WHOA That's Good Podcast - Defeating Fear & Doubt by Listening to God’s Story for YOU! | Sadie Robertson Huff & Lisa Harper

Episode Date: October 11, 2023

Sadie gets real with author, teacher, speaker and host of the Back Porch Theology Podcast Lisa Harper. Sadie and Lisa explore the ways that God speaks to each of us in our own lives, at any given mome...nt we’re in. Lisa admits that she sometimes feels imprisoned by the shame of her failures, but with God’s Word, she has learned to break free. Sadie invites Lisa to break down the intimidating word “theology” and how we all participate in it, even though we may not realize it. Sadie and Lisa check out what the Bible says about freedom within Jesus and how that relates to our behavior and self-worth. Lisa's devotional, "Jesus" is available now! https://bit.ly/3LSQHj2 https://www.nikonusa.com/podcastz8 — Capture all of life’s memorable moments with unbeatable clarity using Nikon’s Z8 mirrorless camera! https://www.stitchfix.com/whoa — Get 25% off when you keep everything in your Fix! https://drinkag1.com/whoa — Get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D & 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:56 I am so excited for today truly so excited because one of my personal favorite people that I get to learn from from afar through her podcast, that poor stale theology, and all the amazing things Lisa Harper puts out is back on the podcast and I cannot wait to dive into an amazing conversation. We both were just talking before she came on about the mornings we've had being a little bit um, so you're if you will. So this podcast is gonna be so much fun Lisa, I'm so glad you're back on
Starting point is 00:01:25 the pie cast. I'm so grateful, said he honestly, I look at you and my heart does let little happy dances. I just I love your joy. I love your authenticity. This is just this is it even though we both came into it on two wheels. It's going to be a
Starting point is 00:01:40 great. It's going to be a great great conversation. Hey, sometimes that's even better. You know, when you come flying on two wheels, you know, it's the Lord leading the an you're a little bit more prone to laughter. So I'm excited. Absolutely. I got to say before we even get started, we have not announced this
Starting point is 00:01:57 anywhere, but what better place to announce it here on the Alaska podcast that you are going to be speaking at the L.O. Sister conference next year, which I'm so excited. So excited, I know. I mean, like every time I think about it, my cheeks start to cramp, I grin so big. I'm fired up.
Starting point is 00:02:15 We are so proud. We are so proud. I saw Jen Johnson. Jen was in Nashville. Like, I was leaving. She was coming in and we made it work. I was like, I'm over on this set of town, she's like, I'll run and see before you go to the airport.
Starting point is 00:02:27 And she came in, said, he's straight from conference. Wow. And she was glowing. She was like, have you been to Sadie's conference? And I said, you know what, actually, I'm so excited because I'm gonna go next year. And she was like, oh, my goodness. And then basically we had like revival and a nail salon where she just
Starting point is 00:02:46 raved about what got it done and how and revealed himself and just the how incredible it was. So yeah, and that is the a huge bright spot on my calendar next year. I can't wait. That's awesome. Well, we're so excited. Yeah, Jen being here was so special and it just was a really special time. It really was. We all said it. It didn't feel like a conference. It felt like a camp. It felt like summer camp.
Starting point is 00:03:09 Being with your friends. That's what she said. It truly does. Seeing God for who he is. No, it was just so stripped back. It was amazing. It was beautiful. So we're so excited.
Starting point is 00:03:18 I love those stripped down times. Yeah. Because I think sometimes we can get said, busy even in our own beautifulness of thinking, I've got to bring something particular to the table in order to feast on what God has for me. And I think sometimes it's such a powerful reminder that sometimes all you bring is your own helplessness. I love the late great Tim Keller. And he said once, I'll never forget it, Sadie. He said the first step to accessing intimacy with God is not holiness. It's helplessness. It's acknowledging,
Starting point is 00:03:52 listen, I can't get there on my own. And I just love that. Yeah, that is so good. I was actually listening to Tim Keller the other day. My friend group just started a Tim Keller series. And he was talking some similar to what you just said. He was talking about how like Christ didn't die for us because we were lovely but to make us lovely. And I thought that was like so good because so many times, yes, we think we have to bring this, holy, this week to bring this, lovingness, like he is giving us that. That's his gift to us. Absolutely. That's so beautiful. I love that. Well, I can't wait to dive into a full conversation. You have a new devotional book out called Jesus, which is so incredible.
Starting point is 00:04:32 I haven't had a chance to read the whole thing, but the ones that I have read are just so powerful and it's so much like your bike is so deep. Oh, God. Thank you, so many. It's fun, but it's so deep and so, so thoughtful. So I cannot wait for people to get that book. So I'm gonna go ahead and just shout that out and we're gonna talk about that. Thank you. But like I mentioned, you are so funny. You're hilarious, you're a storyteller through and through.
Starting point is 00:04:53 You are a master's in theology. You're incredibly smart and wise and all the things, but you're so funny. And I truly listen to your podcast all the time. And the stories you tell at the beginning make me laugh so hard. Even when I, I would like try to ret all the time. And the stories you tell at the beginning make me laugh so hard. Even when I, I would like try to retell the stories to people. And I'll be laughing so hard thinking about you and those scenarios that it just kills me.
Starting point is 00:05:14 So I want you to tell one of my favorite stories that I've heard on your podcast. Because I just want people to kind of get a glimpse of who you are. And the kind of stories you tell. But there was a story about you running on this particular mountain. I believe when you live in Colorado or something. Oh yeah. And all of a sudden it was no longer a path you should have been running. But you kept going. Can you tell that story? Oh gosh yes. There's so many. You sadly all the stories are true. Yeah, I used to work for a ministry at Colorado Springs
Starting point is 00:05:45 called Focus on the Family. And I used to love to run you. There's great trail running out there. And so I don't run like that so much anymore. I just turned 60 last month. So I now my running is a little slower or on a motorcycle. But anyway, I used to trail run all the time. And there's this one mountain I love to run. It was called Pulpit Rock Park. And I had this two and a half mile trail that snaked up through these evergreen pine trees. When you got to the very top, there's this gorgeous alpine meadow
Starting point is 00:06:19 and you could see Pike's Peak from there. And you know how Pike's Peak, like even the summer, is shrouded with snow. It's just glorious. And so, you know, worked in a ministry, and sometimes Christians can be stinkers. And so when I had it, especially bad day, and wanted to say words that weren't in the Bible, I thought I'm gonna go for a ride,
Starting point is 00:06:35 de-stress, you know, communion with God in this mountain, meadow. And so right before I was leaving Colorado, there had been a lot of crime on that in that particular park. And so the newspapers and television stations started reporting about how there had been violent crime perpetrated against women. So they said, don't run, don't hike,
Starting point is 00:06:57 don't melt bike on the trails anymore until we catch this criminal that it was won or gang of guys who were attacking women. And I thought, dang, I'm just about to move from Colorado to Nashville, where people talk correctly. And I thought, shoot, I really wanted to get, just a couple of last runs in. And so I drove to the park, it was a Saturday afternoon,
Starting point is 00:07:16 it was gorgeous, you know, it's blue-blue skies, no humidity. And I thought, it's too pretty for criminal activity today. It's too pretty. I thought, I'm just gonna take activity today. It's too pretty. You know, I thought I'm just going to take a chance. And there were literally signs posted by the Colorado Springs Police Department. Like, don't run on the trails at criminal activity. And I thought, I'll be fine.
