August 4, 2025 • 27 mins
What happens when your faith is tested in the crucible of combat? Greg Crosby discovered this firsthand during his three years in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he learned that indeed, "there are no atheists in foxholes."
Greg shares how his spiritual foundation was laid by a mother who embodied Christ's love and a father who served in Vietnam. When facing his own deployment with a disorganized unit in 2004, Greg found himself punching the dashboard of his Humvee, questioning God's plan. In that moment of fear and anger, he remembered his mother's favorite scripture - Psalm 91:11. Writing those words across his visor transformed not just his combat experience, but his entire understanding of faith.
The parallels between military strategy and spiritual warfare become strikingly clear as Greg explains how Satan, like any enemy combatant, looks for soft targets - the complacent, unprepared, and vulnerable. "The enemy knows what new looks like. They know what lazy looks like. They know what complacency looks like." His military training gave him exceptional insight into spiritual battles that continue to serve him today.
Perhaps most powerful is Greg's testimony about losing close friends in combat, including Army Sgt. Cari Anne Gasiewicz, after whom his daughter is named. This loss taught him hard but transformative lessons about God's sovereignty. When facing possible death himself, the Holy Spirit asked, "Do you think I can take better care of your family than you?" That question liberated him from fear in a way that continues to shape his faith today.
Greg's answer to getting the hell out of your life? "Don't let it in." When we truly understand God's providence and protection, we can face any battle with confidence, knowing the war's outcome is already decided.
Ready for your miracle? This episode will challenge you to examine what's holding you back from experiencing the peace, purpose, and direction that comes when Jesus transforms your heart and mind from the inside out.
- If you would like to be a guest and share your story, click this link: https://thepromoter.org/story/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's time now to get the hell out of your life.
A weekly broadcast with realpeople sharing real struggles
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, ronMyers.
The promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Hello, my friends, it's so good to be with you, but
I have to pause just for onesecond.
Get out of here and never comeback.
Wow, I had to do that.
Have you ever got the hell outof your life?
And it just wants to barge itsway back into your life.
Well, I don't let it.
You know fear, doubt, anxiety,worry.
(00:46):
Nope, we don't have time forthat because we're here.
God has a plan, you have a plan, I have a plan, and we will
never discover what God wants usto do if we keep the hell in
our life.
Well, that's what this showdoes.
It's all about helping youunderstand that you are a winner
(01:06):
.
You are more than a conqueror,and God has given you enough
courage to keep the hell out ofyour life and live the life you
were created to live.
And each week we share a story,or you never know what you're
going to hear.
And today I have a friend ofmine that was in Iraq, in
Afghanistan, years ago.
(01:28):
And what a story.
What a story.
Have you heard the expressionare there atheists in foxholes
Well over in Iraq andAfghanistan?
He told me there weren't manyof them atheists.
That is at all me.
There weren't many of thematheists.
That is at all, greg.
Greg Crosby (01:45):
Thank you for your service first of all and we
can't wait to hear your story.
What's your story?
I am.
Anytime I'm getting in front ofanybody and in this case today,
a microphone I like to tellpeople that my faith is not an
insurance policy.
It is who I am.
(02:05):
I was born in Wiggins,mississippi.
I grew up right here on thecoast and my mother actually
passed away just a few monthsago, and the thing about her
that every single person, barnone, would tell you about my
mother is that she loved everysingle person she met and she
just exhibited the love ofChrist in everything that she
(02:26):
did.
My dad he joined the Navy at anearly age is a Vietnam veteran
with the United States Navy.
Ron Meyers (02:34):
And did you spend some time in the military
yourself?
Greg Crosby (02:37):
Yes, I am retired from the Mississippi Army
National Guard and I had aperiod of time in the Marines
for eight years.
My experience is I have threeyears in combat.
Did your faith play a part whenyou were overseas?
I heard a gentleman say thereare absolutely no atheists in
foxholes.
(02:57):
In those situations, everysingle person is a spiritual
person and we know what is atstake in those environments and
I'm getting closer and closer tothinking that's probably the
case for every person that hasbeen under those kind of
conditions.
Ron Meyers (03:12):
I met a homeless couple a couple weeks ago and I
was talking to them and they hadthis tremendous amount of faith
.
I said where's this faith comefrom?
They said the way we live.
We live in fear, we may bekilled.
So our faith is everything Kindof ties in what you just said
in the military.
You're out there, you live infear.
You don't know when somebody'sgoing to sneak up or if there's
(03:34):
a landmine out there.
So you have to be prayed upevery day before you go out on
duty.
Greg Crosby (03:40):
Absolutely, and you have to have peace too, because
you can't function in ameaningful way in those roles
without having peace.
Ron Meyers (03:48):
You know and I understand now why you told me
before we went on the air thatthere is a huge spiritual battle
taking place in this world.
You know good versus evil and Iunderstand why you're such a
good student with spiritualwarfare.
You understand the enemy.
You did it in the military.
You had to map out what youthought the enemy was going to
(04:09):
do to the troops.
Now you know the enemy Satan,the dark side of the world, is
after us Christians.
Does that make sense?
Does it all tie together?
It absolutely makes sense.
Greg Crosby (04:21):
Wow, the enemy is looking for your soft spot.
He is looking for the easiestlocation that he can get the
most benefit from, with theleast amount of risk on his part
.
They're not going to attack avigilant, battle-ready, hardened
veteran who knows what to dothe moment he attacks.
The enemy is looking for aguard post where the guards are
(04:48):
sleeping and joking around andthey're fat and lazy and
switching guard posts at thewrong time and things like that.
You want to look like the leastimportant thing on the
battlefield.
The enemy is looking for a softtarget.
They know what new looks like.
They know what lazy looks like.
He knows what complacency lookslike.
Ron Meyers (05:05):
Does he really care for Christians in church?
We can sit there in church, butif we don't do anything, if we
never get out of our comfortzone, we get lazy.
We go one hour a week.
We're kind of a sign for thedevil, aren't we?
Greg Crosby (05:18):
Exactly.
You are giving the enemy anadvantage.
