Finding Faith, Losing Sleep Podcast
Finding Faith, Losing Sleep Podcast
Episode 34: Reflecting on Faith and Community in Troubled Times
This episode delves into the intersection of faith and current events, exploring how tragic news impacts our psyche and spiritual lives as we begin 2025. We discuss how recent headlines of violence and chaos challenge our beliefs and invite deeper reflection on the nature of evil, human choice, and God's plans for us.
• Exploration of New Orleans tragedy and its implications
• Initial discussion on facing negativity and maintaining mental health
• Practical spiritual practices to combat dark influences
• The story of Job as a source of resilience
• Deep dive into Genesis and themes of choice and temptation
• Understanding why bad things happen to good people
• The importance of personal stories in fostering hope and community support
We're hoping you'll engage with our content and share your thoughts on spirituality and today’s world.
Email: findingfaith.losingsleep@gmail.com
Twitter: @FindingFaithPod
it's time to wake up and pray up here on the finding faith and losing sleep podcast. Thank you so much for joining us for episode number. I'm gonna guess, pierre, I'm guessing what episode this is 27 no, we're in the 30s, like where you been.
Speaker 2:I think we're like 34. You're like seven episodes behind. He took a few off.
Speaker 1:I have said it many times on this podcast you can always go back and listen to the past podcast to hear the funny little comments that I make that you'll go. That guy just doesn't. Why am I even listening to that guy? I don't pay attention to time. I just absolutely do not. Sometimes I do like maybe I'll lock it in, that this is 34. And so next time I'll get 35. But once we get to the 40s I'll have no idea again what episode we're on. Pierre.
Speaker 2:I just start over at one point, just throw you all off. Start over at season two, episode one. You'll be really confused.
Speaker 1:I am Wesley Easley, one of the hosts, and, of course, over in there in Indiana Wait, indiana, very cold up there in Indianaiana. I bet this time of year it is pierre and michelle. They are a married couple and they uh decided to do a podcast and invite me along for the ride very cold indeed, single digits, um snow still on the ground been there for barely about a week enough.
Speaker 2:Um, you can't tell she likes the snow. I don't but, yeah, yeah, we're along for this finding faith, losing sleep journey, uh, plus 30 episodes west, just so you're aware again, and, uh, looking forward to diving in. We've been almost a month and a half since we recorded, so it's good to get back behind the mic. Hopefully everyone had a happy holidays and having a good start to the new year, which hasn't been the case for everyone I am not having a good start for the new year, pierre.
Speaker 1:It is about to snow here in Alabama, hey.
Speaker 3:Congratulations.
Speaker 1:That's not fun down here. That'll be fun, though. We'll get the four-wheelers out.
Speaker 2:We'll get the big old trucks out. You can get snow down there.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, except for the bread man.
Speaker 2:Oh that's true.
Speaker 1:You've got to make bread and milk sandwiches down this way. I don't know why restaurants do not have bread and milk sandwiches on the menu. They need to have it because it's a very popular item this time of year.
Speaker 2:According to the store shelves for sure.
Speaker 1:But Pierre, tell everybody just at the front part, so they can continue to fast forward over all this until we get to the actual talking part, how they can get in touch with us if they would like to. All this until we get to the actual talking part, how?
Speaker 2:they can get in touch with us if they would like to. Yeah, so you got an email. Findingfaithlosingsleep at gmailcom. We're over on X, formerly Twitter at FindingFaithPod. You can text us through the show notes. If you go to the podcast itself, you should get a text message format there. We're hosted through Buzzsprout. I guess I've never given them a shout out. We're hosted through Buzzsprout. You can hit up us over on Buzzsprout as well. So, yeah, you got some ways of outreaching us. Feel free to do so. Any suggestions concerns you can send the Westin Michelle, and we just appreciate everything you do All your compliments.
Speaker 3:Send it to Pierre.
Speaker 1:Somehow the show's script has gotten flipped. I don't know how that has happened.
Speaker 2:It has happened. Excuse me, that's what happens.
Speaker 1:And you said, hey, we got to get recording. I said, okay, let's record. And then what's the episode going to be about? And you told me that it's just. You know, you wanted to go through the headlines. That's what this show's about.
Speaker 1:We try to talk about the things that keep us up late at night, maybe, and don't allow us to sleep, and we do that maybe through a biblical lens, maybe a Christian lens. I don't know how you want to say that. That's just who we are, though, as people, and I think that that's a good thing to look at things like that. However you are, and I hope that we can all have respect for one another as we view life through our own lenses of how we've been brought up or how we've raised. And here's the thing for me like I want to continue my education, I want to continue learning how to make my lenses maybe a little bit clearer or at least know what I'm looking at a little bit better. And so, as we come at you with maybe some biblical thoughts and everything, just know we haven't gone to school, we're not some big, deep theological seminary people or anything. We just have been working out our faith with fear and trembling, like we're supposed to.
Speaker 3:Amen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and a couple of rabbit holes. We're working out a couple of rabbit holes. This is me. I put down a couple of rabbit holes, pierre, for sure he's got holes dug all over this house.
Speaker 1:Oh boy, oh boy, Got things buried in there too. Maybe, Pierre, Get your bones out of there. Hey, you said that you wanted to talk about the headlines, like I said, so you're going to have to tell me about these headlines. Okay, I'd never even heard of that. So I'm sure these things do keep people up late at night, and I'm sure the headlines definitely in the news. As you get bombarded with all this stuff day in and day out, it's kind of why I've just not been watching the news much or even keeping up with it how I usually do through the headlines on my phone or through Twitter or through social media or something. I just haven't been paying attention, Pierre.
