Can You Prove the Bible Is True? Faith, Evidence & Knowing Why You Believe
FULL TRANSCRIPT
00:01
He's just a regular guy with a cool job that God loves for some reason. Welcome to The Steve Marston Show, a daily journey in learning how to live more like Jesus, conversations with those that God is working through, and dad jokes. It's the most unique show you'll hear today. Now here's Steve. And here we are, The Steve Marston Show back. Thank you for being a part of it. Now, some of you listen.
00:30
As we do the program live on two amazing radio stations, one of them is AM 630 The Word, deep in the heart of Texas. The other is 99.5 The Word, which is deep in the heart of central Arkansas. So thank you folks for being the foundation, the backbone of this program. The rest of you may be listening three weeks from now on your own time. And that's fantastic too. I'm glad you're taking part. Now,
01:00
As we get started today, speaking of being online and listening and doing your own thing on your own schedule, let me tell you that we have an amazing YouTube page that has been set up. And I say it's amazing, and I know I'm biased, but I will tell you that we have worked hard on this page and it's revamped and I think it's as professional as anything out there. And we want it to be an encouragement for you. We want you to be able to...
01:29
do exactly what that open says to listen to the show and be able to live more like Jesus. That's the whole point of all that we do here. So I'm gonna ask you for a favor. The next time you're on YouTube, which should be pretty soon I would think, I would like for you to head to Steve Marston's show. Look at it, kick the tires, click around a little bit, and then before you leave, please, please, please, this is me on proverbial bended knee.
01:58
Asking you to like subscribe and know hit the notifications bell I know it's cliche. I know everybody and their brother says that but It's because it works. It's because it will open the door for more people to experience the show and The higher we can get the numbers The better it's gonna be for all of us. So again first and foremost I want it for you, but also let's pass on what you've what you've come to dig or at least I hope
02:28
that you dig. again, please hit that like, subscribe and notify bell and I greatly appreciate it. Now we get started today with a little sound clip that I came across. I was just minding my own business yesterday, scrolling through social media as we do. I'm on Facebook and this video pops up from a lady named Chelsea Handler. Now I don't know if you know her or not.
02:56
It's probably best maybe that you don't just to be honest. She's a lady who's an actress and a comedian I don't find her funny at all. In fact, she is very Raunchy and they still use the word raunchy. I mean very Adult-oriented material. I don't find humorous in the least very liberal would just take everything we're doing here on this program and just
03:26
cut it to shreds. She would just hate it and make fun of us and the whole thing. But, you I have a problem with her other than that. And so, her little clip popped up and she's interviewing a guy named Neil deGrasse Tyson. And he is literally a rocket scientist. He's an astrophysicist, but he's a guy who doesn't believe in God. And we'll get to that here in just a second. I don't know how in the world
03:56
He can see all of this mathematical stuff that works together just hand and glove like physics and the entire universe and know so much about it and still think, eh, I just don't see a hand greater than ours involved. It just blows my mind. But here's the thing. We're going to run into people like Neil deGrasse Tyson throughout our daily life. We're going to come across people who
04:25
as you'll hear in the clip, are evidence-based. They want to know the why and what kind of reasoning, solid reasoning, do you have for believing in this God. And we have to be able to answer it. That's part of walking closer and going deeper with Jesus is to be able to handle these questions from people who are legitimately concerned and legitimately want to know because they haven't.
04:55
come to the point of faith yet. And we have to be ready. So that's why I want to play you the clip and we'll come back on the other side and kind of break it down a little bit. Here is Neil deGrasse Tyson with Chelsea Handler from the other day. Do you believe in God? Every description of God that I've heard holds God to be all-powerful, very typical, and all good. And then I look around and I see a tsunami that killed a quarter million people in Indonesia.
