Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. Sure do appreciate y'all joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. Of your time and a little piece of your day, I will try and use it wisely. Hopefully it will give us all some extra tools for our toolbox and help us all draw a little closer to God and Jesus Christ, both as a nation and as individuals. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, father, and your Son, jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for you, father, and your Son, jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love, your mercy, your grace and your forgiveness of sins through the merit of your Son, jesus Christ. Thank you for the people that listen to the podcast. Thank you for those who share it. Please be with them and their families wherever they are, across the nation, here in America and around the world. Give them a strong faith. Protect them with your angels. Father, help us to all follow the commands of your son, jesus Christ, to love you with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength to love our neighbors as ourselves. Be with those around the world who are, son Jesus Christ, to love you with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength to love our neighbors as ourselves. Be with those around the world who are persecuted because they follow your Son Jesus Christ, persecuted because they read your word. Help us to give them whatever relief we can to ease their burden, their pain. Help us, father, not to take for granted all of the blessings you bestow upon us, not to assume that it's because of our own goodness or talent or skill that we have these blessings. Help us to walk humbly before you. Help us to spread the gospel of your son, jesus Christ. Be with our pastors and our priests across the nation. Be with their families, their wives, their children. Give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith. And God, my words here, father, please, in your son's name, we pray Amen.

Have you made time for God and Jesus Christ today? Have you made time to read his word? Have you made time to pray, to talk to him, to listen to him? Are you striving throughout your day to do His will above all else?

I've gotten to the point in my own prayer life, folks, where I ask that often of God just to do His will. I thought the older I got, maybe the more mature, more wise I would get, and maybe that is wisdom just in the fact of asking God's will to be done and for me to do His will. But in this world today, I often find myself with more questions than answers, and not just in the events that we see unfolding across the nation here in America, around the world, but even in my own life and how to act, how to address these issues, what to say, what not to say. I think it's more and more important for us with each passing day to read the Bible each day and to pray each day and to seek God's wisdom and guidance. I know I need to. And if you're married, do you act like it?

There's a lady that I follow online. I won't condemn her by telling y'all her name in case you would make her guilty by association of the fact that I follow her. I think highly of some of her content. She talks about marriage often and she had a phenomenal quote, I don't know, last week, a couple weeks, and she said that so many today, men and women, husbands and wives. They want the privileges, they want the benefits, without the responsibility. They want to be treated as a husband or a wife, but they don't want to act like a husband or a wife. And it works both ways. A husband wants to be respected and submitted to and physically satisfied, but he doesn't want to provide and protect and nourish and cherish and love. A wife wants to be protected and provided for and led and nourished and cherished, but she doesn't want to respect and submit to her husband's authority and physically satisfy him. Either way you cut it, folks, you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want to be married, if you want the privileges and the benefits that go along with being married, you have to be willing to shoulder the responsibility. And if you're not, then you either shouldn't have gotten married, or you shouldn't be married, or you shouldn't be married.

Marriage verse for today comes out of Colossians 3, verses 18-21. Wives be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not become bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not antagonize your children so that they will not become discouraged. A little bit of family advice there, outside of marriage too. You really want to do marriage right, folks, you have to go back to Scripture. Instead of what people say today and it doesn't really matter whether it hurts your feelings or whether you like it or not say today, and it doesn't really matter whether it hurts your feelings or whether you like it or not, if you really want to do marriage right, you have to follow your roles and responsibilities as either a husband or a wife. Scripture for today 1 Timothy 4, verses 1 through 16.

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times, some will turn away from the true faith. They will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars and their consciences are dead. They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods, but God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it, but receive it with thanks, for we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer. If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus.

Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers. Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecies spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into the tasks so that everyone will see your progress. Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching.

Psalm 89, verses 1-13. The Lord's unfailing love forever. Young and old will hear of your faithfulness. Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. The Lord said I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant. I have sworn this oath to him, I will establish your descendants as kings forever. They will sit on your throne from now until eternity. All heaven will praise your great wonders, lord. Myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness. For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord? The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God. He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne. O Lord, god of heaven's armies, where is there anyone as mighty as you? O Lord, you are entirely faithful. You rule the oceans. You subdue their storm-tossed waves. You crushed the great sea monster. You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours and the earth is yours. Everything in the world is yours. You created it all. You created north and south, Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon. Praise your name. Powerful is your arm, strong is your hand. Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.

