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Tell Me More is a weekly podcast hosted by Katy Reed Hodges and Luke Stehr, where they unpack the Sunday sermon with Dr. Dennis Wiles. This podcast is designed on the premise that Dr. Wiles always has more to say than can fit in a 35 minute sermon - so we have fun discussing it here each week. We hope that in listening you are educated, encouraged and more connected to the pastor and his teaching!
Welcome to another episode of Tell Me More. Today, doctor Wiles and I have a conversation about self control, the life of Joseph, and all the things that have happened this summer as well as what's coming this fall and what we're looking forward to. We hope you enjoy this episode. Alright. Welcome to another episode of Tell Me More.
Speaker 1:It's doctor Wiles and I today. Well, we can go ahead and address it. Katie's not with us. You probably have heard, but in case you haven't, her mom passed away last week. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:So Katie is with her dad and spending time. She's where she needs
Speaker 2:to be. Mhmm. She is. And, yeah, we love her. We're grateful for her, but she is doing what she needs to do and, trying to take care of her family, be ready for the memorial service that's happening later this week.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, we miss her. And, but she's, she'll be back with us soon. And we're on, I forgot. We're on episode
Speaker 1:number It's in the two hundreds.
Speaker 2:Yeah. We have we've reached some milestones, y'all. So
Speaker 1:I think we hit 200 during camp. Maybe so. Yeah. Katie and I were talking a little bit about it
Speaker 2:and just yeah. We haven't we haven't acknowledged that one yet, but we will. But she'll be back, and she's awesome. Her mom's a great lady. Love the Lord.
Speaker 2:Very invested in life in, Franklin, Texas.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And, very involved in their church and their community. Her she just has great parents, you know? She does. Glad.
Speaker 1:I know. I think many people in our church are able to meet her parents Mhmm. At some point. And so They're just great people.
Speaker 2:Good, good people. So we're our hearts go out to them. So, anyway and then here we are winding up July Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Which is crazy. Summer's coming to an end.
Speaker 2:Man. And, yeah. It's obviously it's not over yet, but it's, yeah. Last night, we had our granddaughter had a her twelfth birthday party at our house last night, and we had seventeen seventh grade girls in our pool.
Speaker 1:That is a that is a large number of seventh grade girls. Yes.
Speaker 2:It was about 15 too many, I think. And but they had a great time.
Speaker 1:And Did you have a great time?
Speaker 2:I did. You know, they had Ada. She wanted a doctor a dirty Doctor Pepper party. So it's where you make all different types of Doctor Peppers, kinda like what we just did as a Yeah. We had
Speaker 1:some some people during
Speaker 2:our service. Day. Awesome. So sweet. Church members came today and loved on our staff, and we they made all these different types of sodas.
Speaker 2:And that was our house last night except for it was just doctor Pepper was the core drink, if you will, and it was Screw
Speaker 1:Texas of her.
Speaker 2:Yes. And, and then the girls had, you know, games in the pool, then they made, Cindy bought all these canvas bags with everything you can think of and iron on stuff, and I'm not really sure what else. So they spent hour at least making crafts out in our garage. And, yeah, we're still digging out. We have about, I don't know, we probably have 25 towels stacked on racks in our our pool.
Speaker 2:They're all in the guest room bathtub right now after last night. I mean, because they would swim, get out, you know, come in and eat, whatever, go back, swim, get out, come in, eat the dessert, and make the Doctor Peppers and go back and swim. Get out, come in and go do crafts, get out, go back and swim. So and and they always want a brand new towel every time. You know what mean?
Speaker 2:It's like and I was like, okay, y'all. We we're not
Speaker 1:These are reusable.
Speaker 2:Yes. We're not manufacturing towels here. So, yeah, it was a it was a summertime party. And, anyway but it was fun fun for all of them.
Speaker 1:Well, wait to be a great poppy.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It was interesting. And, oh my goodness. But, a lot of great church members. So school friends and church friends kinda all came together in just a, yeah, a party.
Speaker 1:The way to do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Summertime. Anyway but yeah. And, it's been a busy summer here. My goodness.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Back on it. It's been crazy, hadn't it?
Speaker 1:But we're gearing up for fall Yeah. Which feels crazy to think about in July, but that's Yes. For the most part, I think our attention is turning towards You kinda feel it, can't you? You can. I don't I mean, I can.
Speaker 1:I won't speak for you. I'm sure you can feel it too.
Speaker 2:Even last night around the pool, the parents, when they started showing up to get their girls, that's kind of what they were all saying. They were like, well, this is kinda the last party for our, you know, our daughter because we're getting ready to do this. We're going to school shopping and Mhmm. You know, and we're already starting to think about, you know, carpools and routines. And I thought, my goodness, It man.
