Devil Wants You Distracted | Girls Gone Bible

Summary

Podcast Summary: Girls Gone Bible – "Devil Wants You Distracted"

Episode Information:

• Title: Devil Wants You Distracted
• Host: Angela Halili and Arielle Reitsma
• Release Date: April 4, 2025
• Description: Hosts Angela and Ari delve into the spiritual battles of modern life, focusing on how distractions can derail our faith and purpose. Through biblical insights and personal anecdotes, they explore practical ways to maintain focus on Jesus amidst life's chaos.

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1. Introduction to Distractions and Spiritual Warfare

Timestamp: 12:10 - 12:48

Angela and Ari kick off the episode by addressing the pervasive issue of distractions in daily life. They frame distractions as tools used by the devil to divert attention away from Jesus, our purpose, and meaningful relationships.

• Angela: Highlights personal experiences with distractions, such as getting lost in social media and watching dog videos on TikTok.
• Ari: Introduces the concept of the episode by stating, "the devil wants you distracted" (12:18), emphasizing the intentional nature behind these distractions.

2. The Battle with Technology and Social Media

Timestamp: 12:48 - 24:50

The hosts delve into how modern technology, particularly smartphones and social media, serve as significant distractions that can hinder one's spiritual growth.

• Ari: Shares a poignant quote by C.S. Lewis: “Satan is after the attention of this generation. He is after our attention. He is after our focus. And he's succeeding” (14:00).
• Angela: Discusses the addictive nature of phones, describing it as "the weirdest addiction" (15:33) and how it feels like "warfare" when trying to disconnect (15:48).

3. Personal Struggles with Anxiety and Irritability

Timestamp: 24:50 - 32:14

Angela opens up about her recent battles with anxiety, illustrating how internal struggles can divert focus from spiritual practices and deepen distractions.

• Angela: Narrates a personal story where anxiety disrupted her quiet time with Jesus, leading to irritability: “I was literally like, are you literally kidding me right now? I’m not about to get up and leave to go do that” (16:45).
• Ari: Correlates anxiety with spiritual distraction, noting how it "causes doubt and shakes your faith" (26:22).

4. Biblical Insights: Peter Walking on Water and The Rich Young Ruler

Timestamp: 32:14 - 53:53

The hosts explore key biblical stories to illustrate their points about distractions and maintaining faith.

• Peter Walking on Water (Matthew 14:22-33):

  • Angela: Explains how Peter’s ability to walk on water was contingent on his focus on Jesus: “As long as he keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, he walks in the supernatural” (24:50).
  • Ari: Emphasizes the human aspect of Peter’s faith and doubt, highlighting Jesus’ constant presence: “Jesus literally always gives an opportunity for redemption” (25:46).

• The Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-31):

  • Ari: Discusses how wealth becomes an idol, distracting from true fulfillment in Jesus: “You cannot put anything above Jesus” (51:30).
  • Angela: Reflects on societal obsessions with money and success, reinforcing that “the only thing that can fill you is Jesus” (52:26).

5. Overcoming Comparison and Embracing God's Plan

Timestamp: 53:53 - 62:26

Comparison is identified as a major distraction that breeds dissatisfaction and distracts from personal spiritual journeys.

• Angela: Shares her struggle with comparison, admitting how it "stole my joy and distracted me so much" (44:18).
• Ari: Relates personally, recounting her battle with comparing herself to Angela and finding liberation through prayer: “With prayer, you get to a beautiful place of security within yourself” (47:58).

6. Embracing the 'Secret Place' for Intimacy with Jesus

Timestamp: 62:26 - 70:36

The concept of the "secret place"—a private, intimate time with Jesus—is discussed as a sanctuary from distractions.

• Ari: Defines the secret place as a space where one can "speak to Jesus when nobody else is around" (33:34) and emphasizes the importance of honesty in this time.
• Angela: Encourages practices like reading Psalms before bed to foster a deeper connection: “Start reading the Psalms before bed” (69:00).

7. Practical Strategies to Minimize Distractions

Timestamp: 62:26 - 70:36

The hosts offer actionable advice to help listeners reduce distractions and strengthen their focus on Jesus.

• Angela: Suggests removing technology during spiritual times, such as keeping phones in another room or deleting distracting apps: “Consistently just moving into this place of being like, oh, this has to go” (62:46).
• Ari: Highlights the importance of perseverance in seeking Jesus, stating, “Don't leave until you're satisfied” (68:28).

8. Conclusion and Encouragement

Timestamp: 70:36 - End

Angela and Ari wrap up the episode by reinforcing the key message: prioritizing time with Jesus is essential to overcoming distractions. They offer blessings and encouragement for listeners to carve out dedicated spiritual time.

• Ari: Recites a blessing, “May the Lord bless you and keep you...” (70:28).
• Angela: Emphasizes the transformative power of prioritizing Jesus in daily life and invites listeners to cultivate this habit.

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Notable Quotes:

1. Ari (14:00): “Satan is after the attention of this generation. He is after our attention. He is after our focus. And he's succeeding.”
2. Angela (15:33): “It's like. it's the weirdest addiction. Like, if you actually sit, if you're not aware, you can just, like, let it go by, and it doesn't seem like a big deal.”
3. Angela (24:50): “As long as he keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, he walks in the supernatural.”
4. Ari (25:46): “Jesus literally always gives an opportunity for redemption.”
5. Ari (51:30): “You cannot put anything above Jesus.”
6. Angela (52:26): “The only thing that can fill you is Jesus.”
7. Angela (44:18): “It stole my joy and distracted me so much.”
8. Ari (47:58): “With prayer, you get to a beautiful place of security within yourself.”
9. Angela (62:46): “Consistently just moving into this place of being like, oh, this has to go.”
10. Angela (69:00): “Start reading the Psalms before bed.”

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Key Takeaways:

• Understanding Distractions: Recognizing that distractions are not just random interruptions but intentional tactics to divert focus from spiritual growth and purpose.

• Role of Technology: Being mindful of how technology and social media can become addictive and distract from meaningful spiritual practices.

• Handling Anxiety and Irritability: Acknowledging that internal struggles like anxiety can weaken faith and encourage distractions, but through prayer and focus on Jesus, one can overcome these challenges.

• Biblical Lessons: Drawing lessons from biblical stories to understand the importance of unwavering faith and the dangers of letting distractions take hold.

• Combatting Comparison: Learning to combat the natural tendency to compare oneself with others, which breeds dissatisfaction and diverts attention from God's plan.

• Embracing the Secret Place: Prioritizing dedicated, private time with Jesus as a way to cultivate intimacy and reduce the influence of distractions.

• Practical Strategies: Implementing practical methods such as limiting technology use, engaging in consistent prayer, and immersing oneself in scripture to maintain focus on spiritual growth.

• Encouragement and Hope: Offering hope and practical encouragement to listeners to persist in their spiritual journey despite the pervasive distractions of modern life.

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Final Thoughts: In "Devil Wants You Distracted," Angela Halili and Arielle Reitsma provide a heartfelt exploration of the ways distractions can impede our spiritual lives. Through a blend of biblical insights, personal experiences, and actionable advice, they empower listeners to recognize and overcome the distractions that seek to pull them away from a purposeful and fulfilling relationship with Jesus.

Transcript

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Hi, I'm. I'm Ari.