Speaker 3:Well, I'm going to answer for him. Imagine that. But I was like what do you mean, wes? What do you mean? You haven't been listening, because usually you're the person that tells us, hey, did you hear about this or did you hear about that. But you two were talking before we came on and I literally was like I have no idea what the heck you two just said in the last few minutes. So yeah, go ahead, pierre.
Speaker 2:I mean it's hard to like I don't watch the news, but it's just hard to avoid kind of what's kind of taking place to start the year. So first up, you had like the New Orleans situation right on like New Year's Eve. Right on New Year's Eve, so right after New Year, there was a truck that drove into a crowd down there on Bourbon Street celebrating bringing in New Year and a lot of people lost their lives out of that situation. And it was interesting because I believe that the report came out and again, you never know what some of the reports, but it came out. It was a former US military member but had like an ISIS flag in his truck, so that took part.
Speaker 2:And then a few days later there was a Tesla Cybertruck in Vegas out in front of Trump Tower that blew up and you look at the footage for that and it was someone in the same base and I'm not even sure if they were in the same battalion. The guy that went into the crowd in New Orleans was the one that had the Cybertruck in Vegas and blew up. The Cybertruck out in front of Trump Tower there in Vegas, and I think Queens was another one, there was someone that went in and shot up like a nightclub or something. So all this was like within a couple days of 2025. So really, really rocky start. And now you got the stuff out in California. That's not necessarily a person, just nature kind of going its course, but that's a lot of tragedy kind of taking place to start off this new year.
Speaker 1:You said so was the person in Queens like an Army person too?
Speaker 2:did not. I did not know the the queens get up, I just know that they I'm pretty sure it was a nightclub they went in and kind of opened fire on quite a few hoax there. I could probably look it up and see if anything ever came out with what happened with the shooter, but it wasn't one. I really dive in again. I don't watch the news, but these things just popped up so quickly that I was like boom, there they are.
Speaker 1:So you said the first two were Army people. Both had ISIS things. I think you said I did see some of that. Let me guess this. I'm going to guess because my head has been buried in the sand a little bit, just not paying attention, trying to purposefully not pay attention. Do you know if both of those individuals that were part of the Army thing were? They both out of Fort Bragg possibly?
Speaker 2:It's possible. I don't remember the fort, but I know they were the same location.
Speaker 1:Google it. Google it real quick. I'm very curious whether or not it was Fort Bragg. And while you do that, pierre, if you don't mind, if you can, if you have the technological technical abilities to be able to do that, while Michelle and I talk for just a little bit, michelle, it's not a great way to start off 2025. But did you have any kind of resolutions this year to do something new or different from a spiritual standpoint that would give you peace and calmness in these kind of times of turmoil?
Speaker 3:spiritual standpoint that would give you peace and calmness in these kind of times of turmoil. Well, I didn't, initially, other than trying to stay vigilant, right, but my best friend actually sent me something that said let's do this together and believe it or not I haven't even responded to her yet, but I watched it, what she said, and it was something along the lines of. Yet, but I watched it, what she said, and it was something along the lines of in order to change, like how you see things and how you feel about things, and change your mind into a more positive mindset. It was something along the lines of before you ever pick up your phone for the day to read two verses or two pieces of scripture quickly and then three times a day, even if it's just for 30 seconds, to like get on your knees and pray, so it could be morning, noon or night or just as you think about it through the day. But to be intentional, like um to Christian music or some sort of, you know, faith based music, to um kind of switch your mindset when you're in a rough place. And so there were.
Speaker 3:There were a couple others that I can't remember off the top of my head, um, but those are the three that I kind of latched onto no-transcript into. So I don't know if it's a result of that or not, but I'm ready to flip out of it. I can tell you that. How was what about you?
Speaker 1:What about me? I, I kind of made a deal with God and I it's on my terms, not his really Right? You know what I mean? Like all right, lord, uh, my daughter, my daughter's in her last little year of being at the house here. She's a senior in high school. I've got a couple more months left with her. I love to be able to connect with her somehow, some way, spiritually, even a little bit more than what we have in the past. I just got to figure that out, lord. I'll tell you what you figure it out for me and I'll just follow your footsteps. And I shouldn't be doing this anyway. So I'm just going to stop doing it. You know, like I, like I give up something, right, right.
Speaker 3:So I so.
Speaker 1:I did. I gave up some and and then, lo and behold, she texted me out of the blue it's like the first or the second of January and she said what version of the Bible did you listen to last year? So I told her what version it was and you guys past episodes. We know how excited I was about listening to the Bible audibly and everything. So I told her which one it was. I asked her why. She told me when I got home. So I came home and she told me and I said well, is that an invite? Are you inviting me to listen to the Bible in a year with you? And she said she was. So that's what we're doing. How about that? That's awesome.
Speaker 3:That is so cool. Isn't that amazing, how God works.
Speaker 1:No, it is. And you know you look for those little signs where you're like, okay, you're listening, I appreciate you listening, you know, and it gives you the tingles, gives me the tingles anyway, gives me the brother fries. So doing that again with her this time it's too slow for me. I'm going to be honest with you. I told you guys, I binged it right At the end. I was binging it and then I was done like a month earlier and everything, I want more. I want more of it. I don't want to do just one a day. I'm like I got to do another Bible reading plan or something on top of it. So that's what I plan on doing to get my mind right. What about, pierre? Do you have one Answer?
