Blessings on Hope Road

Direction

November 15, 2023 Joe Boyles Season 1 Episode 20
Direction
Blessings on Hope Road
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Blessings on Hope Road
Direction
Nov 15, 2023 Season 1 Episode 20
Joe Boyles

Join Joe and Kelly as they discuss direction.  Using proverbs 3:5-6 to explain how trusting in the Lord and leaning not on your own understanding is important.  When we get caught up in our lives and how we think we should do things we tend to overcomplicate things and even change the direction that God has for us.  That can lead to frustration and having to back track so you can follow the path and direction that God has for your life. 

Join us as we discuss these things and more.

Head over to the website at www.blessingsonhoperoad.com to download your free 30 day biblical confidence calendar.  It will help you begin to spend time each day with God! Calendar — Store — Blessings on Hope Road

Please remember to like and subscribe to our podcast and share it with others if it blesses you in some way.   

Our prayer is that you find this episode helpful and full of joy.  If you need prayer for anything specific reach out to us on any of our social media accounts or via email at blessingsonhoperoad@gmail.com
Instagram
Facebook

Thank you for listening and make sure you check back every week for new episodes.
Have a Blessed Day! Visit our website at www.blessingsonhoperoad.com

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/asher-lee/dance-with-me

License code: PXMNYLZKYUUIZJXB

Are you interested in supporting the podcast and God's call on our life?  Visit the link below to help spread the gospel.   https://www.buymeacoffee.com/blessingsoz


Support the Show.

Remember to like, follow and share this podcast to help us reach those that may need us. If you can leave us a review, we would greatly appreciate it!

Our prayer is that you find this episode helpful and full of joy. If you need prayer for anything specific reach out to us on any of our social media accounts or via email at blessingsonhoperoad@gmail.com
Instagram
Facebook

Thank you for listening and make sure you check back every week for new episodes.
Have a Blessed Day!

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/asher-lee/dance-with-me

License code: PXMNYLZKYUUIZJXB


Support the show

www.instagram.com/blessingsonhoperoad

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Show Notes Transcript

Join Joe and Kelly as they discuss direction.  Using proverbs 3:5-6 to explain how trusting in the Lord and leaning not on your own understanding is important.  When we get caught up in our lives and how we think we should do things we tend to overcomplicate things and even change the direction that God has for us.  That can lead to frustration and having to back track so you can follow the path and direction that God has for your life. 

Join us as we discuss these things and more.

Head over to the website at www.blessingsonhoperoad.com to download your free 30 day biblical confidence calendar.  It will help you begin to spend time each day with God! Calendar — Store — Blessings on Hope Road

Please remember to like and subscribe to our podcast and share it with others if it blesses you in some way.   

Our prayer is that you find this episode helpful and full of joy.  If you need prayer for anything specific reach out to us on any of our social media accounts or via email at blessingsonhoperoad@gmail.com
Instagram
Facebook

Thank you for listening and make sure you check back every week for new episodes.
Have a Blessed Day! Visit our website at www.blessingsonhoperoad.com

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/asher-lee/dance-with-me

License code: PXMNYLZKYUUIZJXB

Are you interested in supporting the podcast and God's call on our life?  Visit the link below to help spread the gospel.   https://www.buymeacoffee.com/blessingsoz


Support the Show.

Remember to like, follow and share this podcast to help us reach those that may need us. If you can leave us a review, we would greatly appreciate it!

Our prayer is that you find this episode helpful and full of joy. If you need prayer for anything specific reach out to us on any of our social media accounts or via email at blessingsonhoperoad@gmail.com
Instagram
Facebook

Thank you for listening and make sure you check back every week for new episodes.
Have a Blessed Day!

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):

https://uppbeat.io/t/asher-lee/dance-with-me

License code: PXMNYLZKYUUIZJXB


Support the show

www.instagram.com/blessingsonhoperoad

Kelly: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Blessings on Hope Road podcast, where we talk about life, family, and what it all looks like through the lens of our walk with God as we step into our calling as His children.

Welcome to episode 20 of Blessings on Hope Road. Direction.

We're going to see what direction we're going to go in tonight. 

Joe: I was intentionally being quiet just to be annoying. 

