doubting christianity

We looked at city cars and quietly disagreed with the formula. Quietly we added more space. Quietly we upgraded the tech but kept the price honest. The all-new MG4 EV Urban. From just £239 a month with 0% APR. MG Motor Financial Services £2300 deposit over 49 months £7,223 optional final payment Hello everybody, welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host Ali Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys as always. The feeling is always mutual every week. Happy Friday everybody. I am so excited to be here with you guys. Obviously we have our coffee on ice here on our CWCOI glass tumbler. I'm sure you guys can guess what we have. Again today we have a pumpkin spice latte. I have to every time. So good. I washed the cup before we started filming and I almost feel like I have a little bit of an aftertaste of dish soap but that's fine. We have our Christ. We have the word of God. Thank you God. Anyway, how are you guys feeling today? How are we doing? I think two things that were really on my heart coming into this episode today is, well one, I really wanted us to pray because I love doing that with you guys. I love praying for you all and just see what the Lord has in that. And then also I wanted to take communion with you guys because we also haven't done that together as a fam in a while. I'm a little under the weather today. I don't know if you can hear it in my voice. I was starting to get a little sicky poo yesterday and I didn't like it. I started to feel suspicious. My body was feeling a little achy. You know, like those beginning stages of getting sick where you're like, okay, I sense that something is wrong here. I don't feel 100% and so I prayed. Oh my gosh, did I pray? Because honestly guys in current time, like I'm talking as if I've already moved because I know that that's when this episode goes live but in physical current time of me recording this, I moved tomorrow and so um, I was just like, this isn't good timing Lord for me to get sick. I have a whole moving crew coming tomorrow and I have a ton of unpacking that I need to do the next couple of days. And so if I'm so down bad, like bedridden sick for the next couple of days, that will really put a damper on all of the things that I need to do in the next couple of days. So I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and plead the blood I took communion. I did all the things and I was like, Lord, I need your mercy right now. So believe it or not, I mean, I sound a little congested today and I do feel a little sicky but I woke up feeling really good this morning and I didn't even really get a ton of sleep. It was strange. Actually, it's supernatural that I'm here and I'm feeling as good as I am today. So praise Jesus. Thank you God. But yeah, I want to take some communion and just declare healing over all of our bodies. Okay. In Jesus name, amen. Whether you have a head cold like me or you have something more serious, I think, you know, just praying for each other and taking communion. So let's pray. First off, let's just pray. Father, I just thank you for today, God. I thank you that in your word it says that your mercies are new every morning. And so Jesus, we just plead your mercy today, God, and we just ask for healing. Lord, we ask for healing today in whatever ways that we need it. It could be of a broken heart. It could be physical healing. Lord, but we ask that your Holy Spirit just comes right now in Jesus name. Your Holy Spirit comes and heals us, God. We are asking for your healing right now today and we believe in the healing powers that you have through your spirit. Jesus, we believe in your death and your resurrection. We believe that you have overcome all of sin and evil and disease, God. And so we just plead the blood of Jesus over our bodies, over our temples, over our minds, and over our hearts today, God. I declare the truth of the gospel over my friend on the other side of this podcast, Lord, I thank you that they have been made beautifully in your image, God, that you have a purpose for their life. Thank you, Lord, that they were so strategically and intentionally knitted together in the womb of their mommy by you. Lord, I thank you that you so intentionally made them for a time, for such a time as this, God, that they are meant to be here and they have an impact on this world. And so, God, I thank you for all of our journeys. I thank you that we get to come together as a body, to lift each other up, to support each other in prayer and, God, we also just intercede for all of our other brothers and sisters who are listening together as a body, God. We are lifting each other up. And even through times where it feels like, especially in the world right now, which just feels really heavy. And so, God, we're also just asking for your protection in our days, God, and protection over our families, Jesus. We thank you for the truth of who you are. Thank you that your spirit dwells inside of us, and, God, we just pray for more fire today. God, I actually just declare more of a fire over my brothers and sisters right now in Jesus' name. I pray for a heightening of courage and boldness and discernment. I pray for a heightening of just wisdom, God, and I pray, Holy Spirit, that you intercede and you also just help translate when we're sitting down with the Word. God, I pray that as we're reading the Word, it just penetrates into our souls, God. And we just ask for growth. We ask for you to continue to grow us into more and more like you, Lord. We pray all these things in your name. Amen. Okay. Now, let's take our communion. This one has been floating around in my purse for weeks, so it's a little smushy. He's a little crinkly. It reminds me of that meme of a water bottle. I don't know if you guys have seen this. It's been floating around for neons. I think I saw it for the first time when I was in high school, which was like 10 over 10 years ago, of the water