Life Beside Christ
Life Beside Christ
CrossFit Chronicles, Go-Kart Adventures, and Walking the Narrow Road
Ever tried a CrossFit workout only to find yourself in a hilarious, yet humbling predicament? You'll hear all about Levi's attempt and the laughter that ensued as he grappled with the intense world of CrossFit. With Brady taking a break to focus on family, Levi and Carter navigate the landscape of podcasting and life, discussing the art of saying no and keeping faith at the center of our commitments. This episode kicks off with some light-hearted banter, setting the stage for deeper conversations about aligning our daily choices with spiritual values.
Venture into a school prayer event, where even young students express values close to their hearts. We share a spirited tale of mechanical misadventures with a go-kart, adding humor to the frustrations of troubleshooting. From there, we dive into the intimidating yet exciting world of hunting season on public lands, where the search for the perfect spot parallels the quest for meaningful experiences. Through these stories, we capture the essence of community and shared learning that binds us together.
Reflecting on the wisdom of Matthew 7, we examine the challenges of judgment and self-improvement, emphasizing the role of churches as sanctuaries of healing. Our discussion on the Golden Rule leads us to explore the power of prayer and the significance of genuine faith. With a heartfelt look at the narrow road to salvation, we underscore the importance of sharing this journey with loved ones. Join us in this episode as we share personal reflections and invite you to connect with us, continuing to support and be part of our journey in this life beside Christ.
We love hearing from our listeners whether it's criticism, advice, or just thoughts on the conversation we had. Find us or reach out to us here:
•Email: lifebesidechristpod@gmail.com
•Instagram: @lifebesidechristpodcast
•Intro/Outro Music: "Our Days" by David Hays
welcome back to life beside christ podcast.
Speaker 2:I am really starting to hate doing these intros I'm not gonna step in and I'm just, I'm just gonna leave it at that.
Speaker 1:Um, you're doing so good. We just need to get a recording of Brady doing the intro.
Speaker 2:Oh, Brady's back. Oh no, Psych no.
Speaker 1:I think you need to just start doing them.
Speaker 2:Dude.
Speaker 1:I just don't like it. I feel awkward saying it, right, you know I don't have a radio voice like it needs. Brady's got a pretty calm voice, but like crisp. You know Crisp.
Speaker 2:Crisp, okay, voice, but like crisp, you know crisp, crisp, okay, all right, okay, whatever you say, man just trying to compliment him, you know yeah, I quit doing that after the third time you don't show up. Nah, so to explain that situation, brady's taking a break, um, from the podcast and uh, taking a break from the podcast and spending, spend more family time. So just, you guys will just have to suffer with Keith and I I mean Levi and I, keith.
Speaker 1:Beavis and Butthead over here.
Speaker 2:Yep, I call Beavis.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so get what? Get used to this kind of conversation for a while.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is the whole podcast.
Speaker 1:Just trying to say correct words.
Speaker 2:I don't like them, not a fan. So what's been up with you, man?
Speaker 1:You got anything new, new since the last recording yeah somebody convinced me to go try a crossfit workout.
Speaker 2:Oh brother yeah, I quit that years ago.
Speaker 1:You know I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna talk too much trash on it, but people that do it, there might be something wrong with them it's like wrestlers.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, yeah, same mentality. It's crazy, I don't. I don't get it. I get being strong and stuff, but I mean how strong you want to be, I mean, you know I think.
Speaker 1:I think wrestling has more useful life skills, not life skills. You know, you're able to defend yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, when you wrestle.
Speaker 1:What are you doing with a muscle up on a bar? You know.
Speaker 2:That's true. Get out of here. Yeah, you don't need to do that, but if you look like you could beat somebody up, I feel like that's half the battle. Maybe, I don't know.
Speaker 1:We should get a CrossFitter and a wrestler on here, make him fight. It kicked my butt, I bet. I was so mad. I was feeling good. I was like this workout doesn't look too bad, it doesn't look fun, but it doesn't look too bad. And I was like, oh, I felt good about myself.
Speaker 1:I was like from the beginning of school year I was down like 15 pounds, so I was feeling good. I'm like, oh, I'll feel good doing some more intense exercise that I've not done all summer. Nah, I was so far the worst person there and it wasn't there wasn't that many people there. But physically I should not have done as bad as I did. It was. I was embarrassed. Actually, I should not have done as bad as I did. It was, it was I was embarrassed. Actually, I wasn't really embarrassed. I was getting like so mad at myself with how bad I was doing. I was just sitting there like just beating myself up in my head because I was so mad and I was like my competitiveness is not okay with this, like how bad I was doing it and how crappy I was feeling. Oh, it drives me nuts. I like almost want to redo the workout, yeah, on my own, but like screw that, you know yeah, so are you going back?
