October 9, 2025 • 25 mins
We set our priorities on God first and spouse second, drawing strength from Hebrews 6’s unbreakable promise and Song of Solomon’s picture of joyful devotion. We reckon with gray divorce, remember a quiet Navy hero, and revisit Pennsylvania’s founding ideals that tie liberty to Christian virtue.
• daily time with God as a living priority
• marriage as cleaving like glue, guarding against small foxes
• Hebrews 6: promise, oath, and an anchor for the soul
• Joseph’s trials forming character before promotion
• assurance in Christ over doubt, fear, and failure
• Medal of Honor: John F. Bickford’s courage under fire
• Pennsylvania’s charter linking liberty with Christian virtue
• practical steps to reorder love, time, and attention
If you are looking for a family-friendly middle-grade fantasy series, I would humbly recommend Countryside. There’s two books in the series so far, working on a third one. If you get a chance, check it out. And if you enjoy it, if you would leave a review somewhere, I would greatly appreciate that.
On the podcast, there’s a website page on Buzz Sprout, which hosts the podcast where you can donate $3 a month, $5 a month, whatever you can do would be greatly appreciated.
The American Soul Podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:02):
Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another
episode of the American SoulPodcast.
Hope y'all are doing well,wherever y'all are, whatever
part of the day you're in, Isure do appreciate you joining
me, giving me a little bit ofyour time.
I know y'all have other thingsbuying for your attention.
So I appreciate that you'rehere.
I will try and use it wisely.
(00:22):
For those of y'all who continueto share the podcast with
others, tell others about it,and for those of y'all who
continue to pray for me and forthe podcast, thank you very,
very much.
Very grateful for your prayers.
Father, thank you for today.
Thank you for you, Father, andyour son Jesus Christ and your
Holy Spirit.
Thank you for your love and yourmercy, your grace and your
(00:44):
forgiveness of sins.
Through the merit of your sonJesus Christ alone.
Thank you for the time to recordthis podcast.
Thank you for the people thatlisten to it.
Please be with them whereverthey are across the nation, here
in America, and around theworld.
(01:05):
Be with their families.
Bless the marriages of those whoare married, guide those who
have children to raise them toknow you, Father, and your Son
Jesus Christ.
Surround us with your angels.
Protect us from evil of anykind.
Guide our thoughts and our wordsand our actions.
(01:26):
Help us to flee from evil, toflee from immorality of any
kind.
Help us to care for the widowand the orphan, the poor and the
needy.
To follow the commands of yourSon Jesus Christ, to love him.
To love you with our wholeheart, mind, soul, and strength.
SPEAKER_00 (01:47):
To love our neighbors as ourselves.
SPEAKER_01 (01:52):
Help us to get our priorities in the right order,
Father, to make time for youeach day.
To make time for our spouse eachday if we're married.
To make time to be still.
Be with those who are hurtingand alone.
Those who are brokenhearted,please draw close to them,
Father.
(02:13):
Be with our leaders, both in thepulpit and in the state, our
pastors and priests, president,vice president, prime ministers,
judges, senators,representatives, governors,
mayors.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Be with our military and our law enforcement.
Firefighters, EMS, comfort them,bring them home safe to their
families.
Be with those who have beenvictims of shootings and
violence and killings.
(02:54):
Your son's family pray.
Have you made time for Godtoday?
Have you made time to read hisword?
Have you made time to pray?
To talk to him?
(03:14):
Listen to him.
SPEAKER_01 (03:15):
You know, there's nothing wrong with being bored,
folks.
I think we could use a littlebit more boredom in our lives
these days.
And if you're married, have youmade time for your spouse?
Do they know that they are yoursecond priority each day after
only God and Jesus Christ everyday?
And not just like in a rush,folks.
(03:38):
It's the same with spending timewith God and our spouse.
It shouldn't be something thatwe just do as a check on a box,
which I'm too often guilty of,folks, rushing through prayer,
rushing through reading theBible.
My wife asked me to do somethingrushing through getting done
with that, right?
It ought to be something that welook at as a privilege and a
(04:02):
pleasure.
And a lot of that, honestly,folks, has to do with us and not
God and Jesus Christ and theHoly Spirit and not our spouse.
It has to do with us and ourattitude that we choose.
Marriage verses from today comeout a song of Solomon two.
(04:24):
The Bride's admiration.
I am the rose of Sharon, thelily of the valleys.
Like a lily among the thorns, sois my darling among the maidens.
Like an apple tree among thetrees of the forest, so is my
beloved among the young men.
In his shade I took greatdelight and I sat down, and his
(04:45):
fruit was sweet to my taste.
He has brought me to his banquethall, and his banner over me is
love.
Sustain me with raisin cakes,refresh me with apples, because
I am lovesick.
Let his left hand be under myhead and his right hand embrace
me.
I adjure you, O daughters ofJerusalem, by the gazelles or by
(05:06):
the hinds of the field, that youdo not arouse or awaken my love
until she pleases.