Kelly: So, we're going to talk about 

Joe: direction. We are going to talk about direction. We are. What direction? I don't 

Kelly: know what direction. What direction? I'm looking for direction currently. You're looking for direction.

Joe: Are 

Kelly: you? I am. I'm looking for direction right now. Well, I 

Joe: don't have it for you. No, but God does. But I know who does. So, [00:01:00] this, this whole, uh, This whole episode is kind of coming out of Proverbs chapter 3. Um, I was at first going to jump right into 5 and 6, but

yeah, we'll just jump into 5 and 6 and we'll see what happens. So this is Proverbs 6. It says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not. On your own understanding, in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and ye shall direct your paths. Do not, seven and eight, do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

It will be health to your flesh and strength to your [00:02:00] bones. So, it's a mouthful. It is a mouthful. To say the least, I'm going to pull these spectacles off, please excuse me. Because everything was... Blurry. Yeah, the words in the Bible were nice and big, but everything else was very blurry. Now everything else is clear and I look down at my Bible and it's like, oh my.

Yeah. Good grief. Yeah. But, I think... There are so many different occasions. We hear people say, I just don't know what God wants me to do. I just don't know what God has for my life. I just don't know where to go, what to do. And we tend to, I think we tend to over think it. I mean, a lot of ways, we have a tendency to try to, [00:03:00] if I do certain things just right, if I do this just so, but really, I mean, if, if you really look at that, what the psalmist or what the psalmist, we're not in psalms, we're in Proverbs.

So that was Solomon. What Solomon is saying when he wrote that. Is you don't trust what you know. No, you lean on him. 

Kelly: Yeah. It's lean not on your own understanding. You 

Joe: trust him and acknowledge him. Well, when you acknowledge someone, when you acknowledge anything, what are you doing? You're kind of putting that ahead of everything else, right?

It's almost kind of like an in light of. type thing. So if I would just normally get up, fix my lunch, eat my breakfast, go to work, there's not a whole lot. I mean, yeah, [00:04:00] I'm being faithful to do what I'm supposed to do. I'm going to work. I'm providing for my family. I'm being a good employee. Um, however, there's no acknowledgement of God in any of that.

Right. But if I get up and I'm mindful, Of his presence, if I'm mindful of his spirit in me, if I'm mindful of his love for me and I get up and it's a God, thank you for today and thank you that you woke me up and you're moving about and you structure things in such a way where you don't just go through motions, but you're intentionally keeping.

His presence kind of at the forefront of what you're doing. It's what it's saying in all your ways, acknowledge him. 

Kelly: And that's where you have to focus on him day in and day out and keep him your main focus. Because if you stray away from that, that's [00:05:00] when you tend to stray into things that are not 

Joe: good.

Yeah. And we don't, you know, this is, gosh, I can remember, I can remember preaching on this. Years ago, um, when I got to the privilege of, uh, of ministering at the Methodist church in Southernersville, um, pastor Gary asked me to, to come in and I, it was something, uh, the Holy spirit led and it was a terrible tight.

And I did, I never told anybody the title, but, um, the title that came to me as I was putting that message together was. American nightmare. Oh. 

Kelly: It was probably a good 

Joe: thing you didn't say that to anybody. Yeah, and I didn't share it because I, you know, I was kind of super green in my opportunities to preach and but that whole [00:06:00] thing kind of stemmed from the American dream.

Right. Well, what is the American dream? 

Kelly: To have a house and cars and little white picket fence and the little family. Good job. 

Joe: Yeah. Nice house, white picket fence, got the nice little car, got a dog running around, dad standing at the grill, couple kids running around. It's this kind of quintessential stereotype.

That's the American dream. Um, but we can get so off base striving for those things and I'm not saying it's, it's not a noble thought to own your home and, and to have a nice vehicle and to [00:07:00] provide for your family and to have a pet and to take care. I'm not saying that they're, they're inherently bad things cause they're not.

But if that's what you're driving towards, like, and that's it. Then where's God? Well, not only where's God, it was just me exhaling, you don't have to look. 

Kelly: Oh, I was like, did I say something wrong? No. 

Joe: Not only is it that, but you're, you're quite possibly limiting what God wants to do. Sure. What if he had so much more for you?

