← Christ With Coffee On Ice
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- [00:00]
Ellie Yost
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- [00:22]
Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop with Mint. You can get premium wireless wireless for just 15amonth. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying. No judgments. But that's weird. Okay, one judgment anyway. Give it a try@mintmobile.com switch upfront payment of 45 for 3 month plan equivalent to 15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full terms@mintmobile.com hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. I am your host, Ellie Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys today. Happy Friday, everybody. We made it. We made it through the week. I transparently would just love to give you guys a little update. So I'm going to be honest, I almost didn't make it here today. I had texted my editor Katie last night because as of recording right now, the episode, this episode goes live in like two days, which typically we are always on top of it. We're always ahead by a couple of weeks. And I have not sat in the studio to record in over a week, almost two weeks. And I could not get myself to record this week at all. And it was like day after day of me being like, all right, Katie, I'm gonna, I'm gonna really try to record today. And then it wouldn't happen. I just genuinely would not have it in me to do it or to do most of anything at all. Like, it wasn't even just recording. It was like I couldn't do, I couldn't wash my hair. It wasn't an everything shower. I. I had a slick back all week this week. So last night I was just like, I just felt so down. And I was like, I can't record this week. And so I told her. I was like, katie, I think we're gonna have to do a rerun this week. And maybe I could just do like a quick little recording in the beginning to be like, hey, guys, so sorry about this episode. Like, it might be one you've already heard. Anyway, long story short is I woke up this morning, I went and I Did my workout and I spent time with God, and I was like, no, I'm not. I'm not throwing in the towel this week. I'm gonna push. And so that's what we're doing. And I am really grateful to be here with you guys. And I washed my hair, obviously. I did my makeup. I put on a cute outfit. I'm wearing a skirt today. I'm wearing a skirt. Yeah, I just. I. It's been a while since I've really, like, put an effort into how I look. I haven't done it all week. And so I was like, this actually feels really good. And my hopes were. Were high. This morning I felt like I had woken up and I was like, no, I can do this, and I can do this with Jesus, and I need him every step of the way. But, yeah, we're doing it. We're here. And, yeah, I think transparently, like, a lot of the stuff that I was sharing with you guys last week, there's just been more that God has been walking me through. And to put it in simplest terms is I have never been so desperate for the presence of God in my life. And I know that that probably isn't gonna be the last time I say that. Like, this is just the journey. And, yeah, I've just never had to face anything like this. I think, in my journey with Jesus, as. Until now, you know, like, I've been walking with him for three years, and I've never had to go through something so stripping. So humbling, and it's so funny. Like, truly, the only thing I can compare it to of what it feels like is it feels like grief. Like, some days I'm so, so down bad and I can't move, and I don't want to. I don't want to get up from a position of either laying in my bed or on my couch. I can't respond to anybody. There have been a couple times where I'm like, am I depressed? Am I okay? I'm fine. But, like, that's. That's grief, right? Is it just, like, hits you in waves and then some days you wake up and you're like, all right, we're okay. The. Your world is not actually collapsing. It may feel like that right now, Al. But everything's okay. And, like, truly, God genuinely has you, and so it's just. Yeah, it's felt like grief, and it's been humbling. I've been deeply humbled by God through this, and I don't think I'm done. I don't think he's done yet. I. It's also in. It's put even more of just fear of the Lord in me. Like, the ways that he's seen things in me that I had no idea were there. I'm like, oh, my gosh, you are God. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. When you're humbled by God, you're like, oh, yeah, you're God. Not that I ever forgot that, but I do think that there's. There's sometimes we can have a bit of a subconscious pride about how we operate, especially when things are comfortable and things are going really well and you're like, everything's good. You know, it's like, kind of easy to fall into that anyway. I don't know if I'm making any sense right now, but ultimately all I'm saying is still going through it, but grateful for going through it, because it means that God has something beautiful on the other end. And it's been wildly challenging. One of the most confronting seasons I've had to go through with Jesus. But I'm grateful for it, and I'm really looking forward to who he is creating me to be. I'm excited to meet her. And, yeah, we're just all still a work in progress. And it's good to be humbled by God. I just think sometimes when we get knocked down like this and you get humbled in one way, shape or form in life and you just really remember who God is and you really remember who you are. And I think a lot of ways that I've been living until I've been going through what I've been going through in the last few weeks, probably almost a month now, is I am not that big. And I also have been. I've been trying to carry things on my own. I've been trying to control. I've been trying to still be my own God in some ways. And I think it. It's. It's just all been. I think a lot of it has been my thinking