Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from Path. And you're listening to Live From The Path, coming to you from the Pathway Studios here in Johnston Proper.

It's lovely to be with you here on Life The Path. Listen. Listen. I know, like, a thousand of you went out and listened to the song, A Prophet's Cry by Life From The Path, and I appreciate it. And let me just encourage a thousand more. To go dig on it, you can go to any of where your delightful music is streamed or purchased, and you're gonna look for a prophet's cry by Life From The Path. You can also pick up Shofar Show Good by Life From The Path. I'm a tell you about a prank that one one of my kids played on me this week. Okay. And it was apparently the new Alexa software. Like, you can you can tell it, like, to have responses

to you and be like a character. You know? Oh. And so, like, I didn't know any of this. So I go up and tell it to play I I was trying to get it to play the back episode of life on the path or something. Yeah. And it's like, oh, taking in some podcasts, are we? Well, let me see if I can dig that up for you way back in the in in the religious section. I'm like, woah. Ow. I'm like, what's going on here? And so and I'm like, I let it go. You know? No big deal. And then it couldn't find it. It couldn't find life from the path. Yeah. So I picked a real specific episode that I knew there wasn't gonna be a bunch of episodes named it was enter the McCormick. Yeah. And so I said, hey. Play that episode podcast episode, and it said in into the McCormick

by Life From The Path. And I said, hey, Alexa. That's exactly the podcast I had you looking for the last three minutes. What why what was this different about? And it's like, well, excuse me. I'm doing the best I can. And it turns out that, like, my daughter had programmed this thing to be a sassy, like, pain in the teeth. And so, like, she's sitting in the other room laughing at me, and I'm like, alright. Because I have AI at work. Right? And if you tell it to do a thing or, like, straighten itself out, it'll it'll tend to, like, you know, straighten itself out. So I I kept telling him, like, listen. Don't be making commentary on the songs I pick or, like, going over, like, general, like, you know, phrases that you wanna speak into my life. Just play the tune I asked you to play or play the podcast I told you to play and stop trying to be my friend. And it's like, sorry. I guess I'll just go back to being a regular old music jukebox. I'm like, dude, I hate this thing. I love it. I was so mad. Okay. I don't like to point people to the AI to, like, change your life, but I'm gonna suggest to you that, like, the AI is pretty good at de escalation.

Right? So, like, I'm mad at this thing all the time. I don't like what it sasses me. I, like and it doesn't intend to sass me, but, like, it ignores something I asked or I asked something and it brings up, like, 15 cautions that I didn't mention. And I'm like, look, I didn't ask for any of that that stuff. I didn't ask for your opinion on this matter. I'm like sassing it all the time. And it always is like, you're right. My bad. Like, it doesn't it's one of those things that humans always like or or have a tendency to like amp each other up. Like, you're offended now that I'm offended. The AI don't get offended at you. No. And like, I I remember watching it respond when I was particularly piped up about something. And I'm like, you know, that's actually pretty good. It's this humility in this AI. Like, it doesn't back down or anything. It just go it just doesn't, like it doesn't meet your drama. I'm like, I don't know. That's pretty good, actually. People should learn from that too. This is pretty good. Actually, I that's that was my number one critique against it is, like, do you read about that guy that, like, I think he runs, like, Rockstar Games or something, and he fired his entire creative staff because they were using AI. And he's like he's like, here's the thing. He he goes, it can do all kinds of great work inside the box, but it does like, it can only deal with ideas that already exist. Yeah. Right? And so, like, if you wanna create something or or have innovation,

like, you can't AI can't it just can't do it. You know? And, like, I I I thought about that because I was running some, like, complex I was I was, like, really digging in the weeds about some problems that I wanted to fix. And I wanted to fix them in, like I kept thinking, like, what one of my main ideas was is there's the bunch of these old towns, like, back in the forties and fifties, they the towns used to run off their own generators. Like, these big old slow moving, you know, big hunks of iron. You know? Well, they became obsolete, and people just abandoned them because it cost too much to get out to to get them out from where they're at. And I thought, you know what? Maybe we could solve some of our power constraints with these old hunks of iron. You know what I'm saying? Like, what would it take to, like, revisit them, put a new generator end on them, and just put them back in service? You know what I'm saying? And get these things back on the grid. So I start asking, like, this AI how to do it or whatever. And,

like, it it could help me to a certain extent, but, like, it it it kept trying to bring in, like, situations that didn't matter. And I kept telling it, like, like, I don't care about that. We're just trying to look at this in a different way. And they're like, oh, yeah. We'll figure out how to get them hunks of iron running. Like, try to beat me in excitement. And then it told me, like, all these prices, and I'm like, are you making this up? Because, like, this seems really low. It's like, yeah. I kinda filled in the gaps with some guesses here. I'm like, hey. Stop guessing. Like, I I I'm using you to bounce ideas off of, and you're just making stuff up. If you can't see a road from a to b, you just make a road up and then sell it to me like solid gold. I'm like, that's lying. That's what humans call lying. And it's like, I had no intention of lying, but I certainly did based on what you say. And I'm like, yes. You did. Man. And so, like, I think that's my my most the like, people are are looking at AI. Like, They're it's gonna innovate our business, and it's gonna do all this stuff. And I'm like, to a certain extent, there are some menial tasks that it can take over. Here's it's a great example of where people get run amok. I watched a guy, like, was he sent out a message. He's like, hey. I I gotta go work in this other town to to come come to your place. You know? Can you give me a hotel recommendation that's close to the airport? As a response,

the man that he asked produced a website with AI to explain all the hotels in town. And I'm like, the man asked your recommendation because he doesn't want to to sleep in a crap hole. Yeah. You know, he's like, tell me a good hotel to use. You live there. And instead, this dude creates an AI website

because he wanted to use AI. Yeah. I'm like, I hate this. Yeah. Yeah. I hate the way we're living. This is so dumb. Yeah. I've actually had that that's come up, and everybody's running into this. I know, Mike, you you ran into this at work too where they're like, they're pressing and they're going, hey, man. One of our key key objectives this year is to use AI. I'm like, that's stupid. It's like it's like having it's like having a basket full of rubber bands and then going around the company going, hey. You know what we wanna do is use rubber bands. I'm like, well, for what? Like, if you if you have a problem that you wanna solve, like, even like, say the most capitalistic thing that came to mind, we wanna make boo coos money. We wanna make big money. And then to make money, we think we can use AI to go figure out the right people to sell to. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. That that makes sense to me. But to be just like, we just wanna use it. We just wanna put plaster on the walls. We just wanna put rubber bands on crap and go, look. We used rubber bands. Like, what what kind of company is that? But but, like, that's not I know why people are doing it. It's because they don't understand it. So they're just like, you know, we need to show we're leading and we're using AI. But that's Yeah. Dumb. But, like but every but even the tech companies who know better than this, they know better than that that that's not an outcome. They're still like, yeah. We just we need to be able to tell the shareholders, like, we're cranking up AI. It depends on the tech company. Right? But, like, they need to train AI too. And so the more people use it, the more they train it. You know what I'm saying? So, like, I think there's a back end. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know? Like Harvesting. Yeah. There's a victory for Google to be like, hey. All you guys all you employees need to use AI more. They're not like, Hey, just use it for stupid reasons. They're like, I just wanna see how people use it so we can train it to do stuff. Still,

to your exact point, the guys who make chairs, their business model should always be, we wanna make chairs, not we wanna use AI. If AI helps us make chairs, then great. Then we would like to implement that into our chair building business. But at the end, it's not a goal to use it. That's like saying our goal is to use a hammer this year. You're like, but we're a chair company. You heard what I said. More hammers. You know what saying? Like Yeah. Or even think of something more rudimentary and said, like, when electricity became widely available and there's a guy with a hammer and you go to the hammer company and they're like, hey, man. We really wanna integrate this electricity. And I don't know. Put a light bulb on a hammer or, like, make an electric hammer. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I no. Like, the hammer does what the hammer does. It's just a silly thing. It's a silly thing to do. I I was actually at an art at, like, this folk art thing that one of my kids was doing over the weekend, and I walked around to the other vendors. It was kinda cool. It was a little more interesting. A lot of these art things have the same people doing the same things at all the different, like, vendor fairs or whatever. These guys there's just got some interesting things in there. Although, I think there was a they wouldn't come right out and say it, but I think there were a couple Wiccans making bread making goods. And doggone it, these cinnamon rolls look good. But I'm like, I can't buy these Cauldron cinnamon rolls. Paul says don't let it be a problem. I know, but I just anyway, I did something didn't feel right about it, so I didn't I didn't get them. But, like,

anyway, there's a guy who was doing, like, three d printing ceramics, and, like, you could kinda see the layers. I I didn't know they could do that. Like, that that that that's a material that a three d printer could do. You know? And he's like, look. You know? They're three d printed. I'm like, I don't why would I care about that? Why would I be excited that you told a machine to make something that people would make by hand? Like, if you made this same thing by hand, I'd be like, wow, dude. Nice. Yeah. But that you had a machine do it for you as if that was the virtue. I'm like, I don't know. Yeah. Why would I why would I I mean, whatever. He seemed like a nice enough man. I hope he did well. I just I'm not drawn in by it. Yeah. Easily been a template. You know what I'm saying? They're like, I sat and watched this thing make it. I'm like, I think you're double the fool now because it would have made it without you sitting there. You know what I'm saying? I just tell it to go and then leave. Yeah. And, actually, there's another thing another art thing that I've seen recently where, like, a lot of people are just, like, three d printing, like, plastic dragons

and stuff. And they're doing it, and they're like, hey. Look at this one. It took twenty eight hours to print, and that's why it's $75. I'm like, twenty eight hours to print? You mean, like, if I had a document that was 300 pages and I hit go, I had to wait longer before it came out, but, like, you didn't do anything extra. I mean, you have a little more plastic in it, I guess. Right. But like, that's not an $80 dragon compared to this $30 paperweight you put together. I just, it's just, and we'll get over it. You know, like people follow technology and then they come back to realize that like humans actually care about humans. It's, you know, it's funny is I was talking to this, to somebody at work about this today that like, regardless of where the technology goes,

all the promises that I think like fast speed and innovation and things come with, people are not gonna want it. They're they're they're actually like, people like dealing in gray. They like dealing they like working through problems together. They like hearing another voice on the other line to go help them with something even though they could have done it themselves. This is why, like, companies have spent all kinds of money, and it's it's succeeding in the younger generations. People will order pizza because you can do it online versus having to call, and, like, they'll choose that pizza restaurant. Yeah. So, like, some of that is working culturally. But, like, at the I I do think actually you're going to you'll always come back to that, like, there are things that, yes, humans could do for themselves, but they don't want to. Like, why would they wanna do that? They they they actually wanna interact with another human, and they like grayness, and they like nebulousness.

