How Has God Been Faithful? Celebrating 500 Episodes

Show Notes

Episode 500: 
In our 500th episode of The Bible Guys podcast, Jeff and Chris took a trip down memory lane. What started as a temporary daily devotional segment evolved into a full-fledged podcast with 500 episodes and counting. As we shared our favorite moments from the podcast, including humorous segments and meaningful conversations about the Bible, we expressed gratitude to our listeners for their support and engagement.

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You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Well, hello everybody, and welcome to the five hundredth episode. Let's prefects, let's put effects on the post. Editor post editing, Let's do a crowd cheer song, Hong Kong, Hong Kong. So yes, today is the five hundredth episode. That is pretty incredible. Yes, And uh, I don't know that I ever want to do five hundred any things with you. Well, thank you for that. Thank you. Well, actually, actually what I meant to say was I don't know that we ever anticipated getting the five hundred episodes. Oh that's what I meant. Yeah, words words matter, don't they? Words? Words, words matter. What we mean is we we just started off like it's supposed to be like a what a eight week devotion what was. Back during COVID Yeah yeah, And it. Was actually post COVID sort of like second COVID wave where we were going to do small groups when people were still fearful of meeting and homes. So we actually did a podcast segment that was only supposed to last what like a. Month, yeah something, And we called it HC Daily. So on our Bible Guys website bibleguys dot com, if you go back, you'll have access to HC. One hundred and something episodes of HD Daily. Yeah, because people liked it and we continued it on and then after, you know, after a couple one hundred episodes or one hundred something episodes, we decided to rebrand it. Yes, so, and then that's been five hundred episodes ago. Yeah, five hundred episodes ago of Yeah. So the Bible Guy, So, how many episodes per year? So it's what it's twenty per month. Twenty per month, right, twenty something, yeah, twenty one, twenty. One per month and then times that, so that's two hundred something episodes. So this is over two and a half years. Yeah, it was September. I think the first episode of The Bible Guys was September nineteenth, twenty twenty two. Wow. Yeah, okay, wow, that's what it was. Yeah. So a gun, isn't it neat? That's pretty nifty. So I was doing a little bit of math. Yeah, this is our segment, by the way. Yeah, our segment is reflecting on five hundred episodes. I was I was doing a little bit of math, excuse me. And we've had three hundred and forty five thousand, eight hundred and thirteen streams right times that people have listened to us, which is kind of cool. Yeah, right, we've had what was the other one that I looked up? Seventy five thousand hours of listening? Wow, And so so our listeners, our listeners said no, no, no, no, no, not of recording, so we only record, you know, twenty two minutes, twenty five minutes. But because of the three hundred and forty something thousand streams, our listeners have spent seventy five thousand hours listening to the Bible. Guys, oh, I guess not any. Individual listener, but collectively all the listeners have listened seventy five thousand hours. Gotcha, right? Isn't that kind of neat? Yeah, it's very neat. And then here's another one. You ever wonder how many unique listeners? Yes, I love all the time. Yeah, let me let me see if it might not do the math, No, listen, it's too big, it won't do the math. But on a monthly basis, just on YouTube, it's it's a couple thousand listeners. And then the same thing on on you know, all of the podcasting platforms Spotify and all those. It's a couple thousand a month unique listeners, so you're looking force four thousand, five thousand unique listeners a month is what you have there. That's kind of fun, but I did this. This is kind of neat. So obviously the US is our top listening country. But what do you think is our number two? Oh goodness, give me, give me like the top five besides the US Africa. Well, there's lots of countries in Africa. Oh yeah, okay, so Kenya, Kenya. Is on there. Yeah, Kenya is on the top twenty five list. Yeah, Tanzania is Tanzania on here? It would seem like it because we've got a lot of friends in Tanzania. Your friends don't listen to us? What the heck I'm gonna have to complain. Yeah. No, our number one I can't even begin to guess. Our number one African country is Zambia. Have you been to Zambia? No, but I have friends in Zambia. Yeah, holy cow. Yeah. So our number one country outside of the US is the UK. Oh that's nice and very substantial, by the way. And then Canada thanks for Canada, your our neighbors, for crying out loud, right, and the UK beat you. But then here's one Slovakia. You're yelling at Canada, the Canada the nicest people on the planet. No, they're not nice enough, that's all I'm saying. Slovakia is number four. Slovakia. Yeah, have you been I've never been to Slovakia? No? Wow? And then New Zealand. Which have you been in New Zealand? No? But I really would love to go, like a lot. Of listening from New Zealand. And then there's Zambia, as I mentioned, Then Japan, Australia, India, Singapore, Kenya, Philippines, Mexico, South Africa, the US Virgin Islands. I've