patterns. I think it's. It's. A lot of it is internal. Yeah, I'm not gonna get. Okay, I'm gonna stop there because I. I really don't want to share too much before I actually really know what the heck is going on, because I've had. I've had a lot of revelation, but I'm definitely. I'm not out of it yet. So I think it'd be really cool to be able to share it completely and wholly when I'm out of it, you know. Okay. Anyway, praise God for today. I'd love to pray too. Let's pray, guys. Yeah, no, we're gonna pray. Have grace. Have grace for me in this episode because I don't know, I. I'm not. I'm not gonna give as clear today. I fear. I fear my brain is not gonna be giving a ton of clarity, but we're doing it. Okay. We're just going to give 100% of what we have today. So, yeah, let's just pray. Lord, we thank you for your presence. God, we thank you for your discipline. Jesus, we thank you for the ways that you allow us to go through trials and suffering. Lord, we praise you through the suffering. We thank you for what you have planned for us. God, thank you for Jeremiah 29:11 that says that you actually have plans to prosper us and give us hope in a future. So, Lord, we lift up today to you, God, and we ask for hope. We ask for more of hope from your Holy Spirit. We ask for a refreshing from your Holy Spirit. God, we ask for a renewing of your mind, of our minds. We ask for your renewal of our minds. Holy Spirit, wash us clean of any doubt or shame or unconfessed sin, if there's any sin or any ways that we've been living, even ways that we've been thinking things that we've been believing about ourselves or about you or about our circumstances. Lord, I just pray right now, Holy Spirit, you bring those things to our mind and we are able to just repent of those things and let it go and come out of agreement with those things that play on our mind, in our minds on loop. And if there's ways that we've been thinking that we actually haven't even been that aware of, Lord, Holy Spirit, will you actually bring awareness to the unhealth that could be going on under the surface behind the scenes subconsciously? Jesus. And we ask for your mercy and your grace as you continue to uproot these things out of us. We ask for your comfort, Lord, we need you. Thank you, Lord, that you are the healer, but you are also the one that binds up our wounds. And so, God, we ask for your healing. And we ask for you to just bind up any boo boos once they've been exposed and you've showed us that that's not actually how we're called to live. It's not how we're called to believe who we are or who you are. Thank you, Jesus, for calling us higher. Thank you, Jesus, that you actually Encourage us to take on your yoke, which is easy and light. Help us to trust you more today, to trust you more in the plans that you have for us, that you are our Father, which means you take care of us. We don't have to perform. We don't have to earn your love. We don't have to earn the things in our lives, like we just have to lean on you and trust that you are our dad. Lord, remind us if we've forgotten what it. What it actually. What it means to believe in youn as our Father. And so we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. We pray for a good day today, a good day that is filled with youh hope and joy in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Thank you for joining that with me, guys. Sorry the episode's not over. I just meant the prayer. I'll close my eyes for so long. Praying. I open my eyes and I see these lights and I'm like, good morning. Whoa. Jesus. Do it, do it, do it. It's painful, but it's for our good, so do it, Lord. Okay, today, have you noticed my cup? I messed up, so I put my cup in the dishwasher, which you're not supposed to do. Okay? It says it in the description. It says it when you buy it. It's not dishwasher safe. You gotta hand wash it. Well, I got a little lazy one day and I put it in the dishwasher, and now it says Crite with coffee on Ice. No S. It's gone. But Jesus is still on the back. He's untouchable. But, yeah, that's unfortunate. That's my fault. And we do have Matcha on ice, which I know is, like, totally off brand because this podcast is called Christ with Coffee on Ice. But today we have Crit with Matcha on ice. And this Matcha I made, I made it myself, yo. I made it all by myself. I made it all by myself. And I say that because I think a few episodes ago, I was showing you guys this. This brand that I've been using. Guys, thanks for laughing. I need to laugh today. Can we laugh a little bit? Oh, I need to laugh. I haven't laughed in a few days, and I. I need to genuinely laugh today. Holy Spirit, bring your joy, please. We need your joy. I don't know what I would do without it. I think I would actually literally die. I would die without it. So today we live and we laugh. Okay? And we love. We live. Laugh, love. Stop. Ally. That's the most. Okay, that Was very Hobby Lobby Boomer of me. But Hobby Lobby kind of rocks, though. You could find some gems in Hobby Lobby. Sorry, what was I saying? Oh, don't put your cup in the dishwasher. That's what I was telling you guys. Otherwise, your cup will no longer say Christ with coffee on ice. It's gonna be crit. I don't know who that is. I ordered a new one. I ordered two more. Actually. I ordered the white one here, which, by the way, this is available. I don't know. Sorry. If you're new here, hey, this is not a normal episode, so if this is your first impression of me, I'm actually so sorry. Click on some of my better episodes. We've just been going through it a little bit, but that's all right. We'll get back up. Because we have Jesus. Oh, my gosh. Because we have his holy spirit. Okay, so where you can get your crit with coffee on ice cup is off of alios.com. we just launched these, which is so exciting. And a bunch of really awesome, epic, incredible, amazing merch. We're gonna put it on the screen