bottle, like when it's like kind of crushed and it looks like this. And I think the meme is something stupid, like when somebody tickles your neck and you're like, that's what he looks like. He's just kind of like, that's okay. It doesn't take away from the power of the blood. Amen. All right. So grab your juice, grab your bread, grab whatever. If you have little communion cups, queen, king, yes. I get mine off of Amazon. I buy them in bulk. I have more on the way actually as we speak. But even if you don't, I think most things could work if you have juice and bread nearby. I'm just breaking my bread up in little pieces. Okay. Jesus, we thank you for your sacrifice, God. Thank you for the body. Thank you for taking on all of our sins, Lord. Thank you that we are forgiven for our sins because of you. And so Jesus, we just love you today. We honor you and we recognize all that you are in Jesus name. And we take the blood. We plead this blood over our bodies, God. Thank you for the blood that heals us. Mend our hearts, God. I declare healing over my body, my brother or sister on the other side, their body. And we just declare healing and protection, God, in Jesus name. That's good. Thank you, Jesus. Okay. Okay, we haven't done a style of one of these episodes in a while, but I figured we could just do kind of a little Q and A, bouncing around from maybe a few different topics, touching on each one. I don't know if you guys, I feel like you do. We've gotten some good feedback when it comes to these kinds of episodes. But yeah, I figured we could just do like a Q and A style episode, cover some questions and topics that you guys have. I ran a poll on my Instagram, as I always do. And I will say a lot of them, I feel like we've already covered, but some of them I think we could dive more into as well. So Emma asks, how to know if God is bringing you into a new season? I love that question. And I really, I will always just speak from my own experience, because I feel like this could have a few different answers, I think, to this question. But I think that the first thing that comes to my mind on how I know that God is bringing me into a new season is when it feels like there's actually a shift, I would say. And if you are somebody who has walked through change before, or you've felt yourself walking out of a season, and potentially even walking into a new one, for me, I feel a shift first. And when I say that, it's like, I just, something, it's got to be spiritual. It has to be supernatural. But it's just like something will just kind of switch in my atmosphere of just like my everyday life, something will shift in my spirit, where it'll just feel like things are different. Even if like, it doesn't look super different in the natural just yet, it's like, oh, like, the seasons have changed. You know, it's the best way that I can really even describe it too, is like when you feel the air change from, you know, summertime to going into the fall. And it's like the air is a little bit more crisp, like, that's the only kind of comparison metaphorically that I could compare it to. But it's like, all of a sudden, it's just like, the air is different. It's the first thing I will, I'll feel it first. And then I think the other thing too, when changing seasons, because I think that this happens with every time you walk into a new season is obviously if you're walking into another season, it's because the Lord has really good things, you know, in that next season, and he's like, okay, you're ready, we're going to walk into this next era of your life, however you want to say it. And I'll notice that there's just like a lot of grief in my heart, like things will be then changing in the natural, like in my personal life, where maybe certain dynamics will start to change or yeah, like there will just be like a grace that's lifted for the things that used to feel like it had so much grace, where it was just easy. And then all of a sudden it's just like, they're like the grace has left. I hope that this is translating and you guys understand what I'm saying. But I've seen this happen in my life a few times where it was like when things were just working and it was just flowing when you're in the will of God, it's just like, it's just easy, you know, you're, you're flowing in the current of him. And it's just like, okay, we're vibing. And then all of a sudden when you feel that shift in the spirit when things kind of just like change, you also feel the grace lift from that very thing. And it'll almost feel like there might even be a little part of you that's still trying to do a bit of a tug of war where you're like, wait a minute, but this is what's always worked. Like why do I feel like why do I feel like there's a little bit of a resistance or why do I feel like I'm hitting a block all of a sudden? Or why does it feel like it's not as easy anymore? Why, why, why has my heart almost changed a bit? Like I want this to keep working. Why is it not working? And I feel like that's when we have to sit down with God and be like, okay, God, are you changing the season that I'm in right now? Because this doesn't feel like the same grace that that's, that's always had. And granted, there's also such thing as spiritual warfare. I'm not going to say that like every time something feels difficult, it means that God is changing your season or that the grace has lifted. I do think that it takes a level of discernment with the Lord too to be like, Hey, is this warfare, is this resistance from the enemy? Or is this you like truly guiding me in a different direction? And I feel like the best way to know whether it's God guiding you into another season is if in that surrender of you being like, okay, God, I like, if this is you changing the course of my life, if this is you changing the course of my relationships, my career, well, like whatever that looks like, I ask Lord that you overwhelm me with a sense of peace. And I pray too that you