An advantage he has no concernabout us.
Every relationship, includingyours and mine, me and my wife's
, mine and my children.
The principles apply to everysingle relationship, all the way
to a geopolitical level.
If we're not communicatingproperly and respecting each
(05:40):
other properly, something willoccur and it's going to escalate
.
The devil knows that If he canthrow a wedge in there or find
some complacency somewhere, itwill be exploited.
Ron Meyers (05:51):
So are you saying for us believers, it's very
important to have a relationshipwith Jesus, as opposed to just
a knowledge of Jesus.
It's critical.
Greg Crosby (06:02):
I can't say it more than that.
It is absolutely critical.
This understanding that I'msharing with you right now about
how important and how vital ourrelationship is started around
2014 or 15 in a Bible study, ayear-long Bible study with two
close friends.
In John 15, where Christ talksabout abiding, abiding in Christ
(06:25):
is the key to that relationship.
Abiding for me, if that doesn'tmake sense and when we say how
do you abide in Jesus Christ?
I'm abiding in a marriagerelationship with my wife.
As we speak here, I have awedding ring on.
I don't have to think about ifI'm married or not.
I don't have to think about ifI'm married or not.
I don't have to think about ifI love her or not.
(06:47):
Right now she trusts me and Itrust her equally.
That relationship that my wifeand I have for one another with
Jesus, you have to abide whenwe're abiding with Christ.
There's not a moment of my lifethat I question whether Jesus
loves me completely, exactly.
Ron Meyers (07:05):
Very well put.
Until you absolutely believethat he's for you, not against
you, you trust him.
His love will never leave us,it will never forsake us.
We cannot lose our salvation.
When you understand that andthat is on your conscious, then
it just is kind of a naturalflow of life.
Conscious, then it just is kindof a natural flow of life.
(07:28):
You don't go worrying if he'sfollowing me today with his
little clipboard and he's goingto grade me because he loves me.
With that kind of thoughtprocess, it gives us the
opportunity to live life howwe're supposed to live, become
the person he created us to be.
We don't live in fear.
Greg Crosby (07:45):
Fear is not from God.
Fear is not from the HolySpirit.
God doesn't fear anything.
The Holy Spirit does not fearanything.
Jesus didn't fear the cross forour benefit.
And that fear is rooted in apart of us that we're not
willing to turn over to the HolySpirit in our daily walk.
(08:05):
Amen, amen.
I don't want you to think thatthere aren't things that give me
fear or cause for concern, butjust as soon as I recognize it
as a spiritual issue, and theLord lays that on my heart, it's
time to turn it over.
Whether we hold on to it or notwill be our choice.
Ron Meyers (08:23):
Because the blessing of fear.
If you didn't have fear in yourlife then you wouldn't need
faith.
For me that I feared the most,when I embraced him and I had
Christ at my side, there wasalways a blessing that came out
of that fear.
I got stronger and it built myfaith to say, wow, if I got
through that, what else can Iget through?
(08:43):
And I think, as you said, asyou got older in life you've
realized this.
But that's the beauty aboutabiding in Christ it all begins
to make sense.
Greg Crosby (08:53):
So I want to tell you about something that
happened in 2004, early 2004.
And to preface that, a commentabout fear and faith.
Sometimes people like to saywhy is God allowing this problem
to happen?
Why did this happen?
Why would God allow this?
And what you said.
(09:13):
When bad things happen, itreally reveals to us how good
God can possibly be.
My daughter asked her friend.
My 15-year-old daughter askedher friend.
One day.
This young lady was faultingGod for an issue she was facing
and my daughter said that'sreally Satan's fault.
God is the answer to thatproblem and somehow or another,
(09:36):
even Christians walking arounddaily, professing Christians,
will blame God for theirproblems.
Satan is the reason for ourproblems.
God's the answer.
So we need to get that out ofour language.
As a Christian, that'ssomething I've learned in the
last year from my 15-year-olddaughter Blame Satan for your
problems, not God.
Ron Meyers (09:58):
What Flip Wilson used to say.
If you remember him the olderpeople out there the devil made
me do it.
Greg Crosby (10:04):
Yeah, exactly, well , you made your own choice.
Ron Meyers (10:07):
He gave you an offer , well you are a faith-filled
individual and right now I justfeel you've got some hope for
somebody out there listening.
Will you share some hope forsomeone out there that's
struggling?
Greg Crosby (10:19):
This time in Iraq, my unit a little bit of context.
We were sent over and you stagein this big, huge desert area
in Kuwait it's called amarshalling area and these huge
bases and there are thousands ofsoldiers and equipment and
everything getting ready to gonorth into Iraq.
(10:40):
And I was a part of a verysmall unit, a liaison team.
Well, the situation on Iraq didnot warrant a liaison team.
There were 25 of us, seniorcommand type unit.
So they handed my leadership.
Well, they gave them orders togo to this place, some of you
will recognize, called AbuGhraib Prison.
(11:02):
My unit was charged with takingover the prison where this
torture was happening.
We were a unit of 25, and wewould be.
Many units would be attached tous, but we would be the command
and control for the prison.
The big part is getting there,okay.
So we're a small unit withmaybe a dozen vehicles and about
(11:25):
20 people.
So in this marshalling area youjust cannot fathom, day and
night, trucks are going up thehighway and they're trying to
find a unit to place us with.
And I was an E-4 at the time,an older E-4, because I was in
the National Guard and beenaround long enough to know what
(11:45):
right looks like in the militaryand we finally they place us
with a unit.
We're going to piggyback withthis large transportation unit
and at the appointed time andplace we go out for this big
briefing and this unit is toreup from the floor.
They're short of ammo, they'reconfused.
(12:07):
There's no offense to all youyoung lieutenants out there, but
there's a young lieutenant incharge of a huge transportation
unit.
They had about 80 pieces ofequipment or something of that
nature, and anybody with anysense, their heart was sinking
because we would, and anybodywith any sense, their heart was
sinking because we would.
The border into the combat zonewas about less than an hour
(12:29):
from where we were, maybe 20miles so north of us and 20
miles we would be in the combatzone and our hearts dropped.
