September 26, 2025 • 21 mins
Jesse Cope explores the importance of making God our top priority in times of uncertainty and discusses the challenges of authentic Christian discipleship in a changing world. The episode examines how to prepare our faith for difficult times while emphasizing scriptural wisdom on marriage, righteous living, and trusting God through persecution.
• Making time for God daily as storm clouds gather on the horizon
• Marriage wisdom from 1 Peter 3:1-7 on how husbands and wives should treat each other
• Scripture from 2 Timothy describing moral decline in the "last days"
• Following Christ genuinely will involve some form of suffering or persecution
• The extraordinary Medal of Honor story of Vito R. Bertoldo's 48-hour stand against enemy forces
• Reflections on Presidents Jefferson and Adams both dying on July 4th, 1826
• The importance of turning back to God as our only true hope as individuals and as a nation
If you're looking for a family-friendly middle-grade fantasy book series similar to Narnia or The Hobbit, please check out Countryside and consider leaving a review if you enjoy it.
The American Soul Podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
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.
Sure do appreciate y'all joiningme and giving me a little bit of
your time, a little piece ofyour day.
I will try to use it wisely.
(00:25):
For those of y'all who continueto share the podcast with others
and tell others about it, thankyou.
Very grateful for that.
For those of y'all who continueto pray for me and for the
podcast, thank you.
Definitely need those 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
(00:46):
forgiveness of sins.
Thank you for all your manyblessings, Father, the ones we
admit and the ones we don't, forwhatever reason.
Thank you for those listening tothe podcast.
Be with them and their familieswherever they are around the
world.
Bless them.
(01:07):
Guide them.
Protect us from evil, Father.
Help us to do your will.
Help us to follow the commandsof your Son Jesus Christ.
To love you with our wholeheart, mind, soul, and strength,
and to love our neighbors asourselves.
Be with those around the world,across our nation here in
(01:29):
America who are hungry.
Thirsty.
Cold.
Naked.
In prison.
Sick.
Heartbroken.
Help us to clothe those who arenaked.
To feed those who are hungry.
(01:50):
To give water to those who arethirsty.
To visit those who are sick andin prison.
To care for the widow and theorphaned.
Or the needy father.
Help us to look for those in ourown communities in our own
backyards who need our attentionand care.
(02:15):
Our own families, churches,schools, communities.
Be with the least of these,Father.
Be with the children who areabused, taken advantage of.
(02:39):
Help us to care for them,protect them.
Show them you, Father, and yourson Jesus Christ.
And God, my word here, Father,please.
Your Son's name we pray.
Amen.
Have you made time for Godtoday?
Have you made time to read HisWord?
(02:59):
Have you made time to pray?
Have you made time to talk toHim in this crazy world, folks?
All the things that we see, thestorm clouds that seem to be
brewing on the horizon.
Are you making God your toppriority each day throughout the
day?
(03:20):
Are we praying continuously?
Are we seeking to do His will?
Are we seeking to trust Him?
Maybe, especially right now,when maybe times aren't so bad
for us.
So that when times are bad, wealready have that faith and that
(03:41):
trust in God regardless of theoutcome.
Because we know that since weput our faith in Jesus Christ as
our Lord and Savior, as therisen Son of God, that we've
already started eternity.
And no matter what happens inthis temporal body, we're going
to get to spend all of eternitywith God and Jesus Christ.
(04:07):
And if you're married, folks,how many days do you have left
with your spouse?
Do you know?
I know the answer to thatquestion already.
You don't know.
You don't know whether you'regoing to have them tonight
tonight, through tomorrow night,through next week, through next
year.
You have no idea.
There's not a single one of youlistening to this podcast,
(04:29):
there's not a person in theworld that's married that knows
how long they're going to havetheir spouse.
Especially if you add in thecompletely dysfunctional, no
fault divorce that we see now.
Are you treating them each daythe way God tells us to treat
(04:53):
our spouse as a husband or awife?
Marriage verses for today arefrom one Peter chapter three,
verses one through seven.
Wives in the same way submityourselves to your own husbands,
so that if any of them do notbelieve the word, they may be
won over without words by thebehavior of their wives, when
(05:14):
they see the purity andreverence of your lives.
