January 9, 2023 • 47 mins
Granger Smith Podcast Episode 170: This is an extremely sensitive topic, but I will answer it it from a biblical perspective. In this episode, we discus a variety of topics including whether life begins at conception, dating advice, and career journeys. Join me as we chat about these topics and more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is like this, This question just puts me out,
just hangs me out there, doesn't it right? This just
puts me as a big target. Every part of your
question puts me at a target, and I will gladly
embrace it based on the Bible, not on my own opinion.
(00:26):
How tie everybody. Welcome to the Grangersmith Podcast, Episode one seventy.
Thanks for watching and being here and listening and hanging
with me. If you're with me on a Monday good morning,
I answer your questions. That's what we do, super casual.
You email me Grangersmith Podcast at gmail dot com. Make
(00:47):
it about any subject. In fact, the more bizarre, the
better the episode. It could be really about anything. We've
heard just about everything in these last one hundred and
seventy episodes, and I will put them in the cube.
My only really real request for you is just don't
make it too long. If you make it more than
like a phone length of an email, it makes it
(01:09):
more difficult for me to include it on the podcast
and make it interesting. So let's get right to the
first question. I have no order, I have no notes,
I have nothing planned. We just dive into it. That's
what we do. First email subject line says completely stuck.
Hey Granger, my name is Garrett. I'm currently a junior
(01:31):
in college. I started talking to a girl back in
early November and we went on about four d eights
and that seemed to be great. She was the first
person to ever show interest in me, and we talked
all the time on the phone. Right before Christmas break,
I got to where she wouldn't engage in conversation anymore.
She's just started sending me streak snapchats every day instead
(01:51):
of a conversation. I know I should just stop talking
to her completely and drop the streak, but we have
a class together coming up this semester and I don't
want it to be awkward. Please help. Don't know what
to do, Garrett, Garret, appreciate the email. Brother, And I
don't know what streak means. I don't know what streak
snapchat means. Sorry, somebody have to comment. If you're on
(02:13):
a platform like YouTube where you can comment, somebody let
me know what streak snapchats are. But I'm just going
to assume with the contact clues that it has to
do something with a picture and not a conversation, so
she's not actually engaging in any kind of meaningful conversation.
Get it, so let me refresh for myself. Started dating
(02:38):
early back in November, and you went on about four
dates that seemed to be doing good. She showed interest
in you, and she happened to be the first person
to do that. You talked all the time on the phone.
That's normal for a brand new relationship. You guys are
like getting to know each other. That's normal. And then
right before Christmas break she slowed down, she pumped the brakes,
(03:02):
and now she's just barely hanging on with this snapchat
streak stuff. You say, I know, I should just stop
talking to her completely and drop the streak. But we
have a class together coming up semester. Okay, cool. The
thing is, buddy, this is normal. And although it feels
it feels like the walls are kind of closing in
(03:24):
and you don't know what to do and you're you're
looking for some kind of magical answer and some kind
of solution, this is because this is the first time
that someone has showed interest in you. Good on you.
Here's why. Now you have experience. Okay, so now that's
not you will never have the first time someone shows
(03:44):
interest in you ever. Again in your life. That's over.
That was her good learning experience. Got it, got it,
you know, check the box. You're good to go. You'll
never be able to say that again, and that's a
good thing. Next time you'll know, you'll say, ah, I
remember when this kind of thing happened with that girl,
A four date girl, November girl. I remember that, I
(04:07):
remember how that went down. Or you'll be able to
quickly say this feels different, this is different than the
last time that happened, or this feels exactly the same
as the last time. Now I know. Okay, So learning
is good. I know it hurts, and that pain lasts
with you a little bit, but that pain is good.
(04:27):
We need pain. It tells us, it teaches us something.
It's no different in a relationship like this. This kind
of weird, awkward pain is no different really than burning
your hand on the stove. This is the same thing
your body is telling you. Your skin is sending a message.
These neurons are firing to your brain saying that hurts.
(04:51):
Don't put your hand on the stove because if you
do it any longer, it's gonna burn up the flesh
and you're actually gonna lose nerve endings, and you're gonna
lose the ability to use your hand. So we're gonna
burn you right now. We're gonna send a message to
your brain that says, ow that really hurts, stop it.
Don't do that again, so that you remember not to
touch the stove and you remember enough because it hurts
(05:14):
enough that you don't want to do it again. Why
so that you don't do permanent damage to your hand.
That's the point of pain. So that's why pain is good.
That's why we need pain. We have to have pain.
In fact, the I don't know much about leprosy, but
from what I understand with leprosy, it is a malfunction
(05:38):
of the nerve endings. So you have you lose the
ability to understand the concept of pain, meaning you could
scratch your skin all the way completely off because you
don't understand that you are damaging your skin. Right. So, emotionally,
the same thing happens with the relationships. You get this pain,
(05:59):
it's heartache, it's heartbreak, and emotionally, your body is telling
your brain learn a lesson here, don't do this again
because this hurts. You're not capable of going through this
and doing it over and over right, that's just the
basic foundation of heartache. And I'm telling you all that
(06:19):
because you said, this is the first time a girl
has ever shown interest in you. So that's why it
feels weird, and that's why your mind is thinking, Man,
this next semester class is going to be awkward. But
the truth is it's only awkward if you want to
make it awkward. If you cut this off like you
(06:42):
feel like you probably should because you are getting the
sense that she is moved on. She doesn't have the
same feeling that you have. Right you're getting that kind
of sense, and so you could tell her straight up
right now if you want to say, Hey, I know
we got a class next semester, and I don't want
it to be awkward. I understand that there's there's now
(07:05):
some distance between us, so I'm going to kind of
pull back. But don't worry. That's not going to affect
us next semester at all. I'll still see it still.
Say hey, you could say that if you want. You
don't have to say that, you could just think it.
You could just pull back quietly. It's up to you,
and then you see her in class and you say,
what's up. Girl, whatever her name is, you Hi, you,
(07:29):
what's up? And then keep walking. I mean, she's gonna know.
She's going to know it. You don't have to say it.
She knows. But uh, it's only awkward if you want
to make it awkward. I'm telling you. I'm pretty sure
I'm telling you a lot of stuff that she kind
of already knew. You just needed to hear it, said
out loud. I appreciate the email, Garrett. Next question, subject
(07:55):
line says small business, and the email says, I would
like to stay Anonymous. Hey Grange, you should come to
Mexico for a concert, and i'ment I thank you. That's
a pretty good idea. It says, I have thought of
starting a small workout Jim, but I don't know if
it's the will of God. I've been a Christian for
about two years, got baptized a year ago. There is
(08:17):
no gym close by, and I know there would be
a lot of guys coming to this gym. Keep up
the good work, Maan, God, bless you. Thank you, Anonymous,
appreciate you. Shout out to Mexico. I wish I could
go there and play a concert tomorrow. It sounds amazing. Okay,
here's the deal. Here's the deal with starting a small
(08:38):
business slash is it God's will. I don't think we
should spiritualize this kind of stuff that much. If you're
putting God first, if you're seeking the kingdom above all else,
above all things, you're seeking the kingdom first, Seek first
the kingdom, right, and all these things will be added
(09:00):
to you. This is the straight out of the backside
of the Sermon of the Mount Matthew six. Go read
Matthew six, the back half of it all right, when
Jesus kind of wraps up his whole thought of don't
worry about this stuff. If you are seeking first a kingdom,
all this stuff will be added to you. So here's
(09:22):
practically speaking for you in this scenario. You're seeking the kingdom,
sounds like you are. You're soaking up God's word. You
feel spiritually sensitive, which sounds like you are, and you're like, God,
I just want to I just want to do what
your will for me is. I don't want to go
outside of that. Then you think that that start there,
(09:43):
right God, I just I just want to please you.
I just want to be a child of you. I
just want to do what's inside your will for my life.
If that's you, then you start thinking thoughts like a
gem is really interesting to me. The thought of starting
a small business with a gem is really intriguing to me.
(10:08):
I have a desire to do that. Then you could
look back and go, huh, I'm seeking first the kingdom.
