Having Hope In A Hopeless World; click here to listen

Heart of every man craves upgraded major life doesn't usually feel that way. Jesus speaks of narrow gates wide roads masculine journey is filled with many twists and turns. So how do we keep from losing heart trying to find a good way when life feels more like a losing battle and something worth dying for, grab your gear and come on a quest with your band of brothers will serve as the guides we call masculine journey masculine journey starts here now. Welcome masculine journey. We're glad to have you with us. They if you listen to the show for any time now or this might be your first time.

Listen to us were about adventure that we enjoy adventure as different types of debenture and walking with God is deftly adventuring.

I set about to say the shows can be an adventure because were going to be talking about a pretty big topic that has a lot of different little fingers to it. It's how to have hope in the midst of a hopeless world or hopeless situations or injustice, or medical, whatever that might look like, how to find hope because the enemy's big goal is to rob hope to talk a lot about that today, but were also gonna go around the room a bit and say whether be in the news or other situations, but some things it's come up for you guys this week. The last couple weeks. It's because it kind of take a hit to that hope a little bit.

I got off the air last Saturday and went home and there was this big news conference there to show this video and charlatan.

You know the next thing I know all this stuff is just going on and I am trying to understand and I I the further I go into that in my mind trying to get around always spends that it is putting on this Fox News knowledge theft. I go to twitter all Mamma and on Twitter. Here's another shooting in Seattle and there's shooting in Baltimore and in others a 17-year-old girl that's that's missing in this and that and I just didn't like man went by.

This just seems like everything is gone same, just difficult is very tough and I guess she said in studio today with Robby what you just heard Jim's with us today. Dennis, Vinny, myself, and in the background which will hear from them is my son Eli is set in with us today, whether it when you guys who else has something that's kind of really touches on this topic for you all think this current election cycle in our country. If you if you look at the news and even even in between the new segments you have commercial after commercial right now that are political ads for one candidate or the other. It's hard to find. It's hard to find hope when people are just putting down each other and and not looking at them in a positive direction. A lot of times it can be discouraging to see that you try to find a weighted to sift through that but the system is the way that it is and it's it's challenging effort. A lot of people talking about our country and being very concerned about what is the hope for America. Looking into the future.

You touch on something there that were going to get back to them just a little bit of Suarez something that robs hope I have a slight advantage over you two guys because our boy is like the plague especially political but I do follow financials and that's a pretty hopeless place right both personal level and carnation and the world. That is one place that when I dwell on it much get me down.

Instantly anyone about you. Yeah, I was listening to Rosie Dennis so write it he hit it right on the head, but then it just came to me. I felt that way in the 1940s when they was no hope because people will be exploited ethnic slaughtering the Germans in all of that and it seems to me like I've lived the life on 85 and I've lived the life every period of my life.

Something comes into it. Will you say, my goodness gracious and then no hope for us in a wooden ones that are creating these problems. In case you people out there don't owe re-create these problems because we all have different opinions. Sometimes that gets us in a lot of trouble.

You can use something that none of us can reference because we were in her life that is a great perspective that not many people a lot that's too good like that. Over years. It does cycle but doesn't seem as if it gets worse. Maybe every generation feels that way, but it feels like it becomes less and less to be hopeful in whether be the power political situation.

The financial situation the social unrest. Maybe it's personal in nature, personal finances, health issues, all those things that try to steal hope Robby before we go much further. When a heavy set up this clip they were going to use from the movie was a cry for freedom cry for freedom minute stars. It's about the unrest in South African apartheid and that kind of thing and a Denzel Washington plays this reporter for a newspaper black newspaper that is obviously against the government from the government's point of view, but actually just trying to look out for hope and and find people's rights in the midst of it, and he gives a speech here that that really speaks to our times in like Vinny. This is something that's recycled from something that happened in August, 30, 40 years.

When you speak you say so and I specifically I specifically refer to people like Mandana Sybil Gray Michael and Becky and is true with these people is that they had gone against the common factor with these people is that they have selflessly pushed so you sent to this naked is us in the community movement seeks to avoid this right confrontation is for you and I are now in confrontation, but I see no way in these documents do you say that the government is doing anything when it does little good. My low that it is not with Clement shooting each inflames racial hatred like his mind. Not unaware of the hardships they and you left the government is doing. We want them to stop accepting these hardships to confront people must not just give in to the chips of light, they must find a way even this environment to develop sales for this country and I think that is what that consciousness is all about. Not without any fittings to the white man to try and adopt a sense of our own humanity. Well, it's amazing clip just it's hard to say about that. It speaks to the more you listen to chance was to about five times now there is so much inside of that that speaks to what's going on in our lives right now and where he is where you put the face of humanity on it and you see that everybody involved in that are human beings and the fact that we know God would call us to engage not to just sit back and do nothing and and so you had a indolent experience with the video where you saw that very thing happening in today's time it was my son Caleb sent it to me in the videos very long video you can find it on YouTube. YouTube if you say that way but on YouTube that it's called free hug project in a read about a guy can. I can't really finances last name logging something like that that is a social activist and he wants to raise the awareness of what's wrong in society but is also a piece at Atticus. Atticus and he did something that was really critical. I never heard of them never heard of this is project and has other things that he does.

