Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the Pathway And you're listening to Live From The Past. We're coming to from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston proper. Hi. This is Mike.

Yo. Yo. What welcome. This is Mike, Ben, and Dan here at the Life in the Past Studios. You know you know what's funny? I've I bet, like I I suppose during secular solemn when it comes up, like, names are available. But other than that, you could listen to the show for probably six weeks at a time and not have picked up anybody's name. Have no idea who we are. Yeah. Okay. Maybe that's a good thing. Here's what got going on the show this evening. So I was trying to figure out we've talked with Dan. Well, there we go. See, got the name given away. There it is. On the way back from Zimbabwe before. And I was trying to think about, like because he's he's back, and I think he's got some really cool stories.

But I was trying to figure out, like, what is it is it was there anything unique? Maybe here's what I was thinking about. Is there anything that felt different, like, was different? Anything, like, thematically you're seeing change over time? Because you've been to Zimbabwe multiple times Right. Taking people there. Like, what are you seeing? What feels different? What if if you could have something that you've learned from there that feels encouraging to people who are in a an American church context,

what would it be? Yeah. Yeah. Or or and anything that may have surprised you. So may those are things to think Right. Okay. So we'll come back to Dan and we'll hear about the surprises, lessons, and changes in Zimbabwe from Dan. Also, Mike, you had a question. You I think this is a big question, but what it was had to do with Israel. Yeah. I think overall, my question is what the heck is even happening?

And it's in my lifetime, I have only heard about fighting over there and I don't know why, but I've always heard that, like, whatever it is, we're pro Israel because Israel's mentioned in the in the bible. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they're God's chosen people. And so, like but I've never taken any amount of time to try to understand what is even happening over there or why current conflict included.

So I I was just wondering if we give a give a high level view maybe of of what's what has been going on there historically, maybe just a little bit about what's going on over there now, and then maybe a right size way to look at it. Okay. Okay. I I will I'll take a shot at that. I think I will most certainly do I won't do it justice. The complication of that situation, I think I won't do justice. But, like, the the warning before we have it the the discussion will be I I think you can you can find a thread to pull

at about 50 or 60 story lines from there and and have it sound about right if you select your facts well. And so I think you can demonize groups. I think you can make people sound like angels. I think you can make things sound a lot less complicated than what they are. And so that would be my open introductory caution is is things are people are involved, land is involved, religion is involved, politics is involved. This this is it's not simple. And so anything seems super simple to you, even if you feel like, well, the bible talks to me about this and so it's gonna be real simple, my encouragement to you is it's not. Have you have you read, like, any news stories that you felt,

like, got it right or hit it with a fairly unbiased approach? Because politically, like, The United States and Israel have a have a a fairly strong tie. They do. Conflict with Israel creates very strange bedfellows even in American politics because it is in some ways is it feels like a conservative cause because you have a democratic or

mostly so trade partner and partner in the region. And then but you also have in The United States is a lot of more liberal folks would look at Jews as a demographic, like, or a minority,

that needs otherwise protected. And so, like, it's there's actually some commonality for the most part between how how America sees its relationship with either Jewish people or with Israel. But then again well, okay. We'll we'll get into it a little bit a little bit later once we tackle that one. Alright. Okay. Alright. So, Dan, I've given you approx approximately ninety eight seconds to think through this. So if I key points were Dan's in Zimbabwe with his with the folks from his church and others.

And then but you also have you also have a role trying to help here in The United States with fundraising and spreading information about work that's being done in Zimbabwe as well. Right? Right. Right. I I serve as director of development for the Shredzie Christian Children's Village, which is an orphanage. Okay. Yeah. And then when we go there, I work mostly with the churches or starting new churches and we do revivals and we go into schools and do teaching, Vacation Bible School type things and we did that again this year and

boy, the stuff you read, Barna says that half of all Christians on the globe are gonna be in Africa in just a few years. I mean, that's just right around the corner. There's something happening there. It's And one thing to read about it and hear about it and hear the stories, it's another thing to just go out there and

now I'm seeing it more than I have in the previous years and I don't know if it's just because I'm aware or we're just in the middle of it. Were times, that was just last week, were times I felt like I was like walking through the book of Acts, the way people are responding to the gospel, way people are wanting to learn and they're wanting

to become disciples of Jesus and we're there, obviously we're short term, but we attract a crowd because we're Americans and so they wanna see all the stuff, like who are these people and what do they have to say? So then, but we always are working in conjunction with a church, so we connect them with a church and with a pastor and

the churches thrive after we leave because they have a whole influx of people and they're learning and growing and bringing their friends and it just starts spreading like weeds. And it's just been so neat. We started out at a high school, a brand new high school. Hippo Valley Christian Mission is

the umbrella of ministry that were the orphanage and they have 28 schools, there's over 20,000 students in the schools, churches all over the place, so I just plug myself into that, so it's already working. And it's a brand new school called Living Proof

High School, and we went to that and we're the first group who's ever gone there. It's opened in January, so it's like new, you know? And the people were just I don't know, in the back of my head I thought, well, surely these people already know Jesus, right? But they don't, there's obviously something to do, we're talking and we're teaching and preaching and doing the whole thing and they're just like

eagerly coming to Jesus, like, yes, yes, we wanna be like, they're not like, oh, let me think about it, let me call my mom and see. It's like, no, we want this now. And so we have a whole group going out to be baptized before we leave and it's about 200 yard walk from where we were and we're crawling through barbed wire fences and some of these gals have their Sunday best on and

we're spreading the wires apart so no one gets cut. And you get into the field and it's where the cows are, so there's manure all over the place and there's some kids over there playing soccer with a dried out cow manure. Oh, right. Yeah. I'm like, oh, you you don't just don't see this in The States a lot. And there's this rickety old little wooden ladder that goes up into the cement. What was that thing called? Like a trellopus or something like that? What's that? Like a like a cistern looking thing. Like a cistern. Yeah. Being very round, very round, very big. You probably you if you you could probably stuff 50 people in there if you like. You've all everybody in there. Okay. Yep. But so so I crawl in there and and and it's it's all you know, it's got allergy and slimy and and and everything. And and then another preacher, which three three of us preachers were in there, and all these people start coming in and we're just baptizing left and right, and they're coming and going. And and it's just I'm just going like, wow. I mean, this this just it's just a feel

of when I read through acts to to like I I just kinda pinch myself, like, how am I part of this? You know? Because I'm I'm like American pastor guy. You know? I'm I where you you walk around with people with their hands in their pockets and looking grumpy and like, oh, I guess I came to church today. Could have watched the game. I hope you don't preach too long. And it's just a whole different ballgame. Yeah. And everywhere we go is kind of that we're getting the same response. People are coming to Christ and there's this woman who brought her children to this brand new church we were at and then they brought their children, so she had like kids and grandkids and like truckload, literally truckloads

of children that we were pouring into this place and she's just streaming in tears. But at the end, her two older, like, teenage daughters accepted Christ, and and she's like, we'll be back. And and that was a week ago. I heard this week that they were back with more friends. I'm it's just exciting. It's really it's really cool to see how God's spirit is moving there and it's very humbling

to be even a part of it, to be, you know, to to witness it firsthand. It's just cool. Yeah. It's interesting. There was there was you were telling before the show that somebody was was teaching and they said, hey. Do you wanna be born again? And, like, people are responding. Yeah. They're like, yeah. Raise their hand. You're like, yeah. I'd like to be born again. And then you think you think to yourself. You you go any any place in America. I don't care if you're in a church full, like, people who claim to to know and love Jesus or people who desperately need Jesus. You ask this question and, like, you're lucky if people even understand halfway what you're saying. Yeah. And, like, there has to be some sort of I don't I don't know. I don't mean, like, language, like, total barrier. But, like, we're like, the concept of being born again is not a

like, we we we're trying to dissect it 10 levels up. They're like, I get a fresh kick at this thing under a whoever this Jesus is. Yes. But I definitely want it. There's a humility as a people that is there. There's a cultural humility that could even embrace a concept like that. And I guess I hadn't even thought about that until it just came out of my mouth. Is that, like, how the hesitance maybe in our space in, like, a western Christian space is just simply, like, we're super guarded.

Yeah. I think we we we don't recognize we're we're worried about being fooled also. I mean, there's there's there's probably a value in that. But, like, there's also probably just an underlying lack of humility where, like, well, you know, I yeah. I mean, but to be completely born again, mean, I could use some help. But like I got this for the most part. And there's a whole bootstraps mentality where like, we just don't wanna admit a failure or that like, well, we actually have a total dependence on whatever this is.