And in fact, this lieutenantlooked at one of our senior
officers and said you're goingto be in charge of the convoy.
And he's like, oh, and I won'tuse words here, you can fill in
(12:53):
the blanks.
But our commander was like oh,no, we're not, you're going to
fix this and whatever.
So what I didn't know washappening behind the scenes.
We left there that was probably7 or 8 one evening and we're
going to our vehicles because weare due to push off with that
unit early early the nextmorning, well before sunrise,
(13:15):
and behind the scenes one of oursenior commanders went to
another meeting and just theythrew a fit about the situation
and they're trying to movepeople and we're just a small
piece of a big pie.
So he comes back and we'regetting ready.
I go out to my Humvee which isbeing driven by a sergeant I had
(13:36):
a female soldier and I go outthere and we're still prepping
and getting ready to move outand make sure weapons are ready,
all those things go out thereand we're still prepping and
getting ready to move out andmake sure weapons are ready, all
those things.
And my friend was veryemotional about the situation
and so I sat down in the vehiclewhere I would be the A driver
(13:57):
and the gunner position for thisgoing up, and we prayed
together and I did my best tocalm her down and I said you
need to go get some rest andjust move on, okay?
And so she got out of the truck.
There wasn't much for her to doand when she got out of the
truck I started punching thedashboard.
It was like Lord, why me?
(14:17):
Why did you?
You know this and all that.
So I was feeling sorry formyself and angry, but portraying
confidence to her.
And I'm telling you thepersonal inside story here.
And so, just as soon as I gotdone having my fit and
questioning God about you knowwhy am I in this situation?
(14:38):
I was reminded of my mother andher chapter that she gave us
over and over and over Psalms 91, verse 11, for he will order
his angels to protect you in allyou do.
They will lift you up in theirhands so you will not slip and
fall on a stone.
(14:59):
And I had a grease pencil wherewe wrote notes on the
windshields for the nine-linemedevacs and all that.
And I flipped my little visordown and I wrote that verse
across the visor in my Humvee.
And at that moment I knew, nomatter what happened, from that
minute on, god would beprotecting us.
And you know what?
(15:19):
At that point I didn't care whoit was, I knew God would take
care of us.
That was a moment, and that'sbefore I went into the combat
zone.
God reminded me ahead of timeof his providence in everything
we do as a Christian.
And the fact for me is.
I know he intervenes and takescare of me in my life and I can
(15:43):
tell you that and that's a factto me.
That's a fact as sure as youand I are sitting here.
One day I sat down and countedhow many people were praying for
Greg Crosby overseas.
There were 200 people that Icould think of who prayed for me
every day while I was overthere.
Later on, on missions andconvoys and stuff, I would
(16:04):
jokingly tell the guys hey, ifyou want to be in the truck with
a guy, I'm the guy.
I got 200 people praying for meand there will be a lion trying
to ride with me.
Not like I was a driver, I'mjust one of the dudes in the
truck, didn't drive all the timeor nothing, but I felt like my
truck was a good place to be, nomatter what occurred.
And I'll say this too, justbecause somebody's praying for
(16:27):
somebody doesn't mean they won'tget killed Sometimes one of the
complex Realities.
And it took me years at leastthree years after I came home to
accept it.
There's no reconciling withthat, because the devil's alive
and well.
Did you lose some of yourbuddies?
Yes, sir, I lost a very closefriend.
(16:47):
My 15-year-old daughter isnamed after Army Sgt.
Cari Anne Gasiewicz.
Sergeant Gasiewicz gave herlife on the battlefield within.
She was literally two weeksfrom coming home.
Ron Meyers (16:56):
How did it?
How has that affected you evento this day?
How?
Greg Crosby (17:00):
has that affected you?
Even to this day, I can acceptwhat God has for us.
I wasn't able to accept it fora few years.
Ron Meyers (17:07):
Wow, no wonder your faith is so strong.
Yeah, when you go throughsomething like that there are no
atheists in foxholes, no.
Greg Crosby (17:23):
In my small group at church there are things that
people are dealing with andit'll come my turn to explain.
I say, look, I'm kind of luckybecause I've been in combat, and
everybody laughs.
I say I don't have to worryabout that, about dying or that
event.
In the chow hall that day Icarried a laminated picture of
my family.
I pulled it out of my pocketand looked at them and I said,
(17:44):
lord, I have to get home becauseI've got to take care of these
people.
And the Holy Spirit said do youthink I can take better care of
them than you?
You're lacking faith in God tothink that I can do a better job
of taking care of Susan andSavannah and Lily and Carrie Ann
(18:06):
than I can.
I can't do a better job thanGod.
And he reminded me of that andI said okay, it's in your hands.
And from that moment on Ididn't have to worry about
getting killed or even today I'mnot worried about dying.
(18:27):
I've done everything.
I'm doing what I'm supposed tobe doing with respect to that,
and so that's given me.
That was a hard lesson that Ilearned early on and it's hard
for a lot of people to graspthat level of freedom.
You can't imagine what it wouldbe like to tangle with somebody
who has no fear of dying.
The devil knows that we have topray for protection from him
(18:52):
and all.
But if you are not worriedabout dying and as a Christian
you shouldn't.
We know how this war ends.
We're fighting skirmishes.
We know how this war ends.
We're fighting skirmishes.
We know how the war ends.
The devil knows how it ends.
That's why he's so hard at ittrying to get people to change
their minds.
So what I want people to hearin this story is God's
(19:13):
providence.
God is the hero in that story.
In my life I tell if you see meand you think, good, it is God
that you're seeing, it is notGreg Crosby, it is God.
That you see what I want you tounderstand God loves you.
He absolutely loves you.
(19:34):
John 3.16 tells us how he lovesus.
Ron Meyers (19:38):
Greg, I'd like to ask all my guests.
The title of the show is calledGet the Hell Out of your Life.
So, greg, how do you get thehell out of your life?
Don't let it in.
Greg Crosby (19:49):
Don't let the hell in.
All right, god has provided forus to keep Satan out of our
lives.
