WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.279 Father, what a privilege it is to be before you 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:06.780 with my friend, my brother Adam, as we simply 00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:09.179 have conversations about what's going on in culture, 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.060 what's going on in life. And Father, we put on 00:00:12.060 --> 00:00:14.519 the lens, we put on the glasses of a biblical 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:18.199 worldview that we may see accurately and see 00:00:18.199 --> 00:00:20.539 rightly what is happening around us. We ask that 00:00:20.539 --> 00:00:22.920 you would speak to us, guide our conversation 00:00:22.920 --> 00:00:25.480 today. For those that will be listening, Father, 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:29.500 bless them, encourage them. put some lift under 00:00:29.500 --> 00:00:31.980 their wings, Lord, encourage them by your Spirit 00:00:31.980 --> 00:00:34.640 and the wind of your Spirit. We give all this 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:37.299 to you. We dedicate it to you in Jesus' name. 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:43.359 Amen. Amen. It's Wednesday, November 26, 2025. 00:00:43.700 --> 00:00:47.320 We get to do this. This is episode number 12. 00:01:02.090 --> 00:01:05.370 We get to do this Hey brother, how you doing? 00:01:05.609 --> 00:01:08.450 I'm doing great, man. I'm just I'm waking up. 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:11.189 I've got coffee in my cup I just took a one of 00:01:11.189 --> 00:01:15.010 those e Energy things what those little the little 00:01:15.010 --> 00:01:17.450 balls. Yeah, Tina has in the fridge. Yeah little 00:01:17.450 --> 00:01:20.930 tiny ones Did you get energy out of that? placebo 00:01:20.930 --> 00:01:23.670 effect, maybe? I'm not sure. It kind of makes 00:01:23.670 --> 00:01:26.109 the water taste good, you know? It tastes good, 00:01:26.310 --> 00:01:28.530 but I don't know. I'm so over caffeinated all 00:01:28.530 --> 00:01:30.909 the time. I drink a lot of coffee. I do too. 00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:33.390 In fact, Annette's like, I can't believe you 00:01:33.390 --> 00:01:36.230 want more energy. You want even more energy. 00:01:37.150 --> 00:01:40.329 It takes a lot to keep this going with all the 00:01:40.329 --> 00:01:42.689 help I can get. We were quote unquote partying 00:01:42.689 --> 00:01:45.370 last night. Yeah, yeah. Over at the house. And 00:01:45.370 --> 00:01:47.530 by the way, happy Thanksgiving to everybody who's 00:01:47.530 --> 00:01:50.250 listening. Maybe you're on your way as this drops 00:01:50.250 --> 00:01:52.569 on the day before Thanksgiving or maybe you're 00:01:52.569 --> 00:01:56.049 listening on your walk after the turkey or maybe 00:01:56.049 --> 00:01:59.849 on your way home. Before I even get to the partying 00:01:59.849 --> 00:02:04.219 last night for such party animals. I grew up 00:02:04.219 --> 00:02:09.620 saying Thanksgiving. Right. But I hear in Texas, 00:02:09.780 --> 00:02:12.759 I hear people say Thanksgiving. Wait a minute. 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:16.259 The emphasis being on Thanksgiving instead of 00:02:16.259 --> 00:02:20.139 Thanksgiving. Oh, so you grew up how? Thanksgiving. 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.419 Okay. Which I think is kind of confusing and 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:26.030 wrong. If you really think about it. If I think 00:02:26.030 --> 00:02:30.449 about it, I can't say it. Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. 00:02:30.710 --> 00:02:32.509 Yeah, Thanksgiving. That's how I've always said 00:02:32.509 --> 00:02:35.270 it. But I've never noticed... I think it just 00:02:35.270 --> 00:02:37.409 comes from a secular world, like Thanksgiving, 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:39.590 like, you know, giving, give me, give me stuff, 00:02:40.129 --> 00:02:43.530 giving, instead of Thanksgiving, with the emphasis 00:02:43.530 --> 00:02:46.780 on the thanking part. I don't know. It's just 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:51.120 one of those things I noticed. That's one of 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:53.460 those little things, right? Yeah, but I just 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:55.699 noticed it. I'm like, I wonder why I've always 00:02:55.699 --> 00:02:57.879 said that. It just doesn't make any sense. I'm 00:02:57.879 --> 00:02:59.900 sure someone's going to write in and say, oh, 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:03.580 this is why you do secular, probably. I'm fairly 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:06.360 observant, but I have not caught that nuance 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:09.659 there. So that's pretty nuanced. We had a nice 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:12.219 dinner at the house last night. Ray and Heather 00:03:12.219 --> 00:03:18.340 were over. I think I have to say pretty perfectly 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:21.639 cooked filet mignons. That was about to be my 00:03:21.639 --> 00:03:27.800 next brag point was to boast on your K &C tenderloins 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:31.240 filets so good. Yeah, I mean it's really it's 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:34.240 all in the cow. I mean the K &C beef is just 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:37.520 spectacular. Phenomenal. Once we use our meter 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:41.900 Thermometer probes, you almost can't go wrong. 00:03:42.139 --> 00:03:44.360 I mean, it's just it's so fantastic. I think 00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:46.639 it's pronounced METOR. Is it METOR? It's O -R. 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:49.180 METOR. Oh, is it an O -R at the end? Isn't that 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:53.919 weird? METOR. I know, METOR. I know, it's weird. 00:03:54.139 --> 00:03:56.439 It's an outstanding product. It is a fantastic 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:58.400 product. Everybody who grills needs to have this 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:01.020 product. Definitely needs to have this. There 00:04:01.020 --> 00:04:03.639 are little issues with it, like I accidentally 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:07.659 speared through my fillet and I didn't know it 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:10.300 and so it was totally off. I was like, what is 00:04:10.300 --> 00:04:14.199 going on? Fortunately, I had speared Annette's 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.660 Filet perfectly, so I just queued off of number 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:19.480 one. You got real lucky. Yeah, you know, you 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:23.480 learn those little things, right? So I'm a little 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:25.800 fuzzier than I might have been because we did 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:29.100 have some wine. At least, you know, Ray brought 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:33.620 this really nice, fantastic Tuscan wine. And 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:36.079 I really drink maybe one glass at dinner, so 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:39.829 I had, I think, three. You're a little fuzzy. 00:04:40.290 --> 00:04:42.389 Especially if you're an older dude like me now. 00:04:42.629 --> 00:04:46.170 I didn't have to drive, so that was good. It 00:04:46.170 --> 00:04:50.110 was a wonderful evening. Great wine, obviously, 00:04:50.230 --> 00:04:53.490 with that, which was a perfect pairing with that. 00:04:53.569 --> 00:04:57.430 Fantastic. Tina made some killer vegetables. 00:04:57.829 --> 00:05:02.370 Yes, with the pear. I could have had more of 00:05:02.370 --> 00:05:05.050 that. Surprise pear. So yeah, I mean just a great 00:05:05.050 --> 00:05:07.470 evening. You know, what's so fun is if you think 00:05:07.470 --> 00:05:09.670 about it, Jesus, Pastor Brian was bringing this 00:05:09.670 --> 00:05:13.490 out a couple weeks ago that Jesus always did 00:05:13.490 --> 00:05:17.170 things around food, always. Disciples are always 00:05:17.170 --> 00:05:19.550 sitting around a table. He was always making 00:05:19.550 --> 00:05:23.389 food for thousands of people with plenty left 00:05:23.389 --> 00:05:26.470 over. So I mean, There is something about sitting 00:05:26.470 --> 00:05:30.129 around a table and just having random conversation 00:05:30.129 --> 00:05:33.550 that's so life -giving. Absolutely. That was 00:05:33.550 --> 00:05:37.050 Pastor Brian's message that was on point. That 00:05:37.050 --> 00:05:40.170 was pretty funny. I think the term Costco Christian 00:05:40.170 --> 00:05:42.269 is stuck in my head for the rest of my life. 00:05:42.769 --> 00:05:46.829 We just go get little snacks. That's true. Hunger 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:51.079 games. Hunger games. Harkening back to youth 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:53.819 ministry title days. When he threw up the AI 00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:56.120 image though, I almost lost it. I'm like, oh 00:05:56.120 --> 00:05:58.939 man, oh no, he's using AI. He copied it though. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.180 Was that for the, for the background? Yeah. Okay. 00:06:02.660 --> 00:06:04.959 Yeah. If you eat ding -dongs, what was it? If 00:06:04.959 --> 00:06:07.180 you eat Twinkies. Don't be surprised if you turn 00:06:07.180 --> 00:06:10.879 into a ding -dong. Wow. He was taking it to places. 00:06:11.220 --> 00:06:13.519 He's on fire. It was interesting. He's on fire. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:16.720 So regarding Thanksgiving, so here's what happened 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:18.939 to me. First of all, Tina had horrible cramps 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:21.939 during the night in the top of her feet, which 00:06:21.939 --> 00:06:25.279 is odd. So I was kind of awake. She's jumping 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:26.800 around. I'm waiting for her to come back in. 00:06:26.819 --> 00:06:31.019 And then I wake up at 4 a .m. And this is not, 00:06:31.259 --> 00:06:33.990 I mean, I sleep. You've been up since 4? I went 00:06:33.990 --> 00:06:36.750 back to bed at five, but I woke up at four. It 00:06:36.750 --> 00:06:40.389 was like, download from Throne Central. Because 00:06:40.389 --> 00:06:45.129 I had been really asking the Lord, like, what 00:06:45.129 --> 00:06:47.170 am I going to do on the show before Thanksgiving? 00:06:47.870 --> 00:06:50.310 What are we going to talk about? And I really, 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:52.850 I just, you know, especially because we had you 00:06:52.850 --> 00:06:54.670 guys coming over and there were other things 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:57.810 I was doing. I had meetings and I just didn't, 00:06:58.129 --> 00:06:59.990 nothing really jumped out. And I'm like, well 00:06:59.990 --> 00:07:02.480 Lord, I presume you're going to give it to me 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:05.199 tomorrow morning. Funny enough, he thought 4 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.639 a .m. was tomorrow morning and what he gave to 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:13.019 me just blew me away. And it's about the history 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:18.379 of Thanksgiving. Wow. Yes. So now John C. Dvorak 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:21.199 every year goes through the history of Thanksgiving. 