STAND STRONG
God’s Word offers encouragement that fuels our faith and deepens our trust in Jesus. In this podcast, Paul and Noah open the Bible in search of practical principles for standing strong. Let’s dig in!
STAND STRONG
10.3 - Boundaries (with Tim King)
In this week’s episode: Poisoned wells, backyard fences, thanksgiving, and more.
Proverbs Made Personal — Proverbs 25:26
Topic of the Day — Boundaries (with guest, Tim King)
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Paul and Noah both preach and teach with the Cedar Park church of Christ in Cedar Park, TX. You can visit our site at: https://www.cedarparkchurchofchrist.org/
Well, welcome today to those that are listening. I'm back in the studio month of February year 2026. Wow. We're already into the second month, Noah, and this is a, this is a little bit of a new direction for people that follow us on January. They only got two.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:And so that's gonna be the case in February. Moving forward, they're gonna get two, just like we did in January. We, you and I talked about this. We thought it would be a really good way to start each podcast, to kinda start off each month to look at a proverb to find some wisdom, something in this proverb. You get to pick one. I get to pick one. So for February, Noah, what's, what's your proverb that you've made Personal.
Noah:So I went with Proverbs 25 26. There's a lot in this last section of Proverbs 25 of familiar proverbs. Ones that, that have a lot of wisdom to share, but 26 verse 26 stood out to me like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. That imagery just really caught my attention. That idea of something that should be good but it's been compromised, right? Mm-hmm. This thing that should be like a source of goodness in life this spring, it's been polluted. It's been muddied, and that's a really vivid image because then what he compares it to is a righteous man. So it's a good person who won't stand up to evil. And that was really convicting for me. I mean, Christians we are, we're to be more than people who avoid evil,
Paul:right?
Noah:We, we are to do good and we could go to the New Testament and find a host of passages. You know, maybe the first one that would come to mind would be Ephesians two, verse 10, that we were created for good works. Mm-hmm. But or we were, we were saved for good works. But I, that just is something that, it sits heavy on me in a lot of parts of my life. I am, I can be a quote unquote, righteous person who avoids doing evil things. But if I don't do good, if I'm not participating in active visible faith then. The proverb says, yeah, you're, you're not the good that you're called to be.
Paul:Yeah. You know, it's depending on the translation. So you, you got this gives way.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:Other translations backing down under pressure or compromises or yields to here's, like you said, here's a person with integrity a righteousness about their character. They're interested in Right. Standing before the Lord. But there's a, there's a scenario in which the wise man says, look, there's a time when, when that person who claims a, a sort of righteousness about themselves, and yet they don't stand up under the pressure. Yeah. They don't speak out. Yeah. They don't defend when something needs to be defended. The two, two things I thought about in this is it's, it's both disappointing and deadly.
Noah:Hmm.
Paul:It's both disappointing and deadly. Here's the picture I got now. He paints the picture. He's got he's got a murky spring and a polluted well,
Noah:yeah.
Paul:Muddied water or a, a well that should be giving fresh life, giving worthy to be taken in kind of water and it's polluted. I think about disappointing and deadly. Mm-hmm. Alright. I remember as a kid when we'd go visit granddad. And we'd start thinking about in the morning, when could we go to the swimming hole? The swimming hole? Can you imagine as an 8-year-old when he's told by granddad at eight o'clock in the morning, we're going to the swimming hole at two?
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:Okay. You've been thinking about it all day. We drive up to the swimming hole at two and there's a sign in front, no swimming.
Noah:Mm.
Paul:And it's, it's this muddy, dirty, they're, they're concerned that there's bacteria in there and there's no swimming. How disappointing to an 8-year-old
Noah:right
Paul:now, the deadly you, you, you can't drink from this water source bulletin. Gets out. Don't drink the water in Cedar Park. Why? It could make you really, really sick or you could die.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:He's, he's painting a picture of something that's both disappointing. So this person that you would think, Hey, you, you'd stand up. I'm standing up. Why won't you stand up with me? And they don't. Mm-hmm. You're disappointed.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:But it's not just a disappointment. It can be, it can be very deadly. Mm-hmm. It can be disastrous.
Noah:Yeah. And that's, that's a challenge because I think it's something that we're. We're probably better at seeing in other people than in ourselves. Exactly. We, we are tempted to have a reason what, why we're not acting in faith, why we're not standing up against evil. Why we are maintaining, quote unquote, maintaining our righteousness while not not. Doing the righteousness and not defending the righteousness. And that might be easy to see in other people, but Proverbs is reminding us that that can be us.
Paul:That that could be me. Sometimes it has been me. Fear fatigue.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:Yeah. Those are two that are real for me.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's what I wanted to bring to the table for the the Proverbs made personal today. Well, Paul, we have a, a special pleasure today that we get to have recording with us not just you and me, but today we also have our brother, Tim King, who's who's with us because he's at this moment in the middle of doing our youth weekend and working with our young people here talking about owning our faith and, and he's done some really good material already. But we actually we asked him to come all the way here from Port Arthur to do that youth weekend, but we heard you, Tim a while back present on the topic of boundaries, and we were both. We both enjoyed that a lot. We were impressed by your approach and your thoughts. So we thought while we had you here, we'd we'd get you to, to touch on that topic a little bit with us and, and discuss that with us. So thank you for being with us today.
Tim:My pleasure.
Noah:We appreciate that. And I, I think a good place to start, based on what you've kind of told us, is just recognizing that. Boundaries are not seen the same way by everybody. People have different reactions to the word or even just the concept of boundaries. And and maybe that's, maybe that's part of the problem that people have when trying to have a productive discussion about it, is that we don't always have the same concept about what they are or what their purpose is. So I'd be interested in kind of hearing where you want to go with that and what thoughts you have.