Speaker 2:or heck, all right, so is that bad where you're like? No, it really was. I was being a baby.
Speaker 1:I would definitely was being a bit of a baby, but I was just getting frustrated for no reason. Dude. You just got to get after it, so that was fun. And I enjoy watching CrossFit. Oh Watching, yeah, yeah, I don't want to do it that much.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like watching on the couch with my chips and SOTY, Like oh, there are athletes out there.
Speaker 1:Are there athletes in 30th place? Come on, no, but like, oh shoot, what was I gonna say? You interrupted me, I'm just kidding I interrupted you.
Speaker 1:No, I interrupted you. Um, oh, and I just have a problem, and you've talked about it too. I think we both had this problem of just saying no sometimes. Yeah, not that I didn't want to go or try it, um, but I don't know, maybe it's not a bad thing because me starting to go to church with you guys was me saying yes to a question of, like an invite that's the lord brother and uh, so maybe I don't need to stop saying no, I don't know. Maybe more yes to I don't know where I'm going with this Right, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Who knows?
Speaker 2:Who knows really, I think there is something to saying no to things you don't need in your life, like getting your priorities straight Right, because were you there at that sermon at 1C where it was like every yes you say, you say no to like a thousand things or something?
Speaker 1:I don't think I remember that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was pretty much the sermon you guys should have been there. It was really good.
Speaker 1:Just go ahead and give us a little longer version of it.
Speaker 2:Just make sure God's at the top of your list. I got you. Say yes to things that move you closer to him, or where you can spread the word and make sure you're just thinking through stuff, because we get so busy in life where you say yes, yes, yes and then you're stacked up and don't have time for the Lord.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So that was it pretty for the Lord.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was it pretty much True. Yeah, I had. So you remember last year when I talked to you guys about the meet at the flagpole day last year at school.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do, I remember that a little bit.
Speaker 1:And I remember the person leading it asked if anyone else wanted to lead a prayer. Yes, and everyone's head was still down and they're like, if anyone wants to just go ahead and start praying out loud. And I kind of peaked my head up and a few people were looking at me like they were expecting me to say something, but I didn't.
Speaker 1:I'm like oh, I'm too nervous to say something I talked about. My prayers are so jumbled I'm like I don't want to try saying a prayer out loud in front of these people because I'll probably start rambling like I do anyways. I don't have any clue where I'm going Now. Could I have just said something really simple? Sure, but I didn't. So then it comes up this year again, right, and I'm like, oh, okay, I know how this. I didn't know what it was going to be like last time I didn't know that. So I'm like, oh, if they ask, I'll definitely I feel better about it this year. And he just said a prayer. Then I was like I was ready, but I'm not mad that I didn't have to, I guess. But it was a funny thought.
Speaker 1:Who does it? Is it the principal? She kind of orchestrates it, I think I think it's a collective, A few teachers kind of help. But his name is Tony Williams. I think he was the dean or the principal at the high school for a little while, I can't remember, but he was working at the school a couple years ago and he kind of comes and leads the majority of it. It was kind of cool, though. They involved some kids into it that showed up before school, that wanted to be there into saying a prayer or reading a prayer, so I thought that was kind of cool.
Speaker 2:That was cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So what is it for?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I think it's just kind of like a collective, like all the schools have a, because obviously you can't like during the day I guess, but it's before school time or times that people are required to be there and you show up if you want and you guys just kind of. It's more like a community kind of togetherness thing, I guess, but it's I believe it's like a nationwide thing of, just like Christians or anybody yeah, well, yeah, anybody, but it's a Christian okay, thing thing put on by local churches, like 1C kind of, I believe, kind of orchestrates it for our school district.
Speaker 1:Okay, I saw it on their Facebook, I think a couple other churches help and they maybe donate stuff like donuts and treats and stuff like that Do you know what no.
Speaker 1:What Nothing? Another funny story, not funny Cool. It was cool. So we had to do health and I don't think I can get in trouble for sharing stuff that happened at school, but it was. We had to do health at school, but we had to do health. All fourth and fifth graders have to do health as part of it's not part of PE. I guess Most schools have the PE teachers at the elementary level teach health.
