← Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
Stay True with Madison Prewett Troutt
Drinking, Cussing & Going Out- What’s the Line?
01:14:35
Get ready… this episode might ruffle a few feathers. 👀 Madi is going solo and diving deep into her Christian hot takes– from Halloween and Love Island to Taylor Swift, alcohol, and sleeping over with your boyfriend. In a world that says...
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- [00:00]
Maddie Pruitt Trout
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Jeff Bridges
Morning Zoe. Got donuts.
- [00:23]
Maddie Pruitt Trout
Jeff Bridges why are you still living above our garage?
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Jeff Bridges
Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me.
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Maddie Pruitt Trout
So Dana oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful iPhone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system.
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Jeff Bridges
Wow, impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network.
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Maddie Pruitt Trout
Nice. Jeffrey, you heard them.
- [00:54]
Jeff Bridges
T Mobile is the best place to.
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Maddie Pruitt Trout
Get the new iPhone 17 Pro on.
- [00:58]
Jeff Bridges
Us with eligible trade in in any condition. So what are we having for launch?
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Maddie Pruitt Trout
Dud work here is done.
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T-Mobile Announcer
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- [01:22]
Maddie Pruitt Trout
Go to the bars just to have fun with my friends? Can I go to the bars and just not drink? Is it okay to sleep over at my boyfriend's place if we aren't having sex or live together to save money? What shows and music can I listen to? Can I watch shows like Love Island? What is your intention? What's your why? What's the heart? What's the purpose? Can a Christian cuss if I let one slip every once in a while but don't normally use it in a sentence? Is it really that bad? I don't understand this question. I'll be honest. How much should I be watching tv? Should I have a tv? We try to put ourselves in worldly environments hoping we can be a light and what ends up happening is we get more sucked into the worldly environment and look more like the world. Is Halloween okay? I don't see anywhere in scripture where scripture tells us that we need to be relevant. I remember when Fantasy Suites was coming out and I was going to have to make the choice of am I going to go to fantasy suites or not. That was something I had to really wrestle with because. What's up, guys? Welcome back to another episode of Stay True podcast. I'm your host, Madison Pruitt Trout, and we are doing a solo episode today. It's been a minute and I've missed it, so I was like, you know what? We're gonna do a solo episode. And I'm very excited about the topic that we're going to be talking about today. It's honestly something that I'm so passionate about and I have talked about it on this podcast before, but it's been probably a year since we've had conversations around this topic. And so I'm really excited about that. But first I just wanted to kind of have a hangout moment. Like, let's just. I just want to update you guys on what's been going on and where I'm at right now. So it is, I guess, towards the end of October, Grant and I are about to celebrate our three year anniversary, which is crazy. I can't believe that we have been married for almost three years. Like, part of me feels like we've been married forever, and then the other part of me is like, we just got married. How are we celebrating three years? It is crazy. Our little hosanna rose is growing so fast and it really is my favorite thing in the world. And just to bring you guys into the wrestle, I'm like, man, I love being her mom so much that every day I'm like, so should I quit work? I'm not going to quit the podcast because I love this too much too. But it's just. It's really the best. I love being a mom. And she is just getting such a cute little personality. She is just full of passion. I mean, she's got some sass. Like, my favorite thing to do right now is she'll make this little, like, face and noise and she's like. And. And like, poke out her lips and I'll just look at her and be like, who am I? Who am I? And, like, do it right back to her. And she thinks it's the funniest thing and it's like my favorite thing to do. But she's so cute. She's got two little teeth coming in. She's like, I mean, crushing it with the food game right now. She's like eating little, like, avoca. Like, I'll cut up some avocado. I just gave her chicken for the first time. The other Day like cut up little pieces. I mean, she's just crushing it. And I am just, just so proud. And you know, I, Grant and I are not to the point where we're ready for baby number two. But I did just get to the point where I'm like, huh, baby number two. So I don't know, you guys can pray for us and hopefully we will figure out. More importantly, the Lord will guide us and direct us on when baby number two should come, but it really is the best thing ever. Also, I have coming up, which I'm so excited about. We have our very first ever Stay True Live coming up here in Nashville November 8th, which is, I believe, if you're listening to this episode, I guess depends on when you're listening to this episode. But if you listen to this the week that it's coming out, it'll be next weekend, November 8th, here in Nashville, Tennessee. And we will include all the details for that in the show notes of this episode. But I am so excited, you guys. This is something that I have dreamed about and prayed about for so long, long. And I can't believe that it's almost here. We have some of the most fun, incredible special guests coming, some of my friends that I've looked up to and that I've done life with for a while now. And Anna golden is one of those special guests. And she is someone that I remember, I mean, I don't even know. Years ago when I lived in Dallas, her and I were friends and we would talk about, like, what would it look like if we did this event together? And, you know, you led worship and I so spoke and did a message like, what, what would that be like? And we just like dreamed it up and it's just so fun. It feels like, wow, now this is a reality. Like what we talked about is coming true. And so Anna golden is going to be leading us in some really powerful, special worship moments. And I'm so, so excited. You guys also feel free to send in some questions because we are going to be doing all of these messages at Stay True Live will not be recorded and aired. So this will be like a special kind of exclusive event. If you guys get the tickets to come and be a part of it, you can't access it anywhere else. So the conversations we will be having, the worship moments we'll be having will all be this night only. And hopefully we are able to do more of these in the future, maybe even in some different cities. But this is kind of like our first go round and we're like, let's just have fun. Let's figure it out. Let's worship together. Let's, you know, build community. I'm so excited for you guys just to get to even meet each other. We have announced that we're doing the Stay True Live for a couple months now. And it's been so cool to see. I've been sitting down my team and we've been seeing from different states, like those of you who are coming and you guys, there's like, it's like 20 or something, maybe more states that are representative who all's coming to Stay True Live, already, which is crazy. And it's almost here. Tickets are still available, hopefully by the time I'm recording this episode. Hopefully tickets aren't sold out yet, but tickets are still available and we would absolutely love for you to come and join us. It could be a fun weekend to maybe for you and your mom, maybe you and I guess I'm speaking to the ladies right now, but you and your boyfriend or your husband or maybe make it a girls trip or if you're a dude, bring some. I mean, come on. Guys are welcome too. My husband will be there. Grant will be also bringing a little bit of a word too. And so, yeah, anybody is welcome. We would absolutely love to have you guys. And I'm just so excited. And so I'm actually wearing right now for those of you who are watching the video Shameless plug for our YouTube because this is the only. That's the only place you can watch this podcast. But I am wearing a very special, exclusive piece of merch that nobody has seen yet, we have not dropped yet. And you guys will have first access to it at the Stay True Live event. There will be lots of fun pieces of merch that have not been dropped yet, that nobody has seen yet, that will first be available at Stay True Live. So it is going to be seriously so much fun. It is going to be a really powerful night where every I believe and I'm praying every single person who walks in is going to leave different than how they came in. And so no matter where you're at on your faith journey, no matter how old you are, no matter, I mean, where you come from, no matter where you live, I mean, I'm just truly praying and believing that God shows up and meets us where we're at, but doesn't leave us where we're at and that we all leave, me included. I mean, just changed and transformed and empowered and sent out and ready to live on mission and ready to Make a difference and live on purpose and stay true and live the life that God has called us to live. And so I'm really expectant. I'm really excited. And so those are a lot of the fun things that we have going on right now. What I want to talk about today is how far is too far. What's okay as a Christian? What should or shouldn't I be doing? And what's the line? What's the line? What are the gray areas? What's okay, what's not okay? And so we're going to be talking about a lot of different topics. I actually am just going to have my phone with me. And I really didn't prep very much for this episode. I kind of just wanted it to be, like, straight from the heart, the spirit, and just, you know, my own personal experience and what God has done in my own life. And so one of those questions, because we're coming up on Halloween is. Is Halloween okay? And some of the things that I'll be sharing is going to be, you know, my own personal opinion. And some of the things that I'm going to be sharing in this episode is going to be straight from the Bible and God's word. And