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:23.379 I make him do it. He repeats the same thing. 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:27.720 But when I went to look at certain things, I'm 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:29.519 going to play a clip that kind of sets it up. 00:07:29.870 --> 00:07:33.970 This is when God just went like, don't you recognize 00:07:33.970 --> 00:07:36.230 what this is? So I'm going to play this. This 00:07:36.230 --> 00:07:39.750 is from the Chicago Museum of History. This is 00:07:39.750 --> 00:07:42.699 a report from last year. about the history of 00:07:42.699 --> 00:07:45.199 Thanksgiving. Long after the Pilgrims landed 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:48.620 at Plymouth Rock in 1621 and celebrated a successful 00:07:48.620 --> 00:07:51.120 harvest with a three -day gathering that became 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:54.399 the first Thanksgiving, it was the first president 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.779 of the United States, George Washington, who 00:07:56.779 --> 00:08:01.360 declared November 26th, 1789 a day of public 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:04.160 Thanksgiving. While a lot of people trace the 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:06.040 origins of the celebration of Thanksgiving in 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:09.000 the United States back to the Pilgrims and Plymouth 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:12.300 in the 17th century, Our kind of contemporary 00:08:12.300 --> 00:08:15.259 understanding of it really has to do more with 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:17.800 these proclamations that were made by various 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.680 presidents. Chicago History Museum Director of 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:23.360 Exhibitions Paul Derica says the holiday was 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.060 observed on and off for years. President James 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:29.220 Madison proclaimed a Thanksgiving Day in 1814 00:08:29.220 --> 00:08:32.779 and 1815. Thanksgiving as a national holiday 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:35.860 really kind of takes shape and then becomes part 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:39.720 of American culture in the 1860s. But it wasn't 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:43.340 until October 3rd of 1863, in the midst of the 00:08:43.340 --> 00:08:46.179 Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln made 00:08:46.179 --> 00:08:49.360 what is now regarded as the Thanksgiving Proclamation. 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:52.860 He wrote, the year that is drawn to a close has 00:08:52.860 --> 00:08:55.399 been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields 00:08:55.399 --> 00:08:58.320 and healthful skies. He called the nation's people 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:01.460 in its prosperity, quote, gracious gifts and 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:04.440 said, it has seemed to me fit and proper that 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:07.000 they should be gratefully acknowledged. I do 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:09.629 therefore invite my fellow citizens in every 00:09:09.629 --> 00:09:12.750 part of the United States to set apart and observe 00:09:12.750 --> 00:09:15.950 that last Thursday of November next as a day 00:09:15.950 --> 00:09:18.690 of Thanksgiving. Lincoln's proclamation took 00:09:18.690 --> 00:09:22.009 effect just one week after his most famous speech, 00:09:22.389 --> 00:09:24.990 the Gettysburg Address. Even though the United 00:09:24.990 --> 00:09:27.370 States is in the midst of this great civil war 00:09:27.370 --> 00:09:29.269 and there are all of these challenges that the 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:32.049 nation is facing, there's still a lot to be thankful 00:09:32.049 --> 00:09:34.870 for. It was the culmination of a decades long 00:09:34.870 --> 00:09:37.450 campaign by a prominent magazine editor named 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.389 Sarah Josepha Hayes. She lobbied Lincoln for 00:09:40.389 --> 00:09:42.789 the holiday. Thanksgiving and establishing it 00:09:42.789 --> 00:09:44.789 as a national holiday certainly stands as one 00:09:44.789 --> 00:09:48.809 of his enduring accomplishments. And in the 1940s, 00:09:48.950 --> 00:09:51.929 Congress issued Joint Resolution 41, forever 00:09:51.929 --> 00:09:55.789 making Thanksgiving a public holiday. So here's 00:09:55.789 --> 00:09:59.730 the path I took. So first I was like, I got the 00:09:59.730 --> 00:10:02.190 word, look up the history of Thanksgiving. I'm 00:10:02.190 --> 00:10:04.149 like, okay, I know exactly where to find that. 00:10:04.149 --> 00:10:06.590 And then I found this clip and I'm listening 00:10:06.590 --> 00:10:10.100 to this clip. I'm like, I want to read the whole 00:10:10.100 --> 00:10:15.340 proclamation. This is what blew me away. So I 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:19.539 took the liberty of dissecting Abraham Lincoln's 00:10:19.539 --> 00:10:21.679 proclamation. This was a crazy time. This was 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:23.480 right in the middle of the Civil War. I mean, 00:10:23.539 --> 00:10:29.399 the country's being torn apart. It's 1863. And 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:32.480 as I'm reading this proclamation, like, oh man, 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:34.799 this is all from the Bible. The whole thing, 00:10:34.860 --> 00:10:38.720 did you know any of this? Yes. And I took the 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:41.000 liberty—I didn't know this. So in the clip you 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:43.600 just played— You could already hear it. Very 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.080 little, though. That was really what marked it. 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:48.419 I was going— Well, this is Chicago. I mean, they're 00:10:48.419 --> 00:10:51.740 not going to give you all the Scripture. Well, 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:54.940 and just being thankful to God, that's the thing. 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:58.139 So that was what jumped out to me. While I appreciated 00:10:58.139 --> 00:11:01.039 the history and the dates and what, I'm going, 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:04.580 but we have to direct our gratitude somewhere. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:08.980 He wrote this proclamation literally from the 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:12.139 Bible, literally from scripture. So I'll read 00:11:12.139 --> 00:11:18.179 his language is kind of King James. And I have 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:20.340 the King James where I'm like, I'll do an NIV 00:11:20.340 --> 00:11:22.820 version just to make a little more palpable. 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:27.139 So he starts by saying, the year is drawing towards 00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:29.139 its close has been filled with the blessings 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:32.299 of fruitful fields and healthful skies. Well, 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:37.039 that comes from Psalm 65. And I just took 9 through 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:39.980 13 you care for the land and water it you enrich 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:42.519 it abundantly The streams of God are filled with 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:45.299 water to provide the people with grain for so 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:48.600 you have ordained it You drench its furrows and 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:51.259 level its ridges you soften it with showers and 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:54.039 bless its crops You crown the year with your 00:11:54.039 --> 00:11:56.519 bounty and your carts overflow with abundance 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.419 the grasslands of the wilderness overflow The 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:02.539 hills are closed clothed with gladness The meadows 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:04.899 are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled 00:12:04.899 --> 00:12:08.100 with grain. They shout for joy and sing." He 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:11.059 goes on, this is the blessings that they're a 00:12:11.059 --> 00:12:14.940 gift. No human counsel hath devised nor hath 00:12:14.940 --> 00:12:17.799 any mortal hand worked out these great things. 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:20.480 They are the gracious gifts of the Most High 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:25.379 God. I didn't know any of this. James 1, 17, 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:28.559 every good and perfect gift is from above. coming 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:30.460 down from the Father of the heavenly lights, 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:33.700 who does not change like shifting shadows. Then 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:37.700 he goes on, who, while dealing with us in anger 00:12:37.700 --> 00:12:41.019 for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:45.720 And this is, praise the Lord my soul, which I 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:50.240 immediately hear Wendy singing. All my emos being, 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:52.419 praise his holy name, praise the Lord my soul, 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:54.879 forget not all his benefits, who forgives all 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:58.200 your sins and heals all your diseases. who redeems 00:12:58.200 --> 00:13:00.379 your life from the pit and crowns you with love 00:13:00.379 --> 00:13:02.559 and compassion. The Lord is compassionate and 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:06.259 gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He 00:13:06.259 --> 00:13:08.940 will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his 00:13:08.940 --> 00:13:11.659 anger forever. There it is. He does not treat 00:13:11.659 --> 00:13:17.460 us as our sins deserve or repay us according 00:13:17.460 --> 00:13:22.179 to our iniquities." So then he goes just completely 00:13:22.179 --> 00:13:26.460 verbatim. When their herds and their flocks multiply, 00:13:26.620 --> 00:13:28.620 When their heart be lifted up and they forget 