Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 320 | Jep Robertson's Early Marriage Struggles and an Adoption Stat That Will Make Your Jaw Drop

Episode Date: August 1, 2021

Jep, Jase, and Zach tell Phil why adoption is one of the greatest manifestations of the Gospel in their lives and how it's strengthened their relationships with God. Phil explains why it's the responsibility of God’s people to care for others and why the government can’t handle it. Phil and Zach discuss why the Gospel is a paradox. Jep shares some eye-opening stats about adoption and talks about his first year of marriage to Jessica. And Jase talks about how love must be sincere, or it isn't true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So we're, I'm still in North Carolina. Was that? Still here. Still here. We have added Jepicoa. Jepico was a surprise guest today. Yo, what's up? What are you doing back home? I just came visiting and I've been in the woods with Phil. Sounds like a TV show. It's a big show. Everything over there is trying to kill you.

I got stung by a bee. I killed a giant Congo. Really? It's a jungle. I forgot how bad. It's like predator over there. You get used to it after about 50 years. Yeah.

So you're the Jesse Ventura in there. I've noticed Phil has a tendency. Whenever anybody knew comes on scene, he now has someone to send in first. Well, I look for young bucks who are well built and disciplined, have plenty of muscle, and you don't want them too smart. They go to pontificating on you. All you want is manual labor. So get the drag, get out down the beaver dam and start quacking.

So we cut beaver dams. They put them back overnight. You said, why don't you kill them all? we don't have the time or the wherewithal to sit down there all night every night waiting on a beaver to swim by i mean it's just we trap some but the bottom line is we're draining water and we're trying to reach the level where there's a mud flat what was water about waist deep we're trying to get that out make a mud flat we flew rice in in an airplane like a crop duster type you know Well, they also plant rice.

So they planted the rice in about four inches of water. Then they came to me and said, make sure you get the four inches of water off the piece of real estate because the rice is going to germinate with the water on it, but you have to get it off of it when it begins to germinate. The rice will come up through the silt, and you'll have your rice crop there. So they flew it in and that said,

okay, get the water off of it after five days. So we went down there and we've been fighting the beavers ever since. And it's quite the, we've got it down to about 25% of the mud flat. It's probably, think about 100 yards wide and about a quarter mile long. So it's down to muck now. So you have to have the equipment to get in there. and it's a challenge these young books you get about 35 40 minutes out of them and they want to go home Jeff how does it feel to be well built Phil said you were so all this stuff he said I'm none of those

and actually I think I'm pretty smart so I'm the exact opposite person of what you're talking about old Jeff got stung he said I thought this was a horsefly but there's a horsefly leave a mark like that and I could see where the stinger had penetrated his left arm. And I said, honey, he said, honey, honey, what are you talking about? I said, put a drop of two of honey on it when we got back. I said, put a drop of two of honey on it. Does that work? It actually does.

It worked. There is right that. You just stung by a bee and the remedy is honey? Yep. Bees sting people and the almighty allowed bees to make honey that you put on your body when you get stung by the bees. I don't know if I believe that or not. That sounds like an old wife's tip. No, that's Jeff.

Did it help? It helped. And then Bobo licked it off. And then I was back to where I started. You got to keep the dogs from licking your arm because they'll take care of your helmet there. Trust me. Be careful around Bobo. I'm going to say, I don't know if you've gotten the latest report, but I don't think I want Bobo's teeth anywhere near my body.

Bobo will tear your lips off. By the way, Miss Kay is. Miss Kay is fully healed up. All it looks like now is somebody got a little Botox heavy on the bottom part, the bottom lip on the left hand side. Looks like a little Botox was inserted there. She needs a little more right to the right. There's a little dent in her lips.

But when you get 75, you don't care, Jase. I'm just getting you ready for your womanhood. You know what I'm saying? I appreciate it. I can tell you this. my wife does not like animals in general. So she may have something happen, but she's not going to be down in the face of a dog.

By the way, I heard many, many, many, more than I would ever thought, contacted. They didn't get a hold of me, but they got a hold of people that talk to me and said, People are reporting that that happened to their daughter. She had her lips, eating off by a dog. Part of her nose, some of them said. but they awoke a sleeping dog. The old adage is let a sleeping dog lie.