Speaker 2:Just gets here so quickly now.
Speaker 1:It does. Yeah. We signed up Evelyn for fall swim club. Yeah. And so we're thinking through our fall schedule and back to school shopping and getting bedtime back on track.
Speaker 2:That's kicker. Yeah. But when we were growing up in Alabama, we're just a lot smarter than the kids nowadays. We didn't start going to school till after Labor Day.
Speaker 1:I went to school in Alabama.
Speaker 2:We didn't need that extra month. You know? We we just we started late and got out early.
Speaker 1:You know, I will say, though, for those of you who think Alabama is still doing that, in the nineties, they
Speaker 2:were not. I still have it in my system, though, that school's supposed
Speaker 1:to start back right after Labor Day. As someone else in this room who went to elementary school in Alabama, that's not what
Speaker 2:was happening. Well, it's funny because my birthday is September 3. And so most a lot of times, school would start back either on my birthday or, you know, right Yeah. Right around it. And, and so that was kinda the mark.
Speaker 2:But now it's like, dude, you get to, like, August 1, and everybody's like, oh, man. We gotta we gotta we gotta change everything. It's we're gearing up. We're gearing up. So so our church has changed its, liturgical seasons because of that, actually.
Speaker 2:You know, we finished the summer in the end of July, and and August has become a standalone
Speaker 1:It's it's its own thing.
Speaker 2:It really is.
Speaker 1:It has its own rhythm.
Speaker 2:It does.
Speaker 1:There's only so much you can pull off in the month of August.
Speaker 2:Yes. And everything is kicking back off. And and, and then the fall, you know, will kick off in in, in September. But but I'm looking forward to August. We're going to, in the fall, as you know
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Since you're part of the planning of all this, the our focus is really gonna be on evangelism and sharing the gospel with our community and with the folks that we know and kind of living the gospel. And so I'm really looking forward to that. I'm gonna miss a couple of Sundays in the fall. I'm going to be in Canada and I'm gonna be in Italy. We also have a guest speaker coming in the
Speaker 1:fall. Yes.
Speaker 2:A really good friend of yours, a colleague
Speaker 1:of ours, from the French Baptist Union in Canada. Great missional leader. An incredible preacher. And He's a fantastic preacher.
Speaker 2:Preacher and communicator. And you kinda have to get used to his accent, though.
Speaker 1:He's French.
Speaker 2:Yes. So Rafael, he's a great guy, But I I just love him. But, anyway Oza Jones is gonna preach for us in the fall. He is the director of evangelism for Texas Baptist. He's preached for us before.
Speaker 2:Also a fantastic preacher. Communicator. He's done our And fantastic guy. Yes. We we love him.
Speaker 2:And Gary Stidham is going to actually
Speaker 1:Also a great preacher and another fantastic guy. So we got
Speaker 2:a great lineup this fall. Very good. But so, yeah, we're going to focus on evangelism. Well, so as I was praying about that, I felt like that we needed to spend the month of August just called to to pray. And so that's what August is going to be about.
Speaker 2:On Sunday mornings, we're going to have a, every week, I I I'm gonna be providing on with our discipleship team, like a a a prayer point, if you will, for everybody, for everybody's family. So you'll leave every Sunday and go home, and you'll have a prayer that we're offering you to pray around and make it kind of the core of your prayer life. And then we're going to actually do that all the way through the end of November. And so every week, you know, starting this coming Sunday through Thanksgiving, there's going to be a, a prayer that we'll offer you every week for you to put on your refrigerator, put in your phone. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I love that. Do it with your children at night or whenever, however you wanna do it. And, it kinda focuses on our conversation we'll have on Sunday morning. But but before we get to the evangelism emphasis, I just felt like we needed to come together to pray, seek God's wisdom and counsel. And, John 17 is will be our kind of a core guide to us.
Speaker 2:I'm not I'm not only preaching on it, but it, it will serve as the kind of the foundation of our, conversation as a church. And it's it's the prayer of Jesus longest prayer Jesus recorded in the scripture reveals his heart, I believe, and what what he was think if you wonder what was Jesus thinking about right before he died. Well, it's actually written for us in the scripture. And, so I'm really looking forward to that. And, and also, it's an area in my own life that I I go through seasons, I think, of of of prayer.
Speaker 2:You know, there are times when I'm, it's hard to say that you're better at it. That's not the right way to put it, but there are seasons where it just seems so much more, just integral to who I am than in other seasons in my life. And I think some of that's because of how I'm wired. I'm I'm I'm, you know, I'm I'm I'm not when we talk about these different ways you connect with God, I'm kinda on the intellectual side. And so I'm not always on the emotive side, at least in in my life with the Lord.