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:30.899 the Lord their God and say in their heart my 00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:33.080 power and the might of my hands have gained me 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:37.620 this wealth. Deuteronomy 10 18. When you have 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:39.899 eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:42.820 God for the good land he has given you. Be careful 00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:45.860 that you do not forget the Lord your God. When 00:13:45.860 --> 00:13:48.039 your heart will become proud and you will forget 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:50.940 the Lord your God, you may say to yourself, self, 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:53.840 my power and the strength of my hands have produced 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:56.289 this wealth for me. But remember the Lord your 00:13:56.289 --> 00:13:58.710 God for it is he who gives you the ability to 00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:03.129 produce wealth." I'm like, he was, I mean, this, 00:14:03.409 --> 00:14:06.690 I don't, this is just not known. I had no idea. 00:14:07.049 --> 00:14:11.710 There's a little more. Fervently implore the 00:14:11.710 --> 00:14:14.309 interposition, this is Lincoln again, of the 00:14:14.309 --> 00:14:16.889 almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation 00:14:16.889 --> 00:14:20.169 with humble penitence for our national perverseness 00:14:20.169 --> 00:14:22.809 and disobedience. This is actually what got me 00:14:22.809 --> 00:14:25.210 on this path. When I read this, I'm like, I know 00:14:25.210 --> 00:14:29.889 this. Chronicles 7 -14, if my people who are 00:14:29.889 --> 00:14:32.230 called by my name will humble themselves and 00:14:32.230 --> 00:14:34.590 pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked 00:14:34.590 --> 00:14:37.110 ways, then I will hear from heaven and I will 00:14:37.110 --> 00:14:40.769 forgive their sin and will heal their land. And 00:14:40.769 --> 00:14:44.250 then he closes it out, praise to our beneficent 00:14:44.250 --> 00:14:47.269 father who dwelleth in the heavens, commend to 00:14:47.269 --> 00:14:49.889 his tender care all those who have become widows, 00:14:50.090 --> 00:14:54.009 orphans, mourners, and sufferers. Psalm 104 -5. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:57.220 enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts 00:14:57.220 --> 00:15:00.019 with praise give thanks to him and praise his 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:02.600 name for the lord is good and his love endures 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:04.860 forever his faithfulness continues through all 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:08.220 generations in them psalm 68 a father to the 00:15:08.220 --> 00:15:11.740 fatherless a defender of widows is god in his 00:15:11.740 --> 00:15:17.240 holy dwelling i'm just like i have i mean all 00:15:17.240 --> 00:15:22.019 60 thanksgivings in my lifetime no actually 61 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.659 No, this will be my 61st. I didn't know any of 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:28.480 this. You know, I've never read that on Thanksgiving. 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:31.120 I think that would be something really cool. 00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:33.440 We're going to be at the Maseranos. Thank you 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:34.580 for saying that. I was actually going to ask 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:36.440 if you think that's appropriate. I think it's 00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.080 absolutely appropriate. It is so amazing when 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:41.360 you hear that. And this was Lincoln. This was 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:44.960 our president. He was copying and citing the 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:50.710 Bible, the Word. And I can only imagine how Back 00:15:50.710 --> 00:15:53.190 in the day, this was just different, man. It 00:15:53.190 --> 00:15:57.730 wasn't even that long ago, 140 -some years ago, 00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:01.289 that people were speaking this way and talking 00:16:01.289 --> 00:16:06.509 this way. It was the norm. And so I'm like, thank 00:16:06.509 --> 00:16:09.389 you, Lord. Of course, I had some help from Chad 00:16:09.389 --> 00:16:12.110 GPT to find the right scripture. I'm like, find 00:16:12.110 --> 00:16:15.350 a scripture that says this. Whoa, there it is. 00:16:15.629 --> 00:16:18.970 And it wasn't even a choice. It was like, this 00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:21.860 is it. This is the one and I go back and look 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:23.799 and I of course I read the pay them Yeah, the 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.720 King James is much closer to it But I you know, 00:16:27.059 --> 00:16:28.799 it's so early in the morning that can't get the 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:30.820 half and with enough can't get all that out of 00:16:30.820 --> 00:16:34.100 my mouth So I figured I'd do an IV But I was 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:37.259 it was just that was a delight mind -boggling. 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:40.980 That is amazing I really and I thank you Lord 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:44.759 because he woke me up for that You know all my 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:47.600 years of being a follower of Jesus. We've never 00:16:47.600 --> 00:16:51.129 actually thought about going back to that proclamation 00:16:51.129 --> 00:16:55.169 because I too did not know this. Think about 00:16:55.169 --> 00:16:59.389 how I grew up in a public school system where 00:16:59.389 --> 00:17:03.610 we just did not go down that road. I had great 00:17:03.610 --> 00:17:05.910 teachers that were godly and loved the Lord, 00:17:05.910 --> 00:17:11.609 but it's been so segmented and categorized and 00:17:11.609 --> 00:17:15.470 then set over in a corner that it's just accepted 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:19.809 culturally, we just don't do that. No. We think 00:17:19.809 --> 00:17:22.890 about pilgrims with funny buckles on their shoes 00:17:22.890 --> 00:17:27.509 and turkeys and maize. What about corn? I love 00:17:27.509 --> 00:17:32.049 corn. She's like, okay, I'm not sure. The president 00:17:32.049 --> 00:17:34.710 pardons two turkeys. By the way, he made a funny 00:17:34.710 --> 00:17:37.170 joke about that. The last year's turkeys were 00:17:37.170 --> 00:17:40.390 pardoned by AutoPen, so it wasn't legal. Good 00:17:40.390 --> 00:17:44.380 to take that back. Of course. But I was just 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:48.759 really surprised that I never ever had even read 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:51.559 the full proclamation. Wow, thank you for bringing 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:54.380 that. Well, that's already made my Thanksgiving 00:17:54.380 --> 00:17:57.440 better. It's partially your fault that this happened. 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:03.839 You had a daily grind yesterday, which was Isaiah 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:09.319 30 verse 21. And this is whether you turn to 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:11.500 the right or to the left, your ears will hear 00:18:11.500 --> 00:18:15.319 a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:20.640 in it. And I love this so much because I realize 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:24.460 that myself included, but in general, we are 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:28.680 so dulled by screen noise that we don't even 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:32.160 hear God talking to us. And so I'm really making 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:34.640 an effort. And when I hear something, I just 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:36.759 go for it right away. It may be a dead end. Maybe 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:39.359 I heard it, misheard it, but nine times out of 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:41.279 10. It's great. He's like, no, no, don't skip 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:44.160 that. Go look at that. And, you know, and I used 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:45.880 to think that was just my own brilliant inner 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:48.279 voice because of course, pod father, I'm brilliant. 00:18:50.019 --> 00:18:53.019 And now I know it's like, he's literally directing 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:55.980 me and I think he does it all the time. You know, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.759 but there's so much noise. I call it screen noise 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:01.900 now because that's really what it is. It just 00:19:01.900 --> 00:19:05.309 fills up your head with stuff. And so when I 00:19:05.309 --> 00:19:08.869 hear these things, I'm like, OK. And I just follow 00:19:08.869 --> 00:19:10.829 it. That's what I was also not worried about 00:19:10.829 --> 00:19:13.450 today. I'm like, I know you'll bring it to me. 00:19:13.829 --> 00:19:16.490 I know you'll show me something. Again, he's 00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:20.549 like, OK, 4 AM. Come on. Up you get. Now it's 00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:22.470 5. Can I please go back to bed? Can I please 00:19:22.470 --> 00:19:27.029 go back to bed? Wow. So my morning routine has 00:19:27.029 --> 00:19:30.769 shifted significantly in just the last little 00:19:30.769 --> 00:19:32.829 bit since we've been having these conversations. 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:36.559 And I'm not throwing my phone out the window. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:41.759 I mean, these things are helpful. But I'm learning 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:45.880 to prioritize when I put energy into it, when 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:49.079 I allow it to have my attention. And two, always 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:50.980 trying to treat it like a tool instead of you 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:54.619 being the tool. So my morning has shifted where 00:19:54.619 --> 00:19:57.940 now when I get up, Of course, I'd let Chevy do 00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:00.259 his thing. I got to feed him. I got to take care 00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:02.180 of him for 15 minutes. We all have a sequence. 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:04.799 Oh my gosh. It's all about him in the morning. 