Tim:Yeah. To try to keep it simple and not go in too many directions, because boundaries certainly have a lot of. Branches that we could take boundaries in the home, boundaries in the marriage, boundaries at work. I think a lot of the conversation can build off of what you just said, which is what I hear when I think of the word boundaries.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:What comes to mind. It kind of brings in a sense of defense a way that you should or you should not, and oftentimes that can become what people don't want to hear. And that's what I think, just bringing a new way to, to think through what we have as what God would have us consider. Mm-hmm. When it comes to boundaries, most, when they think of this, it's a boxing end of sorts. I'm not free to do what I want to do.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:I'm now kind of forced to do what I should do. And most don't come to that understanding either, which is there's something better here to be had. Mm-hmm. And so opening up that conversation, which the challenge was by you initially to have the topic of boundaries be brought to the discussion at the men in the word workshop. And I'm thankful for that'cause it brought up a whole lot that I not put to mind, but more so what if the opposite was true about this discussion on boundaries? What if boundaries are actually established to build something better? And what if God has that in mind for us to just listen and put into play what it is that he's calling us to think through here, and I had a few of what might be new to the discussion that I didn't have months ago, but boundaries in marriage, parenting at the workplace. I think it all fits into the next few minutes what we'll think about. But the first big idea is that boundaries begin with this idea of ownership, who it is that's putting the boundaries in place. Mm. You might remember, and I love this illustration because it really puts things into the perspective that helps me, is why do we have what we have in the first place when it comes to those restrictions or boundaries? And I, I think of the dad who had the son in the backyard free to do what he was. Would love to do as long as he stays within the backyard. Mm-hmm. Eventually, the dad, after letting the son roam, he hears the son in the front yard. The dad's concerned for that son because he's in a place that he doesn't belong, so the dad doesn't strip away the rights of the kid and say that you can't play outside anymore. Instead, he puts a fence around the backyard. Mm-hmm. He wants him to enjoy that backyard and be safe, but the dad sees the danger of being outside of that, and so when you see. That's the language of the scriptures. It's a way for us to enjoy life, but within a way that God has designed it, it brings about a sense of, well, this is what I should do. Mm-hmm. And I want to do, and it brings hopefully a new level of understanding that we get to see that. It begins with ownership. God is all about having ourselves. See what we're purposed to do in light of the fact that we're in this relationship with him. That's unlike before. And so scriptures come to mind. One Corinthians six 19, you're bought with the price.
Paul:Mm-hmm.
Tim:And there's something here about possession that God sees as valuable, and maybe we miss that. I think there's a lot that as we start to look into what he's wanting from each of us, the purpose, or even just the idea of service that we would bring. When we're sticking within those boundaries, there's so much more that comes out of our service. A lot more fruit, we might say. Mm-hmm. When it comes to the life that we're living boundaries, I mean, when they're not seen as restrictions and just seen as the result of that lordship, it changes everything. Yeah. It changes the way I go about doing what I do each day. I belong to Christ. My life isn't self-directed. Again, it's not what I want to do. So I think that's one of the first important ideas is that it's about lordship and there's pleasure in that.
Noah:Yeah.
Tim:And so, yeah,
Noah:one, one thing that comes to mind when you're talking about that as well is that, you know, when, when we're Christians we have, we have consciously submitted ourselves to the Lordship of Christ, but even for those who are not Christians or those. Who have reject even rejected Christ as Lord. You know, actively. The reality of our existence is that we are under God's authority as his creation. Whether or not we are willing to acknowledge it, whether or not we're willing to submit and obey his authority, we're still under his authority, which when it comes to these concepts of boundaries, I think that's, I think that's a pretty reasonable explanation for why we see boundaries being, kind of a basic tenant of human existence that, I mean, from the very beginning, God create, when he created man and woman and put them in the garden, there was a boundary in place. And when they, when they violated that boundary and they faced the consequences of that, another boundary was put in place so that they couldn't return to the garden. But God's boundaries have always been they, they've always been like your illustration with the, the father and the son and the fence around the backyard they've been to, to protect or to provide for not just to be a killjoy. So I guess all of that to say I, it, it's one of those things where it feels like, oh yeah, this shouldn't surprise us. That, that God, in the context of our relationship with Jesus. Also has specific boundaries in place and in mind.
Tim:Mm-hmm. And what makes it tough, you think of coming into the life of Christ? Me, I was 19 when I became a Christian. Every bit of what I got to do up to that point is basically what I wanted to do, so long as mom and dad were,
Noah:yeah.
Tim:Permitting of it. But my life was without boundary. And so moving into this relationship with the Lord, you, you think about how all of that comes together, we're more likely to interpret God's word. As a way to restrict us when we're not used to that language.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:That he loves us so much that he would command us to follow certain things. And when you think about that, seeing that the fence and maybe assuming that it's something to hold me back from rather than seeing something that's better on the other side, that's a challenge. I, I think that's really one of those that we don't see God's holding us back from being destroyed. It's more of, well, I'm missing out on something that God. God's getting that. I can't, I think that's kind of the lie of Genesis three, that
Noah:Yeah,
Tim:there's something here that God's holding back.
Paul:Yeah. Tim, I, I love the fact, you know, it is such, I'm the old guy in the room. I, I, but I, I appreciate the fact that you guys start where you start.'cause when you start talking about boundaries, there's so much of the world, and it's not just the world. It can get in us inside the church. The redeemed, we look at it as a restriction, a rules based. Okay, come on, come on. Is we've got, we've got this divine creator that's just up here trying to decide, how can I make your life miserable? Let me create a whole bunch of rules that you guys really don't wanna follow. And, and that's, there's a reason why God would, would, would start with his people. Go all the way back to Old Testament and you read things like ordinances and statutes, and keep my laws and do this, do this, do this. But when he's revealing himself to his people, he always said, for your good, always, this is for your good. Always. We don't always think it's for our good. Why or I don't. There's a lack of trust there. Mm-hmm. My wisdom is not his wisdom. My way is not his way. He says, I'm your heavenly father. Do you trust me? If you do, let me show you life where it's not just restrictive, it actually sets you free.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:And when you discover, okay, here's a boundary. Well, I, I don't like that boundary. Yeah. But it, what it's gonna teach you is if you'll learn to be more humble and less selfish, look at the response from most people who are trying to follow the Lord. Well, you talked about marriage and parenting and stuff like that. One of the things I teach to people in marriage is watch what happens when you give yourself over to the Lord and trust him and just do the next right thing and be unselfish. If you married someone that is committed to Christ, you watch what happens in that relationship. It is, it is. You're set free,
Tim:right?
