0:05

He is on a mission for men. He's

0:08

written about men's issues, their struggles,

0:10

finishing well, leaving a legacy,

0:12

loving well, being a good dad,

0:15

being a good husband. Today at the

0:17

Radio Backyard Fence, author and speaker Robert

0:19

Warmoth returns with

0:21

encouragement for men to

0:23

dig daily into the Bible

0:25

for themselves. And

0:28

that's my question to you, men. As

0:30

you listen today on Facebook, I asked,

0:32

how has reading studying

0:35

the Bible changed you?

0:37

I want to hear from you today. And then a question

0:40

for women. What changes have you seen

0:42

in a man because he reads

0:44

slash studies the Bible?

0:47

Think about that. I'd love to hear from you. At some

0:49

point in this hour at (877) 548-3675.

0:54

Or you can answer that question on Facebook.

0:56

Our lines are open here on this Wednesday of

0:58

Holy Week. As we talked with Michael Card

1:01

yesterday, so much of the Gospels deal with

1:03

the last week in the earthly ministry

1:05

of Jesus. Let's talk about

1:07

it today at the radio backyard fence.

1:09

You'll find us online Chris Fabri live.

1:12

Org. Thanks to Ryan McConaughey doing all

1:14

things technical. Tricia's our producer.

1:16

Gabby's in the chair. Today. Laura

1:18

will be answering your calls and

1:20

a tip of the hat to Tom Mathis at the home

1:22

office in Grand Rapids. Robert

1:25

Warmoth is a former president

1:27

of Thomas Nelson Publishers Co, founder

1:29

of the publishing company Weymouth and Hyatt,

1:31

the literary agency Warmoth

1:33

and Associates, a graduate of Taylor

1:36

University. He also received

1:38

an honorary doctorate from that institution.

1:41

He's the author of more than 20 books, including

1:43

lies, Men Believe, Like

1:46

the Shepherd and You Can Trust God

1:48

to Write Your Story, co-written with

1:50

his wife, Nancy DeMoss Warmoth.

1:52

He's the dad of two grown daughters,

1:54

two sons in law, granddaddy to five,

1:57

and Granddaddy and Law to one, unless

1:59

that is changed. He's in Michigan

2:01

today. Robert, how are you doing?

2:03

Hello, Chris. It's always, always

2:05

great fun to talk to you. And actually, I

2:07

do have something to add. There are two greats.

2:10

No, our granddaughter had a

2:12

little boy and then a little girl.

2:14

You're not old enough to have great grandkids.

2:16

There's no.

2:17

Show you the papers. Yes, I am.

2:21

All right, I believe you. Our featured resource

2:23

today is the CSB Men's

2:25

Daily Bible. You can

2:27

find that at the website. Just click through today's

2:29

information Chris Fabry live. Org

2:32

I have I'm going to start this way. I've

2:34

often thought well if I could if I get to walk

2:36

with Jesus like the disciples did, I'd

2:38

be in a much better place in my

2:40

spiritual life if I could experience life

2:43

with him and the campfire and the eating the fish

2:45

together. But as I was digging into

2:47

this new Bible, I realized

2:49

I have that opportunity right

2:51

now, right here, right now, to do that

2:53

very thing. Do you agree with that?

2:56

I do, absolutely

2:58

I do, and just so.

3:00

Our listeners, get this I

3:03

am not a natural. Um,

3:06

daily Bible reading guy.

3:08

I'm telling you this, this comes.

3:11

This is hard work for me. I'm. I'm

3:13

a businessman. In fact, to have a Bible

3:15

published and my name on the outside

3:17

of it that says general editor takes

3:20

my breath away. Uh,

3:22

I don't I don't deserve that. I

3:24

know so many smart guys who

3:27

deserve that more than I do. So by God's

3:29

grace, my name is on the outside of this thing,

3:32

and I'm overwhelmed by it, to be perfectly honest.

3:35

Well, and but it goes back to that,

3:37

that idea or that passion

3:40

or the mission that God really has given

3:42

you, which is to men. Um,

3:45

we had Michael Card on yesterday, and as

3:48

we walked through that last week of

3:50

Jesus earthly ministry,

3:52

we were talking with him about, you know, some specifics.

3:55

Tomorrow we're going to get so many. We're just going to

3:57

spend the whole hour there in the garden. Is

4:00

there a scene during this week, a moment

4:02

in the last week of Jesus

4:04

life that kind of bubbles to the surface for

4:06

you?

4:07

Yeah, actually, it's

4:09

right after, um, this

4:11

is John 21. Uh,

4:14

Jesus is on the shore.

4:16

It is. It's actually one of my very

4:18

favorite scenes in all of Scripture. So

4:21

everything has happened. Jesus has

4:23

gone to the cross. The tomb is now empty.

4:26

So the disciples are out fishing

4:29

and they see on the seashore Jesus.

4:31

Or they, they didn't know who it was a

4:33

person. Right. And so, of

4:35

course, Peter, don't you love this guy

4:37

jumps in the water and swims over to the

4:39

shore because he knows it's Jesus. So Jesus

4:42

is there when Peter gets there. Um,

4:45

there's already fish on the grill. I mean, just

4:47

honestly, it's so cool. So

4:51

Peter is he's now in the presence

4:53

of the one he has denied at

4:56

his first meeting with a living Christ.

4:59

And, um.

5:01

And Jesus says to him, do

5:04

you love me? And

5:07

doesn't just say it once, he says it three times.

5:10

The interesting thing is, and you know.

5:12

In love, Nancy. When Nancy

5:15

and I were dating, uh,

5:17

I was at a Palm Sunday service.

5:20

We were dating. We weren't engaged,

5:22

but we were pretty sure that's what we were headed.

5:25

And the Lord absolutely

5:27

shattered me and said

5:30

to me, in that service, you know, the kids are

5:32

walking down with the palm, you

5:34

know, singing Hosanna. And my, my brain

5:36

was somewhere else. And

5:38

I was saying, Lord, do I

5:40

love you more than I love Nancy?