[A]

Yeah, that is. So let's switch places today.

[B]

Yeah, let's both get on our bad side. You guys want us to get over vanity? Let's get on our bad side. Come on. I also brought makeup wipes.

[A]

Oh, you did?

[B]

Yeah, just me take it off you first. Maybe next time slick your hair back. Yeah, that's the one thing I will not.

[A]

You know when I do that?

[B]

What?

[A]

I'm like, I want a brewski. When I imitate the lady from the monster.

[B]

Do it. I want a brewski. Say it.

[A]

Do you guys know the lady from the monster? Come get her up. Charlize Theron from the monster. She. She, like, has her hair slick back, and I always feel like her some days when I'm just at home with my oversized.

[B]

That was just when we were smoking cigarettes that one time. No, this is. No, this is actually me in my hard time.

[A]

That's you and I picked you up from the airport.

[B]

One time. Ari picked me up from the airport. That was bad. Have we told that? Ari picks me up from the airport. I go visit John, and I had the flu. I was literally so sick. I hadn't showered in four days. John, sweet John, looks at me at the end and goes, baby, don't you think you should take a shower? I was so upset. I'm like, I. The flu. I come out of the airport and what did I look like?

[A]

I couldn't believe it. Is it Angela? I think we told the story, Angela. Did we? I think so.

[B]

All right, well, here we go again.

[A]

You had, like, sauce on your. Oh, no, I had sauce on my shirt.

[B]

When I was £25, that was you. You had a really fun summer in Austin.

[A]

I had a fun summer in Austin.

[B]

And I'm not gonna say it, but you were just enjoying raising cage and.

[A]

I was really enjoying raising gain.

[B]

You were having a good time and you came out of that airport and I look at you and you had sauce.

[A]

I had Kane sauce dripping off my shirt.

[B]

Your hair was all matted. And I was like, ari, they really.

[A]

Okay, they go in and in the.

[B]

South, they really Charlize Theron monster. What does she say?

[A]

You want brewski? Oh, you want brewski?

[B]

Oh, this is no, this is actually me crazy. This is us when we go through breakups.

[A]

This is literally. That is me.

[B]

No, that's me. That's me the past two weeks. That's us.

[A]

When we wake up in the morning with our, like, supermodel friends, what happens to us?

[B]

Why do we look like that in photos?

[A]

I don't know.

[B]

It's not fair. Like, anyways, hi, I'm Ange.

[A]

And I'm Ari.

[B]

And this is Girls Gone Bible.

[A]

We are faith based.

[B]

We are a faith based podcast where we talk all things spirituality, mental health, everything to do with life, relationships, but always from a biblical point of view. Because we love Jesus so much. He saved our lives. The hardest part of all of this is the intro. Don't know why. About to be two years.

[A]

We have to do something, guys.

[B]

It's about to be our two year anniversary in May. Yeah, May 19th. How do you know?

[A]

I was at a bikini photo shoot on May 19th when we released it.

[B]

I really appreciate you saying that.

[A]

I really don't care. Isn't that crazy?

[B]

I'll never forget that I was at.

[A]

A bikini photo shoot.

[B]

I'll never forget that day. I'm calling you being like, r. It's up. I talked about, you know, being a mess for the first time on the Internet. We didn't know what was going on.

[A]

We didn't. But here we are.

[B]

Here we are. And we're really happy to be here. We love you guys so much. What's up, Pa?

[A]

I have an announcement to make.

[B]

You pregnant?

[A]

Yeah, naturally. I have an announcement made for you and to Gigi B. Yeah. Are you ready? I'm moving to Boston in next month.

[B]

Really?

[A]

Really.

[B]

Oh, Ariel Ritzma. As if. I don't know. It's April 1st and as if I would ever. As if I would ever, ever allow. And. And. And. That's not very nice. That's not very nice because you had. You had me for literally 0.01 seconds. And I knew from before you said it, but it still hurt.

[A]

Oh, I wanted it to hurt.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

I wanted you to cry.

[B]

Yeah. And I'm coming with you. We. Where are we going?

[A]

Southeato.

[B]

Where are we going? We're going to Southie and we're gonna drink some scotch and we're gonna get some.

[A]

I loved Angela in Boston. I take her out to an Italian restaurant, North End.

[B]

The guys were going, can I be honest?

[A]

What a fog that. Can I be honest? She's eating up every minute.

[B]

I was not. I've never been so confident. I said, I will be back. Yeah. That's gonna be you in Albania.

[A]

Yeah. Should we.

[B]

What do you think about first leg of tour? We celebrate in Albania.

[A]

I love first leg of tour.

[B]

First like that. We finished the first leg of spring.

[A]

I love it.

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I would. I love you so much. You got a big, big, big chia seed.

[A]

I'm so mad right now.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

How did you know?

[B]

Oh, come here. Let me get that.

[A]

I thought I could get you.

[B]

It was close, but then I saw Drea post don't talk to art.

[A]

How did you see that?

[B]

Because I follow her. Yeah. Oh, I, I, I, I, I said, no, no. We went on Fox and Friends this past week and I wore this dress because I have an actual. Like, I buy something and then I wear it 30 times in a row. And I'll wear. On this episode. I'll wear it on tour. I'll wear it on Fox and Friends. So sorry, guys. We went on f. You know what's so fun is they are just letting us preach the gospel on the news. Yeah. Like, you guys don't understand. We are in such an interesting. Every person that I talk to from, like, the church, the local church, everyone who's grown up in church, they're like, we've never seen anything like this. Why are people allowing you to, like, say whatever you want? We go on, we talk about the Holy Spirit. We talk about. It's about a relationship, not a religion. And everyone is like, just. God is moving so much we can't even see right now. He is literally giving us favor. Not just us. Like, so many people in social media, like, letting us go into so many spaces that he's like, I'm going to give you favor with man. Because we've spent a long time not being able to say what we want about faith. You know what I mean? Like, it's so surface level to go on the news and talk about something. Like, talk about the Holy Spirit and talk about giving your life to Jesus because you were in hell before. It's like a massive deal.

[A]

I know. That's why we have to keep our eyes open because even people that are working anywhere. Yeah, like keep your eyes open because he's calling you to these places. Even if it feels dark. Like preach the gospel. We're all, this is like a revival. I feel it right now.

[B]

There is something so significant happening specifically in Southern California. There is. Like there is. God is doing something really significant and we're about to see major revival happen. Like, like back in the day.

[A]

I know.

[B]

And we're going to be a part of it. Don't know what we're going to do, but thank you Jesus.

[A]

Thank you Jesus.

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[A]

Distractions, which we all have. Oh, I had it the other day.

[B]

Oh, I had it two hours ago.

[A]

I know.

[B]

What'd you experience? So today we want to talk to you guys about being distracted. We want to call this episode the devil wants you distracted. Because so much of what we go through, so much of what we experience, like the key, the root, the, the intention and the motive behind Satan doing it, sending it, or like making something happen to us is that he wants us distracted. He wants us distracted from Jesus, distracted from our purpose, distracted from other People, it's all about distract.

[A]

I will say, though, I was having a little bit of a hard day the other day. I go on TikTok and I'm going down the rabbit hole watching dog videos.

[B]

Oh.

[A]

And I was. It, like, made me so. Oh, you guys. Do you guys ever watch those videos of the owners with the dogs? And they're like. They're giving them so much love.