Your beauty should not come fromoutward adornment, such as
elaborate hairstyles and thewearing of gold, jewelry, or
fine clothes.
Rather it should be that of yourinner self, the unfading beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit,which is of great work in God's
sight.
(05:35):
For this is the way the holywomen of the past who put their
hope in God used to adornthemselves.
They submitted themselves totheir own husbands, like Sarah
who obeyed Abraham and calledhim her Lord.
You are her daughters if you dowhat is right and do not give
way to fear.
Husbands, in the same way, beconsiderate as you live with
(05:57):
your wives, and treat them withrespect as the weaker partner,
and as heirs with you of thegenerous gift of life, so that
nothing will hinder yourprayers.
Bible verses for today SecondTimothy two twenty two through
three hundred seventeen.
(06:17):
Run from anything thatstimulates youthful lusts.
Instead pursue righteous living,faithfulness, love, and peace.
Enjoy the companionship of thosewho call on the Lord with pure
hearts.
Again I say don't get involvedin foolish, ignorant arguments
that only start fights.
A servant of the Lord must notquarrel, but must be kind to
(06:40):
everyone, be able to teach, andbe patient with difficult
people.
Gently instruct those who opposethe truth.
Perhaps God will change thosepeople's hearts and they will
learn the truth.
Then they will come to theirsenses and escape from the
devil's trap, for they have beenheld captive by him to do
whatever he wants.
(07:02):
You should know this, Timothy,that in the last days there will
be very difficult times, forpeople will love only themselves
and their money.
They will be boastful and proud,scoffing at God, disobedient to
their parents and ungrateful.
They will consider nothingsacred.
They will be unloving andunforgiving, they will slander
(07:23):
others and have no self control.
They will be cruel and hate whatis good.
They will betray their friends,be reckless, be puffed up with
pride, and love pleasure ratherthan God.
They will act religious, butthey will reject the power that
could make them godly.
Stay away from people like that.
(07:44):
They are the kind who work theirway into people's homes and win
the confidence of vulnerablewomen who are burdened with the
guilt of sin and controlled byvarious desires.
Such women are forever followingnew teachings, but they are
never able to understand thetruth.
These teachers oppose the truthjust as Janus and Jambus opposed
(08:06):
Moses.
They have depraved minds and acounterfeit faith.
But they won't get away withthis for long.
Some day everyone will recognizewhat fools they are, just as
with Janice and Jambus.
But you, Timothy, certainly knowwhat I teach and how I live, and
what my purpose in life is.
(08:27):
You know my faith, my patience,my love, and my endurance.
You know how much persecutionand suffering I have endured.
You know all about how I waspersecuted in Antioch, Iconium,
and Lystra.
But the Lord rescued me from allof it.
Yes, and everyone who wants tolive a godly life in Christ
Jesus will suffer persecution.
(08:50):
But evil people and impostorswill flourish.
They will deceive others, andwill themselves be deceived.
But you must remain faithful tothe things you have been taught.
You know they are true, for youknow you can trust those who
taught you.
You have been taught the holyscriptures from childhood, and
they have given you the wisdomto receive the salvation that
(09:12):
comes by trusting in ChristJesus.
All scripture is inspired by Godand is useful to teach us what
is true and to make us realizewhat is wrong in our lives.
It corrects us when we are wrongand teaches us to do what is
right.
God uses it to prepare and equiphis people to do every good
(09:34):
work.
Psalm ninety four verses onethrough twenty three.
O Lord, the God of vengeance, OGod of vengeance, let your
glorious justice shine forth.
Arise, O judge of the earth,give the proud what they
deserve.
How long, O Lord, how long willthe wicked be allowed to gloat?
(09:58):
How long will they speak witharrogance?
How long will these evil peopleboast?
They crush your people, Lord,hurting those you claim as your
own.
They kill widows and foreignersand mortar murder orphans.
The Lord isn't looking, theysay, and besides, the God of
Israel doesn't care?
(10:19):
Think again, you fools.
When will you finally catch on?
Is he deaf, the one who madeyour ears?
Is he blind, the one who formedyour eyes?
