1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,560 Season two of Love in Context podcast welcomes you. Get ready for engaging unscripted conversations 2 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:14,240 with your hosts, Ben and Spencer. Our mission remains unchanged to explore the Bible through 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:19,880 the powerful lens of love. In this new season, we'll embark on a journey together, unearthing 4 00:00:19,880 --> 00:00:24,000 fresh insights and gaining deeper understanding of how we can love God and live out our faith 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:29,360 in practical ways. So let's dive into this season of Love in Context, where love in the 6 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:32,800 context of the Bible intersect to transform our lives. 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:35,920 All right, everyone, welcome back. 8 00:00:36,480 --> 00:00:41,920 Campside, fireside. I think fire is like campfire is like your love language. 9 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,360 It's therapy. Yeah, is what it is. 10 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,480 Hot dogs, mangoes, dried mangoes and 11 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,400 campfire, hunting, fishing, and dried mangoes. 12 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:52,720 Yeah, there are no hot dogs. 13 00:00:53,480 --> 00:00:54,680 I mean, I like hot dogs. 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,600 Listen, here's the thing. I'm just we've talked about this in the past, but you can eat some hot 15 00:00:58,600 --> 00:00:59,960 dogs. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. 16 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,440 Oh, yeah. It's common for me to put like four to six hot dogs down. 17 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:05,880 Forty six. Forty six. 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:07,280 Yeah. Four to six. 19 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:08,360 Joey Chestnut. Let's go. 20 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:09,960 Yeah. Yeah. 21 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:11,400 How many did Joey Chestnut do? 22 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:11,920 I don't know. 23 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:13,480 Wasn't like 17 or something like that. 24 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:15,320 He would treat me like a hot dog eater. 25 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:17,760 Yeah. Yeah. Well, he's a professional eater. 26 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:22,920 Yeah. It's always crazy to me on professional eaters, like how much they can eat and they're 27 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:23,840 not very big people. 28 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:26,440 Like there's their stomach coming and they're done. 29 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,280 They're just like, like, and then they go back to skinny. 30 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:30,960 And I'm like, how are you doing that? 31 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:32,000 Do you do it? Yeah. 32 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,920 Right. I'm sure there's an actual science to it. 33 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:37,600 So anybody wants to email us a Wikipedia article? 34 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,120 Well, we'll definitely look at it because let's be real. 35 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:41,120 We're not going to look at it. 36 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:45,200 The time we finish recording this episode, we're not going to remember to Google. 37 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:47,320 Nope. Nope. 38 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:49,160 So recap and James. 39 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:54,240 Yeah. And we were going to do this with Brian Qualls, but unfortunately, they are now down in 40 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:55,240 Idaho. 41 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,680 Our loss is Idaho's gain for sure. 42 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:04,280 I did see on on the Facebook when he posted and he's like, it's 103 degrees. 43 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,240 I was like, oh, did I forget to mention it gets hot down there? 44 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:08,760 So, yeah, yeah. 45 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,320 I was talking to someone today and they're like, oh, like, I just I just love the heat, like 46 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,360 places that are like 115 and summer and stuff like that. 47 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:19,480 And I'm like, you're a horrible human being. 48 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:21,520 I didn't say that, but that was what was going through my head. 49 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,480 It was like, I was like, yeah, no, it's like this sounds miserable. 50 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:32,840 Well, Tara's sister, we were just down visiting and it was 85 and she's like, oh, I'm getting a 51 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:33,840 little chilly. 52 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:35,800 We like what we mean, you're chilly. 53 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:37,800 I mean, I mean, shorts and a T-shirt sweating. 54 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,720 And you're like, I can't be there more without being offensive. 55 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:45,760 Yeah, it's so good. 56 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:46,960 It's a book of James. 57 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:48,400 Yeah. Just recapping. 58 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,240 So jumping back to chapter one. 59 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,000 Yeah. Like what are what are the what are the big things like in James? 60 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,440 Like when we're walking as Christians and like we're having conversations, like if you're 61 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,480 talking about the book of James and you're with your believers, you're in your your family 62 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,840 that we talked about where you're you're choosing to invest in each other. 63 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:09,040 What are the pieces that are really important? 64 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:15,960 Three things I can think of is one is acknowledging that life's not going to be easy. 65 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,640 Because James is writing to a context in turmoil. 66 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:19,840 Right. Right. 67 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:21,040 That's one. 68 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:26,520 But that also with it not being easy, it becomes an opportunity for God to do great 69 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:27,520 things. Absolutely. 