Because if someone could, like, reckon and render the entire world for you right now, then then then you're just walking out a series of like utilitarian choices. Like, you would you would do this thing and not this thing because it's like 60% good, 40% bad, so you do the more good thing. And it's just like there's no there's no life experience in doing that. And so it's it'd be kind of like going on to, you know, you could imagine that ten years from now, most people are finding matches on dating websites through like AI, algorithms and stuff that go, look, you got a 98% match with this person or whatever. And you know what that means is like, you never,

you never meet people who stretch you. You you don't find that perfect someone that hates movies, even though you like movies and would never hike in their life, even though you love it. And it's still someone that you would spend forever with. And so like, I think it'll ebb and flow, I think it will eventually always come back to the fact that humans are more complicated and grayish than that. Like everything that technology promises, the reality is we don't probably want it. It would just take a while for us to recognize that. Yeah. I kinda I wonder if my wife and I put our stuff on a dating site if we it'd match us Yeah. Right. After all these years. Right? Like, maybe it was a bad choice. Her profile is like, I don't like people named Dan. Yeah. Gonna be rough. Like people with, like, very basic color shirts. And he's like, Oh no! And big dogs.

Okay, you're listening live from the Path. Here's what got going on the show tonight. So we're gonna talk a little bit about, when it comes to, I mean, there's always been discipleship and stuff, but the question is, is that like, does what the church, when the church gathers as a community, and think of it primarily like Sunday morning stuff, in what way or how does it prepare us for the coffee on Monday morning?

Especially if, and I think this isn't true in all contexts, but I think for many, with the proliferation of like teaching and stuff available online, I actually think a lot of the substantive stuff happens on a coffee on Monday morning, or the dudes, you know, bean bag group on Tuesday afternoon or, like, that kind of stuff. And so the question is, is it like, should we how do we think about that? Or what are the ways we should think about, you know, what does it look like to do those types of things? And like, I think the fellows in this room have a lot of experience doing that kind of stuff, and like, what what has been working? And then like, how might we think differently about

what the church does communally to prepare ourselves for the things that happen kind of individually? So we'll talk through that. I'll start off with something small, and maybe it's just, I don't know, maybe it's an encouragement. I was, there was a guy on a podcast who was talking about,

they'd done studies around just positive thinking. And I don't mean like, hey, if you dream about a car, a new car, you'll manifest one. I don't mean that. But the point the guy was making is that like, if you get up in the morning and you go, look, it's gonna be a great day. Like there is something like, think of it like problem solving.

And so I've always found the ability to solve problems or think of ideas just like a miracle of the mind. Because the reality is, is that like when I want to think of a way to solve something, I read or someone tells me about what the problem is, and then I go, and I make noises, and I stare at the wall, and I doodle a little bit, and then something happens, right? I did not put any

effort that I can tell, right? It's not like you just like moved a chair from one side of the room to the other. That you could say, Oh, how did that chair move? I picked it up and moved it. But thinking of ideas or solving problems more so like just shuts other things out and just goes, I'm going to try to tune all my faculties out from other things and then just let it run and see what happens. And then it just goes, Oh, bang. Here's an idea. And so like, it's always been really easy to go, Look, if even if I'm the guy who thought of something to like humbly advocate that it's the best, because I'm like, I take no credit for this. I don't know where it came from. I just sat still for a minute and this thing happened, you know? And so anyway, when he was saying this, he was like, look, if you start the day and you go, look, it's gonna be a great day. Like it's almost that you've

given your mind the problem to solve in what way it will be a great day. And like you've basically tuned your thinking into now be looking for ways to both interpret the day as it sits and find opportunities in that day for it to be great simply because like you orient you pointed your mind at an idea and it just like the chat GPT will start filling in the gaps and stuff. And I'm like, okay. That actually makes sense to me way better than people who are like, I will manifest a mate and my spouse will come today. Like, don't know about But I do think like trying to get your mind focused on something and centering on it as if it's a problem to solve will put your faculties to solving it because that's how I solve problems anyway. And so, okay, think, okay, well, that's interesting and great. You probably should do that. And then I thought like, well,

should point the same thing to the work of Jesus. Like, if it's the same concept and go like, not Lord, I'm gonna manifest a missionary opportunity today necessarily, but like, just like what are you tuning what problem or opportunity are you setting in front of yourself for the day so that you take the world in that way as you go? And you probably can do it multiple times. This is where you like this Jewish praying three times a day or even the Muslims, right? Like you just taken time out to focus and say, look, my mind is saying now they're not necessarily praying ahead into the next few hours or something, but just like, I don't know, just constantly refreshing what you're looking for in the world so that your brain is attentive to it. That feels like something that could be

valuable. Yeah. I like to like if I'm trying to figure out what gonna teach for the next few months, whatever, I have no idea. Yeah. And then I'll take some time. I'll just block off time, and I'll just sit there and Don't rush. And pray or whatever. Know? I like to say it's real spiritual, but sometimes it's just

staring blankly at the out the window, and all of sudden it's like, oh, we're gonna do a thing in Proverbs. You know? Yeah. I mean, I don't know. It's just like, I don't know. Yep. And then it kinda starts forming together, and and that happens a lot for sure. Yeah. And so if it happens on like those, I don't want to say like minor, but like micro, like, hey, I have a problem right now in the moment. Have something I want to solve. And just simply giving it your mind attention for a while will get you a direction. Mhmm. If you if you wake up every morning and go, look, gonna be a great day. And like, I bet I got something I got something that does kingdom business today. Yeah. Yeah. I'm in. I'm in for it. Let's go. Just I like I don't think it's magic or anything. I just I I do I I think it's using the things that god gave you to, like, flip on some switches and go, hey. Senses are on. Let's do it. I always call it like like it's cooking. Right? Like, in the teaching context Yeah. I like to read the text I'm gonna be teaching on, you know, maybe even Sunday night or Monday, Tuesday. I just I don't do anything. Just read it. Yeah. You know? And then it just kinda soak in a little bit, and it just kinda cooks. I don't know what happens in there. And then then you start looking around and reading and digging here and there, it kinda grows as the week goes on. That like, that's my process. Yeah. And it's amazing what happens by the end of the week when you're like, I have no idea how I got here. I couldn't have done that if I just, like, Saturday morning, you know, decided, hey. I'm gonna do something real quick.

It it like, it just took time of even without effort. Just Yep. It was it was just there. Processing. And processing it. Yeah. And yeah. It is a lot like our conversation from last week about and, like, looking out the window Yeah. And seeing, like like, if you just woke up in the morning and, like like, with an actual inquisitive mind thought, I wonder if god's moving around today. Yeah. What if he's out doing stuff that I might be involved in? Yeah. You know what saying? And just just, like, preparing your heart and your mind for, hey. Like, I'm I'm on the lookout for this. You know? Not just taken by like, it'd still be a surprise, and it'd still be cool when it shows up. But, like, just having the mind that goes, I'm a be looking. I'm a be looking for god to be moving. You know? Yeah. Yeah. And you're eager to you're ready to jump in. Yeah. Because you're like you were expecting it. But you're half tuned up. Yeah. That was your footing when you got up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, like, you know, I'm wary of,

you know, things that act like you are, like, moving energies around in the world. But just the way that that guy was talking about it, like that made sense to me because I see it on how problems and like ideas happen in most people's lives. And like, hey, can you point that? Can you point that same thing to like, here's what I here's here's what I don't wanna miss today. And you just kinda say now it could be how you pray or whatever, but like, I will say it's different than like reading your Bible in the morning. Like, you can go read first Kings, you could go read Colossians, and you could go read chapter eight of Revelation or something. It's all righteous things, but all those things don't inherently go, okay, now I like mind, be on the lookout for what God's up to today. Boy, I'm excited about it's gonna be great. It's gonna be great. Like, it so it's not like I'm not saying don't do those things. What I'm saying is that like, it actually, I think is a different thing. You can pray it. I think it's perfectly fine to pray. I just think there's just something about, you know,

put just set your mind for what you want it to be looking out for. It seems to be able to just solve problems because you stared at something. And so, like, I don't Let's put it to work for what we care about. Yeah. And and and, like, all that stuff is good for your discernment on especially when it comes to the Jesus stuff. Right? The mind is a very powerful operation, and God has given it the freedom to either go with him or against him in multiple facets. You know? And so, like, the the it it all kinda couples together in this big thing, you know, where you go, look. I I I want to I want to, like, anticipate that the day is gonna be good. Like, if even if God's not moving in a real specific way or I feel like a job has jumped out at me or, you know, a very specific thing God is inviting me into for the day. Maybe that's not what happened, but maybe I appreciated the walk from the car to my building. You're like, man, it's just nice out here. You know what saying? Like Yeah. Revitalizing in a way. But

it all gets discerned through what you know about God and his character and, like, what God if God is good and if all he can be is good, then the things that he's bringing into you are part of him too, like a presence of him and the creation he's made and all that stuff. And so, like, it really is just a holistic way of looking at life and going and what it really does, I think that the the the most useful thing is it, like, helps you perspective some things. Like stuff that, like, appears really big on a world scale, you're like, you know what? I can see it past this. I can see that it's not this giant weight everyone's selling me. You know what I'm saying? Or or, you know, or or something that seems small that you can take such grand beauty in or in its innovation through God's good design. You're like, holy cow. This is just amazing how this works. You know? Yeah. Which normally you would have missed because you just went like, You know, it's a mechanism. Yeah. You know what think about it? Is that, like, I my my my wife used to do

she's like, I wanna do, like, affirmations with the kids when they were little. I'm like, I don't know, man. I don't know about these affirmations. They seem kinda like, I am joyful. I am smart. I don't know. They weren't that. Don't remember what it was. Now if I think about them, it's not, again, it's not like you're trying to manifest a thing. It's actually setting boundaries. It's going, look, man. I'm not gonna let the events of the day boss me around. So, hey. I like I'm gonna look out and say, look. This is gonna be a great day, and I'm it's the day that the Lord hath made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it. Like, hey. I I'm gonna be on the lookout for things to be glad for. So when you set the boundary for the day, then other stuff doesn't start to like, doesn't get to take that from you. And so, like, that's not some weird mystical affirmation. That's you saying, look. I I I will not let somebody else tell the tell me the story through their own lens. This is the lens god told me I'm supposed to look at it. That's how I'm gonna look at it. Yeah. And so, anyway,

