Lust & Deception | Girls Gone Bible

Okay, this episode is brought to you by NoCD. Have you guys ever had a really stressful and wanted thought pop up during worship? Maybe it made you feel like you needed to start your prayer over because it wasn't right or perfect. Feeled you with shame or caused crushing guilt because it felt like it offended God. A lot of people have thoughts like these, including me and Ange. And trust us, we know how scary and isolating they can be to struggle with. They can even leave to compulsive behavior like constantly asking for reassurance, punishing yourself or having bad thoughts or worrying about participating in religious practices like praying incorrectly. But here's what changed for us. Learning that these thoughts aren't character flaws or signs of weak faith. They might be symptoms of religious OCD, also known as scrupulosity. OCD is really misunderstood, so a lot of people are surprised to learn that it can focus on religion. But it's true, OCD can latch onto anything you deeply care about, including your faith. And when it does, it can be devastating. But there's hope because with the right kind of therapy, OCD is highly treatable. That's where no CD comes in. With no CD, you can do a virtual therapy designed specifically for OCD. They're licensed therapists that deeply understand OCD, as well as your faith and how important it is in your life. They'll help you work through these thoughts using exposure and response prevention or ERP, a type of specialized therapy that's the most proven treatment for OCD. No CD also accepts major insurance plans, including United Healthcare, Atina, Signa, and more, and provides always on support between your therapy sessions. If any of these sound familiar, you're not alone. No CD can help. Visit nocd.com to schedule a free 15-minute call and learn more. That's nocd.com to learn more and book a free call. Alright ladies. Wow. Ladies and men. Ladies, I'm at you and Jesse slash Andy. Andy. Andy. I just didn't know what like in Andy, isn't it? No. He's not. His pointy is, his name is Jesse, not his pointy. Did you get your eyebrows, I'm an idiot? I didn't. I filled them with Muthai shadow. This morning does it look like? That's what I do. I actually love it. It does look bad. It looks really good. Really? But you put a Picasso? Picasso. But did you like glue them up? Yeah, what is it called? I can't see. I can't see anything. Yeah, glue them up. I glue them up. Glue them up. Alright guys, say you're talking about sex. I actually, today we're talking about Samson and Delilah and I told my girlfriend, she is from where I'm from and she moved to Miami and I told her how we were reading Samson and Delilah and she was like, Samson and Delilah is the reason how I found Jesus and how I changed my life. And she wrote me this text, I go, why? And she told me I can read it a lot, but can I read it to you guys? I thought this was so. I love her. Me too. I'm not jealous of her having other friends guys. I'm not. I love her. Shira, I go, why did it, why did it change you? And she said the book of Samson and Delilah changed my life because a few days before, they dissected those pages in church. I was struggling with sin and feeling so empty. I was getting sick of the temporary highs, the money and sex weren't fulfilling me. And I saw how Samson only felt pleasure for a season, a quick fix. I knew certain people in my life were causing me to go in the opposite direction that God wanted me in. She said, I felt like Jonah, I was in the belly of the whale, but God dropped me off right where I was supposed to be that day. He met me right there when the summary of the text was, what are you flirting with? Because that's what they said in her. Bible Sunday. And she said, I knew I was flirting with temptation, but at this point it had taken over me. I learned God's grace through the text and saw that time and time again. God showed up for Samson, even though he wasn't deserving of it, right then and there. I gave my life to Jesus. I refused to miss the calling God had on my life for my own temporary desire. Let's go. Okay, little misprecher. I was late. Oh my gosh. But I remember when she was studying Samson and Delilah and her whole life transformed through that Bible study of it. Well I am so excited. I truly believe that people's lives are actually getting transformed by reading Samson and by reading this book or this chapter in judges today. Really quick. Hi, I'm Angela. It was the first time you said Angela. I know I didn't like you. Hi, I'm Angela. Let's just say our full names today. Okay. Hi, I'm Angela and I'm Ariel. No. Who's that? Hi, I'm Angela. And I'm Ariel. Hi, I'm Angela. And I'm Ariel. And this is Girls Gone Bible. We are a faith-based podcaster. We talk all things spirituality, mental health, relationships. We basically take people and walk them through the Bible. We walk them through journeying with God. We love Jesus so much here. He saved our lives, transformed our lives. If it weren't for Jesus, we'd be dead in a ditch. We would be dead in a ditch. Literally not kidding. I can't do anything. I was talking to some people the other day and I was like, whatever. I'm asking about spending time with Jesus. What's a... I just am curious of what people's measures are and how much time they spend with Jesus. And I talked to someone who's kind of like, you know, gave the argument that you don't have to spend that much time with God, like in quiet. I don't obviously agree with that. But I genuinely came back and I was like, can I