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It Is Written with John Bradshaw

John Bradshaw - It Is Written with John Bradshaw

May 25, 2025 | 27:29

John Bradshaw - It Is Written with John Bradshaw
It Is Written seeks to impact lives for Christ.
#Faith #TrustGod #Pain #Faithfulness #War #Religion #Culture #Government #WordofGod #Loss #Tragedy #Grief #ItIsWrittenwithJohnBradshaw #JohnBradshaw #Luke13

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It Is Written with John Bradshaw | John Bradshaw - It Is Written with John Bradshaw | May 25, 2025
  • ♪[theme music]♪
  • 00:00:00.023 --> 00:00:19.809
  • ♪[asian instrumental music]♪
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  • >>john bradshaw: this is it is written.
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  • I'm john bradshaw. thanks for joining me.
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  • Welcome to the philippines and to manila,
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  • The nation's capital--
  • 00:00:32.589 --> 00:00:34.023
  • 1.8 million people call the city of manila home,
  • 00:00:34.023 --> 00:00:38.061
  • And almost 13 million live in the metropolitan area,
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  • Placing metro manila in the world's top 20 populations.
  • 00:00:41.564 --> 00:00:46.970
  • And if you drive through manila, and you'll do so slowly,
  • 00:00:46.970 --> 00:00:50.907
  • You'd believe it.
  • 00:00:50.907 --> 00:00:52.575
  • It can take a long time to get from anywhere to anywhere
  • 00:00:52.575 --> 00:00:55.411
  • In manila.
  • 00:00:55.411 --> 00:00:56.613
  • But when it comes to getting around manila,
  • 00:00:56.613 --> 00:00:59.916
  • At least you have options.
  • 00:00:59.916 --> 00:01:02.252
  • ♪[piano music]♪
  • 00:01:05.688 --> 00:01:07.357
  • The philippines is an archipelago, an island nation.
  • 00:01:07.357 --> 00:01:11.728
  • But although there are 7,500 or so islands here,
  • 00:01:11.728 --> 00:01:15.398
  • Only 11 of them are larger than oahu.
  • 00:01:15.398 --> 00:01:18.401
  • The philippines sits on the pacific ring of fire,
  • 00:01:18.401 --> 00:01:22.672
  • So earthquakes are common,
  • 00:01:22.672 --> 00:01:25.041
  • While the eruption of mount pinatubo in 1991
  • 00:01:25.041 --> 00:01:28.044
  • Was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century
  • 00:01:28.044 --> 00:01:32.415
  • And caused temperatures around the world to fall.
  • 00:01:32.415 --> 00:01:37.153
  • Time magazine said the philippines was
  • 00:01:37.153 --> 00:01:39.422
  • "the most exposed country in the world to tropical storms."
  • 00:01:39.422 --> 00:01:44.060
  • A typhoon in 2013 killed more than 6,000 people.
  • 00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:51.467
  • ♪[upbeat instrumental music]♪
  • 00:01:51.534 --> 00:01:53.703
  • The country's favorite son is boxer manny pacquiao--
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  • Senator manny pacquiao.
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  • He's so popular in the philippines,
  • 00:02:00.343 --> 00:02:02.545
  • Police say that crime stops in manila whenever he fights,
  • 00:02:02.545 --> 00:02:06.983
  • And the busy streets of manila go quiet.
  • 00:02:06.983 --> 00:02:10.687
  • Imelda marcos was the well-known philippines first lady
  • 00:02:10.687 --> 00:02:13.756
  • For more than 20 years,
  • 00:02:13.756 --> 00:02:15.658
  • Who became famous for her collection of shoes--
  • 00:02:15.658 --> 00:02:18.928
  • Some say more than 1,000 pairs; others say almost 3,000 pairs.
  • 00:02:18.928 --> 00:02:26.569
  • Although the national language is tagalog, or filipino,
  • 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:30.540
  • More people speak english in the philippines
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  • Than in the united kingdom.
  • 00:02:33.076 --> 00:02:36.446
  • The philippines was colonized by spain in the 16th century.
  • 00:02:36.446 --> 00:02:40.083
  • More than 300 years later, the united states took control
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  • Of the country following the spanish-american war.
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  • But two years into world war ii,
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  • The country would be ruled by yet another power: japan.
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  • [cannon firing]
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  • ♪[tense music]♪
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  • Japan attacked the philippines on december the 8th, 1941,
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  • Just hours after it attacked pearl harbor.
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  • [explosions and rapid gunfire]
  • 00:03:04.741 --> 00:03:06.142
  • The combined us-filipino force in the philippines
  • 00:03:06.142 --> 00:03:09.212
  • Was under-resourced and under-prepared.
  • 00:03:09.212 --> 00:03:12.348
  • So japan made fairly easy work of rolling through
  • 00:03:12.348 --> 00:03:16.119
  • The philippines, occupying manila on january the 2nd, 1942.
  • 00:03:16.119 --> 00:03:22.525
  • Fighting a war on two fronts made it harder
  • 00:03:22.525 --> 00:03:25.528
  • For the united states in the pacific,
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  • And as important as it was to defeat japan,
  • 00:03:27.497 --> 00:03:30.300
  • Defeating germany was the priority.
  • 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:32.769
  • Filipinos had felt secure,
  • 00:03:32.769 --> 00:03:34.470
  • Believing that american military might would see off any attack.
  • 00:03:34.470 --> 00:03:39.042
  • But that confidence was misplaced.
  • 00:03:39.042 --> 00:03:42.278
  • American forces had no option but to retreat.
  • 00:03:42.278 --> 00:03:47.383
  • When general douglas macarthur left the philippines in 1942,
  • 00:03:47.450 --> 00:03:51.521
  • With thousands of american servicemen
  • 00:03:51.521 --> 00:03:53.623
  • Still in the philippines,
  • 00:03:53.623 --> 00:03:55.391
  • He gave a speech at a train station in south australia,
  • 00:03:55.391 --> 00:03:58.561
  • Where he said,
  • 00:03:58.561 --> 00:03:59.562
  • [douglas macarthur speaks] "i shall return."