Speaker 2:the first question first, pierre, before I forget it, so they overlapped at Fort Bragg, both men, and apparently again in Afghanistan. But there's no evidence that they knew each other. But based off the timing of them serving, yes, they did overlap at Fort Bragg, which I believe is a different name now, like Fort Knight or something like that. Huh.
Speaker 1:Fort Knight.
Speaker 3:Come on.
Speaker 1:Pierre, that's your. You're playing video games.
Speaker 3:Right, they renamed it, it's not Fort.
Speaker 2:Bragg anymore is it?
Speaker 1:Hold on on, let me look at. No, no, I don't, I don't know I I'm. I get confused on who's that where and what's. Is that army navy?
Speaker 2:but yeah, I just get confused on all that stuff, it's army, it's in north carolina my mom was there when she was younger so I mean go ahead.
Speaker 1:I don't, I don't know what goes on at each one of the army bases and I I'd probably. It's just all speculation to start with, and people maybe have speculated these things because they come up with what they see on movies or television and they just run with it a little bit. But there is those the MKUltra is what it's called MKUltra, where it's mind-control type of things, where maybe Jason Bourne, I think Bourne Identity, that kind of series, you know where, that person I think that Fort Bragg was well known for that If you Google and research that you'll probably find some things like that. But it leads us into what we're talking about tonight when, pierre, you talk about the headlines and I think you even mentioned to me, you know, evil in the world and stuff, and we're talking about that. Pierre, you talk about the headlines and I think you even mentioned to me, you know evil in the world and stuff, and we're talking about that.
Speaker 1:Michelle, you talked about how to get out of that mindset and thinking about positive things. I love thinking about positive things and just getting out of that mindset and really before you brought up the show, pierre, I never thought about that. That wasn't what was keeping me up at night this year so far I never thought about that. That wasn't what was keeping me up at night this year so far. Keeping me up at night is wanting to be more entrenched in God's Word, and for me that can lead to some sleepless nights wondering what the world is talking about. But it also just leads me to sleepless nights because I'm desiring Him more. Pierre.
Speaker 2:I mean, which is good. Like it says seeking you shall find. So it sounds like you're on the right track there. Fort Liberty, by the way I said Fort Knight is known as Fort Liberty now, but yeah, I think, I think that often starts a new year too, though, like if you, if you are going down a faith journey, a lot of times the new year is like your chance, because you do have you know different types of lesson plans, have you know different types of lesson plans. You do have the one-year Bible which you know I've done I think this year I've just done like Psalms and Proverbs versus the whole thing, because I just got done doing the whole thing, so now I'm just doing Psalms and Proverbs just to make sure I'm continuing to stay in there.
Speaker 2:A lot of churches, like mine, our church right now, is doing 21 days of prayer to start off the new year as well with prayer and fasting. So it's just that time of year where you know folks are seeking, they're searching, you know, for something more, for something better, sometimes just for something else in general in their lives. And you know, I think it's good, I think it's good to dive into the Bible, I think it's good to ask questions, which is what we do a lot on this show. Just because it is, it can be confusing. There's a lot of different you know language that's been translated, you know, into the Bible from its original text and it's just trying to dive into it for our own understanding, even though we're not supposed to lay into our own understanding. That's kind of what we do. We try to get it in our own terms, get it on our own platform, so we can actually understand what it is we're reading.
Speaker 1:Michelle, can you jump over to I don't know if you can 1 Corinthians 14, 14?.
Speaker 3:Yep hold on.
Speaker 1:Okay, here you talked about understanding, and it's hard not to say understanding over and over again. I've been learning some new things and I've been trying to study this stuff a little bit more, just so I can deepen my relationship with God and deepen my relationship with His Word to make more sense of this world, pierre, and we can jump back over into Job, which I know we're going to end up doing at some point whenever we're talking about evil and stuff like that. But 1 Corinthians 14, 14, you got it? No, not yet. Okay, I can ramble a little bit more, I got it.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 3:Do you want me to read it?
Speaker 1:Oh, please do Out loud, would be better for everybody.
Speaker 3:I'll just read it to myself, for if I pray in a tongue and my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful, so what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. Otherwise, when you are praising God in the spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say amen to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? You're giving thanks, well enough, but no one is edified.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's great, you hear how he distinguished praying in the spirit and praying with understanding.
Speaker 1:There were two different things there and, from what I'm learning, the word understanding or mind praying with my mind, is called noose Noose I'm probably going to go into this lesson. I'm going to hang myself with the noose here in a minute. I don't know everything I'm talking about, but the noose is one of those things where you want to have that understanding and you want to have that peace that comes with knowing what you're talking about, what you're praying about, and it not only is beneficial for you but, as Paul said here, it's beneficial for others as well. Beneficial for you, but, as Paul said here, it's beneficial for others as well. You see that you know when he's, you know he wants it to be edifying for others.
Speaker 1:Over in Romans it was really interesting in how he talked about it here Romans, chapter 7, verses 22 and 23. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man right, the noose, the inward man. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, my noose, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. And you said, michelle, at the beginning of the show your friend encouraged you to do this at the beginning of the year and everything and just all those things, pierre, like you talked about the praying for 21 days that your church is doing, it's so important that we are careful about what we have coming into our mind, into our eyes, into our ears. We've got to be so careful.