70 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,760 That in chaos is the opportunity for God to reign supreme. 71 00:03:31,400 --> 00:03:32,400 Absolutely. 72 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:34,680 So that's one is that life's not going to be easy. 73 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:35,920 Right. 74 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:41,840 And I think oftentimes with that, we mix up what the definitions of easy and good, because 75 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:42,840 like we'll take it. 76 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:44,160 We'll take it like, well, this is good. 77 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:45,760 That doesn't mean it was easy. 78 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:47,240 Right. 79 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,400 I have to tell everybody why I got distracted over here. 80 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:50,400 You have ducks. 81 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:52,600 Yep. And I was trying to figure out what that flapping noise was. 82 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:58,240 That's ducks. There is also a chicken over there that is currently on a fast because 83 00:03:58,240 --> 00:03:59,240 it's going to become dinner. 84 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:00,280 Oh, so. 85 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:02,600 Yeah. So I got some chicken nuggets. 86 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:03,840 Mm hmm. Yeah. 87 00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:08,400 Yeah. So and some of you are like, you're going to do what to a chicken? 88 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,160 I was like, yeah, you're right. 89 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:11,200 You can think about it. 90 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:12,200 We won't say it on YouTube. 91 00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:16,640 Yeah. But so one is life's not going to be easy. 92 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:18,360 There's a difference between good and easy. 93 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,800 And sometimes good things are really difficult. 94 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,040 It's true. Really difficult. 95 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:27,680 Well, yeah, I would actually say most things that are good are not easy. 96 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:28,680 Mm hmm. Right. 97 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:31,000 Marriage is really good. 98 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:32,000 It's not easy. 99 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:33,000 Mm hmm. 100 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:34,000 Parenthood is really good. 101 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:35,240 It's not easy. 102 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,400 And if anybody types of comments says, no, parenthood is really easy. 103 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:40,400 I was like, yeah, I'm not going to say that. 104 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:41,400 I'm not going to say that. 105 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,040 It's really easy. I was like, we need to have a conversation with both you and your 106 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:45,040 spouse and see if you both agree. 107 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:48,320 Oh, no, no, they just got easy kids. 108 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:49,320 Maybe, maybe, maybe. 109 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:52,320 Yeah. 110 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:53,520 So that's one. 111 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,120 The second thing is James has to deal a lot with how you treat people. 112 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:58,240 Correct. 113 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,160 So you see that in James Chapter two when he's talking about partiality and 114 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:03,160 favoritism, right? 115 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:07,200 Where he's like, OK, if someone comes in as well dressed, looks like they have 116 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,000 money and you treat them better than the person who's poor or looks homeless. 117 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:12,440 He's like, you have a problem. 118 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:16,800 Do you think you think maybe one of the ones rather than well dressed or poor? 119 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,520 I mean, because that is still an issue in modern society, but I think it's one 120 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,320 that we're maybe more cognizant of. 121 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,840 One of the ones that I think we don't necessarily recognize is when somebody 122 00:05:26,840 --> 00:05:29,320 might walk a different side of the aisle than us politically. 123 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,240 Showing partiality in the way that we love people. 124 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:35,840 That one hits you where it hurts. 125 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:38,960 You know that God loves all people. 126 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:43,120 Yeah. And it's important to love all of them and not show partiality just for 127 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:44,600 people that you might agree with more. 128 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:46,280 And yeah, yeah. 129 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,240 And it's it's tough. 130 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:52,680 It's just loving people is messy and it's difficult. 131 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:56,360 And because it's much easier to write someone off because they disagree with 132 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,200 you than it is to embrace them in the mess. 133 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:00,280 Yeah. Right. 134 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,080 But we're called to embrace them in the mess because that's exactly what Jesus 135 00:06:04,080 --> 00:06:05,080 said. Yeah. 136 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:07,840 And I was having this conversation because this is related ideas. 137 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,440 So I'm not going to get too far off the rails because we are recapping. 138 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:17,120 But this idea of like when Jesus comes, he he suffers at the hands of men is 139 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:19,800 crucified, dead, buried and resurrected. 140 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:23,680 Right. But we talk about the suffering of Jesus and there's there's throughout the 141 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,080 scripture, they talk about how we're invited into the suffering to. 142 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:30,960 Right. But the purpose of Jesus's suffering was actually to draw all men close. 