so my personal take on Halloween, again, this is my personal take, is that I believe Halloween is dark, evil, and wicked, personally. And I think that if you want to take a little fun spin on it and treat it as just a holiday to dress up for fun, as in, like, not scary costumes, as in nothing that's like, evil and dark, but just like, you want to dress up as a superhero, you want to dress up as Hannah Montana. That was my choice back in the day was Hannah Montana. You want to dress up, I mean, you know, as a hot dog. Like, if. If that's your vibe, I think that's totally fine. And especially if you have kids, I think it does give you an opportunity to, like, sit down and have a conversation. I think sometimes we can get so scared in the Christian space of, like, we have to run from anything and everything that's worldly or anything and everything that's not just so, like, obvious in scripture. But I do think that what this does give us an opportunity to, you know, sit down, maybe with our kids and just have a conversation around is like, hey, we don't celebrate and. And come into agreement with or accept things that are dark and evil. But what we can do is see this as. Even though a lot of the world might be celebrating Halloween as, you know, dressing up in a dark way or Putting up really haunted and scary things in their front yard. Even though we're not going to participate in that. What we can do is see this as an opportunity to still have fun, to dress up as, you know, a superhero or something, be Spider man and still be a light. And so maybe you're going door to door and getting some candy. Nothing wrong with some candy. And maybe while you're getting some candy, you're using that as an opportunity to share the gospel. You're using that as an opportunity to, you know, encourage others with the love of Jesus Christ. And so I think that's. Honestly, I'm a little bit more in the middle. I don't think I'm the person who's like, hardcore, do not dress up. Halloween is horrible. Evil, do not do, and do not associate with it at all. But I'm also not the person that's like, oh, it doesn't matter. Like, you know, dress up as, you know, some horror movie character and put crazy skeletons in your front yard. I think that's not good. And so I would say I'm kind of in the middle. And teach their own. If you feel really strongly that it is really wrong and you shouldn't participate in it at all, then lean into that conviction. Listen to that. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak into that. Every single one of us has access to the word of God and has the Holy Spirit. And so ask the Holy Spirit. Ask wise counsel, Ask, you know, your local church, small group leader or pastor. You know, I think that sometimes we rely way too heavy on. On podcasts, I mean, honestly, and on other people's convictions. And it's like, what is your conviction? What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you? You have a personal relationship with. With the Holy Spirit, and you have a personal relationship with the word of God. And so search the scriptures for yourself. Ask the Holy Spirit, will you speak to me on if this is okay or not okay? And that's where I really want to set the tone for this episode is there are certain things that, yes, like if we're talking about sexual sin, if we're talking about how we speak and how we treat others and like, those types of things, it. It is black and white in scripture. And then there are other things that it's like, I don't know, wrestle with that. Take that to godly community. Take that to the word of God. Take that to your time in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit, speak to me. Your servant is listening. I want to honor you with my body. I want to honor you with my time, I want to honor you with my relationships, I want to honor you with my life. And so will you show me what the right thing to do here is? And will you show me what the thing to do is here that pleases you and honors you and glorifies you? Because honor, ultimately the question is not how far is too far, but what glorifies God. That's the question we should be asking. Not how close to sin can I get, but how close to God can I get? And so that is what we should be wrestling with as a believer. Not, I don't want to be, you know, good by the world standard, but I want to be good by God's standard. I want to be righteous and set apart, holding myself to the standard of what God says is good and holy and pleasing to him, turning to scripture and saying, okay, who do you say that I am and how do you call me to live? And if I'm called to be above reproach, if I'm called to be set apart, if I'm called to not look like the world or have a relationship with the world, then let me pursue that, not the world standard, which is to just be a little bit better than maybe all these other people and how they're living. And let me see to how close to sin can I get? Let's flirt with sin a little bit, let's tolerate sin a little bit, let's overlook sin a little bit. Let's treat it as not that big of a deal because we're. We're still doing better than these people. That is an unholy approach and ungodly approach. Surprise. I have really exciting news. Stay True Podcast is going live. Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 8th at Rocket Town in Nashville, Tennessee. It is going to be an incredible night filled with worship, special guests, and yes, a live recording of the Stay True podcast right in the room where with you. I have been wanting to do this for so long and I'm truly so excited to see how the Lord is going to move. This is more than just a podcast event. It is a night to gather, talk about God's truth, worship, be a part of something bigger than yourself, and dive deep into conversations that matter. I cannot wait to see so many of your faces, meet you in person, and experience this night together. So grab your friends, get your tickets with the link in my bio, and join me in Nashville on November 8th for Stay True Podcast Live. I'll see you guys there.
- [15:07]
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- [15:39]
Maddie Pruitt Trout
And so I want to just set the tone overall for this episode that my heart is that as you're listening to this, even as we talk through all these different topics, that you are turning to the scriptures, that you are turning to the Holy Spirit and asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you, and that you're turning to godly community and you're inviting in your godly community and godly counsel and wisdom around you. And, you know, maybe sure, it's so helpful to listen to pastors online and listen to a podcast online like you guys are literally listening to right now. There's nothing wrong with that. But I do think that when we use that to replace the Holy Spirit's voice in our own life, I think when we use that to replace godly community life on life with people that know us and love us and can hold us accountable, that's where it gets dangerous. And so this should never be a replacement of intimacy with the Holy Spirit. This should never be a replacement of intimacy with godly community. This should only be a supplement and addition to those things. And so I want to encourage you, first and foremost, make sure you're in the Word of God. You, you know scriptures for yourself. You're studying and meditating and memorizing scripture for yourself. You are, you know, the Word of God is the standard for your life. We cannot, you know, say we want to stay true or say we want to live a Christian life and not be in the word of God. Like, I just want to make that so clear. And then on top of that, having an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, you know, I. Sometimes we can lean so heavy like the book of the Bible, but we don't have any intimacy with the Holy Spirit. But the, the goal and the purpose of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person. And the Holy Spirit, he is called the Spirit of truth. And the Holy Spirit's role is to be a comforter, a counselor, and a guide to point us into the truth and to lead us into the truth and so inviting the Holy Spirit even as you're reading the Word of God and say, holy Spirit, what does this mean? What are you speaking to me right now? How do I apply this practically to my life? I think is so important. And so I always like to do that as I open up the word of God. Not just as a checklist, not as, just like a book to read. I mean, this book is. It's alive and active. This is God breathed. This is the word of God that's full of revelation and things that are honestly way too crazy for my mind to comprehend and understand, which is why I need the Holy Spirit to reveal it to me, to simplify it, for me, to give me the. The understanding and the wisdom and insight of how to apply it practically to my life. And then also the godly community aspect of it, being plugged into a local church, having people around you so that you can process those things together. I mean, one of my favorite things to do, truly, is to ask, you know, my community or ask my husband, or ask, you know, local pastor, my local pastor and his wife, like, what are Yalls thoughts on this verse? What do you think, you know, Paul meant when he said this? What do you think Jesus meant when he said. And really wrestle with that? What do you think that means for our culture and nation and world today? What do you think that means for me today? And really take that time to like, wrestle with the scriptures and sit on it and meditate on it. I think so often we just read the Word of God and we're just like, yeah, check. I. I had my quiet time and the other day I had a moment where I felt truly convicted. And I was like, this should not just be a compartmentalized quiet time reserved for the mornings for me. Like, this should not just be me and Jesus with my coffee mug and my Bible open and my journal next to me in the morning. Like, this should be a. Yes, quiet time where distractions are removed and nobody else is around. It's not supposed to just be quiet and compartmentalized. And it's not supposed to just stay there. It's supposed to then be loud throughout the rest of your day. So it might be quiet for a moment as all distractions are removed, but then it should be loud in your mind and your heart, through your mouth, through your relationships, or all throughout the rest of your day. And so as you spend time in God's word in the morning, maybe you're meditating on Romans 12, you're meditating on Psalm 16, you're meditating on Psalem 139, whatever it may be, you're sitting on that passage of, of