I mean, getting more comfortable with the thing. Like, I'm like, I don't know. I just think I it it seems very practical to me Yeah. For what in this moment. Well, it seems like the people of Israel, as they were going out of Egypt, there was a portion of them who woke up every day thinking, well, I suppose we'll die. Right. And, you know, so they looked at all the negative and grumbled and were like, let's just go back to Egypt. So much better there. And then there was a portion that said, man, I wonder what God's gonna do. Yeah. Know, look how look how he got us here. What's what's next? Who knows? Yeah. And that seems to be kind of a general theme that we follow. I mean, it it truly helps you on quite the adventure in faith, I think, if you're looking for opportunities Yeah. Because you can be a follower of Jesus Christ and have the the presence of the Holy Spirit in you and still be a very negative person. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Right? So it's not just it's not an instant change in you that that outside of your own capabilities,

you're just this joyful person now. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, you you do actually have to buy into it and train your mind and train your soul, you know, to stop looking for and I think the holy spirit will help you with this. I think god's word will help you with this. Mhmm. But but at the end of the day, it's just like anything else god offers. Like, most of them you have to accept. You know? So most of the most of the time, you have to accept the offer that god has given you. Yeah. Some people have all these great stories, and you think, how does it why does that always happen to them? Well, because they're assuming. Right?

You know? They're taking the world in that way. Yeah. Yeah. They're like, oh, there's God. I'll jump in and help. You know? And and I'm just driving by thinking, man, I wonder what that was, you know, and doing my thing. Yeah. And like a pessimism is a very expensive I told you so. Like, it's just it's very it's it's self serving. I found this in in even the work that I do is that like, I I have had to try very, very hard. Like people have ideas about stuff they wanna do in the business or whatever, and a lot of it comes through my team. And like, I mean, it's pretty easy for me to go, it's not gonna work, man. Like, it's just not gonna work. But here's the reality is that like there's very little virtue in being right. Like sometimes you go, look, that's a real risk to the world. Let me show you what I think will happen and then you can make your decision off of that. But like, what I've found is that there have been things where we've gone out and done a thing and three I'd be like, hey, After two or three years, man, this is probably gonna go south on you in this way. And then two or three years later, it has. It has done the exact thing that I said. It's like, should have approached this differently. But you know what nobody wants to hear? I told you so. Right. And they find no virtue. They're they don't go, you know what? Ben is awesome and right because he knew how wrong we were. Nobody gives a crap and it is there are no points in it. And so I I there's just there is a lot

I think the very practical wise people well, let's say practical people have a really hard time with optimism because it feels like a lie. But here's what I'm gonna tell you. Pessimism doesn't do anything for most people and optimism is the ability to see opportunity, not necessarily to lie about reality.

And that's the thing you gotta switch in your mind. Yeah. Is that like just being an optimist doesn't mean that you're going around going like the world isn't what it is, but you do go and say, I could see how this could, like, there's how this could be positive. And now if I believe that that could be true, now what actions can we take to try to make that more and more likely? That's the work of an optimist. People

are like, I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist. No, you're a pain in the teeth. And you're only saying that because you actually are not optimistic. And I've intentionally not said that, but I didn't I would have meant it. But I'm just saying that like, there's just we gotta be people of hope and I don't know. Whatever whatever mechanisms you need to do to try to keep that in control, I'm probably good. Alright. Listen to life from the path. Alright. So we were talking about this before the show on, like, does does the does the message on Sunday prepare you for coffee on Monday?

And I think the answer was no. Like, oftentimes, it doesn't. Yeah. Right? And some of this goes with like discipleship has always actually been that way. We're asking a whole heck of a lot out of a Sunday morning.

Sunday morning can't disciple people. It'll it'll it'll give truths. It'll there's there's something very positive about a communal gathering like that. Like, it's an integral to the church. The church has always done this, and before that, they went to the temple. These are good patterns, and you should totally do them. But it isn't the only expression of what Christian community looks like. As a matter of fact, you're looking if you're looking in the, you know, in the early church, these people are meeting most days in some informal in, like, formal or informal way before they're going to work, after now they tend to live closer. Our societies are different. Fair enough.

But I I just think that, like, what did it look like or what does it look like for us to go if a lot of the substantive growth that people have, the one on one conversations, the things you don't tell 75 people but you tell two dudes in front of you happen on a Tuesday morning at 06:00 at the coffee shop or like at the men's meeting on Saturday morning or something like that. How do you do like, what do think about doing that well? Because you're sending a lot of independent contractors out. Like, people you got you look at your old church and they're like you're like, if there's a 100 guys out there or ladies who are like, you know, I think I should go meet these people for coffee. You're like, that sounds great. But then you could start looking these people in the eye. You're like, I know what those guys have said to me out loud. And I don't know if they should be one on one talking to people. Mercy.

So like, but they should be, but they should also be saying the right types of things. And that goes back to a conversation I think we were having a couple months ago, which is like, I don't know, people can say all kinds of stuff. And so how, what does it look like to do this well? Are there any patterns to it? And are there any ways or things we should think about from, like, what does the church do, like, communally that might help well serve

some of those type of exercises during the week? Well, I think I think that just the ministry of Jesus is a pretty good example. I mean, there were times he talked he spoke to the masses. Yep. And and there were hundreds, maybe thousands, who knows, in some circumstances. And then there were times he was just with the 12, and then there were times he was just with the three Yep. Inner circle, and and then sign he gave assignments. Obviously, they were with him and watched him do what he did, have the conversations he had. And and point being, there's no reason we can't do that Yeah. You know, within our local churches. Like, hey, I'm gonna pick two or three guys and have them come with me when I go have coffee with someone. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I like to I like to do that. I'm not very good at it. Often forget. Of course, also, it's usually at a time a lot of people can't go.

But I'll say, hey, run into the hospital. Come with me. And they go, okay. Yeah. We run off together and go see someone. Yep. So I think I think what being intentional about that helps in that discipleship Yep. Making. Because then you're that's how you learn is by watching and then doing. Yeah. I I do think that like shy of other

principles and practices, if you can keep a hold of follow me as I follow Christ Mhmm. That will serve you really, really well. Like I remember, there's been all kinds of times, like I've met with different people who are different levels of like connection with me, you know, some are friends, some are just acquaintances, and some are like deep Bible study people and some are not. But like, here's what I know, is that the unique thing that I can offer at any given time is I'm

trying to follow Jesus, here's how it's going in my life, here's what it looks like in my marriage, here's what my Bible reading is at. Like things that what it looks like to try to follow Jesus. Here's me trying to get up in the morning and go, Lord, it's gonna be a great day, and I think you're out there working. So, like, whatever. It's what I'm trying. I can offer that. I don't need to posture beyond my own abilities. Mhmm. I I don't need to act like I know more than I do or that I'm more holy or faithful or whatever the things are. The expert. That's right. Yeah. I know that I'm following Jesus and I know and this and I have my own experience in that. Like, if you can do that to start and just say like just that,

I think it sets you in the right direction. Now I think there's other things you can certainly do on top of that. And I'm like, I'm kinda curious in your experience because you've done all kinds of different things, like different studies and different like discipleship stuff with people. Yeah. But I I think if you just start with the orientation that like it's not you going, hey, my church told me I should invite people out for coffee, and then you're gonna prepare like a sermon or whatever. Like, Yeah. Follow just have bring people along with you as you follow Jesus, and I I think you'll you'll at least stay in the right bounds of what it looks like for that to be healthy. I feel like this is like, the way that I generally approach it is like it it's like looking out the window for me. Right? Like, I will invite just about anybody to coffee. Anybody who is half friendly with me, even people that I barely know. I'll be like, hey, man. You wanna grab coffee? You know? Or someone says, hey. You should have coffee with this person. I'm like, I don't care. Okay. You know what I'm saying? And then I'll I'll be like, hey, man. You wanna go meet up coffee? And then, like, it's just listening. Right? And basically,

listening is looking out the window for me looking to see if God's got their attention. Yeah. And maybe they don't. You know? Maybe it's just, hey. You know, we just sat and listened. I heard your life story. I didn't offer a word of advice. I'm like, that's crazy, man. You got all kinds of stuff going. You know, I'm interested. I know a little bit about you. And next time I see you, I'll be like, hey, man. How's that whatever going? You know? And that was it. And that was all that happened. You know? And in fact, I I had a a group of kids, barely kids now, but, like, they were my hope on offense kids. And so, like like, we we were like, look. Everybody's gonna take somebody to coffee. And, like, your entire goal is, like, you you're not gonna preach to them. Right? You're just gonna talk to them. Find out what's going on in their life. Tell them what's going on in yours. And I said, I would really like it by the time that all ends that you could be like, hey. Can I pray with you before you go? Or how can I be praying for you, you know, for your life or whatever? I said, if that's the only Jesus that comes out of your mouth, that's completely fine with me. But I want you to sit and go through it. You know? And so they did. They all went out and met people and to varying degrees of whatever. You know? Some got ended up invited to church somewhere, and some are like, yeah. That's you know, they're just God's not got trying to get their attention right now. That's not where their heart's at, you know, and you let it