Proverbs 25, verses 23 and 24. As surely as the north wind brings rain, so a gossiping tongue causes anger. It is better to live alone in a corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home. A few of these scriptures, probably one of them. I don't read these as far as marriage verses, maybe I should, but there's multiple Proverbs talking about it's better to live alone or in a corner of the house than with a quarrelsome or contentious wife, and that should be a warning both to husbands and wives, or men and women. Don't marry somebody, don't marry a wife that's quarrelsome or contentious, and don't be a wife that's quarrelsome or contentious, and don't be a wife that's quarrelsome or contentious.

You go back to 1 Timothy 4, 1 through 16. We've had this in one of the gyms that I've trained in over the years. We've had this quote up on the wall. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. I always like that because it acknowledges the fact that physical training is good, but it also acknowledges the fact that training for our spiritual life is far better, because then there's rewards here in this life and in the next, here in this life and in the next. And you can see that as you mature, because your body starts to break down. Things that you can do at 20 you can't do at 40 or 60 or 80. Verse 10, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers. I think this will tie in pretty well to our historical quote for today. We'll come back to that. And then verse 16, keep a close watch on how you live. In your teaching, stay true to what is right, for the sake of your own salvation, but also the salvation of those who hear you, those who see us right folks. It's important that they see those of us who claim to follow Christ living accordingly.

Medal of Honor for today William Henry Harrison Binyard, I think First Lieutenant Engineers, highest Rank Lieutenant Colonel. Us Civil War. Us Engineers. Us Army. April 1st 1865, five Forks, virginia, with one companion, voluntarily advanced in a reconnaissance beyond the skirmishers where he was exposed to imminent peril. Also, in the same battle, rode to the front with the commanding general to encourage wavering troops to resume the advance, which they did successfully, which they did successfully. Credited to Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, pennsylvania, not awarded. Posthumously Presented September 7, 1897. Born May 17, 1841, philadelphia, died February 7, 1900. Buried US Military Academy Cemetery, sea-tac-1, west Point, new York, united States. William Henry Harrison Vineyard, another name we ought to remember, far more than pop star singers and NFL or NBA stars or anybody else. History Got a couple of quotes.

I wanted to go back to Andrew Jackson today, may 29, 1845, a few weeks before he passed away. Sir, I am in the hands of a merciful God. I have full confidence in His goodness and mercy. The Bible is true. I have tried to conform to its spirit as near as possible. Upon that sacred volume I rest my hope for eternal salvation through the merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. So I stumbled across a little reading the Bible that I have. It's the one-year Bible for men, theoretically Not really sure why it's just for men, but they have different versions. They have commentaries at the end of the reading, the scripture for each day, and I read this one a few days ago, maybe a week ago. It kind of stuck with me. It says pick a side.

Jesus was very clear about the stance a person takes toward him, who he is, what he taught and modeled and what he accomplished here on earth. A person is either for or against Jesus. Those who are not working with him are working against him. Anyone who claims to be a good person is missing one of the main points of Jesus' teachings Just being good doesn't cut it. All of us need to follow Jesus, work for Jesus and accomplish what he created and called us to do Today. Be for Jesus.

And again, this is out of the one-year Bible for men. It's not enough, folks, to be good. You're never going to make it into heaven, the only possible way. It's not enough to be Roman Catholic. It's not enough to be Protestant of any denomination. It's not enough to be Roman Catholic. It's not enough to be Protestant of any denomination, it's not enough to be Greek Orthodox.

And there is no other path to God and salvation besides Jesus Christ. I think that ties in again pretty well with that quote from Andrew Jackson and with the verse out of Timothy today for our hope is in the living God who is the Savior of all people. One more from President Jackson. This is the first clause of his will. The Bible is true. Upon that sacred volume I rest my hope of eternal salvation through the merits of our blessed Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. That is our only hope, folks. Through the atoning merits of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. That is our only hope, folks. There's no other path to God and eternal life, safe through Jesus Christ alone. You don't need something else, you don't need a little extra on top of Jesus Christ, and you can't do it without him. You need a little extra on top of Jesus Christ and you can't do it without him. All of my hope is built upon Jesus Christ and his life and his merit, his goodness, his perfect life. That's it, folks. That's all my hope. That's the only hope we have. That's it, folks. That's all my hope, that's the only hope we have.

If you get a chance and you're looking for kind of a family fun read along the lines of Narnia, the Hobbit, percy Jackson, harry Potter, that kind of stuff, I would humbly recommend Countryside. And if you enjoy it, if you of stuff, I would humbly recommend Countryside. And if you enjoy it, if you would review it, I would appreciate that too. God bless y'all. God bless your families, god bless your marriages, god bless America. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world. Listen, we'll talk to y'all again real soon, folks Looking forward to it.