FriDudes - Getting Real. Pursuing Truth.

• Yes, you are in!  Where did God come from?  An excellent Deeper question for your next date night or small group ice breaker or family time.  Inspired by a comment i made on the previous Algorithms episode.  We'll tackle it.  Here you go...
• Thank you sincerely for clicking in.  When worthy, thank you for sharing.  
• Avid listener, you know my odd fixation to share Rom 3:23.  For we are all flawed.  I am a flawed dude.  Not everything that comes out of my mouth is correct.  I will make mistakes.  If you believe in God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, then let the Word be your ultimate guide.  Use that Owner's Manual for Life to quality control check any book or sermon or episode you hear or watch.  Of course, make sure to take the whole Bible in consideration.  Isolating on just one verse not in context can be equally dangerous.  
• So considering all that.  Where did God come from?  In the previous episode you hear me hypothesize about what preceded us.  We spoke about Algorithms and that AI can finally get through are thick skeptical heads that there can be and is something much more smarter and powerful than us.  Up til the latest tech, atheists that they were the smartest.  
• I hypothesized what if there was a previous civilization.  Hypothesis is the key word.  To be clearly, it was merely an attempt to help that skeptic find that mustard seed of faith.  That existed before you, me, and humanity alone.  
• To be clear, I do believe in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  That is my Faith.  Something absolutely started this.  That a code (your DNA code and mine) cannot exist without a coder.  
• So where did God come from?  Where did our coder come from?  How did our coder become the coder?  
• Short answer, I don't know.  
• What I do know is something can't come from nothing.  Even an atheist scientist has to grapple with that statement.  
• As for believers, where in the Bible does it explain where God comes from?  If you see something that I don't, please let us know at the Contact Us page at fridudes.com.  
• What I do know is that we have an explanation of a Creator.  An all knowing Creator that designed and created us.  And as I just confess, that sounds a bit crazy until GenAI came along.  Now an all knowing creator is more understandable.  Yet great is your Faith that believed in this possibility before we had ChatGPT and Gemini and Claude, etc.  

Yes!  You are in!  Ask anyone if they are religious and the odds are they will say no.  Ask them to see their phone/screen and the algorithms will definitely tells us where each person is religious.  Big data knows exactly where you are religious.  Intrigued, stick around as we dive deeper on algorithms...

• Thank you again for clicking and listening, reflecting and sharing when worthy.  Ironically, we may be part of your algorithm.  Odds are you are listnting to this because you are open minded, like to get real, pursue truth...what works in life and what doesn't.  Either that or someone that fits that profile shared this with you.  Regardless, thanks again for listening in.
• Avid listener, you know I like finding inspiration from unlikely spots.  I love it when secular points to spiritual and deeper thinking.  And the unlikely source this round is NPR.  Yep, they get full credit.  Link to the article that inspired this in the show description.  Shout out to reporter/author Scott Neuman.  Excellent job!
• https://www.npr.org/2026/06/11/nx-s1-5848013/algorithm-word-week-etymology
• An algorithm is a set of instructions.  
• So maybe a better way to look at it is Big Data has algorithms on how to measure you vs. Big Data having it's own algorthithm for you.  Does that make sense?  In other words, they use the same algorithm to measure all of us.  It's the data report that tell them who you are.  For example, if Casey clicks on Francis Chan, the algorithm says feed more Francis Chan and others like him.  Part of the algorithm also says x% also like this or buy that if they like _________.  
• Side note, I'm working on a video that we are all religious.  All of us.  Even atheists.  That can be a common question.  Are you religious?  We all are. Show me your phone and I'll show you where your religious.  For some of you, your church is your screen.  
• Matt 22: 36-40
• Is that the outcome of the algorithms that track you?  
• AI, finally, some can finally comprehend that there is something much smarter than you.  That can track you.  
• Ending on a prayer note:  Thank you God for math.  

Overview of the shortest book in the Old Testament and how a prophecy over 2800 years ago still very much applies to today.  

Yes!  You are in!  Thank you for joining and when worthy, thank you very much for sharing.  Extra thanks for Two Tall for that opening hook.  Extra thanks to ThursDudesPM for bringing it last week.  As for this round, why do you work?  Why are we designed to work and contribute?  Here's your mic drop, your hammer coming from a letter written to Thesselonica...

