Unforeseen Heroes And More – Good News Friday – With the chaos going on in the world and in our Country right now due to coronavirus, it’s hard to believe there is good news, but there is. Join us today to hear some of that good news!

Air Date: 03/27/2020

On-air Personalities: David Barton, Rick Green, and Tim Barton

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Transcription note:  As a courtesy for our listeners’ enjoyment, we are providing a transcription of this podcast. Transcription will be released shortly. However, as this is transcribed from a live talk show, words and sentence structure were not altered to fit grammatical, written norms in order to preserve the integrity of the actual dialogue between the speakers. Additionally, names may be misspelled or we might use an asterisk to indicate a missing word because of the difficulty in understanding the speaker at times. We apologize in advance.

 

Rick:

You find your way to the intersection of faith and the culture. It’s WallBuilders live, we’re talking about the hottest topics of the day and policy and faith and culture. And we’re always looking at it from a biblical, historical and constitutional perspective. And boy, this a great time to be doing that. In fact, it’s Good News Friday here at WallBuilders and your initial response may be good news. Wait a minute, I thought we’re in the middle of a crisis. Well, yeah, it’s a crisis. But there’s still a lot of good news out there.

And David Barton, America’s premier historian is going to share some with us. Tim Barton, national speaker and pastor, is going to share some with us. My name is Rick Green. I’m a former Texas legislator and I’m just here to ask the questions, but might have some good news to add as well. David, Tim, I’m looking forward to today. I know a lot of folks out there could use some good news right now. It’s tough times.

A lot of people looking at some very, you know, financial hardship times, physical difficulties, a lot of things that maybe hasn’t hit our nation in this big of a way to so many people at one time in a very long time, about 100 years, maybe it’s the last time it was that bad. But there’s still a lot of good things happening right now as well and it’s important for us to see those and share those with folks.

David:

Yeah, it is important to say that the good things that are happening regardless of what’s going on around us. We’re told in the scriptures in Romans 12, that you overcome the evil with the good. And so, if you get focused only on the bad stuff, you’d become so conspiratorial, so hard to live with. You don’t even like limit yourself. So, you got to have some good news along the way.

Tim:

Another verse from Romans, as you’re pointing out verses from Romans, reminded in Romans chapter 12, do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. The pattern of the world right now is panic and chaos and drama and frustration and anxiety. And that’s not what we’re supposed to be walking in. We’re part of how we are able to not be conformed to the world and we are transforming the way we think, is to think biblical thoughts. Right? Paul wrote in Philippians, whatever is true and noble and excellent praiseworthy. And in Philippians 4, it you can read the whole thing, actually back up to verse 6. Because it talks about that when you go to God in prayer and you turn things over to God, then you think about what’s true, this is what we’re supposed to be thinking about. Is what is true, what is positive, what is excellent and praiseworthy, of good report, what has virtue in it.

And so that’s part of what we want to do in Good News Friday is not ignore the reality around us, but recognize that the problems, the frustration, the drama that we’re seeing does not have to be the only thing that we see, because there is a lot of good happening in spite of the drama and chaos and COVID-19.

David:

One of the things I would point to is just national polling right now on a level that I’ve not seen. I would say that this environment right now, the media is extremely hostile toward President Trump. There’s lots of negative stories about how he’s failed to do this, he hasn’t done this, he was too slow to respond to this, he was, whatever. Amidst all of that, just from last week to this week, the numbers, the public approval numbers for the way he’s handling this, is increased by 12 points. So, it’s now up to 55%. And I don’t recall anything he’s gotten 55% in a long time. But that’s a huge jump in just one week.

Tim:

Yeah, outside of the economy, you know, he was doing really well, when most people said no, we like the current economic position, which certainly now most people would not feel the same way about the economy. And you know, even for us, not that we agree necessarily with everything that has been done or with all the words that were chosen. Nonetheless, even still looking at the way that most media coverage has been, it is pretty remarkable that in spite of the scathing reviews and attacks that have been going on, that most American people are looking, going, no, you know, we recognize he really is doing more beneficial things than not. And certainly, I mean, we’re finding out more things this week that are going on. We’ll find out more things next week on what the administration is doing, what’s happening in the house in the Senate with all of that frustration, with all of that drama, with all of that disagreement. Nonetheless, we are seeing some positive things happen from President Trump. And as dad, you mentioning even the polling numbers, people are recognizing that not everything we hear on the news is always an accurate reflection of what reality is.

