What Do We Owe Each Other When No One Is Watching

Start with the vow we all think we’d keep: “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.” Then hear the rooster. This conversation moves from Peter’s promise and denial to the Last Supper, Gethsemane’s honest sorrow, and the mercy that meets us when we fail. Along the way, we press into 1 Corinthians 7 to rethink intimacy as mutual service and shared discipline, and we sit with Psalm 31 and Proverbs 8 to relearn courage, prudence, and the kind of leadership that makes homes and nations steadier.

We don’t stay abstract. A 2013 bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara and a Medal of Honor snapshot of Christopher Brennan remind us that ideas have consequences and character carries weight. We contrast hollow outrage with durable virtues: truthfulness in trade, restraint with our words, and respect for our neighbor’s name. Noah Webster’s no-nonsense counsel lands like a challenge—stop the mischief that tears down what others are building, practice justice in small things, and keep silent unless conscience demands speech. Wisdom is not flashy; it is faithful.

If your marriage needs a reset, if your memory of what matters has faded, or if your leadership at home or work feels thin, this is a path back: pray honestly, serve sacrificially, seek wisdom first, and let history teach you. The crow is not the end. It’s the signal to turn around and stand up rightly. Listen, share with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Then tell us: what promise will you keep this week, no matter who’s watching?

#NoahWebster #DailyScripture #JocelynNungaray

Transcript

Opening Scripture And Hard News

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Matthew twenty-six verse thirty-three and thirty-four, Peter declared, Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you. Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, Peter, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me. On 16 June 2024, Jocelyn Nungare in Houston, Texas. A 12-year-old girl was raped and strangled to death by two illegal immigrants from Venezuela, Franklin Jose Peña Ramos and Johan Jose Rangel Martinez. Hey folks, it's Jesse Cope back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. Sure do appreciate you uh joining me. I know that beginning of the podcast, the way we've kind of gone to it is a little disturbing, folks, but it should be.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

We shouldn't let those people be forgotten. The people in New York have forgotten 9-11. And you can tell that based on the elections. We run into a lot of problems when we forget history.

