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S1: Have you noticed how negative your own self-talk can be?

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S1: We say things like A real Christian wouldn't think or

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S1: say or do that and we beat ourselves up. If

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S1: only we could replace that garbage talk with biblical talk.

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S1: Coming up, we'll learn powerful self-talk from the Psalms, and

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S1: our teacher is no less than King David himself. Get

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S1: ready to be encouraged in a big way. Welcome to

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S1: the land and the book. Our host and guide is

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S1: a man who spent most of his life studying the

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S1: Middle East, Doctor Charlie Dyer. And I'm John Gager. You know,

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S1: you ever wonder what Passover means for us as believers

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S1: in Jesus? Some might remember the story from the book

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S1: of Exodus, but there is so much more to it.

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S1: Did you know, for example, that the Last Supper was

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S1: actually a Passover meal? Not only did Jesus and his

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S1: disciples celebrate Passover, but it also foreshadowed his death on

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S1: the cross for our redemption.

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S2: That's absolutely true, John. And Passover is an amazing connection

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S2: point with our Jewish friends, both around the world and

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S2: across the street. Jewish people have been keeping this feast

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S2: for thousands of years. Understanding the importance of the holiday

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S2: and its history helps you better understand these precious people.

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S2: And what better way to learn than to experience a

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S2: Passover Seder yourself? If you've never celebrated Passover, our friends

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S2: at Life in Messiah would love to partner with you

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S2: in hosting a Seder experience. Every year, their staff engage

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S2: churches and small groups in an interactive Messiah in the

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S2: Passover Seder, where you can taste and see the redemption story.

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S2: If you're interested in having someone come lead a Seder

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S2: in your area, visit Life in Messiah Org and click

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S2: on the radio button to learn more. That's life in Messiah.

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S1: Well, all week long, Charlie Dyer has been scouring various

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S1: news sources to keep us up to date on everything

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S1: that's been happening in the Middle East. Let's go through

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S1: a set of stories here you need to know about. First,

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S1: the tension with Iran continues to drag on. President Trump

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S1: has threatened a strong US response, but as we're recording

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S1: this program, nothing has yet happened. Why the delay, Charlie?

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S2: Well, the answer is complex. It actually involves several moving parts,

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S2: but let me try and simplify it. The US can

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S2: hit Iranian targets with the resources we've amassed in the region,

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S2: but air power alone can't necessarily bring about a change

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S2: in Iran's government or in its actions. To do that

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S2: would require boots on the ground, and putting US soldiers

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S2: in harm's way can bring about unintended consequences, especially if

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S2: it results in significant numbers of casualties. In addition, Iran

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S2: will respond by attacking US bases in the region and

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S2: Israel with ballistic missiles. We're bringing in additional resources right

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S2: now to try to stop as many missiles as possible,

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S2: but some will likely make it through and cause damage

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S2: if fighting begins. Iran will try to fire as many

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S2: missiles as possible, knowing that if they don't use them,

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S2: they could permanently lose them. Iranian threats have also impacted

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S2: their neighbors. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Jordan have declared

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S2: that the US and Israel can't use their airspace to

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S2: launch any attacks against Iran. They're afraid Iran will retaliate

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S2: against them. Now, this makes it more difficult for the

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S2: US and Israel to plan how best to launch any

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S2: attacks against Iran. Iran has sent signals that it's open

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S2: to negotiations, and those negotiations are in fact underway right now.

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S2: They're willing to discuss their nuclear program, though in the

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S2: past they've refused to give up their right to enrich

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S2: uranium or to give up their current stockpiles of enriched uranium.

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S2: They've also said they're unwilling to give up their missile

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S2: program or their support for allies like Hezbollah and the Houthis.

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S2: Since June, Iran has been working to restore its stockpile

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S2: of missiles. There are reports that they're working to produce

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S2: thousands of additional missiles, enabling them to overwhelm US and

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S2: Israeli anti-missile defense systems. So right now, the hope is

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S2: that negotiators can convince Iran to give up its nuclear

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S2: program and scale back its missile program. In the meantime,

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S2: the U.S. and Israel are finalizing plans to attack Iran's

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S2: nuclear and missile programs, and possibly to go after Iran's

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S2: leadership to force a regime change. Now, we don't know

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S2: when or even if there's going to be an attack.

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S2: We need to ask God to give our leaders and

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S2: those in Israel wisdom to know what to do, and

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S2: then courage to do it.

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S1: Well, that's a great way to frame it. Thank you. Charlie.

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S1: Strong practical prayer requests. Israel's sixth desalination plant has now

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S1: begun full operation. What impact will this have on Israel's

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S1: water needs?

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S2: Yeah, this is actually a good story. The sixth desalination

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S2: plant actually began operations about a year ago, but it

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S2: was only operating at 60% capacity as they worked out

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S2: all the operational details, but now it's been turned up

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S2: to full power, which means it can produce 200,000,000m³ of

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S2: water annually when combined with the other five desalination plants.

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S2: They can meet 70 to 80% of Israel's potable or

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S2: drinkable water needs. A seventh plant is under construction and

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S2: is scheduled to come online next year. It will provide

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S2: another 100,000,000m³. Now, Israel also plans to pump this year

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S2: about 20,000,000m³ of water from the Sea of Galilee. And

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S2: that's down quite a bit from what they were doing

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S2: just a few years ago. Rainfall this year has been

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S2: at or slightly above average so far. Unfortunately, more rain

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S2: has fallen in the south than in the north, which

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S2: is where the water comes from that flows into the

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S2: Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee. So right now,

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S2: the Sea of Galilee is still below the lower Red line,

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S2: which is the lowest spot where they'd like the lake

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S2: to be. It's still rising about an inch per week

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S2: from the past. Rain and hopefully more rain will fall

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S2: in February and early March, but it's unlikely the lake

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S2: will fill before the end of the current rainy season,

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S2: so it's unclear how much water they'll be able to

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S2: pump from it. Thankfully, in addition to the desalination plants

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S2: and the Sea of Galilee, Israel has also developed a

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S2: plan to recycle treated sewage, water and other brackish water

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S2: for agriculture, adding an additional 700,000,000m³ of water. Any remaining

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S2: shortfall will come from subterranean aquifers, and that's a short

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S2: term solution, and it highlights the importance of bringing that

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S2: seventh desalination plant online. In a region experiencing extended drought.

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S2: Israel is working hard to meet its water needs, but

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S2: ultimately they still need to look to God and the

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S2: rain he provides to meet all their needs.

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S1: Charlie, the sixth desalination plant, is certainly a reason for celebration.

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S1: But as you say, if they supply 70 to 80%

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S1: of Israel's water needs, what happens in the event of

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S1: an attack? And 4 or 5 of those are taken

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S1: out of action. What does that say about the reliance

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S1: on Israel for these plants?

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S2: That shows the vulnerability as well. And you do know

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S2: that Iran would try and hit those plants in any

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S2: kind of a a war. Now that's a small footprint

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S2: to hit. But again, when you're that dependent on just

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S2: a small number of facilities, that would really be an

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S2: Achilles heel for Israel.

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S1: This is the land in the book with our host,

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S1: Charlie Dyer. Here's a giant archaeological discovery out of Israel.

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S1: A team of archaeologists has uncovered fortifications and the entrance

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S1: gate to the city of Gath, dating back to the

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S1: time of Goliath. What exactly have they found, Charlie?

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S2: Well, you know, years ago, Telesiphe was identified as the

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S2: site of the ancient city of Gath. It's a large

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S2: site that isn't visited by too many tourists. And hopefully

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S2: that will soon change. What the archaeologists have uncovered there

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S2: is the city gate of Gath, which is among the

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S2: largest gates ever found in Israel. In addition to the gate,

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S2: they also uncovered the remains of impressive fortification walls, as

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S2: well as a temple, other buildings and an iron production facility.

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S2: That iron production facility reminds me of first Samuel 13,

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S2: which says the Philistines maintained a monopoly on the production

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S2: of iron to keep Israel from making their own weapons.

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S2: Other discoveries at Gath also match events described in the Bible.

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S2: Clear evidence of destruction dating to around 830 BC matched

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S2: the account in Second Kings 12, which says Hazael, king

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S2: of Damascus, attacked Gath and captured it around that time.

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S2: The archaeologists also discovered a 32 foot gap in the

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S2: city wall, where the Syrian army breached the city's defenses.

