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Neurosurgeon and award-winning author Dr. W. Lee Warren, MD delivers daily prescriptions from neuroscience, faith, and common sense on how to lead a healthier, better, happier life. You can’t change your life until you change your mind, and Dr. Warren will teach you the art of self brain surgery to get it done. His new book, Hope Is the First Dose, is available everywhere books are sold.
Good morning, my friend. Dr. Lee Warren here with you, and it is Tuesday,
and I'm going to bring you a special classic episode of Tuesdays with Tata today.
We've been talking about light, and Tata's in San Antonio.
We have the third in a series of funerals for relatives that we've lost in the
last month, and I'll be heading down to Texas for that at some point soon.
And just wanted to bring you back.
We've been talking about light and how light may be the key to how information
is transmitted between the mind and the brain and maybe even between God's mind
and our mind and all that cool stuff from physics that physicists are on the
trail of sorting out how thoughts actually become things and all that stuff.
And I wanted to give you on Tuesday, since it's Tuesdays with Tata,
this great episode where we talked about what happened when God said,
let there be light. It's a great conversation.
You'll get a lot out of it with some good worship music in there.
And it's Tuesdays with Tata. We'll talk to you again soon.
Is where we learn to become healthier, feel better, and be happier.
This is where we leave the past behind and transform our minds.
This is where we start today. Are you ready?
This is your podcast. This is your place. This is your time,
my friend. Let's get after it.
Music.
I'm really grateful for these talks that we have on Tuesdays with Ta-Ta Dad.
It's come a long way. Amazing. It's a long time. Well, in the spirit of that,
Ta-Ta, what you got for us?
Well, there's a verse and a reading, some scripture in Zechariah chapter 8.
And it really struck me because this is God talking himself.
Because in verse 20, it begins, Zechariah 8, 20.
Thus says the Lord of hosts. People shall come, even in the inhabitants of many cities.
The inhabitants of one city will go to another saying, let us go at once to
entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I myself am going.
Could that be said of us? Do we want to go seek the Lord's favor?
I myself am going. But I want to take you down to verse 20, verse 23.
Thus says the Lord of hosts in those days ten men from the nations of every
tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew saying let us go with you for we
have heard that the Lord is with you.
So that to me is a very powerful thing but think about that keep that thought
in mind and look at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 and where Jesus is
part of the Sermon on the Mount of course that you probably know that in chapter 5, verse 14,
you are the light of the world.
And it goes on to talk about a city set on a hill.
It will be noticed. It will be seen. And no one lights a lamp and puts it under
a basket because someone would say it on a stand so they would give light to
the whole house. That's right.
And then he sums it up by saying, in the same way.
Did you see that? In the same way, let your light shine before others so that
you may see that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.
So maybe think about this. And I pose the same question.
Could this be said about us that people will see how we live and how we how
we conduct ourselves and they'll say to themselves, I want to go with you.
I want some of that. That's right. I want to know, what does that mean?
And maybe they would be like the other people that would say, I myself am going.
And maybe we would be the witnesses that Jesus was talking about. That's right.
Because we would be reflecting his light. We're not the, Jesus said we're the
light, but we get the light from him. That's right.
Because he is the light of the world. And so we are reflecting his light.
And we pray that that's what we're doing so in that vein of thought then what does that say about us?
We have to have peace with ourselves. That's right. We have to have peace with God.
And if we don't, we're not going to be that light that Jesus talks about. Wow.
And we're not going to be the one that other people will look to and say,
what is different about you? Why are you like how you are?
Why do you have the same spirit in you that you profess and you show us?
Because someone said it a long time ago, I hear you, but how you are speaks
so loud that I cannot hear you. Oh, wow.
So actions, someone said it else another way, actions speak louder than words.
That's right. Especially with children.
This is what Paul was talking about in Titus 2, 7, Dad,
when he said that in our, you know, he says in your life,
life um in everything that you may adorn the
doctrine of god our savior this idea of our lives
are so attractive the word adorned comes
from the word that we use for cosmetics because yeah in the
greek and it's basically saying that our lives are supposed to
make god's truth more pleasant more to smell better to look better to be more
attractive not not what peter talked about about tickling ears and yes that's
right simple things that aren't true but but that our Our lives are supposed
to bear out and make more attractive the truth that can save people.