Yeah, I 

Kelly: mean, it's that one possibility. Because you 

Joe: don't know. You don't. But that, but again, where I'm kind of going with this is it says, trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. So what does that mean? Well that means I, maybe my idea, [00:08:00] maybe this, this idea of the American Dream isn't the total picture.

Right. Maybe it's only a small part of. It is quite possible that that's what it is.

Cause here's what ends up happening inevitably.

And this happens day in and day out. I mean, I, I find myself, I think anybody could say that there's some area, but you look down the road and you see your neighbor and man, they got that nice new pickup truck. Sure. And I start looking out in the driveway at my crusty old 86 Ford that may get me everywhere I need to go.

It may be an excellent condition for an 86 Ford and it runs well, but I look at that brand new trail boss [00:09:00] and I look at that 86 Ford and then I look down the road at that trail boss and I look at my 86 Ford and I'm like, yeah, that thing's just not cutting it. Yeah. Comparison. So now what do I do? Well, now I need to, I need to start maybe putting in a little overtime.

Yeah. Let me start working some more hours so I can get that new pickup truck so I can afford it. Well, okay. Again, nothing wrong with having a nice pickup truck. Right. I am very fortunate. I have a very nice pickup truck. But that, again, that was a God thing. That, yeah. That pickup truck was not, that was not my goal.

No, not at all. That just kind of happened. Like, whoa, okay. Yeah. But point being, you can do it with anything. You could do it with anything. You can go to somebody's house. [00:10:00] And you could go to somebody's house and see their refrigerator and be like, wow, I need a refrigerator, a refrigerator like that. You could see their TV and go, well, my TV is not big enough.

You could, uh, whatever the case may be, all these things, but the American dream presents this thing that it will, if you just have all this, you'll be happy. You can have all that. And then some. And you're still not going to be happy. And still be miserable. Yeah. Because if you're constantly looking, like you said, comparison, if I'm constantly looking everywhere else and I'm letting that establish my motives, if I'm letting those things establish why I do what I do and when I do it.

Right. Well, there's my problem. Yeah. And now all of a sudden I am way off kilter. And again, I don't, I am not against nice things. No, I am not against nice things at all. I, I like nice things,

[00:11:00] but those things aren't necessarily my target, what, what we have to gun for. And if we want to live a life that is beyond anything that we could think or imagine, we have to set our focus on him. We have to trust him. We have to acknowledge him and by acknowledging him, not only is it acknowledging his presence, but you get into this right here, this word, this book, because I need to know him.

I need to know about him. And it's one of the easiest ways to get to know God is to sit down and read everything that he is. Put on paper for us And as we get to see his character and as we get to see kind of his traits It's not hard. It doesn't take long To pick up on what he desires for each and every one of us Yeah, he will have very specific things for [00:12:00] each one of us, but we we will hear those as we Become more intimate with him, right?

But as far as What has God want for my life? Well, it starts right there. Okay. I need to acknowledge him in every area. So when I go to work, I'm acknowledging him. How can I be a reflection of Jesus to my coworkers, uh, to the people I encounter? Maybe I'm in retail. You know, the customers that come in, how can I acknowledge him?

Right. By reflecting Jesus to the customers, you show them kindness. You show them mercy, all these different things. Should I be at my job? I don't know. The pastor can't tell you, uh, your, your wife or husband can't tell you, your best friend can't, I don't care how wise they are. They cannot tell you, but God will [00:13:00] tell you where he wants you.

It literally, it says in all your ways. Not some no, but all in all and I mean we're focusing on job and economic type stuff Right now, but what about your marriage? Yeah, what about how do I you know, how can I you know, what should my marriage look like? How why am I so frustrated and you and I've been there like it just where things have not lined up We have not gotten along.

Okay, how do we get back on the same page? Yeah Well, we stopped trying to force the other one to get on my page. I put the, I put my playbook down and I pick up God's playbook and I get in it and I spend time talking to him. That help, help me understand. Look what, uh, look at this mess that I have made, how, how can you [00:14:00] please help me to get out of this?

Please. Just do something. How do I get outta this help , but I'll never, if I continue to try to do it my way, my whole, he continues to be a mess. just gonna get deeper. It doesn't work. Parenting, yes. Same way. Same thing. Absolutely. Oh my gosh. You know, my kids are doing this, my kids are doing that. How can I get 'em to see this?