[B]

That's like me with the baking videos.

[A]

Oh, that is.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's how I am with the dogs. It calms me.

[B]

So. Yeah.

[A]

I love watching the dog so bad.

[B]

You should get one.

[A]

I can't.

[B]

I know. You know, we can take him.

[A]

I went through the worst heartbreak of my life with Riley. Riley, let's put a picture up. But I'm just. Sorry.

[B]

Who's your dog?

[A]

He was my boy.

[B]

You know, I feel like I know him.

[A]

I know he would have loved you.

[B]

He would have loved Auntie, and I would have slept with him every night.

[A]

But, yeah, I lost.

[B]

I would have loved watching you discipline you.

[A]

And I was such an east coast mom. I'd have him. I'd be like, don't you act like that.

[B]

Behave.

[A]

He was so well behaved. That was my boy.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

But I don't want to go through that heartbreak again.

[B]

I know it's tough. What was your experience the other day with being distracted?

[A]

Oh, it's. We always talk about this. You go on your phone, and then next thing you know, it's like two hours later, and you're just watching videos and you got so sucked in.

[B]

Oh, we're gonna talk about the phone today, baby. We're gonna talk about the phone. Because I am. Yeah, I just. I wanted to read this little quote by C. S Lewis. Literally, satan is after the attention of this generation. He is after our attention. He's after our focus. And he's succeeding like he really is. It is so subtle. It is so deceitful. And he succeeds a lot of the time. But the beautiful thing is that Jesus is just one look away. Like, Jesus is just like. You just shift your attention. You shift your focus. Like, it can feel so hard to get yourself out of being so distracted, but truly, it is easier than we think. And I love this quote from C.S. lewis. He said, the moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving them all back in, listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. I can't tell you, when I wake up in the morning, my fight between just getting my coffee and going and sitting and, like, I'm telling you, I battle every morning so hard. I want to check my phone. I want to check my phone.

[A]

It's, like, insane.

[B]

It is the weirdest addiction. Like, if you actually sit, if you. If you're not aware, you can just, like, let it go by, and it doesn't seem like a big deal. But if you're actually trying to not be on your phone like that, trying to not pick up your phone in the morning, you feel. And it's like. It's warfare. Like, you're. It's a major struggle. And I want to talk about. So I literally listened to what happened to me today. I'm in my quiet time, and I think a way that, you know, the enemy has been attacking me a lot recently is through irritability. Like, I just want to say that irritability is something like, obviously, and it's. It's an attack, obviously. Like, sometimes you're just having a bad day and whatever, but I can tell sometimes, like, the way if I'm getting irritable at people, at things, at a situation for no reason, it is such a distraction because it just, like, completely moves you off of your purpose and focus into to, like, just being irritated. Like, it's just the worst feeling ever. So I'm in my quiet time this morning, and all of a sudden I like, literally sit down, I'm spending time with Jesus, and then I think of a situation with John that, like, I'm not even annoyed about. I don't even care about. Didn't bother me. It's all good. All of a sudden, my body gets so irritable, and I actually feel a force, like, literally forcing me to get up out of quiet time to him and address this frustration. And I'm not even, like, upset. Like, I don't. It was out of nowhere, and I literally, like, almost gave in for a second because it became so irritating that I was like, oh, my gosh, I. I have to have this conversation because I can't even focus on Jesus. Wow. And then I literally was like, are you literally kidding me right now? Like, I not about to get up and leave to go do that. I don't even k. It was just so obvious what happened. And then, like, I stick it out. I stay and I feel myself. I have, like, irritation. I'm just, like, irritable, and I'm just distracted. There's so many things pulling on me. I keep having Thought after thought after thought. All of a sudden I'm sitting on the couch. I get a new couch, you guys. And I'm sitting on this couch and I realize that it's not the depth that I wanted it to be. I'm. I'm sitting on the couch. I'm in the middle of quite. I am literally like, holy ho. Like, I am with the Lord. I am with Jesus. And a sudden my body gets so hot and I get so peed off over the couch not being the depth. Like, what am I going to do about it right now? What am I going to do? I was just. I literally, in my head, I start laughing. I go, get behind me, Satan. Like, I'm so tired of it. And then I start thinking about this charge that I saw on Chase the other day that I didn't do. And I need to go dispute it. And then so I'm just. And I literally go, how this is insane that this is happening today when I want to go film this episode and I can't find focus this to save my life today, it's like, oh, you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, but we're gonna just pull you back out and bring you somewhere else. Like, it is so it's like, creepy. It just upsets me so much. And tell me how you feel about this. This is what I've noticed. Pain pushes me into the arms of God when I'm in pain. Like, I seek God's face. I look for Him. I like, I like will just. I. I use. I go to him for refuge. I go to him for comfort. Like when I'm in pain, that's what pushes the arms of God. When I'm anxious, it does the opposite. And that's what I've noticed because I'm wondering why sometimes some bad situations push me closer to God and why some situations cause me to turn my face. And it's anxiety. The spirit of anxiety causes me to turn away from God. And I don't know why that is. I actually just realized that today when I was, you know, sitting. Because the past few weeks I've been battling severe anxiety. And I noticed that, like, I'm repenting 30 times a day. I am consistently repenting. Jesus, forgive me, Lord, for turning away from you. Forgive me for pushing you out. Forgive me from. You know what I mean? Like, it's been really so I noticed that that's what happens with anxiety. It's because anxiety. Anxiety causes you to doubt. Anxiety shakes your faith because, like, pain is hard but it's like we know that we're gonna suffer. We know that we're gonna feel pain. We know like there's something like his, you know, his power really is made perfect in our weakness. So maybe that's it. But then anxiety is, is the unknown and it causes doubt and it shakes your faith. Like sometimes when I'm having, when I'm in pain, I still have faith and hope for the future. Sometimes when things are uncertain and I'm scared. It's literally. We're about to talk about. We're about to read the story in Matthew, I think chapter 16, about Peter walking on water. Should we read that really quick? Yeah. All right, you guys. So we're reading out of the NLT version. We're gonna go to Matthew chapter 14, verse 22, reading from the NLT version. And this is immediately after Jesus performs his miracle of feeding the 5,000 with the five loaves of bread and two fish. So I love this moment where Jesus performs this massive miracle. It's a massive deal. And then you find him going to be by himself to pray to God. Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake. Sorry we didn't pray. Can we just pray real quick? Jesus, we love you, Lord. We invite you, Holy Spirit. I pray that you would teach us the scriptures that you would teach through us, God. I pray that you would join in and co labor with us in teaching your word and telling people about why distraction is such a scheme from the devil. And we pray God today that we expose the devil for his tactics, Lord, and that we bring freedom in Jesus name. Amen. Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the other people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen and they were fighting heavy waves. About 3 o'clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified in their fear. They cried out, it's a ghost. Do you see? That's why we in this moment where in their fear they were terrified. They cried out, it's a ghost. They had doubt in God. They couldn't even see who Jesus was. So they called him a ghost. Like that's how, that's how distorted and disillusioning fear is. It literally Makes you confused and you don't. And it. It's so crazy. But Jesus spoke to them at once. Don't be afraid, he said. Take courage. I am here. Then Peter called to him, lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you walking on the water. And I just want to say that this moment of Peter saying this is not him testing Jesus. Peter was actually the one person on the boat who reacted in faith. So this isn't a moment of him like doubting God. This is actually him having faith in Jesus. And then Jesus says, yes, come. So Peter went over to the other side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. We have to read this for what it really is. This is a supernatural miracle that's happening. You obviously can't walk on water. Nobody can walk on water. You step on water, your foot goes down. You sink. If you're in the middle of the ocean. Jesus gave Peter the ability to walk on water. So Peter went over to the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and waves, he was terrified and began to sink. Save me, Lord. He shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. You have so little faith, Jesus said, why did you doubt me? When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. The disciples worshiped him. You really are the Son of God. They exclaimed. Duh. I love this moment so much. Because obviously we see Peter steps off of the boat onto the water. Defying any natural laws of physics, he steps on the water and he doesn't sink. As long as he keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, he walks in the supernatural. Every time that we take our gaze off of Jesus onto something else, we immediately begin to sink.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