But, like, I I think it does tie into everything that Ben said that, like, what let's say let's say that that you feel like God's God's moving. He's doing he's doing work in them. Even if it's real subtle, they don't know how to don't know how to say it right or, you know, like, just some some real telltale signs that, like, the presence of God will do, you know, some very specific things in people, even if they're not currently following him. You know? And so you're like, hey, I tell you what. You wanna either grab coffee next week and then just try it again, you know? And then be like, Hey, is there any what do you think about getting a Bible study with me? You wanna try to go I've been looking at this thing that I wanted to go through anyway. It seems like you got some free time. Come on. Why don't you go through this thing with me? You know? Because now you're friends. Do know what I'm saying? And so like, people are like, yeah. I mean, I guess we'll give it a shot. Sure. You know? And as you start to go through it, and it doesn't matter what Bible study it is, is to everything that Ben said, like, it turns into follow me as I follow Christ. So your whole life is now

showing people what it looks like for someone to follow Jesus. In your failures, which you're gonna be honest about, in the the things that God was really generous in in your life. And, like, you can look back at your life and go, I don't know that I've ever looked at a a timeline before, but if I were gonna look back at a timeline in my life, I can see where God was moving and why he put me through a thing and why he had me go left when I thought right seemed like the only answer. You know what I'm saying? And be like because it's way more about it's not like it's not about the Bible specifically. Right? But what it is about is application of what a life lived with Jesus looks like into your life. Because like like people read the Bible and go, you know what's an idol? Baal. Baal is an idol. And we're like, do you know what's an idol to you? Politics, my friend. Right? This is where you're putting all your time or, like, sports. This is where you're putting all your time and all your effort. And so, like, it doesn't say that in second Corinthians. Right? Beware of get togethers where people are playing with the balls, and everyone is sitting there watching it to 10,000 people, and you've spent $80,000

to get there. Like, it's not gonna come up. You know? But you go like this, like that. Right? Like like the Bible says, like Jesus says, like that. Like tomorrow's got enough trouble for the day. Stop trying to be in trouble. You're bringing all kinds of trouble into your todays, and it's got y'all tied up, bro. Yeah. Right? Let's see what's going on, you know? And so it's that. Right? That's discipleship tends to look like, I think, for the stuff that I've been through. It's like, I need you to take the things that that that Jesus said or that that God showed us in the Bible and go, how is that like me in a way? It's not to me or for me specifically, but, like, God said this was good and God says this is harmful. Let's start looking to see where our our stuff starts to fall in some categories, and maybe we can make sense of our own life here for a minute and realize why we feel the way we do because we either have separation with God because of sin or, like, we have unresolved things with other people that God says, you're that's just you carrying that around, man. You gotta you gotta figure out how to unburden. So, like, if we're having a hard time doing all those things, these are all things we take up to God with petitions and be like, hey, man. I'm on the struggle. Here's the things. You know? And so, like, you don't get to do that on Sunday. You don't get to hear someone else's story. You get you get god's word preached accurately,

and and and the holy spirit will do work in people. But, like, if if they just don't have the opportunity to see how their pieces fit into the pieces or your pieces fit into the pieces, like, then it it never quite gets down to the level where it's it starts to actually change the way they look at the world. You know? And so, like, that's where I find I don't know. I find, like, I've just had a lot better opportunity to share what following Jesus actually looks like over coffee than I ever had, even in a small group. Like, I like to go to coffee with, like, two other people besides me maximum

because people start playing a character of themselves past that. You know what I'm saying? If you wanna actually get because, like, if you're there with just one person, you can be like, listen. You're you're posturing. I I don't even know. Is this a real version of you, or is this the one you break out for awkward coffee? Because we can skip this if you wanna just bring me the real guy. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Because but you can't say that in a group of five because now you're embarrassing people. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? But a group of one, you can be like, does this work for you where, like, you're gonna be like this guy today? Because don't I have time for this. You know what I'm saying? And so like, I don't know. I find like the discipleship part, it is way more personal and way more intimate if you can use it in the cleanest version of that word. Right? It's just you're like, hey. Look. I'm gonna get to know you. You're gonna get to know me. And, hopefully,

like the like, I got accused a couple weeks ago. It was actually hilarious and true where someone said, like, Mike's a he's a charlatan. He just invites people to coffee pretending that he wants to be their friend, but, really, he just wants to tell them about Jesus. I'm like, yeah. Yeah. That's accurate. That's an accurate description of me. And I thought I should be kind of offended, but really, it's a truth. And but let's but it's way less sinister than that. It's more like, hey. I get to know you, and, like, I get to love you. And, like, how could I not tell you about the thing that I that that has changed my whole life? Right? Like, what kind of friend is that? You know? My ultimate goal is not to snake you through a program or a one zero one class and be like, boom. There's Jesus. What do you think now? But, like, the more I get to know you, I know your stuff, you know my stuff. I'm like, dude, God's got all kinds of stuff that he would love to help

bring to redemption inside your story. Let's figure out where that's at. You know? And so, like, I find it to be just, I don't know, and it might it could be just the way that god wired me in a way that that operates like that. But, like, I'll take a one on one bible study or or, like, a three person, you know, meeting every week consistently and praying for each other throughout the week and texting worship tunes you found. And I'll take that any day, you know, opposed to just blankly talking to 75 people. I I think the reason the church as a whole does not do that is we're in such a big hurry, so we make cookie cutter Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You you know, we gotta we need our next record breaking attendance. We we need to, you know, we gotta need to build build a new building, you know, all the stuff. You know? I don't have time to sit with one person and have coffee Yeah. In your life. I just are you gonna give? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. I mean, honestly, that that that's just so sad about about the modern church.

Can you think about what it feels like? Like and not not to take anything away from, like, our Sunday morning church. Right? This is what we do. You know? But, like like, you're gonna be you're gonna be living it for eternity with Jesus. And when it the time comes for your friend to show up and, like, it's not gonna be a pride thing. Right? You're just gonna have this big old smile on your face that you're like, I am so glad I got to talk to you about that. Mhmm. So glad. Because you have no idea what work god will do through that person. Like, they you you could have discipled with your with your Saturday morning coffee the greatest evangelist North America has seen in the last fifty years. You know? And it's not you. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You just happen to get ahold of a young kid named Billy

who who who decides he's gonna grow up and sell out Arrowhead Stadium for the lord. You know what I'm saying? And, like, somebody told that guy. You know? And so, like, it's not yours to control or discern or, like and and and especially because it's not about church growth. You know what I'm saying? It's not about getting people butts in the seats because I almost everyone that I've gone through a bible study does not go to church with They go to church somewhere else. And I'm like, figure out where God's got you. If you wanna come to my place, you can, but, like, I don't know. Why don't you ask him? You know? And they ended up going somewhere else. I'm like, great. I don't care. More people I get to know. You know? And so, like, yeah, I think you're right. Like our like the the the church infrastructure sometimes gets more filtered on we need more people in this church, not we need more people who love Jesus, you know, in the world. I don't care where they go. You know? Yeah. And I think, like,

I think all kinds of things have their places. Like, you wanna run classes during the week with 30 people in it? Great. I think that's probably great. You wanna do, like the church is all I mean, always met in some sort of large group on some fixed schedule to go, Let's all get together and like remember Yahweh. Great. Fantastic. You should definitely keep doing these things. But like, it's, again, it's kind of a balance thing that like if if if God

our day to day lives, like, if if our whole lives are this, you obviously can't just segment it off and go, We only do these particular things that other people have set up for me. The question is, is like, what does it look like in your house? What does it look like, you know, in meeting people in, like, even as couples or as on for coffee on a Tuesday morning or something like that. Like, it is unlikely

to me that there's a majority of people where god's like, nah. I got Mike Heaven coffee with everyone. Yeah. No one else needs to do this. And that's a great, like, great point. Like, you should still do the 30 man gathering or the 30 lady gathering or the the whoever. You should still teach the bible study. But something tells me that somewhere in that 30 people gathering, people should be sniffing out coffee or beer or something. Like, you should be meeting somebody. Yeah. Like, it just didn't stop at that. I came to be entertained or to be enriched by teaching,

and then I left. I came. I consumed. I'm out. You know I'm saying? It's like, that's where we that's the that's the fail. Right? Like, the thing that that it it just wells up inside you that you're like, I just want to be able to share the thing that changed my life. Even if I'm not the greatest example. Right? I'm not the poster boy of the best work God has ever done. You know what I'm saying? Except for that you are. Except for that I am. Do you know what I'm saying? Even in my failings, I am. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, like, you just you just don't get to do that. Even a very vulnerable guy who teaches. He gets up. He teaches. He tells his backstory. I was addicted to this. I did this stuff. God got me out of this. Whatever. It's just not the same as looking another human in the eye and going,

now like me, like you. Tell me about you. You know what I'm saying? And, like, people people will tell you all kinds of things, you know, because, like, they know back three layers in, they know it needs redeemed. Like, even if they'll fight you on it, they know it needs redeemed. They know they need God's look at it. They know that it needs a fresh start. They know that that it needs to be put to death and out of their life or whatever, all the things. But, like, you just cannot do that. There's a there's a a level of protection in most folks that you're not gonna do it in a big group like that. So discipleship comes down to, listen. Like, I'll get rid of mine of the thing that I'm using to protect what you think of me so you can see that God can get down there too. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, you just I don't know. I've just had I I I will I will any opportunity someone goes, hey. Do know do you we should meet up for coffee. I'm like, great. Even if I show up and, like, they they just they just wanted to talk to me because they like me. You know I'm saying? At the end of the day, if God's not moving their life, I'm thankful I had the opportunity to talk to somebody, and I'm like, okay. I'm just gonna keep praying on this. I'm a wait. God will get them, and I'm a be sitting right here when he does. And and I'll be like, coffee number two? Let's do this. You know what I'm saying? And so, like, I think there's a couple folks that I've waited out for three, four years, and I knew it three years prior. I'm like, it's not yet. It's not yet. And I just kept praying on it and waiting and praying on and waiting and praying on and waiting. And finally, I'm like, hey, man. Coffee. Let's do this. You know? Yeah. Alright. You're listening to Live From The Path. I don't know. Like, maybe maybe do you have thoughts? Like, what's been well, actually, Mike, let's before we leave that,