How can I get 'em to see that que. Lord, he will help you. And there are going to be times we're not going to get answers that we want. No, not at all. But we'll get the answers that we need. Yeah. So it's and I know just being completely transparent. I just kind of popped out the other side of some stuff where I was just I was getting super frustrated.

Yeah. With Everything. Everything. [00:15:00] And I, when I say everything, I mean, that scripture over there says in all your ways acknowledging him. I mean, in my life, I was frustrated with everything, capital everything. 

Kelly: Every single thing. 

Joe: I, there was. Every single thing. Can you say that one more time for me? I can.

Kelly: You'll be frustrated with that 

Joe: too. No, I'm not frustrated at all. Not even a little bit. But I was. But I was. But I was. Man. And I don't, I'm telling you it's hard. 

Kelly: Because what you were going through isn't any different than what somebody else was going through. Like goes through day in and day out. It's just realizing that there was a problem and that it was causing your frustration and then you had to deal with it.

You had to turn and really put God at the center and realize that you had gotten into a ritual. That didn't put him where he should be and focus on him 

Joe: the [00:16:00] way that he should be focused on. It was, and here's, let's kind of preface everything. Um, it's not like my life was terrible. No. You know, the stuff that was just, just going on.

I mean, I'm talking about just over the last few weeks. Yeah. I'm not talking about like years ago. I mean, and I mean everything. You know, what do you do when you're in that place where you're spending time with him? You're talking to him. You're listening to him Like I it wasn't that I wasn't doing those things.

I was spending the time. I was studying I was Allowing him to speak into my heart.

I Don't it was like everything I couldn't see myself looking at my life like, I don't understand what am I missing? Right. I'm doing [00:17:00] everything I've always done.

But while that's the right thing to do, it's also not so much. Yeah. If that makes any sense at all. 

Kelly: Well, it does, because when you do everything day in and day out exactly the same, it forms a habit. It, it does. And a habit isn't, it's not always a bad thing, however, there are times like this time where you maybe weren't spending the quality time with God that you needed to spend with Him.

Joe: Sometimes it's not that you're not asking questions, you're not asking the right questions. And I hadn't, I hadn't been in a place where I was saying, God, where am I missing it? Right. Show me where I'm missing it. Show me where it was more of going about things. Um. [00:18:00] Again, praying, studying, uh, you go to church, you do, you're in fellowship with your people, all these things.

And I'm, I'm, you, you know, you listen to good things, you watch good things. And it's just like, I was finding increasingly more and more things were just, and it wasn't, it wasn't like a lashing out now. But it was just these little instances where something would happen and it would be like, yeah, just that frustration was going through in the world and it would always come out in the most awkward situations like it was never, yeah, like you smack your thumb with a hammer and that's what, no, no, no, that's when you would expect it.

Kelly: Right. But that's not what it was happening. But that's 

Joe: not what it was happening. It would always happen in the most inopportune and awkward time. Like, you're like, okay, [00:19:00] I know why I just got frustrated, but I don't know why I got just, why I just got frustrated. And nobody around me knows why I just got frustrated.

They're all looking at me like, uh, what just happened? Yeah. And I had no answer. Like. No. Huh. Yeah. Um, I don't know. I'm just mad. Yeah. What is it and it took and I remember it was a few weeks ago. I actually prayed the prayer as all that was kind of Escalating. I Remember saying God do whatever you have to do To make me more like you because I was getting so fed up Yeah with all the just the silliness of it all Like this is nonsense.

I'm wasting so much time And it was making me, the fact that I was getting angry and didn't know why I was getting angry was making me even more angry. So [00:20:00] I just, I remember praying, just God, just do whatever you have to do. If you have to break me down to tiny pieces again, then break me down, do whatever you have to do.

I have gotten in a very good way. I've gotten very comfortable with praying that prayer. 

Kelly: A lot of people don't like 

Joe: that prayer. However, it has been a long time since he's had to break me down quite like that. Yeah. And, he humbled me, mightily, and made very apparent, um, just yesterday morning. Right. Like, literally coming out of all this stuff, he, just yesterday morning, he said, You have allowed yourself to quit seeking me.