That's what you're saying.
Absolutely. Because what it is and where it starts with, when I'm saying it
starts with us, by that I mean it begins with us because it speaks to the hope that we have.
And if we have hope and we have faith, then we will live our lives differently. That's right.
That's what I'm always getting at when I talk about Christians are supposed
to be happy, as Randy Alcorn said. that happiness doesn't mean that you just
paste a smile on and act like everything's okay.
Happiness has a deeper, this idea of makarios in the New Testament has an idea
of caring about us, this sort of invincibility that whatever comes along,
it won't be able to knock us off our feet, that we will have this sort of power
and resilience and peace and hope about us. That's right.
Because that's what's attractive to lost people, to hurting people.
That's right. How do you manage to go through the same life I do and you seem
to keep your chin up and I can't? Like, what is it that you have?
That's what those 10 guys are grabbing on.
That's right. That's why they grabbed ahold of his robe, that man's robe.
Well, and the other part of that is, and I know in my heart of hearts that someone
might think, well, that sounds easy, but how do you do that?
It's not easy. This month is really hard. It is. It's hard for both of us.
And next month will be even harder. Yeah, January is Nanny's birthday, the month she died.
That's right. All that in the same month.
So how do I deal with that?
Well, I have hope and I have faith.
And I know that I believe that what I see is not all there is.
That's right. We live by faith.
The things that we don't see, that's the things that we see in our heart.
The things that we don't see with our eyes.
And so where we have to begin, Jesus, I'm still, I just am in awe of the disciples
when they came to Jesus and said, what is the work that we have to do?
And Jesus said, believe.
Yeah, that's the work. Believe.
And so that's what we do. And that's what I do.
And is it easy to, because one day is the same as the day before,
but at the same time, do I miss my wife? Do you miss your son? Of course we do.
And so during this period of time, but it all boils down to one thing.
We still have a choice. We can agonize in our own grief and pain and suffer through it with that.
But at the same time, if we have hope, we can suffer through it. That's right.
If we don't have hope, you probably won't. That's right.
And if you don't have faith, you probably won't. And if you don't believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he came to be like us so that we can be like him.
And see, where I've landed and what I've tried to understand is that I enjoy life.
Yes, I do. I'm not going to deny that. I always have.
But one thing that I've learned is that sometimes it brings you sadness and
sometimes it brings you gladness. That's right.
But what I've tried to do is be kind to myself in this process. That's right.
So in thinking about that, it begins that where we have to decide we're going
to either be happy or we're going to be sad.
That's right. It's a decision. That's right.
And like we've said many times, you can change your mind.
You can change your mind. That's why I've been camping out in 2 Peter chapter 1 lately.
And by the way, when you said you can be happy or you can be sad,
it reminded me of our mutual friend, Jeff Nelson, who's a worship leader at
Oak Hills for a long time now. He's in Abilene, Texas.
And he always used to say, you can get glad in the same pants you got mad in.
That's right. That's right.
Shout out to Jeff if you're listening. But I've never forgot that.
I've got a picture in my office, Dad.
It's over to the right of the chair that you sit in in the morning of Jesus laughing.
Yes. And Jeff Nelson gave me that. It's a pen and ink drawing of Jesus, and he's laughing.
And you just see this Jesus who knew what he was getting into when he came here,
and he knew the struggles that we face, and he knew what we were going to do to him.
And yet he found a way to be happy.
That's right, because he experienced the same thing we do.
That's right. He was tempted and tried in every way that we are.
That's right. Right. So nothing new.
And then Apostle Paul says, though, that none of us have suffered like he did. That's right.
To the point of shedding our blood. That's right. That's all I was going to
say about 2 Peter chapter 1.
When Tata said a while ago, you said people might ask how it sounds easy.
You make it sound so easy to keep your chin up and be this person that adorns the truth.
But 2 Peter, Peter gives us the secret. He says, God has given us in his divine power.
He has given us everything we need for life and godliness, not some of the things we need.
He hasn't obscured it. He has given us everything we need. And he goes on to
say what it is that we need. And it's his great and precious promises.
