Dr. Jessica Peck: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, preborn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time, she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword BABY or visit preborn.com/AFR hello,

 : and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show, prescribing Hope for healthy families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends, and welcome to my favorite time of day. We get to prescribe Hope for healthy families, and we've got a great dose of hope for you today.

 We live in a time where stories are everywhere

We are talking so story. And we live in a time where I think stories are everywhere, even more than they have been at any point in human history. We have all kinds of media, streaming content, access to a library of content like we've never had before. But we see the power of story as enduring. It's in social media, it's in the news. It's in streaming content. It's on. It's on shows, it's in movies. It's everywhere. But many of the stories that we see in culture leave us feeling more anxious, more divided, or maybe even more alone or more hopeless. What people are really longing for, I believe, are stories that offer truth and what is the meaning of life? And where can I find hope in this seemingly hopeless world? And is there possibility for redemption even in my story? Here's the good news. Throughout Scripture, God tells the stories of real people whose very real lives were anything but perfect. We see betrayal, we see jealousy. We see fear, fear, trauma, doubt, moral failure, violence, deep loss. All of these things in the pages of the Bible. Yet we also see courage and forgiveness and transformation and restoration and hope. The people God used were not perfect. They were very painfully, deeply human. And their struggles, broken family, destructive choices, fear, grief, shame, loss. These things are not different from what people are facing today. And their stories remind us that failure doesn't have to write the last chapter in your story. God can bring redemption even in the most painful chapters of life. And people often ask, I hear this question asked a lot. Is scripture even relevant? How is that dusty old book even relevant today? How does that ancient text inform our modern. Our modern lives? But God tells the stories of deeply flawed people who face struggles that still sound like ours today. As I've been saying. Let me give you some specifics. David committed adultery. He arranged the death of her husband. He carried the weight of guilt and public shame. Moses battled fear and insecurity and a speech impediment. And he constantly questioned, am I enough? Can I really do this? Elijah collapsed into emotional exhaustion and despair. He isolated himself even after a really big victory where he should have been riding high, but he asked God to end his life. Joseph was betrayed by his own brothers. He was sold into slavery. He was lady later falsely accused and imprisoned. Peter denied Jesus three times out of fear after boldly promising he never would. And Job lost his children and his health and his livelihood. And sudden devastating trauma. Now, when you look at it that way, you start to see that these stories are very much relevant to our lives today. And that's what we're going to talk about today. The stories we're going to explore follow that same pattern. They include real life struggles with addiction, abuse, trauma, mental health battles, family dysfunction, and profound loss. But like the biblical narratives, these stor going to share with you reveal healing and grace and restoration and most of all, hope. Hope for an eternal future with God. And some of these accounts listen. They may be a little emotionally heavy or difficult to hear, so we encourage thoughtful listening, especially for those who have experienced similar wounds. But we also share them because many people are quietly carrying the same burdens. Wondering, is healing even possible? Can I be redeemed? So I am bringing to you a podcast called Compelled. We're going to talk to the podcast host and developer, but I'm going to start right off the top here. Just dropping you in the deep end of one of these stories. And one of the most powerful episodes of this series features a man named Greg Stier. Now, this is episode 50. If you want to go to Compelled, it's now. You can find it on any podcast platform, but it's now on afr. You can also listen to it live on the radio Sundays from 2 to 3. And in this episode, episode 50 with Greg Stier, he shares the very intense story of his childhood and his family upbringing in Denver. And we're going to listen to a part of his story where he talks about his Uncle Jake. Now, Uncle Jake, lived a very violent and unpredictable life, and it left a permanent mark on Greg and his family. So right here, my team is going to play a short clip for you where Greg begins describing his Uncle Jake. And this story shows how darkness can be very real. This is a very real, raw story. It's a great story, but you may Want to cover those younger ears because it is story for adults about how God's light can reach even the most broken places. Richard, can you play the clip?