• We talked about the importance of the Living Word last week.  You read it and it reads you.  This hit me like hammer this week.  Side note, not my first time reading it.  I've ready it countless times.  Yet that's the Living Word, it can impact you differently at different times in your life.  Hence, it's Living.  
• A reading from 2 Thes 3...
• Have you ever noticed that depression and idleness are closely related?
• How about addiction and idleness?
• Col 3:23
• I always feel good after a hard day's work, work out...ministry outreach.  It feels good and overflows the heart to serve.  To be of value to others.  
• To be careful, we are not to be workaholics either.  Some of us are bad at that too.  Resting.  We are commanded to Sabbath for balance.
• Have you seen a divide in the USA?  Do we encourage idleness?  Do we give people what they want for our power and votes?  Do we encourage their addiction?  Last week's reading warned us about helping people stumble.  Think about that.
• On the flip side, I serve the homeless.  Jesus encourages us to serve the poor, Matt 25:40.  To take care of orphans and widows.  Yet I don't shower and clothe my neighbors on the streets to keep them there.  I don't give them pipes nor syringes.  I serve to give them Hope.  To get them off the streets and into a life of Purpose.  
• 2 Thes 3 is really one of the mic drops for that.  An idle society is a miserable society.  For those in the States, you enjoy the fruits of that country by those who worked their butts off and sacrificed.  If you think I'm trying to play a particular political angle, I also witness immigrants here in the Coachella Valley working their butts off in the hottest of days.  Their work ethic blows me away.  
• Did you know that retirement is not in the Bible?  A warning about being a glutton is.  God did not just put you on earth to golf, eat and drink.  If by chance you are able to retire, good job on your hard work and stewardship.  Now you have more time to serve the Lord, his Kingdom and your neighbors.  
• Clearly, I'm not retired.  If I could, I would still love and serve others.  Whether you are 20 or 70, this may be your wake up call.  The Idle Check Engine light may be on.
• Ending on a prayer note...

Yes you are in!  Meet the ThursDudesPM!  A bunch of flawed dudes getting real and pursuing Truth.  If you are in a Bible Study or looking to start one, check out how Brother Ish masterfully initiates and facilitates it.  Note the 'No Forced Agenda/Set of Questions'.  Going with the flow with the Holy Spirit Guide and letting the group breath and reflect.   I notice too many groups forcing a set amount of questons.  Not these Dudes.  You'll observe how they get washed in the Word.  

• Yes!  You are in!  I love finding Hope in unlikely places.  Like an ultra racer's documentary.  Meet Max Joliffe and and Cameron Hanes.  Both of these guys have won the Cocodona 250 among other extreme races.  The Cocodona is 250 miles.  Up mountains and over deserts.  So imagine running 10+ marathons with thousands of feet of elevation gain.  Imagine the physical pain.  Here is what they have to say and perhaps not what you are expecting...
• Thank you Max and Cameron.  You can watch that entire YouTube at this link..."A Day with Max Jolliffe" by Cameron Hanes...
• https://youtu.be/d6jSdsH7GKU?si=06cVU9pQWYIdCBV9
• Odds are you are not an ultra racer but I bet some of you have and are running ultra races in life.  Like brutal tests.  Loss of a loved one.  Terminal diseases.  Betrayal.  Depression.  Violation.  You are not alone.  I testify the strongest people I know have gone thought the hardest things.  Thee strongest people did it with the Ultimate Power Source aka God aka the Heavenly Father who also offers up His Son, Savior, Lord and Holy Spirit Guide.  The greatest stories of resilience I have ever heard of all those in common.  Some of you are living it right now.  
• When times get tough, you don't get mad at God, you draw near.  That is part of the test.  Who wouldn't love someone when things are perfect?  That isn't a test.  
• My wife Lori, she's been battling Stage 4 cancer for years now.  Do you hear me angry?  She didn't run away.  She drew closer to the Lord.  Just like Max and Cameron.  Different pain and yes you can argue self inlficted for some.  Yet there is Truth in the saying no pain, no gain.  Truth God's best went through the worst.  How would you like your son tortured and nailed to a cross?  
• The comfort zone = the fade zone.  So why do we crave the comfort zone?  The flesh.  Rom 3:23.  Counterpoint, yes, we would rest.  That is why God gave us the Sabbath.  How are you doing with that BTW?  
• I always tell my Dudes that we are fooling ourselves if we don't get into the Word.  So here are some verses to bless you...
• 2Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  James 1: 2-3, NLT).
• 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.  Heb 12: 1-2, NLT
• Ending on a prayer note...

• Do you know what is the Good News?
• The Gospel?
• If so, can you share it in less than two minutes?  
• Lovingly simple.
• Here's the YouTube version...
• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GMTadZx2PME
• 
  