Listen, my beloved, behold he iscoming.
Climbing on the mountains,leaping on the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle ora young stag.
Behold he is standing behind ourwall, he is looking through the
(05:26):
windows, he is peering throughthe lattice.
My beloved responded and said tome, Arise, my darling, my
beautiful one, and come along.
For behold, the winter is past,the rain is over and gone.
The flowers have alreadyappeared in the land.
The time has arrived for pruningthe vines, and the voice of the
(05:46):
turtle dove has been heard inour land.
The fig tree has ripened itsfigs, and the vines and blossom
have given forth theirfragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautifulone, and come along.
O my dove, in the clefts of therock, in the secret place of the
steep pathway.
Let me see your form, let mehear your voice, for your voice
(06:09):
is sweet, and your form islovely.
Catch the foxes for us, thelittle foxes that are running,
ruining the vineyards, while ourvineyards are in blossom.
My beloved is mine and I am his.
He pastures his flock among thelilies, until the cool of the
day when the shadows flee away.
Turn, my beloved, and be like agazelle or a young stag on the
(06:33):
mountains of Bethar.
Bible verses for today we'regoing to start with Hebrews six,
one through twenty.
So let us stop going over thebasic teachings about Christ
again and again.
Let us go on instead and becomemature in our understanding.
Surely we don't need to startagain with the fundamental
(06:54):
importance of repenting fromevil deeds and placing our faith
in God.
You don't need furtherinstruction about baptisms, the
laying on of hands, theresurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment.
And so, God willing, we willmove forward to further
understanding.
For it is impossible to bringback to repentance those who
(07:15):
were once enlightened, those whohave experienced the good things
of heaven and shared in the HolySpirit, who have tasted the
goodness of the Word of God andthe power of the age to come,
and who then turn away from God.
It is impossible to bring suchpeople back to repentance by
rejecting the Son of God theythemselves are nailing him to
the cross once again, andholding him up to public shame.
(07:40):
When the ground soaks up thefalling rain and bears a good
crop for the farmer, it hasGod's blessing.
But if a field bears thorns andthistles it is useless.
The farmer will soon condemnthat field and burn it.
Dear friends, even though we aretalking this way, we really
don't believe it applies to you.
(08:02):
We are confident that you aremeant for better things, things
that come with salvation, forGod is not unjust.
He will not forget how hard youhave worked for him and how you
have shown your love to him bycaring for other believers, as
you still do.
Our great desire is that youwill keep on loving others as
long as life lasts, in order tomake certain that what you hope
(08:25):
for will come true.
Then you will not becomespiritually dull and
indifferent.
Instead you will follow theexample of those who are going
to inherit God's promisesbecause of their faith and
endurance.
For example, there was God'spromise to Abraham.
Since there was no one greaterto swear by, God took an oath in
his own name, saying, I willcertainly bless you and I will
(08:47):
multiply your descendants beyondnumber.
Then Abraham waited patiently,and he received what God had
promised.
Now when people take an oath,they call on someone greater
than themselves to hold them toit, and without any question
that oath is binding.
God also bound himself with anoath, so that those who received
(09:07):
the promise could be perfectlysure that he would never change
his mind.
So God has given both hispromise and his oath.
These two things areunchangeable because it is
impossible for God to lie.
Therefore, we who have fled tohim for refuge and have great
confidence as we hold to thehope that lies before us.
(09:29):
This hope is a strong andtrustworthy anchor for our
souls.
It leads us through the curtaininto God's inner sanctuary.
Jesus has already gone in therefor us.
He has become our eternal highpriest in the order of
Melchizedek.
Psalm one hundred five versessixteen through thirty six.
(09:51):
He the Lord called for a famineon the land of Canaan, cutting
off its food supply.
Then he sent someone to Egyptahead of them, Joseph, who was
sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet withfetters, and placed his neck in
an iron collar.
Until the time came to fulfillhis dreams, the Lord tested
(10:12):
Joseph's character.
Then Pharaoh sent for him andset him free.
The ruler of the nation openedhis prison door.
Joseph was put in charge of allthe king's household.
He became ruler over all theking's possessions.
He could instruct the king'saides as he pleased and teach
the king's advisors.
(10:33):
Then Israel arrived in Egypt.
Jacob lived as a foreigner inthe land of Ham, and the Lord
multiplied the people of Israeluntil they became too mighty for
their enemies.
Then he turned the Egyptiansagainst the Israelites, and they
plotted against the Lord'sservant.
But the Lord sent his servantMoses along with Aaron whom he
had chosen.
(10:53):
They performed miraculous signsamong the Egyptians, and wonders
in the land of Ham.
The Lord blanketed Egypt indarkness, for they had defied
his commands to let his peoplego.
He turned their water intoblood, poisoning all the fish.
Then frogs overran the land, andeven invaded the king's
bedrooms.
(11:14):
When the Lord spoke fliesdescended on the Egyptians, and
gnats swarmed across Egypt.
He sent them hail instead ofrain, and lightning flashed over
the land.