Starting point is 00:07:34 There's only one other car in the parking lot. And so I start running that trail. You know, I'm singing as I run a trail. I have a horrible voice. So it's best if I do it by myself in the woods. But I'm singing worship songs. I get to the very top right before I'm about to step out of that meadow that I'd been in so many times before,
Starting point is 00:07:52 but right before I step out of the meadow, I just stop dead my tracks because maybe, I don't know, I'm 50, 75 feet in front of me. And then funny how I always feel like guys are better with distance, like with women, I'm like, I don't know. Like I'm great with my my lip color. I'm like, no, that's Mac number four. But I'm like, I don't know, 50 yards, 58. Anyway, he's like not, let's say he's half a football field in front of me or not quite that much. Close enough, I can see him, but I can't see detail. But I was like, oh,
Starting point is 00:08:22 Close enough I can see him, but I can't see detail. But I was like, oh, crud. Because from where I was standing, I could tell he was naked. And I was like, oh, you've got to be kidding me. I've run all the way up to this mountain. I've been singing worship songs and everything. And I've run into the criminal who's birthday city. He is just naked as a jaybird. And then I thought, oh, crud.
Starting point is 00:08:42 Because I had left my cell phone in the car. The sun started to go down. and then I thought, oh, correct, because I had left my cell phone in the car. You know, son start to go down. I realized it's just me and Mr. nudity right up here in the middle of the wilderness. And when I get nervous, I'm like a junior high boy on Mountain Dew. You know, I just can't think clearly. And I thought, okay, okay, okay. And he hadn't seen me yet. I was mostly behind this big, like, Pandora's pine tree.
Starting point is 00:09:06 And I thought, okay, if I turn around and run back down to my car, I'm afraid he's gonna chase me. Nobody's even to see, I could scream, nobody would hear. And I thought, okay, I heard on Oprah or Dr. Phil that men who expose themselves are typically cowards at non-confrontive. And then I had read in one of my hiking magazines that if you come upon
Starting point is 00:09:25 a wild animal and you live out in the wilderness that what you should do, unless it's a bear, what you should do, is put your hands over your head and advance toward the wild animal, speaking in deep gutter old tongues. Because then the animal thinks you're bigger scary animal, definitely. And so those two thoughts formed what I'll call logic on this podcast that I'm not sure who we're going. And I jump out from behind the tree and I start running toward the naked man going, hey, just, you know, it's intimidating
Starting point is 00:09:59 because I know how to do. Well, he jumps up and he starts sprinting in the opposite direction. But what I noticed, of course, as soon as he jumps up, he starts sprinting in the opposite direction. But what I noticed, of course, as soon as he jumps up, he had been sitting like kind of on this like rustic bench. When he jumps up, I noticed he was actually wearing tiny blue running shorts. You know those running shorts, I'm sure Christian that haven't had any. So he does need to burn them. There's sometimes like serious guy runners, whether there's running shorts or they're
Starting point is 00:10:23 slit and slit up the side. So if they sit down, it it's running short to work, they're slid and slid up the side. So if they sit down, it totally looks like they're naked because the slid's plays, I could have sworn this guy was naked, but no, he was wearing like midget tiny petite shorts. So he takes off running and what was such a hoot and say, is he keeps looking up, we're shoulder at me.
Starting point is 00:10:43 Oh, absolutely, thinking I am gonna chase him, I always think it'd be such a hoot to hear that story from his perspective. Like I was up on this mountain prey in my family and this net job jumps out for behind a tree and tries to attack me, but where it gets spiritual for me is watching that guy run.
Starting point is 00:11:04 Realizing I have terrified him thinking he was going to attack me. I thought gosh, scaring innocent men, you know, loitering and mountain meadows is mild compared to the damage we do when we turn a blurry perspective toward God. You know, I was predisposed to be scared. I'm standing mostly behind a tree. You know, sun's going down. My vision is just a little obscured. And I jumped to the worst conclusions. And we do the same thing when we turn
Starting point is 00:11:36 kind of a blurry theological perspective toward our creator, Redeemer. And we assume he's a unibrowed punitive God in the Old Testament and Jesus with hair extensions, Huggins, lepers in the New Testament. When we make all these these presumptions about God, we have all these misconceptions, we have a whole lot of tradition, we call theology that actually isn't biblically defensible. And I think all too often we don't know how incredibly accessible our God is. You know, he's perfectly holy, he's transcendent, but he condescends to be close to us,
Starting point is 00:12:16 to be accessible to us. So my mind is too small to really wrap around his holiness and compassion in the same time, but that's what I'm growing toward is, yeah, he is absolutely holy. He's not our co-pilot. But he's also accessible. He is our ever-present help that I can actually access an intimate relationship, not a religion, but a real relationship with the king of all kings. So I still see them blurry a lot of days, but that's why I love the word of God. It is, you know, it's not a rule book. It's a love story.
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Starting point is 00:14:38 You can take a look at all the features the Nikon Z8 has to offer. Go to NikonUSA in ikot in USA.com slashon Z8 has to offer. Go to Nikon USA in IK-O-N-U-S-A. .com slash podcast Z8 to check it out today. I think that story is absolutely hilarious, but I also love the spiritual lens that you saw it with and that you told it with, which is actually where I want to go. But before we go there, I want to ask you just about theology, because I know a lot of
Starting point is 00:15:07 people listen to this podcast. You hear the word theology and it's such a big word. It sounds very intimidating. And one thing that your podcast helped me with was the idea of this back porch theology and what theology really is. So can you just explain kind of what back porch theology is and what theology is in general? Absolutely. Thank you, Sadi. Well, you are one of my favorite
Starting point is 00:15:27 theologians. And I don't say that lightly. You're right. We hear the word theology, and most of us think of an old man in black socks in some dusty seminary office, because we assume it's this arcane kind of elite academic pursuit. That's that's not the best definition of theology. The allie comes from a Greek word, two root words, teos, which refers to God, logos, which refers to conversations or phrases. And so you talk about God, unwa, that's good. You talk about God all the time. I've talked with you on planes. You love talking about this God who loves this more than we can ask or imagine.