Greg Stier placed his faith in Jesus Christ as an 8 year old

Welcome back to Compelled. Greg Stier grew up on the wrong side of Denver. His family was quick tempered and prone to violence. And he often witnessed extreme bouts of rage and anger. Greg had always stood out from the rest of his family like a sore thumb. They were all brash, loud and violent. Greg was none of those. And now that Greg had just placed his faith in Jesus Christ as an 8 year old, he was going to stand out even more. But as God would have it, he wasn't the only one. Because before Greg found Jesus, the unthinkable had happened to someone else in his family one day. A preacher who was from the deep South. He was a hillbilly preacher with a deep southern drawl whose nickname was Yankee. Okay. Planted a church in the suburbs of Denver. A guy that was going to his church was named Bob Daly. Now, Bob Daly knew my family, knew my uncles, was raised in north Denver. My family name is Matthias. So he knew the Matthias brothers. Good friends with him, but not quite bold enough to share the gospel with them. So he dared Yankee to go and share the gospel with Jack. Uncle Jack. Uncle Jack is the one who looks like the wolverine. Big lamb chop, sideburns, ducks like this, in and out of jail, tattoos everywhere. The one that went to jail for choking. Two cops, unconscious at the same time. Toughest guy I've ever met. To this day. Yankee goes up on a Saturday morning, knocks on the door. Jack comes to the door, no shirt on, two beer cans. One for drinking beer, one for spit and chew. Didn't want to get those mixed up. The biggest German shepherd you'd ever seen named Lobo. I remember Lobo. Huge German shepherd. More like a small horse, right? Barking my anerlene took. Took Lobo back, locked him in the in the back room. Jack goes, what do you want? Yankee said, I'm here on a dare from Bob Daly to tell you about Jesus. And he goes, well, I don't know Jesus. I know Bob. And at the same time, Yankee remembered that Jack's two girls, my cousins Tammy and Jackie, were a part of the youth group that Yankee led. And he goes, by the way, you're your kids. Your two girls go to the youth group. I lead. And they're the best girls. So sweet, so kind. Well, that kind of got to the heart of my uncle Jack goes, all right, I'll give you a few minutes here. Come on in. They sit down at the table. And Yankee explains the gospel, the simple gospel, in a way that my Uncle Jack understood it. See, my Uncle Jack being raised in this Baptist church, all he heard was the rules. That's all. You know, he just filtered rules. I gotta do. I gotta stop, Stop. I got to try. I got to turn. I got to do this. I got to turn over. A new leave. I'm never going to do that. I'm never going to be good enough. I'm a sinner. I'm going to hell. I might as well have fun. That's how most of my family reacted. Yeah. for the first time, he hears that God created us to be with him, that God loves us, but that our sins separate us from God. And God's a holy God. He loves us, but he hates our sin. And those sins could never be removed by our good deeds. It's like putting white frosting on a burnt cake. So God sent his son Jesus, to live the perfect life we could never live and die the death on the cross that we deserve. So Jesus, fully God and fully man, died in our place. For our sin, rose from the dead. And he offers eternal life to all those who simply trust in him. And Yankee said, does that make sense? He trusted in Jesus right there on the spot. Right there on the spot. My Aunt Earlene trusted in Christ right there on the spot. Best news they'd ever heard in their lives. And Jack began to tell everyone. I mean everyone. He brought 250 people out to Yankee's church in one month. That's no exaggeration. Most of them were street fighters, bodybuilders, tough guys, gang members. And Jack didn't just bring him out. He was sharing Christ the whole way with these guys. The next day, after he trusted Christ, he went back to the meatpacking place where he worked. And there was a guy, another guy that he wanted to come to Jesus with the simple gospel. This guy was a bodybuilder, an Italian bodybuilder nicknamed Thumper. So he. He shares the gospel with Thumper. Thumper had never heard this good news. Thumper says, you got to tell my whole family. This was an Italian Catholic family. So my Uncle Jack went over every night for two weeks, armed with a simple gospel, and shared the gospel the best way that a new believer can. And kept taking him back to the cross, one by one by one. Every single one of those family members put their faith in Christ. And I don't want to paint a picture like when Jack came to Christ, everything was, you know, perfect. And Roses. I mean, there was times, like right after he came to Christ where it was, if you didn't take Jesus, he may give you Moses right upside your head. Like he's sharing the gospel in a sauna with another bodybuilder. And the weird thing is, when you're in the sauna, you don't have clothes on. You're buck naked sharing Christ with another buck naked bodybuilder. Well, there's another guy overhearing who starts interrupting. My Uncle Jack doesn't know the rules about loving your enemies yet. So he turns to this guy and goes, hey, I'm trying to tell this guy about the love of Jesus. Why don't you shut your stinking mouth? And he continues to share the gospel. The guy interrupts again. He goes, you interrupt me one more time, I'm taking you out. He continues to share the gospel. The guy interrupts again. Boom. Jack nails this guy. The guy falls to the ground, looks up and goes, jesus didn't go around hitting people like that. He goes, well, I ain't Jesus. I'm Jack. Shut up. Oh, man. You know, it's interesting because years later, at my Uncle Jack's 50th wedding anniversary, we had all the family, all the friends, everybody's out, and I have a video. I want Uncle Jack to tell me the story about the sauna. And he goes, well, the guy led to Christ is here, and he calls him over, and I go, tell me the story about the sauna. He goes, yeah, when your Uncle Jack beat the blank out of that guy when he was telling me about Jesus, it was awesome. I'm sitting there like, okay, these are not made up stories. These are real, true stories. So my Uncle Jack came to Christ and got set ablaze with the gospel.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, I know you're probably a little upset with me now because that clip ended and you're thinking, wait, what's the rest of it? Again, if you want to listen to that whole episode, as I have, it's episode 50 on the compelled podcast. And there is a, there are a lot more Uncle Jack stories, and there are a lot more stories to be told.

