Latest / Max Lucado Daily Sermons / Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos - Minister Max Lucado

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Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos - Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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  Speaker 1: Hi friends, I'm Max Locato. Welcome to Fresh Hope. I'm
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  Speaker 1: so happy you've joined me. Today we continue a series
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  Speaker 1: based on my book In the Eye of the Storm.
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  Speaker 1: In this episode, we're going to look at one of
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  Speaker 1: the most stressful days in Jesus's life and how he
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  Speaker 1: stayed calm amidst a storm of needy people. Teresa Brion's
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  Speaker 1: is a tender, loving mother. She also has a stout
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  Speaker 1: left hook that she used to punch a lady at
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  Speaker 1: the laundromat. Why did she do it well? Some kids
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  Speaker 1: were making fun of teresa daughter Alisha. Alicia is bald,
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  Speaker 1: Her knees are arthritic, her nose is pinched. She has
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  Speaker 1: the stamina of a seventy year old, but she's only ten.
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  Speaker 1: She suffers from progeria, a genetic aging disease that strikes
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  Speaker 1: one child an eight million. The life expectancy of a
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  Speaker 1: progeria victim is about twenty years. Mentally, Alicia is a bubbly,
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  Speaker 1: fun loving third grader. Teresa has grown accustomed to the
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  Speaker 1: glances and questions, genuine inquiries. She accepts insensitive slanders. She
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  Speaker 1: does not mom. The kids at the laundromat taunted come
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  Speaker 1: and look at the monster. The mother of the finger
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  Speaker 1: pointing children came to investigate. I see it. She told
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  Speaker 1: the kids, my child is not and it, Teresa stated,
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  Speaker 1: and then she decked the woman who could blame her.
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  Speaker 1: Such as the nature of parental love, mothers and fathers
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  Speaker 1: have a God given ability to love their children regardless
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  Speaker 1: of imperfections, not because they're blind, just the opposite. They
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  Speaker 1: see vividly. Teresa sees Alicia's value is so does God.
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  Speaker 1: God sees our defects, our errors, our blemishes, but he
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  Speaker 1: also sees our value. So did Jesus. Jesus knew that
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  Speaker 1: each human being is a treasure, and because he did,
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  Speaker 1: people were not a source of stress but a source
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  Speaker 1: of joy. In the last episode, we talked about Jesus
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  Speaker 1: escaping a miracle hungry crowd after hearing of his cousin
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  Speaker 1: John the Baptist's death. But when Jesus lands on the
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  Speaker 1: shore of Bethseda, the crowd has followed him, and although
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  Speaker 1: he needs rest and solitude, his love for people overcomes
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  Speaker 1: that need. Matthew fourteen fourteen says he had compassion on
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  Speaker 1: them and healed their sick. It is doubtful that anyone
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  Speaker 1: in the crowd thought to ask Jesus how he was doing.
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  Speaker 1: No one came to give, all came to take. You know,
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  Speaker 1: when my daughters were small, we call five pm in
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  Speaker 1: our house the Piranha hour. That's the time of day
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  Speaker 1: when everyone wanted a piece of mom. Sarah the baby
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  Speaker 1: was hungry, Andrea wanted mom to read her a book.
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  Speaker 1: Jenna wanted help with her homework, and I wanted Dinalan
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  Speaker 1: to drop everything and talk to me about my day.
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  Speaker 1: When is your Piranha hour? When do people in your
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  Speaker 1: world demand much and offer littles? Have them? Bosses endure them,
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  Speaker 1: Assistants dread them. Teachers are besieged by them. And Jesus
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  Speaker 1: taught us how to live through them successfully. When Hans
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  Speaker 1: extended and voices demanded, Jesus responded with love, and he
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  Speaker 1: did so because the code within him disarmed the alarm.
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  Speaker 1: The code is this, people are precious. I can hear
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  Speaker 1: somebody raising an objection at this point, but Jesus was divine.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not well true. Jesus was equally God and man.
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  Speaker 1: But consider his loving response from another angle. Along with
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  Speaker 1: his holy strength, he had holy awareness. There were no
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  Speaker 1: secrets on the mountain that day, Jesus knew the heart
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  Speaker 1: of each person. Still, Matthew writes, Jesus healed their sick,
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  Speaker 1: not some of their sick, not the righteous among the sick,
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  Speaker 1: not the deserving among the sick, but the sick. Undoubtedly
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  Speaker 1: there were those in the multitude who would use their
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  Speaker 1: new found health to hurt others. Jesus released tongues that
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  Speaker 1: would someday curse. He gave sight to eyes that would lust.
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  Speaker 1: He healed hands that would kill. Many of those he
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  Speaker 1: healed would never say thank you, but he healed them anyway.