Speaker 1:It even works into that MKUltra stuff here just a little bit, because a lot of times that involves torturing techniques, if I understand it correctly, to kind of break down the mind, to break down the spirit, to open up the noose in your body to absorb things that you don't necessarily want it to absorb, because whatever it absorbs is what ends up coming out. You are what you put in to yourself, right, and so you know. Paul's saying there in Romans, it's waging war against me. Paul's saying there in Romans, it's waging war against me. I've got the outside of me seeing the headlines, watching this stuff, watching the evil. It's making me stay up at night. I might be inserting some words there for the Apostle Paul, but the point is he is struggling with what's going on in the world because he has his inner self wanting to do the right things. It's hard to do that sometimes, pierre.
Speaker 2:It's very hard, and it's harder for us, I think, today, just because technology, social media, has given us quicker and easier access to what's happening around us, so much more information Than obviously would have been taking place back then, we're not just concerned about, you know, our neighborhood, like we're seeing things all over the world and kind of what's taking place in the sorrows and tragedies that are happening which you know back in those times you wouldn't have known, you know. So I think it's more, more burden on our shoulders a bit, because we we are made aware of ultimately negative news. Like you watch the news there's. There's rarely anything positive that's on the actual news. I know there's different channels and stuff, but it's usually political. It usually opens up with some type of crime that took place somewhere. Someone got shot, someone got robbed.
Speaker 2:The sad part about that is, I think that's what people are drawn to for some reason, because if they weren't then they wouldn't watch it. If you're not watching it, then the news isn't going to air it. Does that make sense? I don't know. What have we done? I guess would be the question.
Speaker 3:There's a reason that curiosity killed the cat. Yeah, why are we so curious with negative things, I think? I mean, I personally feel like we're almost inclined to negativity, like. What I mean by that is, I think we defer to negative somewhat naturally of a struggle, um, to choose to see everything. I mean, you and I just had this conversation the other night. It's, it's I choose to be happy, like, and I am happy, but that isn't always the easy or default thing, I guess. I guess that's well.
Speaker 2:It's tough because I think so. Like one of the things that I I constantly hear people discuss is death, and it drives me crazy. Like rachel tell you I, I I don't like having those conversations. I know it happens. We're all going to hit that point at some point. Everyone does. I feel like that has been so comfortable. Folks just walk up to you, hey, so-and-so passed away, even my family members. Sometimes I don't hear from them. Then they call me and I'm like someone must have died, because that's the only time I hear from them. Call me with good news. Me and Michelle have back and forth times where she'll say something and it's negative in my mind. She's just trying to inform me, but in my mind it's negative. I'm like why don't you tell me that?
Speaker 3:Tell me something good, he gets mad at me. I'm like I'm just trying to tell you.
Speaker 2:Her family does it too. I've been around them. It's just natural. This person did this. This person's sick. How about the person that's happy, the one that had a baby? It's just interesting how folks just seem to be drawn to sharing when something tragic happens over, when something maybe exciting happens.
Speaker 3:I think that's just because people don't always share. Hey, olivia got an A on her report card, like I do. But like that's I mean people want to know if something bad has happened to someone they love and then they can pray for other people.
Speaker 2:But they don't.
Speaker 3:Why.
Speaker 2:I don't think they do. I think most people try to avoid when something bad happens to someone they love, and then they can pray for other people, but they don't why. I don't think they do. I think most people try to avoid. When something bad happens to someone, yeah, they might want to be aware of it, but they don't want to be a part of it. They just want to know. And then they disappear or they go and run. I used to be one that ran away from things like that. My mom got sick or something. I didn't want to have to deal with it. I want to know she was sick, but I didn't want to have to. You know, see her suffer and all that stuff. No one wants to see that, but for some reason they want to make you aware of when something's happening.
Speaker 2:So I don't know, that's just my opinion.
Speaker 3:I think people are just trying to keep you informed.
Speaker 2:I don't even know what we're talking about anymore. I'll be honest, it's negativity, negative news. Do you experience that, or is it all?
Speaker 1:sunshine and rainbows there in Alabama? No, we do. And sometimes I come home and my two girls are homeschooled and everything and I'm like holy cow, I should have just stayed at work. You know, this has been a wild house. The minute I walked in the door is what I'm usually thinking, especially whenever I'm gone for a long time Mondays, thursdays. Boy, I tell you, it's just a wild house right there.
Speaker 1:I got to figure out a way to bring the peace into the house, because that's what we're supposed to be. We're supposed to be peacemakers, you know, and those kind of people will be blessed is what those people will be, is what Jesus says. So I think that we've got to figure out ways to do that and just counteract it. Anytime I hear negative news or anything, I listen, I listen. I try not to be the bearer of negative news.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I am, when I guess I'm disgruntled about something that may be a new policy or something like that. None of it is ever right. But how many new policies at work have we had come down the pipeline and nobody likes them, because nobody likes change. But there's been a million of them and the world is still standing. You know what I mean. Maybe we should take those maybe in stride a little bit better. Maybe we shouldn't just overreact and start complaining like everybody else does, maybe bringing out the positive nature of well, I'm old enough to remember when this happened and we're all still here, we're all still employed, everything's still fine, so we'll just try to make the best of it. Maybe that kind of attitude would help out in many different areas.
