Episode 4 - Fruits Of The Spirit: Love

Start with love and everything else begins to align. We kick off our Fruits of the Spirit series by unpacking why love isn’t just first on the list—it’s the root that feeds every other fruit. Using John 3:16 as our anchor, we explore the four biblical loves—agape, phileo, storge, and eros—and translate them into daily choices for men who want to lead like Christ at home, at work, and in their communities.

We get practical about agape as a decision to serve when it costs, to forgive when wronged, and to choose humility over being “right.” We talk phileo as true brotherhood—iron sharpening iron—with honest accountability, prayer, and the kind of friends who carry your mat when you can’t walk. We press into storge by contrasting mere provision with presence, challenging dads to trade the couch for conversation and Scripture, even after long shifts. And we honour eros as covenant romance, calling husbands to pursue their wives’ hearts with patience, purity, and purpose.

Along the way, we look to Jesus’ sacrificial love: He could have called legions of angels, but chose the cross. That vision reframes power, marriage, fatherhood, and witness. We revisit the greatest commandments—love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; love your neighbour as yourself—and measure ourselves against the 1 Corinthians 13 checklist: patient, kind, truthful, persevering. We also face hard questions about evil and free will, arguing that much of our darkness is the absence of God’s light, not proof of His absence.

If you’re ready to become a man whose life bears real fruit, start with love. Then build brotherhood, be present at home, pursue your wife, and share Christ even when it costs. Subscribe, share this with a friend who sharpens you, and leave a review with one practical way you’ll choose costly love this week.

Transcript

Opening And Series Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is brothers. Men for the fathers, standards, leaders, standing strong in a world that wants us weak. Welcome to the Brotherhood Podcast.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Welcome to another episode of the Brotherhood Podcast.

Why Start With Love

SPEAKER_03 0:28

As we mentioned last time, we are going to begin a series on the fruits of the spirit. And this week we're going to talk about the first one listed, which is love. Before we get into it though, I am going to just read you what the fruits of the spirit are, and we'll probably just do that for each episode, just so you guys can continue to remember what all the fruits of the Spirit are that are listed. So where that's found is Galatians chapter 5, verses 22 to 23.

Fruit Of The Spirit Explained

SPEAKER_03 1:11

And that says, but the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. So keep that in mind. Those are if you have the Holy Spirit in you, those are things that should be produced out of that. And I'll actually look at the commentary here too, quick, uh, in my study Bible for those verses. And that says the fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the byproducts of Christ's control. We can't obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our life to his. We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law, to love God and our neighbors. So that is what the Bible says that the fruits of the Spirit are, and obviously they come from the Spirit. Something I was thinking about while I was studying for this is um with love being the first one, I wonder if that's intentionally listed as the first one because it's foundational. Uh, because elsewhere in scripture we do find um that everything else flows from love for God and love for neighbor. Uh so I wonder if all of the other fruits flow from that. Like just reading through that, I could see that as a reality. Um don't you think?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

Yeah. Oh, I know for myself, like I touched a little bit on it last week. Um with how loving Christ changed the way that I loved uh Brianne, right? The the way that um like my love just felt like it was overflowing. But with that came just an unbelievable amount of joy, peace, like you say, the rest of the fruits of the spirit, they all just kind of line up as long as you have as long as you have love. I think it's important, and I think it is, and like you say, there are verses that um tell us that love is very important. I think as long as we have love in our hearts, um like Christ loved, I think the other fruits of the spirit definitely, you know, follow kind of fall into place because of that as well, right? And actually, I I was thinking about it um for you, Craig. I want to ask you, have you ever ran like have you ever run into anybody? Um doesn't matter where, but run into just some random person that you don't know. You talk to them for five minutes and you walk away from the conversation, just feeling like maybe you know something's different about them, or you just like I don't know, they the their spirit just seems different. Have you ever had that? Maybe that's a weird question, but I yeah, want to ask that.

SPEAKER_03 4:38

No, that's a good question. I have. Um, and yeah, even people that you don't really know, you talk to kind of on the street in the airport on the plane, or like uh things like that, just going through life, coffee shop, whatever. Um there are people where like you said, you talk to them for a few minutes, and it's like, hey, there's something different about this person. And actually, to that point, um, I had when I was kind of younger, took my brother to VBS at one of the churches in um in Grand Prairie there.

unknown 5:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

And so I was I was too old to go to VBS. For anyone that is not a believer and didn't do these things, because I didn't really do these things when I was younger either. But now uh going to church, serving, and having my own children, VBS is just vacation Bible school. It's uh bit of a camp kind of thing that uh churches will put on every summer for the kids. Um anyway, my brother went and uh I was actually talking to one of the leaders there, and he was talking to me, and he he actually stopped. He's like, Are you a believer? And I was like, Yes, I am. He's like, I knew it just talking to you. I could tell. I'm like, oh well, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

That's what we want, right? Oh, yeah, it is. And I I guess I asked that question because I think that's a big part of um that's a big part of love too. Like you can just some people you can just sense it, it's just flowing out of them, you know. And I think as Christians, that's that's what we're meant to do. And Jesus teaches that actually quite a lot um throughout his lifetime about how important that is. So no, I just wanted to ask that. That's a thought that came to mind, and I think that's uh as Christians, something that we should all strive to um, I guess, copy, right? Is is the love of Christ in that way where people know after a few minutes that there's something different about you, right? I think that's uh yeah, I think that's pretty cool that you notice that on a lot of Christian people.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Yeah, that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

Yep, though it is.

John 3:16 As Anchor

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Yeah, so guys, with this uh episode, our main verse that we're basing this off of is uh John 3 16. Uh big part because a lot of Christians and non-Christians know this verse, it's a very popular verse. Uh and it says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. And so that's our base verse because I think that's a great example of just the love of Christ and how he was willing to lay his life down, and God was willing to give his only son out of love to save all people, right? Not just um not just certain people, right? Not people who you know are good and follow the law and do this and this and this. I mean, you read about Jesus on the cross with the two thieves, right? And the one on uh his one side says to him, Remember me when you go to paradise. And because of Jesus' love, he says, and I I don't know it exactly, but he says, Uh, surely you will be in paradise with me today. Yeah. Right. And I think that's yeah, it's a good example of love. And so this is our base verse, what we're going to be uh talking about today, and just kind of explaining a little bit what love is, what it looks like, and just good examples of how love should look in our lives.

SPEAKER_03 8:50

Yeah. Um, yeah, that's perfect. And yeah, it it is uh like yeah, in preparation for this, picking that anger verse for this episode. Um, I think is very fitting. And I know uh Colton and I went in a little bit different directions, but we ended up in the same spot while we were uh preparing for this. So what we'll do is uh I'll kind of go first with my stuff, we'll have a discussion on that, and then uh we'll move on to what Colton prepared and we'll we'll chat about that and then we'll kind of bring it all together. But um a challenge for you guys as you listen, uh I just want to ask you. So if this John 316 kind of encompasses God's love and and how God defines love, what does it mean for us as men to love like Him in our families, friendships, and communities? So, with this anchor verse, uh that's a perfect segue into the first uh thing that I want to talk about.

Agape: Costly, Unconditional Love

SPEAKER_03 10:00

So I don't know if you guys have uh heard about the four uh different words for love that are actually in the Bible. Uh the four of those are uh agape, Phileo, Storge, and Eros. So I'm gonna go through each one of those uh with examples in scripture of kind of what they are, and then uh give us some real-world application and and how we can kind of emulate and implement those things in our lives as well. So the first one, uh agape love, that is God's unconditional love, which is perfectly displayed in John 3.16, which is our anchor verse. Um so agape is selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional love. Uh, it's the love that God has for all of humanity, and it's not based on emotion or mutual benefit, uh, but it's a choice uh and a commitment, and it's sacrificial. So uh along with John 3.16, uh a scripture that I had for this uh section is Romans 5.8, and that says if I can find it here, but God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. So even when we are still sinners, we haven't accepted him yet into our hearts. Um Jesus came down, um you know, but whole Christmas story, you know, born of a virgin, um, and lived a sinless life, lived a life that we can't, and like really, this is the gospel, right? He came down, lived a life that we couldn't live, died a death that we deserve, rose again in three days, defeating death, so that we could uh be with him in paradise like the thief on the cross. Um so that is basically the best example of agape love. And it's it's unconditional uh in the way that like I said, he came and died for us while we were still sinners. He didn't wait for us to be we we didn't have to you know wait to come to him before we were perfect, we had our lives all figured out. Uh he died uh the death on the cross long before any of us were even here. Um, but he knew we'd be here and he knew he'd call us and he knew that we'd be doing what we're doing right now.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

So um yeah, that he did.