But everybody that has animals out there, and I know a lot of you do, we love them. And probably there's been animals that lost their life for less than that. But in this case, the dog was asleep. You just don't want to get too close to them with your face when you awaken them. Because it can't happen because a lot of people, more than I thought, told me about it, Jason. Well, I've, I told you my philosophy, every time a dog, because I got several in our neighborhood,

that they're attacked dogs, which I can appreciate that. People have dogs in their yards, and that's the first line of defense. But they don't realize that I live here. And so if I'm in my yard and that dog comes charging at me, because I'm not going to mention any names, but, you know, Willie and some of his crew, they got a dog that keeps running in my yard trying to attack me. Yeah. So when I see that dog coming, I take off right to him.

He needs to learn a valuable lesson neighborly, be neighborly. Yeah. You know, that's why my dogs, my people that live next to me, good brother and sister, they have a dog, but I give him a little grub from time and time just to show him, we need to be friends. Yeah. Oh, much's his name, but he'll walk up to him, you know, he's a grinner. He's one.

You've seen him dogs at a grin. Yeah. I mean, his lips go about it. I say, what's up? And he'll grin at me. I'm like, okay, buddy. He bears his teeth, but it's a smile. It's not like, I'm going to eat you up.

He just smiles, and I'm like, that's a good dog, yeah. Yeah, okay. Dog smile, by the way, for all of you dog lovers, there are dogs. I'm learning all kind of things. Dog smile. If you get stung by a bee, put some honey on it. Jason, that's what I'm trying to get you to understand is, is don't let the stock market totally complete, you know, take over your whole mind. Well, trust me, it's not. I'm a long-term investor.

Dad's got the wit and wisdom today. He's like, you know, Will Rogers, a little bit of everything. Even, what I'm most impressed was his dad knows about Botox. How would you even know about that? I didn't think they did that. I saw some television show, and them women out in L.A. are big on the Botox. So I just kind of took it and ran with it. I said, yeah, they want their lips puffy. And, you know, if a dog chews on your lips, I mean, when it's all done,

this part of it is bigger than it was. So I just thought, well, try that. Try that. Try our Botox. Miss Kay said, I'm not going to do anything because I don't mind anything. But she didn't do anything, do you? No. Oh, you're just saying it looked.

like that. But she actually didn't do anything. She didn't do anything. Just let it heal up. And it healed up fairly rapidly. Kiss her on the cheek. Yeah. You know.

Well, we're going to have her own before too long so she can give us her version of it. So, Jeff, tell us about what you're, tell us since we didn't know, I didn't know you were even in town. Tell us a little bit about all guys' children, what you're doing these days. It's pretty awesome. We just started a, we got a building in Ethiopia because there you actually need. somewhere for people to go because in like Columbia we work with orphanages that are established you know we bring in people to help get these

kids over sexual abuse and just any kind of abuse and but in Ethiopia we just got a building and it's awesome and they're like super fired up so they can come and stay and get treatment and so we're we're excited about that so that's good is it like food too meals oh yeah it's a everything. So they're everything. It's a place they can come get help from whatever they need. What age group are we dealing with here? I mean, like pretty small kids. I mean, like, I would say kindergarten age. Really? Yeah, all the way up through high school. All these people, these kids abandon or they are. So when I went. Kidnapped, abandoned? What's? When I went,

when you just walk down the streets of Addis Ababa, which is the capital of Ethiopia, there is kids every i mean thousands just walking the streets so and they and they said don't give them money because if you do some some guy will see that and go back there and beat that kid and take the money so they're like if you if you give them something they'll so let's make him what's the what's the what's what's Ethiopia is it a some kind of republic a dictatorship uh oligarchy what I'm not sure what their current political status. If it's like most African nations, because what I just heard doesn't sound too well.

I mean, how big a problem is this in the United States probably? I mean, I mean, it's not like a, I mean, it's a third world country. They don't have a lot of structures.