Scripture. And then all throughout your day, you're Just like taking one of those verses and you're just praying it, or maybe you're encouraging somebody else with it, or you're just like thinking about it and you're thinking of ways of how you can apply it to your life. And so your quiet time isn't meant to just stay a part of your morning routine. It's. It's supposed to transform your mind and the rest of your day, throughout your day. And so I think that is so important as we're asking, like, how far is too far? What is okay? What's not okay is that we're making sure, yes, we're starting our day with truth, but then we're living the rest of our day like we started our day with truth. Like, we're living the rest of the day taking that truth with us all throughout the day. We're giving that truth to those around us. We're reminding ourselves of that truth in our own hearts and minds. We're meditating on that truth all throughout the day. And because the reality is, is like, I can so often have my quiet time in the morning and then it's like, man, that was so good. And then, you know, by 3pm, especially with having a sweet little baby girl angel, it's like by 3pm I'm exhausted. I've completely forgotten what I read that morning. I am not operating in the spirit. I am fully operating on emotions or reacting and you know, being quick tempered or being selfish or being anxious or whatever it may be. And I'm like, man, I have totally isolated my quiet time to be that time reserved in the morning instead of a continual intimate relationship with the Lord throughout the day. Because the reality is, is it's not about a reserved quiet time in the morning. It should be a continual relationship throughout your day to where you're having those moments, you know, with your kids, or you're having those moments with your spouse, or you're having those moments with a roommate or a friend. And you're just like, oh man, I am believing a lie right now. I need to sit here and just remind myself of the truth that I read this morning. Or I need to take a second and pray before I respond to that. Because right now I want to react, I want to get mad, I want to get angry, I want to prove that I'm right. And instead I'm just going to take a second, I'm going to pray and I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit, what should I say or should I not say anything? Maybe I just need to hold my tongue and I need to walk away. Maybe that's the most holy thing I can do right now is just shut up. And that's what I have learned. And something that I don't think you ever graduate from that message, I think that's something that I'm going to be having to remind myself of and go back to when I'm 80 years old. You know, I cannot wait to tell you about this coffee brand my husband Grant and I are absolutely hooked on. It's called seven weeks Coffee, and it has quickly become the only coffee we drink in our house. But it's not just about the taste. This coffee stands for something we deeply believe in. Seven weeks coffee is America's pro life coffee company on a mission to fund the pro life movement. One cup of coffee at a time. Why are they called seven weeks? Because at seven weeks, a baby is the size of a coffee bean. And it's the same time a heartbeat is clearly detected on an ultrasound. As a mom, that just hits differently. They've built their business around saving lives by donating 10% of every sale to pregnancy centers and pro life organizations nationwide. They've now raised over $1 million and have saved thousands of lives. Now let me tell you about the coffee because I'm very picky about what I put into my body. It's mold free, pesticide free, shade grown and low acid, and it's organically farmed. It truly checks all the boxes. So go to seven weeks coffee.com and save 15% forever when you subscribe. Plus get a free gift with your order. And exclusively for my listeners, use code stay true for an extra 10% off your first order. That's a 25% off, total savings on your first order plus a free gift. Jesse's code stay true at checkout. I think that's so important as, as we're asking how far is too far? What's okay, what's the line is first, like we're, we're turning to scripture and we're asking the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us. And then all throughout the day, we're continuously going back to that. I like to say, like, when you don't know what to do, go back to what's true. Go back to what you know you should do, which is what scripture says to do. And so if you're asking that question, how far as far you're. You're wrestling, what does scripture have to say? It is very, it's very clear. And sometimes we're like, oh, but the Bible doesn't really talk about the. The Bible talks about a lot of things. Okay. And it most likely is going to be talking about the millions of things that you have going on in your mind, in your heart and your life and your relationships. It addresses a lot of stuff. It's not a book that is like, you know, this historical context book that's like, oh, you know, Jesus just does not understand what I'm going through right now in 2025. No, Jesus understands everything you're going through in 2025. He created you. He created you, and you are l sustained and upheld by him right now in this very moment. And so remembering that is really important. Okay, so I'm just going to read off. I have my phone with me. I'm going to read off some of these questions, and then we're just going to kind of talk through it. And I hope this feels like we're just sitting on a couch together and having a conversation together, as I wish that I could be face to face with every single one of you, which is why you should come to stay true. Live. Shout out. Because I do. I want to meet you guys. I want to see you guys and gather together in a room. Because sometimes it's hard when we're just like on a. On a screen. And I want to see you guys in person. Okay, this is question, what shows and music can I listen to? Can I watch shows like Love island, the Bachelor? Listen to things like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber? I want to start with this. I was on the Bachelor, so clearly, you know, that's a part of my life and story. However, I personally now do not watch anything that I know is going to feed my flesh and not feed my spirit. And so I think you have to ask the question, can I do it? Sure. Should I do it? That's what you need to answer. Can I watch the Bachelor? Sure. Can I watch Love Island? Sure. Can I watch the summer I turned? Pretty sure. Should I? Does it glorify God? Does it feed my spirit? Does it make me look more like Jesus? Does it put me at the feet of Jesus and bring me closer to him? That's the question we should be asking as believers. That's what we should be wrestling with as believers. The other day, I was talking with my husband and my soon to be. What is it called? Like, sister in law? Is that what she'll be? I don't really know how all that works. I'm so bad with all that stuff, but it's my brother, it's my husband's. Brother's fiance, Ella Grace. We love her. But anyways, we were all talking and. And she just said something that stuck with me, and I've. I've brought it up a lot, but she just was like, a level 10 calling requires level 10 holiness. And I've just gone back to that a lot. Because at the end of the day, we all want to make a difference for God. And at the end of the day, we all want to know that we are called by God, called to do great things for God, yet so many of us don't live a life of holiness that reflects that calling. And it talks about in scripture that we are to live a life worthy of the calling that he has given us. And so what does it look like to live a life worthy of the calling? It's to live a holy life. It's to live like Jesus did. If we're going to call ourselves a Christian, that means we are a little Christ. We are a Christ follower. We walk in the way of Jesus. We walk like Jesus walked. We live like Jesus lived. And we asked the Holy Spirit to come in. We're not perfect. We're gonna have moments. Did I watch the first season of the Summer I Turned Pretty? Yes. Yes, I did. Did I get convicted after? Yes, yes, I did. So I haven't watched it since. You know, have there been moments where I listened to Drake back in the day and I could and didn't and was like, whatever, yes. Now, if I were to turn on Drake, I would personally feel super convicted and I wouldn't be able to listen to it. So. So I do think that, you know, there is a sanctification process, but what I would just encourage you guys with is, is, again, it's not asking like, is this really a sin? Like, ah, you know, I just don't want to be too Christian. I want to be relatable. I want to be. I think that's a whole thing right now. So many people are like, I just want to be relatable. I. I need to dress like the world to fit in with the world so that the world will listen to me. I need to cuss a little bit so that the world will listen to me. I need to, you know, watch the shows and listen to the music that the world listens to so that I can fit in and that they'll listen to my voice and so that I'll be relevant and so that I'll be relatable. I don't see anywhere in scripture where scriptures tells us that we need to be relevant and, and, and, and that we need to look like the world. I think what scripture actually says is that if you love God, you don't love the world, and that if you're full of the spirit, you're not full of the world, you're not full of the flesh. And so you gotta ask yourself, if I choose to dress like this, if I choose to participate in this, if I choose to listen to this, if I choose to watch this, am I looking more like the world or am I looking more like Jesus? Am I filling myself up with the spirit? Am I filling myself up with the flesh? Is this going to feed my flesh or is this going to feed my spirit? Is this going to pull me further away from God, or is this going to push me closer to God? Those are the questions we should be wrestling with. And so I would just say get really honest with yourself, you know, and for me personally, I. My husband and I, we don't. We honestly are really thinking about throwing our TV out of our house. If I can be just quite honest with you. We're like, should we delete Instagram? Should we throw our TV out? I mean, we're wrestling with a lot right now. I'm just being super transparent with you. That was not always our, our situation in life. But that's where we're at right now. And I think, again, it goes back to what I just said earlier. Level 10 calling requires level 10 holiness. We don't want any distraction in our life. We don't want anything that takes us away from God's presence, from God's power, from experiencing God's purpose in our lives, from loving God's people. Like, if we're gonna. I don't know, I'm just like. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sitting back on a Tuesday night or Wednesday night and watching, you know, a movie and chilling. I'm not saying that's a sin. However, I'm like, if my life is short, if I am here to love God and love people, if I'm here to know God and make him known, and that's my mission and that's my purpose. What if instead of sitting back watching a movie just to, like, run to comfort or run to ease, I had people over, I hosted them, we opened up the Bible, we prayed and we worshiped together. We encouraged each other in our faith and our. In our lives. I mean, I'm just saying, like, those are just things to wrestle with. I'm not, again, saying it's a sin. To sit back and watch a movie. Grand. I have sat back and watched movies. Okay, but it's just like, let's wrestle with that. Let's really ask the Holy Spirit, like, should I have a TV in my house? I mean, let's just. Let's just start there. Should I have a TV in my house? Okay, if I have a TV in my house, how much should I be watching tv? That's another question to wrestle with. Maybe give yourself one day a week, you can turn on the tv. Maybe give yourself two days a week, you can turn on tv. If you're big. If you're a big sports fan, maybe Saturdays are your day where you can turn on the games, and that's your. Your TV day. I think it gets dangerous when we are being more discipled by the world than we are by the Word, when we are spending more time in the things of this world than we are in the presence of God. And so if we are spending so much of our time and energy taking in social media content and scrolling and watching movies and watching TV shows that are worldly and secular, and we're not spending just as much slash, we should be spending more time in the Word and with people of God and talking about the things of God and coming alongside of the Holy Spirit and saying, hey, help me do these things for God and accomplish the purpose that God's put on my life and go out and serve my community. Go out and feed the poor. Go out and serve the homeless. Go out and. And. And love the people of my church. Go and serve and be a part of this small group and start this small group. And I mean, there's just so much more stuff we could be doing. Okay? So let me just say for us personally, we again, are wrestling with if we should throw our TV out now when we do turn on the tv, the only things we watch now, the only things that Grant I watch now, he loves sports. So sometimes we will watch a football game or a basketball game. I also love sports, but not as much anymore. And my dad doesn't coach anymore, so I'm kind of like, I don't really care. And then the other thing that we watch is Christian TV shows and movies. And so we will watch the Chosen. We will watch the House of David. We will watch, you know, any. Any Christian movie, Light of the World. I mean, we went and watched that movie in theater. That was the only movie we've seen in theaters. Gosh, since Hosanna's been born. I mean, we. And now some of the Time is just like, we don't even have the time anymore. But I think that what we've really wrestled with is just like, lord, what truly glorifies you and honors you? And also what, like, I think sometimes what feels good in a moment ends up making us feel bad after. You know what I mean? Like, I used to have nights where I would just turn on a rom com and order a whole Domino's pizza and drink a Coke. And that felt really good in a moment, you know, like in that moment I was like, I'm at my peak. This is amazing. I love pizza, I love a good Coke, I love a good rom com. I'm thriving. I. But then like two hours later, I have a stomachache, I feel a headache. I don't feel good. I'm kind of like, oh, I just like wasted that time. Like, I totally could have been like hanging out with some friends. I could have done something that was actually life giving, that actually planted seeds in my life and in my heart, that actually made a difference for God, that actually pushed me closer to God. And so I think sometimes the easy thing is rarely the right thing. I shouldn't even say sometimes, all the time. The easy thing is rarely the right thing. And so sometimes the easy thing to do is to sit back on the couch, turn on a movie so you can turn off your brain and feed your flesh. And then you end up feeling gross after and you end up being like, ugh, okay, like, yeah, maybe I didn't go up and like, go out and hook up with someone. Maybe I didn't, you know, go watch pornography. Maybe I didn't go and like, you know, do do this thing that it's so blatantly a sin in scripture. But like, why don't I feel, you know, filled up right now? Why don't I feel satisfied right now? Why don't I feel closer to God and on fire right now? And I think that's where we need to grow as, as believers because I think so often we resort to comfort of this world instead of turning to the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, and spending time in his presence and spending time with him and spending time in the word of God and with the people of God, which is actually what's going to fill our tank, which is actually what's going to give us life and sustain us. And so that's what I would encourage you guys with again. Is it a sin to like sit back with some girlfriends and watch a rom com? I'm not saying it is. I mean, if there's like a. A lot of, I don't know, like, sex scenes and cussing and all that stuff, I'd probably say, yes, it's. I would say it's a sin. But, you know, I think as far as just like, you're turning on a cheesy, you know, like a cute Hallmark movie or like a Christmas movie or a whatever, and I'm not saying that that's wrong. I will most likely be watching a few Christmas movies, okay? But I'm just saying, like, wrestle with that. Bring again, Bring community into it. Ask the Holy Spirit, how much should I be watching tv? Should I have a tv? If I do have a tv, what should I be watching? And what does that look like? And just take inventory. Ask yourself those questions. Wrestle it out with the Holy Spirit. Wrestle it out with godly community. Turn to scripture and continue to ask yourself, like, okay, if I don't know what to do, turn to what's true. If you're asking what's okay, pray and, and just take it to God instead of taking it to what's just easy and what feels good in a moment. This episode is sponsored by Upside. Fall is here, which means life is busy. Between football games, grocery runs, and grabbing that much needed coffee, those little errands start to add up, especially at the gas pump. That's why I love the Upside app. It's a free app that gives you real cash back on everyday essentials like gas, groceries, and dining. No points or confusing rewards, just actual money that goes right back into your bank account. Here's how it works. Open the app, claim an offer for wherever you're headed, pay like normal, and then watch the cash back roll in. It's seriously that simple. So before you fill up your gas tank or grab lunch, make sure you're earning something back. And get this, people earn three times more cash back with Upside than with other rewards programs. I use this, and you should, too. 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 Stay true 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 Stay true. I wrote down what you feed is what's going to lead. What comes in is what's going to come out. So if you're taking a lot of time to feed your your flesh and you're feeding your flesh so much and you're feeding yourself the world so much, then that's naturally what's going to come out of you. So when you get pressed, when you get pressured, when you get, get stressed, when you get anxious, when you get like, that's what's going to come out of you. But if you're continuously feeding the Spirit, if you're continuously feeding your soul, the things of God and the things that are truly good that you were made for. You know, it says in Ecclesiastes 3:11, we talk about it all the time. God has put eternity on every man's heart. You were made for so much more than what this world can give you. You were made for things that can actually satisfy and that actually last, which are the things of, of God. And so that's probably why when you end up feeding your flesh in these little moments that aren't necessarily blatant sins, but you're just kind of like, eh, like I don't like, feel the best. That's why. And so just, just wrestle with that and ask the Holy Spirit. Okay, Another question. Can a Christian cuss? If I let one slip every once in a while but don't normally use it in a sentence, is it really that bad? I don't understand this question. I'll be honest, I. Yes, yes, yes. Christians should not be cussing. Yes, it is a sin. Yes it is bad. You should not be letting cuss words come out of your mouth. I'm very passionate about that. Even when I was kind of in my little bit of a, like trying to figure out my personal faith, I just, I don't know, I. I never let cuss words come out. You know, it talks about in Scripture that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. And so what's in you is what is going to come out of you. If you're saying, oh, like it doesn't really matter for me to let out a few cuss words. What that's saying, telling me is that you got a whole lot of world inside of you. What that's telling me is you got a whole lot of flesh inside of you, that you're letting your flesh lead, that you're letting that, that world come out and that that's what you're feeding yourself. And so I don't understand, you know, letting a few cuss words come out here and there, trying to do it to be cool, funny, relatable, whatever that to me that just looks like you're trying to be like the world it talks about very clearly in Scripture that For believers, we should set an example in ourselves speech and our conduct and our love and our faith and in our purity. It says in our speech that means our speech, our words, our tongue should be so set apart and should look so different than the world. And I want to be clear that that doesn't just mean cussing, that is, that's complaining, that's nagging, that's gossiping, that's talking negative, that's being, you know, grumbling. I mean, all of those things. We are to be so unlike the rest of the world. We are supposed to be so set apart in our speech, which means our speech should be lifeg. Our speech should be encouraging. Our speech