SPEAKER_03 13:11

Yeah. Uh so some real world application for us. Um agape is the call to love when it cost us something. Um so some examples are like uh patience with our kids when our patience is wearing thin. Uh, we should show them love, not get angry, obviously. Uh grace towards our wives, um, and forgiveness towards those who do us wrong. Um so if someone has sinned against you, then uh we still need to love them, right? And uh we as men also often express love through action. Uh agape love challenges us to act even when we don't feel like it. So I think that's important as well. Uh practical example is loving your wife when you don't feel respected. You know, sometimes you have different issues with each other and um maybe don't feel like I mean we sometimes we get into some things, but I mean I'm very thankful that uh my wife and I have not really had any major blowouts or anything like that, but I know there's definitely people that do. Um, and then those men, you know, when we don't when we don't love our wives like we're supposed to, like we talked about in the last episode, um our wives don't respect us. And likewise, wives, if you're not respecting your husbands, they're not gonna feel like loving you, even though husbands, like I said, we need to love even when we don't feel like it. So when you don't feel respected um by your wife, you still need to love her, and then she will reciprocate. Um also we need to choose humility and servanthood over pride. So instead of just being right and being stubborn, uh, there's more to it. You just need to, I guess I don't know what you'd say. Um I was on a train and now I'm derailed.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Um I actually wanted to add a point in there. Sure, go for it. Really quick quick, if if you don't mind. Yeah, go for it. Um, so talking about love and forgiveness and stuff, actually, I I noticed in my own life, um, you know, like I said, God's really been working in my heart uh the last few weeks, well, the last few months, I think more than I've ever felt him working in my life before. And so when it comes to forgiveness, I I was really struggling with anger and frustration uh in certain aspects of my life. And so one day I decided to again choose love, right? Like, like you said, Craig, you know, it's not always it doesn't always come easy, sometimes you have to choose it. And so I decided to choose love, and I prayed to God and said, you know, I I forgive this person, I forgive this person, and um I think this is why I would say the other fruits of the spirit follow love, because after that, that anger just disappeared, like it doesn't it doesn't exist anymore, it it's just gone from choosing love. And so I just wanted to add that in there because you know, I don't just believe it just to say I believe it, I believe it because I've seen proof of it. And I think that love is you know, like I said, love is important and and the other things follow after it, right? Forgiveness, um, respect, all these things follow if you have true love in your heart.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

Right. Yeah, and that's uh like we talked about last time, uh, with leadership, if you lead with love, um yeah, then then you do get that respect from uh if you're a boss, from your employees, uh, from your coworkers, uh, from your wife, from your children, just everybody really. Um, if you're sacrificial uh in in the way that you do things and put other people first, I mean it it just is that way. It's a law of nature, basically, is what I would say. Um, I would agree with you 100%. Yeah. So um with that agape um with that form of love. A question, uh, with all that being said, is uh where in our lives do we need to show love that costs us something? Um like I said, you can uh like dealing with your uh your spouse, you can be right, and maybe you are, maybe you are right, but it it's not worth the fight to to uh just dig your heels in and say you're right, and and that's just the end of it. Um sometimes a discussion needs to be had, and maybe they're not gonna see your side either, but you still need to love them, and oftentimes for me, anyway, in any arguments or disagreements that we have, uh as husband and wife, if

Living Agape At Home And Work

SPEAKER_03 19:10

you really stop and think about the issue that you're arguing about, does it really matter? Often it doesn't. Often it's yeah, ultimately meaningless. It's like, okay, yeah, I can be right, but why does it it it's fine? I'd rather you can be right or you can um have a happy wife. No, yeah, so pick one or the other. Yeah, you don't you can you don't get both.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Uh yeah, that's good. So yeah, anyway. Um those of you who are unmarried, we just like to joke. We love our wives, trust us. We really do. Yes, that is true. Yes, we do. Um we just like to poke fun at them once in a while. We have to. Um, so that's what marriage is all about. You gotta make it enjoyable.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

You have to, yep. Um, so I don't know if you have any examples, Colton, of any any places where you think you need to show love that costs you something before you go. Um, this is one I thought about earlier and then I forgot to write it down. But um a big one for me is sharing the gospel and living out my faith. Um that can definitely cost me something. So do we love do we love the lost enough to share our faith with them, to share Jesus with them, um, knowing that we might be hated by them, we might lose relationships, worldly relationships over that kind of conversation, might lose jobs. Um, some people could lose their jobs from that, and ultimately we could even lose our life too. So are you willing to do that? I think we need to be.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Yeah, no, I I think that's a great point. Uh for myself, Craig. I I think I'd be along the same lines as you. Uh, I I've believed for a lot of my life that just living as a Christian was enough. Uh, just showing God's love and maybe not talking about it. So I think I'd be along the same lines. Um just going out on a limb and talking to people about it, you know, bringing up what it means to be a Christian, bringing up the love of God. And like you said, it it does cost you a lot, you know. Sometimes at the end of the day, if you're at work, it can cost you time with your family. That you know, that's something I know it might sound simple, but for me, at the end of the day, when I'm done work, I just want to go home, right? And so it's it's very easy to put off a conversation to just go home. I try not to, but you know, sometimes it it happens that way, right? You're in a hurry to get home. And um, you know, like you said, I I think that's one thing that it can cost us and our lives, it costs us our lives. I mean, there's people who've died for the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it's important enough to where, like you said too, Craig, we we should be willing to lose our lives over this. I think it is, I know it is that important. Uh, so yeah, I I would be I think the same idea as you on that one.

SPEAKER_03 22:42

Okay, yeah, that's good. And people at home be thinking about um the areas in your life where you can show love that it might cost you. Maybe you're doing that, uh, but maybe there's some areas where you're like, hey, I need to step it up here.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Um, and then act in obedience. What's that? Yeah. Sorry, I was just gonna jump in. Pray about it too, guys. Pray to God that he would show you, and God will reveal areas in your life that that you need to work on, uh, parts of your heart that you need to be willing to give up or or willing to work with God on to change in a way where he can use it for for his glory.