That's why we were like, we got to get a place established where they know, like if I need help, I can go to this place. Boy, talking about Romans 13, Jace,

you know, loving your neighbor, needing, to be implemented here and Ethiopia. What would you think, Al? Well, and what I love about it is, is Jep is a part of an organization, all God's children that does this,

but there's a lot of them in the US that are working all around the world. It's pretty neat to see there's still that spirit of we wanna help kids wherever they are, and whatever their circumstance. Easy to say, well, you know, third world country, they got a lot of problems. We just worry about ourselves,

but I think you're right, that the spirit of always wanting to help those who can't help themselves. I mean, for the church, that should be, you know, and the Christians, that should be our main goal, you know, in wanting to help people understand the gospel, but also just to take care of people who can't take care of themselves. By the way, in lieu of what Jace, the speech he gave yesterday about Romans 13, you know, love your neighbor and you fulfill the law, just looking at it, big picture out, When did John the Apostle write first, second, third, John?

What would you say? It was late. I mean, most of them guessed that around 90 AD. It was right before he did Revelation. So here's the world of 90 AD, Al, just think about it. And now fast forward 2021. Dear friends, this is 1st John 4. John the Apostle, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.

Now, this is back in the 90 ADs, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming, And listen to this. And even now, 90 AD, is already in the world. He said, dear children, you're from God and have overcome them.

Because the one who is in you is greater than the one who's in the world. They are from the world. And look at the, look at this, the ramifications of what he's saying. They're from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world. and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

That's quite the summation of what happens when you don't love God and you don't love Jesus Christ, and you don't love your neighbor, you'll go to places and you'll say, where'd all these children come from? I mean, who loves these little children? Where do they go? I mean, that's, so what's your answer to that there?

Zachary, you're kind of a pontificator. Yeah, very next two and a half, three verses gives us the anchor for the whole thing. It's about love. Listen to this, 1st John 4-8, it gives a description of God's nature when it says the one who does not love does not know God for God is love, which is interesting because we think about the attributes of God. I mean, when you consider who God is in his inner life, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, that's what he is.

He's love. That is his nature. So I think all of this is rooted in the very nature of God. We're made in God's image, Genesis 126, 127. So if we're actually living out our real potential and our full nature, then we are reflecting who God is. And if God is loved, then for us to reflect that would be for us to love each other. Hang on, Dad.

Let's take a break. So the question is, is it a political fix, Zach? Or a spiritual one? Well, I think it's a spiritual one, Phil. It's always going to be a spiritual one. you're not going to be able to I mean obviously when you get into the interesting thing you brought it out as this book is written later and so there's been a few years now to be able to observe the church how we how they function with each other what you see and you know from the earlier epistles that

paul did that there was a lot of in this back to roma 13 14 there was a lot of inner division and a lot of love not being shown between brothers and sisters as well. So I think what happens is that's what the E.1's best defense against the church is to turn her against herself, each other. You get all the infighting, you don't have love, therefore you have nothing to offer people outside of that. By the way, well, fast forward to 2021-21. So what's the diff between now and what the Apostle John said was going on in the 90s,

AD. Think about it. Is it still here? No love among the brothers and no love among each other? I mean, all it is is 2,000 more years of the similar stuff. The good news is it didn't de-evolve to the point that there's still not love that is shown to the point of we started. I mean, you see whoever started Jep's organization, they want, I mean, they want to love people. So it's still here. What Christ left for us is still here. What Christ left for us is still here. It's just the constant attack, I think, that the war within is what I call it, the enemy within. Yeah. And there's, I think there is, going back to your previous point, Phil, there are political, certainly the kingdom changes politics,

but it was never like the intention, it seems like, of Jesus to go and have political change. Systems change when people change, and people change whenever they have an encounter with who God is and his presence and his love. I mean, even God's wrath and his wrath flows from his love. His mercy flows from his love. So I think that love is one of these primary attributes that aren't contingent upon creation. There are things of God that come into play at how he relates to his creation, like things like God's sovereignty. That comes into play when God creates something that he's sovereign over. Or God's mercy.

God's showing mercy whenever people sin and he gives them mercy. God's wrath. That's what happens when people sin. God gives them wrath. But God's love was existing before God. It existed before God created anything. Because there was Father, Son, Holy Spirit. You have three persons in the Godhead that were eternally loving each other.

In fact, they loved each other with such a purity that they're actually one being. And I think that's why when we talk about who we are and we have this longing for intimacy, we have this longing for connection, we've got a longing for a community, we've got a longing for relationship. The reason why we're like that is because we're made the image of God. And when we're not doing that, when we're hurting each other, that's why misery and pain and death come. It's why people Jetworks with.