should be filled with the spirit and glorifying God. Our speech should be truth. We should not use our tongue to manipulate, to gossip. It talks about in James 3, I've talked about on the podcast. I, I memorized the book of James, but it talks about in, in James three like, out of the same mouth should not come both praise and cursing out of the same mouth should not be building up and tearing down. It makes no sense. Out of the same mouth should not be trying to speak light and speak darkness. You can't. And so I, I would just encourage those who have been wrestling with that or maybe who have friends that kind of do that gently in, in, in love. Encourage your friends. That's not godly and it's not cute like, and, and I think you're held just as much accountable for overlooking sin in other people's life as the one who is sinning in your life. And of course, like, you have your own stuff too. So don't be like holier than thou and, and self righteous about it. But, and then if you're the person who struggles with that, I would just encourage you. Like you out of the same mouth, you cannot speak both praise and cursing. That should not be. It talks about in James 3. This should not be. And so not only does that mean cursing is in a cuss word kind of a way, but that also, I think means especially speaking to the women out there. Like, we should not be praising God with our tongue and cursing other human beings with our tongue. We should not be praising God with our tongue and honoring God. God, I love you. God, you're the most important thing in my life. God, I want to honor you. God, I want to live on mission for you. And then we're talking about our other sisters in Christ. We're, we're, we're bringing down other people. We're talking Bad about other people because maybe we're jealous, we're insecure, we don't have better. We don't have other things to say. We think it's funny. It's not funny to tear other people down. I don't, I don't see any point in that. I don't see any good in that. It does not make you look better to, to tear other people down. It does not build you up to tear other people down. And so that I would say it all falls under the same category. When we're talking about cursing, when we're talking about our tongue, when we're talking about what we should or shouldn't be saying, there's no neutral ground. I think a lot of times we, we love to sit and, and swim and play in the gray area of like, oh, you know, like, maybe scripture's not the most clear ever. Even though I'm like, it feels pretty clear to me. I don't know. Scripture's like, don't let any corrupt talk come out of your mouth, only what is encouraging and uplifting and building others up. So it's like, huh, Is that cuss word like building others up? Is that like, encouraging? But I also think about it too, like this. If we're going to be held accountable for every word that we say, I also think that what I've been personally convicted of is maybe not even cussing, because I, I don't cuss, so maybe not cussing, but also think any empty word like, do I just sometimes talk to talk? Do I just let words come out of my mouth that actually hold no power, meaning, or encouragement to those around me? Do I sometimes just let grumbling, complaining, and negativity come out of my mouth? Because maybe I just want to, like, fill the silence or somehow I think it's going to make the situation better. Like that. Definitely. I get tested in this area every time I travel. Like, Grant and I are at the airport. And especially with a sweet little, sweet little baby. You just get tested and. And there's so many moments where I do. I let negativity and complaining and grumbling come out of my mouth. And then I'll. I'll have to ask Grant later that day and same vice versa. And will you forgive me? That wasn't honoring, that wasn't uplift, that wasn't encouraging to you, and it wasn't honoring to God. So I don't know why I did it. Will you forgive me? It didn't make the situation better. It didn't. There was no fruit in it. I think that we all should take a look at what are the words that are coming out of my mouth. Are the words that come out of my mouth uplifting, encouraging God, glorifying? Do they produce life? Because I don't think there's any neutral ground here. I think we're either building up the kingdom of light with our words or we're building up the kingdom of darkness with our words. We are either building up others with our words or we are tearing down others or bringing negativity to others with our words. And so we should not see it as like a passive, neutral, chill thing. We should truly ask the Holy Spirit, set a trap over my mouth. Don't let anything come out of my mouth that is not glorifying to you. Do not let anything come out of my mouth that doesn't point others to you. Because our words, if we're called to be set apart in our speech, our words should be so full of joy, so full of truth, so full of love. It says in Scripture to speak the truth in love. So if your words aren't backed with a heart of love, if they're not backed with a heart to love God and love people, then your words are empty. They're promoting darkness. They're not God glorifying. And so really take inventory of that. Of what words am I letting come out of my mouth? Are they empty words? Are they meaningless words? Do they bring. Do I bring negativity to environments and to people around me with my words? Do I speak bad of people with my words? Maybe because it makes me feel better or thinks that it puts me in a better light? Do I. Do I say cuss words here and there because I want to be funny? Or I think that it will. It will make me look cool, like I'm like some cool Christian. It doesn't make you cool. It makes you unholy. And our. Our goal is not to look cool. Our goal is to be set apart as Christians. Our goal is not to look like the world, to fit in with the world. Our goal is to be set apart from the world and to look like Jesus. And so ask yourself, are my words reflecting more of the word of God or the world? Do my words reflect Christ or culture? And ask yourself those questions. Your words are not neutral. You're either building up or you're tearing down. And so, yeah, like, when you're stressed, what comes out of your mouth? When you stub your toe, what comes out of your mouth? When you're in traffic and people around, you aren't going as fast as you want them to go. What's coming out of your mouth? When you're hanging out with those. Those girls and a group of people and they're talking about other people, what's coming out of your mouth? You know, when you're traveling and your flight keeps getting delayed, what's coming out of your mouth? I mean, ask yourself those questions like, what is coming out of my mouth? Does it glorify God? Okay, let's be real for a second. Is there any better feeling than when someone says, wow, you're saying skin is glowing. What have you been doing? It is one of the best compliments you can get. If you want glowing skin, then you have to try Neem Skincare. Life can get pretty hectic, and Neem's Clean Transformation Trio can be a total game changer for stress that shows up on your face. Let this be your daily reset button for your skin. And it's so simple. It starts with the pure punch protein cleanser to gently wash away impurities. Then the crystal clear toner smooths and hydrates. And then finish with the age defying antioxidant moisturizer to protect your skin. It's a powerful routine that will leave you with a genuine healthy glow. It's not about covering things up. It's about having skin that you feel confident in, with or without makeup. 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Maddie Pruitt Trout
I wrote down you can't be full of the world and full of God. You can't be full of the flesh and full of the Spirit. You can't be full of yourself and full of Jesus. It's one of the other. You can't. You can't have both. It's one or the other. And so again, Ephesians 4. 29 says, Let no corrupt talk come out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up that fits the occasion and that gives grace to those who hear it. Luke 6:45 for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Ephesians 5. 4 Let there be no filthiness or foolish talk or crude joking. I think that's a huge one. Also like perverse joking, crude joking. We think it's really funny, I think to to be sarcastic or to to be like perverted like to say these like perverted jokes. That's not it literally says in scripture there should be no foolish talk or crew joking. So I that's so clear to me. James 3:10 out of the same mouth come both praise and cursing my brothers and sisters. This should not be those are all just some scriptures that I that I have written down that are pretty clear about the words of our mouth. Not to mention, I mean how much Proverbs talks about I mean that the words of our mouth hold so much power. I mean they produce life or death in the power of the tongue as it talks about in scripture. And so ask yourself, is my are my words producing life or death? And what about the people that you're hanging around like, are the people you're hanging around constantly gossiping, constantly talking negative, constantly talking about other people, talking bad, even about themselves? I think sometimes we use our words to even tear ourselves down. Like, ugh, like, I have the worst body. Ugh. Like I'm so ugly. Ugh, I'm so stupid. I'm. And we're just using our words to literally speak darkness and death over ourselves. And I would just say, to encourage you, you are made in the image of God. Your mouth, your tongue holds power. Life or death is in, in the power of the tongue. And so be so wise with the words you let come out of your mouth. If the enemy can't hear, if the enemy can't read your thoughts, but he can hear what you're saying, like what, what foothold are you giving him with the words that you're saying? Are you giving him a foothold with the way you're speaking about others? The way that you're speaking about yourself? The way you're speaking over the situation? And so, yeah, what are the words that you're saying? And, and I would say not only resist saying bad things, but I would also encourage you, like, pursue saying good things. Like, say things that are life giving. Say things that are encouraging. Say things that are full of joy. Say things that actually build people up. I think so often we're so caught up in our own insecurities and in our own worlds that we were just not thinking of. Let me walk into this coffee shop and really, like, encourage this barista. Hey, God sees you. Hey. You're doing an amazing job at, at