SPEAKER_03 23:29

Yeah, agreed. That's important. Yeah, oftentimes we can't see it. We're we're blinded um by just daily life and uh different things that we're doing, and we're not privy to the uh the areas where we're failing in that way, or in any way, really. So, yeah, ask the Lord to open up your eyes uh to where you can improve and serve him better. Um the

Phileo: Brotherhood And Accountability

SPEAKER_03 24:00

next uh the next type of love that's mentioned in the Bible. Um, these are I don't know if I mentioned this, but they're like original Greek. Um so this one is Phileo, which is brotherly love. And so it is a deep friendship, like I said, or or it is a deep friendship or brotherly love, like I said. Uh comes with loyalty, trust, and a shared purpose. This is a bond between uh brothers in Christ um especially. So I had I was trying to keep like one or two scriptures per um thing, but this one I ended up with three.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

So um that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_03 24:58

Yeah, yeah. We did, didn't we tell you guys we are uh we're trying to keep it scripture-based? So that's yeah, we're doing our best. We're doing our best. And you can go every which way, as we've talked about before. But yes, um first one is John 15, 13, which says that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. And uh this is actually I believe just this is uh Jesus speaking. Um, and talking about kind of alluding to his crucifixion and saying that the the disciples have become friends of his, basically, and saying that there is no greater love than to lay one's life down for your friends. Uh the commentary says we are to love each other as Jesus loved us, and he loved us enough to give his life for us, which we mentioned in the last one. Uh, we may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways to practice sacrificial love. So these kind of bleed together, honestly. So this could have gone in the other one, but um so listening, helping, encouraging, giving. Uh think of someone in particular who needs this kind of love today. Give all the love you can and then try to give a little more. So I thought that was a good note as well in the commentary. Um sometimes we feel like we're tapped out. We don't want to give any more. Um, but whoever wrote that said, give all you got and then give a little bit more. And I think that's that's important as well. Um the next one I've got is Proverbs 2717. And that says, as iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. And this the commentary for this one says uh mental sharpness comes from being around good people, and uh meeting of minds can help people see their ideas with new clarity, refine them and shape them into brilliant insights. This requires partners who can challenge one another and stimulate thought, people who focus on the idea without involving their egos in a discussion, uh people who know how to attack the thought and not the thinker, two friends who bring their ideas together can help each other become sharper. So that I think that's good, like uh in the mental realm of things, like what that commentator said. But I think also in men's ministry, this uh iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend, or a man sharpens another friend, depending on your or man sharpens a man, uh depending on your translation uh that you have. But if you think about iron sharpening iron, that's metal grinding on metal, that's a noisy, messy thing, right? So um, I mean, sometimes he sometimes he can get messy, and uh sometimes we need to be willing to do that with our brothers, and we need to find a brother that we can do that with, or a couple brothers that we can do that with, and I think that's ultimately part of this um the project with this podcast as well, is to well, for one, for Colton and I to sharpen each other through this, and then to also help you guys um get sharper, and then as well as you guys calling and texting us, like the ones that know us, uh, which we love, keep doing that. Um, asking us questions, like sharpening us and and having conversation with you guys and helping you guys get sharper uh in the word. And um it's been really cool to see. And uh don't be afraid to find some other brothers in your circles as well uh to meet together and and discuss these type of things and and sharpen each other too. You were gonna say something and I cut you off.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

Nope. I I was gonna say exactly what you said there. We we love the questions. Uh keep bringing them on. It's uh it's helping us get into the word and study and uh We hope that by answering your questions, it's helping you guys understand what it is that we're talking about and more importantly, what the Bible is teaching about that as well.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Amen to that. Um the next one I had for this brotherly love is my iPad keeps going all the way to the bottom of my notes. Okay. Um Mark 2, uh verses 2 to 5 says, Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room even outside the door. While he was preaching God's word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd. So they dug a hole through the roof above his head, then they lowered the man on his mat right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, My child, your sins are forgiven. So this is another one for me that in my studying for reaching men and men's ministry and this podcast and things like that. This piece of scripture has been important in my walk as well. We I think we need to find men that are willing to do what that man's friends did. Right? They went around the crowd, they found a way, they they loved their friends so much, and they trusted in the Lord so much that He would heal their friend. They went up on the roof, they dug a stinking hole in the ceiling, and they lowered the man down on his mat. And uh, and the Lord was faithful to heal that man because of his friends' faithfulness and and his friend's faith. So we need to find. Um, I don't know, I know Colton has come across this guy recently, and I've watched some of his stuff since kind of starting the podcast. But uh Pastor Joby Martin from uh 1122 church, he he's got a podcast, he's got a bunch of stuff on YouTube, but he talks about finding your four mat toters, and I really like that idea. Find yourself a group of men, small group of men you can trust that um when stuff hits the fan, you can go to them, uh you can talk things out with them, they can pray for you. Um, I know um I Colton and I do this for each other. Like even just this week, Colton called me up. He's like, hey, I got this thing going on, I need some extra prayer right now. I'm like, dude, I got you. So um, and I'm glad to do it. Like, I'm glad to you know put in requests and and uh and pray that the Lord does his uh what he's gonna do uh in my brother's life, and uh especially the guys that are close to me. I mean, I don't have four yet, so um I I definitely have a couple, but it it's hard, like it honestly, it's kind of hard. Like you there's some guys that you think maybe, but I don't know. It's a it's kind of a hard concept. Um, and I'm being I'm being very selective. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I'm being very selective with those with the

Find Your “Mat Toters”

SPEAKER_03 33:45

mat toters that I choose. And I guess I haven't really told these people they're mat toters, but I just I know that I can lean on them and I know that I can trust them, and I know that they're praying for me, and I'm doing the same for them. So you guys need to find yourself some matte toters.

SPEAKER_02 34:04

I like that.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

Yeah, I really like that idea. Like when he said that, I'm like, that is just the perfect um illustration. I love it. Um, some real world application for us. Uh like I said, men need brotherhood. Men need the brotherhood podcast. No, that's not in the Bible, but we do need brotherhood. Uh the kind of the kind of friendship that pushes you towards godliness, not comfort. So sometimes those um, sometimes those conversations can be difficult. Sometimes it's gonna be someone coming up to you and be like, hey dude, I uh I see this going on in your life, and I mean, how can I help you? But also like you're not going on the right path. Like, what can I do to help you? How can I pray for you? That kind of thing. Um, yeah. I think as well. I have I think I've gained some more wisdom in this uh in recent years, but it's been um it's been kind of a journey of trying to figure this out for myself, because you know people say we shouldn't judge each other and stuff like that, and that's kind of something I've I held on to for a long time. We're not supposed to judge each other, but the Bible does say that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to judge each other, and the Bible is God's word, and it's profitable for rebuking um and and correction. So, I mean, as long as you guys are doing it based on scripture, uh, when you're confronting people, then I think that's the right thing to do, and do it out of love, obviously. Um Leo Love also shows up uh when yeah, when you hold your friends accountable, like I said, um pray for them or walk with them through tough times. So I kind of mentioned that already. I kind of got ahead of myself, but that's okay. Um so yeah, this is brotherhood in action, uh, standing shoulder to shoulder against temptation and apathy. Um discussion question that I have here is do you have a brother who sharpens you, like we talked about? And are you that kind of brother for someone else? So like I said, I've got a couple. Um Colton's one of them, whether he likes it or not. I'm here for you. Good. And yeah, are you are you that person for someone else? And uh Colton, I haven't told you outright, but I am definitely here for you. Um I'll be your I'll be your bro, bro. Appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

Yeah, we'll be uh we'll be the brothers-in-law, yep. Should get t-shirts made.

SPEAKER_03 37:18

Yeah, that's right. With like little share share of stars or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 37:24

Brothers-in-law, brother one and brother two, it'll be like thing one and thing two off cat in the hat, right? Oh, yeah, there you go. Oh, yeah, that'll be great. Well, I'm same for you, right? I appreciate the support and and same thing. You know, I'm here for you if you need stuff too. And uh, even to the to you guys listening, you know, like we said, we we want this to be more than a podcast. If you have questions, there's things on your heart, definitely reach out to us. We would love to talk with you. Um, if you're around where we live, we'd love to go for a coffee, right? We want this to be intentional. So just yeah, we're here for you guys too.