It's weird the way that you're talking about this because I was thinking on the drive in about how much of my not just everyday life but probably trajectory of life is

kind of just boxed in by how our society functions. I was contemplating what it looks like to say, look, it could be completely different. I've been working at the same job for twenty over twenty years. We'll just say that. And so I thought that, like, I've I've been going to work for this same company, you know, every Tuesday and every Wednesday and every Thursday. And like like this Thursday, it could just be different. I could never go in there again. I could do something like it it could be something completely different. And I could be meeting and running into people that are completely different people that I ever talked to. And I'm not advocating that, like, you just dump all the stuff in your life. But, like, how many of us have in our mind that it's even possible

for something to be different? Not just radically different but just even marginally different. But to be able to be in a people that you've never met before, so a visiting church or group of people and to hear a message and and they recognize that this changes everything about your life, your fealties and, like, how other people may interact with you, how your government may see you, what you do with your day to day, how many wives you get to have, like, all this stuff. Yeah. And they're I mean, they're all they're embracing it. Not everybody, but, like, like Right. Certainly in A percentage for sure. And but but certainly in something that would, I would feel like feels unheard of in The United States. There's a God sense, I

came with, I don't know, four sermons ready to go because I have different places I could just repeat them, and the night before I preached the first one, it's like God woke me up and said, tell the story of your brother. I'm like, what? Don't know, just they get my little senses. Do it, yeah. And so I'm just kinda working it through in my head and I thought I have to kinda have my notes because if I don't have notes, don't know where I'm gonna go, I can go really long or I can go all over the place, so I have my notes.

And when I woke up and I got ready to preach, I had like five different potential endings and I didn't know which way it was gonna go and it all had worked it out through the night before and I told the story that we were supposed to be there in July and because of political unrest, they pushed us off till October, they were shutting down the churches, this government was, nobody can get together and meet because you're talking about me, the king and so, okay, so we're in October. So I told them, I said, we were supposed to be here, we were really sad, we didn't make it but it turned out like two days before I would have left, I got a text from my brother that he was very sick and I go through the story, he got cancer and he died all in July so I would have missed that, I would have been in Africa when that had happened but I told them that

when I was there when the doctor told him there was nothing they could do, and I said, the doctor left, I had three questions for him, I said, hadn't talked about this for a long time, just a brother, I wanna know, do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God? And he's like, well, yeah, yeah, do. Said, well, good, good, good.

And I said, well, are you living for him? And he said, well, I am now. And I don't know when that began, maybe that moment, I don't care, it doesn't matter. And I don't know, don't remember the third question, it's really big but at this moment it escapes me, but anyway, told him that story and then I said, I wanna ask you the same question I asked my brother,

and they start this it gets a chant going of the Christ, the son of the living God, I'm like, this is really cool and we're talking about Jesus and I think I'd ask him if he had been baptized, that was the third question and he's like, yeah, was okay, because he was eight years older than me, I don't know what stuff he did and it's okay, it's good

to cover all that and so I asked that of those kids, high school students, they were young adults, and just the response from them was like, well, wanna do that, I wanna yeah, yeah, I believe Jesus. It was just so powerful and time after time we'd go to these

gatherings and people, like I said, just responding, they want Jesus in their life and we're connecting them with churches that are there and pastors that are there and mature Christians that can disciple them and we're not just having a big rah rah and leaving, it's they're really connecting and being a part of these churches. So

God's doing something in Africa, He just is. Well, that's exciting. I find it almost funny, right? Like I go to the Christian concerts, and they always have the guy come out and then like put a kid on the screen and he's like, this kid has to walk two miles for the water and he doesn't even have like any electricity in his home.

And then, like, they really let it sink in. You know? And the whole crowd instantly goes, what? I how could we live in a world this way? You know? Yeah. And then I think when you when when you flip it on its head, the truth of the matter is they're not even jealous of the things that we have. They don't even think about it. No. No. You know I'm saying? They spent no time going, if I could only be American. You know what I'm saying? And the whole time, like, when we try to sell how to help other people, our only ploy is to make their life look like our life. They're like, if you could only get these things that distract you from the best of what God made into your own self sufficiency and comfort,

then you will truly know what it's like to be people of Jesus. Right? Like, that's our selling point. But, like, you you go to places and say, hey, do you do you wanna start over? Do you wanna be born again? Do you wanna not have the weight of your broken following you around like a vestigial tail? And they're like, yes. I don't care about that refrigerator. I want that. I want what you're I don't care about walking to the the well. We do this all the time. I grew up walking to wells. This is not a problem to me at all. And you wanna, like, pipe things in here or, like, I don't know, get us a solar panel. I don't care about any of this. Right? I talk to my grandmama when we go to the well. This is our daily how we get to know each other thing. You know? And so, like, once again, it just feels like you don't realize the blindness I think we walk in. Right? I walk in. You know what I'm saying? Like, you just don't realize the blindness that we walk in when we think that, like, if if people could experience the way god the way that we do here in America, then they'd see it. And, like, the truth is if they could experience Jesus at all, they'd probably have us beat. You know what I'm saying? Because we're blinded by the fact that we gotta keep the HVAC running. Otherwise, people won't show up. You know? Yeah. So so what was

if you had a like, what feels like a lesson or something that you learned from doing work or from the Zimbabwean church that you feel like is important for people kind of in a western church context to to understand or to know? You know, the the simplicity of their faith

and I don't mean, like, dumbed down. I mean, it's it's it's the simplicity. Like, like, I need Jesus to sustain my life. I may not eat next week, but I got Jesus, that's all I care about. And the food comes, the food comes. We over complicate everything and

create shows. They'll come up, they'll stand up and say, we're gonna sing one praise him and one worship him and then we'll do whatever. And that one praise him and one worship him lasts like forty five minutes and we're looking at you like, think that was more than one.

Chris Tomlin's everywhere. Yeah, yeah, their faces are just beaming and they're so full of joy and they don't know, they do too know, they know they're poor, but I mean I've got more money in my back pocket than they're gonna make for the next three months probably

and because of course we need it because we're gonna be eating for the next couple weeks, so it's not like I'm just walking around, but they they it's just this pure joy of being in Christ and with God's people that they live for Sundays. Yeah.

Yeah. There's a part of me that listen to you tell those stories And I think to myself, like, how often have I sat in some sort of church service and, like, I can't wait till this particular tune's over? And it's only three and a half minutes long. Right. Like, well, this is a bit snooze fest. I hope this one ends soon. Like, I want it. I would Man, I'm legit the worship guy. Yeah. I didn't say it was That's hard to take in. I'm I'm I'm generally playing in the worship band. I still,

like, I I want it. And I I wouldn't I don't know how to get it. Yeah. Right? Like like and and and and maybe it's there's just because there's so well, I will tell you this way. The more channels you get on the TV, the more you're still dissatisfied with all the options you got out there. That's true. So, like That's true. You're not mad at 13 channels anymore. You're mad at all 99. Right. Right. And, like, there maybe there is a notion of what feels like

you just gave we've created so many options because we wanna try to you know, it's it's not nefarious or anything. We're like, oh, well, maybe if someone likes the music, they'll stay and listen to something that maybe I won't have their attention. I'm like, we I get it. But, like, you've almost conditioned me to be impatient until I get to the thing that I want or that I like. Whereas in absence of, you know, of a humongous variety, people could just fire up a tune and be happy singing it for forty five minutes or take like, I think prayer is the same way. I just in my bones, I want and I've and I've, like, prayed about this. Like, Lord, I want to be able to, like, in enjoy

interacting with you in prayer for, like, long periods of time. Mhmm. Like, I wanna and I I I can't I can't hold my attention. I cannot I no matter how I think about it, have a hard time disciplining myself and not having my mind wander. And then, like, I I I can feel it that I'm doing this out of obedience. And I don't think that's necessarily bad, but I do feel like I'm missing something in some of these things. And, like, just to to hit it more whatever. I'm sure they're they're not all perfect and loving. Right? Yeah. But but, like, their attitude, it's, at a base level culturally, I feel like they're they're they're one up on some of the barriers that we have that felt like positive luxuries but in effect have the impact of being a blindness at times.

