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When life gets hard, does what we think we believe hold us up, or does it crumble under the weight of doubt? I'm your host, Dr. Lee Warren- I'm a brain surgeon, author, and a person who's seen some stuff and wondered where God is in all this mess. This is The Spiritual Brain Surgery podcast, where we'll take a hard look at what we believe, why we believe it, and the neuroscience behind how our minds and our brains can smash together with faith to help us become healthier, feel better, and be happier so we can find the hope to withstand anything life throws at us. You've got questions, and we're going to do the hard work to find the answers, but you can't change your life until you change your mind, and it's gonna take some spiritual-brain surgery to get it done. So let's get after it.
Hey. Are you ready to change your life? If the answer is yes, there's only one rule. You have to change your mind first. And my friend, there's a place where the neuroscience of how your mind works smashes together with faith and everything starts to make sense.
Dr. Lee Warren:Are you ready to change your life? Well, this is the place, Self Brain Surgery School. I'm doctor Lee Warren, and this is where we go deep into how we're wired, take control of our thinking, and find real hope. This is where we learn to become healthier, feel better, and be happier. This is where we leave the past behind and transform our minds.
Dr. Lee Warren:This is where we start today. Are you ready? This is your podcast. This is your place. This is your time, my friend.
Dr. Lee Warren:Let's get after it. Well, friend, we're back here. It's another beautiful Sunday afternoon on the North Platte River in Nebraska, and I am sitting here with my main man, Dennis McDonald, and that can only mean one thing. It's Tuesdays with Tata. How's it going Tata?
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):I'm doing well. How are you doing?
Dr. Lee Warren:I'm doing great and I'm excited about this talk. We've been almost a 100 episodes now of Tuesdays with Tata, which would qualify it to have been a whole season of the podcast all by itself. I think this is 96 or something. We've done some rereleases and stuff, but I think it's in the nineties of new Tuesdays with Tata episodes. And you've got quite a following, by the way, in Eastern Europe and all over the place, Tata.
Dr. Lee Warren:There's always a little spike in Tuesdays with Tata episodes when they drop. But I was just thinking, we've talked about Ezekiel and Daniel and Isaiah and Jeremiah and Hosea Yes. And probably some other prophets. Yes. We never talked about Jonah.
Dr. Lee Warren:No.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):We need to and that's what we hopefully, that's what we can talk about today.
Dr. Lee Warren:We're gonna talk about Jonah today. So let's get after it.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):What do
Dr. Lee Warren:you have to say about Jonah?
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Well, first of all, the Jonah is a little book and it's right after Hosea. So if you if you if you if marked your bible for Hosea, it's right after Joel and Amos and Obadiah and then Jonah. Yep. But the thing that and I want to read the first verse of Jonah. Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amorite, and and saying, arise, go to Nineveh, this that great city and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yeah. So God was God knew how bad they were. And so stop right there and just just consider what hap we know what Jonah did next. Yep. But why didn't he say, wait a minute, Lord.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):You want me to go where? Yeah. You want me to go to Nineveh? You know what the Syrians are doing. No.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And and so you know just so you know, Nineveh was the capital city of of, of that area of of the Syrian empire. And so they were very warlike and they were very conquest, minded. Yeah. And they were very hard people, they were very evil people. But the evil had come up before God and he wanted to send Jonah down there, but Jonah didn't even say a word, he just got out of town.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. He left. He got he he went down to Joppa and got on a ship going to Tarsus, and he he paid his passage and and he just he went the other way. He thought he was avoiding the presence of God.
Dr. Lee Warren:He thought he was going to be able to avoid God's assignment for him. Well, I'm sure we're going to get into why you think Jonah may have done that, but I just want to tell the listeners here there is a great book about the little book of Jonah. It's funny when people try to write about biblical books, you can write a 300 page book about a 4 chapter book in the Old Testament.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's how much depth there is in the word of God. But Timothy Keller, the late Timothy Keller, of course we lost him last year this year, wrote the prodigal prophet Jonah and the mystery of God's mercy. And it's a beautiful book.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Well, then there's many things. Beyond that, there's there's we can see evidence of missions work Yeah. Because, he was sending Jonah into into the mouth of the lion, so to speak.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And Jonah did not go.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But and also we're talking about foreign missions. Yeah. And we're talking about other pieces of it that we'll get to as we go forward. But Yeah. It's always been interesting to me that Jonah made that decision.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yeah. And I think he made that decision because he had seen what was happening. And he he saw that the Assyrians were very warlike and they were very the people from Nineveh were very they were very brutal in their approach, and they were land grabbers.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah. They so
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):they were taking back what they thought was theirs.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But but little but think about it. Think think about that posture. It's it's like Jonah was saying, I know better than you know, God. I know what's best. Yep.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And so he he was deciding that he was not going to go. But anyway, they he went down and got on the ship, and and the ship went became got in trouble because they were in the midst of a violent storm. And the fact that the sailors were so concerned, they were throwing the cargo overboard. Yeah. And they were so concerned about and they were calling out to their own gods because they thought they were gonna die.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):So it must have been a very violent storm. That's right. And and god sent that storm. And it's very evident because the the writer tells us that god sent the storm. And in the middle of that storm, Jonah was down in the in the in the hole in the hole of the ship asleep.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yeah. And while all of the sailors were calling out to their gods, the captain went down and woke him up. Yep. Said, what are you doing down here asleep? Call out to your god so we'll be spared.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yep. So we won't be killed. We won't drown. Now and we don't know. I guess we don't know what happened after that.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):We know, apparently, the sailors were casting lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Yep. It was his fault.
