Latest / Fostering Faith / It takes Courage

Transcript

It takes Courage · Fostering Faith

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  Hello and welcome to Fostering by today on episode 9 we'll be talking about courage.
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  And welcome back as we are ending up our season 1.
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  We are so happy that you guys tuned in to all of our episodes.
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  If you've not, go back and listen to the other episodes as we are building faith and walking
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  together in our faith journey.
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  So Gia, how's your week been?
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  Good.
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  Anything new and exciting?
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  Not really.
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  You didn't have anything happen today?
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  I got braces.
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  She got braces.
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  She's been so excited to finally be able to get braces.
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  We have the same crooked tooth and so she wants to have straight teeth.
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  And so we're excited to be able to do that for her today.
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  So alright, what are we going to talk about today?
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  We're going to be talking about courage.
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  Okay.
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  Well I got some questions for you.
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  Okay.
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  Do you want to answer them?
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  Sure.
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  Okay.
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  So my first question is why is courage important?
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  I think courage is important because if you don't have courage you can't face your fears.
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  You don't, courage is the ability to face fears, danger, things that you can't see,
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  pain without overcoming it.
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  It takes courage to do daily life.
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  Can you give us an example of how you use courage in your life?
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  To walk out of the house.
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  I mean it takes courage just to go to school.
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  It takes courage just to walk into a building because you don't know what you're going to
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  face but you know that your God's protecting you in a non-scriptural way.
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  Courage whenever I would ride roller coasters with you.
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  Whenever we went to Disney or Universal that took so much courage on my end because I do
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  not like hype but I was not going to impress my fear on you so I mustered up all the courage,
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  all the strength that God has given me and just closed my eyes and sung the ABC's.
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  The ABC's?
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  Yeah, that's what I would have to do to get through the ride.
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  What if it's like a two minute ride?
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  You just keep repeating it.
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  Is that why you didn't scream or just hold on and close your eyes?
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  Yes, but me just getting on the ride, yes was I scared but it didn't take courage for
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  me to go?
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  Yeah.
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  Okay.
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  What have you done that's been courageous?
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  I think getting my blood work done, that was really scary.
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  My arm went numb.
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  I hate needles.
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  It was really scary.
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  I don't know why you made me get them.
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  I think that but also too that builds character because once you have courage for one thing.
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  I got a needle stuck in my arm.
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  But that's preparing you for the next time that you get lab work done.
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  There's not going to be a next time.
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  I know that.
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  There will be.
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  There will be a next time.
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  But I think that walking in faith and growing into being courageous because you're going
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  to have to do things that scare you.
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  You're going to have to do things that doesn't make sense and to walk with courage is a life's
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  lesson.
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  You're going to have to do it or you're going to be stuck and not go anywhere in life.
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  Because if you don't have the courage to walk in faith, to walk where God's called you to
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  go, if you can't do the little things, then you ain't going to do the big things.
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  I think whenever he had called me to do a meeting to unite the churches and to unite
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  the women, I was so scared.
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  I did not feel like I was maybe even worthy to try to do that.
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  Who am I?
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  But just through prayer and fast, he just revealed so much to me and was able to stand
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  up in front of all those women, gather and make flyers and just put myself out there
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  boldly and just try to do my best and just walk in courage.
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  Because if he tells you to do something and you don't do it, I mean you're not walking
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  in obedience and if you can't muster up the courage that he's given you to do the little
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  things, why would he call you to do big things?
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  Okay, so why should we use courage in our daily lives?
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  Why do we have to?
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  You don't have to, you get to.
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  And so you can walk around shy and not act like you have a God that created the universe.
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  You can walk around and act like you don't have a God that is mighty.
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  I think it's important to go back to scripture and remember what he has said about courage.
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  Do you remember any scriptures that talk about courage?
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  Not that, I know on the top of my head.
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  In Joshua 1.9 it talks about, have I not commanded you?
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  Be strong and courageous, do not be frightened and do not be dismayed.
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  The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
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  And whenever you're looking at scripture, I mean looking back to who wrote it, three
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  times the Lord changed Joshua to be, told him to be strong and courageous.
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  Words that Joshua earlier said under Moses and not to be frightened and so whenever we're
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  in situations where we are like oh my gosh I can't do this, two small words, only be
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  strong and very courageous gives Joshua leadership responsibilities.
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  This changes and how he can look at and be strong and courageous whenever there is daunting
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  task to come against him and I will be with you.
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  I will never leave you nor forsake you.
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  The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
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  And I think that just knowing that if he's the same Lord with Joshua, he's the same God
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  with me and so if my God be for me then who dare be against me and so that makes me kind