  • 00:03:59.562 --> 00:04:02.131
  • But more than two years passed before macarthur made it back
  • 00:04:02.131 --> 00:04:05.034
  • To the philippines.
  • 00:04:05.034 --> 00:04:06.903
  • Two-and-a-half years or more is a long time
  • 00:04:06.969 --> 00:04:09.439
  • To be at the mercy of an invading army.
  • 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:14.911
  • General edward king was ordered by douglas macarthur to defend
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  • The bataan peninsula at all costs.
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  • Macarthur told him that if it came down to it,
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  • Us troops were to charge the enemy.
  • 00:04:24.921 --> 00:04:28.358
  • Well, of course, that would have led to a complete slaughter.
  • 00:04:28.358 --> 00:04:31.260
  • With his men on a peninsula, water on three sides,
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  • And an advancing enemy on the fourth,
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  • King knew what he had to do,
  • 00:04:38.668 --> 00:04:40.703
  • And he chose to disobey macarthur's direct command.
  • 00:04:40.703 --> 00:04:47.643
  • On april the 9th, he stated that all forces on bataan
  • 00:04:47.710 --> 00:04:50.480
  • Were to lay down their arms and surrender to the japanese.
  • 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:54.050
  • It was the worst military defeat the united states
  • 00:04:54.050 --> 00:04:56.753
  • Had ever suffered.
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  • Twelve thousand americans and 58,000 filipinos
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  • Were captured that day.
  • 00:05:01.057 --> 00:05:02.892
  • As king was negotiating surrender,
  • 00:05:02.892 --> 00:05:04.861
  • He asked a japanese military leader if his men would be
  • 00:05:04.861 --> 00:05:08.398
  • Well-treated as prisoners of war.
  • 00:05:08.398 --> 00:05:10.166
  • He was told, "we are not barbarians."
  • 00:05:10.166 --> 00:05:14.771
  • Well, the events of the next few weeks and months
  • 00:05:14.771 --> 00:05:17.507
  • Would prove that statement to be inaccurate.
  • 00:05:17.507 --> 00:05:23.413
  • The bataan peninsula would become the starting point
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  • Of a journey of horror, a march of death.
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  • American forces were at a low point,
  • 00:05:31.320 --> 00:05:34.090
  • Many overcome by malnourishment and diseases such as beriberi
  • 00:05:34.090 --> 00:05:38.461
  • And scurvy, as well as dysentery.
  • 00:05:38.461 --> 00:05:41.364
  • But the japanese decided they needed to move 12,000 americans
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  • And 58,000 filipinos out of the bataan peninsula.
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  • They would move them to camp o'donnell,
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  • A distance of about 65 miles.
  • 00:05:53.009 --> 00:05:56.412
  • ♪[somber music]♪
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  • The prisoners would be marched to a train station.
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  • Then they'd march again to camp o'donnell
  • 00:06:02.985 --> 00:06:04.987
  • When they got off the train.
  • 00:06:04.987 --> 00:06:07.323
  • It's fair to say japan had no idea it would suddenly be stuck
  • 00:06:07.323 --> 00:06:11.694
  • With having to deal with 70,000 prisoners of war.
  • 00:06:11.694 --> 00:06:14.997
  • And if japan kept those prisoners weak,
  • 00:06:14.997 --> 00:06:17.333
  • They'd be easier to manage.
  • 00:06:17.333 --> 00:06:19.402
  • But what unfolded would be an unbelievably dark chapter
  • 00:06:19.402 --> 00:06:22.605
  • Of world war ii, and it would prompt the asking
  • 00:06:22.605 --> 00:06:25.408
  • Of some questions that are not easy to answer.
  • 00:06:25.408 --> 00:06:29.545
  • One of the questions most asked by people wrestling
  • 00:06:29.545 --> 00:06:32.415
  • With matters of faith is,
  • 00:06:32.415 --> 00:06:33.816
  • "why does god allow tragedy to happen?"
  • 00:06:33.816 --> 00:06:37.887
  • I've been asked that question all over the world,
  • 00:06:37.887 --> 00:06:39.989
  • And it's a fair question,
  • 00:06:39.989 --> 00:06:41.557
  • A question that comes close to everyone
  • 00:06:41.557 --> 00:06:44.393
  • Because wherever you have people you have heartbreak
  • 00:06:44.393 --> 00:06:46.629
  • And pain and loss and grief and all that comes with it.
  • 00:06:46.629 --> 00:06:50.633
  • Why do horrible things like this happen?
  • 00:06:50.633 --> 00:06:52.702
  • Why do babies die of cancer?
  • 00:06:52.702 --> 00:06:54.670
  • Innocent people get killed by drunk drivers?
  • 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:57.273
  • Why, if there's a god, would people be subjected
  • 00:06:57.273 --> 00:07:00.877
  • To inhuman cruelty?
  • 00:07:00.877 --> 00:07:03.012
  • Which is precisely what came to the men unfortunate enough
  • 00:07:03.012 --> 00:07:07.350
  • To be forced into the bataan death march.
  • 00:07:07.350 --> 00:07:10.186
  • The answers exist, but they're not easy.
  • 00:07:10.186 --> 00:07:13.589
  • And the answers demand something of us.
  • 00:07:13.589 --> 00:07:16.559
  • I'll be back in just a moment.
  • 00:07:16.559 --> 00:07:18.494
  • ♪[music]♪
  • 00:07:18.494 --> 00:07:27.937
  • >>announcer 1: we hear it all the time:
  • 00:07:28.004 --> 00:07:30.006
  • "god is all-powerful, and god is love."
  • 00:07:30.006 --> 00:07:32.975
  • But if god is so powerful and loving,
  • 00:07:32.975 --> 00:07:35.344
  • Why is there so much suffering?
