Girls Gone Bible - The King is Born | Girls Gone Bible

Episode Date: December 22, 2023

GGB GANG. THE TIME IS FINALLY HERE AND WE'RE FREAKING OUT. IT'S THE ABSOLUTE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR. CHRISTMAS. JESUS' BIRTH DAY. since we started GGB, we have been excited for our Christmas episode. we love our Lord Jesus sooooo much and today's episode is basically an hour of us singing His praises😭 we break down the birth of Jesus in its entirety. it's so important that you stay present during the whole reading today. we need to soak in the miraculous and wondrous truth of the fact that GOD HIMSELF stepped into HUMAN HISTORY to save the world and reconcile us back to Him. we then talk about the holidays in general, Santa, gifts, etc. we had the actual time of our lives recording this one you guys. we love Christmas so much. we truly have so much joy in our hearts this season, not because of anything material or earthly-- but because we have a hyper awareness of the truth of Jesus, who He is & what He did. we are so focused on Him and it's brought the child-like wonder and awe back into Christmas for us. we pray, in the Name of Jesus, that you too focus on our Savior to experience this same joy. Merry Christmas our sweet friends. we love you so much. Jesus loves you so much more. -Ang & Ari if you’d like to support Girls Gone Bible 🙏🏻🕊️🤍 Paypal- https://www.paypal.me/girlsgonebibleinfo Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/girlsgonebible

Well, we went to Target yesterday and got pajamas. Pajamas. I got size XXL. Oh, yeah. I have them tied on the side. She's this girl wants me to walk in with the pants coming off my butt. Can we do a little close-up on the wide shot of Ari's pants? Let me just show you.

We're cutting that out. That's horrible. We know the white is not flattering. If you guys haven't noticed, hi, first of all, my name is Angela. My name is Ari.

Okay, let's try that again. All right, wet whale. What wet whale? We need to pray. That's what we have to do. Don't laugh. Say, and may the truth of the gospel, the beautiful story of the good news of Jesus Christ, may we express it to people and let it be so wondrous to them that it's like the first time they ever heard it.

We give ourselves to you right now in Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. Amen. Prayer is everything. It's wond name. In Jesus' name. Amen. Prayer is everything. It's wondrous. It's wondrous. The way he brings us back, like, right into the moment. It's so cool.

You guys are so silly, but you've got to come back. Yeah. Well, that's why we always say, why do you guys think we love Jesus so much? Because he does everything for us. If it weren't for Jesus. He is all. We wouldn't be okay. Hi, guys. My name is Angela.

My name is Arielle or Ari. And this is Girls Gone Bible. We are a faith-based podcast where we talk about Jesus and the Bible and life and mental health struggles and addiction and all sorts of things. And we welcome you no matter if you're Christian or atheist or Buddhist or Mormon or Muslim. Like, we don't care. We literally don't care what you are, where you are, where you come from. You're welcome here. And we really hope that you stay for a fun episode with us.

And you're accepted as well. Absolutely. We talk about broken hearts, too. Oh, we talk a lot about broken hearts. Specifically, Ari's broken heart. We're praying for you, sister. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.

So, as you guys can tell, today is the best day of our lives. We get to talk about our best friends. Our best friend in the world, you guys. Lord Jesus, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He was born 2,000 years, a little over 2,000 years ago now. Um, it's Christmas. The reason for the season is Jesus. And we love Christmas so much.

We have been so excited for this episode. And we're just so excited to be with you here today. We're having a pajama party. So if you can put on some pajamas, get a good little... Get some popcorn. Get some popcorn, get something, get something, get cozy, and let's go through the whole story of the birth of Jesus. And we hope that, you know, something I've been thinking a lot about, like for both of us, before we obviously started reading the Bible, we were Christians our whole life without never even really knowing anything about Jesus or who he was. Through reading the Bible, I realized like, how did I go to Catholic mass

my whole life? And I don't know any of this. I didn't even know the full story of the birth of Jesus. I didn't know who the people in the nativity scene, I didn't know who any of those people were. I know. I know. And like everyone sits there and they're stressing about what do I have to, what kind of presents I have to get and glorifying Santa and just all about gifts and what they can get. Yeah. And it's not about that. It is so not about that. Thank you for bringing that up about the Santa. And we'll get into all that as well. But so you're so right.

The reason is Jesus. That's why we celebrate. How are you? I'm doing really good. Oh, actually, you know what? Can we touch on something, please? After our singleness episode, I feel like I've had a lot of people tell me that they're praying for me, praying for my husband. And I'm so grateful.

I love you guys so much. I'm starting to feel a little pathetic. I just want you guys to know I'm not involuntarily single, okay? I'm okay. Everything is okay. I am too. Every time I keep getting messages like, don't worry, Angela, please, like, don't lose hope. I'm like, guys, I'm okay everything is okay I am every time I keep getting messages like don't worry Angela please like don't lose hope I'm like guys I'm okay that's what they're saying yeah they don't

say that to me no because they're all praying for you all of America is praying for Ari's husband so on that note today is the best day of our lives. Lord Jesus, we are so excited. Are we doing that now? So we have a whole nativity scene. And just like we said, so many people don't know specific characters of the Christmas story. I didn't for a long time. And so we kind of wanted to bring out a nativity scene and lay it out for you guys one by one. Now, let's go to Luke. I want to brace you

guys. There's going to be a lot of reading today. And we, we thought for a long time, what should we do? Where should we read? Because both Matthew one and two and Luke one and two tell the story of the birth of Jesus, but they're different accounts. They're from different points of view and they have different, they tell a different story essentially. And I feel like to get the fullness of the story, especially since a lot of us probably are learning about this really for the first time, I want you guys to know the story of the birth of Jesus in its entirety and its fullness. And so we're going to read a little from Luke. and its fullness. And so we're going to read a little from Luke. Yeah, we're going to read a little from Luke, then a little from Matthew, then back to Luke,

and then back to Matthew. Let's set the scene. The birth of Jesus foretold, yeah, that's Luke chapter 1, verse 26. In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, greetings, you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.