Speaker 1:But we started our first health lesson yesterday, actually, yesterday actually, and one of the questions that was part of the slideshow was a question that said what do you care about most in your life? And there were multiple times and it was just like raise your hand if you want to answer and give your answer. Anyone could raise their hand. I said it could have been your favorite stuffed animal all the way to your family and whatever. Um, and a couple people raise their hand and call them and they say jesus. I was like yes, like really, but like obviously I'm not like, but I'm like good one. You know a couple of them like their, uh, their faith, they said. They said god is their the thing they care about the most, and it was pretty cool.
Speaker 2:It was awesome.
Speaker 1:It was a touching thing, I guess, to hear from fourth and fifth graders without prompt to it, right yeah? You kind of would hope they would, but I mean, I don't know if I would have back then I would have probably said basketball or something most of them did say like family right, because I kind of talked about why health was important and it was the whole lesson like understanding what health is and that it's not just a physical thing and whatever. So it was kind of like a general, encompassing discussion, I guess.
Speaker 2:Hmm, that is pretty cool. Yeah, so random, yeah, but I've had this project for two or three months. Probably Spent a lot of hours on this project.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Spent some money, I don't know how much, but too much, too much, probably. So it's a go-kart me and old rhino been working on him and uh, finally, like so I've been testing it and the chain keeps falling off, falling off, falling off. I take it apart, fix, fix that the oil's leaking, take it apart, fix that, get her going. And it's going good. And I'm ripping it. We got a track set up. We're going good. I'm like, yeah, you want to switch or something? You can see how mine's going. Tire falls off, which some weld I don't know who, who welded it, not me felt like broke and fell off. Go-kart hits the ground, roll cage breaks in three places. I'm like gosh, dang. I just like out of commission so much, so much time.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I'm gonna fix it or scrap it or sell for parts I don't know.
Speaker 1:Could you swap? I mean, is the motor fine or the engine?
Speaker 2:Yeah, engine's good Tires are brand spanking new.
Speaker 1:I don't know what it's like. I've never worked on a car or anything like that.
Speaker 2:I don't know if you could swap it to a different frame or something. Yeah, if I wanted to spend a couple hundred dollars, I could.
Speaker 1:So if anyone out there wants to yeah, or knows how to weld really well yeah that would want to be willing to fix that for carter yeah, I need a good welder go ahead and reach out yep, that'd be nice.
Speaker 2:So that's what I've been up to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um hunting season started. Yes, sir, you've been hunting. Nope me neither. Still trying to find a place really, yeah, kind of public hunting kind of as someone who's not fairly new to hunting like well, I'm really new, yeah, hunting overall, but, um, public land hunting kind of intimidates me. I guess it's like I've never gone. I don't know what it's going to be like out there, like with other people out there, I guess yeah, yeah, only thing I feel like there's like I've never done any research in it.
Speaker 2:I feel like there's just people that have their spots that you like, don't like. People know not to go there, or something you know maybe, yeah, I, I have no idea, I don't either I feel like I just walk right at oh, there's our other boat. Yeah, that too Can you see, anything. So yeah, I'll stay away from.
Speaker 1:I like your fishing. You catch anything good.
Speaker 2:How are they biting today?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'll stay away from public.
Speaker 2:Hopefully We'll see, yeah Well.
Speaker 1:I'm hoping to. I think we all are hoping to.
Speaker 2:Get some deer, get some hunting in Yep.
Speaker 1:Yep, but yeah, that's, I think that's. Oh, I've got something else that I heard, the other day, I think, from a comedian, and it was like yeah, I agree with that, that and I thought about it before. Uh, you guys know, and if anyone knows my dad, this will not shock you, and anyone that knows me already knows that. I guess, like I will talk forever, like I'll just talk, talk, talk. But what I hate? Not hate, I don't say hate because that's part of conversations. Do you enjoy small talk with anybody? I heard a comedian talking about it.
Speaker 2:I used to, I used to I don't know.
Speaker 1:Hey, how's your day going? What did you do With your buddies? Yeah, I want to hear what's up, but I'd much rather spend way more time just like. Actually, I love getting to know people and talk to them. And I don't know. I don't remember exactly where I was going with that, but I heard it and I was like, yeah, I hate that, I'd rather just talk about actual things, I guess.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I enjoy getting to know people Actual things, I guess.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I enjoy getting to know people In Home Depot. I walk in and the cashier said something where I could not think of an answer.
Speaker 1:So you just ignored her.