If he's in there, god will gethim out.
Don't let him in.
Ron Meyers (19:59):
As we go?
Will you close us out?
Will you pray for the listeners?
Greg Crosby (20:04):
Father, I praise you for your provisions, Father.
I praise you for the design ofthis universe, and then I think
about me being born into anoriginal sin, father, and you
caring about me before I wasever conceived.
You had a plan for me.
I thank you for my parents,father, that you provided me
(20:26):
with, brought me up and pointedme to you every day the way they
lived.
I thank you for my churchfamily, father.
I thank you for the things youhave placed in my life, father.
I thank you for the difficultplaces along that way I have
been.
That pointed me back to you,father.
Father, I thank you for theblessing of being in a sweet
(20:49):
spot in my life right now,father, where I just enjoying
the work that you have for meand enjoying the relationships
around me, lord, and theblessings that you pour into our
life.
I praise you for all thosethings, father.
I hope and pray, father, thatwhat we are sharing here today
(21:10):
is a blessing and reaches rightdown into a person's heart that
needs to hear what we're sayingabout you.
Father, I pray that they willdo whatever it takes to find
their friend.
I know there's somebody intheir life that they know of
that can help them along thispath.
Lord, I pray that we areencouraging and everything that
(21:32):
is done here today brings honorand glory to your kingdom and
for your kingdom's sake, in theprecious, holy name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
Ron Meyers (21:43):
When I return.
Are you ready for a miracle?
Speaker 1 (21:47):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life
with your host, ron Myers.
Real stories, real strugglesand real hope.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
What's your story?
We're looking for stories ofhope and overcoming life's
struggles with God's grace.
Your story validates God's love, mercy, restoration and
forgiveness.
We want to help you share yourstory with the world.
Visit our website,thepromoterorg, and click on the
Share your Story link andsubmit your story.
(22:19):
Promoterorg and click on theshare your story link and submit
your story.
Your testimony of God's amazinggrace will change a person's
destiny for eternity.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
You're sick of being let down and you want to turn
your life around.
If you want to start livingright, get the hell out of your
life.
Ron Meyers (22:50):
Get the hell out of your life.
Welcome back, listeners.
I asked you before the breakAre you ready for a miracle?
Could a miracle?
Would you like to have somepeace in your life?
Would you like to have somedirection and get over the fear
and the doubt and the anxiety,maybe even I have over 300
eyewitness accounts through myguests who got the hell out of
their lives, and never in achurch?
And you think it's absolutelyimpossible?
(23:10):
Well, I beg to differ.
I've got the proof, I've gotthe witnesses.
They got the hell out of theirlife when they made a decision
that life had to change.
They were not going to sit backanymore and take this
(23:33):
negativity that was everywherein their life.
So they called out to Jesus,not knowing what to expect.
But they got the best, becausewhen the miracle takes place in
your life, you are a newcreation with a new heart, new
desires.
You now have a tutor, a teachertrainer, Jesus Himself ,
(23:55):
through the Holy Spirit, andwhen you get in touch with Jesus
, things get good.
I know, friends, I was one ofthose skeptic people.
I got tired of church becausethey weren't telling me enough
about Jesus.
They were telling me all kindsof things I needed to do, just
like that would really get mecloser to Jesus.
(24:15):
No, what gets me close to Jesusis understanding that he's
already living inside of me.
He can't get any closer.
He just wants a day-to-dayconversation, a relationship,
some fun, and, yes, he lets usbe ourselves.
But he just wants us to beourselves, be the person he
(24:36):
created you and I to be, andnobody on this planet can get
you to where you need to goother than Jesus.
So I don't know what you'vebeen told, I don't know what
your fearful love about Jesus,but he's loving, he comes into
your life and that's my storyand I'm sticking to it.
When you call out to Jesus, youget the best.
(24:59):
I mean, imagine a friend God,the creator of the universe,
that comes in and takes all yoursins away, past, present and
future.
That's true, that's the gospel.
And then he gives us a peacethat surpasses understanding
when the hell in our life juststarts pouring itself in and
(25:21):
trying to take us off the pathto our destiny.
And the other thing that Jesusdoes is begin that intimate
personal relationship with him,whether you're reading his word
or you are having a conversationwith him over a cup of coffee,
life gets good.
You find out that what you'vebeen missing in life is someone
(25:44):
that actually believes in you,someone that actually loves you
unconditionally.
That means no conditionsSomeone that is for you and not
against you.
Now, friends, if you don't callthat a miracle, I don't know
what you could call it.
I know I went through that,friends.
I thought it was religion, Ithought it was performing all
(26:06):
these duties, I thought I neededa second blessing or a Holy
Spirit dose coming down from thesky.
But what I found out?
When Jesus came into my heart.
The gospel verified that we arecomplete and lack nothing.
We are ready.
We are free from guilt andcondemnation, and now we are
(26:29):
ready to live a life with peace,purpose and direction.
So now my only question to youare you ready to receive your
miracle?
You know what to do.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
Ron, we'll be back in a moment to wrap up today's
conversation.
We want to encourage you todaywith God's promise to you.
It comes from the book ofJeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11.
For I know the plans I have foryou, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not toharm you.
Plans to give you hope and afuture.
(27:06):
That's God's promise to youwhen you choose to commit your
plans and future to Him Now backto Ron, as we close today's
chapter.
Ron Meyers (27:20):
Remember that miracle.
Call upon the name of Jesus andyou will be saved and life gets
good.
Friends, the first thing you'regoing to do is feel the guilt
wash off of you because you'reforgiven past, present and
future that's right.
That's the Bible.
That's the finished works ofJesus.
(27:40):
And future, that's right.
That's the Bible, that's thefinished works of Jesus.
And then that intimaterelationship with you talking to
him, with you reading this word, your mind begins to be renewed
.
You have a new heart, you havenew desires and soon you are
ready to charge hell with awater pistol.
So if you want the miracle of anew life, new desires, new
(28:03):
thoughts, new peace, newunderstanding, call upon the
name of Jesus.