Starting point is 00:16:07 That's theology. So any conversation about God is theology. And we've got Wacadoodle theologians who talk about God, but their understanding God has nothing to do with this word or revelation, Holy Spirit. And so that would be what I would call wrong theology, wrong thinking about God. And then you got people who have great understanding. I'm not saying perfect people or people who have it all together,
Starting point is 00:16:31 they're hot messes like me, but who go, wow, God reveals himself to us through scripture and through Holy Spirit. And he wants us to know him. He's not a capricious God. He's not trying to punk us. And so theology at its core is really leaning into who God is and how he's revealing himself to us. So listen, I'm trying to
Starting point is 00:16:53 finish a doctorate, I'm in the dissertation phase of a doctorate. So I am with people say, he consistently who are, I mean, I don't understand half the words they're saying, but it's not about big words. I was with a guy named Dr. Craig Keener a few weeks ago. He's one of the world's foremost living authorities on the New Testament. So this guy, I mean, he's forgotten more than I will ever know. Really, and he can quote the Septuagint. That's the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
Starting point is 00:17:23 And this guy's a brain man. Every time he talked about Jesus, he went. Wow. And I thought that's the key. The key isn't about even our understanding. It's about how much we trust in the compassion and the love and the forgiveness of God. So theology is really leaning more into God.
Starting point is 00:17:46 No, that's such a good explanation. It's so good. And I love that you said it's really not about big words, about your heart, posture towards the Lord. And but I wanted to ask you that first. And then I want to throw this at you because this was so cool. So I was on this podcast a couple of days ago.
Starting point is 00:18:04 And it was not a Christian podcast but the girl before we got on was kind of explaining that she is a Christian but she doesn't really talk about that on the podcast and like she's kind of starting to branch out and so we have a cool conversation before it even starts. Then mid podcast she starts asking me questions about faith and like I would answer something and I would just talk about Jesus because it just naturally is what I talk about Sure is one of those things, you know, we talk about this when you're in relationship with someone you just can't not talk about them So I just kept coming out and then she she starts telling about her experience with Jesus and she says There's this moment that things kind of change for me and it was like all of a sudden, like I started feeling something, it was like feeling it in me and
Starting point is 00:18:49 she started calling it her internal guidance and she said, all of a sudden I have this internal guidance and she said, so when does that happen for people? Like when can they get their internal guidance? And I said to her, I said, well, that's the Holy Spirit and she was like, what? And I was like, yeah And so I said well, you know when Jesus right before he went to heaven He said it's actually better that I go because when I go the father's gonna send you the spirit Which would be an advocate and he's gonna be inside of you and help navigate through life and she was like
Starting point is 00:19:20 What she's like so so before Jesus was through the Holy Spirit and now we have the Holy Spirit How do you get the Holy Spirit? So then I like start and Genesis wanted to just kind of give over you of the whole Bible and She's like Okay, this is crazy and in for the first she goes. I've never understood this like this before she said I like all those puzzle pieces. She said so God's not a mean God. He really is a loving God And why would why would you not believe this and she is just telling all of her listeners on the podcast? Why would you not believe this? This is the best story ever and then that's all right. Well, that's why it's called the good news
Starting point is 00:19:53 It really is good news. I mean it really is great And it's just one of those things where I realize a lot of people who are Christians today really don't know the story You know, they don't really know the story a lot of people who are listening today really don't know the story. You know, they don't really know the story. A lot of people who are listening to this podcast right now, maybe the extent of what you know about God is from this podcast, which is great that this podcast has encouraged you, that it's led you to Jesus, but there's a lot of missing pieces
Starting point is 00:20:17 to what the story is. And so I thought since we have someone who has a master's in theology, and I love for Jesus, could you give us just the overview of the story? I know that's a big one to lay on you, but you know the story. No, no, I love and I love that you're calling it story. Say, because often we forget that scripture is mostly narrative, sometimes well-meaning leaders have distilled it down to rules. They've made it about behavioral conformity. They've said, if you love God then, and then there's
Starting point is 00:20:53 this whole list. And that rarely comes from Scripture. That usually comes from our interpretation and application of Bible. Yeah, God gave us the 10 commandments, but even when you got love that you took Holy Spirit back to the very beginning. Because a lot of people think Holy Spirit just appears at Pentecost and it's this big show, Zamm and all this drama. And it's like, no, no, no, no, no. That's just where you see Holy Spirit.
Starting point is 00:21:18 Like you said, he becomes arpeoricly, he becomes our guide, he becomes internalized. He is with us to not only guide us, but to give us comfort and conviction. So, and power to share the great news. But you go all the way back to the very beginning and the Holy Spirit is hovering. So, in fact, most people have a real, and I think even a lot of Christians have a real binary view of God. So, they see God, the Father is kind of a white-headed patriarch in ancient times.
Starting point is 00:21:51 And they say, Jesus is a little hipper, long hair at least, you know, in the New Testament. It's like, no, no, no, no, no. Our creator, Redeemer, has always been a trinitarian God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit Spirit from the very, very beginning before, before time began. A guest in one of my favorite dead guys, same a guest in, he says, only the Christian God is a perfect community unto himself. And so he exists, the word for that is pericoesis.
Starting point is 00:22:19 That's where we get the word choreography from. Because God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, have always existed in this perfectly choreographed Consistent communion and then God says and remember when he started the story The Israelites had already come out of captivity in Egypt So they've been slaves for 400 years all they know is oppression and abuse and God says all they know is oppression and abuse. And God says, let me tell you a story. They've been taught that the sun was the God through the Egyptians. They've been taught, his name was raw, that he beat them mercilessly as they worked outside. They worked 24-7, 365 days a year, no virtual commuting for
Starting point is 00:23:00 slaves in Egypt. So really all they've known is hardship and oppression and abuse and God says, no, no, no, let me tell you your story because you identify as slaves. I want you to understand you have inherent dignity because I've made, I've made you as my image bears. So in the very beginning, people think of the Old Testament as harsh.