ask you a question though? What about for people who are like a little bit like on well? Like come from a really broken background and dark history? Like, they're like, no, no, no, that's good. Some people really do need and it's good to know like if you need more time with him. Anyway, I say that to say like, I need Jesus because I go, I fly off the handle quick. Do you think that's why Paul said it's good that you have a thorn in your flesh because it keeps you so close. Yeah. Yeah. That's the point of it. It's his power. I'm so happy. Perfect. We were talking about how you anxiety all this stuff and thinking about what my mom said. Ariel, she called me up to me and Angela talking about our toes and our feet and how hers look like a hand and my toes growl over and she goes, you guys really got to take it down a notch. I mean, you want to get married, you duck by, your toes growl over. I know. We were so unhinged that day. It was not okay. By the way, the updo is up doing so well right now. We have doing is up doing. I love it. You look so eye. It's beautiful. I love a good little updo. It looks so good. I'm sick of my hair half up every day. If you weren't a minister of the gospel, you would be acting in period pieces. I'm being so serious. Why am I with child? Okay, guys, before we get into the whole episode today, we want to remind you that we came out with a devotional. It's called out of the wilderness, 31 devotions to walk with God through your hardest seasons. And we love this devotional now more than we ever have. I think the testimonies that have come out of this devotional are absolutely breathtaking and insane to our Un. Our biggest prayer with the devotional with tour, with the podcast, with Instagram stories or Instagram posts or little videos that we make is that they lead you to an encounter with Jesus. Everything that we do, we just pray is never done in vain and that it just leads you into God's presence. And I feel like we've gotten so many messages of people being like, I am experiencing God through this devotional. And that's so crazy. And I think like, we're surprised because we're like, you'd never know, you'd never think we had no idea. We can't even believe it. So thank you to every single person who's gotten our devotional. We'd love to hear your comments about it in the comment section and tell us your experience. And yeah, I think it's really good for every single person to get this devotional and learn from our mistakes and our tragedies and our experiences and see the faithfulness of God through it. Yeah, you're not alone. Right. Because we've been through it all. We've been through it all. Okay, so we talk a lot on this show about living with intention and taking care of what God has given us. Spirituality, emotionally, but also physically. Scripture literally says our bodies are temples and I feel like sometimes we forget that part. And modern life does not make it easy. Strashe, sugar, processed food, everything on the go. It just adds up. So I started adding something really simple to my routine called dose. It's this tiny two ounce liquid shot I take every day and it tastes like fresh squeeze orange juice which I love. And it's designed to support your liver's daily function. I'm also obsessed with the bottle and your liver basically does everything. Energy, digestion, metabolism, like 500 plus jobs a day. Dose just helps support in a way that feels easy and sustainable. Not any other capsule, not some chalky powder, just one shot and done. For me, it's honestly become a small act of stewardship. Taking care of my body, God gave me so I can actually show up with energy, intention, and clarity for the people I love in my calling. If you're ready to honor your health and invest in your future self, try dose with code GGB. New customers can save 35% on your first month of subscription by going to dose daily.co-gb or entering ggb checkout. That's d-o-s-e-d-a-i-l-y.co-sashgb for 35% off your first month subscription. Oh, in that book. So I just want to read you guys a little bit out of my devotional because we're reading from judges chapter 16 today, the story of Samson in Delilah, where basically Samson, it's all his fault. It's really not Delilah's fault. But we all have Delilah's that get sent into our lives to manipulate, to deceive. Sometimes they don't even do it on purpose, but like anybody can use, be used in a way that's not actually beneficial for your life. And so I wrote about this relationship that I was in that was a very short relationship and it was many years ago. I was very young just started following Jesus, like basically just got sober, love my exes. We love them all. Yeah, sure. We love everybody. This was so long ago. No, we really do love everybody. And it was so huge. And it's basically, it's basically, it's called what's done in the dark. I want to show you guys our devotional. It's called what's done in the dark. And I basically talk about the only time that I've ever been kind of cheated on. And basically long story short, I write all about it. I caught my boyfriend who I was like so enlust with, like thought I was so in love with, so much lust, so much deception, weird soul ties, obviously not walking in purity. Absolutely no shame. I was the life that I was living, that's who I was and I had no idea. And it was really, I like just started following Jesus or just like started loving Jesus. And I write about this betrayal that I went through and like, Samson and Delilah ultimately betrays Samson. But Samson trusted her. And like the