I'll be back next week withanother inspirational show
available on all your favoritepodcast platforms.
It's called Get the Hell Out ofyour Life.
Until next time, this is RonMyers, reminding you that I love
(28:24):
you, Jesus loves you, and whenyou get the hell out of your
life, life does get good.
Get the hell out, get the hellout get the hell out of your
life.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Today's show is proudly underwritten by the
Christmas City Gift Show.
Mark your calendars forNovember 7th through the 9th and
experience the magic inside theChristmas City Gift Show inside
the Mississippi CoastConvention Center located on the
beach in Biloxi, mississippi.
For more information, visitChristmasCityGiftShowcom.
If you would like to be a guestand share your story of God's
(29:02):
amazing grace, visit our website, thepromoterorg, and click the
Share your Story tab button.
Thanks for listening.
Join us next week for anotheredition of Get the Hell Out of
your Life Real stories, realstruggles and real hope.
It's time now to get the hell out of your life.
A weekly broadcast with realpeople sharing real struggles
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, ronMyers.
The promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Hello, my friends, it's so good to be with you, but
I have to pause just for onesecond.
Get out of here and never comeback.
Wow, I had to do that.
Have you ever got the hell outof your life?
And it just wants to barge itsway back into your life.
Well, I don't let it.
You know fear, doubt, anxiety,worry.
(00:46):
Nope, we don't have time forthat because we're here.
God has a plan, you have a plan, I have a plan, and we will
never discover what God wants usto do if we keep the hell in
our life.
Well, that's what this showdoes.
It's all about helping youunderstand that you are a winner
(01:06):
.
You are more than a conqueror,and God has given you enough
courage to keep the hell out ofyour life and live the life you
were created to live.
And each week we share a story,or you never know what you're
going to hear.
And today I have a friend ofmine that was in Iraq, in
Afghanistan, years ago.
(01:28):
And what a story.
What a story.
Have you heard the expressionare there atheists in foxholes
Well over in Iraq andAfghanistan?
He told me there weren't manyof them atheists.
That is at all me.
There weren't many of thematheists.
That is at all, greg.
Greg Crosby (01:45):
Thank you for your service first of all and we
can't wait to hear your story.
What's your story?
I am.
Anytime I'm getting in front ofanybody and in this case today,
a microphone I like to tellpeople that my faith is not an
insurance policy.
It is who I am.
(02:05):
I was born in Wiggins,mississippi.
I grew up right here on thecoast and my mother actually
passed away just a few monthsago, and the thing about her
that every single person, barnone, would tell you about my
mother is that she loved everysingle person she met and she
just exhibited the love ofChrist in everything that she
(02:26):
did.
My dad he joined the Navy at anearly age is a Vietnam veteran
with the United States Navy.
Ron Meyers (02:34):
And did you spend some time in the military
yourself?
Greg Crosby (02:37):
Yes, I am retired from the Mississippi Army
National Guard and I had aperiod of time in the Marines
for eight years.
My experience is I have threeyears in combat.
Did your faith play a part whenyou were overseas?
I heard a gentleman say thereare absolutely no atheists in
foxholes.
(02:57):
In those situations, everysingle person is a spiritual
person and we know what is atstake in those environments and
I'm getting closer and closer tothinking that's probably the
case for every person that hasbeen under those kind of
conditions.
Ron Meyers (03:12):
I met a homeless couple a couple weeks ago and I
was talking to them and they hadthis tremendous amount of faith
.
I said where's this faith comefrom?
They said the way we live.
We live in fear, we may bekilled.
So our faith is everything Kindof ties in what you just said
in the military.
You're out there, you live infear.
You don't know when somebody'sgoing to sneak up or if there's
(03:34):
a landmine out there.
So you have to be prayed upevery day before you go out on
duty.
Greg Crosby (03:40):
Absolutely, and you have to have peace too, because
you can't function in ameaningful way in those roles
without having peace.
Ron Meyers (03:48):
You know and I understand now why you told me
before we went on the air thatthere is a huge spiritual battle
taking place in this world.
You know good versus evil and Iunderstand why you're such a
good student with spiritualwarfare.
You understand the enemy.
You did it in the military.
You had to map out what youthought the enemy was going to
(04:09):
do to the troops.
Now you know the enemy Satan,the dark side of the world, is
after us Christians.
Does that make sense?
Does it all tie together?
It absolutely makes sense.
Greg Crosby (04:21):
Wow, the enemy is looking for your soft spot.
He is looking for the easiestlocation that he can get the
most benefit from, with theleast amount of risk on his part
.
They're not going to attack avigilant, battle-ready, hardened
veteran who knows what to dothe moment he attacks.
The enemy is looking for aguard post where the guards are
(04:48):
sleeping and joking around andthey're fat and lazy and
switching guard posts at thewrong time and things like that.
You want to look like the leastimportant thing on the
battlefield.
The enemy is looking for a softtarget.
They know what new looks like.
They know what lazy looks like.
He knows what complacency lookslike.
Ron Meyers (05:05):
Does he really care for Christians in church?
We can sit there in church, butif we don't do anything, if we
never get out of our comfortzone, we get lazy.
We go one hour a week.
We're kind of a sign for thedevil, aren't we?
Greg Crosby (05:18):
Exactly.
You are giving the enemy anadvantage.
An advantage he has no concernabout us.
Every relationship, includingyours and mine, me and my wife's
, mine and my children.
The principles apply to everysingle relationship, all the way
to a geopolitical level.
If we're not communicatingproperly and respecting each
(05:40):
other properly, something willoccur and it's going to escalate
.
The devil knows that If he canthrow a wedge in there or find
some complacency somewhere, itwill be exploited.
Ron Meyers (05:51):
So are you saying for us believers, it's very
important to have a relationshipwith Jesus, as opposed to just
a knowledge of Jesus.
It's critical.
Greg Crosby (06:02):
I can't say it more than that.
It is absolutely critical.
This understanding that I'msharing with you right now about
how important and how vital ourrelationship is started around
2014 or 15 in a Bible study, ayear-long Bible study with two
close friends.