And if I'm doing that, then the Bible says that
he will give me the desires of my heart, meaning
not he will give you whatever you want, but he
will give you once he will give you new desires.
(10:32):
So if you start desiring something while you're seeking first
the Kingdom, then you could fairly say it feels like
God's will and then test it right. So it's not
hard to test that. Is that a selfish desire? Is
it something that you're seeking because you want to get rich?
Is it something you're seeking because you want to grow
(10:55):
in popularity and power and strength and authority over others?
Is it that? Or are you thinking? Man? I think?
I think starting a gym as a Christian based owner
and be able to evangelize in my own gym, be
(11:17):
able to create an environment whatever everyone's welcome, almost like
a church where they can come in and non believers
and believers alike could come and mingle and I could
have some some set the place up where it's just
really really spiritual centered centered and Kingdom centered, and people
could walk in and go, something's different about this by,
something's different about this guy. If that's if that is
(11:40):
intriguing to you, then I would say, hmm, that sounds
like you're right on the path now practically speaking on
ope actually opening a small gym. Then you're gonna have
to talk to like I always recommend, you're gonna have
to talk to somebody that's done this before. That would
be ideal. Preferably not your town because you don't want
(12:01):
to come in as a competitor, but maybe a couple
of towns over. You're like, Hey, can I talk to you?
I'm in this town and I would like to do
what you're doing. How did you do it? Or what
are different paths that you would suggest I could do
it with? Do I lease listen? One time Chris Lely,
my tour manager, and I we were in someplace way
(12:22):
up north because I remember it was really cold, and
it's like I think it was in North Dakota and
we went, Yes, I believe it was North Dakota. We
went to a gym, and we almost always go to
a gym on the road because if we don't, we're
just sitting around and not getting any kind of exercise.
So I like to sweat a little bit. It really
helps my brain activate. I do this almost every day.
(12:45):
And we went so we see all kinds of gyms,
that's my point. We went to this gym in North
Dakota and it was literally in a a storage unit.
And this guy leased a storage you know, a big
storage unit with a garage door, you know, and he
set up a gym in there, and he set up
a membership and he did it the right way with
(13:06):
the you know, set up the LLC and the insurance
and all that kind of stuff. And he had like
old used gear and it was great. My point is,
you don't have to think about, you know, a million
dollar facility, because that stuff gets expensive. That stuff adds
up quick, all that equipment and the building. So you
could just start small, aim small and go I'm gonna
(13:27):
start with something like this, this old storage unit, or
this there's there's this some kind of office space for lease,
or in the in the industrial park, there's you know,
there's like an oil change place, and there's a muffler shop,
and then there's a little vacant shop with the garage door,
and I'm gonna lease that it's a really good price,
(13:47):
and I'm I'm gonna put my sign on the front
of that garage door, and that's my small gym. I'm
gonna start there, and then you easily can calculate memberships,
how much you're gonna charge, and how many memberships you
need to cover your lease to cover the new equipment
that you get, and then to be able to have
money after that for you and your salary so that
(14:10):
you could pay the bills, and that's your job. Hopefully
you could do all this while you're doing your current job,
and then build it up enough to where it's paying
the bills enough, and then you quit the current job
and you sustain yourself completely on the new small business.
That is a long roundabout way for me to say,
(14:32):
seek first the kingdom, and all the rest will be
added to you. Next question looks like it's not a question,
but the subject. Cline says, thanks, mister Smith. My wife
Laura and I are wintering in South Texas and we
just watched the moon rise on Pure Flick's very enjoyable
(14:52):
movie Lauren. Thank you, Lauren, appreciate you very much. Next question,
subject line says travel granger. I call myself E. I
love your work and your family's super inspiring. My question
is kind of a two parter. I've been working with
(15:15):
horses for as long as I can remember. I train them,
I teach lessons to kids, rope and work cattle. I've
been struggling with what to do with my license. I
graduated and I didn't go to college. I have this
opportunity to move across the country to a ranch out
west and work for four months. I really want to
go and learn and gain these experiences. I also feel
God is calling me to do this, but I have
(15:39):
too many worries to even count. I'm only eighteen. I've
never been far away from my family or my hometown
longer than a week. I would be across the country
alone in a place I don't know. My safety is
a concern since I don't carry, and what if no
one on the ranch shares my faith and I slip.
It's a ranch in the mountain, and it's not like
(16:00):
I can go find a church, and there is not
much service there, so I won't be able to talk
to my family as often as I would like. Lastly,
what if I fail and I'm no good at the job.
I have been doing this for quite a while, but
I am by no means the best in the field.
Thanks for reading, God bless e e. Thanks for emailing. Brother.
(16:24):
That is not a two parter. That's like a ten parter.
And let's dig into the ten parts. Brother. Man. First
of all, I like this question because I'm kind of
getting excited just hearing you. Man, I'm hearing you say
this in this email, and Dude, I'm getting excited, like
there's just something about me. There is a I have
(16:46):
a gypsy soul inside me. That's what drew me to music,
and it's what drew me to touring. And I think
I think God was setting me up with that heart
so that I could be a traveling evangelist to some level.
And I hear that and you and your email, and
(17:10):
this kind of thing excites me because I think, oh, man,
here we go eighteen an opportunity to leave the house
for the first time ever, to go across the country
to do what well, first of all, something you love.
Second of all, work on a ranch out west, work
(17:32):
in cattle. I mean, that's like the American dream that
we've had the last two hundred years. That's not just
an American dream, that's an international dream. I have a feeling.
You go to the Far East and you say, I
have this opportunity to go out west and work a
cattle ranch. What do you think the Chinese are going
(17:52):
to be like? That sounds great, that sounds incredible, right,
That's just that is a such a romanticize idea. And
so first of all, I'm just trying to find the
bad things in this because you are really worried. You
are You're very scared to do this, and I'm trying
to get on this level with you and try to
(18:15):
find you say my safety is a concern since I
can't carry. I'm like, bro, hang on a second, let's die.
Let's think about how many times you said God here,
you said you feel like God's calling you. Let's just
stick with that. Let's just go with that right there,
that sentence, I feel like God is calling me to
(18:37):
go Okay, do you really feel like that? I don't
believe you, e I don't believe you because the next
you want the next line is. The next line is,
but I have too many worries to even count, And
(18:58):
the end of that paragraph says, my safety is a
concern since I can't carry. So let me put that
together for you all. I'm doing, y'all. This is what
I do all day long in these podcasts. I just
read what you already wrote, and I let you hear
it back. I let you hear what you wrote. That's
pretty much my whole purpose here as the moderator of
(19:18):
this podcast. I read your questions, and I don't answer
them with my own opinion. I just read it back
out loud so you can hear you say it. Let
me put these two sentences together. I feel like God
is calling me to go. My safety is a concern.
Uh huh, doesn't make those two sentences don't go together, Bro,
(19:41):
that doesn't work like that. This is what you say.
Let me correct you and rewrite the sentence to what
it should say. I feel like God is calling me
to go. And because God is calling me to go, ha,
what do I have to worry about? What could I
(20:01):
possibly fear? God, Creator of heaven and earth, sovereign God
is calling me to this? What have I to fear? Nothing?
I'm going, baby, I'm going. But you don't believe that.
You don't believe that at all. That's why you said
(20:24):
my safety is a concern since I can't carry. You
think a gun's gonna help you with whatever this problem
you are foreseeing could happen. You think carrying is going
to prevent that, whatever that is. It's a rhetorical question.
Your other concern is out of the worries that too
(20:44):
many worries to even count. First of all, I don't
want to start sounding condescending here, because I'm all for you, bro,
I'm all for you, and I just want to grab
your shoulders and say, let's do this. Let's do this
ranch thing. Man. Okay. So the other worry is you're
eighteen and you've never been away from your family or
(21:05):
your hometown longer than a week. That was me at
eighteen two. I left the house at eighteen first time.
It's a little bit scary. I get it. It's like,
oh wow, I'm away from mom and dad and my
brothers for the first time. But that's what you have
to do. That is the pathway to becoming a man.
