Wolves & Wisemen Reignited

Patience, God's Timing & Are Aliens Demons?

Sometimes patience isn't about sitting around waiting for something to happen.

Wolves & Wisemen Reignited — Episode 21

About This Episode

Sometimes it's trusting God long enough to understand why something happened in the first place.

Episode 21's Check In centers on Romans 12:12 and a conversation about patience, prayer, uncertainty, major life changes and learning to trust God's timing when you don't have everything figured out.

With a move underway, a job ending and an uncertain next chapter beginning, this one gets personal.

The guys talk about how frustrating situations can look completely different once you see the bigger picture—and how something as simple as destroyed tires can become a reminder that the inconvenience you're dealing with today might prevent something much worse tomorrow.

They also get into friendship, surrounding yourself with people who want to see you succeed, being thankful during good times instead of only praying when life falls apart, and why trusting God's plan doesn't mean sitting around doing nothing.

Then Fringe Files asks a question that brings faith and the unexplained together:

Are aliens actually extraterrestrials—or could some of what people call aliens be demonic?

The guys connect UFO and alien stories with fallen angels, the Nephilim, spiritual deception, Scripture and the possibility that extraterrestrial life and belief in God don't necessarily have to contradict each other.

Basically...

Romans, prayer, friendship, smelling salts, nut shots, aliens and demons.

A normal Tuesday night.

What We Talk About

The Check In

Patience

Romans 12:12

Rejoicing in hope

Being patient through tribulation

Remaining constant in prayer

Praying during good times and bad

God's timing

Major life changes

Leaving a job

Moving

Uncertainty about what's next

Trusting God without having the complete plan

Recognizing blessings inside frustrating situations

The great tire disaster

How one person's problem can become someone else's warning

Taking action while remaining patient

Surrounding yourself with the right people

Friendship and brotherhood

Jealousy versus inspiration

Finding your pack

Being thankful for what you already have

Trusting the plan

The Rest of Episode 21

Rebel Report

World Baseball Classic talk

Smelling Salt Roulette

Sacked

Folks on Fire

Friends helping friends

Today in History

Boners

Scripture From This Episode

Romans 12:12

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Three short instructions.

But they're a lot harder to live than they are to read.

Rejoice in hope.

When life is going well, recognize it.

Be thankful.

Enjoy it.

Don't become so focused on the next thing you want that you forget to appreciate what God has already given you.

Be patient in tribulation.

When life gets difficult, don't immediately assume everything has gone wrong.

You might not understand what's happening yet.

Sometimes the lesson doesn't become obvious until later.

Be constant in prayer.

Not just when you're desperate.

Not just when you're scared.

Not just when you've run out of options.

Pray when life is good too.

Don't Only Pray When Everything Goes Wrong

One of the simplest ideas in Episode 21 may also be one of the most important:

Talk to God when things are going well.

It's easy to pray when life falls apart.

We need help.

We need an answer.

We need something fixed.

Suddenly we're praying.

But what about the ordinary Tuesday when nothing terrible happened?

What about getting to work safely?

Having food?

Having people who care about you?

Having another day?

Sometimes prayer doesn't need to be a list of things you want.

Sometimes it's simply:

Thank you.

Patience Doesn't Mean Doing Nothing

This comes up again because it's becoming an important theme for the show.

Trusting God isn't an excuse to stop moving.

You still have responsibilities.

You still make decisions.

You still work.

You still prepare.

You still take opportunities.

You still take the next step.

Patience means understanding that the result might not happen according to your schedule.

Do the work.

Pray.

Stay alert.

And give God enough room to work without demanding that everything happen immediately.

The Great Tire Lesson

Somehow, tires become one of the best illustrations of Romans 12:12.

After a weekend at the property, one tire basically destroys itself.

Frustrating?

Absolutely.

Expensive?

Of course.

But then something interesting happens.

Seeing that destroyed tire causes someone else to inspect his own truck and trailer before a long road trip with his family.

And he discovers problems too.

Suddenly the original inconvenience looks different.

Maybe the problem wasn't only about the person who experienced it.

Maybe somebody else needed to see it.

That's one of the bigger questions in this episode:

What if some of the things you go through aren't only for you?

Your experience might become somebody else's warning.

Your struggle might teach somebody else something.

And the thing that ruined your afternoon might prevent something much worse from happening later.

Sometimes You Don't Understand Until Later

In the moment, we usually see one thing:

This sucks.

Something broke.

A plan failed.

Money disappeared.

A door closed.

Something changed unexpectedly.

But we're looking at one frame of a much larger movie.

That's where patience becomes important.

You may discover tomorrow why today happened.

Or next month.

Or five years from now.

Sometimes you never completely understand it.

Faith means accepting that your inability to see the purpose doesn't automatically mean there isn't one.

Trusting God Through Change

The Check In becomes especially personal because life is changing quickly.

A move.

A job ending.

An uncertain next step.

Normally, that combination could create enormous stress.

Instead, the conversation is about what happens when you finally say:

I'm going to trust God and see where this goes.

That doesn't mean there isn't a plan.