You don't and literally he took me and that's why we're talking about this. This is where this came from. He said, you don't acknowledge me in all your ways anymore. You just lean on your own understanding [00:21:00] and you just go through things and do things the way you want to do them. And you don't stop to consider what I have or what I desire.

Because a form of pride and arrogance has taken over in your life. And you think that because I have revealed things to you, because I have shown you things, because I have taught you things, you now know everything. And it was like, Oh. Yeah. Oh man. And the most frustrating part about the whole episode of what had taken place, Was I couldn't undo any of it?

No. And it wasn't these gigantic catastrophic blow ups of epic proportions. It wasn't. But it was enough to know that I had hurt people around me. Mm hmm. And just like the old toothpaste analogy, [00:22:00] once the toothpaste is out of the tube, you can't put it back in? yeah. Well, once those incidents take place, You can't take them back.

They're done. Yeah. And I'm sitting there thinking to myself, yesterday morning, sitting right here at this desk, like trying not to just lose it. And I don't mean lose it angry, I mean lose it like in a ball of tears.

All's I could think to myself is what a wretched representation of Jesus. I have been to the people around me. And I can't undo it. Cannot. And that hurt more than anything. Sure did. It's bad enough, and I, look, you can take the... You can take the, the [00:23:00] warm feel good saying, it's okay, you can't let God down because you never held God up.

Okay. I, I've said that myself when I was younger, but there are certain areas where you can definitely do some things that God doesn't exactly look at and go, it's all good. He doesn't, are we good? You don't look at it. He doesn't look at you and go, man, I'm really glad you did that. Super proud of you there, son.

Good job. He's, he's not pleased. He's not. Man, now what? But as he spoke those things to me and I received his correction, it was instantaneous peace. Immediately. I had peace. I could feel his love. But there was a mourning taking place inside of me. [00:24:00] Not mourning like daybreak, mourning like M O U R N I N G.

There was a sadness. Sure. For what I had done. Uh, I have not acted becoming of a pastor. I have not treated. My wife to the best of my ability. I've not treated my children to the best of my ability. I've not treated my co workers, my pastors, the people around me. They have not received my best because of my arrogance and my pridefulness.

Where did that come from? That came from not crucifying my flesh. Because when I crucify my flesh, I have no problem. Acknowledging him in all my ways because I automatically know my ways. No bueno. No matter how much I might want to think, well, my ways aren't that bad. Yeah, they might not be that [00:25:00] bad, but I can promise you they're nowhere near as good as God's.

So what do I need to do? I need to let go of my ways. And these are, these are little things. I don't, I don't, I'm not trying to make it sound like it's this big, huge, ginormous character flaw, but what we find is as we walk with God, as we enter into the relationship with Him, He refines us. And every time He refines us, it gets more and more intense.

To where it's those little details. It's those little things. And I mean, uh, by largely by the world standards, by everybody else's standards, the stuff that I had going on, not a big deal, right? I apologized to one person and they looked at me like, what's wrong? It wasn't even a thing. Like, yeah, but it was a thing and it was like, no, I mean, it was out of character for you, but, [00:26:00] 

Kelly: but in the big scheme of things, it wasn't a big thing, but 

Joe: yeah.

They were actually more confused that I walked out of a situation. Yeah. Like it was just so out of character, out of character for you just to walk out. Like that's what you took away from that? I walked out? Right. Like I was more upset at the fact that I raised my tone and elevated some things and just came completely off the handle off, you know, on a subject.

Right. Out of, seemingly out of nowhere. Why? Because I wasn't trusting in his ways. It was mine. Right. It was all about me. And that's not good. 

Kelly: No. It's not good. To put yourself. First and foremost, because you should always be 

Joe: focused on God. Well, and think about that. It says, Don't be wise in your own eyes.

Fear the Lord and depart from evil. That, here's, [00:27:00] and this is something I'm glad, Thank you, Holy Spirit, for bringing that back around. That word evil, we tend to, and you and I have had this conversation before, We tend to reserve that word evil for

The people that we deem to be evil. Right. That, that word evil right there is, is, uh, we're gonna get into that here in a second. We are going to get into that here in a second, what the biblical view of evil is, but we tend to reserve it for murderers and rapists. Yeah. And these people who just have these horrendous crimes against humanity.