Speaker 2:Well, I said thank you because he said welcome first, and then something where I was like I don't know how to answer, so I just said thanks, walked by and then same day, same store I'm trying to find the light bulbs walk past an hour worker. He said something and I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just walked right on by no words. I was like, and I was like, I was like I don't know how to answer. I forgot what it was. I'll try to think of it, but I was like I seem like a not very nice person because I don't know how to answer what you just said to me yeah like it's not like like he was walking at a pretty good pace like past me.
Speaker 2:He wasn't like trying to help me at all, but but he's just saying words to.
Speaker 1:I don't know, not be awkward and then I just not answer him, so yeah, I guess not to turn away from what you're saying, but I was thinking I don't hate like the small talk I guess, especially like if it's like if there's more to talk about after I guess with anybody like a complete stranger, co-worker, uh, some a friend that you've not seen in a while, like I just hey how's, how's work going like I just like I don't know. It just drives me nuts sometimes, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I get that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so there's my little rant.
Speaker 2:There you go. I do like getting to know people.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, it's fun.
Speaker 2:It's a fun thing Most of the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:There's, you know, but most of the time yeah.
Speaker 2:Go ahead and finish that. No, no, I'm good. Most of the time it's good, cool, cool, yeah, all right. Okay, so back into christian stuff. Sure, okay. So I went to bloomington, okay, and I went to church there. Okay, I didn't just drive to bloomington just to go to church, there's Okay, I didn't just drive to Bloomington just to go to church, there's no reason. But, yeah, all right. So what? I got out of the church he said something and it was the church is a hospital for the broken, not a museum for the saints. I was like dang brother Spitting lines. Yeah, that should be real good. That should be on all the signs in front of churches. I'm like dang.
Speaker 2:That's no judgment.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that brings me to my point.
Speaker 1:So we're in Matthew 7, right? So we finished Matthew 6, and then Adam was with us last time, so we're in. Matthew 7 is where Carter's hinting at.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So Matthew 7 is where we're kind of picking up here with some topics and scripture.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, first one judging others. Mike, there you go. That's a great little phrase there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I was like that's good, I want that on like a flag or something hanging around my cabin somewhere.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:Something cool like that, something like a flag, nice, maybe if my go-kart was working I could like put it Get a bumper sticker, yeah, something like that.
Speaker 1:Oh, like a flag to hang off the back of. Yeah, that's where I was going with it, but I do like the bumper sticker. There's not really a bumper on it, though, isn't there?
Speaker 2:No, it's broke I just meant in general.
Speaker 1:It's just a frame, it's about fell off. It's not really like a car bumper, no Like there is in a car.
Speaker 2:No, you're not supposed to hit it, but sometimes you do, you know. So I guess it kind of works like that, okay. Okay, so you want me to go first?
Speaker 1:Yeah, go ahead.
Speaker 2:All right, judging others, do not judge, or you too will be judged. In the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measures you use, it will be measured to you. Yeah, woo Woo, mm-hmm, that's bad. Take me one trip to Walmart. Judging Terrible.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I pray about it. I'm not going to say I can't help it, because I probably can, but it is one that I struggle with. I'm sure they're doing the same thing to me. I mean, whenever I'm walking into Walmart I'm not wearing it.
Speaker 1:Hey don't be judging what they're doing. Now I know I'm just kidding. I'm double crossing Walmart. I'm not wearing it.
Speaker 2:Hey don't be judging what they're doing now. I know I'm just kidding, I know I'm double-crossing it right now. But Walmart, that's a good one. Golf swings. I will judge people and they shoot better than me. I don't get it. How do you do that? You've got to be cheating, right.
Speaker 1:I guarantee that when Jesus was giving his sermon on the mount and talking about judging others, 100 he was talking about not judging other people's golf swings.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know, I know, I I felt that one. I was like, yeah, that's me, I judge it, but they shoot better than me, so who am I to judge, you know? Yeah, oh, then my favorite line in this, this little paragraph In the same passage Yep, it is you hypocrite.
Speaker 2:First take the plank out of your own eye and then you'll see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. That's I mean that's good Because like well, they got to fix. That's I mean that's good because, like like well they got, they gotta fix that. I mean, right, I start picking at these little things that don't really matter and I got my own problems. Yeah, if I just worked on myself be a whole lot better, if everyone did that, honestly, it'd be a better world. But we're all sinners, brother.
Speaker 1:Yeah so it's easier. Well, not easier, I guess.