whole point of walking with Jesus is that he gives us to sermon and the Holy Spirit speaks. The Holy Spirit speaks and he tells you maybe not right away. And maybe he allows people into your life to build that discernment, to build that faith in God. But this person came into my life and our whole relationship was built on lust. And I was so blinded. And so and you'll read in Samson and Delilah, like Samson also was blinded by the temptation, by the manipulation, by the deception. And so I'll just read a little bit of this. Like I've always enjoyed my birthday. However, the year I turned 26 was different. It was sad to say the least. Mainly because it marked the one and only time I was cheated on. I had been dating someone new and it was the most beautiful, whirlwind romance. I loved him and he loved me. I was convinced he was the one. Thank you Jesus. To the thank you Jesus, that the ones that we thought were the one ended up not being the one. If you're watching this right now and you thought that was your one or the one, I just want you to know it wasn't the one. And like I'm just so grateful. So grateful. Be grateful. Yeah. If you're in the thick of a breakup, you're in the thick of heartache, you're in the thick of betrayal. Just know you will get to the other side of it. No feeling is final. You're not always going to feel like this. I thought I was going to die from the situation. A few days before my birthday, I sensed a shift in the relationship. The intense love I had been experiencing had turned cold. There was a massive disconnect, a withdrawal. If you've ever been intensely loved and then had that person draw back, you know what I'm talking about. The shift caused me so much anxiety, so much confusion, so much pain. I knew something was wrong, but I just didn't know what. Fortunately, my faithful Holy Spirit was moving and speaking and doing things in his perfectly divine timing. I spent days in constant desperate prayer asking God to reveal to me what was going on behind the scenes. Had I done something wrong? Did He just not love me anymore? Was it all in my head? I was impatient and anxious and I begged God to give me an answer, but it felt as though God had gone silent, still amid the soul crushing anxiety, I faintly heard His voice encouraging me to be patient. The answers would come. Then basically I go into the story about how literally the Holy Spirit got this person to tell me the truth about a situation He was lying about. I write all about it. You guys want to get the book. It's crazy. It's a really good story. I read this because I want you guys to know this was a situation that I was under so much deception. This was not love. This was all lost. I was so blinded. I couldn't even see the red flags in front of me because I was so full of sin first of all. I didn't have the spiritual awareness. I didn't have biblical knowledge to know Corinthians 13 that what love is, that it's patient, it's kind, it's real, it's pure. I didn't know these things. I was settling for a counterfeit community, right? No community. It was me and sermons. Nothing, nothing. I had so much sin in my body and it blinded me. Sin blinds you. You can literally hear. If you have sin like running rampant in your body and your life, you can hear the truth of God and it do nothing to you. It will not pierce your heart because you're so blinded. In this situation, guys, I was so blinded by lust and I just want to encourage anyone who's listening that if you're in a relationship that's full of lust, it's not love. True love is not lustful. True love is not what you can gain. True love is not somebody leading you to the bedroom to have sex with you outside of marriage. It's just not. I know that can be really confusing and I know that it's so hard but I know that if you're watching right now and you're in a relationship, even if you guys aren't having sex but you know there's lust, you know there's like something, this man or this woman isn't looking at you right. They're sexualizing your body. They're sexualizing you. A girl is coming to you and being promiscuous and leading you somewhere that she shouldn't be like you know this isn't right or a guy is looking at you and he's just sexualizing you and speaking to you in ways that don't honor you or honor your body. Like this is your sign and this is the Lord speaking to you specifically that it's time to be honest with yourself and that God has something so much better for you, so much more pure and it's just not real love and it won't lead you to a good place. This luckily Jesus got me out within like three months. It exploded and it took me a long time to recover from it because I was so deeply woven and lust is something that like gets its nails into your neck, its claws into your neck and like will not let go of you. So I just encourage I don't have anything like amazing to say other than end it while it's while it's early. Do not let yourself be in this like lustful entanglement for longer than you need to because it gets that much harder to get out of and then it's that much more destructive you know. Yeah. Rian Canyon University is an affordable private Christian university in beautiful Phoenix Arizona offering over 360 academic programs informed by industry and student learning outcomes. In addition to federal grants and aid GC use on campus students received approximately $196 million in scholarships in 2024. On average undergraduate students graduate with approximately $6,200 less federal and private loan debt than students at private nonprofit