Coffee on the Couch @Positive news for you: Episode Forty-Seven – Patrick Day: Pt 2

Unveiling More Wisdom: Patrick Day Returns with Deeper Insights and New Perspectives

Coffee on the couch_Podcast Aug 30

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Relative excerpts from the interview:

Chris (Host): Welcome back to Coffee on the Couch. We’re thrilled to continue our delightful conversation with the talented author and publisher, Patrick Day. If you missed part one, we explored Patrick’s inspiring journey through topics like faith, substance relapse, and navigating challenging phases. Today, we’re picking up where we left off, diving deeper into Patrick’s profound insights on depression and hope. So grab your favorite mug, settle into your cozy spot, and let’s rejoin Patrick for more engaging and uplifting moments on the Coffee on the Couch podcast. So, welcome back, Patrick!

Patrick Day (Guest): Thank you. Good to be here.

Chris (Host): Yeah, yeah, it’s good. It’s been a little bit, but we’re knocking out part two. Let’s jump right into the questions. Your book, The Bible Revealed in 10 Stories, condenses the vastness of biblical narratives into key stories. Which biblical character or event resonates with you the most, and why? How has it impacted your faith or worldview?

Patrick Day (Guest): Well, first of all, Chris, let me share how this book came about. I’ve been a chaplain in a jail and have led many people to Christ. After they become saved, maintaining their faith requires spending a lot of time in the Bible. What I found, though, is that many people are biblically illiterate. In fact, even many people sitting in the churches we go to are biblically illiterate. This realization is what led me to write this book. I wrote it with oversight from a pastor to ensure it was theologically sound.

Here’s the thing about the Bible: it was written over a period of 2,000 years by 40 different authors in three different languages—Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic—across three different continents. The Bible consists of 66 books, nearly 2,000 chapters, and close to a million words. How do you make sense of all of it? That’s the challenge many people face. Most of the people I deal with knew of Adam and had heard of King David, but when I would mention Abraham, they had no clue who he was.

Chris (Host): Wow, and these were people in the church?

Patrick Day (Guest): No, these were people in the jail.

Chris (Host): Oh, okay. I was going to say, we’d have a problem if those were the people in the church.

Patrick Day (Guest): Exactly. And when I mentioned Moses, some would say, “Well, I know a guy named Moses Malone who played in the NBA.” But that’s not the Moses we’re talking about. So, that’s why I wrote this book. As I wrote it, I discovered some interesting things. Everything in the Bible really starts with Genesis 3:15, which is the critical verse that promises a Messiah. The rest of the Bible is about the coming of that Messiah—Jesus. He came, and in Revelation, He will come again.

These 10 stories and characters in the book all revolve around Jesus—His coming, His presence, and the spreading of His word. The first character, of course, is Adam, and his story is about the fall of mankind. After Adam is kicked out of the Garden of Eden, things get really bad because that’s when evil entered the world. It got so bad that God even regretted creating the world and wanted to destroy everyone. But that would have created a problem because, in Genesis 3:15, God promised a Messiah. He said that a woman from Eve’s seed, which is Jesus, would come, and although Satan would bruise His heel, He would crush Satan’s head. That prophecy was fulfilled on the cross.

So, as we explore these stories, it’s evident that the Bible’s overarching narrative is about Jesus and His redemptive work. It’s a reminder that God’s plan has been unfolding since the beginning, and that’s something that profoundly impacts my faith and worldview.
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Patrick Day:
“Well, God has a way of choosing people to do things. He has a plan for you, Chris, and a plan for me. He’s had me do things like serving as a chaplain, and now He’s moving me into writing the book we talked about last time, Finding the Safest Place on Earth. Now, I’m also publishing books by Christians.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Right.”

Patrick Day:
“Yeah, that’s what He’s got me doing now. I’m currently working on a devotional by a military wife in Minot, North Dakota. Minot, North Dakota is an interesting place.”

Patrick Day:
“It is. It’s up in northern North Dakota. It’s a fairly desolate area. If there’s anyone from Minot listening, they might not like what I say next, but Minot’s not the end of the world, though you can see it from there.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Okay.”

Patrick Day:
“Yeah. It’s pretty rural and desolate.”

Patrick Day:
“You wouldn’t have a destination wedding in Minot, North Dakota.”

Chris – Host
“Yeah, exactly.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Wow. That’s good to know.”

Patrick Day:
“Yeah, you probably wouldn’t go there at all, unless you had to.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Yeah, that’s interesting. It’s funny how some places are like that. You hear about them, but not many people go there.”

Patrick Day:
“Right, there’s no reason to go there unless you live there.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Yeah, someone asked me when I moved up to Maine, ‘Why would you want to go up to Maine? Aren’t they all just lumberjacks up there?’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s not bad up here. It’s kind of rural, but you get used to it.'”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Maine’s tagline is ‘Vacationland’ on the license plate, so it can’t be all bad. But it’s funny—most people from Massachusetts only go as far as Old Orchard Beach and then turn around.”

Patrick day:
“Yeah, exactly. Beyond that, it’s like, ‘Why would you go there unless you live there?’

Chris – Host: Right.

Patrick Day: That part of the country I haven’t been to, but I’ve talked to my wife about going up to New England.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Yeah, it is really serene. I grew up in New England, up here in Maine. If you’re okay with cold weather and snow, then you’ll be just fine.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Where I live, the biggest store is the Walmart Supercenter. We’ve got a bunch of mom-and-pop places, but it’s pretty rural. I often joke that it’s like an Andy Griffith town.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Interesting.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Yeah. But, back to the questions. Question B from 6B: In storytelling, we find universal truth. Which of the 10 stories surprised you with its relevance to contemporary life? And can you share an example of how that ancient wisdom applies today?”

Patrick Day:
“Well…I spent a lot of time in Genesis because I came to the realization that if you don’t understand Genesis, you don’t understand the Bible. Three of the characters of the 10 are in Genesis: Adam, Noah, and Abraham. Abraham is key to understanding the Jewish people and why God chose them. I think it was Ezra Pound who said, ‘How odd of God to choose the Jews.’ But He did. The Jews became the chosen people.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Right.”

Patrick Day:
“But as I’ve come to understand Adam more, I see he’s not just the guy who sinned or the one whose wife gave him the fruit to eat. We don’t even know if it was an apple; it was just fruit.”

Host (Chris Lafreniere):
“Right, yeah. Apple is just what it ended up being called.”

Patrick Day:
“Exactly. But as I study Adam, I realize how much we’re like him. Adam’s sin was pride, and when you look at the world today, pride is everywhere—especially in politicians. The more prideful they are, the worse they get. You also see it in preachers, especially evangelical ones, who get so caught up in pride that they think they’re untouchable. Adam and Eve wanted to be their own gods. That was Satan’s temptation.”