Paul:So,
Noah:yeah. Yeah. So the, the first thing that you've, that you've brought up is the idea that this has to do with the authority, right? Mm-hmm. That, that boundaries come from a place of authority which I think is an interesting is an interesting thing because I think we, we recognize that, naturally, in other parts of our life and maybe in our spiritual life, we, we don't like it. We resent it even more than in other parts of our life, and that's that's gonna lead to an unhealthy. Attitude and perspective of boundaries. Mm-hmm. But I think it's a good place to start. Boundaries come from a place of authority. But I know you've got more than that, that you wanted to, to mention today.
Tim:And even in that sense, the authority we look at as someone who knows better than me,
Noah:right?
Tim:That's why they're my supervisor. That's why they're the one who's training me. That's in the workplace. We see it in that kind of thought. Someone who's authorized. Unlike myself to direct.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:And hopefully in the way that's best for others and myself. If we only saw it that way with the authority of the scriptures, I've lived an entire life up to this point. I can kind of get by on my own.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:But when we include someone who is the author of life, there's a whole new set of ideas in many ways that the mind has to take on and really begin to understand or stand under, if you will. And that's hard to do, like you said, without that humility, there's gonna be perhaps some difficulty or resistance to wanting to get within the confines of those boundaries that are good for us. But he's authored them, he knows better.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:And if we just humble ourself and recognize there's something good to be had here, and I think that that's the next big idea, that boundaries require stewardship. They require me. Having myself attend to them because they're good for me, whether I see it that way or not. Kind of the other part of that illustration with the fence in the backyard is if we were to kind of put it with pickets, each picket is like the command, and every time a command is in place, we can look at it and say, he's restricting me. I can't go on the other side of that wall. And we can look at it in a way that's pitiful or we can see it in a way that's loving and that I think is helpful to kind of put into perspective. But it seems that when it comes to protecting my own self, that there's a lot of things that I would prefer to have in place and maybe aren't the best for me. And he knows everything. That's good. And we hopefully stand under that. But we have boundaries. We have ways of, of blocking in things that are valuable. And that's so that it won't get stolen. That's so that it won't get tampered with. I mean, there's a lot of reasons we would put up our own protection. Mm-hmm. And I see that that's what he's doing for us. We're valuable to him. But at the same time, it requires that we have to guard it. There's responsibility here. God defines what is good, but guarding that's our responsibility. And so our response to that's important I think of. Proverbs 4 23, keep your heart with all vi vigilance for from it flow the springs of life.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:And it's like we've been talking about with the kids this weekend. In fact, the kids have said it more than I have, is what comes out of the heart or comes out of the mouth is the product of the heart. Mm-hmm. And it seems that they understand that there's this sense of need to protect that. Another scripture is one Peter five, eight. Be sober minded and watchful. I mean, there's a, there's an adversary out there. He's gonna be looking to cross that fence line, poach what he can take off with what he gets and devour that. And so I guess the principle behind that is that God sets the boundary, but it sounds like we're responsible for keeping watch over that.
Noah:Hmm.
Tim:And that's the next big idea and how, how serious we take that, what undertaking we bring is ultimately the faithfulness that. We're called to have. And so it's like we've been saying, it's not the idea of being flawless, it's the idea of being faithful with what he's bestowed. And you've got that backyard, enjoy it, but at the same time, there's parameters in order for you to be able to have the joy that he promises will come from it.
Noah:Yeah.
Tim:So I see that as well, that boundaries. I gotta be responsible over them.
Noah:Yeah.
Tim:So
Noah:you were already in the proverbs, in Proverbs four for guarding your heart. Another proverb that came to mind, i, I pulled up here because of what you were saying. Proverbs 25, 28. A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. I mean, talk about boundaries, right? Maintaining boundaries. This connects the idea. This connects those ideas very, in a very almost literal sense. He, he, you, you have to maintain the boundaries that God has put in place through self-control. You, this is the calling that you have, and if you don't. It's not about you getting out, it's about other things coming in. Mm-hmm. Right. And, and leaving you like a city without walls. And when you think of that, from that perspective, that proverb just, I, I've always liked that proverb, but it, in this context, it context, it's resonating a little bit differently with me. Mm-hmm. Than it has in the past. I So life
Tim:is gonna tatter those walls.
Noah:Yeah.
Tim:And you're gonna have to mend them and build them and keep them, I mean, walls break down over time. Mm-hmm. There's a sense of what we have to do here to keep. Are self safe and secure alongside the father who's of course doing his part. But
Noah:yeah.
Paul:Yeah. So I'm, I'm, I'm hearing authority. I'm hearing stewardship. I'm, I'm hearing both of these things connected to God, the one who knows what is best for us. What comes to my mind in, in a lot of this is the ability to just say, okay, I've gotta trust the wisdom of God, which is the authority of scripture. He speaks, I'm gonna listen. I've gotta trust the wisdom of God. All right? He has placed people in positions of authority over me. If I'm, if I'm trusting in God and yielding to him, then I'm also gonna trust and yield to those that God has placed in authority over my life. All of that's the concept of wisdom. Y'all were going to the Proverbs, which is full of principles with wisdom. I've thought about this one. I love Proverbs eight in verse four, talking about wisdom. Wisdom calls out, wisdom raises its voice and says, listen, because I have worthy things to say. I open my lips to speak. What is right? Listen to me. That's wisdom. For some, I've got worthy things to say. Listen, pay attention to, to what I'm saying. I, I think about, you know, the boundaries. So think about wisdom. You, you, you walk into the, the mall. Well, God's boundary and wisdom is put it back. You may not be able to afford it. Yeah. But I need it. And I want it. It's really gonna be good to have it, put it back. You can't afford it. That's not really gonna make you happy. Or at, at the gym. You know, or at the office wisdom cries out. Don't think it, don't entertain it. It's a trap. It could cost you your reputation. It could cost you your family. And we hear these things like where you start. We think, okay, rules, rules, rules. You're just trying to keep me from enjoying life and having fun. He says, no, I'm hemming you in for a reason.'cause I have better things intended for you. But when wisdom calls out and it's warning you, are you gonna listen or not?