Starting point is 00:23:22 I'm like, oh my gosh, from the very beginning, it's a love story. What he's telling them in the beginning is, you're not slaves, you're children. You are not, I don't want you to work all the time. That's why he gave us Sabbath. I grew up thinking Sabbath was when I had to wear uncomfortable shoes, go to church and I couldn't talk and my mom told us we couldn't wear bikinis on the Sabbath and swim in the pool in our backyard that was fenced and no one could see. So I thought it's like a six or seven year old. Oh, I guess God doesn't like kids who talk or kids or belly buttons.
Starting point is 00:23:55 And so I thought of Sabbath as pretty punitive. Now I love my mom. My mom loves Jesus. She's who introduced me to Jesus. But she got in a whole lot of rules in church. So she thought to be a good Christian, you really had to follow all those rules. You start studying the story of the narrative and God isn't saying, I want you to be uncomfortable and stiff and wear hose and uncomfortable shoes and not talk
Starting point is 00:24:19 in the Sabbath. He's telling a bunch of people who all they knew was slavery. All they knew was you're not worth anything, you're only worth what you produce. He said, no, no, no, no, I don't love you because of your productivity. I love you because you're my children. So I'm going to carve out at least one 24-hour period a week where you get to gather around the table, you get to eat carbs. How cool is that? Jesus called himself the bread of life, not the Caleb life. you get to gather around the table, you get to eat carbs. How cool is that? Jesus called himself the bread of life, not the Caleb life. You get to be together, you get to be reminded of how much you love, how much I love you, I want you to be in community. So even from the very beginning, the story was, I see you, I love you, your mind. I see you, I love you, your mind.
Starting point is 00:25:02 I see you, I love you, your mind. I see you, I love you, your mind. It doesn't switch when Jesus comes on the scene. We just have embodied grace through Jesus. Scott knows we would have such a hard time connecting when we didn't have something tangible. That's why you have all these theophanies and the Old Testament where God would actually appear in a way that people went,
Starting point is 00:25:23 oh snap, he's in the cloud, or, wow, there's a flaming toffee area. But he goes a step further and that was a plan from the beginning and sending us Jesus. And in New and Jesus hugged the leper. Well, the leper was still sick. That's my favorite part of the story in Mark 1. He didn't shazam the leper, heal him and then hug him. He hugged him while he was still filthy. And then he healed his physical body.
Starting point is 00:25:48 And so you see this consistent chronology of compassion through the Bible. It is one big love story. You've got a few fancy things. There's some systematic theology in the New Testament, but really at its core, the Bible is this ongoing love story. Every single thing you read in the Bible has to be understood under a canopy of grace or you'll take verses out of context, throw them up on social media, and it won't be God's intent. God's intent is always, for us to be closer to Him,
Starting point is 00:26:18 for us to be reconciled. So, if anybody, especially for your friends who've been listening to podcast, but like you said, their only connection to God've been listening to the podcast, but like you said, their only connection to God has been through what they've heard on your podcast. If you have any friends or family members or people in your past who use the Bible as a club to beat you up and make you feel bad about yourself, they're taking it out of context. There are parameters in Scripture for our good. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you go, oh, wow, he wasn't telling me to quit doing that because he's mad or kill joy. He actually knows what's best for me. But the gospel is a love story. It's a design love story.
Starting point is 00:27:00 It's not an existential construct. It's great. It's not about behavior. Yeah. At its core, it's not about ethics. Yeah. It's about relationship. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
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Starting point is 00:29:32 at StitchFix.com slash woe and you'll get 25% off when you keep everything in your fix. That's StitchFix.com slash woe StitchFix.com slash woe. So stitchfix.com slash woe. That's so good. That was so beautifully explained. I love that. So just to bring this up because I think people might think about this. So in the garden, that I'm in.
Starting point is 00:29:56 So when Eve ate the apple, the fall of man happened. I mean, it seems, if you don't understand the context of God and what was really happening, that seems so harsh. You know, she eats an apple, then that's it. Then it's like over for us, we sin, we fell, we all of that. But I love how what you're saying is like even from the beginning, it's a love story. He's not harsh. Can you explain why that was not out of harshness, been out of love? I'm so glad you asked that question because that's where so many of us get crooked. Even to agro in church. But I always get pictures in my head of the
Starting point is 00:30:31 stories in the Bible. And the picture in my head was, you know, Eve is wearing daisy diggs and you know, a crop top, you know, some kind of heavy metal band. And she's wearing red eclipse in her hair and she's just the epitome of absolutely wild. Because it says God drove them out of the garden, that's in Genesis 3. But if you look like you said, at the context, the two words in our English Bibles in Genesis 3 where it says God drove them out, I would always picture trashy girl, I picture a white-headed God, drop kicking them out of Eden, which does seem harsh. Those two words in English come from one word in Hebrew.
Starting point is 00:31:12 The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. New Testament was originally written in Greek, a little bit of a air mack. But those two words drove out, come from one word in the Hebrew, it's gul-rosh. And listen to the city, you probably already know this because I know the people who've taught you, you've had an amazing scaffolding of biblical understanding.
Starting point is 00:31:29 They come from the Hebrew word Gal-Rosh, which means to herd redemptively. If you study that story, the Holy Bouncer's, because it said God sets up these basically bouncer's, I'm using the Hebrew pre-Lucid here, but keep Adam and Eve from coming back into the garden. They're facing out, they're there to protect Adam and Eve, because there's two trees in the garden. They're not allowed to eat from the tree of good and evil. Think of anybody in your life who's a critic.
Starting point is 00:32:00 People don't do well with judgment. We tend to oppress other people. God knew we wouldn't handle understanding good and evil. Well, he said, don't drink from that tree. Y'all will be judgmental, who is not his words, those are mine. But there's another tree when he heard them out of the garden to begin the story of redemption. He knew if they came back into the garden and they ate from the tree of life, they would be forever frozen. And they'd be forever frozen, distance from God, because they'd
Starting point is 00:32:32 breach the intimacy he created him for. So he begins this process of restoration, heard redemptively as used twice, that same word in Exodus, because remember God's people got says stuck in captivity that they weren't even sure they wanted liberty. We really like the drive-throughs here. We're pretty comfortable in our government subsidized apartments. God had to kind of rock them out of being comfortable, being trapped. And I know what that feels like. I struggle with addiction a lot. Early in my life, I've never struggled with alcohol or narcotics, but one of my favorite theologians says all addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship.
Starting point is 00:33:13 In other words, if you don't put Jesus in the biggest hole in your soul, you'll render the wrong things wrong people. I was really attracted to abusive men, so I was stuck in a lot of abusive relationships and then eating has been an idol for me for a long time. So when I was sad or happy or mad, I'd go to food and so I didn't lose my teeth like some of my friends to math. I was never arrested, but I had this kind of prison of shame that I was stuck in. And God's like, no, I want to lead you out of captivity. I love you. I see you're not slaves of my children.