(21:27):
That's the next step. You gotta cut that umbilical cord.
You gotta go out, you gotta fail, you gotta stumble,
you gotta fall. And guess who's gonna get yourself back up?
You not mom anymore, not dad anymore, not your sister
or your brother. You fall down. Now you got to
pick yourself up. That's a valuable lesson. That's something very
(21:50):
important to learn at the age of eighteen. And that's
a good age to learn it, because you guess you
don't want to learn that at twenty five. You don't
want to learn that at thirty, and God knows you
don't want to learn that at forty. Eighteen's a good age.
I think seventeen is a little young. Why do you
think they make the admission into the army for recruitment
(22:11):
the age of eighteen. Why is it that the government
picked eighteen for the army? Because it's just a known
thing through hundreds and hundreds of years, we've known that
that is the age when a man needs to get out,
get out of the house, and stumble and fall and
(22:31):
win and lose and be scared and find a light
when you're in the dark. That is a good age
to do it. Okay, So that's another fear. I'm gonna
throw off the table. What else did you say? Never
been from away from your hometown longer than a week? Great,
now it's time. It's time to be away from your
hometown for longer than a week. Here's what I want
(22:52):
to wrap this up with. Two. You have this opportunity
to work for four months. How short that is? You
know how fast that's gonna go by. It's gonna fly by.
It's gonna be like a blink, and the opportunity to
go out here. You're worried about slipping because what if
(23:13):
no one shares your faith? It's crazy? Are you not
strong enough? Do you not have any self discipline? Do
not have any self control? I'm asking that E. I
know you do. I know you do. Don't tell me that.
You make up your mind right now. You say, will
not slip. No, that's ridiculous. I'm e. I will not slip.
(23:37):
This is my god. I will not slip. I've got
self control. Okay, say that to yourself. Please, I wouldn't
wonder if I hope, I don't know. Don't tell me that.
H What an opportunity to go if no one else
shares your faith? What an opportunity for you to go
(23:58):
and tell them about it, okay. And then this whole
church thing, it's up in the mountains. It's not like
I can go find a church. What a great opportunity
A couple of things. One to figure out that there
is and it probably is, and the other opportunity is
there's not one. Maybe I should think about planting one
(24:19):
here one day, or telling somebody else I thought the
opportunity to plant one here one day, okay, starting a
cowboy church, starting a revival tent out here in the mountains,
something down the road. Maybe when you're thirty, this is
something you go back to, but you learned it here
this time when you're eighteen. I love this opportunity. I
(24:40):
love it. Do not sit here and tell me that
you're not ready, or you're too scared, or you might slip,
or you don't have cell phone service to call mommy.
Stop telling me that e I love you, bro. I
think this is awesome. Do it. We're gonna take a break.
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First question up on round two is subject line unborn
(27:51):
children in Heaven. Granger. Today is the second anniversary of
my grandfather dying from COVID. That's not the top of
this question. It just made me think about two children
that were never born that my wife and I had
before the two of us ended up with what hang on,
let me read that again. It made me think about
(28:12):
two children that were never born that my wife and
I had before the two we did end up with.
Got it. They were both lost early after conception. I'm
a Catholic, so life in those doctrines says that life
starts at conception, and baptism serves to take away original sin.
I'm one year deep into audio reading the Bible, the
(28:34):
first time I've ever done so, completely due to Chad
and you, I haven't had the answer in there yet
starting into year two of that. Is it possible that
these children made it into heaven based on the Bible?
Could they have surrendered Jesus? I think you meant could
they have surrendered to Jesus after only a week in
(28:56):
the womb? Thanks Kevin from Valley Park, Missouri. Deep question.
Thank you, Kevin, Thanks for asking. I'm sorry for losing
your grandfather and your two miscarriages. Let me let me
dissect this thing here. What you're saying is you're saying
(29:17):
you're one year deep into reading the Bible on an
audio and you haven't heard the answer in there yet.
You're referring to the answer of does life start at conception?
And baptism serves to take away original sin? This is
a Catholic doctrine. You're looking in the Bible to see
(29:38):
if you can confirm that. I believe that's your question.
I believe that's what you're laying out here and what
you're doing too without saying it. You are just kind
of drying it. You're walking through the unknowns of grief
and loss, and you're you're kind of as you're walking through,
(30:03):
you're thinking, well, did these babies end up in heaven?
Maybe my grandfather is he in heaven? Am I going
to heaven? And so you're you go okay, And I'm
gonna search through the doctrines in my mind of the
Catholic Church and then you read and you okay, I
think that's what this doctrine teaches, and then you go.
But Granger says that we should trust the Bible alone
(30:24):
for anything according to God's words. So I'm gonna read
the Bible, and I'm not really into reading it, so
I'm gonna listen to it and I'm gonna make my
way through it, and then I haven't found it yet.
So I'm gonna write this question to Granger and see
if I can just get it straight out of his mouth.
And what this is is a process of the grief itself.
So it's good. It's great. I love that you're asking questions.
(30:48):
I love that you're wrestling with this like burning when
he's on here, He's always says we need to wrestle.
That's what the word Israel means, to wrestle with God. Right,
that's an ancient idea that we need to wrestle with
some of these ideas. Now, I believe that we find
our answers in the Word of God revealed in the Bible.
(31:10):
So I think you're doing a great thing. I think
you're seeking and I think you will find. Now let's
dive into the question does life begin at conception? According
to the Bible? And we get a lot of our
ideas about conception through the Psalms. So I would I
(31:34):
would ask you, I would encourage you to walk through
the Psalms. Walk through and see what David says about
being knitted in the womb, and you will see You'll
see other instances. You know what's you know what's amazing
Right now is twenty twenty three, And you could say
(31:54):
that you could go to Google. I do this all
the time. In the old days, they had what's called
a concord and it was like in the back of
the Bible. You look up a word in your back
of your Bible, and it tells you where that word
comes up in the Bible itself. So you want to
look up say holy. I want to look up the
word holy, Where does that occur in the Bible? And
(32:14):
the concordance will tell you where it happens. Well, now
we have Google is awesome. You can just you can go,
I wonder where where where it talks about an embryo
or a baby in the womb in the Bible. Wonder
where it talks about baby in the womb. So go
(32:36):
to Google and you type in baby in the womb scripture.
That's what I would type if I was just thinking
about this, and it's going to come up, and there's
going to be several websites. I think bible hub dot
com is one off the top of my head. I
can't remember all of them, but usually the ones at
the top of the search engine or you trustworthy and
(32:57):
it'll it's it's not rocket science. It's just going to
tell you. It's not giving you opinion. It's just telling
you here's where these this subject is. And here's the
top twenty places in the Bible where it talks about
the baby in a womb. Right, and then you just
go click there and see what it says for yourself.
It's right there. You don't need an opinion years ago.
(33:18):
Here it is. And back to my point, you're going
to find a lot of these these ideas of the
womb are really solidified in the Psalms one hundred and twenty,
So I can't remember specifically off the top of my head.
(33:39):
But here's here is the whole point of what I'm
trying to say. Does life start at concept? At conception?
We have nothing in the Bible that would tell us
otherwise than that. We know that that babies are predestined,
(34:04):
that babies are known before the womb, They're known before
they were We know that. So does does life start
at the conception? Right? I'm talking sperm and egg. The
all we know is that the Bible says that God
knew us before that, so the spark the soul enter
(34:30):
in that exact moment. We have no evidence other than
to think that, right, nothing, and so it would be
very dangerous to think other than that if God knew
us before that, Right, does that make sense? Okay? Like
the word conception does not exist in the Bible because
(34:52):
that's just a modern word. That's something we like to
throw it around, conception. But the Bible is going to
tell us that God knew us before that. Okay, So
long way to say, yes, yes, that we have every
reason to think. And the reason even I'm even hesitating
is because we could say, you could make an argument
(35:16):
that a miscarriage didn't have a soul yet. But that
is not biblical. You could make you could possibly make
a biblical argument, but it's not in there right, and
so it doesn't say that it is or it isn't.
But we have every piece of evidence to think that
we better be careful when we start talking about that.