He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord of God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end. How will this be? Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin. The angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come on you. The power of the most high will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age. And she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month, for no word from God will ever fail. I am the Lord's

servant, Mary answered. May your word to be fulfilled. the angel left her so I love this so much so much in these contexts spoke to me um the first thing that stuck out to me was when he said the angel went to her and said greetings you you who are highly favored the Lord is with you do not be afraid Mary you will have found favor with God you will conceive and give birth the Lord is with you. Do not be afraid, Mary. You will have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. And I just think because Mary was just a young girl. She came from Nazareth. She was from a poor city and couldn't conceive a child.

And then like that, an angel comes and gives her the news. It just goes to show you that God can, a miracle is right around the corner always. Like God can, can give you that like that. That's why we always have to remain in faith and hope. And I love when she says, I love when it says, you know, at first she's, she, she asked the question, Mary asked, how, how can this be since I'm a virgin? And he says, for no word from God will ever fail. I am the Lord's servant. Mary answered, may, may your word to be fulfilled. Then the angel left her. So Mary's doubt was a miracle, which led her to complete submission. And I love that because she responded with complete faith. And she was like, I don't

know exactly what's happening. And even though this isn't my biological reality, I'm going to, I'm going to, because God said it, I'm going to do what he wants. And I just love that so much because it's such a great example of our own lives that we don't always know what God's doing and what kind of miracle he's doing in our life. But if we just sit back and submit to it, that's when the supernatural happens in our lives. You know? Absolutely. You're so right. Because when Mary says, how will this be? She's not doubting God in the sense of like, oh no, this can't happen. She's actually, she's doubting him in a healthy way being like, how though? Like, you know what I mean? So Zechariah actually doubts God in a negative way because God says to Zechariah,

you're also, you're going to have a child. And he's like, I'm old. He kind of likes Sarah and Abraham. He's like, I'm old. And my wife is way past the age of having a child. And he doubts in a negative way, but Mary doubts in a way that opens her up to God, just the way that you said. So basically, so everything that we just read, this represents like the angel Gabriel who comes to tell Mary in a dream that she is going to conceive a child and by the Holy Spirit. So it's going to be the only time that there is a supernatural conception, a conception that is done by the Holy Spirit and not actually having relations with another person.

I always think about Mary because even though she gave birth to our Savior, she also needed a Savior. So she gave birth to her own Savior, and she would one day have to receive salvation from our Savior. And I just think it's really cool what God did, you know? And I think throughout the whole story of Jesus's birth, a huge common theme that runs through it is, is this theme of humility. And we'll see it all throughout. I mean, not only is Jesus clearly the most, like he's the picture of humility because God left, God left his perfect and peaceful heaven to come down to this messy, dirty, messed up, chaotic world. Like if I was him, I would have stayed up there.

I would be like, I have no business down there with you guys. But he decided because he loves us so much, he brought himself down to, as we've said before, the most humble and vulnerable place you can be in. And that's a baby. And then Mary as well. Like you said, Mary grew up. Mary's from a poor town.

She is very common. She's not special. You would have thought that Jesus would have come to be born into a family of kings and queens and royalty. But God was like, that's, I don't need all that. Actually, I'm going to literally come into a little barn, and we'll get into that in the next story. But I just think God is so cool in the way that he operates. Yep. That's what I love about him.

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backstory. So at this time that Jesus is, that Mary conceives Jesus, they are not engaged, but there's something that's called betrothed. So when you're betrothed to somebody back in the day in the Jewish culture, you would be basically engaged, betrothed to somebody for a year before actually getting married. But it's not just an engagement because being betrothed to somebody, you have like a legal obligation to one another so that if you, even though, but you can't have like sexual relations for that whole year. And, but if you guys want to separate, you have to actually get like a legal divorce. So it's different than an engagement, but kind of. So Mary was betrothed to Joseph at this point.

And we're now going to talk about the point where Mary came to Joseph and told him, hey, I'm having a baby. And he's looking at her like, that's not my baby. And most guys would have either divorced, ran, and he was a faithful man. Oh, he was a good, good man. You're a good man, Savannah. Good man. All right. was a good, good man. You're a good man, Savannah. Good man. All right. Joseph accepts Jesus as his son.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother, Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph. But before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet she could have gotten stoned to death. I mean, it was really, like, you think purity is a thing in Christianity now. Like, purity was their way of life. There was no going around it. So the idea that she was pregnant

by somebody else, like, honestly, he had the right to go discard her publicly and really make a disgrace of her. But he decided like, cause he's such a good man. I'm just going to put her away quietly basically. Um, but after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Can you imagine?

Can you imagine? I know. You know, just like he picked, he chose them. I know. That's incredible. Two people that aren't even qualified. No. But they were good people.

If you really look into the story, they were so good. They were faithful. Yeah. They were good inside. Yeah. You know? They were obedient. Yeah.

They were obedient. They were good. And that's why they were chosen. That's why it's so important to be good in this life. God looks at obedience more than he looks at anything else. And honestly, I was kind of thinking about, if I'm being honest, I love hearing, and this is a common theme throughout the Bible, that God uses people who are unqualified, who it doesn't make sense, but he looks at the heart above everything else. And if they have the ability to be obedient, God is going to use, God would rather use somebody who is a commoner and poor and has nothing, but has a heart of

obedience than somebody who can come in with like all the resources and everything to complete the job because they might not be obedient. And honestly, kind of reminds me of us a little bit, not that I'm comparing ourselves to like mother Mary and Joseph, but I just think like we are so many people would think that we're unqualified for doing what we're doing, but God knew our heart and he knew we would answer the call and he knew that we would go step by step, you know, listening to his voice and what he wanted from us. And I'm thinking about like, so God, an angel appeared to him in a dream. And like, do you have dreams from God? I don't.

