Participants:
Series Code: CW
Program Code: CW000053S
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00:00 (gentle music)
00:03 - Welcome, everyone. 00:05 We're excited to share some country wisdom with you. 00:07 - King Solomon had a thing or two to say 00:09 about the path to wisdom. 00:11 In Proverbs 4, he wrote, 00:13 "Let your eyes look directly forward 00:16 and your gaze be straight before you. 00:19 Keep straight the path of your feet, 00:21 and all your ways will be sure." 00:23 - Join us now for "Country Wisdom." 00:33 (soft music) 00:37 (birds chirping) 01:00 - Marty, we've jokingly referred to this as the man cave, 01:03 which it clearly is. 01:05 It's very different from my little room at home. 01:07 But it's not the typical. 01:09 You do not have a big screen TV with ESPN playing 01:16 and, you know, pinball machines and things like that. 01:18 You have some pretty cool stuff in here. 01:20 - Well, it's just stuff I've accumulated over the years. 01:23 I taught biology for about 25 years 01:26 and then outdoor leadership for about five years. 01:28 And anyway, I've got a lot more stuff than this, 01:30 but I just put a few things on my desk 01:32 that we might be able to talk about. 01:33 - So you've got a scientific background. 01:35 - Yeah. 01:36 - Can you tell us a little bit about that 01:37 so the audience knows you're not just shooting 01:39 from your hip? 01:40 - Yeah. Well, I'm a educator primarily. 01:43 I wouldn't call myself the hardcore scientist, 01:45 although I taught science, you know? 01:47 So I think most of us that are teachers 01:49 are what we call generalists. 01:51 We know things on a level 01:54 that we can disseminate it to our students 01:56 in a understandable, enjoyable way. 01:58 That's the goal, 01:59 and that they come away with something 02:01 that launches them into a career path 02:04 that they might have interest in. 02:05 But you have to enjoy your subject 02:08 and be passionate about it. 02:09 So my biology degree in college, chemistry minor, 02:14 equipped me to teach in the sciences for quite a few years. 02:18 - You said something interesting earlier 02:20 when you were talking with us, 02:21 that you always had an affinity for nature, 02:25 even when you were a little boy. 02:26 - [Marty] Right. 02:27 - And the things that you can observe in nature, 02:30 and you were saying it really is God's second book, 02:33 that best textbook out there 02:35 is to just be out there observing. 02:38 - And so there's really three things that come together 02:41 for somebody to really unlock 02:43 what I call unlocking the book of nature 02:45 because many people go outside 02:47 and sense something that is transcendent. 02:50 It's a spiritual experience to go into Yosemite, 02:56 into the Grand Canyon, or even just into some little creek. 02:59 You know, there's just something that you feel there. 03:03 It's a cathedral-like place. 03:05 You know, the trees with the columns rising up, 03:08 the canyon walls, you know, the cliffs in Yosemite 03:12 our eyes are lifted upward and we feel something. 03:15 And so we know that it's tangible 03:17 regardless of what your perspective on God. 03:21 So I experience this, 03:23 and I've talked to enough people to know 03:26 that that is universally experienced. 03:28 - I don't know how you can be out camping, 03:32 which I used to do a lot more in my youth, 03:34 but be out there in the mountains, 03:37 staring up at the stars at night, feeling so small, 03:42 how you look up at all of that and not know 03:45 that you're not the greatest thing in the world, 03:49 not recognize that there's something else out there, 03:51 something bigger than me. 03:53 - And it really comes back to what I talked about 03:56 in another episode is you kind of come 03:58 to the end of yourself. 04:00 You come to realize how limited you are, 04:04 how small and infinite space is. 04:08 So I think it's a real humbling place to be. 04:11 And I think that's one of the best things about it. 04:15 - I look at Genesis, the first chapters, 04:17 talking about the creation story, 04:20 God creating everything. 04:21 He spoke, and it came into existence, 04:23 but He looked at it and said, "It's very good." 04:25 Created man and woman, spent a lot more time 04:28 with man and woman, but it was still very good. 04:32 Things have been polluted. 