make it so clear that this is actually your will. And it's nothing else. And God takes those prayers so seriously, because he loves you that much. And he doesn't want you to sit in a place of confusion. Because confusion does not come from God. And so I think that's the other thing is that if you're feeling like this weird tug of war where you're like really confused, I wouldn't say that that's from God. Because again, there has to be like a grace where it's like, no, there's a lot of change happening right now. And I'm kind of grieving it. And I'm feeling the weight of how there's just like, not a grace for the season anymore. And now I feel like I'm going through a transition. But for some reason in my grief, I still have peace. You know that that's God. But if you're in a season of like grief and confusion, and you just like don't know which way you're going, I would truly seek clarity from God and be like, Lord, I need you to make it so crystal clear that this is from you right now. And if it's not, give me the wisdom and the discernment that this is simply just resistance of the enemy. And this is just warfare and that I need to push. And I need to continue to lean on you through this, you know, so I would say those are two of the, those are a couple of the main things that I will feel and see when I know that God is walking me into a new season. And also, I think a change of heart, like if your heart is like changing, it's so I mean, God, it says it in scripture that he holds the power to harden hearts and soften hearts. And I have seen the Lord, I mean, completely changed my heart for a season where I'm like, yeah, I mean, this has served me really well. And I've loved it. But I, for some reason, I just feel it in my spirit and in my heart that I'm not supposed to be in this season anymore. And as much as it's sad, like God can really change the desires of your heart to get you on course with his will and continue, you know, your course with him. And so that's another thing I've noticed in myself when, when I'm walking into a new season is it's almost like God is like preparing or has already prepared my heart to receive that new season. So even with me, maybe still wanting to cling on to familiar, the familiar parts of whatever season he's walking me out of, like my heart will still, my heart has still been open and curious about where he's bringing me. And that's been undeniable for me sometimes where I'm like, no, I can't even force this, even if I wanted to, like I want to, but I can't because he's just changed my heart and I can feel it. And sometimes I don't even know what he's changed my heart to, but I just know that my heart is not in this anymore. And he's leading me somewhere else. And so there is like a serious level of trust and faith that has to come with that because from my experience too, like going into new seasons, it's not always like an immediate like transition. It's not like I'm just like in an old season and then the next time I'm in a completely new season. Sometimes there's like a transition period where I have no idea where God is taking me or what's going on. And that is more times than not in my opinion. I don't, it's, I don't actually think God has ever just directly planted me into the next season. And I'm like, okay, here we go. We're ready. Typically there is a bit of like a walk in between this season and the next one. And so there's such opportunity of just growth with the Lord and learning to have more faith in him and trusting that even if you have no idea what he's changed your heart for, like you don't know yet, trusting that it's for a reason and it's for something good. And that it's, it's because he wants to grow you and he wants to take you onto that next step with him. But I don't know if that feedback was helpful. I pray that it was, but those are some things that come to my mind right off the top of my head of ways that I know God is bringing me into a new season. Call my wife. Calling UK wildlife. Voice assistance not working for you. BlackRock Investment Trust has a lot working for you. Get to know them at blackrock.com. Capital at risk, marketing material. BlackRock Investment Management UK Limited. Authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Okay, Zoe said, and over 200 people liked this one. So this one is doubts in Christianity. And I feel like that's such a vague question. I'm going to take one specific route or POV here. And I pray that it speaks to some of you guys because I'm like, I'm thinking about why somebody would doubt Christianity. And I, the first thing that comes to my brain is, I think maybe a major doubt in Christianity is whether or not God will actually come through for you. Or let's say that you have been trying Jesus and you've been trying God, and maybe you expected or wanted quicker results. Or I don't know, like maybe people had misled you to believe that as soon as you start following God, everything will be hunky dory and beautiful and amazing. And to be honest, I don't know what my expectations were going into Christianity and like really taking Jesus so seriously other than I believed that he could help me. And I also, I didn't have any expectations that it was going to be really easy, but maybe some people do because I feel like unfortunately, there can be a pocket of the church that paints it out to be this thing that's like, and once you give your life to God, everything is going to be great. And everything is great. Once you give your life to God. But when I say that sentence, it's not in the ways that we would hope. It's not great in the sense of like walking with the Lord means that you're not going to endure any suffering. Walking with the Lord doesn't mean that you won't still battle with your mental health sometimes. Walking with the Lord doesn't mean that you won't still have temptations or fall to sin. So when we say that walking with the Lord is great, it is, and he is always good. But