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

• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Hi friends, I'm Max Locato. Welcome to Fresh Hope. I'm
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: so happy you've joined me. Today we continue a series
• 0:22
  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' life and how he
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  Speaker 1: stayed calm amidst a storm of needy people. Teresa Briones
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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'd she do it? Well, Some kids were
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  Speaker 1: making fun of Teresa's daughter, Alicia. Alicia is bald. Her
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  Speaker 1: knees are arthritic. Her nose is pinched. She has the
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  Speaker 1: stamina of a 70-year-old, but she's only 10. She suffers
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  Speaker 1: from progeria, a genetic aging disease that strikes one child
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  Speaker 1: in 8 million. The life expectancy of a progeria victim
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  Speaker 1: is is about 20 years. Mentally, Alicia is a bubbly,
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  Speaker 1: fun-loving third grader. Teresa has grown accustomed to the glances
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  Speaker 1: and questions, genuine inquiries she accepts. Insensitive slanders, she does not. Mom,
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  Speaker 1: the kids at the laundromat taunted, come and look at
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  Speaker 1: the monster. The mother of the finger-pointing children came to investigate.
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  Speaker 1: I see it. she told the kids. My child is
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  Speaker 1: not an it, Teresa stated, and then she decked the woman.
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  Speaker 1: Who could blame her? Such is the nature of parental love.
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  Speaker 1: Mothers and fathers have a God-given ability to love their
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  Speaker 1: children regardless of imperfections, not because they're blind, just the opposite.
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  Speaker 1: They see vividly. Teresa sees Alicia's values. 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, John
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  Speaker 1: the Baptist's death. But when Jesus lands on the shore
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  Speaker 1: of Bethsaida, the crowd has followed him. And although he
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  Speaker 1: needs rest and solitude, his love for people overcomes that need.
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  Speaker 1: Matthew 14, 14 says he had compassion on them and
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  Speaker 1: healed their sick. It is doubtful that anyone in the
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  Speaker 1: crowd thought to ask Jesus how he was doing. No
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  Speaker 1: one came to give. All came to take. You know,
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  Speaker 1: when my daughters were small, we called 5 p.m. 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 Deanalyn
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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 little? Parents have them, bosses
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  Speaker 1: endure them, assistants dread them, teachers are besieged by them,
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  Speaker 1: and Jesus taught us how to live through them successfully.
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  Speaker 1: When hands extended and voices demanded, Jesus responded with love,
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  Speaker 1: and he did so because the code within him disarmed
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  Speaker 1: the alarm. The code is this, people are precious. I
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  Speaker 1: can hear somebody raising an objection at this point, but
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  Speaker 1: Jesus was divine. I'm not. Well, true, Jesus was equally
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  Speaker 1: God and man, but consider his loving response from another angle.
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  Speaker 1: Along with his holy strength, he had holy awareness. There
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  Speaker 1: were no secrets on the mountain that day. Jesus knew
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  Speaker 1: the heart of each person. Still, Matthew writes, Jesus healed
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  Speaker 1: their sick, not some of their sick, not the righteous
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  Speaker 1: among the sick, not the deserving among the sick, but
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  Speaker 1: the sick. Undoubtedly, there were those in the multitude who
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  Speaker 1: would use their newfound health to hurt others. Jesus released
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  Speaker 1: tongues that would someday curse. He gave sight to eyes
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  Speaker 1: that would lust. He healed hands that would kill. Many
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  Speaker 1: of those he healed would never say thank you, but
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  Speaker 1: he healed them anyway. Most would be more concerned with
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  Speaker 1: being healthy than holy, but he healed them anyway. Some
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  Speaker 1: of those who ask for bread today would cry for
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  Speaker 1: his blood a few months later. but he healed them anyway.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus chose to do what you and I seldom do.
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  Speaker 1: He gave gifts to people, knowing full well that those
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  Speaker 1: gifts could be used for evil. Don't be too quick
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  Speaker 1: to attribute Jesus' compassion to his divinity. Remember both sides.