He ruined their grapevines andfig trees and shattered all the
trees.
He spoke and hordes of locustscame, young locusts beyond
number.
They ate up everything green inthe land, destroying all the
(11:37):
crops in their fields.
Then he killed the oldest son ineach Egyptian home, the pride
and joy of each family.
Proverbs twenty seven, one andtwo.
A stranger, not your own lips.
(12:01):
If we have to tell people howgreat we are, folks, we're
probably not that great, right?
And uh we have no idea what'sgoing to happen tomorrow.
Not a single person out therecan tell you exactly what's
going to happen tomorrow.
I think sometimes we I need toremember that at least a little
bit.
Psalm 105, when you look atverse 17, 18, and 19 talking
(12:25):
about the suffering that Josephwent through.
I forget that often, thatthere's a lot of really great
leaders, important people in theBible that suffered a great deal
waiting on God.
And the point didn't really seemapparent until after the fact,
(12:50):
right?
And then there's quite a fewthings from Hebrews 6, but I
think the one I really want tofocus on is if you look through
verses 16 through 20, one of themost encouraging things to me is
God tells us in his word that ifwe confess Jesus Christ as Lord,
(13:11):
right?
So I'm telling you right nowthat I believe that Jesus Christ
is my Lord and Savior.
I confess him as Lord andSavior.
And he said, and if we believein our heart, right, and I have
doubts, I have fears, but Ichoose to believe that God
raised Jesus Christ, his son,from the dead.
If you ask me, I'm going to tellyou that.
It's a choice that I make.
(13:32):
And God tells me because ofthose two things, he promises
that I'm going to have eternallife.
And when you look at these,start right here with 17.
God also bound himself with anoath so that those who received
the promise could be perfectlysure that he would never change
his mind.
So God has given both hispromise and his oath.
(13:55):
These two things areunchangeable because it is
impossible for God to lie.
Therefore, we who have fled tohim for refuge can have great
confidence as we hold to thehope that lies before us.
This hope is a strong andtrustworthy anchor for our
souls.
It leads us through the curtaininto God's inner sanctuary.
(14:15):
And Jesus has already gone inthere for us, right?
Take some comfort in that,folks.
If you struggle with doubts andfears, sins, failures, right?
Know that God promises, and hecan't break that promise.
That's a great thing.
Because he's unchangeable.
So no matter how much we screwup, no matter how many doubts
(14:40):
and fears we have and failings,because of Jesus Christ alone,
and God's promises, we're gonnaget to spend eternity in heaven
with God and Jesus Christ oneday.
It's on him, folks.
It's not on us.
You don't have any pressure onyou.
(15:03):
God promised, and and he isunchanging, and he cannot lie.
And that's just I I hope thatthat's as encouraging to you as
it is to me.
A little bit of house cleaningbefore we get into the Medal of
Honor and the history quotes fortoday.
(15:24):
I was talking to an acquaintanceof mine, known this man for a
little while, and he was talkingabout the fact that uh his
father is getting divorced atalmost age 80.
And that was just shocking tome.
And he talked to me a little bitabout it, but um I don't know
(15:44):
what the gray divorce, right?
That's what they call, I think,divorce over 50, 55.
I don't know what that rate iscurrently.
I don't know if it's increasingor decreasing, but you can just
see the general dysfunction ofmarriage, right?
And and there was something elsethat caused me to look up a
Bible verse talking aboutcleaving.
And and I dug into it a littlebit.
(16:04):
I got to chasing one of thoserabbit holes, and it it talked
about the fact, I think it's theGreek word.
I'm not even going to try andpronounce it, but it it means
glue, like you're stuck togetherlike glue.
That's the only relationship inthe world, folks, where we stick
to somebody like glue.
(16:24):
And I think we we really need toask ourselves a lot more often,
especially in the church, are westicking to our spouse like
glue?
Are we clinging to them,cleaving to them throughout the
day?
And when we look at thedysfunction and the brokenness
and the fact that we havesomething like a couple that's
been married for decades gettingdivorced, even in the 80s,
(16:44):
because the marriage is sodysfunctional.
Are we gluing ourselves to ourspouse each day throughout the
day?
Is that our top priority?
Medal of Honor for today, JohnF.
Bickford, captain of the top.
(17:05):
I didn't know that was a rank.
Highest rank master's mate.
U.S.
Civil War, USS Cheersarge, U.S.
Navy, June 19, 1864, offCherbourg, France.
Served on board the USSCarrasage when she destroyed the
Alabama off Cherbourg, France,19 June, 1864, acting as the
(17:29):
first loader of the pivot gunduring this bitter engagement,
Vickford exhibited markedcoolness and good conduct and
was highly recommended for hisgallantry under fire by his
divisional officer.
Accredited to Boston, SuffolkCounty, Massachusetts, not
awarded posthumously born March12, 1843, Tremont, Hancock
County, Maine, died April 28,1927, Gloucester, Massachusetts,
(17:54):
buried Mount Pleasant Cemetery,Gloucester, Massachusetts,
United States.
