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There's more than abc life. · Armed Anchored Adorned

• Armed Anchored & Adorned: was this for you today? You're not alone. God whispered these things to my soul first. And then he whispered, there's more. When you hear that, who do you think of? Who stirs in your heart when you hear there's more? Pray about sharing this with them. Yep, them. Yep, you. Remember, we don't go to church. We are the church. So I don't know if you've ⁓ tried ⁓ probably Google them, but little individual bag of chips, put all your meat and cheese and sour cream and lettuce and taco, ⁓ all fix and squawk ⁓ in bags you can walk around with them. ⁓ I do that, but it was kind of the plan. ⁓ So that's dinner for for dinner tonight. Every one of us has a start and a finish line. Every day we get to choose how we will run that race. Will we choose ordinary or counterfeit or will we choose that abundant life that Jesus died to give us? Welcome to the Armed, Anchored and Adorned podcast. I'm so glad you're here. Well hey there. So glad you're here. So glad I'm here. My apologies in advance. My kitty is here and feeling very kitty-ish. Her tail's twitching, so you know she's up to some naughtiness. I don't know if you have any kitties in your life, but I am I'm so glad to be here. it has been much fun. So glad you're here. Thank you for being here with me and growing with me. And let me know. Let me know how the Lord is stirring in you. I such a thrill hearing how the Lord speaks all the time for anybody. So I hope you all have an awesome day. Love ya. Bye. Having all these conversations with wonderful people that I just love and I love watching Jesus shine through their lives, through their stories. I hope you've enjoyed them too. If you've caught up, if you've if you've watched some of them. I hope you've enjoyed them. I hope you've seen Jesus in these lives and hit the way he works through his people and It's so thrilling to watch people grow in their faith and To me, I believe it is faith building for myself, for really anybody that listens. I mean we've talked about here many times Revelation twelve eleven and they overcame him, the enemy, by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony. I just love I love being able to sit with people and hear from them how God is moving and growing and stretching and It's just it's so exciting to me. So I really hope you guys have really enjoyed that. I have. And I've really been talking with the Lord about it and I think he's calling it to be just us for a little bit. And I'm kind of excited for what he's got there. Cause it's always good. Whatever he calls us to is good. has been something that has been on my heart for ⁓ So years ago, ⁓ was in a a scrolling moment and I saw this reel about this girl. Man, and if I could give this girl credit, I absolutely would. ⁓ it was like a little 30-second reel, I think. ⁓ And she was talking about A B C faith. And I didn't even get to hear the whole reel, but just the concept. I don't know what your experience is if you've ever heard the term ABC gum. but when I was I don't know if it was elementary school, middle school. Somebody would ask, ⁓ you want some ABC gum? And I'm like, Yeah. I want some gum. I'm thinking alphabet shape gum, right? I mean, I didn't know what it was, of course. First time being asked, and then I so they're yeah. Well, they take the gum out of their mouth and they offer it. And I'm just like, okay, gross. I'm I'm good. Thanks so much. so A B C gum already been chewed gum. And she was talking about already been chewed faith. And I just I loved the way she was sharing about it. But ⁓ it got me thinking, and I've been talking to the Lord about this for so long now. And boy, do I see it everywhere. I see it everywhere, and it's so accessible. There is content everywhere for us. I mean, that's what I do here, right? I mean I love things that point us to Jesus and I love those that go before us and show us how they started, how they struggled through something and then gave us the finished product and they took the time to put it together and show us how that's done. And like I love that. And I know there's there's greatness in that. I'm so grateful. I mean, YouTube, my word, the the things that we can search up and go and find a great way, life hacks, e easy things for us to go and be like, ⁓ my gosh, I never would have thought to do it that way. That's so much easier. ⁓ yeah, staples. We're always looking for that easy button, right? Brilliant marketing. We're always looking for that. And I know we are made to be the iron that sharpens each other iron each other's iron and we're supposed to go before some and lead the way and show people. I mean, my gosh, if we didn't have Moses that responded to the Lord in Exodus when the Lord called