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THE PROBLEM WITH SHADOWS · THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST

• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Good morning. Thank you for joining us on this Thursday
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: morning as we get ready for another Morning Moments with
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  Speaker 1: Jesus time. I pray you had a great week so far.
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  Speaker 1: I know we're not done with it yet, but just
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  Speaker 1: pray that the Lord has been able to show you
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  Speaker 1: some spiritual things in your life. And a lot of
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  Speaker 1: times that depends on how much we're willing to kind
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  Speaker 1: of just slow down and take a deep breath and
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  Speaker 1: just look around and say, you know what? I'm only
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  Speaker 1: going to pass through this life one time. And each
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  Speaker 1: and every day is a lesson to learn, a moment
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  Speaker 1: to share, just something to enjoy, but also something to
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  Speaker 1: pass on to someone else. Those moments are very precious.
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  Speaker 1: They're very treasured, not only by us, but by the
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  Speaker 1: Lord who gives them to us each and every day.
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  Speaker 1: This morning, I was looking in the 23rd Psalm. Just
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  Speaker 1: kind of looking over it this morning. God just kind
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  Speaker 1: of drew me to that. And I looked at verse
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  Speaker 1: number 4. And I began to think about shadows. And
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  Speaker 1: when I was thinking about this particular subject of shadows.
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  Speaker 1: I thought you know there's a problem we have with shadows.
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  Speaker 1: And I believe David was trying to tell us something.
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  Speaker 1: When he put that in the 4th verse of the
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  Speaker 1: 23rd Psalm. It says this. Yea though I walk through. So,
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  Speaker 1: have you ever been startled by a shadow? Perhaps you
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  Speaker 1: were walking through the house at night, and for a moment,
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  Speaker 1: just for a moment, something familiar looked frightening to you.
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  Speaker 1: Once you turned on the light, you realized that there
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  Speaker 1: was nothing to fear at all. Children are a lot
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  Speaker 1: like that. Shadows can do that to you, but here's
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  Speaker 1: the thing. They can make you feel as though danger
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  Speaker 1: is closer, larger, and more uncertain than it really is.
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  Speaker 1: The first thing I thought about this morning about shadows
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  Speaker 1: is shadows can make things appear bigger than they really are.
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  Speaker 1: You think about that. A small object can cast a
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  Speaker 1: shadow that stretches across the entire room. Worry does the
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  Speaker 1: same thing. One difficult conversation can become the end of
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  Speaker 1: an entire relationship if you allow it to. One turbulent
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  Speaker 1: moment in your life has the potential to become a
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  Speaker 1: future that you're afraid to face. Shadows can also hide
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  Speaker 1: details about what really is. Let me tell you what
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  Speaker 1: I mean by that. See, when we cannot see clearly,
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  Speaker 1: here's what happens. our minds often begin to fill in
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  Speaker 1: the gaps of what is missing, usually with the worst
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  Speaker 1: case scenario. Are you that kind of person this morning?
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  Speaker 1: If you are, let's just be honest before the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Do you assume you already know what lies ahead even
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  Speaker 1: though you've only got the outline? Do you already begin
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  Speaker 1: to paint pictures of what's going to happen before anything
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  Speaker 1: ever materializes at all? And if we're honest, when we
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  Speaker 1: get down the road just a little piece, I wonder
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  Speaker 1: what percentage of things never happen that we've already believed
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  Speaker 1: the shadow that lies ahead that it's going to happen.
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  Speaker 1: Shadows can move and change very quickly. See, as the
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  Speaker 1: light shifts, the same shadow can look different from one
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  Speaker 1: moment to the next, right? And our feelings can do
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  Speaker 1: the same thing. They can change just as quickly. What
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  Speaker 1: seems manageable yesterday may feel overwhelming today. Through God's presence,
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  Speaker 1: He remains steady through it all, but we shift and
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  Speaker 1: change depending on the spiritual shadows in our lives. I
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  Speaker 1: want you to also remember this. Shadows can't harm you.
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  Speaker 1: It may cause you to stop and tremble, but it
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  Speaker 1: has no power on its own. Understand this truth this morning.
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  Speaker 1: The shadow is always directly controlled by the light. And spiritually,
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  Speaker 1: our light is Jesus Christ. The shadow has no power.
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  Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse number 6, the Apostle
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  Speaker 1: Paul writes this, For God who commanded the light to
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  Speaker 1: shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to
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  Speaker 1: give light of the knowledge of the glory of God
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  Speaker 1: in the face of Jesus Christ. Yes, sometimes the fear
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  Speaker 1: of what might happen Takes more from you than the
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  Speaker 1: trouble that actually does happen. Let me say that again
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  Speaker 1: this morning. Sometimes the fear of what might happen. Will
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  Speaker 1: begin to rob you more. Than the trouble that actually happens.
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  Speaker 1: David did not say. There was no valley. He made
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  Speaker 1: it clear that it was. He just simply said we're
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  Speaker 1: going to walk through it. His confidence came. From these words.
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  Speaker 1: For thou art. With me. Who's with me? The shepherd.
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  Speaker 1: The light of the world. The shepherd's rod and staff
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  Speaker 1: reminded him of something. It reminded him that he was
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  Speaker 1: guided and protected by the light. See, even where the
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  Speaker 1: path was dark, he knew one truth. He knew that
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  Speaker 1: if there was a shadow, there had to be the
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  Speaker 1: presence of light also. And that gave him confidence to
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  Speaker 1: pass on through that valley. And I wanted to do
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  Speaker 1: the same thing for you today. If there is shadows
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  Speaker 1: in your life, if there's moments of darkness or where
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  Speaker 1: things are not as clear as they need to be,
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  Speaker 1: maybe there's a worry and anxiety or a fear going
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  Speaker 1: on in your life, that's a shadow trying to rob
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  Speaker 1: you of what is actually there. But I want you
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  Speaker 1: to understand, if there is a shadow, the light's got
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  Speaker 1: to be there too. So draw on the power that
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  Speaker 1: comes from the light Because the shadow has no power.
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  Speaker 1: There may be some things in your life right now
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  Speaker 1: that you cannot see clearly. I get that. I understand that.
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  Speaker 1: But you do not have to pretend the valley is easy.
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  Speaker 1: But before you let its shadows tell you what might happen,
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  Speaker 1: remember who walks with you that tells you what has
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  Speaker 1: already happened. Greater is he that is in you than
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  Speaker 1: he that is in the world. And Jesus Christ has
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  Speaker 1: overcome the world. Yeah, the path may be dim. But
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  Speaker 1: you are not walking that path alone. So today you
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  Speaker 1: be safe. You be strong and you be blessed. And
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  Speaker 1: you understand. There's a problem with shadows. But Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 1: is always the answer. Lord's will will see you back
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  Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for Front Porch Fridays. Until then, you
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  Speaker 1: have a great day.