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S2: An evidence of destruction from an earthquake in the eighth

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S2: century matches the time frame for the massive earthquake in

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S2: the days of King Uzziah that's mentioned both in Amos

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S2: one and Zechariah 14. Evidence of that massive earthquake has

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S2: been discovered throughout Israel, from Hatzor in the north, all

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S2: the way down to Lachish to the south of Gath.

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S2: Now Kathy and I visited the site of GAF several

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S2: years ago on a free day. We were there exploring

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S2: on our own, and I can say from experience, the

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S2: site is large and it wasn't the easiest place to explore. Now,

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S2: hopefully it will become easier to access, which would allow

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S2: more groups to discover its significance. And it really is significant.

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S1: An Israeli medical tech company ASAP. That's ASAP has developed

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S1: a deep learning model that can detect heart disease from

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S1: a single ultrasound view. Help us understand the importance of

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S1: this latest innovation from Amazing Israel.

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S2: Yeah, this company's goal is to develop technology that can

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S2: transform the interface between physicians and patients at the point

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S2: of care. In a recent clinical study, they provided evidence

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S2: that their deep learning model can accurately detect significant valvular

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S2: disease and ventricular dysfunction in the heart using only a

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S2: single focused ultrasound view, even when the images are required

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S2: by non-cardiologists using handheld ultrasound devices. The study analyzed more

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S2: than 120,000 echocardiograms to train the model, which was then

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S2: validated using a cohort of patients. The program was able

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S2: to detect meaningful signatures of heart disease using standard 2D

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S2: grayscale echocardiogram clips alone. The model doesn't eliminate the need

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S2: for current processes, but it can certainly enable physicians and

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S2: emergency rooms and other wards to provide immediate, specialized grade

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S2: triage for individuals, especially for older people whose valvular heart

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S2: disease is highest and where detection is critical. This is

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S2: the future of frontline medicine, and it's what we've come

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S2: to expect from researchers and doctors in Israel.

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S1: Thank you Charlie. That's a look at current events from

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S1: the Middle East. Well, if you're tired of the negative

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S1: self-talk that has captured your mind, it's time to learn

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S1: powerful self-talk from the Psalms. We'll learn from King David

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S1: himself in a conversation next, right here on the land

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S1: and the book.

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S3: If you've ever traveled to.

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S2: Israel and studied the terrain, you quickly understand the importance

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S2: of choosing the right trails, the right paths. Hi, I'm

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S2: Charlie Dyer, welcoming you back to segment two of the

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S2: land in the book.

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S1: And I'm John Yeager asking Charlie, what's one of the

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S1: more memorable pathways that you've traveled in the Holy Land?

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S1: Maybe a difficult trail or a scenic trail or something

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S1: with a story?

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S2: Oh, this one has a story, John. It's one of

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S2: the most memorable trips I've ever done. We went through

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S2: the Tel Dan nature reserve, and after leaving the stream,

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S2: we hiked back up on the hill itself. And then

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S2: you reach a dividing place in the pathway. One way

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S2: is marked to Paradise and I have to tell people, well,

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S2: you all want to reach Paradise, but not by following

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S2: that pathway. The other one is the road that takes

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S2: us to the destination for that morning. And like that hike. Well,

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S2: this segment is a bit different today. First, because I'm

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S2: the one getting to ask the questions, and second, because

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S2: the pathway we're going to talk about is absolutely critical,

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S2: whether you're 9 or 99. We'll be exploring the biblical

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S2: pathway to better self talk. And it's based entirely on

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S2: the Psalms. My co-host John Gager has written a new book,

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S2: Powerful Self-talk from the Psalms.

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S1: We're going to get to that conversation after we first

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S1: pause for an idea about how you and I can

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S1: more creatively share Jesus with a Jewish friend or neighbor.

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S1: Listen to this. Life has its moments. Things fall apart,

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S1: and sometimes you have to call the repairman. What's that

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S1: got to do with sharing your faith? Let's ask Beth Tevlin,

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S1: who's with Olive Tree Congregation in suburban Chicago. Beth.

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S4: Well, one day I had to call the oven repairman,

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S4: and he was working on my oven, and I really

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S4: was struggling with how do I open the door to

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S4: share the gospel with this person? And finally, I just

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S4: decided I'm just going to do it. And I handed

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S4: him a gospel of John, and I said, this could

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S4: be the most impactful gift anyone has ever given you,

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S4: if you will read it.

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S1: The most impactful gift. Those are great words.

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S4: And he looked at me right in the eye and

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S4: he said, I'm going to read this from cover to cover.

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S4: And I was so touched by the way he responded

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S4: that my insecurities and my fear had nothing to do

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S4: with what the Lord could do in his heart.

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S1: Yeah. And the thing is, we can give our Jewish

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S1: friends that powerful New Testament. It is the most impactful

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S1: book they'll ever get.

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S4: It is.

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S1: So don't be afraid, you say.

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S4: Don't be afraid.

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S1: Encouragement from Beth Tablan with the Olive Tree Congregation, where

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S1: she serves and co-leads the women's ministry and is also

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S1: congregational administrator here on the land and the book. All right.

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S1: Thank you very much, Charlie.

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S2: Yeah, thanks. And, John, I think the best place for

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S2: us to begin is by defining the term itself, self-talk.

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S2: What do you really mean by that?

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S1: Well, self-talk. Charlie, is this uninvited audio stream that plays

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S1: in our heads all day, every day. It's not wrong

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S1: in and of itself. There's no evidence in Scripture that

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S1: it is. But we are told in Philippians two five,

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S1: for example, have this mind in you, which was also

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S1: in Christ Jesus. We're told in Romans 12 two, be

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S1: transformed by the renewing of your mind. And Second Corinthians

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S1: ten five. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience

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S1: of Christ. So self-talk happens, but it isn't always accurate

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S1: or biblical. And so it needs to be addressed. It

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S1: needs to be captured. It needs to be dealt with,

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S1: so to speak.

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S2: Well that's great. Well, what are some of the more

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S2: common self-talk messages that we say to ourselves? That could

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S2: be a problem area for so many of us?

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S1: Well, I think we say things like, a real Christian

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S1: wouldn't think or say what I just thought or said.

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S1: I know I've often said, oh, I should be much

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S1: further along in my Christian walk than I am, or

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S1: I'll never overcome this habit, this besetting sin. Or God

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S1: must be weary of me confessing the same sins over

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S1: and over. We tell ourselves that kind of junk and

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S1: it simply isn't true.

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S2: Well, I understand the issues of negative self-talk and and

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S2: they've been a struggle for you, I guess, for all

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S2: of us for that matter. But when I was reading

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S2: your book, tell us about that airport story in the

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S2: introduction that has really launched this book, a Powerful Self-talk

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S2: from the Psalms.

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S1: Well, let me let me tell another story first. Okay.

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S1: 20 some odd years ago, I went to Angola, Africa

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S1: with Moody Radio pastor Donald Cole. And, uh, guess what, Charlie?

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S1: My luggage never arrived. I mean, everything your shirts, your

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S1: your anti-malaria medicine, everything. It's all gone. Including, of course,

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S1: my Bible. And so I have no Bible. And you know,

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S1: what do you do to spend time in God's word? Well,

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S1: at night, I would quote verses I'd learned in Sunday

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S1: school versus I learned in Awana. And that was. That

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S1: was comforting. Uh, it was good. You know, it was

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S1: a good thing to do a good exercise. But after

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S1: a while, a couple nights of that, you go, boy.

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S1: I wish I'd memorized more verses. I wish I'd memorized

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S1: longer passages. I wish I could sink my teeth into

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S1: into some really powerful things here. Not just blips and

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S1: and verses, but much meatier stuff. And then, Charlie, I'm going, hey,

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S1: what if I come to that point in my life

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S1: where I don't have access to a Bible? Who knows?

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S1: And so out of that, I came home so scarred

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S1: that I began a program of Scripture memory. And I've

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S1: never quit, never looked back. And eventually I turned to

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S1: the Psalms and started memorizing some of the Psalms. Well,

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S1: you can't help but memorize the Psalms without sort of

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S1: meditating on them and letting them mess with you. And, uh,

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S1: so there I am, uh, to your question, Charlie, preaching

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S1: in church on Psalm 2515, which says, my eyes are

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S1: continually toward the Lord, for he will rescue my feet

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S1: from the net. Sounds like a nice verse, doesn't it, Charlie?