It is a Hollywood race city helps provide money for homeless shelters and things like that but we in the middle of the stuff that's going on in Charlotte.

He was out between writers and police officers in riot gear simply walking up and giving somebody a hug, wearing a shirt saying free hug project and initially is watching on really be honest okay that's as good as 20 but to watch. It was amazing to see what he was doing. He was taking what was a very volatile situation with fear and injustice on both sides. Good people being hurt on both sides right and that's what happens in those things that he was taken at and he was saying it will give this police officer hug and this happened to be the guy that runs it is a minority business owner and eat hugs a white cop and some of the rioters start yelling, having no single how did you are you doing this way of banning a sense of not blaming anybody I'm hugging Joe or whatever the guys name the cops and I appreciate your on the line for what you believe and so then there was another minority cop and he hugs him and then the crowd turns in the Janik minority cop and you see Ken can stand up and say wait a minute he's providing for his family notes gets us back to reality and that's what he was doing on both sides of anyone over to the rioters and he was taken at that human level. This is really people you know there are couple things that I hear in talking about this that seek to find a place of hope requires courage and it requires love.

It sounds like he was doing both of those things will read it. It takes some courage to step out and say I'm going to stand for something or I'm going to get involved in something, but it also takes love for your fellow brothers and sisters.

A technique takes love for people that you don't even know something that were called to do loving one another and putting those two things together.

Oftentimes we sit back and I shared this with some guys that I'm in community with last week.

We oftentimes sit back and wait.

We judge and we make comments about what's going on what people are saying or not saying how often do we engage often do we start with prayer to begin with and then go out and find someplace to get involved in its measure, saying that semi thing about you not teach special needs son is and a lot of people look at that situation I go. How can how can you find hoping that because it looks really difficult if you had somebody and sometimes I've had students that were in wheelchairs.

It can even move their arms and legs of their head or make any vocal sent when you find hoping that so we come back and talk a bit more about that boot camp coming up one of the side of that is coming up in November and go to mask injury radio.org to get more information on that we talk a bit about boot camp after the break. Also, if you listen to past podcasts. There's a whole host of them on their Facebook page.

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The event that realistically change my walk with God more than any other thing other than coming to Christ was a boot camp. Yes, the team from masculine journey radio is having our own boot camp four days and it's masculine journey radio earlybird prices are in effect journey radio welcome back, as we say don't look back. Then as I like what Robby said you pick a bump in music.

What caused the pick that particular song. I think oftentimes we get bogged down in don't see hope because we keep looking back what's been happening in the past. We know look forward to what we can do today and in the future and to me that's what that song really speaks about absolute right before he left her talk a little about something you been doing for how many years now, about 20 yeah, special needs folks and there is no doubt that when I got involved a scared me and the last thing I wanted to engage because you know when you're when you're talking about older people especially. Sometimes the other person their fist in the air there looking up.

You know and and and all these involuntary motions and it's actually a bit scary. Intel you pray like you to send Dennis and you engage and and you start to understand that there is humanity in there a lot of humanity. In fact, unmask humanity, it's okay. I would put it in an outright love and things that you did that you find now.

It's amazing to me now wherever I am.

Just today I was in the gym and there was a guy over there with down syndrome and immediately I don't know what base they realize that I'm very comfortable with any enemies he engages me hugs me is like I you know and I'm very very excited to be able to engage with another human being that before I would've been afraid of, but it's a matter of God walk me through that I give him all the screaming.

Some extent, but there it is. And I think there it is, if we will engage news in talking a lot about some things that are macro very big issues and then also probably for you with it with the group there, but how we handle those things look hopeless for us personally is things happen to you. I don't know what it feels like to be somebody that's being oppressed in the neighborhood whether it be in our country and another one I don't know what that feels like forcefully also know what it feels like to be 85 in blind and so we all have these things that we can feel hopeless about which aspartame is planning to talk a little bit about a minute many of you felt that hopelessness at times and all number of years now and I first met my wife. She had pretty good eyesight and sodas like I live well as long as remarried in both of the sublime and you gotta figure out. I don't know how we do it to be honest with you we wake up every morning I got a blind person taking care of me and I'm blind and she's blind to close the one thing the hope that you can generate out of God's word. What he really wants us to do.

You know, we have all kinds of ideas and what they supposed to call big house and all that stuff but in the book it says that God created us all equal. I think what probably happened is that he had boxer Crayola's next in the just made people different colors but with this same in the hope that all of these people have should be a man's foot. Each show that black, white, Asian. It don't matter. It really don't matter. We created equal. We have opportunities for situations we talk about some of these on the air. Dennis, you find yourself about a year ago and it would appear to be hopeless situation.