  • 00:07:35.344 --> 00:07:37.647
  • Discover what the bible says on the subject by requesting
  • 00:07:37.647 --> 00:07:40.283
  • Today's free offer: "why does god allow suffering?"
  • 00:07:40.283 --> 00:07:43.119
  • It's absolutely free.
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  • Just call 800-253-3000,
  • 00:07:44.687 --> 00:07:48.124
  • 800-253-3000.
  • 00:07:48.124 --> 00:07:51.360
  • Or write to the address on your screen.
  • 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:53.095
  • You can also make your request
  • 00:07:53.095 --> 00:07:54.163
  • Online at iiwoffer.com.
  • 00:07:54.163 --> 00:07:58.467
  • ♪[music]♪
  • 00:07:58.534 --> 00:08:01.037
  • >>announcer 2: planning for your financial future
  • 00:08:01.037 --> 00:08:02.638
  • Is a vital aspect of christian stewardship.
  • 00:08:02.638 --> 00:08:06.542
  • For this reason, it is written is pleased to offer
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  • Free planned giving and estate services.
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  • For information on how we can help you,
  • 00:08:11.581 --> 00:08:14.350
  • Please call 800-992-2219.
  • 00:08:14.350 --> 00:08:19.288
  • Call today or visit our website:
  • 00:08:19.288 --> 00:08:21.490
  • Hislegacy.com.
  • 00:08:21.490 --> 00:08:23.292
  • Call 800-992-2219.
  • 00:08:23.292 --> 00:08:29.432
  • >>john bradshaw: thanks for joining me on it is written.
  • 00:08:29.498 --> 00:08:32.468
  • One thing about war is that it ordinarily takes place
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  • A long way away from where you are in time and place.
  • 00:08:35.805 --> 00:08:41.110
  • Even though world war ii happened a long time ago,
  • 00:08:41.110 --> 00:08:45.314
  • The horrors of world war ii were very real.
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  • Try to imagine what it was like for the men
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  • On the bataan death march in the philippines--and you can't.
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  • Seventy thousand men were forced to march most of 65 miles
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  • From the bataan peninsula across the bay from manila
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  • In the philippines to a prisoner-of-war camp.
  • 00:09:05.001 --> 00:09:08.304
  • Thousands of them died along the way.
  • 00:09:08.304 --> 00:09:11.974
  • Put yourself into that situation--
  • 00:09:11.974 --> 00:09:14.543
  • No doubt you'll find yourself struggling to deal with it.
  • 00:09:14.543 --> 00:09:18.314
  • Wouldn't you imagine yourself battling to deal
  • 00:09:18.314 --> 00:09:20.716
  • With the senselessness of it all,
  • 00:09:20.716 --> 00:09:23.052
  • The bitter cruelty of it all,
  • 00:09:23.052 --> 00:09:24.954
  • Marching in sweltering heat without food and water,
  • 00:09:24.954 --> 00:09:28.090
  • Soldiers being killed indiscriminately,
  • 00:09:28.090 --> 00:09:31.227
  • Completely without reason?
  • 00:09:31.227 --> 00:09:33.029
  • How do you make sense of senselessness like that?
  • 00:09:33.029 --> 00:09:37.266
  • You might even be trying to make sense
  • 00:09:37.266 --> 00:09:38.701
  • Out of your own difficult situation.
  • 00:09:38.701 --> 00:09:41.070
  • In the bible, there were plenty of people who tried
  • 00:09:41.070 --> 00:09:43.706
  • To make sense out of their difficult situations.
  • 00:09:43.706 --> 00:09:46.609
  • In the story of job,
  • 00:09:46.609 --> 00:09:48.277
  • Job wrestles with the terrible affliction that came upon him.
  • 00:09:48.277 --> 00:09:52.214
  • He lost his home, his children, his possessions.
  • 00:09:52.214 --> 00:09:55.985
  • So job tries to figure out what's going on.
  • 00:09:55.985 --> 00:09:58.754
  • But behind the scenes there's something taking place
  • 00:09:58.754 --> 00:10:01.724
  • That job can't possibly know about.
  • 00:10:01.724 --> 00:10:04.560
  • Satan is behind the affliction that job is suffering,
  • 00:10:04.560 --> 00:10:07.797
  • And the whole episode reveals that there are issues
  • 00:10:07.797 --> 00:10:10.633
  • More important than our suffering or our well-being,
  • 00:10:10.633 --> 00:10:15.337
  • Issues that god wants us to understand.
  • 00:10:15.337 --> 00:10:18.340
  • Now, job's friends are convinced that job has done something
  • 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:21.243
  • To cause his misfortune.
  • 00:10:21.243 --> 00:10:23.079
  • They're thinking,
  • 00:10:23.079 --> 00:10:24.180
  • "you had to have done something to deserve this."
  • 00:10:24.180 --> 00:10:28.317
  • Which isn't uncommon.
  • 00:10:28.384 --> 00:10:30.386
  • One day, jesus was told that pilate had killed some galileans
  • 00:10:30.386 --> 00:10:34.056
  • While they were offering sacrifices.
  • 00:10:34.056 --> 00:10:36.192
  • Jesus said, "do you suppose that these galileans
  • 00:10:36.192 --> 00:10:39.261
  • Were worse sinners than all other galileans,
  • 00:10:39.261 --> 00:10:42.031
  • Because they suffered such things?
  • 00:10:42.031 --> 00:10:43.599
  • I tell you, no."
  • 00:10:43.599 --> 00:10:45.801
  • And he said in verses 4 and 5,
  • 00:10:45.801 --> 00:10:48.337
  • "or those eighteen on whom the tower in siloam fell
  • 00:10:48.337 --> 00:10:51.707
  • And killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners
  • 00:10:51.707 --> 00:10:54.477
  • Than all other men who dwelt in jerusalem?
  • 00:10:54.477 --> 00:10:56.812
  • I tell you, no."