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S2: It does.

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S1: Okay, well, here's the deal. It's a it's a neat sermon, and, uh,

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S1: everything seems to go well. Two days later, I'm getting

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S1: off an airplane in Colorado Springs. I'm there to interview

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S1: a well-known author, and I've got my audio gear, my recorder, headphones,

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S1: microphone cables, pop screen. You know, Charlie, all that gear

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S1: we travel with.

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S2: Yeah.

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S1: And of course, I have my iPad. All this jammed

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S1: into this backpack. And at the airport in Colorado, I

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S1: get everything out, reorganize it and take off. Meet the

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S1: guy for the interview, get out my gear. Only to

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S1: realize the iPad is missing. It just ain't there. Charlie,

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S1: how would that make you feel?

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S2: Uh, anxious and panicky.

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S1: Yeah. Times three. I think for me, just because I'm

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S1: naturally inclined toward that, I am really, really upset. And

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S1: I'm saying these very things. You idiot. How could you

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S1: do that? You know. How could you possibly be so irresponsible?

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S1: And I'm just beating myself up. And then. And then

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S1: the thought came to me. Wait a minute, wait a minute,

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S1: wait a minute. What about this Psalm 2515 you just

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S1: preached on it. My eyes are continually toward the Lord,

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S1: for he will rescue my feet from the net. So

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S1: I began. I prayed, Lord, I want to get through

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S1: this day proving the truth of your word, the power

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S1: of your word. And you know, Charlie, God allowed that

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S1: to happen. I had to meet those nasty voices probably

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S1: 30 or 40 times with that same verse. But I

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S1: got to the day. Not in a, you know, you know,

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S1: a crumpled ball of self-accusation, but just hanging on to

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S1: God's promise. And P.S. God did return that iPad to

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S1: us by the end of the day.

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S2: Oh, wow. That's great. I gotta pause here for a minute. John,

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S2: this is the land in the book. I'm Charlie Dyer. Uh,

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S2: we've reversed roles today in this segment as I'm talking

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S2: with my co-host John Gager about his new book, Powerful

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S2: Self-talk from the Psalms. Now, John, following up on that,

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S2: many of us think of the Psalms, we think of

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S2: praise Psalms. We think of prayers. Yeah, but you're claiming

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S2: that many of David's Psalms also include his self-talk. So

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S2: give us a couple examples of that.

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S1: Yeah, well, for sure, I don't argue that the Psalms

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S1: are full of his prayers and his praises, his songs,

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S1: but there's also a lot of self-talk there. Example A

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S1: Psalm 1829 David says, with my God, I can scale

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S1: a wall. He's not talking to God. He's talking to himself.

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S1: What about Psalm 34 four? I sought the Lord, and

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S1: he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

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S1: That's David's testimony. Psalm 50 63I love this one when

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S1: I am afraid I will trust in you. Psalm 101,

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S1: verse three. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.

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S1: So these are all examples of David's self-talk.

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S2: You know, John, I've talked with you in the past.

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S2: We're talking now in this interview. And, you know, it

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S2: sounds to me like you've spent a lot of time

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S2: just memorizing scripture. Is that accurate?

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S1: It is true, but not just memorizing. Uh, the the turn,

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S1: the progress, the win, I think, comes in speaking these

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S1: verses to our thoughts. We have to learn to recognize

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S1: the lies that are invading our minds. We got to

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S1: identify the lie, call it out and speak scripture to it.

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S2: Yeah. Well, and I can hear somebody saying, okay, I

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S2: agree with that. But you don't know my brain, John.

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S2: It's it doesn't work like that. You know, when I

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S2: was younger, I could memorize, but man, now I'm older,

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S2: I'm past that. Uh, what would you say to someone

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S2: like that?

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S1: I say join the club and get started anyway. You know,

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S1: I am not a fast memorizer. Let's. Let's get that

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S1: out in the open. I just am not. I could

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S1: never be a movie star, Charlie. Forget the looks problem,

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S1: I just. I can't memorize scripts. I can't memorize anything

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S1: quickly and easily. But that doesn't excuse any of us.

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S1: You know, the word says thy word. I've hidden in

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S1: my heart that I might not sin against you. And, uh,

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S1: filling our minds with the word really comes out of

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S1: memorizing the word. My advice would be, okay, maybe you

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S1: can't memorize a chapter or a psalm. Fine. Maybe you

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S1: can't memorize a verse. Fine. We can all do a phrase.

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S1: You know, I bet we can all quote the McDonald's

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S1: I'm Lovin It campaign. I bet we can all complete

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S1: the phrase America runs on what? Duncan. All right, we

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S1: get the advertising slogans. Let's get the word, even phrases

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S1: into our minds, and then go and build on that.

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S1: There's just there's just no other way around this. But

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S1: having the Word of God in our minds, in our hearts.

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S2: Yeah. Powerful self-talk from the Psalms. That's our conversation today

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S2: on the land in the book. Well, share another quick

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S2: story of where speaking the Psalms to your own negative

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S2: self-talk made a huge difference in your life.

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S1: All right, Charlie, I'll do it. I'm working on a

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S1: video project, and for anybody who's ever fiddled with video,

399
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S1: you know, there's a lot of work to it. It's

400
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S1: very time consuming. You've got all your video files, and

401
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S1: they occupy a lot of space on your hard drive.

402
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S1: It's not like a single photo or an audio clip. Anyway,

403
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S1: I've got a lot of hours into this video project,

404
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S1: and all of a sudden I boot up the computer

405
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S1: one day and it says, I don't recognize that hard drive,

406
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S1: as in the hard drive with all the video files,

407
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S1: the project files, all that work. What? I mean, it

408
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S1: just don't recognize it. It's not there. And I'm am

409
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S1: really petrified. And then I thought, wait a minute, wait

410
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S1: a minute. I know what this is. This is a

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S1: moment where I'm being challenged and Psalm 16 eight came

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S1: to mind. It says, I have set the Lord always

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S1: before me because he is at my right hand. I

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S1: will not be shaken. Now I'm admitting, Charlie, you know me.

415
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S1: My my tendency is to get in a lather about

416
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S1: these things, to get terribly upset. And and I instead

417
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S1: did the opposite. I said, Lord help me. That was it, Lord, help.

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S1: That was the prayer that came to mind. And, uh,

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S1: with a little bit of fiddling, uh, God did bring

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S1: that hard drive back online, and that's a good thing.

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S1: But the better thing is, this is yet another notch,

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S1: another story, another testimony, another tribute to the power of

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S1: the Word of God to change our minds with that

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S1: powerful self-talk from the Psalms.

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S2: Well, now changing it around slightly. There's a skeptic listening

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S2: right now who says, oh, come on now, isn't this

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S2: just a self-talk, some kind of psychobabble? You know, you're

428
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S2: trying to clothe it in biblical language, but it's really

429
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S2: just self-talk from from what we hear from the secular media.

430
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S1: Well, you know, I asked that same question myself when

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S1: I started on this journey. Isn't this cycle? The word

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S1: self-talk makes me nervous. You know, a bunch of self-help books.

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S1: What about the Word of God? Well, how could it

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S1: be psychobabble when David himself said in Psalm 4211, why

435
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S1: are you cast down, O my soul? And why are

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S1: you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I

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00:22:57,220 --> 00:23:00,300
S1: shall again praise him, my salvation, and my God. Boy,

438
00:23:00,300 --> 00:23:02,780
S1: if that isn't self-talk, I don't know what is. How

439
00:23:02,780 --> 00:23:05,580
S1: could it be psychobabble? When David said to himself in

440
00:23:05,580 --> 00:23:09,140
S1: Psalm 103, verse two. Praise the Lord, my soul, and

441
00:23:09,140 --> 00:23:13,740
S1: don't forget all his benefits. It's not psychobabble. It's powerful

442
00:23:13,740 --> 00:23:15,139
S1: self-talk from the Psalms.

443
00:23:15,420 --> 00:23:18,100
S2: I gotta agree with you, John. You're listening to the

444
00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:20,260
S2: land in the book, I'm Charlie Dyer. We're talking with

445
00:23:20,260 --> 00:23:24,980
S2: John Gager about his new book, Powerful Self-talk from the Psalms. Uh,

446
00:23:25,180 --> 00:23:28,500
S2: what's the fast track to learning biblical self-talk?