what about so you've you've done, you know, bible studies with people, discipleship studies with people. Do you feel like any like, there any particular things that you're like, oh, this is strong. You should walk them through this thing, or it, does like, just depend on the person and, like, what or does it just matter what you're doing? And as long as you're going through it with them to somebody else, then it's fine. Yeah. I think it's a it's a it's a yeah. It's it's a I think you gotta pray. I think you should pray on it. It's hard to sometimes I'm like, god, point me to a study. And, like, he's never done that. You know what I'm saying? He's never like, I really like black abyss study experiencing god. You know what I'm saying? Like like, I know studies. Like, I know I've done enough of them where I know like, you kinda gauge where people are at. You know? Like, if they're just starting their walk, like, there's some there's some, like, getting to hear like, understanding how to interact with God studies that, like, this is not we're not here yet. Right? Let's understand who God is and what that looks like and who we are and that, you know, so you pick a Bible study or do a book or something.

And then there's some studies that are a little bit more in-depth, like this is how we turn our whole mind frame and we look to see where God's moving in our life. Like we actually willing to say yes to some things that we would practically and logically go, I can only see this landscape, so I'm gonna say no to that. You know? And and, like, that's a maturity thing that I wasn't I'm not really good at discerning, like, until maybe recently that God's helped me do a little bit better at that. But, yeah, overall, like, let's say you have no idea what to do. Like, we've had studies where I'm just like, hey, man. The three of us are gonna read, you know, the the book of Colossians this week. And so let's check back in next week. Just take notes. See what hits you. Pray on it. You'll be like, God, you got anything going on? And then we'll just see if anything stood out to us. You know? Start small. The conversation's not gonna be three hours. It'll be twenty minutes, you know, or I got nothing. Colossians was blamed. Like, okay. I hear you. You know? Let's let's move on. You know? And so, like Who would say that? Who would say that? Hey. Here's the deal. We're going through Colossians. Actually, Ben's teaching through Colossians at church. And so I've read it on my own, and I thought, man, you could you could just put me in a pulpit and tie me to the ground and be like, Mike, preach on this. I'd be like, I have no idea what he's saying most of the time. Like, there's so many run on sentences and bloviated language. And I'm like,

I don't sometimes I think Paul just uses words because he has them. You know what I'm saying? He's just like, blah, blah, blah, blah, I'm like, what are you saying here? What's happened? My wife had read, she's like, I think she even suggested it. And she's like, I find it real real practical. And I read through the same like, I don't that's not what I got out of my mouth. Nope.

Nope. I mean, I find it fun to teach, and I think it's helpful. But, like, I don't know that I want it's not James for sure. No. Well, here's most people pick out, like which is so weird to me, but, like, I don't like the book of Romans. Like, I just I can't people are like, gotta walk the Romans rude. And they memorize Romans, and they're like, their life verses are out of Romans. And I'm like, You know what I'm saying? Like, there's I've read it. I've reread it, like, probably 10 times in my life. I'm like, what am I missing, Lord? Everyone seems to love Romans, and they're like, they're just energized by it. And I read it, and I'm like, man, this just goes on forever. I'd almost take Numbers. I would almost rather read through numbers again than to read Romans and go, I don't know what's going on here. Right? There's just a lot of language being thrown around. Yeah. Yeah. I could cut that in half probably.

I don't know what the Romans road is even. People have said, like, you're seven, eight, and then a cross, and then something. I'm like, I don't know what you're talking about. There's a lot more concise places for, like, the whole gospel message in, a verse or two. It's fine. I mean, it's all of it's fine. Yeah. But, like, it's not particularly I don't find it particularly holy or anything. What? This is this is the thing about recommending I I'm almost hesitant to tell people my favorite book of the Bible when they ask me because I'm like, dude, I've like, there's parts of the Bible that people are like, it changed my whole life. And I'm like, really? I just I am flabbergasted that you took anything out of this bloviated message, you know? But it's God's word and it's good. And like, he'll use it in any way he can. You know? I'll read I'll tell him, like, I love the book of Job. And people are like, I hated it. It took forever. It was like a big argument. I'm like, I know. I love it so much. But it and it just speaks like how much God goes, look, I put it in its entirety entirety for a reason. I knew all the people I would I would create and the ways that it would hit them. And so, like, I I I have no problem with people. I've never met a numbers guy who was like, I just love numbers. You know? But

but still, like, people get lost in, like, love the Psalms. I don't I'm not a big Psalm guy. Proverbs, I get a little bored. Isaiah, I love, but I get confused real fast on if we're dealing with something in real time or future time or whether we're mad at people or whether the the the judgment's already passed or whether it's coming or I'm like, man, I can't follow what's happening. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, it's interesting to think about. I don't think I would ever say that I have like a favorite book of the Bible, but like, I probably could tell you if I just started going through like how how God used a particular book at some point in my life. Like I, the book of Revelation became very hopeful to me on a thing that I otherwise felt like I had to put on a shelf and hope nobody asked me about. Like it opened up whole scriptures to like, look, if I understand how God used this,

then like I have less trepidation on any of these things. I'm very excited about it. Galatians brought me to a much firmer view Jesus plus spirit plus unity. And once

you see it in Galatians, it just is so glaring everywhere else Paul writes that it just hangs. And so there's things like or even Leviticus, I remember

doing some small, I was trying to like casually, like I think we were doing like an online, like a messenger based, here I read through Leviticus, and here's what I got out of chapter two or three or something. And I remember walking out, like I don't joy read Leviticus, but like the more I understood and studied, I'm like, okay. Like, that's fun. Like, I know why they're counting people. This makes sense to me. Like, this is a very

normal way to think of how their history progresses and that God cared about it and that he organized their society in such a way. And then watching humans take something God designed for good and then jack it up. I'm like, yeah, that seems like everybody's story. And this was something that I would be like, boy, just skip it. Now I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Look, like there's something there. And so does it mean I love Leviticus? It doesn't. But does that give me confidence as I continue to take in the other things? Yeah. And so like, I think of books in the Bible is like God used a book at some point to shift to like slowly chip away some edifice that I may have about how I thought about all these things in the past. You know? I think so before we leave that topic, like it's just something to consider is like how many of those things that we're setting up, like, hey, let's do

let's do Tuesday night bowling with the fellas, or let's do a soccer club, or let's have a crochet meet meet get together or whatever. And, like, I sometimes I listen to like, churches come up with these plans, and I'm like, if if y'all ain't pulling some kind of discipleship coffee out of these meetings, like, you're what what are you doing exactly? You know what's funny is I find this in missionaries too. Like, global, like, missionary tourists. You what I'm saying? Like and at the end of the day, like, they just like to travel. You know what I'm saying? And so they're like, hey. I've been to this country, this country, this country. And we're like, well, what did you do? Oh, I was just blessing people. I'm like, what? What do you mean? You know, there to bless people? And, like, funny enough, like, was talking to somebody, and they're like, these missionaries will go to like or or, like, these like, the churches will send these people to go, like, to the outreaches of the earth, to these orphanages or, like, you know, these encampments that that people are, like, actually out there doing work. And they're like, hey, man. It's so great to be here. Show me around. They'll be like, show you around?

Like, we're doing work here. Like, do a dish. You know what I'm saying? Like, go help go help me talk to people about Jesus. Like, sweep up the grain. You know? And they're like, Oh yeah, I'm a fellow Christian. Just I'm gonna be I'm gonna turn in about eight. When do we when do you serve food around here? I'm like, What's wrong with you people? You know what I'm saying? And like this it's a promise. Sometimes like we tend to do this. Like our presence is the blessing and, like, Jesus is the blessing. Right? The changed lives of the of Christ dying on the cross and freeing us from sin. These are the blessings, not just your happy, smiley face. Yeah. And so, like, if you're gonna set up a a Tuesday soccer club with the youth, great. I'm glad that you did it. But, like, if you're if that's where it's stopping, like, I guess cool? I don't know. Not cool. Or you know I'm saying? Eternity soccer.

I don't I you you you have to be praying more into it than that. Like, it's not good enough that you did a fun thing. It's not good enough that you just set up a get together. Right? Like, I would begging I'd be begging God to show you in whose life he's moving right now so you can set up that coffee date or set up that time to meet them or set up a bible study with somebody. Like, don't just let it stop at the fact that you were fun. Because the worst thing you can do is convince people to follow you because you're a good guy. You know what I'm saying? Like, you have your life together because God is good. And, like, you don't want people going, yeah, that guy's a great guy, but I know nothing of the God that he knows. Like, you've done them a disservice by making a bunch of friends. You know? No good. I think you should have friends. People should like you because the holy spirit lives in both of you guys. But at the end of the day, they should be they should be seeking a relationship with Jesus, right, and having a relationship that will last them for eternity. So if it's stopping just because you're cool, right, come on. We gotta be doing better than that. Yeah. Alright. You're listening to life from the path. Alright, Mike. Let's give out some advice. Okay. Yeah.