(35:36):
We better be very careful if we start to think
that a soul could enter a embryo, that a soul
can enter the embryo after a certain time after conception.
Could God do that? God could do anything? Could God
make this vessel this tint and then later a week
(35:57):
later throw the spark in it, or a monthly throw
a spark in it. It's dangerous to say that, but
could he? Yes? But I ain't betting on that. I'm
not taking that to the bank. I'm not making I'm understanding.
I'm not standing in court making an argument for that.
Is this any of this making sense? The second thing
(36:20):
you say, let me back up. Let me back up
and tell you why I even said that. Okay, it
would it wouldn't be fair if I didn't tell you
the real reason why I did all that gibberish. When
we were in the hospital with riv At one point
(36:44):
towards the end of his life, he was on the
bed and he had life support on breathing machine. All
of his vitals were perfect. I'm talking all of his organs,
his heart, his lungs, his kidneys, liver, everything was functioning perfect.
(37:06):
He had all of his color, he had blood flowing,
he was warm, he looked like he was sleeping. In
that moment, I lifted up his eyelids because Amber was
that he had no brain activity, and Amber was worried
(37:28):
about letting go of him. I lifted up his eyelids
and I saw no soul. So I'll never forget that.
I looked in his eyes and it was just nothingness.
(37:52):
River's eyes were always so bright and vibrant and had
so much life. They could dance and they could talk
to you just from his eyes. And in that moment,
I lifted up his eyelids and saw nothing nothing. There
was no soul in that functioning body. He had the
(38:17):
right organs, he had the right activity. He was not
there in that vessel. So that got me thinking. I
told Amber, I said, he's not their babe. God has
taken him from this tent. Although it's functioning although his
(38:37):
heart is beating. God has taken him. He is no
longer in this shell of a tent. So that got
me thinking. God decides when the soul goes in. God
decides when the soul goes out. So if a baby
is conceived and it's just a vessel and then God
(38:59):
sends a soul in, if that happens simultaneously, that's what
the evidence of the Bible leads to. If it happens
a little bit later, it's possible because I know it death.
He could pull it out before the tenth's done, before
that vessel is done breathing and heart beating, God could
(39:19):
pull it out. I saw that. Now I'll back up
and say that's why I say it's dangerous to think
about conception in that way. But it did get my
gears turning to think about God decides, He decides when
the soul goes in. He decides when the soul goes out.
Because we don't know when that is, we have to
(39:40):
always assume it happens right at the moment of conception
because we can't be wrong about that, so we always
have to assume. Okay, that was a long, long explanation.
Let me get back to the second part because the
second part's important to you. Say, from the Catholic perspective,
baptism serves to take away original sin. That's an incorrect doctrine.
(40:09):
And I would encourage you, I could take another twenty
minutes and go into that. I would encourage you to
really dive into that yourself. Okay, because it's Jesus, the
once and for all sacrifice that he made on the cross.
That is what credits us righteousness. It doesn't take away
(40:31):
our sin, it blots it out. It makes us white
as snow. God looks upon his son in that moment
and sees the perfection of Jesus from the once and
for all sacrifice. When we trust in him. That's what
happened on the cross. It's done. Baptism. Personal baptism is
(40:52):
an outward expression of that. It's very important. It's probably
the number one most important work that you can do
after salvation. The number one thing you could do as
a result of your gratitude of your salvation is get
baptized in front of everyone and give your testimony because
of it. But it does not change, it does not
(41:14):
remove the original sin from you. That atonement happens on
the cross, and it is a once and for all sacrifice.
Catholics will believe that every time you take communion you
are once again sacrificing the lamb again, and that is
(41:37):
wrong doctrine. It's a once and for all sacrifice. And
Jesus said Teedlesti, it is finished, It's done, It's paid
in full. Okay. Last thing I want to get into
is your last question. Is it possible that these children
(42:06):
made it into heaven based on the Bible? Your question
is the last question is what a miscarried baby, or
a baby in general before the age of reckoning surrender
to Jesus. Because you're going, okay, in order to get
to heaven, you got a surrender to Jesus. Is that
(42:27):
possible that a baby could do that? Well, I would
go this is this is like this, this question just
puts me out, just hangs me out there, doesn't it right?
This just puts me as a big target. Every part
of your question puts me at a target. And I
will gladly embrace it based on the Bible, not in
(42:48):
my own opinion. This is a this this could really
rile some people up. When I'm about to say Jesus
says that no one will enter the kingdom unless they
are born again. Okay, so I understand that the surrender
(43:14):
to Jesus, professing with your mouth, that needs to happen
with an adult, someone that understands that. I get it.
I get it. That's the result. But see once again,
that's the result of the transformation of the rebirth. The
professing with your mouth is surrendering to Jesus. That's gonna
come because of God's work. God does it. God does
(43:34):
that first as a response of us being reborn, and
God injures Us, and God says, God says, you are mine,
you were chosen, you were you are my adopted son.
You have inherited the kingdom. As a response to that,
we say, I surrender my life to Jesus, I profess
with my mouth. I put my trust in you, I repent,
I turn away from my sins. Right, that's the response.
(43:58):
But what happens is the very beginning boom. God comes
in and God makes it happen. Jesus said, just like
the wind, you don't know where it's coming from, you
don't know where it's going. This is all in John three,
when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, right, and so no
one enters the kingdom unless they're born again. Just take that,
(44:18):
Just use that. Don't think about the response. Don't think
about the baptism, don't think about the surrender, don't think
about the professing and the faith. Don't think about repentance.
That that happens as a result of the work of God.
First in the rebirth. So can a baby be reborn? Absolutely?
Can a baby in the womb, a miscarried baby be reborn? Absolutely?
(44:41):
Can an old man on his deathbed with dying of
cancer be reborn? Absolutely? Can anyone be reborn? Absolutely? It's
up to God, not us. So the answer to your
question is it possible that these children made it into
Heaven based on the Bible? Absolutely? Now your last question
(45:04):
is could they have surrendered to Jesus in only a
few weeks in the womb. That's kind of like that's
where it gets blurry. I don't know, it doesn't make
any sense, like baby can't think, but God could choose.
God can go your mine, you are mine. That's what
he says in an instant, that baby is reborn. Now,
(45:28):
this is when people get mad at me because it's
not up to me. God could also say he's not mine.
Don't know, but I think you could pray about this.
I think you'd say, God, I think about these babies
that were unborn. Save those babies, Take those babies, choose
those babies, adopt those babies, Bring those babies into your kingdom.
(45:50):
I think that's a good prayer from a good dad.
I do. This is what's crazy. Let me think about
something crazy here with you. I think about this all
the time and I talk talk about it with Amber.
If we could pray for the future, which we do. God,
keep them safe, God bless them, God bring them, God
secure their identity, Draw them to you. That's all futuristic prayers, right, Well,
(46:14):
if God exists outside of time, why can't you pray backwards? Also, God,
save my grandpa. I hope my grandpa was reborn. God
did these two babies that we lost a couple of
years ago back in Covid. I pray that you. I
pray that you took them with you. I pray that
(46:35):
they were reborn. I pray for their little souls. I
pray that you took them according to your will and
whatever you do, God, I trust, but I pray you
took them. I think that's a solid prayer. There's nothing
in there that says you can't pray backwards or forwards
or presently all of it according to his will. Because
(46:57):
what if he took those babies to heaven because of
the prayer that dad prayed years after? Interesting? Right, that's
an interesting thought. Did I just use the whole back
half of this on one question I think I might have? Well?
I love you guys, and I appreciate to tuning in.
(47:19):
And whether you love me or you hate me, I'm
just I'm just grateful that you're with me. I'll see
you next Monday. Ye. Thanks for joining me on the
Granger Smith Podcast. I appreciate all of you guys. You
could help me out by rating this podcast on iTunes.
If you're on YouTube, subscribe to this channel, hit that
little like button and notification spell so that you never
(47:39):
miss anytime I upload a video. If you have a
question for me that you would like me to answer,
email Grangersmith Podcast at gmail dot com. Yie
This is like this, This question just puts me out,
just hangs me out there, doesn't it right? This just
puts me as a big target. Every part of your
question puts me at a target, and I will gladly
embrace it based on the Bible, not on my own opinion.