  • 00:10:56.812 --> 00:10:59.115
  • People like to have neat explanations for suffering.
  • 00:10:59.181 --> 00:11:02.651
  • Take the story of the rich man and lazarus.
  • 00:11:02.651 --> 00:11:05.154
  • The common thought in jesus' day was that if you were rich,
  • 00:11:05.154 --> 00:11:08.457
  • You were clearly blessed by god,
  • 00:11:08.457 --> 00:11:10.092
  • And poverty was proof of god's displeasure.
  • 00:11:10.092 --> 00:11:12.361
  • Well, wrong.
  • 00:11:12.361 --> 00:11:14.196
  • Jesus turned things upside down in that story
  • 00:11:14.196 --> 00:11:17.399
  • When he had a beggar in glory and a rich man in torment.
  • 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:21.737
  • How could that be?
  • 00:11:21.737 --> 00:11:23.472
  • Neat explanations for life's deep mysteries might be neat,
  • 00:11:23.472 --> 00:11:29.044
  • But they're inadequate.
  • 00:11:29.044 --> 00:11:30.646
  • It sits better with a lot of people to reduce god down,
  • 00:11:30.646 --> 00:11:33.949
  • To find throwaway answers to explain the workings of god.
  • 00:11:33.949 --> 00:11:38.687
  • So i wonder what might have gone through the minds of the men
  • 00:11:38.687 --> 00:11:40.990
  • On the bataan death march.
  • 00:11:40.990 --> 00:11:42.958
  • They were soldiers fighting for their countries,
  • 00:11:42.958 --> 00:11:45.427
  • Americans and filipinos.
  • 00:11:45.427 --> 00:11:47.329
  • And now their captors were marching them 65 miles,
  • 00:11:47.329 --> 00:11:50.599
  • And it was beyond miserable.
  • 00:11:50.599 --> 00:11:53.536
  • It was obvious that many of them were going to die
  • 00:11:53.536 --> 00:11:55.905
  • A ghastly death, unnecessarily.
  • 00:11:55.905 --> 00:12:00.342
  • How do you explain that?
  • 00:12:00.342 --> 00:12:02.311
  • ♪[somber music]♪
  • 00:12:02.311 --> 00:12:06.682
  • Men who were on the march said the temperatures
  • 00:12:06.682 --> 00:12:08.984
  • Were up over 100 degrees fahrenheit--
  • 00:12:08.984 --> 00:12:11.620
  • 38 degrees celsius-- or higher.
  • 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:14.557
  • It was the hottest time of the year in the philippines.
  • 00:12:14.557 --> 00:12:17.560
  • And the men were forced to march without food or water.
  • 00:12:17.560 --> 00:12:20.830
  • They were already weakened before the march;
  • 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:23.599
  • 25 percent of the men on bataan were in hospital
  • 00:12:23.599 --> 00:12:27.069
  • Or were being treated for illness;
  • 00:12:27.069 --> 00:12:28.804
  • About 40 percent of the men had malaria.
  • 00:12:28.804 --> 00:12:31.740
  • They were so short of food they'd been eating iguanas,
  • 00:12:31.740 --> 00:12:34.577
  • Monkeys, and snakes.
  • 00:12:34.577 --> 00:12:36.078
  • They had eaten the cavalry horses.
  • 00:12:36.078 --> 00:12:39.181
  • By the time the bataan death march started,
  • 00:12:39.181 --> 00:12:41.851
  • They were out of food, with nothing to drink,
  • 00:12:41.851 --> 00:12:45.120
  • Marching in the blistering heat for 65 miles.
  • 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:51.327
  • Many of the men on the march had survived the furious bombing
  • 00:12:51.393 --> 00:12:55.664
  • And the fierce combat on the island of corregidor
  • 00:12:55.664 --> 00:12:58.667
  • In manila bay, only to find themselves marching to death.
  • 00:12:58.667 --> 00:13:05.474
  • The brutality was difficult to imagine.
  • 00:13:05.541 --> 00:13:09.645
  • Death march survivor lester tenney said,
  • 00:13:09.645 --> 00:13:13.015
  • "it wasn't called the bataan death march
  • 00:13:13.015 --> 00:13:15.484
  • Only because people died.
  • 00:13:15.484 --> 00:13:18.120
  • It was called the bataan death march
  • 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:19.788
  • Because of the way men died.
  • 00:13:19.788 --> 00:13:22.691
  • If you stopped, you died.
  • 00:13:22.691 --> 00:13:24.526
  • If you fell down, you died.
  • 00:13:24.526 --> 00:13:27.363
  • If you had a malaria attack, you died.
  • 00:13:27.363 --> 00:13:30.299
  • If you couldn't take another step, you died.
  • 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:32.835
  • Use the bathroom, you died.
  • 00:13:32.835 --> 00:13:35.738
  • We had no food and no water.
  • 00:13:35.738 --> 00:13:38.440
  • Either they cut your head off,
  • 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:40.643
  • They shot you or they bayoneted you."
  • 00:13:40.643 --> 00:13:44.647
  • Many pows were killed simply for sport.
  • 00:13:44.713 --> 00:13:50.019
  • While 1.5 percent of american prisoners of war
  • 00:13:50.085 --> 00:13:53.222
  • Held by germany died in captivity,
  • 00:13:53.222 --> 00:13:56.425
  • More than 40 percent of american pows
  • 00:13:56.425 --> 00:13:59.929
  • Held by japan died in captivity.
  • 00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:05.134
  • Do you ever ask yourself the question why?
  • 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:07.169
  • "why me?"
  • 00:14:07.169 --> 00:14:08.604
  • "why my grandfather with alzheimer's?"
  • 00:14:08.604 --> 00:14:11.106
  • "why my grandmother with cancer?"
  • 00:14:11.106 --> 00:14:14.276
  • "why is my brother in prison?"