Compelled podcast shares firsthand stories of God transforming people's lives

And I'm so pleased to introduce to you today, the host and producer of Compelled is Paul Hastings Now, this is a podcast that shares firsthand stories, as you've just heard, a clip of, of God transforming people's lives. Paul is a podcaster, he's an entrepreneur, he's a husband, he's a father, he's a media consultant who has worked across film and marketing. And politics. And his, his projects have been featured all kinds of places and now they're today with American Family Radio. And he also has a new book that is tied to the podcast that's designed to see reader, to help readers see God's fingerprints and real stories. And they have had a generous donor. He told me that I could share this with you who is going to make sure that 10,000 copies of this book get into the hands of people in Texas prisons this year. And Paul, I know we're just about to go to break here, but is this. Thank you so much for joining us. When we come back, we are going to dive into all your story, your own personal story, how you were compelled to make compelled, how this podcast came to life, and the redemptive arc of the story. So I'll just give you one minute just to say hello to everybody and we'll be right back after the break.

Paul Hastings: Oh, Jessica, thanks for having me on. It is my joy, my privilege to be here on the show and can't wait to tell you all of your listeners some of the stories of what God is doing around the world through the lives of his believers.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Tell us what the book is called, Paul.

Paul Hastings: All right. The book is called Compelled just like the podcast. Nice. and easy, easy to remember, Compelled Compelled.

Dr. Jessica Peck: And we will put the notes to where you can get it and we'll talk more about that. I think this is so amazing. These stories reflect the realities of human life. And for me, especially as a nurse, having been there in some of those most fragile moments of human life when often trauma, trial, tragedy, poor choices, they lead to an encounter with healthcare. I see these kinds of things firsthand. But the great thing about Compelled is that it has real stories about real people, but it also provides a real and lasting hope. A hope that is not based on the what you can do in the here and now, but a hope that is grounded in the unshaked, unshakable truth of the, of the birth and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, just as you heard Greg give that testimony. We will be right back with more from Paul Hastings, host and producer of the Compelled podcast. We'll see you on the other side of this break.

Preborn empowers women to become mothers with affordable ultrasounds

Mother's Day. It's one of the most beautiful moments of the year to share life changing news. Maybe you've seen it, a family gathered around the table. When someone stands up and says, next year there will be a, a brand new mom in our family, there's nothing like it. But for some women, mother's Day feels very different. Instead of celebrating, they're carrying a secret. Afraid, unsure, alone. That's why preborn exists. Because when a woman sees her baby on an ultrasound and hears that tiny heartbeat, it doubles the chance she'll choose life. I couldn't imagine my life without him. Because of them. He's here. We're going to get through it, and it's going to be okay. Preborn empowers women to become mothers. Just $28 provides one ultrasound. To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound 250, baby. Or donate [email protected]/AFR, that's preborn.com/AFR.

Nobody Loves Me Like You by Chris Tomlin: Nobody loves me like you love me Jesus, I stand in awe of your amazing ways I worship you as long as I am breathing God, you faithful and true

Dr. Jessica Peck: Nobody loves me like you welcome back, friends. That is Nobody loves me like you by Chris Tomlin. And that is a common theme that I hear in the world today. People feeling unseen, unknown, unloved. As we've had this rising epidemic of young people having mental health crisis, we've also seen a rise in loneliness. We are the most digitally connected generations that have ever existed on planet Earth, and yet we feel more disconnected from real relationships and real truth and real hope. And we're here to get day to give you that. If you are just joining us, we are talking to the producer and host of the Compelled podcast that features real stories. And you heard a clip of that. I am just compelled to listen to the rest of it. I hope that you are, too. And we're joined by Paul Hastings.

Paul's journey toward this Compelled podcast started in Texas politics

Paul, I want to welcome you back, and I want to start in a place that maybe is a little unconventional. I have heard you share your testimony, and you grew up, came to know the Lord at a young age. You talk about the role that Awana played in your life, but really, I feel like your journey toward this Compelled podcast started in one of the toughest places on the planet. And that is the world of Texas politics. And that may be a little surprising for people, but that was where you got your start. I would love for you to start about what you learned there, what you did there, and how the Lord drew you and called you to start this ministry.