Speaker 2:I mean it would for sure you, you talk about what was it? Carrying the soldiers backpacks, and you know jesus stated if they actually go a mile, go an extra mile, like that's kind of that same mentality. Uh, not complaining about it, just you know, do what you need to do and be happy about it. Maybe not even happy, just be content, right, be content in all circumstances. But it's hard because we're I think we're all selfish, whether we want to be or not. Like most of us are selfish or we like things our way and our timing. And even when we try to be flexible, like we still get in our own way at times. And the same happens when like policies come down. Like the reason that we're upset and disgruntled is because we're, we're in our own selfish ways. We like the way things were. Sometimes it's logic where we understand you know our business better than some of the decision makers that are bringing some of those policies down, but you know it's still their business and money, so you just kind of got to deal with it.
Speaker 1:That you do. You brought up evil. You said something about evil whenever we first communicated about doing the episode. So I'm like, all right, evil, let's go back. Let's go to the Bible times here. Evil when was the first time there was evil in the world? You know that kind of stuff, stuff, and you can't help but think about the garden of eden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, right and uh, the whole thing that was going on there. We've talked about it a couple of different times in past episodes that you can hear our perspective on some of those things. But this is, this is one, um, a perspective about the knowledge of good and evil. Think about this, and this is just a new one. Okay, this new one, we're all just sitting around a coffee table talking, right? So don't think that old Wes thinks this because I wasn't there in the Garden of Eden. I wasn't there. In case you don't know, I'm not that old.
Speaker 2:My eyes aren't that bad Breaking news. Wes was not in the Garden of Eden.
Speaker 1:So you know, we're kind of speculating on all that stuff anyway, right A little bit. So let's just speculate if we can. So you got Adam and Eve and God said to them what did you guys remember what he said?
Speaker 2:Which part he said a lot of things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he did say a lot of things About the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Speaker 2:Do not eat from it.
Speaker 1:Don't eat from it, right, or else you'll surely die too right Did he say that?
Speaker 3:Yep.
Speaker 1:All right, I'll read it a little bit. Can I read it a little bit?
Speaker 2:By the way, my wife and daughter each got me a Bible.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah Big print, big print, it doesn't matter what version. I could take a hint, you know.
Speaker 3:Big print.
Speaker 1:No more chips. Is that what you're saying? Now, the serpent was more crafty than any beast to the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman indeed has God said, indeed has God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden. And the woman said to the serpent from the tree of the garden we may eat, boy. That's the new Bible.
Speaker 1:You guys got to bear with me a little bit. That big prince is not working for you. Indeed, has God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden. And the woman said to the serpent from the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, god has said you shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman oh, you're not going to die, for God knows that in that day that you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that it was good for food, that she took it and then she gave it to her husband, and all that All right. We know that it feels like both parties kind of added a little bit to it, you know, to make it more, did they die that day Like we think of death.
Speaker 2:Maybe not.
Speaker 3:Well.
Speaker 2:Not like we think of it Not like we think of it, no.
Speaker 1:Okay, and how did they die, michelle?
Speaker 3:I mean, I think they died. I don't even know how to explain it. The goodness and the perfectness that was around them died maybe.
Speaker 1:No, no, I think you're right and you know he had them in the perfect environment. Like you said, the goodness of the perfect in the perfect environment in the Garden of Eden, right, Pierre?
Speaker 1:Yeah that's our understanding. Me too, me too. And when they ate it they did die, because now they couldn't be in that garden anymore. He had to kick them out of that garden. That's fair. It kind of is fair, because what was the other tree there? Life, the tree of life, right and? And god even said, well, we got, we can't let them stay here, because if they, if they do, then they're going to eat the, the, the other tree, the tree, and and be, uh, forever lasting, like we are. But they'll be in a sinful state, right, because they sinned against God, because now they know good and evil, they covered themselves up and they kind of felt a little ashamed of what they did, or they just knew good and evil. Here's a new perspective. What if God one day was going to let them eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
Speaker 1:As a father, one of my jobs and I've said this on past podcasts was to protect the innocence of my children for as long as I possibly can, because there's nothing like being a child and just not knowing right from wrong. I mean, you may know a little bit of right from wrong, but you know just the innocence of a child. You know what I mean, that's very true.
Speaker 1:And what if God was trying to protect these people from knowing good and evil for a long time until they became mature enough to know good and evil? Long time, until they became mature enough to know good and evil? We don't explain everything hardcore to our kids. Until we think that they can understand some of those topics, like death for example, we may start inserting other things. You know, oh, they just went to sleep and instead of telling them they'll never come back again, you kind of give it a little bit to your kids as they can handle it as they get mature. Yeah, go ahead. I was going to say. Well, let me finish that thought.
Speaker 1:What if just it wasn't time yet to know good and evil for Adam and Eve? They weren't able to handle it yet, and by knowing sin at that state they definitely couldn't handle the tree of life. At that point they couldn't handle that. They couldn't, you know, they couldn't handle that. What if God was going to feed them with both of these things at some point in their level, in their walk with him? But they just kind of sped it up a little bit and he couldn't allow them to endure that anymore.
Speaker 3:Isn't that just like us to want to do it in our own time?
Speaker 2:Yeah, they say God's timing is perfect, but we still try to do things in our own timing.
Speaker 3:Not much has changed.
Speaker 2:It has not.
Speaker 1:And here's the thing too they were doing fine. Right, they were doing fine. I don't know how long they were in the Garden of Eden before the serpent came up there and started talking to her but they were doing fine until the outside forces started messing with them.