04:33 Matter of fact, people have been lied to. 04:36 And if the devil can get us discouraged about creation, 04:39 he can change everything. 04:41 But you found God in creation, haven't you? 04:44 - In fact, the truth of the matter is, 04:46 the more I study about creation, 04:49 whether it's on the universe level, 04:51 or whether it's down to the molecular level, 04:53 I see the possibilities are so minuscule 04:58 that things could come about by chance, 05:01 that it's actually strengthened my faith. 05:03 I can't prove God, but I see evidence for Him everywhere. 05:07 So that's kind of my default, 05:09 is that I believe in God because of science. 05:16 - Talk to us about that evidence a little bit, if you would. 05:19 - Okay, well, I've got a few things around here, 05:21 and I just want to use 'em as object lessons. 05:23 To me, that's one of the best ways to take what's in nature 05:26 and apply it to my own life. 05:29 So I'm gonna start over here to my left, okay? 05:31 I've got a vase that's got a bunch of brown sticks. 05:35 Now, most people would just look at these sticks and go, 05:37 "Well, that's just a bunch of sticks." 05:40 - Well, it's minimalist art. 05:42 - Yeah, but there's a story with each one of these. 05:44 You can actually identify what species of tree it is 05:48 based on these buds, by leaf scars, by lenticels, 05:52 all of these different characteristics. 05:55 But I like to look at these buds from the standpoint 05:59 of what can I understand about just looking at this twig. 06:06 Most people would just go, "Yeah (clicks tongue), 06:07 I see a twig." 06:08 - It's a twig. (laughs) - Yeah. 06:09 But I have learned to take even something like a rock. 06:14 I did this when I was teaching environmental education 06:18 at the collegiate level. 06:19 I had rocks on each one of the students' desk. 06:21 And I just said, 06:22 "Tell me everything you can about that rock. 06:25 And when you get done with that, 06:26 write down every question you can about that rock. 06:28 I want you to think about that rock." 06:32 And they just kind looked- - And that took what? 06:33 About 30 seconds? (laughs) - Yeah, you know, 06:36 but I gave 'em time. 06:38 And that's what it takes most of the time, 06:41 is to give people time to think. 06:44 And so they wrote down what they could, 06:46 and then we unpacked it. 06:47 Okay, what kind of... 06:48 A lot of questions came about. 06:50 And that is one of the most important things 06:52 from my experience with people, 06:54 is to give time for people to think and to ask questions. 06:58 Because if people aren't asking questions, 07:01 information is just more information. 07:05 - I can't stand it. 07:06 Since you said that, I gotta pick 07:07 this thing up. - Yeah, what can 07:08 you figure out about a rock. - Yeah, I gotta pick it. 07:09 Oh, look at that. Wow. 07:10 - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 07:10 - Look at that thing. 07:11 - Well, we're gonna look at that 07:12 a little bit more carefully. (Jim laughing) 07:15 But we'll get back to the rock thing. 07:16 But anyway, the stick here, 07:18 we notice, of course there are buds, okay? 07:21 And in the wintertime is when I snip these off. 07:24 And when I look at these buds, 07:26 they can help me identify what it is. 07:28 This is a white ash, okay? 07:29 So this grows out here in the woods, 07:32 and the bud pattern is characteristic, 07:34 the arrangement of the buds. 07:35 They kind of go off this way and then this way, 07:38 and the terminal bud has a particular arrangement 07:42 and configuration. 07:43 And you know, for somebody that's studied it, 07:46 they just, "Yeah, it's an ash," okay? 07:48 So, but I always like to take it to a deeper level. 07:52 It's like knowing somebody, okay? 07:54 If I said, "Hey, Jim, how are you doing?" 07:56 And all I know is your name, 07:58 well, that's pretty surface level. 08:00 But when I know your story, 08:03 then when I see you, I think whole story. 08:06 You know, I know what you love, what your pain, 08:11 all of those things. 08:12 Same thing with you, Janice. 08:13 So with the stick here, when I look at these buds, 08:16 I have to ask myself, "What are the buds for?" 08:20 Okay, what are the buds for? 08:22 - For growth. 