S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Man, it matters more than anything. Okay. I hinted around
S2: my big old sled dog, Alaska. I got to tell
S2: the story, and then I'll tell the rest of the story.
S2: Because there's a great spiritual principle. Whenever you whenever you
S2: watch a dog, you can learn a lot about the
S2: spiritual life.
S3: Carl. So when we asked recently on social media, I
S3: asked people to share what is their favorite Carl Alaska story.
S3: This story that you're about to tell about Alaska, about
S3: this is your favorite story, about that Carl tells about
S3: his Alaskan adventures, the story about Alaska. The sled dog
S3: was the number one vote getter. Yeah, this was the
S3: one that is the favorite of the boom crew. Okay,
S3: so go ahead and tell it.
S2: So I'm finishing up the last. I had 70 miles
S2: to go on the Yukon River and it was tough.
S2: I was going right into the wind. I was so
S2: sleep deprived. I'm tying myself to the sled handle bar sleeping,
S2: standing up. I mean, I was I was a hurting
S2: young man. I'm 18 years old. Came sliding into the
S2: village of Caltech at about 3 a.m., and I look
S2: around and like, there's no checkers there. This is like
S2: six years into the Iditarod, guys. It's hard for me
S2: to remember that I ran that race back in 1979
S2: when it was just it was just new, you know,
S2: and back then it felt like it had been going
S2: on forever. But it was just six years. So it
S2: was wild. I get into the village checkpoint and I
S2: couldn't find any checkers anywhere, so I put in my
S2: emergency brake, which is a Snowhook, stomped it into the ground,
S2: told the dogs, I said, hang on guys, I'm going
S2: to get you fed up here in a moment. But
S2: I got to get checked in. You talk to your
S2: team after a while when you're out with dogs only
S2: for a couple of years, pretty quick. You're carrying on
S2: conversations with them and they've amazingly, they know exactly what's
S2: going on.
S4: Of course.
S2: So I'm looking around. I see a light in this
S2: cabin and I knock on the door. I get inside
S2: and the minute I get inside, I hear all hell
S2: breaking loose outside with a dog fight. And I'm like, no.
S2: And I knew it wasn't my team because they didn't
S2: fight with each other. And I come out and by
S2: this time, by the time I get back outdoors to
S2: the team, the aftermath is there. Some dogs in the
S2: village had been loosened off their chains and out of
S2: their kennels, and they saw these, my team infringing on
S2: their turf, and they had attacked my team. But I
S2: had one dog in the wheel, which is right next
S2: to the sled. His name is Alaska and he decided
S2: to defend the whole team. He's big, strong, beautiful, white haired,
S2: blue eyed, husky, beautiful man. And I looked down in
S2: the snow, guys. And it's just the snow is running
S2: red with blood. And I'm like, no, no. And Alaska
S2: looks up to me and he goes, I defended him dead.
S2: I took care of him. So I grab up Alaska
S2: and I take him inside. Now I've got a veterinarians
S2: awake and he's looking them over and he says, oh, man,
S2: he's chewed up. They went after his belly and went
S2: after his hind legs. And I said, I'm going to
S2: stay here for seven hours. I'm going to feed my team,
S2: and I'm going to try to try to get him
S2: because I need him. He's my muscle. I got to
S2: have him, especially when I get on to the Norton
S2: Sound coast of the Bering Sea. Man, I got to
S2: got to have my dog. He's my muscle. Waited seven
S2: hours and I should have known it. I think the
S2: vet knew it and he didn't want to break it
S2: to me at the time. But Alaska had gotten so
S2: seized up from his wounds he couldn't even get up
S2: to walk, let alone Won't run. And I'm looking at him.
S2: I said, Alaska, I got to drop you here, man.
S2: And he let out a couple little whimpers like, come on, man,
S2: don't tell me my race is over. I gave him
S2: to the checker and I said, hold him here. And
S2: they put him off in a kennel that had he's
S2: on a he's on a restraint. And then he's inside
S2: a fenced area really secure. And I pulled the snowhook
S2: after seven hours and gave my team the command, and
S2: they were all down a little bit. We rounded this corner.
S2: They looked left, saw the last guy, couldn't even look left,
S2: and he's up trying to stand up and he's. Going, hey, hey,
S2: you're leaving me. As heartsick, we climbed up out of
S2: Caltech over pretty steep paths. And I'm like, man, do
S2: I need Alaska? Took me 24 hours to make it
S2: 99 miles. I had to get out in front of
S2: my team several times and put on snowshoes. And they
S2: don't have to do that anymore. And the Iditarod. It's
S2: pretty groomed relative to what it was. And I got
S2: I mean, I was it was a long haul to Unalakleet,
S2: got into Unalakleet, got there, got my team staked out.
