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Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Aliost. It is a joy and honor to be with you guys today. I hope that you are having a blessed Friday and that you had a really great week and a great holiday as well. We are officially in the new year, which is so exciting. There's fresh hope today. There's fresh hope and faith and opportunity to just start fresh with the Lord. So the last episode we had, I'll say this, the last episode that we had, we were talking about all the things that the Lord had taught me in the year of 2024 and what he had walked me through. And one of the things that the Lord had showed me and really redeemed for me was community. Right? We talked a little bit briefly about community and what it should look like in the church and just the contrast of what I had experienced in the world versus community now that are centered in Christ. And you know, the foundation of it is biblical and it's truth and it's. It's love. Right? So I just see these comments come up on my socials a lot about community specifically and how it's a deep desire for a lot of our hearts, you know, And I think sometimes maybe there's a temptation of guilt to be like, God, why do I care so much about having people in my life or having so many people in my life? Lord, I only need you. But ultimately, I think it's important to remember that God, you know, there's the two most important commandments, which is to love God and then to love your neighbor, to love others. And we were made for God, of course. We were made to have a relationship with him, to be loved by God and to love him, but we were also made for each other. And so I think it makes sense that ultimately, you know, at the end of it, we all need each other and we want community and we want to be loved by others, and we want to love others. And I think even during the pandemic, I feel like just as humanity, like, we really saw the effects of just not being around one another. Like, I don't know about you guys, but I. I missed the mundane simplicity of just sitting in a restaurant surrounded by a bunch of strangers. You know, like, there's just something about people being around people. And I think it's because that's what God also made us for. He made us to commune with one another. He made us to be in relation we with one another and to support each other and love each other. So the first thing, we're going to touch on a bunch of things regarding community, okay? So hopefully this all flows well. I really didn't think about a flow. There were just things popping in my brain as I was typing this out and just preparing this episode for you guys. But the first thing that I wanted to talk about was the feeling that I had, okay, so before I knew Jesus and this like deep desire to have this, to have like a solid community, having like my ride or die besties, right? I wanted that girl gang, like women who truly loved one another. There was no competition, there was no jealousy. I yearned for that type of community, right? And so I'm reflecting on that and it's just funny because I felt like it was my soul actually was yearning and wanting a Christ centered relationship with all of these people, right? With my friends or whoever was around me. But I didn't know that it was Christ. Like I always craved community that had the characteristics of humility, loyalty, kindness, nurturing, intentional listeners and generosity. I think it's because I knew what it felt like to be around people who weren't like that. And being around people with Christ, like morals and characteristics is one of the most life giving environments that I've ever been around and a part of. So it's funny because I feel like it's literally our souls, y', all, that like crave these characteristics, which is just the characteristics of Jesus, which also just shows us how much we're made for Jesus, okay? Because you know, his church is going to act like him. So these characteristics and these things that we crave in community is really rooted in Jesus. But I think another thing that I felt so empty in with a lot of the relationships that I had before Jesus was just things like conversations, conversations were just empty. And now the conversations that I'm having with people are so fruitful. And it's really sweet because I feel like everyone's learning something valuable from one another, right? So I'm reflecting on the conversations that I'm having with people now. Everyone's learning something valuable from one another. And it's not just mindless conversation. I think the other thing my soul was craving in community was real conversation and real connection. All the conversations in my life before Jesus felt so surface level and meaningless. Whether it was complaining, gossip, the weather or work, it wasn't fulfilling my soul. And I don't even think I really knew how to have fruitful conversations before Jesus because, well, he is the fruit of life. So any conversation that isn't rooted in him is Empty. But I just, I reflect and I think about like, even the times where I would be on the phone for hours with people and I'm like, what the freak was I even talking about? Like, if I was a fly in the wall now, listening to, to the conversations that I was having before, there's no way that I would sit there and be like, that's a fruitful conversation. That's life giving, you know. And so I think I always felt that emptiness. Like no matter where I was turning to in any aspect of my life, even simply conversations with people, it's like if it wasn't rooted in Jesus and we were talking