He punishes the nations.
Won't he also punish you?
He knows everything.
Doesn't he also know what youwere doing?
The Lord knows people'sthoughts.
(10:41):
He knows they are worthless.
Joyful are those you discipline,Lord, those who teach you teach
with your instructions.
You give them relief fromtroubled times until a pit is
dug to capture the wicked.
The Lord will not reject hispeople, he will not abandon his
(11:01):
special possession.
Judgment will again be found onjustice founded on justice, and
those with virtuous hearts willpursue it.
Who will protect me from thewicked?
Who will stand up for me againstevildoers?
Unless the Lord had helped me, Iwould soon have settled in the
silence of the grave.
I cried out, I am slipping, butyour unfailing love, O Lord,
(11:25):
supported me.
When doubts filled my mind, yourcomfort gave me renewed hope and
cheer.
Can unjust leaders claim thatGod is on their side?
Leaders whose decrees permitinjustice.
They gang up against therighteous and condemn the
innocent to death.
But the Lord is my fortress, myGod is the mighty rock where I
(11:49):
hide.
God will turn their sin, thesins of evil people back on
them.
He will destroy them for theirsins.
The Lord our God will destroythem.
Proverbs twenty six verses sixthrough eight.
Trusting a fool to convey amessage is like cutting off
one's feet or drinking poison.
(12:10):
A proverb in the mouth of thefool is useless as a paralyzed
leg.
Honoring a fool is as foolish astying a stone to a slingshot.
three verse one from SecondTimothy.
You know this, Timothy, that inthe last days there will be very
difficult times, for people willlove only themselves and their
(12:31):
money.
They will be boastful and proud,scoffing at God, disobedient to
their parents and ungrateful.
They will consider nothingsacred.
They will be unloving andunforgiving.
They will slander others andhave no self-control.
They will be cruel and hate whatis good.
(12:55):
Verses twelve and thirteen Yes,and everyone who wants to live a
godly life in Christ Jesus willsuffer persecution.
But evil people and impostorswill flourish.
They will deceive others andwill themselves be deceived.
If we're following Christ andthere's not something in our
life that is painful, folks, youhave to question whether, you
(13:17):
know, we have to questionwhether we're really following
Christ or not.
Because there is going to besome kind of suffering.
And it can take a lot ofdifferent ways, folks.
It can be missed promotions, itcan be lost love, it can be
loneliness, it can be actualtorture and imprisonment.
There's a lot of different wayswhere you can suffer for
(13:39):
following Jesus Christ.
But there ought to be somethingin your life that is a struggle
because you're choosing tofollow Christ.
And then the 13th verse there,deceive others and themselves be
deceived.
It's just another reason whyit's so important for us to read
the Bible each day, folks.
(14:02):
Medal of Honor for today, VitoR.
Bertoldo, Master Sergeant, WorldWar II, Alpha Company, 242nd
Infantry, 42nd InfantryDivision, U.S.
Army.
January 9th to the 10th of 1945,Hatton, France.
He fought with extreme gallantrywhile guarding two command posts
(14:24):
against the assault of powerfulinfantry and armored forces
which had overrun thebattalion's main line of
resistance.
On the close approach of enemysoldiers, he left the protection
of the building.
He defended and set up his gunin the street there to remain
for almost twelve hours drivingback attacks while in full view
of his adversaries.
And completely exposed toeighty-eight millimeter machine
(14:45):
gun at small arms fire.
He moved back inside the commandpost, strapped his machine gun
to a table, and covered the mainapproach to the building by
firing through a window,remaining steadfast even in the
face of eighty eight millimeterfire from tanks only seventy
five yards away.
One shell blasted him across theroom, but he returned to his
weapon.
(15:06):
When two enemy personnelcarriers led by a tank moved
toward his position, he calmlywaited for the troops to
dismount, and then, with thetank firing directly at him,
leaned out of the window andmowed down the entire group of
more than twenty Germans.
Sometime later, removal of thecommand post to another building
was ordered.
Master Sergeant Bertoldovoluntarily remained behind,
(15:27):
covering withdrawal of hiscomrades and maintaining his
stand all night.
