for this thing. Whatever. Don't wear it like a like an albatross. You know, it's just a deal. But two, with everything else, it does come with some practice. Right? Like, I think you have to do it. And then you'll go back and read Jeremiah three years later, which is the first book you started with and go, what the heck? You know, you're gonna be disappointed in what you fed it out. But, just because you're spending dedicated time with the Lord doesn't not it doesn't automatically make you a poet or scriptural genius. You're not gonna get right to the heart of the thing just now, you know, and and you're on your cursory reading of Jeremiah. So, I mean, just don't don't don't it's not a mystical thing. You know, it's it is a lot more of a practical thing than than maybe I think we give attraction to. Yeah. Yeah. I would agree with that. It says, as you read, ask the spirit who inspired scripture to speak from it to you. Define your challenges or questions for the day and ask God to answer them from his word. Make time for God's word, and God's word will change your life.

Three, walk through the day in his presence. When you face challenges, pray about them. That's Mike's number two. When you have decisions to make, pray about them. When God blesses you, thank him. Then make specific times of the day to be with him. The psalmist prayed evening and morning and at noon. From then to today, the Jews have typically set aside three times a day for prayer and worship. We should do the same. I don't yeah. This is this is the the to kind of I was thinking about this. Two zero one or three zero one level answers. Yeah. Because we're all like, well, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. God's presence. Yeah. But I'm thinking, You just became a Christian, you're like, I don't know what that means. Right. Right. Right. What do you mean? I don't even what it means. Okay. Right. And and I sometimes I struggle because it's been so long. I'm like, I don't know. You just know. I mean, don't I can't even explain it to people. You know, I I I it's it's it's funny to me. It's because you forget after a while, like, the basics, like, of even, like, everybody point to back to the lord's prayer of, like, how to pray. And, like,

sometimes it's really helpful just for for for to being led through what what should I even be talking about? You know, like like, when I have a conversation with god, like, how long of a pause do I give it for him to answer me? You know? Yeah. Yeah. Because because once it gets to this spiritual level, everyone's like, just let the spirit lead you. You know? And, like, some me included, I'll be like, I mean, is that, like, fifteen? I mean, I have to get up. I've set my alarm to plan, and I gotta go to work at, like, seven. So And he doesn't necessarily just work on your schedule. Right. So so I'm I'm sitting there going, well, what time should I get up then, or how much time should I set aside? Like, I just need I just need help. Right? People I think people just need help and guidance. They don't know how it works, the mechanics of it. Yeah. And you don't wanna put it so mechanical that's pharisaical. But you also don't wanna, like, put it in this weird spirit because as soon as you put it in, this this spirit thing, everyone's gonna feel like the spirit's not with them. Right. Because it's not working for me. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, I don't know. I sat there for, like, fifteen minutes and my mind just floated off into nothing, and maybe the Lord's not gonna talk to me. So I guess I'm done. So I think that there's there's a good mix of both of those things to, like, practically help people figure out how to do it and walk through it and and and and, you know, and then give the obviously, the holy spirit. It does what it wants. You know? I don't know. Three months ago, I'm I'm driving down the road and I suddenly think, I've never taught through Malachi. I think I'll do Malachi. Mhmm. K. Now at the time I at the time I even thought, it's just like I'd say, hey. I want you to do Malachi. There was just me going, because I've never really taught through Malachi. I don't know.

But now that I just I just wrapped it up, it's like, I think there was a god thing there. Right? It was incredible. It was just sudden a personal journey. Yeah. But but even just, you know, it it was need for people. They loved it. They loved because they hadn't gone through it before either, you know. And so I don't know. Still don't know. You know? It wasn't a holy spirit leading me or was it just like I think that's that's and that's amazing. I think that's okay. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Either. I it was I I I just told I told Ben this last week. I, like, I was driving into work, and and I I was on a radio station. And out of nowhere, the radio dial just clicked one station down to static. And I'm like, what do you want? Apocalypse. What is what do you is there something that I'm you know? And so for the next ten minutes, I'm hypersensitive. I'm looking at road signs. I'm looking at the time. I'm like, okay. Am I supposed to remember what time it is or what I just passed? Or did I forget to pray about something? Or what do you want? You know? I'm I'm confused. You know? And and maybe it was nothing more than the radio dial skipped. You know? Or maybe it was god going, I need to talk to you today. I'm I'm just giving you a shot across the bow. You and I need to spend time together today. And so don't just slough me off for the morning news. You know? Okay. You you you won. I took it way too far. Right? Way way is the wrong way. I'm like I'm like, 06:37. Okay. Are there curious in this guy? Yeah. I'm I'm waiting all day on a phone call to be like, you'll never believe what happened to me at 06:37.