about all these other just kind of like surface. And a lot of it felt like complaining. Like a lot of it was either complaining about how things weren't going my way, complaining about how people were disappointed, complaining about how this wasn't working out. Gossiping was an awful habit of mine with my friends. Like none of it was giving life to my soul. So one of the many things that I had learned, obviously through finding Christ is that once you find Jesus, you realize just how empty, literally everything is without Him. Even conversation isn't that funny. Like, you wouldn't think that. But even conversations can feel really empty and fruitless without it being centered in Christ some way somehow. I think some of the most fun that I've had now, y', all, is the times where my friends and I just sit and talk about the fresh revelations that we've received from God, the things that he's walking us through, the things that he's taught us. Even sharing words from the Lord for each other like that is one of the most beautiful things to be a part of is to also hear directly from God to encourage each other. There's been so much encouragement, genuine love and humility. My friends now are quick to listen and slow to talk about themselves. And my friends just look like Jesus. Like everything I'm saying, I'm like, they literally just look like Jesus. And it's crazy. The contrast of what I was experiencing before and after having Christ centered friendships, it really is like night and day and going back to what I was saying when I started. This was, you know, how we were made for one another and that God created us to have a relationship with him, but to also love each other and have relationships with others. And it's really sweet because I think of it like just another medium, just another tool or way to experience God's love is through people. Being in community is another medium of experiencing God's Love. We can experience his love in so many ways. His love can be experienced in sunrises and sunsets, the wind, your favorite food, animals, the ocean, snow, rain, breath in our lungs, y'. All. And people, God's love is everywhere and can be experienced in so many ways. And I know that can also be through friends who love Jesus and listen to his voice. So it's cool, because the closer that you get to people who love the Lord and are filled with the Holy Spirit, it's also like you're simultaneously getting closer to the Lord as well, because you're just experiencing more of his heart through. Through other things and other ways. Another cool thing that I have learned about being in community with people who adore God is that my friends convict my spirit just by the way they love me so well that it actually makes me want to be a better friend. Okay. So being around people who love so well, it just will naturally convict your spirit and make you go, oh, I. First off, wait a minute, I need to be a better friend. Like, it's the humility and the sacrifice that these people show that makes me want to be a. A better person. Being in a community like this really reminds me of that scripture about iron sharpening iron, which we're gonna refer to right now. Okay, here it is, y'. All. This is Proverbs 27:17. And it reads as iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. It's important that we surround ourselves with people who make good decisions, are constantly seeking the wisdom of God through His Word and His voice and. And call us higher. It also reminds me of another Proverbs, which is Proverbs 13:20 that reads, Walk with the wise and become wise. Associate with fools and get in trouble. And this isn't the first time that God has said something like this in the Bible where he's like, don't be hanging out with fools or you'll become one. Right? And I think that's God just revealing to us how our human hearts kind of operate that we are actually more impressionable than we think we are, or at least that we want to admit. Okay, how quickly are we all hopping on a trend the minute that it happens? How quickly are we all wearing the same sambas once Harry Styles wears them on tour? Right? So it's like we are very easily influenced, whether our pride wants to admit it or not. And so it's really important that we do surround ourselves with people who are going to encourage us to become the best version of ourselves through Christ. I will. Firstly, Admit that I am so human in this way too. And I have gone into situations thinking that I was stronger than I was being like, oh, but I know Christ and I have the Holy Spirit, and, you know, he'll convict me. And it's fine that I don't have anyone Christian around me to, like, hold me accountable, whatever. And I do something that I'm not necessarily proud of. Like, that is just what happens when we are not surrounding ourselves with people who are. Can just hold us accountable and kind of hold us at that standard. And it's sweet because you can do that for each other, right? So I think it's great because I think a lot of times the Lord does put us in, like, partnerships. And he did this with the disciples, where he sent them out in pairs of two. And I think it's for this exact reason, you know, that we are stronger together. Even a cord of three strands cannot be broken, right? So it's like God has showed us how powerful we are when we are together, but we are slightly more vulnerable when we're on our own in situations. And I'm not saying that God can't sustain us and he can't give us, you know, the strength that we need in certain circumstances or. Or things, but if we can help it, I think it's good to surround