Starting point is 00:33:46 I don't want you to be oppressed by this. So you see that consistent theme. He even uses that exact same word. When, remember when David was almost killed by King A. Kish, the word of the song, that day the song is like God's Spotify list is the songs. The word that he uses for a title,
Starting point is 00:34:05 for the song he wrote right after escaping, when he says those who looked at the Lord, will never be shame, shame their faces. Well, you know, we'll be radiant. Psalm 34.5, David drew them as beard to feign insanity. No, Israelite man in that culture would drew in their beard. That's that's tantamount, sacrilege. Their beard was just, their beard was everything. It's like a southern girl in big hair. I mean,
Starting point is 00:34:28 beards were everything to an Israelite man during that ancient era. The only way they thought David was a nutter and let him escape was he drooled in his beard. That, according to Jewish culture, brought shame on his entire tribe. Immediately after that happens because David knows only God allowed me to escape with my life. He writes those who look to the Lord will never struggle with shame. Their faces will be radiant. Well the title of that song says when God heard it,, redemptively, it uses the word gal-rosh, when God drove David out from his enemies.
Starting point is 00:35:09 So you see throughout scripture, we miss it in the Old Testament because we don't understand the context, but if you really look at the, at the meta-neared, the big story that's the great news of a God who sees this and loves this, from the very beginning, he's been hurting us toward restoration, toward wholeness, toward her, toward peace, anybody who thinks of God as punitive. Or, well, gosh, that God is just hateful, and the Bible is hate speech. I'm like, you haven't read the whole story. The whole story has always been far good. There's a passage in Deuteronomy where women get raped.
Starting point is 00:35:44 And in that culture, there's no, I could loosely call it the first iteration of Sharia law. Women have zero value in the culture that's written. And God erects a fence to protect his daughters 3500 years before we start burning our bras for women's rights. God said, no, I love my daughters as much as my sons. So from now on, any of you, Yehuz, back then, a man could violate a woman and there's no consequence, no traffic ticket, nothing. God is the one who goes, no, I'm gonna begin to mitigate
Starting point is 00:36:17 the evil that is crushing my people. So he's always been a redeemer. We get it wrong because we spend so much more time on social media than we do in this love story. If we could get the love story of the Bible, then we'd go, oh wow, he's always been for us. He's never been against us. Yeah, that's so beautiful.
Starting point is 00:36:40 That is so good. And even just in that explanation, I truly just learned so much from that. And so thank you for explaining that. What a beautiful picture of who God is. And so even as you're listening to this and hearing about this story, one thing that's kind of cool is I remember whenever I saw you a couple of years ago in California, and I was like, I really want to be mentored by you. But I just moved to Louisiana. You live Nashville. I was like, this is want to be mentored by you, but I just moved to Louisiana. You live Nashville. I was like, this is, I want to learn from you,
Starting point is 00:37:08 but I knew this is gonna be hard, I'm gonna live there. And what's really cool is, I haven't gotten to sit with you since, but I've gotten to be mentored from you, from afar, from your podcast and the things that you put out. So just for those listening, you might be saying, man, how am I going to learn all this? I want to learn more.
Starting point is 00:37:27 There are people, like Lisa and Lisa, who put out such great things. I mean, she mentioned Tim Keller. He has passed away, but all of his stuff is out there. And it's just incredibly helpful. Lisa's stuff. That's what I listen to. That's what I learned from and grow in. Of course, to be planted in a local church, read the word for yourself, grow in the story.
Starting point is 00:37:48 But I just want to shout that out because, man, there's so much more to learn and there's so much more to learn from. And that's what I love about. You talk about this in the devotional, but it's that there's an ongoing learning of Jesus always. There's always something else to discover. There's always like a theological nugget somewhere, I think, is what you said and I love that because I'm someone who I like don't watch a movie twice I don't read the same boat twice like okay yes some people are like
Starting point is 00:38:15 oh I've watched the office six times or I've watched praise net whatever their show is and I'm like I just would never do that I'll watch it one time and I don't think I need to watch it again that's not too because I know the ending I know the story yeah and I'm like, I just would never do that. I'll watch it one time, and I don't think I need to watch it again. That's not true, because I know the ending. I know the story, yeah. And I think with the Bible, it's like so different. Like you could read the same thing 10 times, and the 10th time, you're like,
Starting point is 00:38:35 I never thought of it that way, I never saw it that way. I never saw his heart in it the way, or where you're at in your life. Wow, that's who God is to me in this season. It's just so cool. So one thing you say in the devotional is like, Jesus didn't just, he's not just your savior. Like there's more from just the time that you're saved.
Starting point is 00:38:54 So how does that story just affect your life on the daily? How do people go from this mindset? I'm not just being like, oh yeah, I'm saved by God. Yeah, I was saved. But to like, oh, I'm actually like living in relationship with Jesus every day in my life. Yeah. I don't know about y'all, but sometimes whenever it gets colder outside, it's a little bit harder to stay active. I mean for me during the summer, I'm like, I would just get up and go, go on the long walk, do whatever. When it's cold, man, it's a little bit harder to convince me to go be active outside.
Starting point is 00:39:26 So we still gotta say active, right? We still gotta say healthy, and that's why AG1 is so awesome because no matter what season of the year it is, you can say healthy, which is a simple thing added to your day. AG1 has 75 high-quality vitamins, probiotics, and whole food source ingredients. AG1 is an all-in-one, foundation- one foundation nutrition formula that comes in one simple drink. So we decided to try it out just because we just need a little extra boost in our energy and our focus.
Starting point is 00:39:52 And also because sometimes when you're traveling a lot and you're getting really busy, it's really hard to stay healthy. And also you don't want to have to travel with a whole bunch of pills or all of these different things for vitamins. And we're like, this is like the best solution. You put one scoop into a drink,
Starting point is 00:40:08 drink it and that's it. Christian loves it. He has noticed so much more energy and focus and even gets better sleep too because that's what all of the good stuff in there helps you get. AG1 also improves digestion and gut health, which you hear me say it all the time,
Starting point is 00:40:21 but that's so important for your mental health. And so every morning you can just wake it all the time, but that's so important for your mental health. And so every morning, you can just wake up, like Christian does, put your scoop into your glass of cold water and drink that AG one and get on with your day knowing that you did something so good for your body. We also love that it offers immune support. So whenever we are out on the road,
Starting point is 00:40:39 or taking the fam to Disney, like we just did, and you're gonna be around a lot of people, AG one has your back. So AG one is also perfect for people who love to travel. I have my travel packs right here. It's so easy to carry around with you. It's simple. You can just throw it in your backpack and you can stay healthy on the road.