Paul Hastings: Well, thanks for asking me, Jessica. Yeah. So, politics was an unlikely beginning, but, what happened was straight out of high school, and I clarify, I was homeschooled my whole Life, K through 12. right out of high school, I got a job working in the Texas political arena. And I thought it Was just going to be a temporary thing. And instead I ended up working there for almost ten years. and I did a whole host of different positions. I ran police people's political mail. We, did. I was a campaign manager. I did legislation, I wrote legislation, I defeated legislation, I went to court. I was never an attorney, but I was basically like a paralegal. so the whole host of different politically oriented things, and somewhere in the mix there, I became involved in, Probably the best term for it would be political subterfuge. that's probably the best term for that. So, it's kind of a dirty side of politics, but it's where you're trying to dig up, bad information about opponents and then spread that news. And it was, ah, it was becoming really dark. unfortunately I was, I was, I was relatively good at it. And, you know, I was being. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was my job, it's like, to find people's terrible dirty laundry and then send out a mail piece. And probably any of your listeners, I'm sure that you've received mail pieces like this in the mail. And then. Yeah, yeah. And then people did cry, like, oh, my goodness, you know, politics is so dirty, I can't believe it. Now, you know. Well, I was one of those guys, though, producing and spreading the dirt. and what became sort of this uncomfortable point for me is as I was doing this, I had this realization over the course of a few months was that, man, my life is just obsessed and just totally wrapped up in the success or defeats of, particular people. I've never once in my entire 10 years ever stopped to pray for a political opponent of mine. I've never stopped to pray. Like, lord, would you shape their heart and bring reconciliation between them and their children? Would you change their heart and bring them into your kingdom? Would you show them their need for you? Instead, I would just pray for their destruction or pray for their, you know, their political demise or that my candidate would win or succeed, or that the, you know, justice. Justice. And I never prayed that God would care about someone's soul. And so it was just kind of this weird sort of icky taste I realized. And then around the same time, some of the candidates that I had worked for in years prior to help elect, well, lo and behold, now I was working for their defeat. I was working for their opponents now trying to defeat this. And you know, in your brain you're just wondering, like, wait a second now, that guy said he was the good guy back then, and I was convinced he was the good guy, but now he's the bad guy. But wait a second. The guys I'm working for right now, how do I know that they are the new, like, it was just getting really weird. And, And then the third thing was, right around the same time, certain people began asking me to do things that were just very, very unethical. Maybe not illegal, but definitely unethical. And I just became very convicted about man. I don't know if God really wants me to stay in this particular arena anymore. it's my wife. And I just began praying, lord, are there things that we should do besides this whole political game? And, like I said, I've been in this for about 10 years now. And so I was, like, you know, really scratching my head, and we were making good money doing this thing. And, And so around this time, we began, we began praying, searching. We went on a family vacation. On this family vacation, we went to the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum created by Answers in Genesis. We also went to the Christian Worldview Film Festival in Nashville, Tennessee. And at the end of this week, long family vacation, which, by the way, was the first familycation that we'd ever taken as a married couple. Because up to that point, I was just a workaholic working on Political kid. Yeah, exactly. on this trip, we just had this realization, like, Lord, maybe. Maybe we should tell stories about people whose lives were super duper horribly messed up. But instead of taking that, you know, that terrible story and then putting that on a mail piece and sending it to 30,000 people and telling them to vote against that person, you know, what if we found people with these terrible, horrible stories and then shared the redemptive angle of, like. And then the Lord changed everything. That the Lord redeemed this person out of this horrible, terrible, wicked lifestyle that they used to have, and that God can change anybody. And when we began doing that, that's how we ended up launching the podcast. And as we began doing that, we just realized it was so immensely rewarding. And now we've been doing it for the last eight years.

Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, Paul, I'm really taken aback by your honesty in talking about your experience. And I think whether you work in Texas politics or any politics or any business, any industry here, there are often times where people feel like their moral, their ethical compass gets really topsy turvy, and you can really twist yourself into a pretzel trying to justify, like, the spiritual impact of what you're doing. But the. But the really encouraging thing is that I can see even as you're telling your story, God putting into place all of the pieces that you would need to prepare your heart for a calling. You know, it wasn't like a Paul, ah, you know, on the road, a divine encounter, you know, where you were blinded by the light. But really it seems like a gradual revelation and a gradual preparing of your heart. And all of those experiences that seem totally unrelated, that were related and orchestrated by God. Because I don't believe in anything as coincidence. I believe that God just is in all of the details.

The name Compelled comes from Second Corinthians 5:14 and 15

So I want to know about the. The name Compelled, because there's meaning behind that. Why did you. Why did you start the name or set the name as Compelled?

Paul Hastings: Yeah, that's a great question there also. So, you know, one of the interesting things for us was that, we were. We were thinking, okay, we're going to find these great stories of God changing people's lives, but what are we going to call the name of the show? And my wife is the one who suggested the name Compelled. It comes from Second Corinthians 5, 14 and 15, which says, for the love of Christ compels us, since we've reached this conclusion, that since one died for all, and therefore all died, well, he died for us. That those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised. And again, it starts with, we should live our lives compelled. We should be compelled. Right? It's this inner thing. It's not like, oh, I'm forced to live for Jesus, but rather I am compelled to live for Jesus. And it actually compels everything that we should do in our lives. So we're trying to find these stories of people's lives who were just driven. Driven to serve the Lord. Now, like, and it's from this, in almost, sort of this, like, internal thing that the Holy Spirit has worked in their hearts, like they cannot help but serve the Lord now and frequently. That is because they had such an incredible encounter with the Lord ahead of time. That is what drives them now. So a great example would be someone like, like Corrie 10. Boom, right? she had this life, this horrible experience, but because of that and how she met the Lord through that, and how he met her in the prison camps. And the witness of her sister Betsy, now, she was driven, compelled to share her story of forgiveness. and so that's kind of the type of stories that we began looking for. What other stories could we locate that have now driven, have compelled someone to live for Christ.