08:23 - Okay, they're for next year, right? Okay? 08:26 There's a time and a season 08:28 that these are prepared for, right? 08:30 So there is a message of planning here. Okay? 08:35 Now, this is a brainless creature, right? 08:37 Trees, they don't, as far as I know, have brains, 08:40 but they do respond to stimuli and all that. 08:42 But when I look at these buds, I go, 08:44 "Okay, when did these buds form? 08:45 Did they form in the middle of the winter?" 08:48 No. When did they form? 08:51 Did they form right before winter hit? No. 08:54 They started forming actually late summer. 08:57 Right about now, this time of year, 08:59 we're kind of transitioning into the fall, 09:02 summer into the fall season, these buds start forming. 09:06 And what that speaks to me on a very simple level is, 09:12 as a man, do I plan ahead, 09:16 or do I put all of my money, all of my investment 09:20 into the here and now? 09:22 Or am I planning for the future? 09:26 Am I investing in the future? Do I see? 09:29 Like, you know, I've talked to people 09:31 that are going through the winter experience of life. 09:35 And yet during that winter, 09:37 when the tree looks like this, 09:39 the roots are down in the ground, actually growing, 09:44 and they're preparing for springtime. 09:47 And when the spring comes, they're ready. 09:50 So it's not a lost time. 09:52 The winter is not a time of death, it's a time of rest. 09:55 And so what I will tell men and women alike 09:58 is if you're going through a winter season, embrace it. 10:02 Let those roots go down, go deep with God. 10:08 Don't waste this time. 10:10 This is a time for you to be ready 10:12 for the growth that is coming. 10:14 So it's a hopeful way of looking at things. 10:16 So sticks, that would be an object lesson to me 10:19 that would be speaking to that human side 10:24 of my heart, you know? 10:26 So that would be one example. - All right. 10:28 Well, when do we get to the rock? 10:29 I wanna hear about that. - Okay, okay, okay. 10:31 Well, before we get to the rock, 10:33 I wanna get to this one here 10:35 because they're connected, these two are connected. 10:37 One is a living- - Look, I was not 10:39 a biology major, but even I know 10:41 that those are not the same. 10:42 - Yes, exactly. (Jim laughing) 10:43 So they both will open up, 10:45 one with a lot more force than the other. 10:47 But I actually found this pearl oyster 10:49 when I was diving many years ago in the Marshall Islands. 10:54 And as I was diving, I found this. 10:57 I pried it free, took it to the surface, 11:01 pried it open, thinking I would find this giant pearl. 11:04 (Janice laughing) I was disappointed. 11:06 But inside it still has the mother of pearl, right? 11:09 That mantle that covers the soft-bodied animal 11:13 that a mollusk is, 11:15 every day, it lays down a very shiny, thin layer 11:20 of this mother of pearl, you might call it. 11:22 And every layer makes the shell bigger, 11:25 makes the pearl bigger. 11:27 The one thing I like to say 11:28 is that this is like many of us, okay? 11:34 In life, the winter comes. 11:38 In life, we find ourselves stuck. 11:41 This pearl oyster cannot move around. 11:45 It landed on a coral reef somewhere 11:49 as a tiny little microscopic larva, 11:53 encrusted itself and started growing, 11:55 filter feeding, getting nutrients out of the water, 11:59 growing where it's planted. 12:01 And it just starts circulating the water, 12:03 circulating the water, getting its nutrients. 12:07 Pretty ugly on the outside. 12:09 - That's what I was thinking. 12:10 I thought, you know, (laughs) 12:11 it's kinda like us, ugly on the outside, 12:13 but maybe shiny on the inside. 12:14 - Exactly, and so when we think about this pearl oyster, 12:20 it's just doing its job in a very boring way. 12:24 But meanwhile inside, because of that irritant, 12:27 unfortunately, this one did not have- 12:29 - (laughs) Enough irritant. - A pearl in it. 12:31 But if it would've had some kind of an irritant, 12:32 a grain of sand, some kind of a parasite, 12:34 it would layer it up over and over and over that 12:38 until the longer the trial, 12:42 I think the opportunity for something beautiful is there. 