Tim:Lean not on your own understanding, right? Yes.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. And, and again, connecting this to the idea that boundaries can be can be for our protection and for the protection of others. And when, when you think of it from that perspective, there's, there's a higher calling. Then just don't do that. Mm-hmm. It's the calling of do what is right. Hold the line in, in righteousness and in integrity. And yes, that will mean you don't go over here and you don't do that. And it will mean negatives, but it's because there's a, like, I think you said this earlier Tim, there's something greater. Right. Paul and I have a, a proverb made personal that we already discussed in this episode before you were with us. And the proverb made personal that we discussed was Proverbs 25 26 which is just a couple verses earlier from what I just read, and it says like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. And we talked about how the idea of someone who is supposed to be righteous, who is supposed to be good failing to do what is right and how that's like. Going to a, a well to get life giving water and what you get is poison. Mm-hmm. Right?
Tim:Muddied up.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. It's all muddied up. It's all poisoned. Well, when, when we look at our lives, how does that happen? How. How does someone who claims to serve God and claims to want to do what God wants us to do how do we suddenly become a, a, a muddied creek or a, a poison spring? Well, because we, we don't stand for what God has said to stand for. Mm-hmm. We don't hold the line that God says we're supposed to hold. Mm-hmm. And sometimes he wants us to hold it for our own good. Or you could even say all the time. But also when I'm thinking about that proverb. It can be for other people. We're standing up to do what is right in regards to other people. Mm-hmm. And so that, that I think changes our concept of, of boundaries, maybe puts it a little bit on its head and shows this is, this is how God is wanting us to act. He's given us liberty to pursue this kind of living.
Tim:They require stewardship. And so in that sense, if the wall's breaking, it's leaking. We got. We got some control to take care of there and get things back where they need to be. When you think of the purpose, I think of really the last big idea with this is that boundaries shape formation. God has something that he intends to do while you're within those boundaries. What we allow to have repeated access into our life is what ends up shaping us. We've been telling that the kids all week. Mm-hmm. Who has your here? Mm-hmm. What's, what's in it? Front of you at this time that's drawing you, that's ultimately gonna be leading you. I remember watching a, on Facebook, you kind of get caught into doom scrolling sometimes I admit it, but there was how algorithms work. You watch something and it seems like if you watch it long enough, it throws up more videos like that. Yeah. Well I remember watching a, a fight and I perhaps watched it too long. And the next few videos, I'm having fights in my queue.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:One after another. And of course it's catching my attention. You don't see fights in front of you in real life, but these are real fights. And so the more I'm watching it, the more I'm realizing it's having me feel a certain way. It's kind of made me feel like, what if this happened to me? How would I defend myself? I don't have those thoughts ever.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:But now I'm starting to think defense. What if I kid you not? I'm out to eat. Later that day, someone comes behind me and I kind of feel their close, and I'm thinking, what if he attacks me? Where does that thought come from? It is never happened before. It's from just being overwhelmed by what I'm putting in front of myself. So I think about that. You see real things happening and you start to process that in a way that could never happen, but you then realize you're, you're being. Affected and what, what you're seeing, something starts to change. You're imagining yourself in ways that you didn't before. And I think that that's what we're seeing here is what we're allowing into our life is gonna help or it's gonna hurt. And that's kind of the big idea. All of that started with one video. I didn't guard against it. And as it's playing out, you start to see how this works and I put all these down so that I can read'em and share them. That what we guard with our eyes. Shapes our desires. What we guard with our ears, shapes our thinking. What we guard in our friendships, shapes our direction. What we guard in our dating shapes our future marriage. What we guard with our time, shapes our priorities. What we guard with our habits, shapes our character and what we guard in our thought life. Shapes our obedience and that's everything we've been telling these kids for the past. Mm-hmm. 24 hours is guarding isn't about being extreme throwing so much that's unrealistic to create these unwanted things in my life that others are just gonna have. To deal with as they come into their life. I think what we're seeing is that guarding isn't about being extreme, it's about deciding who gets access to what's forming me. Mm. Who's getting access to my mind? Who's getting, who's getting my ear and my attention, who I'm allowing into my circle? I mean, one of the things that. I might preach on this one day. I just don't know how to say it just yet. But you've heard the idea of entertainment.
Noah:Mm.
Tim:What we're allowing ourselves to see and it, what's crazy about this, and it goes back even to the fight. If that fight was happening in my house, would I just let it play out?
Noah:Hmm.
Tim:And would I enjoy it and just like cook some popcorn and have a soda, or would I stop it and get it out of the way so that I don't have to see that kind of thing in my house. But yet we have, here's the other side of it that would hurt. Some people's toes. We have characters on our screens that our kids would see.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:And that's like you asked the question, would you invite that person into your home to have the floor and speak for the next hour with your kids listening to them? The answer's usually gonna be no.
Noah:Right?
Tim:Those people that we wouldn't let into our world. So what's the difference if these boundaries are shaping who we're becoming? It sounds like God knows what he's talking about.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:And however much we're willing to line up with what he's saying is gonna determine the way that we get formed. That's Romans 12. Two, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And so as we go through it, the question then becomes, whose voice are you hearing? Like what is it that's shaping? What is the boundary? That's going on currently with my day.'cause we hear a lot of stuff. Mm. Sometimes we don't think about what we're putting up to prevent some things from getting in.
Noah:Yeah.
Tim:That's a lot. That's a lot to say. But hopefully enough to just ponder as Proverbs four, since we're in the proverbs. Proverbs 4 26. Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be. Sure.
Noah:Yeah.
Tim:That's a lot of thinking to do.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. A passage that again, as you were talking, came to mind, so I flipped over to it. One of my favorite passages when it comes to what we're allowing into our lives and how it affects us is the first Psalm. You know, blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law, he meditates day and. That first verse basically lays out that exact process that you're talking about. If you, if you allow them to begin to counsel you, they will affect your decisions. You'll start to stand in the same manner that they do. You'll associate with them and then by through association with them, you will begin to be like them. Yeah. And it all comes back to who has your ear, that that's what you've been talking about some this weekend, and I think. In this last point about boundaries, it's such an important one. It's gonna affect us. It's gonna affect us. It's gonna
Tim:form you. I always think of cinon. Y'all remember they're in the mall. Cinon.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah.