05:25
An earthquake that killed a quarter million people in Haiti. And I see earthquakes and tornadoes and disease, childhood leukemia. And I see all of this and I say, I do not see evidence of both of those being true simultaneously. If there is a God, the God is either not all powerful or not all good. I can't think both. Good answer. If you have good evidence, I'm good for it, but I'm evidence driven more than I'm faith driven.
05:54
I'm evidence driven more than faith driven. Okay, here's the problem with that little argument is because Neil deGrasse Tyson is assuming that science is rock solid and has all the answers and faith is just this belief without thought that you just think some kind of grand person up in the sky or maybe down below is running and ruling everything.
06:23
It just has to be. There's no evidence behind it. Well, the Bible is full of evidence. The Bible is not turning your mind off. In fact, it's the opposite. It's exactly what Neil deGrasse Tyson is asking for and saying. You have to think this thing through. You have to reason through what the Scriptures say. Because the Scriptures talk about this God that created everything coming to life
06:52
on earth, living a life that nobody else could have lived, doing all kinds of miracles, having compassion and love more than anybody else has ever known, and then being executed, put into a grave, rising again, and then on top of all of that, being in the presence of these people after the resurrection and then seeing him transported up
07:22
to heaven saying I'm coming back soon. These people, these men and women based their whole lives on it. They died a martyr's death because they wouldn't renounce what they had seen, what they had experienced. They were that convinced. That's a lot of evidence. That's evidence that is life changing. So whenever you come across someone who says, well,
07:52
I just don't believe because I don't see any evidence. Take them to the scripture. Let them see the accounts of Luke and John especially, but even Matthew and Mark as well. And you'll see that there is tons of evidence. These are people's lives who went from one way to 180 degrees the opposite. I mean, just think about the disciples on the Saturday.
08:21
after the crucifixion. They're there scared to death in a locked room with all the lights out because they think they're going to be next. Then they experience the resurrected Christ and 50 days later they are walking and talking and telling about Jesus no matter what the consequences. And again, those consequences cause them to lose their life. There's a lot of evidence.
08:51
to back up the claim of what Jesus talked about. So don't ever fall into that trap that it's either science or it's faith because they can't coexist together. Oh yes they can and we have so much evidence, probably more evidence about our scriptures than any other book in antiquity, period. It's not even close.
09:19
And for us to cower back and not be able to answer those type questions when it comes from those who have a heart that really wants to know, we're really doing a disservice to our Lord. We're not following what He's given us the instructions to do. And that is give a reason of the hope that we have to be able to pass along the faith as an assurance that it can happen for them as well. So we gotta be ready.
09:49
More next.
09:52
The Steve Marsden Show continues. We're the only podcast slash Christian radio show that matters because we're not talking about the issues of the day. We're not concerned with what's going on in Washington and the geopolitical ramifications of it all. Nope, we're here about how can we be better disciples of Christ? That's the whole foundation of what we're doing and I'm glad that you're listening. I told you we have
10:21
pretty much revamped everything concerning our show. That includes our website. And I'm so proud of how the website is turning out because I didn't want just a radio show podcast webpage that's talked about who I was and had links to the show. Everybody and their brother has that. I wanted to do something different and make more of an impact. So we have been in the computer world. I don't know the names for it, but basically we're tagging
10:50
and cross-referencing everything that's up on the website. So it has really become a repository, a library for all of the topics we're talking about. And it's going in such a way that it's bigger than us, meaning when people are going to go to the major search engines like YouTube or to Google, and they type in, like, let's say, hope and grief, they're going to be able to
11:20
to see an interview that we did with Drew Klein, who talked about walking that hard road after losing his wife. Or maybe a Christian family going through childhood cancer. The interview we did with Michael Loudermilk and the conversation we had about him and his daughter, seven years old, having this unusual and rare form of cancer. So that
11:48
it's growing bigger than the show itself. And we're so thankful that God has opened these doors and is using it the way it is. So we invite you to check it out. SteveMarsdenShow.com. We've got resources there for you. We've got all of the interviews and clips. And we also have some freebies as well. So we would love for you when you get a chance to swing by because as it stands, it's going to be something really special. And we're so...