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  Speaker 1: Most would be more concerned with being healthy than holy,
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  Speaker 1: but he healed them anyway. Some of those who asked
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  Speaker 1: for bread today would cry for his blood a few
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  Speaker 1: months later, but he healed them anyway. Jesus chose to
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  Speaker 1: do what you and us seldom do. He gave gifts
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  Speaker 1: to peace, knowing full well that those gifts could be
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  Speaker 1: used for evil. Don't be too quick to attribute Jesus's
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  Speaker 1: compassion to his divinity. Remember both sides. For each time
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  Speaker 1: Jesus healed, he had to overlook the future and the past,
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  Speaker 1: something he still does. Have you noticed that God doesn't
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  Speaker 1: ask you to prove you'll put your salary to good use.
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  Speaker 1: Have you noticed that God doesn't turn off your oxygen
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  Speaker 1: supply when you misuse his gifts? Aren't you glad that
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  Speaker 1: God doesn't give you only that which you remember to
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  Speaker 1: thank him for? Has it been a while since you
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  Speaker 1: thank God for your spleen? Me too, but I still
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  Speaker 1: have one. God's goodness is spurred by his nature, not
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  Speaker 1: our worthiness. Someone asked an associate of mine, what biblical
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  Speaker 1: precedent do we have to help the poor who have
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  Speaker 1: no desire to become Christians? My friend responded with one word, God,
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  Speaker 1: God does it daily for millions of people. What did
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  Speaker 1: Jesus know that allowed him to do what he did?
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  Speaker 1: What internal code kept his calm from erupting into chaos? Simple?
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  Speaker 1: He knew the value of people. Interestingly, the stress seen
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  Speaker 1: that day is not on Jesus's face, but on the
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  Speaker 1: faces of his disciples. Send the crowds away, they demanded Matthew,
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  Speaker 1: chapter fourteen and verse fifteen. Fair request. After all, they
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  Speaker 1: are saying, you've taught them, you've healed them, you've accommodated them,
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  Speaker 1: and now they're getting hungry. If you don't send them away,
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  Speaker 1: they'll want you to feed them too. I wish I
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  Speaker 1: could have seen the expression on the disciples faces when
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  Speaker 1: they heard their master's response. They do not need to
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  Speaker 1: go away, he says, according to verse sixteen, you give
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  Speaker 1: them something to eat. I used to think that Jesus
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  Speaker 1: knew the disciples couldn't feed the crowd, but asked them
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  Speaker 1: anyway as a test to teach them to rely on God.
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  Speaker 1: I don't see it like that anymore. I still think
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  Speaker 1: it was a test, but a test to demonstrate what
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  Speaker 1: they could do. Remember from our last episode, the disciples
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  Speaker 1: had just gone on tour preaching the gospel and performing miracles.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is asking them to do it again. Oh I
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  Speaker 1: wish I could tell you that the disciples miraculously fed
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  Speaker 1: the five thousand men plus women and children. But I
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  Speaker 1: can't because they didn't. Rather than look to God, they
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  Speaker 1: looked in their wallets. In Mark six and verse thirty seven,
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  Speaker 1: they protest that would take eight months of a man's wages.
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  Speaker 1: Are we to go and spend that much on bread
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  Speaker 1: and then give it to them to eat? Don't miss
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  Speaker 1: the contrasting views. When Jesus saw the people, he saw
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity to love and affirm value. When the disciples
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  Speaker 1: saw people, They saw thousands of problems. Also, don't miss
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  Speaker 1: the irony they tell the bread of life. There is
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  Speaker 1: no bread. How silly we must appear to God. This
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  Speaker 1: is the point in the pressure packed day where Jesus
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  Speaker 1: should have exploded. The sorrow, the life threads, the exuberance,
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  Speaker 1: the crowds, the interruptions, the demands, and now this his
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  Speaker 1: own disciples can't do what he asks them. Beat me
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  Speaker 1: up should have been Jesus's next words, but they weren't. Instead,
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  Speaker 1: he inquires, how many loads do you have? And the
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  Speaker 1: disciples bring him a little boy's lunch. A lunch pale
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  Speaker 1: becomes a banquet, and all are fed. No word of
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  Speaker 1: reprimand is given, no I told you so speech is delivered.
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  Speaker 1: The same compassion Jesus extends to the crowd is extended
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  Speaker 1: to his friends. Let's review what our lord faced on
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  Speaker 1: this day. Intense sorrow, the death of a dear friend
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  Speaker 1: and relative, immediate threat. His name is on a wanted poster,
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  Speaker 1: immeasurable joy, a homecoming with his followers, immense crowds, a
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  Speaker 1: niagara of people followed him everywhere, insensitive interruptions. He sought
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  Speaker 1: rest and got people incredible demands. The crowds of thousands
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  Speaker 1: clamored for his touch, inept assistance. The one and only
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  Speaker 1: time he asked for help, he got a dozen you're
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  Speaker 1: pulling my leg expressions. But the calm within Christ never erupted,
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  Speaker 1: The alarm never sounded. What did Jesus know that enabled
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  Speaker 1: him to do what he did? He knew the incredible
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  Speaker 1: value of people. As a result, he didn't tell the
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  Speaker 1: disciples to find another beach where there were no people.