143 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,520 Right. Like if we go back to the Levitical, like when we talked in Leviticus, when 144 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:40,360 you have this sacrifice, you lay your hands on and you put your identity onto 145 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,720 the animal, the blood is taken and then it carries you to this place. 146 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,680 Right. And so as we cast our identity onto Jesus, his suffering actually brings 147 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:50,120 us into the third room of God. 148 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:55,160 Yeah. And our suffering can do very much the same thing as we put the kingdom of 149 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:58,200 God on display so that those that are on the outside are being brought in through 150 00:06:58,200 --> 00:06:59,200 the grace of Jesus Christ. 151 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:00,480 Yeah. Right. 152 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:02,000 Your suffering is not pointless. 153 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,520 No, it actually serves a purpose when you're serving God. 154 00:07:06,640 --> 00:07:11,800 It is actually it is a it is a another way that people are being drawn up to the 155 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:16,200 kingdom. Now, I want to stress there are sufferings that we bring on ourself. 156 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,960 I thought Brian in week two of James said this really well. 157 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:25,760 He said he's like, there are trials you bring on yourself that don't necessarily 158 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,240 refine your character because they were bad decisions that you made. 159 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:31,840 Right. And so we call those consequences. 160 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:33,160 Yeah. Yeah. 161 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,120 And I think sometimes in the Old Testament, too, just tying into that, we will we 162 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:43,080 will we'll take this idea of like, oh, man, God's punishing them for that. 163 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,520 I was like, is he punishing them or is he just letting the natural consequences 164 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:47,760 take place? Right. Right. 165 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,000 Because there are times where both happen where he's like, you did this. 166 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,240 So this is going to happen. 167 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,680 Right. And there are times where he's like, no, this is punishment. 168 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:59,280 Like being rained down on you because you're being stupid right now. 169 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:00,800 There's there's those times, too. 170 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:07,920 But oftentimes with the natural consequences, if you you just have to suffer 171 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:12,760 those like sometimes you walk through those like and the hard thing is, like 172 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,880 even after forgiveness takes place, sometimes there's remnants of those 173 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:20,000 natural consequences that you still just have to that you still just have to sit 174 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,000 in and just be like, OK, this is taking place. 175 00:08:23,040 --> 00:08:24,040 This is what's going to happen. 176 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,640 Why step into the situation or back in this relationship? 177 00:08:26,960 --> 00:08:34,240 Right. Like I can think of like I can think of some friends who have been 178 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:36,880 divorced, but joint custody of kids, stuff like that. 179 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:40,080 There's ramifications when they all have to come together for something. 180 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,760 Right. There's there's there's a different relational dynamic of suffering, 181 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:48,960 of consequential suffering when they all have to be at graduation together or 182 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:51,960 they all have to be at a wedding together or so on so forth. 183 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,360 Right. And God can do great things in the middle of that. 184 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,760 But that's not always going to be the case. 185 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:00,560 Sometimes you're just going to have to. 186 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:03,120 Work through it. 187 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,600 You know, sins tend to put people in jail. 188 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:12,360 Right. You may have a felony on your record the rest of your life. 189 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:13,360 It may never go away. 190 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,400 Yep. There's not there's not anything you can do about that. 191 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,080 It is a permanent consequence for the rest of your life based on the fact that 192 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,080 it's a permanent consequence for the rest of your life based on a decision you made. 193 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:27,800 It doesn't mean that God is done with you, but it does mean that you're going to 194 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,360 bear the marks of the of your choices. 195 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:33,560 And and it's tough. 196 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:34,560 You know? Yeah. 197 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:37,120 Yeah. Yeah. 198 00:09:37,120 --> 00:09:40,400 And so like there's there's times where it's like, OK, well, that was a decision 199 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:41,760 we made and now here's the consequence. 200 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:42,760 We have to figure that out. 201 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:48,480 I also like kicking off of this, but this whole idea because we're talking about 202 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:53,800 partiality, partiality, but also suffering well and also suffering because of our bad 203 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:59,960 decisions. There are there's also the flip side of it is James has a set the 204 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:04,800 statement where he talks about if you know what is good and you don't do it, that's 205 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:06,280 sin. Right. 