  • 00:14:14.276 --> 00:14:15.811
  • "why did i have that accident?"
  • 00:14:15.811 --> 00:14:18.180
  • "why did i lose my family or my future? why?"
  • 00:14:18.180 --> 00:14:21.183
  • Fair questions, that's for sure.
  • 00:14:21.183 --> 00:14:23.652
  • But no matter what answer you come up with,
  • 00:14:23.652 --> 00:14:25.421
  • It's almost always unsatisfactory
  • 00:14:25.421 --> 00:14:28.390
  • When you're experiencing your own, your own private hell.
  • 00:14:28.390 --> 00:14:34.029
  • Well, the men on the bataan death march
  • 00:14:34.029 --> 00:14:36.832
  • Would eventually arrive in the town of san fernando,
  • 00:14:36.832 --> 00:14:39.501
  • Where they would board trains to take them on the next leg
  • 00:14:39.501 --> 00:14:43.372
  • Of their journey.
  • 00:14:43.372 --> 00:14:45.040
  • So things were gonna get better for them, right?
  • 00:14:45.040 --> 00:14:48.711
  • Well, i'll have more in just a moment.
  • 00:14:48.711 --> 00:14:52.881
  • ♪[music]♪
  • 00:14:52.881 --> 00:15:01.924
  • >>john: thank you for remembering
  • 00:15:01.991 --> 00:15:03.158
  • That it is written exists
  • 00:15:03.158 --> 00:15:04.693
  • Because of the kindness of people just like you.
  • 00:15:04.693 --> 00:15:07.129
  • To support this international life-changing ministry,
  • 00:15:07.129 --> 00:15:10.733
  • Please call us now at 800-253-3000.
  • 00:15:10.733 --> 00:15:15.004
  • You can send your tax-deductible gift
  • 00:15:15.004 --> 00:15:16.472
  • To the address on your screen,
  • 00:15:16.472 --> 00:15:17.940
  • Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
  • 00:15:17.940 --> 00:15:21.777
  • Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support.
  • 00:15:21.777 --> 00:15:24.613
  • Our number again is 800-253-3000,
  • 00:15:24.613 --> 00:15:28.784
  • Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com.
  • 00:15:28.784 --> 00:15:33.455
  • >>john bradshaw: when the bataan death march
  • 00:15:33.522 --> 00:15:35.724
  • Reached the train station, this train station in san fernando,
  • 00:15:35.724 --> 00:15:40.496
  • American and filipino prisoners of war were crammed
  • 00:15:40.496 --> 00:15:43.499
  • Into metal boxcars for the journey to karpas,
  • 00:15:43.499 --> 00:15:46.135
  • Which took more than a couple of hours.
  • 00:15:46.135 --> 00:15:48.704
  • One hundred men were pressed into boxcars large enough
  • 00:15:48.704 --> 00:15:51.740
  • To hold only 40.
  • 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:52.841
  • They were jammed in so tight they couldn't sit down.
  • 00:15:52.841 --> 00:15:57.246
  • There were no sanitation facilities.
  • 00:15:57.246 --> 00:15:59.348
  • Now, remember, the men were sick.
  • 00:15:59.348 --> 00:16:01.650
  • They had dysentery.
  • 00:16:01.650 --> 00:16:03.285
  • There was no medical care provided.
  • 00:16:03.285 --> 00:16:04.953
  • It was well over 100 degrees fahrenheit.
  • 00:16:04.953 --> 00:16:07.923
  • The boxcars were like ovens.
  • 00:16:07.923 --> 00:16:10.793
  • Hundreds of men who survived the march
  • 00:16:10.793 --> 00:16:13.796
  • Didn't survive the journey by train.
  • 00:16:13.796 --> 00:16:19.001
  • When the trains arrived in karpas,
  • 00:16:19.068 --> 00:16:21.904
  • The men had to march again,
  • 00:16:21.904 --> 00:16:23.572
  • Often holding each other up because they knew should anyone
  • 00:16:23.572 --> 00:16:28.077
  • Fall or stop walking, that man would be executed.
  • 00:16:28.077 --> 00:16:33.182
  • The men leaned on each other for survival.
  • 00:16:33.182 --> 00:16:36.785
  • The psychological pressure was immense.
  • 00:16:36.785 --> 00:16:39.521
  • During the march, their japanese captors referred to the pows
  • 00:16:39.521 --> 00:16:43.759
  • As cowards, told them that they were lower than dogs
  • 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.596
  • Because they surrendered.
  • 00:16:47.596 --> 00:16:49.965
  • Decades later, survivors of the march would talk about
  • 00:16:49.965 --> 00:16:53.268
  • The great difficulty they had just thinking about it,
  • 00:16:53.268 --> 00:16:56.805
  • The graphic images that would come to mind when they reflected
  • 00:16:56.805 --> 00:17:00.642
  • On their time here.
  • 00:17:00.642 --> 00:17:02.878
  • Once they arrived at what's now known as camp o'donnell,
  • 00:17:06.448 --> 00:17:10.385
  • The ravages of the march really began to take hold.
  • 00:17:10.385 --> 00:17:13.922
  • Hundreds of men were dying every day.
  • 00:17:13.922 --> 00:17:16.391
  • Some men died with a canteen in their hand waiting to get water.
  • 00:17:16.391 --> 00:17:21.997
  • Now, remember they're sick, many of them diseased.
  • 00:17:21.997 --> 00:17:25.000
  • They're malnourished, exhausted;
  • 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:28.237
  • They haven't had anything to eat or drink in ages.
  • 00:17:28.237 --> 00:17:32.574
  • Within two weeks, the strongest survivors were shipped to japan
  • 00:17:35.677 --> 00:17:39.848
  • To work as slaves in coal mines or factories.
  • 00:17:39.848 --> 00:17:44.052
  • The ships that took them to japan
  • 00:17:44.052 --> 00:17:45.521
  • Were deliberately left unmarked.