I think that there's this expectation that we put to those words of like great and good being perfect and that we won't feel any pain anymore. And the truth of the matter is that we will always endure suffering and pain as long as we are here on earth because we live in a broken world that we have created for ourselves. Honestly, that was never a part of God's plan. It was never a part of his plan. The only reason that we have to endure the things that we do that are painful and hurtful and why awful things happen in the world is because we have free will. And because God loved us enough, he loved us enough to give us the choice to make our own choices. And it's crazy, like when you go back to Genesis 1 and you see when sin was introduced to humanity for the first time through Adam and Eve, going against what God had warned them not to do, that's the other thing is, and we've mentioned this on the podcast, is God is such a merciful God and he will always warn us and say, hey, I just want you to know like I'm giving you this gift of free will, but I also don't want to just set you up for failure because that wouldn't make me a loving father. And so I'm going to give you this freedom to make whatever decisions you want, but I'm going to warn you and say, just don't do these things. Just don't touch these things because it will lead you to death. That's what that's literally what God said to Adam and Eve as he said, just don't eat from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You can enjoy the entire garden of Eden. You can have everything in this garden except just don't touch this tree because it's just not for you. And I think the question too that sometimes people have is like, well, why did God even put the tree in the garden of Eden anyway then? Like if it was just going to kill them, it does kind of feel like he like set them up, you know? And I think that that's a question that I had too in the beginning. I was just like, well, then why did God even bother to put a tree in there if he knew that it was going to kill them? And then I heard a pastor speaking in a sermon, I don't know how long ago, months ago, talking about like even just, you know, if you look at the way that God has created the world and how everything plays off of each other, there are plenty of things in this world that would kill us. There are poisonous things. There's even fruit that you could eat, us humans that we could eat that would kill us. There's certain, you know, venomous animals and creatures and insects that could bite us and kill us. And it's like, we can look at that and be like, God, why would you ever put these things on earth if it was just going to kill us? But the truth is, is like all of those things serve a different purpose though. When you look at the ecosystem and how everything intertwines, like there's, there's a reason for this and then there's a reason for that. And then God was thoughtful enough to say, okay, but if this didn't exist, this wouldn't be able to. And so you look at all these things and you realize that there is a purpose to all of it, but some things are just not for us. And that's okay. But it, but, but I believe that that tree was put in the Garden of Eden because it had a purpose. It just wasn't supposed to be for man to eat from. And so, um, obviously Adam and Eve ate from it anyway, and then sin was introduced into the world. So anyway, I go all the way back to that time because it is there that it started with the brokenness and it's been a rippling effect ever since where it's actually like in our selfishness of doing whatever we want to do, we really think that it's just going to impact, we're like, this is just for me. But the truth of the matter is like, and we've seen it in generations, you see the generational trauma and the generational, you know, sin and things that just get passed on into generations and through our bloodlines and stuff. And it all trickles back to the beginning of time, but it's like, it's all because of the choices that we make. And so the hurt and the pain that we feel from the world is just like this rippling effect of what we've done to one another. And it's not just an us thing. Like the decisions that we make, the sin that we choose to dance with affects humanity. It affects our children. It affects our people. And so, um, yeah, I think that a lot of people can question like how, how can God allow those such, all of those things in the world? But the truth is, is he loved us enough to give us a choice because what would love be if it wasn't a choice? Um, I mean, you think about like how a stranger could go out of their way to love somebody that they didn't have to love. Or I mean, these are very simple examples, but like, it kind of takes our breath away. Sometimes when we see somebody deciding to go out of their way to pay for somebody else's meal or be like, you know, I, I got your coffee. Don't worry about it. Why is that so shocking to us? Because they didn't have to. Why didn't they have to? Because they had free will. They have a choice. They don't have to love. And so I just think love wouldn't be nearly as impactful if we didn't first have the choice to love. If it was the only choice, okay, how hard was that? You know what I mean? But it's the fact that like we have two choices. We either have the choice to love or we have the choice to hate or to be selfish, arrogant, conceited, manipulative. Like there are choices that we can make every day. And so anyway, how did I get on that tangent? I don't know. But yeah, I just think that that could be a real, a real doubt that people could have going into Christianity is expecting everything to be good, but it's just not that the, like what I was saying is the truth of the matter is that we live in a broken world because of all of that and because of us. And so that won't happen until we're in heaven, you know, that, that perfect walk, that perfect life where there's no pain or