206 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:10,880 And so if you know the good you want to do, not on partiality, if you know you're 207 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,800 not supposed to show partiality and you choose to do it anyways, like it's almost 208 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:17,480 like that's double sin. Right. 209 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,280 Like you're intentionally choosing not to put Jesus on display. 210 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:24,880 If you know, and you could plug and play anything in there. 211 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:25,880 Right. 212 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:30,960 But if you know the good that you want to do, you know that you know God is moving 213 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,920 in somebody's life and you know he's calling you to be generous to that person 214 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,080 and you're like, yeah, that'll be fine. 215 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:37,720 Right. 216 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:39,280 Like that's sin. 217 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:43,800 If you see someone who's cold and hungry and you don't give them clothes or food, 218 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:45,120 what good have you done? 219 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:46,240 Yeah. 220 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:47,240 That's in the book. 221 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:48,560 Oh, James. 222 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:49,560 Oh, James. 223 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:55,520 You know, and you know, and it's and and I think James does a really good job and 224 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,640 it's all throughout the book where you've talked about. 225 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,080 I've talked about that people have taken James and they said, oh, James is anti 226 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:09,200 wealth. No, James is anti wealth at the behest of somebody else's life and and 227 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:13,040 building your wealth on the back of other people and building it on anything but the 228 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,960 firm foundation of Christ and not having a generous life that demonstrates that 229 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:17,960 you follow God. 230 00:11:18,560 --> 00:11:22,440 James is actually at the risk of going too political. 231 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:23,760 He's actually very progressive. 232 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:24,960 Yeah. 233 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:25,960 And his writing. 234 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:26,960 Yeah. 235 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,600 If you're comparing it to cultures of the day, especially Roman culture, where 236 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:31,240 wealth was built on the backs of others. 237 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:35,880 Well, and it's funny you say progressive because he's really quoting Torah, which 238 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:40,240 was a very progressive law and stay now progressive, not in the political sense, 239 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:43,080 but in that it was moving people moving the needle forward. 240 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:44,080 Yeah. 241 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,840 Right. I think sometimes that word gets co-opted to be all about political agenda, 242 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:51,400 where it really means that you're moving towards like a specific goal. 243 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:52,400 Yeah. 244 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:56,480 Right. And so God's goal was always progressive to move us to be more like 245 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:57,480 Jesus. 246 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:58,480 Yeah. 247 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:02,560 And I think if there's a third takeaway from James is it's just be careful with 248 00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:03,560 what you say. 249 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:04,560 Yeah. 250 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:08,800 Like, be careful with your words because words can be harmful. 251 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:10,360 They can hurt. 252 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:15,880 And I've been hurt more by words than I have in the physical context. 253 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:16,880 Yeah. 254 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:20,560 And I want to be clear, like I've gotten my fair share of fights over the days, 255 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:25,040 over my days, and my body suffers the natural consequences from that. 256 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,760 But words can be just as painful. 257 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:29,760 Yeah. 258 00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,680 And they can words can wreck relationships. 259 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:33,840 They can wreck marriages. 260 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,000 They can they can flip your world upside down. 261 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,440 They can wreck employment status. 262 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,480 They can wreck your wealth. 263 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,440 They've absolutely wrecked churches. 264 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:44,440 Mm hmm. 265 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:45,440 Absolutely. 266 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:46,440 Right. 267 00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:47,440 Right. 268 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:53,320 And so and there are there are people who have a very poor understanding of who 269 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,800 Jesus is because somebody who claimed to follow Jesus shared words that were 270 00:12:57,800 --> 00:12:58,800 incredibly hurtful. 271 00:12:58,800 --> 00:12:59,800 Yeah. 272 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:00,800 Yeah. 273 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:01,800 And not helpful. 274 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:02,800 Mm hmm. 275 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:06,000 And so James had he talks about being slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to 276 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,680 listen. 277 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:11,240 And the reality like we often view is this three different things, but combine it 278 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:12,240 together. 