Speaker 2:So what's the first?
Speaker 1:question in the Bible. Wes. I don't know what's the first question in the Bible.
Speaker 2:You were right around it. It's the serpent asking, basically questioning God, like has God truly said he may not take fruit from any tree? That's the first question asked in the Bible and it's basically questioning God, god, so that kind of sets the stage for me, for that whole, for all mankind, is the the first question that's that's presented is questioning god and what he, what he stated, which I find interesting. There's a lot of questions in the Bible and you go through it now, but the first one is did he truly say that? How often do we question even our own faith? It's pretty interesting and that's what set the stage when you look at, I think, the downfall of most folks in their faith and some of their bad decisions is they question God, like is he truly who he says he is, or is he truly who the Bible says he is? And that sets the stage for our own downfalls.
Speaker 3:Well, and wouldn't it be really prevalent in times like this where these tragedies have happened, like why would, why would these things be allowed to happen and why by now? And why? Why? My family members or my loved ones like so, but Wes, I have to say that was probably one of the best like hot takes, that and perspectives I think you've given in a while.
Speaker 2:That was he'd been cold. Apparently he's been cold, but that one was pretty hot 2025?
Speaker 1:hot, hey, here's the question too. Yeah, how about this? One did, did. Do you think satan knew the answer? The devil, the serpent, I'm sorry, serpent? Do you think serpent knew the answer? No, absolutely yeah yeah, he did, didn't he?
Speaker 2:I mean mean, if you think, I know you said the serpent, but if it was truly Lucifer who took that form, Lucifer who was kind of God's right-hand angel from the way it's described, of course he knew that.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm. So now we're going into Job buddy. We're just jumping into all the hot topics of 2024. Back in past podcasts you can listen to further details about all these things and some other thoughts and see how thoughts kind of expand during this time. So if the book of Job and we get into Genesis chapter 6 too, there and everything, if those are fallen angels right, I was trying to put myself in the mindset those are fallen angels, right, I was trying to put myself in the mindset of a fallen angel, Pierre.
Speaker 1:I know, I won't tell you what outfit I was wearing. Why would he be jealous of God? Why? Why would he be jealous of God? Can I, can I tell you? Can I tell you what I think? It's a sure question, and and people can uh write into us uh thing was up the very first part of the podcast. Pierre will put all the contact information again at the very end of the podcast. It'll probably be connected to the podcast somehow some way, and and you can let me know what you think.
Speaker 1:Yeah, why would a fallen angel be jealous of God? Because, in my opinion, he created this stuff and he created people, and people are giving back to God somehow some way, some kind of adoration, and doesn't that make you jealous when people are kind of getting more attention than you? It doesn't bother me when people do that to others, but I'm just saying that is one of those seven deadly sins, either, jealousy, and you have. Then, maybe a fallen angel doesn't necessarily have to be Satan, doesn't necessarily have to be Lucifer, we don't know. It seems to be many, though. I mean, if you read back into the book of Job, it seems to be many, though. If you read back into the book of Job. It seems to be many different ones just roaming around to and fro on the earth. You know, if it he's theirs now, I'm sorry, they are his now.
Speaker 2:Adam and Eve well, that's what I think he was jealous of. We talked about that before, but that my theory is?
Speaker 2:I'm not sure he was initially. I know how the Bible is kind of laid out, but my rabbit hole brain says that he was. He was jealous of Adam and Eve and it doesn't say when he was fallen. Like I've kind of read through, you know, and try to find this out with the Bible doesn't necessarily specify when he fell. So I feel like he was there to protect them. He became jealous and then the fall was when he basically deceived them, is my opinion. So I think he was jealous of Adam and Eve, he deceived them and then that's when he fell, from the grace of God.
Speaker 3:Well, look at you two giving all these fresh perspectives on it, Because he was God's chosen right? Is that what you're saying? Before Adam and Eve and now all of a?
Speaker 1:sudden he's got some competition.
Speaker 2:And not just competition. What did God do for Adam? He gave him authority over earth. So if you're someone's right-hand man and you just see someone, someone else get created and all of a sudden they have more authority than what you feel like you have that's not going to work.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because, like then, that work isn't that how it goes. Like in your job, like even now you put in all the work and then you see some person come in fresh off the street and all of a sudden you've got to train them for a job maybe you applied for. That's happened to me. It's really frustrating.
Speaker 1:And he gave them a woman. Yeah, very true. So then, at Genesis 6, what did they say? Hey, that woman looked good, and then we could create our own people.
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm yeah.
Speaker 2:That's why they can't follow. There's going to be more of them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm just putting it all together. We're solving life's problems here.
Speaker 2:One at a time.
Speaker 1:One at a time One at a time. Yeah, we are. Yeah, here's another. Can I go? We talk about evil. Why do bad things happen to good people?
Speaker 1:And when that kind of question back to talking about all the things that have been going on in the world in 2025. Head and we got to ask that question what about good things happen to bad people? Bad things happen to good people? Both those questions are asked in the book of Job and here's a thought I had about Job and, of course, in my reading plan. That's where we are kind of, so I was thinking about this recently.