Speaker 2:And prayer kinda marries those two for me, you know. And so, I've tried to get more disciplined, and the Lord's been really good to me, you know, to to to help cultivate that in me. Cindy has allowed me to have kinda my own space at our house. So I've got my office now that that's been set up for a while. And and that's helpful to me.
Speaker 2:I have my reading chair, and there when I'm not right at my desk, I've got a place, and I'm surrounded by all of my friends like John Stott and N. T. Wright and Eugene Peterson.
Speaker 1:Those are good friends.
Speaker 2:All of my buddies. And so she's let me put up, you know, have kinda like my whole life is in there. My my parents' photos, her parents, my home church, mementos from my childhood, you know, just so my room is is just it I'm surrounded by my world, if that makes sense. And and we don't have small children, and and we only have grandchildren that are in and out. Lord, help me.
Speaker 2:But, I mean, we we it was, last night. But but, you know, normally, when I and I've gotten where I wake up really early in the morning. So when I wake up in the morning, well, it's just me and Cindy, you know? So it's very conducive to me being able to to go in there and have kind of a consistent place that I feel like I can connect with the Lord, start my day, those kind of things. So all that to say, the older I've gotten, the more I would say prayer has become, even more meaningful in terms of connectivity and relationship as much as, what would you call it, intercessing or Yeah.
Speaker 2:Questing. You know? I mean, I still do a lot of that. But, anyway, so I'm looking forward to kind of unpacking that for the child in August. And then in September, we're going to start what we're calling the table on Wednesday evenings.
Speaker 2:Yep.
Speaker 1:And that's gonna kick off The ninth. After Labor Day. The week after Labor Day. Yeah. So I can't remember the date until the May.
Speaker 2:That sounds right. Been looking forward to that. So, yeah, we've got we've got a lot on the horizon, and and it's and it comes on the heels of, like I said, a very busy summer. I mean, I've I can't this year, to me, it's it's been an interesting year. As you and I were talking before we came on, my study leave was very odd this year because I was here for the Jordanian thing, and we had funerals.
Speaker 2:There was just a lot of stuff happening, which it was all fine, really. It was all great. It's really, really good. But it's interesting. I've had more conversations this year with our students about their missional experiences than I've had in a really, really long time.
Speaker 2:There are just so many of them that went to all these places.
Speaker 1:We sent, I think, 30 additional students this year over last year.
Speaker 2:It it feels like it to me. And some of that may be because I'm normally gone all of July. I was gone I was back a little earlier this year. I'm not sure, but the youth have just come up to me and telling me about this happened. And I did this happened to me in a let me tell you what happened in a restaurant or, let me tell about this conversation I had on the border.
Speaker 2:And it's just it's just more of that than I've than I've had in a long time here. And so I'm very encouraged by that, of what I see in them.
Speaker 1:Well, and I'll brag on two teams at our church church and the Holy Spirit, but some really great collaboration between our youth ministry team, Chelsea and Tanner, and then our engagement team, which is Ashley, myself, and Sarah. So, we spent a lot of time walking through what we wanted missional experiences for our students to be like this summer and have a more intentional set of developing experiences for them. And you can tell. I would say job well done. Plus the impact on
Speaker 2:the field as well. Obviously, that that's that's a big piece of it, of course. But we're also interested in the transformative piece
Speaker 1:Yes. When they come back home. We want both.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And so we wanna be helpful, obviously. But but then our college students, you know, we had time with Emily and Guillermo. We had them over the other night and let them swim in the pool. We had fun.
Speaker 2:Little more manageable group of people with their littles, but but they were very pleased with our team that came to Spain and worked alongside them. And and and also they had connections to Toronto, which I didn't realize that they were very connected to the Toronto trip with our kids. I didn't know that.
Speaker 1:We didn't know it initially either. And then it was as we were examining options, it was one of those kind of confirming things from the holy spirit as I think we admit mentioned it. And we realized there were these deep connections between our workers in Spain and the program our youth participated in in Toronto, Canada. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And And how crazy is that?
Speaker 1:You know, you can't make that up. You just can't. But it was one of those things that confirmed, okay. This is this is where we should go this summer.
Speaker 2:It's really good. So so, yeah, it's been a full rich summer to me, and I think that's preparing us for where we're headed next. And then we've as you know, we've spent the summer, fruit of the spirit. You've got to preach in in one of those Sundays, you and Katie, Connor, Brad, and and our our people really were blessed by all y'all's voices.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Church hear from different voices. You know?