I will tell you that one time, which was recently when I knew it was God, it wasn't a dream. It was more I was really, I had really been suffering in my sleep. When I woke up, I was in a little bit of pain. And I had been waking up, and it was the scripture I started saying in my sleep. And as I was waking up, saying, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, over and over and over again. And as I was waking up, I was like, and I had this peace. So I know that was from God. But I do read these things where the angel came to them in a dream. And I'm just like,

that's pretty cool. It's so cool. I always ask, I ask God, we all have different gifts. And unfortunately, I wish that God would visit me. I wish I could get dreams and maybe I will one day, but like, that's not, but I just want to encourage you guys that these are things you can ask for. You can ask God to give you visions and dreams and and he will if that's if that's, you know, what he wants for you. But you know what I think? I think we may not have dreams, but we have the Holy Spirit. Yeah. And I think I think you especially you get a lot of clear messages from the Holy Spirit.

So clear. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's why we have different gifts. So that's, yeah, we, it's like a specific gift and not everybody has it and you probably will have something else, but yeah, it's something you can ask for. But I just, I think about Joseph because Joseph, Joseph also, just like how sometimes people undermine the importance of Mary in the Bible

like people really I think undermine the story of Joseph or the character of Joseph because he he was while he's not that Jesus's biological father he created the structure in which Jesus would grow up in he was the provider for you, Jesus was just as human as he was God. He needed a fatherly figure on earth to take care of him and to raise him and to guide him. And I just, he's so important and he's so, he's so great for doing what he did. Back to Luke, Lukey Luke. So the birth of Jesus, Luke chapter two, verse one. In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Canarius was governor of Syria and everyone went to their own town to

register. So you guys know what a census is. They go and take account of all the people and you have to go register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them. It's two years. Look at our little Jesus. This is like baby Jesus wrecks me.

It wrecks me. I love him so much. I love him so much. I love him so much. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were terrified. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid.

I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be assigned to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying, glory to God So a shepherd and all his animals. This is awesome. Look at it. Horses. I love this.

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus. The name of the angel had given him before he was conceived. Now, I just want to go over a

couple of things. First, I want to talk about, so it says here, today in the town of David, David, a savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be assigned to you. So if anybody doesn't know, and it's possible that a lot of people don't know, the reason that Jesus came, and we have to do a whole episode on the atonement of sins and forgiveness of sins and literally the whole reason why Jesus is here or why he came. Jesus is the Messiah. The Messiah basically means the Savior, the one who saves us, the reason why we receive salvation. Back in the Old Testament, there was always like throughout Isaiah and all of the prophets prophesied that there was going to be a, that our Savior was going to come, a Messiah, and everything that they prophesied came true.

He literally prophesied that he was going to come and be in cloths in a manger. And so Jesus is our savior, our Messiah, and the reason why we are able to, one, have a relationship with God here on earth. And Jesus is the reason why we are going to make it into heaven. And then I just wanted to say, too, back on our thing about how we talk about how God uses common people that you would never think. These shepherds were like bad people. They actually weren't allowed to worship in the temple because they were thieves and they were liars and they were cheats and like not good people. And God used them to be basically the first witnesses of the birth of Jesus. That's what he does.

Right? Every single time. Um, and then one last thing, when it says, I want you guys to focus on when he says, I bring you good news that will cause a great joy for all the people. Good news. So the term gospel, if you hear the word gospel, like these are the gospel, the gospel of Luke, the gospel of John, the gospel is the story of Jesus and our salvation. Gospel literally means good news. That's why in Acts 20, 24, when it says, I dedicate my life to testifying to the good news of God's grace, good news, Jesus is the good news. Christmas is good news. We have a lot of, that's why like when you have Jesus in your heart, you're so obsessed with telling people about it because you have good news and you want everybody to hear the good news that you know, you know?

Yeah. And in so many, in so many times they're, they're afraid. Yeah. I'm afraid. I'm afraid. And they keep saying, it's okay. I bring you good news. It's okay.

Everything's going to be okay. Yeah. And I just, I, I, I could relate to that so much because there's so many times where I'm afraid and it's always, it always ends up being okay. Right right it's always good news and it always works out so true so true you look beautiful thank you and you um aren't we reading one more thing or did we one more one more thing we're just going back to Matthew and we're done you guys and but honestly like please tell me you're having as good of a time as I am. It's so important to read this because, guys, even this was new to me.

And I can't believe how much I learned and how important this is. This is the most important story of the gospel. So I really hope you guys are sitting back really soaking this in and listening to it because this is really what Christmas is all about. It really is. and listening to it because this is really what Christmas is all about. It really is. So let me just preface this by saying this is going to be probably about a year later. This is a year after Jesus' birth.

So let's put baby Jesus in his mom's arms. The Magi are, it's like the three wise men. That's who are coming to visit Jesus. And this is the time of, they're living in the time of King Herod. He was the king of Jerusalem. And King Herod gets very upset that there are people going around, like the three wise men are looking for the star. It's the star of David. They're looking and when they see the star, they travel. It takes them about a year on foot to get to where Jesus is. And they told King Herod that they're going to see the star, they travel. It takes them about a year on foot to get to where Jesus is. And they told King Herod that they're going to see the king.

And King Herod gets very mad because he doesn't want anybody else to be called king. We don't like King Herod. We are not fans of King Herod. He's not it. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

King Herod heard this. He was disturbed and all Jerusalem was with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. By the way, I need to stop you and say that King Herod is actually lying. He doesn't want to go worship Jesus. He wants to go kill him. And so he's trying to trick the guys, but you'll see what happens. After they had heard the king,

they went on their way and the star that they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. So God came to them in a dream and warned them. I really, again, want to talk about dreams and warnings from God. And you're going to see actually another warning in a second. But I know me and Ari can tell you countless stories where God has tried to warn us and we closed our eyes and said, oh, I don't see

you. And we went along with whatever we thought was good. And we ignored the warning of God. God will always warn you. He won't speak to you in fear. I don't think that bad dreams are from God. I don't think that God will ever speak to you in fear. But I do think that he will give you warnings that come with peace. And it's up to you whether you are obedient and discerning of that warning from him. Listen to God's little nudges and little whispers and little warnings that he gives you.