In John 15, where Christ talksabout abiding, abiding in Christ
(06:25):
is the key to that relationship.
Abiding for me, if that doesn'tmake sense and when we say how
do you abide in Jesus Christ?
I'm abiding in a marriagerelationship with my wife.
As we speak here, I have awedding ring on.
I don't have to think about ifI'm married or not.
I don't have to think about ifI'm married or not.
I don't have to think about ifI love her or not.
(06:47):
Right now she trusts me and Itrust her equally.
That relationship that my wifeand I have for one another with
Jesus, you have to abide whenwe're abiding with Christ.
There's not a moment of my lifethat I question whether Jesus
loves me completely, exactly.
Ron Meyers (07:05):
Very well put.
Until you absolutely believethat he's for you, not against
you, you trust him.
His love will never leave us,it will never forsake us.
We cannot lose our salvation.
When you understand that andthat is on your conscious, then
it just is kind of a naturalflow of life.
Conscious, then it just is kindof a natural flow of life.
(07:28):
You don't go worrying if he'sfollowing me today with his
little clipboard and he's goingto grade me because he loves me.
With that kind of thoughtprocess, it gives us the
opportunity to live life howwe're supposed to live, become
the person he created us to be.
We don't live in fear.
Greg Crosby (07:45):
Fear is not from God.
Fear is not from the HolySpirit.
God doesn't fear anything.
The Holy Spirit does not fearanything.
Jesus didn't fear the cross forour benefit.
And that fear is rooted in apart of us that we're not
willing to turn over to the HolySpirit in our daily walk.
(08:05):
Amen, amen.
I don't want you to think thatthere aren't things that give me
fear or cause for concern, butjust as soon as I recognize it
as a spiritual issue, and theLord lays that on my heart, it's
time to turn it over.
Whether we hold on to it or notwill be our choice.
Ron Meyers (08:23):
Because the blessing of fear.
If you didn't have fear in yourlife then you wouldn't need
faith.
For me that I feared the most,when I embraced him and I had
Christ at my side, there wasalways a blessing that came out
of that fear.
I got stronger and it built myfaith to say, wow, if I got
through that, what else can Iget through?
(08:43):
And I think, as you said, asyou got older in life you've
realized this.
But that's the beauty aboutabiding in Christ it all begins
to make sense.
Greg Crosby (08:53):
So I want to tell you about something that
happened in 2004, early 2004.
And to preface that, a commentabout fear and faith.
Sometimes people like to saywhy is God allowing this problem
to happen?
Why did this happen?
Why would God allow this?
And what you said.
(09:13):
When bad things happen, itreally reveals to us how good
God can possibly be.
My daughter asked her friend.
My 15-year-old daughter askedher friend.
One day.
This young lady was faultingGod for an issue she was facing
and my daughter said that'sreally Satan's fault.
God is the answer to thatproblem and somehow or another,
(09:36):
even Christians walking arounddaily, professing Christians,
will blame God for theirproblems.
Satan is the reason for ourproblems.
God's the answer.
So we need to get that out ofour language.
As a Christian, that'ssomething I've learned in the
last year from my 15-year-olddaughter Blame Satan for your
problems, not God.
Ron Meyers (09:58):
What Flip Wilson used to say.
If you remember him the olderpeople out there the devil made
me do it.
Greg Crosby (10:04):
Yeah, exactly, well , you made your own choice.
Ron Meyers (10:07):
He gave you an offer , well you are a faith-filled
individual and right now I justfeel you've got some hope for
somebody out there listening.
Will you share some hope forsomeone out there that's
struggling?
Greg Crosby (10:19):
This time in Iraq, my unit a little bit of context.
We were sent over and you stagein this big, huge desert area
in Kuwait it's called amarshalling area and these huge
bases and there are thousands ofsoldiers and equipment and
everything getting ready to gonorth into Iraq.
(10:40):
And I was a part of a verysmall unit, a liaison team.
Well, the situation on Iraq didnot warrant a liaison team.
There were 25 of us, seniorcommand type unit.
So they handed my leadership.
Well, they gave them orders togo to this place, some of you
will recognize, called AbuGhraib Prison.
(11:02):
My unit was charged with takingover the prison where this
torture was happening.
We were a unit of 25, and wewould be.
Many units would be attached tous, but we would be the command
and control for the prison.
The big part is getting there,okay.
So we're a small unit withmaybe a dozen vehicles and about
(11:25):
20 people.
So in this marshalling area youjust cannot fathom, day and
night, trucks are going up thehighway and they're trying to
find a unit to place us with.
And I was an E-4 at the time,an older E-4, because I was in
the National Guard and beenaround long enough to know what
(11:45):
right looks like in the militaryand we finally they place us
with a unit.
We're going to piggyback withthis large transportation unit
and at the appointed time andplace we go out for this big
briefing and this unit is toreup from the floor.
They're short of ammo, they'reconfused.
(12:07):
There's no offense to all youyoung lieutenants out there, but
there's a young lieutenant incharge of a huge transportation
unit.
They had about 80 pieces ofequipment or something of that
nature, and anybody with anysense, their heart was sinking
because we would, and anybodywith any sense, their heart was
sinking because we would.
The border into the combat zonewas about less than an hour
(12:29):
from where we were, maybe 20miles so north of us and 20
miles we would be in the combatzone and our hearts dropped.
And in fact, this lieutenantlooked at one of our senior
officers and said you're goingto be in charge of the convoy.
And he's like, oh, and I won'tuse words here, you can fill in
(12:53):
the blanks.
But our commander was like oh,no, we're not, you're going to
fix this and whatever.
So what I didn't know washappening behind the scenes.
We left there that was probably7 or 8 one evening and we're
going to our vehicles because weare due to push off with that
unit early early the nextmorning, well before sunrise,
(13:15):
and behind the scenes one of oursenior commanders went to
another meeting and just theythrew a fit about the situation
and they're trying to movepeople and we're just a small
piece of a big pie.
So he comes back and we'regetting ready.