00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:08.900 Of course. So I get up and then once I get him 00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:11.359 taken care of, I go into my office. By then, 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:13.819 I've had my little cube heater going, so it's 00:20:13.819 --> 00:20:16.640 really nice in there. Toasty. A little hum, a 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:19.240 little brown noise it sounds like. And so I'm 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:22.079 very relaxed when I get into my morning routine, 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:25.700 sit down with my coffee. And I used to, first 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:27.880 thing, even before I sat down, just open my computer 00:20:27.880 --> 00:20:31.000 as I'm sitting down, right? Yeah, just automatic. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.140 Yeah, just like auto. And now it's like I'll 00:20:33.140 --> 00:20:37.000 reach and go, whoa, wait. Yeah. Sit down. Sit 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:40.579 down. And now I'll either put my earbuds in and 00:20:40.579 --> 00:20:44.160 put on some really, really just relaxed music, 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:47.720 just to have that going. And then I do a little 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:50.259 morning, kind of a morning meditation thing, 00:20:50.279 --> 00:20:52.740 just a relaxation thing. Very simple. It's like 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:55.589 five minutes. It's an app, right? Yeah, yeah. 00:20:55.589 --> 00:20:57.569 What's it called? It's called Simple Habit. Simple 00:20:57.569 --> 00:21:00.990 Habit, okay. Kate James, she's from Australia, 00:21:01.269 --> 00:21:04.829 obviously. I'm prone to Australians. They're 00:21:04.829 --> 00:21:07.049 just soothing, and she just walks you through 00:21:07.049 --> 00:21:09.750 being mindful of your physical body. Just totally 00:21:09.750 --> 00:21:13.509 relaxes me, but also... If my mind was trying 00:21:13.509 --> 00:21:16.589 to spin up, it just spins it down like immediately. 00:21:17.470 --> 00:21:19.089 Yeah. So then I'm sitting there and I'm like, 00:21:19.109 --> 00:21:21.170 gosh, I don't even really want to open my screen 00:21:21.170 --> 00:21:23.490 right now. But I want to I need to do my daily 00:21:23.490 --> 00:21:26.190 grind. I want to do that. And so so I'll jump 00:21:26.190 --> 00:21:30.029 in on that. But it's been really very peaceful 00:21:30.029 --> 00:21:33.109 and helpful and starting my day better and better. 00:21:33.269 --> 00:21:36.089 And I'm getting now that's becoming a habit. 00:21:36.250 --> 00:21:39.369 Yes. Instead of reaching for it now. Right. Now 00:21:39.369 --> 00:21:42.730 I'll do this first. I need to just. Be still 00:21:42.730 --> 00:21:46.569 mm -hmm. There is a Cronus to feel hurry in the 00:21:46.569 --> 00:21:48.529 mornings because you gotta get the day going, 00:21:49.109 --> 00:21:50.769 you know, I gotta get to the office I always 00:21:50.769 --> 00:21:54.109 staff me. All right, we're recording I need to 00:21:54.109 --> 00:21:56.809 at least think about I mean, I need to go I need 00:21:56.809 --> 00:21:59.369 to get the shower, you know, and and that's buzzing 00:21:59.369 --> 00:22:02.049 around we both work your back timing your morning 00:22:02.049 --> 00:22:03.690 like I got a fair day and that you already have 00:22:03.690 --> 00:22:06.329 a schedule just Unwritten you need to I got any 00:22:06.329 --> 00:22:08.230 20 minutes for the shower. I need this and that 00:22:08.230 --> 00:22:12.140 that so now We've had a little downtime, which 00:22:12.140 --> 00:22:13.779 is nice, because we were supposed to be on the 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:16.859 beaches right now. We are, brother. We're on 00:22:16.859 --> 00:22:19.119 the beach of podcast land. We were actually going 00:22:19.119 --> 00:22:23.279 to do a podcast from the beach. But then with 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:25.480 all the government shutdown, the plane issues, 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:28.400 we were like, I don't really want to lose $3 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:32.880 ,600 in plane tickets at our hotel bill. So anyway, 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:36.259 we put all that off. But it's been good because 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.200 In my mind, I was just going to come to work 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:41.220 and Annette goes, no, no, let's take this time 00:22:41.220 --> 00:22:44.680 off. Yeah, right on. And so it has been, it's 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:48.619 actually been better for me than my summer vacation 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:53.359 because we had a flood on July 4th. And all of 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:56.599 that threw me into chaos mentally, whether I 00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:58.480 was actually having to go do anything. It was 00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:01.980 mostly feeling phone calls and feeling the weight 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:05.079 and sorrow and all that. So. I've actually been 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:08.519 more at peace, more relaxed, more rested during 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:11.779 this little accidental vacation, staycation, 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:14.900 than I was in my whole summer vacation. I think 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:16.339 personally, because it was going to be pretty 00:23:16.339 --> 00:23:18.500 short, it was like five days, we were going to 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:22.559 zip it out and back. I personally think that 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:27.619 we would have come back tired. flights and connections. 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:29.380 That was the main reason. I'm like, I don't think 00:23:29.380 --> 00:23:31.319 this is going to work very well with these connections. 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:34.960 And it does wear you out. And it's been good 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:36.940 for me too. I've been, I've been like, Oh, I'm 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:39.680 not really doing much, you know, except, uh, 00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:42.640 downloading scripture. You know, we do our little 00:23:42.640 --> 00:23:44.619 morning thing like, hey, here's what's happening 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:46.420 today. There's not a lot to write right now. 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:51.000 I went to HEB. Going to the gym, Planet Fitness 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.980 and temple care. You know, it's just not a lot 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:56.480 to write and it's really great. It's been good. 00:23:56.700 --> 00:23:59.279 Regarding the, you know, the morning routines 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:02.559 and by the way, I recognize now as a believer 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:05.740 that you're so vulnerable when you wake up. And 00:24:05.740 --> 00:24:08.299 I always immediately try to get right into the 00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:11.259 Lord's Prayer right away because I will wake 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:13.259 up and like have these thoughts running through 00:24:13.259 --> 00:24:15.940 my head and like, I know what you're doing. No, 00:24:16.059 --> 00:24:18.220 you're not going to start because I know how 00:24:18.220 --> 00:24:20.019 that used to be. I'd wake up, these thoughts 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:23.680 are coming to my head. I'd be preoccupied with 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.779 it. It was probably something stupid or dumb 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:28.880 or old or whatever. I was annoyed. I get that 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:31.059 out of my head right away. But I learned something 00:24:32.889 --> 00:24:35.470 It's kind of unrelated, although I can come back 00:24:35.470 --> 00:24:39.349 to it about Marjorie Taylor Greene quitting Congress. 00:24:39.750 --> 00:24:41.829 Right. That's important. That's a big deal. Well, 00:24:41.829 --> 00:24:44.589 what's interesting about it is, so I actually 00:24:44.589 --> 00:24:49.289 got a note from a lobbyist in Austin who laid 00:24:49.289 --> 00:24:51.329 out for me, did we talk about this on the last 00:24:51.329 --> 00:24:54.910 show? No. Oh, okay. This is good. Well, what's 00:24:54.910 --> 00:24:56.890 interesting, so the interesting part comes first, 00:24:56.890 --> 00:24:59.130 because I mentioned this on the No Agenda show 00:24:59.130 --> 00:25:02.380 and John says, hold on a second. Why don't you 00:25:02.380 --> 00:25:04.299 tell everybody what's going on? Like, doesn't 00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:06.240 everybody know about Marjorie Taylor Greene? 00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:09.859 I got several emails from people saying, hey, 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:13.559 man, I work in Detroit and I listen to you guys 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:15.859 to kind of catch up on some of that stuff. I 00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:18.420 have no idea what's going on with her. And then 00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:20.900 I started to do the math. If you really look 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:26.400 at the podcast and the actual size of X and the 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:29.240 actual amount of it's a small portion of the 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:35.009 country that is and indirectly kind of spun up. 00:25:35.109 --> 00:25:37.410 I mean, we're all kind of on it, you know, like, 00:25:38.130 --> 00:25:41.490 oh, what's going on? It's so not important. In 00:25:41.490 --> 00:25:44.250 fact, I believe the president is really trying 00:25:44.250 --> 00:25:47.069 to build a new Republican party for the working 00:25:47.069 --> 00:25:50.009 class, you know, which will be much better if 00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:52.650 all of this pans out and all the manufacturing. 00:25:53.049 --> 00:25:56.329 that is supposed to come actually comes and we 00:25:56.329 --> 00:25:58.269 should pray for that because a country that doesn't 00:25:58.269 --> 00:26:02.230 produce anything isn't really a country. So anyway, 00:26:02.670 --> 00:26:06.309 so that really reset my mind. I'm like, wow, 00:26:07.470 --> 00:26:10.930 it's really not all that big a deal. And it's 00:26:10.930 --> 00:26:13.289 only we're only kind of in our own little circle 00:26:13.289 --> 00:26:17.839 spinning around. And it's really a luxury. issue, 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:22.279 because I guess I'm a knowledge worker. I don't 00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:25.200 have to get in my car every day and drive somewhere 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:28.900 and be at Ace Hardware helping people all day. 00:26:30.460 --> 00:26:32.940 So I just put it in perspective for me that, 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:36.339 no, it's really not that big a deal. Thank you 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:39.579 for saying that. Because what I have seen, the 00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:43.099 further I take a step back from trying to be 00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:47.240 in the know on everything, What's Candace Owens 00:26:47.240 --> 00:26:50.819 up to today? Who's upset with her? Who's not? 