I mean, you look at thousands of kids in the streets of Ethiopia. Like something got messed up there and there's pain as a result. And then the church, our job is to go in now and re-institute God's nature. into the world and to expand this kingdom in such a way. Would you agree that our response to the sins of the world that's swirling all around us, Jepsa and Ethiopia in foreign countries and all that going on, maybe at John 412, 1st John 412, no one has ever seen God. Maybe that's why it's hard to make an argument for him.

But if we love each other, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He and us because He's given us His Spirit. Well, if that's not seen among the people of God, if that's not front and center, I guess my question is, why not? What's holding us back? well and i was going to say um you were talking about who started at all guys children it's the frasers and they were just an adoption agency for until like six years ago and they just saw the need there was still orphans i mean they knew a lot of organizations they worked

with orphans but there was still so many that needed help so it's like we can't just keep watching it when we love these kids we got to help like so is it the church's responsibility aisle, or is it the government's responsibility? So just where is the fixture in this? The government or God's people? I just don't think it's ever structured for government to have spiritual qualities. I mean, I just don't think you're ever going to get love

out of institutions. Now, you know, they're supposed to care. But in America, it was set up that the people actually were in charge. That's kind of been flipping over you know, for quite a while now. But how can you get love out of law? How can you get love out of, you know, all we do is throw money at it. We throw money at it. Government must throw money at it and throw money at it. But how much money do you have to throw at it to make any impact? It's just a,

it's what I'm saying is that structure will never be able to do what we were called to do. And that's because it has to be reflected through us. It's like the Frazier that Jet mentioned. I mean, they were they were called to do this. Right. ministry. So who's going to do it more efficiently? Yeah, right, Jeff? Yeah, and I will say what's pretty cool about the law and government is in Columbia, there was not a law. When you were in an orphanage, you could be there indefinitely until you were, be able to get adopted. I mean, because we're trying to get those kids

adopted in the U.S. with people who, you know, want to have, you know, a kid and they can't. Well, we worked with the government to change the law that makes it where they have, I think, six months until they're eligible or not for adoption. So they did. We did help change a law, which is pretty cool. So they don't just put them in the bottom of the stack every time. Like after six months, like they can be adopted or they can't. Let's see.

You've adopted kids. Jason, you've adopted kids. Who else in the family? Willie's adopted kids. Zach, you've adopted them, right? Mm-hmm. So. Yeah, well, I've adopted one.

Yeah. Is that the answer? I think it's part of the answer. I think that there's a paradox. I think the whole gospel is a paradox. When you hear Jesus say things like if you want to receive and you have to give, like that's a paradox, which is a perceived contradiction that upon further investigation, you realize it's not. He says if you want to live, you have to die.

if you want to be first, you have to be last. If you want to win, you have to surrender. Yeah, it's like everything is opposite of what you think. And I used to think that that was, like, if I want to be first, then I would go get in the back of the line, like when you're in elementary school, and then I want to be the line leader, so I go get in the back of the line. And then the teacher notices how humble I am, and then she escorts me to the front of the line where I get to look at the rest of these schmows, you know.

but I really think what Christ is getting at is that the best place to be is in a place and in a posture of giving rather than receiving because that reflects the nature of God. Christ, Philippians 2, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing. So you see even in the incarnation of Christ, of God becoming flesh, you see a God who pours out. And I think that's what God's glory is primarily about. It's about this all-powerful God who gives. It doesn't make sense.

It's bizarre, but yet somehow it's profoundly beautiful. So I think anything that we do as a church, we're basically called to be the manifold wisdom of God to the world, I think what that means is that we are to reflect his glory by this selfless life that we're to live. Part of that's adoption, although ironically, it's a great example, I adopted our child to help her in the process. I found myself receding way more from the relationship than I'm giving.

So it's a paradox. Here's a good stat for you. If one family and every evangelical church adopted a child in the U.S., there would be no orphan care system and no foster care system. Every kid would have a home, a Christian home. Like, how is this not, how have we not done that? That's pretty, that's pretty. I mean, you look at that. You're like, hmm.