suffering, where the Lord will wipe every tear from our eyes. That won't happen until we're in heaven. And that's okay. That's why we need him every day in our life here on earth because it is hard. And so it is great once you give your life to Jesus because I can't imagine walking through a broken world because the world is broken no matter, no matter what, whether you know Jesus or not, so you're going to enter the suffering or not. And so for me, and you know, my own story was that I was sick of walking through such suffering and emptiness and I felt pretty meaningless as well without having Jesus like, or I, there was just something in me that needed to be filled. And so it's not that my life has gotten any easier, but I do believe that the weight and the heaviness and the burdens and the shame and the sin that I was carrying on top of the hardship of life made it pretty unbearable. Like I was becoming an empty, empty, empty shell of myself trying to carry the weight of my life, the weight of the things that happened to me or the things that I had done. And so having a Savior, having Jesus by my side has not made my life easier, but he has helped carry the burdens and the heaviness that comes with the reality of life and the reality of being a human and making mistakes and saving me from myself and my selfishness. And so I will literally never turn back ever because I don't, I don't ever want to walk through life without him. And the truth of the matter is like, the world has a lot of options of things that could help us with the burdens of our life. But the truth of the matter is that all of those options are so temporary and they also can only go so far. I believe that anyone who is coping with the burdens of life and trying to go through life outside of Jesus, like I do believe that there is help in those things, but it's not nearly the freedom that you can receive with Jesus because he is the only one that can carry those burdens of our life. And I can say that because I've lived it and I've experienced it. And I am actually very grateful that the Lord let me see those things and taste those things as painful as it was in a lot of the seasons that I was in. They sucked and they're really painful to even think about sometimes, but I'm grateful that he let me walk through it so that I can sit here and say, yeah, I'm not just like a hypocrite who's sitting here being like, yeah, I've had a perfect life my whole time and I've faithfully walked with Jesus perfectly. My whole life is just not true. I didn't even actually truly know who he was until two and a half years ago. And so I'm grateful that I had those seasons of darkness as painful as it was and as empty as it felt and as foggy and gray as it seemed because I now can see the contrast of what it's like to walk with the Lord and what it's like to be completely alone in this world. And so, yeah, I think that doubt is real, but I also think that if you go into this with expectations of just like instant gratification, I think that that is something that's so dangerous in our generation and it doesn't have to just apply to our faith journeys. I mean, that can apply to all things. I just think, you know, with Dordash and Amazon and guys, I just ordered a couch and I'm so grateful and excited about it. It's going to be delivered to my house in 48 hours. What is that? Well, like literally, what is that actually? Thank you, God. But also at the same time, I'm like, it used to take like months to get a couch. And so it's great. But it's also, I feel like it's a bit dangerous because it's created this instant gratification, this instant like serotonin boost in us, dopamine, whatever that is, like just that instant gratification of getting things so quickly that when it comes to our spiritual growth or walking with Jesus, I don't know. I just feel like maybe that could bleed into our faith where it's like, okay, well, why, why aren't things changing? God, why haven't you taken this thing out of my life? Well, why haven't you brought breakthrough in this way? Like, why do I still feel depressed? Why do I still get these waves of anxiousness? God, why does this still happen? Like, I thought that you said that you were the way truth in life and that my life would get better once I started walking with you. Why are these things not happening? And I just think that that that could be another reason that people would doubt because, you know, if they're if they're walking with the Lord for a few months, and even that's why it's so, it's so important for us to be so honest about all of our walks. Because I just don't believe that anyone could actually like testify and say, yeah, I started walking with Jesus and like everything was amazing and life was so good. And then that's it. And then and then the end, you know, and unfortunately, I do think that some people paint it out to be that way because I think there are good intentions in it. I think that the reason why people would paint out the journey of walking with Jesus that way is to get people to give him a chance because he is so good and he's faithful. And it's like, if we could just get people to give him a chance, it's it's game over. And I get that. But it does feel a little car salesy. It does feel a little bit like when you're shopping for something online. And it's being pictured to be this incredible plate, like, okay, just because I was just recently like shopping for a house for a home to move into. The thing that's so frustrating to me is like, seeing the photos on the website and everything is in like 0.5. Everything is made to look really big and spacious and beautiful and the lighting is gorge, whatever. And then I go to freaking tour the place and it looks nothing like that. It looks nothing like that because they, you know, they did something to the photos, they used a little bit of like a fish lens, a wider lens to make it look really big and spacious. And then they AI generated