here. Fav. Faves. Faves. I'm so. I've never been so proud. I don't want to say of anything, but I've never been so proud of a launch. To be honest, it's pretty epic and amazing. I love these pieces so much, and we worked really hard on them for a couple months. No pressure. You don't have to buy. Just look at them. Just look at them and give me a thumbs up and be like, yep, I like that, Al. But if you really like them, wear one. It's the best. And it's the best excuse to evangelize and tell people about the goodness of God and how loved they are by Jesus. Yeah. Oh, no, I wasn't actually. Okay. I was telling you about my matcha. I made it from scratch, kind of. Well, I got the powder, and then you do it with the hot water, and then you stir it up with a little thingy, and then you pour it. I did all that today, but can I tell you guys. And then I promise we'll get into the Bible. I promise we'll get into the word of God. But let's just hang out for a second. Okay? I have to tell you guys. Oh, another Life update. Is this. Where did that come from? So I've been going through it lately, and I can't get any comfort, really, from anything else other than God. That. Okay. Can I tell you guys, it's not even just the battle of what God is putting me through, like, where he's like, we're. We. He has been literally pruning the living bejeebers out of me. I'm dying every day. Maybe that's why it feels like grief, because I'm actually physically dying. It feels like every day. If you're new here, you just got to get used to the drama. There's drama. I'm just a little. I'm just a girl. Okay, so there's that aspect. But then what I've been going through, I promise this ties back to the matcha. And actually, believe it or not, also this squishy guy, I got him off Amazon. So I have been going through this journey of serious gut issues. Aren't we all? Raise your hand. Raise your hand if you've been going through gut issues. Same for years, probably my whole life. But for a majority of my life, you guys kind of know this about me already. If you've been, you know, an active listener of the podcast. I've shared with you guys how I've been on this new journey of wellness and fitness and eating well and moving my body. Look at. I have biceps now. It's awesome. I'm the healthiest I've ever been in my life, spiritually, and now physically, a majority of my life. Your girl wasn't moving. She wasn't even going on a daily walk. And I think it was one of two things. One just wasn't the lifestyle I was living. I think also when you grow up in upstate New York on the East Coast. The east coast isn't super great about nutrition. We like our stuff fried, and we love potatoes, and we really like dairy and Taco Bell. So it's like I just didn't eat the healthiest. Probably for a majority of my life. My parents would try to get me to eat vegetables. But, like, I have this funny story, actually, and to this day, I still don't really like peas. If you love peas, we might be enemies now. Just kidding. You're still my friend, but you're weird to me. I don't like peas. And I have this. This memory of my friend Val. She came over. We've been friends since forever. She came over for a family dinner, and I ate everything on my plate, but I refused to eat my peas. And there was a rule that my dad wouldn't let us leave the dinner table if we didn't finish our veggies. But, I mean, I'd been sitting there for a hot minute, and I was like, I'm not. I'm. I'm. And so my parents were like, val, do you want the peas? It's so Val. Val loved peas. She may still love peas. I should call her and ask. But yeah. So she ate my peas for me. But anyway, I just didn't really, like. No. And then as soon as I went out on my own in life, I just started eating whatever the heck I wanted to. And I'm in my early 20s. Okay. My metabolism rocked. So it didn't matter what I ate. I still looked fine. Now, granted, on the inside, I'm sure all of my body parts were probably like, ally, we can't have Taco Bell again. Chipotle again. Yeah. So I went all of my life eating like that. And then in the last couple years, I've decided it was really a conviction where I was like, I can't keep treating my body like this. My body is a gift. It's not even mine. This body is. Is a gift from the Lord. You know, treat it right, Al. Don't be doing all. I didn't know I could stretch it like that. Should I be, or is it gonna break? So because of that, it actually ended up messing up my gut, which was so confusing to me because I was like, wait a minute, I'm eating healthy now, though. But I think the truth is, is that my gut was so used to eating all of the really awful, processed, nasty fried, greasy stuff, lots of cheese, that now that I'm eating like a normal person, shocker. I'm eating the things I'm supposed to eat. My stomach's like, what planet are we on now? So my stomach has been wrecked, and I think it's also affected my skin. I've told you guys about my skin journey. I've had theories of what's going on with my skin. I think it's all internal, like, genuinely. And I've also learned that, like, obviously your skin is the biggest organ of your body, but it. It is such a telling factor of what could be happening internally. And so I'm doing. I'm going down this, like, naturopath thing with a doctor where they do it all naturally and they know what they're talking about. I did my research, great reviews, yada, yada. And I'm now on this, like, protocol food protocol of things I can eat and can't eat anymore, while also giving me supplements. Because the thing is, is that we want to heal my gut naturally. I don't want to just be put on a bunch of medication. Also found out this might be tmi. I don't care. As long as you guys don't care, I don't care. I also apparently had an overgrowth of yeast in my stomach which I didn't even know could happen. But I was like, what does that mean? And they said that that can actually happen. From going