Dr. Jessica Peck: That story by Corrie Ten Boom, the Hiding Place. I highly, highly recommend that book. It was deeply impactful and very transformative to my family. We read it together as a family. Really compelling story, Paul. I want to know that now, like, looking at where you've come from in, you know, the wild, wild west of Texas politics, and now having, you know, just really this very different pivot that the Lord has taken you on and this different pathway and seeing where your family is now. You said your wife was instrumental in helping you name the podcast. How do you think that changing the trajectory of your life changed the character and culture of your family?

Paul Hastings: Man, that is such a great question. So when we launched the podcast, we'd been m. Married for maybe about, four, three or four years at that point. and now we've been married for coming up on 11 years currently. And, you know, I can look back. There's one other thing that was really formative. Around the same period of time, we had launched the podcast, but it took our first couple seasons to really kind of figure out our way and what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. But around this time, even when we first launched, I was still a workaholic. Just constantly working all the time. Either I was working for, you know, political clients that I was trying to wrap up the work for them. but I was trying to get this podcast off the ground, but we still have to feed the family. And so, like, I was doing marketing work, so I was working really, really long hours. And around this time, it would have been 2019, our church came to us and said, hey, you know, we're launching this marriage class. we're just inviting a handful of couples to come and participate. Would you guys like to be part of that? I said, sure. You know, we'd love to be part of this marriage class. You know? Yeah, every marriage needs work.

Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, I feel like you need to put a sound effect that goes like. Like, dun, dun, dun. Right here.

Paul Hastings: Exactly, exactly. So we enter this marriage class. We've been married for four years at this point. And, you know, entering that class, if someone had asked me, like, hey, Paul, how's your marriage doing? I would have been like, great, fantastic, doing awesome, right? And my wife would have said the exact opposite. She would say, oh, man, we are really struggling. We barely talk with each other. And of course, I'd be like, we're doing great, man. I'm working all the Time. Every time I say my wife, I'm happy. She must be happy. You know, just, Anyway, so we're in this marriage class. Well, I was a workaholic at the same time, too. And about two weeks before the marriage class began. So again, we'd been asked to join. We agreed, but it hadn't begun yet. And two weeks before the class begins, I have a workplace accident. and I lost the use of my arms for about a year. So, like, right now, you can see I've got arms attached. For our viewers, you can see, yeah, my arms are still attached, but I lost the use of my arms just over the course of, like, about five days. Completely went to, for being a functional young man who's like 28 to being an invalid. And I could no longer drive. Could no longer. I had trouble opening doors. I had trouble holding up a cup of coffee. I had trouble feeding myself. I couldn't really turn on a faucet. I couldn't pump gas. I, already said I couldn't drive. That. That was a big problem. And we already had a. We had a baby that had just been born also, like, the month prior. So we had a brand newborn son, and I couldn't hold him. I couldn't help my wife with anything. I couldn't get the stroller out of the car. I could. I could barely even open the car door myself. I could barely buckle my. I mean, it was just like, just, extreme. And, you know, I was visiting surgeons and, doctors, and I was getting electrical shock therapy, and all this crazy stuff is going on. All this crazy stuff is going on. Well, we entered this marriage class, and marriage classes are typically arranged so that the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Right? Like, if you are barely participating, of course you're not going to get anything out of that. Right? But if you participate a lot, you're going to get a lot out of it as well. Well, suddenly I went from being a, you know, you know, 70 hours a week kind of working guy to suddenly I could no longer work. Like, I could not work on the computer anymore. and of course, we couldn't tell my clients either that I was incapable of working. Right? So, like, I took, like, several months off of work. and we're trying to get my arms to heal. And the only thing I could still use was my mouth, though. And so my wife and I ended up, for the next probably about six months, we would just have, like three or four hours every day, just Talking on the couch, we're eating into our life savings as it's ticking by. And I'm like, praying that God would heal my arms in time for me to get back to work before we, you know, get in the debt. But God used that moment. These, like this five month period we're going through this marriage class, and it felt as though God had just known that I wasn't going to put any time into this marriage class. So he took away the use of my arms so that, you know, just whacked me across the side of the head, took away the use of my arms so that I would pay attention. And for five months, all throughout the marriage class, we talked for about four or five hours every single day about our marriage. And it was one of the most transformative things that has happened in our married life. And so all around the same time as the podcast was happening, we saw the Lord using the podcast, the guests that we're bringing on the show, our own experience of having to rely on the Lord for provision and seeing him work through all this really hard heart work that was going on and these Bible readings that we were doing and discussions that we were having, God used all of that at once to change a mighty work in our lives today. So our marriage is radically different today than it was seven, years ago.

Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, Paul, again, I am awestrucking by your honesty, by your authenticity. And I think I can see why it strikes a nerve with people and why the podcast is called Compelled and why it feels so compelling in this moment.

Every single story on the Compelled podcast involves suffering

And really what strikes me, Paul, is that, you know, I think people are looking for instant gratification. They're looking for a quick fix. And in your story, I think even subconsciously, maybe people are expecting, oh, he worked in politics and he did, he did some, you know, seedy, stuff, and, and then he had a spiritual revelation and he decided to, you know, really like, change his life, dedicate his life to the Lord. And now blessings abound. You know, just, heaven opened up and just rained down prosperity and wealth and happiness on you. And you start with a season of suffering, Paul. That's what you started with. And talking about how that is a blessing. And I think that is one of the most compelling undertones in all of these stories on the Compelled podcast is that every single one of them in some way, involves suffering. And we know in this world we will have trouble, but we can take heart, we can be of good cheer because God has overcome the world. And we know that the victory is won. But we are tasked with running the race that is set before us. And I honestly, honestly, I have chills thinking about how you just described your suffering as such a blessing in that season. When we come back, we'll talk more about some of the other stories that are featured that feature just any kinds of ways that you can suffer. I think of my friend Nick Vujicic. Nick V. Talking about all of the ways he's learned that the human body can suffer. But there is hope on the other side. You heard Paul say it, but God I'll see you on the other side of this break. During the Christmas season of 1976, I sat down one night to watch television.

 : One man saw the battle coming. If we lose this cultural war, we're going to have a hedonistic, humanistic society.

 : And he chose to stand and fight. If you will not respect our beliefs, then you will respect our money and we'll spend it with somebody else. Reverend Wildmon. Reverend Wildmon. The Reverend Donald Wildmon.

 : Discover the story of the culture warrior Don Wildmon and how he went head to head with Hollywood playboy, the homosexual agenda and the Disney empire. Things were changing and many people just sort of acclimated to it. and Don Wildmon didn't. They thought, I think, that they could just crush him.

 : The movement Don started paved the way for Christians to boldly stand for truth and righteousness in a hostile culture.

Watch Culture Warrior today for free. Visit culturewarrior.movie website

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Come Jesus Come by CeCe Winans : Fall to my knees and pray Come Jesus, come Let today be the day Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna break and I'm holding on to hope that won't fade Come, Jesus, come We've been waiting so long for the day you return to heal every hurt and right every wrong Come, Jesus, come

Dr. Jessica Peck: welcome back, friends. That is Come Jesus, come by cece Winans and what a cry of our heart. I feel those lyrics in my bones. Listen to this. Sometimes I fall to my knees and pray Come Jesus, come Let today be the day Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna break But I'm holding on to a hope that won't fade. And when we look at the world today, we see stories that are absolutely devastating. We see stories that crush our hearts. We see stories of innocent people who are harmed, of hurting people who hurt other people. And I think we all collectively look at the world. And if you are a believer in Christ, you don't do long for that day when Jesus will come. But the good news is that God has given us a comforter counselor, the Holy Spirit, to be with us until that day when Jesus returns. And there is restoration, there is redemption. There is no life that is too far gone. There is no story that is without hope. There is no situation that is ruined beyond hope of repair, because that is the power of our God, and that is the power of the podcast we're bringing you today called Compel, that is developed and hosted by Paul Hastings. And I don't know about you, but even in just sitting here in this space and having this conversation with Paul, hearing his story, his remarkable honesty, I feel the Holy Spirit stirring in my heart and reminding me there is hope and redemption.

Paul, you steward some really tough stories on this Compelled podcast

And Paul, before the break, you were sharing about a season of song suffering that you had. Like, here, you're, you're. You're changing the trajectory of your life. You're. You want a podcast that's going to give people the hope of Christ. And the first thing that happens is you lose the use of your arms. But you might have lost the use of your arms, but you regained joy and hope in your marriage. And I want to know how has that situation, that, experience of suffering and these. So many experiences of suffering that you have stewarded. You steward some really tough stories on this compelled podcast. How has that changed your perspective on hope in the world today?