S2: Now I'm focused on the race in front of me,
S2: and I go into a home that invited me in
S2: for a big old bowl of like, caribou chili, and
S2: I'm sitting on this bowl. I've still got my bark on,
S2: but my fox mittens are off and my beaver hat
S2: is off. And, you know, I got sweat pouring off
S2: my scalp. I mean, it was quite a sight. Knock
S2: at the door, they open it up. There's a young
S2: girl from the village of Unalakleet. Is is musher number
S2: seven in here? And I said yeah, I'm number seven.
S2: That's my bib number. Says you're your dog got loose
S2: from your team out here. One of your dogs got loose.
S2: And I walk outside and I walk around the corner
S2: and look at my dogs and they're all here. I said,
S2: what do you mean? She said, because we got a dog.
S2: And I walk around the corner right near the the
S2: checker station where the ham radio operators are and everything.
S2: And about that time there's Alaska. I said, oh, hold
S2: it here. The ham radio operator, he's watching all this
S2: go down and he gets on the horn and he says, hey, Caltech, Caltech,
S2: this is Unalakleet. Yeah. Go ahead. Unilaterally. He says, hey, uh,
S2: if you had any planes come out of there because
S2: they transport dogs that are dropped to bigger towns villages
S2: like Unalakleet. They transport them in small planes like 180
S2: or super cubs. They said, no, we've not transported any
S2: dogs out of here in the last 48 hours. Too
S2: much cloud cover. But we have had a dog that
S2: we lost and we can't find them. A ham radio
S2: operator says from team number seven. Yeah. Team number seven.
S2: My dog Alaska, my wheel dog, somehow chewed his way
S2: or broke his way free from a chain, jumped the
S2: fence and probably crawled a good bit of the way,
S2: but did everything he could to follow me 99 miles
S2: all the way to uniquely.
S3: Oh, man. Wow.
S2: And when I saw him. It was quite a reunion.
S2: I'd already officially dropped him. He'd walked off most of
S2: his wounds, guys, so I had to leave him in late.
S2: But to this day, I'll never forget the tenacious love
S2: of my wheel dog, Alaska. What a dude. What a dude.
S2: So that's all you're getting today about my dog, Alaska?
S3: That is just one of the most epic stories ever.
S5: You could retell that story again and again, and it's
S5: just fine.
S4: It needs to be. I mean.
S3: I love that story.
S5: I mean, how did he.
S4: The reunion of the two of you. So many.
S5: How did he track you for 99 miles?
S2: Well, I mean, there's one trail and they've got a
S2: good nose.
S5: But yeah.
S2: How to get free? How do you walk it off?
S2: How do you walk it off?
S5: How do you jump a fence?
S2: I mean, I had an image in my mind of
S2: him dragging his hindquarters on his front legs, and I'm
S2: assuming he had to do that a little bit. I mean,
S2: he had a little bit of kind of giddy up
S2: in the back legs, but not a lot.
S5: How far behind you do you think he was?
S2: Well, he caught up to me, so I don't, you know,
S2: it took him 24 hours or. I don't know how long.
S2: We don't know how long it took him to cover
S2: that ground. Yeah, no one will ask. He probably made
S2: it in 8 to 10 hours, man.
S4: And then to leave him again? Oh, man.
S2: Yeah, but he knew then what was going down. Yeah,
S2: he knew then what was going down. He he's just
S2: taking a long shot on rejoining the team.
S4: Like hey, how much he loved you.
S2: Yeah, he loved me, man. He loved me. He loved me.
S2: Goodness sakes. I'm sorry, I'm in Unalakleet right now. Well,
S2: sorry about that.
S3: If you want that story in written form, if you
S3: want to see it, if you want to read it
S3: again or share it, we do have that for you.
S3: You can just text the word Alaska to 800 555 78, 98.
S3: If you want to share that or read it again,
S3: just text Alaska to 800 555 7898.
S2: I think I think we got misty eyes super dry
S2: in here right now. Kind of.
S4: Good.
S2: Doesn't it? Oh boy.
S5: Someone just texted and said, I'm not crying with my coffee.
S5: You are.
S4: No, I'm crying, I admit it. Yeah, I admit it.
S2: He's a good guy. Every once in a while, I
S2: cry about my dogs. When I think about them, I
S2: don't cry, but I get a little misty eyed.
S4: Of course.
S2: Yeah. Get that story. Just text the word Alaska to us.