got friends there, I've been there, Spain, Taiwan, Germany, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Dominican Republic, Israel, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, and then three hundred and eighty three other places. But that's the three eighties. There aren't three hundred and eighty three countries, right, So it's just gonna be little territories in towns and cities and stuff like that. But yeah, isn't it crazy? So here's another funny one. There's all these things that measure. You know, if you're on charts, you ever hear like somebody, you know, Taylor Swift releases a song, it's number one on the Billboard charts. Whatever. Okay, well they have podcast charts like that too, so only for the podcast side, not the YouTube side. We've charted in Hungry We charted in Uganda. Wow, we charted most recently. What was the place that was? I just saw? Let me let me look it up. We charted in Zambia. We charted in Singapore, and then I just got one this week. Let me see what the thing was this week that came up. And just in case you're wondering why he has all these facts is because he's tied to all this, he has it on his phone. Whenever I have to get facts, I don't. I'm too dumb to have it on my phone, so I have to either email desiree or you know, figure it out other ways. So this one shows that we charted in Taiwan this week. This week we're number one twenty three in Christianity. Wow in Taiwan. Isn't that funny? It's it's actually pretty humbling and incredible and you know what it makes me. It makes me want to do better and try harder and prepare more. Yeah, it really does, because I appreciate those who are listening, but that actually feels like more responsibility, and therefore we should do everything we can to make it a better experience. Yeah, because if people are listening and you know, Japan, you know, good gosh man, thank you. Right and for us, you know, it's incredibly humbling because ninety percent of the places on that list we haven't been to right, right, which means friends are sharing with friends, are sharing with friends, they're posting their liking their It shows up on your feed, whether you know, if you're on Facebook or on you know, Instagram or something. You go, hey, I really liked this episode, and you share a link, or hey I like this s thumbs up or you leave a comment, and it winds up through all those weird algorithms that all these companies use. It puts you and your opinions on your friends pages, and then somebody makes it with them to a military base in Germany, and then they share it with their friends and that's it just goes around the world that way, and you and I haven't done anything to do to push it the way it just happens. And so that means that you are sharing with your friends and family. And so yeah, if you ever wonder, you know, when we say like it or thumbs up or share it, if it matters. This thing spread all over the world from us deciding to do a six week daily devotional. Yeah right, and yeah, so it's it's incredibly humbling, and you are the ones that are driving it, not us. We're just putting out content, but the listeners are the ones that are driving this sing around world. So keep it up, man, Thank you, thank you so much. Thank you. Yeah, that's great and and and you know, some of its content, some of it's h you know, goofy segments. Yeah, yeah, that's probably what it is. What's making us famous is what made Chris mad this week. People keep coming back over and over and over again. Nobody cares. Yeah, So, do you have a favorite moment? A favorite moment? Honestly, it's the clip that we played at church one time. We asked Desiree to piece together a little promo, remember that, to promote the babble guys, and uh, and she put together a little clip and it was when uh, Uh, it's when I laughed at that request because it was a callback member. It was would you rather uh barbecue with the rock or if would you rather get ice cream? Exact up r yea and and it struck me so funny. That I just laughed. And it was one of those air laughs. Where I was like, guess, and I'm telling you it was just the hardest that I've laughed on the show. And that to me stands out because nothing has hit me harder than that I've laughed. It was such a surprise. It was so funny to me because it's just a running joke that that just caught me. Caught me in the right way. So I think some of my favorite things are I love it when you when you sing good morning to us. Oh yeah, yeah, I think it's so funny. I laugh every time. I don't know why it is so funny. Yeah, there's a lot of those things. We have a good time. And then, quite honestly, I feel like we've had some really interesting conversations about the Bible. Right for certain, we don't rehearse it, we don't pre write what we're going to say. We're just a couple guys looking at what's on the page, and talking from the fact that we've been students of the Bible for thirty forty years, right, And I think from this perspective, anybody who decides that they're going to become a student of the Bible. If you know our listeners, you're reading the Bible, listening to the Bible five days a week, you're becoming a student, and you know, being able to look at the page and asking what does this passage say about God? What does it say about people? What's it say to me? Is there something I should avoid? Is there something