ourselves with people who can kind of keep you strong, you know, in your morals and just in your walk with Jesus. I don't think it's wise for us to surround ourselves with people who wouldn't hold us higher and also would tempt us to do something that maybe we would later regret. So this kind of goes into another thing that I had said last week where I had admitted that I haven't always been the best at admitting that I need help, that I need assistance sometimes. And so that was another thing that the Lord was really walking me through in this last year, was learning how to accept help and assistance and even asking for it. And so one thing that I have really learned just through what God has showed me in healthy community, is facing hardships are so much easier when we're together. And so I used to be the type of person who would refuse any help from others. And it wasn't often people would ask, I'm gonna keep it a buck, and say, it wasn't often that people would really genuinely ask, but when they would ask, I would turn them down. And. And I think a big reason to this was not wanting to be disappointed in people if I ever admitted that I needed help. But then they couldn't actually come through for me or like, it was too much. I don't know. I don't really know where that comes from. But I think a lot of times it was a form of, like, protection where if I admit that I have help and now I'm in this vulnerable place and then I say what I need help with, and then they're like, oh, I'm sorry, that's actually way too much for me. I can't help you with that. I. I would rather just, like, deny the help from the beginning and like, lessen the chances of that ever happening and just being like, I can do it by myself. Maybe this is a result of feeling like a burden. Maybe it was self protection, maybe it was pride, I don't know. But I just had always gotten myself through things, which ultimately was actually one of the many reasons that led me to Christ, right? So I was like, doing everything on my own, and then I couldn't do it anymore. So I am slightly grateful for the way the Lord allowed me to behave that way because it did lead me to Jesus, where I was like, hey, I can't do this by myself. I literally need a savior. Okay, I wanna share some scripture that is just actually the sweetest ever. I love the heart of God. He's so kind. Okay, so Galatians 6, 2 reads, carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ. First Peter 4, 10 reads, each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others and as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. Romans 12:10 reads, Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Oh, I'm obsessed with that. Romans 12:10. That's so beautiful. And I think serving each other, especially through hard times, is something that makes the Lord so proud. And when you think about it as well, all of it is worship to God. You know, when you're in community and you're serving one another, you're also honoring God by honoring his children, you know, and us showing up for each other is also showing up for God. And I know that he takes so much pride in that when he sees his children loving each other and encouraging each other and praying for each other. And even in times where they're, you know, some of us are weak and we just need prayer or we just need a hug, you know, There have been times where I probably could have just like gotten through it in my bedroom alone, but I'd just walk out of my room and I Knock on Ashley's door, and I'd say, I need prayer right now. Like, I. I need help, and that's what we're here for. And I think just ridding that idea that that is, like, inconvenient or a burden. And maybe to the world, that can be sometimes, maybe that is annoying to people in the world, but at least people who love like Jesus, it will never, ever be a burden to them, ever, because they have the heart of God. And you're never a burden to God. And. And so if you believe that you're not a burden to the Lord, right, that he created you and he loved you and he wanted you, he wanted you. That's the only reason that you're here. And then you believe that his body has that same heart posture, then you're also not a burden to them either. And so asking for help, asking for prayer, admitting that you're weak and you can't do this alone, and you can't even do it just with God, you're like, no, I actually. I really need community around me right now too. That's okay. That's. That's actually what God wants. He encourages that. And I think it's one of those things too, where it's like, you're not fooling anyone. You're definitely not fooling the Lord. We've said this multiple times on the podcast, but we can't ever fool the Lord. So he knows what's going on in your heart, and you're really just hurting yourself by not admitting that you need people around you. I don't know if this part is gonna speak to every listener because I know that we don't all have this experience, but I do hope that it speaks to some. But I think that a hesitation for me when I was the hurt that I had received before and then now I wanna protect myself and say, no, I got it. I don't need any help. I don't need people around me. I don't need community. I don't care how much you say, that's great, stay from a distance, stay right there. But I think a lot of it came first with just betrayal and hurt. So if you relate to that, whether it's in the world or in the church, when people have betrayed you and hurt you and you literally trusted them with your heart, and this is something that is just not that easy for you. I wanna touch on that a