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:53.279 Marjorie Taylor Greene. Oh my gosh, she's walking 00:26:53.279 --> 00:26:59.700 away. She's taking her toys and going home. I'm 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:02.640 not mocking, but it is laughable in a sense that 00:27:02.640 --> 00:27:06.579 we get so... This reminds me of my grandmother, 00:27:07.460 --> 00:27:11.940 Miss Virginia Sims, where she read The Daily 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:19.069 Star. the National Enquirer, and she believed 00:27:19.069 --> 00:27:21.509 it. She actually would talk about celebrities 00:27:21.509 --> 00:27:24.869 on a first name basis, because she felt like 00:27:24.869 --> 00:27:31.630 she knew them. Angelina. I'm like, who? Jolie. 00:27:32.710 --> 00:27:35.089 She'd get into it, and I would just sit back 00:27:35.089 --> 00:27:38.089 trying not to laugh out loud. That had become 00:27:38.089 --> 00:27:42.130 her world. And so in her mind, she assumed that's 00:27:42.130 --> 00:27:44.789 everybody's world. See what I'm saying? And this 00:27:44.789 --> 00:27:46.950 is what happens with a lot of the influencers, 00:27:47.490 --> 00:27:49.680 a lot of what's going on with podcasting. They 00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:52.059 just assumed that everybody's swimming in this 00:27:52.059 --> 00:27:54.539 water. Especially now that the podcasters, the 00:27:54.539 --> 00:27:56.940 big -name podcasters are all going on each other's 00:27:56.940 --> 00:27:58.759 podcasts, talking about what they talked about 00:27:58.759 --> 00:28:02.660 on that podcast with that podcast. Throwing the 00:28:02.660 --> 00:28:04.720 grenade over the fence back and forth. I'm calling 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:06.960 it the circularity. There it is. That's a good 00:28:06.960 --> 00:28:09.980 word. That's exactly what it is. Circularity. 00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:13.619 Just briefly, just because it was interesting 00:28:13.619 --> 00:28:17.119 that we have a friend who's a lobbyist in Austin. 00:28:18.750 --> 00:28:22.190 So you recall that we talked about these, all 00:28:22.190 --> 00:28:24.569 of a sudden it's going viral. The Muslims are 00:28:24.569 --> 00:28:27.730 in Texas, 48 mosques in two years, et cetera, 00:28:27.849 --> 00:28:29.970 et cetera. First of all, I looked up how many 00:28:29.970 --> 00:28:32.349 churches that are in Texas. Oh brother, there's 00:28:32.349 --> 00:28:34.089 over three and a half thousand in the Dallas 00:28:34.089 --> 00:28:37.170 area alone. So 48 mosques, not to worry about 00:28:37.170 --> 00:28:40.769 it. But what turns out, you recall that Governor 00:28:40.769 --> 00:28:44.799 Abbott made a proclamation and he said, I'm proclaiming 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:48.480 Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American Islamic 00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:51.279 Relations, terrorist groups, they won't be able 00:28:51.279 --> 00:28:55.440 to buy any land, no Sharia law. So he announced 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:58.339 his candidacy for running for governor again 00:28:58.339 --> 00:29:04.799 on November the 9th, I believe, October 9th. 00:29:05.619 --> 00:29:08.200 And according to this lobbyist who knows people 00:29:08.200 --> 00:29:12.019 who run his campaign, This was no accident. This 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:15.460 was no coincidence. Now, there was no accusation 00:29:15.460 --> 00:29:18.380 of him actually paying influencers to jack this 00:29:18.380 --> 00:29:20.940 up and talk more about this particular issue 00:29:20.940 --> 00:29:24.240 in Texas, which by the way, this was done in 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:28.960 Tennessee many years ago. And the same thing 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:30.640 was like, oh, Tennessee is going to be Sharia 00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:33.039 law and under a Republican governor. I don't 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:35.579 think Tennessee has become a hotbed of Sharia 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:40.849 law. But It's no accident that he comes out with 00:29:40.849 --> 00:29:43.549 this proclamation right kind of at the peak of 00:29:43.549 --> 00:29:49.730 this virality of the mosques and fear mongering. 00:29:50.230 --> 00:29:54.569 And it's all political. Yeah. And I thought first 00:29:54.569 --> 00:29:56.970 maybe it was against him, but no, it seems like 00:29:56.970 --> 00:30:00.880 it really was his campaign. taking advantage 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:03.180 of something that just happened to be viral at 00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:05.140 that very moment. So when I started hearing about 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:07.480 all this, I found myself getting a little worked 00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:10.920 up. Oh no, here they come. The reason I did that 00:30:10.920 --> 00:30:12.980 is because my point of reference was being in 00:30:12.980 --> 00:30:17.220 Paris in 2019 and having to step over on the 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:20.160 Louvre, having to step over people that were 00:30:20.160 --> 00:30:22.559 dropping, stop, drop and roll, you know, three 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.779 times a day. Yeah. Cause of the Bataclan nightclub 00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:27.890 shooting. Yeah. So they were everywhere. And 00:30:27.890 --> 00:30:30.109 it's even worse now. A friend that went back 00:30:30.109 --> 00:30:32.910 and he said, man, I'll never go back again. He 00:30:32.910 --> 00:30:36.029 said, it's, it's not even the same place. So 00:30:36.029 --> 00:30:40.529 same way with London. So, so there is, there 00:30:40.529 --> 00:30:45.210 is some reason for being aware and saying, okay, 00:30:45.309 --> 00:30:48.849 Lord, what's going on? Told it in the car. I 00:30:48.849 --> 00:30:50.269 don't know if I should say this out loud. I said, 00:30:50.820 --> 00:30:52.519 can't blame them. They're just doing what we're 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:54.660 trying to do as Christians. We're trying to take 00:30:54.660 --> 00:30:56.680 over the world. Isn't that what we're doing? 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:02.539 It's kind of like, wow, I kind of get it. I mean, 00:31:02.720 --> 00:31:03.779 not that we're trying to take over the world, 00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:07.349 but you know what I mean. propagate what we believe, 00:31:07.569 --> 00:31:10.349 they're doing the same thing. And there's interesting 00:31:10.349 --> 00:31:13.589 things, there's dynamics around Islam that most 00:31:13.589 --> 00:31:16.349 people don't understand. There's a lot of fear. 00:31:17.269 --> 00:31:19.390 Yes. And you know, when Muhammad originally got 00:31:19.390 --> 00:31:23.410 his download from Gabriel in the cave, when he 00:31:23.410 --> 00:31:26.230 was meditating, it was actually peaceful. The 00:31:26.230 --> 00:31:30.779 initial writings were very peaceful. I've read 00:31:30.779 --> 00:31:33.259 some of that, and it sounds a lot like Christianity. 00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:36.240 I mean, a benevolent God or forgiving God, a 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:38.539 loving God, that is not what we're hearing today. 00:31:38.940 --> 00:31:43.240 No. And I lived around and with many Muslims 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:47.940 in the Netherlands when I moved back in the end 00:31:47.940 --> 00:31:54.920 of 99. And they have their sugar festival, what 00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:58.039 do they call it? The Ramadan. And then they'd 00:31:58.039 --> 00:31:59.619 say, hey, man, you should come over tonight and 00:31:59.619 --> 00:32:05.619 we'll eat. And really, there was never any issue. 00:32:05.940 --> 00:32:08.319 So we got two things going on. We have fear -based 00:32:08.319 --> 00:32:10.180 things going on. And there are things that have 00:32:10.180 --> 00:32:13.799 happened that promote that. With Christianity, 00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:16.200 too. Oh my god. Well, I'm just thinking what's 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:19.339 going on in Nigeria right now. 30 Christians 00:32:19.339 --> 00:32:22.099 beheaded in the last few weeks. I mean, that's 00:32:22.099 --> 00:32:24.500 really happening. I will have to say I've been 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:29.150 looking into this. I don't believe it's just 00:32:29.150 --> 00:32:35.329 targeting Christians in Nigeria. It's regional, 00:32:35.910 --> 00:32:39.029 and this is all geopolitical resource -based. 00:32:39.529 --> 00:32:42.269 It's not specifically, as far as I can tell, 00:32:42.329 --> 00:32:44.990 because I've been following this story for many 00:32:44.990 --> 00:32:50.349 years as well. It's played here as they're targeting 00:32:50.349 --> 00:32:53.450 Christians specifically. Are they killing Christians? 00:32:53.490 --> 00:32:56.059 Yes, they're also killing Muslims. They're killing 00:32:56.059 --> 00:32:58.220 all kinds of people. So here on Christianity 00:32:58.220 --> 00:33:01.180 Report today, Christians targeted in wave of 00:33:01.180 --> 00:33:05.759 Islamist violence across Africa. It's resource 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:10.259 related, it's gang related, it's who has access 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:13.980 to the minerals, to the oil, it's location based. 00:33:14.299 --> 00:33:16.980 there happen to be a lot of Christians in that 00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:21.299 area. And so I'm a little apprehensive. Right. 00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:24.440 To just jump on, beat that drum. Yeah, I'm a 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:26.039 little, you know, because it kind of comes back 00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:28.539 to the, be careful, the evil Muslims are coming. 00:33:28.640 --> 00:33:30.720 So that begs the question, you know, you're usually 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:32.259 throwing a question at me, so I'm throwing at 00:33:32.259 --> 00:33:36.759 you as a conspiracy therapist. So how do we find 00:33:36.759 --> 00:33:40.579 that balance in these things? Because it is to 00:33:40.579 --> 00:33:43.920 read enough. Read Christian a report for quite 00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:46.920 a while and I found it to be very helpful very 00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:52.960 informative. So why How do we take this this 00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:56.119 kind of news because this does Sound alarm bells. 