He's literally able to walk on water because his eyes are fixed on Jesus. Because he hears Jesus call him and he steps out in faith. But the second that he starts to look around and he sees the wind and the storms and everything happening around him, he gets distracted. The moment he gets distracted, he sinks.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This is not just metaphorical. This is truth. This is what happens when we take our eyes off of Jesus. And I know how much easier said it is than done to focus on Jesus when you have waves crashing around you and all of this stuff happening. But it's crucial. It's so crucial.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I don't know. Just reading the story right now, it's just. It just goes to show you, like. Yes. Did he lack faith? Yes. But just goes to show you how much of a human being Peter was how just like us. Can you imagine? We, like, get on this black. What is it? Murky. Murky water. Like, I imagine, like stepping out on water and I have to. Getting told to walk. Like, of course we're going to be afraid. And of course he knows. And I love when Jesus says, don't be afraid. Take courage. I am here. So even in Peter's doubt, he still is looking at us. Say, have courage. I'm right here. I know that we get distracted so much and we have these doubts, but this story is a perfect illustration of he knows. He knows we have weaknesses. He knows we have doubts. He knows we're living in the world where we get distracted. And then I love.

[B]

Can I say something about what you just said? Yeah, about how he steps. Like, he. I love that, too, about Peter. He's so human. Like, he tries to stay. Like, we do this all the time. He tries to take a step out in faith. So he does the right thing. And then his faith is not strong enough. And then he falters and he falls. And then Jesus. But even in. Like, that, Jesus literally always gives an opportunity for redemption. He messed up. Up. He did. He looked away. He doubted. He got anxious. Not that getting anxious is you messing up, but you know what I mean? And so. But then Jesus, at the second he cries out to Jesus, redemption is there. Jesus redeems the situation.

[A]

You know, I. I read the story, and I see myself so much in this story. This has been my journey the past two years of, like, stepping out, wanting courage, but I'm so scared, and I'm like, wait, wait. I don't know. Like, especially when you're new in your faith and you have to trust something you've never known about or walked through, it's scary, you know? And I just love. I love when Peter says he was terrified and he began to sink, and he says, save me. He shouted, save me, Lord. I love that so much because it's like that. That vulnerability and that honesty, and that is what I've learned. And when you were talking about anxiety, I got this picture of myself when I was in a moment where I couldn't think straight, and I'm sweating and I'm, like, having a panic attack, and I just, like. Like, I cry out, help me, Jesus. I need help. Sometimes it's like, save me. I need help. I'm looking the other way. I'm distracted. I don't know which way to go. I'm in bondage. I feel like I'm in shackles right now. I can't get over this person. I can't let go. I can't stop thinking about it. My mind's tormented. And so it's like, you just, You. You can relate to that, right? When he says, save me, Lord, help me. And Jesus, in his grace, just reaches out and grabs him through his doubt, through his just unknowingness, and it just shows the power of Jesus. And I love this story so much. Yeah.

[B]

Wow. Wow. Yeah, there's something. So it's like. What is it? Hebrews 12. Two tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. And this means intentionally removing anything that shifts our focus off of Jesus onto anything else. And I love what you just brought up. I was going to talk about this a little later, but I love what you just brought up about how, like, bringing. Being honest, like, being so honest. This is something that I've learned because every single one of us, we're gonna. I saw someone comment the other day and say, what is the secret place? We're going to talk about the secret place a lot because everything is found in the secret place. Your life, your intimacy, your relationship with Jesus is found, established and cultivated in the secret place place church is. It's unbiblical to not go to church like you have to go to church, but church is not your secret place. Your house, church isn't the secret place. You fellowship with other believers is incredibly important. And I know my life, in just the past six months of actually cultivating, like, real godly community has changed me and my relationship with Jesus. I know Jesus better because of the people in my life. But the secret place is you and Jesus. And the secret place Jesus describes it that you go in your room, you shut the door, you basically cut out the rest of the world, and you speak to your Father in heaven, you speak to him in private, and then he rewards you in public. And so everything that we do, we're going to talk about the secret place a lot. And, like, the secret place is where you sit and you pray and you abide and you dwell in the presence of God, where you sit and you just talk to Jesus when nobody else is around. And you can literally get to a point in your spiritual life where you feel like Jesus just walked in the room. Like, that's what Ari and I believe in. We believe in the glory of God, the manifest presence of God, that God is not. Jesus is not just some person that's far away in heaven. He is in heaven, but he also literally died so that he could come live on earth, live in us, not even around us, in us, and be with us. That's what the secret place is. And so when we're in the secret place, distractions come up so much. My phone, I'm going to throw it off of a bridge. It is just so. Like, someone's gonna clip this and whatever, but, like, there is something so beautiful because people wouldn't be able to watch us if they didn't have the phone. But there's something so dark about the attachment that we have to our phone. So much so that if my phone is in my room when I'm spending time with Jesus, I am aware of where my phone is. Like, I literally have to put it in a different room. Otherwise, I'm. I want it. I want to be on it. I have people to talk to. I have things to do. It's, like, so insane. But something that I think is so important is to. When you're in the secret place and you're spending time with Jesus, sometimes I can find myself, like, trying to stuff down the things that are happening. I want to stuff down the anxiety. I want to stuff down, and I'm just gonna worship it away. Which, like, sure might work sometimes, but sometimes it's like you're. You're swimming upstream. Like, you're fighting. You're fighting a battle that you're gonna lose. Instead of just being honest and being like Jesus, this is what I'm feeling right now. I'm anxious, I'm distracted. I have an idol. It's not just that, like, Satan is attacking me. I actually want to be doing something else. You know what I mean? And being really honest. And I think about that moment with Jesus. In the garden of Gethsemane, we have that moment where Jesus is praying to God. He's praying to the Father, and he prays that really beautiful prayer where he says, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. And we know he ends with, nevertheless, not my will be done, but yours. But there's this moment of honesty. And so I'm like, yes, Jesus defeated sin on the cross, but I almost wonder, like, he. I just feel like he also defeated sin and temptation literally in that garden. And because there was something. There was like, a strength to get to the cross that was birthed in his surrender and honesty with the Father and that carried him through. Like, there's just something so strong, so significant about being honest, because once you lay it out on the table, it loses its power. And. And this is convicting for me. Because I can sit there and pretend like, no, this isn't happening. I don't actually. I love you, Jesus, but it's like, that's not helpful, you know? And God's not expecting that of you.