little bit. How to trust friends again after you've been hurt and betrayed. Because we're talking about how important community is. And it's like, okay, great, yeah, Ally, you're right. But how do I get to a heart posture of believing that again? Because right now I feel like I am better off by myself. Just me and God, we're just walking together. He's all I need. And so I think since God tells us that we are supposed to love one another, that's what we do first. So. So before anything else, we're gonna love each other. And then if somebody shows you that you can't trust them, then I think from there you reevaluate with God who that person is supposed to be in your life while still loving them, though, even after the hurt. Because God still encourages us to actually love our enemies. Not that this person should be an enemy to you, but if somebody hurts you, we are still called to love. We're still called to love them. But sometimes betrayal can feel like a death. So I want to validate that and say that it can't always just be something that you, like, brush off and move on. And you're like, okay, God, we're just going to reevaluate what that person is in my life. Like, yes. But also it can kind of feel like a death. Because going from trusting someone with like everything and then suddenly being shown that you can't actually trust them like that anymore, it feels like you're mourning a relationship or a person that you used to know. Like, you know, from now on forever, things will never be the same. And when we know things will never be the same, sometimes that can feel like grief and mourning, you know, especially when it feels like something has been taken from us. Like that relationship, what you guys had before has now been taken from you. And it won't be the same even if you try. You know that like what happened, happened. And so there's a little bit of like a mourning process sometimes with that. Now, obviously there are extremes to both ends of the spectrum, which is why we need God's wisdom and discernment on how to move forward after situations like this. It obviously would not be wise to trust someone again after a deep hurt or betrayal. But obviously none of us are perfect and we will say or even do hurtful things from time to time. But if someone really shows you that you can no longer trust them with your heart, it's also very Christlike to set boundaries with how accessible you are to them anymore. And you can still do this and love them from a further away distance. So an example that we all really like to use with Jesus is Judas, Judas, obviously Betrayed Jesus. And ultimately was the very thing. What he did was the very thing that led Jesus to his death. And so we see the way that Jesus had actually been setting boundaries with Judas from the beginning, though, because he knew that he couldn't really trust Judas with, like, everything. So an example that we can think about of how Jesus didn't allow Judas everywhere, even all the disciples. If you pay attention to the way that Jesus only took Peter, James, and John into certain places, one of those times was on the mount of Transfiguration. Jesus and his disciples, Peter, James, and John go up to a mountain to pray where Jesus is transfigured and his face and clothes shall shine brightly. Moses and Elijah appear and speak with Jesus. A voice from a bright cloud calls Jesus son and says, I am very pleased with him. Listen to him. The disciples are frightened and fall to the ground, but Jesus touches them and tells them to stand up. Jesus orders them not to tell anyone about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. So it's obvious that Jesus trusted Peter, John, and James with that, and he did not trust Judas with that moment. Okay, you didn't see Judas come in there, but you see the way that Jesus sets boundaries with his disciples and even people and the crowd, right? And he only lets certain people close to him. And so I think that if somebody has shown you that you can't trust them anymore. Boundaries are very Christlike because Jesus set boundaries himself. And so there's nothing wrong with doing that. But he still loved Judas. He still loved Judas even with the betrayal. And so still having love for these people, but being okay with, like, reevaluating what those people look like and saying, okay, I'm. I'm not gonna give them all of me. I'm gonna meet them for coffee from time to time. I'm still gonna be in relation with them. I'm still going to love them, but I don't. I'm not gonna give them everything I gave them before, you know, and obviously, that can really. Don't take what I'm saying and, like, apply it to every situation, because I know every situation can be. Be different. The most important thing that you can do is to bring it to the feet of God and say, all right, God, what do you say I should do with this relationship? Is this somebody that I should even be in communication with still? I can love them from afar, but is it healthy to be in any relation with them? Should I just kind of step back a little bit? But I can still see them from time to time, or is this something that can be rebuilt? You know what I mean? So I think just always bringing it to God and letting him be the, the judge of that and the deciding factor of what is healthy for you and the other person. Because he knows what's in both of your hearts and he knows you better than you know yourself. So bringing it to him is like the best bet you could do because he's. He's really gonna know what is best for you. And sometimes, maybe it's not always what we wanna hear, maybe it's not what we