S2: I didn't know you had that handy there. Okay. Our
S2: number here (800) 555-7898. It's a good one to read to
S2: your kids or grandkids, right, Ali?
S3: Yes. Yeah. I'm going to read this one to my kids.
S3: I told them about it before and they were like, how? What?
S3: I'm going to tell them again. Yeah.
S2: That story made it into a 50th anniversary of the
S2: start of the race called Iditarod, the early years or
S2: something like that, a big old hardback book. And when
S2: I submitted it, they texted me. They emailed me back
S2: and said, Holy cow, this is epic. And there's epic
S2: stories in there, but this has got to be one
S2: of the better ones for sure. I'm a little biased.
S2: All right. Coming up in a few minutes. Have we
S2: got a treat for you? Right, Ali?
S3: Another story that might make you a little teary eyed,
S3: but this one is one of absolute rescue a unique
S3: ministry will introduce you to. Coming up.
S1: A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is
S1: in the crew. It's Karl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: One of the toughest things that I ever encountered, and
S2: I don't mind sharing this. Here is I had a
S2: teacher that said something about me when I was in
S2: high school, and she actually printed it in the yearbook.
S2: It was one of these things where I'm supposed to
S2: get this, this life statement underneath my photo, and I'm
S2: busy training for the Iditarod Trail Race. And the last
S2: thing in my mind was a life statement. It's like,
S2: run to Nome. I said, what I probably would have
S2: put or who knows what I put, but she put
S2: one in for me because I didn't get mine in.
S2: And she said, after all is said and done, there's
S2: a lot more said than done. And that etched its
S2: way onto my heart and mind, and I know that
S2: it did, because I remember I can quote it to
S2: this day, Ali.
S3: And it was back in.
S2: Senior year of high school.
S3: Yeah. You know, and it's it's wild how you can
S3: hear 50 positive things in a day. But if someone
S3: says something to you that's critical or hurtful or negative, boy,
S3: you go home thinking about one thing, that one thing
S3: and not the 50 others.
S2: It brands you. So what happens? You get grown up
S2: in Christ. And now I got a way to process
S2: that because I know who I am in Jesus. And
S2: that's certainly not my life moniker. In fact, it's the
S2: opposite of that. But what happens when you get something
S2: physically that's just like, shh. This is who you are.
S2: We got one of the most crazy ministries going. If
S2: you sit there and you go, well, let's think of
S2: a ministry.
S6: You ain't thinking of this one. There's no way you're thinking.
S6: No way you're dreaming this one up, Ali.
S3: No, no, but one guy did. Chris Baker, founder of Inc. 180.
S3: For those who are new listening, tell us what is
S3: Inc 180?
S7: So Inc 180. We started in 2011. I've been a
S7: tattoo artist for 31 years, and when I found Christ
S7: at 38, I was really looking for a way to
S7: serve and just prayed. Prayed a lot about it. And
S7: the answer I got was go do what you love
S7: to do more than anything else, and do it for
S7: free to help people that are trying to change their lives.
S7: And I was like, well, I love tattooing more than
S7: anything else, but there's enough people that give me a
S7: hard time about that, and I don't really know that
S7: that's doing God's work. But, uh.
S2: I.
S7: Kept praying.
S2: Testament passages at.
S6: You, man. Yeah.
S7: Amen. Yeah. All day, every day, brother. Yeah. But it's all.
S7: It's all good. I kept praying, and the Lord was like, hey,
S7: I told you what to do and stop questioning me
S7: and get to work. And we started in 180 to
S7: start removing gang tattoos in 2011 for free. And just
S7: trying to help people live as a new creation. Like
S7: Second Corinthians 517 says, you know the old is dead
S7: and the new has come. But it's pretty hard to
S7: live out that new life when you're wearing the evidence
S7: of your old life all over your face, neck and
S7: hands every day.
S2: Yeah.
S3: Explain that a little bit more. This idea that there
S3: are physical markings that would identify you with a certain gang,
S3: or a lot of times in the world of trafficking,
S3: there are tattoos that are used in a really destructive way.
S3: Explain that for people who that's that's brand new information
S3: to them.
S7: Yeah. You know, so when when people are in gangs,
S7: they're proud of that. That's their whole identity. That's what
S7: that's their family. And they're very proud to wear those
S7: markings of the gang, whatever it is, pitchforks or crowns, whatever.
S7: Different gangs have different symbols that they use to identify themselves.
S7: But of course, when they want out of that life,
S7: it's the first thing they want to get rid of
S7: is those visible, in-your-face kind of markings, because they want
S7: to now get out of that life and fly under
S7: the radar. The trafficking stuff, really, it just disgusts me.