Rick:

That’s encouraging to me that the, you know, the judgment of the people is that good. Right? Because I was thinking, man, there is such a bombardment right now of all negativity towards the President that probably most people are thinking that he’s totally bungled this thing, which isn’t true at all. Even when I googled, I was looking for a list, because I’d heard just a few of the positive things in a list for Mark Levin last week when I was listening to one of his podcasts.

And so, I was googling, I was trying to find that a list, like that and I’m not kidding you guys. I had to go through and I think, I googled something like, you know, action items, positive items Trump has taken to deal with the virus. I’m not kidding you. I went through three full pages of Google’s list that came up. All negative, not one positive headline. It was all about how he had messed everything up, he had made it worse and all that. And I couldn’t believe it. Because in reality, look at all this stuff he did. Stopping the travel from China when everybody else said that he shouldn’t be doing that. And the Democrats were still in the middle of impeaching him at the time. And that’s all the experts have now told us that was the biggest factor in slowing this thing down. Directing Health and Human Services to remove regulations, so healthcare workers can have more flexibility. Signing legislation, so healthcare workers could use industrial masks. Forcing the FDA to lift restrictions. Removing all kinds of other restrictions. Bringing the SBA in for disaster alone. Halting foreclosures. Creating more flexibility for an employer… I mean, I can’t even get through the whole list before we get to go to break. So many good things, but not reported. And yet the American people still get it. How many points do you say, David, 12 points up, 11 points up?

David:

Just in the last week, it’s gone up 12 points, just in the last week and he really has been decisive in so many areas and has really been ahead. And you’re right, Rick. I mean, the critics, so things they were criticizing him for a few weeks ago is exactly the stuff that you can point to now as being really the right move that’s gone on. So, he really has been a good leader at the right time and he’s done it without saying the government is in charge of your life. I mean, he really has done a lot of partnerships, have been really healthy.

Rick:

As important as what he’s done is what he hasn’t done. So, the restraint, you know, to not let government completely take over our lives and to keep the federal government within their constitutional bounds and let the States do what they need to do. That restraint is just as important as the positive actions that he’s taken. Hey, quick break guys, we’ll come back. I know there’s a lot, you guys have a lot of good news we want to share and there’s several things he’s done that we want to highlight and share with folks that are listening today. So quick break, we got Good News Friday today here at WallBuilders. Stay with us, you’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

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This is David Barton with another moment from America’s history. While some Christians anticipate the upcoming elections and the opportunity to be involved in civil government, others view Election Day is no different from any other. Although they cherish their religious liberties, they see no mandate to be involved in government further than to pray.

Such individuals need to consider the words of founder John Witherspoon who wisely observed, “There was not a single instance in history in which civil liberty was lost and religious liberty preserved.” While it is true that every Christian should at least pray for our government, founder John Hancock noted there was more. He charged, “I urge you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only that you pray, but also that you act.” Therefore, in this year’s elections, in addition to praying, make sure that you vote.

For more information on God’s hand in American history, contact WallBuilders at 1808REBUILD.

Rick:

We’re back on WallBuilders Live, thanks for staying with us. It’s Good News Friday today. David, Tim, right before the break. We were rattling through some of the real fast, some of the things that Trump have done, but I know you guys want to highlight some of the good things that have happened. So where do you want to start?

Tim:

Rick, I’m going to start with a boy from first grade in Gaithersburg, Maryland. And I saw this in the news just a week ago and thought this was so impressive for this first grader. His name is Cavanaugh Bell. It says, “He spent 600 of his own dollars, saved up from two birthdays and three Christmases to purchase care packages, he called them COVID-19 care packs, along with 31 hot meals from local restaurants who are being impacted by some of the restrictions. And he took these care packs and these meals to senior citizens. And so, you have this. I mean, just right, so cool. Bravo to the seven-year-old. And first of all, when I saw a seven-year-old with $600 in a savings account, I was blown away because that’s more than most Americans have in their savings account. So, good job, right for this seven-year-old.

But there’s pictures, there’s videos of them that I saw. And he has these, essentially, they’re like grocery carts. They’re these big basket cards that he’s pushing around. And on the inside there, are packages full of meals, as well as he’s got bottles of Clorox bleach. And it shows him going to some of these doors and knocking on the doors and senior citizens answer. And he gives them food and a bottle of bleach. And just, you know, we want to help you in this hard time.

And so, this is a seven-year-old who was inspired to do something certainly. You can imagine his parents have encouraged this and a lot of things along the way. But that was one thing I saw. Right? So, as we’ve talked about some of the response from the president, some of the good things that are going on, some of the American people that are recognizing to kind of drown out the noise of the media and still appreciate that we have a leader who’s making some tough decisions, but actually making decisions as a leader. So, we recognize a president, but now looking at the response of just people of average citizens that are acknowledging and engaging in some of the hard times the nation. So, one of them is a seven-year-old boy.