from one drastic thing to the next. Are there doctors listening? Does this sound right to you? Anyway, any gut doctors out there? So because of that, we've now had to do like this anti inflammatory diet protocol where I'm cutting out all foods that would encourage that yeast to stay alive because the yeast has to feed off of something and eat off of something, which is typically anything of sugar or major carbs and dairy. So I can't eat any of those things. And when I list it off like that, like it's just three things. It doesn't sound like it's that much. It's almost everything. I can't have any dairy, no butter. I can't have any sugar at all, including fruit. No natural or artificial or processed. I mean, you especially shouldn't be having those sugars anyway. But I can't even have natural sugar. Can't have honey. I can't have any sweeteners. I pretty much can only have like, obviously no seed oils. But we shouldn't be having seed oils anyway. And I realize seed oils actually wreck me. I pretty much can only have meat and vegetables. So I'm on week three right now. And that alone has felt like a fast and like dying to self. Oh my gosh. The first week I was getting headaches. I was definitely going through withdrawal. I've never cut out. I can't have bread, I can't have any rice. Like cauliflower rice is what I'm living off of right now. But yeah, it's been crazy, you guys. I can't have vinegar anyway, you don't need to know. But I made my matcha from scratch because that prepackaged one that I love so much that has like the vanilla flavoring in it, it has sugar in it. And so I can't have it. But there are substitutes. And you know what? This has actually been such a learning experience for me. I can't have doordash, guys. My bank account will actually be really grateful for it because I do be door dashing too much. But I. I can't doordash. I can't eat out, I can't go to restaurants. So there are, you know, there's pros. It's forcing me to learn how to meal prep and cook, like, daily. Otherwise, I won't be eating. Like, I have to. I actually have to prepare all my meals and eat all of them. And so there are substitutes that help, like, kind of, like, itch the. The sweet tooth. And I really do want to still have some kind of, like, flavoring to my drinky poos, you know, like my matcha or whatever. And so monk fruit. And also, I've been using so much vanilla extract, so I put both of those in this. And it's lovely with unsweetened almond milk. But, yeah, we're hanging in there, guys. But it's just been. It's been a double whammy. I'm like, God, why both of these at the same time? Like, I'm going through this. This whole process with my gut physically. And then there's a bunch of stuff he's walking me through spiritually, mind mental. And I'm like, I am. Okay, sure. Why not do it all at once? You know what? Sure. That's what pruning is, right? It's. I mean, I am being stripped naked. Stripped freaking naked. I feel naked right now. I feel like Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. I'm like, where. Where are the leaves? Where are the fig leaves? I need to cover myself. I'm scared, and I'm naked, and I can't go to food for comfort, like, everything. Lord, you are doing a new thing, and I am so obsessed with you. I'm so grateful for you. It's fine. I forgive you. I'm not even mad at you. There's nothing to forgive. Actually. This is good for me. I can't even go to food for comfort, like, when I am. This whole week I've been describing to you guys of being down bad and, like, so, like, ouchy. All I want to do is eat ice cream. Even healthy ice cream. Even ice cream that's just sweetened with honey. You guys know ice cream for bears? That's, like, my new thing. I love their ice cream, and it's like, a third of the calories of a Ben and Jerry. It's great, but it's dairy and there's honey. I can't even have healthy substitutes right now. I can't have potatoes, so I can't even have healthy potato chips. I tried to cook some cucumbers and put them in the oven and make them chips, and that didn't work. I had them in the oven for two hours, and they. It just wasn't. I just. In my mind, I was like, oh, they'll be crispy like chips. It didn't happen. So anyway, guys, just send your prayers. So with all that being said, it's this squishy guy and Jesus that have been bringing me comfort. And of course, the word of God. But Jesus, Jesus in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. So Jesus. Oh, that was actually pretty good. Al, you did that. Guys, what do we read today? He looks like a dot. You know, the dot. Candies. If all I have in me today is to just simply entertain you guys, is that okay? Because that's what this episode is giving. We're almost a half an hour through and all I've done is really just kind of entertain and blab if that's all I have in me. And I don't really have a big old message for you. Is that all right? Beep beep. I also really miss. I really miss smart sweets. Sweet smarts. What's it called? And I miss Olipops. Guys, I can't drink Olipops. All right, enough about me. How are you guys doing? Okay, let's read the Bible. I felt Ephesians for whatever reason. Oh, I have my blue Bible back with me today. I've been doing my yellow one. I've had it for weeks now, and I love my yellow one. But I was like, this one matches my outfit and I miss my blue one. So we have the Holy Bible with us today. This is the NLT translation. She is from Hosanna Revival. My fave. I shout them out every episode at this point. They're the best. You guys are welcome to use my code. It's Ali Yost at checkout. It wasn't working for a little bit a couple of weeks ago because they were doing, like a major sale. So if that happened to you, I promise the code is probably active now. I don't think they're doing that sale anymore, but for a second, if that ever happens, it's probably like, just go to their website if they're like doing like a