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  Speaker 1: For each time Jesus healed, he had to overlook the
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  Speaker 1: future and the past, something he still does. Have you
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  Speaker 1: noticed that God doesn't ask you to prove you'll put
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  Speaker 1: your salary to good use? Have you noticed that God
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  Speaker 1: doesn't turn off your oxygen supply when you misuse his gifts?
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  Speaker 1: Aren't you glad that God doesn't give you only that
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  Speaker 1: which you remember to thank him for? Has it been
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  Speaker 1: a while since you thanked God for your spleen? Me too,
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  Speaker 1: but I still have one. God's goodness is spurred by
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  Speaker 1: his nature, not our worthiness. Someone asked an associate of mine,
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  Speaker 1: what biblical precedent do we have to help the poor
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  Speaker 1: who have no desire to become Christians? My friend responded
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  Speaker 1: with one word, God. God does it daily for millions
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  Speaker 1: of people. What did Jesus know that allowed him to
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  Speaker 1: do what he did? What internal code kept his calm
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  Speaker 1: from erupting into chaos? Simple. He knew the value of people. Interestingly,
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  Speaker 1: the stress seen that day is not on Jesus' face,
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  Speaker 1: but on the faces of his disciples. Send the crowds away,
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  Speaker 1: they demanded Matthew chapter 14 and verse 15. Fair request.
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  Speaker 1: After all, they are saying, you've taught them, you've healed them,
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  Speaker 1: you've accommodated them, and now they're getting hungry. If you
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  Speaker 1: don't send them away, they'll want you to feed them too.
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  Speaker 1: I wish I could have seen the expression on the
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  Speaker 1: disciples' faces when they heard their master's response. They do
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  Speaker 1: not need to go away, he says, according to verse 16.
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  Speaker 1: You give them something to eat. I used to think
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  Speaker 1: that Jesus knew the disciples couldn't feed the crowd, but
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  Speaker 1: asked them anyway as a test to teach them to
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  Speaker 1: rely on God. I don't see it like that anymore.
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  Speaker 1: I still think it was a test, but a test
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  Speaker 1: to demonstrate what they could do. Remember from our last episode,
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  Speaker 1: the disciples had just gone on tour preaching the gospel
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  Speaker 1: and performing miracles, Jesus is asking them to do it again. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: I wish I could tell you that the disciples miraculously
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  Speaker 1: fed the 5,000 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 6 and verse 37,
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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 should
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  Speaker 1: have exploded. The sorrow, the life threats, the exuberance, the crowds,
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  Speaker 1: the interruptions, the demands, and now this, his own destruction.
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  Speaker 1: can't do what he asks them. Beam me up should
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  Speaker 1: have been Jesus's next words, but they weren't. Instead, he inquires,
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  Speaker 1: how many loaves do you have? And the disciples bring
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  Speaker 1: him a little boy's lunch. A lunch pail becomes a
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  Speaker 1: banquet and all are fed No word of reprimand is given. No,
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  Speaker 1: I told you so speech is delivered. The same compassion
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  Speaker 1: Jesus extends to the crowd is extended to his friends.
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  Speaker 1: Let's review what our Lord faced on this day. Intense sorrow.
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  Speaker 1: The death of a dear friend and relative. Immediate threat.
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  Speaker 1: His name is on a wanted poster. Immeasurable joy. A
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  Speaker 1: homecoming with his followers. Immense crowds. A Niagara of people
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  Speaker 1: followed him everywhere. Insensitive interruptions. He sought rest and got people.
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  Speaker 1: Incredible demands. The crowds of thousands clamored for his touch.
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  Speaker 1: Inept assistance. The one and only time he asked for help,
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  Speaker 1: he got a dozen, you're pulling my leg expressions. But
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  Speaker 1: the calm within Christ never erupted. The alarm never sounded.