447
00:23:28,780 --> 00:23:32,370
S1: There is none. That's the answer. There is none.

448
00:23:32,410 --> 00:23:33,170
S2: Straight to the point there.

449
00:23:33,250 --> 00:23:36,370
S1: That's right. But there is a direct track. Okay. Start

450
00:23:36,410 --> 00:23:40,090
S1: today to memorize a verse or just a phrase of Scripture,

451
00:23:40,290 --> 00:23:45,330
S1: and then choose to speak it to every anxious, fearful,

452
00:23:45,369 --> 00:23:49,129
S1: ungodly thought. I mean, that is this book in a nutshell.

453
00:23:49,170 --> 00:23:54,610
S1: Choose to speak Scripture to every anxious, fearful, ungodly thought.

454
00:23:54,609 --> 00:23:57,530
S1: And I often speak those verses right out loud. Whether

455
00:23:57,530 --> 00:23:59,850
S1: you do it in your head or do it out loud,

456
00:23:59,850 --> 00:24:04,490
S1: speak the Scripture to every anxious, fearful, ungodly thought.

457
00:24:04,890 --> 00:24:07,690
S2: Okay, well, the listeners listening to us right now is saying, okay, John,

458
00:24:07,690 --> 00:24:10,450
S2: that's great for you, but what will reading the book

459
00:24:10,490 --> 00:24:11,730
S2: do for me?

460
00:24:12,330 --> 00:24:14,970
S1: Well, listen, if we don't grab on to this, if

461
00:24:14,970 --> 00:24:19,290
S1: we don't learn biblical self-talk, uh, left unchallenged, those negative

462
00:24:19,290 --> 00:24:22,330
S1: thoughts are going to lead us down a downward spiral.

463
00:24:22,609 --> 00:24:26,290
S1: Instead of claiming Romans 837, we are more than conquerors

464
00:24:26,290 --> 00:24:29,880
S1: in Christ. We tell ourselves we're less than losers and

465
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:34,000
S1: we let ourselves get conquered. The downward spiral becomes a habit,

466
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,720
S1: a discolored lens through which we view everyone and everything,

467
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,600
S1: including God. What will this book do for you? This lifestyle?

468
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:44,399
S1: It's not the book. It's it's the book. The Bible.

469
00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,960
S1: And when we speak Scripture to these, these negative thoughts,

470
00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,720
S1: we're going to find calm. When we're not at peace,

471
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,440
S1: we're going to find courage. When we fear that God

472
00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:56,280
S1: has forgotten us, we're going to find patience. And we

473
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,600
S1: can't get our act together. We're going to find relief

474
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,919
S1: when we're over our head. We're going to find forgiveness

475
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,800
S1: when we're when we're burdened by guilt. That's what we

476
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:07,680
S1: find as we learn to speak these powerful self-talk that's

477
00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:08,639
S1: found in the Psalms.

478
00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,840
S2: Wow. Well, now if someone's saying this sounds great, uh,

479
00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:13,560
S2: where can they go to learn more about the book?

480
00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:15,920
S2: What's the best way to to get Ahold of a copy?

481
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:20,440
S1: Well, it's available wherever books are sold. Amazon, of course. And, uh.

482
00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:25,080
S1: Com and harvest House publishers. Uh, the publisher of the book.

483
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:26,080
S1: All available there.

484
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:27,949
S2: Okay. And I'm going to help out. I'm going to

485
00:25:27,950 --> 00:25:30,150
S2: put a link to the book on our Facebook page.

486
00:25:30,150 --> 00:25:31,510
S2: So if people want to go to the land in

487
00:25:31,510 --> 00:25:34,750
S2: the book Facebook page, they'll find that link there. Now,

488
00:25:34,750 --> 00:25:37,950
S2: this is powerful self-talk from the Psalms. It's written by

489
00:25:37,950 --> 00:25:40,310
S2: John Gager, and you've listened to him for years on

490
00:25:40,310 --> 00:25:43,350
S2: this program. And when we come back, Doctor Peterman is

491
00:25:43,350 --> 00:25:45,550
S2: going to be here, and John will take my place

492
00:25:45,550 --> 00:25:47,910
S2: on this side of the microphone, and we'll be able

493
00:25:47,910 --> 00:25:50,030
S2: to answer your questions about the Bible.

494
00:25:50,030 --> 00:25:52,270
S1: And Charlie, for the record, I prefer asking questions and

495
00:25:52,270 --> 00:25:55,590
S1: answering them. But thank you for for having this time together.

496
00:26:06,869 --> 00:26:09,270
S1: What does it take to spark a question as you

497
00:26:09,270 --> 00:26:13,150
S1: read scripture? Who can say? I mean, we are curious.

498
00:26:13,150 --> 00:26:16,149
S1: We've got curious minds, but they're also finite. That's why

499
00:26:16,150 --> 00:26:18,109
S1: it's great to be able to feature some answers to

500
00:26:18,150 --> 00:26:21,470
S1: some of those questions. In this segment, we now call Q&A.

501
00:26:21,510 --> 00:26:24,429
S1: Welcome to segment three here at The Land and the book.

502
00:26:24,710 --> 00:26:26,980
S1: Before we get to our first question of the day.

503
00:26:26,980 --> 00:26:29,820
S1: I've got a question for you. What does Passover mean

504
00:26:29,820 --> 00:26:33,220
S1: for us as believers in Jesus? Some might remember the

505
00:26:33,220 --> 00:26:35,340
S1: story from the book of Exodus, but there's a whole

506
00:26:35,340 --> 00:26:37,820
S1: lot more to it. Did you know that the Last

507
00:26:37,820 --> 00:26:41,419
S1: Supper was a Passover meal? Not only did Jesus and

508
00:26:41,420 --> 00:26:45,100
S1: his disciples celebrate Passover, but it also foreshadowed his death

509
00:26:45,100 --> 00:26:49,020
S1: on the cross for our redemption. Passover. An amazing connection

510
00:26:49,020 --> 00:26:52,340
S1: point with our Jewish friends around the world and across

511
00:26:52,340 --> 00:26:55,340
S1: the street. Jewish people have been keeping this feast for

512
00:26:55,380 --> 00:26:58,939
S1: thousands of years, and understanding the importance of this holiday

513
00:26:58,940 --> 00:27:02,900
S1: and its history helps you better understand these precious people.

514
00:27:02,900 --> 00:27:05,859
S1: And what better way to learn than to experience a

515
00:27:05,859 --> 00:27:10,420
S1: Passover Seder yourself? If you have never celebrated Passover, and

516
00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:13,180
S1: you should, our friends at Life and Messiah would love

517
00:27:13,180 --> 00:27:17,060
S1: to partner with you in hosting a Seder experience every year.

518
00:27:17,260 --> 00:27:20,899
S1: Their staff engage churches and small groups in an interactive

519
00:27:20,900 --> 00:27:24,340
S1: Messiah in the Passover Seder, where you can taste and

520
00:27:24,340 --> 00:27:27,929
S1: see the redemption story. If you're interested in having someone

521
00:27:27,930 --> 00:27:30,650
S1: come lead a Seder in your area, visit Life in

522
00:27:30,650 --> 00:27:33,770
S1: Messiah Org and click on the Moody Radio button there

523
00:27:33,770 --> 00:27:38,490
S1: to learn more. That's life in. With that we welcome

524
00:27:38,490 --> 00:27:40,689
S1: Doctor Gerald Peterman to the microphone. Good to connect with

525
00:27:40,690 --> 00:27:41,290
S1: you brother.

526
00:27:41,330 --> 00:27:43,010
S5: Oh happy to be here.

527
00:27:43,050 --> 00:27:44,889
S1: Yeah. And you look it. And I think one of

528
00:27:44,890 --> 00:27:47,410
S1: the reasons that you're happy is because you're doing what

529
00:27:47,450 --> 00:27:48,810
S1: God wired you to do. Right.

530
00:27:48,850 --> 00:27:51,490
S5: Well, that's my prayer. That's my prayer. All right.