It doesn't mean there isn't work happening behind the scenes.

It means refusing to destroy yourself worrying about a future you can't completely control.

And then opportunities begin appearing.

Side work.

People offering help.

Time with family.

A place to stay.

Pieces begin falling into place.

Maybe not exactly how you imagined.

But enough to keep taking the next step.

Find People Who Want You to Win

Patience eventually leads into another major Episode 21 theme:

Your circle matters.

There's a difference between trying to “keep up with the Joneses” and surrounding yourself with people who inspire you to become better.

If your friend's success makes you angry, something is wrong.

If your friend's success makes you think:

Hell yeah. I want to work harder too.

That's different.

The right people don't need you to stay beneath them.

They want you beside them.

They celebrate when you win.

They tell you when you're screwing up.

They show up when you're moving.

They answer when life falls apart.

They pray with you.

They talk trash the entire time.

That's the pack.

And sometimes finding those people requires patience too.

Happiness Isn't Stuff

The guys also talk about something that becomes clearer with age:

Having more doesn't automatically mean being happier.

The big house.

Cars.

Motorcycles.

Trucks.

Money.

Stuff.

You can have all of it and still be miserable.

And you can simplify your life dramatically and discover that you're more peaceful than you were when you had everything you thought you wanted.

The goal isn't poverty.

The goal isn't wealth either.

The question is:

What actually gives your life value?

Faith.

Family.

Purpose.

Good people.

Peace.

Those are considerably harder to finance—but considerably more valuable once you have them.

Key Takeaways

Patience isn't inactivity. Keep moving while trusting God's timing.

Pray when life is good. God shouldn't only hear from you during emergencies.

Today's inconvenience may make sense tomorrow. You don't always see the whole picture immediately.

Your struggle might help somebody else. Sometimes what happens to you becomes a warning or lesson for someone around you.

Stop demanding instant answers. Some things take time to reveal their purpose.

Surround yourself with people who want you to succeed.

Don't confuse inspiration with jealousy. Let successful people around you raise your standards.

Stuff doesn't create peace. Faith, purpose and relationships matter more.

Trust doesn't eliminate responsibility. Pray and keep working.

Be thankful daily. Sometimes the entire prayer can simply be “thank you.”

You don't need the entire plan to take the next step.

Smelling Salt Roulette

For reasons that remain unclear, the guys decide Episode 21 needs another round of:

Smelling Salt Roulette.

Two bottles.

One older.

One freshly opened.

Mix them up.

Pick one.

Whoever gets the strong one gets their nasal passages violently reminded that they're alive...

and has to chug a beer.

There are no winners in this game.

There are only survivors.

Sacked

Episode 21's commitment to serious biblical discussion ends exactly where you would expect.

Sacked begins with a couple screwing around together and one extremely unfortunate encounter involving a pipe wrench.

Then someone attempts an exercise that goes very well...

until it doesn't.

Finally, in honor of baseball season, an umpire takes an absolutely brutal shot that reportedly sends him out on a stretcher.

Faith teaches patience.

Sacked teaches protective equipment.

Both lessons are important.

Folks on Fire

The Moving Crew

A major Folks on Fire goes to the friends who showed up to help with the move.

Heavy furniture.

Basement stairs.

Boxes.

A giant subwoofer.

Ammo.

Recent surgery.

Illness.

None of it stopped the crew from showing up.

That's brotherhood in practical form.

Not posting that you're there for somebody.

Actually being there.

Jacinda

Another personal shoutout goes to Jacinda for stepping up and helping during an important situation.

The details stay private.

The appreciation doesn't.

Sometimes the best thing someone does for you doesn't need to become public information.

You just remember who showed up.

Gina Carano

The guys also discuss former MMA fighter and actress Gina Carano and an announced exhibition matchup with Ronda Rousey.

The conversation quickly becomes a discussion about women's MMA and how some of the women's fights can steal the show because of how aggressively the fighters compete.

Today in History

Episode 21 takes place on March 10 and sends the guys through another collection of historical rabbit holes, including:

The 2011 earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan

The television debut of Cops

The death of Andy Gibb

The 1933 Long Beach earthquake

Alexander Graham Bell and an early telephone transmission

Ulysses S. Grant receiving command of the U.S. Army

And, most importantly according to the show, Arizona's birthday

Naturally, the Fukushima conversation somehow becomes:

“Are nuclear weapons even real?”

Which sounds suspiciously like a future Fringe Files.

Boners

Episode 21's first Boner is personal.

After multiple people show up to help with the move despite illness, surgery and other problems...

one member of the crew doesn't.

And therefore earns the distinguished honor of becoming:

Murph's Boner.

The rest of the segment moves through more bad decisions, expensive problems and the sort of internet content that makes you wonder how humanity has survived this long.

There is also another tire story.

Because apparently Episode 21 was sponsored spiritually by the rubber industry.

Fringe Files: Are Aliens Actually Demons?

This is where Episode 21 gets interesting.

The question isn't simply:

Are aliens real?

It's:

What if at least some of what people call extraterrestrials isn't extraterrestrial at all?