like a really blue sky out the windows and trees to make it look like the lighting is beautiful and bright. And then you walk in and you're like, okay, this is a tiny little shack. What is going on here? And it's that kind of stuff that frustrates me because it's like, I understand it just feels manipulative. It just feels manipulative. And the thing is, is like, I believe I want to give the body the benefit of the doubt and say that I don't believe that it's like people are intentionally trying to manipulate. Well, some people might be. But I'd like to give people the benefit of the doubt and say it's just because they know the truth of Jesus. And they're like, Hey, if we can just get people through the door and we can get people to come, then that's all we need. And I get that, but I still feel like that's a bit manipulative and it's not being honest. And so painting Jesus out to be this like life is going to be perfect. All the burdens of your life are just going to instantly go away is giving the 0.5 photos of this house. And then they show up and they're like, okay, no, like, yeah, this is, this is great, but this is not what I thought it was going to be. And the thing is, is I'm not comparing Jesus to a dinky little shack. Okay, I want to preface that. He is the best thing ever. He is the best thing ever. And so when we say that about him, it's the truth. But what I'm trying to communicate, and I hope I'm doing a good job at it right now, God forgive me, I'm trying my best, but I just think the hype of like over, over promising that it's going to be perfect is really dangerous because if people come into this with the wrong expectations, and we're not telling them the full truth, how about that is like, that's not dishonest, completely dishonest. But also if it's not a full truth, it's probably a lie. Like we're just lying. So telling the full truth of what it's truly like to walk with Jesus and letting people know the real expectations going into it, the good and also the hard, I think is the best way for people to hang on, you know, I think people can start doubting their faith and their journey with Jesus or like, I mean, guys, the damage can go so far, it can even go as far as people being like, okay, well, I see all these other people where apparently it was so great for them, everything in their lives were fixed, they got immediately got financial freedom, they immediately were delivered from their addiction, they were immediately, and the thing is, is like, some of those stories can happen. But if we are not telling the full truth of our testimony, and we're not being honest about also like, yeah, I walked through the fire too, though, but Jesus, thank God, because I would have been walking through that fire alone. So but Jesus, you know, he gave me hope, he gave me courage, he gave me strength, like supernatural strength, I actually probably would have never been able to get through that season with my sanity, with still having my sanity, if it wasn't for Jesus, I needed his strength through that season. Glory to God, he's the only one who could have gotten me through that. But yeah, if we're not being honest about those parts, people could think that they're broken, they could think that God doesn't love them enough. They could, they could be like, okay, it worked so great for everybody else, but not me. So apparently, God doesn't love me, he doesn't hear me, he doesn't see me. This Christianity thing, I don't know, is even real, I don't even know, is Jesus even real? I thought, I thought he was real, but maybe I was just caught up in this weird swirl and it wasn't even Jesus from the beginning. Like, it can be so damaging. And so, okay, I don't know where that rant came from, but yeah, I think that that's a real thing too, is like, people could doubt Christianity if they go into it with the wrong expectations, because we set them up for what we thought would be success, but it was actually failure. They're looking back on their journey the last four months, and they've been under the most spiritual warfare of their life, because the devil wants to hang on to their soul for dear life. And I believe even in the beginning of our, the beginnings of our journeys are like some of the hardest times, because that's when you're like, God is like ripping all these scales from your eyes, and you're seeing all the ways that you've been living in your life, and you're like, oh my gosh, God, like, I have been so wrong. Like, the ways that I've been living is actually, I've been fooled, I've been deceived, and you're like unlearning the things that maybe you've been walking in for potentially your entire life. There's sanctification that comes with that of God, just like stripping, just like all the things that need to, he's refining, and he's polishing you. And like, honestly, I think the beginning part of our journeys with Jesus is like the most challenging. I think those are the times that we need the most community. And we really need to help our brothers and sisters who are just coming into their faith for that reason, because it is, it's hard. And there's a lot of things that you start to see for what it is, and you're like, whoa. And also, the enemy is never, ever, ever happy about salvation. Like, if somebody has been, has just given their life to Jesus, I don't see why the enemy wouldn't try hard, while there's still a baby, they're like a little baby newborn infant, baby Christian, to come in and try to snatch them back before they're strong enough to discern, before they're strong enough to know any better, you know? And so also, yeah, I just think it's important too that if there are people around you that you know are new to their faith, just support them, love them, pray for them, like show up for them, be there for them, help them, refine them, like, we have to be there to support each other. Otherwise, people will start to doubt their faith, because it's hard to do by yourself, you