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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 the incredible value of people. As
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  Speaker 1: a result, he didn't tell the disciples to find another
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  Speaker 1: beach where there were no people. He didn't ask the
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  Speaker 1: crowds why they hadn't brought their own food. He stayed
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  Speaker 1: calm in the midst of chaos.
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  Speaker 2: Why?
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  Speaker 1: According to Mark 6 and verse 41, he even paused
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  Speaker 1: to pray a prayer of thanks. This story of Jesus
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  Speaker 1: reminds me of the boy who went to a pet
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  Speaker 1: shop looking for a puppy. The store owner showed him
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  Speaker 1: a litter in a box. After several minutes, the boy
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  Speaker 1: told the shop owner, I picked one out. How much
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  Speaker 1: will it cost? The owner told him, The boy handed
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  Speaker 1: him his change and then reached into the box and
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  Speaker 1: pulled out a skinny dog with a limp leg and
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  Speaker 1: started to leave. The owner stopped him. Oh, don't take
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  Speaker 1: that puppy, he objected. He's crippled. Get one of the
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  Speaker 1: healthy pups. Oh, no, thank you, sir, the boy replied.
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  Speaker 1: This is exactly the kind of dog I've been looking for.
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  Speaker 1: As the boy turned to leave, the store owner suddenly understood.
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  Speaker 1: Extending from the bottom of the boy's trousers was a brace,
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  Speaker 1: a brace for his crippled leg. Why did the boy
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  Speaker 1: want the dog? Because he knew how it felt, and
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  Speaker 1: he knew the dog was very special. What did Jesus
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  Speaker 1: know that enabled him to do what he did? He
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  Speaker 1: knew how the people felt, and he knew They were special.
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  Speaker 1: I hope you never forget that. Jesus knows how you feel.
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  Speaker 1: You're under the gun at work. Jesus knows how you feel.
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  Speaker 1: You've got children who make a piranha hour out of
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  Speaker 1: your dinner hour. And Jesus knows what that's like. You
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  Speaker 1: are precious to him. So precious that he became like
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  Speaker 1: you so that you would come to him when you struggle,
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  Speaker 1: when you yearn, And when you question, he loves you
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  Speaker 1: with the love of a Teresa Briones. He understands you
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  Speaker 1: with the compassion of the crippled boy. And like Teresa,
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  Speaker 1: he battles with hell itself to protect you. And like
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  Speaker 1: the boy, he paid a great price to take you home.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining me today, my friend. I
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  Speaker 1: hope you'll come back next time as we continue this
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  Speaker 1: series that's based on my book, in the eye of
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  Speaker 1: the storm. Until then, remember, no matter how stormy your
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  Speaker 1: day or restless your night, God knows how you feel.
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  Speaker 2: You don't have to stay close, as long as you're
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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 4: Just the thought that you are breathing Somewhere in this
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  Speaker 4: world I see Even if I'm not beside you Even
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  Speaker 4: if 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 stay with me.
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  Speaker 4: You don't have.
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  Speaker 5: To feel the same.
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  Speaker 3: Just as long as you're still out there.
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  Speaker 4: Calling softly 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 my home. It's enough to
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  Speaker 4: know you're living in a world I'm not alone. I
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  Speaker 4: won't chase you through the distance. Won't disturb your chosen life.
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  Speaker 4: I'll just keep you in my silence like a star
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  Speaker 4: that shines at night. Through the dark and through the blue.
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  Speaker 5: I still think of you. You don't have to be
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  Speaker 5: my home.
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  Speaker 3: It's enough to know you're living in a world.
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  Speaker 4: I'm not alone. I don't need to be your light
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  Speaker 4: I don't need to cross your mind All I need
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  Speaker 4: is just the truth That you're somewhere Still alive.
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  Speaker 3: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
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  Speaker 3: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
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  Speaker 3: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
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  Speaker 3: to look my way You.
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  Speaker 1: Don't have to.
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  Speaker 4: Be my home It's enough to know you're living
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  Speaker 1: In a world I'm not alone.