I should copy or emulate in my life? Is there some promise God's giving? Is there some law He's mentioning, or some better way to live? You ask just a few cute, key questions, and anybody can look at most of the passages we've looked at and draw something out of it. Then with a good study Bible. That's why we're always making a big deal about the life afpcation about good study Bible. There's always these thought provoking little ideas. And I think anybody can have a conversation like this right right at your level and where you've been. It might not be a forty year, mature conversation, but it can be a meaningful discovery, Bible discovery kind of conversation with your friends. And so, you know, hopefully some people are taking this and deciding, hey, let's meet on Tuesdays and at Starbucks and yeah, read the Bible and talk about it with friends. And let me encourage you out there. I've run in recently, I've run into some people who are pretty young in their faith. And just because you're a person who loves knowledge and you love to acquire knowledge, and you're and you're just you know, you're you're geeked up about the Bible. You're really passionate about it. That does not equal It is not congruent too wisdom right right, like like, please, let's all and our discussions be humble and say, you know, that's interesting. I think this is correct, but let me look, let me look it up, and let me find out. Because I've recently, I've just recently done this. I've had conversations with somebody who you know, just you know, their question maybe two years or something, and uh and and and there's discussions in my living room, in my living room, and somebody will speak up and before I'm able to, you know, because you know, you don't want to be the guy with all the answers. So you sit back and you watch the conversation and then this then this young person will interject and say, well, that's because of this. And I'm thinking to myself, that is so dangerous because what you just said is not even close to the case. And uh and and uh, and you're passing it off like it's gospel. And what's what's what's worse is that person next to you is going to shake her head and. Believe you, you know. And so I'm like, I'm like, well, and so I try to gently come in and say, hey, you know that we probably need to take a posture of that's a good question. Uh, let me go ahead and look into that, because what you're saying are true, Like you're quoting verses and you're getting them right, but the application of those verses are entirely wrong, right right. And so you and I've had times in the podcast where we weren't exactly in alignment on a thought. Yeah. Sure, but it's possible to be gentlemen, right right. It's possiblely to me, ladies and gentlemen, even when we're disagreeing or when we're not on the same page, and then it's possible to be humble and go, oh, maybe maybe I'm not right, or allow the other person to point a thing out, and you know, just kind of back up from choosing to fight over a thing and pretend like we know everything. You know, the Apostle Paul said, a little knowledge puffs up, right, just a little, right, So as you begin to get a little bit of Bible and you start feeling like you want to argue about the Bible all the time just to understand, that's because you carry a little knowledge. What I've discovered is and you probably have to. So I've been a believer for forty five years. Yeah, right, and you know, deeply embedded in scripture for basically that entire time. And uh, the longer you're in the word, the less confident you are about understanding and knowing everything. I feel like there's so much more I don't know yet, right, But it's the it's when you get a little bit of knowledge, you just start getting a little bit You Ever, when your kids were learning how to drive, did they ever suddenly start correcting how you drive? Right? Right? Your kid with the learners. Permit, Dad, you can't make that turn right, use your blinker right. I've got this son, I've been doing this for quite a while. Yeah, I've made it home safely before, so without without your back seat advice. Right. So there is something to that. When we get a little bit of knowledge, we start feeling like we've got all the knowledge, and so we just have to be careful with that. I wouldn't use that as a warning to not engage in good Bible conversation. I'm just saying to be humble and go, hey, I might be wrong, and let's go find somebody who has an answer, right, and you and you bump it up a level to the believers that have been walking with the Lord longer than you. And the more mature you get, even if you absolutely know the answer. Uh, sometimes I'll say, yeah, I'm pretty sure this is correct. You know, let's let's look it up together. Yeah right, And you know so that I don't like dominate the other person, right. So it's it's just it's just the more mature and the more you get, the older you get. That's why that's why most old people are pretty humble, and they'll say, you know, they'll have a ton of wisdom and I'm not. I'm not going to be when I get old, I'm going to be like the cockiest guy. Oh so you know another word has not change. Yeah, little punks. So so the other thing too is to always remember. And I think our listeners will pick up on this a lot. You and I cross reference a lot. Sure, so we'll say, oh, that reminds me of you