5:44

It hit me.

5:47

In fact, I could not wait to get to the phone

5:49

that afternoon Sunday afternoon, Palm Sunday

5:51

2015, and get

5:53

again to get Nancy on the phone.

5:56

And I was weeping. I was overwhelmed

5:58

by the fact that that

6:01

I loved Jesus more than Nancy

6:03

and and and I've

6:05

not forgotten that moment. And if

6:08

Nancy were on the line here and it'd be fun if she

6:10

were, she would tell you that was. That

6:12

was really an amazing moment in our relationship,

6:14

because I was confessing

6:16

to her that I had let my love

6:19

for Jesus slide a bit. Um,

6:22

and the worst thing I

6:24

can do for Nancy, the worst

6:26

thing your listeners could do would

6:28

be to love anybody more than they love

6:30

Jesus. Um. They

6:33

will. They will disappoint you. They don't

6:35

belong on the throne. Jesus belongs

6:37

on the throne. So that's what happened

6:39

that day. And I wrote an

6:42

insight in the men's Daily Bible

6:46

called Taking Good Care of God's

6:48

Kids. So.

6:50

And it's about that text in John chapter

6:52

21. So yeah, it's

6:54

after Holy Week, but it's all

6:56

part of this amazing, uh,

6:58

season where we consider

7:01

what Jesus did before, during and

7:03

after. It's an amazing thing, isn't it?

7:04

And we remember. And then

7:07

we you do exactly what you

7:09

were just talking about. You try to live

7:11

it out. Now, some people would hear you say,

7:13

love. Jesus is like, what does that mean?

7:16

Because Jesus said, if you love me, you'll you

7:18

obey my commands. You know you'll do what

7:20

I'm telling you to do. Not in a

7:23

not in a legalistic of God,

7:25

you know, do this or he's not. He

7:27

doesn't like me anymore, but

7:29

just out of a heart that is

7:31

so grateful for the forgiveness

7:34

and the acceptance that we have in

7:36

him, not only in him, but

7:38

to the father, because his righteousness

7:40

is, you know, we get into some deep theological

7:43

weeds just saying love Jesus, right?

7:45

Right. Yeah. And that's the way you do

7:47

that. Not out of obligation, but out

7:49

of love. You keep his commandments.

7:52

You obey him. You

7:54

you trust him. You

7:56

read his word, you soak in it, you spend

7:58

time with him. And you know,

8:00

there are places in Scripture like Nehemiah

8:02

is one of my favorite. I've always

8:05

called it praying, praying on the

8:07

fly. You know, he he gets

8:09

this order to go back to the city and.

8:12

And it's in ruins. And I mean

8:15

the whole experience, he

8:17

he throws these prayers up. I love that,

8:19

you know, to pray, to spend time

8:21

with the Lord doesn't mean it may mean on your

8:23

knees in your quiet place, but

8:25

it also may mean in traffic driving

8:28

along a highway. It may

8:30

mean going for a walk. It may mean when you're

8:32

in a meeting and you're stuck and you don't

8:34

know what to do or what to say. So

8:37

I love that it's it's the presence that

8:39

really is praying without ceasing. It's

8:41

you're always aware of his

8:44

presence, him being there as

8:46

you would any close friend who was right there

8:48

with you. You turn over and look over your shoulder

8:50

and say, what do you think of this or

8:53

what? What would you do here?

8:56

What should I say to this guy? How

8:58

should I feel about this situation?

9:01

What should I do in the midst of temptation?

9:04

I that's I love it. That's

9:06

practicing the presence of God. I love that.

9:08

Robert Wagner is with us today. And I want

9:10

to turn this to you as you listen, especially

9:13

any man who's listening, who says, you know, I,

9:15

I have seen the effects

9:17

of both not being in the scriptures

9:20

and, and being there. And here's

9:22

what it did for me. The story

9:24

that you tell, what has happened

9:26

to you being in daily

9:29

in the Bible. The story might

9:31

encourage some other man.

9:33

Or maybe you're a woman and there's a man

9:35

in your life that you love, and he

9:37

you've seen this in his own life.

9:40

Here's the number 87754836758775483675

9:48

Robert Warmoth that are featured

9:51

resource is the men's daily

9:53

Bible. It's brand new. He's

9:55

the general editor. There's some great

9:57

people that he's brought alongside him

10:00

to write articles for

10:02

men. Again, the Men's Daily Bible.

10:04

Find out more at the website Chris Fabry

10:06

live. Org. We're

10:18

talking with Doctor Robert Warmoth today

10:20

about the power of God's Word in a

10:22

man's life. And

10:24

if you have a story about that, reach out to us.

10:27

I just saw this from Jeremy on Facebook.

10:29

I feel more at peace after reading

10:31

God's Word. I have a devotion

10:33

I do every morning. I try to do it every morning at

10:36

least, and have been working on reading

10:38

the Bible through the

10:40

entire year with some of my

10:42

friends at church, and I'm

10:44

mainly listening to it, but I'm gathering

10:46

a lot from it. And that's I'm coming back

10:48

to that because listening to the Bible and reading

10:50

the Bible, I like both

10:52

of those. Um,

10:54

he says, I just have peace and comfort

10:57

when I read it, because it's a constant

10:59

reminder of God's love, and also

11:01

because it's a reminder that even though I

11:03

mess up, God still loves me.

11:06

I'm still a work in progress,

11:08

and I know that he's faithful

11:10

and just to forgive me and bring

11:12

me through my sins, even if it takes

11:15

1 to 500 or even a

11:17

thousand tries. Thanks for your ministry

11:19

and says some nice things

11:21

about the program. Respond

11:24

to what Jeremy is saying there about that

11:26

peace and that comfort and the

11:29

security that you feel.

