Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome everyone to another episode of the Jonathan Project podcast where iron is sharpening iron and we help men navigate the complex world around them by taking the example of friendship and loyalty between Jonathan and David. If you want us to come out, speak at a men's engagement. If you have something going on, we please reach out to us at the Jonathan Project podcast gmail.com. again, the Jonathan Project podcast gmail.com. we also have a free men's devotional that we've created. That's right, free. You will see the links when we post all of the episode summaries, but it's free, so go check that out. It's a 20 day length devotional and it takes about two minutes to read every day. But in any case, we're going to jump into our next episode. Jason, welcome to the show. How are you doing?
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Hey, brother. How's it going, man?
[00:01:02] Speaker A: It's going.
[00:01:04] Speaker B: I hear you. I.
Well, we are continuing here the beautiful chicken drama is we have a 3:30 in the morning candidate every day. He and I had a discussion yesterday and had another discussion this morning. So they make these things, Colby, I gotta tell you, it's. It's like if you want to keep a rooster from crowing, they got this little necklace thing collar he put on them and when they take that big, their neck swells out. It kind of stops it. Right? Yeah, yeah, it's on Amazon or whatever. Well, we got some of those. Put it on him and he lost his mind and so I had to take that off and we had to take another approach this morning. I don't, I don't know. He may be a Starland nav candidate as well. Oh, you know, but they, we got, we had to have him in there to kind of keep the other ones from bullying one another. So.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: Yeah, well, it's. I see. Have more drama in the, in your chicken kingdom there. But you don't figure.
[00:02:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like a Lifetime channel every, every day they eat a lot. It sounds like it.
[00:02:10] Speaker A: It sounds like it sounds like it.
[00:02:12] Speaker B: Tear up a bunch of stuff.
[00:02:14] Speaker A: So we're going to talk about in this episode. Yeah.
[00:02:19] Speaker B: All right. So as I was looking through Luke, you know, I'm, I've been studying Luke and I, I do enjoy Luke. I like his approach to things. It's kind of very straightforward. But as I was looking at it, Jesus is talking and the people around, they're very worried about these or they talk about these Galileans that were killed by Pilate in the same. In the temple area. Right. And they believed, they wanted to know, was it because they lived outside of Jerusalem, outside of Israel, right? And they said, look, all good Israelites that are holy live here. Right? And then Jesus says, no, absolutely not. He goes, what? They any less righteous than the 18 people who were killed with the tower of Siloam fell? And that's in Luke 13:1 5. But Jesus says, no. And what it got me to thinking was, is a lot of times we believe that we are safe from things like our righteousness keeps us safe.
And the Bible doesn't talk about that because Job's friends said, as a just man ever perished. Well, yeah, we just celebrated Jesus, right, The crucifixion.
But it ties into it. There's a just world hypothesis, right? And everybody believes the world is just and kind of this, it works itself out sort of deal. And when things happen, if you listen, people want to know, they want to know why. But the way they approach it is kind of interesting. They go, what was the victim doing?
They don't ever ask, well, what was the perpetrator doing?
And the reason is, is just like that just world hypothesis. We believe we're good people, okay? And we kind of. It kind of nests in here. And you got to bear with me as I connect the dots, but when you believe you're a good person, you believe good things should happen. And when bad things happen, it's kind of this moral identity crisis.
And we want to know what the evictment, what the victim was doing and want to associate that event to them somehow. Somehow they were doing something to kind of cause it subconsciously. And what we are doing by doing that is, is we're separating ourselves, we're insulating ourselves from those possible events, right? Does that make sense? It's our way of controlling the problem. But in reality, just like Jesus talked about those people in Galilean, the Galileans and the people at Siloam, they just were there. It just happened, right? And that's the way life is sometimes it just happens. In 1 Peter 4, 12, 13, he says, Fiery trial. Fiery trials say that. 15 say that real fast. Fiery trials are going to happen. And what happens when, when it does, when the rubber meets the road, what happens? Where's your faith?