S7: I mean, when I learned about sex trafficking through a
S7: meeting I had with Homeland Security back in 2011, they
S7: started showing me pictures of of these branding tattoos that
S7: pimps and traffickers would put on their victims to symbolize
S7: them as a piece of product that could be bought, sold, traded,
S7: or thrown away at any, any given time we saw
S7: things like barcode tattoos or property of tattoos. Right? We
S7: see a lot of we see a lot of gang
S7: tattoos also forced onto them, because gangs, of course, are
S7: very prevalent in the world of trafficking. So when they
S7: get out of that life, you know, a lot of
S7: people tell me they're like, well, what's the big deal there?
S7: Aren't they just happy to be out of that life? Well,
S7: of course they are. That's a silly question. But, you know,
S7: you don't want to walk around with these tattoos. They're
S7: often vulgar, disgusting words tattooed against their will onto their face,
S7: their neck, their hands. They're always in very prominent, very
S7: visible areas because those traffickers also want it known that, hey,
S7: this is my property. And, you know, for the second
S7: time in modern world history, I saw the art form
S7: that I love so much used in such a disgusting way.
S7: Of course, the other was the Holocaust.
S2: Yeah. Chris Baker is our guest right now. Chris, I
S2: when you. Yeah, it was State Department or the feds
S2: basically got Ahold of you and said, hey, can you
S2: help us out here? Right? I mean, you ultimately had
S2: at least a stretch of time. I'm sure you get
S2: called out from time to time still. What was that
S2: like the first time you did? Is it a cover
S2: up or is it. Can you actually take that and
S2: artistically kind of totally rename. I mean, I'm curious how
S2: does that work?
S7: Yeah, a lot of times, you know, we offer free
S7: removals or free cover ups. So a cover up for
S7: those that don't know, basically you're just putting a different
S7: tattoo over the old one to blend it out, to
S7: disguise it so that it can't be seen anymore. And
S7: all you see is the new design. And quite often
S7: that's what survivors want to do. They want to cover
S7: it up because they do like tattoos. They just hate
S7: the one that they were forced to get. And, you know,
S7: I'll ask them, hey, what do you want to cover
S7: this with design wise? And they're like, you know, just
S7: black it out, just put black ink over it. I
S7: just don't want to see it. And I'm like, well,
S7: I want to give you something beautiful that gives you hope. Yeah, yeah,
S7: I've been doing this for a minute. So, you know,
S7: I always offer, I offer up ideas, things that symbolize
S7: transformation or hope or change. Things like butterflies or floral designs.
S7: Phoenix tattoos, Lotus blossoms are a very popular option because
S7: they're beautiful, vibrant flowers that grow out of mud and swamps.
S7: So they symbolize something beautiful growing out of something not
S7: so beautiful.
S3: We've got Chris Baker with us right now, founder of
S3: ink 180, a phenomenal ministry that offers cover up tattoos
S3: and tattoo removal. This is a ministry. Give us a
S3: story that stands out in your mind. That's kind of like,
S3: this is why I continue to do this.
S7: Yeah, I was in the Super Bowl this year down
S7: in New Orleans, removing covering tattoos for survivors and helping
S7: our federal, state and local law enforcement partners look for
S7: other victims. And, you know, we had a number of
S7: of cover ups and removals. I did 212 of them
S7: this year at the Super Bowl.
S8: My goodness.
S7: Yeah. There was one young survivor that just really touched
S7: my heart. She was a 12 year old African-American girl.
S7: And on her lower back, her trafficker etched property of
S7: daddy into her skin. And I removed that tattoo for her.
S7: But the beautiful part about that interaction with her and
S7: being able to help her with that was not really
S7: the tattoo itself or the tattoo removal. It was the
S7: conversation and holding space for these survivors and letting them
S7: talk if they choose to. Never really asking them questions.
S7: But I had a beautiful conversation with her about just
S7: the the idea of this property of daddy, and we
S7: see that on a lot of these trafficking survivors, unfortunately.
S7: But we had a really great talk. She grew up
S7: in the church, uh, Southern Baptist Church with her, her
S7: mom and her grandma. And we were really starting to
S7: talk about what a father really is. And daddy, what
S7: that represents and her foundation in Jesus. And that's the
S7: only father she needs to really look up to. And
S7: these others that try to tell them that's what they
S7: were and who she was and what she was were wrong,
S7: and that she's rooted in Jesus and he was going
S7: to restore her fully in this situation. So just to
S7: be able to to have those conversations and be present
S7: for people, you know, I used to be a person
S7: that would very quickly hear part of somebody's problem and
S7: throw like four solutions at them. And what the Lord's
S7: taught me over the last 14 years is, you know,
S7: I'm not about the solutions. Jesus is about the solutions.