11:31

Hmm. Oh,

11:34

so many things could be said. It back

11:36

to what we said a moment ago. It's practicing the

11:38

presence of God. It's

11:40

being aware of his

11:42

listening ear, his heart of

11:45

compassion, his tenderness, his

11:47

grace, his forgiveness. So,

11:50

like, okay, so how do you do that? Well,

11:53

the Bible is his word.

11:55

So he speaks to me through the words

11:57

on the page. Um,

12:00

and I love the I

12:02

love the various kinds of

12:04

scripture. There are I, I

12:06

start my day every morning with a Psalm.

12:09

There's just something really cool about

12:12

being reminded of

12:14

who God is and

12:16

how to worship him with awe

12:19

and wonder. Um. Psalm

12:21

eight I have a

12:23

daily insight on Psalm eight,

12:26

and it's it's like it's overwhelming

12:28

when you really get your mind around or try

12:30

to get your mind around the the

12:33

awesomeness, the wonder of God. What

12:36

else could you do but just desire

12:39

long to be in his presence?

12:41

And you know, sometimes I think

12:43

we walk into God's presence a little too casually

12:47

when my girls now they're 53

12:49

and 50. But when they were little, we

12:52

used to say, the most important thing

12:54

we can do for you is

12:56

pretend that we're in God's presence.

13:00

I mean, so pick the most important

13:02

person in the world to you. And

13:04

an athlete, uh, a

13:07

leader. Whatever.

13:09

And pretend that you're in the room with

13:11

them. How would you act? What would

13:14

you think? How would you speak

13:16

to them while you're in the presence

13:18

of the creator of the universe? That

13:21

ought to change everything once

13:23

we get get our minds around that. So

13:25

we didn't spend a lot of time talking about

13:27

conduct and so forth, because we got

13:29

that part clear that when

13:31

you're in the presence of God, His

13:34

holy presence, everything

13:36

changes the way you speak, the way

13:38

you think, how you act,

13:40

all those things. So there's a reason

13:42

for longing to be in God's presence

13:44

that affects your conduct and it

13:46

affects your, your thinking, uh,

13:49

your hopes and dreams, all that stuff.

13:52

And and you get that when you

13:54

intentionally put yourself in God's presence.

13:57

Every morning. I'm a morning person.

13:59

I love cup of coffee and

14:01

God's Word in front of me. And and

14:03

just so you know, I'm not

14:05

a natural at that. Um,

14:08

it's taken me back this morning.

14:10

Believe it or not, this morning was

14:12

the first time I actually picked up a copy

14:14

of the Men's Daily Bible and

14:17

decided to use it myself. Yeah,

14:20

isn't that crazy? That is because I

14:22

knew I was going to talk to you, and I thought,

14:24

wouldn't it be fun to say to Chris, you know, this morning

14:26

I started in Psalm one, um,

14:29

and I thought, I'm going to act like

14:31

I'm Joe Schmo and I'm going to

14:33

pick this thing up and just see what I think.

14:36

Yes, I know that's really crazy, but that happened

14:38

this morning. So I'm

14:41

an ordinary person, I tell you, the

14:45

men and the women listening,

14:49

just look up ordinary men and you'll see

14:51

my picture. I don't see there's nothing

14:53

special here. I'm an ordinary

14:55

person who loves Jesus and is deeply

14:58

grateful for his grace in my life.

15:00

Yes, well, on Psalm one,

15:02

I'm looking at that right now. Um,

15:05

and on the page

15:08

facing it is an

15:10

insight for life. So there are

15:12

these, well, a couple hundred of

15:14

them, or maybe more throughout

15:17

this that are written by you

15:19

and then other people that you have chosen

15:21

for the insights

15:23

of or insight of the day. Right?

15:26

Right. Um, insight for life is

15:28

what we call those. There are 50

15:30

of them. So the publisher said when I

15:32

was starting this process, we

15:34

ought to have something more than your voice. I didn't

15:36

take that personally. I agreed with them. So

15:39

I said, like, how many they said are 50?

15:42

Well, by God's grace, I invited 51

15:44

guys and 50 said yes. So

15:48

I'm not the smart guy. I've invited

15:50

some smart guys, you know, professors,

15:52

pastors, teachers, authors,

15:55

and they've joined me. And

15:57

it's we have this confab going,

15:59

these 50 guys and me

16:02

taking part in this project and

16:04

drawing men in in

16:07

a very understandable way.

16:09

In fact, in the foreword of the book, I tell a story,

16:11

a true story about going to breakfast with a good

16:14

friend. And I brought

16:16

a devotional book and he brought his Bible.

16:18

So I open my devotional book. This

16:20

is years ago. We were in Pasadena, California,

16:23

and between the time that we had ordered our

16:26

breakfast and arrived, I said, okay,

16:28

let me let let me tell you the

16:30

scripture that is connected to this devotional.

16:32

So I gave him the scripture and he read it. And

16:35

then I said, okay, now let me read this devotional. And

16:37

I started to read it. Chris and I

16:39

have no idea what I was reading. It was like

16:42

the language was beautiful, it was brilliantly

16:44

written, but I, I

16:46

really of course, I'm just an ordinary guy,

16:48

but I didn't understand what the guy was trying to say

16:50

in this devotional. So when we finished, when

16:52

I finished reading, I looked at my buddy across the table

16:55

and he had this look on his face and he

16:57

said, I have no idea what you just read.

17:00

And we laughed. But

17:02

that became the impetus for writing

17:05

this project because I don't I

17:07

don't think that ought to happen when a guy

17:09

sits down by himself or with his friend

17:11

and reads something that inspires

17:13

him, that helps him understand something in

17:15

the Scripture that says something about his walk

17:17

with Christ. It ought to be so clear

17:20

and so understandable that he never looks at

17:22

his body and says, I have no idea what I

17:24

just read. That is this project

17:26

right there.

