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Marketing is hard, but I'll tell you a little secret. It doesn't have to be. Let me point something out. You're listening to a podcast right now and it's great. You love the host. You seek it out and download it. You listen to it while driving, working out, cooking, even going to the bathroom. Podcasts are a pretty close companion. And this is a podcast ad. Did I get your attention? You can reach great listeners like yourself with podcast advertising from Libsyn Ads. Choose from hundreds of top podcasts offering host endorsements or run a pre produced ad like this one across thousands of shows to reach your target audience audience in their favorite podcasts with Libsyn ads go to libsynads.com that's L I B S Y N ads.com today.
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Hello everybody. Happy Friday. Welcome back to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Aliost. It is a joy and honor to be here. I'm already weepy. It doesn't take much, guys. I. It is what it is. I. Jesus. It's just Jesus. Hey, today. What even is happening? What is today? No, the truth is, guys, is I. I'm really, really grateful for today's episode. And I'm just so grateful for Jesus. Okay, okay. What is going on? I can't even get through the first two minutes of this. I am so grateful for Jesus and I'm really excited for today's episode. Sorry, guys. I'm so sorry because I feel the relief, like the serious sigh of relief that's gonna come with this episode and it's something that I have genuinely been feeling myself. And so I'm really excited for us to just be honest today with each other and talk about it. Because this is, this is the truth about being a Christian is what we're going to talk about today. This is the truth of what it means to follow Jesus and this is the truth of what it looks like walking with Jesus on this side of heaven, in this lifetime on earth. Can we just be real about what it actually means to follow Jesus? And the truth is, is like you guys could have even been comparing your journeys to mine. But it's so easy to compare your journey with Jesus to other people and be like, why doesn't my journey look like that? Why does it actually feel like I have been going through the fire ever since I met him? And I think, oh, I don't even. I'm getting too ahead of myself. Okay, we're going to stop for a minute. Okay. First off, we do have our Christ with Us. Okay? But today I have my little compact Bible I've been showing you guys, my yellow one that I've loved so much, and I still use it from Hosanna Revival. But also, if you're an OG and you know, if you know, you know, this is my compact Bible. It's just a little bit smaller. She fits in my purse. And I don't know, this one's, like, so special to me. Probably because I can hug it a little tighter. Like, she can fit right under my head at night. I don't know. I just love her. Okay. She's perfect. Travel size Bible. This is also from Hosanna Revival. We have our asmr. Okay. This is NLT as well. The new living translation is what I have. So we have our Bible. You can use code aliost at checkout with Hosanna if you'd like. And then today my coffee is green because it's actually Matcha. I don't know. I've been on a little bit of a Matcha kick lately. Hey, there's no rules. I know that the title is Christ with Coffee on Ice, but you can do whatever you want on ice or not. Okay? That's what we have today with our new cup. Again, he's gorgeous. He's perfect. I'm obsessed with him. He's everything. Oh, thank you, Jesus. Okay, let's talk about the journey. Okay. Let's talk about what it really means to walk with Jesus. And I think what's inspired me to talk about this today is I posted something on Instagram a few days ago, and this is how I know it's the Holy Spirit is when it literally feels like it comes out of nowhere. For me. This is just how the Holy Spirit. Spirit spurrit the Holy Spirit. This is just how the Holy Spirit has worked with me. All right? This is just our relationship is. I was sitting in my car, I had gotten back from my workout, and all of a sudden I had this idea in my head. I had this thing that popped in my head. This revelation, I guess. I don't know, just boop. There it was in my brain about comparing ourselves to people online. And I actually think that the root actually came from a frustration of seeing too much of this certain kind of content on the Internet around being a Christian and being a Jesus follower, where everyone, not everyone, I want to choose my words wisely. There is a lot of content that looks too good to be true. And the reason I know that is because I know what it feels like to be constantly pruned. By Jesus, to be constantly going through the fire, to feel like it is like warfare after warfare after pruning season after, you know, character growth. Like, it's. It's Jesus growing me. And I know it's all for a good thing. And it's not even that I haven't experienced seasons of, like, harvesting all the fruit from those, seasons of being pruned and, like, stripped of these things that Jesus, you know, old trauma that's being bubbled up in me that I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. That's got to stay. I don't want to face that, right? But I've faced seasons of relief where I'm like, wow, God, I see why you brought me through that. So I'm not saying that there aren't. It's always crappy. I'm not saying that walking with Jesus is always crappy. But the truth is, is a lot of the times it is, though, but not in a bad way. And I want to dive into that. Like, I want to talk about what that actually means. I have been seeing a lot of content where it just looks like people's lives are perfect with Jesus. And I'm like, that can't be right. Because I love Jesus with my whole heart. I love him so much. And all I want to do is please him. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I mean, I'm not perfect at it, you know, but I'd like to think I'm more obedient than not. I love him so much. But why does my life not look like that? And I know. I know immediately, I'm like, no, that's not real. There's no way that's even their life, okay? There is this little, tiny stinky bug that keeps flying around my head right now. And he's tiny. I mean, he's like, literally smaller than a mosquito. I don't even know what he is. He's smaller than a fruit fly. And he just keeps. I don't know if you guys can even see him. He's so small, stinky little fly. He smells. He doesn't actually smell, but he just keeps getting all up in my grill. He's, like, right here. And I'm like, dude, anyway, before I rudely got interrupted by stinky little fly, I've been seeing that content. And it frustrates me because I know, and I'm not. I'm not even, like, calling anybody out. I'm not mad at them. Of the, you know, the individuals of which I'm seeing this content from, but I see the danger in that kind of content because it can lead people astray. And I don't even think that when people are making this kind of content, those are their intentions. Like, I think ultimately, Christians want people to know that life with God is good because God is good. And I believe that. But I also believe that it is so possible to be walking with Jesus and be thriving with him while also simultaneously suffering with him. I think more times than not, we actually are suffering with him. So I made a video. This is me getting back to what I was saying. Sorry, y'. All. I was sitting in my car, and this download came, right? The root was like, oh, my gosh, God. I keep seeing all this content online, and I fear that it's leading people astray or they're comparing themselves to this gorgeous version of. Of Christianity that they're seeing online that, like, honestly isn't even totally true. And so all of a sudden, I felt this urge to make this video, and it was like, if your journey with Jesus is hard, 99% of the time, you're doing it right. Like, the journey with Jesus actually sucks. And I said I used those words. And I feel like some people were actually. No, I don't feel like I saw it. Some people were offended by those words that I chose. And I don't regret the words I chose. Maybe one day I will, but right now I don't. And I think the truth is, is, like, I chose the word sucks because it does. And it's not Jesus who sucks. It's not who he is as a person that sucks. It's not his character. It's not him. It's not even being a Christian means that it sucks. It's just like, the things of this world make the journey suck. Our flesh sucks. Like, temptations suck. Trauma sucks. You know, like, it's the things of this world. It's just our human nature that makes the journey suck. And so it's Jesus in his goodness, in his perfect character that constantly is challenging those things. And then it's so ouchie, right? But it's also in his love and his grace that he corrects us as our shepherd, right? You think of the image of a shepherd with his sheep, and what does he use to correct the sheep? To be like, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, over here. It's. It's the staff and his rod. What is that Psalm? Psalm 23. You rod and your staff, they comfort me even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I Will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. How in the world can a rod and a staff comfort somebody? Can we talk about that for a second? How in the world. Like, that sentence alone, I'm like, wait a minute. It doesn't say your hugs and kisses that comfort me. Even though Jesus totally gives hugs and kisses, I love him so much. Ah, he's the best. But, like, your rod and your staff, a shepherd with the rod being like, ah, ah. And his. And the staff saying, okay, over here, it comforts you. But wouldn't you think that in that action, it's kind of like, oh, whoa. Okay, that's uncomfortable. Okay. Ow. Oh, oh. I'm supposed to be here. And I believe that, like, that's when the comfort. It's actually like, in the action of his love and his grace and his mercy. He does have to take a staff and a rod to do it. But it's actually. It is an act of comfort because it's bringing us back to where we were always supposed to be. So it's not Jesus who sucks. It's not his character. It's not being a Christian that sucks. It's us that makes the journey suck. But the journey sucks. But I'm not blaming Jesus. It's not him, actually. It's in his love that we're corrected. Oh, what is the other? Thank you, Holy Spirit. I never know the actual verse, but it. Okay, it's James 1:12. Okay. It says, blessed is the one who perseveres under trial, because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who Love him. Matthew 5:10 also says, Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, AKA blessed are the ones who are in suffering. Right. Like, to be persecuted probably means that you're suffering. So it's in our suffering that we are blessed. Like, that's the thing, right? Is I want to talk about that. How is that possible? How can we be thriving with Jesus and blessed while also suffering and going through the fire? I don't want us to fall into the trap of believing that if we are going through suffering, it means that there's anything wrong with our faith. It means that there's something wrong with your journey. If you are seeing other people who apparently are constantly thriving. They're receiving all of their blessings. They, like, prayers have been answered for them. Like, they're engaged, they're getting married, they're having a baby. It doesn't honestly, they look happy. They're, like, glowing all the time. They're smiling all the time. Every time you see them on Instagram or on TikTok or wherever, it's like, wow, they're always happy. And it looks like Jesus is always blessing them. And it looks like they're always thriving with God, and it doesn't look like they really have to go through it at all. It doesn't look like they're suffering. That is such. That's the dangerous thing about social media, y'. All. And this goes for comparing ourselves to people in the body of Christ. And also comparison that happens in the world, okay? It's everywhere. It's. Social media in general can be such a trap of comparison. And comparison really is the thief of joy. Because immediately when we see all of. We're getting a filtered version of what people are experiencing in their lives. It's polished up, it's fluffy, it's gorgeous, it's cute, it's aesthetic, it's clean. But we are comparing our real lives, like, everything, because we. We're the ones obviously experiencing our own lives. And so we're seeing everything in our life. We're even feeling it internally. But you're seeing the raw, the ugly. Like, you are hearing every thought that goes through your mind. You're experiencing everything in your life, seeing the ugly and the good. But then you're only witnessing the good of somebody else online. You're not actually walking in their shoes. So you're comparing, like, everything of having to walk in your own shoes, of your own life, to a version that's probably only, like, 2% of walking in that person's shoes. And that's dangerous. It's dangerous. And I feel like that's how people can actually doubt their journey with the Lord, believe that there has to be something wrong that they're doing with Jesus. Because if you're like, okay, well, I'm always suffering. I'm not doing something right. Like, I'm actually, I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I don't please God. Maybe I'm not strong enough. Like, I can't just be content and be happy with Jesus. And I could even see people falling away from God because of that kind of discouragement. You know what I mean? Like, believing that if their lives don't look like how that person's life looks like, or if they really were told by whether these are people online or a church that you've been following, where it's giving prosperity gospel, which means what is the definition of prosperity Gospel, because I feel like that's thrown around a lot. What does it mean? Personally, my understanding of what it means to be following somebody who is like preaching a prosperity gospel is that if you follow God, everything right will be in your life. Like there is no suffering. Like, God is good, you're gonna get the promotion, everything is gonna work out for you, everything's gonna go your way because God is on your side. And the thing is, is like all of those statements, it's not that they're untrue, but if we are expecting the results of being faithful to God, being like earthly blessings, like wealth, success, health, comfort or material prosperity, and that suffering, sickness or financial struggle may reflect a lack of faith, obedience or spiritual alignment, that is how you know it's prosperity gospel. It's often summarized as ideas like if you have enough faith, God will make you rich. God always wants you healthy and successful. Speak it and you'll receive it. Suffering means something is wrong spiritually. Critics of the prosperity gospel argue that it can distort the message of the Gospel by turning God into means of getting blessings rather than the treasure himself. They also point out that throughout Scripture, many faithful people deeply suffered. Job, who we just talked about, lost nearly everything. Paul the apostle was imprisoned, beaten, shipwrecked, and and lived with ongoing hardship. Jesus Christ himself suffered rejection, betrayal and crucifixion. Verses people often reference against prosperity focused teaching include in this world you will have trouble. That is John 16:33. Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross. That's Matthew 16:24. Blessed are those who are persecuted, which we just read. That's Matthew 5:10. That said, Christians also believe God can bless people materially, heal people, provide financially, and perform miracles. The tension is usually about what the Gospel fundamentally promises. Historic Christianity teaches that following Jesus guarantees salvation and his presence, not a painless, wealthy or comfortable life. With posting the video that I posted, what I was trying to communicate to the world, and honestly, I just. I just wanted people to feel seen in the sense that you are not crazy, you're not broken, you're not doing anything wrong. If you are suffering with Christ, and if you feel like you're suffering with Christ more times than not. Because the real gospel does not promise a comfortable life. It doesn't mean God won't provide. It doesn't mean God won't physically walk with you through the fire. But he also didn't promise that there wouldn't be fire. And he also didn't promise that the life that we have here on earth with him is easy. Why is it not easy? Well, the Bible is actually very honest that life on earth will involve suffering, hardship, disappointment, grief, temptation, and spiritual battle. It does not present this world as heaven. In many ways, the Bible actually teaches us the opposite, that this world is broken by sin and, and longing for restoration. That's why is because our life here on earth, it is a beautiful, beautiful experience to walk with Jesus. And here's the thing. Like, I believe the reason why I was so emotional in the beginning of this episode is because I. Obviously, my personal story is like, ever since I met Jesus, he's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've never fallen so deeply in love with somebody. He is everything. Like, I don't know what I would actually do without him. I don't know what I was doing without him most of my life. But the pain and suffering that I endured alone was far more painful, far less rewarding. Like, at least the pain and suffering that we go through with Jesus is rewarding and we get to become closer to the version of who he's created us to be. He's constantly teaching us things, how we're supposed to move in life, how we are to honor him and honor other people. It's so fulfilling. It's exactly what my soul was created for. It's exactly what your soul was created for. And so either way, we are living in a broken world. Okay? We are living in a world that is broken by sin and longing for restoration. And so we gotta. We honestly have a choice to choose our suffering. Choose the battle. Either we face this broken world of sin on our own, or we face this broken world of sin with Jesus. And we get to become more like him. We get to reflect more of who Christ is to his core and we get to grow, become better versions of ourselves. Like, what? There's fulfillment in this suffering versus this suffering is just empty and ouchy. And there's actually no substance to this kind of suffering other than just like, going through it alone and like, trying our best to like, self love ourselves through it and, and meditate through it and all the ways that the world tries to heal. But like, at the end of the day, we are all longing for restoration. And so I would much rather do that with Jesus. Thank you. And suffer with him than to go back to the life I was doing without him. Jesus Christ said it plainly, in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. So he says. Jesus Christ himself told us in this World, you will have trouble, there will be trouble. But then it's. But then we have hope, because Jesus has already overcome the world, meaning I've already overcome everything that you will face in your life. That's what he did when he humbled himself, came down to earth, became a man. He was fully man, fully God, but humbled himself as a human being like one of us, became the very thing that he created to face and endure everything that we could ever, all the way to death. Being crucified, being betrayed, being tortured, like he didn't just stop at living life. And everything that all of the suffering that comes with just being in this broken world, but then also death, being betrayed and crucified and tortured, he then also overcomes that which. Like, that's it. That's it. There is nothing further than death. So he overcomes everything. He overcomes the entire world so that he can walk us through the suffering that we're. Because it's inevitable, the suffering of this world, the things that we go through in this world. It's inevitable. But we have hope in Jesus because he's already overcome the world. But take heart, he says, but, hey, listen, you're not alone, because what I did for you, I overcame the world. So as long as you follow me, you're going to get through it. And not only are you going to get through it, but you're also going, I'm going to bring something beautiful out of you because of it. And that's something we could never do without Jesus. Like the fruit that Jesus creates within us and from our lives is. That's it. That's. That's the most beautiful fruit there is. There is no other fruit that compares. Okay, so he's the only one that can bring something beautiful out of the suffering of this world and the lives that we live here on earth. Now, this verse I want to talk about as well, because this is something I also touched in, in my video was Luke 9:23, which says, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. This verse is one of the clearest descriptions of what following Jesus Christ actually costs. And that's the thing that I think that's. That's the big difference between a prosperity gospel and the actual gospel is the word costs. And I just think like, in prosperity, it's still all about me. It's still all about