I love that you say that. I've learned that a lot this year. And I think that comes with relationship with God is when the closer you get, the louder the conviction will get, the louder the noise will get. And that's why it's so important to really open yourself up to him and be obedient and build relationship because he will make the signs really loud and clear. So the escape to Egypt, when they had gone, an angel of the Lord, again, appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he told Joseph, Mary's husband, take the child and his

mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you for King Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. So an angel of the Lord went to Joseph in his dream and said, if you go back to your home place, King Herod is going to kill Jesus. So he got up in act of obedience. He got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet, out of Egypt I called my son. When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time that he had learned from the Magi.

When what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was filled, a voice is heard in Ramah weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more. So if you, if you guys are following along, basically King Herod was so mad that the Magi outwitted him, as it says, that he went and he killed everybody where Jesus was supposed to be. Every boy under two years old was killed. So it was a mass murder, massacre, like absolutely horrific. Last little part, you guys, the return to Nazareth. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. For those who are trying to take the child's life are

dead. So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. That's why we call him Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Whenever I pray, I oftentimes will say Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

I really need to start paying attention to my dreams after reading these stories because... Do you get dreams? See, I don't dream. I don't really... I do... Oh, I'm sorry.

These are the three wise men. Oh, is King Herod in there? Because I want to... No, he's not King Herod. But these are the three wise men. I thought you were going to put him up here. I was going to... No.

These are the three wise men. Thank you, wise men, for doing Jesus is solid and not telling King Herod where he was. Fly. I love Mary so much. Okay, GGB gang, have fun studying the Bible with daily trivia and challenge your knowledge out of Scripture. Hey, R, I have a question. Since the holidays are coming up, do you know the name of the angel that visited Mary to let her know that she was going to conceive by the Holy Spirit? Or what city was Jesus born in?

Daily Bible Trivia is a beautiful game that respects the Bible. Test and improve your knowledge of the Bible, Jesus, and the Gospel. Get a beautiful daily Bible verse that you can share with your friends and save to your phone for inspiration. If you love improving your biblical knowledge like you know I do and you want to be a little Bible nerd, you'll love Daily Bible Trivia. Download Daily Bible Trivia for free today. Just go to the Apple or Google store and search for Daily Bible Trivia.

Download Daily Bible Trivia for free today and get ready to flex your brain muscles. It's, I really love, no, I love, I'm thinking about my auntie Barbara. No, because she used to be a nun and and my aunt no my my grandmother's sister she is the biggest Catholic you'll ever meet but she was a nun and Mother Mary is her world I love that so much I I want to do a whole episode on Mary one day because I think all the time about poor Mary, what she had to go through, what she endured having to watch her son. Because while she knows that her son is our savior, he's God, he's king of the world, that's also her baby. I know. And she watched him get brutally murdered. I know.

That was probably one of the hardest things I had to watch when we watched The Chosen. Yeah. The Passion of the Christ. I mean, The Passion of the Christ, yeah. Oh, that movie. That was probably one of the hardest things I had to watch when we watched The Chosen. Yeah. The Passion of the Christ. I mean, The Passion of the Christ. Yeah. Oh, that movie. That movie wrecks me. Oh, wrecks me.

It's my favorite thing to watch on Easter and Christmas. We should watch that tonight. Do you want to? Yeah. Just follow it on Instagram. I really would. Whenever I feel far from God, I'll go and read about the death of Jesus, and it just brings me to him.

Nothing will make you, it's heartbreaking. So guys, this is the nativity. How beautiful is this? I love it so much. I could just look at this all day. It's, if you want to make me happy, send me, send me photos of your nativity scene at your house. Send me photos of baby jesus i'll cry no but what i love about i love what you said earlier about jesus how he he he could have lived in a palace and he really could have he could have grew up in as a king in a palace and he just came here as a baby in a manger and you do know sorry i get fired up keep going like he he grew up at just like every other boy but sinless and and just i don't know it just puts everything into perspective how he was yeah you know just what were you going to say? I was just going to say that not only did he come as a baby, he came like, yeah, no, you have it exactly right. He could have been born in a palace.

God himself, creator of the universe, came down and went to a little hotel, a motel that didn't have enough room for him. He had to be born outside because there was no room. It wrecks me. Not only that, but grew up in a normal home, a poor town in Nazareth. Then he was a carpenter and wanted to live like everybody else. He has so much grace. He is just the kindest. He is just...

He's perfect. He's perfect and sinless. And, and you, if you look at people who, who act righteous and not right, and you're just like, you don't want to ever live that way. You don't ever want to be just, you want to live right. He makes you want to live right. He makes you want to be good and really be obedient and live right when you see how he was and how he lived and how he treated people. I love the scripture. One of my favorite scriptures, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. It's, it's, he has just taught me so much. Because there are times where I can be a little snooty or not perfect.

And I just think about how he is and how compassionate and gracious he is. And it makes me just always want to live right. Absolutely. Do the right thing. He's I mean, like we said, the theme throughout the whole story of Jesus is the topic of humility because Jesus himself, God himself had to humble himself and then was glorified. But it always came from a place of humility. Always. And so that's why scripture says that if you humble yourself, you will be exalted. But if you exalt yourself, you will be humbled.

And we talk about this all the time. Me and Ari's number one thing is to stay humble. Do not think that your stuff doesn't stink because you just don't want to. You will be humbled. You will be humbled. And if our Lord himself was the most humble, down to earth, compassionate, kind, sweet, perfect person, like we, that is why we're meant to try to live like Jesus. That's why Jesus should be the center of our lives because we need to look to him for everything, including the way

that we are and the character that we possess. You know, and it's like, anytime we start to try to act off, we just have to be like, who do we think we are? Look how Jesus is. Look at how he was. Look at how he lived. Look at how he treated people. Yeah. You know, he treated the poor with the utmost respect. He raised them up. He loved them. He cared for them. And we all as human beings need to be like that and live like that and be and be like him exactly it's so true I um I just I love I love the humanness of Jesus I think that's why we all feel so close to Jesus is because Jesus is literally he's he's deity and humanity united in one. And that's what gives us, that's the reason he came,

is because he wanted to step into human history so that he could completely tear down all of the misconceptions that we had about God. Like, especially back in the day, God was very distant and, like, separate. And he was something that you could barely even see. You could not get to him. But now today we have him like this. We have him in our hearts. I mean, that's why we, when you start crying because you hear about Jesus or you hear about, you know, somebody else's story with Jesus, that's because Jesus lives within you. If you are sensitive to the story of Jesus or sensitive to prayer or to worship music,

Jesus lives inside of you. He's alive right now. He's in this room right now. He's with you right now. Isn't that a wonderful feeling? I can't. He's alive. He's literally alive.