Like, it's some kind of alien abduction, and I'm trying to put the time frame together. You know? Like, it was ridiculous. You know? But, anyway, listen. It happens to to to Dan and I too. Right? Like, it it happens to everybody. Don't think you're out in the weeds on this deal. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I think you round it up. If you think about, the way God interacted with people, like, why he was in their presence, he was hyper specific. Right? You're gonna come to the temple at this time of day. At the end, you're gonna bring this exact thing and this exact measurement. We're gonna do festivals. There's gonna be this many. They're gonna meet these these exact times. Here's what you can do during them. Here's what we're gonna pay for it. You know saying? Like, God has generally been pretty specific. And so if I don't know that the transition from Yahweh among his people in that situation to god living within you as the holy spirit completely throws out any concept that he doesn't know how humans work. Oh, I think they will all dig on this, like, wild, ethereal spirit thing. Like, some people are really good at this because it just it's their personalities like that, and so they take in life like that. But, like, don't I I don't I think you gotta be careful to not feel like because,

like, that god says, well, I need you to keep open spirit time from 04:30 to roughly 10:30 in the morning just to see whether I swing by. Like, I'm just saying he that's not how he has interacted with his people, and I don't think that changed to that extent with the holy spirit. I think he did he became present with you all the time in a way that people longed for, and we should be thankful for it. But I I think that's that doesn't mean that something you become something that is totally adverse to your personality and, frankly, how humans in general react. Not saying that you can't discipline yourself to clear your mind out and and and give God space. Oh, no. Most most certainly and this is where people start getting weird. They're like, well, that sounds like devil's yoga. Look. It's you're fighting noise. Your time with Yahweh is a fight for noise. This is why twenty four seven prayer rooms are awesome. Right? Because in that in an environment like that or a prayer closet or whatever it is you do, right, there's a place where, like, noise seems to go away because your environment does not permit noise to come in. And, like, I I think this has been in mutual experiences. Like, when we've done twenty four seven prayer rooms, the reason you do book two or three hours is it could takes the first hour to kinda get things from stop popping up and stop jumping in.

And so, like, focused, dedicated time to talk, to listen to God, and to try to keep other things from coming out, like, that's not evil. It's it's it's you fighting against distractions from hearing from God. Does that mean he's going to speak to you in a voice or something? No. It doesn't mean that. But it does mean that you're saying, I refuse to listen to anything else right now. And whenever it comes out, I'm kicking it back out the door. It's I'm just I'm I'm staying open for to be able for God and I even if it's to think of think of you and God meeting for coffee. I would totally agree just to sit across from Yahweh for an hour, and it would be fine. Even if we didn't speak at all, I'd be like, you know what? I'm a go sit here, and that's fine. You got anything to say? I totally wanna hear it.

I'll I'll sit. This is perfectly okay with me. And so, again, not evil. Totally fine. Because what you're not doing is you're not saying I'm clearing of myself to allow things to enter. The holy spirit already lives within you. Residence is taken. You're just saying, I'm done listening to anything else right now, and I'm gonna fight for it. And that's perfectly cool. In fact, it's great. You should you should try that. I feel like I'd be weirded out by his fire eyes and him not blinking. How do you think the lord doesn't blink? Is that a psalm? It's probably a psalm, isn't it? I just You never blink. I just I just I just feel like with the eyes of fire, my eyes will start getting watery and be like, you gotta blink. You gotta do it. I can't. I I don't look I wouldn't you're not probably gonna look him the face, mate. No. I'll be a pillar of salt. Okay. Hey. We gotta wrap this up. Yeah. Sorry. Four four, end the day with him. Take a moment to look back over your day. Thank god for all that was good. Ask his forgiveness for any sins you recognize, frankly, and anything you didn't catch. He didn't say that, but I think you probably should do that. I'd go for a catch all. Lord, if I if I missed one one, let me know about it, and I'm sorry for that one too. Commit yourself to him for the evening and the day to come. Begin and end the day with your father, he will bless all you surrender to.