(00:26):
How tie everybody. Welcome to the Grangersmith Podcast, Episode one seventy.
Thanks for watching and being here and listening and hanging
with me. If you're with me on a Monday good morning,
I answer your questions. That's what we do, super casual.
You email me Grangersmith Podcast at gmail dot com. Make
(00:47):
it about any subject. In fact, the more bizarre, the
better the episode. It could be really about anything. We've
heard just about everything in these last one hundred and
seventy episodes, and I will put them in the cube.
My only really real request for you is just don't
make it too long. If you make it more than
like a phone length of an email, it makes it
(01:09):
more difficult for me to include it on the podcast
and make it interesting. So let's get right to the
first question. I have no order, I have no notes,
I have nothing planned. We just dive into it. That's
what we do. First email subject line says completely stuck.
Hey Granger, my name is Garrett. I'm currently a junior
(01:31):
in college. I started talking to a girl back in
early November and we went on about four d eights
and that seemed to be great. She was the first
person to ever show interest in me, and we talked
all the time on the phone. Right before Christmas break,
I got to where she wouldn't engage in conversation anymore.
She's just started sending me streak snapchats every day instead
(01:51):
of a conversation. I know I should just stop talking
to her completely and drop the streak, but we have
a class together coming up this semester and I don't
want it to be awkward. Please help. Don't know what
to do, Garrett, Garret, appreciate the email. Brother, And I
don't know what streak means. I don't know what streak
snapchat means. Sorry, somebody have to comment. If you're on
(02:13):
a platform like YouTube where you can comment, somebody let
me know what streak snapchats are. But I'm just going
to assume with the contact clues that it has to
do something with a picture and not a conversation, so
she's not actually engaging in any kind of meaningful conversation.
Get it, so let me refresh for myself. Started dating
(02:38):
early back in November, and you went on about four
dates that seemed to be doing good. She showed interest
in you, and she happened to be the first person
to do that. You talked all the time on the phone.
That's normal for a brand new relationship. You guys are
like getting to know each other. That's normal. And then
right before Christmas break she slowed down, she pumped the brakes,
(03:02):
and now she's just barely hanging on with this snapchat
streak stuff. You say, I know, I should just stop
talking to her completely and drop the streak. But we
have a class together coming up semester. Okay, cool. The
thing is, buddy, this is normal. And although it feels
it feels like the walls are kind of closing in
(03:24):
and you don't know what to do and you're you're
looking for some kind of magical answer and some kind
of solution, this is because this is the first time
that someone has showed interest in you. Good on you.
Here's why. Now you have experience. Okay, so now that's
not you will never have the first time someone shows
(03:44):
interest in you ever. Again in your life. That's over.
That was her good learning experience. Got it, got it,
you know, check the box. You're good to go. You'll
never be able to say that again, and that's a
good thing. Next time you'll know, you'll say, ah, I
remember when this kind of thing happened with that girl,
A four date girl, November girl. I remember that, I
(04:07):
remember how that went down. Or you'll be able to
quickly say this feels different, this is different than the
last time that happened, or this feels exactly the same
as the last time. Now I know. Okay, So learning
is good. I know it hurts, and that pain lasts
with you a little bit, but that pain is good.
(04:27):
We need pain. It tells us, it teaches us something.
It's no different in a relationship like this. This kind
of weird, awkward pain is no different really than burning
your hand on the stove. This is the same thing
your body is telling you. Your skin is sending a message.
These neurons are firing to your brain saying that hurts.
(04:51):
Don't put your hand on the stove because if you
do it any longer, it's gonna burn up the flesh
and you're actually gonna lose nerve endings, and you're gonna
lose the ability to use your hand. So we're gonna
burn you right now. We're gonna send a message to
your brain that says, ow that really hurts, stop it.
Don't do that again, so that you remember not to
touch the stove and you remember enough because it hurts
(05:14):
enough that you don't want to do it again. Why
so that you don't do permanent damage to your hand.
That's the point of pain. So that's why pain is good.
That's why we need pain. We have to have pain.
In fact, the I don't know much about leprosy, but
from what I understand with leprosy, it is a malfunction
(05:38):
of the nerve endings. So you have you lose the
ability to understand the concept of pain, meaning you could
scratch your skin all the way completely off because you
don't understand that you are damaging your skin. Right. So, emotionally,
the same thing happens with the relationships. You get this pain,
(05:59):
it's heartache, it's heartbreak, and emotionally, your body is telling
your brain learn a lesson here, don't do this again
because this hurts. You're not capable of going through this
and doing it over and over right, that's just the
basic foundation of heartache. And I'm telling you all that
(06:19):
because you said, this is the first time a girl
has ever shown interest in you. So that's why it
feels weird, and that's why your mind is thinking, Man,
this next semester class is going to be awkward. But
the truth is it's only awkward if you want to
make it awkward. If you cut this off like you
(06:42):
feel like you probably should because you are getting the
sense that she is moved on. She doesn't have the
same feeling that you have. Right you're getting that kind
of sense, and so you could tell her straight up
right now if you want to say, Hey, I know
we got a class next semester, and I don't want
it to be awkward. I understand that there's there's now
(07:05):
some distance between us, so I'm going to kind of
pull back. But don't worry. That's not going to affect
us next semester at all. I'll still see it still.
Say hey, you could say that if you want. You
don't have to say that, you could just think it.
You could just pull back quietly. It's up to you,
and then you see her in class and you say,
what's up. Girl, whatever her name is, you Hi, you,
(07:29):
what's up? And then keep walking. I mean, she's gonna know.
She's going to know it. You don't have to say it.
She knows. But uh, it's only awkward if you want
to make it awkward. I'm telling you. I'm pretty sure
I'm telling you a lot of stuff that she kind
of already knew. You just needed to hear it, said
out loud. I appreciate the email, Garrett. Next question, subject
(07:55):
line says small business, and the email says, I would
like to stay Anonymous. Hey Grange, you should come to
Mexico for a concert, and i'ment I thank you. That's
a pretty good idea. It says, I have thought of
starting a small workout Jim, but I don't know if
it's the will of God. I've been a Christian for
about two years, got baptized a year ago. There is
(08:17):
no gym close by, and I know there would be
a lot of guys coming to this gym. Keep up
the good work, Maan, God, bless you. Thank you, Anonymous,
appreciate you. Shout out to Mexico. I wish I could
go there and play a concert tomorrow. It sounds amazing. Okay,
here's the deal. Here's the deal with starting a small
(08:38):
business slash is it God's will. I don't think we
should spiritualize this kind of stuff that much. If you're
putting God first, if you're seeking the kingdom above all else,
above all things, you're seeking the kingdom first, Seek first
the kingdom, right, and all these things will be added
(09:00):
to you. This is the straight out of the backside
of the Sermon of the Mount Matthew six. Go read
Matthew six, the back half of it all right, when
Jesus kind of wraps up his whole thought of don't
worry about this stuff. If you are seeking first a kingdom,
all this stuff will be added to you. So here's
(09:22):
practically speaking for you in this scenario. You're seeking the kingdom,
sounds like you are. You're soaking up God's word. You
feel spiritually sensitive, which sounds like you are, and you're like, God,
I just want to I just want to do what
your will for me is. I don't want to go
outside of that. Then you think that that start there,
(09:43):
right God, I just I just want to please you.
I just want to be a child of you. I
just want to do what's inside your will for my life.
If that's you, then you start thinking thoughts like a
gem is really interesting to me. The thought of starting
a small business with a gem is really intriguing to me.
(10:08):
I have a desire to do that. Then you could
look back and go, huh, I'm seeking first the kingdom.
And if I'm doing that, then the Bible says that
he will give me the desires of my heart, meaning
not he will give you whatever you want, but he
will give you once he will give you new desires.
(10:32):
So if you start desiring something while you're seeking first
the Kingdom, then you could fairly say it feels like
God's will and then test it right. So it's not
hard to test that. Is that a selfish desire? Is
it something that you're seeking because you want to get rich?