SPEAKER_03 38:08

Absolutely. Um, with that, I will move into the next uh form of love, which is storge, and that is a familial love. So storge is natural affection, um, the love between parents and children or within a family. Uh, it's rooted in familiarity, protection, and belonging. So I have two scriptures for that one here, and the first one is Luke uh 15, 11 to 24. It's a little bit of a longer section, but um sometimes you know you just gotta read everything around the scripture reference, or else it just doesn't make sense. So yeah. Um so these are the ones that I come up with. Uh so this is the parable of the uh

Storge: Loving Family With Presence

SPEAKER_03 39:10

the prodigal son. Uh to illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, I want my share of your estate now before you die. So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. A few days later, uh this younger son picked all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The younger man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him, but no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger. I will go home to my father and say, Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant. So he returned home to his father, and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worry worthy of being called your son. But his father said to the servants, Quick, bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. Then kill the calf um we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast. For his for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found. So the party began. Um that is Storgay, the father, if you think about that. The he gave his son his inheritance, the son took all of it, ran off, went and squandered it away. And he could have been angry with him when he returned. He could have said, No way, yeah, you're like you squandered all away, that's your problem. You're definitely a servant now. I'll take you back, but you're you're gonna be a servant. Or you could turn him away entirely. You're dead to me. Right, he said, my son was dead, but now he's alive. And uh he embraced him, you know, uh upon his return, he ran up to him, he embraced him, he kissed him, he gave him um the finest robe, he gave him uh gave him a ring, and then um prepared a feast because he had returned. So that's pretty wild. You see a lot of I don't know, it's uh kind of crazy the world today, but um even fathers don't love their sons in the way that they should, right? And don't love their children the way that they should. Um I'll talk about that in a second, but the next one is Ephesians 6 1 to 4. And that says, so this is talking about the children now. Children obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise. If you honor your father and mother, things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth. Um verse four says, Fathers do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them, rather bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. So that that's actually both sides of it, right? That's the children. You show love to your parents by obeying them, and with that, actually, we're promised to have um to have a good life by obeying our parents. And I mean that's uh that's a bit of a funny one too, right? I don't know how if I fully got my head wrapped around that, because what if your parents are not godly parents? Like mine weren't. Um, I mean, they didn't really lead me astray, per se, in any way, but um there's some that do. So do you listen to your parents or do you listen to the Bible? So um I think as when when we're children, I think it's probably more pertinent that we obey our parents while we're still under their uh headship in their household. Um but I think as we grow older, then uh our authority has to come from scripture and from from the Lord. So um again, that's still getting fleshed out in my mind. So if you have anything to say about that, I'm willing to hear it.

SPEAKER_01 44:54

You know, I I uh I was gonna ask you about that. That's something that's been on my mind a lot, even as a kid, right? Is well, what if your parents don't you know they ask you to do something that's wrong? Do you go ahead and do it knowing like knowing that the Bible says otherwise? Right? That's that's been a question on my mind. And you know, I I think what I would say to that is and again a little bit what we talked about last week. So we are oh, how would I put this? As Christians, we are all children of God, right? He is our He is our Father, right? And we need to obey Him. And you know, like Craig said, by loving our parents, you know, God calls us to love our parents by being obedient. But when it comes to, and for me, like I said, this is just a question I've had is if they ask you to do something wrong, I think it would be wrong if you knew that you were getting asked to do something that was wrong. I think it would be right if you knew better and you knew that that's not what God wanted, to do what God wanted. Right? And I'm not telling you to disobey our parents by any means, but um we need to obey God first. Right? We need to worry about what God says, and if we feel that what we're doing is wrong, then maybe we need to talk to our parents about that, right? Because parents aren't perfect either, but I I think that's where I stand on that point, and that would be I think that would be my opinion. Same as you, Craig. I'm still that's something I'm still working on. Um I maybe don't know it as well as I should, but as of right now, that I think that's my outlook on that.

SPEAKER_03 46:55

Yeah, I think I don't know for sure, but that I think that's kind of where I land too. You said it pretty good. Um yeah, so uh as men, we're called to lead with love at home, um, to protect, teach, and nurture. Umstorge love means showing affection and patience no matter the circumstances. Uh it's choosing to be present and not just be a provider. So I know I've had a couple conversations about that actually, just even today. And Colton, you were one of them. But the like talking about talking about work and stuff, and like how do you the whole work-life balance thing, and um it's it's a it's a thing. Like, I know there's a lot of guys, especially here in Alberta, that you know, they're gone for a long time, they're in camp or they're um off somewhere else working in the oil field. Um like, man, how do you how do you lead your family when you're not even at home? And I don't have the answer to that, guys. It's uh one thing for me. Uh I know Colton, you're chomping at the bed. I know you're about to say something, but for me, it's uh it's uh it's a reason why I I hadn't gone into oil field. I definitely thought about it, uh, because the money's good, uh, but I was like, man, I want to I want to raise a family, and I want to be there for my kids. And maybe that's part of coming from a broken home, like not having both parents all the time, and um just wanting to be there for my children, and um I mean this isn't super important, but be it sports games and stuff like that. The most important thing though is shepherding your children, and it's hard to do that when you're gone all the time. Um, I know there's guys that do it, and I think if you're intentional with the time that you have at home, you can probably make it work. Um but there's uh there's a story I heard today uh in a conversation uh with another man, and he said um it was a story that he had heard, so uh, I mean, take it with a grain of salt, but sounded like the uh it was some kind of preacher,

Work, Fatherhood, And Intentional Time

SPEAKER_03 49:40

I don't remember the name, but he said that uh a week or two ago, or whatever it was, they buried his father. His father had passed away, and he was reflecting on that, and his dad was gone all the time, working all the time. I mean, he worked really hard, he provided for their family. Um, we're called to do that, but he felt like he buried a man that he didn't even know. So is that what we want? I uh that's not what I want, you know. Um, I mean, we're yeah, we're supposed to work hard, we're supposed to provide for our families, because like we've mentioned before in previous episodes, if you don't provide for your family, you're worse than an unbeliever. So we do have to find that balance though. And uh if you're gone a lot, as a man, when you're home, I think you have to be intentional with your time, with your kids, with your wife. Um I think that's that's how you can do it. Like I said, I don't have the for sure answer, but that's kind of how I think of it.

SPEAKER_01 50:54

Yeah, I I think uh I I kind of for those of you maybe that don't know me as well, I come from a bit of a background that is kind of like what Craig said, you know, I've I've done a lot of run and equipment for a big part of my life, and it's been really good. It's been uh a huge blessing to be able to do that. And for me, it's it's the same idea, right? I ask that question too, you know, how can I how can I raise my family when I'm working 20 days straight? You know, I don't do that anymore, but at one point in my life, you know, a few years ago, uh we were. And you come home, you're tired. And what I would say, I think what I would personally say to that is like you said, Craig, the time that you have, you gotta be intentional. You might come home, you might be tired, but your kids still need you. Uh, you can still help raise them by showing them love when you are home. Show them that when you get home, you're still joyful, right? After a long, hard week, you can still come home and you can still exhibit the fruits of the spirit through your life, even when you're gone a lot, right? It's definitely hard. Uh it's definitely very hard sometimes being away that much, right? But God calls us each to a different walk in life. And what I would say is if God's called you to that walk in life, we just gotta make the best of it, right? It's a good lifestyle and stuff, and you're still gone lots, but uh again, spend the time you have with your kids and your family well, right? Don't spend it on the couch watching TV. Sit down and teach your kids, talk to your kids about your week and how God has worked in your life and show them that love and the joy and and the fruits of the Spirit through that. Uh, I I think that's what I would say um for that side of things, uh, just from my point of view.

SPEAKER_03 53:02

That's good, because um I can't speak to that. Um but I I can say too, like there's there's men that have eight to five jobs, and um even when they're home, they're not home, they're sitting on the couch, you know, they're watching the ball game, which is very relevant right now with the Blue Jays in the World Series Go Jays, I guess. But uh yeah, and like there's always a season for a sport, so you know, if you're just always plugged into the TV, and I mean people make it a family thing as well. Uh but yeah, I mean have fun, absolutely. But if you only have a short amount of time, then you have to be intentional. And uh for me too, I've been guilty of it. Even just having a regular working schedule Monday to Friday, 8 to 5. I feel dumb saying it because you've worked 14 hour days, 20 days straight. I've never had to do that. I still still get home and I'm like, man, I'm tired. I don't want to. I wanna I just want to relax. I just wanna, you know, go lay down before supper, like just clear my head, or um, yeah. It's I know we need that as men too. We need some of that respite, and we need it like um, but you just have to find it on another way. I don't know how to do that. Um, but it's different for everybody, everyone's got a different schedule.