Tim:So isn't that the process of Psalm one? One? Blessed is the man who, who doesn't walk by the cinon, because once you smell it. What happens, you stop.
Noah:Yep.
Tim:And you look, and then what happens if you stop long enough? You might end up sitting down and eating some of the
Noah:Yep.
Tim:Some of that, right? That's kind of the way you see that. Your senses being, your senses are being captivated by the things that maybe you should stay away from. But I, I've always kind of used that illustration is if to say. We know how our senses can get lured. Mm-hmm. And you gotta be very careful to protect that.
Paul:Yeah. Yeah, man. When, when you, when you said habits and then connected habits to character, you had me then, but when you really started talking about how we think. How, how much we're controlled by our minds. I mean, action always follows thought. We always move in the direction of our mind. Two Corinthians chapter 10 verse five, we're to take captive every thought so that it'll base Christ. And that's not a legalistic kind of, it, it's, it's, I'm gonna set you free here. But you've gotta understand how powerful it is through your mind. We take in thoughts randomly sometimes without thinking things through, and then wonder why at the end of the day we're so cynical and sour and critical and thought where, where we allow our mind to go. And so, you know, when you're thinking about conversations about boundaries and stewardship and letting God lead and also partnering with the right kind of people. Because I can tell you if, if I'm trying to do this, just me and I haven't invited other people in my life that will periodically come to me and say, you've been cranky lately. Let, let's work through this. What's going on? You know, and you know, I, I just tell you, tell you as a, as an, as the older guy in the room, sometimes you don't realize how harder it is as you get older to, to make sure that you don't become cynical. And that's, I'm not taking a shot at old people. I'm just, I'm just saying that's a real thing. And, and the thing about cynicism is it's very hard to see in self. Mm-hmm. And there's boundaries there because cynicism can be just as dangerous as anything else out there that corrupts and destroys the good things that God intends to have in our life.
Noah:Mm-hmm. If he's gonna pick on the old people a little bit. Something that came to mind for me. I know it, I know it's applicable to, to me at 30 and I know it's been applicable to me for the last 10, 15 years, is the danger isn't always that we are allowing through our boundary evil, wicked things like, like you said, is this what I want to invite into my home? Sometimes what we're inviting into our home or into our minds. Is just mindless things. And the fact is we justify it because it, it gets through the barrier. It gets across our boundaries because, well, it's not, it's not bad. Well, no, and I'm not saying that there's never a time to just kind of kick back and relax. There is. But when we find ourselves allowing mindless things through our boundary over and over and over again. Should we really be surprised that what it produces in us is a mindlessness?
Tim:Mm-hmm.
Noah:I don't think we should
Tim:a pest of some sorts. We wouldn't let, we wouldn't let the pests that we're trying to control into our home. I pay a guy every three months to come and prevent roaches
Noah:Yes.
Tim:And things like that from getting in my home, the, the environment. Rats, you name it. But yet, when it comes to our spiritual life, we tend to not hold back on that stuff. Mm-hmm. Right. Things that will cause and some sense of discomfort because it's dirty and not how we want to be, and living among those things, but boundaries. The last big idea that I have here to close my thought is boundaries determine our direction. They, they ultimately do. When you consider how, where we intend to go, the direction we intend to take our life. It, it's gonna come down to what we're allowing ourselves to bring in. Mm-hmm. And that, like you were just saying, those who you surround yourself with. We've been telling the kids this weekend, in fact, they actually said it to us, is who you surround yourself with or who you're going to become. It's who you follow. Mm-hmm. And that's why we have tried to encourage them. Surround yourself with honest people. Mm-hmm. They're hard to come by, but yeah, anyone, if you let them, will get a hold of what you're willing to listen to and take you in directions that you never intended to go if you let them. And that's the part why we gotta protect them. We're responsible for them. And so God intends good things for us.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Tim:And I think sometimes we miss that.
Noah:Well, Tim we appreciate you taking the time to come in and, and discuss this at a little more length. I know that, you know, 30, 35 minutes, like you said at the beginning you could go all sorts of directions first getting
Tim:started
Noah:Yeah. With boundaries. But hopefully my, my hope for those who are listening to this is that this will maybe be the spark. To evaluate God's boundaries and how do our boundaries line up with those? What boundaries are we setting for ourselves? Are we maintaining them and are we doing so in the spirit that Christ would have us do that? And and that discussion, if we're being realistic that's not a 30 minute discussion, that's a lifelong discussion. Mm-hmm. That's a constantly developing thing that we have to be going through. So thank you for, for being a part of this discussion today, agreeing to spend a little bit of extra time in an already busy weekend. Love it, man. To join me and Paul. So we pray that as you go back to your work here after after your time here and you go back to work with the church there in Port Arthur we pray that God continues to bless you in your work there, and I'm thankful to know that that you're laboring there for the kingdom.
Tim:Thank you so much. Happy to be a part
art.
Noah:Well, Paul we've agreed moving forward that we want to share some about what we've been praying about, what's been on our hearts and our minds, the kinds of things that we are, are talking to God about. And last month I shared some of that. And so this month it's your turn. I would like to know what you want to share as far as what you've been praying about.
Paul:Wow. And you said praying about lately I'll offer this. Here's what I've seen in, in my praying. There's been a shift and, and I think in a good way it's been beneficial to me. The more of giving of thanks in my praying. And let me explain why. Because what, what it does for me is it is a shift in focus when, when I'm giving more, expressing more thanks in my prayer my prayers become less me focused and me centered. And here's what I'm going through, and here are my problems. And it's. And some of those are real. And I'm not saying we shouldn't take those to the Lord. Absolutely. When you've got worry, when you've got anger, when you've got fear you need to talk to the Lord about that. Yeah. Just read the book of Psalms.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:But for me, when I find that I'm in that place. I can become very me centered without realizing it.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:When there's more giving of things in my prayers, it, there's more focus on God, the goodness and the faithfulness of God. And as a result of that shift in focus, here's my point. There's a deeper sense of contentment and peace that I find in my praying.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:Now you ask, well, why is that such a big deal? Well, it puts me in a better frame of mind or a better spirit to fight for others in prayer.