four year universities and many have the opportunity to graduate in less than four years. One of the countries largest universities GC use ranked among the top 25 college campuses in all of America. Visit gcu.edu slash my offer to see what scholarships you may qualify for. admissible high school seniors and transfer students in schedule a complimentary visit from anywhere in the country. Find your purpose at GCU private Christian affordable. Visit gcu.edu slash my offer. And lead to death guys. Yeah. And this consequences and soul ties when it's not in the covenant of marriage. Yeah. It's all I'll say. Yeah. And we want peer relationships who want holy relationships. We want relationships that honor God. We want people to look at us in a way that is like, oh, that's how Jesus looks at me. And he doesn't look at us in like a dirty weird way. Yeah. Today we're reading the story of Samson and Delilah. We're going to turn to judges chapter. I think Ari and I would encourage you guys. We're just going to read from chapter 16 today, but we would encourage you guys to go and read the whole story of Samson, which starts at judges. Judges 13 to 16 or no, it's longer than 16. The story of Samson is really, really insane. So basically the whole book of judges, it's in the Old Testament. It is a story of the Israelites running away from God after they had finally got to the Promised Land. We see the Israelites in absolute chaos, absolute destruction consistently falling into disobedience by means of idolatry. We see the Israelites complaining, disobeying, being so unfaithful, falling away constantly. Like it really is a mess. And during this time they have no king. And so God keeps sending judges. That's why the book is called Judges. God would raise up these judges from children to be like his chosen one to go and lead and deliver the Israelites. And the issue was that the Israelites were disobedient. And then the people that God would choose to bring up and raise up are also morally flawed and weak. And they would also fall into idolatry and they would also mess up. And so it was judge after judge after judge. Like the judges were meant to rescue the Israelites, bring them out of oppression, but they would find themselves doing the same thing that the Israelites were doing. And so it's the cycle of sin, oppression, repentance and deliverance, which is like what we go through all the time. You sin, and then you get oppressed and enslaved by your sin. And then your entire life is a mess. The Israelites are under so much oppression, so much slavery. And then eventually finally they cry out to God and they say, please forgive us. Please come rescue us. This is their repentance. And then God is faithful to always come and rescue them and always come and deliver them. But he does it again and again and again and again. And so judges I think is like 21 chapters where almost every single judge except a select few all fail. And I was talking to my pastor who told me that like the book of judges is not a story of redemption. It's not a story like it's literally a book telling you who not to be and what not to be. Exactly. The frailty of being human and how easily manipulated we are. Can I tell you something small that makes me feel so much better having my nails done. Like life can be chaotic, everything can feel a little all over the place. But if my nails are done, I'm like, okay, I'm at least a little put together. And I used to think that the only way to get that feeling was going to the salon, making an appointment, sitting there forever, spending the money. But all of in June, honestly, changes that. And now you can do your nails at home. Usually maybe at night, sometimes with a show on, it'll become one of those small moments where you slow down and take care of yourself. And they make it so easy. Their manny system comes with everything you need for a salon quality manicure in one box. Real tools, great polish and it actually lasts. Like seven days or more without tipping. And we are currently loving the sheer and neutral gel polish set. And you guys, it ends up being just a couple dollars per manicure, which is kind of crazy compared to the salon. They also have options depending on your life. Like quick dry polish, press on, or even a gel system that lasts up to 21 days. And right now they're doing something called the year my nails turned pretty. It's basically a DIY manny challenge where you can learn how to do your nails step by step at your own pace. It's simple, it's not intimidating, it just fits into real life. Olive and June has taught millions how to manny. Now it's your turn. Visit oliveandjune.com slash ggb for 20% off your first system. That's oliv, ea, and dj, n-e.com slash ggb for 20% off your first system. How easily deceived we are. What do you think about Samson? Oh, Samson, it's just teaches you exactly what not to do. Samson was a man who had the favor of God and did the complete opposite. He was egotistical. He thought, I have so much favor I can do whatever I want. Oh, he abused God's grace over and over and over again. So we just read through this. I just please after we really don't have time to, I honestly look at all my notes I write. It's such a great story. I'm reading this story. Yeah. Because it's so good. It's so good. But just if you guys can after this episode or when you have time, read the story of Samson before 16, so really start on 13. 