The American Soul

Choose A Life That Doesn’t Practice Sin

• Jesse • Season 5 • Episode 151

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Start here if you’ve ever wondered what to do with a “good day.” We open with gratitude and a simple challenge learned in a freezing boot camp line: when you’re steady, scan for the person struggling more and lift them up. That mindset reframes pain, builds courage, and quietly rewires how communities heal. From there we root relationships in scripture, not trends, exploring Titus on temperate elders, reverent mentors, and homes shaped by love, self-control, and sound speech.

We then walk through 1 John to connect belief, love, and obedience. The message lands with weight: God’s children don’t make a practice of sin. Falling is human; forming a habit is deadly. Assurance isn’t vague comfort—it’s knowing the Son and keeping His commands. We talk about prayer that aims at God’s will, why answers often arrive in forms that stretch us, and how intercession restores rather than excuses. The call is to guard our hearts from idols and cling to Christ with a steady, repentant loyalty.

Midway, we honor Specialist Michael R. Blanchfield, who threw himself on a grenade to save others—a story that cuts through noise and clarifies what real love costs. We also read Civil War Thanksgiving proclamations from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, reflecting on gratitude, national sin, and the sobering work of repentance. The thread tying it all together is service: serve God first, serve your family with integrity, and serve neighbors by carrying their load when you can. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review to help others find the show. Your support keeps these stories and scriptures in the ears that need them most.

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SPEAKER_00:

Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well, wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. Sure to appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wiser. For those of y'all who continue to share the podcast with others and tell others about it, thank you. Y'all help immensely. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you. Very, very grateful for your prayers, need them and want them. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace and your forgiveness of sins through the merit of your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for those who have gone before us and left us a legacy, an example to follow. By themselves following the example of your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your word to read. For those of us who have it, Father, thank you for food to eat, water to drink, clothes to wear, electricity, heat, AC. Forgive us our lack of gratitude. Forgive us when we chase after the things of this world, Father. Lust and greed. For whatever it is, covetousness. Help us to truly repent. To turn back to you and your son Jesus Christ. Both as individuals and as a nation. Here in America and around the world, wherever people are listening. Be with the brokenhearted father. Please draw them close to you. Help us to care for them, to care for the widow and the orphan, the poor and the needy. Be with our veterans. Be with our families. Help us to serve those who have served and given so much for us. Help us to get our priorities in the right order, Father. To make sure that our priorities are your priorities. To love you with all that we are, to love our neighbors as ourselves. And thank you for those listening to the podcast, Father. Be with them wherever they are, around the world, across the nation, here in America. Bless their families, bless their marriages, give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith. And God, my words here, please. In your son's name we pray. Amen. Alright, folks, how'd you spend the last 24 hours? Are you pleased with it? And if you are, so let's we talk often about those of us who are not really that pleased with the last 24 hours, then we we have a lot of work to do, those of us that are not pleased. But let's say that you are pleased and you feel like you're firing on all cylinders and you're you're pretty much doing as much as humanly possible, right? We're always going to fail a little bit to one degree or another. Uh, but you're you're doing a decent job of having your priorities be God's priorities. What do you do? You you look around, folks, and you find somebody that's struggling more than you and you help them. That was one of the best pieces of advice I ever got early on in the Marine Corps. It was before I was even a Marine. It was in boot camp, which on the officer side, you don't actually get to be a Marine until you make it through boot camp. Right. And the very, very second day I was there, there was an older candidate, somebody that had already been at boot camp for quite a while. And we were getting processed through medical. And I remember because it was so cold, it was unusually cold at that time of year. And we were standing outside for like just hours in shorts and t-shirts. It was just, it felt like it was absolutely freezing. And this older candidate, officer candidate, probably saw me struggling. He said, Hey, let me tell you something. He said, look around and find somebody that's struggling worse than you are. Because he's he said, I guarantee you there's somebody, probably quite a few, and help them focus on them. And he said, it will make your suffering not so overwhelming to you. And he wasn't saying that to belittle the fact that I was miserable or that we were going to be miserable at times. But he was saying if you will look around and find somebody that's struggling more than you and help them, it just takes the focus off yourself and it gives you some encouragement and you're able to encourage somebody else. And I'm doing a horrible job of explaining it, folks, but I tell you what, that's one of the best pieces of advice I ever got in the Marine Corps. And I would absolutely argue that it applies to being a Christian. Marriage verse for today. But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith and love and perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible. In all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame having nothing bad to say about us. Again and again, folks, if you're getting marriage advice, doesn't matter from where, and it doesn't go back to scripture, it's bad. Doesn't mean it has to explicitly come straight out of the Bible verbatim. There's a lot of ways to say the same thing. But if at the end of the day, if that marriage advice is not soundly grounded in God's word, it's bad advice. And I don't, it doesn't matter where it's coming from or who it's coming from. Church, pastor, famous, marriage counselor. There is nothing that supersedes God's commands for us as a husband or a wife. Bible verses today. If I can. Yeah, there we go. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. Or the Messiah, right? I believe that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Messiah. I've become a child of God. You can have that as well, folks. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children too. We know we love God's children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And Jesus Christ was revealed as God's Son by His baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross. Not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit who is truth confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don't believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don't believe what God has testified about his son. And this is what God has testified. And this life is in his son. Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have God's Son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for. If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death. We know that God's children do not make a practice of sinning, for God's Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God, and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts. What if the Lord had not been on our side? Let all Israel repeat. What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. The waters would have engulfed us, a torrent would have overwhelmed us. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives. Praise the Lord who did not let their teeth tear us apart. We escaped like a bird from the hunter's trap. The trap is broken, and we are free. Our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Proverbs twenty nine verses five through eight. To flatter friends is to lay a trap for their feet. Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape shouting for joy. The godly care about the rights of the poor, the wicked don't care at all. Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but the wise will calm anger. As always, there's a lot here. Couple things. There is only one true God, the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And encouraging others in coexistence or diversity or whatever, however you want to phrase it, that's not being loving and kind. Claiming that there are multiple ways to God and heaven and eternity, that's not being kind at all. Like that's the opposite. You're setting their souls up for damnation. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts. Man, how often do I fail at that? How often do I put something in my heart that I want more than God? Do I focus on something more than I'm focused on God? I think 18 is huge, folks, verse 18. We know that God's children do not make a practice of sinning, for God holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. I had a really good friend of mine, a man that was, I think, a much better man than I, although maybe that's damning him with faint praise. Years and years ago make that comment about the difference, for example, between people who embraced the LGBTQ lifestyle and somebody that committed adultery once. Don't get caught up in the sin. You could pick different sins. Say somebody that made a habit that their career was stealing, that they were a career thief versus someone who lusted after a woman once. The point is, are we making a habit of sin? Are we practicing it? Is it part of our life as a habit? Or is it something that we strive against? You're not going to be perfect, folks, but the point is to look to Christ, to focus on Christ, to cling to Him, and to strive to follow God's commands, to strive to do His will. And again, I'm not a theologian, pastor, or priest, but that's that's pretty consistently what reading the Bible day after day seems to get across to me. And then verse 14 and 15, and we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. What we ask for, we may get, first off, it may not be exactly the way we ask for it, right? We ask for patience. We may get a lot of rough trials in order to build that patience, right? We ask for a stronger faith. We may get a lot of rough trials that strengthen our faith. So that's the first thing. What we get may not look exactly the way that we want it to. But the other thing is, are we asking with God's will in mind? You know, Christ asked God to take that cup away. But then at the end, what did he say? He said, But not my will, but thy will be done. Are we asking with the intention of God's will above our own? That's a pretty big part of the equation, I think, folks. Medal of Honor for today. Michael Reinert or Reinert Blanchfield, Specialist, Fourth Class, Vietnam War, Alpha Company, 4th Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, U.S. Army, July 3rd, 1969, Benden Province, Republic of Vietnam. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Specialist Fourth Class Blanchfield distinguished himself while serving as a rifleman in Alpha Company on a combat patrol. The patrol surrounded a group of houses to search for suspects. During the search of one of the huts, a man suddenly ran out toward a nearby tree line. Specialist Four Blanchfield, who was on guard outside the hut, saw the man, shouted for him to halt, and began firing at him as the man ignored the warning and continued to run. The suspect suddenly threw a grenade toward the hut and its occupants. Although the exploding grenade severely wounded Specialist Four Blanchfield and several others, he regained his feet to continue the pursuit of the enemy. The fleeing enemy threw a second grenade which landed near Specialist Four Blanchfield and several members of his patrol. Instantly recognizing the danger, he shouted a warning to his comrades, and unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his safety, he threw himself on the grenade, absorbing the full and fatal impact of the explosion. By his gallant action and self-sacrifice, he was able to save the lives and prevent injury to four members of the patrol and several Vietnamese civilians in the immediate area. Specialist Ford Blanchfield's extraordinary courage and gallantry at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions in the military service and reflect a great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army. Born January 4, 1950, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, died July 3, 1969, Republican Vietnam. Buried All Saints Cemetery, MH, 27 Tech 22, Tech 4, Tech 8, Desplains, Illinois. Michael Reinert Blanchfield. Man, we we so need to remember these statistics, these men, these names more than athletes, actors, actresses, singers, songwriters. And their statistics. Blanchfield jumped on a grenade to save members of his patrol. That's a big deal, folks. No. Thanksgiving Day, eighteen sixty-two. For victory in battle by Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America proclamation, it has pleased Almighty God to vouchsafe signal victories to the land and naval forces engaged in suppressing an internal rebellion and at the same time to avert from our country the dangers of foreign intervention and invasion. It is therefore recommended to the people of the United States that at their next weekly assemblages in their accustomed places of worship, public worship, which shall occur after notice of this proclamation shall be have been received. They especially acknowledge and render thanks to our Heavenly Father for these inestimable blessings, that they then in there implore spiritual consolation in behalf of all who have been brought into affliction by the casualties and calamities of sedition and civil war, and that they reverently invoke the divine guidance for our national councils to the end that they may speedily result in the restoration of peace, harmony, and unity throughout our borders, and hasten the establishment of fraternal relations among all the countries of the earth. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and cause the seal of the United States to be affixed, done in the city of Washington this tenth day of April, the year of our Lord 1862, and of the independence of the United States, the 86th, Abraham Lincoln. So one of the things I try and do each year, at least once, sometimes it doesn't happen, is also read a couple of these Thanksgiving proclamations from the Civil War from the Confederate States. Just kind of a piece of history, folks, that we need to not forget. And it gives you a little bit of insight into the attitude of both sides. Thanksgiving Day, 1862, for victory in battle by Jefferson Davis to the people of the Confederate States. Once more upon the plains of Manassus have our armies been blessed by the Lord of hosts with a triumph over our enemies. It is my privilege to invite you once more to his footstool. Not now in the garb of fasting and sorrow, but with joy and gladness. To render thanks for the great mercies received at his hand. A few months since our enemies poured forth their invading legions upon our soil. They laid waste to our fields, polluted our altars, and violated the sanctity of our homes. Around our capital they gathered their forces, and with boastful threats claimed it as already their prize. The brave troops which rallied to its defense have extinguished these vain hopes, and under the guidance of the same almighty hand have scattered our enemies and driven them back in dismay. Uniting these defeated forces and the various armies which have been ravaging our coasts with the army of invasion in Northern Virginia, our enemies have renewed their attempt to subjugate us at the very place where their first effort was defeated. And the vengeance of retributive justice has overtaken the entire host in a second and complete overthrow. To this signal success accorded to our arms in the East has been graciously added another equally brilliant in the West. On the very day on which our forces were led to victory in the plains in Manassas in Virginia, the same almighty arm assisted us to overcome our enemies at Richmond in Kentucky. Thus at one and the same time have two great hostile armies been stricken down, and the wicked designs of their armies been set at naught. In such circumstances it is meet and right that as a people we should bow down in adoring thankfulness to that gracious God who has been our bulwark and defense, and to offer unto him the tribute of thanksgiving and praise. In his hand is the issue of all events, and to him should we in an especial manner ascribe the honor of this great deliverance. Now therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States, do issue this my proclamation, setting apart Thursday, the eighteenth day of September, as a day of prayer and thanksgiving to Almighty God for the great mercies vouchsafed to our people, and more especially for the triumph of our arms at Richmond and Manassas. And I do hereby invite the people of the Confederate States to meet on that day at their respective places of public worship, and to unite in rendering thanks and praise to God for these great mercies, and to implore Him to conduct our country safely through the perils which surround us, to the final attainment of the blessings of peace and security given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States at Richmond this fourth day of September in the year of our Lord 1862. Jefferson Davis. That one always reminds me, folks, of the fact that the South had an Achilles heel, and that was slavery. And there was no way that God was going to let that continue. It also reminds me of Lincoln's comments that as toward farther on in the Civil War, that uh as horrible as it was, it may well be God's plan that we should continue the Civil War until every penny taken from the backs of slaves and every drop of blood and sweat was paid back. And it's it's hard not to look today at the situation in our nation, particularly look at abortion, and not think what a horrible, horrible uh bill we have coming due, folks. And live or die, we belong to Christ. And thank God for that. If you are looking for a family-friendly middle grade read, I would humbly recommend Countryside. It's kind of like Narnia, The Hobbit, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, that kind of stuff. If you get a chance and check it out and you like it, if you would leave a review somewhere, I would greatly appreciate that. It does help immensely. And if you're getting something out of the podcast, which I hope you are, if you feel like you have three or four or five dollars a month that you can spare, there's a uh support the podcast slash donation page where you can set up that monthly contribution on the Buzz Sprout website, and I would greatly appreciate that. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the stay, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all. God bless your marriages if you're married. God bless your families. God bless America, God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world. Listen, folks. We'll talk to y'all again real soon. Looking forward to it.