S7: And just having those kind of conversations with folks is
S7: the best part of my job.
S2: Chris Baker, the numbers from the Super Bowl. Does that
S2: shock you, Ali?
S3: Very much so. How many did you say you did? 200?
S3: Over 200.
S7: I did 212 cover ups and removals. And then, um,
S7: as far as the search goes, we were able, as
S7: a huge group of people, we were able to find
S7: 519 victims and turn them into survivors.
S2: You know, I think we hear stories like that. And
S2: I think the question is, what can we do? And
S2: we're going to have a link for you in a
S2: little bit here. The Spirit of God convicted me that
S2: we need to get Chris, who's a great communicator, as
S2: you can tell, into as many churches across the United
S2: States and youth ministries and collegiate ministries as possible, because
S2: there is an appetite nationally that is growing to address
S2: this need. There is a bit of an appetite growing,
S2: isn't there, Chris? I mean, if you get the I mean,
S2: if you get the federal government and state and local
S2: governments asking you to pitch in, they see the need.
S2: They might not even know the spiritual component behind it,
S2: but they see the need to to remove this mark, right?
S7: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I travel all across the country
S7: and beyond. I was in Kathmandu, Nepal last year, which
S7: was a tremendous blessing. But yeah, you know, the need
S7: is great, unfortunately. We're always trying to add other tattoo
S7: artists and tattoo removal companies across the country to set
S7: up a network. But, you know, I was just down
S7: in Austin, Texas last week at South by Southwest, speaking
S7: about what we do. And you know, I love the
S7: educational side of of what we do because people can't
S7: help fix what they don't know about. And trafficking is
S7: one of those things that the media has done a
S7: much better job over the last few years of educating folks,
S7: but I just feel anything I can do to educate
S7: a parent or a child about things like social media
S7: safety or just trafficking in general will help keep them
S7: safe and out of my tattoo chair getting something removed.
S2: Yeah, this is one of those stories that you hear, Ali,
S2: and I mean, it grabs you by the throat and
S2: it won't let you go. If you if you got
S2: a spiritual pulse at all and and but the hope
S2: in this is that Chris Baker. And that's cool that
S2: you're building a network of of tattoo artists that have
S2: the same heart as you, bro. That's unbelievable. So when
S2: you hear this, you're like, oh boy, what do we
S2: do with this? I feel prompted by the spirit that
S2: we need to get Chris on your campus, at your church.
S2: And I don't care if you got a church of
S2: 15,000 people. People need to hear this. And I don't
S2: care if you got a youth group of 40 kids.
S2: Kids need to hear this. And so we set up
S2: a link today that goes to his website. There's ways
S2: to donate on there too. So make no mistake about
S2: it because some of you are like, hey, come on man,
S2: we're going to give this guy some money for this.
S2: He's doing this for did you hear the price he's charging? Free. Free.
S2: So come on man. You want to link to find
S2: out more about Inc One-eighty and Chris Baker? We got
S2: it for you right now.
S3: Just text ink to 800 555, 78, 98. Ink, ink
S3: to 800 555 7898. You can check out the website.
S3: There's some cool pictures. You can find out how to
S3: book him to speak, how to contribute to this great ministry. Inc.
S3: to 800 555 7898.
S1: He was running from God, but God's love brought him home.
S1: Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on
S1: Moody Radio.
S5: Good morning, I'm Jonathan and hey, let's get you updated
S5: with your top news story for the day. This story
S5: from Fox News. The cease fire between Israel and Hamas
S5: is over. As Israeli fighter jets began striking the Gaza
S5: Strip after Hamas refused repeated hostage deal extension offers. Officials
S5: have said. Defense Minister Israel Katz made a statement saying, quote,
S5: the decision comes after Hamas repeatedly refused to release our
S5: hostages and rejected all proposals presented by the US president's envoy,
S5: Steve Witkoff as well as the mediators. Israel will intensify
S5: its military actions against Hamas moving forward. Authorities have said.
S5: I'm Jonathan and that is your update.
S2: I saw this breaking news last night. It's it's not
S2: just in Gaza Strip against Hamas. I mean, there's been
S2: strikes in Lebanon and Syria and actually, uh, Iran dispatched
S2: a lot of their air force. They got a little jittery.
S2: I instantly thought, I got to get Michael Roy on here.