And maybe part of it too is we've set this time aside to do something special, like the old revivals we used to do in America, I mean, if you try to do a revival today, people will laugh at you like, what are talking about? But it's special to them because like we got special guests that have come to speak, they're having a special time, they're coming together, so maybe next week it won't be like that for them. Oh, sure, yeah. But it was special because we're all there together. I mentioned I was praying the night before and I felt like God woke me up and said, this thing, I'm not a weepy person but when I get there out in the middle of the night, I'll just be weeping for the people of Africa and just say, God, just use me. I'm here right now. Use me for however but may this thing be a spark that spreads all through the continent,

And I'll pray that for hours, and then I'm like, now I gotta, you know, I gotta preach now. It's like, haven't slept yet, you know? And and but but this I think it's because it's special. Yeah. Like, I I care just as passionately for the neighbor next to our church building here. Yeah. But I don't spend the evening weeping over her because she's always there. True. Maybe I did when we first bought this building and she was really on the radar, oh, She need to tell needs to about Jesus. So so maybe there's something about doing this special thing like this

Yeah. Periodically. You know? Yeah. Yeah. It's it's it's an interesting thought because I think, you know, this is things that we've discussed on the show before is, like, we find there to be risks in things that are purely event driven. But, like, maybe we've got the worst of it, to be honest. Maybe from an American perspective, like, if every Sunday feels like an event, you don't you you lose the at least heightened time, it's a party. Like, you lose the ability to call it a party because you're you're partying every week. Yeah. But it doesn't settle into a norm either. Like, there's always well, half the people here are here because they're trying to serve or, like, they're already Christians. And then some of the most a good chunk of this is posture for someone who just walked in the door because you don't wanna lose them with all your stuff. And so, like, we we almost have the worst of of of all of those things trying to be combined together because, like, nothing feels

particularly special in that regard. Even though we do things, I mean, we put on you know, you put on nights where you sing together and you you try to do special things, but, like, it just doesn't have the same sense of the energy that comes with god's people from a different cultural context that reminds you that god is still active and still king somewhere else in the world and that he's blessing you with the ability to see it and celebrate it. Yeah. And so I think we lack a lot of, like,

of an of an understanding of what freedom actually feels like. Right? Like, if you were to take away, like, a lot of our our structure, it wouldn't feel like freedom. It'd feel like we're constrained because we don't have the resources that we need to do it. You know? But, like, I I think it really it's a it's a a skill, not a talent to be able to operate at that level of freedom. You know I'm saying? Like so, like, where where we can agree we agree with everybody that you met last week that, there's freedom in Christ. We're not carrying around sin. You know? Like, we can we can walk as as sons and daughters of the king. You know? But then we put on our own weight concerning that freedom.

And then, like, you're just weighted in a shinier coat. You know? It's just it's it maybe it glitters and and maybe it it smells a little bit like Jesus might've worn it sometime. But, like, it's still, like, at it just feels like it's added weight. Like like to your guys' point, do you think, like, when when a lot of churches will do this, right? Like you get fired up and you're like, we gotta get back to the x church. We gotta this is what it was designed to be. But like, it was pretty fresh off when Jesus had had resurrected. Right? So like, does it fall under an event? And like we're like modern churches are chasing the wind. We'll never be able to recreate that. Like, it's not a fair measure. Maybe that's a better a better comment.

Well, in some ways, I think that's true. Like, Jesus did not just resurrect two years ago. Right. And they're they're they're fresh off that. But I think to Dan's experience, it does feel like there is a newness in like, when you're first exposed

to the reality of of who Jesus is and what he has done and what that means for you. Heck, man. I was actually thinking that same thing. I had a lot of thoughts going on my mind on the way in here today. Is that, like, I I just I feel like I'm losing it. I feel like I'm I'm trying to hold on to a to the things that I know to be true, the facts that, like, I know who Jesus is. I know what he's done, but I'm not that should make me feel alive

and should make me feel like I should be more repentant than I am. I should be more joyful than I am. And and I and I actually that's one of the things I'm taking away from the conversation that we're having is that, like, what is blocking don't know how to explain this very well. I'm not dissatisfied. I don't disbelieve.

But, like, where's I I should be more joyful about these realities. But now I accept them. I I agree that they're true. And, like, in America, like, American church context, frankly, a lot of the the the battles or engagement that we're in are trying to convince somebody that something is true. And and there's a and we're rightfully protecting that your your feelings

cannot necessarily be trusted. But there is something about as I as I look about and go, like, I I was just thinking that I I kinda stink. Like, there's a common thread in my life where it feels like I am both I've been very self centered. I feel like I'm very self I'm I'm self focused. I don't I I frankly just do what I wanna do. I I'm more not easily constrained. If I wanted to spend money on something, I'm going to do it. If I wanted to waste time, even if I'm supposed to be doing active work for somebody else, like, I might just choose to do it. And, like, it's bad. It's bad. It's if I mean, the grand no. I'm not going to jail for it, but, like, it's pervasive. I I'm feeling it as a theme in my life. And, like but but but and and I know what's I know what's wrong and I know it's something that that needs to be rooted out, but, like,

I wish I feel worse about it. I don't know how else to put it. I'm just trying to be honest about, like, I want I I I want to be the the people from the stories, Dan. I want I I I, like, I wanna feel it and go, boy, I just I can't wait another minute than to walk in celebration of who Jesus is and to embrace repentance so doggone hard because I just can't wait for it. And, like, and it it's a very weird tension to know internally, like, in my mind that I totally believe these things. I I take a bullet for it this second. But to feel slightly disassociated

from the feelings that I feel like are supposed to be along with them, I, like, I want it back. I want it back. Yeah. It's basically like saying the thing, like, you know to be true has all this power. But when then you get to drive, like, it feels like it just kinda goes Mhmm. At idle. You know? And you're like Yeah. You hear of other people driving the same rig and they're like bulldozing things. Right. You know what I'm saying? And then you're like, I I know it has the capability to bulldoze. Right. But, like, when I get in, it just feels like it putts around.

I don't like, what like, the question is is, like, to to bring the metaphor home, one, we driving it wrong, you know, or, like, is there is there is there a part where we're like, the machine itself goes, you don't actually believe I can do this kind of power. And so, I mean, you get signed to Jonah. I'm sorry. Or or and and and I think well, maybe I'm just hoping. Maybe I'm hoping this is part of it. Is that, like, it's it's a distraction. You just you you drove the thing you drove the bulldozer for so long that you're not impressed that it bulldozes. Uh-huh. But you should be. Yeah. Right. Like, you should be. It's routine. It's normal. To be fair though, if it's bulldozing, you should see some knockdown trees in your path. Mhmm. Right? And so, like, I think you could if you wanna try to level that conversation out, you can look behind you

and look that there's evidence that you're driving this bulldozer. I think that there's I think there's a weight and measure to it. You know? Like, if if you see no trees down and no dirt moved and the things at idle, you might not be doing what you think you're doing. Right? If you can look behind you and be like, look, I I there's people behind me that know Jesus because because I told them. Right? Like, there's a there's there's an effect around me of of the way that the gospel has changed my life, not only in my own household, but but like it's it's leaving my doors and heading out. Right? Then maybe you did just get used to the, you know, maybe you're an adrenaline junkie and the holy spirit's going, look, you can't be doing this forever. You're gonna have a heart attack. It's probably both. I feel like it's probably both hand and probably even a few other smattering of things that are likely true around that. But I just I get I like I'm I I want I long for the things, the experiences that people who are meeting Jesus new and so openly and so humbly

and like, we're not worried, hey, like, hey, I'm in my Sunday best. Like, what what's the matter? I'm going to meet I'm gonna go dunk. I'm go dunking today. You know, it it could be as simple as like a a a prayer, a prayerfulness and a and a heart posture that goes, like, when you when you hit the day, you're like, show me something new today. Not just like, help me to do better in the things that I'm doing or like you know what I'm saying? Or like, I'm I'm willing to do whatever you want me to do. But, like, seriously, like, hey. Will you show me something new about you, about me, about somebody around me? Like, the living and active holy spirit doing a thing and say, like, I'm asking for you to show me something new. And, like, maybe it's just a it's a skill that, like, we have to now these people are filled with the holy spirit and nailing it, but, like, you are too. Right? And maybe you've gotten used to the level that you were willing to accept the holy spirit boundaries in. And maybe he's trying to push past that boundary and go, I have more things. It gets it gets even crazier from here. You sure? Oh,

yeah. Yeah. I think that that that is a risk that we go, oh, yeah. Like, the holy spirit keeps marriages together that should otherwise break apart. Okay. I've seen that. I'm good. And Lord's like, you remember, I remember we were going over this in Matthew recently and Jesus is talking about like, I heal the sick, I raise the dead, you know, the the lame walk, the blind see. And like, kinda skim like, he said, raise the dead casually. But like Yeah. You know? But it was in the same list. Yeah. Right? And he and he did actively do that. And so as a matter of fact, I think we were even talking about it and someone that had the question is like, oh, does he mean kinda just, you know, metaphorically, like, raising the sinful dead into a life? I'm like, I don't know. Like, what he quoted was a physical reality. And then he proved and demonstrated that very physical reality. And so, like, maybe I'm, like, blase around the things that because I set the holy spirit is meeting the bar of which I was willing to believe. I'm actually, I'm willing to believe all kinds of things, but, like, it's normal

for me to see god hold together marriages. That's I find that normal because I and I expect it. Are there other things of which I just, I believe are true, but don't expect to see as true. And if you can and if I can ask if I'm praying about tearing those things down, Lord, I I'm help me to be be willing to be surprised.