17:27

Well, men like Chris

17:29

Brooks, who hosts the program here on

17:31

Moody Radio, Crawford writes,

17:34

you've got the late R.C. Sproul here.

17:37

You got one of my favorites, Ken Bowa,

17:40

as well. So these are some of the men.

17:42

And I mentioned that there were 200

17:44

of the what I meant by that

17:46

were insights for the day, which

17:48

are also 60.

17:49

That's right.

17:50

260. Okay. So

17:52

this is this is part of the way

17:54

that you kind of come alongside men.

17:56

I've got another question for you. Tori is on

17:58

the line though in Michigan.

18:00

Tori why did you call today?

18:04

Yeah. I thank you for having me.

18:06

I just wanted to share that

18:08

my husband, probably

18:10

close to 13 years ago,

18:13

decided that he was going to

18:15

read through the Bible each year, probably

18:17

a year, year and a quarter, whatever it takes.

18:20

But he's continually reading

18:22

through God's Word and it's

18:24

really changed him.

18:26

Changed. Wow. Just for

18:28

the better, of course. Um, we

18:31

also, ah, have had a few of our

18:33

daughters attend Moody, and,

18:36

um, doctor DeRose has been a large

18:38

impact, um, on us.

18:40

And so not surprisingly, probably,

18:42

but even one of her books,

18:45

um, unproduced and unshaken,

18:47

had a part in it about,

18:50

um, how

18:53

men are supposed to wash their wives

18:55

in the word um, and

18:58

that heavily impacted him as well, because

19:01

up until that time, we weren't raised in,

19:04

um, Christian families ourselves before we married,

19:06

that were reading their Bible on a,

19:08

on a basis regularly. So

19:11

he didn't know how to do that, how to have

19:14

a quiet time, how to share

19:16

God's word with his family. So it's just

19:19

been a really powerful

19:21

thing.

19:22

I'm so glad you called. And you mentioned

19:24

one of my favorite people, too, Rosie. Uh,

19:26

because there are some men that will say, you

19:28

know, I'm the I'm the head of the house. And,

19:30

you know, washing with the word means

19:33

you got to agree with me on everything and sit down

19:35

and listen. And it's

19:37

not that kind of an attitude

19:39

that draws your wife or

19:41

your children toward your own heart.

19:44

When you lord over them, there's something

19:46

different. It sounds like going on in

19:48

Tori's husband's life forever. Yeah.

19:50

God bless this guy. Yeah,

19:53

I love it. You know, the the

19:55

Bible, the Scripture talks a lot

19:57

about men in leadership, whether it be the church

20:00

or the home. And what you do is you

20:02

get out the basin, put the towel around your

20:04

waist and you lead. That's

20:07

it. And, you know,

20:09

women generally love to have

20:11

a husband who gets that picture.

20:14

Um, I wrote a book years ago

20:16

called like the Shepherd Loving

20:18

Your Marriage with Love and Grace.

20:21

Or leading your lead, leading your marriage

20:24

with love and grace. And, you

20:26

know, actually, I had some folks who really pushed back on

20:28

that subtitle using the word leading,

20:30

because for some people around the

20:32

table, that was offensive. Well, some

20:35

guys are offensive, let's call it that,

20:37

in in the way they lead. But if you lead

20:39

with a basin and a towel around your waist

20:41

and, you know, I married a lady

20:44

who was 57 years old and never

20:46

married, and the last thing she was looking

20:48

for, listen to me, was a husband. And

20:51

you know that story. Chris Fabry has

20:53

some. He's kind of like the midwife.

20:55

And I heard that.

20:58

He watched over us. But

21:00

loving and serving my precious

21:02

wife has been the joy

21:04

of my life. Um,

21:07

you know, she didn't she didn't need me.

21:09

She she had she had decided

21:11

that the Lord had called her to be a single woman.

21:14

In fact, when I asked her to marry me,

21:16

I said, I'd love for you to have the wedding of your dreams.

21:18

And she looked at me and she said, I've

21:20

never dreamed about a wedding. Um,

21:24

so you talk about throwing

21:26

the the gauntlet down for a

21:28

man who tends to be a little competitive. I

21:30

thought, okay, I'm going to make this

21:32

the most amazing experience you've ever had in your

21:35

life. And I think she would say, yeah,

21:37

it's up there.

21:40

Uh, I'm I'm just so glad

21:42

to see that you're experiencing this,

21:44

and you're talking about what you see

21:47

in him. Yeah. And if there's

21:49

another guy who's listening right now

21:51

who's who's been thinking about. Yeah,

21:53

you know, I've been thinking about this. Maybe

21:56

this is the impetus for you

21:58

to begin that process of not

22:01

just, you know, listening to other people

22:03

teach the Bible is a great thing. I

22:05

do it and I suggest it for

22:07

everybody. But for them,

22:09

that man to open up the

22:11

Bible and begin to read this happened

22:13

to me this morning because I've been going

22:15

through, you know, the, uh, what

22:17

happened before the crucifixion,

22:20

because we know so much about Gethsemane

22:22

and we know so much about the crucifixion

22:25

and and then Saturday and then

22:27

the resurrection. But what happened before that?

22:29

And I was looking at Mary, a

22:32

young Mary, uh, who

22:34

was actually listening to Jesus.

22:36

And when the disciples didn't

22:38

get it, Mary got

22:41

it. He he was going to die.

22:43

Others couldn't see this because

22:45

they wanted Jesus to be who

22:47

they wanted him to be. They wanted him to be

22:50

king. They wanted to conquer the Romans.

22:52

That's who. Jesus, you know, the Messiah was going to be,

22:54

right? And Jesus had much bigger plans

22:57

for them and for us. And Mary

22:59

sees this. And one

23:01

of the places that I was reading it was the,

23:03

the, the pound of nard that she

23:06

breaks. This perfume, this

23:08

very expensive gift that she

23:10

gives was a

23:12

was a preparation for him

23:15

for his own burial. And they didn't

23:17

do that. In one of the commentaries that I read,

23:19

they didn't prepare for burial.