• Yes!  You are in!  Well, this one will definitely be different.  What happens when you die?  Is life a test?  We've tackled those subjects before.  However, I have never done it with video.  Gulp!  So, you get first access.  Bonus, the scientific method and actual math is involved.  What?  Faith and the scientific method and math?  Stick around and I'll explain more.
• Thank you Two Tall for that opening hook.  For those new, you can learn more about him by going back a few episodes.  
• Is life a test?  What happens when you die?  Deep questions.  How well can you answer them?  And I don't mean just blurting out, "There is a heaven" or "You are worm food..."eventually.  Can you back it up with logic, science and math?  I bet the average atheist thinks they can.  I bet the average Christian can't.  
• So that is what we tackle.  Can faith and science co-exist?  Absolutely.  Science is simply the pursuit of truth.  And good science will not be afraid to correct itself.  Good science cannot ignore math.  Good science should not be politicized.  We flawed humans do that.  
• So some of you have lost someone profound.  Some of you fear death.  Some of you are not so sure.  
• That's why this podcast started over 7 years ago.  And since we are trailblazers in technology... that's tongue in cheek.  I'm testing video.  This is where DeepHikes, Deep Bikes was born.  I got the vision to enter the wilderness and ask the toughest, deepest questions.  Questions that you can use at your next small group, date night or family event.  
• So here is the YouTube link.  Notice it is still unlisted.  Why?  Refinement.  Well, it also scares the crap out of me.  Part of me likes hiding behind a mic.  With video, you are literally out there.  Back to refinement, I'm GenX.  On this front, who better to ask for mentors than GenZ.  So special shout out to Tanner Dude and Antoine Dude to help shape these.  We'll see if we graduate to Tik Tok and Instas.  One thing I do know: we need more Hope on this broken, brutal frustrating planet.  So here you go.  Some hopeful Light for your day in a different way.  Oh and if you have suggestions for improvement, please let us know.  Simply comment in that video.  Bonus: You may have a Deep question.  If you think worthy, you are welcome to share.  Oh right, please find the link below...
• https://youtu.be/YZUo8JQF0Rc
• Now, go, love, serve, encourage someone out there today.

Yes!   You are in!  In for a treat from a dude named Theo Von (making his FriDudes debut) and an anonymous caller struggling and wrestling.  So if that's you or you know someone like this.  I love the rhetorical question: Does this broken planet need more Hope or Hoplessness?  Here's some hope; check out how raw this caller and Theo are.  

So real and raw

FriDudes has featured a lot of pastors and very smart people.  Theo, that is one of my favorites plays of all time.  And special thanks to that caller.  To hear the rest of that call, here is the YouTube link...

https://youtu.be/CihTN2GQymc?si=V28a0Hn9cIkM4FyZ

Theo wants a new story.  Caller dude sounds like he wants a new story.  Anything is possible with God.  I think Theo's prayer advice is excellent.  He sounds as real as David or Paul.  Why do I do what I do?  That's what I heard.  Inviting him into the areas where he feels he is lying.  Most versed listeners, I bet you can relate to that.  If your pride allows it.  Do you truly want to be healed?  Confession, avid listener knows that I'm still working through stuff.  We are works in progress until the end.  

Check Romans 7: 15-20

Getting Real.  Pursuing Truth.  We are in the Hope and Encouragement business.

Either you want a new story OR you know who does.  Share what works.  Share that listen.  

With my 20+ years of Dudes Ministry and Counseling.  Let me share a few more verses that come to heart...

James 5:16.  That is exactly what you just heard.  Confess your sins to one another so you may be healed (a new story).

Matt 19:26, Anything is possible with God.

I have witnessed countless lives for the better.  Where that dude was, where Theo was—they are 100x better.  Why?  Jesus Christ.  You can debate God yet you can't debate results.  

Caller, the reason that you are down is that I believe you are not living your full Purpose.  I know that may sound kinda hokey to some of you.  Yet that dude is down.  Period. So are some of you.  If you have a code then you have a coder and a coder designs for Purpose.  Theo is absolutely finding his Purpose.  He's getting there.  Oh yeah code, you have a code.  It's called DNA and you have about 3.2 billion pairs of code that define your strengths and weaknesses.  One benefit of AI agents and apps is that it can become clear to you that they are designed for a purpose.  So are you.  

This podcast is full of new stories for better and stronger.  They are timelesss.  Go back and listen to Aftyn or Gary or the homies from the Central Valley or Scooter or BW going from the crack house to His house.  You can debate God, yet you can't argue their results via Christ.  Real results.  Reals stats for better.

Ending on a prayerful Hope note...

• Yes!  You are in!  People can be dicks.  Yes, even people in church.  Why?  How?  Versed ones.  You know the answer:  Rom 3:23.  We are flawed.  Hence, that make church a room full of flawed people.  So how do we navigate that?!  Here is your Play of the Day...
• Yes!  Dr. Loritts!  One of my favorite teachers.  Find your favorite voices that motivate me to be more Christ like and less flawed.
• Here is the YouTube link for the entire message...
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMXSBl9R99E
• If you go to a bad restaurant.  Is that it?  Do you really swear off all restaurants?
• I don't mean to minimize your pain.  I have been hurt.  Yet I don't want to maximize your pain either.  Don't let that hurt become your God.  
• Rom 8:28
• How does anyone get stronger without resistance?  
• Content in all circumstances.  
• Philippians 4:11-13
  New International Version
  11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.