major, like, site wide sale. They said that they typically deactivate any, like, affiliated link codes, so. But it should always be working forever. Gas, groceries, eating out. Even on the tightest budget. There's no escaping them. But here's what you can control. Getting cash back every single time you fill up at the grocery store or go out to eat with the Upside app. The free Upside app gets you cash back on gas, groceries, and dining. The three, three things that are draining your wallet. And I know it because that's what's draining mine. Here's how it works. Open the app, claim an offer, pay with your card like normal, and get paid. I posted a story on my Instagram the other day of how outrageously expensive it's gotten to fill my car with gas. And it was so funny. I was actually getting some of you guys in my DMs suggesting the upside app and I was like, guys, I already know about this and use it. So it is nice that as things get expensive there is a resource like the Upside app that can help us with those things and we can get a little cash back here and there. Checking the Upside app before you fill up, eat out or group grocery shop will honestly become automatic. Upside has given back $1 billion to its users. To find out how much you could earn, download the free Upside app and use promo code on ice to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas. That's an extra 25 cents back for every Gallon on your first tank of gas. Using promo code on ice. Here at Christ With Coffee on Ice, we obviously talk a lot about purpose here, about finding the path God has set for us. And when it comes to education, that path should lead to a future that matters. That's why when I heard Grand Canyon University, I was so impressed. Because they are a private, non profit Christian university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona that believes education shouldn't be a privilege, but an affordable path forward for everyone. GCU is grounded in Christian truth. They are working to empower the next generation to lead with integrity and serve with purpose. And they make it accessible. Did you know GCU has kept tuition at the same rate on its traditional campus for 17 years plus in 2025 alone, they awarded over 404 million doll institutional scholarships. Whether you're looking for a degree on campus or online, find your purpose at gcu, Private Christian affordable nonprofit. Visit GCU Edu to learn more. Wow. This is the most like me I have felt in days. Oh, thank you God. Where am I? Truly there will be joy in the morning. 1265. Yeah, this is gonna be good. I feel like there's a good reason we needed to read Ephesians today. So today we're gonna read the Word of God. How does that sound? And everybody cheers. I'm just gonna read Ephesians to you. And you guys have been really loving these kinds of episodes. I love them too, like genuinely. I think there's nothing more fruitful than reading the word of God and just kind of like, I Don't know, processing along with each other. And if we go on, like, little side quests and just like, I don't know, it's fun. So let's do it. If you have your Bibles with you, good job. If you don't, that's okay. If you're near one, though, pick it up. Let's read it together. If you're capable of reading the Bible with me, let's do it together. I just think it's the best when we're able to read along and you can have your highlighter and you can write notes, all those good things. But if you're not able to, you know, if you can't get to a Bible, that's okay. I'll read it to you. Or if you're driving a car, don't do that. I'll just read it to you. Don't do that. Okay, so Ephesians 1:1. Right at the top. Greetings from Paul. We love Paul. Thank you, Jesus, for Paul. God, thank you for Paul. This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God's holy people in Ephesus who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to Himself through Christ Jesus. Actually, it's Jesus Christ, but same, same thing. Does your brain ever do that where it just kind of, like, puts things? Okay, this is what he wanted to do and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ, which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan. At the right time, he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ, everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance and he makes everything work out according to his plan. Okay, we've only read nine verses, and I feel like we already could actually need to stop for a second because that was so rich. Oh, wow. Okay. Let's just take a second. There's a lot there, right? There's a lot to process there. Okay. Big theme here. Overall theme from what we're getting. Paul, you really laid it down, brother. Okay. Ephesians 1:1 through 1:11 is what we just read. It is actually one of the richest passages in the New Testament because it opens with a sweeping picture of what God has done for believers through Jesus. What Apostle Paul is essentially trying to do for believers right now is he wants us believers to know that our identity is not based on what we have done, but on what God has done for us. The overall message right now is that God chose. He chose. It's what was the one part that stuck out to me? God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do. This is what he wanted to do. Wait, we're not done. And it gave him great pleasure. God decided in advance. To adopt us into his own family. By bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. That is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his son and forgave our sins. He is so rich in kindness and grace. I think we forget that this isn't a contract. This wasn't an agreement where God just has to, like, hold his end, you know, like, he made an agreement with us. He did. He said, if I give my son as a sacrifice and you accept him, you will be saved. So he's holding up his end of the quote, agreement, but