Paul Hastings: Yeah, great question. You know, one of the things that I think, at least my brain is hardwired this way I can learn a lesson through a story. Yes. I can read through, you know, Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, Galatians. But when I read about the life of Paul, oh, man, as you read through acts, it helps everything make so much more sense as you learn about, you know, yes. Paul is now shipwrecked. Now he's been stoned. You can really identify with these really difficult moments versus just saying, oh, I've just been through some really hard stuff. And so that's what we were trying to get at with the podcast is like finding these stories and letting people share their story of heartache and kind of really go deep into that. Like, this is how bad it was, but this is how good God was. So a great example of that. We had a story early on, with a lady. Her name was Hannah Overton. She was a regular mom. Five little kids, ages 8 years old down to a newborn, and she was falsely accused of murdering their foster child. And I remember actually when I was about 20 years old, I actually heard it on. About this case on the radio. I mean, it just sounded terrible, right? Because you Know, I'm just, I'm just listening to it on radio and there's these accusations of this mother. It was like it made national news actually. Well, as it turns out, these were false accusations though. But she was what, she was convicted, by a jury and sentenced to life in prison here in Texas. And she was a Christian at the time. I know just how awful. Now again, you know, as me, as an outside, I don't know any of the context, I just thought she was guilty. As long with most of the regular public out there because, well, that's what the jury said, she must be guilty. So she's sentenced to life in prison, she's locked away and she's told, you'll never see your kids ever again and again. The youngest was a, a seven month old baby up to an eight year old boy. and so she's locked up and for years she's crying out to the Lord, why, why, why would you allow this to happen? But then she has this epiphany. Lord, perhaps it's possible that you, man, if, if you are truly sovereign and you're truly in control of all things, then this is not an accident. And you didn't forget about me. Perhaps you have intentionally placed me in prison for a reason. And if there is a reason, perhaps that reason is because I'm supposed to share the gospel with all of these other inmates who would never listen to a volunteer who would come to prison, but they would listen to me, another inmate just like them. so she starts a Bible study. And in Texas at the time you could only meet in groups, of four people at a time. Otherwise it might be considered you were plotting a riot or something like that. So she just started a Bible study, her and three ladies. These three women end up becoming Christians. And each of them launched their own Bible studies. And then those start other Bible studies. And pretty soon, within the course of maybe about two or three years, there was this revival in the Texas prison system as thousands of women were meeting across these prisons, they were being transferred to other prison units and thousands of women came to faith in Christ. I'm going to fast forward to the story, but seven years later, the, the, the prosecuting attorney who had had those false allegations about Hannah and sent her to prison, that, that prosecuting attorney left office and a new attorney was elected, a new district attorney was elected. And the first thing that happens is when the district attorney is now in office, like, cleaning up the new space, she comes across the box of evidence which actually proved Hannah's innocence that the previous prosecuting attorney had been hiding for the last seven years. And it ended up proving everything that Hannah had actually said about her story. And Hannah ended up being released and exonerated. but again, it's an example of, like, you know, so now, now Hannah's on the outside, and she is ministering to women across prison today. but it's an amazing story of God taking something really, really bad. These false accusations of murder, being sentenced to life, taking something really bad and turning it into something really, really good. So that's one of the stories that we shared on our podcast, and very formative for me to listen to and hear that as I was going through my own struggle, too.

Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, as you're telling that story, I can't help but think of the biblical story of Joseph falsely accused, imprisoned, and then just miraculous circumstances orchestrated by God. And I think Paul, you know, people listening would say, yeah, but she still lost seven years of her life. That. That's still not fair. You know, how can you still be okay with this? And I think that's part of the compelling part of these testimonies, because what is the alternative? That, okay, yeah, it happened, you're bitter. There's no other reason for it, you're going to be angry and then seek justice for other people. Or, you know, you just see, like, there's real and. But people can understand that a little bit better. The public will accept that outrage, that indignancy, that. That just, you know, that sense and that craving for justice. As Christians, we just have a different of justice. We recognize that not all things are going to be settled on earth in ways that we understand that are tied up in neat little packages. Although this story did have a redemptive, ending, we still won't know the whole of it till we're in heaven. And that is really compelling, Paul.

Paul: How have you seen stories of prayer transforming lives on Compelled?

Another thing that I think is really compelling in your podcast and that I've heard you speak about before, is the power of prayer. And just the transformative, miraculous. This really underrated power of prayer, because we kind of use it as a social cliche, like, oh, I'll pray for you, or oh, we'll pray, but prayer is a mighty weapon. How have you seen stories of prayer transforming lives? And your. And the stories you featured on Compelled,