Yeah. If you think about it, if you like, if if if you you're in a room and you got the shades drawn and the door closed and you turn the light on, you're like, the light has completely filled this room. Right? And you're like, it's done a complete its job. It has filled the room as designed. This is amazing. But if you were to if you were to open the shade, that light would spill out the window. If you were to open the door, the light from the room would spill out into the hallway. Mhmm. Right? So, like, it has the ability to do more. Like, all you wanted it to do was fill the room, and it did do that. And you were blown away and amazed by it. But, like, if you were willing to open a door or open a window, you'd watch this light, like, go further than you thought it would. It's not it's not like it's not like the bedroom light knows that it only belongs in the bedroom. Right? The light just goes where the light goes. Did you steal that from somewhere? No. Because that's pretty good. That's like a really cool picture to think about. Yeah. I don't know what to say. Don't know. Like, it's so good. I thought you may have iced it. I'll put that way. I'm slightly offended, but I think we're gonna we're gonna stick with it. That can't be from you. I've often said something and go, I've had to have heard that somewhere. There's no way. Alright. You're listening to live from the path. I don't know. Dan, any other takeaways or things to share from Zimbabwe?

Oh, I don't know. I could probably talk forever, but it's just a cool experience. Think everybody should plan something that interrupts their schedule and has some urgency to it. Because we're there like you're quaver there for two weeks. It's it's an urgent. You know? Yeah. We're gonna do it. We're gonna do it now. You know? And and you don't have to go to Africa to do that, though. You could go anywhere. Yeah. And I think it's just healthy. It feeds my soul personally. Yeah. I think that's true. I actually think you start to appreciate or see opportunity in your local context differently when you start to see people with fresh eyes and like sometimes it takes shifting your environment and the people you're around to get fresh eyes and then bring them back. Yeah. Okay. You're listening live from the path. Hey. If you maybe you've had similar experiences like either you've done some

mission trip work or just had situations where you well, one, you know, if you were a part of people seeing Jesus with fresh eyes that was different than maybe what your everyday context is. We'd love to hear some, you know, any stories you have to share or anything kind of around those lines. You can get ahold of us on the Life From The Path Bob Eisler complaint line. It's (515) 517-0085. You can call or text Life in the Path of Complete +1 (515) 517-0085.

And we'd love to, we'd love to hear your stories so that we can be, mutually encouraged and and pray about them. Yeah, that'd be great. Okay. Big big the big question. What the heck's going on in The Middle East? The whole the whole of The Middle East. The whole thing. I want all the conflicts named catalog from

1080 over. Okay. Okay. It's gonna be it's gonna be a bit tricky. And so I I will again, to to like, it it is a very complicated history and convergence of things going on in Israel and Palestine. And so my my caution here is, again, like,

there's there's scads of people that are way more intelligent in these areas than I am. But I'm gonna tell you what from what I understand, some of the things in which we gotta be cautious about, I think, as this conflict goes on. And so key things to know, like, one, like, you you've got some the convergence of tussles. So you've got a whole a holy land ish type of area, like, least in the vicinity. And the Israel that you hear about on the news or, like, that's been reported, it's the same Israel from the bible? It contains that land. Yes. It is not the whole thing. Okay.

And, like, that that is one of the key part of the conflicts is that, like so Israel as a state, as a nation state has not existed since the folks were exiled. Right? So, like, once So Babylon, you mean? Well yeah. So Assyria first and then Babylon and then bit bits and pieces are are chopped up. They they get they return from exile and, like, this is the Ezra Nehemiah age. You're probably 500 BC or so. But it's not the whole it's not the the promised land that Abraham has given. K? But so, you know,

it's itself, Israel has not had a state, and so that does not happen is is until the forties. So after World War two. And I I will say that the some of the major conflicts that we're running into in the world now, so, like, parts of The UK the the Ukraine Russia conflict, like, is these are land questions. These are these are places where after wars, World War one, World War two, people tried to redraw the map. And anytime you redraw the map, like, it's not like you're walking the land trying to ask, like, do you feel like you're a Palestinian? Do you feel like you're a Ukrainian? Like, they just drew lines. And so

people where cultures were different or resources were they tend to do it along, like, either natural boundaries or tried to split resources and stuff. But, like, it it just it it wasn't super thoughtful. You people ended up on the other side of the line. You you were a, you were Palestinian one day, and then the next day, you live on Israeli land. And and the land you were on as a Palestinian, pre 1948 may have been, again, land that's been in your family forever. And so all of a sudden, it's it's just gone.

And so it's so it's a land battle to start. They're fighting over the Gaza Strip. It's a there's a a religious battle there. Hamas is a is is a Muslim group. If I if I ask a dumb question, the Gaza Strip, does it contain any important towns that we would know? The the spart the the spot that they're fighting over I mean, I think Joppa's in there. Okay. I just towns you would know. Yeah. I mean, like, shipping and stuff. Yeah. Totally. Like, it's it's not like it's a good port, a good resource

area. Yeah. Whoever controls the port. And actually, I mean, that's that's part of the fight in Ukraine and Russia. And Russia. Right? Part of their invasions. They wanted the port. Anyway, so so the fighting over the land, there's religious differences, but then there's also, like, historical fighting differences. Like, when you're talking about Eastern Eastern thought, western thought is, like, quick to forgive. Like, we stuff moves on. Democracy, things change. Even in Western Europe, like, you just kinda kinda the times change and we forget old wounds.

Eastern cultures don't tend to do that. And so, like, fighting that happened a hundred years ago, two hundred years ago, five hundred years ago, like, is remembered as part of kinda settling scores and remembering how, like, your ancestor treated our ancestors. And so, like, some of that is happening in this region as well. There is, and this is probably it's worth talking through a little bit, but, like, I think it's a misreading of,

of the scriptures to believe that this conflict is pre is it, like, must happen. Like, it's a biblical battle of the, of the sons of of Abraham. This is this is not, Jacob and and Ishmael. Right? Like, it's it's not Israel versus Ishmael. It's not that's not what it is. I think that's I think that misunderstands

I I don't think we largely we we think of of of him being cast cast out. That that isn't really how the scriptures talk about that. Like, it I mean, it does, but it's not like a not cast out like Cain. Like, that's not what it is. K. And so I I think it is a misunderstanding of of of scripture. Maybe we should tackle that next week and talk through that a little bit and see how we can understand that rightly. I I mean, the it it it does. We do think that that the Muslim faith comes out of that line.

But to be honest with you, like, Muslims and and Christians and Jews all agree on the old testament god. I I mean, for the most part, like, we we kinda everything splits at Jesus and then Mohammed eventually. I'm getting over my skis here. But, like, just in general, I I think there's a caution about maybe just to call it out straight, don't walk into this situation and go, we're for Israel because Israel is god's people. I think we need recognize that that's a nation state that was like, it's a political state that was created in 1948. It is I think it is not correct to think of those folks as particularly holy as the nation state as holy that whatever they do in this, in this effort is justified because god is with them. I just I I think that's a wrong way to think about Israelis

are saved. Jews are saved, through Jesus just like everybody else. And so where they don't love and follow Jesus, the country isn't in fealty to Jesus, like America is not, I'd be super cautious of believing that whatever they're doing is blessed in one way or the other just because of their posturing as such. And I'm I'm sure they're even posturing that way. And so I think that's I think it's okay to stand with people in a conflict. I think there's a this is a legit land problem that is very tickle difficult to sort out because for large swaths of time,

various people could lay claim. It's actually it's similar interestingly to some of the discussions about, like, native American land in The United States. Like, how long so let's say that that god gave Israel this land, you know, thousand BC, 800 BC. Yes. The Assyrians and the Babylonians kinda fought and and they were exiled and stuff. But, like, who who really owns the land? Like, does it really belong? Because if, frankly, if it goes back to Israel, then it should also go back to the Chaldeans. Yeah. Because they had it first. Right. Right. Like

so I I think it's very difficult to look back and go, well, it has to be it ultimately originated as Jewish land, so it should return to Israel. Israel took the land. Now god told them to take the land. It's totally righteous that they But it doesn't work on on the principle of finder's keepers. Right? Like Right. Like, whoever like, whatever John Caldene happened to walk on the land and goes, this will be the land of forevermore of the Caldene's. Right. Right? Like, I don't know if that's exactly how it works. No. And and, again, that same principle, and we get touchy about this here in The United States, but that same principle say, look. You need to give Oklahoma back. Like, we took Oklahoma from people who already lived here, also Virginia,

also everywhere else. Right? And so, like and and it's the same question. Well, that would really tickle some feathers, Ben, is if you basically said the principle that you're trying to use in Israel, you should apply to America and then see how many states that we have to basically give back to the native American community because they had it first. Yeah. And and it's the same question when we talk about slavery reparation. Like, we're we're struggling because you're like, how far back and who is really responsible? Is it, like, is it really now to repair something that someone did, you know, multiple generations back? Well, again, western societies have short memories. We're like, nah. Let's get let's give it a I don't think so. Like, let's it's what's done is done. We can't really do much about this. And so, like, western societies tend to wanna just move on from it. Eastern cultures don't work that way, but now you have, like, western nations carving up countries who who are coming at it from a very eastern perspective after wars of which, like, major western powers have intervened

to otherwise settle disputes. And so, like, here here's where I wanna be super cautious is that, like, there's there's there's evil in war. There is. Like, there's there's there's people who, to accomplish their ends, will do evil things. It is evil. Hamas is evil. It's evil to go into a place and start kidnapping people who are otherwise innocent except for the country of which they live in and rape and murder and kidnap. It's wrong. It's evil. I frankly find it evil, the indiscriminate nature of what Israel is bombing in the Gaza Strip.