23:21

The people who had been crucified, they just

23:23

these were bodies that they just tossed

23:25

away. But for Jesus

23:28

to have this done, to anoint

23:30

his feet and feet, her

23:32

faith became action.

23:34

It became an expression of love.

23:37

So the others didn't get him,

23:40

but she did. I just thought that was really,

23:42

really special to to step into

23:45

her, um, worship

23:47

of Jesus and even to use her

23:50

hair to wipe his feet

23:52

with. And that's something.

23:54

It is wonderful. And, you know, just

23:56

think of Holy Week and, and the

23:58

involvement of women in this

24:00

story. Starting

24:02

with who discovered

24:05

the tomb was empty. Now, I love

24:07

that there's something very special

24:09

about the scripture revealing

24:12

to all of us how

24:14

Jesus honors women.

24:17

Yes. Um, I think that's a

24:19

really important little side thing. When

24:21

you read the story, don't forget that

24:23

it was the women who discovered

24:25

the angel who appeared to women,

24:28

and they took off running to the disciples,

24:30

and of course, the disciples. Chunks that

24:32

they were didn't believe him.

24:35

Yeah.

24:35

Yeah, exactly. And

24:37

and here's the other thing for me to

24:39

to bring it back to my heart again today

24:42

and not just keep it locked in. 2000

24:44

years ago, the people

24:46

around wanted Jesus to be

24:48

who they wanted him to be and to do what they

24:50

wanted him to do. I do the same thing today.

24:52

I want him to answer the prayer in

24:54

my timeline, the the way that

24:56

I want him to. And if you're really loved

24:59

me, you're going to do this and

25:01

and what Mary was doing there

25:03

was being willing to say,

25:06

um, I want to worship you for who you

25:08

are and not who I think

25:10

you need to be for me.

25:12

And that is the best gift that we can give

25:15

him today is a heart that says,

25:17

God, not my will, but yours

25:19

be done. Not what I want or what

25:21

I think I need here. You

25:24

know, maybe there's some really tough stuff

25:26

that you as a man are going through

25:28

and you're saying, why are you putting me through this,

25:30

God? And to be able

25:32

to get to the point and say, I'm going to worship

25:34

you for who you are

25:36

and for who you are as you're walking

25:39

through this with me is a great

25:41

gift. We're talking with Robert Smith

25:44

today. The man's Daily Bible

25:46

is our featured resource. You'll find it at the website

25:48

Chris Fabry lives. Org.

26:05

We're talking about the change that can happen in

26:07

a man when he connects with God's

26:09

Word, when he connects with the father's

26:11

heart. CNET's president

26:13

and CEO, Roland Warren says children

26:16

have a hole in their soul in

26:18

the shape of their dads. Tim

26:21

had that when he played sports

26:23

in school. He saw dads cheering their

26:25

sons and it reminded him

26:27

of what he didn't have a relationship

26:29

with his father. He

26:31

met Cindy, fell in love with his girl,

26:34

with her and her young child from

26:36

a previous relationship, and

26:38

he was committed to them both. And then Cindy

26:40

became pregnant and he

26:42

was ready to be a dad. But she was devastated.

26:45

She was not ready for more

26:47

children. I say this

26:49

all the time. You or someone you know will need the

26:51

Ministry of Care net in your life.

26:54

Tim saw an ad online about

26:56

the pregnancy decision line. He

26:59

called. He talked with a coach who

27:01

kind of walked him through what was

27:03

going on in his life,

27:05

not only about the issue of

27:07

life, but that

27:09

that caring person on the other end

27:12

pointed him to the loving arms

27:14

of a dad who had never abandoned him,

27:17

his heavenly Father. That's

27:19

why we call Canada Pro

27:21

Abundant Life Ministry.

27:24

You can read Tim's story and 39

27:26

more in a free devotional from Karen

27:29

at. It's called A lifeline of Hope. It's

27:31

absolutely free. Click the green

27:33

hairnet button at Chris Fabry Live.

27:35

Org and you can read more about

27:38

this Pro Abundant Life Ministry.

27:40

Go to Chris Fabry live. Org

27:42

and click that green Carnet button today.

27:46

Robert Smith is with me today. I

27:48

just find it so great to think

27:50

about. You know, the other

27:52

side of this says, are

27:54

you pro-life people? You only care about the baby

27:56

until it's born. But the people

27:59

of Canada, this story after story

28:01

of people not only, you know, the life of

28:03

the baby is saved, but also

28:06

the the woman and sometimes

28:08

the man. They're brought

28:10

into a relationship with their heavenly

28:13

father through this crisis in their

28:15

lives. What do you think about that?

28:18

Well, Nancy would tell you

28:21

that, um, the

28:23

issue, especially this

28:25

time of the year, getting ready for an election

28:28

where that's become such

28:30

a watershed subject.

28:34

So I talked to a good friend whose name

28:36

you would know who's been really monumental

28:38

in the pro-life movement. And

28:40

I said, I know that, you know, some of

28:42

the folks, political people, leaders

28:44

and so forth. I

28:46

dare you to tell them to walk up

28:48

on the platform some day soon with

28:51

a newborn baby in their arms. And

28:56

and say to the people gathered

28:58

there. If

29:00

if I wouldn't be on

29:02

the side that I'm on. This baby's

29:04

life is in danger at this age.

29:07

This. We're talking about babies

29:09

here. We're not talking about choosing. We're not

29:12

talking about rights. We're talking

29:14

about life and death for little children.

29:17

And the Lord has given me really the privilege

29:19

over the years of publishing

29:22

work by people who were

29:25

pro-life sacrificially,

29:28

I mean people who spent time

29:30

in prison because they picketed

29:33

at abortion clinics. So

29:37

and, you know, father now

29:39

of two girls and grandfather

29:41

to five and great grandfather to

29:44

two, and having

29:46

held brand new, brand new

29:48

babies and thinking, oh, God,

29:50

can you, can you do whatever possible

29:53

to alert people as to what the real

29:55

issue is here and protect

29:57

these unborn children?