In the morning he carried hismachine gun to an adjacent
building used as the commandpost of another battalion and
began a day long defense of thatposition.
He broke up a heavy attacklaunched by a self propelled
eighty eight millimeter guncovered by a tank and about
fifteen infantrymen.
(15:48):
Soon afterward, another eightyeight millimeter weapon moved up
to within a few feet of hisposition, and placing the muzzle
of its gun almost inside thebuilding fired into the room,
knocking him down and seriouslywounding others.
An American bazooka team set theGerman weapon afire, and Master
Sergeant Bertoldo went back tohis machine gun, dazed as he
(16:09):
was, and killed several of thehostile troops as they attempted
to withdraw.
It was decided to evacuate thecommand post under the cover of
darkness, but before the plancould be put into operation, the
enemy began an intensive assaultsupported by fire from their
tanks and heavy guns.
Disregarding the devastatingbarrage, he remained at his post
and hurled white phosphorusgrenades into the advancing
(16:31):
enemy troops until they brokeand retreated.
A tank less than fifty yardsaway fired at his stronghold,
destroyed the machine gun, andblew him across the room again.
But he once more returned to thebitter fight and with a rifle
single-handedly covered thewithdrawal of his fellow
soldiers when the post wasfinally abandoned.
With inspiring bravery andintrepidity, Master Sergeant
(16:53):
Bertoldo withstood the attack ofvastly superior forces for more
than forty eight hours withoutrelief or rest, time after time
escaping death only by theslightest margin while killing
at least forty hostile soldiersand wounding many more during
his grim battle against theenemy hordes.
Accredited to Decatur, MaconCounty, Illinois, not awarded
(17:16):
posthumously.
That's shocking.
December eighteenth, nineteenforty five, presented at the
White House by President HarryS.
Truman.
Born december first, nineteensixteen, Decatur, Macone,
Illinois, died july twentythird, nineteen sixty six,
Martinez, California, buriedGolden Gate National Cemetery,
(17:37):
San Bruno, California.
Fifty years old.
Makes you wonder how he died.
Seems young.
Vito R Bertoldo Bertol Bertoldo.
Another name, folks, that weought to remember more than pop
(18:02):
stars or athletes, especiallythose who stand against our
nation or their song lyrics forthat matter.
Quote today is from PresidentJohn Quincy Adams on the death
of President Thomas Jefferson.
The president with deep regretsannounces that it has pleased
(18:24):
the disposer of all human eventsin whose hands are the issues of
life to remove from the scene ofearthly existence our
illustrious and venerated fellowcitizen Thomas Jefferson.
This disposition of divineprovidence afflicting to us, but
the consummation of glory to himoccurred on the fourth of the
(18:44):
present month, on the fiftiethanniversary of that
independence, the declaration ofwhich, emanating from his mind,
at once proclaimed the birth ofa free nation and offered
motives of hope and consolationto the whole family of men.
His father, President JohnAdams, died that same day.
(19:08):
And this was his quote there,President John Clincy Adams.
It has become the painful dutyto announce to the army the
death of another distinguishedand venerated citizen.
John Adams departed this life onthe fourth of this month.
Like his compatriot Jefferson,he aided in drawing and ably
supporting the Declaration ofIndependence.
(19:29):
With a prophetic eye he lookedthrough the impeding
difficulties of the revolution,and foretold with what
demonstrations of joy theanniversary of the birth of
American freedom would be held.
He was permitted to behold theverification of his prophecy and
died as did Jefferson on the dayof the Jubilee.
(19:50):
A coincidence of circumstancesso wonderful gives confidence to
the belief that the patrioticefforts of these illustrious men
were heaven directed, andfurnishes a new seal to the hope
that the prosperity of thesesaints is under the special
protection of a kind providence.
(20:13):
Those are some of the things,folks, that make it very hard
for me to look at the history ofour nation and not see God's
hand and also not strengthen myown personal faith.
How in the world do Jeffersonand Adams both die on the same
day on the fourth of July, onthe fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence?
(20:38):
And the quotes just seemedrelevant to recent events.
Do we trust God even when welose those we love, even in hard
times?
Folks, I can't I cannot say thisenough.