S2: Not only get an overview of what's going on right
S2: now with this attack and kind of where we stand,
S2: but also talk to some of the theological angles here,
S2: specifically just war. Uh, Michael, thanks for ducking in here
S2: this morning. So early. Appreciate you, brother.
S9: Good to be with you. Thanks.
S2: Okay. What what is going on? There's so much misinformation,
S2: quite frankly. Yeah. Um, what's what's going on?
S9: First of all, the cease fire is actually officially been
S9: over for about two and a half weeks. Uh, whatever
S9: March 1st is when it officially ended. The phase one
S9: of it. Uh, the there there have been repeated attempts
S9: to extend it by Steve Witkoff, our negotiator from the
S9: United States. Uh, Israel has been trying. They they've held
S9: quiet even though the cease fire has been over. Uh,
S9: they've been quiet at this point. Hamas, if they are
S9: just going to continue like Israel was continuing, continuing. Nine
S9: more hostages would have been released, but they have just
S9: been obstructing because the only reason they will release hostages
S9: is if Israel surrenders, which is never going to happen
S9: on this. So, uh, the United States president, President Trump,
S9: pretty much has said, uh, if if Hamas doesn't release hostages,
S9: then he said that there will be a very serious
S9: consequence for Hamas. And and this looks like it's begun now. Uh, the, uh,
S9: there there have been strikes. Israeli air force strikes in Gaza.
S9: A lot of the leaders of Hamas have been taken
S9: out or been eliminated. Yeah, yeah. Overnight. And then the
S9: attacks in Syria and and in Lebanon are like in Lebanon,
S9: they took out two Hezbollah terrorists that were, uh, practicing surveillance, uh,
S9: in southern Lebanon, which is against the cease fire that
S9: they have. They were taken out. Assad's military stores in
S9: southern Syria were taken out. And the reason Israel, I believe,
S9: did this, I am I don't have any special insight,
S9: but just looking at it in the past, Hezbollah and
S9: other countries have tried to get involved. So when Israel
S9: was going to start this up, I think there was
S9: a real clear message sent to Hezbollah and Lebanon and
S9: to the new regime in Syria, this Al-Qaeda leader that
S9: has become the president is don't get involved in what's
S9: going to happen.
S2: Abu Mohammed al-Qahtani Abu Mohammed al-Qahtani, who ironically, had a
S2: $10 million bounty on his head for his affairs with
S2: the al Qaeda. He's a he's a he's a bad dude. Um,
S2: I want to shift gears here a little bit, Michael. Uh,
S2: I got up early this morning and was studying just
S2: war theory, and I was curious who in the world
S2: invented this. It's actually Thomas Aquinas who had originated with
S2: 13th century. And he has three stages of the of
S2: this legitimate authority. It can't just be individuals or groups.
S2: It's got to be a declared waged war by a
S2: proper authority, sovereign, ruler or government. Just cause a war
S2: must be waged for a morally right reason such as self-defense,
S2: the punishment of evil, or the protection of the innocent.
S2: And he has tons of biblical citations for these. And
S2: then the third one is right intention. I love that one.
S2: A primary objective of war should be to achieve justice
S2: and restore peace. You know, it's really weird. We live
S2: in this soundbite age today, Michael, that's so bizarre. It's
S2: like we don't want. And I understand this. This is
S2: the great dilemma. Because there are going to be innocent
S2: lives that are lost even when you're. But the attempt
S2: is to stave off.
S8: Yeah.
S2: A more intense massacre. Pour out your heart on just
S2: war theory.
S9: Well, I think that a simple thing to understand. People
S9: have a hard time with. War is always wrong. Know
S9: when you read Romans 13 four, which is talking about
S9: secular government. It's not talking about a theocracy, a government
S9: by God. This is secular government. And in Romans 13
S9: four Paul writes, for government is God's servant to you
S9: for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because
S9: it does not carry the sword for no reason. For
S9: government is God's servant and avenger that brings wrath on
S9: the one who does wrong. So twice in this passage
S9: it says that secular government is God's servant. God's going
S9: to use it. There's a responsibility that governments have to
S9: punish the wicked and protect the innocent. And that's right
S9: there in that verse. It's God's servant as an avenger
S9: that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. And
S9: it's been given the sword. It does not carry the
S9: sword for no reason. I think that's so important to
S9: remember that the sword in first century talking here about
S9: the Roman government, for example, that would be the assault
S9: weapon of the first century. The sword wasn't just anything
S9: that was like the M-16 of that day.
S2: And Peter carried one, by the way.