And we're just so lucky today, Christmas, the fact that God so loved the world. We hear it all the time, but it's like you really need to, God so loved the world. We hear it all the time, but it's like, you really need to understand God so loved the world. He sent his son, Jesus, so that we could have everlasting life, that we would not perish, but we would have eternal, beautiful, peaceful, joyful life. We are so grateful. I, Jesus, I am so grateful, God, that you sent your son and I love him so much. Who else would come down, forgive us and give us so much grace for all the dirty things that we do, all the nasty. And he forgives us when we come to him and repent and we give our lives to him. Who else would do that? Truly.

And you know what? And you know, God, it's not that God loved humanity as a whole. He loves each of us one by one individually. If there was only one person that he would have saved by going on the cross, he would have still came. That's how good he is. He cares about us individually. So much. And he gives his undivided attention to each one of us individually as well. undivided attention to each one of us individually as well and I I just I he's given me such a safety and I talk about this a lot like he's given me he's been such a good father to me and just have has made me feel safer than anyone has in this entire world. And I know Christmas can be such a time of grieving. I think I mentioned this in the last episode, but I know a lot of people don't have parents.

They don't. They're suffering. They're grieving bad. This is the time where they grieve bad because Christmas is a time that you unite with your families. And as much as I can't take that pain and that grieving feeling away from you, I just want you to know that you have a father that loves you so much, that has his hands wrapped around you so tight and he's with you and he is living in your heart and have peace in that. Please have peace in that. Yeah. It's so comforting to know that, isn't it? Yeah, it really is. to know that, isn't it? Yeah, it really is. You are adopted into the family, and we are your family, not just because we love you and we say that we are. No, we are actually, when we all put

our faith in Jesus Christ, that means that we are all adopted into the same family. We're united into one body, one family. We are your family. Other Christians, other followers of Jesus are your family. And he is your father. And he loves you so much. What sweeter gift on Christmas can you get than that? Let's talk about that. Let's talk about gifts. Yeah. Because I know, like, my family growing up, we, like, my parents always gave us gifts.

But that was never, we were never, like, huge. I'm not crazy about gifts because my parents that was just never our focus it wasn't it was you either no it actually was my focus really my dad went so above and beyond for me to the one my biggest memory for Christmas is my dad just giving me the greatest Christmases I'm my dad's only child so he just went above and beyond and just, yeah, presents were the thing. And Santa Claus was too. He would leave me little notes from Santa Claus and be like, I took your bunny hunter for a sleigh ride.

Santa was big. Let's talk about Santa. What do you think about Santa? I mean. I love him. What do you think about Santa? I'm a fan. Yeah, what do you think about Santa?

What are your think about Santa? I'm a fan. Yeah, what do you think about, what are your opinions on Santa? Because we know a lot of people will argue that, you know, Christmas is a pagan holiday. It's not actually rooted in the birth of Jesus. It's not actually a Christian holiday. So what do you think about Santa? Yeah, so when I have my children, I'm going to make, the first thing I will make them aware of is Jesus. Because I honestly didn't understand any of this until I was an adult. I glorified Santa in presence, which you should never do.

This is, you know. It's normal. But I think Santa is a fun, I know a lot of Christians will disagree with me. I think Santa is a fun, I know a lot of Christians will disagree with me. I think Santa is a fun tradition. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying Santa left you presents under the tree. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I probably will do that with my kids. I know a lot of people will probably disagree with me on that, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

I actually don't think people, that many people will disagree. I actually don't think people, that many people disagree. Sorry, I'm only laughing because my first thought was, I am not giving credit to somebody else for getting my kid's presents. So my mom would whisper in my ear as I was opening the presents because my dad would write Santa, and she'd be going, I got that for you and it was $19.99, T.J. Maxx, and it wasn't on sale. I can't stand it was 1999 t.j maxx and it wasn't on sale i can't stand it 150 i'm like okay mom it was 150 dollars please you have to keep this wait what about my no what

about my mom what about my sweet christina you know what my mom did i was like i think this is why i'm a little cynical as an adult because Because my mom, I'm like five years old. I'm trying to believe in Santa, right? I just want to be a normal kid. Oh, I already know. I just want to be a normal kid. My mom is so, she's just so rooted in logic and reality. She goes, she told me as a kid, I woke up and I was like, oh my gosh, Santa ate the cookies and the milk.

And she goes, that was me. I was like oh my gosh santa ate the cookies in the in the in the milk and she goes that was me i was like okay you never believed in santa i never believed in santa honestly you know what i was so bitter i'd go tell all the other kids at school and ruin their day too i honestly kind of think i was a loser i actually believed it until i was like 11 i think please please don't i'm kidding i was like the loser at school, sitting on Santa's lap. I want a Barbie! Get off my lap. You're almost 12.

This is before I had Jesus, everyone. Wait, I'm sorry. Can I say something? Can I say something? Can I say something? Why is it fitting that you believed in Jesus until you were 12? I think it's perfect. You are. Oh, man.

But I will tell you, prayers really work. This is random, but I'm just thinking back to my auntie barbara real quick every christmas you would come in and glorify jesus and she would say you know i pray for you day and night i i know you have a calling i know something's my aunt auntie bob she would saturate in prayer for me for years. And I always would say to her every Christmas, your prayers haven't come true yet. And yeah, I believe she called me. I didn't bother your prayers haven't come true yet. It's not nice.