Yeah, I was looking at being homeless a lot of things that happened in my life and so I made a decision to go somewhere and stay at the rescue mission.

That's where I've lived and it's amazing what God does with that because you were talking about how different people different people groups live their lives there guys that I know now they're good friends of mine and I had no clue of what the what that life would be like compared to my own so I think God uses the situations oftentimes to show us, what Vinnie was talking about that we all basically are the same, but there were guys there that had far less opportunity I'm celebrating yesterday and today a big occurrence in my life that I'm grateful for understanding full well that there are other men that I'm living with that probably would've never gotten that opportunity and it hits you right square between the eyes and you see that you see the need to to help others and this is an opportunity to you when you thought you had not. A few years back, absolutely not. Absolutely not to think that I would be going to graduate school take to get engaged in counseling other people, you know what I was told for several years as you can't cancel yourself to counsel anyone else because I was struggling with things but you get in a situation like this and you see that environment you see the people that out there that really need some help really need people to love them and in and share with them and listen to them it just touch my heart and I know that God is having me do what what what I'm really passionate about. Thank you and I go to a clip pretty quick. It's from freedom riders in the import of what I wanted to talk about before we Robby have you set this up a little bit is we can't often choose situations. Vinnie didn't choose macular degeneration mean that's not something that you did it just occurred and things happen to us.

We can choose were born. We can't choose who were born to the situation were born in. But there are still other choices. After that, and so readily going tousled about the clip in order talk of the Morgan on the backside of the movie is called freedom riders and it's a school classroom. The order in an inner-city classroom and there's a young quiet boy in the back that nobody's seen for a couple years until this particular scene where they're kinda sharing some struggles and and he offers to share a little bit of what his struggling Ms. G carries something from my diary December was the worst summer in my short 14 years to life.

It all started with a phone call.

Mother was crying and begging, asking for more time, as if she were gasping for her last breath of air. She help me and stated she couldn't cry.

Tears hit my shirt like bullets told me were being evicted.

She kept apologizing to me that I have no as she had asked for something less expensive at Christmas.

On the morning of the eviction a hard knock on the door woke me up this chart was there to do his job, but this day waiting for something to happen.

My mother has no family to lean on, no money coming in, why bother coming to school, getting grace. If I'm homeless. The bus stops. In fairness, I feel like throwing up our ankles from last year some more shoes on the I kept thinking I can left that state and Green Bay. Couple of friends. My English class this hits me Mrs. Goa my case English teacher from last year is the only person that made me think of hope, talking with parents about last year's English and her trips. I began to feel better. I received my schedule and the first teacher is Mrs. Goa going to a three. I looked into the room and feel as though all the problems in life are not so important anymore. I am your that's acknowledge in the course which you can't see because the video is the entire class goes over and always people who did the four years you know they start to hug him and he feels that place of belonging that home is where there's hope so and he had no control of his situation but how he chose to respond to it in Vinnie had no control over the situation we get each week he comes out in these help share hope with other people you know in part that's is making the choice to go do that and then there's part of it is, how do I even do that in the good news is you don't have to do it by yourself. You're not supposed to do by yourself is person invite God into that process. Jim I know there's pregnant a few times in your life that you did know what the next turn was the does God help you with answers if you come to always and I've been listening to the stories here. The clips and I have had a extremely blessed life.

Most of my times and I felt hopeless was when I was suffering the circumstances of my own bad decisions that I was having a conversation and grew up with the proverbial source there mouth but never lacked for anything else having a conversation with God.

Just yesterday, and my last tragic event was almost half a century ago when I lost my best friend and everything else is been as far circumstances is been great my life but as I was getting out of car at work the other day I was talking to God basically said now you protected me from so many things that I see every day that are happening to others and you give me compassion for five today everything goes wrong in my life and the rest of my life is misery. I've still been blessed beyond anything I could hope for. And when we turn to God with these big or small problems. He's always faithful and always gives us that hope that we don't have anywhere else you question that think Jim questioned the often ask his words, God in the midst of all that will maybe God's waiting on one of us to step up and go give a police officer and writer hug or to teach a class to disabled children. No adults assuming all sorts of age, if different, down syndrome is a different thing that God's causing center in also know our life is so busy it's hard to even try to find time at Robby there's something coming up listening for me that reason I object to clip because that sense of home is what I feel more at these big camps and we do have that one coming up November 3 through the sixth and that since that you're looking for, like the closest thing to heaven. When you have an answer experience to experience God with other men in that journey. I can tell you is is is something very much worth showing up and letting people come to the camp nor the questions is okay got what you want from me what was my purpose. We get opportunities asking those questions and more. God does answer maybe this became maybe not any questions answered for the next one little answer to feel more information go to.

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