Paws & Tales

Speaker 1

What a joy it is to meet creative people. Dave. Carl is one of those people, and I mean this. Dave, as I look you in the eye today, we have you to thank for creating the scripts for our Paws and Tales ministry. Over the years, you've written the stories and you put them together in such a beautiful way with all the characters in it that people I know sit on the edge of their seat listening to them from one day to the next.

So catch us up for those that may not know what Paws and Tales refers to and then give us a little bit of an insight that you have regarding this ministry. I'd be thrilled to. Paws and Tales was born from your storytelling as a young adult. I'm sitting listening to your sermons and your storytelling, and I think of Paws and Tales as an extension of your storytelling. This is a fictional world, and they're all talking animals, and we are using this story to sneak in biblical truths. The key is that God is just crazy in love with his children. You can't hear that too much, and we try to say it in a thousand different ways as we created Paws and Tales that has been around for a long, long time.

We have four new episodes this last year, and we have new projects in the works. We receive letters, and I have one in front of me now I'd like to read to you, and this just gives me pause. So from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all for your ministry. I have five children, and we've been listening to your podcast for years. Since my oldest, almost 12, was little. We love it. We waited for the new episodes with great anticipation. My fifth was born last year. She will be one at the end of this month. She had a birth diagnosis of Down syndrome. You can imagine all of our amazement when we listened to the new episode yesterday. I was driving with them all, and as the story was building, I knew something was going to be different with the baby. I did not expect it to be exactly what our family has experienced.

We were all overcome with emotion. It was good and healing in a way that I can't quite explain. I know it's all God. As we listened to the rest of the story, we were just in awe that it parallels ours so perfectly. Everything that was said, the way the church responded, all of it. We were so blessed to have had this loving welcome for our baby girl, who was also very healthy and normal in all of the ways any other baby would be. We felt like someone knew us personally and made this episode just for us. I told the kids that if they ever doubt God is real, I want them to remember this day. Because God told the creators of Paws and Tales to make an episode just for them. That is how we feel. And we praise God for how he has worked through you all. Please pass this on to all who had a hand in making these new episodes happen; to God be the glory. Also, is there an address my kids could write to? I think they'd like to say something in their own words. Thank you so much. A family from North Dakota.

When you first read that to me, Dave, some time ago, my eyes filled with tears as I thought about the remarkable fact that you created that story knowing nothing of this family. And now they are hearing it, and it feels like it was written, as they put it, just for them. That's the way God's word is. It's not true for just generality or the open public. It's truth for you. And believe me, it's truth for me. Always relevant, always real, always on target. Thank you for your wonderful support of our ministry. As you give financially, we're able to continue touching lives that reach people who will realize the truth is just for them.

Welcome to the world of Paws and Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. Stay on the trails and stick with me. There's adventures to be had there, too. Come on, CJ. Jump. It's too far. It wasn't too far for me. Insight for Living is proud to present Paws and Tales. Howdy and welcome to Wildwood. Or more specifically, the clubhouse on Fortress Rock. And Marsha's got something on her mind.

And they looked all tired and hungry. I felt so sorry for them. Lots of new families moving in lately. They heard about all the new jobs. They don't know that most of these jobs haven't even started yet. CJ's right. I've seen some poor families, too. Yeah, well, someone ought to do something about it. We could collect food from the diner and the hotel, too. They both have leftover stuff that just ends up being thrown away. After they serve dinner, they have lots of leftovers. This is great. We could store the stuff that wouldn't spoil here. The fortress that feeds folks who need it could come here and get their food.

Oh, wow. This is great. Yeah, that would be great. When should we start? What? Collecting food? Yeah, what we were just talking about. You mean actually do it? Well, sure. We just made a plan. I thought we were just talking. You want to really do it? Collect food? I don't want to. What? Yeah. I don't know, Marcia. You don't know about what? I think we need to do this. Marcia, we're just a bunch of kids. How are we going to feed everyone who needs food? If we could do it, how long do we do it? This is a big thing here, Marcia.

I know it's a big thing. That's why we need to do it. It's too big, Marcia. We're just kids. We're just kids. Hi, Mrs. Collins. Well, this is a surprise. Come in, Marcia. What can I do for you? Nana Cindy told me Papa Chuck is here. Indeed he is. You just follow me. Well, Mrs. Collins took Marsha down several hallways and a couple of stairwells before they could hear the familiar sounds of Papa Chuck's hammer at work. Here he is. Papa Chuck. I have a helper for you. Marcia, what are you doing? Call if you need anything. Thanks, Mrs. Collins.