Like, there are there are places where, like, they've given it like, it's not even a reasonable amount of time for people to get to evacuate. Predominantly, there's women and children in the area. Like now but here's the thing. Evil people in war will also use women and children as shields. This is not easy. Yeah. This is a very this is not this is a super gray area, but, like, I I don't think I'd be cautious that there's there are there are angels and demons in here. Most people are not either one of them. They're they're normal people who are like in fact, I read there's a really good book called Blood Brothers, and it was about a guy who he's a he was a Palestinian. He's like a Christian. I think he's a I don't if he's a pastor. I don't wanna say that. But, like, he lived in Palestine, and he his family was there. That example I gave were, like, you own land one day and then Israel owns the next. Like, that happened to this guy. They had, like, hundreds of acres of land or something. It's been his grandpa's farm. They did grapes.

And for a while, I think there was no particular impact, like, that the lines were redrawn. And then, like, the Israeli military came in and just, like, took over his farm, and he lost it. He lost his farm. And, like, his big deal this is the reason I like the book because the guy goes, look. I we we were it was it was not it was mistreated. Like, our family was mistreated, but, like, also, the Israelis own the land. Like, at that point, the lines had been redrawn. There wasn't anything they could do. They said they actively traded with, like, like, Jewish people. Like, there was not an animosity there among those folks until you got a country line

type of problem. And then he's actually spent the last, whatever, sixty years of his life, like, trying to figure out ways for Palestinian people and Israeli people to have peace even if the governments of those countries will not. That frankly, that like, his his discussion felt right to me. Like, that the the at the people level, it is in some ways a little bit simpler. I think the other things, I I just it's super difficult to sort out. None of it is as easy as to think. I guess that's my biggest caution. It's just not near as easy as you think. You're like, well, can't someone just give up their land? They're betraying something. Something that a heritage that matters to them, land that they believe that belongs to them, prime, you know, ability to control. You know? There's shame associated with just turning it over. Yes. Totally. To say get because, like, over time, you know, after the the land gets drawn up for Israel, Israelis moved in there. And now what?

Like, those people might have lived there for thirty years. Maybe it's not five hundred years, but, like, they got families and jobs and, displacing people on either side of this thing is is rough. Both sides, frankly, have have committed in in forms of atrocities. And so they feel like, how could we just let this go? It's why you have radicalized leaders, especially on the Palestinian side, like, with Hamas. They're like, well, I mean, there's good chunks of Palestine that are Muslim. They don't want a like, an autocratic rule that this is the reason why Iran backs Hamas. Like, what whatever. It's it's just it's complicated.

And so, like, major major cautions. One, just because Israel is involved, the ground itself is is not, does not, it doesn't mean that just because it's called Israel that the actions that that nation state takes are otherwise bestowed by God and that he is approves of them. I think that's not you gotta let that go. I I that's that's not right. Like I said, like, they they get to they get to forever with Jesus the same way everybody else does, and that's belief in Jesus. Modern Jews do not believe in Jesus.

They don't believe that Jesus is the son of god, that he's, like, the son of the living god, that he's the Christ. They they're they're not baptized followers of Jesus. And so there's nothing about the the city the nation state that they are in that makes it holy to bomb other people just because they're in that part of the world. And so pray for them, doggone. I mean and, like, they are getting attacked. There are is terrorism that's against the nation of Israel. And that's wrong. It is wrong. It is wrong. And I like I if you think politically, democracy is a force for good, Israel's a bastion of that, and there's a reason The United States has supported that. But you gotta be careful. You just don't throw all the things together in a blender. Like, you've got to keep some of your religious convictions in, not separate from how you think, but don't but be cautious about what that means for the political backing of Israel is not the same thing as the theological basis that Israel is in and of itself awesome. Also recognize that there are there are innocent people involved in all these places. Like, vast majority of people on both sides are not throwing bombs around. Vast majority of people just wanna get up, raise their kids, eat their grapes,

buy their groceries and live to do it again another day. And so a lot of this stuff is beyond the average people. And so if you think of enemy and you have broad groups of people in your mind, that's wrong. Okay. I'm gonna this is gonna be offensive And it's gonna be I just want it's gonna sound real simple and shortsighted. And so I just need you to speak to it as it not really being my own opinion. Okay. But when when god told Israel to invade somebody Mhmm. Or to participate in a war and god was with them, they won handily.

Yeah. Like, with less people than they planned on taking most of the time. Mhmm. So, like, it should almost instantly if this is your bent, it should discredit the thought almost immediately that it's a struggle for the people of God. Right? Like, if you're viewing Israel as as as being powered by by Yahweh, then it appears that Yahweh is struggling against the Palestinians.

And that seems to be an like an error in thought. Right? Like, I don't know how you would be able to meld those two things together. If you're like, the nation of Israel, they whatever they're doing is correct because Yahweh is with them. Well, I know what it looks like when Yahweh is with them in the old testament and they beat people that if God says, go get to Chaldean's land, they get to Chaldean's land and it happens. Sometimes they just show up with trumpets and people bleep. You know I'm saying? Like, it it it is that too rudimentary of a thought? It is because otherwise, like, you would think of you'd be able to make that case for any situation which the people of god are otherwise not succeeding in their worldly aims. And there's plenty of people who are, you know, but they would be but they weren't worldly aims. They were god's aims. Like, he said, do this thing. Oh, yeah. But, like, there there I think there are some people who would even frame this that this is more of a religious war than a political one. I don't think that's right, actually. I think it I think it emotionalizes some of the other things. I guess that was true. That was trying to fishnet, like, that type of thought where you're, like, where, like because I've I've read a couple articles where people are, hey, man. Listen to it's Israel. Right? And and this is this is God reclaiming his whatever. I'm like, oh, man. I've seen God win things. This it doesn't look like this. Yeah. Right? It doesn't look it didn't look like the way this is going. Well and a lot of the a lot of this is baked into also depending where your end times theology is. Like, tend to think about again, like, there's a belief the reinstitution of the temple. Well, what was it gonna be? It's gonna be in Jerusalem. Then does it matter who owns the land, who runs the land around there? Of course, does. Right?

And so or the the, this notion of a remnant throughout scripture, and kind of a special, dispensation or dealing with the Jewish people. Again, I I would say it's not a right reading of Revelation. And, like, my caution is that when you take that and start applying it to world political things, like, you you actually start stop seeing the situation well. It's Jesus cheats. God Yahweh does too. And so, like, you say, well, if if if god says it's justified,

well, then anything is okay. And so if you believe that, like, you're basically helping god pull together this end times business by making sure like, protecting Israel as a nation state and the various things that are around there because you're helping to bring a pot of the Jewish homeland and dealing positively with this remnant, then then anything is justifiable. Which is to which the Muslim faith has sex of that as well Oh, sure. Which is how they end up doing most of the things that we gets reported. Yes. Yes. And and to and, like, this this is where this gets complicated, of course. Right? Because, like, I mean, there's there's much

terrorism has been dealt upon the world by radical Islam. It just has. Like, there's a their part of their belief structure or, like, sext of it for sure has has allowed some of these things to perpetrate. I mean, this gets into the complications of other types where you're like, does did Osama bin Laden represent the countries that he was hiding out in?

And and to what extent did it make sense to take action against them? The war on terror is difficult because people they they set up in a country and you're like, is the whole country culpable, or is it the dudes who were starting the the the problems? And or, like, they were just better at it at starting problems. The rest of the country might have wanted in. I who you know, it's stuff is so difficult to sort out. And so, like, it's easy to armchair quarterback. It's easy to what to be a pundit on the on the talk shows talking about this stuff. It's easy to read an article and think that you just know all the stuff. That that's actually, I think, one of the benefits of of not deep diving too much into some of the history here is that, like, like, everything has a has a has a skew to it. I mean, he's trying to get you to sympathize. Like, but a slam dunk, you can sympathize with people. Slam dunk, can dis like, you can pray into blindness. You can pray into war and say, look, god. There needs to be peace in here. And, like, yeah, it's just thinking about how much blood is shed over a over a boundary line. But, like, when people there's a commitment there that says we're fighting over something that matters. We're fighting over again, we're fighting over a religious belief. We're fighting over something my my family

land. We're fighting over play we're trying for retribution and justice where people have been aggrieved on either side. Like, it's the rawest of human emotions, and, like, it's it it asks so much to walk away from those things and say, I pursue peace instead. Jesus calls us to that thing to give up the hardest of our retributions to pursue that peace. And so, like, if Jesus is not in this thing, it will not resolve because there's plenty of human earthly ammo to keep that fight up for centuries.