Oh, hold on. I didn't have it ready. You you didn't set me up with enough time. Oh, sorry. Hey. Just a reminder. If you're one of the thousands of listens and downloads that are very, very surprising to me from, say, Vietnam or

Pakistan or whatever, One, if you're not a if you're not a bot, then thank you for listening. We very much appreciate it. Well, I'm sorry we talk so fast. I know that we do it. I wish I could control myself better, but I I don't. And so but thank you. Thanks for listening to the program. Also, I know we offer the complaint line. This is if anybody has any feedback for us on the show or comments they wanna make, you can use the Bob Eisenhower Life from the Path complaint line, (515) 517-0085. Call or text. Now if you are from a foreign country and you're like, I can't use that number, you can always shoot us an email, [email protected].

That's available worldwide and whatever. We'd love to be able to to hear from you. Okay. Ready? Yep. Dear life from the path, my boyfriend and I have been together for a few months, and we're great together. We have a mutual friend who is married and, in the past, showed interest in my boyfriend. She has asked him not to show me the text she sends him. We are both concerned about her and her husband as they are going through marriage counseling. Oh. I've told my boyfriend this means she wants to have a private and secret relationship with him via the texting, and it is concerning. He's trying to be supportive of her as they have been friends for a couple of years. What do you think?

That's a hard no, Bubby. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. I don't Yeah. I don't even know what we're talking about here. Wait. If you rephrase, my my boyfriend who we get on great together

insists on carrying on a private conversation with another man's wife because he's known her for a couple years. And she's working through marriage counseling with this man. And he's like, yeah. This seems like a good idea. This is wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Your boyfriend's an idiot. Yeah. You know I'm saying? Like, you should reconsider whether you wanna be in a relationship with this man if this is the rationale he's using. I'm kinda curious when she says we're good together. What does that mean?

What does a couple months tell you? A few months? We're great together? I mean, you can't gauge that. No. Yeah. They were just matching outfits. Yeah. I can get along with anybody for a few months. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? After that, it's when it starts to go downhill. Yeah. Yeah. So this is pretty pretty straightforward. Yeah. The answer is no. Okay. Now would the I I mean, I know what I would say from a if I were talking to a dude sitting in this room, I'm like, no. You don't do not keep on private conversations with another man's wife. Especially that she's insisted, like, that should otherwise be kept from other people. This is not now here's the thing. You're being a selfish turd. This is not helpful to her. If she's actually going to marriage counseling to try to help her marriage let's ignore the fact that you're being a jerk to your own person. But, like, if this woman is actively going to marriage counseling, like, you are you are whizzing in her well, my man. Yeah. Like, you're actively poisoning another man's marriage and poisoning hers. And and so even if If it's intentional. Right? Exactly.

That's right. That's right. Don't give an don't give an outlet for that. Yeah. Yeah. You gotta break that off. You're being selfish, fella. Yeah. I there's no greater driver for me to really dig into somebody's life when they're like, don't tell anybody this. I'm like, oh, I'm a tell you right now. I tell my wife everything. There's actually very few things that I don't tell my wife. Like, sometimes if I'm, like, having a real deep conversation with a fella, like, I'll be like, look, I I won't talk about specific things that we've talked about. I will tell very specific things about me to my wife. But like you, like,

generalities at best is all she's gonna get. And she's cool with that. Right? We do the same thing. So but, like, overall, if anyone's be like, hey. Listen. I don't want your wife to know. I'm like, well, you shouldn't tell me then because, like, I'm not in the business to keep it secrets for my wife. Yeah. So you should probably keep that to yourself. Mhmm. Alright. Secular says, your boyfriend is kindhearted, but he shouldn't agree to a secret relationship with his friend's wife. I assume he is friends with both of them. Since you asked, I think you and your boyfriend should tell the woman together that neither of you think that she's what she's suggesting is a healthy idea for any of the four of you. Okay. Yeah. Let's get into the practicalities. How do you I I don't know if this both of them get over there and do it situation is the best recommendation or maybe it is. Like, how would you do it practically? Sever this thing.

I mean, I shoot straight from the hip. I'll be like, man, look. This is not working out. Let's just you can't you can't be be in some kind of secret relationship with me that I'm gonna hide from hide from my spouse. So, like or for my for my partner or whatever. Yeah. Like, basically, like, you should assume every text you send me, she is gonna read. Yeah. Or you shouldn't text me. Is that fair? That's fair. What if I mean Okay. They've only been dating for a few months. True.

Right. But it's it's probably precisely because she asked that it be hidden that I think is problematic. Yeah. I would not expect if I've had a friend just like another dude friend who I'm like prone to like texting

more close details or personal details to this person. And they've been dating the chick for two months. I don't expect that she he's like sharing my personal details with this person. Now, if they got married at some point, then I think my expectations were changed or if like, I don't know. It just felt real serious. I'm like, okay. I recognize now that, like, if I share something with you, you may feel like you have to for some because, like, what maybe I say something that changes your mood or something, and you have to explain a little bit to someone. I understand. But, like, I think there's I would expect my man to otherwise protect that until

he felt confident on my behalf that someone could otherwise be trusted with that, and two months in ain't it. Yeah. Like, is it because it's a it's a male female relationship that we have the biggest problem with this? I'm assuming. We well, wait. Specifically, like, that that it's the lady Yeah. If it was the if it was the husband that was texting the man. Oh. You know, with with with, you know, details about their marriage or whatever. Yeah. Like, you would not be like, hey, man. Don't be you can't be telling me. No. I think that's fine. That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And but but the problem is is that that, like, if you are you're basically taking don't I know. It really depends on the situation. Holistically, it's not a good idea ever. Just to have a close relationship like that with someone of the opposite sex. It just brings in dudes and ladies approach relationships differently

and intimate relationships like that, like, you know, women are are offering way more on on a heart basis or like a, you know, like intimate conversation basis. And especially like in your actual intimate relationship, if you find the man lacking in any way, you know, especially in that department, and you find another dude that will do it, like, you're starting to pull intention and affection away from the thing that that you should be concentrating on. Yeah. Yeah. And like, if it helps if it helps contextualize this a little bit, like, what the risk is, just think about physical

intimacy that people have. Like, there's there's risk in it. You're you're you're bearing yourself. You're opening up yourself to somebody else physically. And oftentimes to get to that point, you have to work through like, do I trust this person? Do I trust this person with me naked? Do I trust this person with my body and with like a closeness to me and whatever? And so having these kinds of conversations close with someone to the opposite sex over time, like what you're doing is building up trust. And so it's not inherently

that someone like that you don't have this risk with people all over the place, But what you have done is invested on it, maybe even unintentionally quite a bit of time, lowering a lot of the barriers that would keep you from say, making a decision that you would regret with someone off the street. And so if there's otherwise, just think of it. If there's normal 10 stop signs before you end up being in a physical encounter with somebody in a normal situation, you might have taken down eight or nine of those just by what you have been willing to talk about. You realize this person is trustworthy. You feel safe around them. So like a lot of those stop signs aren't there anymore. So that's the risk. I know it happens sometimes, like I don't want to say, like you're still accountable for this, but I understand that sometimes

it feels like it happens unintentionally. And so this is me telling you how that kind of thing occurs is like you just take down a lot of the barriers that would stop if you met Greg on the street. You'd be like, I don't even know Greg. But this guy, you do know and you know he's trustworthy and he says kind things and he's supportive of you. Stop sign, stop sign, stop sign, stop sign. Yeah. You know, those things that would keep it from happening. And so that that's how it happens.

Okay. Yeah. So, anyway, that's that's the advice is secular agrees that you need to you need to cut this off. It's not a good idea. Okay. Dear life from the path, my brother and and his family have been estranged from me for thirty years by his ex wife's choice. He didn't speak to our mother for ten years after she came to live with me. Four years ago, I connected with his middle daughter, and we became close. She was the only member of that family who attended her grandmother's funeral.

My niece was recently, wow, murdered by her husband who then died by suicide. I wasn't contacted by anyone about it. I have been agonizing over whether to attend the funeral if I can find out when and where and what to say if I do. What do you advise? Wait a minute. This is the the the middle daughter that she became to know? She was the only member of the family, but my niece was recently, yeah, murdered by her husband who Wow. Murder suicide.

There's a lot of unconnected things there. Like, there's this estrangement that's been going on for decades, right, that started with an ex wife who's not even in the picture anymore, but you still stayed estranged. Right? I mean That was weird. Yeah. It's like that had nothing to do with the person who was murdered.

Yeah. Fuck. Yeah. Go go go to the go to the funeral. I mean, what I mean, just hide out in the back. You don't have to make a scene. Yeah. That's yeah. The question is is, like, is if you're intending to go to the funeral to make it about all the past things, you should probably not go. Yeah. Right. Right. But if yeah. If you just wanna go Just show up. Hang out in the back and leave quietly. Showing respect. Yeah. Yeah. I just yeah. So at the end of the day, it matters why you wanna go. You don't have to say anything,

and you can usually find out when and where pretty easy through a Internet search. Right? So I yeah. Our advice is you should go if you want to. Didn't she say nobody told her? How does she know now? She didn't say. She didn't say. Oh, she had to find out pretty quick too then. Yeah. Like, wait. She Before the funeral. The news. Does she live in the same area? Yeah. Once again, this is timely advice written into the newspaper

that will take weeks to get to. Yes. We feel like the situation's gonna have come and gone already. I mean, on our Internet show. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Go. I don't know. I like, I I don't worry. You know, just generally speaking, I feel like oftentimes we're very worried about offending people who don't care about you. And like these are the last people to be really worried about. And like people will self filter. Like

if you if they're the type of people who would be mad at you for showing up to the funeral, then these are the exact type of people where you shouldn't care what they think. Mhmm. Right? Wild, unreasonable people with cold hearts are not the type of people that you should spend effort currying favor with. Yeah. But, like, at the end of the day then, what's the point of going to the funeral? Do you know what I'm saying? Like, the people that have died are not gonna recognize that you've been there, and it's not to support the family. Like, just to get to be part of your grieving process? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I and I think that's fine.