12:46 And instead of complaining about things as we do as humans, 12:50 for God to show us that there is something 12:53 much more important going on. 12:55 It's an opportunity to be a testimony. 12:57 And it's just this way with people. 12:59 Sometimes people are beautiful on the outside, 13:01 on the inside, they're not very beautiful. 13:03 And some people on the outside aren't beautiful, 13:05 but on the inside they're very beautiful. 13:08 So that to me is a really good illustration. 13:10 And I would also like to take it 13:12 to the biblical side of things. 13:14 We've got a couple of references to pearls in the Bible. 13:18 Can you think of those? 13:19 - The pearl of great price. - Great price. 13:20 - Okay. Pearl of great price. 13:21 And what's the other one? 13:22 - Or pearls before swine. (laughs) 13:23 - Pearls before swine. 13:25 - (laughs) He wasn't thinking of that one. 13:26 - Yeah, yeah. 13:27 No, but that's a good one. (Jim laughing) 13:28 And there's one more. Very important. 13:32 - [Jim] I'm trying to think. 13:32 - There's 12 of 'em. 13:33 - Jim, We're flunking. 13:34 - Yeah, I think we flunked tonight, yeah. 13:36 - 12 of them. - Getting late. 13:38 - Oh, the foundations - Oh, foundations. 13:39 - Or the gates. 13:40 - Gates, there we go. - Yeah, that's it. 13:41 - Of the city of Jerusalem. - The gates of- 13:43 - New Jerusalem. - New Jerusalem 13:44 are single pearls. 13:46 Now, nothing is by chance. 13:47 And I believe that the pearl is an illustration, 13:50 it goes back to the pearl of great price, 13:53 that Jesus is that pearl. 13:55 And through His difficult life, 14:01 everything that He went through, 14:03 He is that great pearl. 14:05 And I believe that each one of the gates 14:07 of the New Jerusalem represents Him as well. 14:11 But I think in a personalized way, 14:13 I think that also anybody that is going to enter in 14:17 through the gates will have also had that experience 14:21 of going through trials 14:23 and allowing God to work through those trials 14:26 to make something beautiful, which is their testimony. 14:30 And so, to me, that's what I think of 14:32 when I think of the pearl oyster. 14:34 - That situation, you know, 14:36 each one of them in the 12 apostles, 14:39 each one had their own particular character. 14:42 - Yep. - That we enter 14:43 into that character. 14:45 You know, the whole thing is amazing 14:50 what God does and what God does through us 14:52 and the planning through eternity. (laughs) 14:56 - And we're just scratching the surface. 14:57 - Yeah. 15:00 - Every time we turn around, 15:01 there is another natural disaster. 15:04 It seems like every year 15:06 a large chunk of the world's forests and brush lands burn. 15:10 Hurricanes and typhoons wipe out large swaths 15:13 of real estate and human life. 15:16 The occurrence of earthquakes is continually on the rise. 15:22 There is a biblical reason for what's going on. 15:25 And that's why I'd like to give you a free copy 15:27 of the pamphlet called "Making Sense of Natural Disasters." 15:32 Get your free copy today by logging on 15:34 to talkingdonkeyinternational.org 15:38 and order offer 106, "Making Sense of Natural Disasters." 15:46 (upbeat music) (guns firing) 15:49 - You know, no one could ever calculate 15:51 the amount of sacrifice 15:52 that went into the making of this great nation, 15:55 the gains of so many because of the loss 15:57 of the precious few. 15:59 You know, as a child in school, 16:00 I sang "America, the Beautiful," "God bless America." 16:04 And we started every day 16:05 by reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance." 16:08 But a lot has changed. 16:09 Biblical predictions are taking shape at an amazing pace. 16:12 If you're about my age, 16:14 you know that this is not the country we all grew up in. 16:17 Well, it seems like this nation is rushing toward a cliff 16:19 with no possibility of return. 16:22 When I became a Christian, 16:24 I began studying biblical prophecy, last day events. 16:27 I found a book called "The Great Controversy" 16:29 that was amazing in its clarity. 16:31 If you'd like a copy, log on to our website. 16:34 - [Narrator] To order your free copy 16:36 of "The Great Controversy," 16:37 go to talkingdonkeyinternational.org. 16:40 Click on the store tab and order your copy today. 