Could certain UFO encounters, alien-abduction stories or strange entities actually have a spiritual explanation?

Could some be connected to fallen angels?

Demons?

The Nephilim?

Or are we dealing with multiple completely different phenomena that humanity keeps putting under one label?

Aliens vs. Demons

The guys point out that some reported alien encounters share characteristics with stories people describe as demonic or supernatural experiences.

Fear.

Paralysis.

Strange beings.

Altered perception.

A sense of evil.

Claims that invoking Jesus ends an encounter.

That raises the Fringe Files question:

What if we're interpreting an ancient spiritual phenomenon through modern language?

Centuries ago, somebody might have called the entity a demon.

Today, somebody might call it an alien.

Same phenomenon?

Different phenomenon?

Nobody on the show claims to know.

But it's an interesting question.

Scripture, Fallen Angels & Spiritual Deception

The conversation connects the subject to biblical passages and themes involving spiritual deception, fallen angels and the Nephilim.

The guys revisit ideas they've discussed previously from Genesis 6, the Book of Enoch and other biblical passages involving beings that don't fit neatly into our everyday understanding of the world.

They also discuss warnings in Scripture about deception and spiritual beings appearing as something they're not.

That creates another possibility:

What if something presents itself as advanced, enlightened or extraterrestrial specifically because that explanation would be easier for modern people to accept than a spiritual one?

That's firmly Fringe Files territory.

But it's an interesting intersection between faith and the unexplained.

Could Aliens Exist Without Destroying Christianity?

The other side of the conversation may actually be more important.

What if extraterrestrial life really exists?

Would that automatically disprove Christianity?

The guys don't think so.

If God created an enormous universe, why would discovering another form of life necessarily mean God didn't create it too?

Maybe humanity is unique.

Maybe we're not.

Maybe other civilizations exist.

Maybe they're more advanced.

Maybe they're less advanced.

Maybe we'll never meet them.

The point is that discovering life somewhere else wouldn't automatically erase what the hosts believe about Jesus, God or humanity.

For them, faith doesn't depend on Earth being the only place in an enormous universe where life exists.

What If It's Both?

Episode 21 doesn't settle on one explanation.

And that's probably the most interesting position.

Maybe some encounters are misidentified aircraft.

Some could be psychological experiences.

Some could involve technology we don't understand.

Some could potentially be extraterrestrial.

And from the hosts' faith perspective, some could have a spiritual or demonic explanation.

“Alien” may simply be the box we use for things we don't understand yet.

AI, Ancient Knowledge & What We Think We Know

Eventually the conversation expands beyond aliens.

AI.

Ancient civilizations.

Space.

Technology.

Human knowledge.

The guys challenge the assumption that humanity is automatically at the highest point of intelligence simply because we live in the present.

What if civilizations before us understood things we've lost?

What if our current scientific understanding is incomplete?

What if something we confidently believe today gets overturned tomorrow?

That's happened throughout history.

Which leads to a useful distinction:

Science isn't simply believing whatever the smartest person currently says.

It's continuing to test what we think we know.

And faith doesn't require pretending that every unanswered question already has an easy answer.

Sometimes:

“I don't know.”

is the most accurate answer available.

Fringe Files Disclaimer

Fringe Files explores theories, stories, religious interpretations, paranormal claims and questions surrounding unexplained subjects.

The discussion in this episode should not be taken as proof that extraterrestrials exist, that reported aliens are demons, that alien-abduction accounts have a supernatural explanation, or that any specific UFO or UAP claim is authentic.

The hosts are exploring possibilities through the perspectives of faith, personal belief and curiosity.

That's the point of Fringe Files:

Ask the question. Explore the possibilities. Decide what you think.

The Bigger Conversation

Episode 21 starts with patience.

And strangely enough, that's where Fringe Files leads us too.

We want answers immediately.

About our lives.

About our future.

About God.

About the universe.

About what we're seeing in the sky.

But sometimes the answer isn't available yet.

Faith requires being comfortable enough to say:

I don't know what's coming next—but I trust God enough to keep moving.

Be patient.

Keep praying.

Keep working.

Pay attention.

Surround yourself with people who make you better.

Be thankful when life is good.

Trust God when it isn't.

And don't become so impatient for an answer that you accept the first explanation somebody gives you.

Sometimes you need to wait.

Sometimes you need to learn.

Sometimes you need to change direction.

And sometimes...

you just need to admit that you don't know what the hell is flying around up there.

Watch & Listen

Watch the full episode and join the conversation.

Follow Wolves & Wisemen Reignited

Wolves & Wisemen Reignited is three imperfect guys trying to strengthen their faith while talking honestly about Scripture, life, brotherhood, current events, history, conspiracies and the unexplained.

We don't pretend to have every answer.

We read.

We question.

We talk about it.

And we're learning as we go.

New episodes every Tuesday night.

Like. Follow. Subscribe. Join the chat.

Be patient.

Keep praying.

Trust God's timing.

And if something with giant black eyes shows up in your bedroom...

maybe pray before assuming it's from another planet.