Starting point is 00:40:55 I do is open it, pour it into some cold water or room temperature, whatever you like. And even from traveling with these things, we have got our friends hooked on them too because they've seen us taking them. They're like, that is awesome. So another thing I love about AG1 is they have vitamin D3 plus K2 drops, and I love vitamin D. It's always made me feel so much better. You've heard me say it before,
Starting point is 00:41:14 but it has helped my skin so much, my hair. It also helps your heart and your bones and your teeth. And I love that. All the benefits are great. So all you have to do, because it's just a little dropper, you can put it on your food or in your water. And there's also 600 servings in each bottle.
Starting point is 00:41:29 So you are covered for a long time. So if you're looking for a simpler, effective investment for your health, try AG1 and get five free AG1 travel packs and a free one-year supply of vitamin D with your first purchase. Just go to drinkag1.com slash woe. Again, that's drinkag1.com slash woe. Again, that's drink AG1.com slash woe to try it today. The catalyst for this devotional was my little girl, Missy. You know, I love Sadie. Gosh, I love
Starting point is 00:41:58 the way you communicate. I wish when I was your age, someone my age had told me in a way that I could believe it, that it just gets better. It gets better and it gets better and it gets better growing with Christ, even aging as an image bear, doesn't get stiffer, doesn't get more rigid. You get freer, you get, yeah, our body is succumbed to gravity. I mean, my body is not quite as resilient
Starting point is 00:42:22 as it was when I could wear leather pants now where leather pants and it sounds like decks are being killed. But your heart just gets, I mean, you just go, oh my goodness, one of my favorite scholars says, if you get out of the Bible, what you're expecting to get out of the Bible, you need to raise your expectations
Starting point is 00:42:39 because it is always better. Walk when Jesus is always better. I didn't become a mom until I turned 50 because I was just so flip and scared. In my 20s and 30s, I had a lot of toxic behavior in relationships. The fact that he redeemed my story and allowed me to become a mom
Starting point is 00:42:56 through the miracle of adoption, same season I was going through minipause. That slice, I go, gosh, I wouldn't, I wouldn't have had the faith to dream that big But I learn all kinds of things through being missies mom and she was a catalyst to this book I'd picked her up school and she got in the car This was about a year ago and her face was just Backlit because she had her first crush and the sixth grade. And she got in the car and she was like, maaw, they wear uniforms.
Starting point is 00:43:29 So none of the kids really stick out that much, except for their shoes and like what's in their lunch. And so she's like his socks, like she just beautiful, his socks were like, you know, the move. I mean, it was, she went on about a sock. She went on about his words he used with a math teacher. She went on about what was in his lunchbox. She just couldn't stop talking about the tiniest details
Starting point is 00:43:50 about this boy she was enamored with. And I watched her talk about him, and I thought I remember when I used to be like that about Jesus. I remember when I couldn't get enough, when like I woke up and he was the first thing on my mind. And I thought, oh, Lord, forgive me that I forgot and that you were not a proposition to study.
Starting point is 00:44:12 You are a person with whom to engage. So I wanna fall further in love with you. And I thought, I write a lot of books about a Bible. I'm finishing a doctorate, so I feel like I've always got my nose in a book. And I thought, I think I've almost forgotten what it is to go on date nights with Jesus. Where I'm just so completely preoccupied by him,
Starting point is 00:44:37 by every detail, by his presence. I thought, man, I wanna know what makes him laugh. I wanna know what makes him belly laugh. I wanna know what he orders. I wanna know what makes him laugh. I want to know what makes him belly laugh. I want to know what he orders. I want to know what stories he's listening to. Now, know that might sound anthropomorphic. And that's a fancy word that just means when we ascribe human concepts and context to something that's divine or not human.
Starting point is 00:44:59 But he did come embody. The body of Christ is not a metaphor. He came so that we could know and then have a real relationship with Him. And so that started this process of going, I want to kind of look under every rock in the gospel and find out more than I've known in the past about Jesus. And you're exactly right, Sady. I learned something every day that I didn't know before or that I forgot. The Bible is not like text. Holy Spirit is not one note. It gets bigger, it gets better. I'll
Starting point is 00:45:32 find myself still just I was at with your friend Shelley on Monday night. And I mean God showed up there in Atlanta in a way that I don't have words for it. And I've got a lot of words. I have a win bag. It was something in the presence that I mean, all of us, it was all we could do to speak afterwards. And so it just, he never gets boring. If you're bored by Christianity, I would challenge you that it's not Christianity
Starting point is 00:46:05 that's boring you, it's tradition. Because there is nothing about a relationship with Jesus Christ that's boring. That is great. That is so good. I saw pictures from the room that night in Atlanta and I just thought, wow, God was doing something so special and it's in those moments that,
Starting point is 00:46:21 I think this is the beauty of things. You can watch things online and you can, and COVID taught us that you can do that well, but there is something about being in a room, you know, and experiencing what God is doing and feeling when He's doing the room. And I mean, it's just amazing. So I love that y'all got to experience that and God, I can't wait until we get to experience that next year and our friends together. It's just like what you talked about, conference at Yoll experience. It's true. You know, 90, I think it's 96. I don't remember the statistics
Starting point is 00:46:52 exactly, but the huge amount of imperatives in the Bible. And that's where he tells us, I want you to do this. They're set in the context of community. They can't love one another without one another. You're screwed. And again, in America, I think we kind of privatize religion. And I'm like, uh-uh, it's supposed to be lived together. And that's theology. Theology is not some weird pursuit.
Starting point is 00:47:16 Theology is meant to be lived. It's great. We're supposed to lean into each other and into Jesus and like us get so much better. That's good. It's good. You might have to put that in your gets so much better. It's good. You might have to put that in your podcast title. Well, that's good.
Starting point is 00:47:28 It's so much so good. Yeah. I wish I was thinking when you were talking, I was like, man, this is the most well-that's good episode. I have to stop myself from saying, well, that's good. Because it will sound like I'm doing it just for the sake of the podcast. But everything you're saying, I'm like, well, that's so good.
Starting point is 00:47:44 Your podcast title, to really your life, is one of my favorite lives, because your face, what you choose to say, what you choose, even when you post it something, I don't follow a whole lot of people, but I have it where I will see what you post. And what you posted that day was so stinking honest. I mean, just so real. And still you were like, he's a good God.