279 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,760 If you put them all together and see the progression of it, when you're slow to 280 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:17,600 speak and you're willing to understand where someone's coming from, you're less 281 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:18,960 likely to get angry. 282 00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:19,960 Yeah. 283 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:20,960 Because you're hearing their story. 284 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:22,400 Well, those things kind of work in harmony. 285 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:23,400 Yeah. 286 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:24,400 Each other. 287 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:25,400 They're meant to harmonize each other. 288 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:26,400 Yeah. 289 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:27,400 You know. 290 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:28,400 Yeah. 291 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,520 And then when you're quick to listen, when listening to go to, you're going to 292 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:34,560 you're going to remove yourself from making false assumptions about that person. 293 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:35,760 Yeah. 294 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:40,800 And when we make false assumptions about the person, you know how the saying goes. 295 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:44,040 But when you make when you make those assumptions about this person, it not only 296 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,840 ruins your perspective of them, but also ruins your potential relationship with 297 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:48,840 them. 298 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,680 And part of the reason why James in the end of the book says talks about restoring 299 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:57,600 a believer because it's not just for you restoring that believer, but for you also 300 00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:59,400 being restored to that. 301 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:00,400 Right. 302 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:01,400 Yeah. 303 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:06,120 I feel like in that section, he's really stressing that like throwing away 304 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,800 relationships haphazardly is not acceptable. 305 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:09,800 Right. 306 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:14,560 Like there is that you invest in people and then and it's not that there isn't a 307 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:19,200 point where you do say enough. 308 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:23,520 But we are actually being vulnerable enough with each other to build 309 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:25,360 relationships where we can speak into each other. 310 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:26,360 Yeah. 311 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:32,600 And so building boundaries over past discretions to make sure that we can exist 312 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:34,120 in relationship continually. 313 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:35,120 Yeah. 314 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:38,960 And then if needed, we can cut the relationship and go back to this position 315 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:41,840 where we're not brothers, but you're actually somebody on the outside that I'm 316 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:42,840 trying to bring in. 317 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:43,840 Yeah. 318 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,080 You know, that's coming from another book, but it's a similar idea. 319 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:49,080 James is going to be coming from that. 320 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:50,080 Yeah. 321 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:51,080 So those are three takeaways. 322 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:52,800 Those will be the three that I have. 323 00:14:52,800 --> 00:15:00,760 And all of these are incredibly valuable in this season of American life. 324 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:06,280 I'm sure that you are all perfectly aware of what is going on in America right now. 325 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:11,240 Every two years and four years, we go through what I call political season. 326 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:16,520 And there is a lot of statements said on both sides of the aisle about people, 327 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:21,200 words that are shared that they can't take back, statements that are made, 328 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:23,040 statements that are split. 329 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,320 And what's the one thing we're called to as believers when it comes to our 330 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:28,320 political leaders? 331 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:31,440 Pray for them. 332 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,480 Love them. 333 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:39,880 Intercede on their behalf that Jesus Christ would move in their midst. 334 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:44,440 I was, I remember a few weeks ago, I was preaching at church and I was speaking on 335 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:48,760 Jonah and Nahum because we're doing the Minor Prophets. 336 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:53,840 And I said, you know, it is really, I understand that we belong, that America is a constitutional 337 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,720 republic, right? 338 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:59,520 But I as a Christian serve in a monarchy. 339 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:01,160 Jesus is King. 340 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:05,680 And so everything that I do in a constitutional republic is a reflection of what my King tells 341 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,760 me to do. 342 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:13,920 And that's where your politics has to come from is in service of King Jesus. 343 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:15,240 And he tells us very specific things. 344 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:19,520 Like you said, pray for your leaders to care for the widows and the orphans. 345 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:23,080 Like there are some very specific things that he gives us that we can do. 346 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,880 And we put this in context globally. 