Well, so, let's take a break. So when Lisa and I go around the country and we talk, you know, we speak in a lot of pro-life settings, obviously trying to convince people that abortion is not only immoral, but, you know, you're killing children. But one of the things we always mention is that if you're going to be pro-life, then you're going to have to, alongside that be pro-adoption because if we're bringing more babies into the world and not slaughter them, which we should be doing, then they have to have someone that's willing to open their arms and say, we want these children because many of these, the way they got in the situation, is because the person can't take care of them. You know, it's not in a position to do that.

Maybe it's drugs or some other situations. So they have to run simultaneous. And I think that's why that's part of the whole pro-life. idea. You don't hear as much about it, but it's crucial. Yeah. You know, really to be able to provide that. It's kind of like you were talking about, Zach, to do this right, to do it God's way. It's a daunting task to make children that are not your own, but just make them your own by your decision to say, come on into our family structure. We're going to love you. We're going to feed you. We're going to raise you, we're going to teach you, and that's where it's going to be. I guess you're right, you mean, if every one family. Just one. And it is the gospel. I mean, that is the

gospel. I mean, we didn't deserve it. You know, they didn't, you know, it's, it's, it's, it makes sense to me. I don't know. I find it fascinating that even thinking about you three, you know, out of us talking today, all of you had a heart open to opportunity. It wasn't like you were necessarily looking like, okay, we're going to, this time's going to come and we're going to adopt. So it wasn't like part of your family structure plan. You all just had an opportunity. And Jay's described it before on the podcast, you know, for their situation.

This was a, what, Jay? She was 17 or 18 years old and became an orphan. And it was just a situation outside of her control. here's an orphan girl who's educated herself, worked hard her whole life, put her faith in Jesus. She just needed a break. She took the internet, which, you know, has a lot of things that are evil and bad, but she used it as a resource to educate herself, get a scholarship to go to high school, eventually, you know, made the step up to get her scholarship to go to a university in America.

I mean, she did this pretty much on her own. I mean, she had one of the pastors of the church there kind of was a mentor to her. And now a civil war breaks out in her country. And she's stranded with no money, no family, no phone. And so gets word to the guy at the church. And they call us and basically said, well, we all. I'll help this girl. And it was so crazy that the story was, you know, by the time you tell somebody,

especially when you're dealing in different countries. That helping the girl. But by the time the information got to me, it was a 24-year-old woman who stranded, and it was actually a 17-year-old girl, orphan girl. And so I was like, if you get her up here, yeah, we'll try to help her. But I never realized after a while, I just watched her because she stayed with us. So how difficult has the work been because people would say I might think about doing that, but I don't, this sounds like hard work to me, raising children, especially children that are not your own flesh and blood to take that step and say, I'll tell you what, come on in. And so you lived it, Jace, and you lived it too. I'm still living it.

Yes, I got a young one. So how hard is the work? it's not easy I mean it's really not because genetically I've learned a lot about that and we do a lot well maybe that's what what uh Dasher was alluding to when he said you know whoever was first to be you say you know this is work yeah and you and you sacrifice and suffering yeah for someone else's benefit I think maybe you're on it there Zach you know what I'm saying yeah yeah but I would add that you do receive a blessing in it as well. I was a little nervous about it because I didn't know what it would be like, you know, what my affections would be like for a child that wasn't

connected to me to my genetics. But, you know, we've had Ruth now since Easter. And, and man, I love her as much as I love any of my biological children. So she's become your own in your mind. She's yours. No question. And to Jeff's point, for me, it's been one of the greatest, maybe the greatest manifestation of the gospel that I've been able to experience because God, I chose her not based on anything that she had done. And in the same way, that's how God chose us.

And so you're reaping this benefit. It's like you're seeing the gospel played out. And the way I love her, I'm like, man, if my father, my heavenly father loves me that way and even more so, man, I'm in a pretty secure spot. I got a pretty good deal going on here. Well, you guys are to be you, Jace, for what, what you, the story you told about the girl and you, Jeff, for what you do and you, Zay, y'all are to be commended for your faith.