Speaker 1:It's a joy to get to do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, you did a really good job. And so, yeah, I've had a good bit of feedback. Even last night at the pool at our house when some of the adults came, some of them were talking about that. This summer series has been very meaningful to them.
Speaker 2:It felt very connected to whatever everything else that we were doing that it was like that minute just fit right in. And then Sunday morning, a few years ago at youth camp, we did a our children's camp rather, we did a focus on fruit of the spirit, and the kids all sang that song every worship service.
Speaker 1:The fruit of the spirit is not a coconut. Yes. I've heard the song.
Speaker 2:But then they
Speaker 1:end up
Speaker 2:with the
Speaker 1:love of
Speaker 2:peace pages kinda you know, they say it really, really fast. So, Sunday morning, the friendship department, one of our older departments at our church, Sunday school, and they invited me to their department Sunday. And so I went to their opening assembly, and, you know, there's, I don't know, maybe or I don't even know how many there were in there. And they sang they've been singing that song all summer, and so they sang it for me. It was so cool.
Speaker 2:And I heard that at children's camp, and then they were in there, you know, doing the love, peace, patience,
Speaker 1:joy, you're not familiar, that's one of our older Yes.
Speaker 2:One of our departments. And but they were so they wanted me to hear them singing. The song was really sweet. So so, yeah, it's been a it's been a very productive summer, I think. And I think the study of the fruit of the spirit has been helpful to us.
Speaker 2:And and, one of our Sunday school teachers told me that a few years ago, she was bless you. She was working on her own curriculum, and she wrote us and I didn't know this until after we got in the middle of this. She wrote us a curriculum for her her Sunday school department, here at First Baptist on the fruit of the spirit, and she did the very thing we just did. She chose a bible character. She chose an example of the life of Jesus and then kind of an How about that?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And, but so she said she was watching closely because she chose different bible characters than we did for each one. So, anyway, I thought that was pretty cool. So yeah. And then we wound it down Sunday morning.
Speaker 1:We did. Yeah. And you talked about Joseph.
Speaker 2:Self control. Man, one of all
Speaker 1:time favorite guys. What do love about Joseph? I just
Speaker 2:love Joseph. I like I like the fact that Jacob's the same way to me in some ways. They're very different people. But because of the the wealth of information you get, I feel like you get to watch them develop as a person. You know?
Speaker 2:Joseph Well, after Abraham, you get
Speaker 1:more about Joseph than you do anyone else in Genesis. That's right, isn't it? I'm pretty sure.
Speaker 2:So, you know, you you watch Joseph. You get the chance to watch Abraham mature in his faith. You get the chance to watch Jacob do that. But then Joseph, he's he's this he he can't help that he's his daddy's favorite. You know, he didn't it's not like he entered a competition and won.
Speaker 2:That's that's not what happened. I mean, yeah, he showed up that way because he's Rachel's firstborn, you know, and Joseph loves Rachel so much. And so, and that ended up being a blessing and a curse for him. Yeah. You know?
Speaker 2:But but, you know, he early on, he's this brash younger brother, you know, interpreting the dreams, and it's like he his self control was lacking. I didn't talk I I should have pointed that out Sunday morning that in his early days, he wasn't necessarily You
Speaker 1:could very easily have made that sermon about Joseph's growth into self control.
Speaker 2:Yes. Yes. I I should've talked more about that side because he didn't have any early on. You know, he's telling his brothers about his dreams, and one day y'all are all gonna bow down in front of me, and all that did was endear him to them.
Speaker 1:Oh, they loved it so much that they threw him in his stern. Exactly.
Speaker 2:Ain't that crazy that when you think about because that was a different time, obviously, but for those boys out there working and they decide to kill him
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:You know, that's how angry they are.
Speaker 1:And But then they decide there's no profit in murder.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:So we'll sell him instead.
Speaker 2:And so let's throw him in a pit and then we'll sell him. And I I love those the the irony of it. He gets sold to some Ishmaelites. I mean, he's a descendant of Isaac.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And so what what would be his his grandfather's other son, I guess. Is that right? Yeah. Abraham's other son, you know, that's who he ends up. So he's so, you know, God chooses Isaac, not Ishmael.
Speaker 2:And now Joseph, who's in the in the favored family now gets sold to the family who fell out of favor.
Speaker 1:Yep. Well, that's just the theme of Genesis is God just keeps choosing Yes. The wrong person. He's not picking the first one. That's right.
Speaker 2:So then he ends up in Egypt, which, you know, becomes historically, it's kinda like Babylon in some ways. It ends up becoming almost like a, you know, just symbolically a place as much as it is a physical geographical place. You know? You go down to Egypt. You know?