12:16
just humbled by it and thankful for it. So let's continue this conversation that we started in the first segment about Neil deGrasse Tyson. And he was talking about the evidence for scripture now, or the lack thereof in his mind. And that got me to thinking, you know, we have this segment we do called, That's Not in the Bible, where we kind of have myth busters kind of thing. People have these assumptions that says something and then we...
12:46
show that, it really doesn't say that? Well, this we're going to call, that's not true about the Bible. Because you think about the scripture being handed down and passed down from generation to generation over all of the centuries. And most people, and I understand this line of thinking, would say, well, that's like that game of telephone. Do you remember when we were kids? And really, you don't even have to be kids. You just sit a group of people.
13:16
in a circle and you start with one person with a simple message and they whisper it to the person on their left and that person whispers it to the person on their left and it goes around the room until it gets back to the original person and what happens? Every single time the message is distorted, the message is not even close to what the original thing the person said was, right?
13:45
Well, a lot of people feel like, well, that's what's happened with the Bible, that throughout all the ages, that there's bound to be all kinds of errors and people who heard things one way but really wrote them down the wrong way and on and on. And if this were any other kind of literature, I would probably tend to agree with you. But I truly believe that God has had His hand.
14:12
on His Word all through the centuries, protecting it, making sure that it is as pure now as it was the day it was written down. And the reasons for that, there are a lot of them. And I just wanted to go through a couple of them with you here. Most of them have to do with direct translation. We have so many scriptures from that time period, way back as far
14:42
as the first century, mid first century scholars have found all of these fragments and full texts of the gospels especially, but all of the New Testament and Old Testament as well. And these are not going around from the telephone game. This is going straight from the original source in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
15:09
straight into our modern language. So it's just somebody opening up the manuscript, reading it, and then translating it into English. That's exactly what's happening. So it takes away that whole telephone game aspect of it. There's so many evidences of this, and there's so much historical writings that we still have. I mean, there are thousands of completed manuscripts and partial manuscripts.
15:38
that make it it's overwhelming, the evidence that, yeah, we've got it all, what we need. Especially when you start thinking about the Dead Sea Scrolls. I mean, the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950s, and primarily they had the Book of Isaiah, but they had some other stuff. And when they compared the Book of Isaiah on that scroll to our modern Bible that we have in our...
16:06
house or we have on our phone, it was word for word, letter perfect. It was something that can only be called a God thing because again, as humans, if it was left up to us because we are fallible and because we are sinful, that yeah, if we were to have to pass it down and it would have been all of our responsibility, then sure, it would have been messed up and corrupted. But God has...
16:36
been gracious to keep his hand on it so that when we come to him, we can have assurance of what his word says. We can have assurance of a purpose and a peace and a hope and a joy. We don't have to worry about or wonder about what he thought or said on a certain topic. He has preserved it for us. And it's truly an amazing thing when you stop and think about
17:05
how God has worked and how God has done this. So when people come up to you and they ask you, well, how do you know the Bible is true? Point them to this. And if this was all we had, it would be plenty, but this is just one example of many that point to the evidence of the Bible being true and reliable. But the thing is, you and I have got to put the time and the effort in to learning it and to knowing it.
17:34
and to be able to not beat people over the head with it, but when they come to us with questions about it and legitimately asking, we've got to be able to give them the right answer.
17:53
We continue here on the Steve Marston Show and we've got a brand new YouTube page that we're really proud of. All of the revamping that we've been doing here includes that. So I know you're going to be on YouTube at some point, probably today or within the next day or so for sure. So while you're there, swing by SteveMarstonShow.com, like, subscribe, hit the notifications bell. It really will help us out. I know that's what everybody tells you to do and asks you to do, but I am serious. I need you to do that. It will help.