know, the Bible says over here and over there. The Bible is its own best common ter. So while I love life, application study Bible. And you know, I'm telling everybody all the time, or get a good study Bible. And then there's all these cross references, you know in the margins that'll say, hey, this verse has a thing over here. That consistent cross referencing helps too, because what you don't want to do is develop a strong opinion about averse. Right, Right, it's the consistent message of the whole Bible. And that's the power of scripture. Right. It's forty authors spread over fifteen hundred years, writing this cohesive book, and that tells us how to know God and how to live. And so the Bible is always going to be consistent with itself, and rarely will God ever give if ever, I don't know that I can think of a doctrine a major thing worth dividing over. Really, you're literally crossing the lines of heresy if you believe opposite. I can't think of anything in the Bible that's built around one passage or one verse. Yeah, right, If you want to fight about one verse, that's probably an immature way to look at it. Right. So if you have a few guidelines on how to have a conversation, I think people can have really meaningful, fulfilling and disciple building relationships with your friends in a way like this, just like this, right, And so I think that the studio with two microphones, Yeah that's right. Well, you don't need a studio. You can be sitting in a Starbucks or whatever. So, I mean, we only have a couple of minutes. I don't even think we're going to get into the reading totally today. But about the Bible, what is the biggest verse or thought that you have with regard to Okay, this is why God's word matters so much to me? Oh wow, this is why God's word matters so much to me as a Bible guy, as a Bible. Guy, Well, I mean my first thought went for, you know, my life verse, but that isn't necessarily about the Bible. It's about my love for God, right, my faithfulness, my dedication One Corinthians fifteen fifty eight is my life first, by the way, So yeah, I remember I was that in the King James version. Be states that unmovable, unmovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. That's right. You know it too, for as much as you know that you're working the Lord of Son, ever be in vain and so that that's my drive. But when it comes to the Bible, I would just say that it's because God says that number one, his word will never return to him void. Yeah right, So it's never it's never going to be. It's never wasted, it's never empty. Yeah. But it's probably the verse in One Timothy where it says that it is profitable for Timothy twond Timothy, it's profitable for what is it teaching correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped. Right, So go ahead read it. Yeah, So it says all scripture is God breathed, God breathed is useful for teaching, for rebuking. Yeah, three sixteen. All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. It is, right, that's second Timothy three sixteen and seventeen. Yeah, that's great. So that idea all scripture is God breathed, that these aren't just words about God. Right. I don't believe that this book contains the word of God. I believe that this book is the word of words of God, right. Right. There's a difference between it this. But there's a lot of theologians that would say, oh, I think, you know, this book contains God's worst. There's a lot of factual issues, there's a lot of you know, doctrinal issues. It's imperfect whatever. I don't believe that. I believe that this this book is the word of God to humanity. Right. So, and that's what the Bible claims. By the way, all scripture is God breathed. It comes literally from the breath of God, the mouth of God, and it's useful to teach us. Right. So, there's lots of learning we can learn, we can be taught how to live rebuking and correcting those are rebuking is is very strong correction, and then correcting, obviously is a redirecting of our life. Right those two things, and then training in righteousness, teaching us how to live the right way. Righteousness is just doing things God's way right, so that the servant of God. And when you ask who's the servant of God, everybody who's a follower of God, he's our king. Right, So if you call God king, you're his servant. And God gave you these words to teach you, to train you, to rebuke you and correct you so that you and I will be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And so a lot of times, you know, you and I come into ministry and others do to our listeners, you come into a ministry moment when you don't feel equipped. I was just in a really, really bad situation for a couple, and I sat there in the emergency room thinking I don't have any words I don't know to say, And then when one of the people asked a question, the immediate answer was a Bible verse. Isn't that amazing? So I'm sitting there going, I don't know what to say. I should say something, I feel like I should How do I help these I don't have any way to help people? And I felt completely lost. I didn't feel like I had what it took to help them. And then when they asked a question, God's Holy Spirit immediately brought one of his own verses from scripture, and the only thing I had to say was that, and he equipped me thoroughly for that moment. And it was because you're spending time in the