Speaker 2:And and and and all that happens to him there and just getting to watch him, think it's what I love about Joseph is watching him grow and develop. And, obviously, somewhere along the way, he realized being godly was the right answer. And so he refuses the advances of Potiphar's wife. Great self control. And then can you imagine?
Speaker 2:I I have no idea what an Egyptian prison was like. You know, we know what Roman prisons were like,
Speaker 1:and I can't imagine that Egyptian prisons were much better. I would just assume. And Roman prisons were horrible.
Speaker 2:And to think that you would be a prisoner in Egypt and you would be a Hebrew? I mean, that I just I don't know. I just, I think it's just hard for us to wrap our minds around it. And then we read the story so quickly. Yep.
Speaker 2:You know, the cup bearer gets out and goes back to work, and then two years pass. Well and you read that, and it's kinda one line in the scripture. But if you pause and think about it, I'm I mean, I'm thinking about you. A lot's happened in your life in two years.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Two years is a lot.
Speaker 2:Just think about it. I mean and he's means two years languishing. And what's he thinking about? I mean, his brothers are living their life. He probably wonders what have they told dad.
Speaker 2:Who knows what they told dad? And here I am in jail in Egypt. What what is my life really going to be? You know? And then the next thing you know, he's having a conversation with Pharaoh, you know, the most powerful man on the planet at the time.
Speaker 2:And, so, yeah, I love that story. And then how he demonstrates his ingenuity, and he, you know, he, helps Pharaoh care for the people. But, obviously, to me, the crux of the story, I love it when his brothers show up, and realizes who they are. And and then, you know, that whole it's fascinating to me how he how he did all of that. You know I mean?
Speaker 2:Oh my goodness. Like, he just he just kinda let him along. And he knew I think he knew when he kept Simeon, he knew they'd come back. I think if he'd have let Simeon go or let one of you know, let them all go, I think he realized, I'll never see these people again later. Right.
Speaker 2:But if I keep one of the brothers, and he's thinking, they've already lost one brother. They've already lost me. And so now there's another one. So they will come back to if nothing else, just to get him. So it's like he's just kinda reeling them in.
Speaker 2:You know? And and then the fact that he puts their money back in their sacks, and so this messes with their minds. You know? They're thinking, oh my goodness. We're gonna be found out
Speaker 1:with brothers right there. And
Speaker 2:then the the Just because you have self control doesn't mean you can't have fun. That's exactly right. And, and then to put the the silver cup in Benjamin's sack, you know? I mean, it's it's just a great story. And then but watching him overcome whatever temptation he felt, you know, whatever whatever it was to take vengeance and then choose self control and show grace.
Speaker 2:And, and and and I think that, you know, later in the book when the when Jacob dies and now the brothers know, okay, the family secret is out, and we no longer have dad. They make up another story, if you remember. Dad said right before he died that you better take care of us. And I love Joseph's response where he was he's like, you know, I'm not God. I'm I can't I I I can't answer all this for you.
Speaker 2:All all I know is what you intended for evil.
Speaker 1:God works for good.
Speaker 2:So that's all I can tell you. Once again, another just demonstration of self control. And and even his last request, you know, to just say, okay. One day, y'all are all gonna leave here. Just take me with you, you know, because I I belong with you all.
Speaker 2:I don't belong here. That so, yeah. What a what a story. What a great guy.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:And I I feel like he gets you know, when you talk talk about the giants of the scripture in the old testament, I I feel like that often Joseph gets skipped over because there are so many leading men. Yeah.
Speaker 1:How do you choose?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And because Moses, I think, is so attractive and has been so much a part of just literary
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Stories that people have written in movies, you know, about him. I know they've made movies about Joseph, but none of them have ever had any traction, you know, but king David or Moses or Abraham or even Jacob. But, man, Joseph's a great story. You know?
Speaker 1:It's so good.
Speaker 2:And he, he just, to me, has exhibits so much growth, personal growth. And I think that's a great word to us. And so I think when Paul you know, sometimes you look at the fruit of the spirit and and, you know, different theologians say different things about the fruit of the spirit. Like, there's one one commentary I was reading. One theologian said, a a New Testament scholar.
Speaker 2:He said, I think the real fruit of the spirit is love, and the rest of these are all just descriptions of love. Well, I don't necessarily buy that, but I can understand why you would say that. You know, that that core connection with God where he creates something inside of you that you can't really conjure up on your own, which is a deep love for people and love for him. Mhmm. And the rest kinda flows from there.