  • 00:17:45.521 --> 00:17:48.223
  • Nothing indicated that there were pows on board.
  • 00:17:48.223 --> 00:17:52.127
  • Literally thousands of americans died on those ships,
  • 00:17:52.127 --> 00:17:55.797
  • Sunk by american forces.
  • 00:17:55.797 --> 00:17:58.700
  • Twenty-six ships carrying american pows were sunk
  • 00:17:58.700 --> 00:18:02.237
  • By the united states because japan refused
  • 00:18:02.237 --> 00:18:05.407
  • To put markings on the ships.
  • 00:18:05.407 --> 00:18:08.110
  • So, you're a slave in a japanese coal mine;
  • 00:18:08.110 --> 00:18:12.281
  • You're a long way from home.
  • 00:18:12.281 --> 00:18:14.750
  • Maybe you wonder what the sense of it all is.
  • 00:18:14.750 --> 00:18:18.487
  • Now, go back to the time of david,
  • 00:18:18.554 --> 00:18:20.956
  • And no doubt there were people wondering why.
  • 00:18:20.956 --> 00:18:23.792
  • The bible says king david numbers israel.
  • 00:18:23.792 --> 00:18:28.397
  • He conducts a census, something he should not have done,
  • 00:18:28.397 --> 00:18:32.367
  • Because in doing so, he was demonstrating that his hope
  • 00:18:32.367 --> 00:18:36.238
  • Was in his army rather than in god,
  • 00:18:36.238 --> 00:18:38.640
  • Who gave him victory over goliath
  • 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:40.609
  • And brought down the walls of jericho, and so on.
  • 00:18:40.609 --> 00:18:44.213
  • God wanted david trusting him and sending the message
  • 00:18:44.213 --> 00:18:47.382
  • To israel that their hope was in god and not in men.
  • 00:18:47.382 --> 00:18:51.486
  • Now, as a consequence of what david did,
  • 00:18:51.486 --> 00:18:53.722
  • God sent a plague that killed 70,000 people.
  • 00:18:53.722 --> 00:18:57.693
  • Now, were these people guilty?
  • 00:18:57.693 --> 00:18:59.695
  • No, they weren't.
  • 00:18:59.695 --> 00:19:00.829
  • They were just... collateral damage.
  • 00:19:00.829 --> 00:19:04.533
  • Now, try making sense out of that.
  • 00:19:04.533 --> 00:19:07.369
  • Is that fair?
  • 00:19:07.369 --> 00:19:09.371
  • Well, of course it's not fair.
  • 00:19:09.371 --> 00:19:11.006
  • But if you want to talk about what's fair,
  • 00:19:11.006 --> 00:19:13.542
  • Let's talk about calvary.
  • 00:19:13.542 --> 00:19:15.577
  • Jesus was nailed to a cross.
  • 00:19:15.577 --> 00:19:17.512
  • He took upon himself the sins of the entire world.
  • 00:19:17.512 --> 00:19:21.283
  • He was ridiculed, falsely accused.
  • 00:19:21.283 --> 00:19:23.819
  • He was beaten, tortured, and he hadn't done anything wrong.
  • 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:29.591
  • Now, that was not fair.
  • 00:19:29.591 --> 00:19:32.728
  • But what all this reveals is that in god's eyes,
  • 00:19:32.728 --> 00:19:35.330
  • There are even bigger questions than our comfort,
  • 00:19:35.330 --> 00:19:38.400
  • Our earthly well-being, even our survival--
  • 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:41.737
  • Or his, for that matter.
  • 00:19:41.737 --> 00:19:43.739
  • And why is that?
  • 00:19:43.739 --> 00:19:45.907
  • There are things going on in this world behind the scenes
  • 00:19:45.974 --> 00:19:49.378
  • That we can't really understand.
  • 00:19:49.378 --> 00:19:51.046
  • And remember job?
  • 00:19:51.046 --> 00:19:52.781
  • Job was unaware of the spiritual battle taking place
  • 00:19:52.781 --> 00:19:56.018
  • Outside of his view.
  • 00:19:56.018 --> 00:19:57.486
  • He was also unaware that his misfortune would help us.
  • 00:19:57.486 --> 00:20:01.657
  • It would help us to see that there's a spiritual battle
  • 00:20:01.657 --> 00:20:03.925
  • Taking place behind the scenes today.
  • 00:20:03.925 --> 00:20:06.762
  • What job learned is that what matters ultimately
  • 00:20:06.762 --> 00:20:09.998
  • Is that we trust god,
  • 00:20:09.998 --> 00:20:11.800
  • That we realize there's a bigger picture,
  • 00:20:11.800 --> 00:20:14.403
  • And that ultimately god is in control.
  • 00:20:14.403 --> 00:20:17.906
  • He said in job 42:5-- a very important verse--
  • 00:20:17.906 --> 00:20:24.212
  • "i have heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
  • 00:20:24.212 --> 00:20:27.416
  • But now my eye sees you."
  • 00:20:27.416 --> 00:20:30.919
  • Job was saying, "finally, i get it.
  • 00:20:30.919 --> 00:20:35.357
  • My job is to simply trust you, god,
  • 00:20:35.357 --> 00:20:38.927
  • No matter what."
  • 00:20:38.927 --> 00:20:40.662
  • And that's it.
  • 00:20:40.662 --> 00:20:41.997
  • Trust in god, no matter what.
  • 00:20:41.997 --> 00:20:46.068
  • In job 38, god says,
  • 00:20:46.068 --> 00:20:48.937
  • "now prepare yourself like a man;
  • 00:20:48.937 --> 00:20:51.940
  • I will question you, and you shall answer me.
  • 00:20:51.940 --> 00:20:56.044
  • Where were you when i laid the foundations of the earth?
  • 00:20:56.044 --> 00:20:59.881
  • Tell me, if you have understanding."
  • 00:20:59.881 --> 00:21:02.517
  • Job 38:3-4.