18:23
you not only because we've got all this great content and you'll know when it gets released, but also it's something that's going to help grow the show and get it out more people that will be able to take advantage of what we're doing. So please do that for us again, Steve Marston Show on YouTube. All right, it's time to welcome in our guest today. Cody Price has been a good friend for a long time and he's a pastor, but he's also a bivocational pastor, which we're going to get into in
18:52
the like as we move through the conversation here today. Cody, welcome back. It's been a while, Hey, how's it going? It's going great. Now, you and I have been friends a long time. We worked together for a long time and you've had other jobs, but the one constant that has been in your life is also being the shepherd of a local congregation while you're trying to do other things and make ends meet. And it's a special calling for sure.
19:21
Let's talk a little bit about getting everything lined up and having all the plates spinning with being a bio-vocational pastor. We'll do that, but first, every guest we have on, we ask them to leave a word of advice, little nugget of wisdom for the next person. They don't know who it's going to be, so they just throw something out there. And our last guest said the word of wisdom he wants to pass along.
19:51
to you in this case is 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 15, which is a passage that we're all familiar with, especially those of you that are pastors, and that's the study to show yourself approved. A workman need not be ashamed. So there you go. There's your... That's great. There's your word for today. So let's talk about being bivocational. How did you first come to a calling that...
20:20
you felt like God was leading you to be a pastor. Well, to be honest with you, I remember being 10 years old and for whatever reason, you know how it is when you grow up in church, we don't really know what all this stuff is. We know that there's a guy up there preaching on Sundays and he calls himself the pastor, people call him the pastor, but we don't really know what that means. But for whatever reason, a lot of my friends, they felt they were called to preach.
20:46
Like that's kind of what we called it. Well, I feel called to preach or whatever. But me, for some reason that word pastor, that title pastor was always in my mind and in my heart, even though I didn't understand. I remember just being very, very young and knowing that. And so all my life kind of feeling that. then growing up just being in ministry, serving in any way that I can, ended up to where the church that I was a part of in Texas,
21:13
we started a smaller church out of that. So we reached a city that didn't have a church in our organization. And so we reached out and we started one. Well, after about six months of us serving in that church under my pastor, he asked me to be his assistant pastor. And so, which basically meant we just, we showed up early and cleaned. know, all that kind of stuff. So we led worship and did music and everything. And so then,
21:43
ended up coming to Arkansas as a youth pastor under my uncle in South Arkansas, who was the pastor there. And then an opportunity came up to pastor and I prayed about it. I felt really good about it. And that's what led us here. And it was at another church, but while we were there, we were there for a few years, God really put it upon my heart to start a church in the area that we are in now. And so that's kind of the way it happened. It wasn't
22:11
And so for the church that I pastored before, before we started it, I was a full-time pastor. And it's kind of interesting because there was never a time after God, because I was so sure that God was calling me to start a church, there was never a time when I was like, okay, well, is this going to be full-time? Is this going to be bivocational? Whatever. It was just, knew what God was calling me to do and I couldn't get by it. We just had to figure it out.
22:39
We just had to step out, do it. And I guess it's kind of like Peter stepping out of the boat. It's like, God, I'm just going to keep my eyes on you, step out and do this. And he made a way. It's so scary when you start thinking about that. You don't know anything but, I've got to do this. It's just kind of in your heart, as much as you maybe try to push it away, it's there and you got to do it. So you're right. You just got to figure out a way. And I know a lot of people,
23:08
just automatically assume, well, that just means I'm going to be full time at a church and we're going to make maybe not great money, but we're going to make enough money to take care of everything and then now I'll be ministering and, you know, 50, 60 years later, I get to go home to be with the Lord and everything's great. But it doesn't always work out like that. And you find yourself in that situation now. So tell me about some of the struggles, the challenges you have having to put in.
