Welcome to the Crazy Love Podcast. For a lot of us, each day looks exactly the same.

We wake up, we get dressed, we go to work, we go home, we sleep, and then it just starts

all over again. And when we live like that, it gets hard to see outside of our little

bubble, and it's quite easy to miss what God is doing everywhere else in the world.

And this week's episode, Francis Chan, takes us to 1 Timothy 3, and shows us that there

is a spiritual reality happening right now. And if we pay attention, we'll find our encouragement

and bravery in the cross of Christ. We pray this episode will help wake you from your slumber

and move you to keep Christ at the center.

Paul says to Timothy, and I think it's appropriate after watching that video in chapter 3, verse

1, he says, but understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty.

When Paul was talking about the last times, you know, the end times here, he's talking

about the time that we live in, and also the time that he lived in, any time after the

period of Christ. And when you read actually see it, they talk about how they were in the

end times, and how he says, look, you've seen my life, he tells this young pastor, he goes,

you saw how I was torqued, you saw how I was beat up for the sake of Jesus Christ. And

we got to remember that that goes on around the world, and we got to understand that a lot

of persecution happens here in America, and a lot of us don't get persecuted because

we don't speak up. But you guys know, once you start speaking up, that's when the persecution

comes. I mean, the truth is, is people in India don't have to be persecuted. If they

would just shut up about Jesus Christ and not stand up for what they believe, they can

dodge the persecution as well. But Paul explains, no, in the end time, it's going to be difficult.

He just told Timothy, okay, you're a young pastor, you're just getting going here, he goes,

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