The only hope we have as anation and as individuals is
(21:00):
turning back to God and JesusChrist.
If you're looking for a middlegrade, uh fantasy,
family-friendly book series,kind of like Narnia The Hobbit,
if you would check outCountryside, I would appreciate
it.
And if you enjoy it, if you'dleave a review, I'd appreciate
that as well.
(21:20):
God bless y'all.
God bless your families.
God bless your marriages.
God bless America.
God bless your nation, whereveryou are around the world.
Listen, folks, we'll talk toy'all again real soon.
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.
Sure do appreciate y'all joiningme and giving me a little bit of
your time, a little piece ofyour day.
I will try to use it wisely.
(00:25):
For those of y'all who continueto share the podcast with others
and tell others about it, thankyou.
Very grateful for that.
For those of y'all who continueto pray for me and for the
podcast, thank you.
Definitely need those 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
(00:46):
forgiveness of sins.
Thank you for all your manyblessings, Father, the ones we
admit and the ones we don't, forwhatever reason.
Thank you for those listening tothe podcast.
Be with them and their familieswherever they are around the
world.
Bless them.
(01:07):
Guide them.
Protect us from evil, Father.
Help us to do your will.
Help us to follow the commandsof your Son Jesus Christ.
To love you with our wholeheart, mind, soul, and strength,
and to love our neighbors asourselves.
Be with those around the world,across our nation here in
(01:29):
America who are hungry.
Thirsty.
Cold.
Naked.
In prison.
Sick.
Heartbroken.
Help us to clothe those who arenaked.
To feed those who are hungry.
(01:50):
To give water to those who arethirsty.
To visit those who are sick andin prison.
To care for the widow and theorphaned.
Or the needy father.
Help us to look for those in ourown communities in our own
backyards who need our attentionand care.
(02:15):
Our own families, churches,schools, communities.
Be with the least of these,Father.
Be with the children who areabused, taken advantage of.
(02:39):
Help us to care for them,protect them.
Show them you, Father, and yourson Jesus Christ.
And God, my word here, Father,please.
Your Son's name we pray.
Amen.
Have you made time for Godtoday?
Have you made time to read HisWord?
(02:59):
Have you made time to pray?
Have you made time to talk toHim in this crazy world, folks?
All the things that we see, thestorm clouds that seem to be
brewing on the horizon.
Are you making God your toppriority each day throughout the
day?
(03:20):
Are we praying continuously?
Are we seeking to do His will?
Are we seeking to trust Him?
Maybe, especially right now,when maybe times aren't so bad
for us.
So that when times are bad, wealready have that faith and that
(03:41):
trust in God regardless of theoutcome.
Because we know that since weput our faith in Jesus Christ as
our Lord and Savior, as therisen Son of God, that we've
already started eternity.
And no matter what happens inthis temporal body, we're going
to get to spend all of eternitywith God and Jesus Christ.
(04:07):
And if you're married, folks,how many days do you have left
with your spouse?
Do you know?
I know the answer to thatquestion already.
You don't know.
You don't know whether you'regoing to have them tonight
tonight, through tomorrow night,through next week, through next
year.
You have no idea.
There's not a single one of youlistening to this podcast,
(04:29):
there's not a person in theworld that's married that knows
how long they're going to havetheir spouse.
Especially if you add in thecompletely dysfunctional, no
fault divorce that we see now.
Are you treating them each daythe way God tells us to treat
(04:53):
our spouse as a husband or awife?
Marriage verses for today arefrom one Peter chapter three,
verses one through seven.
Wives in the same way submityourselves to your own husbands,
so that if any of them do notbelieve the word, they may be
won over without words by thebehavior of their wives, when
(05:14):
they see the purity andreverence of your lives.
Your beauty should not come fromoutward adornment, such as
elaborate hairstyles and thewearing of gold, jewelry, or
fine clothes.
Rather it should be that of yourinner self, the unfading beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit,which is of great work in God's
sight.
(05:35):
For this is the way the holywomen of the past who put their
hope in God used to adornthemselves.
They submitted themselves totheir own husbands, like Sarah
who obeyed Abraham and calledhim her Lord.
You are her daughters if you dowhat is right and do not give
way to fear.