John F.
Bickford in the Civil War inFrance.
That's kind of crazy.
But another name, folks, we needto remember much more than pop
(18:15):
singers and athletes who don'treally care too much about our
nation.
So our history quote today isPennsylvania.
We're going to go intoPennsylvania.
I think we're going to spendabout three days here.
I've got two quotes that I wantto get through today.
The first is make sure I'm yep.
(18:37):
The Charter of Pennsylvania in1681, given to William Penn by
King Charles II of England.
It was all the land betweenMaryland and New York.
And the following year theyadded Delaware from the Duke of
York.
Interesting little thing.
William Penn named it Sylvaniabecause that meant woodland.
(19:03):
But the king changed it toPennsylvania, right?
Obviously from William Penn.
I guess that means Penn'sWoodland.
The goal of the plantation inthe charter, and this is coming
out of America's God and CountryEncyclopedia of Quotations, you
can find it other places, I'msure.
American Patriots Bible, AmericaFounders Bible, Avalon Project
(19:26):
from Yale online.
There's a bunch of goodresources online.
But the the goal of theplantation to reduce the savage
natives by gentle and justmanners to the love of civil
society and Christian religion.
You remember again, folks, whenpeople tell you about Indigenous
Day and how utopic and peacefulthe indigenous people were.
(19:49):
You can just kind of shake yourhead and move along.
Fundamental Constitutions ofPennsylvania, 1682, written by
Penn.
Constitution Considering that itis impossible that any people or
government should ever prosper,where man render not unto God
that which is God's, as well asto Caesar that which is
(20:11):
Caesar's.
And also perceiving thatdisorders and mischiefs that
attend those places where forceis used in matters of faith and
worship, and seriouslyreflecting upon the tenure of
the new and spiritualgovernment, and that both Christ
did not use force, and that hedid express expressly forbid it
(20:31):
in his holy religion, as alsothat the testimony of his
blessed messengers was that theweapons of the Christian warfare
were not carnal but spiritual.
Therefore, in reverence to God,the Father of lights and
spirits, the author as well asobject of all divine knowledge,
faith, and worship, I do herebydeclare for me and mine, and
(20:53):
establish it for the firstfundamental of the government of
my country, that every personthat does or shall reside
therein shall have and enjoy thefree possession of his or her
faith and exercise of worshiptowards God, in such way and
manner as every person shall inconscience believe is most
(21:14):
acceptable to God, and so longas every such person uses not
this Christian liberty tolicentiousness, that is to say,
to speak loosely and profanelyof God, Christ, or religion, or
to commit any evil in theircommon in their conversation
lifestyle, he or she shall beprotected in the enjoyment of
(21:36):
the aforesaid Christian libertyby the civil magistrate.
There's two things that arereally illustrated here in this
fundamental constitution ofPennsylvania from 1682.
One is what our foundersunderstood, that you you can't
use force like the AnglicanChurch and Roman Catholic Church
did for centuries throughoutEurope to try and force people
into your religion like theMuslim faith still does up until
(22:00):
this day, to try and torturepeople, threaten people, kill
people in order to join theirreligion.
Our founders understood that,but they also understood that if
you had people that profaned Godand Jesus Christ, right, which
was the only true religion, ifyou had people that attacked
that, you were going to loseyour society.
Your society was going to fallapart.
(22:21):
And that you had to haveChristians, people that were
willing to follow thoseprinciples of Christ in order
for that nation to survive.
All right, we're going to readone more short one.
The Great Law of Pennsylvaniafrom April 25th, 1682.
(22:43):
Whereas the glory of AlmightyGod and the good of mankind is
the reason and end ofgovernment, and therefore
government itself is a venerableordinance of God, there shall be
established laws as shall bestpreserve true Christian and
civil liberty in opposition toall unchristian, licentious, and
unjust practices, whereby Godmay have his due and Caesar his
(23:06):
due, and the people their duefrom tyranny and oppression.
What is the reason and end ofgovernment?
The glory of Almighty God andthe good of mankind.
You can't have good order anddiscipline.
(23:27):
You can't have good governmentif the goal isn't not just the
good of mankind, but the gloryof Almighty God.
If you want liberty, you have topreserve true Christianity.
Christianity and civil libertygo hand in hand together, and we
(23:49):
have forgotten that in America.
And we're paying the price forit.
You've forgotten it right now inthe UK, too.
You can see that if you look atthe attack, I think it was last
week on the Jewish synagogue andthe people that were killed
there.
Folks, you just you cannot haveliberty outside of the
principles of Jesus Christ.
(24:10):
If you are looking for afamily-friendly middle-grade
fantasy series, I would humblyrecommend Countryside.
There's two books in the seriesso far, working on a third one.
If you get a chance, check itout.
And if you enjoy it, if youwould leave a review somewhere,
I would greatly appreciate that.