So that, that's, that's where my. The rabbit chased down that hole there.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: Oh yeah. So, you know, like I was saying, I think I call it like these even if moments is a really popular song out there, right? Even if.
And it's talking about those moments where life just kind of doesn't just knock you down, but it leaves you kind of gasping for air, you know, when the jobs fall through, when your relationship is crumbling, when you pray to prayer, looking for an answer. And then it goes a different way than what you that you hoped. And the question that it leaves you with is, you know, does God, Can I trust him? Is he still there for me? Right. Do I have to? Do I still praise Him? How can I pray him in this moment? And it's easy to sing even if when life is good, but when the rubber meets the road, you know, will your faith spin like real money or will it spend like Monopoly money, you know? And you know, Habakkuk 3, 17, 18 again, say that book fast five times, right? Though a fig tree should not blossom nor fruit beyond vines, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. Again, it's easy to sit here and to say that, right? But if you're in the midst of something, to sit here and to say that it carries a little bit of different weight. And I think the way that we get to those points and moments where we go beyond just the surface, even ifs, and we're really fighting the fight and we're really trusting that the Lord is going to take us through those dark valleys is you have to build it in the good times, the times, and remember the past, bad times that he's brought you through.
And that's kind of the heart and the gist of what my kind of notes and kind of taken off and understanding this, this moment where that we're talking about here of the episode is like, hey, it's not going to be easy. And you have to get past this concept and notion that it's going to be easy times. There are going to be hard times. But that doesn't mean that God's given up on you or that you can't trust him.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: Yeah. Look at Ephesians 5:20. And it absolutely means something to me. It says, give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Giving thanks always for all things doesn't say the things we like. It says all things. That's a tough one. That is tough, right? Because sometimes, sometimes in life we get the cake and sometimes it may not be what we want. But just like you said that even if I love the story of Daniel, and we talked a little bit about it last time about. And it's Daniel 3, 17, 18, and it Shadrach Meshach And Abedigo, right? And it says, when they're getting ready to get thrown in the fire. And Nebuchadnezzar says, if you don't worship this idol, this is what's happening. And they looked at him and it said, if it be so, our God, Our God, whom we serve is able to deliver us from. From the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thine hand, oh, king.
That's pretty wild. Like, hey, even if we go in there, we're done with you, right?
[00:08:24] Speaker A: No, that's. That's some deep trust.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: Yeah, it is. And then the next phrase, the next verse says, but if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou set up. That's the King James version. Because if you're listening, you know, that's what I read. But think about it. They're there and they said, look, we're not doing this. We've had good times up to this moment, but it's about to get real bad. But we're going to be free from you, and God can deliver us. But if he chooses not to, we're still in this. We're still going to sing his praise, and we're still going to stay beside him. That's real money like you, like you were talking about. That's not Monopoly money. And you see people, a lot of times we go, I'm willing to follow you unto death. I'm willing to do this. I'm willing to do this. I'm right here with you. But throughout the Bible, you see people that when Jesus said, okay, let's do this, and a lot of people turned away when it got a little hard.
You know, Alabama is known to have a great football team. They have for years, right? If you grew up in this state, Saturdays, it was Alabama footballs, what you listen to or watched on tv.
But there was a season where they were absolutely losing before Nick Saban came on board, right? It was between the Bear and Saban, and all the Alabama stickers weren't around. Nobody wore Alabama T shirts, nothing. But all of a sudden, when Saban showed up, we had a lot of folks, everybody's like, oh, it goes back to something that Bear Bryant had to say. He goes, everybody loves a winner.
Well, how strong is that love when you're losing? Where does that. Where's that meet? You know, what's your. What's your faith like?