No, I'm just kidding. But I believe like we were talking the other day and she was like, see those prayers prayed off. Those prayers prayed off? She called me the other day. She said, see my prayers paid off. Those prayers prayed off? She called me the other day. She said, see, my prayers paid off. That's crazy. Prayers work. That's why you always pray for your family and your loved ones.

Absolutely. Because they work. Absolutely, they work. Yeah, for me, with my kids, with Santa, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to be like, listen, guys, my mom did it to me. Hey, we never brought in the star. Oh, the star. The star, David.

Yeah. Angela has a Boston accent now. Hey, ah. How funny was it when I went, I love you, ah. Truly, I have never had so much joy. Well, this is what I'm going to do with my kids. I am going to tell them, listen, there's this little thing called Santa, and it's not real. He's not real. He doesn't actually come, but we can play. We can leave out the things. We can do all the things. You're a kid. Like, let's not real. He's not real. He doesn't actually come, but we can play. We can leave out the things we can do all the things you're a kid. Like let's do it. But I'm going to point to Santa. I'm going to be so just so intentional about letting them know that all of this is so fun. I mean, I love decorating for Christmas. None of it matters. All that matters. That's just extra. It's fluff. All that matters is the birth of Jesus, is the life of our Savior. I know. It's funny because I,

my heart would get heavy on the holidays. I don't know why sometimes I think it's just that time of the year, you know? And this year I have so much joy in my heart because this year he truly saved my life yeah he showed me who he was he just has had me wrapped around his arms and I just can't wait to just praise I mean I praise him every day but this is when you guys just what a greater gift than Jesus, just praising him on the day he was born. I'm so excited to just talk about him when I go to my family. I'm just it's yeah, you're getting me so fired up. Thank you so much for I honestly, I swear not to be weird, but like I feel like God really has you guide our episodes. I'm not even kidding. Not to be weird, but like I feel like God really has you guide our episodes.

I'm not even kidding. It's not the first time I've thought about it because sometimes I'll have like a bunch of things in my head that I want to talk about. And like obviously you get in here and you forget. You will like think about what I'm thinking before I even think it and then bring it up. I don't know. I'm just and I'm being serious. Really? I think it all the time.

I'll have so many things I want to talk about, but I'll forget. But then you will like know to bring them up. And we didn't even talk about it. It's very cool. That's why we work as time. I'll have so many things I want to talk about, but I'll forget. But then you will like know to bring them up. And we didn't even talk about it. It's very cool. That's why we work as partners. I know. I don't know. I just, I don't know if you've noticed this, but kids making everything about presents. Oh, they didn't get me this.

We want to make sure that's not what it's about. No. I grew up really, that's what it was all about, gifts, what you can give me. How many gifts did you get? I remember calling my friends saying, oh, how many gifts did you get? Would you get that? Oh, you didn't? And then the kid would be in a bad mood or sad because he didn't get what he wanted to. And that is what I do not, I am not raising my children like that because that really is what most kids see for Christmas and that really isn't what it's about. It's so normal. You have to give kids grace obviously because they're

kids, but you're right. It's up to the parents to make sure that they instill in them that they're aware of why we're actually celebrating what we're celebrating. And I think when it comes to gifts, I always think like we, the origin of gifts at Christmas is because God gave us a gift. This is the gift. That was the first gift that was given. This is the original gift. And so that's why we even give gifts. That's why it's even a thought. And then the Magi, they brought the frankincense and the gold and the myrrh and that was a gift. And so it was really originally to give gifts in honor of God and to glorify God. And then it got a little bit misconstrued as time went on, as most things do. And we started making it all about gifts for one another when really we're celebrating the gift that was given to us, which is Jesus. And when

I think about presence, I know like the thing, the saying that like, you know, we don't want your present, but we want your presence. And like presence, like when I think about you, I don't want you to give me things. I want to hang out with you because I love you, you know. And God didn't give us material gifts, but he gave us a present in the form of his presence. He showed up. He showed up for us. And he always shows up. What better gift than to have the Holy Spirit living within us, in our hearts, guiding us. Oh, wow. How much easier life has been for me. Yeah. How much life life that's why I am just so blessed that we this podcast that people

can that people love to to tune in and to listen because I hope that you this can get through to you guys that you really do have a father that is dwelling within you guys guiding you through this life and you do not have to be afraid exactly you do not have to be afraid you can rest easy exactly and live in the joy of life because life is so good life is so good if you trust him and obey him and follow him on the topic of gifts i think when instead of now that we've all moved into such a mature place in our faith, because if you watch GGB, we all, that is our goal. And it's to follow Jesus and to elevate in our faith constantly. When I really started to follow Jesus, I realized that my, the way that I measure success now has nothing to do with the world or my career or finances or anything like that. My idea of

success is actually the closer I get to Jesus and the closer I get to holiness. And like every time I feel God has elevated me in my faith and like revealed something new to me or given me, just given me wisdom or insight, like that's my success. That's beautiful. And so when we think about gifts, like let's obvious, like, let's not think about material gifts. Let's think about spiritual gifts. What could God give us? The gift of grace, the gift of peace, the gift of joy, the gift of comfort, the gift of knowledge and wisdom and healing, the gift of healing other people, the gift of evangelizing, the gift of prophesying, whatever you want.

Just like there are so many spiritual gifts that that's what I encourage you guys to focus on this season. And I want to touch on what you said about how this can be really a season for, for sorrow for a lot of people. And you said something about how you used to get sad on Christmas or around the holidays. And I used to as well. Wow. A lot. And I think a lot of it has to do, we've touched on it, how like birthdays, for example, feel like such a big deal. And so sometimes you're sad on your birthday because it doesn't feel like it should. It doesn't.