531
00:27:51,530 --> 00:27:54,250
S1: Let's start off with our first question. It comes to

532
00:27:54,250 --> 00:27:56,810
S1: us from Deb. She emailed saying, I'm reading through the

533
00:27:56,810 --> 00:27:59,810
S1: Bible this year and have a question about Zechariah six

534
00:27:59,850 --> 00:28:03,690
S1: verse six. I wonder why the angel didn't mention which

535
00:28:03,690 --> 00:28:07,170
S1: direction the chariot with the red horses went. They probably

536
00:28:07,170 --> 00:28:09,450
S1: went to the East, but he didn't say that they would,

537
00:28:09,730 --> 00:28:12,690
S1: only that the other chariots went to the north, south

538
00:28:12,690 --> 00:28:13,449
S1: and west.

539
00:28:14,210 --> 00:28:18,050
S5: I really appreciate Deb's question, because these oracles from Zechariah

540
00:28:18,090 --> 00:28:20,770
S5: can be really tough, but I think she's beginning to

541
00:28:20,810 --> 00:28:23,530
S5: answer her own question and she's getting it right. But

542
00:28:23,630 --> 00:28:27,070
S5: let's go back to Zechariah six about the chariots. Verse

543
00:28:27,070 --> 00:28:30,670
S5: two says, the chariot had red horses, the second black horses,

544
00:28:30,670 --> 00:28:34,070
S5: the third had white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses. Now,

545
00:28:34,109 --> 00:28:38,070
S5: as Michael mentions in his moody Bible commentary, chariots with

546
00:28:38,070 --> 00:28:41,270
S5: horses patrolled the earth to bring judgment and then to

547
00:28:41,310 --> 00:28:44,510
S5: bring peace. Then we find in verses six and seven,

548
00:28:44,830 --> 00:28:47,510
S5: the chariot with black horses goes toward the north, and

549
00:28:47,510 --> 00:28:50,070
S5: the white ones follow them. The dappled ones go to

550
00:28:50,070 --> 00:28:52,790
S5: the south. When the strong horses came out, they were

551
00:28:52,790 --> 00:28:55,390
S5: impatient to go and patrol the earth, and he said,

552
00:28:55,390 --> 00:28:58,790
S5: go patrol the earth. It might seem strange. Why is

553
00:28:58,790 --> 00:29:02,790
S5: East and West just not mentioned at all? Well, here's

554
00:29:02,790 --> 00:29:04,750
S5: what I think is happening there. West is not mentioned

555
00:29:04,750 --> 00:29:07,270
S5: because where are you going to go? It's the Mediterranean.

556
00:29:07,590 --> 00:29:10,310
S5: And I think Deb is right that the last horses

557
00:29:10,310 --> 00:29:14,430
S5: are going toward the East. They're going for Israel, that

558
00:29:14,430 --> 00:29:19,190
S5: God will bring peace and settlement wherever his horses travel.

559
00:29:19,470 --> 00:29:22,540
S1: I mentioned that Deb's question was emailed to us. You say,

560
00:29:22,540 --> 00:29:24,860
S1: how do I email my question? Well, you can do

561
00:29:24,860 --> 00:29:27,940
S1: that by sending it to the land and the book

562
00:29:28,180 --> 00:29:34,860
S1: at the land and the book at Pam has two questions.

563
00:29:35,020 --> 00:29:38,660
S1: She's allowed this one time. Just kidding, she says. The

564
00:29:38,660 --> 00:29:41,300
S1: first question. I understand that the stone jars used to

565
00:29:41,340 --> 00:29:45,060
S1: hold water for ceremonial washing could not become unclean.

566
00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:48,340
S5: Why yes, that's a great question. We don't live in

567
00:29:48,380 --> 00:29:51,660
S5: that world about these stone jars. These are the jars

568
00:29:51,660 --> 00:29:55,060
S5: that Jesus used to turn the water into wine and

569
00:29:55,060 --> 00:29:58,460
S5: John do. If we go back to Leviticus, we find

570
00:29:58,460 --> 00:30:03,060
S5: in Leviticus six, Leviticus 11 lots of verses about cleanliness,

571
00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:06,940
S5: about being clean and unclean. And we find that a

572
00:30:06,980 --> 00:30:09,380
S5: pottery jar, what we typically think of is like, it's

573
00:30:09,420 --> 00:30:14,020
S5: like a clay jar can become contaminated really quickly, but

574
00:30:14,020 --> 00:30:18,260
S5: a stone jar cannot. This is a first century understanding.

575
00:30:18,300 --> 00:30:22,610
S5: Especially stone jars cannot be contaminated because apparently they don't

576
00:30:22,610 --> 00:30:26,010
S5: pick up what's on the contents. A great question, I

577
00:30:26,010 --> 00:30:27,530
S5: really liked digging into it.

578
00:30:27,530 --> 00:30:29,810
S1: Yeah. Now, her second question is this since the Ark

579
00:30:29,810 --> 00:30:32,690
S1: of the covenant was removed from the first temple when

580
00:30:32,690 --> 00:30:36,050
S1: it was destroyed, how was blood sprinkled on the mercy

581
00:30:36,050 --> 00:30:38,770
S1: seat during the Day of Atonement? Unless a new Ark

582
00:30:38,770 --> 00:30:41,090
S1: of the covenant was made when they rebuilt the temple

583
00:30:41,090 --> 00:30:43,850
S1: during the time of Nehemiah and Ezra, was there a second?

584
00:30:44,090 --> 00:30:47,210
S5: I don't think there was a second. If we look

585
00:30:47,210 --> 00:30:50,370
S5: back in our Old Testaments when we're in Exodus, for instance,

586
00:30:50,370 --> 00:30:53,490
S5: when we're in Leviticus, the mercy seat gets mentioned over

587
00:30:53,490 --> 00:30:56,010
S5: and over and over because of the explanation. What does

588
00:30:56,010 --> 00:30:58,010
S5: it do? What's it there for? And then the last

589
00:30:58,010 --> 00:31:01,690
S5: mention is In the Time of David, first Chronicles 28,

590
00:31:01,890 --> 00:31:05,730
S5: and then not mentioned ever again. Now I'm very slow

591
00:31:05,730 --> 00:31:08,370
S5: to draw a conclusion from silence, but here's the conclusion

592
00:31:08,370 --> 00:31:11,770
S5: I draw. When the Second Temple was built, the Holy

593
00:31:11,770 --> 00:31:15,130
S5: of Holies was empty. There was no ark. There was

594
00:31:15,130 --> 00:31:15,810
S5: no mercy seat.

595
00:31:15,850 --> 00:31:19,650
S1: Yeah. And a question that we get regularly is, is

596
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,560
S1: it likely or possible even that the Ark of the covenant,

597
00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:25,160
S1: somewhere out there, still exists to be uncovered in a

598
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:27,840
S1: future Raiders of the Lost Ark movie? And Charlie Dyer

599
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:30,480
S1: has tackled that a number of times, as I'm sure

600
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,239
S1: you have. And in his response anyway, is that it

601
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,120
S1: is certainly not at all likely.

602
00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:39,440
S5: I think it's extremely unlikely, because if you read Exodus,

603
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:44,000
S5: you know how this is constructed. It's pure gold. Now,

604
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,480
S5: no enemy who takes it is going to keep it

605
00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:48,840
S5: as a museum piece, right? He's going to cut it

606
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:50,880
S5: up and he's going to use it for his own profit.

607
00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:53,440
S1: Yeah. This is the land in the book from Moody Radio.

608
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:56,360
S1: Doctor Gerald Peterman joins us in the studio, as he

609
00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,240
S1: does every week to answer your Bible questions. And if

610
00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,280
S1: you'd like to enter yours into the conversation, it's welcome.

611
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,240
S1: Just email it to the land and the book at Moody,

612
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:12,000
S1: the land and the book at Moody. Jeff comments on

613
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:14,840
S1: a previous program. You said that the Christian is not

614
00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:18,080
S1: obligated to obey the Old Testament law. So are you

615
00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,230
S1: saying that the Christian is not obligated to refrain from

616
00:32:21,230 --> 00:32:24,710
S1: idolatry or murder or adultery or theft or lying?