[A]

I know. And I think it comes a lot with understanding the love of God.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And I think that's been a process for the both of us.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

We both have. Felt like he's looking down at us, being like, you know, striving. Just think. Just feeling like he's gonna. I don't know. I just. I'm just like, he's gonna condemn me. Like, he hates me. Like, I've had these intrusive thoughts of like, oh, gosh. And it really does make you hide away when you aren't. When you do something that's not right, you do.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. So it's just been this journey of understanding his grace, his mercy, his love. And once you really, like, understand the. Like, if we really understand the love of God, which we are still trying to understand, we would not be hiding. We would not be panicking. We would literally live stress free. Stress free, stress free lives.

[B]

Yeah. But he's really not mad at us.

[A]

I know.

[B]

We need to remember I had a moment in the. My quiet time the other day where I go, you're not mad at me. I know. Why do I act like this? Why do I act like you're like. It's just like, if we could only truly understand how he sees us and how he looks at us.

[A]

You really do start to cultivate that in the secret place.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When you're sitting there and you can't go to anyone and tell them your deepest, darkest secrets. And then you sit there and lately what I've been doing is I will not leave till I'm completely honest. Honest. And so I'll start to talk and I'll be like, okay, all right. Okay. Listen.

[B]

And I can't even imagine how you talk.

[A]

Imagine me in my secret place. It is truly the funniest thing ever.

[B]

So cute.

[A]

Listen, like.

[B]

But I really, like, seriously.

[A]

And I always say this, but you. He is dad.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So that's how we should go to him. A dad that. That just holds you and doesn't leave. Like, I'm really understanding through all of my abandonment issues and all of my losses that I have had this past two years. Jesus stays. He doesn't leave. And so to have a dad that doesn't leave, that simply holds that I have messed up so many times and he still loves me. Wow. So I can tell him anything. So when we understand that, we are able to just sit there and be like, okay, you love me. You simply hold me. You're never gonna leave me. So I can open my heart and tell you anything. And that's truly when he gets to work, when, when we're so open with him, but we have to really see him as dad.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think so many people live in this, like, religious thing and that's why they run, because we've made life with Jesus so religious. And that is, that's hell. Like, how can we have a relationship when we're reciting prayers over and over again, when we're just. No, it's relationship. Tell him your deepest, darkest secrets. Sit there and just talk to him and cry out to him and tell him I need help. It's insane what he does through that.

[B]

It's so special. It's so special. And it really is, is so simple. Today's episode is sponsored by Strawberry Me. You guys, have you ever worked hard to get where you are, but then you're like, well, what's next? Are you aiming for that big promotion? Are you searching for a job that you truly love? Or are you just feeling stuck and unsure of your next move? Because I know that I've been there. At Strawberry Me Career coaching, they help professionals like me, like you, take the next step, step with confidence. They match you with a certified career coach who gets your challenges and goals. And this isn't just generic advice. It's personalized, results driven coaching experiences that uncover your hidden strengths. It gives you the strategies to stand out and move up faster. And most importantly, it keeps you accountable so you follow through and you actually make real progress. 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But their daily protein has now actually become a staple in my routine and you guys know how I feel about my protein. Ritual conducted a university led clinical trial for their Essential for Women Multivitamin to assess its efficacy. The results? Well, it increased vitamin D levels by 43% and omega 3 DHA levels by 41% in just 12 weeks. They're essential for women's 18 plus. Multivitamin contains nine key nutrients in two delayed release capsules designed for optimal absorption per day, designed to be gentle on the stomach with a minty essence in every bottle that helps make taking your Maltese actually enjoyable. Essential for Women is third party tested for heavy metals and Clean label project certified so you know you can trust what you're putting in your body. Ritual Vitamins are vegan, non GMO gluten and major allergen free and made traceable. No more shady business you guys. Ritual essential for women's 18 and over is a multivitamin that you can actually trust. Get 25% off your first month only at ritual.com ggb start ritual or add essential for women 18 and over to your subscription today. That's ritual.com ggb for 25% off the chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus, played by Jonathan Roumie. Seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in the first century Israel, the seven season series shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus's revolutionary life and teachings. With over 250 million viewers, the Chosen is one of the most watched shows in the entire world. The series is consistently a top performer across streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Peacock and Netflix, plus a top rated broadcast weekly on the cw. What started as a crowdfunded project has now garnered over 800 million episode views and more than 17 million social media followers. The Chosen is an independent production, written, directed and executive produced by Dallas Jenkins and distributed globally by Lionsgate. And you guys know that the Chosen has such a special place in both Ari and I's hearts because when we first became friends before Ari started reading the Bible, I showed her the Chosen to really give her a look into the life of Jesus and teach her about all of the people that we'd be reading about in the Bible. The Chosen is back for Holy Week, the most pivotal week in human history. Tables are turned, friends are betrayed, and powerful leaders plot the death of Jesus. The Chosen Last Supper is the must see event of the Easter season. It's in theaters March 28th in the US and April 10th worldwide. And to give you a little season five synopsis the people of Israel welcome Jesus as king, while his disciples anticipate his crowning. But instead of confronting Rome, he turns the tables on the Jewish religious festival. Their powers threatened, the country's religious and political leaders will go to any length to ensure that this Passover meal is Jesus's last. And you can get your tickets to the chosen Last Supper at The chosen last supper.com distraction comes from so many things. So it could be like Satan coming in and attacking you in your quiet time, getting you to, you know, focus on things that don't actually matter. Focus on the worries in your life, which, like, your worries are valid. Everything you go through is valid. Everything that you, you have fear about, everything that is weighing on you, like, it's completely valid. Lid and. But something that I pray quite often and I would encourage everyone to pray it is I always go, jesus, let me feel what I'm supposed to feel. And I rebuke anything that's being exaggerated in Jesus name because he's literally the devil is such an exaggerator. Like, he makes the things are real. Like, sure, I went through something with someone and it did suck and it did hurt and it did happen. Is it as big as I think it is? Is. Do they really think that? Did they actually mean that when they said that? You know what I mean? Like, so that's the way that he distracts us. He loves turning us against each other. He loves making you hear something that the other person didn't actually say. He loves making you conjure up all these narratives that aren't actually happening. This person thinks this about me and they probably. So I'm just going to be, you know, like, that's. He loves distracting us within relationships.

[A]

That's why the Bible says go to the person and talk to them. Go to the person and talk to them. Talk to them.

[B]

Does it say that?

[A]

Yeah. When you have a problem with someone, you go to them and talk to them. Do not keep things in. Do not have the pride. And it's just, you live in hell like that, so you make sure you go to that person and talk to.

[B]

Them right away, 100%. And I think one other way. And we'll read this. The Rich Young Ruler. Why is that funny? Why did we have a joke about the Rich Young Ruler? Okay, there is. Yeah. And then another way that he distracts us is with all of this, with all of this stuff with things in the world, with money and career and, like, you know what I mean? Like, external stuff. He can distract us internally. He plants seeds. He gets us to turn inwards. He gets us to think about things that don't really matter, about ourselves. For example, for me, one thing that he's used to distract me my entire life is body image, is food struggles. Like, oh, you have no idea. Two years ago, I finally opened my eyes and wake up to the fact that this freaking guy has been distracting me so hard.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Making me focus on my body and did I just eat too much? And oh, my gosh, what am I going to eat at dinner later when we all go together? Oh, my gosh, am I going to have a bite of that cake? I can't tell you the mental warfare that I've gone through over my body and food issues that have. I can't imagine how many things of God it's distracted me from. Like, with women. That's what He. Like, he loves. If he used to attack the. The body, the looks, the looks, everything.