00:33:56.119 --> 00:33:58.420 Oh my gosh Christians are getting slaughtered. 00:33:58.420 --> 00:34:02.200 Yeah in the Congo and in Mozambique For their 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:06.420 faith and in Syria and yeah in China and yeah 00:34:06.420 --> 00:34:08.539 all over the world. There's a lot of Christians 00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:12.019 Right. So it's, you know, when a group of people 00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:18.099 is attacked, you know, well, okay, so I just 00:34:18.099 --> 00:34:20.679 always look at everything from all angles. My 00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:25.059 initial, of course, my initial reaction is, what? 00:34:25.539 --> 00:34:28.260 They're targeting Christians? I mean, the Scripture 00:34:28.260 --> 00:34:31.280 talks about this. We have to pray for our brothers 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:33.900 and sisters who are in dire circumstances, even 00:34:33.900 --> 00:34:39.539 though ours are great. I don't think that even 00:34:39.539 --> 00:34:44.539 that any Christian publication is no more or 00:34:44.539 --> 00:34:50.840 less prone to using this to get clicks and draw 00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:54.619 people to the story. I doubt they have boots 00:34:54.619 --> 00:34:59.239 on the ground in the region really doing the 00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:02.880 reporting. So I really dive into this very, very 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:08.019 deeply and that's kind of what I do. So specifically, 00:35:08.869 --> 00:35:13.489 the mosques here in Texas and the targeting Christians 00:35:13.489 --> 00:35:17.590 in Nigeria, I went real deep. And when you really 00:35:17.590 --> 00:35:20.590 look at what it's about, it's not about, hey, 00:35:20.610 --> 00:35:22.530 we want to go kill some Christians. No, it's 00:35:22.530 --> 00:35:27.309 like, we want this land because of the minerals 00:35:27.309 --> 00:35:30.969 that are here and the oil resources. And we have 00:35:30.969 --> 00:35:35.269 an army. Now, these are always financed by other 00:35:35.269 --> 00:35:38.050 nation states, which could easily be France. 00:35:39.250 --> 00:35:42.170 I don't have any proof on who it is, but China 00:35:42.170 --> 00:35:45.469 is the big one financing a lot of things. And 00:35:45.469 --> 00:35:47.190 then look at the weapons. What weapons are they 00:35:47.190 --> 00:35:50.170 using? Oh, they got Kalashnikovs. Okay. So you 00:35:50.170 --> 00:35:51.929 can kind of figure out where that's coming from. 00:35:52.769 --> 00:35:56.969 So there is no sure... Well, what does Scripture 00:35:56.969 --> 00:36:02.539 say about discernment? I mean, there's... I'm 00:36:02.539 --> 00:36:04.980 looking at you with like, looking up on perplexity, 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:07.960 quick. No, it just literally talks about like 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:10.159 the men of Issachar who understood the times 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:13.760 and knew what to do. So there's a sense of understanding 00:36:13.760 --> 00:36:15.719 the times, being aware, which is why we're having 00:36:15.719 --> 00:36:22.039 these conversations, right? So with this issue, 00:36:23.539 --> 00:36:28.079 we have to be wise and aware, but not running 00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:29.940 around with their hair on fire, like what we 00:36:29.940 --> 00:36:35.079 named last episode. So how do we intelligently 00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:39.559 engage these things and help people not just 00:36:39.559 --> 00:36:42.579 lose their mind over it? Well, I wasn't prepared 00:36:42.579 --> 00:36:46.159 for this particular issue. Next week, I will 00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:48.599 bring in some information about Nigeria, what's 00:36:48.599 --> 00:36:52.340 actually happening. I just wasn't prepared for 00:36:52.340 --> 00:36:56.360 it, but I have looked into it. It's a hot topic 00:36:56.360 --> 00:37:00.909 in Christian Of course. Influencer land, you 00:37:00.909 --> 00:37:03.070 know, everyone's talking about it. Everyone's 00:37:03.070 --> 00:37:06.190 beating the drum. Yes. And it's, it feels very 00:37:06.190 --> 00:37:09.909 fear based, fear, you know, just, oh my gosh, 00:37:09.909 --> 00:37:11.670 it's coming. You know, what we've been warned 00:37:11.670 --> 00:37:14.650 about. Oh yeah, no, okay. I mean, all these different 00:37:14.650 --> 00:37:17.230 guys talking about it, Josh Howerton, some of 00:37:17.230 --> 00:37:18.710 these big investors. Well good, then this is 00:37:18.710 --> 00:37:20.789 probably part of our calling here together is 00:37:20.789 --> 00:37:23.190 to do just that. It doesn't make the killing 00:37:23.190 --> 00:37:25.329 any better. Right, of course. It doesn't make 00:37:25.329 --> 00:37:29.579 any, but it's not just Christians. You know, 00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:34.480 the whole, the kidnap schoolgirls, I mean... 00:37:34.510 --> 00:37:37.550 This thing, you've been hearing this for many, 00:37:37.550 --> 00:37:40.690 many years. It all comes back around. It's all 00:37:40.690 --> 00:37:43.989 kind of the same system. Africa, honestly, is 00:37:43.989 --> 00:37:48.670 a mess. And it's been kept a mess purposely by 00:37:48.670 --> 00:37:51.250 many. In fact, the United States has actually 00:37:51.250 --> 00:37:54.489 done the least damage, in my opinion, in Africa. 00:37:54.929 --> 00:37:58.530 If you look at the Belgians in the Congo, they 00:37:58.530 --> 00:38:01.210 slaughtered millions and millions and millions 00:38:01.210 --> 00:38:05.670 of people. The Chinese, in the past. And when 00:38:05.670 --> 00:38:09.210 I say the Chinese, I mean, the Chinese Communist 00:38:09.210 --> 00:38:11.909 Party, the government, you know, and their industry. 00:38:11.989 --> 00:38:14.630 I mean, it's not just Xi Jinping isn't just the 00:38:14.630 --> 00:38:18.010 guy. You know, they've they've come in, they've 00:38:18.010 --> 00:38:20.530 they built infrastructure and then said, oh, 00:38:20.550 --> 00:38:23.090 you can't pay it back. OK, well, then it's just 00:38:23.090 --> 00:38:25.769 ours and we'll bring our people in. And so that's 00:38:25.769 --> 00:38:28.829 what they've been doing. So this has been happening. 00:38:28.829 --> 00:38:31.150 It's been going on for a long time, but it takes 00:38:31.150 --> 00:38:33.869 different nuances, depending on who's reporting 00:38:33.869 --> 00:38:37.650 it. Of course. So how do we, I'm going to ask 00:38:37.650 --> 00:38:41.250 you, the conspiracy therapist, because it's easy 00:38:41.250 --> 00:38:44.190 for me to read these things and just find my 00:38:44.190 --> 00:38:46.670 blood pressure blowing up, going, oh my gosh. 00:38:47.190 --> 00:38:49.510 Oh my God. It's coming. It's here. They've been 00:38:49.510 --> 00:38:52.469 warning us about it, and now it's here. Now it's 00:38:52.469 --> 00:38:55.590 Epic City. It's McKinney, Texas. It's Plano. 00:38:56.639 --> 00:39:00.559 all these things. So how do we watch it? OK, 00:39:01.440 --> 00:39:03.880 when I played football for many years, growing 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:08.119 up, I was a defensive back. So what they taught 00:39:08.119 --> 00:39:11.300 us every time the ball is snapped, we have to 00:39:11.300 --> 00:39:14.639 take our recognition steps. That's a fray. That's 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:17.480 an actual fray. That means you take you move 00:39:17.480 --> 00:39:19.840 your feet and you bounce back about two or three 00:39:19.840 --> 00:39:22.420 steps. And it's called recognition steps. And 00:39:22.420 --> 00:39:24.500 what they're training you to do is evaluate what's 00:39:24.500 --> 00:39:26.800 going on. You're keying off the tackle. You're 00:39:26.800 --> 00:39:28.840 keying off the end. You're keying off the center 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:32.659 quarterback. Where's he going? So you it's like, 00:39:32.659 --> 00:39:36.480 as soon as the ball is snapped, you step back. 00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:38.760 You don't go forward. Now, the guys on the line 00:39:38.760 --> 00:39:41.420 got to go forward. But as backs, because we're 00:39:41.420 --> 00:39:43.860 trying to protect the long game, the long passes, 00:39:44.300 --> 00:39:47.940 the passes across the field. So I remember our 00:39:47.940 --> 00:39:49.940 coaches drilling into us. Take your recognition 00:39:49.940 --> 00:39:52.460 steps. Take. So this sense is this feels the 00:39:52.460 --> 00:39:56.530 same. It's exactly the same. Instead of just 00:39:56.530 --> 00:39:59.550 firing off the line and hitting somebody, we 00:39:59.550 --> 00:40:01.909 need to take a few steps back and go, what's 00:40:01.909 --> 00:40:04.829 really going on? So first of all, don't immediately 00:40:04.829 --> 00:40:07.909 go on social media looking for other answers. 00:40:08.090 --> 00:40:10.889 Oh my gosh. You'll find something. You'll find 00:40:10.889 --> 00:40:13.769 something. I like this idea of recognition steps 00:40:13.769 --> 00:40:17.670 because this is pretty much what I always do. 00:40:19.039 --> 00:40:21.300 Oh my God, have you heard this? Can you believe 00:40:21.300 --> 00:40:24.219 this? This is going on. And the first thing I'd 00:40:24.219 --> 00:40:27.579 say is, hmm, I'll have to look into that. Yeah. 00:40:28.340 --> 00:40:30.559 And energy recognition. And it's so easy to hit 00:40:30.559 --> 00:40:35.420 like, share. That's too easy. Comments. Send 00:40:35.420 --> 00:40:38.679 it to a friend. This is horrible. Send it to 00:40:38.679 --> 00:40:42.280 your text group. That is, in fact, the entire 00:40:42.280 --> 00:40:47.730 purpose of this. You have to remember. few million 00:40:47.730 --> 00:40:50.329 people who are on these social networks, there 00:40:50.329 --> 00:40:55.949 are multiple actors at play with bot farms. And 00:40:55.949 --> 00:40:59.510 it's really true. I mean, it's very sophisticated. 00:41:00.550 --> 00:41:04.090 Once the internet came in, propaganda from all 00:41:04.090 --> 00:41:07.329 over the world became much easier, much easier. 00:41:08.909 --> 00:41:12.610 And so you just have to step back, calm down. 00:41:13.050 --> 00:41:18.869 First of all, I mean, I just take nothing at 00:41:18.869 --> 00:41:21.670 face value, except the word. That's the only 00:41:21.670 --> 00:41:24.769 thing. The only thing like, okay, I believe this, 00:41:24.769 --> 00:41:28.090 this is good. It's nothing. And you just have 00:41:28.090 --> 00:41:31.550 to understand that there is propaganda going 00:41:31.550 --> 00:41:35.309 on all the time. So there's an actual war taking 00:41:35.309 --> 00:41:39.010 place, a gang -related resource war in Nigeria, 00:41:39.550 --> 00:41:46.199 very resource -rich region. Of course, there 00:41:46.199 --> 00:41:51.860 are all kinds of victims, but I would say that 00:41:51.860 --> 00:41:56.219 in this case, this is probably riling up a group 00:41:56.219 --> 00:41:59.840 of Christians in the United States specifically 00:41:59.840 --> 00:42:06.559 to maybe garner some support for an attack, and 00:42:06.559 --> 00:42:08.039 it's gotten to the president. The president's 00:42:08.039 --> 00:42:11.460 like, this is an outrage, and he's not immune 00:42:11.460 --> 00:42:15.059 from this stuff. Right. It's obvious, yeah. He 00:42:15.059 --> 00:42:18.079 may have other reasons for saying, well, you 00:42:18.079 --> 00:42:19.800 know, this is going on. We have some interest 00:42:19.800 --> 00:42:22.300 there. This is what's happening. I want to intervene. 