Is it something you're seeking because you want to grow
(10:55):
in popularity and power and strength and authority over others?
Is it that? Or are you thinking? Man? I think?
I think starting a gym as a Christian based owner
and be able to evangelize in my own gym, be
(11:17):
able to create an environment whatever everyone's welcome, almost like
a church where they can come in and non believers
and believers alike could come and mingle and I could
have some some set the place up where it's just
really really spiritual centered centered and Kingdom centered, and people
could walk in and go, something's different about this by,
something's different about this guy. If that's if that is
(11:40):
intriguing to you, then I would say, hmm, that sounds
like you're right on the path now practically speaking on
ope actually opening a small gym. Then you're gonna have
to talk to like I always recommend, you're gonna have
to talk to somebody that's done this before. That would
be ideal. Preferably not your town because you don't want
(12:01):
to come in as a competitor, but maybe a couple
of towns over. You're like, Hey, can I talk to you?
I'm in this town and I would like to do
what you're doing. How did you do it? Or what
are different paths that you would suggest I could do
it with? Do I lease listen? One time Chris Lely,
my tour manager, and I we were in someplace way
(12:22):
up north because I remember it was really cold, and
it's like I think it was in North Dakota and
we went, Yes, I believe it was North Dakota. We
went to a gym, and we almost always go to
a gym on the road because if we don't, we're
just sitting around and not getting any kind of exercise.
So I like to sweat a little bit. It really
helps my brain activate. I do this almost every day.
(12:45):
And we went so we see all kinds of gyms,
that's my point. We went to this gym in North
Dakota and it was literally in a a storage unit.
And this guy leased a storage you know, a big
storage unit with a garage door, you know, and he
set up a gym in there, and he set up
a membership and he did it the right way with
(13:06):
the you know, set up the LLC and the insurance
and all that kind of stuff. And he had like
old used gear and it was great. My point is,
you don't have to think about, you know, a million
dollar facility, because that stuff gets expensive. That stuff adds
up quick, all that equipment and the building. So you
could just start small, aim small and go I'm gonna
(13:27):
start with something like this, this old storage unit, or
this there's there's this some kind of office space for lease,
or in the in the industrial park, there's you know,
there's like an oil change place, and there's a muffler shop,
and then there's a little vacant shop with the garage door,
and I'm gonna lease that it's a really good price,
(13:47):
and I'm I'm gonna put my sign on the front
of that garage door, and that's my small gym. I'm
gonna start there, and then you easily can calculate memberships,
how much you're gonna charge, and how many memberships you
need to cover your lease to cover the new equipment
that you get, and then to be able to have
money after that for you and your salary so that
(14:10):
you could pay the bills, and that's your job. Hopefully
you could do all this while you're doing your current job,
and then build it up enough to where it's paying
the bills enough, and then you quit the current job
and you sustain yourself completely on the new small business.
That is a long roundabout way for me to say,
(14:32):
seek first the kingdom, and all the rest will be
added to you. Next question looks like it's not a question,
but the subject. Cline says, thanks, mister Smith. My wife
Laura and I are wintering in South Texas and we
just watched the moon rise on Pure Flick's very enjoyable
(14:52):
movie Lauren. Thank you, Lauren, appreciate you very much. Next question,
subject line says travel granger. I call myself E. I
love your work and your family's super inspiring. My question
is kind of a two parter. I've been working with
(15:15):
horses for as long as I can remember. I train them,
I teach lessons to kids, rope and work cattle. I've
been struggling with what to do with my license. I
graduated and I didn't go to college. I have this
opportunity to move across the country to a ranch out
west and work for four months. I really want to
go and learn and gain these experiences. I also feel
God is calling me to do this, but I have
(15:39):
too many worries to even count. I'm only eighteen. I've
never been far away from my family or my hometown
longer than a week. I would be across the country
alone in a place I don't know. My safety is
a concern since I don't carry, and what if no
one on the ranch shares my faith and I slip.
It's a ranch in the mountain, and it's not like
(16:00):
I can go find a church, and there is not
much service there, so I won't be able to talk
to my family as often as I would like. Lastly,
what if I fail and I'm no good at the job.
I have been doing this for quite a while, but
I am by no means the best in the field.
Thanks for reading, God bless e e. Thanks for emailing. Brother.
(16:24):
That is not a two parter. That's like a ten parter.
And let's dig into the ten parts. Brother. Man. First
of all, I like this question because I'm kind of
getting excited just hearing you. Man, I'm hearing you say
this in this email, and Dude, I'm getting excited, like
there's just something about me. There is a I have
(16:46):
a gypsy soul inside me. That's what drew me to music,
and it's what drew me to touring. And I think
I think God was setting me up with that heart
so that I could be a traveling evangelist to some level.
And I hear that and you and your email, and
(17:10):
this kind of thing excites me because I think, oh, man,
here we go eighteen an opportunity to leave the house
for the first time ever, to go across the country
to do what well, first of all, something you love.
Second of all, work on a ranch out west, work
(17:32):
in cattle. I mean, that's like the American dream that
we've had the last two hundred years. That's not just
an American dream, that's an international dream. I have a feeling.
You go to the Far East and you say, I
have this opportunity to go out west and work a
cattle ranch. What do you think the Chinese are going
(17:52):
to be like? That sounds great, that sounds incredible, right,
That's just that is a such a romanticize idea. And
so first of all, I'm just trying to find the
bad things in this because you are really worried. You
are You're very scared to do this, and I'm trying
to get on this level with you and try to
(18:15):
find you say my safety is a concern since I
can't carry. I'm like, bro, hang on a second, let's die.
Let's think about how many times you said God here,
you said you feel like God's calling you. Let's just
stick with that. Let's just go with that right there,
that sentence, I feel like God is calling me to
(18:37):
go Okay, do you really feel like that? I don't
believe you, e I don't believe you because the next
you want the next line is. The next line is,
but I have too many worries to even count, And
(18:58):
the end of that paragraph says, my safety is a
concern since I can't carry. So let me put that
together for you all. I'm doing, y'all. This is what
I do all day long in these podcasts. I just
read what you already wrote, and I let you hear
it back. I let you hear what you wrote. That's
pretty much my whole purpose here as the moderator of
(19:18):
this podcast. I read your questions, and I don't answer
them with my own opinion. I just read it back
out loud so you can hear you say it. Let
me put these two sentences together. I feel like God
is calling me to go. My safety is a concern.
Uh huh, doesn't make those two sentences don't go together, Bro,
(19:41):
that doesn't work like that. This is what you say.
Let me correct you and rewrite the sentence to what
it should say. I feel like God is calling me
to go. And because God is calling me to go, ha,
what do I have to worry about? What could I
(20:01):
possibly fear? God, Creator of heaven and earth, sovereign God
is calling me to this? What have I to fear? Nothing?
I'm going, baby, I'm going. But you don't believe that.
You don't believe that at all. That's why you said
(20:24):
my safety is a concern since I can't carry. You
think a gun's gonna help you with whatever this problem
you are foreseeing could happen. You think carrying is going
to prevent that, whatever that is. It's a rhetorical question.
Your other concern is out of the worries that too
(20:44):
many worries to even count. First of all, I don't
want to start sounding condescending here, because I'm all for you, bro,
I'm all for you, and I just want to grab
your shoulders and say, let's do this. Let's do this
ranch thing. Man. Okay. So the other worry is you're
eighteen and you've never been away from your family or
(21:05):
your hometown longer than a week. That was me at
eighteen two. I left the house at eighteen first time.
It's a little bit scary. I get it. It's like,
oh wow, I'm away from mom and dad and my
brothers for the first time. But that's what you have
to do. That is the pathway to becoming a man.
(21:27):
That's the next step. You gotta cut that umbilical cord.
You gotta go out, you gotta fail, you gotta stumble,
you gotta fall. And guess who's gonna get yourself back up?