[A]

He's been attacking us since we were little.

[B]

He's been attacking us since Adam and Eve. He's been attacking us. I just. I wrote this down. And then we'll go to the rich young ruler. But we know with Adam and Eve from the very first time that we sinned, from the very beginning, from the fall, all Satan tempts us in three ways. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. The lust of the eyes, what looks good, what's appealing. The lust of the flesh. What feels good, what tastes good. Like, what can, like, bring us pleasure physically. And then the pride of life. Anything that feeds our pride, anything that feeds our ego, anything that gives us wisdom and status and like, blah, blah, blah, all this stuff. And for each Eve, the apple. We all know about Eve biting into the apple that caused enmity between us and God for the rest of history until Jesus came for Eve. The apple looked good, it tasted good, and it was gonna make her wise. And so when you're looking, when you're going through life and you have all these distracted distractions coming at you, I can guarantee that every single one of them, you can get down to the root of it. And it's one of these three things. Yeah.

[A]

Can I tell you something that I'm walking through? Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, like, I've been walking through lately. What I have been walking through is comparison. And I think that's one of the ways the enemy really tries to distract you. And I'm really getting a hold of it. And, yeah, like. And he does that a lot. And so constantly, like, I'm in this place where I'm so settled and I'm doing something so great. But he. I hear the whispers. I. I catch them now. I hear the whispers in my ear of being like, look at all your friends. They're all. They're all in. They're all gonna get married. You're gonna be alone. Like, what are you doing? Is there something wrong with you? Maybe he'll never come. Or maybe, like, I. It is the state of comparison of looking at everyone else and being like, oh, my gosh, this is happening for them. And that even in social media, we see that so much. I'm sure you guys go through that too, where you're comparing yourself constantly. And it's like, it's a constant uphill battle of not having enough, not having enough. And so I've been really catching that lately of that comparison, because I'm in this beautiful place. I'm with my friends. It's a beautiful day out. And then I hear those voices of being like, but look at your friends and look at. You're alone. You know what I mean? And so it's been.

[B]

It's.

[A]

It's stolen from my. My. My joy and my happiness. So it makes me feel so stuck. It's. And it distracts me away from the present moment of having all of these beautiful things. My health, my family, my friends, girls gone, Bible. It is like it has stolen my joy and distracted me so much. So that's something that I have been really walking through lately.

[B]

You know, I'm so happy that you said that because it's the number one way. Not number. We always say it's the number one. Whatever. It's a massive way that he dist us is by getting us to compare ourselves.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, it's so funny about you saying that about comparison. I was reading my journal from last year, and I get to this part where I'm, like, praying about you consistently for, like, quite a long time. For probably a couple months. When we first started the podcast, I had, like. And we'll have a whole episode on comparison one day. But, like, I have have. I had never dealt with comparison to this level. And I literally, like, would journal. Jesus, help me to stop comparing myself to Ari. Like, I literally was fighting comparison so hard. I would literally write, like, she's so beautiful. She's so funny. I am suffering because I can't get the thoughts out of my head, like, this is my best friend. I don't. I don't want to compare. It is like comparison is the weirdest, hardest thing to go through because it makes you feel like a bad person when it's not your thoughts. Like, you're like, you don't. You don't actually feel this way. It's like, it's. And I just. I remember looking back on that time because, like, you are literally the most beautiful girl in the world.

[A]

But when she told me this, by the way, and I didn't believe her, I was like, yeah, I don't. I don't. That didn't. I Like, I really. I was like, okay.

[B]

And it's so intrusive and so like. And I remember what a distraction that was when we first. And I have, like, I have prayed my heart out for a long time. So you know what I mean? I've really had massive breakthrough. And you know this. We've talked about this stuff so many times. But like, and so there is hope in this area. Like, you can. With prayer, you get to a beautiful place of security within yourself. And like, you can kill comparison with the help of Jesus.

[A]

It's so.

[B]

But it's the biggest distraction, especially as women looking at. Oh, I'm so happy you brought that up. Yeah, we'll do a whole episode on comparison.

[A]

I really want to so much to talk about Rich Young Ruler.

[B]

Is his name Rich Young Ruler? Cuz I didn't see that in our version. So is that another version? Rich Young Ruler, Rich Young Rul Maru.

[A]

Maki Maki and the Funky Maki and the Funky Bunch. Where? The Funky Bunch crew.

[B]

Oh, can you guys, by the way, give us guests? Guests that you want to see on the podcast.

[A]

That's a great idea.

[B]

Right? Like, who do you guys want to see?

[A]

Mark. That's who we want.

[B]

Mark Wahlberg.

[A]

And everybody in Boston says that that's their cousin or they're related to him because they want to be cool.

[B]

When I went to Boston, I literally asked every single person, do you know Mark Wahlberg?

[A]

Are you related to Maki Ma?

[B]

I look for him everywhere. Oh, oh, right here. Oh, how am I here? Okay, it's Mark 10.

[A]

Mark 10, verse 17. The rich man. As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus asked, only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments. You must not murder, you must not commit adultery. You must not, not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother. Teacher. The man replied, I've obeyed all these commandments since I was young. Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. There is still one thing you haven't done. He told him. Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. At this, the man's face fell and he went away, sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, how hard is it? How hard is it for the rich to enter the kingdom of God? This amazed them. But Jesus said again, dear children, it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God. In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. I just love this story so much because wealth has been. I love this because wealth has been one of the biggest distractions in our society. It is just. I mean, I. What I love about this story is this guy was wealthy and he comes to Jesus because clearly there was something missing. And he's like, what can I do to inherit internal life? And then at the end when he says, after he told him that he must give his away his possessions, the man. The man's face fell and he went away sad for he had many possessions and how many of us do that? The man walked away because he knew there was something missing, but he still couldn't forfeit his possessions. So now he knew he had to live his life with a hole in his heart. Because the only thing that can ever fill you in this life is Jesus. You can have all the money, you can get to the top. That's why you. You see it in so many successful people and even celebrities. The Bible says Satan comes masquerading as an angel of light. So not. It's not always destructive. He'll come and present this beautiful life to you, and he'll. He'll.

[B]

He'll.

[A]

He'll say, oh, here's all the possessions, and I'll give you this. You see it all the time with celebrities and successful people, but then they get to the top and they end up falling and crashing because they will never be filled. You will get to the top. You will have all the money, you will have all the riches, you will have all the houses and all these things, but you can't take that with you, because the only thing that can fill you is Jesus. We see it all the time we see it, we see people have everything. Yeah. And they are the most empty people. And so I just, I see it all the time. Everybody is so focused on making it and having this money and making it to the top, but they're so empty. There's something missing and they don't understand what it is. It's because you're. You've made an idol out of money and you cannot focus on Jesus if Jesus isn't the first thing you're thinking about. You've missed it, right? You've missed it.