00:42:22.420 --> 00:42:24.820 I'll do it under this cloud that's already there. 00:42:25.099 --> 00:42:28.199 So that's like a double whammy. And he will not 00:42:28.199 --> 00:42:30.179 tell you that that's what he's doing because 00:42:30.179 --> 00:42:32.659 he understands he understands how to play the 00:42:32.659 --> 00:42:36.840 public. Right. So so we got to take our recognition 00:42:36.840 --> 00:42:39.639 steps, recognition steps. And all that is basically 00:42:39.639 --> 00:42:42.320 it's three steps back. But you're not just taking 00:42:42.320 --> 00:42:45.280 steps back to do it. You're actually surveying 00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:48.039 the field. You're looking at all the moving parts. 00:42:48.260 --> 00:42:50.679 So you've got all these players, you've got 24 00:42:50.679 --> 00:42:53.659 players on the field, 12 on each team. You're 00:42:53.659 --> 00:42:56.760 surveying and you're looking for cues of what's 00:42:56.760 --> 00:42:59.559 really going on because as you know, a quarterback 00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:03.550 may fake. a handoff and run it the other way. 00:43:03.650 --> 00:43:06.130 So you've got a cue off of all that. So that 00:43:06.130 --> 00:43:08.449 just, that makes sense to me as a guy who played 00:43:08.449 --> 00:43:09.230 sports. I can't believe we're talking sports 00:43:09.230 --> 00:43:12.829 ball, brother. I know, right? So out of my league. 00:43:12.889 --> 00:43:15.409 But it works if you think about it. It's a simple 00:43:15.409 --> 00:43:17.489 principle and really you can apply that to just 00:43:17.489 --> 00:43:20.150 about anything. So the next time you, I would 00:43:20.150 --> 00:43:22.409 liken it to the ball being snapped, but I get 00:43:22.409 --> 00:43:24.949 something that drops. You know, I'm on several 00:43:24.949 --> 00:43:27.809 text lists as you are, and there's no way to 00:43:27.809 --> 00:43:30.909 unsubscribe from, you know, just leave not being 00:43:30.909 --> 00:43:33.769 rude. Right. And these are people I love and 00:43:33.769 --> 00:43:36.210 do life with. But, you know, I'll get two or 00:43:36.210 --> 00:43:39.809 three or four or five, sometimes more a day, 00:43:39.909 --> 00:43:42.929 you know, these hot, hot topic, you know, something 00:43:42.929 --> 00:43:45.550 from X that somebody said, and, oh, here's the 00:43:45.550 --> 00:43:47.429 link. Click on it. And then you click on it. 00:43:47.829 --> 00:43:50.010 And then so then there's taking that step back. 00:43:50.349 --> 00:43:53.610 So then there's the second part is we now have 00:43:53.610 --> 00:43:58.750 an entire cottage industry which is deconstructing 00:43:58.750 --> 00:44:01.050 these things and showing you what the connections 00:44:01.050 --> 00:44:04.630 like basically the the board with the pins and 00:44:04.630 --> 00:44:06.909 the red yarn and making all these connections 00:44:06.909 --> 00:44:12.170 and it has become a very profitable industry. 00:44:13.469 --> 00:44:17.809 I've been doing this for 18 years and because 00:44:18.300 --> 00:44:21.500 I don't do it that way, jumping up like, wow, 00:44:21.500 --> 00:44:24.199 and here we can pull this in and these guys and 00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:26.679 that. And then there's always an Israeli and 00:44:26.679 --> 00:44:29.619 blah, blah, blah, blah. Because I don't do that, 00:44:30.199 --> 00:44:34.420 I think that I have a much more sustainable audience 00:44:34.420 --> 00:44:37.880 in general because they know that, OK, there's 00:44:37.880 --> 00:44:40.840 probably a lot more behind this. And it's just 00:44:40.840 --> 00:44:44.260 it's not healthy to go looking for these people. 00:44:44.420 --> 00:44:47.800 And they are everywhere. and they'll show you 00:44:47.800 --> 00:44:52.880 maps, and they'll show you flight data, and they'll 00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:54.940 show you ships, and they'll show you all these 00:44:54.940 --> 00:45:00.619 things. Do not conform to the ways of the world. 00:45:00.739 --> 00:45:03.460 Just please don't. That's your recognition. It's 00:45:03.460 --> 00:45:05.639 easy to do because you've got a lot of people 00:45:05.639 --> 00:45:09.480 who, you know, this title, influencers, and they're 00:45:09.480 --> 00:45:13.059 people that I'm thinking in terms of some pastors. 00:45:13.559 --> 00:45:15.960 When I listen to them preach and teach the scripture, 00:45:16.139 --> 00:45:18.860 boom, man, amazing. But then you get them behind 00:45:18.860 --> 00:45:22.139 a mic where they can kind of take the boundaries 00:45:22.139 --> 00:45:26.519 off, take the little gutter guards off of the 00:45:26.519 --> 00:45:29.739 kiddie lane at the bowling alley. They take everything 00:45:29.739 --> 00:45:32.219 off. And then it's like they're saying things. 00:45:32.260 --> 00:45:36.500 And I'm thinking, man, is this going to be good? 00:45:37.079 --> 00:45:41.079 So I looked it up. It's 1 Chronicles 12 -32 of 00:45:41.079 --> 00:45:44.860 Issachar. Men who had understanding of the times 00:45:44.860 --> 00:45:48.960 to know what Israel ought to do. And that's what 00:45:48.960 --> 00:45:52.519 these guys were. They understood what was going 00:45:52.519 --> 00:45:57.460 on. They could read the times. And that's really 00:45:57.460 --> 00:45:59.940 where I feel like we need more help from the 00:45:59.940 --> 00:46:02.340 Holy Spirit. Not more, we just need to listen 00:46:02.340 --> 00:46:04.980 to him. I think he's always, we talked about 00:46:04.980 --> 00:46:07.440 that you started saying this, he's always talking, 00:46:07.619 --> 00:46:10.570 but are we always listening? And the answer is 00:46:10.570 --> 00:46:13.489 no, because I think what happens once the alarm 00:46:13.489 --> 00:46:18.090 goes off, you know, that the latest Candice Owens 00:46:18.090 --> 00:46:20.710 controversy. The chemicals in your brain have 00:46:20.710 --> 00:46:23.610 changed. You're hooked. You're in it. Because 00:46:23.610 --> 00:46:26.690 you don't want to miss out that FOMO fear of 00:46:26.690 --> 00:46:29.670 missing out. And so I need to get on this. And 00:46:29.670 --> 00:46:32.050 I've talked about this on this program before 00:46:32.050 --> 00:46:35.610 and I talk about often how there's a lot of pressure. 00:46:35.949 --> 00:46:39.409 on me as a pastor who I want to be a man of Issachar. 00:46:39.570 --> 00:46:41.449 I want to understand the times and know what 00:46:41.449 --> 00:46:46.070 to do. So that leads me toward being susceptible 00:46:46.070 --> 00:46:50.530 to all these news hits. So tell me about the 00:46:50.530 --> 00:46:54.690 men of Issachar. Because it wasn't a man, it 00:46:54.690 --> 00:46:57.269 was men, so it was multiple men. It was a hundred, 00:46:57.269 --> 00:47:00.849 I think? Two hundred chiefs and all their kinsmen 00:47:00.849 --> 00:47:02.989 under their command. So that could have been 00:47:02.989 --> 00:47:07.849 a lot more than two hundred. These were a certain 00:47:07.849 --> 00:47:11.050 select group of people who really, they understood, 00:47:11.130 --> 00:47:13.750 they were wise on what was happening. I'm looking 00:47:13.750 --> 00:47:17.559 to see if my, I'm looking for my So here's my 00:47:17.559 --> 00:47:20.199 rule of thumb while you're looking that up. Whenever 00:47:20.199 --> 00:47:23.420 there was something going on, I always look for 00:47:23.420 --> 00:47:30.300 oil, pipelines, gold, money, and drugs. I look 00:47:30.300 --> 00:47:35.320 for those things, and you can literally go into 00:47:35.320 --> 00:47:38.860 perplexity and say, tell me what oil resources 00:47:38.860 --> 00:47:42.280 and pipelines are in Nigeria, where they run, 00:47:42.300 --> 00:47:45.139 and what groups surround them. And you'll be 00:47:45.139 --> 00:47:47.630 astounded. when you see, oh, well, this pipeline. 00:47:47.769 --> 00:47:50.449 I mean, that's what Afghanistan was. Right. Big 00:47:50.449 --> 00:47:54.210 pipeline into Pakistan. It was, you know, a very 00:47:54.210 --> 00:47:58.829 important unicorn, very important oil resources 00:47:58.829 --> 00:48:01.869 that kept getting jacked by some guys down there 00:48:01.869 --> 00:48:05.869 in South Afghanistan in the name escapes me now. 00:48:06.250 --> 00:48:08.170 That's where we had drones circling all day. 00:48:08.329 --> 00:48:09.869 Well, here we go. We're coming back to where 00:48:09.869 --> 00:48:11.769 we seem to always end up. And that's following 00:48:11.769 --> 00:48:15.860 the money because resources. Yeah. is money. 00:48:16.659 --> 00:48:19.940 And so, we may think something is religiously 00:48:19.940 --> 00:48:22.760 motivated, because on the surface it appears 00:48:22.760 --> 00:48:25.780 to be. We know the root of all evil is the love. 00:48:26.420 --> 00:48:32.519 Is it all evil? No. For the love of money is 00:48:32.519 --> 00:48:34.760 the root of all evil. There you go. Thank you. 00:48:35.719 --> 00:48:40.539 So, I was looking up about these... This is some 00:48:40.539 --> 00:48:42.840 interesting biblical context around these men 00:48:42.840 --> 00:48:46.289 of Issachar. So, they were listed, they were 00:48:46.289 --> 00:48:50.150 200 chiefs and their kinsmen, but unlike other 00:48:50.150 --> 00:48:53.369 tribes described in Scripture in terms of troop 00:48:53.369 --> 00:48:55.750 numbers and military readiness, Issachar's contribution 00:48:55.750 --> 00:48:59.110 is highlighted by their discernment rather than 00:48:59.110 --> 00:49:02.630 their martial strength. So, this is interesting 00:49:02.630 --> 00:49:06.030 that they're actually... Wow. And they're a smaller 00:49:06.030 --> 00:49:08.230 group than most, but others are like 50 ,000. 00:49:08.309 --> 00:49:09.489 I was just looking through that. Right, just 00:49:09.489 --> 00:49:11.710 a couple hundred dudes. Yeah. These are a small 00:49:11.710 --> 00:49:14.469 number, but there was something about them that 00:49:14.469 --> 00:49:17.869 was trusted and they carried some kind of wisdom. 00:49:18.250 --> 00:49:19.989 So the meaning of Understood the Times, which 00:49:19.989 --> 00:49:22.670 is really important, it means it's commonly taken 00:49:22.670 --> 00:49:24.849 to mean that these leaders could read the political, 00:49:25.030 --> 00:49:28.210 social, and spiritual situation of Israel and 00:49:28.210 --> 00:49:31.329 recognize that God's purpose was now to establish 00:49:31.329 --> 00:49:33.050 David as king, because that's where they were 00:49:33.050 --> 00:49:35.230 moving. Yep. This was some of David's mighty 00:49:35.230 --> 00:49:38.489 men. Their knowledge of what Israel should do, 00:49:38.489 --> 00:49:41.530 quote, suggests they offered strategic, wise 00:49:41.530 --> 00:49:44.389 counsel that helped guide the nation at a critical 00:49:44.389 --> 00:49:47.429 transition point. We need, we need men of Issachar. 00:49:47.610 --> 00:49:50.650 Well, and women. We all should be. Absolutely. 