Speaker 1:At times we want to see flaws in other people yeah so like to kind of like reaffirm ourselves and then, not it not always, but maybe to justify our own actions and our own struggles with sin and stuff like that, and we're like, well, that person, that person cusses. So I mean what's a little bit of cussing when it's probably a bigger problem for you than it is right, like the plank versus the speck in the other person's eye right, um. But that kind of goes into other verses where jesus is talking about being a stumbling block for others too and being that person right, like having a right I. I picture the wording plank is trying to emphasize that it's very visible to. It should be very visible to yourself.
Speaker 1:And painful, and probably others, yeah, and then same thing people are seeing you do whatever, whether it's cussing, acting a certain way, idolizing stuff, whatever it is, they're seeing you do it. And oh, that person's supposed to be a Christian, but they do that.
Speaker 2:It must be okay for me to do it a little bit right.
Speaker 1:So I think there's a lot to that too.
Speaker 2:All those addictions I mean at some point you got, or what I need to do is look in the mirror and see what I'm showing other people I know it's not all the time the light of Jesus which is what I should be reflecting. It's these other worldly, earthly things that won't matter in the end. So that's all I had, Just judging brother. Just trying to be a better person.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think one part there too is that where it says for the same way that you judge others, you will be judged. That measure will be how you're judged. I don't think. I think that's a little scary.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, right.
Speaker 1:Like if I'm trying to nitpick at people when I'm in front of God.
Speaker 2:Hopefully, someday right?
Speaker 1:Well, I guess we all will be for sure in front of him at some point He'll be coming at you the same way Right. When we know that he's going to judge us off of our actions.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So maybe I should quit it.
Speaker 2:So maybe I should stop doing that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what do we all do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's tough, definitely something I pray about and try and work on every day, but gosh, it's so human nature.
Speaker 1:Just like look. Every time I look at reading through any of these chapters we talked about it last time it's like especially just the Sermon on the Mount. There's so much.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:But then you keep looking at the next paragraph, verse 6, and it talks about not giving what's sacred to dogs and your pearls to pigs. It's like quit wasting your energy and trying to get fulfillment in other ways and waste what God's given to you. And yeah, I don't know. Yeah, yeah there's a lot there.
Speaker 1:I didn't really pick that one out, but just reading it now it's like yeah so much in every verse and every line that jesus was saying here, and I heard heard someone else say that like jesus, there's. Jesus didn't waste a single word or breath during this sermon everything that he said was just as important as the next.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So what we're saying is if you're driving right now, if you're about to fall asleep, pull over, get your little Bible out and read one of these things and just think about it for a little bit. It's going to be worth your time. Every little passage is freaking so good.
Speaker 1:So good.
Speaker 2:So good Like come on, man, just do it, just get in that Bible, Just do it man.
Speaker 1:So I was just talking about. I had a hard time picking just one thing out, so I'm going to go through a few of these next sections in matthew 7, but the next one, the one that stuck out to me the most, was the next one was the ask seek, knock, and I'll just I guess I'll read it real quick um, it says ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find, knock, and the door will be open to you for everyone who asks. It says snake. If you then, though you are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets, and the first thing that stuck out to me was and I talked in the last episode, a couple episodes, like the verse that comes to my mind a lot is revelations 320, and talks about standing at the door, knocking, like the. The theme of being at a door or knocking on the door keeps getting brought up, and it I don't know if it's just a visual thing that kind of connects to me or like that just sticks out to me. But same thing, it's not Jesus. Jesus isn't going to force himself into your life. He's not going to come in here and say, hey, you need to do this and this is the way you're going to do it, and I'm not going to let you make the decisions right and it applies here too. Going to let you make the decisions right. And it applies here too, like ask what you want, trust God, seek, and then, when that opportunity comes, take advantage of it, yeah, and don't let it go to waste. And that's what.
Speaker 1:When I hear, like the ask, seek, knock, I thought of times where maybe I've prayed for an opportunity to share the word or talk to somebody about Jesus, and then the seek being, hey, here's this moment that you asked for, here it is, and then the knock being going, acting on it. I guess, yeah, and we've talked about it before. There's been times where I have acted on it. There's been times where, I'm sure, after asking for it, I wasn't looking for those moments and I let those moments maybe slip by, um, and there's times where, um, I did see that moment, but I kind of was too, I don't know scared, nervous, didn't think that that person maybe would want to talk about it and maybe like turned away from that moment and maybe regretted it afterwards. But, like I said, there's been times where it's been a really meaningful, like impactful conversation, even from a person that maybe wasn't a believer or something like that. But that was what stuck out to me a lot there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's definitely an exciting passage. It's talking about opportunity. If you do ask and do seek, you have this opportunity to spread the word and further expand the kingdom of God.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's parts in there too, like the ask, seek and the knock part kind of stuck out to me. But when he's talking about how we can give good gifts, right, we're not going to give, like it says, our children a rock when they ask for bread or food. You know? Stuff like that I can't imagine and I am excited, I guess, for I don't know and that's not. I don't know if that's right. It's like we get gifts from God every day. Right, just being here is a gift from God. The relationships and the people we have in our lives are gifts from God. But even then, when, hopefully, we get to eternal life with God, the gifts, even then that gift in itself it's exciting, yeah, those heavenly gifts. But even then, like in prayer, we talked about how and Adam made a good point last episode there's nothing too big or too small to take to God in prayer.