23:37
40, 50, maybe even more hours at a regular job. And then all of a sudden, oh, by the way, you've got a congregation full of people, depending on you to lead and minister to them. Right. So I will say one of the hardest things at first was just finding a job. Because as soon as we stepped away, I mean, that was my job. I had to find one and it took me a while to really find something steady. So that was a big hurdle, I guess.
24:06
It would have helped if I got a degree or something. But on top of that, what I would say is, try, mean, all of us need to lean on the Lord. And if God has called us to do something, he's going to equip us to do it. He's gonna give us the strength to do it, but he's also going to be the provider. He said he would supply all our needs according to his riches and glory.
24:32
And now that didn't say that he's gonna supply all our wants, but he said he was gonna supply our needs. And even though I look back over the 10 years since we started Bible studies in our house to start this church, there's been plenty of times when I didn't think we would be able to make it, but we did. So I guess because I went through the hard times when I didn't know how we were gonna make it, it helped me to trust God in the times when, we're a little bit more comfortable. But as far as time,
25:01
That's where it gets kind of iffy. I try to make myself very available to our people. I tell them, you're not a bother, reach out if you need me, call me, whatever. But I think that God has just given us strength in the one thing that I've told our church over and over again. Say for instance, there's some people in our church that want to start a recovery ministry. And I say, oh, you that's great, but I am not going to sacrifice my time with my family.
25:29
because on top of being a pastor and working full time, I have four kids and I have a wife, you know, and so it's a lot of stuff. Well, because that can't become such a slippery slope, because you as the pastor, a lot of times, whether it's just implied or whether it's people actually saying, hey, well, you need to be a part of this, you need to be heading this up. I'm so glad that you...
25:53
Realize hey, I can't do everything. Yeah, I can't I can't and I cannot sacrifice my time with my children my first call before Before I was a pastor before I was a you know before I was any of those things I was first a husband Yeah, and then I was first a father and that's my main thing is I've got to make sure that even though I'm available that there have been times You know, we had a I remember one time in particular. We had a family get-together that we had planned
26:22
and we're all sitting there with family and I get a phone call that somebody's in need and I've got to go take care of it. And I did leave and I went and took care of it, but my kids weren't upset because that's a very rare thing. I try not to allow, especially if it's not an emergency, if someone reaches out or whatever, hey, I'm with my family right now, I'll call you as soon as I can.
26:48
but I've got to make sure and keep my priorities in line. The people of my church, the saints of our congregation have to know that you're very important to me, but these kids and my wife are more important. And so are there times when I have a week that I'm just absolutely just wall to wall running here and there? Sure. But the one thing that I have realized and I've had to come to learn
27:18
is that I'm gonna be rewarded for my labor. And when I lay in bed at night, I mean, that's what the Bible says. It does not say that we'll be rewarded for our numbers, for how many people, or how perfect we are, or how we get everything done. It will be rewarded for our labor. And God knows the effort that I'm putting in, the things that I'm doing to further the kingdom of God, not further my ambition, but further the kingdom of God.
27:44
And so when I lay in bed at night, I know even if I didn't get everything accomplished that I wanted to accomplish, I'm doing everything that I can to keep my family afloat and to further the kingdom of God in the ministry that he's called us to do. And that helps give you the peace and the purpose and the ability to sleep well at night. Yeah. Cody Price is our guest here. We're talking about bivocational ministry, and you talked about how your church started.
28:14
as just a few people in your house as a Bible study group. And now over 10 years, talk about the growth that you've seen and the lessons that you've learned in that time. Yeah, I remember the first year was pretty, like, it was a really big deal. The first year was 2016. We started Bible studies in January in our home. The first Bible study was just my family and one other family.