Speaker 1:We talk about being able to handle a lot of different situations in life and that God isn't going to give us more than what we can handle. We've talked about that in past episodes as well. We know Job was a very wealthy man and he seemed to be a little bit famous in that area, very well-respected, all those things but we don't know what happened to Job before all this. We kind of pick up Job. It feels like in his older state. You know what I mean? He's got a bunch of kids and all that stuff. We don't know what happened to Job before all this and obviously, knowing the ending of Job, god didn't allow things to happen to him more than what he could handle. So maybe Job had a really tumultuous life before we got introduced to him. Maybe there were some really bad things that happened to Job even before all this stuff happened. And that's the way God do. Hey, you can do whatever you want to to him. My man Job is strong.
Speaker 2:You know he's going to be able to be able to handle all this stuff. But on the flip side, would Satan have really questioned Job's righteousness at that point? Because he kind of questions it, stating you know, this guy basically has it all and that's the only reason he's righteous. So if he's had some tumultuous past, wouldn't Satan have also known that? And that that's not why he was righteous? Maybe so?
Speaker 3:To my knowledge, the Bible doesn't actually say that God won't give you more than you can handle Anywhere. I think that's something we've all kind of come up with over the years and it's been something that that us as humans have said, but I don't believe that it's actually in the Bible anywhere that God won't give us more than we can handle, and maybe the reason that it's not there is because we do get more than we can handle, so that we learn to rely on him because we can't handle it on our own. We need him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that it has a couple of different implications there. Whenever you're talking about that, I think that we get to learn that from a couple of different things. I know 1 Corinthians 10, 13,. No temptation has overtaken you. That is common with man. God is faithful, that he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. That's 1 Corinthians 10, 13. And I just think putting that together with other verses is kind of you know, you're going to be able to stand no matter what comes your way. You're going to be able to stand no matter what comes your way, no matter what God allows to come in your path. If you're with him, you can be with him. Right, yeah, I would say yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think that's kind of where evil kind of comes in. And I know I don't personally get why the innocent you know lies, quote unquote innocent, because I mean most of us aren't innocent to most degrees. But I think when you look at evil you look at like light. So we say God is light, and what happens when you remove light?
Speaker 3:There's darkness.
Speaker 2:There's darkness. So I think that's kind of the evil concept. When you remove light, it becomes darkness. And that's what evil is is God has removed himself from those people and it ultimately sounds like what hell's going to be like is just a bunch of evil people.
Speaker 2:Evilness because they say, once you go to hell, you've been removed from God's presence. When you look at when people do things awful to others, it feels like that's the case, right. It feels like there's no way In our minds, at least in our Christian minds. It feels like there's no way in our minds, at least in our Christian minds. It feels like there was no way that God was a part of that person. They were truly evil, which means there was no more light. You know, within them it was all darkness. And I know there's. You know you start to ask where you, you know morality and stuff comes from. And we, we all tie that into how to start somewhere. Um, it has to start with that light. So I don't know. Yeah, the the evilness to me is just light removed in just full darkness. And that's what happens in people's minds and in people's hearts, where they just disregard any type of light, any type of positivity.
Speaker 1:And the rest is kind of history, unfortunately. So I remember helping out a guy in his walking life. He, I want to say, he asked me why I thought it worked well with us, like we just we just clicked. And I mean this is two years, three years down the road. He's fixing to be married and you know just the army guy, all this stuff, and he's like why, why, why did it? You know, why did you get led into my life and all that? And the only thing I could tell him was that he had to have somebody in his life that he knew was screwed up more than him. But he thought I had it all together.
Speaker 1:You know, I openly shared my past, I shared my struggles, I shared the things that I had hurt people with and that people had hurt me with. I'd shared all those things and in my opinion he was like man, he's doing OK, he's got a wife, he's got a kid, a house, all this successful guy. If he could do it, I can too, guy, if he could do it, I can too. And I think that that's why it kind of clicked for us, because I was able to see myself in him, knowing that he could make it through all that because I made it through all that stuff that he was going through and it clicked for him because he saw that I made it through all that, so it gave him encouragement that he could make it through all that.
Speaker 1:Yep, so maybe these dark things happen to us, pierre, maybe this stuff occurs in our lives, in our you know, in our circle, so that we could show people that we can make it through it, and and then we could tell people in the future you can make it through it, and then we can tell people in the future you can make it through that, tell you what happened to me. But in order to do that, we do have to share ourselves with other people, and we got to put our you know relationships on the line a little bit by doing so.
Speaker 3:Agree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree 100%. I didn't even talk about this a little bit before because I talk about a song by Elevation Worship called Mercy, and the chorus says I'm alive to tell the story of how I overcome, and it kind of plays into what you just said. And you know that's the reason that some of us go through what we go through, whether it be different trials with death, you know. You know miscarriages, alcoholism or addiction. Like we, we all can go through cancer, which we've dealt with ourselves here too. So we go through certain things that we can help others along with um. At times it's hard to wonder why, why certain things happen to others. So there's folks with cancer that don't win their battles. There's folks that don't win their battles with addiction, and you question that. It's easy to question God, which is what again takes place as the first question in the Bible that the serpent presents. But how you answer that question, I think. But again, it takes place as the first question in the Bible that the serpent presents.
Speaker 1:But how you answer that question, I think is key, because you yourself are in a position to provide someone hope, or basically send them down that darkness rabbit hole and help them remove the light that they have, based off your, your answer to those questions. So, essentially, we just got to ask ourselves what are we going to be? We're going to be the darkness. Are we going to be the bad news which everybody gets all over the place all the time, infiltrated? I don't. I don't even pay attention to the news at all and I still knew what kind of the news was a little bit, pierre. Are you going to be that person that's going to just hinder people A stumbling block maybe, if some people would want to call it that or are you going to be the light? Are you going to be the thing that pours into others and picks them up? Are you going to be that guy? I think those are the big questions that we want to answer, going into 2025, and have goals of being somebody that's going to help other people sleep well at night.