Yeah. Totally. And there's parts of oh, Ireland, they're still they're doing the exact same thing. Yes. Right? And there's other wars inside the Middle East that are still running the same. There's parts of Ethiopia that are in the same the exact same problem. Right? Yep. Same problems. And, like and so, again, just a big encouragement is just to be cautious. One, I want you to be mindful that what you feel is is to be cautious about anything from scripture that you have placed upon this situation. I would start with blessed are the peacemakers and go from there.

But if you're in the book of Revelation, you think, I think there's some relevance here, I want you to be cautious. Actually, I I think there is, but not in the way that you think. I I think it it it does speak to these types of situations, but not because there's a specific thing for Israel in there. I would again, I'd reiterate that maybe again, maybe we'll tackle this next week or the week after. Don't be cautious so don't you you don't misread the the the sending of Ishmael away.

I I think you just need to be cautious with that. I the god did not just produce a a forever enemy of his people with that. That that wasn't the intent of that. And so I just wanna be cautious with that, we'll do maybe we'll dive into that. But the whole thing the whole thing probably needs your prayer. It does need your service. Like, there's all kinds of, like, people who are trying to help in those situations. Doctors Without Borders is in there, places where the Red Cross, there's Christian organizations that are trying to feed and clothe the naked. Here's the thing. I don't care how people became naked or injured. The Christians gotta be in on it. I don't care where they're from. I don't care what their belief system is. Again, the the the even during the times of again, I I can't recommend highly, more highly the rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark, like, you look around at people come to know Jesus during the plague because agnostic of what their belief system was or that the Christians could die to come help them, they showed up and did it. And many Christians died so that other people would live the way Jesus would have done it, and they're not asking what they believe to start it off. Alright? They get to meet Jesus because they saw that he sent his own hands and feet to go do work in the world. And so don't withhold

prayers and mercy and benevolence to people because you don't like which side of a line that they're on. I just that's the amount you can control. A lot of this stuff seems bigger than I could ever possibly try to sort out in my own mind. Some of these things. But like the people stuff I know to be true. And we had that same conversation we were talking about immigration.

Think these are complicated. I think they're complicated things. Nations should secure themselves. People also need help. The people stuff, you can do border agnostic. Some of the other stuff, you have to just wreck it. They're not super easy to sort out. But, like, do I care whether they're on one side of the border or another if they need some sort of benevolence? No. Can we figure out how to do that in Mexico or some county in Texas that said it was fine? I don't know. Like, but start there. Start to do the things that you can do. And then just be discerning and try to be wise about how you take in information and apply scripture to some of the other stuff. Okay. I think that helps.

That's complicated, and people don't know what to do. And then they hear like, especially certain political circles. Right? You're right. Both sides of our political divide will have support for Israel for separate reasons. And so people well, you know, as soon as they're like, you know, Israel's in a conflict, not only politically are we like, well, how can we help? Like, as a as a community,

we're like, yeah. Well, Israel's right about this. And, like, I mean, I've had people that I believe in, love in, and, like, I don't blindly just put my support behind those guys either. You know? I'm like, what is it you're doing exactly? Yeah. And, And, like, think of how hard it is to lead in a situation. Let's say just, like, if you're a leader on either side of this thing, like and you're the person who goes, I'm willing to take the risk of peace. That's a heck of a risk, man, because it's never worked. Everybody that's tried to do it over there, it's not succeeded. And so, like, the thing that you risk by trying to to to make peace where it has never succeeded is your is the safety of your people, is the credibility of your government, is your ability to defend yourself should these people not be trustworthy. Peace is difficult. It is super hard, especially when you've got all that stuff human bigot. So, like, do I understand why, for example, Israel's reacting the way they do? I get it. From a human level, I totally get it. I did it. Like, I can't for as a as a Christian, there's there's parts of it I just cannot I'm not on board with. But, like, do I get it?

And regardless of what their faith is, do I understand Palestinian angst? Do I understand the radicalization of of Palestinians into, like, groups like Hamas who go, look, we were we were ignored. Some some stuff shirt white dude came in and helped set boundaries. Thanks, Woodrow. Like, or whatever. Post World War two and, like, my family land is gone. Like, what am I supposed to think about that? Oh, great. I'm glad there's world peace. Like, all politics and troubles are local, man. And so I I guess have some

just try to walk a mile in someone's moccasins before you go nuts. I I don't know. I just be it's a discernment. I I don't even know. I could be I'm I'm okay that I if I have the wrong view of half of these things. I I'd be okay to to to learn my lessons differently. But, like, I know that whatever it is starts with humility. It starts with loving people. It starts with trusting Jesus. And and it's much harder work to make peace than it is to pick sides. And and and and I think we need to be involved in the hard work of that. Alright. You ready? Yep. Dear life from the path. A very good friend and neighbor sold a Taylor Swift ticket to my 15 year old daughter for $900.

Oh my god. Where did 15 year old girl get $900? Wow. I should mention, my daughter would have given her right arm for the chance to go to the show. The original ticket was purchased for $300 including fees. Initially, my friend wanted to sell it for a thousand, but she offered a quotes discount because my daughter's sixteenth birthday was coming up. I can appreciate the value of the hottest ticket in town and that it comes with an inflated price tag. However, from my point of view, it was merely a transaction meant for my friend to make a handsome profit off my kid. Yeah. I'm extremely disappointed at the price gouging, and now I think of the woman differently. I have been avoiding her because she will likely become defensive. Am I wrong in thinking her actions were not that good of a friend after all? No. I mean, she does seems like she kind of she may suck as a person. Yeah. No. I mean, it's not Hold on a minute. Yeah. That ticket was worth a thousand dollars. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Totally. I I think

if you the the question is about the how old was the kid? 16? Fifteenth. Oh, 15? Yeah. I I think that is I I would have no problems at all if she sold that to an adult for $900. 2,200. Whatever the adults willing to pay, I don't care. That seems totally reasonable because that's that's an adult transaction. It does feel like you may be taking advantage of a 15 year old who may not like is not thinking about the value of money. Well, let me ask you this. If it like, let's say the neighbor totally bought that ticket completely to resell it. That was their whole gig. They're like, I'll buy a Swifty ticket for 3 hundo, and I'll turn around and sell it for a grand. This would be sweet. I'm for it. And and all of a sudden here comes this mom who's like, hey, my daughter really wants to go to that concert. I saw you had that ticket for sale for a thousand bucks. You're like, oh, man. I mean, I guess I I could probably sell it to you for 9 hundo. They're like, yeah. Deal. You know what I'm saying? I'm okay with that. But so but you're saying the fact that the kid asked?

Yeah. If What kind of kid's got $900? I don't know. I'm suspicious of that, Pete. But, like and, like, I mean, it it's just a lesson for the kid. But, like, as an adult, just because you can doesn't mean that you should. If it was that hot of a ticket and you could have sold it to someone else for 900 or a thousand dollars or at least, like, checked in. If this is your neighbor, yeah, okay. I wouldn't do it to one of your kids. Like, I wouldn't approach any one of your kids and know that, like, even if it was justified, if I thought it was a little bit outrageous, like like, especially, Mike, you've got underage children. I would go, hey, man. Your daughter said she'd pay $900 for this. You know? What do you think? It's her 900. Now if you said yes, that's fine. Then again, I don't care. I I I don't think it's it's not from a practical level,

the transaction itself isn't wrong. But from a relational level, I think it's skeezy. Here's the thing. I guess what I'm getting at is is it doesn't matter what the woman paid for the ticket originally. No. That doesn't matter. I don't care about that. The ticket's worth a thousand bucks. Sure. They gave the ticket at a $100 discount. That seems generous. I mean, she's saying that. I mean right. I I she's probably just saying that to get rid of it, or she could be saying it to get rid of it. Those tickets were going for $3 a pop in Kansas City not like a month ago. Maybe not that particular seat. Well, I yes. That was the cheapest one. Oh. I'm telling you the tickets to the Swifty Show is outrageous. So I I guess for what I'm saying is the customer was probably in Bentonville. Stuff goes for a little bit less. Let's say it's in Bentonville. Okay. That would explain the thousand dollar price tag. Yeah. At the end of the day, if I own

a 2022 Jeep Cherokee Yeah. And I bought it for $500, that car is still worth $15. And I sold it to somebody for 12. They still got a heck of a deal. You know what I'm saying? Sure. Yeah. Yeah. I don't, yeah, I don't have a problem with the price tag at all. I have a problem with the age of the person they sold it to. Why aren't you mad at their parents for letting them spend $900 on a Swifty ticket? Well, I I don't know. Did did they let them or did they find out about it later? Oh, it doesn't say anything about that. Yeah. I'd like I guess the what I the the story I made up in my head was they