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  of walk in with swagger because I am like to walk in like knowing that my father is
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  God and why wouldn't you walk in to a situation like with like confidence?
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  What would be some areas that kids would need courage?
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  Maybe like just standing up for someone or anything like that or like basically I feel
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  like a big one is like telling people that they believe in God even though like they're
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  friends and like everything don't believe in them.
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  And I think that even just to have to be courageous in doing the right thing when everyone else
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  is not doing the right thing, how could that be applied at in school?
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  Just like not doing what they're doing.
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  Yeah and second Timothy it says that God has given us a spirit not of fear but of power
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  and love and self-control and that gives us courage.
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  A spirit, the Holy Spirit fear is boldness and not cowardness.
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  It's the mark of the spirit and whenever you're walking into a situation boldly as we are
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  Christ followers is that because we're in a relationship not a religion and you're going
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  to be in situations as a teen, as a mom, as a friend that we don't follow earthly standards
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  and so you have to be courageous in saying no that's not what we do as a foster.
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  I'm not doing that.
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  I'm not okay with talking about that.
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  I'm not okay and setting yourself apart and not going with what everybody else is doing.
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  Do you feel like if you follow Christ it's easier to say no when you know that you're
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  not supposed to?
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  Do you feel like there's a difference that a non-believer versus believer would just
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  go with whatever other people are doing where a Christ follower would say no I'm not doing
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  that?
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  I feel like it would be easier to follow the Christian way because then if I did go the
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  other way I'd feel really guilty after I'd probably hold that guilt for a long time so
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  I think it would just be easier just to do it the right way than do it the wrong way.
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  And I have a sign in my room that says we do what is right not what is convenient and
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  so a lot of times we have choices to make do we do what's convenient and we know what
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  is not right but we also have to be reminded that we are serving the Lord in every situation
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  and that we're going to have to answer for every action every word that we say so not
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  that we will ever be perfect not that we could ever live up to his holiness but in that same
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  instance like you have to be courageous and take a stand for what's right and to do what
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  scripture says so I think that's I think you have to have I think you have to be courageous
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  all throughout the day.
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  Okay why is like courage such a big thing like a Christian like mindset?
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  To have a Christian like mindset over courage to me the context of Christian courage is
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  rooted in faith and that we trust in God and we're able to stand firm in our convictions
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  and take bold steps whenever we don't even know the outcome and so as we walked in courage
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  we had to have courage to follow Christ whenever he told your dad to quit his job to take care
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  of his mom we lost income we lost you know job security with that and so we had to walk
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  knowing we had to take that bold step of faith because we both felt that's what he was supposed
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  to do and we walked with courage knowing that God's going to provide for our family and
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  it is just something that you have to do as a Christian.
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  Alright so my last question is is how can we relate like how does like Jesus relate
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  to like courage?
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  Oh my gosh like he's just nothing but courage he stood up to so many people and just the
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  courage just to face everything that he did if he just if he didn't have courage if he
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  didn't have I mean the courage knowing that he was going to hang on the cross for six
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  hours the courage in whenever he was praying in the garden knowing what everything all
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  the things that he was going to have to face to pay for our sin I mean the current I mean
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  like there's just like no other I'm just just his just his current even just whenever he
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  stood up to his mom like he left his pack of people and stayed in the synagogues whenever
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  he was young I mean just the courage his boldness and how he stood up to people I mean if he
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  was if he didn't have courage if he didn't have strength I mean but he was so meek he
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  was never in a hurry he always had time for people he walked he didn't run I mean he was
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  he was strength under control he had courage like just no other I think that you know practice
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  practical ways to understand that is to spend time in prayer and surround yourself with
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  people that are you know encouraging and that can walk with you through your faith journey
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  and as our church is doing which I encourage if your church does 21 days of prayer and
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  fast I encourage you to do that we're in our last week of it and and just modeling and
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  just being closer to God in prayer and and asking for courage because we can go to him
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  for everything is there anything that you can't go to God about everything and I even
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  think too it says in Hebrew to go boldly to his throne of grace and so we can go to him
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  boldly because he's given us that spirit of courage and strength and so we can go to him
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  and ask for anything and so if you feel like you're weak ask him for courage ask me for
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  boldness and and you know if it's his will and he sees your heart if it aligns then you
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  know he answers every prayer yes no and maybe and not yet you're not built for that right
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  now and so asking God and having courage to ask for big bold prayers I mean so many times
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  he has asked answered so many bold prayers but we had to have the courage to ask and
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  so I think that's really important to have it and so as we end this episode I think that
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  we should pray for our listeners for courage and for boldness let's bow our heads dear
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  heavenly father thank you for the day thank you for yesterday thank you for courage thank
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  you that you have given us a spirit of courage and strength thank you that we have a heavenly
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  father that we can come to for everything thank you that you are here for us thank you
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  that you've never left us thank you that we can come boldly to your throne thank you for
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  your grace thank you for your mercy thank you for everything that you have planned for
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  us in Jesus name I pray amen amen all right stay tuned for our last episode of the season
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  next week have a great week bye