And another one is a story from Little Rock, Arkansas. And this involves a fire department, Quail Creek Fire Department and Little Rock. The fire chief was interviewed and talked about how they saw so many big rigs. And as the big rigs are carrying, right, some of these 18 wheelers are carrying supplies that are essential supplies, that they’re helping fill up grocery stores, that are bringing medical devices, whatever it is, these 18 wheelers are still pretty consistently on the road. But as so many places are being forced to close down, because of restrictions from states or counties or right, a lot of places, restaurants are now just drive thru only. It puts these 18 wheelers and especially the drivers in a difficult situation. Because even some of the normal gas stations where they would stop, their in-house dining is closed and so they’re not able to get food.

And so, the fire chief said that he recognized there was a problem. The fire chief’s name is James Church. So, he recognized there was a problem that he posts on social media, letting the community know that they’re going to start providing hot meals for truckers at no cost. And what he did, he saw there was an issue. This article says he went back to the department and talked about that now truck stops are not able to serve food and we want to do something to help these truckers because these truckers are bringing groceries to all these Americans and, right, help make to sure…

Rick:

These truckers are heroes, man, these truckers are absolute heroes.

Tim:

And that’s it. He said we need to help do something to help these guys out. And so, he said, I asked the guys if we wanted to go buy some stuff and start cooking for them and we did so. So, their focus, he said, is as onto truck drivers, he said but if anybody needs a meal, we won’t turn anybody away. And so, the community is started donating to them, donating food so they actually can cook something, donating money so they can go buy stuff. But this is another example of what you would hope to see in the American people, the heart that says we want to help, we want to give back, we want to do something in the midst of this crisis. Right? The people, Rick as you’re mentioning, right, these heroes, truck drivers, who’re out there, who are doing things in our day to day basis, right, the grocery store workers who are having to be exposed to all these people and they don’t know if they’re sick or not and they’re stocking shelves and they’re working extended hours and right, the medical professionals. You go down the list of people that are helping our nation continue to function, we are so grateful for them. And so, this was really cool to see a fire department Little Rock, Arkansas giving back and this is just one of dozens, if not hundreds of examples we’ve seen over the last couple weeks.

The last thing I’ll share from this article is the fire chief pointed out that even though there were other restaurants in town that were offering food to truckers, he says in so many of those places, there wasn’t parking for these big rigs and he says where we are, we have a very large parking lot, which you would imagine at a fire station, they would have a fairly large parking lot. He says we’re also buying industrial area. There’s 18 Wheeler traffic all the time, so there’s plenty of places for them to park. So, he was asking social media to help get the word out to let truckers know when they’re coming through. At the time the article was printed or at least posted, there were more than 7,000 shares from this fire department chiefs post that they want to help cook for these truck drivers.

So just a couple examples, really cool seeing Americans find ways, we want to step up and help serve and help people in need, senior citizens and truck drivers, just being two of the examples of people that are being helped. Nonetheless, really cool to see American people stepping up to help.

Rick:

Man, it’s so cool to watch. Okay, quick break. You know, another group out there. I mean, all those healthcare workers and nurses and you know, showing up for work, even when the equipment is so tough to come by to protect themselves and yet they’re all still, I mean, it’s phenomenal to watch it. It’s cool to see the American people step up when we need. Quick break, more good news for you, folks. Stay with us, you’re listening to WallBuilders Live.

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Hi, this is David Barton. I want to let you know about a brand new book we have out called, ‘This Precarious Moment: Six Urgent Steps That Will Save You, Your Family and Our Country. Jim, Garlow and I have co-authored this book. And we take six issues that are hot in the culture right now, issues that we’re dealing with, issues such as immigration and race relations and our relationship with Israel and the rising generation millennials and the absence of the church and the culture wars and where American heritage is, our godly heritage. We look at all six of those issues right now that are under attack and we give you both biblical and historical perspective on those issues that provide solutions on what each of us can do right now to make a difference.

These are all problems that are solvable if we’ll get involved. So, you can grab the book, ‘This Precarious Moment’ and find out what you can do to make a difference. ‘This Precarious Moment’ is available at wallbuilders.com.