Marriage And 1 Corinthians 7

Peter’s Denial And The Last Supper

Gethsemane And Human Weakness

Psalm 31 Courage And Hope

Proverbs On Wisdom And Leadership

Book Plug And Listener Support

Ankara Embassy Bombing Context

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace, and your forgiveness of sins through the merit of your son Jesus Christ. Thank you that nothing can separate us from you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ. Not death, not demons or angels, not anything in this world. Forgive us when we forget, forgive us when we don't care for the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy when we treat people like they can be thrown away. Guide our steps. Help us to truly love your son Jesus Christ and therefore to follow his commands, to love you with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us when we don't, Father. Forgive us when we give you half effort. Sometimes half effort at best. Help us to make sure that we're always on your side, because that's always the right side to be on. Be with our nation, be with those who lead us in the pulpit and in the state. Be with our farmers and our ranchers, fishers, forestry. Give them rich and bountiful harvests, crops, herds. Guide those in our medical fields, doctors, nurses, and all the rest. Give them wisdom and courage. Help us to turn to you, Father, in everything that we do. Be with those who listen to the podcast. Bless their families, bless their marriages if they're married. Guide us all, Father, and guide me here. In your Son's name we pray. Amen. Marriage verse for today. 1 Corinthians 7, 2 through 6. There's a lot of stuff out there, folks, about sex today. A lot of places you can get really bad information. You want to see what God has to say. This is one of them. One of the places. There's a few. Proverbs 5, 18 and 19. Excuse me. Song of Solomon, right? This is another. Each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband because of sexual immorality. The husband should meet his wife's sexual needs, and the wife should do the same for her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Don't refuse to meet each other's needs unless you both agree for a short period of time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come back together again so that Satan might not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I'm saying this to give you permission. It's not a command. You don't have to abstain. He's just giving you permission to. I wonder how many couples inside the church, folks, because that's what we really ought to be concerned with here. How many married couples inside the church only abstain from sex if both agree and only to do so for short times of prayer and fasting? What do you think the odds are? What do you think the percentage is? I bet it's low. And then we we do, so there's so many things. This is just one example, right? We don't follow God's commands, and then we wonder why, whatever it is, our our health, our life, our marriage, our faith is in disarray. That has to fall into Einstein's definition of insanity. I think it was Einstein, right? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That was somebody. I don't know. You all know. Matthew 26, 14 through 46. Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you? And they gave him 30 pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. You know, we talk about Judas betraying Jesus, but we don't really talk about Peter that often betraying Jesus by abandoning him or the rest of the disciples. And obviously there's a huge difference there in that they came back to Jesus. As far as we know, Judas never did. At least we don't see that in the Bible. But man, that's what a great comfort, right? And Jesus accepted him, even though he denied him, right? On the first day of the festival of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you? As you go into the city, he told them, You will see a certain man. Tell him, the teacher says, My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house. That'd be pretty cool, right? To have Jesus come eat with you. So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there. When it was evening Jesus sat down at the table with the twelve. While they were eating, he said, I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me. Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, Am I the one, Lord? He replied, One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born. Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, Rabbi, am I the one? And Jesus told him, You have said it. As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it, then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, Take this and eat it, for this is my body. And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my words, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. That's that's encouraging too, right? That we get to drink wine in heaven. Not the wine, really. I mean, that'd probably be pretty good too, but I just mean just drink and eat and celebrate one day with God and Jesus Christ in heaven. That's that's pretty pretty awesome. Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. On the way, Jesus told them, Tonight, all of you will desert me, for the scriptures say God will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there. Peter declared, Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you. Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, Peter, this very night before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me. No, Peter insisted, even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you. And all the other disciples bowed the same. Pretty good example there of why to never say never, right? Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, Sit here while I go over there to pray. He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. He went on a little further and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, My father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep. He said to Peter, Couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give into temptation, for the spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done. When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn't keep their eyes open. So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, Go ahead and sleep, have your rest. But look, the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let's be going. Look, my betrayer is here. Psalm thirty one, verses nineteen through twenty-four. How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world. You hide them in the shelter of your presence, safe from those who conspire against them. You shelter them in your presence from accusing tongues. Praise the Lord, for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love. He kept me safe when my city was under attack. In panic I cried out, I am cut off from the Lord. But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help. Love the Lord, all you godly ones, for the Lord protects those who are loyal to him, but he harshly punishes the arrogant. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord. There's a lot of times God tells us that, right? Be strong and courageous, put our hope in the Lord. I need to work on that. Proverbs eight, fourteen through twenty six. Common sense and success belong to me, wisdom. Insight and strength are mine, because of me kings reign and rulers make just decrees. Rulers lead with my help, and nobles make righteous judgments. I love all those who love me, those who search will surely find me. I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. My gifts are better than gold, even than purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver. I walk in righteousness and paths of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth, I will fill their treasuries. The Lord formed me from the beginning before he created anything else. I was appointed in ages past, at the very first before the earth began. I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters, before the mountains were formed, before the hills I was born, before he had made the earth and the fields and the first handfuls of soil. Husbands are supposed to lead, right, Junts? How do we lead if we don't seek wisdom? How are we going to make good rules for our wives, our children, our families if we don't seek wisdom? God, right? If you are looking for a family-friendly middle grade read along the lines of Narnia, Hobbit, Percy Jackson, Countryside, right? This is the first book and the second one. Hardback, paperback, ebook. And if you enjoy them, if you would leave a review online somewhere, that helps a great deal. And if you feel like you're getting something out of the podcast on a semi-regular basis, at least, scripture, marriage versus, history, heritage, etc., if you could leave a review wherever you listen online. And also if you have five or ten dollars a month you can donate to the podcast, I would greatly appreciate that. So February 2nd, 2013. This is the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party Front or the DHKPC in Turkey, I think.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

Yeah. Trying to see where it is.

Medal Of Honor: Christopher Brennan

SPEAKER_00 14:13

At any rate, the attacker, Esfet Sanli, if I'm probably not saying that right, but that's that's how it looks. Uh approached the embassy's visa entrance, and this was the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, Turkey. Right? He was disguised in a suit using a fake ID, which sounds interesting considering how much we're talking about fake IDs for voting in the United States, and detonated a bomb on his body. He killed a Turkish security guard, uh Mustafa Arkasu, and himself, seriously injured three others, including a Turkey Turkish journalist. And the DHKPC took credit for this, announced the United States as their chief enemy, murderer of the peoples of the world, and there's a lot of other stuff in here about it. But again, Marxists, Lenin, communism, socialism, leftism, right, go in February 2nd, 2013 to a US embassy, blew themselves up. Security guard had a family to go to, home to, maybe. So Medal of Honor for today. Christopher Brennan, rank seaman, U.S. Civil War, USS Mississippi, temporarily assigned to the USS Colorado, U.S. Navy, April 24th, 25th, 1862, Forts Jackson and St. Philippe, and New Orleans, Louisiana. On board the USS Mississippi during attacks on Fort Jackson and St. Philippe and during the taking of New Orleans, 24-25 April, 1862. Taking part in the actions which resulted in the damaging of the Mississippi and several casualties on it, Brennan showed skill and courage throughout the entire engagements, which resulted in the taking of St. Philippe and Jackson and in the surrender of New Orleans. Accredited to Boston, Massachusetts, not awarded posthumously. Born Ireland, 1832. So he was 30 years old at this point, 62, right? Yeah, I can do that math, hopefully. Christopher Brennan. Another pretty compare that, compare that with how we opened the podcast. A 12-year-old girl being raped and murdered by two illegal immigrants. Compare those immigrants.