[B]

That's so good. You know what I love about you so much? Much you're met. You, like, preach one message, really. And it's like fulfillment in Jesus, you always bring it back to that. And it's so simple. And. And Jesus is like, well, that's all I need. Like, that's what I need. People over complicate it so much. And what Ari just said is the absolute truth. Like, you cannot put anything above Jesus. I love with the, with the rich young ruler or the rich young man, I'm not sure. But he talks about how he's like, I've obeyed all these commandments since I was young. He's never broken any of the laws, and he probably even kept the Pharisees, like, additional agreements. Like, he literally did everything so right. And then Jesus lovingly challenges him and tells him, yeah, you did everything right, but you can't even obey my first commandment. Yeah, that is to love God above everything else. Like, so he's saying, like, like, sure, you've done everything right, but the most important thing, you can't do it because you're holding on to everything. You've made an idol out of them. And so it's like, people walk around and this is like, not to put anybody down. This is to call them higher. But people are walking around saying that they do everything right for Jesus, but they can't. They don't follow the number one thing, and that's to love God more than money. That's to love God more than riches and career and wealth and all of the things. Like, it is the most important thing. You can't call yourself a Christian if you don't obey the Father first. First commandment. You know what I mean?

[A]

And it's okay to, to want to, to have a good life. It's okay to work hard. Like, no one is saying that. It's not okay. We love working hard. We love to have purpose. But when it is the first thing you think about, you've made an idol out of it. Whatever person, place or thing that you have made priority over Jesus, you have made an idol over. I have had so many of them. I was watching, I was watching Stephanie Ek, our pastor the other day and it was about exposing deception. She said something that hit me so hard. She said, if something is tormenting your mind and you have, you can't stop thinking about it, there's something wrong. You have to understand that's not from God. She said, if you are going on burning burner accounts, I told you this. If you're going on burner accounts and stalking someone and you can't stop thinking about them and, and you're obsessing them and you're going from person to person, you have to understand that is not normal and that is not from God and you have to break that. And I feel like so many of us are so. Our mind is so consumed. We've made idols out of people, we made idols out of relationships and we stuck all day and we're on the Internet all day and we can't even function and we can't even focus on Jesus because that's one of the biggest distraction is a partner, is a person, is your heartbreak. And I know it hurts and I know it's such a process and I know it's. It's just so tough when everything is put in your face with social media and you're going through a really tough breakup and you can't help but look every two seconds. But it's hindering you and it's keeping you and he wants to set you free from that. And I don't know who I'm talking to right now, but he's like, if you would just stop, if you would just put the effort in, if you would just. I took that away from you for a reason. And stop obsessing. Stop stalking. Come to me. Talk to me about it. Ask me to help you through this. Ask me to break these change of bondage that you're in from, from the obsessive thoughts and, and just looking constantly and the mental torment that you're going through. I will set you free. But you have to come and do that with me and you have to put some effort into it.

[B]

Yes. You have to come into agreement with it. I'm so happy you said that. I was, I wanted to talk about this a little bit. One of the major distractions that the devil himself will send to you is an obsession with wanting your old life. So many people. And I've been one of those people. I know so many of us can be so caught up and consumed by the past. A person in the past, a career in the past. You thought you were in your prime back then. You thought that, like, life was better back then. Like, so many of us can be so consumed by the past and wanting to go back, back. And it is just the biggest distraction. I know what Jesus wants. And he says, behold, I have. I don't know exactly how the scripture goes, but it's like, behold, a new thing has sprung up. The new has come, the old has gone. Don't you see that I'm doing a new thing? I'm doing a new thing. New, new, new. Like, I just. I know he speaks a message of new. And we press on, and we move forward, and we press forward like it's always going forward. God does not ask us to go back, back. I just know that he doesn't ask us to go back. And I think about this moment in Luke 9:62. Basically, Jesus is telling his disciples or his followers, like, you guys have to come and follow me wholeheartedly. And people are agreeing, but they're saying, okay, we just have to go take care of some things back there. We have to go take care of our family. We have to go, you know, do all these things in the past. And Jesus says to them, anyone who puts a hand, hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God. If you're trying to have a relationship with Jesus, do things for the kingdom of God, move forward. But you're looking back. He is so clear. You are not fit. And that's not to put you down. You could become fit right now in this very moment. But if you're choosing to look back, you're not fit for the kingdom because it is a forward moving, ever growing, ever prospering kingdom of life. Life is not back there.

[A]

I know.

[B]

And then I just. I think about Lot's wife. They're fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah. And I know a lot of us know this story. They're fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot's wife is. She's running. And God gives her one explicit command. He says, do not look back. What does she do? She looks back and she becomes a pillar of salt. I know that can sound really funny to people. It not. Might not make any sense, but listen to the point. Lot's wife lost her life because she looked back. She lost her life. We can actually lose our life because we keep looking back. We could lose the life that God is offering us because we keep looking back. Whoever is listening to this right now, who's stuck in the past, this is your invitation to move forward in Jesus name.

[A]

And I can't even tell you how many times I thought that God was going to put me in, turn me into a pillars, because I, I would say all the time to ang up. Here we go. Lots of life. Here I am. It is one of the most difficult things.

[B]

It's so difficult.

[A]

And I give and, and Jesus gives you grace. And I give you grace. Going through a heartbreak, having to move on, being forced to have to move on but not look back and not wonder, but have to like, keep plowing through is one of them most difficult things.

[B]

So hard.

[A]

And I don't wish it on my worst enemy. The, the people that have to plow through and keep grieving and keep moving forward. It's really hard. It is. And yeah, give yourself grace. But I'll tell you who you'll be when you keep moving forward and you stop looking back and going back to the mud. She if in my journey I realized that he just what he takes away, he. He doesn't make any mistakes. It is, it is. It is for his greater good because his ways are better than our ways.

[B]

So that is so good. It's so good. And it's. You're so right that grief is real. Grief is normal.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But you grieve moving forward. You have to grieve moving forward.

[A]

No, I just wanted to say that in. During my journey, before I found Jesus, this just came to my mind. I was, I actually told you guys how I bought a lucky rock. I was like reading, manifesting books. Can I manifest how to, how to get out of this or I have a good life. I was, I called psychics. I went to mediums.

[B]

They closed them doors. Don't you guys worry.

[A]

You said to me one time, did you ever remember that?

[B]

I said, did you close those doors?

[A]

Yes. I would go to mediums in my moments of weakness when I was feeling such deep grief about my stepdad that I lost. I was doing it all because that is one of the biggest distractions of the enemy. Yeah. Why don't you, you know? Yeah, anything to get you away from Jesus.

[B]

And look, here's healing. Look, here's joy.

[A]

Yeah, go to this. Go to this. And I see it in so many people. They find comfort in angel numbers. They find comfort in crystals and sage and all of these things. They even praise the universe. And they, and they do the Horoscopes and the stars and the moon and the sun, and it is the biggest scheme. It is the biggest way to get you distracted.

[B]

It is.

[A]

Please, anything you are worshiping other than Jesus Christ, you have handed yourself over to the enemy. You are in a web of deception.