Speaker 2:I think that's true, but I like the I like the fact that Paul separates them out. You know, here here are some distinguishing characteristics
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, of of what it looks like. And the fact that he tells us in Galatians five earlier, we'll just walk by the spirit, you know, build a daily life with the spirit, and then you won't you won't give in to these destructive forces. Forces.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And and I think that's the secret. Probably what I'd say, Luke, is figuring out how do you do that so that you can experience the fruit of the spirit. Because it's almost like the fruit of the spirit becomes unconscious or something. Yeah.
Speaker 1:They're not the goal in and of themselves. They're the byproduct. Exactly. So walk us through Yeah. Just what is a daily walking with the spirit?
Speaker 1:Walking by the spirit, to use Paul's language. Yeah. You know, most of our listeners live in Arlington, but we know that they're all over the place Mhmm. Which still baffles us. Yes.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 2:Hello to hello to everybody. Hello to everybody.
Speaker 1:But what does Yeah. A daily walking by the spirit look like in the year of our Lord 2026? That's a great question. I think it's it may be a little bit different for everyone, but I think there's some core pieces.
Speaker 2:As I was just saying to me, when when we first wake up, regardless of our setting, you know, you might be awakened by a little baby crying. I get that. You know? And or or, you know, the alarm goes off and, you know, you've got something work Mhmm. And the schedule's tight, all those kinds of things.
Speaker 2:I get that. But I would still say that to me, the first you know, when when there's something about first things. You know? Yeah. There's something about give your first fruits.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean? The Bible has that language in it. I just think there's something about first acknowledging the Lord in those waking moments, you know, however you're able to do that. It's somehow realizing that your connection to him is going to be the single most important thing in that day.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:You know? Now I I understand all the temptations. I I get it. I'm a I like to know going on in the world, and so I'm old enough to remember when, you know, we didn't have phones, you know, that Yeah. Filled with so much opportunity for you, I guess.
Speaker 2:But so I've cultivated the discipline of just saying, I will get to the news. Yeah. I know myself well enough to know.
Speaker 1:You'll get there.
Speaker 2:Before the day's out, I'm gonna figure out what's going on in the world. I'm just I'm just wired that way. So I've tried to learn and not start my day there. Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know? Justin Whitmell Early, who was at our church a couple years ago for a faith at home weekend, one of the things he writes about is don't make your phone the first thing you look at when you wake up. Yeah. You know? And I think his habit is, you know, just first thing when you pop out of bed, get on your knees.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Mhmm. And just say a quick prayer and then Yeah. Go on. But don't let your phone Right.
Speaker 1:Be the first thing that greets your eyeballs. Yeah. Because it dictates so much to me.
Speaker 2:I think it does. It it affects your emotions, your mindset. I just think we can't help ourselves. You know? And so so that's to me, I think, just first.
Speaker 2:That's what I try to do first. And the first thing that I read as a daily discipline is the Bible. So I've developed that discipline in my life that the first thing I'm going to let my eyes rest on is the scripture. And and and I'm I'm grateful that I've been able to have that tested because with our daily bible readings now that we've put together and Kurt Grice is writing all the devotionals for us, I'm I'm able to access them on my computer or on my phone. And so but I like to have my bible because I I just like reading the bible.
Speaker 2:I'm I'm old school, so it is what everybody's different. I just
Speaker 1:great old school habit. It's just who I am. You know? I can remember when I
Speaker 2:was a kid, I thought if something was printed I've got my bible in front of me, one of my bibles. If it's printed on this kind of thin paper, then it's the word of God. You know? We used to say, I believe from genuine leather to the maps. You know?
Speaker 2:You just I mean, that's the bible. But but sometimes I'll read on my phone if I need to or my computer or whatever. But, I also know if I wanna do that for cursed devotional, I've gotta go to that email. And so I love the fact that I've learned that that that email now comes out at, 04:00 in the morning. And so I know where to go.
Speaker 2:I go straight to that. You know? And that's where I start my day. So the first voice that I hear, besides Cindy sometimes, obviously, but the first voice that I hear, to me is God speaking to me through his word. So that's where I try to start.
Speaker 2:And then that actually frames my day. You know, like today, I started this morning. I woke up really early in James one. And what's funny is I did these daily bible readings. You know, it's crazy, but I forget.
Speaker 2:What what what was it I wanted everybody to read today? And It's a little
Speaker 1:bit when people ask you. You know, when you said this on the podcast Yeah. And I go, what what did I say? But,
Speaker 2:so this morning, I'm reading James one. Well, it is just so rich. It has got it's so varied. But there are a couple things that I've been dealing with that I felt like God just spoke directly to me, and then reinforced by what Kurt had to say. Well, then that leads to, and and I love the way Kurt has laid this out because he starts with a scripture that's not the scripture that we're gonna read for the day.