S9: Yeah. And so the point of that is, yes, it
S9: has to be for the right reason, against the right enemy,
S9: for the right purpose. Yeah. But it is something that
S9: God has ordained, and that's hard for a lot of
S9: Bible believers to accept. But, you know, in Ecclesiastes chapter three,
S9: there's a time for war and a time for peace,
S9: and there are reasons to go to war. Yeah, that's
S9: a wisdom principle. That's not just, you know, something that
S9: happened in the past.
S3: Doctor Michael Riedel, our guest. Right now, I'm going to
S3: ask you for a little bit of advice, Doctor Rydell.
S3: I hope that this is okay. I have a I
S3: have a high school student who goes to a public
S3: high school here in Chicago. And because of how a
S3: lot of the narrative of this conflict has played out,
S3: we've seen a rise in anti-Semitism. It's it creeps into
S3: a lot of different spaces. How would you advise young
S3: people who are trying to talk to their peers who
S3: are very anti-Israel? How would you advise young people and
S3: anyone who wants to navigate this, trying to explain why
S3: we stand with Israel in the face of growing opposition.
S3: Give me some advice.
S9: I'm not sure that I always have to convince my peers.
S9: You know, it's just like anything you have to kind
S9: of evaluate do. Do I need to change their mind
S9: or do I not? Are they open or are they closed?
S9: That's those are some of the issues. But if I'm
S9: asked why I stand with Israel, I would say that
S9: the media doesn't always present the facts as they are,
S9: particularly where young people are getting their facts. Not usually
S9: from school, but really from reels on on their phones.
S9: You know, they're watching little minute videos and that's not
S9: a trustworthy source. If you are looking at at Instagram,
S9: that's not where you're going to get your information. And
S9: to me, I think that's one of the most important
S9: things to say that there's I would say if there's
S9: no context of history, there's no listen, they they have
S9: forgotten October 7th. Yeah, I think that that's amazing.
S2: Michael, let me let me jump in here and say
S2: that here's what's wild. We live in such a soundbite culture,
S2: we can't even remember. Back to October 7th this morning,
S2: I spent 40 minutes reading the forensic report that has
S2: come out recently on the massacre on October 7th. Michael,
S2: I could not read every sentence.
S9: No you.
S8: Can't. I couldn't.
S2: Take it. It is so unbelievably evil. And yet we
S2: live in a world soundbite culture. Allie's right man. These
S2: kids are getting these reels, man. They're getting these clips.
S2: And it's like, okay, do we have the broader context here?
S2: And you know what's interesting, Michael? You just you really
S2: can't talk people into this because for some behind this
S2: thing there is a spiritual component. Right, Allie. I mean.
S8: Yeah.
S2: It's like it's like trying to convince people that we're
S2: made with intelligent design. Some people are going to that's
S2: a spiritual blindness issue. Isn't that in play here? Sometimes, Michael,
S2: let's get real.
S9: I do think I was listening. I was talking to
S9: a young person, a follower of Jesus loves the Lord,
S9: and he has been talking, like you say, to peers, Allie.
S9: And when I mentioned the massacre of October 7th. He
S9: basically repeated the Hamas propaganda that it was massacre, denial,
S9: that it didn't happen, that it that it was a
S9: false flag, that Israel did it to give them a reason,
S9: a justification for going to war with Hamas.
S8: You can't argue that. You can't argue that.
S9: That's that's that's denial of facts. But what are you
S9: going to do?
S8: What are you going to.
S9: I think we have to stick to the facts. By
S9: the way, there is a new movie. I haven't seen
S9: it yet. I'm planning to see it called October 8th.
S9: It only has seven minutes about the seventh and the
S9: rest of the movie. This documentary is about the explosion
S9: of anti-Semitism, and it just was released this past weekend
S9: and I'm going to go see it. I think we
S9: need to get facts like that into the minds of people.
S9: Hopefully this movie would do a good job with it.
S9: I'm going to go look.
S8: And.
S2: We pray. Um, we're going to do that. Michael, I
S2: want you to pray for peace in Israel right now.
S2: Would you do that?
S9: Yeah, sure. Father in heaven, we pray for peace Through deliverance. Lord,
S9: we ask that you would bring this terrorist group to
S9: its knees and bring them to a point where they
S9: would surrender, that they would give up the hostages, and
S9: they would see that this is a lost cause. Lord,
S9: I pray for the protection of the innocent Palestinians who
S9: just want Hamas to go away. Lord, I pray that
S9: that you would, uh, keep them safe. I pray God
S9: you'd give great skill to the IDF as they target Hamas.