Wouldn't you think, Al? Yeah, and that's the whole point. I mean, that's what, you know, when Paul says making the most of every opportunity, this is something that people should be looking for, opportunity. Yeah, I think, too, you got to be open. minded, you know, once we had Mia, who is a kid of special needs, we were always planning on adopting, and we had talked about it. But when that happened, we thought, well, we pretty much got our hands full here. So let's put that idea off. And then, but I think our heart was in that,

and we just recognized the opportunity. And it wasn't really something official. It was just after being around Karina for three months, I just watched her. Because I was thinking, you know, I'm going to have to watch this girl. There's no, I kept waiting for the, whatever my fears were to happen. The explosion. Yeah. And I thought after a while, I thought, I was like so much more inspired by seeing the courage of this girl thinking most humans would have quit at some point along the way.

So offering to help her became a great joy for you. Oh, so one day she just, I tried to give her some money because she was fixed to go off to college. And she said, no, thank you, sir. I'm, you know, I'm good. But, I mean, she just won't take anything. She's driven. You'd have to be from a foreign country to come over that. Yeah, but she's always had that quality, which is so commendable.

because she feels like she just wants to work and make it herself. So finally, I said, hey, I said, I want to talk. I said, I want to talk to you because she's so much more grateful than most humans because she came from nothing. So she makes good grades? Yes. Yeah, it makes good grades. She got her a job.

I mean, she just, every step of the way, I mean, she basically just used our house as a place to, you know, to stay for a while as she continues her journey toward success. But one day she was walking by and I said, look, I want to talk to you. I said, look, you don't, you know your parents, you don't have parents. I said, we don't have a Nicaraguan daughter. So what do you think about us being your American parents? And she said, yes, please, that's a good idea. I mean, that was basically the formality that had...

That's pretty cool. Yeah, it really is. And so now that's just the way we operate. We're a family. And I'm just like Jeff. I feel as strong about her as I do any of my other kids. I move to emotions. At these feeds we have, when I come to your house,

she'll be seated over somewhere, you know, over there, quietly. And I'll come in. And when we make eye contact, she'll go like... She'll give you a little wave. Give me a little wave. Yeah. She's just a great sense of humor. She has a great heart.

She loves the Lord. And that girl is driven to succeed. Like no one I've ever been around. She's just driven to succeed. And you just think about it. She's in her last year. Now she's fixed to be a graduate of American University. amazing.

Hey, Jay's, let's take a break. No, I was going to say that. I love how Jay said he was inspired. I think that's what I'm talking about with this paradox. You think you're sacrificing, but in reality, you were the one being inspired. You're the one that's being transformed.

You're the one that's receiving. So that's the paradox. It's not, it is a sacrifice, but in the end, it's not. And it's like with Jesus, for the joy set before him, the Bible says he endured the scorn and the suffering of the cross so it's a paradox he he endured suffering but why for the joy that was set before him I think the same way we we should

suffer for that but it's for the joy that's before us right so well and I think it goes back go ahead go ahead yeah you're right now this past Sunday here I preached and Zach's doing a series or he had the guys church out of Genesis. And so I preached out of Genesis 16 where you had the story of Hager the slave versus, you know, having a child, Ishmael, versus what God had planned to begin with, which was Isaac coming from Sarah, but they didn't know the plan. And so they were kind of making up their own plan. And so I made the point that the promise of God is always better than our performance, what we think we can do. And so,

to Zach's point, I think that's exactly what you're saying here. God made a promise. He said, look, if you trust in me and you love and you live the way that I've told you to do, and you give me that credit for being who I am, you're always going to receive blessing, no matter what's going on. So your performance could be good, it could be bad, you could mess up, you could not mess up, but you still receive that. And so I think that illustration, and by the way, Paul uses that in Galatians 4 as to show us that faith always, supersedes law. And so I think it's always the winner. And so I think that's exactly what you're seeing play out in everything we've been talking about today. Yeah, a good way to look at it. You say,

we're not being good to the orphans and the widows. James said, hey, pure and underfire religion is being kind of the, what do you say, the downtrida, the widows and the orphans. But, you know, when you look at it, actually, because, yeah, a relationship with Jesus because of what he's done for us, because of his spirit being in us, guaranteeing what he's promised. He says, you go forth, and he said, and you do things like bring children into your family. You're not doing it as a work to be saved. You are saved, and you understand what that means, and you're like, you know what? I'll fulfill what God said. I love him and I love my neighbor.