Paul Hastings: you know, great question also. you know, we just finished working on a story last Friday, so just a couple days ago, but by the time your listeners hear this story right now, I think it'll be out by then. but with this guy named Will Allen. And Will grew up at part of a Christian household, but really kind of had this sort of lackluster faith of his own, and ended up believing these lies and ended up, progressing with transgender surgery and living as a female. I'm using air quotes for your listener here. Living as a woman for 30 years. and for 30 years, lived as a woman. None of his friends that he met and worked with, none of them knew that he was actually a man. They had no clue. They just thought he was a woman. Lived that way for 30 years. Now, only in retrospect did he later find out that the entire time this was going on, he had family members of his who were praying for him for 30 years, praying that God would, you know, show himself to Will. Of course, Will was going by the name Maggie, but they were praying that God would show himself to Will and save Will. Because that's actually the most important prayer is that save someone's soul. That's more important than, like, oh, you turn away from transgender ideology. Eventually, though, Will, and I'm not going to give away the whole story, but Will eventually did end up finding and knowing who the Lord was and gave his life to Christ after he became a Christian. Then he also recognized, you know what? Christ is not exalted in me, remaking myself in my own image. I was actually made in God's image to begin with. And so Will is actually turned away from that, that lifestyle, has actually had surgeries to reverse what he could, and is now living as the man that God originally made him to be. but that's one of the core parts of Will's story is like, man. People were praying for me, though, and I had no clue about that. And they had no clue if God was going to answer that prayer. In fact, some people actually died and never saw God answer that prayer. But when they get to heaven, they'll see, oh, wow, the Lord did answer those prayers that we offered all those years for decades, to save Will soul.

Dr. Jessica Peck: And clearly that was part of his story, is now knowing those people were praying for him. And his story is feeling like he is. That he is able to have that answer to their prayer. And that is. That is really compelling. I can think of so many stories where prayer has just been so transformational, like, literally life changing. And I think Will. I think that Paul, there's people who are listening who think, I mean, Will was 30 years. You know, you said. And. And. And we think about the other woman. You said, what Was her name M. Who was in prison?

Paul Hastings: Hannah Overton.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Hannah Overton. Hannah in prison for seven years and waiting on the Lord to answer. What would you say to someone who feels like, okay, it just feels like it's been so long and it's just too late. Like, that my situation is too bad. I'm too far gone. I don't deserve hope. Like, there's just. There may be hope for someone else, but there's not hope for me. What has it been like for you to curate these stories of, really impossible hope? What would you say to people who are listening who may feel really hopeless? This.

Paul Hastings: Yeah, a great question there also. I have been personally so encouraged by finding all these stories. So many of them have seemed hopeless. Like, oh, wow, the Lord could never change that situation. The Lord could never restore that person's life. The Lord could never make a D in this person's sin. But he, time after time, he does. And we have been. I've been so personally encouraged by these stories. I'll give you one last example. We had this friend of ours that we recently brought on the show. and she had this terrible lifestyle upbringing, surrounded by drug addicts that just terrible things. She was part of a cult and all these things. But today the Lord has changed all of that. She was wrote, she raised in a meth house during part of her life. But now the Lord has changed all that. She's married, she's got two little kids, three little kids. They go to our church, actually. And if you met her today, you would have no idea about the past that she used to have, have. And did she ever think that was be possible at the time? No. But the Lord changed all of those things. And those are just the types of examples that we see that show us that, yeah, God can change anybody, even any of your listeners with a terrible circumstance. God can change it all.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, tell us one more time how to find and listen to the podcast.

Paul Hastings: You could go to compelled podcast.com. we're also on AFR every Sunday afternoon from 2 to 3pm that's our slot, Central time. but otherwise compelled podcast.com or in all the podcast apps like Spotify, Apple, YouTube, anywhere you look.

Dr. Jessica Peck: And one more time about the book. And I know I previewed that donation that's going to distribute 10,000 free copies. But tell us about that once more.

Paul Hastings: Sure. So, we had a couple donors who came forward a couple months ago and they said, we love your book so much. The Compelled Books. It's a collection of Seven stories from our podcast retold in a first, first person style. It's very engaging. we were actually just informed that we were nominated as a finalist for the Evangelical Christian Press Association Awards, for the biography category. so, some donors stepped forward and so we're going to be giving away 10,000 copies in Texas prisons this summer. It's just going to the female units, but of course, if there's another listener tuning in right now, they want to help contribute to the million. It's great. You know where to find us. but we're very excited about that. Just an opportunity to give these books to people who need to hear your hope.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Paul, thank you so much for joining us today, for sharing with us your compelling testimony and how God has, has really led you to have this ministry through the podcast Compelled.

For listeners, what is the story you're living right now?

And for our listeners, the question for you is what is the story you're living right now? Are you living in the redemptive arc of the story of the hope that God has given you? Do you believe that redemption is possible for you? And what would it mean to invite God into the hardest parts of your story? I encourage you to be encouraged by the stories of others. And if you have your own story to tell, maybe you feel God's heart, God stirring in your heart to share your own testimony. If you're praying about that, I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you peace and give you a hope that endures. Thanks so much for joining us. I'll see you right here next time.

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Jeff Chamblee: opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Podcast Host and Producer Paul Hastings joins Jessica to talk about the testimonies of God's faithfulness featured on the COMPELLED podcast. Listen each Sunday afternoon at 2PM Central Time on AFR.

https://compelledpodcast.com/