[00:10:16] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I. I think that, you know, it was a great talking about the Shatrak And Meshach and Abednego. And, you know, the Bible defines that trust that they displayed as, you know, believing in God's reliability, ability, strength, and promises, even when circumstances scream otherwise. I can't imagine no better example of that in the Bible than if you're about to get thrown into a fiery Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. You know, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. He'll make your path straight again. You see, in that beautiful example where those three guys had built some trust, they had seen something in their lives. And we don't. We don't get all their backstory, but they had seen something that allow them, and no better example of life and death to say, hey, you know what? I don't know what's about to happen. And, yeah, sure, I wouldn't want to be in this kind of situation, but you know what? Even if it doesn't go my way, I'm still believing and putting my trust in him. And the amazing thing that I take away out of that, beyond just their faith, is that God shows up when you lean on him in big faith moments. I truly, truly believe that. And if you get nothing else out of there, if you're going through something and it seems dark and bleak, even if that door seems like it's slamming on you and, or, you know, whatever's going on, you know, look to that example of those three and God shows up, you know, because that is real trust to say that, you know what? Even when I didn't get the, the right diagnosis from the doctor, even when, you know, the job that I wanted closed or the relationship fell apart or whatever it is. It could be a hosting gamut of things that we go through in life that, you know what? Lord has something for me, and it's going to be better than I can expect either on this side or in the life to come.
[00:12:08] Speaker B: You know, that. That's a, that's an excellent point. When, when times are hard, right? Like, where do you throw your faith? How does that work out? And so for the guys that are listening, that are friends of mine that I grew up with, Tyson's, one of them, Daniel is out there. They're going to remember a time when there was a family at our church who was killed on a. In a car wreck, right? One, one, one morning, this family's crossing the road, the little highway there.
Very sad situation. Semi truck hits him, right in that one day, in that one moment, it wiped out a man's daughter and his grandchildren. And come that next Sunday, when, when the funeral was over, he stood there and I can see it as plain as day, puts his hand on the armchair of the. Of the piano, and he says, you know what? My God still worthy to be praised. And he sang Beulah Land, you know, with tears in his eyes. And it was a tough moment, but when the rubber hit the road, that's where his faith was. And today that still remains one of the strong, one of the greatest examples of courage that I've ever seen in my life.
And he. I think about that quite a bit. Like when the hard times hit, he was there. Faith is clearly defined as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. In other words, I don't see a way out. There is no other rescue. But I am going to plant my flag right here on this hill, and this is as far as it goes. Yeah, right.
[00:13:41] Speaker A: No, yeah, I love that. And that's a powerful example, you know, and it leads me to the thought that, you know, fake faith falls real fast.
Real faith, you know, stands and it weathers storms, right? You know, when life gets real, you know, like we gave many examples, you know, betrayals, those kind of things. Something that cuts deep, that fake faith, if you haven't built it up, it's going to fold on you, you know, And Jesus Christ gives you a promise to stand on in Hebrews 13. 8. And he reminds us that he's the same yesterday, today, and forever. There's no variability in him. And in our lives, when we live, as we've gone through, however long you've been on this planet, you know that there's so many variables that can change and alter your life that you. You just can't predict or see. But Jesus is a constant. And having that someone that you can turn to and put your hope in and to walk beside you is a very powerful thing. You know, he doesn't necessarily change based on our circumstances, you know, but have you built the trust in him that when the circumstances change, you have something to hold on to? In that storm, you have that lighthouse that you can guide to. You have that. You know, that rudder through the storm is guiding you to that safe harbor. You know, look at Joseph, you know, one of my favorite examples to pull through. And you look about hardships and. And as we're talking about today, those even f moments where before he was singing praises, you know, like, look, I had this dream you were bowing down to me. And then he finds himself betrayed, thrown in A pit, sold into slavery, accused of wrongfully assaulting a woman. Forgotten for years, on and on and on. But what you see through there is even if, even if, even if this keeps happening, I'm going to keep trusting him. Even if I had to sit here for all these years, he still sees me. He hasn't forgotten me. He knows my name. Those are all things that you can recall for your own life. That when you're sitting in something, I would hope never as horrible as what Joseph went through, you can remember that. If that makes sense for everybody.