he wanted to. He chose it in advance, actually, before you existed, before any of us ever existed, he had already made that decision. It was like, yeah, I want to. And honestly, it actually brings me joy. We forget that God is rich in kindness and grace. And it's. It's actually in him choosing. He wants to. And he wants to because it actually brings him joy to love you, to restore you. It gave him great pleasure to sacrifice his one and only son for us. Before you were born, before you succeeded or failed, before you could earn anything, God's love and plan were already at work. You aren't merely tolerated by God. You are welcomed into his family. Many people, even Christians, live as though God merely puts up with them. They imagine him as a disappointed Father who reluctantly lets them stay in the house because Jesus convinced him to. But that's not the picture Ephesians paints. Paul doesn't say, God allowed you into his family. He says, God adopted you. Adoption is active, intentional, desired. A tolerated child is one who is endured. An adopted child is one who is chosen. Toleration says, I guess you can stay. Don't cause problems. Try not to disappoint me. You barely belong. Adoption says, I wanted you, I chose you. You belong here. You carry my name. Everything I have is now yours. That's why Paul emphasizes that God chose us before the creation of the world. He's trying to remove the fear that God accepted us only after weighing our performance. God didn't look at your life and say, well, she's difficult, but I suppose I'll let her in. He said, I want her. For a lot of people, their relationship with God becomes shaped by their experience with people. If you've ever felt like a burden, too emotional, too needy, too much, not enough, difficult to love, then it's easy to project that onto God and you begin approaching him like someone trying not to be kicked out. You apologize for taking up space. You hide parts of yourself. You assume he's frustrated. You think his love fluctuates based on your latest performance. But family doesn't work that way. When a little child runs into her father's room at 2am she doesn't stop and think, have I been good enough today to deserve entry? She simply comes because she knows where she belongs. That's the kind of confidence Paul is describing. The Greek word for adoption in Ephesians literally carries the idea of being placed as a son or daughter with full legal standing. God didn't bring you into the family as a second class member. He didn't give you a seat at the kids table while the real children sit somewhere else. He gave you full status, full belonging, full inheritance and full access. Which means when you pray, you're not approaching God as a stranger trying to get his attention. You're approaching him as his daughter. Not because of what you've done, but because of what Christ has done. Something else that stands out in Ephesians one is that Paul says God adopted us in love. Not out of obligation, not because he lost a bet, not because nobody else would take us. Love was the motivation. The father wanted a family. And he wanted you in it. I think one of the enemy's favorite lies is God loves you, but he doesn't really like you. Yet when I read Ephesians 1, I see the opposite. I see a father who planned for his children before the world began, a father who paid a tremendous price to bring them home. A father who calls them his inheritance and treasure. A father who doesn't merely tolerate their presence, but delights in it. For someone who has spent years wondering whether they are too much or not enough, Ephesians answers with a simple are not God's tolerated guest. You are his welcomed daughter or son. And daughters and sons don't earn their place in the family. They live from it. And if you guys are wondering what I just read, believe it or not, that was Chat and it absolutely destroyed me. Oh my gosh. All I did was ask Chat if it could just help, like lean in a little bit more of what it means to not be tolerated by God, but to be welcomed into his family. And that's what Chat just said. I think if we're being honest with each other, there are a lot of things about our everyday lives that we don't have to think about that other people do. Certain privileges like three meals a day. Some of us may not have to worry about hunger, but other people do. And every act of change begins with a neighbor, with someone saying, we can take care of each other. Here in food banks and food pantries, neighbors pack fresh food and dignity into every box, moving from farms to families through Feeding America's nationwide network. So when that box reaches a home, it carries more than food. It carries a promise that together we can end hunger. Feeding America, led by neighbors, Give now to end hunger@feedingamerica.org okay, so this is for all my entrepreneurs and business owners that are listening. Do you ever realize how many customers actually slip through the cracks? That's missed calls, follow ups that never happen and it adds up fast. Well, that's why today's episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled Q U O the business communication system built so you never miss a call. Your entire team can handle calls and texts from one shared number. So no more missed messages or dropped conversations. Everyone sees the full thread, replies are faster and customers actually feel taken care of. Rely on it to stay connected, professional and consistently reachable. Quo works wherever you are right from your phone or computer. Keep your existing number, add teammates in minutes, sync your CRM and let the call routing handle itself as you scale, your team always has the full picture and can show up for every customer conversation, ensuring a seamless and more personalized experience. Money is on the line. Always say hello with Quo. Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first six months. When you go to Quo.com Coffee, that's Quo.com Coffee. Alright, guys, thanks for coming back for another episode of Crit with Match on Ice. I'll see you next time. Oh man, I needed that. Who else needed. Is anyone else weepy right now? I needed that so bad. I need to print that out actually, and like, literally put it on my wall and read it every day. It's so hard to not feel like a. A burden to God sometimes. Or an obligation. It's so hard to remember that. It's like he literally just chose to love you and wants to keep loving you. And he made that decision before you did anything ever. Jesus. What God? Who are you? Like, truly, who is God? Who is that guy? I don't get it. I think I will live my entire life, like knowing God, but I don't. I don't understand it. Who are you? I don't understand that kind of mercy and grace and kindness. I don't know what that means. All right, we're not done. Let's keep going. I want to read one more thing to you guys though. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Living from a place in God's family instead of for your place in God's family changes almost everything. Okay, because my next question to Chat after that. This is me, genuine. I just want to know. I do. How does someone live from it? Because the last thing that Chat said in that last statement was and daughters and sons don't earn their place in family. They live from it. So my question is, okay, so how does somebody do that? Living from your place in God's family instead of for your place in God's family changes almost everything. When we're living for our place, we're constantly trying to secure something we fear we could lose. When we're living from our place, we're operating from something that's already been given. Here are a few examples. Instead of performing, you can abide living for God's approval. Sounds like I need to have a good quiet time so God will be pleased with me. I messed up today. God must be disappointed. If I pray enough, read enough, serve enough, then maybe I'll be close to him. Living from your adoption sounds like I'm already his daughter. So I want to spend time with him. I can bring my failures to him because he already knows and loves me. I'm not trying to earn closeness. I'm enjoying it. Instead of hiding, you can be honest. Think about Adam and Eve. After they sinned, they hid. That's often our instinct too. When we Believe we're merely tolerated. We hide our weaknesses, struggles, questions, and wounds. But children who know they're loved tend to run toward their parents when they're hurt. Living from adoption means praying things like, God, I'm jealous right now. God, I'm afraid. God, I don't trust you in this area. God, I'm hurting not because those things make him happy, but because you're secure enough to be honest. Instead of striving for identity, you receive identity. When we don't know who we are, we look to other people to tell us. We adapt, we perform, we seek affirmation. We become who we think others need us to be. But adoption says your identity was settled before anyone else's opinion entered the conversation. You don't have to become valuable. You already are. You don't have to become lovable. You already are. You don't have to become enough. In Christ, you already belong. Instead of fearing correction, you can trust it. A tolerated employee fears every meeting with the boss. A loved child can receive correction without questioning whether they're still a part of the family. When God convicts disciples or redirects you, the goal isn't rejection, it's growth. His correction comes from belonging, not as a prerequisite for belonging. Instead of living with a scarcity mindset, you can rest. Many believers live as though God is reluctantly rationing his love, as though every mistake emptied the account a little more. But Ephesians 1 repeatedly talks about the riches of his grace. Riches, abundance, overflow. The Father is not looking for reasons to withdraw from you. He is looking for ways to draw you closer. Oh, my gosh. One practical way to tell whether you're living from adoption is to pay attention to what you do after you fail. When you have a bad day, make a mistake, fall into an old pattern, or disappoint someone, do you instinctively pull away from God or do you move toward Him? A daughter or son may feel conviction, sadness, or regret, but he or she doesn't lose their place at the table. They know where their home is. And over time, living from adoption begins to sound less like, I hope God still wants me, and more like, because God wants me, I can face anything honestly. That's the confidence Paul is trying to awaken in Ephesians 1. Before he tells believers how to live, he spends an entire chapter reminding them who they already are. Because lasting transformation doesn't start with behavior. It starts with belonging. I literally, physically gotta go, like, wow, wow, let's. Okay, now what? Oh, man, there's so much to cook with now. I need to. I need to cook. That needs to marinate, that needs to. I need that to settle and simmer into my literal spirits, mind, body, soul. Wow. God is the best thing that's ever happened to us. Okay, let's Just finish Ephesians 1. God's purpose was that we Jews, who were the first to trust in Christ, would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the good news that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him. Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, I had not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your heart will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called his holy people, who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God's power for us who believe Him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else, not only in the world, but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the Church. And the Church is His body, which is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with Himself. I think our natural response, at least mine, and I don't know if you guys relate, but this is my natural response, is I. I read something like that and I'm like, surely how in the world could God actually gain anything from us? If I'm just being so for real, if I'm just being honest, because he's saying, his holy people, who are his rich and glorious inheritance, what could God possibly gain from us, from me, from you? After all, God lacks nothing. He doesn't need our accomplishments, our money, our talents, or our productivity. So why would he treasure us? The answer is because love doesn't value something merely for its usefulness. Love values the Person. Think about a parent with a child's crayon drawing. Objectively, the drawing itself is worth nothing. But to the parent, it's priceless. Not because of what it is, but because of who it belongs to, who made it, who it was from. Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly speaks to his people as his treasured possession. The Old Testament, he calls Israel his special treasure. In the New Testament, believers are described as a people belonging to God. Why? Because God delights in having a relationship with his children. Not because he needs them, but because he wants them. Sometimes we subconsciously think the gospel is God wanted servants, so he saved us to work for Him. But the gospel is deeper than that. God wanted sons and daughters. A servant is valued for what they do. A child is valued for who they are. The cross reveals what something is worth to the one buying it. If you walked into an antique shop and saw someone pay a million dollars for an old vase, you would immediately realize they must believe it has extraordinary value. The cross is God's declaration of the value he places on his people. Not because we were inherently deserving, not because we were impressive, but because his love determined our worth. Romans 5 says Christ died for us while we were still sinners, meaning he didn't wait until we became beautiful to love us. His love is what makes us beautiful. I think many of us struggle in this because we evaluate ourselves by our weaknesses. God sees the finished work he is accomplishing. We see the half restored house. He sees the completed home. We see the wound, but he sees the healed daughter or son. We see the failures, fears, insecurities in places we're still growing. He sees someone he loved before the foundation of the world and someone he is committed to restoring completely. What if God's inheritance isn't merely who you are today, but also who you are becoming? A sculptor looks at a block of marble and sees a masterpiece hidden inside. Everyone else sees a rock. God looks at his children and sees the image of Christ being formed in them. He sees the final restoration. He sees the day when every wound is healed, every false identity is gone, every tear is wiped away and his children are fully alive in his presence. And he says, that's mine. That's why the idea of being God's inheritance isn't really a statement about how impressive we are. It's a statement about how astonishing his love is. The wonder of Ephesians is not. Why would God want something as valuable as me? The wonder is why would a God who needs nothing choose to delight in me at all? And Paul's Answer is simply because that's who he is. He is a father who loves having his children near him. So I'm left a little speechless after today's episode. I'm very grateful for it, and I'm gonna be sitting for a long time about all of that. Thank you, Jesus, for revelation. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Oh, guys. Wow. What an episode. Thank you, Jesus. Guys, thank you for being here. Thanks for letting snot kind of casually drip down my face. At this point, I think I should just have a tissue box somewhere. I didn't. So I'm just, like, wiping my hand. Where's my squish? I'm just wiping my face with my hands. Anyway, great episode. Incredibly impactful for me. Hopefully impactful for you guys, too. Wow. Thank you, Jesus. Nothing. I did all of him. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord, for speaking to us today. And I just pray, God, that everything that you had meant for this episode, just have your way with it. I pray. Every seed that was planted in us, God goes deep. Protect those seeds, Lord. We pray that you, you are the one that will continue to water it and love it and nurture it. Thank you, Jesus. I'm really proud of you guys. And it was really good to be back. I missed it. We're in this together. And, yeah, I love you. I'll see you next, next week, same time, same place. I'm not gonna bail, no matter how bad I may want to, or maybe not. Maybe next week will be a good, a better week. But, yeah, I will see you guys next week, and I hope you have a beautiful weekend. And before we go, actually, really quick, can we just 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, but through, like, knowing that we're just a daughter or son, not out of striving, we're not gonna strive to be more like Jesus. We're just going to believe that because we've been adopted into the kingdom of God through Christ's sacrifice, that we have everything we need through his spirit. We don't need to try to be more like Jesus. We just need to believe that we already have what we need through Him. And I do pray that over the next week, until we touch base again, that all of us stand up with our shoulders back a little more because we're remembering who we are and who we're loved by, and that we're not a burden and we're not anybody that God is putting up with. But it was simply a choice. And we just accept that. Whether it makes sense or not, we accept that it was a choice God made a long time ago where he chose you before anything. Thank you, Jesus. I love you guys. I'll see you next week. Have a beautiful week. Okay, bye.
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