Rick:

We’re back here on WallBuilders Live. It’s Good News Friday today and a great time to go to wallbuilderslive.com and go into the archives and listen to some of those other good news programs from the past few weeks. You’re probably not hearing a lot of good news, certainly from the major media these days. But we’ve got a lot available to you right there at our website, wallbuilderslive.com. David and Tim have a lot of good news that they’ve, you know, compiled over the last few weeks and a lot of it has to do with just what’s happened in the last 8 or 10 days with the current situation in America. So, what’s our next piece of good news, guys?

David:

It’s going back to President Trump. And with all that they’re doing and it’s all hands on deck right now and they’re just doing everything they can to help. But I thought it was significant, they did not exclude the spiritual. As a matter of fact, they definitely included the spiritual, not only the President call for a day of prayer regarding this, that they need a lot of prayer to get the right solutions and make the right decisions. And we need prayer for people that have been infected and people who have lost others and all the things that go with this. But he and vice president, Ben Carson got on a phone call, an hour long phone call with thousands of pastors and talked to thousands of pastors and talked about how that they are helping the communities. 

And I will say, I’ve seen a lot of reports of how churches have really stepped up in this time. They have started impacting communities, which they need to be doing anyway all the time without a crisis. But they really have stepped up here. We even sent out a blast from WallBuilders, listing things we’ve seen churches doing. I don’t know, is 12-15 things, whatever it was that a church can do in their own community. Even with all the restrictions that are there, there’s a lot that can still be done.

So, that the President is doing everything he can and all hands on deck, including let’s get God help into this, so let’s get spiritual folks into this which is really good, not to see that excluded. And along…

Rick:

And David, if we could encourage people at home as well when they’re praying for the country right now, pray for the wisdom of those leaders and the advisors, these health officials that have been thrust into the, you know, decision making on this. And even you know, don’t let our own kind of bias and politics get in the way of praying for your governor, your local leaders in those situations. They need Godly wisdom and counsel. And so, pray that they’re getting that, even if you disagree with the decisions they’re making right now, pray that they’ll get better data better, you know, advisors, whatever. But just man, I mean, what a perfect time to heed that biblical command to pray for our leaders first and foremost.

David:

Yeah, it’s a good thing to remember because this is not a time for partisan politics and going back to the first segment. It’s interesting, you said you went three full pages deep into Google for you found a positive story. We’ve even seen some of the media coming out and saying the biggest objective is keep Trump from being reelected. Really? Over the lives of Americans, you’re going to make politics bigger than that? But they have openly acknowledged that is our number one objective, keep him from being reelected. So even in a crisis, we don’t pull together, that that’s not a good deal for the nation. I mean, a house divided doesn’t stand is what Jesus told us, what Abraham Lincoln repeated. We don’t need that going right now.

And you’re right, Rick, whoever your governor is, whatever State you’re in, you pray for them because they’re making life affecting decisions for literally millions of people in their States unless you happen to be in Wyoming and that’s half a million people in your State. But nonetheless, you’re making life changing decisions for people all over the nation. So it’s a good thing to remember to pray.

And the other thing I’ve seen that President Trump is doing so well, is he’s really doing a great job as a former businessman, he still has a businessman thinking, get government out of the way and let us solve this. And so, I just in a press conference he had recently, I loved the line, he said. He said, we’re literally being besieged in a beautiful way by companies that want to do the work and help our country.

You know, I was listening to a guy who thinks he has found a cure for the coronavirus, is actually combination of two antibiotics that are readily available right now. But when you put them together, it seems knock it out really quick. It takes it from 11-day cycle down to a 4-day cycle. And he said, you know, this really appears to be it. We tested it, it’s working. The problem is for the FDA to approve those two antibiotics being used together takes multi years. And so, President Trump, he said, I called the President, talked to him about this, he stepped in, he’s cut the regs. We think we have it out in two months. Well, two months is still a long time. But that’s a heck of a lot better than several years. And so, we’re seeing the president really just chop bureaucracy out of the way.

A new test came out this week that now with this new test, you can get the results back on coronavirus within an hour, you’ll know within an hour rather than days which what the former test had been. We’ve seen now and a lot of different nations, it looks like there’s about 20 different vaccines that are on the way, cures for this. But it depends on what nation they’re in, they go through all the red tape just like we do.

President has done such a good job of trying to cut to the chase and make sure this stuff has helped. But I love the fact that as a researcher, as the head of a company, you can call and talk to the President and he’ll work with you to find a way around, find a solution. I mean, you don’t have to go through the 43 levels of bureaucracy you would normally go through and talk to the President. You’re actually being able to connect and he’s talking to private business one-on-one, and I think that is really, really good, really healthy. Says a lot about his leadership.