[00:15:48] Speaker B: Think about that. Joseph is. Got the dreams, life's good, Dad's taking care of him, and he is. They're gonna, they're gonna, they capture him, they're like, I will kill him.
Then they said, no, we're gonna sell him into slavery. You know, Joseph tried to escape. He hadn't, you know, he had to fight. He had to ask for, hey, let me out of here. Let me go through all this. And there's those guys that betrayed, right? That's a phenomenal story because he's got time. And in time a lot goes on, right? There's a lot of ground between him and being the viceroy.
And he's like, okay, I'm here. And he does the interpretation and he's like, oh, I'm gonna get out of here. And then that guy forgets him, right? And he says, you know, he had to sit there and the things he saw was, is it's not getting any better. But he kept his faith. And he's mentioned, I think about some folks, you know, and this is, this isn't unrealistic expectations to maintain your faith. I don't see that sometimes we. Let me, let me, let me kind of put it like this. We see a lot of armchair quarterbacks, people calling out, right, for oh, hey, we need to make this sacrifice to do this or do that, but it's the last one sometimes to willing to stand up, right? But they don't have a lot of skin in the game. I think about the Titanic went down. And I read this the other day and I thought it was worthwhile mentioning. And this Isadore and Ida Strauss, right? They're a wealthy couple, by the way. Isadore was a congressman. They were co owners of Macy's, right? So when the ship goes down, they're super wealthy. But they, it was women and children first. And so they were like, okay, this is where it is. Women and children first. And Ida says, nope, I'm gonna stay with my husband. This is Where I'm gonna stay. And they let everybody go forward. When the ship was sinking, they took a pause. Their wealth went down with them. It didn't buy them anything. They stood by their moral grounds.
As a matter of fact, a whole lot of wives decided to stay with their husbands and their children. Right? Many passengers prioritized other people by not pushing their way to their lifeboats. Right? That's a lot of faith. That's all that's. This is. You can see what's happening. You see it's going down. It is the Titanic. It is the. The event that we all kind of reference other things against.
But you take a look, it was their. Their moral fiber or their. Their. Their belief in, hey, this is what's right.
Now, the article didn't talk about their Christianity, but it was clearly put in faith into action. Okay, John Jacob Astor. He was built. The Waldorf Hotel is worth about $2 billion, and it's women and children first. And they said. That guy just said, got it. Let's get them in there. I'm gonna go the other side and hang out until it's over.
When you talk, when you see those events, when you see a great event, what. What is it that comes forth right in Luke 9. 23, Jesus says, take up your cross daily and follow me daily.
You know, just like when James says, faith without works is dead. Works is plural. Daily is plural, right? Like, you're gonna cross those bridges. You're gonna cross them. And just like you said, how. How do you have enough faith when the big things come? Well, it's like getting in that squat rack. You got to get the reps in under some lighter weight.
[00:19:42] Speaker A: No, you know, I think how we respond to trials, you know, which is what you were highlighting there, you know, for me and for the audience with the Titanic seeking, it says a lot about what you have built in the past and where you put your hope in the future. Is it in wealth? Is it in status? Is it in all those things that those people portrayed bought you really nothing? Again, that's. That Monopoly money. It's fake. You know, it's. It means nothing when real life moments hit, you don't get one extra second on this planet. It doesn't matter if you're Bill Gates rich or you're a homeless person on the side of the road. You get no extra time.