us. It's still all about, well, if I'm faithful, then you owe me this God, and I need this, and this I need you. To come through in this way. And it's not that God can't come through in those ways. But also there's such a lack of like. But there's a cost. And the cost is your comfort. The cost is your selfishness. The cost is some of your wants. And I'm not saying hopes in him, like, God, I hope that this comes through for me. It's like, no, I want to sin. No, I want to get drunk. No, I don't want to wait for marriage. No, I don't want to take care of my body. I don't want to go to the gym. I don't want to eat healthy. I don't want to show up for the people in my life. I don't want to go to that birthday party. It's going to inconvenience me. I'm tired. I don't want to show up for my kids today. I don't know. I don't know what it's like to be a mom. I don't even know if that statement's real. But, like, I don't know. I would probably imagine one day there's probably gonna be a day where I don't wanna play with my kids. Cause I'm freaking tired. I don't know. I can't talk about parenting. Cause I'm not one. But like, you know, there's a cost to following Jesus. And it's denying ourselves. It's those very feelings where I don't wanna. Well, deny yourself. We don't get to just do what we want all the time and then expect God to back us up in that. We don't get to do whatever we want. And then expect God to be a magic genie in a bottle that says. And then you're like, okay, God, here are my three wishes. No, there's a cost to being a follower of Jesus. There's a cost to being a disciple. You know that when Jesus called all of his disciples, they left their families. A lot of them left with not even like a bag on their back. Right. In Luke 9:3. This was the verse that just came to my mind when I said they didn't even bring a bag. It says, take nothing for the journey. No staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. This is when Jesus Christ sent out his disciples and told them not to carry extra possessions. That was a cost. That was a physical cost for them. But like, there are costs. There are things that we have to sacrifice and give up. There are things that we have to deny ourselves in to follow Jesus. And that might kind of sound sucky, but again, like. Like a lot of rule following where you're like, gosh, Jesus is such a stickler, man. He's kind of tough. Like, that sucks. What do you mean? I can't, like, do the things I want to do? Or, like, what do you mean? I have to give up everything for him? And there's such an extreme to everything. Oh, my gosh. I feel like we could even go into that statement so much deeper because I do think that there's extremes where then people feel like they have to, like, literally be miserable to follow Jesus and they have to deny themselves of everything. Like, there's discernment, there's maturity in the spirit. There's things that, like, obviously there's an extreme for both ends. And the truth is, is it's not that Jesus wants us to live a miserable life. It's not that he's a stickler. It's not that he's tough. I mean, he is tough. He's tough, but, like, he just knows what's best. And he sees the outcome of what it means to deny the things that we are supposed to deny, the things that we are supposed to lay down, the things that we are supposed to sacrifice for Him. He sees so much further than we do, so he sees the results of what that sacrifice, what those costs will do for us, will do for our spirits, will do for our lives. He just knows better than we do. And I think once you trust him enough to say, all right, I'm gonna do a little experiment, then I'm going to deny myself the things that I feel like I'm not supposed to be doing, the wants that I believe I'm supposed to be resisting the costs that I do believe Jesus is calling me to do, the sacrifices that he's asking me to make, whether that's for him, for the people around you, right, I'll do a little social experiment here with him, and I'll. I'll start doing that and see what happens. And the truth is, is, like, you will see the fruit of your obedience with denying yourself, picking up your cross. Just as you think that Jesus wanted to do what he had to do for us, to overcome the world, to overcome all of evil, our sin. Like, I don't think he was eager to pick up that cross, carry it up, Calvary and suffer and bleed out and die on the cross for six hours. Don't think he wanted to do that. But what was he represent? What was he actually demonstrating to us in that his Love and his obedience to his purpose of what he was put on earth to do, which was to save us, okay, if we are, as disciples, Christians, which, being a Christian, I think the word translates into mini Christ. We are to be little mini Jesuses. We're to be like him. We're to be a reflection of Him. We are to be his hands and feet, okay? We are to fulfill whatever purpose God has put you on earth for, which actually is as simple as this, okay? Before a. All the other things get in the way of, like, oh, I don't know what my purpose is because I don't know what kind of job I'm supposed to have and I don't know how I'm supposed to show up in the world. You're just supposed to show up in the world and reflect the love of Christ, period. That could be at McDonald's, that could be at Chick Fil A, that could be at the hospital. That