him and said, he said, Come up to me on the mountain and be there, and I will give you tablets of stone. And the law and commandments which I have written that you may teach them. Thank God Moses went up. Thank God he went up. And he didn't wait for somebody else and go search for somebody else's obedience. Like I'm so grateful for that. We can absolutely be ignited and grown through others. So don't mishear that part of it. ⁓ our f the all the testimonies that we've been hearing and like we can we can be sharpened by those and ignited. But I think we we need to be really aware of is we don't want to stop there. We don't want to just sit ⁓ and consume other people's lives that that have already been sucked of some of the flavor. ⁓ Because it was for them. They got it fresh. And it was for them. I know it's kind of a gross analogy, but stick with me. Because I just thought it was great. ⁓ So I I'm and that was Exodus twenty four twelve, by the way. Thank God Moses went up and he didn't wait for somebody else to do it and learn from them. needed someone to get up there and go and receive those commandments and to come and teach. ⁓ So we need but Now, where we are now is He invites us to that every single day because of what Jesus did. We have access to the Holy of Holies. He's given us his Holy Spirit. And are we missing it because we are consuming other people's faith and stories only? Keep growing in that, keep listening, keep learning from others. But believe it or not, we're being invited up into that mountain now, today. And I just want to remind you, yep, you of that. It's for you. So I I just think we can easily miss our own invitation. We can listen to others and be like, wow, that was so good. And it is. And yet the Lord is saying, Come to me. We do not want to miss that invitation. Every single day He's whispering that to us. Every single day to every single person. I just when you think about I mean Matthew, Matthew seven twenty-one, when he says how does he hold on, let's read it. ⁓ I should have brought my glasses, but I didn't. So Jesus is talking to his disciples and he says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does not but he who does the will of my Father in heaven, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, done many wonders in your name, and then I will declare to them I never knew you, depart from me. You practice lawlessness. He he gives us every invitation. He says, ⁓ be still and know me. Come to all who are heavy burden. ⁓ He calls to ⁓ us. He invites ⁓ We choose things. ⁓ And I ⁓ want to put hearts on that a moment. Those words. ⁓ I never knew you. Depart from me. I never knew you. So I mean I don't know what that does. Does that stir anything in you? Because it does me. It it reminds me of just how deeply he loves us. That he longs to know us. So there's he knows us. Like he's never left us or never forsaken us. He's known when we were the moment we were conceived and took our first breath and everything in between then and now, and everything that's gonna happen from now until forever. Like he knows. But man, isn't there isn't there something so precious that he wants like intimacy. Like he wants a knowing. I ⁓ in my ter my testimony, I shared how, you know, when I first there's there's being introduced to him. And so he's an acquaintance, like, ⁓ it's Jesus. I know exactly who he is. He's God. But but like I would enter a room And if he was there, I didn't at that season of life, I didn't feel that that permission, that which I did have, I didn't feel that excitement of that's my God. He knows me. He wants to know me more. And I wouldn't just run right over to him. You know, like you come and there's a room full of people and he's there. Would you run over to him? Like, ⁓ my gosh, I can't wait to tell you this thing. Like, do you have that friend? Do you have that person in your life? Your spouse, your a family member, a sibling, a a a deep long life friend. Where you're like, guess what? Or I am sinking. ⁓ I'm so frustrated. ⁓ I'm so dot dot dot. Where you run to them with that whole heart of what you're experiencing right now. Do you have that person? Do you have that person in your mind? Somebody maybe you've experienced, maybe you don't have that right now, but you have that idea. That's what Jesus wants. He's like. Come and know me. Know my character. Know me. Not through your pastor. Not through a podcast. Not through a TV show. Or a movie or or anything other than His voice, he says, My sheep will hear me. They will know my voice. That is what needs to compel us to run across that room every single day and be like, Jesus, guess what? I'm freaking out. I'm brokenhearted. I'm so angry. I'm can't stop thinking about this thing. I'm so worried about this. There's there's just so There's so many different ways. Of