Noah Webster On Justice And Character

SPEAKER_01 17:02

And you will get a maybe an average, a median. It'll give you an idea of the difference and typical quality.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

Going to go back to Noah Webster, History of the United States, Advice to the Young. Read a couple more paragraphs from here. Start with paragraph 39. In all your dealings with men, let a strict regard to veracity and justice govern all your actions. Uprightness in dealings secures confidence, and the confidence of our fellow men is the basis of reputation and often a source of prosperity. Men are always ready to assist those whom they can trust, and a good character in men of business often raises them to wealth and distinction. On the other hand, hypocrisy, trickishness, and want of punctuality and of fairness in trade often sink men into meanness and poverty. Hence we see that the divine commands which require men to be just are adapted to advance their temporal as well as their spiritual interests, right? Not only the state of our spirit, but the state of our body, our family, our temporal side here on earth. Paragraph 40. Not only are theft and fraud of all kinds forbidden by the laws of God and man, but all kinds of injury or annoyance of the peace, security, rights, and prosperity of men. Think about that right now in regard to Minnesota and some of these other places talking about fraud. All kinds of theft and fraud are forbidden by the laws of God. The practice of boys and of men who do mischief for sport is as wrong in morality as it is degrading to the character. To pull down or deface a signboard, to break or deface a milestone, to cut and disfigure benches or tables in a schoolhouse, courthouse, or church. To place obstacles in the highway, to pull down or injure fences, to tarnish the walls of houses or the boards of a fence, and similar tricks that injure property or disturb the peace of society are not only mean but immoral. Again, think about a lot of the protests that you saw during COVID, George Floyd, the Wall Street debacle now today. Look at what they do to stores, look at what they do to private citizens who are just out eating dinner, eating lunch, walking along the street, trying to drive on the roads, right? Why will rational beings indulge in such feats of mischief and folly? Men are not made to injure and annoy one another, but to assist them, not to do them harm, but to do good, not to lessen, but to increase the prosperity and enjoyments of their fellow men. I've often said this with a number of people. I've got a good friend of mine who works in juvenile detention now, actually works as a parole officer. If people put as much effort and energy into doing good as they do into doing bad, imagine how much more successful they would be, their families would be, their children would be.

unknown 20:34

Right?

Guarding Reputations And Restraint

Closing Prayer And Blessing

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Same thing with our marriages, our faith. If we put enough energy, if we put the amount of energy into good things that we put into so much trash today, entertainment, sports, uh social media, right? Imagine how much better our lives, our families, our marriages, our nation would be. One more paragraph, real quick, 41. But you are required to be just not only to the property, but to the reputation of others. A man's reputation is dearer to him than his property, and he that detracts from the good name of another is as criminal as the thief who takes his property. Say nothing of your neighbors maliciously, nor spread reports about him to lessen his reputation. On the other hand, vindicate his conduct in all cases when you can do it with a clear conscience. If you cannot defend it, remain silent. I think that's pretty good advice for me for sure, often, but maybe just in general. It just be side, be quiet. Shut your mouth. Close your mouth, right? Uh got a good uh again, I've talked about him recently, a man that's becoming a pretty close friend of mine. And his father told him that. He said, you know, a lot of times people just forget the simple rule of the playground. Keep your mouth shut. Unless you have to stand up for something, right? And then and then you do, and there's nothing you can do about it, and you shouldn't keep silent then. But a lot of times, you know, there's a proverb talking about a woman uh grabbing the ears of a dog. It's like sticking your nose in somebody else's business. A lot of times the trouble that we get in is just because we're sticking our nose in somebody else's business when it doesn't belong there. I have 100% been too guilty of that too often. Noah Webster, this is a great little appendix for kids. This is out of his History of the United States, I think from 1832, right? And you remember Noah Webster's title, one of his titles was Schoolmaster to the Nation. So this guy knew a little something about education, particularly of children. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom of the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your families, God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless your nation wherever you are around the world, and God bless America. We'll talk to y'all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.