And comparison is the thief of joy. Yeah. And so when you look at movies and you see these perfect families and you compare yourself and you're like, well, my family doesn't do that. They don't love each other like that. They don't have these traditions. My family is so tight knit and so close, but we don't have like traditions. Like we don't do some crazy stuff. Um, but we love each other deeply, but we don't. And I remember growing up, I used to get really sad because my family didn't have traditions. Like I thought I saw other families had. And so I would get sad on Christmas. After getting truly saved a few years ago,

I remember the first Christmas after I started reading the Bible. And it's just so cool to witness what you're, I feel like you are literally me two years ago. Really? Yeah, because this is your first Christmas after knowing Jesus, knowing the word and reading the Bible, that you have such an awareness of him all around you at all times. You're about to have the best Christmas of your life. You're going to have the best Christmas. You are going to have a one,

you're going to like, you're going to see the magic of Christmas again. Cause when you're a kid, you have that, Oh, that magic and that wonder of Christmas, but you lose that as time goes on. It's like the, it's like the disease of life, honestly, is that as you get older, you start to lose that wonder and awe of life. I remember my first Christmas after reading the Bible, I was sitting by myself, nothing, I didn't have some grand thing. I didn't have all these people in my, like, I remember because I was so aware of the birth of Jesus and my salvation and what God, God did for us. I had the most magical Christmas of my life. I just literally read the story of Jesus all day and I prayed all day and I thought about him all day. So I want you guys to just sit and saturate, saturate yourself in the

word of God and listen to sermons and listen to worship Christmas, uh, Christmas worship songs. And like literally just sit and live in the fact that this day, 2000 years ago, our savior came and stepped into human in the human race for us. And that'll bring back the magic. It's true. It's true. And even if you do feel alone, you sit in his presence, you won't be alone anymore. I always tell the story of when I was in my lonely place and my parents couldn't comfort me. My friends couldn't. A therapist couldn't comfort me. And the minute I sat down with God and that church that day, it was the first time I felt a peace and comfort that

surpassed any understanding I could even explain. Yeah. So, yeah. Do I bring you comfort at all? And you. Okay. I wanted to say one more thing while we're on the subject of gifts. The way to give gifts, and when I started reading about Jesus, how giving he was and just how, like I said, how compassionate it was and how he was always at service for others and bringing people up and

helping them. And he was so humble. And any chance you guys get, you help people. You be there. You be at service for people because healing them is going to heal you. And that is the greatest gift you can give them and you can give to yourself. Thank you. The gift of helping, healing. If Jesus loves anything, it's you be a helper and a servant. loves anything, it's you be a helper and a servant. That's the greatest gift. The greatest gift. I am so happy you said that. It makes me want to open it back up because Mary literally says, behold, behold the servant of the Lord. She immediately said, she could have easily been like, oh, you're choosing me to do. And honestly, it's good for everybody, especially in ministry to remember that Mary could have easily puffed up and been like, oh, me, of course. Well, of course me. I'm the best. Of course you would choose me. I am pure and perfect and holy and whatever. She literally

bowed down and said, behold, I'm a servant of the Lord. That's right. She did not get up on a high horse and say, oh, he chose me. No, no, no, no. She went down and even and served even harder. And Jesus served. And so thank you for thank you. And I honestly, I just love that reminder, too, about being a servant is the most important thing in life. It is. It is. And there's so many people that need help. Yes. People need help. And we need to be at service to them because it really does. When I am at service for people and I'm helping children, friends, family, just being there for them, that's why pain is so necessary because without the pain and the struggle, you can't be at service to others. You can't understand what they're going through.

You're not able to be at service for them as much as people like us who have been through the mud and the mire. for them as much as people like us who have been through the mud and the mire. Yeah. So. The mud and the mire. Picked me up at the pit of despair and set me on fire. That was awesome. But you think, you see, there's so many people. Like when we go to this shelter, there's so many of them.

I don't care how tired you guys are. Get up and go help. People are in need. shelter there's so many of them i don't care how tired you guys are get up and go help people are in need i started calling ari empathetic r because she um it's beautiful her empathy is nothing i've ever seen before like it's actually incredible healthy i don't know she feels bad for everyone literally if there's someone it's not i don't even mean if there's someone like hurting or or injured or unwell or something in public like if she sees like a little a guy like a teenage boy that's like awkward she'll think about him for weeks she'll randomly go don't be like i'm thinking about the guy at the farmer's fire again i feel bad i feel bad and i'm like ari like he's fine he's a little awkward he's gonna be okay

boundaries like you angela please well and then i'm learning from her we went to ufc fights this weekend and in vegas and ari this is no this is the funniest thing of my life i can't go to the fights with her anymore because ari i thought she was going to die every time somebody lost a fight. She had a seizure. Actually, I started crying, too. Oh, yeah. I did start crying. But you did it for every time.

And I literally go. You were the emotional one. We're sitting there. The guy starts having a seizure. And I'm looking. I look at Angela and she's like this. I go, Angela, what's going on? She goes, nothing. She's bawling her eyes out. Well, I look at Angela and she's like this. I go, Angela, what's going on? She goes, nothing.

She's bawling her eyes out. Well, I specifically felt bad for him. It's this guy, Mitch. He was shaken. No, but he loves Jesus so much. Did you know that's his thing? He goes into the octagon with a Bible and goes like this. And I thought he was going to win.

You know, God needed to take him through the wilderness season. He's going to use this pain. He healed me. You know, sometimes, you guys, sometimes. We'll be, like, sad or in bad moods or something. And we always tell you guys, like, he healed me. And we'll be like, he healed me. Yeah, we'll be, like like in a really bad mood.

You just said that. I'm going to shut up now. I'm sorry. She's rambling again. Please, I'm going to get these XXL pants off. Shut up, Angela. You guys should see me so when we edit the video. Okay.

Anyways, the light of the world. Sometimes I talk too much. I'm sorry, Joseph. I feel bad. I really felt bad for her. She put Joseph turned around on the chair and goes, I'm sorry, Joseph. Okay, that's enough comedic relief. Read some scripture. turned around on the chair and goes, I'm sorry, Joseph. Okay.

And it's enough comedic relief. Read some scripture. Or she could tell the John. Or she could tell the John story. Which I won't. Can I tell it? Please. Okay, you guys. I have one more story.