617
00:32:25,110 --> 00:32:28,790
S5: The short answer is no. I'm not saying that I

618
00:32:28,790 --> 00:32:31,390
S5: could see where my comment could be misunderstood, so I'm

619
00:32:31,390 --> 00:32:33,550
S5: happy to have this time to explain it. Please. The

620
00:32:33,550 --> 00:32:40,070
S5: Christian is obligated to refrain from idolatry, murder, adultery, theft,

621
00:32:40,070 --> 00:32:44,030
S5: and lying. But what's the basis of the obligation? I

622
00:32:44,030 --> 00:32:46,190
S5: take it that the basis of the obligation is not

623
00:32:46,230 --> 00:32:49,030
S5: the Law of Moses. The basis of the obligation is

624
00:32:49,030 --> 00:32:51,470
S5: what we find in our New Testament, which is communicating

625
00:32:51,510 --> 00:32:55,270
S5: to us a new covenant. Perhaps this might help some

626
00:32:55,270 --> 00:32:58,150
S5: of our listeners, I hope so. Our New Testament is

627
00:32:58,150 --> 00:33:03,950
S5: chock full of implicit and explicit commands, like an explicit

628
00:33:03,950 --> 00:33:07,590
S5: command at the end of first John five. My little children,

629
00:33:07,590 --> 00:33:12,470
S5: keep yourselves from idols. A clear, explicit command. But implicit

630
00:33:12,470 --> 00:33:15,990
S5: commands are like what you find in Galatians five. The

631
00:33:16,030 --> 00:33:18,700
S5: works of the flesh. These are all given to you

632
00:33:18,700 --> 00:33:21,860
S5: as things that can be done sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,

633
00:33:21,860 --> 00:33:24,500
S5: but they're also given to you as things not to do.

634
00:33:24,820 --> 00:33:27,420
S5: Like a negative command from the Old Testament might say,

635
00:33:27,580 --> 00:33:30,340
S5: do not commit adultery, do not steal. And then, of course,

636
00:33:30,340 --> 00:33:33,180
S5: many of us have memorized the fruit of the spirit.

637
00:33:33,180 --> 00:33:37,780
S5: And these are all implicitly positive commands like in the

638
00:33:37,780 --> 00:33:44,300
S5: Old Testament. Honor your mother and father. Here you have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,

639
00:33:44,300 --> 00:33:47,100
S5: all given to you as positive commands. So the New

640
00:33:47,100 --> 00:33:49,820
S5: Testament is just chock full of moral guidance.

641
00:33:49,860 --> 00:33:53,260
S1: Yeah. And the New Testament actually quotes so many of

642
00:33:53,260 --> 00:33:56,300
S1: the Old Testament in, in settings that would say, this

643
00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:57,620
S1: is for our time, too.

644
00:33:57,940 --> 00:34:01,820
S5: Good. John, I really appreciate that. So quite clearly, the

645
00:34:01,820 --> 00:34:04,060
S5: New Testament is deeply rooted in the old. And when

646
00:34:04,060 --> 00:34:06,420
S5: it repeats it, we have to really listen carefully.

647
00:34:06,660 --> 00:34:10,620
S1: Carl's question I'm studying revelation chapter one. Verses four and

648
00:34:10,620 --> 00:34:13,180
S1: five seemed to say that the letter is from Jesus,

649
00:34:13,180 --> 00:34:16,930
S1: him who is from the spirit and from Jesus. This

650
00:34:16,930 --> 00:34:20,330
S1: does not make sense. Am I missing who? Him who is?

651
00:34:20,370 --> 00:34:21,250
S1: Is referring to.

652
00:34:21,450 --> 00:34:24,050
S5: Oh, I find this question really interesting. Let's go there.

653
00:34:24,250 --> 00:34:28,290
S5: Revelation one four. It says John to the seven churches

654
00:34:28,290 --> 00:34:31,090
S5: that are in Asia. So we have the apostle John

655
00:34:31,410 --> 00:34:34,410
S5: writing to the churches. Then he says, Grace and peace

656
00:34:34,410 --> 00:34:36,890
S5: to you. A typical way to work in your letters.

657
00:34:37,370 --> 00:34:39,810
S5: The next part is the challenge. It says grace and

658
00:34:39,810 --> 00:34:43,450
S5: peace from the one who is. And this is the

659
00:34:43,450 --> 00:34:47,770
S5: really the question, who is the one who is? Well,

660
00:34:47,770 --> 00:34:50,330
S5: let's go back to the encounter that Moses has with

661
00:34:50,330 --> 00:34:53,890
S5: God in Exodus three. Moses is upset. He's going to

662
00:34:53,890 --> 00:34:57,009
S5: be sent. He's not quite sure what to do. He says,

663
00:34:57,010 --> 00:34:58,690
S5: when I go to the Israelites, they're going to ask,

664
00:34:58,690 --> 00:35:01,450
S5: what's his name? And what does the Lord say? Now,

665
00:35:01,730 --> 00:35:04,170
S5: in Hebrew he says, I am who I am. In

666
00:35:04,170 --> 00:35:06,890
S5: your English translation, it says, I am who I am.

667
00:35:06,930 --> 00:35:10,450
S5: In the Greek it says, I am the one who is.

668
00:35:11,450 --> 00:35:14,870
S5: So in revelation one, John is dependent upon the Greek

669
00:35:14,910 --> 00:35:18,710
S5: translation of Exodus three, and he's bringing in the God

670
00:35:18,710 --> 00:35:21,910
S5: of the Old Testament as the one who is from whom.

671
00:35:21,910 --> 00:35:25,670
S5: This grace and peace comes that John wishes for his audience.

672
00:35:26,469 --> 00:35:29,950
S1: Last question from Carlene. Can you explain what Judea, Samaria

673
00:35:29,950 --> 00:35:34,070
S1: and Galilee are? Are those areas or cities? Please explain.

674
00:35:34,110 --> 00:35:36,270
S5: Oh, I could see where this question would come. We're

675
00:35:36,270 --> 00:35:39,630
S5: not used to the geography. So Judea is in the

676
00:35:39,630 --> 00:35:43,110
S5: Promised Land. It's like in Israel. It's the most southern portion.

677
00:35:43,350 --> 00:35:47,790
S5: And Samaria is a region just above that political geographic region.

678
00:35:47,790 --> 00:35:51,190
S5: Just above that we have Galilee. These are all filled

679
00:35:51,190 --> 00:35:54,989
S5: with different kinds of Jews and Samaritans. Imagine three states

680
00:35:54,989 --> 00:35:57,550
S5: stacked on top of one another, like, you know, Iowa

681
00:35:57,550 --> 00:35:59,630
S5: and Minnesota, right? This is what we've got. These three

682
00:35:59,670 --> 00:36:04,310
S5: geographic regions, each with its own Roman governor, each ruled

683
00:36:04,310 --> 00:36:08,029
S5: by the King of Israel. So bordered on the west

684
00:36:08,310 --> 00:36:11,190
S5: by the Mediterranean Ocean, bordered on the east by the

685
00:36:11,230 --> 00:36:12,190
S5: Jordan River.

686
00:36:12,230 --> 00:36:16,060
S1: Okay, I hope that's helpful. Karlene. Thanks for asking that question.

687
00:36:16,140 --> 00:36:18,220
S1: Thank you to everybody who got a question in today.

688
00:36:18,219 --> 00:36:20,540
S1: And if you didn't hear yours this week, maybe it's

689
00:36:20,540 --> 00:36:22,739
S1: next week, but now's the time to email it to

690
00:36:22,780 --> 00:36:27,940
S1: us at The Land and the book at the land

691
00:36:27,940 --> 00:36:32,420
S1: and the book at. Give Doctor Peterman a few days

692
00:36:32,420 --> 00:36:34,860
S1: or up to a week to get that question answered.

693
00:36:34,860 --> 00:36:36,940
S1: But you will get an answer. That's the good news.

694
00:36:36,980 --> 00:36:39,100
S1: If it's been a while since you've been to our website,

695
00:36:39,100 --> 00:36:41,060
S1: why not check it out? You'll find us online at

696
00:36:41,060 --> 00:36:45,100
S1: The Land and the book. That's the land and the

697
00:36:45,140 --> 00:37:01,580
S1: book org Charlie's devotional is next. With all the choices

698
00:37:01,580 --> 00:37:04,340
S1: you've got these days, boy, we counted a real privilege

699
00:37:04,340 --> 00:37:06,219
S1: and an honor to have you listening with us here

700
00:37:06,219 --> 00:37:08,540
S1: at The Land and the book. I think you'll be

701
00:37:08,540 --> 00:37:10,819
S1: glad you made that choice. As you hear from Charlie

702
00:37:10,860 --> 00:37:14,650
S1: Dyer's devotional in this fourth and final segment. You know, Charlie,

703
00:37:14,650 --> 00:37:16,569
S1: if you, uh, if you walk the aisles of the

704
00:37:16,570 --> 00:37:20,529
S1: supermarkets and see commercials on television, you're led to believe

705
00:37:20,530 --> 00:37:25,010
S1: that pomegranates can cure just about anything, I mean, everything.