SPEAKER_01 54:37

Um but I think it like too, I think for men that's I I think it's just a thing, you know. You get home from work and I think for you know, like you said, whether you work 14 hours a day or eight hours a day, when you get home, you've got to make that effort to to be intentional, right? Um you've if you've done eight hours of straight paperwork and your your head is just done, right? You get home and it's like, okay, I'm I'm finished. The couch is my best friend right now.

SPEAKER_03 55:06

But sometimes we can I can adjust the not the working 12 hours, but the paperwork all day looking at a computer is like I'm done.

SPEAKER_01 55:15

I'm mentally done. Oh yeah, but yeah, and it happens that way, right? But I think what we need to do is, you know, speaking about love, I think we need to put love first and realize that sometimes our families still need us. We gotta put their needs before ours in in loving them in that way, right? Whether you've worked eight hours or 12 hours, it's important. We need to raise our kids and and be there for our wives, right? Our wives have a hard day. I come home some days and my wife is done, right? She's uh a stay-at-home mom with uh three kids, and it can be it can be hard. Um, you know, I've I've tried it a couple times staying home with my kids. I love them to death, but it is a hard job. And after one day, I'm done. I'm like, man, I give my wife a lot of credit, and sometimes she needs help, right? So, guys, be there for your wives, help them, be there for your kids. It's it's very needed in our families these days.

SPEAKER_03 56:17

Yeah, absolutely. And uh that is a perfect segue into the fourth form of love, which is Eros or Eros, I don't know

Eros: Covenant Romance And Purity

SPEAKER_03 56:30

how to actually pronounce it, but it's romantic love. So you're talking about helping out your wife and stuff like that. How do you how do you love your wife, right? Um so Eros is passionate or romantic love. Uh, but within God's design, it's more than physical attraction, uh, it's uh covenantal desire and devotion between husband and wife. When corrupted by sin, it becomes lust or selfish gratification. Uh, but when redeemed, it's a picture of God's passion for his people. Um the scripture I have for that, we might go a little spicy here, just so you know.

SPEAKER_01 57:22

I like when uh I like when that comes. That's good.

SPEAKER_03 57:26

Um that's a good topic. Yeah. That's it's a fun topic. Oh yeah. Oh, oh yeah. Oh yeah. I love speaking of romantic love. Yeah, speaking of romantic, uh, I'm gonna go to Proverbs 5, uh 15 to 20. That says, uh drink water from your own well, share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets? Having sex with just anyone. Uh you should reserve it for yourselves, never share it with a stranger. Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:36

That's fitting. I I really like that because in this day and age, man, I feel like uh I feel like sex doesn't matter. People don't uh they're just there for the enjoyment, and um yeah, we're here to tell you that's wrong. Unless it's with your wife. It is enjoyable. That is wrong. Yeah, it might be, and it might feel good, but I really like within the compound of marriage. Yeah, you look at um you look at a lot of people who have sex outside of marriage, right? They they use it as an escape or or whatever. The first person they sleep with, they always have I I think, and I can't speak to this, but I think from some of the stories and things I've heard, there's always a special connection with that first one, right? Uh the Bible speaks about how you become one flesh, guys. This is not that's not something to play around with, right? Sex outside of marriage is wrong. We don't agree with it. Uh we would ask you not to do it. Wait for marriage. It's it's meant to be special, it's not meant to throw your body. Out for whoever to use it for their gratification. Right. Um for me, this is something to get very easily frustrated about.

unknown 1:00:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:16

Because we're raising kids in a world that teaches us that this is okay. And uh, and guys, it's not. It's just simply according to the Bible, unless it's within marriage, sex is wrong before marriage or outside of marriage. It was never designed or meant for that.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:37

Right. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I agree. And uh the yeah, I think it it might depend. Um, like if it's just a one-off or if you had a relationship with that person uh before you had sex with them or whatever, like if it is outside of marriage. Um, I don't totally know. I didn't do a bunch of sleeping around either, so I can't really say. But um, yeah, I uh but what I do know is uh within the covenant of marriage and having God at the center of it, it is it is special. And um for you young guys listening, save it. It's uh it's definitely worth waiting for. Um like hearing from guys that have uh slept with people before marriage, and then also guys that have waited, and uh it's definitely better to wait, sounds like so. Um yeah, and it's biblical. So if you're looking to follow what the Bible has to say about it, and you've given your life to the Lord and you're looking to follow him, he says to wait. So do that. And yeah, I mean, if you want to look at some spicy stuff, you can uh go read Song of Songs, and uh I'm not gonna read that.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:11

But we recommend you do if you feel the need to.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:17

Yeah, I was I was reading through some of it to prepare for this, and I'm like, I don't know about this. I don't know about sharing it on. Oh, yeah. But it's yeah, it's it's a spicy book. Um the next one I have is Ephesians 5 25, uh, which we have talked about previously in other episodes, but uh for husbands, uh this means love your wives just as Christ loved the church, as he gave his life for her. So uh again, it it ends up being sacrificial, but we need to love our wives as Christ loved the church, and be willing to lay our lives down for her as well. Um yeah, Eros love calls men to romance and uh pursuit within a covenant, not outside of it. It's about pursuing your wife's heart, not just her body. Um, so she's not just a sack of meat for your pleasure, uh but uh uh she's God's daughter and worthy of respect and and worthy of love, and we're called to give that to her. Um it also means discipline, refusing to let lust define what love looks like. Love gets perverted and distorted outside of the confines of marriage. So people, we kind of touched on it already, but uh people sleeping around, you know, hookup culture and stuff like that. Uh glad I never got into that, but I knew some people who did, and it's just like you know, it's a pursuit to see how many women you can sleep with. That's I never really thought that was very cool. I don't know why they did, but even before I was a believer, I was like, I don't I don't know about that. I don't know that I need to just sleep with people to sleep with people. Okay, I guess up to you. Um yeah, so uh practical example uh is being intentional in how we serve and cherish our spouse, even in seasons when intimacy is hard. Um I think sometimes we go through different seasons in life, and um sometimes it's just you know, she's not in the mood, you're not in the mood, whatever. Um but if you're in the mood and she's not, sometimes she's just dealing with stuff, you know. So you need uh you still need to love her, and um, there is more to marriage than just sex, and um you need to yeah, you need to get down to to like a emotional intimacy as well, not just a physical one, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:23

Yeah, yeah. I will I will say to that too, like I I find that's easier to do. I I know for us before kids, we just we spend a lot of time together, and now that we have kids, it's hard to get out to do

Pursuing Your Wife Beyond Lust

SPEAKER_01 1:05:40

to just have that personal time together, right? It's it feels pretty rare that we get that. Um yeah, I I would say it is very important. I think our I think our marriage would like for me personally, I think our marriage would benefit from it. Um, but you know, for those of you out there who maybe aren't married yet, that is something that is hard to do after you have kids, and and I'm sure a lot of people will tell you that. I'm not trying to deter you from having kids, but it it makes it difficult. You just gotta try and find the time and and make that important still.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:19

Yeah, because it it is important, I think. Um especially as like because it's it's something that it's a drive that the Lord has given us. Like God has given us this uh this drive to be sexual, and uh it's it's not something to shy away from. I know it's kind of a weird topic, faux pas or whatever, um, but it's I think we do need to talk about it and not make it weird, because it's not weird, it's awesome. And uh yeah, it's uh I don't know, just culture. It's it's weird that like culturally we don't really talk about it, but also in culture, I don't know if this is gonna make any sense, but I'm gonna say it. It's like we don't talk about it, but it's all we talk about. Does that make sense? It's in our faces, it's everywhere, but we don't talk about it, and we don't talk about the um like the holiness of well for sure. We don't talk about the holiness of it, um, and the fact that it's used to to join us together, make us one flesh. Um that's how we become a union with each other, um, physically, spiritually. Um yeah. I don't know if that made sense or not.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:53