Well, what can I do for you? Okay. There are hungry families in Wildwood. But CJ and Stacy say we're just a bunch of kids and we can't do anything about it. Wow. What? Well, I just thought you... I don't know, needed your wagon fixed again or something. To feed the hungry families of Wildwood. Do you think we should? I think you should. What do you have in mind? Me? I thought you would do something. I thought CJ and Stacy would do something. But this feeling, this burden. It came to you. Maybe you should do it. I don't think so. I'm just a young moose. This is something for someone who can do it.

Wait a minute. What? Gideon. Gideon? You know the story of Gideon? The fleece thingy? Yes, the fleece thingy. I knocked over a crate a couple of days ago and found another tube about Gideon. Haven't heard it myself, but you sound like you are a Gideon. Here. Take it to the library and give it a try. Let's see what Mr. Collins has to say about Gideon. Well, Marcia made her way to the library of the late Mr. Collins with the tube. The kids have been finding these for some time, but only recently have they realized that these are the recordings of Mr. Collins as he traveled around the world.

She opened the large lid of the wooden box and placed the tube in its place. Okay. Oh, yeah. Here we go. September 3rd. The heat today is stifling. I'm in Ophrah, near the territory of the Midianites from the Old Testament Book of Judges. I'm standing next to the ruins of an ancient wine press. This is a perfect place for smashing grapes into wine, but a terrible place for the young Israelite men to try to thresh wheat. Men like Gideon. Go. Gideon. Gideon. Over here, Father. Well, how are you, son? It's going well. It's going slowly. This place was built for wine, not wheat. Yes, it was. But it's the best we can do. The Midianites have ruined crops from here to Gaza. If they find this place, they'll destroy what little we make here as well. They've stolen our sheep and cattle. They've burned our homes so that we live in caves like animals. They're a blight upon the land, Gideon. Like the locusts were in Old Egypt. And like those locusts, God is using the Midianites to punish us.

Then why don't we return to Him? We have this altar of Baal and this Asherah pole in our own yard. As long as these two idols are there, God will continue to punish us. My son, it's not that easy. Those idols are there for our protection. Without them, the Midianites would kill us as we sleep. So we depend on the protection of idols and accept the anger of God. You. You are young. It is complicated. The idols will remain until God delivers us. I am young and I mean no disrespect, Father. But God will not deliver us until we repent and someone gets rid of those idols. Forget about your work. You must be finished before morning. And, son, take care coming home. Yes, Father.

While Gideon was beating the grain out of the wheat stalks, he saw a man sitting under an oak tree. That day, Gideon met the angel of the Lord. The Lord is with you, valiant warrior. You mistake me for someone else. And if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? Where are the miracles our fathers told us about? The Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hands of Midian. That is why the Lord is sending you, sir. Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Me? But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I'm the youngest in my family. I will be with you. And you will strike down all the Midianites together. But Lord. Do not fear. Have I not sent you? Yes, my Lord.

Gideon immediately prepared an offering of broth and goat's meat and unleavened bread and presented it to the angel at the oak tree. The angel touched the offering with the tip of his staff. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. Gideon fell with his face to the ground. Sovereign Lord, I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face. Do not be afraid. You will not die. So Gideon arose and built an altar to the Lord at that place and called it the Lord is Peace. But that miracle was only the beginning of Gideon's adventures.

Welcome, everyone, to my podcast, Ned Knows. My guest today is my good friend, Stacy. So, tell me, Stace, what do you think? Paws and Tails. This is so amazing. Well, I love it because it's funny and every episode has an original song. Yes, Ned knows. Did you know that every episode is read over by theologians to make sure that everything in it is biblical as well as fun? I... Well, that's all the time we have here for Ned Knows. So long, everybody.

Now, the Lord came to Gideon again later that night with a special assignment. Gideon listened and then gathered together ten of his servants. We are here, Master Gideon. Thank you, Pyrrha. Today the Lord spoke to me. What did he say, Master? He knows how we suffer. And he has told me that we will defeat the army of Midian. We? Us, the scared farmers. We can't even defend our crops. How are we going to defeat an army? What do you want us to do, Eleazar? Go bring me a bull from my father's herd. The one that's seven years old. We will tear down my father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. We will all be killed for this. Then we will build an altar to the Lord God on top of this hill. Yes, we will. We will chop up the Asherah pole and use its wood to sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering to the Lord God. This should have been done years ago.