would have picked, but we should definitely trust him with that because he has your best interest and he wants you to be safe. He wants your heart to be safe. So asking God first and foremost is we should be doing that and learning to trust people again, y'. All. It truly is a moment by moment choice. So this is something that is going to take time and it might not necessarily be an overnight thing. It's going to be a moment by moment situation where you're going to be like. You see an opportunity to be like, I could either flee from this and run or I could trust right now. And so it is active faith as you choose faith. As you peek your head up from under the blanket, you begin to trust again. Learning to trust again after a hurt is absolutely not easy. In fact, you may feel scared and exhausted. But remember, faith is not based on your feelings. That part, that part. I want to read that one more time. Learning to trust again after a hurt is absolutely not easy. In fact, you may feel scared to and exhausted. But remember, faith is not based on your feelings. Because when you think about faith, it has to be based on God. Like, if we're going to have faith in the Lord and we're going to have faith in His Word, that's, that's what we have to have faith in. Faith is not in our feelings. It's in what God says. And it's in his truth. And sometimes our feelings are not the truth. Sometimes our feelings kind of get in the way of things. And so that's not to invalidate feelings. They're real. But we shouldn't be relying on our feelings. We should be relying on God and His truth and what he says. And so if he's telling us to step out in faith, which is trusting in him and His Word, not trusting in our feelings, no matter how anxious we feel, how scary it is, right, we're not gonna rely on that. We're gonna rely on what the Lord is encouraging us to do. And if he's encouraging us to step out in faith and peek our eyes from the blanket and be like, you can do this. That's what we're going to do, no matter what we're feeling about it, does that make sense? Because, y', all, if we let our feelings get in the way of everything, we probably wouldn't even, like, live up to our most potential with the Lord. Like, if we let our feelings get in the way of things. Just imagine how lacking our life would probably be if we weren't doing things just simply based off of our feelings. Okay, another thing that I wanna talk about with being able to trust people again, maybe we should have led with this, because this has to be one of the most important things with being able to trust again. Is first step is forgiveness. Oh, forgiveness is an important step to trusting again. It is. And I don't think we can just move on from certain situations, friendships, betrayal, not forgiving them and being like, oh, but I'm just gonna have grace for every single person moving forward. If you are holding. Holding grudges and you have bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart, there's just no way you're going to be able to move on. That is something that we have to get rid of. Forgiveness is crucial. Jesus is clear that forgiveness should be extended to the person who hurt you again. That doesn't mean that you have to trust that person again, but it does mean you should forgive them as often as you need to so that you won't carry bitterness or unforgiveness in your heart that will actually only hurt you. Forgiveness should be limitless. It should be limitless is what Jesus is saying. That's what this scripture. That's what he said here to Peter is. Peter was like, all right, so I'm going to forgive people seven times? And Jesus was like, actually, no, it's infinite. You need to forgive people always. Okay, I heard kind of a crazy story the other day, actually. I just want to share this briefly. It's a short one, but I was having a conversation with somebody who they basically, like, interview and talk to people who are, like, deep in the demonic. Sounds so scary. It's not a job I would probably want to do, but they would talk to people like that. And I think the ultimate goal is to, like, deliver them and, like, help them see the light, you know, and kind of take them out of all of this demonic influence. And whether it's oppression or possession, I don't know. But the ultimate goal Was that. And so he had said that a lot of times when the. The deliverance would happen. So they're, like, praying over this person. Guys, this sounds so intense. I know, but it's real. Like, everything is spiritual. Okay? It's real. Every time they would pray deliverance over this person, it always began with forgiveness. It's crazy, but the minute that this person was released out of oppression or even possession, it was like, it started with forgiveness. So it's just crazy to see how deep that root is of unforgiveness and what it can lead to. I wish I could give you guys more information, but that was just a brief conversation that I had with this person. And, yeah, it was crazy. He was like, it's actually, like, the minute that they were released from all of this demonic crud, it always had to, like, go back to them having to forgive somebody in their past. So I think that just shows how powerful forgiveness is, y'. All. Like, sometimes we want to overlook it, and we're like, I don't really have to forgive that person, but, like, it's actually so powerful. But also it shows how much bitterness and unforgiveness is actual bondage and jail time to ourselves. Like, they were in the most oppression, and it just shows how much that is actual bondage to our souls is unforgiveness. Okay. Another POV