And he says, make every effort to live according to the promises,
to hold on to the promises.
So you need to go get you some word. And my friend Clay Risk that we met down.
In Florida when I spoke at the church last year in Bonita Springs.
And we're going to be there about, Lord willing, Dad, we're going to be there
together in November of next year.
They've invited us to come and do a book launch event when Hope is the First Dose comes out.
But Clay came up to me when we were signing books at that church after the talk.
And he told me that he had read my book, I've seen the interview, and it meant a lot to him.
And he pulled out of his wallet a piece of paper that was folded up.
He said I want to give you this and I said what is it and he said I was going
through a rough time in my family and,
I'd kind of lost my way and kind of lost my hope for a while.
And I started writing down these promises in Scripture, and I put them in my
wallet so I would always have them with me.
And it was just a list of all these things that the Lord is with me as a plan
for me, a plan to prosper me and not to harm me.
He'll work out everything for good, and He'll rise to show me compassion,
all these verses that He had in His wallet.
And He said, you know, every time I started feeling down, I would just pull
this piece of paper out and just read through these promises.
And that's exactly what Peter's talking about, friend.
He's saying, grab on to some promises that will help you navigate those hard times.
And that's how you're going to find all of a sudden your life looks like somebody
else wants to grab on to you and hold on for dear life.
Because you're helping them going down to find the truth.
Well, and since you're talking about Peter, but our memory verse in our family
has always been 1 Peter 5, 7. Seven, cast all of your anxieties on him because
he cares for you. He cares for you.
We did an episode about that. Your life verse. Yeah, remember?
We did back on Tuesdays with Tata. We did that.
Well, you know, it seems like all this talk about light and truth and promises
and holding on, it seems like it would be a good time to have another Tataism, doesn't it?
Yeah. You know, Beth Maxey from Tulsa, we love you, Beth.
You always encourage us and write in. And she said a few weeks ago,
I think we talked about it last week, she said, I want more Tata-isms.
I want you to explain some of these things Tata says.
And there's one every morning when Tata comes into the room.
Most of the time I'm up before you, but she's always pretty close.
We always both get up pretty early.
And it's dark in there. We both like to sit in the dark and read our Bibles.
But you need a little light to find your way so you don't trip over the dog bed or something.
And you're getting your coffee. And I'll usually turn my phone light on.
And when I do, Tata always says, what do you say? Fiat Luce. Fiat Luce.
And he said, let there be light, right? So I always thought when I heard you
say that, I had never looked it up.
And I always thought Luce was L-O-O-S-E, like you were saying, let light be loosed.
But I finally looked it up, and that's not what it is. It's the Latin word, Fiat Luce, L-U-X, Luce.
And it means, so I did a word study on it in the Latin. And what it actually
means, if you literally translated, let there be light, when God said,
let there be light in the Latin, it's basically saying, let light be made.
That's right. Let light be created. That's right. And it was. That's right.
That's right. And he was the first one because he is light.
He is light. Do you recall that piece I sent you about a match burning?
Mm-hmm. It casts no shadow. That's right.
In him there is light and there is no darkness at all. That's right.
So I want you to get this, friend. When God said, remember the creation scene, he says, let us, right?
Let us. That's right. God's not there by himself.
Jesus and the Spirit are there with him. And the Gospel of John,
John sets the scene, chapter 1, in the beginning, the Word, capital W referring
to Jesus, the Word already existed.
That's right. The Word was with God and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
This is it, verse 3. God created everything through him and nothing was created except through him.
The word gave life to everything that was created. And his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. That's right.
So I want you to get this, friend. Michael Gillan talked about it when he was
on the show, Dr. Michael Gillan.
When God said, let there be light, and in Latin, in the original,
in the Hebrew, he said, let light be made, and Jesus made it. That's right. Right.
So you're talking about Jesus made physics. He made photons.
He made the light. And so when you're wondering how you're going to find light
in this dark world, Jesus is going to make you some. That's right.
And all you have to do. And sometimes it sounds so easy.
And I've questioned myself about it. All you have to say is,
Jesus, I believe that you are the son of God.
And I believe that you did come and I believe that you lived and I believe that
you died and I believe you rose from the dead again and that you're coming back that's right,
Fiat Luce. Amen.