this the the 15 year old is like, here's about it and goes, hey. I'll buy that off you. And the guy goes, yeah. I'll I'll get or the lady says, I'll sell it to you for well, knock a $100 off. I'll sell it to you for 900. She also made up the thousand. And then the kid bought it. Well, I I might at least go, hey. Do you want do you wanna check with your parents or something? For 15 year old? What kind of 15 year old one has $900? That that's not even, like, legit. You can work more than four or five hours a week of age. Too much forgiving. Gives out the $900 without their parents knowing at all. Yeah. What kind of household could see $900 leave the door? Doesn't matter which one of my family members had it, and I go, what? Yeah. I I don't the story you're spinning don't sound right to me. The story the story that seems more accurate to me is that her daughter really wanted to go. The neighbor was planning on making money off this ticket in the first place, never intended to go to show That's fine. And then gave it to the kid at a discount because of the birthday was coming. Yeah. I again, I I don't have a problem with the enterprise at all. I don't they could've sold for $2. You said they were a bad person. No. I said that I said how they went about it was skeezy because of the the age of the kid, and I stand by that. Otherwise otherwise, I don't care. Did you put this kid at 17 or 18? I don't care at all. This is I don't care about it. What if the parents gave her the $900?

Well, then what are they complaining about? Exactly. This is I feel like it's the the the the parent of the kid is is in the wrong. That's where I'm at. If the parent gave him the $900, then there's nothing wrong with the neighbor. The neighbor didn't do anything. Unless that kid is slick and dope, but that's a lot of money for a 15 year old kid. Yeah. Yeah. Dan. Yeah. I think I see, I have trouble with the whole Taylor Swift phenomenon anyway. Dan, that's not what we're talking about. I know. So so it's hard for it's even more hard for me to think that that's just an inflated amount.

I can't believe anybody would would spend that kind of money on a concert, but I do think he took advantage of of this this young girl. Okay. What if it was a car? Go back to my Jeep example. He's the the neighbor's selling a car for 15 k, and then the kid says, I really want that car. I could give you a 14. And the guy's like, no problem. Done. Even if he paid $500 for it or he got it in in it was inherited to him from his uncle. He didn't pay a dime for But it's it's the true legitimate value.

You're you're not. That's what the tickets were. Oh, man. They were going for that, Dan. I get it. I know. Yeah. I just have trouble anybody spending that kind of money on a concert, but I can't get past that. And what and what's what's the question? The question was, am I wrong in thinking her actions were not that of a good friend at all? Like, does a good friend

automatically have to give you tickets at the price they paid for them. Otherwise, they're not a good friend. Yeah. I mean, no. No. She's just being a normal person. Yeah. Not not being a great friend, not being a terrible person either. Just just it's just commerce. If they if they approach the neighbor want asking to buy the ticket, it it it that's different than the neighbor going to them and saying, hey. Buy this ticket. I'll give it to you for $900.

But what what if the family's like, hey. They've got Taylor Swift tickets. Let's go see if they're willing to sell it to us. And the guy's like, yeah, I could give it to you for a $100 off even because we're neighbors. Yeah. I don't like I said, I don't have any problem with that at all. Okay. So but you're reading into the other thing. No. I'm not. They're they're 15. It's that the the way that the the way that the setup was was that the 15 year old said, I'd like to buy that tape from you, and they sold it to a 15 old for $900. If the adult was if the parent was involved in any way, I have no problems with this. They get the ability to determine the value. If you think it's worth $900, then pay $900. I don't care. But, like, the fact if I were to think of just think of my whatever. I got a I got a 17 year old daughter. She's got friends that are 15, 16 years old. If I thought I if it's perfectly okay if I wanna make a buck on some Taylor Swift tickets. But if I sold it to my friend's son for $900 when I knew that, like, it's it's very possible that they wouldn't approve of this, but I did it anyway. That's wrong. Yeah. But you you read all that into it. That doesn't exist. That's not even in there. The I don't know why this woman well, the question is is why is the woman acting like the the friend was or the neighbor was skeezy? Because she wanted the the the ticket at a deeper discount. She wanted her to sell it to her for the 3 hundo she had in it. She didn't say that. Yeah. That's what I see. Okay. Okay. I'll take you. Yeah. Okay.

I I no. I don't think I I think the price of it doesn't matter to me. The age of the kid did. That's what matters to me. I think the lady is I think the lady is skeezy with the daughter. I think she thought if you bought it for 300, you should have sold it to me for like 400. But the fact that you sold it to him for 900 is insulting. Didn't sell it to her. You probably sent it to the kid. Okay. She's saying it, but like a 15 year old kid don't have $900, Ben. That's what you're saying, but maybe they do. Maybe they get they saved up their their lunch money. No. No. That's ridiculous. Yeah. You don't know any 15 year old kid with $900. Name me one. Give me the name. First name. Everett. Well, okay. Everett. 15. Everett might have $900. He wouldn't be so silly to spit it on Tim's. So Okay. That's true. Alright. Secular said the question was, am I wrong in thinking her actions were not that of a good friend after all? Okay.

Segular says, because your neighbor sold the ticket to your daughter at three times what she paid for it, I would have to agree. She acted more like a ticket broker than a good friend. I see no reason why you should cut her off completely, but now you know she's a shark when it comes to business, so keep your eyes open. On the upside, your daughter got to live her dream that night, and many of the fans who saw Taylor Swift in action have said it was the best show of their lives. No. I disagree with that completely. What she paid for is none of your business. She sold it to you at a discount, and now you're upset. It's not where her complaint was. The complaint was about the kids. Yeah. Whatever. Yeah. Her story ain't end up, man. $900, 15 year old. And the parent had no idea that it was even happening. You're acting like it was some kind of back alley gold bar trade. I know. It was not. No. Think the neighbor was probably talking to the 15 year old just like as neighbors do and was talking about Tavern Taylor's twist Swift tickets, and the kid goes, hey, man. I'd really love to go. And he goes, look. I'll sell it to you for $900. Okay. A neighbor and good friend does not take $900 from a 15 year old next door without even involving the parent. That's what I'm saying. Okay. That's what I'm saying. The parent was involved, and she approved it. And now she's mad because she thought she overpaid for the ticket. No. I'm just saying they didn't involve the parent. Yeah. They definitely did. That's the situation I've been presented with. K. That's wrong. Yeah. You're not even saying it right. Yeah. Okay. Next one.

No. I don't care about that. No. I don't care about that. No. Maybe. No. Yes. Dared life from the path. Oh, no. My wife and I are raising our two daughters, six and seven, alongside my sister and her son, 10.

My sister and her baby daddy separated before the child's birth because he was physically and emotionally abusive. However, the law allows him to still be in the boy's life. I love my sister and my nephew, which is why we are raising our families as a village. The problem is we are seeing similar characteristics in my nephew's behavior toward our daughters. He's manipulative and a little, quotes, overly familiar toward my eldest daughter. She looks up to him, and he uses it to get her to do what he wants. Now my seven year old is emotionally abusing and ostracizing my six year old. I'm torn because my gut tells me to move and get my girls away from my nephew, but he too is a child, and I want to continue to support him so he can grow into a decent man. However, I am not willing to sacrifice my girls for his potential. What to do? I need some more details around the terms abuse.

Like, when you're saying that they're emotionally abusive. Did you say physically abusive too? No. Not the not the not the baby daddy. I mean, the 10 year old. No. It just says that they're seeing similar characteristics in the 10 year old and he's manipulative and he's a little overly familiar toward the oldest girl. But now the oldest girl is starting to emotionally abuse the six year old, which I gotta be real honest with you. That happens at my house anyway. Yeah. Like, what do they mean? Like, you're you're pooping pants? Like, is that abusive? Like, I I that's where I get tied up on, like, what do we mean? Because, like,

here's the thing. I was actually talking to someone recently about their kid has got a potty mouth. Kids like, I don't know, three or four or something using F bombs and stuff. And I I said, look, that kid doesn't have a potty mouth. It has a mirror mouth. That kid doesn't know. Has no idea the words. Like, they're just saying words that they've

other people say. It's not like it's going, oh, I got something dirty to say and I'm gonna say it. They're just saying things that they've seen. And so like, I mean, I kind of wonder how many years the 10 year old how long the dad's been out of his life. But like, you know, he's gonna if he saw things that otherwise demonstrated bad behavior, he's gonna carry some of that with him. It's gonna take some time to to shake out of it. I think it does matter. This is where the details are super important. Like, I mean, if he's when you say too familiar, like, what do you mean? Yeah. I kinda get stuck on that too. Like, he's huggy? Because some people are huggy. You know, it's the birthday? Yeah. Like but but, like, if you're saying he's inappropriately touching your kids, well, then that's a line you can't stand. Which I don't think that's what she's saying. Otherwise, she would've said that. Well, that's I hope so. Right? So, like, I but I think you do have to be careful that you don't read the sins of the father