Speaker 2:Right, Right. You got to believe there is good in the world sign and then it kind of cuts off halfway. I think we have it in the rest of us. It's be the good. That's how you believe it. You be the good yourself.
Speaker 1:Be the better. Work in that catchier be the better, be the better. Sure you say so. That sounds catchy. Be the good. I don't know. Be the good, that be the better. That rolls off the tongue, pierre there you go.
Speaker 2:Be 2025, hashtag be the better.
Speaker 1:All right, that's good. That's it. That's a wrap. We'll sum it all up, michelle. See, if I miss anything here. We started off 2025 strong, trying to figure out ways to put good things into our body, not bad things. That's what this episode was about here, and that putting bad things in will influence us, influence our noose. It was called noose, that's Greek. Okay, all right, so we did that. Then you said I had a banger. Going back to Genesis, chapter three, you said I banged out a new idea.
Speaker 3:No, I said you did a hot take, said I, I banged out a new idea. No, I'm saying a hot, take um.
Speaker 1:And then pierre I think that you know we were we were talking about all the things there in uh, all about satan, and that the first question. So it was a good show. It was a good show I think so.
Speaker 2:I think we did well and you know, obviously we talked about a lot of tragic things happening. We got stuff happening still out in you know LA area and California with the fires and stuff. So you know you can't bring that up without you know saying you know we're going to pray and I think we should pray. It's California in general dealing with the wildfires and the you know first responders and stuff that are trying to fight those wildfires, as well as those that you know tragically lost their lives and some of these other situations.
Speaker 1:OK, I will. Can I close out the show in the prayer? Absolutely Sure.
Speaker 2:Tell people how they can get in touch with us though, pierre, just in case they wanted to get in touch with us and tell us what they thought was going on as well in some of those things that we had talked about. Yeah, findingfaithlosingsleep at gmailcom or email findingfaithpod at findingfaithpod, over on ex, formerly Twitter, and then again through any of your platforms, be it Spotify, apple Podcasts, overcast wherever you're listening to us on, you should get an option within the summary to even send us a text message. Also, you can do so via review. The stars help us out, helps to get the podcast out. If you find us entertaining, help others find us entertaining by giving us some stars and review.
Speaker 1:We'd greatly appreciate it. Why would people get in touch with us? I mean, I know they could ask us. We kind of give options out there. We should dangle something in front of people to get in touch with us. Pierre Dangle, what?
Speaker 2:Carrots. I mean just something.
Speaker 1:I don't even like talking to myself sometimes, but I mean how about what if somebody leaves a comment, or we see a star or they say hey, I did that I could pray for that person specifically.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, we're hoping we're praying for listeners anyways, but yes, we can. We can even say it on the podcast. If you want, we can do it on the podcast.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, they could request it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we can say it out and ask more listeners, hopefully putting that prayer on more ears.
Speaker 1:I'm just trying to think of something Because, yes, it only takes like 15 seconds. I can mash enough buttons to be able to get something like that done, right, I can do that, and so it doesn't take a lot of time. But it's also one of those things where we don't necessarily want it either. But it is good to hear from people, absolutely, and it is good for the show if there's some stars, some ratings, some reviews, and the only reason why we'd want that is to be able to get that out in front of people. If the show has been helpful to you, we hope that you will send it to somebody to allow it to be helpful to them as well. Maybe you know somebody who's trying to kick off their New Year right, and so you'd be like hey, listen, there are some crazy people out there. These are some crazy people and they're talking about good things. So you could do that, and that's the only reason why we still don't make a dollar off of this, do I no?
Speaker 2:I don't either, not just you. You said do I? You said do I?
Speaker 1:That's true. Well, we got to do better. Is that what we do better? Well, be better. We got to be better, hashtag be better.
Speaker 1:Technically, you said be the better, be the better, be the better, Be the better better. All right, all right, I'm going to close out in prayer and then we'll be dismissed. I don't know if that's proper to say. Father, we do approach you right now, thanking you so much for an opportunity. I thank you to be able to get together with Pierre and Michelle and whoever else is listening. I want to lift up all those people to you. We just thank you so much for loving us and for being patient with us, for not destroying us before our time. Father, we thank you for encouraging us along the way to be able to get to the point to where we are right now, to where we can approach you in prayer, asking you to comfort all the people who have suffered loss in 2025. So far. Our heart bleeds over to them.
Speaker 1:We've done some different things. I know I've done some different things in reaching out to people to make sure that they're okay, seeing if they need anything and, father, help us to do that. Let us not just observe the news. Let us not just observe the news. Let us not just observe tragedy, but help us to get involved with it and get a little bit dirty. See what we can do to be able to help those people, because we want to be those that help out others is what we want to do. That allows your light to shine further into this world and further into the darkness, like Pierre was talking about.
Speaker 1:So give us the abilities to be able to do that, give us the courage to be able to do that and the know-how. And, father, as situations come up in our life, help us to not ignore them, but to be active, to be proactive, not for our glory, but for your glory. Father. We thank you so much for loving us, for being patient with us, for being kind with us, and we pray that you'll continue to do so. In Jesus' name. We pray all these things, amen.