13, yeah. Start on chapter 13. Because it shows his rebellion and all the little sins that added up and how he completely just went against God and how he was the strongest man in the Bible and you see how weak he is. So I'm like reading commentaries and I wanted to read you this. The difference between Samson and like listen to how crazy this is. So Samson was a Nazarete chosen by God to deliver Israel from the Philistines. So he was a judge raised up from birth. And like the whole point of Samson's story is that like Ari said, he was, he had insane strength because the spirit of God was within him. With the spirit of God within it within him, he was actually unbeatable. And God gave him like Ari said so much favor to deliver Israel from the Philistines. He was known for supernatural strength, which was tied to his uncut hair as part of his vow to God. So Samson basically was like covenanted to God from birth, saying that you're never allowed to drink alcohol and you're never allowed to cut your hair. The second that his hair would get cut, all of his strength would go away. Samson basically represents all that's wrong with Israel during the period of judges and really what's wrong with us today. He's dedicated from birth to be God's special servant, but he consistently breaks his vows. And every single one of us are dedicated from birth to be God's chosen one, their daughter or his daughter or his son with a plan like a really specific unique plan for your life. And we oftentimes give away our favor and give away God's plan for our life because of these little things, the little foxes, the little idolatry, the little things that we get caught up in. And the word Nazarite means to be consecrated and separated. So Samson's whole story is that he is meant from birth to be consecrated and separated onto God just like we are. Every single one of us. And then Samson's name in Hebrew means little son, brightness, the brightness of the son. Like he was meant to be the son, to be bright, to be light in a dark world. Delilah, the woman that we're going to read about who comes and seduce Samson, she ultimately betrays him to the Philistines because she discovers he actually gives her the secret of his hair being cut, makes him lose his strength. And her name means to weaken or to bring low. Yeah. And it also can mean night. Ten, ten breaths of the night. Is it temptress of the night? Tentress of the night. That's so crazy. Yeah. That's so crazy, which is a complete contrast and opposite to Samson being the light. And he lets in and is manipulated by Delilah who is, that our Samson is the son and he's manipulated by Delilah who is the night. And her name literally means to weaken. So imagine how many Delilahs we have in our lives. This is a story about light versus darkness. And that's the battle that we're in right now. So we're so excited to talk about this. Let's read. Samson and Delilah, sometime later Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah who lived in the valley of Suraq. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you a thousand pieces of silver. So Delilah said to Samson, please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely. Samson replied, if I were tied up with seven new bowstrings that have not yet been dried, I would become as weak as anyone else. He's lying, obviously. He's going to basically give her a few things that are lies and not the actual way to lose a strength. Go ahead. Turn. So the Philistine rulers brought Delilah seven new bowstrings and she tied Samson up with them. She had hidden some men in one of the inner rooms of her house and she cried out, Samson, the Philistines have come to capture you. But Samson snapped the bowstrings as a piece of string, as a piece of string snaps when it is burned by a fire. So the secret of a strength was not discovered. Let me tell you right now, we are not meant to move life through life in fear and in suspicion and in paranoia of people's motives and all this stuff. However, we are meant to move through life with really strong discernment being aware that there might be people in your life who have Philistine secretly in your room trying to catch you, trying to throw you off. You know what I mean? This is just like… Okay, we were just talking about this the other day. There's something about this time of year that feels like a reset, right? Like the first warm day hits. You open the windows, you start cleaning things out, getting your life back in order and it makes you think, what else do I need to take care of? Because when you really sit with it, we're building a life. We have families, responsibilities, people we love and that comes with a way. And if we're being honest, thinking about protecting all of that can feel overwhelming. And that's actually why we love policy genius. They're not an insurance company. They're a marketplace that helps you compare quotes from top insurers all in one place for free. 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Samson replied, if I were tied up with brand new ropes that have never been used, I would become as weak as anyone else. So Delilah took new rope and tied him up with them. Men were hiding in the inner room as before. And again, Delilah cried out, Samson, the Philistines have come to capture you. But again, Samson snapped the ropes from his arms as if they were thread. Then Delilah said, you've been making fun of me and telling me lies. Now tell me how you can be tied up securely. Samson replied, if you were to weave the seven braids of my hair into the fabric on your loom and tighten it with the loom shuttle, then I would become as weak as anyone else. So while he slept, Delilah woven the seven braids of his hair into the fabric, then she tied it with the loom shuttle. Again, she cried out, Samson, the Philistines have come to capture you. But Samson woke up, pulled back the loom shuttle and yanked his hair away from the loom in the fabric. Then Delilah potted, how can you tell me, I love you when you don't share your secrets with me? You made fun of me three times now and you still haven't told me what makes you so strong. She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death with it. Wow. Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. My hair has never been cut. He confessed. For I was dedicated to God as a Nazarete from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me and I would become as weak as anyone else. So she sent for the Philistine rulers. Come back one more time, she said. For he has finally told me his secret. So the Philistine rulers returned with the money and their hands. Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down and his strength left him. Then she cried out, Samson, the Philistines have come to capture you. Then he woke up, he thought, I will do as before and shake myself free. But he didn't realize the Lord had left him. So the Philistines captured him and gouge out his eyes. They took him to Gaza where he was bound with bronze chains and forced to grind grain in the prison. But before long his hair began to grow back. Let's even just go back when it says, you've made front of me three miles and you've done it. It's all over. Samson told me it says she tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it. Imagine how Satan sits all day long nagging you with the same thing day after day after day. You can never think that you're so strong that you won't eventually give into the nagging. That's why like literally give us our day our day our daily bread. Like give us our daily bread. Feed me today so that I have what I need to fight today. Because he will never stop Satan. We'll never stop coming after us with the same thing, the same nagging. And if we don't choose every single day to be full of the spirit, to be full of the word, to be full of God, we will without a doubt get sick to death about it and also give into the temptation. Well, that's why I said he was so strong, but you are never too strong when you don't have Jesus. And that was Samson's problem. He was so ignorant. He had such an ego. He thought he had all this power that he could do whatever he want. And God would just give him grace after grace. And if you look at the beginning of the story, it says when he met Delilah, it says, Samson fell in love in lust with the woman named Liler. He said, I want her. He never went to Jesus for anything. It was all about Samson. It was all about his desires, his lust, what he wanted. He was a maniac. And so when I read this story, like when I read this part, I thought to myself, this isn't Delilah's fault. This is Samson's fault. He chose all of these little sins like he wanted her. He flirted with temptation over and over again. Oh, I'll be tied up. Like I'll joke with her. Let me do it again. Let me do it again. So he kept doing it and doing it. And then he kept getting tormented and tormented. Instead of saying no, I stopped that. And I love what you said. That's why if you're not filled with the Spirit, because if he was filled with the Spirit, if he went to God first, if he went in his Bible in the morning, if he wasn't so arrogant and filled with ego and all of these things where he thought he could do whatever he wants, he reminds me of the rich men today. Right. But think that they have all the money and they can live however they want, do whatever they want and they're successful and they're whatever. And then they always end up falling. He reminds me of me when I think it's okay to even remotely flirt with temptation. That's right. When I think it's even remotely okay to joke a little bit like this or talk like I used to or it's okay, you could just like have this type of conversation. You get it. It's just like little, little compromises here, little compromises there that add up to this moment where you just completely get demolished by evil. And that's what I wanted to say to you guys. Like I thought to myself like where does temptation occur in your life? Because it occurs in all of our lives. And when I sat down and thought about me, I thought like when I'm super lonely, when I turn on those again, I know this sounds so crazy to certain people, but this is why I don't watch certain things. This is why I don't go certain places. That sounds so crazy to the world. But when I decided I don't care how crazy I look, I live for God, not for the world. Because if I live to the world, I end up just like this guy, crazy. Meet, you know, ego-tistical. That's why we have to... You know, something I've been thinking about lately is what we're actually bringing into our homes every single day. Like we're so intentional about what we eat and what we drink. But I never really thought about the products I was cleaning with. And I used to think that that strong smell or that feeling when your eyes start watering meant that it was working. But that's actually not a good thing. A lot of cleaning products have ingredients we don't fully understand. And companies don't always have to disclose everything. Which is kind of crazy. That's why I'm so excited to talk about branch basics. It's a plan and mineral-based fragrance-free and safe to use on literally everything brand. You can use it on your counters, your