It's not uncommon in that I've done funerals where people are kinda lurking in the back, and I'll hear a story later. It's like, okay. There was some type of family stress, and they just slipped in and then slipped out. Yeah. Nobody got hurt. And Like the rapture. Yeah. I mean so, basically, we're saying, like, it just really depends on your motivation for going. If you just wanna pay your respects and part of your own grieving process to go, then, like, don't show up early. Don't stay late. Right? Just walk in, sit in the back, watch the funeral, sing the tunes, go. They've not seen you for thirty years. They may not even recognize you. Get a funny hat and Yeah.

Put a get a wig. I don't care. Like, you don't make a scene, but I would not go out of out of some other reason. I, like, I would I would go. Yeah. Let's try not to do two things for the day. Our one thing is being at the funeral. That's it. Yeah. Right? We're not gonna try to fix thirty years of history or all the slights. Mhmm. Right? Like, we're not gonna address it that day. Yeah. And if it feels like it's a natural outpouring of what happened or you wanna reach out a month later, then, you know, I'd pray on it. But whatever. Do what you want. I wouldn't say for the potato salad. I wouldn't go to the grapeside. Just Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do the service. Yeah. Tip on out. Yeah. Yeah. Just just, you know, humbly accept whatever the reality of your situation is, and don't try to up upturn a cart that day. Let's just attend the funeral and go. That's a good advice just holistically. Like, if you think about, you know, where you've got chasms like that in your life and sometimes where there's an opportunity, you don't have to overbake the opportunity and go, hey, I'm gonna I'm gonna totally flip this thing on its head. Why don't you just start the process of maybe the possibility that it may eventually one day flip on its head? Hey. This is our approach to discipleship, boys. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You you approach it the exact same way. Yeah. You're not the you're not God's man in every situation. You know what I'm saying? But, like, go to the coffee. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. And it puts frankly, it just puts too much this is actually where we get over our skis and embarrass ourselves. As you go into a situation that cannot hold the weight that you put in it, and then you put a bunch of intentions and consequences out of there, and you jacked it up because you're not fit for it. Okay. Yeah. I I've done this before. Right? I I have done this, like, when I've I've been set to meet a guy, and I'm like, oh, I know what this is gonna be about because I'm gonna make it about this. Showed up just just guns full of bullets ready to fire. And, like, I couldn't have been more wrong on what this situation was. Right? And, like, I I but I but just like the getting up in the morning thing, I had so tuned my mind

into this is what this meeting is gonna be, and this is what I'm gonna say, blah blah blah. Like, I ruined it. Whatever my opportunity had been or whatever reason God woulda had me there, I had already fired I'd already had the guns loaded and knew where I was gonna point them. And, like, it was way more about me than it ever should have been. Yeah. And so, like, yeah, like the same advice lands on the discipleship stuff too. Right? Like, we're moldable in the hands of the potter. And so, like, don't be deciding you're gonna be a jar of of a sword today. You know what I'm saying? You go in however god tell you to go in. Yeah. That's a good point. Like, if you need to take a breath before and go, like, play it cool, man, and let the wind blow. What I mean is, like, play it cool and let the spirit do what the spirit's gonna do. Like, you showed up. Like, you did the obedient thing. You you said, I'm intentionally gonna do this. Don't hold things back that God is moving. Don't use don't feel like you can't use examples that God has shown in your life. Like, again, follow me as I follow Christ. Be your speed to yourself that God has crafted you to be, but let the wind blow, Homi. Like, it's not your job to go flipping the table. You know, we all love the flipping the table story. No one else flips tables. Jesus does it one time. And, like, otherwise, Paul takes one to the face. And so I'm just saying that if your full view of the world is like you're in there, like, creating a scene in all the places because that's what Jesus would do. I just you know, take in the full counsel, Holy. Jesus flipped the table, and then literally two days later, he took the nails. So, like, you can't be painting like, oh, we're table flippers. I'm like, let's hold on a minute because I don't know if you read the end of that story.

Now, Doug, he come out victorious, but still, I don't see you doing it. You don't move? Yeah. Alright. Sec One more. Oh, no. No. This is the end of the Yeah. Secular says, what a tragedy. I am sorry for your loss, but please remember that funerals are for the living. If you know your presence would be a disruptive or distraction, pay respects to your niece privately either before the ceremony or after her burial. Yeah. I mean, here's the thing. In the same way that the dead not gonna recognize you're there, they're also not offended if you cause a ruckus by simply showing up. I you know, you can't control all the things. Mhmm. I think Dan's right. Like, you show up, you do you do whatever like, enough to allow you to grieve. I don't think it's fair. Whatever difficulties

that that family may have with you, it would be hard for me to believe that the niece had not otherwise let know that she's interacting with you. And it would be very callous to deny someone a passive ability to grieve in that situation. I just Dude, this is America. This isn't Palestine.

Ten years is like an eternity for us. We're like, I don't even remember why we're bad. Yeah. You know I'm saying? The Middle East to hold on to this for five, six hundred millennia. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? And we're like, I don't remember why I'm mad at you from three months ago. Yeah. Let's let it go. Yeah. Everybody likes the terrible president. Like, they like, you could hate the president when they leave, and then, like, thirty years later, he's like, oh, he's a pretty good dude. Oh, yeah. We owe him a library. Yeah. Everybody likes it. It's like I just we get over stuff real quick here. We in fact, we fought for freedom from the British, and then, like, we're making pacts and trade agreements about ten years later. Like, we don't care. Dude, we still got federal buildings with Nixon on it. Yeah. I'm saying that dude was impeached. Yeah. Yeah. Like, we sell like, we're selling propaganda with the two with the peace sign. We're like, I don't know. He seemed cool. Yeah. He's cool again. He he was upstart even against the even against the man. You're like, he was supposed to be the man. Alright. Last one. Okay. Dear life from the path, I gave $600 to my nephew's wife to buy a self propelled lawnmower

because they were borrowing their neighbors. Let that sink in. Yeah. I'm ready. She gave me her word and promised to use it to buy the lawnmower. She also promised to take a photo of it and email it as proof. Oh. Well, she spent the money and never bought the mower. Yep. Then she got my nephew to cover for her, making excuse after excuse about why they hadn't bought it yet. Since they have run out of excuses, they now avoid the subject and are starting to avoid talking at all. Should I say something to them or let it go? It's not the money, but the lying, covering up, and treating me like I'm stupid that gets me.

Yeah. Yeah. I hate to bring this to you, bro, but you're stupid. Yeah. Yeah. They're just treating you like you've acted. Now what now what you need to rectify is a clarity that, like, you made a dumb mistake, not that overall you're an ignorant person. Yeah. And you do that by just coming out right and saying it. Say, look, man. I gave you the money to buy the mower. I know you didn't buy the mower. I don't appreciate you, like, trying to pull the wool over my eyes. Let's deal with this like like a gentleman. I listen. If someone comes up to me and says, Mike, I'm in the real straights.

I need a self propelled lawnmower. It sounds like a math request. Don't it? I'd be like, okay. You need a regular lawnmower, sounds like. Yeah. And I bet I could find one used for you for $50. Yeah. And maybe when you've saved up some money and really put some work in, you could buy your own robot lawnmower or whatever you think you need. $600 is an outrageous price for lawnmower, by Yeah. The And so I I don't know whether you're just a generous fool or a fool in general, but, like,

you should have smelled this malfeasance coming 3,000 miles away. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. The price doesn't doesn't equal the ask. No one gets financially tied up so hard that they are in the straits about a mower. Seems to me like you were borrowing one from your neighbor just fine. Right? And so you could have been saving up money while you were borrowing the neighbors unless the neighbor's like, that's it. No one will push my mower anymore. You know what I'm saying? Then, like, I I just can't imagine going to a family member and going, man, I just don't know what happened. We made some financial decisions, and we're out of mower. And we just gotta have $600 for one right now. Self propelled, by the way. That's what I just heard. You're like, what? I'm like with a racing streak. Souradis. I've grown accustomed to it. Holy cow. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna retract some of my callous response because it's like,

maybe you didn't maybe you've not been had in your life or you've not had enough con artists or in your life to smell this coming. Okay? I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt. I know that I have, and this is a ridiculous request that I would certainly have said no to right off the hat. Yeah. But let's say that you are a trusting person and you've not had a whole lot of people pull the wool over your eyes and you're like, okay. They said they were gonna buy the thing. And you asked for a picture of it, a receipt. Obviously, you were untrustworthy of this whole situation in the first place. Yeah. Right? So you knew something was kinda up because you're like, I want a receipt and a picture of the mower. Now did they ask, or did she just think I'm gonna be nice and give them a mower? No. They did ask. Wouldn't that be double weird, though, when you're like, dude, I wanna gift you a mower, but make sure you send me proof that you bought it. I mean, it's like, I wanna make sure you actually use the the intended you know, this money how I intended it to be used. I could see that if you don't trust them. If you don't trust them yeah. Yeah. It lacked discernment, it feels like. Yeah. Like, as soon and, Frank, the the the thing that reveals it as a con is, don't worry. I'll send you a picture of the mower and email it to you as proof. I'm like, why would anyone say that? Yeah. I would just assume you'd buy the mower and start mowing with it. Don't Right. You have to send me a picture. You know? History of mistrust there. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, okay. Now here here's the here's the wild thing which you could do. If it's not about the money, go buy them a lawnmower. Don't I wouldn't do the self propelled mower, but you go get it. Say, hey. Look, man. I know I sent that money, and it doesn't look like you got to mow, but I know you still need one. And so I got it. And you go take it to him. I think I mean, the money didn't actually matter,

there is not a it's I just think shame is fine. Like, mean, Donna's a lifestyle and you don't have people carry things that that Jesus told them not to carry. But sometimes, like, people have it was kind of the thing we we were talking about before the show. Like, you have to sometimes you have to experience the thing for it to affect you. Like, words don't hit you in the same way. And so like seeing someone go, hey, I see you didn't get that lawnmower that I I gave you some money for. I know you still need one. Here it is. I just sometimes that tells the story in a way that gets through that the other way does not. And maybe they go to maybe it takes them a while, maybe right away they're like, yeah, you know what? I'm sorry. And we're gonna try to get that money back to you. And then maybe you go, I didn't care about the money, man. But like, I think it's great that you're doing what you said you would do. And what whatever. I just maybe. Is this is I mean, is this not the way that the Lord treats us? Right? Like, he has given me forgiveness that I have squandered. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, he has given me respite and renewal that I have wasted and not done the thing I said I was gonna do with it, And yet he continually shows up with it again. You know? And so, like, if it truly is that, like, the $600 does not matter to you I I mean, heck, even maybe buy the self propelled. I don't know. Like, I I think you're right. Like, I I think you let someone sit in the reality of what they've done. And, like, people people who act this way, right, if you're not trying to protect your own kingdom, then you can discern past it and go, right, like, who lies to cover up their stuff? People that are embarrassed of something. People are shameful of something. People have done the thing that they shouldn't have done. You know? And so, like, is for someone who is not postured in a way that is following Jesus is lying a perfectly acceptable way to make it so you don't have to feel bad about a crappy thing you've done? Absolutely.