28:41
And man, I was so emotional. It's like, wow, we're gonna do something huge. Well, in August of that year, we got our first little storefront building. was a thousand square feet. We had one bathroom and it was like the door is in the sanctuary and the toilet ran inside. be like, somebody jiggle that handle. So I mean, it just little things like that. But I remember we went through a lot because
29:09
when it's just a very small group and you know, the giving that's coming in, the tithing or the offering or whatever you want to call it was coming in. And as soon as we got that building, we had that family that left. And so then it was just us. Plus a few others that we had reached that were brand new financially, not at a place where they're able to even give towards the church.
29:37
And so having to learn and navigate those things was very, very difficult, but also some of the, some of the best moments was seeing my kids in the midst of that and knowing that they're seeing our faithfulness and seeing that we were continuing on. And what I learned is that in the will of God, there is no pass or fail. There is no success or failure. There is no.
30:06
Oh, well those people left, I'm a failure. No, if I'm doing what God's called me to do, no matter how hard it is, no matter how difficult it is, whatever, if I'm doing everything that I know I'm supposed to do, I can't rely on numbers, people, or offerings coming in, or tithing coming in as my success. Sometimes my success was just seeing my children praying in a building where it was just us. I remember one time in particular,
30:36
that we showed up and it was just us on a Sunday. And I said, family, we're just gonna put on some music and we're gonna pray. That's it. And just seeing at the time, my 10-year-old daughter, she's 19 now, my 10-year-old daughter with tears running down her face, coming to know the Lord and everything. And I wanted to feel like a failure because I'm human.
31:04
But I look over and I'm like, no, we're not failing. We're doing well. And now to see my daughter, she's in college and she's all about campus ministry and she's trying to reach people and ministering to people and witnessing to people on the campus and it all goes back to those. So I just encourage anyone that has that kind of calling to start something or to go through those times. So yeah, those first few years were very difficult, but in
31:33
In late 2017, we started seeing new people come in and then, you know, one after the other, and then 2020 hit and we really started growing. And then from 2021 to 2024, we saw the greatest growth that we'd ever seen. And now we bought our first building last year. We finally got into that building in March of this year. And so in the last year, like, so 2025, we averaged about 18 to 20. And I know that seems small.
32:03
But since March of this year, we've been averaging around 30. It's like God just is blessing and helping. so I could just encourage anybody who thinks, oh man, starting a church, it's just way too hard. telling you, it's been the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's been the most rewarding thing to see God in all of it. And God is there and honoring our work, honoring our labor. And even when things don't work out the way we think they're gonna work out.
32:32
That is so encouraging because I know there are bivocational pastors listening. This is a big part of our audience that works a regular job and also has to do that. And everything that you've just been talking about is so good for them to hear because just like you say, one family leaves, you feel like a failure. Nobody's there, but your family, you feel like a failure, but you're not.
33:00
just reiterating those points and making sure people realize that is so key. So yeah, we got just about a minute or so. I'd like for you to speak into that vocational pastor who says, you know what? I'm just burnt out. I'm at my end. I feel like I am a loser. I feel like I am doing completely the opposite of what God's called me to do. All right. So
33:29
John chapter one, verse 40, it says, one of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, and he first findeth his own brother Simon and saith unto him, we have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted to Christ, and he brought him to Jesus, so just paraphrase, so he goes to Simon and he finds Simon and he goes and he tells him about Jesus and Simon of course follows him, becomes Simon Peter, and then just thinking about the impact that.
33:59
that Peter had, right? mean, the billions of people across the world that are being affected by this one man's ministry, right? This one man is affecting so many people and every Sunday, all over the world, people are being affected by Andrew's ministry. Right? Yeah. And it's all because... So you may have been listening or even you, Steve, you thought I was talking about Peter. Yeah. But in reality, Andrew was the one...
34:29
I heard a good quote the other day, in the kingdom of God, success is not numbered in thousands, it's counting by ones. Such a good word, it's the best way to leave this interview, it's really good stuff. Cody Price, thank you so much man, love you, appreciate everything you do.