inviting him into your life where he is truly somebody that knows you and you know him. He wants you to invite him in. He's not gonna just barge in. Yes, he knows everything. So I know a lot of people when they're talking about praying, well, why am I gonna tell him he already knows? One of the greatest joys I get as a parent, or even as a a friend or a spouse, is like, ⁓ yeah, I know what just happened, but I want to hear you tell me. I want to hear your perspective. I want to hear your excitement or your anger or your frustration. Like I want to hear it from you. Like let's talk about it. It's it's building intimacy. It's it's drawing him in. It's it's allowing him in, it's bringing building trust. So I encourage you, Matthew 7, 21, I encourage you to well 21 through 23 to just go and talk to the Lord about that. And you know. Really think about what does it look like to know someone in your life? ⁓ some may find that really challenging because we are very digital, we are very compartmentalized, we are very much into boundaries, and I don't believe that's the way the Lord designed us. I think He wants access, He wants in. So what does that look like? For you to know him and him to know you. For you, right here, right now, in this part of where you are in life, what does that look like? Like if you just met somebody super cool and you're like, I want to know that person. I want to get to know them. How would you approach it? And and it was mutual, because it is. How would you how would you go about that? Hey, let's go have coffee? Let's go meet at the park. I ⁓ would w what would it look like? Let's go for a walk, let's go for the these are just my ideas. I don't know what it would look like for you. Want you to really think about don't settle for being an acquaintance of Jesus. Don't settle for, ⁓ well, my best friend knows Jesus. And we're like, like, he totally knows me. No, he doesn't. Not if if you if he's not your friend, if you're not like, hey, let's go have coffee. I'm I need someone to talk to. ⁓ because I lived that for a really long time. I allowed that, I accepted that, I was like, ⁓ it's fine. You know, a lot of church belief that I've personally encountered, maybe you've seen something different, but I've encountered a lot of church where it's like, ⁓ well, acknowledge who he is, say a prayer, accept him as your savior, and you're good. He wants more. He wants, that's a great first step, but there's more. You know how many times I've heard the Lord whisper that to me? There's more. And we settle. We settle for flavorless. He's like, I have so much more for you. So much more than you can even ask or imagine. Ephesians 3.20. Don't we want that? Don't we want the the fresh that he made just for us right here, right now, today, where he can speak into that one thing that you cannot stop thinking about? That one thing that you are crippled in fear with, or or you're just kind of mildly uncertain, or it's just this thought and prayer that you just, I don't know, would that be cool? Would it be he's there? So. I just really wanted to ask you, what does that look like in your life? What would it look like if you saw something someone really cool, like Jesus, because he is really, really cool. I know the world l loves to make him seem like he's not really cool, but they're wrong. He's the coolest. I can't even tell you how many times I say that. I'm like, ⁓ my gosh, he's so cool. He's the coolest. I just wanted to encourage you, don't settle for Jesus being a friend of a friend. He's yours. He's your friend. I promise. ⁓ It's he wants and ultimately it is what you want. I don't know what the stumbling block is. I'm going to be praying against that with you in a minute. But I wanted to just draw to your attention when when you're starting to really get to know somebody, what does that look like? Well, you you make space for You make time and space for them. And then You get to know them. You get to know their character and their their likes, their dislikes, their what they're all about. And this is how you do that with Jesus. You get to know his character and what he says, what he left us to know him. Now he's still he like he is alive and he speaks to you through the Holy Spirit. I promise. And if you don't experience that right away, don't give up. If it isn't this spark and like fight for it, fight for it. And and I don't know, maybe this is something that you wouldn't have even thought about. But when you're learning somebody, when you're starting to get to know them. You make space for them. You make it regular. You listen more than you talk. You share yourself. True, transparent, like full, whole self. Like here I am. Here I am. Like he already knows. So there's no, there's no need to hide or anything. Here I am. And sometimes, you know, when you're When you're