30:01

That says it all, and that shows

30:03

your heart. And there are

30:05

people on the other side that will say, well, you're a man.

30:07

You have no reason to, you know, to say

30:09

anything about this. And

30:11

Karen does such a great job of

30:14

of kindly, gently pushing

30:16

back on that, you know, because

30:18

it is about life, all

30:20

life, male and female. Um,

30:23

in this, in this Bible,

30:25

you're talking about men and

30:27

their lives. And there's a section

30:30

in here, a temptation for

30:32

men, infidelity, pornography,

30:35

all of that, you know, so ubiquitous

30:38

today. How do you

30:40

deal with something like that in the

30:42

Scripture?

30:43

Hmm. Well.

30:47

You talk about consequences. Um,

30:50

the, the piece that I wrote

30:52

that has to do with this is actually

30:55

a very familiar passage out of Genesis

30:57

39. Joseph,

30:59

Egypt, part of his wife.

31:03

And I tell the story about flying

31:05

to Washington, D.C., um,

31:09

and sitting next to a woman on

31:12

the airplane who was

31:14

attractive, articulate,

31:16

conversational. And

31:19

I write. Ten minutes into the conversation, I

31:21

felt my my pulse slowly beginning

31:23

to quicken. I

31:25

felt myself mysteriously but unmistakably,

31:28

being attracted to my airplane companion.

31:31

Etc., etc.. And

31:34

and so I write.

31:36

My mind raced through the options. I

31:38

was alone in a city where anonymity

31:40

is a sacrament. Like

31:42

Joseph and Egypt, I was an adult with the

31:44

freedom to make any choice I wanted to make,

31:47

I would probably never be found out.

31:49

So what I talk about is

31:51

just thinking, my

31:53

mind racing and what

31:55

drew me back, Chris

31:58

was my two little girls. Now they're grown.

32:01

Um, on their knees saying their their

32:04

nighttime prayers with their mom, my

32:06

wife and

32:09

and realizing that I was

32:11

potentially sacrificing my

32:13

relationship with them for

32:15

the rest of their lives. If I'd say

32:18

yes to this temptation. So

32:20

you don't need to be on a soapbox to

32:22

tell that story. And for men to get the

32:24

idea this is for real. I

32:27

can't afford to make such a stupid mistake

32:29

and and sacrifice on

32:32

the altar. Something that has no business

32:34

being sacrificed. So

32:36

it's it's that it's that kind of thing.

32:38

It's. I am the friend of the reader.

32:41

I'm not a preacher. There's no microphone, there's no

32:43

platform. It's just me and him

32:45

and a cup of coffee between us. And we're

32:47

talking life. We're talking honest

32:49

life and consequences

32:52

for stuff that we do. And, you

32:54

know, God's grace is there for sure. But there are consequences

32:57

often to our sin. So

32:59

I'm lifting this particular story

33:01

up to a guy that's reading it who

33:03

says, you know what? It might be pleasure

33:06

for a season or for a moment, but

33:08

it's not going to be worth it. And so I'm going to say

33:10

no.

33:11

And that's where it that's where it all

33:13

happens. It all begins in the mind,

33:15

you know. And she probably didn't know that this was

33:17

rolling through your head. My guess is

33:20

um, but you at the end

33:22

of this, at the end of, uh, well,

33:25

I won't say the title of it because that's how it

33:27

ends. But she said we we stood

33:29

to leave for the plane. She said, thanks for

33:31

telling me about your life. I wish

33:33

more men love their families like you do.

33:36

Tell Bobby hello for me. Isn't

33:38

that great.

33:40

That she.

33:40

Came back around to Bobby and

33:42

again, Bobby, for those who don't

33:45

know, Bobby, your first wife

33:47

passed away a number of years ago

33:50

with, uh, I suppose, in a brain

33:52

cancer that.

33:52

She was going through ovarian. Ovarian cancer?

33:55

That's right. Um.

33:56

And, uh, we played.

33:58

Her.

33:58

Singing a hymn walking

34:01

up and down the street, you know, and

34:03

this was just who she was. This

34:05

was. And and for you to be able to

34:07

get to that point and sitting

34:09

beside this man through the cup of coffee,

34:12

that's really powerful.

34:14

Uh. Thank you. Well,

34:16

the last, very last paragraph of that

34:18

piece says, thank you, father in heaven. I this

34:21

is when I crawled in bed that night in a hotel room.

34:23

I remember praying that night as I slipped in bed.

34:25

Thank you for a family who sacrificed

34:28

to save my life tonight. So

34:30

even though they didn't know anything about this,

34:33

it was my love for them that saved my life

34:35

that night.

34:37

And this is what you want to do for other men

34:40

to, to get them into.

34:42

And this is, you know, right at the beginning of Genesis

34:45

when Joseph and Potiphar's wife and all of

34:47

that for the

34:49

the daily struggles that men

34:51

have. You want to be there

34:54

along with what God is speaking

34:56

in his word, right?

34:58

Right. Exactly, I sure do. Oh, yes.

35:00

It's it's right here. It's

35:03

it's it's not a puzzle. It's very

35:05

easy to understand. What

35:08

you have to do is you have to give it time.

35:10

Spend time in the word and,

35:12

and while you're reading and after you're reading,

35:15

say, Lord, would you speak to me today? Would

35:17

even maybe before you read, say, would you just

35:19

pop something out that I need to hear?

35:22

Speak to me this way. And,

35:25

um, and he'll do that. He'll

35:27

do that. He'll take our obedience and

35:29

turn it into something very amazing

35:31

and and wonderful and satisfying,

35:34

all those things. So,

35:36

you know, the the, the

35:38

reward, if you will, of

35:40

obedience is joy like

35:42

you can't imagine. And and the flip

35:45

side of that is also true, isn't it. Yeah.