You not mom anymore, not dad anymore, not your sister
or your brother. You fall down. Now you got to
pick yourself up. That's a valuable lesson. That's something very
(21:50):
important to learn at the age of eighteen. And that's
a good age to learn it, because you guess you
don't want to learn that at twenty five. You don't
want to learn that at thirty, and God knows you
don't want to learn that at forty. Eighteen's a good age.
I think seventeen is a little young. Why do you
think they make the admission into the army for recruitment
(22:11):
the age of eighteen. Why is it that the government
picked eighteen for the army? Because it's just a known
thing through hundreds and hundreds of years, we've known that
that is the age when a man needs to get out,
get out of the house, and stumble and fall and
(22:31):
win and lose and be scared and find a light
when you're in the dark. That is a good age
to do it. Okay, So that's another fear. I'm gonna
throw off the table. What else did you say? Never
been from away from your hometown longer than a week? Great,
now it's time. It's time to be away from your
hometown for longer than a week. Here's what I want
(22:52):
to wrap this up with. Two. You have this opportunity
to work for four months. How short that is? You
know how fast that's gonna go by. It's gonna fly by.
It's gonna be like a blink, and the opportunity to
go out here. You're worried about slipping because what if
(23:13):
no one shares your faith? It's crazy? Are you not
strong enough? Do you not have any self discipline? Do
not have any self control? I'm asking that E. I
know you do. I know you do. Don't tell me that.
You make up your mind right now. You say, will
not slip. No, that's ridiculous. I'm e. I will not slip.
(23:37):
This is my god. I will not slip. I've got
self control. Okay, say that to yourself. Please, I wouldn't
wonder if I hope, I don't know. Don't tell me that.
H What an opportunity to go if no one else
shares your faith? What an opportunity for you to go
(23:58):
and tell them about it, okay. And then this whole
church thing, it's up in the mountains. It's not like
I can go find a church. What a great opportunity
A couple of things. One to figure out that there
is and it probably is, and the other opportunity is
there's not one. Maybe I should think about planting one
(24:19):
here one day, or telling somebody else I thought the
opportunity to plant one here one day, okay, starting a
cowboy church, starting a revival tent out here in the mountains,
something down the road. Maybe when you're thirty, this is
something you go back to, but you learned it here
this time when you're eighteen. I love this opportunity. I
(24:40):
love it. Do not sit here and tell me that
you're not ready, or you're too scared, or you might slip,
or you don't have cell phone service to call mommy.
Stop telling me that e I love you, bro. I
think this is awesome. Do it. We're gonna take a break.
Grander Smith Podcast brought to you all today by Fabric.
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Podcasts is also brought to you all by Cozy Earth. Man.
They make some really nice betting. They sent me something
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the other day in the mail to talk about this,
and me and Amber were kind of blown away. These
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today that's thirty five percent off site wide when you
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Don't forget to use that code granger for thirty five
percent off site wide. All right, back to the podcast here.
First question up on round two is subject line unborn
(27:51):
children in Heaven. Granger. Today is the second anniversary of
my grandfather dying from COVID. That's not the top of
this question. It just made me think about two children
that were never born that my wife and I had
before the two of us ended up with what hang on,
let me read that again. It made me think about
(28:12):
two children that were never born that my wife and
I had before the two we did end up with.
Got it. They were both lost early after conception. I'm
a Catholic, so life in those doctrines says that life
starts at conception, and baptism serves to take away original sin.
I'm one year deep into audio reading the Bible, the
(28:34):
first time I've ever done so, completely due to Chad
and you, I haven't had the answer in there yet
starting into year two of that. Is it possible that
these children made it into heaven based on the Bible?
Could they have surrendered Jesus? I think you meant could
they have surrendered to Jesus after only a week in
(28:56):
the womb? Thanks Kevin from Valley Park, Missouri. Deep question.
Thank you, Kevin, Thanks for asking. I'm sorry for losing
your grandfather and your two miscarriages. Let me let me
dissect this thing here. What you're saying is you're saying
(29:17):
you're one year deep into reading the Bible on an
audio and you haven't heard the answer in there yet.
You're referring to the answer of does life start at conception?
And baptism serves to take away original sin? This is
a Catholic doctrine. You're looking in the Bible to see
(29:38):
if you can confirm that. I believe that's your question.
I believe that's what you're laying out here and what
you're doing too without saying it. You are just kind
of drying it. You're walking through the unknowns of grief
and loss, and you're you're kind of as you're walking through,
(30:03):
you're thinking, well, did these babies end up in heaven?
Maybe my grandfather is he in heaven? Am I going
to heaven? And so you're you go okay, And I'm
gonna search through the doctrines in my mind of the
Catholic Church and then you read and you okay, I
think that's what this doctrine teaches, and then you go.
But Granger says that we should trust the Bible alone
(30:24):
for anything according to God's words. So I'm gonna read
the Bible, and I'm not really into reading it, so
I'm gonna listen to it and I'm gonna make my
way through it, and then I haven't found it yet.
So I'm gonna write this question to Granger and see
if I can just get it straight out of his mouth.
And what this is is a process of the grief itself.
So it's good. It's great. I love that you're asking questions.
(30:48):
I love that you're wrestling with this like burning when
he's on here, He's always says we need to wrestle.
That's what the word Israel means, to wrestle with God. Right,
that's an ancient idea that we need to wrestle with
some of these ideas. Now, I believe that we find
our answers in the Word of God revealed in the Bible.
(31:10):
So I think you're doing a great thing. I think
you're seeking and I think you will find. Now let's
dive into the question does life begin at conception? According
to the Bible? And we get a lot of our
ideas about conception through the Psalms. So I would I
(31:34):
would ask you, I would encourage you to walk through
the Psalms. Walk through and see what David says about
being knitted in the womb, and you will see You'll
see other instances. You know what's you know what's amazing
Right now is twenty twenty three, And you could say
(31:54):
that you could go to Google. I do this all
the time. In the old days, they had what's called
a concord and it was like in the back of
the Bible. You look up a word in your back
of your Bible, and it tells you where that word
comes up in the Bible itself. So you want to
look up say holy. I want to look up the
word holy, Where does that occur in the Bible? And
(32:14):
the concordance will tell you where it happens. Well, now
we have Google is awesome. You can just you can go,
I wonder where where where it talks about an embryo
or a baby in the womb in the Bible. Wonder
where it talks about baby in the womb. So go
(32:36):
to Google and you type in baby in the womb scripture.
That's what I would type if I was just thinking
about this, and it's going to come up, and there's
going to be several websites. I think bible hub dot
com is one off the top of my head. I
can't remember all of them, but usually the ones at
the top of the search engine or you trustworthy and
(32:57):
it'll it's it's not rocket science. It's just going to
tell you. It's not giving you opinion. It's just telling
you here's where these this subject is. And here's the
top twenty places in the Bible where it talks about
the baby in a womb. Right, and then you just
go click there and see what it says for yourself.
It's right there. You don't need an opinion years ago.
(33:18):
Here it is. And back to my point, you're going
to find a lot of these these ideas of the
womb are really solidified in the Psalms one hundred and twenty,
So I can't remember specifically off the top of my head.
(33:39):
But here's here is the whole point of what I'm
trying to say. Does life start at concept? At conception?
We have nothing in the Bible that would tell us
otherwise than that. We know that that babies are predestined,
(34:04):
that babies are known before the womb, They're known before
they were We know that. So does does life start
at the conception? Right? I'm talking sperm and egg. The
all we know is that the Bible says that God
knew us before that, so the spark the soul enter
(34:30):
in that exact moment. We have no evidence other than
to think that, right, nothing, and so it would be
very dangerous to think other than that if God knew
us before that, Right, does that make sense? Okay? Like
the word conception does not exist in the Bible because
(34:52):
that's just a modern word. That's something we like to
throw it around, conception. But the Bible is going to
tell us that God knew us before that. Okay, So
long way to say, yes, yes, that we have every
reason to think. And the reason even I'm even hesitating
is because we could say, you could make an argument
(35:16):
that a miscarriage didn't have a soul yet. But that
is not biblical. You could make you could possibly make
a biblical argument, but it's not in there right, and
so it doesn't say that it is or it isn't.
But we have every piece of evidence to think that
we better be careful when we start talking about that.