(24:32):
On the podcast, there's awebsite page on Buzz Sprout,
which hosts the podcast whereyou can donate$3 a month,$5 a
month, whatever you can do wouldbe greatly appreciated.
Our Father, who art in heaven,hallowed be thy name, thy
(24:53):
kingdom come, thy will be doneon earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread, and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive thosewho trespass against us, and
lead us not to temptation, butdeliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and thepower and the glory forever and
ever.
unknown (25:09):
Amen.
SPEAKER_01 (25:11):
God bless y'all, God bless your families, God bless
America, God bless your nation,wherever you are around the
world listening.
We'll talk to y'all again realsoon, folks.
Looking forward to it.
Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another
episode of the American SoulPodcast.
Hope y'all are doing well,wherever y'all are, whatever
part of the day you're in, Isure do appreciate you joining
me, giving me a little bit ofyour time.
I know y'all have other thingsbuying for your attention.
So I appreciate that you'rehere.
I will try and use it wisely.
(00:22):
For those of y'all who continueto share the podcast with
others, tell others about it,and for those of y'all who
continue to pray for me and forthe podcast, thank you very,
very much.
Very grateful for your prayers.
Father, thank you for today.
Thank you for you, Father, andyour son Jesus Christ and your
Holy Spirit.
Thank you for your love and yourmercy, your grace and your
(00:44):
forgiveness of sins.
Through the merit of your sonJesus Christ alone.
Thank you for the time to recordthis podcast.
Thank you for the people thatlisten to it.
Please be with them whereverthey are across the nation, here
in America, and around theworld.
(01:05):
Be with their families.
Bless the marriages of those whoare married, guide those who
have children to raise them toknow you, Father, and your Son
Jesus Christ.
Surround us with your angels.
Protect us from evil of anykind.
Guide our thoughts and our wordsand our actions.
(01:26):
Help us to flee from evil, toflee from immorality of any
kind.
Help us to care for the widowand the orphan, the poor and the
needy.
To follow the commands of yourSon Jesus Christ, to love him.
To love you with our wholeheart, mind, soul, and strength.
SPEAKER_00 (01:47):
To love our neighbors as ourselves.
SPEAKER_01 (01:52):
Help us to get our priorities in the right order,
Father, to make time for youeach day.
To make time for our spouse eachday if we're married.
To make time to be still.
Be with those who are hurtingand alone.
Those who are brokenhearted,please draw close to them,
Father.
(02:13):
Be with our leaders, both in thepulpit and in the state, our
pastors and priests, president,vice president, prime ministers,
judges, senators,representatives, governors,
mayors.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
Be with our military and our law enforcement.
Firefighters, EMS, comfort them,bring them home safe to their
families.
Be with those who have beenvictims of shootings and
violence and killings.
(02:54):
Your son's family pray.
Have you made time for Godtoday?
Have you made time to read hisword?
Have you made time to pray?
To talk to him?
(03:14):
Listen to him.
SPEAKER_01 (03:15):
You know, there's nothing wrong with being bored,
folks.
I think we could use a littlebit more boredom in our lives
these days.
And if you're married, have youmade time for your spouse?
Do they know that they are yoursecond priority each day after
only God and Jesus Christ everyday?
And not just like in a rush,folks.
(03:38):
It's the same with spending timewith God and our spouse.
It shouldn't be something thatwe just do as a check on a box,
which I'm too often guilty of,folks, rushing through prayer,
rushing through reading theBible.
My wife asked me to do somethingrushing through getting done
with that, right?
It ought to be something that welook at as a privilege and a
(04:02):
pleasure.
And a lot of that, honestly,folks, has to do with us and not
God and Jesus Christ and theHoly Spirit and not our spouse.
It has to do with us and ourattitude that we choose.
Marriage verses from today comeout a song of Solomon two.
(04:24):
The Bride's admiration.
I am the rose of Sharon, thelily of the valleys.
Like a lily among the thorns, sois my darling among the maidens.
Like an apple tree among thetrees of the forest, so is my
beloved among the young men.
In his shade I took greatdelight and I sat down, and his
(04:45):
fruit was sweet to my taste.
He has brought me to his banquethall, and his banner over me is
love.
Sustain me with raisin cakes,refresh me with apples, because
I am lovesick.
Let his left hand be under myhead and his right hand embrace
me.
I adjure you, O daughters ofJerusalem, by the gazelles or by
(05:06):
the hinds of the field, that youdo not arouse or awaken my love
until she pleases.
Listen, my beloved, behold he iscoming.
Climbing on the mountains,leaping on the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle ora young stag.
Behold he is standing behind ourwall, he is looking through the
(05:26):
windows, he is peering throughthe lattice.
My beloved responded and said tome, Arise, my darling, my
beautiful one, and come along.
For behold, the winter is past,the rain is over and gone.
The flowers have alreadyappeared in the land.
The time has arrived for pruningthe vines, and the voice of the
(05:46):
turtle dove has been heard inour land.
The fig tree has ripened itsfigs, and the vines and blossom
have given forth theirfragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautifulone, and come along.