your job. Like, you are beautiful. You have a great smile. There's so much power in that. You could totally change someone's day with being a light and being encouraging with your words. And so I would encourage you, yes, like, focus on the things that you need to give to God and, and, and take inventory of the words that you've been saying that aren't good and aren't God, but also like, pursue in saying the things that are pleasing to God and that are encouraging to those around you. So that's my, that's my take on that. Don't cuss. It ain't cute. It ain't. It ain't cool. It's just not Christlike. So don't do that. Okay. Can I go to the bars just to have fun with my friends? Can I go to the bars and just not drink? There's this verse in scripture that says, can I scoop fire into my lap and not be burned? No, no, you're going to be burned. So what's the point? What's the point? You're going to go to the bar and for what? You're going to go out with your friends and for what? Like, I hear, I think some people are like, I'm going to, I'm going to go and be a light. How are you going to be a light in a bar when there's, when there's such loud music, when they're, you're not able to like, sit down and actually have like a relational, intimate conversation with someone. Again, this is my take on it. But you even look at the life of Jesus like he sat down with sinners. He, He. He had relationships with people who were caught up in some, some things, you know, who were caught up in adultery, who were tax collectors, who were. But he sat down and had a meal with them, or he had a reserved, like, conversation with them where they could hear him and he could hear them. And there was a. I don't see how you're going to be able to do that at the bar. Never says, Jesus went into the, the club. You know what I mean? Like, Jesus didn't go into the club and try and have these conversations with them. Like, he met the woman at the well, he met the woman who, you know, was, was, had the issue of bloody bent down and he, he healed her. He, he sat down with the tax collectors at a home to, to share a meal with them. And so for me, I like to think about it, you know, if you want to encourage your lost friends, don't go to the lost environment that they're stuck in, but bring them to an environment that you can actually be a light in. So can you actually be a light in the bar? Can you actually have a conversation that would change their life or change their eternity? And maybe your answer is yes. Okay, like, again, I would, I would take it to scripture, I would ask the Holy Spirit, I would bring godly community and counsel into it, and then you make that decision. But my encouragement would be, instead of going out with them, why don't you invite them to grab a lunch, to grab a coffee, to go for a walk, to come to church, to join you at a small group so that you can actually sit down and have a conversation. So, like, tell me, tell me about your life growing up. Like, what was that? Like? Okay, tell me about, Are you, are you in a relationship? Do you have a church? Do you, what's your, do you believe in God? Like, do you have a faith? Hey, I Saw, I saw this. Like, tell me a little bit more about that. And you can actually engage in a conversation to get to know them, to hear them, to see, see them, to serve them, to love them. It's going to be really hard to do that at a rave. It's going to be really hard to do that at a club. It's going to be really hard to do that at a bar. So I think more often than not, we try to put ourselves in worldly environments, hoping we can be a light. And what ends up happening is we get more sucked into the worldly environment and look more like the world. And so that's where we have to be really, really careful. There's actually a verse that I. It's. It's so powerful. And I think that this, this book in the Bible gets really overlooked. But it's a very short book of the Bible. I would encourage all of you to go and read it. It's the book of Jude. You could actually memorize that whole book of the Bible if you wanted to. And it says in Jude 1, verse 22 through 23, it says, Be merciful to those who doubt. Save others by snatching them from the fire to show mercy mixed with fear, hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh to pack, to unpack that a little bit. There should be a mercy and a grace and a love that moves you to the point where you don't want anyone to go to hell like you are. So you have been transformed by the grace of God. You have been rescued from the pit of darkness. You have been brought into God's marvelous light. You now have experienced the good news of God's grace, and you want the world to experience the good news of God's grace. You want to tell everybody, everybody about the good news. Good. You should. That should be all of our mission. And it says it should be mixed with fear, hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh, which means you don't hate the person, but you hate the sin. So putting yourself in a really sinful, worldly, dark environment can be really dangerous. And so you still love and serve the person. But I just would say be really, really careful about what environments you're going into. Especially, Especially I want to say this. If you are still trying to figure out your faith, especially if you are newer to the faith, especially if you are still trying to figure out your own personal convictions and you're wrestling with scriptures, I think if you've been walking with Jesus for a really, really long time and you want to start a Ministry that you go into the bars to, like, share the gospel. Great. Do it. I mean, I know people here that people I really love and respect a guy who's one of my. My husband's best friends here. His name is Daniel McLeod. He has a ministry where he goes out to Broadway street here in Nashville, and he shares the gospel with everybody on Broadway Street. But his goal is literally to share the gospel. He's not even going into the. Like, he's just, like, on the street to, like, encourage people to love people. And so if. Listen, if you want to start a ministry to. To do that, you want to go to, like, Coachella and these festivals to share the gospel with people, do it. That's amazing. I just would say be really, really careful. And especially, like, if you're doing it with friends that their goal is to go out and to drink and to have a good time, and you're going with them. I think that's where it can get really dangerous. I think if you want to start a ministry where you're going out and you're sharing the gospel with people, you know, on, you know, a. A street that has a bunch of bars, or, you know, you even go into the bar to share the gospel with people. I don't know, like, how fruitful it's going to be to go into the bar and share the gospel with people. But maybe I'm not telling you not to do it. However, I think where it can get dangerous is if you're going with friends who are going to the bar to have a good time, but you're going to the bar to be a light, you're gonna probably most likely end up go into the bar and have a good time. I mean, if we're just being really honest, I think it's going to end up having a worse impact on you and be harder for you to be a light in that environment. But if you want to start a ministry and go into the bars and you. You get a few pals together and you're like, hey, we're going to go into the bar on mission. We're going to go in, we're going to hand out little Bibles. We're going to tell people about Jesus. And you are, like, so confident in your faith. You. You know exactly who you are in Christ. You will not be tempted. You haven't struggled in the past with alcohol. You haven't struggled in the past with certain, like, go for it. But I just would say again, as the verse tells us in Jude 1, save others by Snatching them out of the fire. Yes, Have a passion for those who are on the path to hell. Have a passion to save them, to love them, to serve them, to tell them about the good news of God's grace. But as it says in Jude 1, hate even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. You should have a fear. You should have a fear. It says to, that you should tremble at like, your salvation. Like, am like, lord, I want to stay saved. Like, I want to make it to the end. Like, I don't want to put myself in environments that are going to cause me to stumble. I don't want to put myself in environments that would cause me to fall into that sin. And so just be really careful, you know. And then I, I also would say, you know, avoid the appearance of evil, avoid the appearance of sin. I, I remember this one time, Grant and I were at a concert and I was just like having this moment of like, what, what would it look like if I was at this country concert and Grant and I, and this didn't happen? But like, what would it look like if I'm at this country, country concert and, and I have like a couple beers in my hand. He's got a beer, I got a beer. And you know, for me, maybe that's my only beer. And in, you know, in scripture it doesn't say, like, if I have a beer, that's a sin because, you know, I'm not getting drunk, I'm just making a case. But say that people are coming up to me and they're like, maddie, I, I follow you, I watch your podcast. Like, hey, I, I've seen you maybe like, you don't have a podcast, but it's like, hey, I go to your church. Hey, I've seen you, you know, talk about Jesus at our, at our sorority. I've seen you talk about Jesus at our, at our workspace, like with your co workers. Hey, I've seen you post about Jesus on social media, but you have a beer in your hand that could be really confusing to people. They don't know if that's your first beer, if that's your 10th beer. It just could be associated with you having a good time, partying and getting drunk. And so I just would be really careful as you're out and about in public if you want to be a set apart leader. Just really thinking through not only what is a sin and what is not a sin, but also thinking through, is this going to cause someone else to stumble? Is this going to, is this going to create confusion in Someone else's mind of what is godly and what is holy. And if so, then I would always choose the holy option. Like, I would always choose the safe option. I would always choose the option that you're not going to be overthinking, you're not going to have regret. You're not going to be wondering, like, oh, I just don't want them to. And that again, this comes into. This comes into play with a lot of different things. That's, you know, how you dress, what you post drinking, I mean, you name