[B]

We're just gonna replay that one more time so people hear it again because it's so important. Thank you so much for saying that. Talk about distraction. Talk about distraction getting us to look to anything else for things that are good. Like, we've talked about this before, that the. But the way really is so narrow. Like, scripture says that narrow is the way few will find it. And what I've noticed, and through my relationship with Jesus, is that the. The way gets significantly more and progressively more narrow as time goes on. There are things that I used to tolerate six months ago that I don't tolerate now. There are things I would have watched six months ago that I won't watch now. I literally, two days ago, deleted all of the music off of my phone, and I decided, like, I'm going full on. No secular music music. Not even at the gym. Not even Bad Bunny.

[A]

She loves Spanish.

[B]

Well, I love Spanish music because it's secular music, but I don't know what they're saying. So that's how I've justified it of being like, I'm listening to Pepas and, like, I'm, like, dancing. I don't know what. God knows what they're saying, like, bless them, but I don't know what they're saying. And so I literally decided, like, I'm done.

[A]

Just country.

[B]

No country. I'm like, I will. I'll listen to.

[A]

Whoa, We're.

[B]

I will.

[A]

But we're going into real marriage. No, we're going.

[B]

We're going into.

[A]

I'll tell you one thing. I'm not giving up. I am not giving up my country music.

[B]

I don't think country music's bad.

[A]

I'm just.

[B]

For me, I'm just like, I'm. I want to. I'm like, good. I want to go. Not that I'll never listen to it, but, like, I won't go. Like, it's just like, always the gym where I justify listening to mu. Like, I'm just not. I'm just good. I just know where God wants to take me. And, like, it's getting more narrow and not. But, like, it's things that aren't evil. They're not bad. But you just, like, progress in your relationship and you realize that even things that aren't Inherently evil or bad. It's just they can't come with me, you know what I mean? So it's not like things are necessarily bad, but things can be so distracting. And, like, that's what I've noticed. I know that music can be really distracting for me. It could be really. I can get lost in it. I can get lost in the feeling that it gives me. And, like, I just. Removing distractions is a form of purification. Like, that's what it is. And I'm not talking about music. I'm talking about distractions in general. Anything in your life, life that hinders your relationship with Jesus. Because reducing our life to the most simplest form of intimacy with Jesus is what we need to do. It needs to become simple. Our time with Jesus needs to become simple. Everything about our life with Jesus just needs to be. It's like this reduction that needs to happen. And I think about water, like when water is being purified. It's the way that you purify water is by removing everything but the water. And so water in its purest form is water that has no external material in it. It's that reduction, you know what I mean? It's about removing and reducing and simplifying. So the more simple we are, the more pure we are. The more simple our relationship with Jesus, the more pure our relationship is with Jesus. And so I'm like, consistently just moving into this place of being like, oh, this has to go. This has to go. And I know that sounds really extreme, but it's the call of God. Yeah, it is the call of God. You want to hear God's voice. You want to know the things of God. You want God to trust you with the mysteries of. Of heaven. Like, that's what he. He offers us. But, like, we have to prove that we're trusted. So you have to go all in, and then you go even more in, and then you go even deeper. Because you never get to a point in your spiritual life where Jesus has given you enough. He always has more. You can always go deeper. And I know for me, I will never stop trying to go deeper, because it's life. It's life. And then I just wanted to say one more thing. Technology, tv, the phones. John Piper wrote this. He said one of. John Piper, he said one of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the last day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time. Would you like me to read that again? One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook. So he's talking about social media. Twitter, Facebook, the best. The great use of it will be to prove at the last day. So when Jesus comes back, Twitter and Facebook will prove that prayerlessness, our lack of prayer, us saying that we don't have time to pray will not be from a lack of time. Social media will prove that. It was literally. We had way more time than we thought, but we were so distracted by social media. I am speaking to myself. I delete Instagram off my phone for a month. I'm good for a month. I download it back. I go right back where I was. This is my greatest battle. It is my greatest struggle of, like.

[A]

Do you know how thankful I am that I grew up, didn't have phones? I was actually playing outside. Were you? Do. Did you?

[B]

Yeah, of course.

[A]

I'm like, I can't imagine how kids. I can't imagine being in this generation as a kid with my phone, phone, the iPad. Do you know that I went to Italy? When I was in Italy, no one was on phones. Yeah, everybody was just interacting with each other as families. It was the most beautiful thing. They actually ate together. They didn't have everyone. You go, it.

[B]

It's crazy. And, like, there are obvious things that you shouldn't watch, but then you get progressively deeper and you're like, oh, even this has to go, you know? And that's not legalistic. It's not religious. It's not too much. It's not this. It's not. It's like, God is worth it. Jesus is worth it, and he has more to offer us than what the world has to offer us. And, like, sure, we might become, you know, like, weird Christians, but I would love to be a weird Christian. I would love to be someone who's weird and following Jesus and, like, you know what I mean? Distractions will come, and they will try to take you away from the secret place. They'll try to get you to do anything except spend time with Jesus. But you have to spend time with Jesus. You have to spend quality time with Jesus like he's your friend. Like, you would spend quality time with a friend. That's how you have to spend time with Jesus. You have to get in the secret place, and you have to wait long enough because the distractions do fade away. Maybe not every time, but from my experience, I could go in being so distracted, so anxious, so consumed with so many things pulling at me, but if I just wait, if I just linger, they do start to fade away. And one thing that I would encourage you guys is don't leave until you're satisfied. Don't leave until you're satisfied. Don't stop reading until you're full. Don't stop seeking Jesus's face until you find it, until you see it. Like everything. Jesus is our bread. The Word is our daily bread. And we must read, we must feast on the bread until we're full. Because if we're not full, then we're spiritually starved. If we're spiritually starved, we're dead.

[A]

Yeah. And to just add on to that, don't start your day without being in the secret place. If you're someone who's like, but I'll do it later after work, you're literally robbing yourself. And then one more thing I'll say is one thing I've been doing lately before bed, because I used to go and on TikTok before bed, and it would help me go to sleep. And the Psalms are just my favorite. It brings me comfort. It heals my heart. It just. I love the Psalms. If I. It brings me so much comfort. Start with Psalms before you go to bed.

[B]

That's such a good idea.

[A]

Yeah, it's. Soak in the Psalms. Start reading them before bed. Force yourself, even if your mind is telling you not to start reading the Psalms before bed.

[B]

Search for Jesus in the Psalms until you find it. That's what I heard a pastor say.

[A]

Oh, yes, I've heard that, too. I think that was Michael Cooliano.

[B]

I think it was Michael Culiano's.

[A]

Yeah, please. It's gonna. It's gonna change the course of your sleep, your dreams, everything. When we're sitting there distracted on social media, we can't even hear from Jesus properly.

[B]

You're numbing out. You're numbing out. I think of that, and just to go off what Ari was saying, you give God the first fruits of your day. Like we're supposed to give him the first fruits, the first 10%, the first of our finances. It literally translates into our devotion and our, you know, relationship with him, that you give him the first fruits of your day, as much time as you can. But I'm telling you, you are able to give him more time. Time than you think. In Matthew 26, Jesus is talking to his disciples, and he tells them, I need you guys to stay awake and I need you to pray. He gives them a very simple command. He asks his friends to stay awake with him and to pray. And every time that he goes to see them, he finds them asleep and he goes, could you not pray with me? Could you not wait with me for one hour. They couldn't give him one hour of their time. He just. He asked them for an hour, they couldn't give him an hour. So we encourage you guys to give Jesus an hour. You can find it beautiful. We love you guys so much. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace. Shalom. Shalom.

[A]

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