Dr. Lee Warren:Whose fault is it? Yep. Yeah. It's Jonah's fault.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And and so they had a litany of questions. Who are you? Where'd you come from? And this and this is what is so mysterious to me, is that Jonah admitted, I am a Hebrew and I worship the most high God. Yep.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And he was not worshiping the most high
Dr. Lee Warren:God. That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But yet he was claiming God. Yeah. And he was claiming God's leadership. Yeah. And so the sailors were beside themselves with knowing wondering what to do to prevent this storm, to change change the mind.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And so many things happened. They the sailors started rowing, but they couldn't make any progress back to the land. Yeah. Because this and the storm even got worse. Yeah.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And and Jonah told him, said, well, the only way you're gonna save yourself is just throw me overboard.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):So did he repent? Did he change his mind? We don't know yet. No. We don't know yet.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But we know we know what happened because they, the sailors took hold of him and threw him overboard, and but the Lord prepared a giant fish.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And in a lot of cases, people talk about it it had to be a whale.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah. But the Bible never says it was a whale. It was a great fish. There's an interesting there's an interesting little aside here. Jonah was willing to die to save these sailors.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yes.
Dr. Lee Warren:Because he felt bad that they were going to perish because of his disobedience. But he so hated the Ninevites that he wasn't willing to go there for God to save them.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's interesting.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yes. It is. And that that's that's what I meant when I said there's so many lessons here that we could spend we could spend all day. We could spend a lifetime looking at what happened to this man, a man of God. God spoke to him.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yep. Apart. And if you look at then, and when when Jonah was in the in the belly of the fish, he he he prayed to God. And if you look at his prayer Okay. And read about it and meditate on it, it sounds so much like the Psalms.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):He's calling out to God Yeah. To save him. And he's he's he's calling out for God for mercy. Now here he is, and and I'm and thank the lord that he has recognized that that all of this is his fault because he didn't go. But you're right, He still had not changed his mind.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. Or at least his heart. Yeah. Yeah.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):His heart was stoned. That's that's for sure. Because he was thinking all along, okay. The Ninevites are gonna get what they deserve.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. He wants them to suffer. This has a lot to say about how we view God's mercy when it applies to other people because there no matter how much we might say on the surface that it's otherwise, I think most of us have a hard time sometimes understanding how God could want to forgive those people. Yes. I'm putting air quotes around the word those.
Dr. Lee Warren:Like, there's always a group. Maybe it's terrorists. Maybe it's somebody on the opposite end of the political spectrum.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Or maybe Jeffrey Donner who went to heaven.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah. Yeah. It's a murderer who becomes a Christian in prison, and people doubt his sincerity or wish that he surely God couldn't forgive that cannibal. Like, like, you know, what if we found out that Adolf Hitler confessed and was baptized right before he died? Would people have a hard time with that?
Dr. Lee Warren:Of course they would. We all would. And so I think Jonah's story here, it's easy to say, Wow, he was terrible. He didn't want to go take care of those nenabytes. But all of us need to look at the story as a metaphor for are there places in our life where we wouldn't be so happy if God said, hey, go forgive your ex, or go forgive
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right.
Dr. Lee Warren:This person who doesn't vote like you do.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Well, he's God Jesus has already said that. Yep. Have we accepted it? Maybe not. Maybe not on all levels over our every case, and maybe we've hardened our heart too.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But and and maybe somewhere in our heart, we may have said, okay. They're going to get what they deserve.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):right. They're going to go to hell.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Good for them. Yeah. But is that the right attitude? Because what did Jesus say? Love love one another Yeah.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And be merciful.