706
00:37:25,330 --> 00:37:28,010
S1: But apart from their medicinal value, they play a significant

707
00:37:28,010 --> 00:37:29,330
S1: role in scripture. Fair enough?

708
00:37:29,489 --> 00:37:30,650
S2: Yeah. Fair enough. John.

709
00:37:30,690 --> 00:37:32,969
S1: All right. And we're looking forward to your devotional today,

710
00:37:33,170 --> 00:37:36,930
S1: which is focused on pomegranates, seven species of the land.

711
00:37:36,969 --> 00:37:39,850
S1: We're going to learn more about pomegranates first, though, a

712
00:37:39,850 --> 00:37:41,410
S1: Holy Land experience.

713
00:37:45,690 --> 00:37:48,850
S6: Hi, Charlie, this is Eric from Spokane, and we just

714
00:37:48,850 --> 00:37:51,569
S6: got back from our trip with you to Israel. It's

715
00:37:51,570 --> 00:37:54,690
S6: been a week since we've been back. I've got many,

716
00:37:54,690 --> 00:37:57,410
S6: many things running through my head about the trip that

717
00:37:57,410 --> 00:38:00,569
S6: are just fantastic. But one thing from this week that

718
00:38:00,570 --> 00:38:03,969
S6: I wanted to share is that, um, I have personally

719
00:38:03,969 --> 00:38:06,130
S6: and everybody I've talked to that was on the trip

720
00:38:06,810 --> 00:38:10,250
S6: has talked to multiple people about Israel, about the trip,

721
00:38:10,250 --> 00:38:13,320
S6: about how safe it was. And it was just interesting

722
00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:18,160
S6: how many people, believers and non-believers alike have asked questions,

723
00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:22,480
S6: had conversations, deep conversations that were able to share our

724
00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:27,560
S6: faith and our our love for Jesus with them. So

725
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:29,920
S6: out of all the things we did on the trip,

726
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:33,520
S6: it was great and I really appreciated the way you

727
00:38:33,560 --> 00:38:37,439
S6: handled the guiding and explaining things to us. But since

728
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:40,960
S6: we've been back, it's just been one conversation after another

729
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:42,520
S6: and I thank you for that.

730
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,279
S1: All right, Charlie, where are you taking us today in

731
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:48,080
S1: your devotional?

732
00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,720
S2: We're going to head to Pomegranate Peak. In Deuteronomy eight,

733
00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:54,239
S2: Moses described the Promised Land as a land of wheat

734
00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:58,240
S2: and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey.

735
00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:00,839
S2: And today we're going to focus on the pomegranate by,

736
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:05,360
S2: as I say, visiting the 600 survivors stranded on Pomegranate Peak.

737
00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:08,120
S2: And not familiar with that story in the Bible. Well,

738
00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:10,589
S2: let me start by sharing some of the agricultural and

739
00:39:10,590 --> 00:39:14,270
S2: historical background. I was in college before I tasted or

740
00:39:14,270 --> 00:39:17,710
S2: actually even saw my first pomegranate. I was visiting my girlfriend,

741
00:39:17,710 --> 00:39:21,149
S2: who's now my wife, during Christmas break. Cathy's mom had

742
00:39:21,190 --> 00:39:23,790
S2: bought her a pomegranate as a special treat, and I

743
00:39:23,830 --> 00:39:26,509
S2: watched Cathy peel it open. The fruit was the size

744
00:39:26,510 --> 00:39:30,310
S2: of a very large orange with a Burgundy colored outer skin.

745
00:39:30,390 --> 00:39:33,190
S2: Inside were hundreds of red seeds with a pleasant, though

746
00:39:33,230 --> 00:39:36,430
S2: slightly tart, taste. The actual number of seeds in each

747
00:39:36,430 --> 00:39:41,230
S2: pomegranate varies, but it's usually just over 600. One online

748
00:39:41,230 --> 00:39:45,469
S2: statistical study placed the average number at 613, and that's

749
00:39:45,469 --> 00:39:48,830
S2: the traditional number of seeds assigned to the fruit in Judaism,

750
00:39:49,070 --> 00:39:51,310
S2: which identifies the number of seeds with the number of

751
00:39:51,310 --> 00:39:55,750
S2: commands in the Torah. 613 The Hebrew word for pomegranate

752
00:39:55,750 --> 00:39:58,350
S2: is Ramon. And that brings us to our story about

753
00:39:58,350 --> 00:40:03,390
S2: the 600 survivors stranded at Pomegranate Peak. The story begins

754
00:40:03,390 --> 00:40:06,390
S2: in the time of the judges, a time characterized by

755
00:40:06,390 --> 00:40:10,020
S2: rebellion and Then self-indulgence. The particular account we want to

756
00:40:10,060 --> 00:40:12,660
S2: explore today is found in the last three chapters of

757
00:40:12,660 --> 00:40:15,900
S2: the book. The writer bookends the account with a simple

758
00:40:15,900 --> 00:40:20,700
S2: explanation for why the nation was struggling. He begins in 1901.

759
00:40:20,700 --> 00:40:23,820
S2: In those days, Israel had no king, and he ends

760
00:40:23,820 --> 00:40:28,180
S2: the story in 2125. In those days, Israel had no king.

761
00:40:28,219 --> 00:40:31,819
S2: Everyone did as he saw fit. Between these bookends, the

762
00:40:31,820 --> 00:40:35,940
S2: writer shares the tragic story of a Levite with marital problems,

763
00:40:36,140 --> 00:40:39,819
S2: a town with unbridled sexual promiscuity, and a civil war

764
00:40:39,860 --> 00:40:42,860
S2: that nearly wiped out one of the 12 tribes of Israel.

765
00:40:43,219 --> 00:40:46,259
S2: The tribe of Benjamin's foolish desire to protect its rebellious

766
00:40:46,260 --> 00:40:50,379
S2: relatives clashed with the other tribes cries for vengeance. By

767
00:40:50,380 --> 00:40:55,660
S2: the time the destructive civil war ended, 25,000 Benjamite swordsmen fell,

768
00:40:55,700 --> 00:40:59,500
S2: all of them valiant fighters. The entire tribe of Benjamin

769
00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:03,180
S2: was reduced to a mere 600 men. 98% of the

770
00:41:03,180 --> 00:41:07,489
S2: male population had been wiped out. The 600 turned and

771
00:41:07,489 --> 00:41:10,169
S2: fled into the desert to the Rock of Ramon, where

772
00:41:10,170 --> 00:41:14,770
S2: they stayed for months. The Rock of Ramon is Pomegranate Peak.

773
00:41:15,050 --> 00:41:17,410
S2: Most identify it with a large hill on the edge

774
00:41:17,410 --> 00:41:21,009
S2: of the wilderness, three miles east of Bethel. Its name

775
00:41:21,010 --> 00:41:24,330
S2: is still preserved in the Arab village that's there, Ramon,

776
00:41:24,530 --> 00:41:27,569
S2: that sits on the site. Some have struggled with the

777
00:41:27,570 --> 00:41:31,250
S2: details of the account. Pomegranate trees don't usually grow in

778
00:41:31,250 --> 00:41:35,250
S2: the wilderness because they require more water than normally falls there.

779
00:41:35,489 --> 00:41:37,969
S2: So how could a location in the desert be called

780
00:41:37,969 --> 00:41:41,410
S2: the Rock of Ramon or Pomegranate Peak? Well, actually, the

781
00:41:41,410 --> 00:41:44,810
S2: answer is not too difficult. The village of Ramon is

782
00:41:44,810 --> 00:41:47,130
S2: right at the edge of the wilderness, just at the

783
00:41:47,130 --> 00:41:50,090
S2: spot where the hill country begins, sloping down into the

784
00:41:50,090 --> 00:41:52,810
S2: Jordan Valley less than a mile to the east. The

785
00:41:52,810 --> 00:41:55,610
S2: village trees give way to wheat fields and then very

786
00:41:55,610 --> 00:41:59,850
S2: quickly to a wilderness region suited only for flocks and herds.