Rick:

Yeah, I love the fact that, you know, these daily briefings and giving the details and letting the American people know that they are on top of this, that they are doing everything that they can, working with Governors even as they’re criticizing him and, you know, playing the partisan game, he’s still, you know, stepping in and helping where we can and bringing people together. I mean, all these, you know, bringing all these businesses together and the putting the SBA in there with, I mean, all the things that he’s doing that, you know, nobody’s really talking about. One of my favorite things that he did was refilling the strategic petroleum reserves whenever the old prices plummeting. Number one, it was a good price to refill at, but it also, you know, helping to stabilize that price as well. So just decision after decision after decision is exactly the kind of leadership that we would want in this situation.

Quick break. One more segment of good news for you today, folks, stay with us. You’re listening to WallBuilders live on Good News Friday.

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Rick:

We’re back here on WallBuilders Live, Good News Friday today. There’s more of that available on our website today wallbuilderslive.com, so check it out. Tim, gets our last piece of good news for the day.

Tim:

Okay, so I have much more than we’re able to get to, which is always what we want to hear, that there is a lot of good news happening. The first one and I’ll try to get through a couple of these. But the first one is that the headlines is Kroger hiring more than 10,000 changing store hours as coronavirus spurs panic buying. One of the really cool things in the midst of many small businesses that are kind of being forced to cut back and many are closing, people are losing their jobs. There are some places that are hiring, expanding, Kroger is one of those.

Now, Kroger is, we know a supermarket chain. It’s one of the largest in the US. But in adding 10,000 positions nationwide that Kroger CEO, Rodney McMullen came out and said look, we have a ton of openings and was encouraging people. If you need a job, go to Kroger. So, if you’re listening, you’re wondering what to do, you need a job, you might check out if there’s a Kroger in your area. They’re looking for people that work in their retail stores, warehouses and plants. But one of the other cool things that they have done, they’re adjusting store hours at various locations. And among the adjusting store hours, one of the things they’ve done is allow seniors to exclusively shop at stores, which we know that with the coronavirus, seniors are much more susceptible than would be maybe a teenager, at least as far as detrimental. Right? Like life threatening. It’s more dangerous, we think at this point for senior citizens. To senior citizens, now are able to come into some of these stores exclusively an extra hour before the store opens to the general public. Now, this is not in every Kroger store, but many locations are doing this.

It’s just cool to see that there are organizations and businesses who are finding ways to help and give back in the midst of this. We mentioned that in addition to that the good news from President Trump that there were other local individuals. So, I have a couple stories, I’m going to read just one of them from a lady named Joan Hahn. She says, “I’m a senior living in Beach Mountain, Monday, I found a note in my mailbox from a young neighbor couple offering to do anything they can to help me and even said, I could pass their number on to other seniors I might know that might need help. They included their names and phone numbers. I was really touched by their offer. I am fortunate to have three adult children in town who call often to check on me, but it’s nice to know that someone is right down the street in an emergency.” There are so many more examples of this. But it’s just again, it’s cool to see how many Americans are stepping and offering to help in times of need with what’s going on right now.

Rick:

Man, so cool. And you know, we’re seeing young people in our community and other places across the country being willing to go and serve seniors in that way and go pick up groceries or whatever is needed. So, it’s awesome to see those things. Also, you know, see an Amazon looks like hiring 100,000 they’re saying and Walmart 150,000, HUB, I know, is hiring tons, you know. So, look, there are bright spots here. There are people stepping up. This is not the apocalypse. We’re going to get through this. It’s going to be tough, but we’re going to get through it. Thank you to all of you for listening today.

We’re going to keep bringing you good news, maybe not even just on Friday, but throughout the week and also looking at the tough questions of what’s constitutional, what’s not, what’s going to happen, you know, economically, all of those things and what the best policies going forward are going to be. It is a great time to analyze the formula for freedom and to study these things. So, make sure you’re watching. By the way, we’re going to have you know, these episodes once a week, One-Room Schoolhouse coming out of the library at WallBuilders. What great way for you to be able to get with your family and together learn these things.

Also, the Constitution class, a great time to walk through that and we’re making that free to you as well at constitutioncoach.com. Become a constitution host and you get a free license to be able to broadcast that online with your friends and family and get them educated while they’re stuck at home. So, make the most of this time. And as we mentioned earlier in the program, make sure we’re praying for our leaders and praying for wisdom and good counsel in those meetings that are taking place on, you know, around the clock basis right now. Thanks so much for listening. You’ve been listening to WallBuilders Live.