16:43 (inspiring music) 16:47 - So this other rock here. 16:48 - [Janice] He's finally at the rock. 16:50 Yeah, this rock here. - He's finally at the rock. 16:51 - I actually picked this up at a rock shop up in Michigan, 16:54 and when I picked it up, 16:56 I intentionally got it for my granddaughters, 16:59 so brought it home and got the hammer and broke it open. 17:02 And maybe you've seen these before. 17:04 - [Janice] Geodes. 17:05 - But it's a geode. Yeah. 17:05 So inside of this ugly, 17:09 non-descript ball 17:12 is the most beautiful crystal, sparkly structures. 17:17 And again, what does that speak to? 17:19 To me, it just speaks of the hidden things. 17:24 - And you had to strike it with a hammer 17:26 in order to reveal it. 17:27 - That's a good point, Jim. 17:28 I like that. I didn't even think of that. 17:30 But that's a good one. 17:31 Sometimes that broken beauty that I was talking about 17:35 in that other episode is a true thing. 17:38 Sometimes we have to have that brokenness 17:41 before the beauty is actually seen. 17:44 - It also reminds me, 17:45 a verse that just popped in my head, 17:47 about how man looks on the outside, 17:50 but God's looking at your heart. 17:52 Because I wonder how many ugly rocks I've walked past. 17:56 - [Marty] Exactly. (Jim laughs) 17:57 - You know? Ah, it's just a dumb, ugly rock. 17:59 You know? - How many people 18:00 on the street? - And how many people 18:01 have I passed? - Yeah, you passed. 18:03 Because like, you know, your lip curls, 18:04 like, "Ick, I don't wanna talk to them." 18:07 And you might be passing someone. 18:09 God is looking inside and seeing the potential inside. 18:15 - "As you've done it unto the least of these, my brethren, 18:17 you've done it unto me." 18:18 And so those people are there for us to be tested sometimes. 18:25 - All right, I told you I wasn't a biology major, 18:25 but even I know what that is. 18:27 - It's not anything related to biology, 18:31 even though it has 18:33 some green on it. - Go ahead, put your money 18:34 where your mouth is. - Minerology, isn't that part? 18:35 - I guess it's not really bio- - Biology's a living thing. 18:36 - 'Cause it's not alive. 18:38 You're right. - Living things. 18:39 - Okay, I was 18:40 an English major. - It has some green on it. 18:41 - Clearly, I was an English major. (laughs) 18:42 - Oh, boy, right on camera too. 18:44 - I thought I was so close. - English major's much harder. 18:46 - So close to looking like an A student. 18:48 And I flunked. 18:50 - Well, yeah, but these are some metal objects over here. 18:53 And I wanna contrast- - That's metal too? 18:55 - Yeah, these two, and this one here, 18:57 I'm gonna kind of do a little bit- 18:59 - [Janice] Well, you didn't find that out in nature. 19:00 - No, you're right. You're right. 19:01 - [Jim] Yeah, plumb bob was not nature. (laughs) 19:02 - Okay, so out of these three, 19:04 like if I was talking to some kids, I'd say, 19:06 "Okay, which is the one from nature, 19:09 and which are the ones from manmade?" 19:11 And they would look at it and probably figure it out. 19:14 So what are the ones that are manmade? 19:17 - He wants her to flunk 19:18 on camera again. - Well, obviously, that one. 19:19 - [Marty] No, I mean, out of these three right here, 19:20 what are the manmade ones? 19:23 - I'd say this one and that one. 19:24 - [Marty] Yeah, okay. 19:26 So this one's- - What do you think, Janice? 19:27 . Well, I can't, 19:29 can I pick it up? - You don't have 19:30 your glasses on. - You can touch it. 19:31 - I don't have my glasses on. 19:32 I thought I'd, you know, 19:34 look at it this way. - Okay, yeah, yeah. 19:34 - Oh, well, yeah. 19:35 Now, I can tell. 19:36 The giveaway is the writing on the back here. 19:37 - [Marty] Yeah, okay, you can't look at that, but let's- 19:40 - And maybe the screws. Those are clues. 19:42 - Okay. - So does that, 19:43 that looks like that was not a happy time probably, right? 19:46 This guy right here? - Something melted. 19:47 - Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, we've got copper nugget here. 19:51 This is aluminum. 19:52 And here is piece of brass, which is a plumb bob 19:56 with a little bit of a lead tip here. 19:58 And this was used for millennia, you know, 20:01 trying to get walls straight and everything. 