starting to try to get to know somebody, it isn't you're always asking them for things. In relationships, that does come. But it's not like, hi, nice to meet you. Can I have one, two, three, four, five, six, like all these things. How can I how can I be your friend? How can I love on you? He's got something for you there. He does. So be willing to give you two. Don't only ask. You can ask 'cause he's 'Cause he's God the Father. See of course you can ask, but don't only ask. A lot of people I know their prayers are only asking. But you want to seek his face, seek his heart. And just again, think about that relational part of it where if somebody's only asking, I mean, thinking about the kind of friend you would want, would you want a friend that's only asking you for things? Yeah, ask me for things. I'm happy to help, but only asking me for things and not wanting to know me, that doesn't feel like a real friendship, right? Trust him with your feelings, your thoughts. Like I said, share your whole heart with him. Nothing surprises him. The coolest thing too, you don't have to come and perform. You don't have to come and straighten your tie and get yourself all situated and you're all come as you are. He loves you as you are. There is nothing you have to fix before you come to him. Don't let the enemy weigh you down with condemnation before you come to the come to the the conversation with Jesus. Do not. There is no condemnation in Jesus. None. He sees it all already and he wants all of you. Bring it all to him. And I do I want to say, you know, I I've I brought this As a reminder, this is where To come to listen. And sometimes it is just sitting quiet. It isn't just reading content. This is a living word that He has given to us to speak with us through. And If you come and you open, may I s please just just share with you my heart pray first before you come to this seeking his voice lord recognize who him who who him is recognize him for who he is Put him where he belongs, and you where you belong, and marvel the fact that he wants to be your friend. How cool is that? And Ask him, ask him to open your ears. Remove any scales from your eyes. Ask him for ears to hear, eyes to see. Feet to follow and a heart open, ready and prepared for him to speak to, and be ready for whatever he wants to say. I don't know about you. But for me, when I look for a good friend, I want those friends that are actually gonna tell me when I'm about to walk off a cliff. Like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You don't want to keep doing that. You're playing with fire. You're you're about to literally walk off a cliff in your marriage, in your job, in your parenting. Like, It's from a place of love and it's hey I I I'm just I got your hand here and I just I'm here for you. I'm here with you. Be available for him to correct and be like, you don't want to go that way. Be ready for his correction because you want it. Ultimately you want what he wants. It may be uncomfortable. That's okay. That's okay. Don't love comfortable more than you love him. It's really hard. That's a really hard thing to say. But I'm saying it anyway. be to what he was what he's going to say. Be open. It's for you. But what we know from scripture is he knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows every breath. He's never left you, he's never forsaken you. Doesn't this sound like somebody that you could really trust? I know there are life circumstances that sometime we get in our head that we can't trust God because bad things happen. ⁓ And I'm praying for that in your heart too, because I know the enemy loves to place blame on the Lord for things that were actually caused by him. the enemy that were actually caused by the enemy. but that's a whole other podcast. But he has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. He calls us to be still and know him. He calls us to come to him. He wants to know us. He does not want to look at us and say, I never knew you. I can't imagine. what his heart feels having to say that to people because he loves more perfect and deep than we could possibly imagine. So I really just none of this is a condemnation if if this is not something that you have experienced where and and you're sitting there recognizing, hey, I have been settling for already been chewed life. And an already been chewed relationship with Jesus. That's me. That's me. It was me too. It's not very flavorful. It's not vibrant. And it's not for you. And again, I will reiterate: we are blessed to be able to glean and grow from the power of others' testimonies and how they hear from the Lord and their teachings. But don't stop there. There's more. He has more for you. He has fresh manna. For you Just like in Exodus 16, when the people are hungry, they're in the wilderness, and the Lord's