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  Speaker 1: He didn't ask the crowds why they hadn't brought their
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  Speaker 1: own food. He stayed calm in the midst of chaos. Why.
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  Speaker 1: According to Mark six and verse forty one, he even
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  Speaker 1: paused to pray a prayer of thanks. This story of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus reminds me of the boy who I went to
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  Speaker 1: a pet shop looking for a puppy. The store owner
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  Speaker 1: showed him a litter in a box. After several minutes,
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  Speaker 1: the boy told the shop owner, I picked one out.
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  Speaker 1: How much will it cost? The owner told him. The
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  Speaker 1: boy handed him his change and then reached into the
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  Speaker 1: box and pulled out a skinny dog with a limp
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  Speaker 1: leg and started to leave. The owner stopped him, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: don't take that puppy, he objected, he'scrippled. I get one
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  Speaker 1: of the healthy pupps. Oh no, thank you, sir. The
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  Speaker 1: boy replied, this is exactly the kind of dog I've
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  Speaker 1: been looking for. As the boy turned to leave, the
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  Speaker 1: store owner suddenly understood. Extending from the bottom of the
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  Speaker 1: boy's trousers was a brace, a brace for his crippled leg.
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  Speaker 1: Why did the boy want the dog because he knew
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  Speaker 1: how it fell, and he knew the dog was very special.
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  Speaker 1: What did Jesus know that enabled him to do what
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  Speaker 1: he did? He knew how the people felt, and he
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  Speaker 1: knew they were special. I hope you never forget that.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus knows how you feel. You're under the gun at work.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus knows how you feel. You've got children who make
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  Speaker 1: a Piranha hour out of your dinner hour, and Jesus
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  Speaker 1: knows what that's like. You are precious to him, so
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  Speaker 1: precious that he became like you so that you would
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  Speaker 1: come to him when you struggle, when you yearn and
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  Speaker 1: when you question. He loves you with the love of
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  Speaker 1: a Teresa Briones. He understands you with the compassion of
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  Speaker 1: the crippled boy, and like Teresa, he battles with hell
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  Speaker 1: itself to protect you, and like the boy, he paid
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  Speaker 1: a great price nice to take you home. Thanks so
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  Speaker 1: much for joining me today, my friend. I hope you'll
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  Speaker 1: come back next time as we continue this series that's
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  Speaker 1: based on my book In the Eye of the Storm.
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  Speaker 1: Until then, remember, no matter how stormy your day or
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  Speaker 1: restless your night, God knows how you feel.
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  Speaker 2: You don't have the stay close. As long as there's
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  Speaker 2: somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
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  Speaker 3: I don't need to hold you near me, don't need
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  Speaker 3: promises to keep.
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  Speaker 2: Just the thought that you are breathing somewhere in this world.
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  Speaker 3: I see, even if I'm not beside you, even if
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  Speaker 3: you never know, there's a quiet kind of comfort.
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  Speaker 4: Just in knowing you still glow.
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  Speaker 2: I don't need forever.
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  Speaker 4: I just need you to exist.
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  Speaker 3: You don't have to.
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  Speaker 5: Stay with me, You don't have to feel the same.
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  Speaker 5: Just as long as you're still out there, calling softly
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  Speaker 5: through my days.
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  Speaker 3: You don't have to look my way.
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  Speaker 4: You don't have to be in my home.
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  Speaker 3: It's enough to know where you're living in a world
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  Speaker 3: I'm not alone.
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  Speaker 4: I won't chase it through the distance, won't disturb your
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  Speaker 4: chosen life.
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  Speaker 3: I'll just keep you.
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  Speaker 4: In my silence, like a star that shines at night,
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  Speaker 4: through the darkened, through the booth, I still think of you.
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  Speaker 2: You don't have.
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  Speaker 3: To stay with me. You don't have to feel the same.
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  Speaker 5: Just as long as you're still out there, calling softly
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  Speaker 5: through my days. You don't have to look my way.
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  Speaker 4: You don't have to be in my home. It's enough
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  Speaker 4: to know you're living.
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  Speaker 2: World.
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  Speaker 4: I'm not alone.
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  Speaker 2: I don't need to be your late. I don't need
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  Speaker 2: to cross your mind.
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  Speaker 5: All I need is.
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  Speaker 4: Just the truth that you're somewhere, still alive. You don't
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  Speaker 4: have to stay with me.
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  Speaker 5: You don't have to feel the same, just as long
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  Speaker 5: as you're still after calling softly.
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  Speaker 3: Through my days. You don't have to love my way.
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  Speaker 1: You don't have to be my home.
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  Speaker 4: It's enough to know you're living.
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  Speaker 1: In the world.
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  Speaker 4: I am not alone.
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  Speaker 2: M