20:04 So this is... 20:06 Now, the thing I wanna contrast here 20:11 in this particular story 20:12 is we've got two manmade things. 20:15 So we're gonna take a look at these two things, okay? 20:18 So we've got that and this, all right? 20:20 They're both made outta metal, both manmade. 20:23 What do they have in common? 20:25 - Oh, it's another trick question. 20:26 - Both metal. 20:28 - We already said that, Jim. - Okay. 20:29 - Ope, well, this went right over my head then. 20:31 - Yeah. So what else do they have in common? 20:35 - [Janice] They're both old? (laughs) 20:37 - Okay. Yeah. 20:41 - Well, you're not coming up with anything either. 20:43 - I'm, you know, like I say, it's too late in the day. 20:46 I'm just set on autopilot here. 20:47 (all laughing) 20:49 And he's asking all these hard teacher questions. 20:50 - Well, let's just think about this here. 20:51 Okay, I'll tell you a little bit about, 20:53 you know what this is, plumb bob. 20:54 That's affected by what? 20:56 What's the force that's making it go down? 20:58 - Gravity. 20:59 - Gravity, right? 21:00 All right, now this here is actually a piece 21:02 of the fuselage of an aircraft that crashed. 21:05 - Oh, that met gravity. - Yes. 21:07 - In a bad way. 21:08 - Yeah. Is gravity good or bad? 21:11 - Yes. - It depends. 21:12 (Jim and Janice laugh) 21:13 - It's really very good. Right? 21:15 - If you're hanging with your ice axes, 21:16 and you slip, it's bad. 21:18 - Yeah, exactly. 21:19 But yeah, overall it's a very good thing. 21:21 We could not live without it, right? 21:23 So this is used with gravity to actually point downward 21:29 and get things, you know, up and down. 21:32 This here is a piece of a crashed aircraft. 21:36 This is actually, I etched this on the back 21:38 so I would remember it as I got older, 21:40 but this was from around 1950 on Mount San Gorgonio 21:45 in Southern California. 21:46 This DC-3 crashed on the side of the mountain. 21:51 - That was melted metal. - Yeah, yeah. 21:53 So this was aluminum, and it just totally melted. 21:57 Now, there is a story of an accident here. 22:00 This is destruction and death, right? 22:03 A contrast would be, this is something 22:06 that is used with gravity 22:08 to do just the opposite. - Make your life better. 22:09 - Yeah, to build things up. 22:11 - Keep better walls up and- 22:13 - And so we've got the same force of gravity 22:17 and also just the force of a aircraft into the mountain, 22:22 but a totally different outcome, right? 22:25 So when we think of this aircraft in particular, 22:29 what happened? 22:30 There's a story behind that piece of metal there, right? 22:34 That aluminum ore came out of a mountain probably. 22:39 And then it had to be smelted, made into the aircraft, 22:44 which could seem to defy gravity, right? 22:48 As long as the laws of physics were followed, right? 22:54 And also the laws that govern aviation, 22:57 like instruments in bad weather. 23:01 So if you have bad weather, 23:03 I can see because of radar and stuff 23:06 where the mountain is and stuff. 23:08 I don't know the whole story on this, 23:09 but I do know that the laws of nature, 23:15 they're the same. 23:17 And God's laws are the same. 23:20 Can we break the laws of God really? 23:24 - With no consequences, you mean? 23:26 - Right. I mean, we really can't break them. 23:29 We only will verify them. 23:33 Given enough time, we will verify those laws. 23:38 Same thing with this. 23:39 We can follow the laws of nature, physics, 23:43 and it will go well. 23:46 But if we try to go against any of the laws of physics 23:50 and aviation and good judgment, there will be a consequence. 23:55 And so that's just a simple object lesson 23:58 involving two manmade things. 23:59 That goes a little bit deeper. 24:01 This would probably not be a lesson for, you know, 24:04 a five-year-old, 24:06 but they would understand, 24:07 a five-year-old would understand this. 24:09 So when I teach people 24:12 about how to use God's book of nature, 24:15 we can use natural objects. 24:18 Everything is an opportunity. 24:19 I think that's the really exciting thing 24:21 is Jesus, He was the master, and He would take anything, 24:26 He would use money as an object lesson, 24:28 He would use a fish as an object lesson, 24:31 the sower and the seed, everything was an object lesson. 