00:49:50.730 --> 00:49:52.489 We should strive to be the men of Issachar. And 00:49:52.489 --> 00:49:54.710 we have the helper. We have the Holy Spirit, 00:49:54.849 --> 00:49:57.050 the prayer of Klaitos, the one called alongside 00:49:57.050 --> 00:50:01.329 to help to give us. There's a wonderful spiritual 00:50:01.329 --> 00:50:03.570 gift called the Word of Wisdom and the Word of 00:50:03.570 --> 00:50:06.050 Knowledge. There's different ones. These are 00:50:06.050 --> 00:50:07.949 called manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit, 00:50:08.030 --> 00:50:10.829 which means I can know nothing, but if the Holy 00:50:10.829 --> 00:50:13.389 Spirit manifests to me a word of knowledge, I 00:50:13.389 --> 00:50:15.809 now know something I didn't know before. And 00:50:15.809 --> 00:50:19.869 it's supernatural. And can you imagine if we 00:50:19.869 --> 00:50:23.809 spent as much time asking the Lord to speak to 00:50:23.809 --> 00:50:28.260 us as we did? sifting through news feeds. Can 00:50:28.260 --> 00:50:31.199 you imagine how much wiser we would be? We would 00:50:31.199 --> 00:50:33.539 be men of this car. Take a look at how much text 00:50:33.539 --> 00:50:37.460 messaging you write on a daily basis. You could 00:50:37.460 --> 00:50:40.139 write a book. The same amount of writing you 00:50:40.139 --> 00:50:42.579 do on a daily basis in your text messages. You 00:50:42.579 --> 00:50:46.480 could write a book. Just so you know, since we've 00:50:46.480 --> 00:50:49.869 been talking. Okay, a small book. My book is 00:50:49.869 --> 00:50:53.869 getting smaller because as I'm not throwing my 00:50:53.869 --> 00:50:56.309 into the wind, they're not coming back. Very 00:50:56.309 --> 00:50:58.570 few. It's interesting to bring this all around. 00:50:58.570 --> 00:51:02.010 Yes, it's good. If we if we reduce our screen 00:51:02.010 --> 00:51:06.710 noise, we will be able because this is what happens 00:51:06.710 --> 00:51:09.809 to me. I just gave like the four things pipelines, 00:51:10.090 --> 00:51:14.679 oil. gold or minerals and drugs. I mean, that 00:51:14.679 --> 00:51:21.539 really makes this broken world go round. And 00:51:21.539 --> 00:51:26.260 I usually, I think now in hindsight that when 00:51:26.260 --> 00:51:29.239 I'm looking into these things, this is when I 00:51:29.239 --> 00:51:32.480 need to hear the helper. And the helper will 00:51:32.480 --> 00:51:36.940 say, type this in, look for this. I mean, this 00:51:36.940 --> 00:51:39.650 can't just be coming out of thin air into my 00:51:39.650 --> 00:51:41.989 head, like, okay, some of it's practice, and 00:51:41.989 --> 00:51:46.110 I look for those four things. But if we can reduce 00:51:46.110 --> 00:51:48.730 the screen noise, i .e. I've seen this, okay, 00:51:48.809 --> 00:51:51.550 instead of going full on, full bore to find every 00:51:51.550 --> 00:51:57.550 article about it, do your recognition steps. 00:51:57.969 --> 00:52:01.289 Take your recognition steps. Listen, listen, 00:52:01.329 --> 00:52:05.150 because He will help us. That's exactly what 00:52:05.150 --> 00:52:07.429 the men of Issachar were doing. They were listening 00:52:07.429 --> 00:52:09.150 and they were aware of what was really going 00:52:09.150 --> 00:52:11.530 on. I love the way this said it. This is neat 00:52:11.530 --> 00:52:15.489 how it was worded that they could read the political, 00:52:15.670 --> 00:52:18.349 social, and spiritual situation. Spiritual being 00:52:18.349 --> 00:52:20.710 a big one right there. Of the landscape and know 00:52:20.710 --> 00:52:24.630 what to do. That word of knowledge, spiritual 00:52:24.630 --> 00:52:29.789 gift, is ours as sons and daughters of God. Do 00:52:29.789 --> 00:52:32.349 we ask for it? Do we actually lean into it? Do 00:52:32.349 --> 00:52:35.050 we say, Lord, I really need wisdom here? And 00:52:35.050 --> 00:52:37.750 now I do that kind of just on an ongoing basis 00:52:37.750 --> 00:52:39.889 because I just need it to drive down the road. 00:52:40.329 --> 00:52:42.969 Lord, give me wisdom. That should be the definition 00:52:42.969 --> 00:52:45.550 of recognition steps. Lord, give me wisdom. Give 00:52:45.550 --> 00:52:48.750 me wisdom. So take that pause. So maybe just 00:52:48.750 --> 00:52:51.969 to help people who are listening, who are quick 00:52:51.969 --> 00:52:55.750 to jump on board. They're on a text chain. We 00:52:55.750 --> 00:52:58.469 all are. We all are prone to this. Everybody 00:52:58.469 --> 00:53:04.280 is. So the first thing when something drops into 00:53:04.280 --> 00:53:06.960 your, I was at the gym yesterday and I'm in this 00:53:06.960 --> 00:53:10.920 long text chain with guys and one thing dropped 00:53:10.920 --> 00:53:13.300 and it was just like alarm bells, you know, breaking 00:53:13.300 --> 00:53:15.719 news, alert, alert, you know, all that stuff, 00:53:15.800 --> 00:53:21.480 you know, sirens. And it frustrated, I got a 00:53:21.480 --> 00:53:23.980 little bit like, really? I was having a great 00:53:23.980 --> 00:53:26.019 workout, I'm listening to some good music. I'm 00:53:26.019 --> 00:53:27.860 having such a good effect on you, I'm so proud 00:53:27.860 --> 00:53:30.219 of this. Oh man, brother, I'm telling you, I'm 00:53:30.219 --> 00:53:32.199 tainted. I am not just saying. This is good, 00:53:32.340 --> 00:53:35.000 this is good. So what it's doing, and now I felt 00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:37.079 like, gosh, that was an intrusion, you know, 00:53:37.079 --> 00:53:39.239 cause it popped up on my screen while I'm working 00:53:39.239 --> 00:53:41.039 out. So I was like, oh yeah, there's, and I went, 00:53:41.300 --> 00:53:45.820 ugh. You know, not only that, there's 18 to 20 00:53:45.820 --> 00:53:49.250 TVs. In the gym at Planet Fitness. All blasting 00:53:49.250 --> 00:53:51.349 the same messages. Yeah, they're all different 00:53:51.349 --> 00:53:53.510 stations, but they're all saying some version 00:53:53.510 --> 00:53:55.969 of the same thing. Remember, he is the prince 00:53:55.969 --> 00:53:58.050 of the air. Oh my gosh. The prince of the air 00:53:58.050 --> 00:54:01.349 waves. It is so hard not to look up because of 00:54:01.349 --> 00:54:04.510 course they've got, you know, the CC, you know, 00:54:04.710 --> 00:54:07.110 closed caption. So I can tell what's going on. 00:54:07.329 --> 00:54:09.369 I mean, we got the view going on here. We got 00:54:09.369 --> 00:54:12.550 MSNBC over here. We got Fox Nation over here. 00:54:12.570 --> 00:54:16.510 And I'm just going. Stop looking. It's work. 00:54:17.349 --> 00:54:20.110 Because these things so clamor for our attention. 00:54:20.829 --> 00:54:22.510 And at the end of the day, John Hale just talked 00:54:22.510 --> 00:54:25.610 about how what the world, what the enemy is trying 00:54:25.610 --> 00:54:28.230 to do, the enemy of your soul. We're not talking 00:54:28.230 --> 00:54:31.030 about Islam. We're not talking about some ideology 00:54:31.030 --> 00:54:34.170 or whatever. The actual prince of the power of 00:54:34.170 --> 00:54:38.550 the air, he's after your heart. He wants you 00:54:38.550 --> 00:54:41.940 to lose heart. It's in fact your heart that jumps 00:54:41.940 --> 00:54:44.039 when you read these exactly these headlines. 00:54:44.659 --> 00:54:47.739 Oh, oh my it's a spike Yeah, you get a flutter. 00:54:47.860 --> 00:54:50.059 What is that flutter? It's adrenaline. It's dopamine. 00:54:50.300 --> 00:54:52.900 It's you know, that's something just happened 00:54:52.900 --> 00:54:56.079 Yeah, and the sad thing is it feels good sometimes 00:54:56.079 --> 00:54:58.059 to get a little that's why people watch horror 00:54:58.059 --> 00:55:00.619 movies and go on roller coasters Sure, they like 00:55:00.619 --> 00:55:03.719 that flutter that that pump. Yeah, they get and 00:55:03.719 --> 00:55:05.820 we've got to be able to take our recognition 00:55:05.820 --> 00:55:08.309 steps and go Let that calm down for a minute. 00:55:08.409 --> 00:55:11.409 Now I need to come in with wisdom. What is really 00:55:11.409 --> 00:55:15.449 going on? Lord, Holy Spirit, help me see. Would 00:55:15.449 --> 00:55:18.269 you grant to me the gift of wisdom, the spiritual 00:55:18.269 --> 00:55:21.289 gift of wisdom and the word of knowledge so that 00:55:21.289 --> 00:55:24.849 I can be like a son of Issachar or a woman of 00:55:24.849 --> 00:55:27.570 Issachar, that I will be able to discern the 00:55:27.570 --> 00:55:30.750 times and know what to do? Can you imagine if 00:55:30.750 --> 00:55:33.329 we just took a pause, this recognition step thing? 00:55:33.900 --> 00:55:38.079 all day long, can you imagine how we would stop 00:55:38.079 --> 00:55:43.599 forwarding and reposting things that come through? 00:55:44.300 --> 00:55:46.019 I mean, when I see something that's been reposted, 00:55:46.099 --> 00:55:48.159 I just go, oh man, somebody just took the bait. 00:55:48.460 --> 00:55:51.659 Facebook would go out of business. Nah, X2. Thank 00:55:51.659 --> 00:55:54.840 you for saying that, brother. Hopefully everybody 00:55:54.840 --> 00:55:57.949 will rewind that and listen to that. what you 00:55:57.949 --> 00:56:00.489 just said, listen to that again. That's a perfect 00:56:00.489 --> 00:56:03.230 instant prayer. The minute you read, the minute 00:56:03.230 --> 00:56:06.130 you feel the spike like, Holy Spirit, I'm taking 00:56:06.130 --> 00:56:08.989 my recognition steps. I'm backing off. Give me 00:56:08.989 --> 00:56:12.150 wisdom. And you might not even want to immediately 00:56:12.150 --> 00:56:17.070 investigate, but... Take a pause. Yes. Yes. And 00:56:17.070 --> 00:56:19.269 just to say, just to encourage people who are 00:56:19.269 --> 00:56:22.139 listening, Don't get fancy with your prayer on 00:56:22.139 --> 00:56:24.380 this. This is an ongoing conversation with God. 00:56:24.420 --> 00:56:28.360 You don't have to do an intro and an outro. I 00:56:28.360 --> 00:56:32.079 talk to our staff. Every time we pray, it goes 00:56:32.079 --> 00:56:33.360 really long because everybody thinks they've 00:56:33.360 --> 00:56:35.860 got to have an intro and an outro and a setup, 00:56:35.880 --> 00:56:40.599 and I'm glorious. Just pray the topic. I can't 00:56:40.599 --> 00:56:43.960 get them to do it. It's crazy. Simple things. 00:56:44.119 --> 00:56:45.820 It's something that you passed on to me very 00:56:45.820 --> 00:56:49.989 early on. You pray a lot. And it doesn't have 00:56:49.989 --> 00:56:51.690 to be long, just get to the point. And every 00:56:51.690 --> 00:56:53.750 time you, you don't have to reintroduce yourself 00:56:53.750 --> 00:56:55.250 to God every time you talk to Him. Hey, God, 00:56:55.250 --> 00:56:57.550 it's me. It's Adam. Hey, I'm just thinking about 00:56:57.550 --> 00:57:00.650 you, Lord. And yeah, thank you for this beautiful 00:57:00.650 --> 00:57:02.590 day. I mean, you don't have to do all that. Just 00:57:02.590 --> 00:57:05.829 say, Lord, I need wisdom. I need, thank you for, 00:57:06.010 --> 00:57:09.190 thank you, Holy Spirit. And then by faith, receive 00:57:09.190 --> 00:57:13.409 it. This is a little help. Just assume that when 00:57:13.409 --> 00:57:16.769 you asked for it, He's given it to you. And then 00:57:16.769 --> 00:57:19.659 you, so you thank Him. for what you believe He 00:57:19.659 --> 00:57:21.699 just gave you, even if you don't feel any different 00:57:21.699 --> 00:57:24.059 or see anything different, but it will change 00:57:24.059 --> 00:57:26.519 your lens and the grid through which you see. 00:57:26.920 --> 00:57:29.619 Take your recognition steps. That's it. That's 00:57:29.619 --> 00:57:31.280 the title and we're going to land it right there. 00:57:31.480 --> 00:57:33.900 Look at that 58 minutes and 25 seconds. Does 00:57:33.900 --> 00:57:35.679 it get much better than that? Thank you, brother. 00:57:36.519 --> 00:57:38.800 Happy Thanksgiving. Right back at you, my friend. 00:57:38.960 --> 00:57:41.159 We'll be here next week. We get to do this.