I go out to my Humvee which isbeing driven by a sergeant I had
(13:36):
a female soldier and I go outthere and we're still prepping
and getting ready to move outand make sure weapons are ready,
all those things go out thereand we're still prepping and
getting ready to move out andmake sure weapons are ready, all
those things.
And my friend was veryemotional about the situation
and so I sat down in the vehiclewhere I would be the A driver
(13:57):
and the gunner position for thisgoing up, and we prayed
together and I did my best tocalm her down and I said you
need to go get some rest andjust move on, okay?
And so she got out of the truck.
There wasn't much for her to doand when she got out of the
truck I started punching thedashboard.
It was like Lord, why me?
(14:17):
Why did you?
You know this and all that.
So I was feeling sorry formyself and angry, but portraying
confidence to her.
And I'm telling you thepersonal inside story here.
And so, just as soon as I gotdone having my fit and
questioning God about you knowwhy am I in this situation?
(14:38):
I was reminded of my mother andher chapter that she gave us
over and over and over Psalms 91, verse 11, for he will order
his angels to protect you in allyou do.
They will lift you up in theirhands so you will not slip and
fall on a stone.
(14:59):
And I had a grease pencil wherewe wrote notes on the
windshields for the nine-linemedevacs and all that.
And I flipped my little visordown and I wrote that verse
across the visor in my Humvee.
And at that moment I knew, nomatter what happened, from that
minute on, god would beprotecting us.
And you know what?
(15:19):
At that point I didn't care whoit was, I knew God would take
care of us.
That was a moment, and that'sbefore I went into the combat
zone.
God reminded me ahead of timeof his providence in everything
we do as a Christian.
And the fact for me is.
I know he intervenes and takescare of me in my life and I can
(15:43):
tell you that and that's a factto me.
That's a fact as sure as youand I are sitting here.
One day I sat down and countedhow many people were praying for
Greg Crosby overseas.
There were 200 people that Icould think of who prayed for me
every day while I was overthere.
Later on, on missions andconvoys and stuff, I would
(16:04):
jokingly tell the guys hey, ifyou want to be in the truck with
a guy, I'm the guy.
I got 200 people praying for meand there will be a lion trying
to ride with me.
Not like I was a driver, I'mjust one of the dudes in the
truck, didn't drive all the timeor nothing, but I felt like my
truck was a good place to be, nomatter what occurred.
And I'll say this too, justbecause somebody's praying for
(16:27):
somebody doesn't mean they won'tget killed Sometimes one of the
complex Realities.
And it took me years at leastthree years after I came home to
accept it.
There's no reconciling withthat, because the devil's alive
and well.
Did you lose some of yourbuddies?
Yes, sir, I lost a very closefriend.
(16:47):
My 15-year-old daughter isnamed after Army Sgt.
Cari Anne Gasiewicz.
Sergeant Gasiewicz gave herlife on the battlefield within.
She was literally two weeksfrom coming home.
Ron Meyers (16:56):
How did it?
How has that affected you evento this day?
How?
Greg Crosby (17:00):
has that affected you?
Even to this day, I can acceptwhat God has for us.
I wasn't able to accept it fora few years.
Ron Meyers (17:07):
Wow, no wonder your faith is so strong.
Yeah, when you go throughsomething like that there are no
atheists in foxholes, no.
Greg Crosby (17:23):
In my small group at church there are things that
people are dealing with andit'll come my turn to explain.
I say, look, I'm kind of luckybecause I've been in combat, and
everybody laughs.
I say I don't have to worryabout that, about dying or that
event.
In the chow hall that day Icarried a laminated picture of
my family.
I pulled it out of my pocketand looked at them and I said,
(17:44):
lord, I have to get home becauseI've got to take care of these
people.
And the Holy Spirit said do youthink I can take better care of
them than you?
You're lacking faith in God tothink that I can do a better job
of taking care of Susan andSavannah and Lily and Carrie Ann
(18:06):
than I can.
I can't do a better job thanGod.
And he reminded me of that andI said okay, it's in your hands.
And from that moment on Ididn't have to worry about
getting killed or even today I'mnot worried about dying.
(18:27):
I've done everything.
I'm doing what I'm supposed tobe doing with respect to that,
and so that's given me.
That was a hard lesson that Ilearned early on and it's hard
for a lot of people to graspthat level of freedom.
You can't imagine what it wouldbe like to tangle with somebody
who has no fear of dying.
The devil knows that we have topray for protection from him
(18:52):
and all.
But if you are not worriedabout dying and as a Christian
you shouldn't.
We know how this war ends.
We're fighting skirmishes.
We know how this war ends.
We're fighting skirmishes.
We know how the war ends.
The devil knows how it ends.
That's why he's so hard at ittrying to get people to change
their minds.
So what I want people to hearin this story is God's
(19:13):
providence.
God is the hero in that story.
In my life I tell if you see meand you think, good, it is God
that you're seeing, it is notGreg Crosby, it is God.
That you see what I want you tounderstand God loves you.
He absolutely loves you.
(19:34):
John 3.16 tells us how he lovesus.
Ron Meyers (19:38):
Greg, I'd like to ask all my guests.
The title of the show is calledGet the Hell Out of your Life.
So, greg, how do you get thehell out of your life?
Don't let it in.
Greg Crosby (19:49):
Don't let the hell in.
All right, god has provided forus to keep Satan out of our
lives.
If he's in there, god will gethim out.
Don't let him in.
Ron Meyers (19:59):
As we go?
Will you close us out?
Will you pray for the listeners?
Greg Crosby (20:04):
Father, I praise you for your provisions, Father.
I praise you for the design ofthis universe, and then I think
about me being born into anoriginal sin, father, and you
caring about me before I wasever conceived.
You had a plan for me.
I thank you for my parents,father, that you provided me
(20:26):
with, brought me up and pointedme to you every day the way they
lived.
I thank you for my churchfamily, father.
I thank you for the things youhave placed in my life, father.
I thank you for the difficultplaces along that way I have
been.
That pointed me back to you,father.
Father, I thank you for theblessing of being in a sweet
(20:49):
spot in my life right now,father, where I just enjoying
the work that you have for meand enjoying the relationships
around me, lord, and theblessings that you pour into our
life.