know? I'm so grateful that, you know, the first year of my journey with the Lord, I was technically alone, like it was just me and Jesus in the middle of my apartment in West Hollywood, but at the same time, like, God was introducing me to people even virtually. There were some friends that I was making online, believers who, you know, did what I did of just being on the internet on social media. And so even that, I was like, I felt so seen and loved in is just being able to, like, have people walking with me even virtually. But yeah, so anyway, hopefully that was helpful. Okay, Kelsey says, which I think we've talked about this on the podcast a couple of times, I'm not actually sure, but we'll do a little touch on this. Kelsey says the Sabbath, how do we actually follow the Sabbath? So this is my POV, and my understanding of just what I've learned from the Lord about Sabbath and how we're supposed to honor the Sabbath. This is just what I do. I don't know if most people, whatever, you can agree with it or not. That's okay. That's okay. But this is just, take it or leave it is what I'm saying. Take it or leave it. But I believe that the Sabbath should be honored in the best way that you feel rested. I believe that God created the Sabbath to just rest. God just wants us to rest. I believe that so whatever it is that that truly brings you rest. And also I think that that's the reason I'm like take this or leave it is because I think that the Sabbath can really vary per person. I think that the Sabbath can be personalized per person. Whatever that looks like for you, of what brings you the most life and what makes you feel the most recharged, what brings you the most rest? Because I believe that the point of Sabbath is for God, he's just encouraging his children to take a break. Just take a break. And if you're not really sure what that looks like, I think the best thing you could do is just sit down with the Lord and pray and be like, okay, God, let's make a list of things I should do on my Sabbath and things I shouldn't do on my Sabbath and let him be really honest with you. And sometimes for some of us, it's like I won't be on my phone all day. Like if you know that that is not something that actually brings you true rest, true rest, like we can distract ourselves with our phones and we can like scroll on them and it can be entertaining. But do we feel restful? Like do we feel rested after we've been scrolling on our phone for hours? I can't say I feel super rested. I'll say I feel entertained. And I'm like, okay, that was kind of fun. But I wouldn't say I'm like, I feel like this breath of fresh air has washed over my body and I'm like refreshed after scrolling on my phone. I actually kind of feel like dumb. I feel like stupid. I just feel like my brain is like filled with anxiousness and like clutter, actually. Because the other thing too with scrolling is you never really know what you're going to be fed. And so as much as it probably would be nice to think that we would be fed all good things, you're like also being fed all this information that maybe you just didn't need for that day. Maybe you scroll past something in the news and you're like, wow, okay, that was really heavy or you see an image or there's a lustful post that comes up and now you're being, it's like, I don't know, maybe we just don't scroll on our Sabbath. That could be a rule that you set for yourself. But like, yeah, just being honest with yourself and with God and sit down and be like, okay, Lord, what are some things that are really fun to me that I enjoy and it leaves me restful? If that's going on a hike? Great. If that's being a freaking couch potato and watching your favorite show? Great. If that's reading your favorite book and taking a bubble bath? If that's go getting a massage? If that's hanging out with your dog? If that's hanging out with your friends? If that's socializing? If that's hermiting? Like whatever that looks like, it's one day out of your week. But whatever brings you rest, I think that that is the best way to follow Sabbath, to honor Sabbath, is to rest and be in the presence of God. I actually probably should have led with that of all things though. Personally, a Sabbath for me is like, I need to be with Jesus all day. Like I need to be with Jesus all day. I need to be with Jesus every day. And I do my best to make time for him every single day. But my Sabbath, I know for a fact is going to be the day that I am like, God, fill me up, fill my cup so it is like overflowing for the week. So I can just overflow your goodness and your love and your grace to the people around me in my work ethic, in the way that I show up this week. It's a really important time to let the Lord pour into you so that you can be overflowing. And it's a good reset too of just being in his presence. So however way that looks like for you, that could be worshiping, that could be putting worship music on your TV, that could be reading the Word. We should probably read the Word on our Sabbath. For sure, you should read the Bible. But yeah, resting and being in his presence. And the cool thing is, is it says in Scripture, Jesus says, come to me all who are burdened and heavy and come to me and I will give you rest. It is in his presence. It is in the presence of Jesus where we actually receive rest. And so I actually think also with partnering with all the things that you love to do that gives you rest, I think just even being in his presence will give you the rest that you need. Let's also make sure that we're not focusing too much on all the tasks and the things that bring us rest and make sure that we're also just still looking at Jesus because he is the one that can give us the ultimate rest. But yeah, long story short, be in his presence and do the things that bring you rest. Amen. I think that's the best way to honor Sabbath. Okay, I wanted to do one more question with you guys, but my phone won't load. The poll