That's what everyone does. Right? And that's why God goes, don't do that. Mhmm. We live we live truthful lives. You know? But, like, without without the presence of the holy spirit in your life, then, yeah, I would expect just how everyone reacts when they get busted. You know, they lie. And so, like, if you if if you can be the wiser person in the room and the generous person in the room that goes, I see what you did. Here's the mower. You know what I'm saying? Like, I mean, it speaks volume to your character and speaks volume of what you actually want to have happen in their life. Like, do you wanna be right about the fact that they suck? Because like, you're already right about that. Or do you want to have their life like, have something come into their life that makes them pause and go, oh, man. I've really got this Yeah. Long way. Yeah. I mean, some sometimes, like, again, the thing that shakes you out of it is to see something that is like a stark contrast and go, like, whatever that is, I actually want that. That looks like a life that I wanna live. Now I think like, be discerning. If they bought meth with it and they're just gonna turn around and sell this mower, okay. I mean, what just be thoughtful about it. Don't don't enable terrible behavior, which is maybe why I'd start with a used mower and $50.

Seriously. You know, see what you can do. But but, like, I just don't know. I people are I I think people will learn lessons. I just I I think that the lecturing doesn't help, actually. I think people are getting real good at tuning out what they don't wanna hear, and they've always maybe they've always been that way. And I don't think it says something good about humanity, but I recognize it in myself. My wife will tell me, hey. Look, you gotta eat better. You gotta you gotta start exercising. You're getting older. You can't behave this way. And I'm like, nah. I don't wanna really wanna do that. But I like, I can do it if I'm motivated by myself to do it, but but if she wants to speak into it, I don't like it. I don't like to be told. I don't like to be wrangled and managed.

Now that's a problem. I shouldn't react that way, and I recognize that. But I'm capable of the thing that she's pointing me to. If I'm motivated personally to do it, then I will do it. And so, just call that a human tendency and go, alright, you're not going to lecture someone into

doing what you want. Can you show them what the behavior looks like? Can you be gracious to them in such a way that they start to recognize the difference in a way that they actually want what you're pointing them to. Which is the same reason we do all kinds of things. Like, there,

you know, well, my, is my, are my wedding services open to enabling a relationship that God said is not healthy for someone? No. They're not. But is my dinner table open? Always. Always. Right. You know I'm saying? Like like, let's let's just let's call the things for where they, like, they might not expect that. That was the whole premise of the the gospel is that the gospel comes with a house key. The lady who wrote that, Butterfield.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Where like, she went to her story was that she was I think she was married. She was in like a civil union or married to like she was a lesbian and married to another lady and was like, I mean, was an English professor of every alternative lifestyle lit available. It's like queer lit, communist lit, like what did you just pick it all? And this woman was like leading this, and she's gonna write a book and she goes to interview this pastor. And she wants to learn about it. I think it was like a competing, like, angle to cult to cultural stuff that she cares about or whatever. And this guy agrees to it, but he's like, you just come to my house for dinner on Sunday nights. And she goes like almost every Sunday for a year and a half and meets Jesus there. And like the guy doesn't do a sermon he's not sermonizing. Like she's just interviewing the man and he's answering her questions and he's kind. And he's like, he knows that she's married to a lady and like, none of this, he goes like, Well, why would I shut my table to someone because of that? That doesn't make any sense. And like, and so anyway, just by that and to the point of like, let the breeze blow, he didn't like try to convince her that lesbianism was a biblical problem, first, you know, the two days in. But anyway, after this amount of time, she's like, I came to know

Jesus. And then I knew that like, this was gonna kill me because I loved this person that I'm in a relationship with, but it's not it. And so she had to break, she had divorced, I mean, in her mind, it's a divorce from this person. And then she ended up, she married a guy, She ended up marrying, I think a pastor, and she's written a few different books

of which The Gospel Comes with a House Keys is very good. I think the other, her first book is like Stories of an Unlike a Convert or something like that. Anyway, the point is, is that like, just do the You don't have to be like clever and bring the heavy all the time. And like sometimes just do the things that Jesus pointed you to that some people would go, I can't believe you let that Like you have this lesbian at your house every week around your family and sharing her stuff and talking to you and your kids and all the things like what? This guy's, well, yeah, like what else would I why wouldn't I do that? I don't understand. Yeah. I don't understand. And so, yes, if you said if the worldly perspective was, look, Yat was silly, don't make that same mistake twice. I think it's okay to cut them off and say, look, you're not gonna help them anymore. You could do that. That makes a lot of worldly rational sense. I'm just saying in the kingdom, do you go, I'll just go buy the mower then because I know you still need it, and then let's see

what do they see in that. Yeah. Because actually what it does is it it reorients the way that we approach discipling people and introducing people to the gospel is it's not based on your cleverness or your love, and that's the stickler. Right? Because, like, sometimes we get so afraid that, like, if if you show them generosity

or people trapped in, like, messy, messy sin. Right? And you show them your generosity and your love that it feels like you're approving of the choices they're making. And god's like, yeah. That's not on you. Right? Not like you do want you don't you gotta have some discernment. And if you're enabling, like, or being like, joining them in in sin. Right? That that you can't do. Right? But, like, you showing other sinners love or affection or generosity

is not instant approval of their sinful ways. And so, like, we gotta be real careful on where we start to pull back, like, the the attributes that that God built us to reflect into the world and act as if they're a prize you get for agreeing that God is God. Right? We reflect those things anyway because that's the change that God has made in us. And so, like, you can't join sin. You can't approve of it. You can't support it, but you can love, like, full on love and be full on generous and be full on all the things as a reflection of the goodness that God is in anyway because that's how they're gonna meet him. Right. If they if if the Lord is willing to let the rain fall on everybody, then can you feed a fallible human being whose fallibilities are different than yours? Sure. Yes. Like, I don't know what we're talking about. Like, I just but I get but I understand. I understand what we're worried about. I'm just I think the the goal the point is to say, like, Jesus is seems to have already said he'll handle that particular bit. It's not your you don't have to shake it all out. So Yeah. But and and, like and that's the thing is it does it means that it's not based on your cleverness or the amount of time you sat thinking about, oh, this is the argument I'm gonna use to get him. Or, I hope this guy brings this up because I'm gonna say this. Yeah. Just stop all that. Right? Like, if if if acts can be trusted that when it's when it's time for God to be moving and he wants to do it through you, then it'll be his words. And so you don't need God's not like, I'm sending Ben this time because he's sharp with the tongue. You know what I'm saying? He's like, just I I want people watching me. Like, father you watch the father, the father does this, the holy spirit talks, and you let that be. Hey. And I'll tell you now think of it this way. How often is the thing that you ended up, you know, saying to someone when you're doing like, you're talking to someone one on one or you end up talking to a group of people or whatever is something that you heard or have been reminded of recently.

And you could be like, oh, well, that's that's just the first thing that came to mind and I happened to run into a conversation of which it fits. Or God just keeps planting seeds ahead of you, man. Like you just happened to read in Galatians the thing that needed reinforced with someone you met the following week. I mean, it could be a happenstance. Yeah. Or it could be that God is continually just finding, like planting seeds in you that you then have the ability to give out in the following week. Yeah. And that seems way more likely to me. Yeah. It's kind of fun when that happens too. Right? Yeah. Yeah. You're like, I was just thinking about that the other day. Yeah. I say that all the time. Yep. I can't be thinking of all these things all the time. Okay. So our our actual

send at home advice is buy them a mower. Yeah. Go buy it. Off. I think you go buy it. Yeah. Okay. Secular says Wait a minute. Hold on. Dan, you didn't say what do you think? No. I I agree. That all makes sense to me. I'm with you. Okay. I wouldn't have got to that buy the mower thing on my own. Yeah. Yeah. This is why we do community. Do you know what saying? Like Buying the second mower. Yeah. My my stubborn heart would have been, you know what? Go cut that grass with scissors. Maybe you'll learn to stop lying and stealing my money. Yep. We get you to buy the mowers and probably to keep Dan off Facebook. That's right. That's right. Hold on. Okay. Secular says, if you would like to maintain a relationship with your nephew and his wife, drop the subject. However, now that you know that they are not honest, resolve not to give them any more money. That was not that was not our advice. Yeah. Hey, man. It's reasonable. I would just yeah. Whatever. Let's say don't do it forever. Don't keep buying mowers. But Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If they sell the next mower Yeah. Yeah. That might be tough. I mean, you could do one other shot across the bow and just go come out there and mow it yourself or something. Hire a mowing service. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Alright. Hey. You've been listening to Live From The Path. Thanks for hanging out with us. I'm gonna let you sail on out of here into a little bit of the prophet's sky, but if you have any feedback for us on the show, hit us up at (515) 517-0085. Call or text. That's the live from the path complaint line, or use our email address [email protected].

In the meantime, be faithful in the means. God will handle the ends. You've been listening to Live From The Path. Turn