Speaker 1:And I always get kind of tripped up on that. It's like, dude, just why would God hear a prayer and say, no, I'm going to give you the opposite Now, I think with that, though, was to make sure that we're always praying for God's will on top of that right. Like we have our fleshly desires, I guess.
Speaker 2:Our wants in life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wants, but ultimately we should want God's will. But yeah, so that was.
Speaker 2:And that's something I I don't know if struggle is the right word, because whenever I do pray, it's very much like a conversation we're having right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so when you pray, that's how it goes in your prayer I guess.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I kind of have a system, but I mean I get off track, um, but it's usually in that system and then I'm like I'll be praying for somebody, but I was like, well, I'm also praying for your will, so right.
Speaker 1:It was like I don't know if I struggle with that or I think that's one thing, and I I was almost trying to ask it that way, but adam answered it it's like it comes with maturity and trusting god that he's gonna know that obviously we want his will to be done, even though, like, we're asking for these things ultimately yeah if we're following him and trusting in him, we're gonna want his will to be done yeah, and I always catch myself just in prayer um kind of feeling goofy because of like I'll explain things to God, like obviously you know why am I.
Speaker 2:But, I feel like it's just having that conversation.
Speaker 1:I yeah, it's a goofy thing, but when I'm praying, especially like at night before I go to bed, or something like that. It's so you got. You guys talk to me enough to know, like what a normal conversation is like.
Speaker 1:Just think, about what's going on up here in my head, yeah dad said one time too is like maybe, maybe getting out of bed and going on your knees and praying or just saying it out loud instead of just kind of in your head, uh, would help. But I just so scattered yeah, a million different directions every time and I'm like where am I even at now? Then I'm like wait a minute, I'm not, I'm thinking about our game from last week, not even praying. How did I get from here? I was just like ah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I kind of struggle with that because I've been practicing having more purpose in prayer. But I also think there's a time where it is okay to kind of wander and spend that time with God. I don't know if that's two separate things or if that's also prayer. No, I think you're right.
Speaker 1:I think you're right because I mean how many relationships like you and I? I don't just say formal stuff to you, right? We talk about random stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's what's helping build that relationship with God, I think. So that's what I kind of remind myself, though, too, is like, even though I get off track or not really sure where I'm going, I think it's still, you know, seen as spending time with Him and wanting to spend time with God in prayer.
Speaker 1:So that's something I try to remind myself of too. Maybe I'm wrong. If I'm wrong, then let me know. But I see that as how many friendships, how many people you interact with where it's 100% perfect, formal, say, and like giving a report to somebody. You're not giving a report to someone. You want to have a relationship with.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and if that is, then is that the relationship you want with God? I mean do you want it's very straight lines, which in some case, yes, but not in the relationship way. I want to be as close to God as I can be and I don't think, just being straightforward, just how I go through my prayer and that's it, I go to bed, I don't think that's really growing that close. I mean, I think there's definitely way more ways to grow closer to God. Yeah, so that's an interesting one. I like that.
Speaker 1:I need to start wandering more, yeah the last part of that section, I guess, stuck out to me too and I didn't catch it until I was like ready to go to bed last night, after reading through this again, um, and this was something else that came up without even like realizing it in the health class the other day, off of another question, um was, and you remember hearing, like the golden rule right, you know the golden. Like you heard that like in school, like growing up, like the golden rule I'm sure I've heard it so like treating others the way you want to be treated oh it's like.
Speaker 1:It's like quoted as like the golden rule like you can live by that, then you know, but I didn't really catch it till the end and I've heard it before, but it's essentially what um matthew 7 12 is essentially what Matthew 7 12 is saying. It says so in everything do to others what you would have them do to you. For this sums up the law and the prophets. It says do to others what you would have them do to you. Like, if you're going anywhere with judging any of it, if I want someone to treat me one way, right, I'm going to reciprocate that, or do it first, actually, and want to be treated that same way in any aspect. Really, yeah.