bathroom, your laundry, even your produce. It just makes everything feel simpler and safer. Branch basics was also founded by three women. Which is truly so incredible and guys, it actually works. Like you're not sacrificing cleanliness to be non-toxic. It's just one concentrate that you dilute into everything. So it replaces all those different bottles under your sink. If you've been wanting to make a healthier swap this year, this is a really easy place to start. And here's the good news. Branch basics is now available everywhere you shop at Target, target.com, Amazon, and of course, branch basics.com. Tossing the toxins has never been more convenient. And for anyone grabbing the premium starter kit, you can get 15% off at branch basics.com with our CoGGB. Just use CoGGB for 15% off the premium starter kit at branch basics.com. After you purchase, when they ask where you heard about them, please make sure to mention our show. So close and communion with Jesus. I think something about this story that stood out to me a lot, which doesn't necessarily go with the devotional. But I think what I've been dealing with a lot lately is like, like Samson let someone in. It's Samson broke so many vows. He was never supposed to eat from the carcass of a certain type of animal. And he got honey from a dead animal. He married a woman he wasn't supposed to. He then obviously is flirting and being with a prostitute, like consistently betraying God. But I just think like him letting Delilah into his life, trusting her, thinking it's not a big deal, letting her voice in, thinking he could trust her. Again, like we're not meant to move through life paranoid or like skeptical of everybody. But what I've noticed in my own life and like what you're speaking to, like the little compromise is the little flirting with the like the whatever. I feel like I will hear so clearly from God. Like I will literally hear him tell me like, I want you to do this specifically. I want you to take this out of your life or I want you to start doing this with me. And it'll be specific. And I know that it's him. I believe that it's him. And then I implement it into my life and I can tell like there's fruit in it. This is yes, what he said would happen from this is happening. And then I will have either little voices in my own head that make me doubt what God said. Right. Or I've noticed sometimes even like voices that I trust in my life. They're not saying anything bad, but it'll be something that's just like one degree off. Yeah. And it makes me be like, okay, maybe he didn't say that. Maybe I am being too serious. Maybe I am being too much. And I am like in such a battle in my own mind because I'm like, but I know what God, I know what he's asked me to do and I know what he wants. But then I'm like letting other people kind of like confuse me and they're not doing it on purpose. But I do believe that Satan is able to like his plant little seeds even through people who love us who don't mean it. And that's why God's voice is a million times more important than anybody else says. So I just say that to say the people you let in your life, it's the most important decision that you make. And right, Ari and I would be friends with anyone and everyone. We love everybody. We love everybody. We would be friends with the mailman. But like we're not going to let the mailman speak into our lives if we don't know him. That's so true. You know, and I've been asking God, Lord, just show me what voices I can trust the most. Show me. Just show me. And writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing writing that a defiled up that end up breaking you. And this is what I love about this story. It was all these little sins that added up to him being completely defeated. Yeah. So good. So I love that. We can't even be one degree off. You can't. You said that to me. I was like, you really can't. Could you end up falling? You do. He's confusion. Yeah. You get confused. I'm just thinking, yeah, I'm listening. As you're talking, no. I just think we get confused. And I think about the devotional that I'm going to read. Guys, I know we all want to be in relationships so badly. And I totally get it. And I want to be in a relationship. And I want to be married. And I want all the same things. And I'm just sitting here being like, you have to be so careful, the person that you're with. Like you really do. I think about people we know and things that have happened and people like you lay down with the wrong person and you don't know how far you'll end up from God. It's crazy and it happens so fast. And it's really, it like makes me really sad. It makes me sad too. You know that people have a destiny in Jesus. They have a path in a way that they should go. And then something comes, a somebody comes into their life and takes them the completely wrong direction. It's the most important thing you have. You can't be with someone unequal, yoked. Period. I have been seeing it so much lately and it just doesn't work. It really doesn't. I have goosebumps all over my body. Me too. No, seriously. When I finish this story. OK, let's get it to Samson's final victory. Let's finish this story because this is crazy how this ends. The, it's Judges 16 chapter 23, verse 23, sorry. The Philistine rulers held a great festival offering sacrifices and praising their God, day again. They said our God has given us a victory over our enemy, Samson. They have no idea who they're messing with. When the people saw him, they praised their God saying our God has delivered our enemies.