Yep, no, I think that made perfect sense. I I think we uh we hear about it, but I don't feel like it's very public, like very publicly spoken about.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:06

I I think that's yeah, properly, I guess, is what I would say. Like we don't we don't talk about it in the proper sense, and uh I mean kids have sex ed in school and stuff like that, but um you know you're a teenager, you're all kind of you you get fun, uh you know, you laugh because someone said boobs or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:32

Yeah, it it's all just uh it's hard to take it seriously when you're that age, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:08:38

Yeah, exactly. Um but yeah, it's it's special, it's designed for one man and one woman, and it's uh it's really good. And it's I mean, there's a specific word for it. Um I'm it says it still says love in our English Bibles, but in the Greek it had they had their own word for it. So um I think that's important. Uh so the question for that section for uh Eros is are you pursuing your wife the way Christ pursued the church? Uh with passion, patience, and purpose. So, I mean, I I do try to be intentional. I uh I know I fail often, and my wife is gracious, thankfully. Um she still loves me, even though I suck sometimes. But uh yeah, I mean we're we're both imperfect and we're imperfect together, and that makes it perfect.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:46

Yeah, yeah, it does, it really does.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:50

Yeah, um, so yeah, that's kind of everything I had, except for like my closing comments and uh tying everything together. But if you don't have any comments on that, then you can kind of move into your topic there if you like.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:07

Yeah, sure. Yeah,

Jesus’ Sacrifice As Model Of Love

SPEAKER_01 1:10:10

so like we said, guys, um Craig and I kind of study different aspects of love. And so I I went a bit of a different direction with this. We're gonna kind of cover um two different ideas, I guess. Uh, the way the way Craig had studied it, and and what I looked at here. So what I did is a lot of the verses I looked up had to do a lot with Jesus. I think he's I think he's a really perfect example of of what love was. And so it's actually kind of funny, Craig covered, you actually covered one of the verses I had written down too. Um that I want to touch on a little bit more because I had a couple points I wanted to make. So again, guys, just to kind of recap what our our anchor verse was, John 3.16 that says, God's loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. So I kind of took this in the direction, like I said, of Jesus, as this verse talks about Jesus being God's only son who he gave to us to save us from our sins. Um Romans 5, verse 8. That's uh that's the verse you had touched on there, Craig. I just want to go back to it and go through a couple things here. Um so I'm gonna reread it here. It says, But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So I just I want you to picture Jesus Christ on the cross, right? Even leading up to the cross, he was beaten, he was mocked, uh, his body was torn, he was whipped, they nailed him to a cross through his wrists, through his ankles. He didn't die a pretty death, and he knew all of this. What I want you guys a picture is Jesus Christ, he knew everything you were gonna do before he chose to do that. This verse said that he died for us while we were still sinners. When he was on the cross, he was thinking about you. He was thinking about every sin that you were gonna commit in your life. He was thinking about every sin I was gonna commit in my life. And God, out of love, sent Jesus, and out of love, Jesus went to the cross to die for you and for me, for everything, not just for one sin, not just for the people of that time, for the whole world, from start to finish. Jesus went to the cross for that, and he had you on his mind when he did that. I think there's something so powerful in that uh you just I don't think that's a love that many people have, but we should. As Christians, we we should have that love that we are willing to die for anybody. You know, the Bible talks about um loving our enemies. We should be willing to die for our enemies, and if we're not, well, maybe that means that we need to work on our hearts. I know I sure do. That's something I definitely need to work on. I'm not perfect, but I think there's something so powerful in that. Uh, a verse I had to go with this, just as an example, like I say, uh Jesus was beaten, he was mocked, they whipped him, and Jesus calls to the Father and he says, you know, God forgive them, for they know not what they do. You know, like I said, he was praying for forgiveness for the people who were killing him, who were beating him, who were spitting on him. I I think I think that's something that the world needs to feel is that kind of love. Unconditional love as the Bible explains it. Um I'm gonna read this other verse I had here. Luke 22, verse 63. So this explains a little bit about Jesus being beaten. Uh it says the men, and the heading for this one is the guards mock Jesus. It says the men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, Prophesy, who hit you? And they said many other insulting things to him. It's for people like this that Jesus Christ died. It's for people who think they're good, it's for people who are lost, it's for people who fall into such a deep sin that they don't think they'll ever find themselves again. You know, Jesus gives us hope, and and this is a love as Christians. I I think we really have to try and portray. You know, sometimes I wonder if the whole world had a love like what Jesus did, it would be such an amazing place. I mean, I guess that's maybe why Jesus is making a place for us in heaven, right? Maybe we will have love like that. It's it's a perfect place, and down here there's sin, and we won't ever be perfect. I don't I don't think we'll ever be able to portray Jesus' love perfectly the way that He did. Uh I don't think that's possible, but we need to try. This world needs it. People need the love of Jesus. Whether you think you do or not, you need it. I need it. It's something that that we as men need to stand up and show those around us, talk about it, show God's love, right? It's important. The world needs Jesus and his love. This is uh another verse I'd written down. Uh, this one talks a little bit more about again, Jesus going to the cross, and I found this interesting actually. Um, I'll explain it to you in a second why. So Matthew 26, uh, verse 52 to 54. And so this is uh in red, this is Jesus speaking here. Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my father? And he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels. But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way? I I really I've really been thinking about this verse, and um for those of you that maybe don't know the Bible as well, this is after Jesus was betrayed by Judas, and uh Jesus was with his disciples, uh and so one of the disciples pulled a sword and cut off one of the enemy's ears, and Jesus is telling him to put his sword back, he tells him, Put your sword back, heals the guy's ear who is about to be a part of the murder of Jesus and and killing of Jesus, and Jesus heals him, and then he says, Um, do you think I cannot call on my father? And he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels. Guys, Jesus is saying if he called on God, God could have rescued him from this. You know, it's because of his love that that he went through with this, that he he died in this way to save us. It's because of his deep love for you and me that he decided to save us. Um Craig, I I think you and I have watched I think you've watched Passion of the Christ, right? Yeah, I have. Okay. Um I I'm gonna be honest, sometimes I have a hard time with movies because I feel like those emotions we should get from from reading the word of God. Um but basically this movie is uh it it shows a little bit kind of the life of Jesus and and a little bit what it would have looked like. Um you get to the point where they start beating Jesus before they crucify him, and it just breaks you down to your core. Uh

Loving Enemies And Radical Forgiveness

SPEAKER_01 1:19:31

you know, I I know you've talked about being emotional and and men crying, and I'll tell you what, you watch that movie, it's pretty hard to hold back tears. The thing is that Jesus' death, I I think was even worse than what the movie shows. Um I don't it's hard to understand, it's hard to to fully know what Jesus went through. And I know for myself I oftentimes overlook that, but you really think about what he went through, you know, being being mocked and being spit on, and you know, like I read with the guards, the way they blindfolded him, and then you know, they'd hit him. And he did this for for everybody. It's it's a love, it's a love that's hard to find. Um again, like I said, it's a love that I think this world lacks, and we as men I think need to do, I think we need to do our part in spreading that love of Jesus, living it out uh every day, you know, every second of every day. Pray to God that He would help you with that, right? People need to see that, and they need to know the love of Jesus. Yeah. Uh okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:53