onto some of the actions of the son. Because, like, you could be out of caution for your own kids. I totally get it. But you go, oh, I see where we're going here. And you start to get worried about that. And, like, I understand that. But, like, you've got to deal with you gotta deal with the kid in the situation, like, super objectively. Yeah. I think that, like, as parents, especially as your kids start to get older, the the the weight of

you raising these kids starts to feel very real to you. Right? If they start acting in a certain way, you're like like, it depends on what your gut is. Right? My gut is to go, I failed these children. I've got to double down. I will get more involved. Right? Like, I've allowed them to think something's true that is not. And we will be having a conversation. And other people will go, well, it's gotta be the people influencing them around them. Right? Because my kids wouldn't act like that. They're being raised correctly. Mhmm. Right? And so there's a bit of either humility involved or arrogance involved that that usually decides which side of that coin that you land on. And so if I think that I'm seeing the forest for the trees correctly, I ain't saying that the nephew's a heart of gold and doesn't have some correction maybe. But, like, if you're raised in a village, why don't you focus on the raisin part? Right? If your seven year old is ostracizing your six year old, sounds like both them kids belong to you to me. And so, like, you probably better start dealing with them. Yeah. Right? Like, I done even let's say the 10 year old is is what's if we're gonna call emotionally abusive at seven, like, calling them names, stealing their toys, right, telling them they're stupid, tell them I don't wanna play with you no more, whatever. We'll call it that. Right? So, like, if that's true, then you put that kid in time out, and then you put the other kid in time out for doing the exact same thing. Like, discipline your kids, teach them the difference between what is right and what is not. I don't care where they got that behavior from. I know that, like, the first time your kid acts like a jerk, you automatically like, the very first time when they're about five, six, seven, you're like, this kid's a jerk. And you're like, I know whose fault this is. This is mine. Yeah. And we're gonna we're gonna parent. We're like, you don't go, I wonder what they saw on Caillou that was causing this. Or I think I heard Bluie given the sass to one of his his cartoon buddies, and it's gotta be the TV. It doesn't. Like, he they're they're basically, you have to teach kids how to deal with outside influences if you believe that's the problem. But mostly, we're just broken sinful people, and we try out dirty, nasty behavior to see if it sticks. And if it gets us what we want as a kid, we keep doing it. Mhmm. And then as an adult, we have to get corrected where people go, ain't no one gonna put up with you acting this way. You know? Your job as a parent is to help ease the transition between a self a selfish,

self centered child and an adult that sacrifices for others around them. Yeah. Right? And so, like, that's a long road. It takes about sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years before they've even headed in the right direction. And so I I think if I'm if I'm picking up what you're putting down, I think your kid started acting like a jerk and you're looking for the reason. And and you might be over focusing on this poor kid who ain't got no dad, and he's struggling to figure out who he is anyway. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Like the first, my first question, if someone goes, hey,

my kid is misbehaving or they're a jerk. We're like, okay. Well, what do mean, are you doing about it? Like, People are gonna pick stuff up. People's natural tendencies are gonna go their own way. They're gonna do what's right in their own eyes. The question is, what are you doing to otherwise shape and mold them? Bailing if you're not gonna do anything about it now,

separating isn't gonna actually help much. Separating from the situation. Like, frankly, it's probably best to teach kids to learn within the situation how not to take on negative influences, how to protect themselves, how to say, hey, dude's not treating me right or whatever. Yeah, I think there's that. And it does, this sounds like not wisdom. Right? But like there is some benefit in having your kids get exposed to things while they still live with you. And while they're still underneath your roof, like marijuana, like pot, just give it to them, get them the hashish and let them roll. Say, look, I know you're all gonna bump heroin. You just will do it in the basement. Like, that's not stuff I'm talking about, but like how to deal with people who want to influence you and influence them in a way and teach them how to

navigate through who gets to speak into their life and who doesn't. Yeah. You know, actually, was thinking about something along those lines last week. My oldest daughter is driving and, like, she was she's gonna drive to a basketball practice. And it was gonna be it's not even that late at night, but it's dark. And it's in it's not the best part of town or whatever.

And so so we'll we'll I'll ride with her. I'm still gonna have her drive, but I'll I'll ride with her just to make sure everything goes okay. Now the reality is is that, like, I can't do anything. Like, if she decides she's gonna drive like like a like a wagon and fall off the bridge or run into another car like, if I saw trouble on the road, there's very little I could reasonably do. I couldn't jump over and take over the wheel. We're going you know, heading down the interstate. This wasn't gonna happen. But there's something about being there with them even as as she's going through something that's new and different. Even if the responsibilities pretty much falls completely on her shoulders, you're there. You're there to help provide reassurance. You're there to provide like, how do you take in a situation that they may not have expected even if they are the ones who have to walk through it? And so, like, yeah, the encouragement there is is that, I mean, there are some things that your kids are gonna have to learn, but you could be there for it without otherwise doing it for them or protecting them completely away from it. Like, just walk it with them, but not for them. Yeah. And and I suppose just to round that out, like, if the if you're just soft shoeing the way that the kid's acting, right, like, if he's physically abusive or if he's he's touching them inappropriately,

yeah, it's cut it's cut in space. Like, yeah, you need get your kid out of that right now. And that's not even a discussion to be had. Just stop it and get him out of there. And I would don't even but, like, even if that were the case, like, you need to think, I want you to think graciously at this 10 year old. There's it's it's mirror behavior, man. Like, they don't know how to function in the world. And so you gotta take proper precautions. Sometimes you separate people from society other people in society. But, like, especially at that age, I mean, they're they're they're reacting to the world that they've been presented. And the world that they were presented would just might kinda suck. And the parent and it sounds like their dad's a real jackwagon. And, who knows? If maybe your sister is just not doing a very good job of protecting that influence, especially if if the dad was around for long enough time,

to to put some ideas and stuff into the 10 year old's head. And so I think you could take action, but it doesn't mean you have to be super, like, overly don't you don't don't hate the 10 year old. You're still praying for them. You're still I'd still interact with their lives. Just don't bring your girls, and still do your best to otherwise help that person succeed. It's just you're just taking steps for protection, but don't bail on them as a person. K. Segular says, your children must come before your sister's son. Because your older daughter is now modeling her cousin's misbehavior and acting out against her little sister, it's time to discourage that behavior and limit, if not sever, the contact she has with her cousin before it creates lasting damage.

You cannot save everyone. It is your duty to protect your daughters from any negative influence. Yeah. I think I just disagree with that. Like, I think it's your duty to teach them how to deal with negative influence unless you expect them to leave your house and then, like like, skipping, you know, with a fruit basket, whistling down the road, and then be, like, totally taken aback by a rude people they meet in the world or people who want to like, if you leave them out there to be easily influenced, they will be. Right? If you hide the things that exist, like, they'll go they'll think they were lied to. And, like, the whole point is, like, you're trying to help them transition to a full functioning adult who can take in influences and go, that's outer circle. Mhmm. Only inner circle things get to get to point me in a direction or affect the way that I that I think right now. And inner circle things from our definition is you find things that point you to God. That's inner circle people. People that try to solve problems by saying this needs to get solved through your faith in Jesus Christ. That's inner circle stuff. Anybody who wants to change your worldview, you get to love them well, but they're outer circle. They don't get to speak into your life and the way that you look at things. You can still love them and treat them well, but they don't get to speak to to core things. And so, like, that's what you're trying to teach your kids before they leave your place. Dan, you've had people leave your place. Yes. I have. Dan, would you like to speak to this in any way because you've had people leave your place? I'll have to admit I'm about seven hours ahead of everybody in Zimbabwe right now, I think I fell asleep. Okay. Dan went to bed. That's fine. You know what? Dan Dan did the same thing in parenting just said, you guys seem to have this handle. You guys are fine. Wake me up when you come back. Hey. You've been listening to live from the past. Thanks for hanging out with us this week. We very much appreciate it. Make sure you check out the old back catalog. We're releasing older podcast episodes every few weeks. And so you can go, if you've exhausted the entire, I don't know, 160 episodes or whatever is out there,

you can go, start hitting us back. And we got plenty of room to go. I think I'm in, 2019 or '18, and we've been doing the show since 2010. So the hits will likely keep rolling both backwards and forwards. In the meantime, if you have any feedback for us on the show, get ahold of us on the 5,000 Eisenhower Life from the Path complaint line. (515) 517-0085. Call or text (515) 517-0085. We'd love to hear from you. We'll see what kind of show we can put together for next time. But in the meantime, be faithful in the means. God will handle the ends. You've been listening to live from the path.