But I would take it a step further and say I was incapable of making that decision without the experience of God doing that to me. Yep. I mean, I just would not have noticed. I would, my radar would not been looking for that. And, you know, one of my favorite verses that one in Galatians, it says, I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.

who loved me and gave himself up for me, you know, that's a lot of times when people, I'm having in a Bible study where people are just so anti-God and I kind of forget the, uh, the normal way of sharing with them and I start saying, look, if you're just not open to experience this, just come try it. Because I know that experience of Jesus, which reminds me of that line from the, uh, the chosen when the, uh, the thing. Nathaniel and Philip, I mean, here's their brothers and they're talking. And he's like, ah, this can't be the son of God. He's from Nazareth.

And he's like, just come and see. He was like, because he knew if you experienced this, it's going to validate something that you've never even imagined that is possible. And so when you think of all those verses in the Bible, like to show that we're treasures of clay and we do that. that or God designed that to show that the power is coming from him. And even the verse, y'all said, God is love. You know, with us, we decide to love somebody and then we decide not to love somebody.

But God just loves. And so when you're sitting there saying, well, I feel like God doesn't love me anymore, well, that's impossible. He is love. It's there. So then that first John 4 passage, you know, later on right after that, it says, we have confidence in this world because in this world we're like him well it's because we're carrying his power and his love that has taught us how to respond in these situations good point

but this guy jace uh romans let's take one last break you know to your point jace romans 12 paul says exactly the same thing you said that and uh do you of god's mercy you present your bodies as living in holy sacrifices so the sacrifice Sacrifice doesn't, you can't present your body as a living sacrifice unless you begin with viewing it in God's mercy and what he's done for us. That is the, that is the first move, is recognizing what Christ has done and its mercy he's given us. And then we can go out and participate in sacrifice. All the way down to you, you'll be able to love your enemies. Yep.

Sounds like my ride's showing up here. So 310 to Yuma. we're right next to a railroad trice i was i was thinking there's a train that coming i thought uh i thought of another verse uh zach in romans 12 9 you know he he made just that first statement that said love must be sincere and it's not really a concept we think about but when you think of the model of sincere love, there's no other standard than God's. I mean, he proved it by sending Jesus despite our mistakes. And you just think of all the sins of the world that he was willing to forgive. And he did it in a sincere way. I mean, I think I always go to marriage in that way. It's

like you try to play the game when you're mad at your wife or whatever, and you give the appearance that you're forgiving or loving. But true love is, let's face it, we all make mistakes and being able to be sincere. I mean, you're going to get that from God more than you're going to come up with it with yourself because sometimes it's kind of fun to be mad. I mean, that's just the way we are. By the way, by the time you get to Romans 14, he's talking about your interaction with your brothers. and down at the bottom he said if we live we live to the Lord if we die we die to the Lord so whether

we live or die we belong to the Lord and there's a certain behavior is expected because he says for this very reason Christ died and returned to life so that you might be the Lord both of the dead and the living you then why do you judge your brother I mean look what you have look what's been done for you why do you look down on your brother We'll all stand before God's judgment seat. So his point is, although it may seem difficult when you first hear it, loving your brother, it's got to be there, and it's got to be an ongoing thing that you don't want to lose.

Because once the quarreling and the yeah, yeah, yeah, and all this starts, we've got plenty of that in America or anywhere else all the time. You know, I remember the first time I ever read 1 Corinthians 13 when he defined love, I remember thinking, man, this is going to be tough. Love is patient, it's kind, it doesn't envy. And I just kept thinking, well, this is going to be difficult, you know, and I kept reading. When I got to verse 7 and it said, always protects, and I was thinking, yeah, I would protect the people. And then it said, always trust.

I stopped. and I said, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do this. It took me a while. About 705 years, and I'm still working on it. I failed to realize that because I just couldn't keep reading. I literally stopped right there and said, nope, I'm not sure. And it says always trust. Oh, I noticed that's the part I had a big problem with.

But I then realized as my faith journey as God adopting me went along, I figured out that, yeah, I was not going to be able to do this on my own. I was going to be trained by God's love and the experience of being in Jesus. And have some help from God. You know, the Holy Spirit's not there for nothing. Exactly. But now I've come to a place where I read it. And I'm like, okay, all them difficult.