Starting point is 00:48:08 On the worst day, he's such a good God. And so, no, I think your podcast is basically modern speak for the gospel. Oh, well, I appreciate that so much. That means the world. Well, I just, I do, I loved uses that I told, I told the group A&M this the other day. I was like preaching and I just kind of stopped and I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna stop because I felt so stopped by a lawyer. I really felt like I was like, stop. So I just stopped. And I was like, you know, I could come here and I could preach this whole message and it just would not change your life unless you just understand who God is and you just fall in love with him. So I was like, I'm just gonna stop for a minute and I just wanna share with y'all.
Starting point is 00:48:50 It was so cool because when I stopped, it felt like it went from an arena of people, because it was like 8,000 people in an arena. But it felt like I was sitting with my friends at midnight at my house. Like it was so just real. And I just was like, you know what? I'm not here to preach a message because I was hired to preach a message. I'm not here to
Starting point is 00:49:13 preach a message because I think I'm supposed to say this. I really have been radically changed by me understanding who God is and understanding who I am in the context of that and it's changed everything about me. It's changed the trajectory of my life. It's, and I talked about how, you know, we're living in a super anxious world, a depressed, relative, and then God, here he is, and the fruit of him is love and it's joy and it's peace and something. Just started, like, practically talking about the goodness of God. And, man, this is what I want to do with my podcast. This is what I want to do with my life. I'm not doing this because I have to, I'm not doing this because it's a job. It is what I want to do with my podcast. I just want to do it with my life. I'm not doing this because I have to. I'm not doing this because it's a job.
Starting point is 00:49:48 It's I want people like you to come on and explain the story of the Bible because I believe people understand it. People here, they'll be like that girl was the other day and say, this is actually really good news. Like this changes everything. This is amazing. And so I love it.
Starting point is 00:50:03 I love it so much. And you know, it's really cool. Like you mentioned at our conference, one thing we experienced that that was so powerful that, I mean, this was like the biggest difference in in the room that I had experienced before. Is that the majority of the ministry happening did not actually happen from the stage. It really happened on the floor. It was like, it was like everybody there was a minister. Everyone there was like, I am in this community. I have a purpose to serve in this room. I'm going to love on my neighbor. I'm going to pray over my neighbor. I'm going to speak a word over my neighbor. I'm somewhere getting baptized, somewhere baptizing others. It was like, there
Starting point is 00:50:42 was so much movement. And I was like, this is the church. Like this is what it's all about. It was just beautiful. It's not meant to be just one person speaking. It's all of us stepping in. And I wrote a quote down if I can read my handwriting, that you wrote in the book. And basically, you know, you were kind of explaining that you struggled a little bit with who you were created to be for a little while. Just your original self. The storyteller and you had a bit of insecurity based on comments people said and you said, I finally trust that my uniqueness was divinely designed. And I just love that right there. I finally trust that uniqueness in me was divinely designed.
Starting point is 00:51:24 It makes me think of our message of live original. And so just to end, can you just encourage people with right where they're at, with who they are stepping into fully just living for Christ right where they're at and being right who they are? At Desha Dan Online Brokridge, we provide high-performance Disney at platforms so you can invest online with no commission fees on stocks and exchange traded funds. We also offer tools and free training courses. Plus, we've been ranked highest in investor satisfaction
Starting point is 00:51:55 among self-directed brokerage firms by JD Power. Visit Disneyat.com. Certain conditions apply. For JD Power 2023 Award Information, visit jdpower.com slash awards. Yeah, I love, love, love, love, thank you, Sadie, for emphasizing community. I think all too often in first world modern culture, we elevate platforms and stages, and that's, you just don't see, that's not the economy of God. God elevates family and community.
Starting point is 00:52:29 And He wants us to do it together. And so I think rather than aspiring to be somebody, you admire and emulating them, make Jesus the hero of all of your stories. And of course he puts people in our lives. I'm encouraged by Sadie every time I get to be a rounder. But I don't want to be like Sadie. I want to be like Jesus.
Starting point is 00:52:54 It's great. And what I love in Sadie is Christ and me. I love the way he's knit you. I love the way he's made you. It's so fun to be around you. You make me better because you're my little sister and make the family brighter. And so I'd say for those of you who are going who am I, I'm not even sure who I am, this is going to sound really weird. But I'm just going to say, learn what it is to
Starting point is 00:53:18 be held by Jesus. But it's actually in his arms that you'll find the most beautiful facets of who you are. I used to think of myself like the stepsister in the Cinderella story, but the Prince asked me to dance. And when I step into his arms, I become beautiful. And so you'll find your innate beauty because he made you beautiful. He made you worthy. He made you valuable because he says, I made you in my image. So you have God's image in you. You may have not had anybody honor that or value that, but he made
Starting point is 00:53:54 you in his image. He sees you, he loves, he loves who he sees. And so I spent a little time this week just leaning into his arms. If you don't know where to go in the Bible, maybe you've never read it for yourself, I'd encourage you to go right to the Psalms. And they were all, there's 150 of them in the middle of your Bible. They were all written originally as songs, as it was in GS. And so that's where you'll kind of learn what it is to hear God's love songs. Sung over you, Psalm 139 is a good one to start, because that's our identity as his beloved. And so I'd say learn how to be held before you try to work. If our behavior isn't based on our belovedness, we get crooked real fast.
Starting point is 00:54:39 That is the truth. I love that you said that. And honestly, for me, I was thinking back to, I hadn't really put this thing up until you just said that but thinking back to when I really stopped living in like past shame and really kind of embrace where I was going was I actually had a vision of him holding me and it's a really, it's just really cool that you said that and so that's very true. It might sound weird but it makes me think of whenever I was on dance with the stars and it was actually really strange, but every time I would get done with the dance, I would
Starting point is 00:55:12 ask Mark, I would be like, did we do it? Because I would blink out. Like it was like, I had no thought throughout those two minutes of our dance. I would be like, did we do it? Did I do it right? And he would always go like, yes, and. I would be like, did we do it? Did I do it right? And he would always give, like, yes. And then I would like, get excited. But it would almost be like,
Starting point is 00:55:28 I didn't even feel myself doing it. It was so out of body. But the reality is, is Mark is such a good leader and such a good dancer that he was pushing. He was pulling, he was holding me throughout the whole dance that really my body was just, because I had been you know the past week doing that dance over and over and over again and learning
Starting point is 00:55:50 to trust him and his lead. I mean my body would just naturally follow where he was going. And that's really what I think about with God a lot of times it's like you really learn who you are by being so held and so close to him because as he leads as he guides you just follow like Like the word really is, lamp into your feet. It's a lot into your path. It really will guide you into where you're going and to who you are and to all those things. So being held by him and that dance with God, it's a beautiful thing to be. It's such an amazing thing.