could be at Forever 21 in your mall. That could be at the car wash. That could be in court, as you're representing your client as a lawyer. Like, that could be. You're a dentist, like a dental hygienist. It could be anything. It could be anything. It's actually as simple as your purpose here on earth is to reflect Christ. And so if you're going to reflect Christ, that means you're going to have to walk like Jesus, which means you're going to have to deny yourself, pick up your cross and suffer a lot, and go through a lot of trials. Because Jesus life wasn't easy either. That's also why he is the perfect example of who we should follow. Because he doesn't just talk the talk. He's not just this bossy guy. He also fully walked the walk, and he did it perfectly. He didn't sin. One time. Whoever wants to be my disciple, he says, Jesus starts with an invitation, not a force. And so I think that's the other thing that just makes him literally the best, is he will never ever force you to do what's right, but he will always invite you to do what's right. He's essentially saying, if you truly want to follow me, not just admire me, quote me, or believe in me, intellectually, this is actually what it requires. A disciple wasn't just a fan. A disciple was someone who patterned their entire life after their teacher. Must deny themselves does not mean hating yourself, thinking you have no value, suppressing your personality, never enjoying life. And so this is actually what I think I was trying to touch on when My brain was going all willy nilly earlier talking about how things can go to one extreme. Extremes can be on both sides. So that's not what denying ourselves mean. Okay? Suppressing your personality, never enjoying life. It means denying the version of yourself that wants to be its own God. You just want to do what you want to do because you're the boss of your life and you're following your feelings and you're following your own fleshly desires. Okay? It's actually what it means is it's choosing God's will over your impulses. Obedience over temporary gratification, truth over ego, surrender over control. And sometimes this looks dramatic, but sometimes it's incredibly ordinary. Like, if you don't want to forgive, forgiving when your flesh wants to revenge. Staying sexually pure when temptation feels strong. Telling the truth when lying would benefit you. Choosing prayer or discipline when comfort wants laziness. It's the daily death of the mindset that says, I want what I want when I want it. And take up their cross daily. This part would have sounded extremely intense to Jesus audience. Today, people wear a cross as just jewelry, but in Roman times, the cross represented suffering, humiliation, death, and surrender. A person carrying a cross was walking towards execution. Jesus is saying, following me will require sacrifice. A daily death, y' all suffering every day. That means we're gonna endure some kind of suffering. Whether again, it looks dramatic or it just looks incredibly ordinary. Like in the everyday of forgiving, when you don't want to forgive, staying sexually pure when you just want to, you know, get crazy. Telling the truth when lying would actually benefit you in that moment, right? But whatever that looks like, that is still a death to self every day. And the word that needs to, like, stand out to us. The most bold and underlined is the word daily. Jesus said, pick up your cross daily. This isn't usually one giant heroic moment. It's continual surrender is what it looks like every day. Which means daily you are choosing faith over fear, obedience over convenience, God over self. And then the part of the scripture that says, and follow me, right? When then Jesus says, and follow me. Christianity is not just behavior modification. The goal isn't suffering for suffering's sake. The goal is following Jesus. And what does that mean? That means we're becoming like him. We're trusting him. We're walking with him, loving like him, obeying him. We are becoming more and more like Christ. We are the mini Christs. We're Christians. We're becoming more like Him. The cross comes while following someone worthy. That's why this Verse is both challenging and beautiful. Jesus never promises an easy road, but he also never asked people to walk it alone. And so I think also the reason why people weren't super obsessed with me using the word suck. I don't know, maybe that's a little. What? You can use whatever word you want. But for me, I'm like, yeah, the journey sucks, okay? And I think people were like, whoa, whoa, whoa. But you don't want to say that being a Christian sucks, because then people won't want to be a Christian. And then it's like, well, what's the point of following Jesus if it sucks? And again, it's not that Jesus sucks. It's that we live in a broken world no matter what. And so it gon suck no matter what. But it's literally the scripture where Jesus says, but take heart because I've already overcome the world. So it's like, pick your suck. You know, either life sucks and we just have to sit in the mud on our own, or we get to go through the hardships of this broken world that was broken by our own sin. By the way, it's us. Us. We suck. Us suck. Not Jesus. Not his character, not who he is, not the Bible, not Scripture, not Christianity, not being a disciple of Jesus. That doesn't suck us suck. We made this world broken by our own selfish desires. It's our sin. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. It was Adam and Eve. And it wasn't just Adam and Eve. Oh, here's the thing. I see all these memes where we joke, and honestly, I've fallen to it too, where I'm like, dang it, Adam bud, why'd you have to do that? Eve girl, why? And it's like, y', all, if we were put in that garden, we would have done the same thing. Please, we need to humble ourselves. We would have done the same thing. Because we're all the same. We're all selfish. We all want what we want when we want it. It's just the truth, right? So it's. We broke it when. When. When human beings were made, we broke it. And we've been breaking it ever since. And so Jesus said, all right, I gotta clean up this mess. But. But also, like, it was in his love and his passion for, like, he didn't have to do that, right? But he chose to because he loves us. I think if I want to conclude this, whatever this episode was, I'm all over the place. But how I would want to conclude this episode is that if you are Suffering with Jesus, you're doing it the right way. And if you are comparing yourself to versions of people online or maybe even in your personal life where you're not seeing a whole lot of suffering and you're like, okay, well, their life looks like they're really thriving with God, like all the time. That's not real. That's not actually life with Jesus. Life with Jesus is enduring suffering, but it's actually in his mercy and grace that we get to do it with him, that he volunteered and said, you know what? I'm gonna walk through that with my kid because I love them that much. And he doesn't expect perfection from us. We're gonna fail, we're gonna fall, we're gonna wander. If God wasn't expecting that from us, he wouldn't give us a bunch of scripture that speaks to those things, right? Psalm 23. That scripture would not exist if God didn't think that we would ever need it. And we would, we would just, we would never wander and we'd never mess up and we'd never have to endure suffering and hardship, whether that's self inflicted or it's from the world. But, like, then he wouldn't have given us this. Like, of course he expects that. He's not disappointed in you. He loves you. He's there for you no matter what. And you're not a bad Christian if you feel like it sucks a lot of the time. Actually you're probably doing it the right way if you're. If it sucks a lot of the time. But it's worth it because we get to experience Him. Oh my gosh, we get to experience Jesus. We get to experience His Holy Spirit. We get to walk with him and allow him to show us the beauty of what it means to walk with Jesus when we endure suffering with him and the fruit that comes after it. That's what I've experienced in my life. And so my story, this is just my experience with Jesus so far in the last three years that I've been following him is I've been thriving, but I've been hurting. It's been incredible. It's been a. It's been a high of my life. And it's been a love I've never experienced in my life before. But it's also simultaneously been the most suffering. Ouchy, oh my gosh, ow. Of my life, you know, and it's a different kind of suffering. It's not like the suffering that I was enduring before. The suffering I was enduring before I knew Jesus was just Loneliness was trying to navigate this life and being burned left and right. Whether, again, it was my own doings or of other people. And, like, having to go through that by myself. The world is just going to hurt you no matter what, and people are going to be disappointing, and we're going to be disappointing no matter what. But now the suffering is, like, it's correction and it's teaching, and I get to have hope in Jesus that he is the one that's going to save me, and it's not me that has to save myself. And I think that's still something I'm not perfect at. Like, I've definitely fallen to, like, feeling like I have to, like, clean everything up. And, like, if I'm going through something really hard, I gotta, like, fix it instead of just going to Jesus, I, like, forget that I have my hope in him now. I don't have to find my hope in myself. I don't know if this podcast episode makes any sense, but I just want you to know that you're not alone. You're not broke. Well, we're actually. We are broken. But, like, you're not doing it wrong if you're in pain as a Christian, okay? That's a part of the walk, that's a part of the journey. And so don't compare yourself to, like, a prosperity version of Christianity that we're seeing online where it's just all hunky dory. It's not all hunky dory. It's a beautiful journey. It's amazing. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it actually, like, mostly hurts, but it's like a good. Ouch. It's like when you go to the gym and you're really sore the next day, but it was for good. Right now you're stronger, but, like, Ow, dude. Ow. I am realizing my journey of going to the gym is so unbelievably parallel to my spiritual journey. It's given me more language, I guess, of, like, wow. Actually, this is exactly what it feels like to walk through it with Jesus and. And the denying of our ourselves. Like, I don't want. I don't want to be in that pain. I don't want to go to the gym. I don't want to hurt. I don't want to lift these stinking weights anymore. Ow. It's heavy. It sucks. I'm so sore the next day I'm stiff, and then I got a stretch, which, like, hurts too. And I'm like, why does this all have to just hurt? But Also, like, I've never at the same time, guys, of having to hurt and be so sore and in so much pain, my muscles are on fire like fire torch to my muscle. So painful. Sometimes I swear there could be tears that could come out of my eyes as I'm done. I'm not joking. How can that live at the same time as also then feeling so strong, so empowered, so capable, it's like it's the same thing, but just spiritually. So we just got to pick our pain. And there's a pain that is empty, where it's like there's actually not much that comes from that. And then there's the pain where there's so much reward at the other end, which is becoming more like Jesus being strengthened in him, not ourselves anymore. It hurts so good. It hurts so good. But it hurts. And it sucks. But it's the best. Did I get my point across today? I don't know. I hope so. Oh, Holy Spirit. Let's pray and then we'll end this episode, Jesus. Oh, Holy Spirit. Thank you. Thank you for being here, God. We love you. We honor you, God. And we do actually thank you for the suffering as much as maybe those words kind of taste like vinegar coming off of our lips right now. Thank you for the suffering. Feels so like, why would I ever thank you for that? Why? Ow. I don't want suffering. But the truth is, is we. We actually, it is a privilege to suffer with you, Jesus, because it means we get to become more like you. And it means that you have something in it for us. And it means that you get to walk through it with us and we get to feel seen by you in it because you have overcome everything we face, every single hardship, everything we go through. You have already faced it. And so, Lord, we thank you for the journey and we ask for your mercy. God, continue to give us mercy and grace, and please forgive us for the times that we fall short. Lord, we thank you that your love that you say in scripture that there is nothing that can come between the love that you have for us. Nothing here on earth, nothing in heaven, nothing in hell. Like there's nothing that we could do or what anyone else could do, the enemy could do. There's nothing that anyone could do that could come between the love that you have for us. And so, God, we thank you that that is true because you wrote it in your scripture and we believe that your word is true. God, thank you for being our hope. We need you so desperately, Jesus. We need you. We need you. We need you, we need you every day, every moment of every day. God, thank you that you are on our side, even in the suffering. Jesus, thank you that you have our best interest. Jeremiah 29:11, you tell us for I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope in those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you, says the Lord. Jesus, thank you that that is a promise to us that you have plans to give us hope in a future. God, help us to hang on to the truth of what you tell us in the Bible, God, what your spirit tells us every day. We need your strength to keep hope in who you are. When things feel really, really hard and when we feel like we're disappointing or we're not doing it right and we see the way that you're blessing other people, or we see the versions of what people are showing us online. God, help us to keep our hope in you and that we don't lean on our own understanding, but we only lean on you. Help us to keep our hope in what you say. God, we love you. Thank you for being our dad. Thank you for being our shepherd. We pray all of these things in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Guys, thanks for being here today, y'. All. Thanks for hanging in there with me as I kind of sort through my thoughts. But I really do pray that it impacted you and you felt seen in this, and we are in this together, y'. All. It's not an easy path. The path is narrow and it is not easy, but we're in it together. There's another scripture I think Paul had said where he was like, just know if you're suffering, your brothers and sisters are also suffering. So you ain't alone. I'm wrong. Wrong. It wasn't Paul, it was Peter. It was 1st Peter 5, 9, where he wrote, resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of suffering. Some other translations say, your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering. This context is about resisting the enemy and staying firm during hardship. The encouragement is basically, you are not alone in this. Okay? You're not alone, y'. All. If you're suffering, just know the rest of the body is too. And so we stay prayerful. We keep each other sharp. Iron sharpens iron, right? So we're gonna keep each other strong and we're in this together. You guys. I love you. Okay, guys, have the best Friday ever. I hope you also have the best weekend and an incredible week. Until I see you guys next time. I'll see you same place, same time, next week. And before we go, could you guys just do me a really quick favor? Can we do something really cool today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Can we walk more like him, talk more like him, be more like Jesus? Be honest about the journey with him. And, yeah, just love on someone today. I love you guys. And I will see you next time. Bye.