24:35 And why did He use those methods? 24:38 - Because people remember them. 24:40 - [Marty] Exactly. 24:41 - They understand them instantly. 24:43 - And this is a principle too, 24:44 and I'm gonna come full circle 24:46 about how there are principles 24:48 behind unlocking the book of nature. 24:51 - And unfortunately, I gotta tell you, 24:52 your circle's gotta be narrow enough 24:54 for about three minutes. 24:55 - (laughs) Okay. 24:56 - While watching the clock. 24:58 - Yeah, no problem. 24:59 So there are three things that come into play 25:02 when we're looking at nature and trying to understand things 25:06 and apply it to our lives. 25:07 And the first one is, 25:08 we need to have some knowledge of nature. 25:10 So we need to have this inquisitive mind. 25:12 We need to keep learning. 25:14 You know, we see a flower, we get a book, 25:17 and we try to identify it and learn all about it. 25:19 We discover some neat things. 25:22 So we are continually learning about nature, 25:24 but we continue to study in God's Word, you know? 25:28 And as we learn things in God's Word, 25:29 we see the intersection of God's Word and the natural world. 25:34 So we've got the physical first. 25:36 God created the physical for us to understand first. 25:39 And when we intersect them with the spiritual, 25:42 with the influence of the Holy Spirit during meditation 25:47 and saying, "Lord, what's a lesson here?" 25:49 We have this flash of inspiration 25:52 that brings something home in a personalized way 25:57 that speaks to a person's heart like very few things do. 26:01 And so what I love it is that it's a spiritual 26:04 and the physical coming together 26:06 with the Holy Spirit fusion 26:09 that you come away with a changed heart 26:12 and a personalized experience 26:14 that you can share with somebody else. 26:17 - I'll never look at buds or some of these things 26:20 the same way again. - No, I'll never pass a stick 26:22 again without thinking- - Yeah, without thinking 26:24 these things. - What object lesson is here? 26:25 - Marty, really appreciate. 26:26 I mean, you know, it's gonna give me, 26:29 I think, a new appreciation to look at various things 26:32 other than buds too 26:33 and begin thinking of some of those lessons. 26:35 Because what you've shown really God's in everything. 26:38 He can bring it all forward to us. 26:40 Would you say that's correct? 26:42 - That's correct. He's speaking to us all the time. 26:45 Are we listening? 26:47 - There's the big question. 26:48 - Yeah. 26:49 - That's the question. 26:50 In today's world, it's harder than ever. 26:52 And that's why it's important to turn off our devices 26:54 and to have some maybe fasting, technology fast. 27:00 - Good point. - And get away. 27:01 - Marty, thank you so much. 27:02 - [Marty] You're welcome. 27:03 - Appreciate it. - Thank you. 27:06 (dramatic music) (guns firing) 27:09 - You know, no one could ever calculate 27:11 the amount of sacrifice 27:12 that went into the making of this great nation, 27:15 the gains of so many because of the loss 27:17 of the precious few. 27:19 You know, as a child in school, 27:20 I sang "America the Beautiful," "God Bless America." 27:24 And we started every day 27:25 by reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance." 27:28 But a lot has changed. 27:29 Biblical predictions are taking shape at an amazing pace. 27:32 If you're about my age, 27:34 you know that this is not the country we all grew up in. 27:37 Well, it seems like this nation is rushing toward a cliff 27:39 with no possibility of return. 27:42 When I became a Christian, 27:44 I began studying biblical prophecy, last day events, 27:47 I found a book called "The Great Controversy" 27:49 that was amazing in its clarity. 27:51 If you'd like a copy, log on to our website. 27:55 - [Narrator] To order your free copy 27:56 of "The Great Controversy," 27:57 go to talkingdonkeyinternational.org. 28:00 Click on the store tab and order your copy today. 28:03 (inspiring music) 28:07 - Thank you for watching. 28:08 Join us again for another exciting "Country Wisdom." 28:10 - See you next time. (clicks tongue) 28:12 (gentle music) |
Revised 2022-10-05