We're going to move on since we're on a joyous Christmas episode. Angel and I go to more story. We're going to move on since we're on a joyous Christmas episode. Angela and I go to a meeting. I can't handle it anymore, you guys. Please help me. We're at the meeting, and Angela had been trying to memorize this John scripture. I didn't try. I did.

Maybe you can do it for us. I know you've been waiting for the moment. The light of the world. I actually memorized it too because I heard her say it so many times. But she was telling the person at the meeting her testimony, which goes along with how she read the book of John. So it was her perfect opportunity to share the to share the John scripture that she had memorized and so I'm looking at her and I'm like well then the guy he starts he goes in a John

battle with her and says the whole thing and I look at her so I'm in the middle of the two they're going through a John scripture battle and I'm just sitting here like this. I was like, oh, my gosh, get me out of here. Please, I was going to tell you the one scripture that I know. What is that one scripture you know? You don't even know? What is that? What is that? What is that? What is that? What is that? What is that? What is that? What is that? What is that? You don't even know. Please. What?

What is that? You don't... It's Proverbs. I forget. It's trust in the Lord with all your heart. And then I almost started singing it. Oh, John, John, yeah. Trust in the Lord with all your you're not on your own understanding.

I'm like, fast, right? Okay, I'll shut up. Saved a year. Okay. Wait, but you also know the one of the mud and the mire. I know that one, but I've said it five times already, so I can't say that anymore. Oh, my gosh. That was frigging funny.

Oh, that was some good stuff. The light of the world. Okay. Go ahead. Stop. Stop. Okay. So I did want to read this about how...

Okay. I can't. No, this is good. This is good. You don't even know what it says. I do. It's scripture. Scripture. Are you trying to go home tomorrow?

No. Yes. No. Yes. Yes. Oh, okay, we've lost it. We've lost the plot. We've got to relax. I just want everyone to know that...

I mean... I just... No, I just... No, you guys, really, I just want everyone to know that, that you aren't alone this Christmas. No, I want everyone to know that you guys really aren't alone this Christmas, and we're all together. Isn't it beautiful? So I really wanted to read this because I think it's actually important.

And I want you guys to understand why we go so hard for Jesus. And it is because he is the way, the truth and the life. And nobody gets to the father except through him. In John chapter 18, Jesus is talking to Pilate and Pilate says to him, you are a king. Then said Pilate. Jesus answered, you say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. In another translation, it says that Jesus said the reason I was born was because I have come to tell the truth. And we know that the truth will set you free. Jesus said that

himself. He is the truth. He tells the truth. He literally says, everyone on the side of truth listens to me. The reason the truth sets you free is because up here, we either have the ability to listen to the truth or to lies. And the only truth that actually matters is the truth of Jesus. That's the only thing that can set you free. Lies keep you in bondage. Lies that you are alone, that you're unworthy, that you're not good, that you're stupid, that you're

this, that you're that, that you're dirty and nobody will ever love you. These are all lies. And the only, these are the things that keep you in bondage. And the only thing that can set you free from that bondage is the truth of Jesus. And so we want to invite everybody to come into a space with us where on this Christmas, we want you guys to receive the only gift that matters. And that's the gift of salvation from Jesus. He is the truth, you guys. And when you accept Jesus into your heart, the reason we suffer is because we listen to lies. All those lies that I just mentioned. And I want Jesus to set you guys free. I want the truth to set you free of lies.

I don't know what it is that you're going through, but all the bondage, any addiction, any habit, any mental health problem, that is all because you're believing lies. And I want Jesus to set you free. I just want to say something that you say to me real quick. Yeah. I love, like, I, the reason why I love our friendship so much is because you really do hold me accountable. Like if I do start having those thoughts, which sometimes as close as I am to Jesus, sometimes those thoughts will come in. And when I talk to you about it and I'm like,

those thoughts are coming in of unworthiness or, and you'll say to me, now, is that from God? Is that what God says about you? No. And then I'm telling you, as soon as you say that, I'm like, you're right. That isn't what God says about me. So anytime you guys start to have those thoughts that aren't from God, which is what

she said, doubt, unworthiness, feeling dirty, not clean. You say, wait a minute, that's not from God. So that's not the truth. Yes. Yes. And you will see the weight that will be lifted. So good. So true. I, let's get this out. Jesus, as we said in in John as it says in John Jesus is the light of the world and that life is the light of all mankind and I want you guys to receive that life today um if there's ever been a time to receive the salvation you get through Jesus Christ today is truly the day receive this gift it's the best thing you'll ever do for your life. I want you guys to say this with me. Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead.

I turn from my sins and I invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust you and follow you as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus' name, amen. If you just said that prayer for the first time, God bless you. May the Lord Jesus be with you every step of your journey. May the peace of God inhabit your heart. May the peace of God infiltrate your mind. May the joy of the Lord strengthen you and give you life. May God go into your mind and heart like a surgeon and heal anything that's been broken. May he restore anything that's been taken.

We love you guys so much. Have the best Christmas. Have the best holiday season. Be good to one another. Be good to your family. Pray for peace within your family and focus on Jesus, the light of the world. Thank you, Lord Jesus. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, God, that you sent your son, Jesus, into human history. You let, you let, you gave us your

only son and we are so grateful and we won't let a minute go by that we are not aware of the sacrifice and the gift that you gave us. One more thing. Go ahead. Get them. Please be safe on New Year's. We're not going to, we're having our first episode right after New Year's. Have the most beautiful New Year's. Get ready. It's going to be incredible this next year. We're all going to be in it together as a family. Isn't that exciting?

So good. This next year, we're going to go in it together. We're going to grow together. We're going to grow in faith together. We're going to grow with Jesus together. So let's get excited. It's going to be a great New Year.

We love you guys so much. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. We love you. Actually, thank you for saying that. I can't wait to see you guys all next year. We're going to have such a good time. We love you guys so much. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. We love you. Actually, thank you for saying that. I can't wait to see you guys all next year. We're going to have such a good time. We love you guys. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he turn his face towards you and give you peace. Glory to God in the highest heavens. Thank you, Jesus. I love you, Arm. I love you.