Dr. Lee Warren:Love your enemy. That's right. Timothy Keller had this is a good paragraph we'll give you. Keller said, the careful structure of the book reveals nuances of the author's message. Both episodes, so 2 episodes, him refusing to go and then him finally going.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah. Both episodes show how Jonah, a staunch religious believer, regards and relates to people who are racially and religiously different from him. The book of Jonah yields many insights about God's love for societies and people beyond the community of believers because God cared about the Ninevites. He wanted them to repent so he wouldn't have to destroy them.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right.
Dr. Lee Warren:About his opposition to toxic nationalism and disdain for other races and about how to be in mission in the world despite the subtle and unavoidable power of idolatry in our own lives and lives.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Well, I and I think I think often, and you and I talked about this the other day about Elizabeth Elliott Yeah. And and her husband, Jim Elliott. The the very people that he went to help killed him. And she went back and tried to help them as well. He did.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And that is so stunning because all they were going all all that Jim Elliott wanted them to know was that Jesus loves you.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And Jesus cares about you. He died for you. Yeah. And they killed him because and why they did, I don't know. Because maybe he was they considered him to be an intruder.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yep. And maybe they considered considered him to be a false prophet. But anyway, back to Jonah being in the in the belly of this fish for 3 days 3 nights. Jesus himself, in Matthew 12, talks about when when it first we were asking for a sign, he said, the only sign that you'll get is the sign of Jonah. The Jonah just as Jonah was in the belly of the of the big fish for 3 days 3 nights, I will be in the in the grave for 3 days 3 nights.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):So Jesus himself accepted this story. And g and this was 100 of years later.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yep.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That Jesus himself would see that and recognize that. But then what happened? After after after Jonah prayed, the the the great fish vomited him up on the beach. Now did he hit the beach running to go convince the dead of it to repent? I don't think so.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):No.
Dr. Lee Warren:He still was a grudging. He was begrudging it.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yeah. He he kept thinking, okay. God is gonna give them what they deserve.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yep. He couldn't see he couldn't see the the fact that God could be merciful towards his own sin and also just at the same time. He didn't want God's mercy to apply to the Ninevites. He just wanted God's justice, but he sure didn't want God's justice on his own heart. That's right.
Dr. Lee Warren:He wanted mercy for himself.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. Now, the and but he did go to Nineveh. And Nineveh was a a large city. I you have to you have to try to comprehend how how large it could seem to be that because the breadth of it would take was 3 miles. It would take 3 days to just across the breadth.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Wow. So the length of it Big city. But Jonah, when he went into the city, he went in at one day. So he walked into the middle of the city, apparently, and he preached. Yep.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And he told the Ninevites that in 40 days, disaster would come upon them. Yeah. Now he was convincing because now maybe he told them the story of the storm. Maybe he told the story of God's message to him, that God sent him and that he ran away. He went the other direction.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But God changed his mind, and God sent a big fish and swallowed him. He was in the belly of a fish for 3 days
Dr. Lee Warren:Yep.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And 3 nights. But then the fish vomited him up on the land, and now I'm here. And so, he preached for them and the the Ninevites believed. They repented. Yeah.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And and in sackcloth, and they proclaimed a fast. And and they were they were very concerned about God destroying them. Yeah. And they were repented of everything that they had done.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But but here again, now Jonah, we don't know what happened later, but but several things happened. The king heard what was going on. He took off his robe and put sackcloth and ashes on.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):So he repented as well. That's right. So they changed their minds. They listened to the message.
Dr. Lee Warren:So does Jonah teach us that we should be willing to teach unpopular messages even if it's dangerous to us?
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Absolutely. Even though we may not like it
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Or we may be afraid. That's right. Now maybe Jonah did not like it, and maybe he was afraid at the same time. I don't know. Yeah.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But I I believe that what he had seen convinced him that God needed to punish them as opposed to tell them about their sin and seek seek their seek repentance.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. In fact And forgive them. I think there's a really subtle point here. Jonah did not believe that the Ninevites would repent.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):No. He did not.
Dr. Lee Warren:And therefore he believed that God would destroy them because when he preached, he didn't say in 40 days, Nineveh may be overthrown. He said in 40 days, Nineveh shall be overthrown. He was looking forward
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):to it.
Dr. Lee Warren:It's gonna it's gonna happen. That's why he went up and got on that under that tree to watch it all play out. He actually did repent.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. And and down and and and and it's the profound appearance down in verse 10 of of chapter 3, when God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And that's just like, when when when God said to Moses, I'm going to go down and kill them all. Mhmm. Moses said, no, don't do that. That's right. What do you think the rest of what do you think the people in Egypt are going to think?