Speaker 2:Then he has a prayer. And then after that prayer that he scripts out for you if you're following these and then read the scripture. This is the scripture for the day, then the devotional. And so just that discipline of asking the Lord, Lord, I have I don't know what you have for me. I'm not sure what it is that you need to say to me this morning, but I'm I'm open to it.
Speaker 2:And so then I'm going to read the scriptures. So I start there is what I'd say, Luke. Then secondly, orienting my life every day and asking the spirit of God, what is it that you need to do through me today? Yeah. Just asking him, just guide me.
Speaker 2:Prompt me. Speak to me the way only you can. Open doors for me.
Speaker 1:If you're thinking about what this looks like concretely the way I do it is I I think about my calendar. Mhmm. What's on my schedule for the day, but also who are the people I might encounter. And so as I'm getting ready in the morning, one of the things I do is I just pray like, God, here's what I know is on my schedule. Here are the people I anticipate being with, but I also know there are things I don't anticipate, things So I don't see help me walk through my day with me.
Speaker 1:Help me anticipate where I should be looking for you, the things I need to say, the way I need to show up and be present. So just That's a good word of advice. Preview your day with God.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. I like that. I don't quite do it that way, but I like that. Mine's more of a general thing. But the point is I'm asking the Lord this it's it sounds weird to say this, but I say to him, my sense is I want you to stay connected to me today and be connected to you.
Speaker 2:That's really what I'm after today. And so just impress me and show me and help me to to to learn when I'm sensing that from you to step into that moment. And so that's just led to so many thoughts, ideas, conversations, encounters, insight.
Speaker 1:Which the wisdom in this is if you feel the spirit, if you think the spirit might be leading you to do something, you know, the litmus test I always use is ABC, is it affirming, biblical, and Christ like? Mhmm. You can run it through that filter pretty fast. If it's not that, it's probably not the spirit. Yeah.
Speaker 1:But if it's affirming, biblical, and Christ like, take the risk. Mhmm. You may swing and miss.
Speaker 2:That's
Speaker 1:right. But you'll always miss if you never swing.
Speaker 2:That's exactly right. So, yeah. I think then just through the day, I've just learned through the day to just pray. Know, there was a time when I'm and I go through seasons. There are times when I write out prayers, you know, that I'm praying.
Speaker 2:There are times when I will have, like, a regimen of prayer. Sometimes I'll say, okay. Each day of the week, I'm assigning these things. One of the one of the reasons I find myself doing that is when I start to feel overwhelmed with things that are happening, and I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do. One of the things that's helped me is is the Lord, just say, okay, Lord.
Speaker 2:You kind of know my life. You know my rhythm. I'll I'm a I live in I'm a rhythm person, so I live in a weekly rhythm. Since I have to deal with the relentless return of the Sabbath, you know, I'm writing sermons all the time. So the Lord knows how my mind is aimed depending on what day of the week it is.
Speaker 2:It may sound weird to some people, but but it's just the truth for me. And so I will ask god, okay. And you know that about me, so I've gotta get a grip here. So here's what I'm going to do. On Monday, here's the categories of the things that I wanna focus my prayers on.
Speaker 2:On Tuesday, it's gonna be this. On Wednesday, it's gonna be this. And so sometimes I will get that regimented, but that's normally when I'm in a season of, wow. You know, other times, it's much more organic than that. It's just I know there are some core things that I'm gonna be praying through and people that I'm praying for and things that I'm very concerned about, and they just naturally are a part of me all day long.
Speaker 2:And so while I'm driving, just Turns
Speaker 1:out you don't have to remind yourself what you're worried about.
Speaker 2:That's right. And I just take advantage of those moments. You know? And if you live in the Metroplex and you do much driving It's so much time to pray. You have time to pray and to think about things reflectively and ask the spirit of God what's he saying and surrendering yourself to him.
Speaker 2:So to me, walking by the spirit is is a daily regimen of of self control, really. It's choosing, okay, I'm going to purposefully engage with the scripture. And what's crazy about that, Luke, is you think about it. I graduated from Southwestern in 1985 with my master's. Okay?
Speaker 2:So during that four year span, I was taught how to at least the beginnings of how to read the New Testament in Greek, at least, you know, getting prepared to do it. I can't say that about the Old Testament of Hebrew. I mean, I I had learned some Hebrew vocabulary. Anyone who tells you
Speaker 1:that mastered Hebrew is probably lying to you.
Speaker 2:So but then I had been taught to think critically. I had been in the sciences through college, thought I was going to medical school, so I already had that bent. But I get through the those four years of the master's program. I've got a grasp of church history. I've been I've I've spent time in philosophy of religion.