35:47

Well, and and like Jeremy wrote on Facebook,

35:50

the, the comfort and the peace,

35:52

the acceptance, the forgiveness.

35:55

So many men are struggling with that, you

35:57

know, am I worth am I worthy

35:59

to God. You know, is is he

36:02

really at work in my life? If you go

36:04

to the website, Chris favorite live org,

36:06

you'll see Robert Smith,

36:08

general editor of the Men's

36:10

Daily Bible, Christian

36:13

Standard Bible, the CSB. It's

36:15

at Chris Fabry live. Org what

36:17

about Scripture memory? We're going to talk about

36:19

that with Robert straight ahead on

36:21

Moody Radio.

36:31

I. Hey,

36:33

thanks for your support.

36:34

At Chris Fabry Live. We can't do what we do

36:36

here at the back fence without you. Your help,

36:38

your support. If you give a gift of any size

36:41

this month and the month is

36:43

quickly going by sand in the

36:45

hourglass, we're sending you Glennon Marshall's

36:48

book, Memorizing Scripture The Basics

36:50

Blessings, and Benefits of

36:52

Meditating on God's Word.

36:54

And I think one of the things that she's saying

36:56

in here is, it doesn't matter how old you are,

36:58

it doesn't matter where you are or what stage of life

37:01

you're in. You can do this, and there

37:03

are great benefits. And I want

37:05

to get your take on this, Robert, because Glennis

37:07

says, when you get into the habit of meditating on

37:09

God's Word, you will

37:11

in time notice the awakening

37:13

of godly desires. You'll

37:16

also observe things that used to hold attraction,

37:18

lose some of their shine. While

37:20

Scripture meditation deepens your love

37:22

for God, it also dilutes your love

37:25

for the things of this world. And

37:27

then she says, as we're talking about today, the

37:29

Bible isn't like any other book. It's God's

37:31

inspired and inerrant word, and with

37:33

it he can change the way you

37:35

think and reshape your affections

37:38

by the way you hide it in your

37:40

heart. Do you agree with that?

37:42

I sure do. And what's Psalm

37:45

119? What's the result?

37:47

What's the what's the. Yeah.

37:49

What's the result of hiding God's Word in

37:52

your heart? Why? Why

37:54

do we do that? Because it takes

37:56

care of our sin problem. Yes.

37:58

Um, I mean, that's that's the net

38:00

net of that. So. Yeah.

38:02

It is.

38:03

Yeah. And I love Linda's work

38:05

because she talks about memorization.

38:07

Yes. And for those

38:09

of us on the phone that have children,

38:11

grandchildren or in our case, great grandchildren,

38:14

teach them Scripture

38:16

to memorize their wet cement. Yes.

38:19

Uh, when I was five years old,

38:21

in, in in the first grade

38:23

in Japan, we were there as missionaries.

38:25

Miss Loveless taught us Psalm

38:28

96, and I still know it word for

38:30

word. That was 70 years ago.

38:32

Michael Carter was saying this yesterday is

38:34

his grandmother who

38:36

had dementia problems.

38:38

She he said she didn't remember

38:41

who she was, but Michael would sit

38:43

and read the Bible to her

38:45

and she would correct him when he'd get

38:47

a word wrong.

38:49

You know, don't you love that? That

38:51

was still there.

38:52

You know?

38:53

So, yeah, there's just.

38:55

A few days left. We could use your help here

38:57

at the end of March. Eight, six,

39:00

six 95th February. If you want to call

39:02

the phone number (866) 953-2279

39:06

or go to Chris Fabry live org.

39:08

Again, the thank you is the little book.

39:11

Robert's got a copy memorizing

39:13

Scripture by Glenna marshall.

39:15

Uh, and you can see it right there at the website Chris

39:18

Fabry live. Org. Okay,

39:20

you just mentioned something else that I saw

39:22

in this, a little clip

39:24

about your when your brother, when

39:26

you were in Japan and your brother

39:28

got lost, you had to ride trains

39:30

to go to school. Tell me, tell me

39:32

that story real quick.

39:34

Oh my goodness. Yeah. We, we we

39:36

were in a Christian school. Japan

39:39

Christian Academy is what it's called now. So

39:41

my daughters could say, okay, dad, here we go.

39:44

We walked a mile. We took a bus.

39:46

We took two trains. That included

39:48

a transfer. You've seen pictures

39:50

of Japanese railroad train stations

39:53

and then we got to the final destination.

39:55

We had another mile to walk, and that's

39:57

what we did. Every single uphill.

39:59

Both ways to right.

40:01

With our feet bound in rags. You know

40:03

this story? Yeah, exactly. And

40:05

one time we were on

40:07

our way home, we got on the train, the second

40:09

train, and my brother Ken is gone.

40:12

We have no idea where he is. Um,

40:15

and it's, it's it's a wonderful story because

40:18

on our walk home, it's three

40:20

of us instead of four of us. We thought our mother

40:22

might figure that out, might say, look,

40:24

there's only three. There's supposed to be four.

40:27

But when we got home, my brother had

40:29

gotten back on the train that took him back

40:31

to school. So he showed up at school

40:34

and they called my mother and said, we

40:36

have Ken here. So

40:38

she knew before we did that he wasn't dead.

40:41

So anyway. But yes, that was

40:43

an adventure for sure. Things you do as a kid,

40:45

right?

40:45

Your sister at.

40:47

That point had them

40:49

get on the loudspeaker.

40:50

Didn't she? Didn't. Yes, yes.

40:53

And and they asked what this little boy's

40:55

name was and she said, his name

40:57

is Kenneth Largemouth.

41:01

Huh. Good luck with.

41:02

That. There. And so they're

41:04

calling out over the loudspeaker my

41:07

brother's name in broken Japanese.