Yeah. It's okay. Yeah. I mean, those are, like, good patterns for life. I wouldn't call them resolutions. Right. Right. Right. Right. No. I mean, to be honest, we're basing our whole life off those things. You know what I'm saying? Like Yeah. Yeah. My resolutions are based off of that idea. Yeah. Right. Right. Okay. Ready? One dear life from the path. We gotta scuttle. Yep. Yep. Yep. Dear life from the path. I'm a widower who was very happily married. I've decided to reenter the dating game. I met a very nice widow and we connected. As I was lonely, it made a big change for the better of my life. The lady I matched up with is a wonderful, caring person, and we enjoy being together doing what dating folks do. We're thankful to have found each other. She had met a man she enjoyed being with some years ago, but it was of short duration because he died. She told me they had a nice but platonic relationship.

My problem is how often she speaks about him. Something reminds her of him, and she wants to talk about it. I can understand that he might come up once in a while, but last month, she mentioned him a dozen times. I don't think she does it to make me jealous, but I find it annoying. I tried a few subtly suggesting it would be better if she didn't mention him. I'm not sure she understands it could undermine our relationship. What to do? Yeah. But this isn't isn't the deceased. It's not the deceased husband. It's the middleman. Not the guy she's dating now. Not the original husband Yeah. But the dude in the middle. Right. Well, I thought it was the she dated a die a guy who dude died. He also died too. I mean, does that make you a widower if your boyfriend dies? Oh, no. I assume widow. Oh, I see what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah. I I assume that she had a husband. He died. She met another man. They were dating. They didn't marry, but then he died. And then now she's dating this dude, and she keeps talking about the second guy.

I mean, at this stage of life Who's dead? Who's dead? Yeah. Yeah. He's also dead. Yeah. I mean, at this stage of life, friend, I think you're just gonna have to look at some common shared experiences and go, look. They they took up a large I I I was just talking like, we had a family member die here this past weekend, and and my wife and I were talking about and I like I just cannot get past the fact that, like, if I were to to marry after if my wife had passed away and I were to marry, like, this new woman would buy a laundry detergent that I don't we don't buy. We don't use that here. Right? And I just can't imagine letting that go softly. I'd be like, we don't use all. We don't. Yeah. And the forks go here. Like, me and and and my wife had straightened this out, and you're coming in with these new ideas and and, like, stuff that my wife and I had agreed on over the past twenty years of how life has lived here. And, like, I understand the need for companionship, and I can't throw it completely out the window that that if I were to die that she wouldn't get remarried or vice versa. I wouldn't want a robber of that, you know. That's completely selfish from the grave. But but still, I I just I the transition has got to be brutal. Yeah. Right? Especially if you were happily married. And especially if you were happily married in a Christ following relationship, we agreed how life is to be lived in this house. And any newcomer with the slightest bit of change has just got to be hard to take. It just has to be. And so knowing all that, I feel like you're being obtuse.

Yeah. I mean, it's it's context to all the conversations you're having. Right? Because, like, especially if I'm I'm assuming this person is older. Yeah. Right? If you've gone through multiple deceased people. And so, like, combination, you've got two relationships that probably took up forty years of her life, fifty years of her life. And so anything that happens from then on is is she's experiencing in the context of everything that already happened. And so, like, as that occurs, like, just on on on oh, if you go go to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, it's gonna remind you that you've been to Gatlin 10 Tennessee before. Right? And, oh, well, the last time I was in Gatlinburg, Bob was there. Now here's the thing. Now stretch that across a forty year marriage. You did a lot of stuff. And stretch that even across, like, a five or ten year relationship with dude in the middle. You probably did a lot of things. It's gonna come up. Mhmm. It's gonna come up. And, like, I I I think that that that's a season. I I'm not sure it's a season, actually. It may start to go down, or it just may be that, like, the balance is you don't have enough runway to dominate that conversation. You're you're you're living, with her in a time of which her context is sixty years gone by. You maybe have ten. The sixty will always win. It will be the context in which she digests everything. As long as it's not maliceful, it's not like it's intentional, and it doesn't sound like she's, longing for him. Like, she's not comparing you to Bob always used to keep his socks better than you. You know what I'm saying? If she's just remembering