Speaker 1:But then it also says for this sums up the law. So in my head when I was reading that I was like is it referring to the law as in the Old Testament, or at least the first five books of the Old Testament? I was like is he saying that all these pages in Leviticus and all of it that are giving the laws and they're different, right, but you could just have that one line and it sums it up.
Speaker 2:Like yeah, I mean it's pretty much love, yeah, it's just love each other.
Speaker 1:I could see that I thought that was pretty interesting there. That hey, this one line that I'm going to say yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's all you need.
Speaker 1:If you can do this and you'll. You know you'll, I guess. Because he's talking to a bunch of jewish people there. It's like, hey, this is how you live and this is how you follow the law. And because at that point they were still jesus was kind of new to everyone at that point and he hadn't died on the cross yet. So he's saying like this is this is everything here, yeah, and then more to come, obviously. I thought that was interesting yeah um, then the next.
Speaker 1:The next section is um, the narrow gates, sorry, the narrow and wide gates. It's just a couple verses. I'll read it real quick. It says enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few will find it. And even in those two passages it's like there's a lot in there that made my mind kind of bounce around, bounce around.
Speaker 1:But you talked about in the last episode where and I forget what verse it was or what the story was where you had a pretty like vivid image in your head of. But this is one of those verses that I kind of have this image in my head of narrow is the road. Now in my head it's like I don't know where I got this like visual, I guess, but I see everyone walking one direction like a super crowded road, um, with like no side streets, no turnoffs, right, like super crowded road that everyone's walking down in one direction and very, very few people and you can't even see other people that are are trying to walk into the crowd, to go the other way and everyone else is kind of going the the way that the crowd's moving because it's easier and it's not, um, you don't have to think about anything, you just.
Speaker 1:You just go with the crowd and the trying to turn to god is walking into that crowd and fighting through it to get to the other end of the road. It's kind of like the visual I see with that.
Speaker 2:That reminds me of the fish on the intro to the Chosen.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Whenever they're just swimming. And then one goes and then it connects and they keep pulling more and more to God.
Speaker 1:So that's funny. Yeah, that was one of those things that immediately I can just kind of visualize in my head. But then I thought it was interesting and I don't really know. I don't really know if I I don't really have an explanation for it, but maybe it'd be fun to talk to someone who knows a little bit more about it than us. But the ending there and it says only a few find it.
Speaker 1:It's like, but we know, we know that God will somehow at some point in our life reveal the way in our life. I guess, give you that opportunity, but not everyone acts on it right.
Speaker 2:And I think very clearly, brady, inviting me to go to church with you guys was a very clear like hey this is kind of something I've been working on, like you, and not want to follow it or turn to it yeah, and even if you're not that in tune, I guess you just think about how easy it is to get off the path and how easy it is to get off the path and how easy it is to sin and how hard it is to stay on that path like Jesus with a pure heart. Humble all that. It's not easy and everyone fights it every day. Um, but I assume if you're trying your best and have a pure heart towards that, then you'll be all right.
Speaker 2:I don't know, that's just random thoughts with carter A whole topic.
Speaker 1:No, that's true, because just kind of going back to that visual is like eventually you're going to trip over someone else's foot and the easier thing to do is just to get up and move with the crowd again, right, the lows and the highs of the path, the the, the path that you're on, I guess, cause it's, it's not going to be a very flat and easy path to this, once it's like and it's not that, it's not that it's purposely difficult, but like your dad said and talked to us about before is like the closer you are to god, the more you're going to realize, and not like, the sin in your life, the more you're going to see it and want to avoid it.
Speaker 1:But those times sometimes are tough. It can be to, you know, cut off a relationship, a friendship, uh, take a new job, move like stuff like that, like that's not easy, um, but that's like the little trip over someone's foot and just getting up and not wanting to just follow the crowd again and keep going yeah, but, yeah.
Speaker 2:But I feel like the devil knows what your temptations are. So the closer you are to God, the harder he's going to try to pull you away from that. Yeah, so I mean, with that logic, the better you're doing, the harder it's going to be. I mean it's not going to be easy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But if you keep fighting that, then you'll be forever with Jesus and on the road to heaven, which is where I hope all my friends go.
Speaker 1:Right, all my buddies. That's the thing.
Speaker 2:So I might as well spread the word to them.