  • 00:21:02.517 --> 00:21:05.187
  • He goes on to say,
  • 00:21:05.187 --> 00:21:06.555
  • "have you commanded the morning since your days began,
  • 00:21:06.555 --> 00:21:09.891
  • And caused the dawn to know its place?
  • 00:21:09.891 --> 00:21:12.394
  • Have you entered the springs of the sea?
  • 00:21:12.394 --> 00:21:14.763
  • Or have you walked in search of the depths?
  • 00:21:14.763 --> 00:21:17.099
  • Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
  • 00:21:17.099 --> 00:21:20.001
  • Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
  • 00:21:20.001 --> 00:21:23.071
  • Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
  • 00:21:23.071 --> 00:21:25.507
  • Tell me, if you know all this."
  • 00:21:25.507 --> 00:21:27.776
  • Job 38:12, 16-18.
  • 00:21:27.776 --> 00:21:31.546
  • For four chapters, god answers job.
  • 00:21:31.546 --> 00:21:35.517
  • It's the longest speech given by god in the entire bible,
  • 00:21:35.517 --> 00:21:39.588
  • And god doesn't deal with job's guilt or innocence.
  • 00:21:39.588 --> 00:21:43.258
  • He doesn't even try to make sense out of job's suffering.
  • 00:21:43.258 --> 00:21:46.628
  • He simply reveals to job one of the most important things
  • 00:21:46.628 --> 00:21:50.732
  • A person could ever learn.
  • 00:21:50.732 --> 00:21:53.034
  • ♪[somber music]♪
  • 00:21:53.034 --> 00:21:57.939
  • There are times when things just don't make sense,
  • 00:21:57.939 --> 00:22:00.675
  • And that's when you remember that god is god.
  • 00:22:00.675 --> 00:22:05.180
  • That's it.
  • 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:06.314
  • God is god.
  • 00:22:06.314 --> 00:22:08.183
  • If you try to make sense
  • 00:22:08.183 --> 00:22:09.351
  • Out of your own personal difficult experiences,
  • 00:22:09.351 --> 00:22:12.621
  • Well, you're not always going to be able to.
  • 00:22:12.621 --> 00:22:14.389
  • People often say,
  • 00:22:14.389 --> 00:22:15.323
  • "well, everything happens for a reason."
  • 00:22:15.323 --> 00:22:16.758
  • So try telling that to a soldier on the bataan death march,
  • 00:22:16.758 --> 00:22:20.095
  • Or to somebody in a concentration camp.
  • 00:22:20.095 --> 00:22:22.230
  • What could the reason be for that?
  • 00:22:22.230 --> 00:22:25.934
  • The reason is often simply that there's sin in the world.
  • 00:22:25.934 --> 00:22:29.538
  • Wicked things happen because of the presence of wickedness.
  • 00:22:29.538 --> 00:22:32.340
  • Why did the bataan death march happen?
  • 00:22:32.340 --> 00:22:35.043
  • Because a nation wanted to be a great empire,
  • 00:22:35.043 --> 00:22:37.579
  • Plain and simple.
  • 00:22:37.579 --> 00:22:38.747
  • Japan's co-prosperity sphere was promoted:
  • 00:22:38.747 --> 00:22:41.716
  • "we'll free you from western colonial oppression,
  • 00:22:41.716 --> 00:22:44.486
  • And we'll all prosper."
  • 00:22:44.486 --> 00:22:46.388
  • Well, that was never gonna happen, and it didn't.
  • 00:22:46.388 --> 00:22:48.957
  • You go all the way back before creation,
  • 00:22:48.957 --> 00:22:51.059
  • And satan said basically the same thing.
  • 00:22:51.059 --> 00:22:53.562
  • "i will be like the most high."
  • 00:22:53.562 --> 00:22:55.397
  • Isaiah 14:14.
  • 00:22:55.397 --> 00:22:57.232
  • Someone wanted to be great.
  • 00:22:57.232 --> 00:23:00.802
  • The truth is sometimes there's no reason
  • 00:23:00.802 --> 00:23:03.905
  • For human rights abuses like the bataan death march,
  • 00:23:03.905 --> 00:23:06.842
  • Other than sin.
  • 00:23:06.842 --> 00:23:07.976
  • I said earlier that when you ask the question why,
  • 00:23:07.976 --> 00:23:11.480
  • The answer you find demands a lot from you--it does.
  • 00:23:11.480 --> 00:23:14.816
  • When god says, "just trust me," that isn't always easy.
  • 00:23:14.816 --> 00:23:18.587
  • Your child dies. god says, "just trust me."
  • 00:23:18.587 --> 00:23:21.890
  • Let's not kid each other here.
  • 00:23:21.890 --> 00:23:24.226
  • That's not easy.
  • 00:23:24.226 --> 00:23:25.994
  • You're involved in a terrible accident.
  • 00:23:25.994 --> 00:23:28.363
  • You lose your job or your home.
  • 00:23:28.363 --> 00:23:31.733
  • God says, "just trust me."
  • 00:23:31.733 --> 00:23:35.470
  • You're facing an impossible future,
  • 00:23:35.470 --> 00:23:37.906
  • And god says, "trust me"?
  • 00:23:37.906 --> 00:23:41.309
  • Yes, that's what god says.
  • 00:23:41.376 --> 00:23:44.646
  • Because the truth is our time on this earth is very short.
  • 00:23:44.646 --> 00:23:49.050
  • The ball isn't always gonna bounce your way.
  • 00:23:49.050 --> 00:23:52.320
  • Life can seem unfair,
  • 00:23:52.320 --> 00:23:54.723
  • But ultimately we're here to learn a lesson:
  • 00:23:54.723 --> 00:23:59.361
  • Trust god.
  • 00:23:59.361 --> 00:24:01.429
  • The bible says,
  • 00:24:01.429 --> 00:24:02.531
  • "and we know that all things work together for good
  • 00:24:02.531 --> 00:24:06.201
  • To those who love god,
  • 00:24:06.201 --> 00:24:07.969
  • To those who are the called according to his purpose."