I understand that through his power, I can do that. So Jay's, at least and I, through the years, I've worked with a lot of couples. obviously that, you know, when we would see them, they would be in some sort of crisis. And I always thought it was interesting that the words always and never, which are in that 1st Corinthians 13 text, when I would listen to a couple and they're telling me what their issue is or what they think their issue is, they use the word always and never. So he never does this, he never does that. She always does this.

She always does that. And it's not even true, but it's their perception of way it is. because they've gotten themselves in a place where the very reason they loved each other and got together the first place has now come into this deal about you're always this and you're never that. And so I always try to take them back to that text because if you can realize that if you can begin to understand that your relationship is just an extension of what God has done with you, that's why he says we are his bride, then you'll begin to break the walls down and say if I can love like this passage challenges me to in my relationship. I mean,

that's going to change me forever. And, you know, sometimes it takes people a while to get there. Hey, Al, that reminds me of me and Jess. Remember that? I was coming to you a lot in the first couple years. I remember telling, Jess brought it up the other day. And I'm so embarrassed for saying this, but I did say it. Like, after about a year, I said, we made a mistake. Like, let's just, can we annul this thing? How do we just end it? And so I've definitely been there. I'll tell you this, though, you get in the habit of something. good. I mean, I made a decision 10 or 12 years ago, I can't remember, a long time ago, that no matter what happened, I was going to compliment my wife every day, at least one

compliment, no matter what happened. And sometimes you just had just, just, just, just pull up the last piece of red raw gut to say, all right. But I've done that every day. You are quite the woman, honey. But now I'm such in the habit of it that I've done it every day. for 10 or 12 years. So, but I notice now to go to Al's point is that she'll say when she's talking to other people, she'll say he always compliments me no matter what. I've done it every day for like 12 years. And I'm like, well, it took that long to notice no matter what happened.

But it's a habit. That's always used in a way that builds up, which, and that's the key, I think, to everything. that. And God will give you that. It's just like my problem is patience. You know, I'm an impatient person. And so, but I love my wife. And she, she's a person that can't leave. Like, she cannot leave thing. Places, she can't leave, which puts me in a position where I'm always battling to be impatient. But I figured out a few years ago that that's why she's, that's why God puts us together, because I needed to work on patience. And so I love her more than I love my impatience. She wouldn't leave last night. I to run her off.

I know. That's what's in. My favorite, Al, there's been a, to Phil's point, I had a few moments where we were having a knock down drag out, you know. But just in that moment, I thought, well, I'm going to throw the compliment out right in the middle of this. And whatever I said, and she's like, well, you just shut up. But then she laughed.

Like, okay, what are we doing? Which I'm sad. It's been quite helpful. So, but you're not. going to do that by accident because that just it took a few years but i know you're my son but i'd rather i'd really rather that she be your wife and not mine yeah why what i'm saying yeah well i'm thankful for that in whatever weird way that that was construed we're all married to the right people and jeff i'll say in closing that i'm proud that you didn't give in to that impulse that one year and

you guys work through and now you have great marriage, you have a great family, and what a blessing when we do the right thing. So that's an encouragement to our audience because you may be where Jeff was. You're in that first year of marriage, and you're thinking, oh, man, but just keep doing the right thing.

Just keep loving, and you're going to get there. We laugh about it now, but, I mean, it was scary at the time. It was. I mean, and it was only, you know, God working in us to show his love, which we showed love to each other. It makes sense now.

It didn't at the time. Jep, you'll find this funny yesterday because we're fixing a venture on this show, perhaps, if this is the Lord will. That's another reason, Jeff is here. So one of the producers showed up in my house yesterday, and they're, you know, trying to feel us out and see how this show is going to work. And so we talk for an hour, and as he's leaving, he's like, we appreciate you, you know, having us over here. And he's like, thanks, Jessica, for. having us. And then he laughed and I thought, oh boy, it just got awkward. If you're going to produce the show, realize who I'm married to. I thought you'd appreciate that. I still get about

every other week. Someone's like, hey, Jace. I'm like, no, you don't look nothing to like. Well, I actually showed a clip on Wikipedia. I saw that. The picture of me and it's you and you look like you were having a bad year. That picture is you having a bad. year beside my profile. Which what does that tell us? All right, the clock on the wall says that's all. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by rating us on iTunes.

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