word of God, right. I love the fact that you picked that verse because that was the exact same verse I was. Gonna, yeah, yeah, yeah, Well you know, I mean, I think there are dozens of verses where actually the Scripture talks about itself and it says that this is not made from man, that these words come from God, that God used the authors. And even though that the authors were human and they were inspired by God, God also used their personality. God used their experiences. God used all of those things to come through. But at the same time, this is inspired by the Holy Spirit, which is God breathed right. And then also, you know, if you think about this, let me just say one more other thing here, and that, as you'd mentioned already that it was forty different authors over fifteen hundred years. Did you also. And I'm saying did you, but I'm asking the listeners, did you also contemplate that how is it that these people have never met each other? They all come from different backgrounds, different cultures, different languages. The authors were made up of like doctors, fishermen, lawyers, statements, kings, right, you know, all these different types of people, tent makers, and you piece it all together and somehow, over fifteen hundred years, they all have a comprehensive, cohesive one storyline. That's right. How is that possible? That's right? Right, So it's harder to believe that God's word, you know, it isn't inspired. It's harder to believe that than it would be to believe that it is inspired. Yeah, you think of, think of. This isn't an exact correlation. There is a significant difference in the nine Star Wars movies that are in the in the line right now, there's whole bunch of secondary Star Wars movies. There's a significant difference just on the writers, in the directors and producers. You can tell the difference. Yes that hey, This isn't exactly it's not tight. There's some looseness in the stories in those original nine because George Lucas wasn't running every single one of those like he did the first couple, right, and and there's wiggle room. And that's just in a movie that only lasts. You know, if you watch all nine of those movies together, it's only going to be like eighteen hours or twenty hours. Let's talk about a book spread over fifteen hundred years and forty different authors, literally forty different directors writing this thing out, and it's so tight, right, it's really incredible and applicable to our lives today. So on every level, I just want to commend our listeners for taking time on a daily basis, whether it's with us or on your own or with others, spending time in the Word of God. And I have a friend who talks about, you know, the worst time to dig a well is when you're thirsty, right, And the Bible talks about how the Word of God is like fresh water for us and it's water for our soul. Worst time to dig a well is when you're thirsty. The best time is when you realize, hey, we need a well. That's the best time. Just start digging. Now you're going to tap into the water. A generous person allows others to tap into that same water. But I think a wise person builds a dam and fills in a reservoir so that then at that point, anytime, at any moment, everybody can turn on a faucet and there's water available. So as you mature, as you get older, you know you eventually are going to become the patriarch or the matriarch of your family. You're going and man, you need to have spent a long time filling that well because your family's going to need you to be the one that can rattle the gates of heaven when somebody needs to be prayed for. Your family's going to need you to be able to speak up and share God's word when there's a major crisis, or there's a problem where you you know your grandchild is ready to go off to college and need some Godly wisdom, or there somebody's trying to figure out how to navigate a marriage. Right, you have to have a deep well, a deep, deep reservoir. And so when you spend twenty five minutes a day in God's word. You're just you might feel like I don't even know how that mattered to me today. That's okay. Just keep feeling the well, keep filling that reservoir, and there's going to be a moment when somebody in your life or you need to turn on the faucet and it's just going to be there. That's what the Holy Spirit does is he calls back the thing he's already poured into you. And so if he hasn't poured it into you yet, he can't call it back, right, So you just need to keep taking in God's word. I think it's a big part of the wisdom that the Bible talks about. If anybody lacks wisdom, let him ask God. Right. Well, let's end the episode by saying thank you, thank you, thank you for listening, thank you for tuning in. We very much appreciate you. If you live in another country besides this country, just know this we recognize you. Yes, we know you're there, and we will try our very best not to be mediocre. That's right. And hey, on a personal love, man, I've loved doing this with you. We bust each other's tops all the time. We're like brothers and harassing each other and stuff. But I really have enjoyed I appreciate it. I've enjoyed this. I'm glad that you let me be one of the be your sidekicking about it. I've also mildly enjoyed it, Miles, I very much enjoyed it as well. Thank you. All Right, hey, that's our time, and hopefully we'll see you next time on The Five Guys.