O my dove, in the clefts of therock, in the secret place of the
steep pathway.
Let me see your form, let mehear your voice, for your voice
(06:09):
is sweet, and your form islovely.
Catch the foxes for us, thelittle foxes that are running,
ruining the vineyards, while ourvineyards are in blossom.
My beloved is mine and I am his.
He pastures his flock among thelilies, until the cool of the
day when the shadows flee away.
Turn, my beloved, and be like agazelle or a young stag on the
(06:33):
mountains of Bethar.
Bible verses for today we'regoing to start with Hebrews six,
one through twenty.
So let us stop going over thebasic teachings about Christ
again and again.
Let us go on instead and becomemature in our understanding.
Surely we don't need to startagain with the fundamental
(06:54):
importance of repenting fromevil deeds and placing our faith
in God.
You don't need furtherinstruction about baptisms, the
laying on of hands, theresurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment.
And so, God willing, we willmove forward to further
understanding.
For it is impossible to bringback to repentance those who
(07:15):
were once enlightened, those whohave experienced the good things
of heaven and shared in the HolySpirit, who have tasted the
goodness of the Word of God andthe power of the age to come,
and who then turn away from God.
It is impossible to bring suchpeople back to repentance by
rejecting the Son of God theythemselves are nailing him to
the cross once again, andholding him up to public shame.
(07:40):
When the ground soaks up thefalling rain and bears a good
crop for the farmer, it hasGod's blessing.
But if a field bears thorns andthistles it is useless.
The farmer will soon condemnthat field and burn it.
Dear friends, even though we aretalking this way, we really
don't believe it applies to you.
(08:02):
We are confident that you aremeant for better things, things
that come with salvation, forGod is not unjust.
He will not forget how hard youhave worked for him and how you
have shown your love to him bycaring for other believers, as
you still do.
Our great desire is that youwill keep on loving others as
long as life lasts, in order tomake certain that what you hope
(08:25):
for will come true.
Then you will not becomespiritually dull and
indifferent.
Instead you will follow theexample of those who are going
to inherit God's promisesbecause of their faith and
endurance.
For example, there was God'spromise to Abraham.
Since there was no one greaterto swear by, God took an oath in
his own name, saying, I willcertainly bless you and I will
(08:47):
multiply your descendants beyondnumber.
Then Abraham waited patiently,and he received what God had
promised.
Now when people take an oath,they call on someone greater
than themselves to hold them toit, and without any question
that oath is binding.
God also bound himself with anoath, so that those who received
(09:07):
the promise could be perfectlysure that he would never change
his mind.
So God has given both hispromise and his oath.
These two things areunchangeable because it is
impossible for God to lie.
Therefore, we who have fled tohim for refuge and have great
confidence as we hold to thehope that lies before us.
(09:29):
This hope is a strong andtrustworthy anchor for our
souls.
It leads us through the curtaininto God's inner sanctuary.
Jesus has already gone in therefor us.
He has become our eternal highpriest in the order of
Melchizedek.
Psalm one hundred five versessixteen through thirty six.
(09:51):
He the Lord called for a famineon the land of Canaan, cutting
off its food supply.
Then he sent someone to Egyptahead of them, Joseph, who was
sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet withfetters, and placed his neck in
an iron collar.
Until the time came to fulfillhis dreams, the Lord tested
(10:12):
Joseph's character.
Then Pharaoh sent for him andset him free.
The ruler of the nation openedhis prison door.
Joseph was put in charge of allthe king's household.
He became ruler over all theking's possessions.
He could instruct the king'saides as he pleased and teach
the king's advisors.
(10:33):
Then Israel arrived in Egypt.
Jacob lived as a foreigner inthe land of Ham, and the Lord
multiplied the people of Israeluntil they became too mighty for
their enemies.
Then he turned the Egyptiansagainst the Israelites, and they
plotted against the Lord'sservant.
But the Lord sent his servantMoses along with Aaron whom he
had chosen.
(10:53):
They performed miraculous signsamong the Egyptians, and wonders
in the land of Ham.
The Lord blanketed Egypt indarkness, for they had defied
his commands to let his peoplego.
He turned their water intoblood, poisoning all the fish.
Then frogs overran the land, andeven invaded the king's
bedrooms.
(11:14):
When the Lord spoke fliesdescended on the Egyptians, and
gnats swarmed across Egypt.
He sent them hail instead ofrain, and lightning flashed over
the land.
He ruined their grapevines andfig trees and shattered all the
trees.
He spoke and hordes of locustscame, young locusts beyond
number.
They ate up everything green inthe land, destroying all the
(11:37):
crops in their fields.
Then he killed the oldest son ineach Egyptian home, the pride
and joy of each family.
Proverbs twenty seven, one andtwo.
A stranger, not your own lips.
(12:01):
If we have to tell people howgreat we are, folks, we're
probably not that great, right?
And uh we have no idea what'sgoing to happen tomorrow.
Not a single person out therecan tell you exactly what's
going to happen tomorrow.