that I do want to bring to this is knowing that God is all we need is comforting in times of betrayal. So we might have to prepare ourselves for these types of things to happen to us in our life, because it just is what it is, right? Okay. Humanity, we are broken, and we live in a fallen world. And so people will hurt us. They'll probably betray us. And we kind of just have to be ready for that. Not in a way of paranoia or, like, avoidance. Like, what I was doing, where I was like, I don't want any of it. Because when you're saying no before all of it, you're also saying no to the possibilities of people, like, loving you. Well, right? So we're not just going to say no, but we're also going to be. We're going to be prepared that that could happen from time to time. But knowing that God is all we need in times of betrayal is comforting, and I'm gonna tell you why. The more dependent we are on God, the more comforting it is when disappointment comes. And I'm not saying disappointment won't be painful, but it's almost like when. When your foundation is built on God, though, and the More dependent you are on him, the more comforting it is. When that disappointment comes, the devastation is less. Because you know that at the end of it all, you still have God. And what's funny is there's. Okay, I promise this is all going to make sense and tie up well. But there's actually so many Bible verses warning us not to trust others. That can be really conflicting. You're like, wait a minute, do I trust? Do I have a community? Do I love people? Do I trust them? Or no, because the Bible warns us to not trust people. But I actually think that there's more to this. I want to read some examples to you guys. Okay, so Micah 7, 5 through 6 says, put no trust in a neighbor and have no confidence in a friend. Guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms, for the son treats the father with contempt. The daughter rises up against her mother. The daughter in law against her mother in law. A man's enemies are the men of his own house. Jeremiah 17:5 reads, Thus says the Lord, cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. Psalm 146, 3, 4 reads, Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth. On that very day his plans perish. So there is certainly a theme in scripture about the dangers of trusting men. We can admit that we can see that. But. But my understanding is, and I think Jeremiah 17:5 actually communicates that the best when it says cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord, is that these verses describe something other than simply trusting a person. It's putting all of our trust and like our foundation on people. We shouldn't have our foundation laid on man and rely on people before God. These scriptures don't encourage us to be guarded and to never trust men. But don't trust men so much that the foundation of your house is no longer on God. Because even man can disappoint us and betray us. I think these scriptures are just showing the extreme of not relying on people. Like, don't just rely on people. First rely on God. The foundation of our house, the basement, the cement flooring of our basement, is God, right? And then from there it's like, we do trust, we love, but we're not relying on people. Because if our foundation is built on people and it's not on God, that house will fall. It will fall because people are not perfect and people will betray us and they'll hurt us and they'll disappoint us. So if others are an idol in your life and that is something that you're relying on, you're doomed. You're going to be disappointed. And then everything is going to come crumbling around you. If we know that God is all we need and he is our foundation, that actually is so comforting in times of betrayal because you're like, well, my foundation wasn't even on that anyway. So yes, it's hurtful. I'm probably going to need a little bit of therapy with the Lord about this. My heart's going to need to heal, yes, but it wasn't my foundation. I know I'm going to live. I trust in God. He's my provider and, and he's going to get me through this. He's going to get me through this. And there is like a strange comfort in that. Through the grief and through the pain. It's supernatural, but that's what happens when you literally trust in the Lord so much and he is your foundation. So these scriptures aren't saying, don't ever trust men. Run. It's saying, don't just trust in men. Don't only trust in men, because you're going to be disappointed for sure. Isaiah 41:10 reads, Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Second Peter 1, 3 reads, his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. Proverbs 3, 5, 6. This is our foundation, y'. All. This is the foundation of all of our houses. Ready? Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Those are the types of scriptures that you need during times of betrayal and hurt. This is us putting our foundation on God and trusting that he's got us. He's got us. So we're not going to be paranoid, we're not going to be avoidant, we're not going to be self protective. We're going to let the Lord defend us. We're going to let him be our protector. And even through times where people decide to turn their backs from us or hurt us deeply, we are going to trust in God and believe his word when he says to fear not, for he is with us. And we are not to be dismayed, for he is our God. He will strengthen us, and he will help us. He will uphold us with his righteous right hand. We're gonna accept love. We're gonna receive love. We're gonna receive help when we need it. And we're going to love