Starting point is 00:56:20 I was with a woman recently and for whatever reason I was at a church that was in a real demonstra of church and I felt led to teach on dancing in the Bible and it went over like a lead balloon. It did not. This woman at the end, I think it was just for her came up to me and it was the sweetest testimony, Sadie, she talked about how people assumed she had rhythm because of her ethnicity and how she'd always been kind of embarrassed that she wasn't a dancer And she said I found it so weird that you chose to teach on dancing Because God's been talking to me in my quiet time about dancing And she said as you were talking about dancing in the Bible
Starting point is 00:56:56 I just felt holy spirit say to me. I want you to stop looking at your feet and just stand on mine and focus on my face Yeah, and and it's in here if we could just imagine just stop looking at your feet and just stand on mine and focus on my face. And it's in it. If we could just imagine God smiling at us instead of God looking at us with disappointment, we would trust the embrace. You know that picture of little girl who's dancing but she's standing on her dad's feet. I mean, that's the picture you just painted. If we could trust his affection that he's for us,
Starting point is 00:57:28 that he's not mad at us. And maybe it sounds too much for some of y'all to go, oh gosh, I've never been held by anybody safe. The idea of God holding me is still kind of weird to me. Then maybe take the next step. The first step would be just trusting that if you look into the countenance of God, he's smiling at you, he's still frowning at you. So true, so true, and if you get a little off,
Starting point is 00:57:49 he's still in step with you. I mean, there was a moment, I dance with the stars, that really is a beautiful picture of Grace, where Mark and I typically would dance together, but there were moments where we'd break off and we'd, you know, be dancing side by side. And there was his moment, he was very, very excited about. And I don't know if he's viewed this as the picture of Grace that I have yet, but he was very excited about. And I just missed up, like totally made the wrong step. And and I made such a wrong step that I couldn't get to the right step
Starting point is 00:58:20 because my first step was so wrong. And so it was like he was beside me doing the right step and I was not and I remember thinking like, I just absolutely ruined the stance. This is horrible. So I couldn't fit it. I reached my hand out. That's all I need to do and just spun into him
Starting point is 00:58:36 and like dipped and we finished the dance. Well, in my mind, it was horrible. I totally messed it up. I ruined the stance. It was just awful. I had so much shame that you can see it on me. I like immediately bowed my head. I was like crying and they're like trying to tell me not to cry before the judges You know do their score like act like you didn't mess up But I was just like I ruined it and it was so cool because that was the first time in the whole show that we got all tins
Starting point is 00:59:01 that we got all tens. And oh my goodness. Yes, and I think that that's just such a beautiful picture of like God's grace because I just thought I ruined the whole dance because I messed up. When I got on my own, I just messed up. But because I reached back out and all I need to do was to just let him spin me in and dip me. It redeemed the whole dance and we literally got all tens.
Starting point is 00:59:23 And I mean, that's just such a beautiful picture of God in your life Like that's it. It really is so anyways. This this conversation has been incredibly encourages such a rid of bitterness growing because you just made me cry. I've lost all my mascara Oh my gosh That's beautiful. It's really is I mean it doesn't even really told that story like that. But as we're talking about dancing I'm like, man, that was like a beautiful picture of the gospel and display. I mean truly if you go back and Why said dance online I hung my head. I had like two so I was like I ruined it and then when they gave all It's ends. I was truly so surprised And I look back and I'm like,
Starting point is 01:00:06 oh, he covered it for me. Like he covered my mistake, which is so what God does. He covers you in his grace, covers you, in his blood. And it was actually a perfect score. So perfectly redeemed, perfectly beautiful. Yeah, that will make you cry. That's making me.
Starting point is 01:00:23 That's a great series. That's a gut. And that's all throughout scripture. You know, that's a promise throughout scripture, that will make you cry, that's making me. That's a great series. That's a gut. I mean, and that's all throughout scripture. You know, that's a promise throughout scripture. I will cover you. I will cover you because I bet you're nickel. There's people who love you and love what God has done through you, but they don't get the whole Jesus thing.
Starting point is 01:00:38 And they are in that place of, I've messed up the whole dance of my life. That messed up can't be redeemed and they've got their head sun wishing right now. And even you say and all you gotta do is reach your hand out. Yep. And he redeems the whole thing. It's beautiful. Yeah, that's the passable, Sadie. Um, you know, you do this on your podcast. So I would love for you to do this on ours. If you'll pray for that person who's listening today, who feels like they messed up the dance and needs to be just absolutely covered in the beautiful perfect redemption of God. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, thank you that we can come to you trusting that you lean down to listen to us. So, by the looks of, Lord, Sadie and I do ask that those amazing precious men and women
Starting point is 01:01:29 who are listening right now or who feel like they've just screwed up so bad, there's no way that you can redeem their story, that you can make the dance anything blessed, man. Really awkward. Lord, I pray that you give them the grace right now through just your Holy Spirit prompting them to reach their hand, just to throw their hand toward you, whether it's in desperation or hope or even in disbelief, thinking, I'll reach out my hand and he won't grab me. Lord, just give them the grace to take that tiny, tiny step toward you. And Lord, thank you, thank you, thank you for your promise that you tell us if we see you, you'll take our hand, you'll be found by us.
Starting point is 01:02:11 Thank you for the promise and the Old Testament that says you're so kind, you're so good that you even pursue those who aren't looking for you yet. So thank you for this time we get to be together. Just this community. This is not about us doing it right. It's about you did it perfectly. Yes. Thank you that you didn't die for us to make us better. You died to make us alive. So we love you Jesus. We need you Jesus. We can't make it by ourselves. So we ask these things by the power of your name. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and by the authority of the blood you chose before we existed to shed because you love us, because you wanted to make a way for us to be redeemed, to be loved, to understand what it is, to
Starting point is 01:03:01 be held by a God who will never leave us so for psychus. So we pray all these things. Jesus and confidence that you're a good God. Amen. Amen. Well that was one of my favorite podcasts I really said thank you so much. Oh God. It was more than a podcast. That was an incredible conversation about theology about who God is. Then I just know it was going to make a mark on people's lives. So thank you for all that you do, for who you are, for how you live your life, you and Missy are an amazing duo,
Starting point is 01:03:34 and we are grateful for y'all. you

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