won't load. But a word, so instead I was like, okay, God, give me one more question, Lord. I just pray that you directly give me one then since we can't look up any. I'm actually just hearing the same word playing over and over in my mind right now. And the word is simplify. Yeah, simplify. And I'm like, simplify what, God? Um, and I really believe that he wants to encourage us to like if any of us have been struggling with maybe making our relationship with God too complex. Maybe there's been too much pressure. There's too much like religion. I just feel the Lord encouraging us to simplify it. And it's funny, I actually was at, I went to Bethel church. I don't know if you guys are familiar. Uh, I'd never been before. I listened to a lot of their music. I listened to a lot of Bethel worship. Um, and so I went for a conference that they were doing called open heavens. And I guess they've been doing it forever. To be honest, I'm like very new to like Bethel church, I guess, like me going there. I was learning so much about the church in itself. I don't have a lot of, um, experience with their ministry, just honestly, just their like worship music. I've mostly been listening to, but nothing else other than that. Anyway, I go, I will say it was so incredible. That's like for a whole another day, honestly, but it was amazing. Um, and it was funny though, because getting in these environments, they are, okay, Bethel church, if you're familiar, if you're not, if you're familiar, then this makes sense, but the culture there is very offensive in the sense of like, they are very charismatic, very charismatic. And I think a lot of people can walk into those environments and feel really offended or feel really uncomfortable. And I think that that's totally normal and okay, especially when you're not familiar with those environments. Um, I do believe it's the Holy spirit was moving, like regardless of whether I was like, okay, I've never seen that before or not. Who am I to judge? Like I'm not the judge God is. And so, it was really, it was actually really cool to experience. And I didn't feel unsafe. It just, I think sometimes when you see things that, or like experience things that you're not as familiar with, our first instinct is to be kind of scared and freaked out. I think that that's obviously why even the angels in the Bible were like, Hey, don't be afraid. Um, because when we are not familiar with something and it's, and it's bigger than us, it can feel really, really freaky. And so, uh, what was the point of me sharing that the point of me sharing that was that I felt like, and I even received a couple words from people while I was there, one of the words being to not take myself so seriously and to not take God so seriously. And I'd like to say that I'm pretty good at that most times. I'm pretty good at not taking God too, too, too seriously in the sense of I'm not saying like a lack of respect or fear for him, because I will always have that. But, um, I just think sometimes I put a lot of pressure on myself and a lot of pressure on our relationship where I'm, I'm not just being with him. And I'm not treating it like a relationship that should be simple. Like God is so vastly complex actually, but also so simple at the same time where all he truly wants is our friendship. Um, he wants our loyalty and he wants our love. And then he also wants to, to give that in return. And so I don't know if this is speaking to anybody, but I, I use that testimony of like even using myself as an example that I is, it's tempting even for me sometimes to like put way too much, make it too complex with God where it's actually, it's, it's simple with him. Um, and so I just feel him encouraging us to simplify our relationships with him. And if there's a question of how, um, I think the best person to ask that question would be the Lord, I think sitting down with him and being like, okay God, how can I simplify my relationship with you? In what ways have I made it complicated? In what ways have I made it so that I am just striving and trying to show you that I'm worthy? In what ways have I been like walking around like a circus monkey being like, you know, no, I'm this and I'm that and I'm good and I'm, you know, like how can I show up and just be a daughter today or just be a son? Um, and I think even that statement in itself can make a lot of us emotional. And I think the reason why we feel emotional, even imagining that of just being an heir, like just being a daughter or just being a son of his is because that's what we were made for. We were made to rest in his presence and we were made to have a simple yet beautiful love with our dad, you know? Um, so anyway, that is our word of the week. I say we all adopt that. It's like to just simplify simple. It's simple being in relationship with God. It's simple. You guys, I love you so much. Thank you for joining us for another episode today. Hey, can we do something cool today before we go? Can we do something cool? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Can we walk more like him, talk more like him, be more like Jesus today? I'm proud of y'all. I'm grateful for you. I'm so grateful for you. Um, and yeah, I hope that this episode spoke to you and I will see you guys next week. Bye. Are some of y'all still listening? Okay, if you're still here, that means you're a real one, which is why I'm about to share this with you. If you've already caught up on all the episodes so far and you don't want to wait until next Friday for a new one, I have really good news for you. Subscribe to our Patreon to get early access to the episodes every week, early access to merch launches or any other exciting news, and receive personalized encouraging messages or Bible verses from us. Subscribe to our Patreon at www.patreon.com backslash C backslash C W C O I. I do also want to mention that there is a way to give to the podcast. 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