I praise you for all thosethings, father.
I hope and pray, father, thatwhat we are sharing here today
(21:10):
is a blessing and reaches rightdown into a person's heart that
needs to hear what we're sayingabout you.
Father, I pray that they willdo whatever it takes to find
their friend.
I know there's somebody intheir life that they know of
that can help them along thispath.
Lord, I pray that we areencouraging and everything that
(21:32):
is done here today brings honorand glory to your kingdom and
for your kingdom's sake, in theprecious, holy name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
Ron Meyers (21:43):
When I return.
Are you ready for a miracle?
Speaker 1 (21:47):
You're listening to Get the Hell Out of your Life
with your host, ron Myers.
Real stories, real strugglesand real hope.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
What's your story?
We're looking for stories ofhope and overcoming life's
struggles with God's grace.
Your story validates God's love, mercy, restoration and
forgiveness.
We want to help you share yourstory with the world.
Visit our website,thepromoterorg, and click on the
Share your Story link andsubmit your story.
(22:19):
Promoterorg and click on theshare your story link and submit
your story.
Your testimony of God's amazinggrace will change a person's
destiny for eternity.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
You're sick of being let down and you want to turn
your life around.
If you want to start livingright, get the hell out of your
life.
Ron Meyers (22:50):
Get the hell out of your life.
Welcome back, listeners.
I asked you before the breakAre you ready for a miracle?
Could a miracle?
Would you like to have somepeace in your life?
Would you like to have somedirection and get over the fear
and the doubt and the anxiety,maybe even I have over 300
eyewitness accounts through myguests who got the hell out of
their lives, and never in achurch?
And you think it's absolutelyimpossible?
(23:10):
Well, I beg to differ.
I've got the proof, I've gotthe witnesses.
They got the hell out of theirlife when they made a decision
that life had to change.
They were not going to sit backanymore and take this
(23:33):
negativity that was everywherein their life.
So they called out to Jesus,not knowing what to expect.
But they got the best, becausewhen the miracle takes place in
your life, you are a newcreation with a new heart, new
desires.
You now have a tutor, a teachertrainer, Jesus Himself ,
(23:55):
through the Holy Spirit, andwhen you get in touch with Jesus
, things get good.
I know, friends, I was one ofthose skeptic people.
I got tired of church becausethey weren't telling me enough
about Jesus.
They were telling me all kindsof things I needed to do, just
like that would really get mecloser to Jesus.
(24:15):
No, what gets me close to Jesusis understanding that he's
already living inside of me.
He can't get any closer.
He just wants a day-to-dayconversation, a relationship,
some fun, and, yes, he lets usbe ourselves.
But he just wants us to beourselves, be the person he
(24:36):
created you and I to be, andnobody on this planet can get
you to where you need to goother than Jesus.
So I don't know what you'vebeen told, I don't know what
your fearful love about Jesus,but he's loving, he comes into
your life and that's my storyand I'm sticking to it.
When you call out to Jesus, youget the best.
(24:59):
I mean, imagine a friend God,the creator of the universe,
that comes in and takes all yoursins away, past, present and
future.
That's true, that's the gospel.
And then he gives us a peacethat surpasses understanding
when the hell in our life juststarts pouring itself in and
(25:21):
trying to take us off the pathto our destiny.
And the other thing that Jesusdoes is begin that intimate
personal relationship with him,whether you're reading his word
or you are having a conversationwith him over a cup of coffee,
life gets good.
You find out that what you'vebeen missing in life is someone
(25:44):
that actually believes in you,someone that actually loves you
unconditionally.
That means no conditionsSomeone that is for you and not
against you.
Now, friends, if you don't callthat a miracle, I don't know
what you could call it.
I know I went through that,friends.
I thought it was religion, Ithought it was performing all
(26:06):
these duties, I thought I neededa second blessing or a Holy
Spirit dose coming down from thesky.
But what I found out?
When Jesus came into my heart.
The gospel verified that we arecomplete and lack nothing.
We are ready.
We are free from guilt andcondemnation, and now we are
(26:29):
ready to live a life with peace,purpose and direction.
So now my only question to youare you ready to receive your
miracle?
You know what to do.
Speaker 5 (26:44):
Ron, we'll be back in a moment to wrap up today's
conversation.
We want to encourage you todaywith God's promise to you.
It comes from the book ofJeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11.
For I know the plans I have foryou, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not toharm you.
Plans to give you hope and afuture.
(27:06):
That's God's promise to youwhen you choose to commit your
plans and future to Him Now backto Ron, as we close today's
chapter.
Ron Meyers (27:20):
Remember that miracle.
Call upon the name of Jesus andyou will be saved and life gets
good.
Friends, the first thing you'regoing to do is feel the guilt
wash off of you because you'reforgiven past, present and
future that's right.
That's the Bible.
That's the finished works ofJesus.
(27:40):
And future, that's right.
That's the Bible, that's thefinished works of Jesus.
And then that intimaterelationship with you talking to
him, with you reading this word, your mind begins to be renewed
.
You have a new heart, you havenew desires and soon you are
ready to charge hell with awater pistol.
So if you want the miracle of anew life, new desires, new
(28:03):
thoughts, new peace, newunderstanding, call upon the
name of Jesus.
I'll be back next week withanother inspirational show
available on all your favoritepodcast platforms.
It's called Get the Hell Out ofyour Life.
Until next time, this is RonMyers, reminding you that I love
(28:24):
you, Jesus loves you, and whenyou get the hell out of your
life, life does get good.
Get the hell out, get the hellout get the hell out of your
life.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Today's show is proudly underwritten by the
Christmas City Gift Show.
Mark your calendars forNovember 7th through the 9th and
experience the magic inside theChristmas City Gift Show inside
the Mississippi CoastConvention Center located on the
beach in Biloxi, mississippi.
For more information, visitChristmasCityGiftShowcom.
If you would like to be a guestand share your story of God's
(29:02):
amazing grace, visit our website, thepromoterorg, and click the
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