(35:36):
We better be very careful if we start to think
that a soul could enter a embryo, that a soul
can enter the embryo after a certain time after conception.
Could God do that? God could do anything? Could God
make this vessel this tint and then later a week
(35:57):
later throw the spark in it, or a monthly throw
a spark in it. It's dangerous to say that, but
could he? Yes? But I ain't betting on that. I'm
not taking that to the bank. I'm not making I'm understanding.
I'm not standing in court making an argument for that.
Is this any of this making sense? The second thing
(36:20):
you say, let me back up. Let me back up
and tell you why I even said that. Okay, it
would it wouldn't be fair if I didn't tell you
the real reason why I did all that gibberish. When
we were in the hospital with riv At one point
(36:44):
towards the end of his life, he was on the
bed and he had life support on breathing machine. All
of his vitals were perfect. I'm talking all of his organs,
his heart, his lungs, his kidneys, liver, everything was functioning perfect.
(37:06):
He had all of his color, he had blood flowing,
he was warm, he looked like he was sleeping. In
that moment, I lifted up his eyelids because Amber was
that he had no brain activity, and Amber was worried
(37:28):
about letting go of him. I lifted up his eyelids
and I saw no soul. So I'll never forget that.
I looked in his eyes and it was just nothingness.
(37:52):
River's eyes were always so bright and vibrant and had
so much life. They could dance and they could talk
to you just from his eyes. And in that moment,
I lifted up his eyelids and saw nothing nothing. There
was no soul in that functioning body. He had the
(38:17):
right organs, he had the right activity. He was not
there in that vessel. So that got me thinking. I
told Amber, I said, he's not their babe. God has
taken him from this tent. Although it's functioning although his
(38:37):
heart is beating. God has taken him. He is no
longer in this shell of a tent. So that got
me thinking. God decides when the soul goes in. God
decides when the soul goes out. So if a baby
is conceived and it's just a vessel and then God
(38:59):
sends a soul in, if that happens simultaneously, that's what
the evidence of the Bible leads to. If it happens
a little bit later, it's possible because I know it death.
He could pull it out before the tenth's done, before
that vessel is done breathing and heart beating, God could
(39:19):
pull it out. I saw that. Now I'll back up
and say that's why I say it's dangerous to think
about conception in that way. But it did get my
gears turning to think about God decides, He decides when
the soul goes in. He decides when the soul goes out.
Because we don't know when that is, we have to
(39:40):
always assume it happens right at the moment of conception
because we can't be wrong about that, so we always
have to assume. Okay, that was a long, long explanation.
Let me get back to the second part because the
second part's important to you. Say, from the Catholic perspective,
baptism serves to take away original sin. That's an incorrect doctrine.
(40:09):
And I would encourage you, I could take another twenty
minutes and go into that. I would encourage you to
really dive into that yourself. Okay, because it's Jesus, the
once and for all sacrifice that he made on the cross.
That is what credits us righteousness. It doesn't take away
(40:31):
our sin, it blots it out. It makes us white
as snow. God looks upon his son in that moment
and sees the perfection of Jesus from the once and
for all sacrifice. When we trust in him. That's what
happened on the cross. It's done. Baptism. Personal baptism is
(40:52):
an outward expression of that. It's very important. It's probably
the number one most important work that you can do
after salvation. The number one thing you could do as
a result of your gratitude of your salvation is get
baptized in front of everyone and give your testimony because
of it. But it does not change, it does not
(41:14):
remove the original sin from you. That atonement happens on
the cross, and it is a once and for all sacrifice.
Catholics will believe that every time you take communion you
are once again sacrificing the lamb again, and that is
(41:37):
wrong doctrine. It's a once and for all sacrifice. And
Jesus said Teedlesti, it is finished, It's done, It's paid
in full. Okay. Last thing I want to get into
is your last question. Is it possible that these children
(42:06):
made it into heaven based on the Bible? Your question
is the last question is what a miscarried baby, or
a baby in general before the age of reckoning surrender
to Jesus. Because you're going, okay, in order to get
to heaven, you got a surrender to Jesus. Is that
(42:27):
possible that a baby could do that? Well, I would
go this is this is like this, this question just
puts me out, just hangs me out there, doesn't it right?
This just puts me as a big target. Every part
of your question puts me at a target. And I
will gladly embrace it based on the Bible, not in
(42:48):
my own opinion. This is a this this could really
rile some people up. When I'm about to say Jesus
says that no one will enter the kingdom unless they
are born again. Okay, so I understand that the surrender
(43:14):
to Jesus, professing with your mouth, that needs to happen
with an adult, someone that understands that. I get it.
I get it. That's the result. But see once again,
that's the result of the transformation of the rebirth. The
professing with your mouth is surrendering to Jesus. That's gonna
come because of God's work. God does it. God does
(43:34):
that first as a response of us being reborn, and
God injures Us, and God says, God says, you are mine,
you were chosen, you were you are my adopted son.
You have inherited the kingdom. As a response to that,
we say, I surrender my life to Jesus, I profess
with my mouth. I put my trust in you, I repent,
I turn away from my sins. Right, that's the response.
(43:58):
But what happens is the very beginning boom. God comes
in and God makes it happen. Jesus said, just like
the wind, you don't know where it's coming from, you
don't know where it's going. This is all in John three,
when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, right, and so no
one enters the kingdom unless they're born again. Just take that,
(44:18):
Just use that. Don't think about the response. Don't think
about the baptism, don't think about the surrender, don't think
about the professing and the faith. Don't think about repentance.
That that happens as a result of the work of God.
First in the rebirth. So can a baby be reborn? Absolutely?
Can a baby in the womb, a miscarried baby be reborn? Absolutely?
(44:41):
Can an old man on his deathbed with dying of
cancer be reborn? Absolutely? Can anyone be reborn? Absolutely? It's
up to God, not us. So the answer to your
question is it possible that these children made it into
Heaven based on the Bible? Absolutely? Now your last question
(45:04):
is could they have surrendered to Jesus in only a
few weeks in the womb. That's kind of like that's
where it gets blurry. I don't know, it doesn't make
any sense, like baby can't think, but God could choose.
God can go your mine, you are mine. That's what
he says in an instant, that baby is reborn. Now,
(45:28):
this is when people get mad at me because it's
not up to me. God could also say he's not mine.
Don't know, but I think you could pray about this.
I think you'd say, God, I think about these babies
that were unborn. Save those babies, Take those babies, choose
those babies, adopt those babies, Bring those babies into your kingdom.
(45:50):
I think that's a good prayer from a good dad.
I do. This is what's crazy. Let me think about
something crazy here with you. I think about this all
the time and I talk talk about it with Amber.
If we could pray for the future, which we do. God,
keep them safe, God bless them, God bring them, God
secure their identity, Draw them to you. That's all futuristic prayers, right, Well,
(46:14):
if God exists outside of time, why can't you pray backwards? Also, God,
save my grandpa. I hope my grandpa was reborn. God
did these two babies that we lost a couple of
years ago back in Covid. I pray that you. I
pray that you took them with you. I pray that
(46:35):
they were reborn. I pray for their little souls. I
pray that you took them according to your will and
whatever you do, God, I trust, but I pray you
took them. I think that's a solid prayer. There's nothing
in there that says you can't pray backwards or forwards
or presently all of it according to his will. Because
(46:57):
what if he took those babies to heaven because of
the prayer that dad prayed years after? Interesting? Right, that's
an interesting thought. Did I just use the whole back
half of this on one question I think I might have? Well?
I love you guys, and I appreciate to tuning in.
(47:19):
And whether you love me or you hate me, I'm
just I'm just grateful that you're with me. I'll see
you next Monday. Ye. Thanks for joining me on the
Granger Smith Podcast. I appreciate all of you guys. You
could help me out by rating this podcast on iTunes.
If you're on YouTube, subscribe to this channel, hit that
little like button and notification spell so that you never
(47:39):
miss anytime I upload a video. If you have a
question for me that you would like me to answer,
email Grangersmith Podcast at gmail dot com. Yie
Host
Granger Smith
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