others before all else. We're going to love God. We're gonna love people. And even when they hurt us, we're gonna love them as well. This might sound challenging, this might sound hard, but the other scripture that comes to my mind is that Jesus, his burden is light and his yoke is easy. And so this. Doing all of this would be really hard to do. Probably it would be if we were doing it alone. But all things are possible through Christ. And he has told us that his burden and his yoke is easy, which means he takes the weight of these things as long as we are surrendered to him, and we are submitted to him, and we trust in him, and we say, all right, God, you got this. Like, I physically can't do all of this. I'm gonna need you to lead me in all of these ways, right, of being able to navigate community and friendship in general. One more thing that I do want to point out, too, which we kind of touched on a little bit when we were talking about how we are called to love everyone but not trust everyone. And we're talking about the story of Jesus going on the mount of transfiguration and not bringing Judas. And there are clear boundaries that he set with Judas, right? So we are called to love everyone, but not trust everyone with everything. All right, guys, let's flip to First John 4:1. Y' all got your Bibles. I didn't tell you to get your Bibles, but you should already had them out. So if you don't, or whatever app you use, bring up some scripture first. John 4:1 reads, Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the Spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is just an example of how we shouldn't just trust everyone right off the bat. So that goes back to another thing that I talked about last episode, is that I have been so quick to give people my heart, which maybe that's what actually led to. To the disappointment was I was giving them my heart way too soon. And so now I want to try to protect myself. But actually, I probably should have just waited around a little bit to see the fruit first before just handing over My entire heart. So God does also encourage us to just be guarding of our hearts and to not be so trusting right off the bat and to test every spirit. Another scripture that reflects this really well, y', all, is Matthew 7:15, which reads, Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. I think it's so kind of the Lord to tell us exactly how we can do this, how we can beware of false prophets, AKA people who are fake. Or maybe they come looking like a harmless little sheep, but they actually don't have good intentions. And they're really just a. They're vicious wolves, right? So you can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. It's their actions. It's not even just their words. And I think it's also their actions for more than just a few times, you know what I mean? Because I think sometimes people can also, like, their fruit can seem really good in the beginning, and then the more time that you see spend time with them, the more that time goes on. Maybe you can really see the fruit for what it is. But, yeah, we just. We just have to be discerning, y'. All. I think really all we need to do is just trust in God through all of our relationships and just abide in the Spirit and say, hey, God, what do you want me to do? How do I move forward with this? You know? So that is where we are going to end the episode. We really honestly could have a whole nother episode about this. I just feel like there's actually so much more about Community. And so if this was something that you guys enjoyed and you'd like to even dive deeper into this topic, we can definitely continue to talk about this. But I thought this was fruitful. I thought it was productive. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, God. Hey, y', all, can we do something cool today? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is? Can we walk more like him, love more like him? We're going to be discerning like him. We're gonna trust the right people. We're gonna set boundaries with also the right people. And we're just gonna stay in tune with the Spirit. And I pray that he guides you for the rest of this week and that you get to spend sweet time with him and make really great memories with the people that you love. And I'm just so grateful for you guys, and I'm really proud of you. I will literally say that till the ends of time. I'm so proud of you guys for the way that you are pursuing the Lord and just the way that you're sticking around and you're loving this podcast. And I'm just really grateful for this community and the way that we have each other. So if you don't feel like you have a community physically in front of you, you absolutely have a community here. Virtually you do, though. We are still the body. We are still family. And if anyone needs encouragement in the comment section. Actually, wait. I really love this. If anyone needs encouragement, if you don't feel like you have anyone in your life like this, I want to encourage you that it's coming and that the Lord will provide really incredible people. But maybe in the meantime, you guys can be there for each other in the comment section. If there's anything that you need prayer for, if there's anything that you need help with, if you just simply need encouragement, I would encourage you guys to do that for each other in the comment section. I think that would be really sweet if you're watching on YouTube or anywhere else. But I love y' all and I will see you 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. 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