But, Master, we cannot do this before we finish them. Into the city will kill us. That's why we must do it now, before morning. I'm afraid, too. But should we fear a stone idol in a wooden pole more than we trust the God of our fathers? Master, please. I am with you. It has been a long time since we, the chosen people, have followed God as we should. Thank you, Purah. Come, my friends. We have much to do. There he is. Huh? I'm coming. So Gideon and his servants did as the Lord told him. They worked all night and made the sacrifice in the early hours before dawn.

In the morning, when the men of the town got up, there was Baal's altar demolished, with the Asherah pole cut down and burned. What is this? Who has desecrated the altar of Baal? I know who it was. He will be put to death. Who was it? I was coming home from the field late last night, I saw Gideon, son of Joash, and his servants gather around the altar. Gideon. It was Gideon. Where can we find him? Well, you can ask his father. Joash. Joash, what has happened here? Your son did it. My son Gideon destroyed it. He has broken down Baal's altar and used the Asherah pole for firewood. And he has sacrificed a bull on a new altar. Oh, Gideon. Where is he? Joash, he must answer for this. He must be put to death.

Are you here to defend Baal? Bring out your son. Joash. We are the children of Israel, the chosen ones. What Gideon did, he did to the Lord God. If Baal really is a God, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar. Joash, Gideon is right. I have learned from my son. Gideon must die. He will not die. Whoever defends Baal will be killed by morning. So be it. Joash, let Baal contend with Gideon. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning his people to him. Hear me, my people. The enemies of our Lord are camped on our land. We must drive them off and destroy them.

We will destroy them. We will be slaughtered. We have no army. The Lord God will be our army. He will clothe us in his strength. We will move forward in his name and chase these heathens from our land, the land our God has given us. Then send messengers throughout the land to Manasseh and Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. Tell them the hour of deliverance is at hand at the Naas in two days. At the spring of Herod. That night, like so many godly leaders before and since, Gideon sought counsel and comfort from the Lord God of my fathers. I know you want me to lead these people. I believe you will save Israel by my hand, as you have promised. But I am weak and I need your assurance.

Lord, grant my request. I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. And if in the morning there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said. So that's what he did. And the next morning, he raced to the threshing room. The ground is dry, but the fleece, it's wet, filled with dew. A bowl. I need a bowl. A bowl full of water. Oh, Lord God, you give and give generously. Oh, but I beg you, do not be angry with me. But allow me one more test with the fleece this night. Make the fleece dry and the ground covered with dew and forgive my lack of faith. Gideon carefully replaced the fleece and then waited.

The next morning, he again raced to the threshing room. The ground is wet and the fleece as dry as a desert. Oh, God. Oh, you. You are God. And I know now that you will lead us to victory. Do you know what's the biggest problem? I guess I don't what to wear. I get so excited about going to school that I don't plan stuff out very well. I wore my shirt on backwards last week, don't you know? Here is one of our newly made Paws and Tails T-shirts. It has the Paws and Tails logo on the front so you'll never be confused and wear it backwards. It would be so great if people could just go on to pawsandtails.org and order one, Goose. I think you're a genius. Pretty exciting, isn't it?

Wait. How long have you been there? How do you... How do you make it stop? Dah. Just lift the needle. I've been here for a while. Why? Why didn't Gideon trust God? After the fleece was wet? After the angel appeared? I mean, really? Well, that's a good question. It certainly is clear that he needed a lot of encouragement. He had a big job ahead of him. Yeah, but it takes three miracles. Oh, how embarrassing. You know, I've never thought about it quite like that. I think that this part of the story is not so much about Gideon as it is about God. Nothing in that story tells us that God is upset with Gideon for being afraid. God was patient, and God gave him the encouragement that he needed. And because of all that encouragement, Gideon was changing and growing. But there's even bigger miracles yet to come.

Listen. Early in the morning, Gideon and all his men camped at the spring of Herod. The camp of Midian was north of them, in the valley near the hill of Moreh. 32,000 men came ready for battle. And the Lord again spoke to Gideon. Hear the word of the Lord. If you are frightened by what is to come, then you may return to your homes and families. There's no shame in this. It is the will of the Lord. Master Gideon, we need every one of these men. All who are afraid. Most of us are afraid we may lose half our army. 22,000 men left, while 10,000 remained. But the Lord spoke again to Gideon. It will be done, O Lord.

So Gideon took the men down to the water. He gathered his servants together and told them, the Lord has told me that he will choose our army. What is his will, Gideon? Tell the men to drink from the spring. Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down and scoop it up