41:10

We didn't even we couldn't even understand what

41:12

they were saying, even though we knew what they were saying.

41:14

So fortunately, my

41:16

brother turned up okay. And he's doing fine.

41:19

Well, and.

41:20

Part of the import of that story is

41:23

to be able to hear the voice of the person

41:25

who knows you best, who loves you most.

41:28

And so to the guy who's listening

41:30

today, I want you to.

41:32

Hear this.

41:33

That, that there is a

41:35

there is a father who wants to draw

41:37

you close and draw you near. And I think some

41:39

men are intimidated by the Bible or

41:41

they feel like, you know, maybe their

41:43

wife or other people know it so well.

41:46

And I, you know, I'm going to try, but

41:48

there's something about you getting involved.

41:50

Right.

41:51

Mhm. Absolutely. Yes. It's

41:53

it's a daunting book, 750,000

41:56

words, 1500

41:58

pages. It's a daunting book.

42:01

So my, my plan, my hope

42:03

is that I remove some of that

42:05

fear something some of that daunting ness

42:08

and say, pick it, pick

42:10

this thing up. We're going to go for a walk together.

42:12

And I'll bet there is some stuff in there

42:14

that you really be glad that you bumped into.

42:17

I mean, it's and it's just us. No.

42:20

No intimidation, no long

42:22

words. Just

42:24

just this guy and me and a

42:26

cup of coffee between us. And we're talking about what

42:28

God's word has for us. That's really the point.

42:31

It's called the man's daily Bible.

42:33

Robert is the general editor.

42:36

Would you just pray for the person, the the

42:38

man who's listening right now, who

42:40

is, you know, this is calling to

42:42

me. There's something that you're touching a nerve in my

42:44

life, but I'm scared to do this or I

42:46

just don't have the time. Or would you pray for that

42:48

guy?

42:50

Oh, I'd love to. Lord Jesus, I pray

42:52

for that guy, whatever his name is.

42:55

Whoever's hearing this, he knows exactly

42:58

what I mean. And he knows that your spirit

43:00

is speaking his name. So

43:02

I pray that you'd remove the fear, the

43:05

the overwhelming sense of this massive

43:07

book. What in the world am I going to do and

43:10

assure him that he's got a friend? Who's

43:13

taking the journey, and he's

43:15

going to point out the signposts and

43:18

say, let's go this direction and let's

43:20

walk down this turn and,

43:23

and we can do this together. Oh,

43:25

Lord, I pray that you would alert

43:27

this guy that

43:29

this can be done for your glory,

43:33

that the life that he will begin

43:35

to see himself live as a result

43:37

of sitting in your presence every morning.

43:40

Will absolutely be what he needs.

43:42

The joy of the result

43:44

that happens as a result of him spending time

43:46

in your word. That's really what we want.

43:49

And so I pray

43:51

for that guy. You know his name. I don't

43:53

you know his name. Would you speak to him? Nudge

43:55

him if he's driving, if he's walking,

43:57

if he's sitting with somebody, speak

44:00

his name. He'll know that you're talking to him

44:02

and draw him to yourself through your word. In

44:04

Jesus name, Amen. Amen.

44:07

One more question, Robert. There's a

44:09

one of these insights for the day

44:11

about a man named Ken. Real

44:14

quickly, but before we end here, would you tell us

44:16

this story?

44:16

Yeah, I will. And I talked about

44:18

Ken a moment ago as my brother.

44:20

And this isn't the same guy, but his name

44:23

was Ken. We went on a mission assignment.

44:25

We were both in full time youth ministry.

44:28

We went to South America, and

44:30

we had an absolute nonstop,

44:32

amazing time. Uh,

44:35

teaching youth leaders and so forth.

44:38

And I discover when

44:40

I get home that Ken is sick,

44:42

then discovered he has full blown Aids,

44:45

and then discover that he's been living a

44:47

double life since he was a young man.

44:50

Um, and so I went to see

44:52

him, and he was he was

44:54

a shell. He had

44:57

lost so much weight. And

45:00

so the name of this piece is I Still

45:02

miss you can. And

45:05

what I. What I write, Chris, is

45:07

the following. Sexual purity is not God's

45:10

great practical, practical joke on men.

45:12

Testosterone mercilessly

45:15

coursing through our veins. Purity

45:17

is his blessing. It's his promise.

45:20

If we cross this line, we will die.

45:22

Even though it's been many years. I

45:24

still miss you. Can.

45:27

Just one of the insights

45:29

in this new Bible.

45:32

Robert Smith has been with us. The Men's

45:34

Daily Bible is our featured resource. It's

45:37

it's one of the, I think,

45:39

a lot of ways Moody Radio and

45:41

this program, we just introduce

45:43

you to things that can help you along the

45:45

trail. And if this is one for you.

45:47

God bless you, friend. You dig into

45:49

it or open up the Bible that you have

45:51

on your shelf and and blow the dust

45:53

off and get in there and see what

45:56

God will do inside your

45:58

own heart, and how

46:00

it will leak out into

46:02

the lives of those around you as

46:04

well. As we talked about wives and

46:06

then children. Robert, great to talk

46:09

with you. Say hi to Nancy. Hug all those

46:11

kids and grandkids and.

46:12

Great grandkids now.

46:14

Thank you Chris. Blessings to you, my

46:16

good friend.

46:17

If you go to Chris Fabry.

46:19

Live or click through today's information,

46:21

you'll see the Men's Daily Bible,

46:23

the CSB Men's Daily

46:25

Bible at Chris Favorite live.

46:28

Org as I mentioned earlier,

46:30

we're going to go to Gethsemane tomorrow

46:32

and spend a whole hour with a couple of friends,

46:35

and we're going to go into the garden and we're

46:37

going to just sit and

46:40

read and contemplate

46:42

what the Savior went through for you

46:44

and me. Chris fairy Lives production

46:46

of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody

46:49

Bible Institute.