Husbands, in the same way, beconsiderate as you live with
(05:57):
your wives, and treat them withrespect as the weaker partner,
and as heirs with you of thegenerous gift of life, so that
nothing will hinder yourprayers.
Bible verses for today SecondTimothy two twenty two through
three hundred seventeen.
(06:17):
Run from anything thatstimulates youthful lusts.
Instead pursue righteous living,faithfulness, love, and peace.
Enjoy the companionship of thosewho call on the Lord with pure
hearts.
Again I say don't get involvedin foolish, ignorant arguments
that only start fights.
A servant of the Lord must notquarrel, but must be kind to
(06:40):
everyone, be able to teach, andbe patient with difficult
people.
Gently instruct those who opposethe truth.
Perhaps God will change thosepeople's hearts and they will
learn the truth.
Then they will come to theirsenses and escape from the
devil's trap, for they have beenheld captive by him to do
whatever he wants.
(07:02):
You should know this, Timothy,that in the last days there will
be very difficult times, forpeople will love only themselves
and their money.
They will be boastful and proud,scoffing at God, disobedient to
their parents and ungrateful.
They will consider nothingsacred.
They will be unloving andunforgiving, they will slander
(07:23):
others and have no self control.
They will be cruel and hate whatis good.
They will betray their friends,be reckless, be puffed up with
pride, and love pleasure ratherthan God.
They will act religious, butthey will reject the power that
could make them godly.
Stay away from people like that.
(07:44):
They are the kind who work theirway into people's homes and win
the confidence of vulnerablewomen who are burdened with the
guilt of sin and controlled byvarious desires.
Such women are forever followingnew teachings, but they are
never able to understand thetruth.
These teachers oppose the truthjust as Janus and Jambus opposed
(08:06):
Moses.
They have depraved minds and acounterfeit faith.
But they won't get away withthis for long.
Some day everyone will recognizewhat fools they are, just as
with Janice and Jambus.
But you, Timothy, certainly knowwhat I teach and how I live, and
what my purpose in life is.
(08:27):
You know my faith, my patience,my love, and my endurance.
You know how much persecutionand suffering I have endured.
You know all about how I waspersecuted in Antioch, Iconium,
and Lystra.
But the Lord rescued me from allof it.
Yes, and everyone who wants tolive a godly life in Christ
Jesus will suffer persecution.
(08:50):
But evil people and impostorswill flourish.
They will deceive others, andwill themselves be deceived.
But you must remain faithful tothe things you have been taught.
You know they are true, for youknow you can trust those who
taught you.
You have been taught the holyscriptures from childhood, and
they have given you the wisdomto receive the salvation that
(09:12):
comes by trusting in ChristJesus.
All scripture is inspired by Godand is useful to teach us what
is true and to make us realizewhat is wrong in our lives.
It corrects us when we are wrongand teaches us to do what is
right.
God uses it to prepare and equiphis people to do every good
(09:34):
work.
Psalm ninety four verses onethrough twenty three.
O Lord, the God of vengeance, OGod of vengeance, let your
glorious justice shine forth.
Arise, O judge of the earth,give the proud what they
deserve.
How long, O Lord, how long willthe wicked be allowed to gloat?
(09:58):
How long will they speak witharrogance?
How long will these evil peopleboast?
They crush your people, Lord,hurting those you claim as your
own.
They kill widows and foreignersand mortar murder orphans.
The Lord isn't looking, theysay, and besides, the God of
Israel doesn't care?
(10:19):
Think again, you fools.
When will you finally catch on?
Is he deaf, the one who madeyour ears?
Is he blind, the one who formedyour eyes?
He punishes the nations.
Won't he also punish you?
He knows everything.
Doesn't he also know what youwere doing?
The Lord knows people'sthoughts.
(10:41):
He knows they are worthless.
Joyful are those you discipline,Lord, those who teach you teach
with your instructions.
You give them relief fromtroubled times until a pit is
dug to capture the wicked.
The Lord will not reject hispeople, he will not abandon his
(11:01):
special possession.
Judgment will again be found onjustice founded on justice, and
those with virtuous hearts willpursue it.