like, I'm gonna give you fresh manna every day. They weren't to keep it except for one day. But every other day was fresh. Sustainment for them. He met their needs right where they were, exactly what they needed for right then and who they were and what their bodies required, what their lives required. He does that every day. He wants to do that every day. He wants you to come and expect him to reveal himself every day. When you come to him with that humble heart, not expecting him to do what you want. We don't get to do that. Again, first thing, remember who he is. Remember who we are. He's God. We are not. And you just come with him, come to him with that whole heart. humble heart, ready. Lord, I'm ready for some fresh manna. You know every little detail of my life today. And I know your word tells me you're good. I'm gonna trust you in the unknown, ⁓ in scary. I want you to be my friend. I'm not gonna settle for you being just their friend, her friend, my parents' friend. My pastor's friend, I wanna know you. Show up for it. Make time for it. Listen more than you talk. Give yourself more than you ask for things. Invest. It's a good investment. And it is so much more vibrant and flavorful when it is specifically for you. And then you will have your own story from your fresh mana to go and inspire others to draw closer to him. That's how this is supposed to work. He has something for you every day. Don't settle for the ABC life. He wants to know you. He wants you to know him. Make time. Make space. Throw out anything that you think it should look like and think about it as I want to get to know this person. I want to get to know them. How would you do that? And make a plan. And show up. He's worth it. He's so worth it. If you're struggling on on where to begin in start in the gospels. This is our the whole thing in totality is for us. But as a starting point, a lot of people think it's a book, I'm gonna start at the beginning. If you're trying to get to know him and know his voice, I I love going to the Psalms. and just reading some of the prayers that are being prayed. And I also love the Gospels as as a starting point. I do not recommend the starting from the beginning. If the Lord leads you there, I do not argue with the Lord. I do not recommend starting in Revelation. But again, I don't argue with the Lord. So if He calls you there, then you go where He calls you. But he has so much to say. He has so much to say for right here and right now. And it is fresh and it is filled with flavor and actual nourishment. It's even gum. Like it's going to fill you and sustain you. It's exactly what you need. at every moment. That's how cool he is. So Lord, we we bring you this space, this time, and I ask for every ear. That is heard. I ask your holy hand on their hearts right now that you would stir in them, you would awaken them to any places where they've been lulled to sleep, where they've been duped into settling. For somebody else's relationship with you. Show them, show them how alive you are, how alive you long to be in their life. That they don't have to settle for that anymore, that you are a living God and you want them to experience you every day. That's what you made us for. You've made us to be right in the garden with you in communion, in community, in in nearness with you. Help us to not forsake that. Help us to not trade that for anything. Help us to contend for our relationship with you. There's so many things that are pawing at our time and our attention. Let us not just settle for scripture reels or Or a Sunday sermon only. Thank you for those, Lord. We we we thank you that you have sent those to draw us back to you. But help us to not stop there. Ignite something new in us, a new rhythm of life done with you. Thank you. Thank you that you Have so much more than we could ask or imagine. Let us run with our whole hearts towards it. The space and time is yours, Lord. We commit it with our whole hearts to you. In Jesus' perfect name, amen. Well, thank you for being here. I know that I personally really enjoyed those, all those conversations that I've had. Such amazing people, right? Just beautiful stories, testimonies of how cool he is, how great he is. And and I'm going to ask myself the same question I would ask if anybody else was sitting here with me. ⁓ what's for dinner? Well we're actually going over to friend's house tonight. And ⁓ we're having tacos, which is funny because we had some friends over earlier this week and we made tacos because we were at the ball field where I find myself lots of days. And they sold at the ball field walking tacos. Have you guys ever done that? So I didn't do it right because you're supposed to get like those individual bags of chips, ⁓ like Doritos or Fritos. I think those are the the two you're really supposed to go towards.