I think sometimes we I need toremember that at least a little
bit.
Psalm 105, when you look atverse 17, 18, and 19 talking
(12:25):
about the suffering that Josephwent through.
I forget that often, thatthere's a lot of really great
leaders, important people in theBible that suffered a great deal
waiting on God.
And the point didn't really seemapparent until after the fact,
(12:50):
right?
And then there's quite a fewthings from Hebrews 6, but I
think the one I really want tofocus on is if you look through
verses 16 through 20, one of themost encouraging things to me is
God tells us in his word that ifwe confess Jesus Christ as Lord,
(13:11):
right?
So I'm telling you right nowthat I believe that Jesus Christ
is my Lord and Savior.
I confess him as Lord andSavior.
And he said, and if we believein our heart, right, and I have
doubts, I have fears, but Ichoose to believe that God
raised Jesus Christ, his son,from the dead.
If you ask me, I'm going to tellyou that.
It's a choice that I make.
(13:32):
And God tells me because ofthose two things, he promises
that I'm going to have eternallife.
And when you look at these,start right here with 17.
God also bound himself with anoath so that those who received
the promise could be perfectlysure that he would never change
his mind.
So God has given both hispromise and his oath.
(13:55):
These two things areunchangeable because it is
impossible for God to lie.
Therefore, we who have fled tohim for refuge can have great
confidence as we hold to thehope that lies before us.
This hope is a strong andtrustworthy anchor for our
souls.
It leads us through the curtaininto God's inner sanctuary.
(14:15):
And Jesus has already gone inthere for us, right?
Take some comfort in that,folks.
If you struggle with doubts andfears, sins, failures, right?
Know that God promises, and hecan't break that promise.
That's a great thing.
Because he's unchangeable.
So no matter how much we screwup, no matter how many doubts
(14:40):
and fears we have and failings,because of Jesus Christ alone,
and God's promises, we're gonnaget to spend eternity in heaven
with God and Jesus Christ oneday.
It's on him, folks.
It's not on us.
You don't have any pressure onyou.
(15:03):
God promised, and and he isunchanging, and he cannot lie.
And that's just I I hope thatthat's as encouraging to you as
it is to me.
A little bit of house cleaningbefore we get into the Medal of
Honor and the history quotes fortoday.
(15:24):
I was talking to an acquaintanceof mine, known this man for a
little while, and he was talkingabout the fact that uh his
father is getting divorced atalmost age 80.
And that was just shocking tome.
And he talked to me a little bitabout it, but um I don't know
(15:44):
what the gray divorce, right?
That's what they call, I think,divorce over 50, 55.
I don't know what that rate iscurrently.
I don't know if it's increasingor decreasing, but you can just
see the general dysfunction ofmarriage, right?
And and there was something elsethat caused me to look up a
Bible verse talking aboutcleaving.
And and I dug into it a littlebit.
(16:04):
I got to chasing one of thoserabbit holes, and it it talked
about the fact, I think it's theGreek word.
I'm not even going to try andpronounce it, but it it means
glue, like you're stuck togetherlike glue.
That's the only relationship inthe world, folks, where we stick
to somebody like glue.
(16:24):
And I think we we really need toask ourselves a lot more often,
especially in the church, are westicking to our spouse like
glue?
Are we clinging to them,cleaving to them throughout the
day?
And when we look at thedysfunction and the brokenness
and the fact that we havesomething like a couple that's
been married for decades gettingdivorced, even in the 80s,
(16:44):
because the marriage is sodysfunctional.
Are we gluing ourselves to ourspouse each day throughout the
day?
Is that our top priority?
Medal of Honor for today, JohnF.
Bickford, captain of the top.
(17:05):
I didn't know that was a rank.
Highest rank master's mate.
U.S.
Civil War, USS Cheersarge, U.S.
Navy, June 19, 1864, offCherbourg, France.
Served on board the USSCarrasage when she destroyed the
Alabama off Cherbourg, France,19 June, 1864, acting as the
(17:29):
first loader of the pivot gunduring this bitter engagement,
Vickford exhibited markedcoolness and good conduct and
was highly recommended for hisgallantry under fire by his
divisional officer.
Accredited to Boston, SuffolkCounty, Massachusetts, not
awarded posthumously born March12, 1843, Tremont, Hancock
County, Maine, died April 28,1927, Gloucester, Massachusetts,
(17:54):
buried Mount Pleasant Cemetery,Gloucester, Massachusetts,
United States.
John F.
Bickford in the Civil War inFrance.
That's kind of crazy.
But another name, folks, we needto remember much more than pop
(18:15):
singers and athletes who don'treally care too much about our
nation.
So our history quote today isPennsylvania.
We're going to go intoPennsylvania.
I think we're going to spendabout three days here.
I've got two quotes that I wantto get through today.
The first is make sure I'm yep.
(18:37):
The Charter of Pennsylvania in1681, given to William Penn by
King Charles II of England.
It was all the land betweenMaryland and New York.