Who will protect me from thewicked?
Who will stand up for me againstevildoers?
Unless the Lord had helped me, Iwould soon have settled in the
silence of the grave.
I cried out, I am slipping, butyour unfailing love, O Lord,
(11:25):
supported me.
When doubts filled my mind, yourcomfort gave me renewed hope and
cheer.
Can unjust leaders claim thatGod is on their side?
Leaders whose decrees permitinjustice.
They gang up against therighteous and condemn the
innocent to death.
But the Lord is my fortress, myGod is the mighty rock where I
(11:49):
hide.
God will turn their sin, thesins of evil people back on
them.
He will destroy them for theirsins.
The Lord our God will destroythem.
Proverbs twenty six verses sixthrough eight.
Trusting a fool to convey amessage is like cutting off
one's feet or drinking poison.
(12:10):
A proverb in the mouth of thefool is useless as a paralyzed
leg.
Honoring a fool is as foolish astying a stone to a slingshot.
three verse one from SecondTimothy.
You know this, Timothy, that inthe last days there will be very
difficult times, for people willlove only themselves and their
(12:31):
money.
They will be boastful and proud,scoffing at God, disobedient to
their parents and ungrateful.
They will consider nothingsacred.
They will be unloving andunforgiving.
They will slander others andhave no self-control.
They will be cruel and hate whatis good.
(12:55):
Verses twelve and thirteen Yes,and everyone who wants to live a
godly life in Christ Jesus willsuffer persecution.
But evil people and impostorswill flourish.
They will deceive others andwill themselves be deceived.
If we're following Christ andthere's not something in our
life that is painful, folks, youhave to question whether, you
(13:17):
know, we have to questionwhether we're really following
Christ or not.
Because there is going to besome kind of suffering.
And it can take a lot ofdifferent ways, folks.
It can be missed promotions, itcan be lost love, it can be
loneliness, it can be actualtorture and imprisonment.
There's a lot of different wayswhere you can suffer for
(13:39):
following Jesus Christ.
But there ought to be somethingin your life that is a struggle
because you're choosing tofollow Christ.
And then the 13th verse there,deceive others and themselves be
deceived.
It's just another reason whyit's so important for us to read
the Bible each day, folks.
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Medal of Honor for today, VitoR.
Bertoldo, Master Sergeant, WorldWar II, Alpha Company, 242nd
Infantry, 42nd InfantryDivision, U.S.
Army.
January 9th to the 10th of 1945,Hatton, France.
He fought with extreme gallantrywhile guarding two command posts
(14:24):
against the assault of powerfulinfantry and armored forces
which had overrun thebattalion's main line of
resistance.
On the close approach of enemysoldiers, he left the protection
of the building.
He defended and set up his gunin the street there to remain
for almost twelve hours drivingback attacks while in full view
of his adversaries.
And completely exposed toeighty-eight millimeter machine
(14:45):
gun at small arms fire.
He moved back inside the commandpost, strapped his machine gun
to a table, and covered the mainapproach to the building by
firing through a window,remaining steadfast even in the
face of eighty eight millimeterfire from tanks only seventy
five yards away.
One shell blasted him across theroom, but he returned to his
weapon.
(15:06):
When two enemy personnelcarriers led by a tank moved
toward his position, he calmlywaited for the troops to
dismount, and then, with thetank firing directly at him,
leaned out of the window andmowed down the entire group of
more than twenty Germans.
Sometime later, removal of thecommand post to another building
was ordered.
Master Sergeant Bertoldovoluntarily remained behind,
(15:27):
covering withdrawal of hiscomrades and maintaining his
stand all night.
In the morning he carried hismachine gun to an adjacent
building used as the commandpost of another battalion and
began a day long defense of thatposition.
He broke up a heavy attacklaunched by a self propelled
eighty eight millimeter guncovered by a tank and about
fifteen infantrymen.
(15:48):
Soon afterward, another eightyeight millimeter weapon moved up
to within a few feet of hisposition, and placing the muzzle
of its gun almost inside thebuilding fired into the room,
knocking him down and seriouslywounding others.