Speaker 2:I have I have spent a couple years studying systematic theology, biblical theology, biblical ethics. I've I have actually studied every book of the bible by that time. I have a background understanding of kind of the core message of each of the books of the bible as well as the overall message of the arch of the entire bible. I've had a chance to reflect on it theologically in a community of people that are just doing that all day long every day. I've taken advantage of scholars.
Speaker 2:I say all that to say this. It was back in 1985. So why would I still be reading my bible every day? I mean, surely by now. Okay.
Speaker 2:I've got it down. Well, the reason is is because I'm human, and the struggles in my life are seasonal and different in every season. And God speaks to me directly through his word and through constant prayer and fellowship with him in worship and in community with his people, and I need it. And I constantly need sharpening and and, refining and and convincing sometimes about things. And God just has a way of doing that with and did it this morning, you know, because I was telling him even this morning.
Speaker 2:There are just some things happening right now that I'm just not quite sure about, and, and I don't know why you're letting it happen kind of. You know? Just making sure you're aware. I think you're aware. Just wanna make sure.
Speaker 2:And I and I'd totally forgotten. You know? On Mondays when when it happened to me on Monday, when I first got up on Monday, and I got the message about self control in our daily bible reading, you know, Kurt kinda introduced self control. So this morning, I've totally forgotten that I'm asking somebody to read James. Hasn't even registered with me.
Speaker 2:And so I get up this morning, I've kinda told the Lord, man, this. I'm looking at this. And I sit down, and I start reading. Well, count it all joy, brothers. You know, when when you experience this kind of tribulation, when trials come, and God is like a refining fire.
Speaker 2:I remember reading all this going, I mean, all Alright. Know all that, but wow. It just came at the right moment. And once again, it was me thanking God. Yeah.
Speaker 2:You're obviously paying attention to my life. I had no idea what I would be thinking on Tuesday morning of this day months ago when I set this aside as the scripture reading. You know what I mean? And
Speaker 1:so Exactly.
Speaker 2:That's what I love about God. And that's why I keep reading the scripture because I need it. Well, it's all the Yes. So to me, walking by the spirit is saturated with the scripture. It's being strengthened in the inner person.
Speaker 2:It's serving. You know, that's a part of walking by the spirit is allowing God to use you in people's lives. And so, yeah, I'm just my radar is up. You know?
Speaker 1:I think that's a great way to put it. You know, your radar always has to be up. We've talked in here before about how it gets so easy to live, you know, intellectually remembering Yes. Things about God but forgetting that he's an active participant in the world.
Speaker 2:He's right in front of you.
Speaker 1:And so it's just this continual return of your attention to God's presence. So keeping your up. Mhmm. And, you know, whether that's thinking and praying through your day in the morning, you know, I try to carry that through my day and my conversations and in my work. It's, God, what are you up to in this conversation, in this moment?
Speaker 1:Mhmm. So just keeping your radar up is a great way to phrase that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And I think that you have the examples in the scripture. Jesus got up early in morning pray. Daniel prayed every day. I mean, you know, Peter, God speaks to Peter while he's praying, has a vision.
Speaker 2:I mean Yep. It's it's really not rocket science. It's like I said, Sunday, self control is easy to talk about. It's just it's just hard to do, but but it is possible with the spirit of God alive and at work in us. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And that's what I want from my people because I know that if you choose not to live that way, you know as well as I know when you live in our world and do what we do. We're the ones that are usually left with all the pieces when people choose to not be self controlled. We're we're the ones that come in. We may not be the first responder, you know, like a fireman or, you know, someone who's a paramedic. We're a different kind of first responder, but we're the ones that look at people's lives and go, oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Man. Mhmm.
Speaker 1:How did
Speaker 2:how did we get here? Years of no self control. You know what mean? Years of not living this way. And we're the ones that usually have to try to help figure out how to get past it.
Speaker 2:You know? And so that's why I want my people to have this so that they can become the kind of people that are helping others.
Speaker 1:You
Speaker 2:know? And and and we have so many of them as you know. Oh my goodness. Are you kidding me? There's so many that are.
Speaker 2:But there's so many in our community that aren't. And so so, yeah, the fruit of the spirit to me is meaningful and practical. So That's a good word. Alright.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll be back next week. Yeah. I wanna yeah. Continue to keep Katie and her family in So your it's, you know, it's always difficult to lose a parent than yours. It's awesome.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening everyone. We'll be back next week.
Speaker 3:Thanks for listening to the Tell Me More podcast today. You can subscribe to this podcast on your app of choice, or you can visit us at fbca.org to find out more information about the podcast and our church. Thanks for listening. Have a good day.