Jesus said, if anyone would come after me and follow me, what did he say?
He must believe that I am he. Where am I trying to quote?
It's John. No.
I'm going to have to look that up. There's a verse in John where Jesus says
something to the effect of, if you're going to believe me, you have to believe
that I am the one the Father sent and that the Father is God.
That's right. And you have to believe that. And you don't have to do the work.
Paul says he wills and works in you to do things that he wants you to do. That's right.
You just have to submit to him. Well, it's in our nature.
We want a list of things to do. And we keep lists. I keep lists.
We all keep lists. I keep to-do lists.
And if I don't write it down, I make a mental note of it that I'm going to do something.
Something but we we it's something that it's so hard to describe sometimes there's
moments when i seem to have a clear understanding of it then it just goes away.
And and the world says how could how could god come and become a man no one wants to believe that,
and no one wants to understand that and the only way we can understand it or
we can believe it is ask him. That's right.
You have to ask God for it. There's not a time, not a time when I open the scripture
that I don't tell God that I love him.
And I ask him to speak to me. But I also ask him to help me understand. Help me understand.
And it's amazing to me how sometimes it comes very clear. That's right.
But we only get enough of what we need at that moment.
That's right. We don't get an overdose.
We get the manna. You get enough. You get enough.
So, friend, if your life has felt dark, we've been talking all month,
really for two months now, we've been talking about the new thing that God wants to do.
He wants to bring light into the dark places in your life, and he wants to bring
streams in the wilderness and make a way where there is no way.
And we've been talking about how you've got to let something dry up so he can
plant something new and bring something new about in your life.
And just heard Lisa Bevere this morning say something I've never heard before.
There's an old Mexican proverb that says, the enemy thought they were going
to bury us, but they didn't know we were seeds.
And she says, if you're a seed, you get planted and you die,
but you grow up in the next season into a tree of righteousness or a fruit tree or something good.
There's an airplane going by. And so the idea is like you let this thing die
off in your life that's been killing you and choking you out.
And you let God do something new. And you say, let there be light, Jesus.
And Jesus will make it. And he'll light up that path for you.
That's right. And he'll show you. We used to sing an old song.
Just have a little talk with Jesus. Have a little talk with Jesus.
So if you're struggling with something, friend, if something is bothering you
and something is plaguing you or something is dragging you down, stop.
Just stop. And have a little talk with Jesus. Have a little talk with Jesus. That's right.
I'm going to let Harvey back in because he's having a talk with us on the outside here.
So, you know, Tata, I think it would be a good thing. I'm going to play at the end of this episode.
I'm going to play a song, Here Am I to Worship, because it starts with light of the world.
You step down into darkness. Open my eyes. Let me see.
We're going to finish with that. And just, friend, this is a great time right
here at the end of the year.
So time for you to do some reflecting. those places that you haven't been adorning
the truth, maybe it's because you need some light.
You need to let God's light shine into some of the dark places in your life
and turn out to be one of those people that other people grab onto.
That's really the whole thing. It's like a bucket line. Somebody helps us find
it and we help somebody else find it.
And we help each other get through there. So I guess, Tata, there's just one question left.
If somebody's going to say let there be light, when should they say it?
Start today. You better start today.
Music.
Hey, thanks for listening. The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast is brought to you by my
brand new book, Hope is the First Dose. It's a treatment plan for recovering
from trauma, tragedy, and other massive things.
It's available everywhere books are sold. And I narrated the audio books.
Hey, the theme music for the show is Get Up by my friend Tommy Walker,
available for free at TommyWalkerMinistries.org.
They are supplying worship resources for worshipers all over the world to worship
the Most High God. And if you're interested in learning more,
check out TommyWalkerMinistries.org.
If you need prayer, go to the prayer wall at WLeeWarrenMD.com slash prayer,
WLeeWarrenMD.com slash prayer.
And go to my website and sign up for the newsletter, Self-Brain Surgery,
every Sunday since 2014, helping people in all 50 states and 60-plus countries
around the world. I'm Dr.
Lee Warren, and I'll talk to you soon. Remember, friend, you can't change your
life until you change your mind. And the good news is you can start today.
Music.