And the following year theyadded Delaware from the Duke of
York.
Interesting little thing.
William Penn named it Sylvaniabecause that meant woodland.
(19:03):
But the king changed it toPennsylvania, right?
Obviously from William Penn.
I guess that means Penn'sWoodland.
The goal of the plantation inthe charter, and this is coming
out of America's God and CountryEncyclopedia of Quotations, you
can find it other places, I'msure.
American Patriots Bible, AmericaFounders Bible, Avalon Project
(19:26):
from Yale online.
There's a bunch of goodresources online.
But the the goal of theplantation to reduce the savage
natives by gentle and justmanners to the love of civil
society and Christian religion.
You remember again, folks, whenpeople tell you about Indigenous
Day and how utopic and peacefulthe indigenous people were.
(19:49):
You can just kind of shake yourhead and move along.
Fundamental Constitutions ofPennsylvania, 1682, written by
Penn.
Constitution Considering that itis impossible that any people or
government should ever prosper,where man render not unto God
that which is God's, as well asto Caesar that which is
(20:11):
Caesar's.
And also perceiving thatdisorders and mischiefs that
attend those places where forceis used in matters of faith and
worship, and seriouslyreflecting upon the tenure of
the new and spiritualgovernment, and that both Christ
did not use force, and that hedid express expressly forbid it
(20:31):
in his holy religion, as alsothat the testimony of his
blessed messengers was that theweapons of the Christian warfare
were not carnal but spiritual.
Therefore, in reverence to God,the Father of lights and
spirits, the author as well asobject of all divine knowledge,
faith, and worship, I do herebydeclare for me and mine, and
(20:53):
establish it for the firstfundamental of the government of
my country, that every personthat does or shall reside
therein shall have and enjoy thefree possession of his or her
faith and exercise of worshiptowards God, in such way and
manner as every person shall inconscience believe is most
(21:14):
acceptable to God, and so longas every such person uses not
this Christian liberty tolicentiousness, that is to say,
to speak loosely and profanelyof God, Christ, or religion, or
to commit any evil in theircommon in their conversation
lifestyle, he or she shall beprotected in the enjoyment of
(21:36):
the aforesaid Christian libertyby the civil magistrate.
There's two things that arereally illustrated here in this
fundamental constitution ofPennsylvania from 1682.
One is what our foundersunderstood, that you you can't
use force like the AnglicanChurch and Roman Catholic Church
did for centuries throughoutEurope to try and force people
into your religion like theMuslim faith still does up until
(22:00):
this day, to try and torturepeople, threaten people, kill
people in order to join theirreligion.
Our founders understood that,but they also understood that if
you had people that profaned Godand Jesus Christ, right, which
was the only true religion, ifyou had people that attacked
that, you were going to loseyour society.
Your society was going to fallapart.
(22:21):
And that you had to haveChristians, people that were
willing to follow thoseprinciples of Christ in order
for that nation to survive.
All right, we're going to readone more short one.
The Great Law of Pennsylvaniafrom April 25th, 1682.
(22:43):
Whereas the glory of AlmightyGod and the good of mankind is
the reason and end ofgovernment, and therefore
government itself is a venerableordinance of God, there shall be
established laws as shall bestpreserve true Christian and
civil liberty in opposition toall unchristian, licentious, and
unjust practices, whereby Godmay have his due and Caesar his
(23:06):
due, and the people their duefrom tyranny and oppression.
What is the reason and end ofgovernment?
The glory of Almighty God andthe good of mankind.
You can't have good order anddiscipline.
(23:27):
You can't have good governmentif the goal isn't not just the
good of mankind, but the gloryof Almighty God.
If you want liberty, you have topreserve true Christianity.
Christianity and civil libertygo hand in hand together, and we
(23:49):
have forgotten that in America.
And we're paying the price forit.
You've forgotten it right now inthe UK, too.
You can see that if you look atthe attack, I think it was last
week on the Jewish synagogue andthe people that were killed
there.
Folks, you just you cannot haveliberty outside of the
principles of Jesus Christ.
(24:10):
If you are looking for afamily-friendly middle-grade
fantasy series, I would humblyrecommend Countryside.
There's two books in the seriesso far, working on a third one.
If you get a chance, check itout.
And if you enjoy it, if youwould leave a review somewhere,
I would greatly appreciate that.
(24:32):
On the podcast, there's awebsite page on Buzz Sprout,
which hosts the podcast whereyou can donate$3 a month,$5 a
month, whatever you can do wouldbe greatly appreciated.
Our Father, who art in heaven,hallowed be thy name, thy
(24:53):
kingdom come, thy will be doneon earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread, and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive thosewho trespass against us, and
lead us not to temptation, butdeliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and thepower and the glory forever and
ever.
unknown (25:09):
Amen.
SPEAKER_01 (25:11):
God bless y'all, God bless your families, God bless
America, God bless your nation,wherever you are around the
world listening.
We'll talk to y'all again realsoon, folks.
Looking forward to it.
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