An American bazooka team set theGerman weapon afire, and Master
Sergeant Bertoldo went back tohis machine gun, dazed as he
(16:09):
was, and killed several of thehostile troops as they attempted
to withdraw.
It was decided to evacuate thecommand post under the cover of
darkness, but before the plancould be put into operation, the
enemy began an intensive assaultsupported by fire from their
tanks and heavy guns.
Disregarding the devastatingbarrage, he remained at his post
and hurled white phosphorusgrenades into the advancing
(16:31):
enemy troops until they brokeand retreated.
A tank less than fifty yardsaway fired at his stronghold,
destroyed the machine gun, andblew him across the room again.
But he once more returned to thebitter fight and with a rifle
single-handedly covered thewithdrawal of his fellow
soldiers when the post wasfinally abandoned.
With inspiring bravery andintrepidity, Master Sergeant
(16:53):
Bertoldo withstood the attack ofvastly superior forces for more
than forty eight hours withoutrelief or rest, time after time
escaping death only by theslightest margin while killing
at least forty hostile soldiersand wounding many more during
his grim battle against theenemy hordes.
Accredited to Decatur, MaconCounty, Illinois, not awarded
(17:16):
posthumously.
That's shocking.
December eighteenth, nineteenforty five, presented at the
White House by President HarryS.
Truman.
Born december first, nineteensixteen, Decatur, Macone,
Illinois, died july twentythird, nineteen sixty six,
Martinez, California, buriedGolden Gate National Cemetery,
(17:37):
San Bruno, California.
Fifty years old.
Makes you wonder how he died.
Seems young.
Vito R Bertoldo Bertol Bertoldo.
Another name, folks, that weought to remember more than pop
(18:02):
stars or athletes, especiallythose who stand against our
nation or their song lyrics forthat matter.
Quote today is from PresidentJohn Quincy Adams on the death
of President Thomas Jefferson.
The president with deep regretsannounces that it has pleased
(18:24):
the disposer of all human eventsin whose hands are the issues of
life to remove from the scene ofearthly existence our
illustrious and venerated fellowcitizen Thomas Jefferson.
This disposition of divineprovidence afflicting to us, but
the consummation of glory to himoccurred on the fourth of the
(18:44):
present month, on the fiftiethanniversary of that
independence, the declaration ofwhich, emanating from his mind,
at once proclaimed the birth ofa free nation and offered
motives of hope and consolationto the whole family of men.
His father, President JohnAdams, died that same day.
(19:08):
And this was his quote there,President John Clincy Adams.
It has become the painful dutyto announce to the army the
death of another distinguishedand venerated citizen.
John Adams departed this life onthe fourth of this month.
Like his compatriot Jefferson,he aided in drawing and ably
supporting the Declaration ofIndependence.
(19:29):
With a prophetic eye he lookedthrough the impeding
difficulties of the revolution,and foretold with what
demonstrations of joy theanniversary of the birth of
American freedom would be held.
He was permitted to behold theverification of his prophecy and
died as did Jefferson on the dayof the Jubilee.
(19:50):
A coincidence of circumstancesso wonderful gives confidence to
the belief that the patrioticefforts of these illustrious men
were heaven directed, andfurnishes a new seal to the hope
that the prosperity of thesesaints is under the special
protection of a kind providence.
(20:13):
Those are some of the things,folks, that make it very hard
for me to look at the history ofour nation and not see God's
hand and also not strengthen myown personal faith.
How in the world do Jeffersonand Adams both die on the same
day on the fourth of July, onthe fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence?
(20:38):
And the quotes just seemedrelevant to recent events.
Do we trust God even when welose those we love, even in hard
times?
Folks, I can't I cannot say thisenough.
The only hope we have as anation and as individuals is
(21:00):
turning back to God and JesusChrist.
If you're looking for a middlegrade, uh fantasy,
family-friendly book series,kind of like Narnia The Hobbit,
if you would check outCountryside, I would appreciate
it.
And if you enjoy it, if you'dleave a review, I'd appreciate
that as well.
(21:20):
God bless y'all.
God bless your families.
God bless your marriages.
God bless America.
God bless your nation, whereveryou are around the world.
Listen, folks, we'll talk toy'all again real soon.
Looking forward to it.
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