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And God relented. He changed his mind. So does that say, that god can change his mind when he wants to? Yes. Yep.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But is it up to us to try to change his mind? Yes. Yes. I I believe I believe there's room for that.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's what intercessory prayer is.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's absolutely. I believe that there's room for that. Yeah. And I believe that we have the right and that's why I was so amazed that Jonah did not do that. He said, okay, then okay, what's going to happen to them?
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And what do we need to do to change the mind? But anyway, you're and and carry the store the story forward. Jonah was still, displeased with all of it. Mhmm. He was very upset.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):So he went out into a different place to sit down to watch what was going to happen. Yeah. He he still believed that god was gonna destroy them, and he made a booth for himself. And but also another thing happened, and a a a bush came up and covered him. It covered his covered him any from the heat of the day.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Yeah. But then something happened to the bush. The bush died, and Joanna was very upset about that because God sent a very hot wind. And so he was he was in great distress. Not only was he in distress physically, but also emotionally.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. Because he thought that God was going to deliver the the fatal blow to them, the coup
Dr. Lee Warren:de grace. That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):What give them what they deserved. That's right.
Dr. Lee Warren:We're gonna watch this play out.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And we're gonna and I'm gonna be I have a ringside seat, and I'm gonna sit right here, and I'm gonna watch it happen.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. And he was so mad when God relented that he even said, I'd rather just die Yeah. Than watch you forgive none
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):of us. That's right. Yeah. And God God said, who are you? And and why are you so angry because the bush the the plant the plant died?
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Did you did you labour there? Did you plant it? Did you water it? A worm came that the gods sent the worm to destroy the plant and that was covering Jonah. And so all these things were happening, but he still didn't change his mind.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. He was convinced. And then finally, god says to him, finally, in verse 11 of chapter 3, and should I not pin it pity Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than a 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left. They didn't they didn't They
Dr. Lee Warren:didn't know any better. No, they did not.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):They only knew how to do one thing, and that's kill people and and take their their possessions and their land.
Dr. Lee Warren:So they were living under numerous generational and epigenetic curses
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Absolutely. Of
Dr. Lee Warren:evil, begetting evil. And God said somebody needs to go down there and tell them the truth about who I am. Yeah. And Jonah had a chance to deliver that message with grace, but
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):he delivered it with And then then but God also said another thing to Jonah, said also much cattle. Yep. So what does that say? God not only was consider he he was concerned about the people
Dr. Lee Warren:He cares about the animals.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):He could yeah. He did. He cared about the animals. He consider about all concerned about all of the living beings.
Dr. Lee Warren:His creations. I know he loved Harvey and Lewis. Absolutely.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):He did. And and I and I don't know. It's, it just seems to me that, and I know someone said once upon a time, I think there was a movie or something, all dogs go to heaven or something like that. But I believe that. I believe that there's a place for that because those are God's creations and those are God's creatures.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):But how do what does this what does that what does this all say to us? What does it say to us? Sometimes when we make up our mind and we won't change our mind and we harden our heart, And that's exactly what the people what what the Lord said about the people of Israel. They were they were stiff necked, and they were hard hearted, and they were difficult people to deal with. That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Do we wanna be in that place? No. I don't wanna be in that place.
Dr. Lee Warren:No.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):I don't want god saying that about me. Now, do I rebel against god? Of course, we do. We all do. And any of it, all the sin and and what Jonah did was very clear as well.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):He rebelled. Yeah. He rebelled against God. But now can we can justify it all day long if we want to, but the word came. The word the Lord came to him That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And said, go. That's right. And then he did not. He he he went he went to another place. He went the opposite direction.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. But, anyway, all of this says says something about so there are several there are several messages here that we need to be mindful of that One of the things that it was not a whale. No. And I've heard that all my life, that it was a whale, but scripture tells us that it was a big fish. It was a fish.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And it was God made the fish. Yeah. And but and that's good enough for me. Yeah. And if it was good enough for Jesus, that when Jesus said the sign is that with Jonah being in the belly of a fish for 3 days 3 nights and maybe in the grave for 3 days 3 nights That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's a sign. That's right. So if Jesus accepted it, what that settles the matter.