347 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:26,880 Yeah. 348 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:30,720 So the US church makes up about 4% of Christians globally. 349 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:36,200 So what we do, what we serve a kingdom that has transcended all government structures, 350 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:40,640 policies, setups, political agendas, so on and so forth. 351 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:41,640 Yeah. 352 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,440 It's transcended that it's worked through thick and thin. 353 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:48,960 It's changed in dictatorships, it's worked in monarchies, oligarchies. 354 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,080 It's worked in every form of government. 355 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:55,800 And the reason it has worked is because the government that we serve is not of this world. 356 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:56,800 Amen. 357 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:57,800 Right? 358 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:03,520 We're going to like, don't get me wrong, I'm going to vote according to what I believe. 359 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,400 And according to what God's called me to. 360 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,440 Well, because I'm called to live in this world, but not be of this world. 361 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:10,440 Exactly. 362 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:15,080 But at the same time, if we are thinking that Christianity is going to fail because of a 363 00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:18,560 political election in a country where 4% of Christians live. 364 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:19,560 Yeah. 365 00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:21,040 Oh boy, you are so deluded. 366 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:22,040 Yeah. 367 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:23,040 And I don't want to be rude on that. 368 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:26,840 But it's like, man, there's so much more to this walk with Jesus than who's in the White 369 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:27,840 House. 370 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,840 Yeah, there's a statistic out there. 371 00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:33,000 This is not specifically behind you, James Moore, what you just said, where they're talking 372 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:37,120 about how people are leaving the church and a lot of these different things. 373 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:42,720 Well, actually, the church globally is growing, growing significantly. 374 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:47,880 And a lot of what you're seeing in America is you're seeing people who threw on Christianity 375 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,680 as an identity that are leaving. 376 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,880 And what you're actually starting to see is that one of two things is people are either 377 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:00,560 digging deeper into Christianity as an identity or a political identity, or you're seeing 378 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:04,400 people who authentically live out what Christ puts in their life. 379 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,240 And it's actually going to be more apparent and it's going to be more effective as we 380 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,000 have more of these people who are living out Christ in the world. 381 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,000 And I mean, let's just call it what it is. 382 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:19,840 America is actually becoming a mission field for third world countries. 383 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:20,840 Yeah. 384 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,280 There are people in third world countries who are believers, followers of Jesus, who 385 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,680 are saying, I'm going to America as a missionary. 386 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:28,680 And I welcome them. 387 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:29,680 Yeah. 388 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,160 Because one, I love the global church. 389 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:37,940 But then I don't want to I don't want to give up responsibility of us being a mission field. 390 00:18:37,940 --> 00:18:40,320 We also have been blessed with a lot. 391 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:41,320 Absolutely. 392 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,560 When we're talking about these rich people, like people who have a lot of money, we actually 393 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:50,320 need to make sure that we live with a generous heart to the people around us, specifically 394 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:56,200 the countries around us, and invest in like seeing God, God's kingdom grow globally. 395 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:57,200 Right. 396 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,240 I have one more thing. 397 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,160 I was trying to think about what you were what you were you're saying something and 398 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,680 I was prompting in my brain. 399 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,680 Prompting it might be gone. 400 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:13,080 But partiality, tongue. 401 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:14,080 That's gone. 402 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:15,080 Yeah. 403 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:16,080 Yeah. 404 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:19,200 So I think those are really those are really good things. 405 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:24,840 And I think one of my things that I really encourage you if you don't have a somebody 406 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:29,080 that you sit around a campfire like Spencer and I, we have we have not just us, but we 407 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:34,920 have other friends we sit around when we just talk faith and life and family and like these 408 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,080 things and how to walk these things out on a regular basis. 409 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:39,080 You need to get it. 410 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:40,080 Absolutely. 411 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:41,080 Right. 412 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:47,040 Because this is what's going to keep you invigorated and going in day in and day out and putting 413 00:19:47,040 --> 00:19:49,400 your life down on behalf of other people. 414 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,240 Because you can run a race alone. 