it, is like, okay, I don't want to cause anybody else to stumble. Like, can I wear a crop top? Sure. Is that going to cause my brothers in Christ to stumble? Maybe. Probably. So should I. Is this an appearance of sin? Is this an appearance of evil? You know, if I wear really short shorts, if I wear a low. A low cut top, if I have a beer in my hand, if I'm. If I have a shot glass in my hand, I mean, those are. Those are things that it's like, okay, again, wrestle with the scripture, wrestle with the Holy Spirit. Bring in godly community and counsel, but also think through, not only is this a sin for me, but is this going to create a stumbling block for the people around me? Is this an appearance of sin? This was something I had to wrestle with even when I was on the Bachelor. You know, I. I remember when fantasy suites, you know, was coming out and. Or coming up, and I was gonna have to make the choice of, am I gonna go to fantasy suites or not? Well, I knew that I. I was not going to, you know, have sexual encounter, relationship, whatever with the Bachelor. But I also was like, but if I choose to go into fantasy suites, it also gives the appearance of sin. And that was something I had to really wrestle with because, you know, it was being told to me, well, this is going to be your only time, and that you have, you know, with the Bachelor that is off camera, this is going to be your best time to really get to know each other, to ask each other, you know, those really deep and serious questions that maybe you don't feel comfortable asking on camera. You know, this is going to be your time. You really need to do this. This will be good for you. But I knew, man, this. This might be confusing to some people. If I'm professing Jesus Christ, if I am saying that purity is important to the heart of God, that the pure in heart will see God, that I want to live my life based on the truth of the gospel of Jesus, Christ, that I want to live my life in a way that is holy and set apart. If I'm proclaiming that message. But then I go into fantasy suites, even though I'm not, you know, being sexual with this person, but it still looks like, oh, she's going into fantasy suites. So that still sounds and looks like, you know, the appearance of sin, the appearance of evil, that's confusing. That's going to create stumbling blocks that's then also going to give other people permission to go and do things that are confusing and maybe be stumbling blocks for other people. And so I do think it's a also like asking, okay, this might be permissible, but is it good? Is it beneficial? Is it. Is it helpful for people? And asking that question as well, not only is this a sin for me, but is this going to create a stumbling block for the people around me? Is a really good thing to wrestle with. And so I would say first question to ask yourself, when it comes to drinking, when it comes to going out, when it comes to how you dress, when it. I mean, you really could relate this to anything. What is your intention? What's your why? What's the heart? What's the purpose? Why? Why, why? Why go out? Why go to the bar? Why, why have a glass of wine? I mean, seriously, any of it. Why? What's your intention? What's your heart? Number two, can you be a light in that environment? I do think there is a difference between going out to the bar and sitting down with some friends and having a glass of wine. Personally, I don't drink. My husband and I, we don't drink. We don't drink alcohol. We don't take any alcohol in. I'm not even saying it's a sin for you to do that, but I do want to make it clear there is a difference between in my mind, going out to the bar and having a few drinks with some friends versus you're in the comfort of your own home. You have over at your house other people who love Jesus and who believe what you believe, and you have a glass of wine with them. I do think that that is a totally different situation. But I do think you. You ask yourself, you know, can I be a light in the environment that I want to go to or that I'm in right now, can you be a light? And then I think the third and most important question is, does this glorify God? If I have a drink of alcohol, does it glorify God? Does it honor God? Is it pleasing to God? Does it push Me closer to God? Does it help me make a difference for God? Does it help me love God's people and serve God's people? Like, ask yourself that, and maybe your answer is yes. You have over, you know, some friends who, who love God, and you open up the Bible together and you have a glass of wine again. Wrestle with the Holy Spirit, search the Scriptures, ask godly community and, and ask the Holy Spirit, and he'll speak to you for me and grant personally. You know, we have gone back to the Scriptures again and again that say, like, do not be filled with alcohol, but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit. Like, be sober minded, be alert and fully sober. There's so many verses in scripture that just talk about how important it is in the last days, which I feel like we're living in the last days, in the last times that we need to be alert and fully sober. Our minds need to be clear. Our question and our heart and our desire should not be, how comfortable can I get? How, how easy can I go through this life? Like, let me do the things that are, like, easy and comfortable and fun. And it's like, no, no. I want to be as holy as on mission, as close to Jesus, as looking like Jesus as I possibly can be. And so for us, that's a decision that we've made. One reason is that there's an issue with alcohol that's run in on both sides of our family in the past. I think if that is something that has been a case for you, whether it's, you know, your grandmother, your grandfather, your parents, an aunt, an uncle, a great grandfather, a great. And there's been an abuse of alcohol. There's been an addiction to alcohol that is something to take very seriously. Because I do believe that obviously generational curses can be passed down. Generational sin can be passed down. And then just to take it from a very practical, scientific, whatever you want to call it, psychological standpoint, addictions can be passed down. And so an addiction to certain drugs, an addiction to, to, To, I mean, anything, approval, an addiction to validation and power, and addiction to alcohol can be passed down. And so I would just, you know, if that's something that's happened in your family and that's something that has been a struggle in your family, I would be. I would again, always lean safe. I would always lean holy. If you're wrestling with it, is it okay for me to drink? Is this okay? Does this glorify God and you're wrestling with that? I would always lean safe. I would always lean holy. You will never regret that. You will never regret choosing. Even if you're like, maybe alcohol, like, drink. Having a glass of alcohol isn't wrong, isn't a sin. Like, I don't know. But if you're wrestling with it and you don't know, I would lean holy. And that's just. That's. That's my. I'm not saying it's unholy to have a glass of wine, but I'm just saying if you're wrestling with it, you're on the fence. I would just always lean safe route. Because you'll never regret that. You'll never. You won't have to question it. You won't have to wonder. Like, Grant and I had moments, a lot of moments of wonder. We would have a glass of wine every now and then, and we would have so many moments of wondering, does this glorify God? Is this okay to do? And then we finally just got to the point where, like. Like, let's just stop asking it and let's just choose not to. Like, let's just choose to like, instead of having a glass of. Of wine, let's have a cup of water, let's have a poppy, let's have, you know, a coffee, and let's just, like, not even have to wrestle with it. Like, let's not even, like, wonder if this is okay. And so, yeah, that's just. That's something I would say, too. Hey, friends, it's Maddie. If you've read my new book, Dare to be True, I would love to hear what you think. Your reviews mean so much to me. They help more people discover the message and the heart behind this book. So if this book has encouraged you, challenged you, or reminded you to live with bold faith and honesty, would you just take a minute to leave a review? It truly makes such a difference. And if you haven't gotten my new book yet, dare to be True, you can go and find it anywhere books are sold. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey and for daring to be true right alongside me. Let's see if there's any verses. I mean, it says in Galatians 5. That's another passage that I've memorized lately. It says, do not use your freedom. Maybe it's like, you're free to have a glass of wine. You're free to. To. To go out and have a drink with a friend, whatever it may be. Like it says in Galatians 5, do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather serve one another. Humbly in love. And so whatever it is that you do, whatever choice that you make with your life, don't use it to indulge your flesh. Don't use it as a comfort for your flesh. Don't use it as a filling and feeding your flesh. Whatever you choose to do, let it be done with a heart to love and serve others. Let it be done with a heart to glorify God. And so if, yeah, I don't know, like, just you guys take that how you want to take that. For, for me it was like, okay, I use drinking a glass of wine, indulging my flesh. Like I used it to, to be like a retreat, an escape, a numb. Even though I wasn't getting drunk like that, that was that for me. And it was just like, man, I don't feel closer to God. I, I'm wrestling with it. I don't see the fruit in it. So I'm just, I'm just not going to do it. Proverbs 31 talks about, you know, it is not for, for kings to drink wine lest they forget their responsibilities. I again, I go back to level 10 calling requires level 10 holiness. It says it's not for kings to drink wine. It's only for those who like, need to forget about all their problems. And so I just, I just think if, if you want to be holy, you want to be sober minded, you want to be set apart to be used for God's kingdom, God's purpose, just really wrestle with those things. And I wrote this down. Don't ask the question, does this hurt my walk? Rather ask the question, does it help me run? Don't ask the question, is this a sin? Or not? Ask the question like, is this helping me run my race for God? Is this helping me run towards holiness, run towards Jesus, run towards love, run towards holiness and purity and grace and kindness and love and joy and peace and all of those things. Like, that's