Go ahead. Yeah, I was just gonna say the uh I'm kind of similar with being careful of like um what you take from movies. I think uh you watch the movies or watch the TV shows, like watch the chosen, whatever, but then go back to scripture. But also, um I think for me some of it is um it's kind of cool to see those story on those stories on film, and then I'm like, hey, I want to go read that in the Bible and see what's actually true or not. But the uh that scene where Jesus is beaten, um like being flogged and stuff like that, he like there was ribbons of flesh falling off of him, and it that scene is so gruesome in the passion, but what we don't realize is that's actually like just such that's a very dampened down version of what actually happened. Like he was beaten so badly that he was unrecognizable, and yeah, um he should have died from the beating. Like uh people that have uh studied uh like the accounts of of the uh like the trial crucifixion, um they've said that there's no way that he should have survived that and and he made it to the cross and then ultimately died on the cross. But um yeah, it's it's brutal. And like you were saying, he knew all this was gonna happen. Like because God is three in one, God the Father, God the Son, who is Jesus, and then God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son, he's he was still God, he knew he knew this was gonna happen. I mean, he pleaded in the in the garden, he said, like Lord, if it be your will, take this take this cup from me. I don't really want to do this, but that was his flesh speaking, and yeah, and he still did it, um, because it was the father's will that the son would be um given as a sacrifice for us, and uh the fact that he did that willingly and knowing what was coming, that's just insane to me. Like there is there's no greater love than that.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:41

No, and I think there's a lot to take away from from that story in the Bible, right? And you know, like you said, when he was in the garden, the Bible explains it as he was um having such great feelings that he was starting to sweat drops of blood. Yeah, like that is intense. And you read about how Jesus got up multiple times through the night to go and pray. He was he knew what was coming, and he didn't want to do it, but he was willing to do it for us.

unknown 1:24:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:29

That's why that's why as a Christian, sometimes it's hard to watch non-Christian people because it's like Jesus loves everybody, right? And it's just hard when people don't understand that love. You know, I I know Craig, you said you never you didn't really grow up a Christian, like with your parents and stuff, and I think that's so incredible that you've come to Christ, that you've been able to like just your story, I think, is so amazing that the love of Christ

Greatest Commandments And Daily Love

SPEAKER_01 1:25:05

changed your life, you know, and and that's my hope for the whole world is that they would come to know the love of Jesus because it does save. And in the world we live in, man, there's there's so many things that just knock us down, you know, yeah, whether it's a job, whether it's you know, things online, whether it's gambling, all these different sins that knock us down. Um whether you grew up in a home where maybe you weren't shown love like you should have been, you know, Jesus is there waiting to show you love. Um we just got to be willing to accept them and believe it. Right. I have uh a couple more verses here I would like to share. The next one is Matthew 22, uh 34 to 40. So, like Craig said earlier, this one is also a bit of a longer verse, but I think it kind of encompasses um the whole idea of what I would like to share here. So we're uh we're gonna go ahead and read this. Uh the heading of this one is called the greatest commandment. Hearing that, Jesus had silenced the Sadducees. The Pharisees got together, one of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment, and the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and prophets hang on these two commandments. So, like we were talking about earlier, Craig, I I think that the way Jesus explains how these are the two most important commandments. I think if love comes first, everything else follows, right? I think that just kind of reiterates what what we were speaking about earlier. How um the other fruits of the Spirit, I think, follow us as long as we have love. And I think it's interesting that Jesus pointed out that those are the two most important ones, too, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:27:40

Yeah, that's good. I like that.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:44

Yeah, I thought it was interesting. It just um I thought it was really cool, and it just really shows us the importance of love and what it means, right? And you know, look reading through it too, it doesn't say love God with your heart, with your soul and with your mind. It says love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all of your mind. Right? Every part of your being should love the Lord your God first. Every part of you. And then he says the second commandment is love your neighbor as yourself. And I think that's important because it's so easy to get angry with people in this world, um, you know, people you know, brothers, family, it's easy to get frustrated or upset with you know, people at work, anywhere in your life, it's it's easy. But when God says to love your neighbor as yourself, you know, we live in a world where, you know, like I said about the uh when we spoke about our testimonies, um, when it comes to fitness for myself, you know, I see that as loving myself. You know, I want to take care of my body, and um for me it got prideful, like I mentioned, but to love your neighbor as yourself, I think is just showing us that we need to care for them like we care for ourselves. Right? Put aside the anger, put aside the frustration, and choose love. Right? It's not easy, but it's rewarding, and you'll feel way more fulfilled by by doing that and loving your neighbor as yourself. Again, loving the Lord first with all your being. And I got one last verse to kind of wrap up my side of things here. I like this one because it explains to us what love is and what it's not, if that makes sense. Uh, so this one is 1 Corinthians 13. Again, another Bit of a longer uh section, but I'm gonna read it out to you guys here. So 1 Corinthians chapter 13. If I speak in tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking. So where I struggled a little bit it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails, but where there are prophecies they will cease, where there are tongues they will be stilled, where there is knowledge it will be passed, it will pass away, for we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when a completeness when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me, for now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

What Love Is: 1 Corinthians 13

SPEAKER_01 1:32:00

So again, it it talks about how important love is, and um, you know, as I was saying, I I think for a lot of people it's hard to believe that God can love us. Um while back, I was selling insurance. Um, Craig knows a little bit about this. Him and I worked for the same company at different times. Um but I came across we did a lot of door knocking and a lot of just going out and talking to random people. And so this one particular day we were doing some door knocking, and um I came across this gentleman who uh he didn't have a whole lot of time left, and he was sick. Um, I haven't spoken to him since. I I did I did talk to him a little bit that day though, and I just had a feeling like God was calling me to not talk to him about insurance. This was uh this was an eternity talk I needed to have with this guy, and and so I did. Um I told him I was a Christian and a little bit about what I believe, and and I asked him what his thoughts were, and so um he told me that he was an atheist. 100% atheist, didn't didn't believe in God. Uh it as a Christian it's kind of weird talking to somebody in that place uh who doesn't have much time left, but you know they don't believe in God because as Christians we believe there's heaven and hell. If you believe in Jesus, you go to heaven. Uh, if you don't, well, we believe that you go to hell, and um and again that's not my place to judge. That is that is God and God alone who judges at the end of each of our lives. But I asked this guy why he why he was an atheist or or why he didn't believe in God, and what he told me is um you look around the world and and all the rape, all the murder, all the sin, you know, all the innocent children who have these things happen to them. And even for those of you listening who think the same thing, uh all I want to say to you guys is that's that's not God. That's not God that's doing that. That's because of our sin from the beginning of time, and that's what I told this guy as well is that uh God loves us, you know, he doesn't how would I explain this? It's because of our sin that these things exist, it's because of our sin, it's because of us that rape happens, it's because of the lack of love, it's because we have fallen short of the glory of God. We are we are not you know, as the Bible says, all have fallen short of the glory of God, and we're never gonna be perfect, um, not on this earth, anyways. And I just want to tell you guys who who have the same thought as this guy, you know, like I said, that's not God. God loved us enough that he gave us free will. I want you to think about something. Let's say, let's say God never gave you a free will. Let's say that God, every time he asked you to do something, anytime he told you to do something, we just did it and we did it perfectly, right? We didn't we didn't have free will to choose for ourselves. Would you guys call that love? If you're a parent uh and you tell your kids to do something, or they didn't have a free will, but they were like a little robot that you could control, uh would you call that love? God gives us free will to choose love. And you know, for for this gentleman here, again, I I never got to talk to him after um after that conversation. But again, for those of you who are are on the same lines and you think that the world is a sinful place because of God, open the Bible, read it, pray. It's not because of God, it's because of you and me. God loved us enough that He gave us free will, He's giving us a way out for eternity, right? This world, no, this world is never gonna be perfect, but God has loved us enough that we get to choose. He gave us free will because of love, and I just want you guys really to think about that this week. You know, whether you're a Christian or not, and the things going on in the world, yeah, it's a sick place to live. It really is. There's a lot of gross stuff, there's a lot of unnecessary things going on. I would agree. Um, but I I would say also to really think about that. You know, think about the fact that God loved you enough to give you a free will and that you have a choice. Um yeah, for myself, I mean that's that's kind of the direction God took me with love. Uh, if you guys have questions, if there's anything you'd like to discuss more, I know I know a lot of people may not agree with me on this, and I'm totally fine with that. I would love to talk to you more about it if you do have questions and and you wonder why I'm thinking about that. But like I say, I I do think that's something that we all need to think about is the free will that God gave us out of love.