And heaven is unbiased to who you think you are, because actually, in the kingdom, it says the first will be last and the last will be first. You know, so it's A different mindset. So when adversity strikes, there's only, there's our natural question, why God? Why me? And all those people on that boat or all the people that, you know that had something get, go wrong in their lives? It's a natural human thing. Look at the story of Job, he does that. But listen to what James has to say. In contradiction to it is consider it pure joy. My brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, God sometimes, and oftentimes, as you even look through the heroes and all the stories of faith in the Bible, he. He grows us through those trials. You know, trials shouldn't be viewed as punishment. It's a mindset. And if you allow yourself to say, God is playing whack a mole in my life. And because this pop up, I did something wrong, I ran that traffic light, now he's out to get me. That leads you to a very dark place. You know, instead, oftentimes we can look at these as I'm getting those reps, as Jason kind of mentioned, I'm getting those spiritual reps to build my faith. As comfortable as this feels just like when you go exercise, it's not the most comfortable thing all the time, but it's an invitation in this sense to go deeper in fellowship and find out more about yourself and most definitely get into a deeper fellowship and understanding of who Jesus is. And so that's why you have to pray. That's why you have to focus, right? Why do we pray in the middle of the storm? James 1 and 5. If you need wisdom, ask and our generous God will give it to us. Stay rooted in the Word. That's why it's so important to have these stories in that catalog called your mind and to be able to recall them not in perfect detail, but able to daily go in and suppress all those feelings of the adversary. What is something that is good and wholesome for you and then lean into a community. That's the whole thing with this Jonathan project, right? Yeah. Having people in your life that you can lean them. Like when, when things aren't, you're not strong. And there's going to be those times, you know, we all gone through things and, and as long as we keep living, you're going to go through something and someone's got to be there for you. That's the reason why you have the church. That's why Ecclesiastes 4, 9 and 10 tells us two are better than one. Because if one falls the other can help them up. Men especially. Hear me on this last point before I turn it back over to Jason. We are never meant to walk through the fire alone. Life is a team sport, as my good buddy here can tell you. The last phase, Special Forces selection, is called Team Week. Because ultimately, that's what guys like Jason and other guys I know out there listening, that's what they do. But it's a great example for men. We have to be on a team, growing together, because you can't do this by yourself, man. It is tough.
[00:23:17] Speaker B: Yeah. No, you hit a nail on the head, right, Like. And it comes down to I like. You know, when you talk about selection, it's funny, I was just thinking about it because in Hebrews 12 it talks about, let's run the patient. Let's run with patience, the race that set before us. And another friend of mine and I were talking yesterday about, you know, selection, and years ago, I'm a pre 9, 11 selectee.
And they would just read a card, you know, they get you out there and they go, okay, candidate, run along designated path, you know, until. And don't deviate to the right nor left. Till told to do so begin. And that's all they would read, and he would take off. And I remember running one morning as the sun was coming up, and they run you around that airfield at McCall. And I could see red vest for as far as I could see, because they started you in like, 10 minute intervals, you know. And I remember looking up there going, that's a long way to go. That's, you know, it's. It's a long. It's a long run, brother. And. But you have to have patience. And just like in life, life requires patience. We all think that, man. I'm gonna pray for patience, and I'm gonna get it. Patience is a skill. It really is to be patient, to sit, to wait. It's a skill, right? There's a. There's a unique thing called delayed gratification. If you. Your kids, they did it with the marshmallow test, where they. The guy says, I'm gonna leave this marshmallow here. And if you. If you'll wait and eat, you know, till I get back and eat it, I'll give you three more marshmallows. And the guy leaves for like 30 minutes. And some kids eat it and some kids don't. And what we figured out is the kids who don't eat it and wait actually do better in the long run with things. That's patience, right? And it takes it takes effort. It really does. And it takes. Just, like, faith, you know, Faith without works. That's. That's something, all right. That's a conscious choice in, you know, in selection and later on in life, we used to call people tab wearers and tab bearers, right? Like when I had a guy say it one time, he says, when I wake up in the morning, I shave my face. I see. I don't see a banker. I don't see anything else. I see. I see a Green Beret. I am. I'm loyal to the regiment. When we wake up in the morning, we shave our face. Do we see a Christian in there? Are we faithful to the Lord, or do we see, oh, I've got other things to go do? Every man has to shave his own face. You got to look yourself in the mirror. Yeah. Who are you? What does it say? Well, it says by your actions, right? Either you're a bear or you just wear that title.