415 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,360 It's a lot more fun to run with other people. 416 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:55,360 Absolutely. 417 00:19:55,360 --> 00:20:00,280 I was actually thinking your wife and mine ran the there's a 13 mile race that they have 418 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:01,280 marathon. 419 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:02,280 Yeah. 420 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:03,280 And they wrote ran it together. 421 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:06,560 They all got matching uniforms and they did like relays and stuff. 422 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,160 And then they got done and they're all really happy. 423 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:15,040 And you know, it was it was half marathon, but they split it between three people. 424 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:17,600 One that's a lot easier. 425 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:22,400 And two, they had so much fun. 426 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:30,360 I think that there's there's definitely something we can learn there about faith, having fun 427 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:31,800 in pursuit of God. 428 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,160 Like it's a very serious job, but we should enjoy life. 429 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:38,400 Well, even the individualized sports are team sports. 430 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:39,400 Yeah. 431 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:40,400 So track and field. 432 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:41,400 Yeah. 433 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:42,400 Right. 434 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:43,400 Like you usually have an event you run. 435 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:44,400 It's a team sport. 436 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,040 Swimming usually have an event you run, but you have a team around you encouraging you 437 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:48,600 and pushing you to be better. 438 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:49,600 So on. 439 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:50,600 So forth. 440 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:52,680 And this goes on. 441 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:56,640 Usually so like one of the ones I did a lot when I was in high school and college and 442 00:20:56,640 --> 00:20:59,400 now that I'm old and somewhat fat, I don't do it as much. 443 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,400 But I was rock climbing. 444 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:04,880 Like I've climbed some really big walls in my life. 445 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,120 And but you're never doing it by yourself. 446 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:10,200 For the most part, like you're always doing it with someone. 447 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,880 And I know some people are going to be like, well, what about those National Geographic 448 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,200 and I was like, well, who do you think was filming that? 449 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:16,200 Right. 450 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:17,200 He wasn't by himself. 451 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,520 There's always someone behind the camera. 452 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,800 Even if you're a driver in NASCAR, I have a picture. 453 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:23,800 Yeah. 454 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,280 Not to mention they have a coaching team that helps them like learn how, hey, you took this 455 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:29,120 turn at this angle. 456 00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:30,560 Here's how we actually do this better. 457 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:31,560 Yeah. 458 00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:32,560 Right. 459 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,880 So so even if it looks like an individualized sport, it's still a team effort. 460 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:35,880 Yeah. 461 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:37,480 It's still a community doing it together. 462 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:38,480 Yeah. 463 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,440 And there's a lot we can learn from that. 464 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:45,000 So moving forward, I think the next episode, we're actually going to move some of our mini 465 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:46,000 series around. 466 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,520 We're going to do a little book, big message. 467 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:54,080 And so we're going to be hitting single chapter books and just talking about like, what do 468 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:57,320 these have to teach us about our faith in walking with Jesus over the next couple of 469 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:58,320 weeks? 470 00:21:58,320 --> 00:21:59,320 Yeah. 471 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:00,320 All right. 472 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:02,320 Till next time. 473 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,340 And that's a wrap for today's episode of Love and Context. 474 00:22:05,340 --> 00:22:09,240 We hope you enjoyed this engaging conversation and gained valuable insights into the powerful 475 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,240 message of love within the Bible. 476 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:14,360 We'd love to hear from you and continue the conversation. 477 00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:20,720 Join us with us by sending us your questions, thoughts and suggestions to loveandcontext.gmail.com. 478 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:25,340 We greatly appreciate your feedback and ideas for future episodes. 479 00:22:25,340 --> 00:22:29,640 Stay connected with us on social media for updates, behind the scenes content and additional 480 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:30,640 resources. 481 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:35,440 You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook at Love and Context. 482 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,440 Don't forget to hit that follow button to stay up to date with the latest episodes and 483 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:40,560 join our growing community. 484 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,960 Thank you for being part of the Love and Context family. 485 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,720 Remember, love is at the heart of it all. 486 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:50,800 Until next time, keep seeking wisdom, embracing love and living out your faith in the context 487 00:22:50,800 --> 00:23:13,800 of today's world.