Noah:And
Paul:I think that's a, a big thing. Someone taught me that, you know, Lord teach us to pray. Years ago, somebody taught me when, when I started bringing children in the world. You need to understand in your praying that that is a spiritual tool that you have to fight for people, fight for your kids. Well, as you grow older, it's not just fight for your kids, it's fight for your grandkids. Yeah, yeah. It's fight for your mate. It's fight for others in the church. And so when I'm in a better, better frame of mind and spirit, I'm in a better position to fight the right fight to wage the good warfare in my praying. Mm-hmm. For for others.'cause I know what Satan's trying to do if he can defeat me. Chances are he's got a better chance at defeating others.
Noah:Mm-hmm. Yeah. I, I think that's a good a good shift to encourage, like, like you said, not because we shouldn't be bringing our, our cares and our troubles and our difficulties to the Lord, we absolutely should. But that we the more we can recognize where we give things the better equipped we will be. To recognize the goodness of God in our lives and in the lives of other people. And yeah. That's really, that's really helpful. Thank you for sharing that.
Paul:Yeah. So here's the segment. We, we wanted to segue into some of the meat of this podcast. We're trying to know a reach out to others. We want our listening audience to feel connected to what we're doing this year. And so we wanted to hear from them. One of the things, I think we dealt with one last month in February. This kind of, we've, we've called it people want to know
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:Or people want to hear more about,
Noah:yeah.
Paul:What, what was that subject? You and I, we had talked about people want to know more about it. They want to hear more about this.
Noah:Yeah. So, you know last year we spent some time, not last year, last month. Good grief. It feels like maybe a year has gone by. Last month we talked about, you know, budgeting and finances and stewardship. Taking a, a completely different question this month. And just as a reminder, if you're listening, there's a link in the description of this episode for for a q and a. If you click that link, you can send us a question and, and we might be able to get to answer that in this context. But this month the. People want to know, people want to hear. Section is is along these lines. It's a question that I've heard many times before. I want to talk to my friend about Jesus. Mm-hmm. How can I do that? And then you fill in the blank. How can I do that without it being awkward? How can I do that without sounding. Judgmental. How can I do that? You know, there's a lot of different things in that.
Paul:Mm-hmm.
Noah:There are a lot of inhibitions that we feel, I think, when it comes to talking to our friends or our family, our coworkers about Jesus. And so this is not a unique question. I, you know, the people that ask this question don't feel like you're the only person that's asking this question. Right. You're clearly not. And so we're gonna spend a little bit of time today. Talking about that. And then, you know, we'll, we'll cover that some more in next week's episode as we unpack it a little bit further. So, Paul you know, I'll toss it over to you first. When, when you hear people ask this kind of question or when it even crosses your mind, you know, how should I broach this subject with, with somebody else? What are some, what are some foundational principles or what's one foundational thing that you kind of come back to in that? In that question.
Paul:Well, I, like you said, the first thing I say to people is it's, it's normal and fine to feel a bit awkward.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:And I don't know that I've got some great wisdom or formula to make that awkwardness just disappear. I mean, I, I've been doing this for a long time.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:And, and there, there are days that. It, I'm not awkward in this conversation. There is. I'm ready to go and there are other days I feel so inapt.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:And so there's an awkwardness this is, I know this is very simple, but it just gets the conversation started. To avoid awkwardness, you just gotta keep doing and keep growing.
Noah:Mm.
Paul:I mean, you gotta start somewhere. Now some people hearing that start somewhere is go talk to somebody that you feel like is very gifted. It, it, it be, it's very natural to them to move a conversation in this area, to direct it this way, to, to build a bridge and connect better with people in this approach. Ask them what's worked for them. Can I learn from your mistakes or some of those kinds of things. But it's just, it's gonna be awkward. One of the things that's gonna help is just keep doing it. Keep growing, you'll learn. But I don't know if I've got some magical formula to say it. It's not gonna be awkward anymore.
Noah:Well, man, I was ready to write down the magic formula here.
Paul:It doesn't mean I don't have some things. I just, I wanted to start there.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. I, I think that's a, that's a helpful place to start because I think that. One of the obstacles, one, in fact, it's kind of, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy in the sense that sometimes the reason we feel awkward or tense is because we want it to go perfectly right? Mm-hmm. The first time, every time. And I don't mean by that, that we expect the first conversation we have with somebody about Jesus. Is just, it's gonna convince them about everything and they're, and they're gonna go get baptized and everything's gonna be amazing from there on out. But rather, we don't want to make mistakes. And because we fear making the, we fear stumbling over our words, saying something the wrong way. Confusing even maybe we'll feel, we feel like we're gonna muddy the waters accidentally and because we're afraid of those things, that actually makes us more tense and more feeling more awkward about it. And so there is, I think some helpfulness to just hear, you gotta start somewhere. Yeah. You, you gotta go do it. You and, and, and we've all done it and we've all messed up doing it. And that's part of the process, that's part of the growth, the maturation involved in that. That's a good thing to realize off the bat because there is a real sense in which you have to take pressure off of yourself in doing this I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves on doing it exactly right. And obviously when we're trying to speak the truth, let's speak the truth. Let's handle the word well. But recognize that we don't have all the answers. We're gonna, we're gonna make mistakes, and in the end, the real heavy lifting is done by the truth, not by us.
Paul:Yeah. You know, it's, it's interesting that you started that way. This is one of the top things I had on my list, if you're gonna just approach it with the list. Okay. 1, 2, 3, 4. Mm-hmm. Right. Top of mind is we, we put too much pressure on ourselves.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:And, and I think that's what you've been talking about and for different reasons. For, for me, it's, it's my personality type the way I'm wired.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:You can. When I'm on a bad, when I'm having a bad day, somebody will look at me and say, you're way too competitive. And you're like, competition and trying to, you know, have a conversation with about Jesus with someone. Mm-hmm. It's like, well, did you baptize him? What's your success rate into, and we we're, we we're what? We put so much pressure on ourselves and I there there's a sense in which it's carnal. Yes. To look at it like, Hey, I'm really, I'm better at this than. So and so, and so and so, and so and so. Yeah. But the fear of rejection
Noah:mm-hmm.