[00:25:56] Speaker A: You do.
[00:25:57] Speaker B: You just wear that necklace, or you either live up to it and picking up your cross is more than putting on that necklace.
And to your. To your point about iron, sharpening iron, you know, it does. It's team sport. Colby, you and I talk every day, and I'd greatly appreciate it. As you know, there's. There's a lot going on in this world you and I have talked about. There's. There's a couple of topics that seem to reach everybody, that seem to saturate everybody's life.
And I have a great. I have a great pocket knife. I've carried it with me tons of places, right? And the other day, it was. It was dull. It really kind of surprised me because it's a real good one, and it. It was dull. So I had to get the. The sharpness stone out and get at it, you know?
But that's with all of us. We all get weary, we all get tired, and if you ain't got a buddy beside you that says, hey, man, let's. Let's. Let's pull out the Bible, let's pull out Scripture, and has a heart for Jesus, then you're lost, and you gotta have it. You gotta have it.
[00:27:05] Speaker A: So to wrap up just like. I guess my final thoughts here is that, you know, it's a choice. It is a choice on how we respond when life sucker punches us. You know, you can either choose to remember what you've gone through and how you got and overcame, and that this is going to pass however it passes, but you're going to come out on the other side and, you know, and not be forgotten. Or you can choose to worry and to have fear and to, you know, shirk away from. From the Lord. You know, Psalms 3. 34, and one says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continuously be in my mouth. You know, look at Paul and Silas. They were beaten, chained up in prison, bleeding. And what did they choose to do? They choose to sing. You know, it's a powerful thing to shift in your mind that even though I look at situations, I can see something that is absolutely. There's no goodness that's happening, but I believe that the Lord has something good for me. Shatrak, B. Shack and Abednego, probably as we talked earlier, is the best thing and, you know, time back to Paul and Silas that I just brought up. When you go back and read that story, the prison doors fly open and the jailer is about to, you know, do himself a little bit of. Of some harm, and they sing out like, hey, we're still here. You know, and that moment helped transform that person's life, I have no doubt, in. In a deep and profound way. So when you see someone that's suffering, right? And that's. That's kind of the good perspective we get from there. And yet they're still praising and they're singing. It does something for the whole atmosphere. It changes people's mindset. Like, man, what is going on? Why are you different? Why aren't you nervous? Why aren't you freaking out? And that's what we want to be. Wherever God has placed us as men, our families and our communities, to be able to be that calm in the storm and say, hey, you know what? There is a. A different way. There is someone I want to introduce you to that gives me a sense of peace and. And hope and trust.
[00:29:09] Speaker B: And that's an excellent point. You know, is. Is what. What happens in that storm, right? Your faith, you don't. You don't see the way out. You don't see any of it. So where. Where's your faith? So I. I love the. I love the bow you put on that. So.
[00:29:27] Speaker A: Well, folks, that's another great episode of the Jonathan Project podcast. You can find this episode in every episode on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio, you name it. You can find the. The Jonathan Project. So please reach out, subscribe, so you don't miss a single episode. Also, we have a free devotional. If you're looking for a way to help build those spiritual reps to get your faith a little bit stronger, I highly encourage you to go get this free. That is right. It's not typo or misspoken word. That is true. It is free. You're going to see it. It's in the links. Please follow up. 28 days, about two minutes a day. But I think it's something. It's a good thing to put into your kit bag. Yeah. And finally, I guess as I'm forgetting, our little outro, if you want to contact us, you find inspiration, hope and all that we've done, please reach out to us. Or if you want, in prayer at the Jonathan Project podcast, gmail.com Again, the Jonathan Project podcast gmail.com and we happy to connect with you there, Jason. Thanks for your time. And yeah, man, talk to you again here soon. All right.
[00:30:34] Speaker B: See you, buddy. Bye.