  • 00:24:07.969 --> 00:24:10.872
  • Romans 8:28.
  • 00:24:10.872 --> 00:24:13.675
  • So, what worked for good
  • 00:24:13.742 --> 00:24:15.744
  • As a result of the bataan death march?
  • 00:24:15.744 --> 00:24:18.346
  • Well, those who wanted to learn lessons about war and cruelty
  • 00:24:18.346 --> 00:24:21.182
  • And war crimes certainly could.
  • 00:24:21.182 --> 00:24:23.552
  • General homma, the japanese general responsible
  • 00:24:23.552 --> 00:24:25.987
  • For the death march, was executed for war crimes.
  • 00:24:25.987 --> 00:24:29.858
  • The americans and filipinos played their part
  • 00:24:29.858 --> 00:24:31.760
  • In bringing victory, and that's no small thing.
  • 00:24:31.760 --> 00:24:34.229
  • But try telling that to someone dying of thirst,
  • 00:24:34.229 --> 00:24:37.499
  • Or at the wrong end of an enemy bayonet.
  • 00:24:37.499 --> 00:24:40.435
  • It takes a lot of faith to accept.
  • 00:24:40.435 --> 00:24:43.772
  • But ultimately we have to remember that life
  • 00:24:43.772 --> 00:24:46.074
  • Isn't about fairness or things that make sense.
  • 00:24:46.074 --> 00:24:49.711
  • Often, life just doesn't make sense,
  • 00:24:49.711 --> 00:24:52.180
  • Not from our vantage point.
  • 00:24:52.180 --> 00:24:54.683
  • But if you can trust a god who is working things out
  • 00:24:54.683 --> 00:24:57.586
  • Behind the scenes,
  • 00:24:57.586 --> 00:24:59.321
  • If you can trust that god has your best interests at heart,
  • 00:24:59.321 --> 00:25:02.958
  • If you can trust that there's a coming day
  • 00:25:02.958 --> 00:25:04.893
  • When there'll be no more sin, no more death,
  • 00:25:04.893 --> 00:25:08.396
  • No more war, no more cruelty,
  • 00:25:08.396 --> 00:25:11.566
  • Then you can look beyond the harsh challenges of this world,
  • 00:25:11.566 --> 00:25:15.437
  • And you can know that one day
  • 00:25:15.437 --> 00:25:17.105
  • God is gonna make all things new and all things good.
  • 00:25:17.105 --> 00:25:21.943
  • ♪[music]♪
  • 00:25:21.943 --> 00:25:30.785
  • >>announcer: we hear it all the time:
  • 00:25:30.852 --> 00:25:32.921
  • "god is all-powerful, and god is love."
  • 00:25:32.921 --> 00:25:35.790
  • But if god is so powerful and loving,
  • 00:25:35.790 --> 00:25:37.959
  • Why is there so much suffering?
  • 00:25:37.959 --> 00:25:40.228
  • Discover what the bible says on the subject by requesting
  • 00:25:40.228 --> 00:25:42.864
  • Today's free offer: "why does god allow suffering?"
  • 00:25:42.864 --> 00:25:45.667
  • It's absolutely free.
  • 00:25:45.667 --> 00:25:47.135
  • Just call 800-253-3000,
  • 00:25:47.135 --> 00:25:50.538
  • 800-253-3000.
  • 00:25:50.538 --> 00:25:53.942
  • Or write to the address on your screen.
  • 00:25:53.942 --> 00:25:55.677
  • You can also make your request
  • 00:25:55.677 --> 00:25:56.745
  • Online at iiwoffer.com.
  • 00:25:56.745 --> 00:26:01.316
  • >>john bradshaw: let's pray together now.
  • 00:26:01.383 --> 00:26:03.418
  • Our father in heaven, we thank you that there is hope.
  • 00:26:03.418 --> 00:26:05.687
  • We thank you that,
  • 00:26:05.687 --> 00:26:07.489
  • That things do make sense from your perspective,
  • 00:26:07.489 --> 00:26:10.291
  • And we can trust you when they don't from ours.
  • 00:26:10.291 --> 00:26:14.095
  • And so during the challenges,
  • 00:26:14.095 --> 00:26:15.397
  • In the midst of the struggles of this world,
  • 00:26:15.397 --> 00:26:16.898
  • Give us grace to look beyond what we can see immediately,
  • 00:26:16.898 --> 00:26:19.634
  • To a day when you will make all things right.
  • 00:26:19.634 --> 00:26:22.704
  • We thank you that you see the big picture,
  • 00:26:22.704 --> 00:26:25.607
  • And that we can always trust you.
  • 00:26:25.607 --> 00:26:27.909
  • Friend, can you trust god today?
  • 00:26:27.909 --> 00:26:30.378
  • Trust him in the midst of your present challenge,
  • 00:26:30.378 --> 00:26:32.313
  • In the midst of your present distress.
  • 00:26:32.313 --> 00:26:33.782
  • Tell him, "i trust you, god.
  • 00:26:33.782 --> 00:26:36.651
  • I believe you'll make all things right."
  • 00:26:36.651 --> 00:26:38.720
  • Lord, we thank you, and we pray in jesus' name.
  • 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:43.324
  • Amen.
  • 00:26:43.324 --> 00:26:44.859
  • Thank you so much for joining me.
  • 00:26:44.859 --> 00:26:46.227
  • I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time.
  • 00:26:46.227 --> 00:26:48.496
  • Until then, remember:
  • 00:26:48.496 --> 00:26:49.998
  • "it is written, 'man shall not live by bread alone,
  • 00:26:49.998 --> 00:26:53.501
  • But by every word that proceeds from the mouth of god.'"
  • 00:26:53.501 --> 00:26:58.206
  • ♪[theme music]♪
  • 00:26:58.206 --> 00:26:58.206