34:52
Welcome back. The Steve Marston Show continues. This is the place where faith and fun are taken seriously. And it's a thrill and a delight to be with you. The Ministry of the Month is Dr. Michael Youssef and leading the way. We've got a great resource we want to put into your hands right now. So if you want to win a copy of Dr. Youssef's book called Winning the Invisible War, shoot me an email, steve at Salemmedia.com. Just that simple. Now look,
35:22
If you're listening on the radio live and you think, well, I've got an upper hand on everybody else, not so fast, my friend. This is available for everybody. We've got multiple copies and we'll put everybody's name in a drawing and draw it out at the end of the month, which by the way, August is almost all over with. So if you want a copy of this book, Winning the Invisible War by Dr. Michael Yousef, founder of Leading the Way, shoot me an email, steve at Salemmedia.com.
35:50
Steve at SalemMedia.com. Okay, let's check out some of the things you may have missed headlines wise. This is something that a lot of people are going to be ready for both in a good way and maybe even in a negative way. It's the chosen season six returns in November and there are a lot of people that are probably listening right now that are just like,
36:16
that chosen, they take too many liberties, I don't want anything to do with it, I've seen none of them, I don't think it's right. And you know what? That is absolutely your prerogative and if that's your conviction, then by all means, and I mean this sincerely, don't watch it, please don't. But for those of you who enjoy it and who think it's a tool that can be used to reach others, even though it may take a lot of creative license,
36:47
but you're looking forward to it, listen to this. Coming up at this season, the finale will be the crucifixion. So in order to get ready for that, Dallas Jenkins, who wrote and produces and does everything on the set for the series, is going to release it to some pastors and to some church leaders to be able to get ready for
37:16
the chosen because they feel like there's going to be an influx of people who are going to see the crucifixion maybe in a way that they've never seen it before. Meaning Dallas thinks that they're going to have a lot of different angles and maybe some deeper levels that people have either one, never been exposed to or two, it's been a long time since they maybe have thought about it. And that's going to lead to questions from people.
37:45
as they return to church or as they come to church after seeing it. So he wants them to kind of be ready and give them a sneak peek. I think that's a wise strategy. Again, it's not going to be available to church as a whole, but just to the kind of the leaders and being able to help them see it first before everybody else. And of course, I'm sure they're hoping that they'll get a lot of free publicity.
38:13
from it as well, from the pulpit, is probably another underlying reason for it as well. Let's see, here's this story I thought was kind of neat as well. This one is a pastor. He's 47 years old and he's going to start playing college football. This guy's name is Justin Buzzard and he's the founder and lead pastor of Garden City Church in Campbell, California.
38:43
And he's also the defensive end for the San Jose City College Jaguars. I just love that name. The San Jose City College Jaguars. That sounds like a sitcom from like, you know, the seventies. Well, what, what, what team do you play for? You know, yeah. The city college Jaguars. Well, anyway, he's 48 years old or will be in September and he played four years of high school football.
39:14
but only had one year of college due to injuries. Then he got married, started having a family, and life just kind of took off. But he has said he's been praying some God-sized prayers and being specific prayers, and God has answered them. And he says the team has embraced him. Even the younger guys, you know, he's old enough to be their dad, has...
39:43
welcomed him with open arms to the team. And that's why he wears number 47 is because that's his age, which I think is funny as well. And he says, he says, talk to these young guys all the time about not having regrets and leaving things undone. So that's why I'm coming back to play football after, after being so long out of college and, know, again, old enough to be these kids is a father. So.
40:11
That's kind of wild, kind of crazy. I don't know. You would think you might see that in like Texas. mean, because Texas takes football as serious, probably more serious than any other state. You would think the pastor there would do it. And you know what? Maybe they are. They just haven't made a biggest deal about it. But yeah, this guy out of California is going to be playing defensive end for the San Jose City College.