Speaker 1:So yeah, instead of being embarrassed about, oh, they might make fun of me, or something like, well, I want them to be in heaven too right, and that's kind of like the next part that I was gonna bring up, and probably the last one was the true and false disciples, where it says not everyone who says to me, lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who knows sorry, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day Lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name, drive out demons and in your name, perform many miracles. Then I will tell them plainly I never knew you away from me, you evildoer, and that I heard. Well, that has to be one of the scariest verses. Oh, yeah, in the entire bible. Yeah, I don't know if there's anything. And it's not scary in a way that it should deter you. It's, um, I don't want that. Maybe sounds well bad, but it's.
Speaker 1:It's scary because, like, like you just said, I want everyone to be there yeah like I, you know, I think about family and friends, and it's just like I I've tried to have conversations with people and it's just like I don't know if they, I don't know if they're saved, I don't know if they'll go to heaven, and I want them there right, like just your love for that person. And, um, I think a lot of people, a lot of people believe. Oh no, you know, I'm a good person, and that's what he says for me, like did we not do these um prophesy in your name?
Speaker 1:and maybe even people that aren't complete believers are like, oh, I'm a good person, like I do good things and they may be a great person yeah but that's not what gets you into heaven yeah um, and that's one of those things where it's like you hear people you know and you love say well you know, I think if you're a good person, you'll be in heaven. It's just like I don't know how else to say it to well, you know, I think if you're a good person you'll be in heaven. It's just like I don't know how else to say it to you.
Speaker 2:but you know, I think you're wrong and I mean that with you know all the love.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that is love right there and it's the truth. It's tough because you want to have those conversations, but you can't make someone believe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can't make someone love Jesus, you can plant the seed and God will take it from there. But if they don't take it, then you did your best. Um, I think it's. It's only scary if if you don't take the bible and jesus, serious, yeah, and that's all it's saying is, hey, this is a serious thing if you're just saying this because you think that's the right thing or whatever. You think you should just do that and not really believe it, then that's not how this works. It's a relationship. It's not just another book.
Speaker 2:I mean it's a serious thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the other part in that it says but only the one who does the will of my Father, who is in heaven. And there was a note in my Bible and it said John 640. So I flipped to John 640. John 640 says for my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life and I will raise them up at that last day. And so it's saying, like what you just said, right, the will of the Father is to turn to Jesus, to follow Jesus and believe that Jesus died on a cross, rose three days later and still lives. So that was interesting because you know, right, it says only the one who does the will of my Father. And John 6, 40, it tells you Jesus is saying the will of the Father is believe in me.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And, like you said, it's a very serious thing it's just like it's one of those things, like we just said it's. It's like you just want the people you love and everyone you want. You want everyone to be in heaven and have eternal life with god, and because god is love right and you, you want everyone to be there, especially the ones that you care about so much and love so much on this earth, and it's just like I hope someday that they can decide for themselves that they want to take it serious too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that they can see the big picture, I guess Right, and the best thing we can do for the people we love is pray for them. I mean, I don't know any better weapon than that is God. So pray for them and try and plant that seed and let God do his work.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but Invite them to church.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, maybe we should. We need to think of a couple people we need to invite to church. I think that's the part that I didn't understand for a while. It was, I understood, believing in Jesus. I understood partly in following that being a Christian, but the part that I was missing for a little bit was spreading the word, and I think that's a lot of it. I don't think our job is to be baptized and try and be the best person we can.
Speaker 1:I think that's part of it.
Speaker 2:I think we also have to spread the word, spread the kingdom of God.
Speaker 1:That's the part and I could think of. Obviously, people and a few people in my life that I care about, that they've been baptized, mm-hmm, and that's kind of their thought like be a good person and it's like I just I can't force you to, you know, believe the red letters in the Bible, I guess, and that Jesus is the one and we should believe him in him.
Speaker 1:But but I hope someday that you do yeah and it's, it's, it's something that you think about and, I guess, worry about that one of those, one of those things that you shouldn't maybe give that to God and let him have that and continue praying for it instead of worrying about it.
Speaker 2:Amen brother.
Speaker 1:You know that about wraps it up, I'd say so Amen, brother, yo that about wraps it up, I'd say so. All right. Well, if I haven't been good about, see, that's, the one thing Brady's good about is throwing in where you can reach out.
Speaker 1:Well, the hot tips, I guess. Yeah, I think you know I threw a couple in there to start today. The episode little, but where you can reach us, I guess the email, so it's lifebesidechristpod at gmailcom if you want to reach out, or you can find us Life Beside Christ podcast on Instagram. And thank you for listening.
Speaker 2:Thank you, brother you.