Paul:Is a real thing. Looking at a person and thinking about this person that you're trying to have a conversation with Jesus about the same way you would look at this person if you're going to sell knives to them or a vacuum cleaner, make the sale. Well, no, that's, you can't look, and we shouldn't, I'm not saying people do, but maybe we don't realize sometimes we're, we're, we're face to face with the person. How do we see that person? We should see that person the way God does. If you don't value people. You can't be a value to people.
Noah:Mm.
Paul:So conversations about Jesus, sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves because we're making it about making the sale. Mm-hmm. You know, trying to move the conversation really quickly into this area. Just if you'll do more listening than talking
Noah:Yes.
Paul:Mm-hmm. You'll, you'll set yourself up. To for the next conversation, the, the next interaction to be less awkward. Yeah. And somebody said, well, tell me why. One of the reasons that's the case is the more I listen. Yeah, the better I am in a position to ask the right questions. Asking questions is a good way to build a bridge.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. I'm so glad that you brought that up. You know, I've got here because we're trying to be helpful and answer questions. Like you said, I've got some bullet points here, some tips and that kind of thing, and we'll probably get a little bit more into that in next week's episode. As far as. Some, how some of that plays out. But one of the overarching principles that you just brought up is one that I, that I think underlies a lot of the other advice that we could give. And that is listen, ask, ask a good question and then genuinely listen to the answer. The fact is we live in a time and in a culture where most people. That you're gonna talk to, you know, and again, I recognize that there are people that might be listening that live in different parts of the country or different parts of the world. I'm speaking to the people in the world where I live. We live in a time and a, and a place where most people have opinions and thoughts about Jesus and the Bible.
Paul:Mm-hmm.
Noah:And while I understand we have the urge to rush in. And say, I know you have thoughts and opinions. Here are my thoughts and opinions. If we can instead get them to talk about their thoughts and opinions and. Even ask some questions that maybe get them to evaluate their own thoughts and opinions, to start to dissect their own perspective on things. That gives us not only a better understanding personally of who they are, where they are, what they believe. It also creates a, a context in which sharing our opinions and our beliefs and our perspectives will not. It's, it's lower pressure. They've already shared theirs. Well, here I'll share mine. I'll talk about mine. So asking good questions and then genuinely listening to those answers is gonna put us a long way down the road. You know, and again, I think as an underlying principle in a lot of the practical tips that we could give, right? I, I think. I'll, I'll share this of, of my list that, of ideas that I've, that I've got here. I'll share this and then, you know, next episode we can dig in a little bit more perhaps. But along with the same lines as what we've talked about as far as reducing the amount of pressure and asking good questions we should also ask good questions of ourself and. And I mean that in the sense that some don't over complicate it. And don't overthink it. Just so for instance, ask yourself, why do I believe what I believe? So take that into the context of why do I believe that Jesus is God? Why do I believe that the resurrection actually happened? Why do I believe that the Bible is the word of God? You know, those kinds of things. Why, or even most fun, I say most fundamentally, but one fundamental one would be why was I baptized? Why did I decide to be baptized? Why do I put my faith in Jesus? That's a question that is, is a deep question, but it's also. One that we have to be able to answer if we're, if we're gonna be a Christian, we have to be able to say, this is why I am a Christian. And if we can ask those questions of ourselves that all that reduces the complexity. We're not, we're not getting in those questions. Don't get into the question of, you know the cultural issues that people, well, what, what about God's position on cultural issue X or. What does the Bible have to say about creation and evolution, theories and all of these other topics that people want to talk about? Don't overthink it. Why do I believe what I believe?
Paul:I love it. I love it. You know are we making people through our conversations as at times awkward as they may be? In my conversations of the other people about Jesus and about God, are we making them more hungry for God or more angry with God?
Noah:Hmm.
Paul:And maybe that's, that's a thought to turn over your mind until Lord willing next podcast. But I mean that, that was something that someone I heard someone say years ago and I put it in the margin of one of my bibles got my attention.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that is, that's something I, I will have to turn over because the truth isn't gonna make everybody happy. Sometimes it will make people more angry.
Paul:Mm-hmm.
Noah:But far be it from us to take what could make them more hungry and use it to make them more angry.
Paul:Amen and amen.
Noah:Alright, well just as a reminder. You guys can submit questions. Again, go to the episode description, click on the submit a q and a submit a question link there in the episode description, and let us know the kinds of things that you want to hear about this whole section. That's what it's meant for. People want to hear, people want to know. So let us know about that and again, we'll get more into this topic of wanting to talk to our friends about Jesus more next week. To wrap up our time today, in this episode, that brings us to, what are you hearing and reading? This is where Paul, you and I are sharing either or both what we've been reading recently that we've enjoyed or appreciated, or the kinds of things that we've been hearing.
Paul:Yeah. Well, for me it's reading I'm almost finished. In fact, it was, it was written in the early 1990s. Bill love's book, the Core Gospel.
Noah:Okay.
Paul:I tell you what I mean, I, I, I'm going back into, you know, what is the gospel? What's involved in preaching the gospel? You've done a lot of that, Noah, since you've been here at Cedar Park, which I appreciate that about you and your approach and your work. So if we don't understand the gospel the gospel in the Old Testament,
Noah:right,
Paul:the Gospel, new Testament, what is this? What is this? If we just said, well, the gospel is good news it's a little deeper than that. Sure. And I'm not saying that's wrong,
Noah:right?
Paul:So when I saw this, the core, the core gospel, and especially when I started thumbing through it now, it was recommended to me. By somebody I trusted, I started thumbing through the index. That's kind of what we do. And what there's a section that got my, my attention. It's, it is a restoration history section and I found it very insightful'cause it's a really condensed in four generations. So I'll give you, just, I'll draw, I'm doing some name dropping in this book that he deals with Bill Love. So like first generation, that would be Alexander Campbell, Barton Stone, Walter Scott, Benjamin Franklin. Some heroes there in first generation, second generation, tw Brents tb, Lara Moore, JW McGarvey. I'm, I'm a McGarvey fan. Third generation JD Town. RC White NB Hardman. Yeah. Now some people are hearing those names go, I know exactly who you're talking about, what you're talking about, and I don't always agree with those guys. Well, neither did I.