things because, frankly, that she's got more memory than runway left, I I don't know what you're gonna do. Yeah. The dude just you're you're you're just a little insecure, friend. And as long as you know that, like, obviously, you can't just be like, stop being insecure. It's something you're gonna have to work on, but, like, no subtle, you know, conversations on your end. It's not something that needs to be fixed. I wonder what he I wonder what he said. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, peep people grieve differently, and it all depends on the relationship they had, the the circumstances around the death,

how many deaths there had been. She's had two significant deaths now. Right? Yeah. They compound. She she she hasn't worked through it partly. And part of it, like you say, yeah, she's just talking about life. I mean, you do it in a church, every once in while, you do something, yeah, reminds me of an Atlantic when we were there, you know? And people are probably like, we don't care about Atlantics. Well, that's the last time I taught on this text. That's your context, yeah. It's like, yeah, yeah, oh yeah, that's a thing. And, miss, that doesn't mean I wanna leave here and go to Atlantic. It just means, yeah, this is reminding me of a a situation. Yeah. Yeah. Correct. Right. Your current church was is not designed to replace Atlantic. Right? Like, it's just a continuation of what you're doing. Yeah. And so just as your new, you know, boyfriend or whatever you wanna call yourselves at 70, I don't know, but, like, your new man friend, he's not there to replace Bob. Right? Bob is what Bob was, and and and there's no one gonna re yeah. I that was one thing that we talked about is, like, my wife said that she she goes, I you know, she's in for cremation. She goes, but I don't know if I really want you to keep an or something. Like, I don't want you your new wife to feel awkward. You'd like, oh, you know, she's on no mantle. You know what I'm saying? Like,

She likes it all. Right. She likes it. And that's got perfume and dyes in it. What's the matter with you? Yeah. I I I under I I think if if we're gonna take both of your stories at full value, which we rarely do, would advise columns, but I think you're being honest. You you're you're sensitive to this, and you're just you're about it. And so you just need to help you just need to process process that and say, look. She's not it's not full full of malice or trying to make you feel bad. It's just her life experience, and and that you're sensitive to it, and you're overly sensitive to it. And and you're just you're you're wrong in this thing, and you you just gotta work it through in your mind and your heart that you're not right. Yeah. Agreed. What was the secular advice? Okay. Secular says, address this with your lady friend as frankly as you have to me. If she values the relationship she was she has with you, she will stop, quotes, raising the dead in conversation. Oh, man. Boy, that is just straight foul. Tell her to get over and he's he's been gone. I mean, come on.

That's terrible advice. That's just fucking terrible. Really insecure. Yeah. It is. Don't mention other dudes around me. You know what I'm saying? I ain't 15. I don't care if you wanna talk about Billy. You know what I'm saying? Like, we've been married whatever x number of years. You're 70 years old. I mean, I'm not in competition with nobody. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Mean, you've met older guys. They do not give a flying hoot about a lot of things. Nope. This is not the time to encourage them to start caring. They'll they'll win 10 steps across the IHOP to every table they pass and don't care. No. We can get over this. And work boots, sweat pants, and an A frame. You've been listening live from the path. Hey. Thanks so much for hanging out with us. We really do appreciate it. A barn burner today, man. Yeah. Boy, that's a that's a long one. I maybe I'll cut it up. Maybe we'll this may we might go over the there's a Meg limit on the iTunes, which we go to too much. We can't. I gotta cut the show. Anyway, we'll see what happens. In the meantime, be faithful in the means. God will have the ends. You've been listening to Live From The Path.