40:41
team. So that's fun. And you may have missed this story too. ESPN is carrying the Little League World Series again this year. And I love watching those broadcasts because you see the innocence of kids playing a kids game and you get to see them be kind of treated like a big league ball player. The ones that they look up to so much. They get a chance to sign autographs and they get their baseball cards. It's just a fun thing.
41:10
And one of the things that makes the broadcasts fun is that you get to hear from the coaches. They're mic'd up all the time. So not only do you hear them talking strategy, but you hear them encouraging and you hear them how they interact with their players. And there was this one time that a coach came to the mound, you know, in baseball, that's what happens is a coach will come out to talk to the pitcher, whatever things kind of
41:38
get a little shaky, he goes out there to settle the pitcher down. And in Little League baseball, all of the team comes to the mound, not just the player that's in the coach, it's everybody. So everybody's gathered around, and I want you to listen to what this coach said to his pitcher who was a little rattled by the game. If you want the next five guys, Jesus is still Lord. If you strike out the next five guys, guess what?
42:08
Jesus is still Lord. Okay? I love you. Have some fun. Okay? I know that clip is a little difficult to understand. The coach said, if you walk the next five batters, Jesus is still Lord. If you strike out the next five, guess what? Jesus is still Lord. He told the pitcher, I love you, and go out there and have some fun. It's the essence of Little League Baseball. I love it, and I love the fact that the coach is not afraid to talk about his faith with his players.
42:37
Such good stuff. All right, we got more of the Steve Marston show coming up for you. Don't move.
42:54
Here at the Steve Marston Show, we are serious about faith.
43:01
The dad joke of the day comes from the home office in El Paso, Arkansas.
43:08
I accidentally swallowed some food coloring yesterday. Yeah, the doctor says I'm gonna be fine, but I feel like I died a little inside.
43:22
Well, I think that just makes sense, doesn't it? The Steve Marston Show continuing. Before we get to our Faith Between Your Ears verse of the week, let's do a little piece of business here. I've got a free PDF I want to put into your hands. It's called Five Tips to Study the Bible. If you're wanting to take the next step in your relationship with Christ and learning the Bible and being able to draw closer to Him, without
43:50
having to rely on like a workbook or a devotional, not that there's anything wrong with those, but if you just want to be able to do it for yourself, these strategies will help you. They're nothing earth shattering. When you read them, you're going to go like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. And it's not something that I came up on or with on my own necessarily, but I have tailored them for my use. And I really think they'll help you out a lot as well. SteveMarsdenShow.com. Just look for the free PDF called Five Tips
44:19
for Bible study and I really do think that it will help you out. And speaking of, the Faith Between Your Ears Bible verse for this week is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Wow, when you just stop and you just kind of meditate and focus on that little
44:48
phrase, that little section of Scripture, it'll bring chills. It really will. And it's not just found in the New Testament. Obviously, Paul wrote it, and that's what we're looking at in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, but he's quoting from the Old Testament book of Isaiah, Isaiah 64-4. So God really was wanting to make sure we got the point. He included it both in the Old and the New Testament. So we're taking this week to learn that verse.
45:18
to memorize that verse. And it does take a little effort. It's not going to come just easy. But you can write it out. You can say it out loud or whatever means of memorization you use. You can do it. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9. It's the faith between your ears verse for this week. So let's get it worked out and know it so that we have it there in between our ears.
45:47
We wrap things up every day by giving you a call to action, your next step. And after thinking about everything we've talked about here on the podcast today, the radio show, I think it's real simple what your next step is. And that is to become an apologist. And I don't mean somebody that makes excuses for our faith. No, no. Someone who defends our faith, knowing why you believe what you believe.
46:17
Not just, well that's what I've been taught since I was a kid, but understanding the why behind it is so critically important. And look, there's never been a better time to be an apologist, an easier time. Why? Because we've got so much information at our fingertips. Our phones, the internet, everything will have these answers to some of the hardest questions of our faith that we can learn to be able
46:46
to pass on to others as well. Out of time, adios.