Noah:Right.
Paul:But I could be wrong now, fourth generation gc GC Brewer for Wallace. Anyway, he gives a restoration now in the context of the, the greater. Purpose in the book. Now, I would admit, I, I think his methodology is flawed a bit. Mm-hmm. Now, I'm not trying to sound critical, I, that's just my personal opinion, but he, he gives a very balanced approach and, and what he's offering in the book by going back to restoration history, to think about where we are, based upon where we've been. Mm-hmm. In, in preaching the gospel are, are we preaching a balanced gospel? You know, the, the, the right balance between what I must do, and clearly that's there to what God has already done. Mm-hmm. Here's a way he illustrated it, and I would agree. He said denominations were have been really good at preaching the gospel, but without baptism, have we been really good at preaching baptism without the gospel? Now again, somebody says, well, that's a loaded question. Come on. But to be fair, that got my attention and not everybody's gonna agree with everything. I don't agree with everything in the book. Sure. And I think its methodology is a bit flawed, but I like the approach because it should get us, get us to thinking about I is our core concept in preaching the gospel? Do do we, do we tell the whole story?
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:And nothing but the story.
Noah:Right? Right. Yeah. The, the. The point that he makes and I have no idea, I've never heard of, of Bill Love and so I'm not gonna speak for him. But it's very possible that he would, he, he could be the first to admit that this is, this is a not a true dilemma. It's not one or the other.
Paul:Correct.
Noah:But he's, it sounds like he's trying to make a point. That it is possible, just as it's possible to go so far in one direction, that you have eliminated a truth of scripture that needs to be restored. You can go that far in the other direction and eliminate a different truth of scripture. And that's a, a fair warning for every generation of, of Christian.
Paul:Yeah. You know, I, and why, well, let me explain why I think I say flawed methodology. So I know, I mean, look, in those generations there, there was a real thing in restoration history where the, the battle that the guys were fighting on the front lines had to do with, let's say pre millennialism.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:Or instrumental music or some of the, OR, or what is the church? Mm-hmm. I mean, that's a really important subject,
Noah:right.
Paul:What is the church man, if we don't get that right.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:And that there's a sense of which that's connected to the gospel.
Noah:Right? Right.
Paul:The plan of God. So they, they were fighting the battles that they thought they needed to fight in their generation. Yeah. So I'm not one to be disrespectful of Bill of Love or any of these guys in the first, second, third, fourth generation. We had to fight the battles that we think were facing, but being balanced in that. Is not as easy sometimes as we wanna make it appear to be.
Noah:Yeah. Yeah. So, and it's a lot easier in retrospect to be like, oh, well that should have been more balanced. And in 30 years, you know, our children and grandchildren will probably be saying the same thing,
Paul:that not probably they, I, they'll be, it's my grandkids are like my dad or my granddad man. He just always talks about this. Always other, yeah. So is it something you've been hearing? Something you've been reading?
Noah:Yeah. This, this time for me, it's something I've been hearing. Last time I shared a book, but this time I mean, just to be completely transparent I think probably everybody listening to this is aware of the the tumult that our culture has been having recently. Lots of vitriol, lots of disagreement. Mm-hmm. Strong disagreement. And a lot of people, using scripture on multiple sides of social and political issues to argue their perspective. But one thing that I've heard from a number of different arenas that I have appreciated is I've seen a lot of calls for compassion and that is something that I'm not sure I expected. To see, and certainly people might respond, oh, well this group over here is using it as a, a tool. You know, it's a call for compassion, but it's really a tool for this and this group over here is doing it, and we can, we can do pot shots and, and try to read motives all day long, but what it, what Hearing that consistent call for compassion, what that has brought me back to is. In Luke 10, when Jesus tells the parable of the good Samaritan, it's prompted by who is my neighbor? A man seeking to justify himself asks, who is my neighbor? And at the end of that parable, Jesus asks the man now who proved to be his neighbor. The man's response was the one who showed mercy, or the one who showed compassion, and that's, that's the one who proved to be a neighbor. And Jesus' response is, go and do likewise, a call for compassion. And there may be disagreement over what, what that practically speaking is gonna look like. But a call for compassion is always appropriate and. That's, that's what I've been hearing recently and I've been encouraged by that.
Paul:Oh man. I'm glad you shared that'cause that that has encouraged me today. You know, I recently preached John three 16.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:God so loved the world, underlined world. Put your name there, but when you put your name there, you say, yeah, well he should love me because connect this, connect this back to why sometimes our conversations are so awkward when we're trying to talk to somebody about Jesus.
Noah:Mm-hmm.
Paul:A hard thing. I've been guilty of this. We don't value this person on the same level as we value someone else. Mm-hmm. God does.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:But they're acting this way and they're very, you know, dangerous to society and all, and I know there's, we, we can find, I can find a lot of ways to justify me not being compassionate and merciful and seeing people the way God does.
Noah:Yeah.
Paul:If I don't see people the way God does, lots of conversations will be awkward. That shouldn't be awkward. Yeah. I love that compassion thing you got there.
Noah:Yeah. Well that's, that's what I've been hearing and that's what has been encouraging me as well. So for those who are listening, thank you for joining us again in this new journey here in 2026 as we take a little bit different approach and take our time a little bit more as well. Our prayer is that this has been encouraging to you. We're thankful that we've been able to have these conversations. We're thankful that we have had the time with our brother, Tim King that we had with him, and we're thankful for his input and his discussion. And remember, we want to hear from you. So feel free to reach out to us in person or through the links in the, in the description and, and let us know you know, what you'd like to hear more about. And we'd love to hear your feedback as we move forward with this. In the meantime, until next week when we rejoin the discussion of people wanting to hear our prayer is that you'll continue to stand in the grace of Christ, that you will extend the same grace and compassion that he's extended to you, to the people around you, so that altogether we can stand strong.
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