Dr. Lee Warren:The sign of Jonah. That's right. There's no
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):no there's no further discussion required. That's right. And and the other thing that that we need to look at is what really happened to the people. And again in chapter 3 in verse 5, and the people of Nineveh believed God, they called for a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them. They believed.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):So the message was very clear that they believe, and the same thing happened to the sailors. The sailors believed. Yeah. And they prayed to God, and made vows to God and sacrificed to God. So several things happened that were very positive in the presence of Jonah.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah. And it still didn't change his heart.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):No. He did not. He did not. And and we I don't know what happened to him after that.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):right. And I don't know all I know is that he was sitting there waiting for something to happen. He was waiting for the destruction destruction of the Ninevites because that's what in his heart of hearts, that's what he wanted to happen.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):He did he didn't he was not concerned about their salvation. And that's another point where we need that's another point that we need to think about is that we need to be concerned about the salvation of other people Yep. And other nations Absolutely. And other races.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. Because God is. Absolutely. That's the point. God is.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And and and we know that that God that Jesus came not to condemn the world, but
Dr. Lee Warren:to save. To seek and save the lost. That's right. It's interesting to me that this is the only book really, I think, in the whole Bible that doesn't resolve. It just ends with this conversation with God should not be concerned about these people and then boom the story is over.
Dr. Lee Warren:Timothy Keller made an interesting point. We don't really know who is telling the story because it's not it's not Jonah telling the story. He doesn't say, Hey, I'm Jonah, and here's my story. Let me tell you how bad I was. It's an unidentified person telling the story, right, of Jonah.
Dr. Lee Warren:And what Keller said that's interesting is presumably Jonah must have told people this tale, but he didn't sugarcoat his own behavior.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):No he did not.
Dr. Lee Warren:Which that may be hopeful to us because it might mean that later in his life he realized the error of his ways and he told the story as a cautionary tale without making himself look better in the tale.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Well, and there's there's many cases of evidence that he repented.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah. That's what I'm getting at.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):When he was in the belly of the whale. Yeah. He prayed. Yeah. He had the sailors swim overboard.
Dr. Lee Warren:So he had a heart to turn back to God. And maybe as age and time passed, maybe he realized God's mercy. He needed God's mercy as much as the Ninevites did. That's right. They needed it too.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. That's that's exactly right.
Dr. Lee Warren:So maybe he changed his mind after all, Tata.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Maybe he did. And that's what we all need to do. We need to change our mind about who we are and who God is.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. We can't put ourselves in a position of telling god what he ought to be doing.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Absolutely right. And if that if that if if god said it, that's enough for me.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Now the the the there's all these things that we that we talked about, and we we have to say the same thing. Many of these things sound that God directions that God has given us and and the teachings of Jesus, they sound hard, they're counterproductive, they're counterintuitive in our mind, and and but we reject them out of hand. We don't reject them out of hand, and we we accept them, but we do put them to practice in our life.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):So how how do we look at what God said?
Dr. Lee Warren:That's right. And if he calls us to something, if you read scripture and you feel convicted of something, do you filter it through your own wants and desires or you just obey?
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. Well, I think you have to obey. And but but I think that I think that that we still have to put on a but it's very simple. In in Paul's mind, he tells us to put on
Dr. Lee Warren:the full armor of God. That's right.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):And all the armor that he talks about is right here in the Bible, in scripture.
Dr. Lee Warren:And I think we need to Jonah didn't have the benefit of having Jesus' words, but we need to remember that angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents. That's right. And we should be concerned about other people's souls. I just read a story today about DL Moody. I told you this earlier today.
Dr. Lee Warren:We we Moody who started Moody Moody Bible College and and Moody Publishers and all these other organizations named that.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):He started out as a shoe salesman.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yeah, he was a shoe salesman. But apparently, D. L. Moody had a list of a 100 people that he wanted to see saved in his lifetime and 96 of them became Christians before he died. And at his funeral, the other 4 gave their lives to Jesus.
Dr. Lee Warren:That's the power
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):of the
Dr. Lee Warren:persistent prayer.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Amen. Amen.
Dr. Lee Warren:We need to love other people, Tata, more than we love our own notions or prejudices or biases.
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):That's right. That's right. And and we and we and we have to we have to we have to be like the people of Nineveh. We have to be like the sailors. They changed their minds.
Dr. Lee Warren:Yep. And they repented and changed their minds. That's right. Well, if we're going to do that, when should we start?
Dennis MdDonald (Tata):Start today.
Dr. Lee Warren:We'll start today. Hey. Thanks for listening. The doctor 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.
Dr. Lee Warren:It's available everywhere books are sold, and I narrated the audiobooks. 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 wlea warrenmd.com/ prayer.
Dr. Lee Warren:Wleawarrenmd.com/ 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 doctor Lee Warren, and I'll talk to you soon. Remember, frame, you can't change your life until you change your mind. And the good news is you can start today.