787
00:42:00,050 --> 00:42:03,650
S2: And yet groves of trees surround that modern village. The

788
00:42:03,650 --> 00:42:07,560
S2: rock of Ramon Pomegranate peak is high enough in elevation

789
00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:11,000
S2: to support agriculture, and it's surrounded on all sides by

790
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:15,520
S2: steep valleys, offering good protection. The cultivation of pomegranates probably

791
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:18,479
S2: gave the site its name, and this pitiful remnant from

792
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:22,960
S2: Benjamin took refuge on this isolated outpost for four months,

793
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:25,720
S2: while the rest of the tribes looted and burned all

794
00:42:25,719 --> 00:42:28,960
S2: the cities of Benjamin. If the seeds of the pomegranate

795
00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:31,920
S2: symbolized all the commands of God, it's almost as if

796
00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:34,560
S2: the Rock of Ramon was a reminder of how far

797
00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:38,080
S2: the people had strayed from these commands. God had promised

798
00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:41,880
S2: to bless Israel for obedience and to curse them for disobedience.

799
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:45,360
S2: And now one tribe had almost been completely wiped out

800
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:48,799
S2: for its disobedience. As we stand here on the windswept

801
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:51,959
S2: heights of Pomegranate Peak, what lessons can we learn from

802
00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:57,879
S2: this tragic tale? I see two essential truths we cannot ignore. First,

803
00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:01,800
S2: the spot stands as a stark reminder that God expects obedience.

804
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:04,620
S2: God did not give his commands because he wanted to

805
00:43:04,620 --> 00:43:09,180
S2: be some sort of cosmic killjoy, hoping to make everyone miserable. Rather,

806
00:43:09,180 --> 00:43:11,740
S2: much of what God wrote in his word was intended

807
00:43:11,739 --> 00:43:15,380
S2: to protect us from foolish actions that result in heartache

808
00:43:15,380 --> 00:43:19,140
S2: and sadness. Chuck Swindoll made a profound observation in this

809
00:43:19,140 --> 00:43:21,900
S2: regard when he wrote, sowing what we reap is a

810
00:43:21,900 --> 00:43:24,460
S2: principle as old as Scripture. Time and again we see

811
00:43:24,500 --> 00:43:26,899
S2: examples of it in the Bible as well as in

812
00:43:26,900 --> 00:43:31,180
S2: life all around us. Theoretically, we know it's true. Experientially

813
00:43:31,180 --> 00:43:33,900
S2: we've witnessed it as well, but we tend to forget

814
00:43:34,300 --> 00:43:38,180
S2: prisons exist, standing as stern evidence that crime does not pay.

815
00:43:38,460 --> 00:43:42,419
S2: Drug rehabilitation centers and special clinics for alcoholics are both

816
00:43:42,420 --> 00:43:47,940
S2: reminders that our bodies cannot be mistreated without severe consequences. Again,

817
00:43:47,980 --> 00:43:52,020
S2: the reminder we reap what we sow. Now, as Chuck said,

818
00:43:52,020 --> 00:43:55,379
S2: Pomegranate Peak stands as a warning, as a reminder that

819
00:43:55,380 --> 00:43:57,940
S2: when we choose to live life, doing what is right

820
00:43:57,940 --> 00:44:01,779
S2: in our own eyes will eventually experience the consequences of

821
00:44:01,780 --> 00:44:06,370
S2: our actions. Don't ever forget that reality. But there's a

822
00:44:06,370 --> 00:44:09,210
S2: second lesson we can take from Pomegranate Peak. And it's

823
00:44:09,210 --> 00:44:12,850
S2: a lesson about God's grace. As the Book of Judges ends,

824
00:44:12,890 --> 00:44:17,050
S2: the Tribe of Benjamin faced extinction using some rather creative means.

825
00:44:17,050 --> 00:44:20,490
S2: The rest of the tribe secured brides for the 600 survivors.

826
00:44:20,770 --> 00:44:24,450
S2: But what could a small remnant ever hope to accomplish? Well,

827
00:44:24,450 --> 00:44:27,410
S2: the answer is found just two books away. Israel demanded

828
00:44:27,410 --> 00:44:29,810
S2: a king, and God selected the one to be his

829
00:44:29,810 --> 00:44:33,770
S2: chosen leader. And he chose Saul, son of Kish, who

830
00:44:33,770 --> 00:44:37,210
S2: was from the tribe of Benjamin. And though this particular

831
00:44:37,210 --> 00:44:40,890
S2: Benjamite also failed, another Saul from the tribe of Benjamin

832
00:44:40,890 --> 00:44:44,450
S2: came along later, and he didn't fail. I'm referring, of course,

833
00:44:44,450 --> 00:44:46,930
S2: to the Saul of the New Testament, whom we know

834
00:44:46,930 --> 00:44:50,770
S2: better by his Roman name. Paul. The apostle Paul reminded

835
00:44:50,770 --> 00:44:54,050
S2: the Philippians of his family history of the people of Israel,

836
00:44:54,050 --> 00:44:56,850
S2: of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews.

837
00:44:57,370 --> 00:45:00,489
S2: The first Saul might have failed, but this later descendant

838
00:45:00,489 --> 00:45:02,840
S2: from the tribe of Benjamin did not, and at the

839
00:45:02,840 --> 00:45:05,120
S2: end of his life he was able to say, I

840
00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:07,799
S2: have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,

841
00:45:08,080 --> 00:45:12,120
S2: I have kept the faith. Isn't it encouraging to know

842
00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:15,200
S2: that God didn't permanently set the Tribe of Benjamin on

843
00:45:15,200 --> 00:45:18,960
S2: the shelf because of its sin, and in the same way,

844
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,680
S2: he promises to use us if we're willing to be

845
00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:26,160
S2: wholehearted followers of him, willing to admit that we've gone wrong,

846
00:45:26,320 --> 00:45:29,759
S2: choose to finish the race now, and keep the faith.

847
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:34,280
S1: Charlie, for somebody who says, boy, I like what you're saying,

848
00:45:34,600 --> 00:45:36,600
S1: what do I do now? I mean, I feel like

849
00:45:36,600 --> 00:45:39,000
S1: I have failed. I feel like I'm the first saw.

850
00:45:39,040 --> 00:45:40,080
S1: What's their next step?

851
00:45:40,719 --> 00:45:42,839
S2: I take them right to first. John one nine. If

852
00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:44,799
S2: we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to

853
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:48,200
S2: forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

854
00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:49,759
S2: We need to believe that if we go to God

855
00:45:49,760 --> 00:45:51,680
S2: and say, Lord, I know I've sinned. I know I've

856
00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:54,160
S2: not lived up to what you've said. I confess that

857
00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:56,200
S2: to you freely. I want to turn from that and

858
00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:59,000
S2: be a follower of yours, that God will forgive us

859
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,910
S2: our sin and set us on the right path. I

860
00:46:01,910 --> 00:46:03,790
S2: also like it in the book of Joel that, having

861
00:46:03,790 --> 00:46:06,830
S2: described the locust plagues, God said that he could make

862
00:46:06,830 --> 00:46:09,270
S2: up for the years of locusts. That is, God can

863
00:46:09,270 --> 00:46:12,270
S2: restore us and and bring blessing to our lives, even

864
00:46:12,270 --> 00:46:14,670
S2: when we've lived such poor lives up to that point.

865
00:46:14,710 --> 00:46:17,390
S1: Well, that's great encouragement. And maybe this is a devotional

866
00:46:17,390 --> 00:46:19,270
S1: you'd like to hear again. The good news is you

867
00:46:19,270 --> 00:46:22,509
S1: can you can hear the entire program again at our website,

868
00:46:22,510 --> 00:46:25,350
S1: The Land and the book org. Which brings me to

869
00:46:25,390 --> 00:46:27,750
S1: this point. If you are not yet taking advantage of

870
00:46:27,750 --> 00:46:30,670
S1: our podcast, you should be. And if you are not

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S1: yet sharing that podcast with your friends, you should be.

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00:46:34,110 --> 00:46:36,469
S1: All right, enough of the guilt trip talk, but just

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S1: point out to you that it's available for you there

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00:46:38,270 --> 00:46:42,710
S1: at the website, the land and the book. Well, it's

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00:46:42,710 --> 00:46:45,109
S1: been a full program, a great program, and our thanks

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S1: to Dan Anderson, our producer, to our host, Charlie Dyer.

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S1: I'm John Yeager, and the land and the book is

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S1: a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.