S9: That they would be able to avoid civilians. And, Lord, also,
S9: I pray for Israel now that you would give wisdom
S9: to their leaders as they they are compelled to carry
S9: out this just war. Lord, I pray for our culture
S9: and our young people that they wouldn't succumb to the falsehoods,
S9: TikTok and Instagram and things like that, but would really
S9: know the truth of your word.
S8: And.
S9: The truth of the facts in the world, and I
S9: pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
S8: Amen.
S2: Michael, I love you, hot dog. You're a good man.
S2: And thank you for popping in here this morning.
S8: Yeah.
S9: My pleasure. Thanks for having me with you.
S8: Yeah.
S2: Tough stuff. Ali.
S4: It is.
S2: Tough stuff. Good question. You asked, by the way. I mean,
S2: it's just like. It's just amazing, man. It's what's crazy
S2: about our. The way we process information now is October.
S2: Might as well be in a Holocaust time period. It's.
S2: You know what I'm saying?
S8: Yeah.
S2: October 7th. Might as well be 40 years ago. It's
S2: a spiritual battle, man. And we pray. Okay. Coming up
S2: here in a few minutes. I'll tell you what's up
S2: here today. Bottom line, guys, is our God is on
S2: the throne. The tomb is empty. Jesus is alive today.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire, and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super dei is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S10: I don't know how.
S2: You quantify spiritual growth. What are the ways we quantify
S2: spiritual growth? That's a good question. There's a lot of
S2: good ones. I mean, there's a lot of ways I
S2: mean good fruit being born. But what's your favorite fruit, Allie.
S2: Spiritual fruit.
S3: Spiritual fruit. Are we talking the grape watermelon variety?
S4: Yeah.
S2: Let's go. What's. What's your favorite fruit? I'm going to go.
S2: I'll start so that you get time to cogitate. Mine
S2: is self-control. The last fruit listed in Galatians five. It's
S2: a great fave. It's my fave.
S3: I'm going with peace.
S2: Peace. Good one.
S5: I'd say patience.
S2: Good one. Especially when working with me.
S5: It's going to say not.
S2: Hey. No. What do you mean you were going to
S2: say no?
S5: Not that specifically, but it is just in general. One
S5: of the ones that I feel like I need the most.
S2: Super die.
S4: They're all so good. Kindness. because I think there's such
S4: a lack of it today. It's just true. Pure kindness.
S2: I thought you were going to say bear hugs.
S4: Well, it's in there.
S2: Coming up, what does Dallas Willard say? The ultimate evidence.
S2: Hang on.
S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
S1: Karl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: So, what is it? The evidence of being a disciple.
S2: There's a lot of them. I mean, it's not just one,
S2: but when a guy like Dallas Willard, who's kind of
S2: like the modern day father of spiritual formation, helping get
S2: our lives aligned with Christ, I just love this guy.
S2: My goodness. Divine conspiracy. If you if you want a
S2: thick book that will change your heart with regard to
S2: spiritual formation. Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. But I saw
S2: one of these crazy short thingies and on social media
S2: and it popped up and I'm like, oh my goodness,
S2: how come I never heard that one before? He's being
S2: interviewed or something. And somebody asked him the question, Dallas,
S2: how do you know when you're really biting on the
S2: edges of real discipleship? He says, well, that would be
S2: when you let me try to do a Dallas Willard.
S2: That would be when you. That's a bad Dallas Willard.
S4: Um, tell us.
S2: That would be, uh, coming up in 90s. I'll tell
S2: you about.
S3: Uh, get.
S2: There. Dallas Willard said it's when you are unoffendable.
S3: Wow.
S2: And I'm like, yeah, I did what you did. I'm like, oh, boy,
S2: that is so convicting. And I want you to think
S2: about that for a moment. Unoffendable. And then I started
S2: because I'm like, I want to test this with the
S2: word Jesus. Was that this guy was maligned, mocked, beaten, crucified,
S2: and abandoned by all of his disciples except for a
S2: few brave women. You know what I'm saying?
S4: Yes.
S2: And he was unoffendable. Oh, oh, somebody else's opinion or
S2: the way they say something or this and that and
S2: or a position they take. And if we can get
S2: to the point of being unoffendable what a rich life
S2: we're going to live. And by the way, it just
S2: makes things a whole lot sweeter.
S3: But we know it doesn't happen apart from the power
S3: of the Holy Spirit.
S2: Oh, no.
S3: This is because, oh boy, offense comes easily.
S2: Oh, yeah. This is spirit driven. This is this is vertical,
S2: constant awareness of God's presence in my life. Oh, cogitate
S2: on that one for a couple of days. Boom! Crew.