the better question to ask. And so that is all that on alcohol. Another question. Is it okay to sleep over at my boyfriend's place if we aren't having sex or live together to save money? What is the point? What's the point of playing married if you ain't married? What's the point of practicing like you're married if you're not married? I don't, I don't see, I don't think it's good. I don't think we should do it. I don't see the, the point in it. I think it's, you're just Gonna, you're setting yourself up for failure. You're putting yourself in environments where you're going to be triggered, you're going to be tempted. And I just, I don't think that there's any good in playing wife or in playing married. And so I would encourage you until you got a ring on your finger, two rings on your finger, and you both make a commitment in front of God and in front of godly community. Don't. Don't be playing marriage. Save it. Save it all. Like, not just like safe sex, but like everything that's intimate. Like the, the. The deepness of like, the spiritual intimacy, the, the like waking up next to each other. I mean, those are the beautiful benefits of marriage that's safe. That's like, hey, we're not going anywhere. We're in this. In the long run, for the long run. We're in this forever. And that is what. It's all meant to be done in the context of marriage. And so when you're, you know, practicing marriage, which is like, you know, you're. Even if it's like spiritual stuff, like your boyfriend's is leading you spiritually or the guy is, is covering all your expenses and like providing for you as if he was your husband, for the girl to be like, cooking every meal and cleaning up the house. And like, I'm just like, why, why play wife and why play husband and why play married? Those are things that are. Are just like the benefits and beauty of like discovering and doing when you're married. Not only just like the sexual intimacy, but, you know, the, the physical, the spiritual, the emotional, all of that is. Is so much more beautiful in, in marriage. So I would just say again, avoiding the appearance of sin. I would say avoiding. Put your. Putting yourself in a place of temptation. Like, don't even put yourself in a place that's gonna create temptation triggers for you. Our bodies are not our own. Our bodies are the Lord. And so just asking yourself, if my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, am I treating my body with respect? Am I. Am I giving my body to the Lord? Am I giving this relationship to the Lord? Am I fully submitting it to him? And so ask yourself, am I putting myself in a place of temptation? Question number one. Am I honoring God not just with my actions, but also with how things appear to other people? Number two, would this choice build up my faith and the person that I'm. I'm dating, their faith? Or would it weaken it or create confusion and problems in it? And so I, I know for me, anytime that I try to push the line of impurity, it always led to confusion, shame, guilt, distance and separation between God and godly community. But every time I wholeheartedly pursued purity and holiness, it led to confidence, it led to walking out my calling, it led to conviction and holiness. No shame. There was a shamelessness about my life. There was a joy, there was a peace, there was a rest. And that's just, that's true about. Yes. When Grant and I, like, anytime we try to push the physical boundaries, but also, I mean, even spiritual boundaries, or again, like trying to play wife or play husband or play married, anytime we got close to trying to push those boundaries or cross those lines, it always created more confusion. It always created more uneasiness. It always created shame, lack of peace, all of those things. I just fully believe purity is the path to God's presence. You want to experience more of God in your life? Pursue purity with all of your heart. It says in Matthew 5. Eight, the pure in heart will see God. You want to see God more in your relationship. Pursue purity. You're asking the question, is this person the one? Is this? Pursue purity. And again, that's not just like the obvious, like, don't have sex, but that's in all facets, all like your mind, what you're, what you're thinking about, you know, getting even, getting yourself worked up, like making out, laying on the couch together. I mean, all the things like, like, like wholeheartedly pursue purity. You will not regret it. It will. It will give you so much more clarity, will give you so much more peace. It will give you so much more purpose and confidence. And you will know real fast if this person is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. And so that would be my encouragement there. Don't play with fire and, and don't try and see how close to the line can you get. But ask the question, does this glorify God? Does this. Please God? Is this honoring to God? Does this push me closer to God? Does this set me apart so that other people see my love for God? And am I, am. Am I obeying the word of God as scripture is so clear about, you know, our holiness and what we let our eyes see, what we do with our bodies, our relationships? I mean, scripture is very clear about those things. And so I talked about at the beginning of this podcast, but just want to encourage you guys and reiterate the importance of being in the word of God. Like, turn to scripture. Know scripture for yourself. Don't just let Other people's revelation be what you're feeding yourself. Have your own relationship with Jesus Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and revelation. It says in Ephesians 1, that's a prayer to pray. Lord, I pray for wisdom and revelation so that I may know you better, not just like living off of secondhand revelation from other people. I want to have a relationship with you, Lord, where I know you, I have intimacy with you, I receive revelation from you. I'm in your word, receiving these truths, building my life on the truth of your word and not other people's words from your word. And I think that's just like, what I can encourage you guys so much with, is just like, know the word of God, have a relationship with the word of God, memorize it, fall in love with it. It's the best thing ever. Build your life on it. It says that Jesus is coming back for true worshipers. And how does it describe true worshipers? Those who worship in spirit and in truth. And so we've got to be rooted in the truth, and we've got to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And you can't be filled with the spirit and filled with the world. You can't be filled with the spirit and filled with yourself. You can't be filled with the spirit and filled with the flesh. And so we as Christians every day should say, I crucify my flesh, I crucify the desires of my flesh. And Lord, fill me with more of you. Like, I want to be filled with you. I'm putting to death myself. I'm filling myself with your spirit. And I pray that your spirit would fill me and empower me and lead me and guide me and direct me in my life and then ask the Holy Spirit, like, holy Spirit, speak into my life when it comes to, like, should I be in this relationship? Should I be watching this show if. If I have a tv? Like, how much TV should I be watching if I have a. So if I have social media, how much social media should I be taking in? Who should I be following on social media? How much time should I spend on it? How I dress? What? How should I dress? Is this okay to wear? Is this going to create. Is this going to be a stumbling block from some for someone? You know, what should I post on social media? Is this going to create a stumbling block for someone? What is this? This communicate about my life? Does this confuse people that I'm a follower of Jesus? Or does this show I really love Jesus? Am I being set apart or am I Trying to fit in with the rest of culture and the people around me. I mean, really wrestle with those things and invite the Holy Spirit in and he will speak to you. And the, the role of the Holy Spirit is to point you back to the truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. And so you will not receive a word from the Holy Spirit that contradicts the word of God. You will not receive a word from the Holy Spirit that contradicts the Word of God. I want to be spirit so clear about that because they are one and the same. And, and so I think sometimes we can get in this time where it's like, oh, no, like the Holy Spirit, you know, the Spirit spoke this to me and it's like, completely a sin, completely contradicting to the word of God. You will never, ever, ever receive a word from the Holy Spirit that contradicts the word of God. I want to be clear about that. There's a reason he's the Spirit of truth, and so he's not going to contradict himself. And then the last thing I would just say is find your people, find godly community. Get plugged into a local church and then wrestle those things out with them. Invite godly community and council wise counsel into those things. If you're, if you're wrestling with, you know, you have kids and you're trying to figure out about Halloween and Santa Claus, like, wrestle that out with your, with your godly community and have conversations around it. Ask the Holy Spirit. Turn to scripture. You know, again, alcohol, what you watch, what you take in, all of it. Those are, those are like the overall things that I would just encourage you guys with. And we say it all the time, the people of God, the Spirit of God and the Word of God. And we will continue to go back to that again and again. Well, I loved this conversation. And, you know, I do think that this is a common thing, that as Christians, you know, the gray areas can be really confusing. And we can constantly feel confused by what culture is preaching. And even people that we follow, Christian influencers, are teaching versus maybe what the Word of God is saying. And so I just want to continue to encourage you guys to turn to truth, turn to scripture. That's what we are about here at Stay True. We stay true to the truth. We stay true to the Word of God. And I pray that every time you listen to this podcast, you are being filled and fed and reminded of the Word of God and to what's true. And a reminder that we have our Stay True live coming up November 8th and it's going to be so much fun. I really would love to see you there. It is going to be a night full of worship and community and encouragement from the Word of God. But as always guys, be sure to subscribe. Stay. You stay. True. I love you.
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