SPEAKER_03 1:39:30

Yeah, that's good. I uh I would agree with the direction that you went uh with that conversation as well. Um I've heard it said, like a good analogy is uh there's not really any, there's no such thing as light and darkness. Like darkness doesn't exist, darkness is just the absence of light, right? And the same way with good and evil, evil doesn't happen because God makes it happen, it happens because God is absent from those people's lives. And if God was in their life, there would be fruit and there would be light and not darkness. So like thinking about the fact that there is bad in the world is not proof that God doesn't exist, it's yeah, almost actually proof that he does. Think about it. It is. Um, yeah, and if we go all the way back to the garden, um Adam and Eve, they they sin because they listen to Satan in the garden, they listen to his lies. Um God had one rule don't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And um they were they were there and and uh they were looking at this tree and they're like, oh man, this stuff looks really good. And uh Satan comes, a serpent, and he's like, God, like, uh, how'd it go? They I what does it say? Maybe we should just go there. What is it? It would be.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:26

I like the way you put that. I I think that kind of I feel like my point maybe wasn't super clear. I think that wrapped it up really well. Um, yeah, I like what you said there. It's just the absence of light, and and again, that's why we're talking about love today, because the world lacks love and there's a lot of absence of love. And I think if we bring love back into the world as Christ calls us to do, as Christ like men, I think things could eventually change. I mean, yeah, it's a big process, but um that's what Christ calls us to, and as men, we need to start living that out.

SPEAKER_03 1:42:07

Yeah, okay, I found it. Genesis chapter three. Um The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals uh the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, Did God really say you must not eat from the fruit of any of the trees in the garden? Of course we may eat from the trees in the garden, the woman replied. It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said you must not eat it or even touch it. If you do you will die. You won't die, the serpent replied to the woman. God knows that your eyes will be open as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil. The woman was convinced she saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it, then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too. At that moment their eyes were open, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. So you can see the lies that Satan spins. He you he uses God's word, even.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:31

Yep. He just doesn't add everything in there, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:43:37

Right. Yeah, he uh he doesn't tell the whole truth. Um even when uh even when he tried to tempt Jesus, right? He used yeah, he used God's word, and and he tried to tempt Jesus as well. So uh Satan's this lie guy. Uh we shouldn't fall into his lies, and uh if we don't want to fall for trap for the lies, we need to understand the truth, and the truth is God's word. So we need to be in God's word uh if we're to decipher the truth from the lies or the lies from the truth, however that goes. Um but I'll just kind of do a little bit of uh wrap-up here, um, a

Free Will, Evil, And God’s Love

SPEAKER_03 1:44:30

recap. So I talked about uh the four different types of love: agape, which is selfless love, uh Phileo, which is bother brotherly love, storge, which is family love, Eros, which is romantic love, um, and then our key verse that we talked about, John 3.16. Um, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, uh, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Um that's just memory. Sorry, my Bible was closed. Uh but uh yeah, what what I want to encourage you guys uh to do is think about um like for the types of love, which type of love do you need to grow in the most? Um like Colton said earlier, ask the Lord to open your eyes um where you're falling short, and I believe that he will be faithful to show you and and guide you um where he wants you to be. Um my closing remark would be that love isn't a feeling to chase, it's a choice in how we live, and the closer we walk with Christ, um the more naturally that love flows from us. And uh, yeah, whatever you have to close out your thoughts there, Colton, you could share.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:03

Yeah, I I think the only thing I was gonna mention is um, you know, I talked about believing in Jesus, and um that's how we get to heaven. Being a Christian is walking with Jesus, knowing Jesus. He wants to know you, it's not just believing in him. Uh he wants to know you personally. And to do that, well, read the Bible and pray. That's a good start. That's right. So I just want to leave you guys with that. You know, if um if you feel like your life is empty and you're missing something, open the Bible, try praying, just see what happens.

SPEAKER_03 1:46:46

Yeah, seek the Lord. Um I what come to mind too when you were talking is uh it's relationship over religion, right? God wants a relationship with you, yes, He is a personal God, and um a lot of other religions are not that way, and um there's there's no other God that um came down uh to earth, humbled himself uh to live a human life. Uh he you know Jesus went through all the things that you struggle with. You can come to him, you can bring those to him, lay them at his feet, and uh and he'll take those burdens from you. So that would be that'd be my prayer for for you guys that that don't know him, that you would seek him if you don't have a Bible, try to get one. Um you might know somebody that has one. Um there's usually I know there's a store in um in Grand Prairie there, down on Main Street, uh downtown, go get one. Um or reach out to us, uh we'll get you one. Uh if if you can't find one anywhere else. Um and if you have any questions uh regarding what it looks like to to commit your life to the Lord and and repent, um again, reach out to us. We'd love to have a conversation with you. We want to really hammer home that this podcast, this outreach is not a one-way conversation. Um we wanna we really want to have boots on the ground, we want to talk to you guys. Um and we want to we want to lead lives to the Lord. Um we want to do the kingdom's work. And uh so yeah, do you want to go for coffee? Reach out if you're local, or we can have a phone call, like Holton said before, or whatever it takes, we'll have a conversation. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:49:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:49:18

I think uh that kind of rounds rounds it out for us. Uh kind of ends it on a good note. Shared the gospel. It's good. That's always a good thing. Uh I know uh man, we today, actually this afternoon, we watched uh Billy Graham um documentary. Man, that guy's story, that guy's story is insane. Um the Lord really used him in a huge way. Wow. Um And is still using him, obviously, through the through the documentary and everything like that. He's you know, in his last in his last interview on tape, he shared the gospel. So um I think that's a good a good way for us to uh what is the word? It's uh I'm tired. It's a good example. It's a good example for us uh to see that and and how we want to be uh through this and and through our conversations with people is we want to stay on we want to stay on track and um be sharing the gospel with people and leading people to Christ. And I mean sometimes I know um it's been a hard thing for me to like when you share with people, you want to see it all the way through. But sometimes you're just uh you're just a seed. Sometimes you're just a seed planter, right? You don't get to see the you don't get to see the fruits of your labor. You can you can plant a seed, you can plant an idea in someone's head. Even through this, someone might listen to this, and 10 years down the road, then they finally give their life to Christ or whatever it might be. Um but yeah, I'd urge you not to wait because you're not promised tomorrow. So um anyway, I could keep rambling on and on, but uh I'm so fun talking about this. Yeah, it is. It's really it's it's so good. Um but I can uh if you want, I can close this out in prayer, and then we can we can work on getting to bed. Let's do it. Yeah, okay. Um Father God, I just thank you for um for this platform. Um and for the people that have listened so far. Lord, I pray that you continue to use us to further your kingdom. Um I continue to pray that um that we would stay humble. Keep us humble, Lord, as we go through this uh and as we put our ideas out there uh for people to listen to. Uh when people give us a pat on the back, help us to um to point towards you and give you the glory. Lord, we give you all the glory um for everything that happens through this, um, for all the words that we say. Um pray that they be your words. And um, I just pray for the people that are listening as well, um wherever they're at. Uh just be with them in in their struggles. People are dealing with different things, and um, whether they're believers or not, um especially pray for the ones that are seeking, Lord. They're uh they're just lost, they don't know what direction to go in life. Uh things seem really hard, and God just show them that you are the answer. Um we know that you you don't promise us an easy life afterwards,

Recap, Reflection, And Prayer

SPEAKER_03 1:53:20

but Lord, we have hope um in you and and we're able to relinquish things to you once we give our life to you, and and Lord, it's just a burden lifted, as we've shared before, and um you just renew us and we become a new creation in you. And uh just pray that for for the ones that are listening that you you call them, that you soften their heart. Pray as we uh prepare for the next episode again that the words would be yours, not our own. And help us to have the words to say when people reach out and and have questions, and then we would ultimately point to you and towards your word for the answers. I pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 1:54:21

Amen.