Like oh, they're just pure evil serial killers are pure evil agreed Agreed there. Absolutely. I'm not I'm not denying that however That's not what That's not what Solomon's [00:28:00] talking about there Put that put that in the right context Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. So if I am understanding what Solomon is trying to get through to me here, As he's saying that if I arrogantly go on about my business, in my ways, thinking myself to be wise and give no regard to God, I am in fact, evil.

That's heavy. That's so very heavy. But I had an itch, like don't, I'm [00:29:00] sorry. My wife is giving me a weird look because my chin itched and I scratched it and it made a noise in the microphone. She's shaking her head. Depart from evil. That's what we're talking about here. But it's heavy. That's a heavy, that's a heavy Revy.

Right there.

But that is the very epitome of what living a sinful life is. Sure. It's, I'm going to do this my way. I have no time to acknowledge God. That is sin. Sin is evil in the sight of God because sin is rebellion against God and his ways. All this points back to us getting in the place of acknowledging him, accepting him for who he is.

He's not who we want him to be. He is who he is.[00:30:00] 

We learned that in Genesis. Yeah. Moses said, when I go to Pharaoh, who is it that I should tell them sent me? I am that I am. God is not, he doesn't change based on anybody's opinion. Nope. Or lack of respect or anything. He is God.

Depart from evil. So we see all these things taking place today in the world around us. And what about it? Really makes it evil. At its very root, you can trace all of it back to a complete disregard for God and His ways. Every last bit of it. And it doesn't matter if we want to believe that or even acknowledge that truth or not.

It does not matter. You cannot. There is no part. [00:31:00] Of any study that you can look at this country and the farther we veer away from and depart from God and his ways, the worse we get morally, the worse off we get as a nation. Right. It's rough. There's no regard for human life. I don't even have to get into the things that people only used to do behind closed doors that they're willing to do right out in public now.

I'm talking about disregard for human life. No decency at all. I mean literally, I mean, how many videos pop up throughout the news in any given seven day stretch? To where you see somebody just get beat what they get before and they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yeah [00:32:00] The guy just Opens up and walks into a place and starts firing shots Right.

Somebody runs in another place and just starts stabbing people like it's all over the place because there is just no regard There's no value For another human beings life. No, not at all 

Kelly: People don't care at 

Joe: all

But that's where it is crucial for us as God's people. This is where we must, it is a must church. This is where we must get it right. We have got now more than ever to be the reflections, to be the ambassadors of heaven that we were made to be when we were born again. The moment we were born again, we were given the right to be [00:33:00] called children of God.

And as such, we are to be ambassadors of heaven. Reflections. Christians means a little Christ. God

made us in His image. The only thing in all creation He made, in His image is us. So every single person that we see. That person was made in the image of God, and when we see people going through the things that they are going through right now, it is very easy for us to get angry. It's very easy for us to point a finger, but we need to be able to, as God's children, stop and go, that person is made in the image of God, no different than I am.

And what I'm seeing play out, what I'm seeing them do to themselves... Is a manifestation of the lies that they have been [00:34:00] told and those lies have a hold of them. And that's what it looks like when it plays out. That's devastating. That should give us compassion to see people set free from the lies. That's the crazy part.

That's all the enemy is trying to do. Just keep us in bondage. That's it. And the only way he can really legally get away with it is if we give him the right to do it. And we give him the right to do it by believing the lies. It all goes back to control.

It's ironic because so many, and I am one of the people, for so long I felt this way, but there are so many people who think I want nothing to do with God. I want nothing to do with what he has to offer because it's just bondage. [00:35:00] You know, it's funny. There was a guy and I don't know if we'll get in any kind of, probably not trouble for this, but there was a, um, guitar player for the heavy metal band Slayer that his name is Kerry King.

And he used to wear this black t shirt that said Jesus slaves

instead of Jesus saves. He's saying Jesus makes people slaves. Jesus slaves.

It's actually the opposite. Because there is a lie that has been bought by that poor man. He thinks that the very man, the very Savior that could give him freedom, he's bought a lie. And the enemy is keeping him from the very freedom he desires. And ironically, he thinks he's [00:36:00] walking in freedom, but he's actually bound more than he could ever imagine.

And he's being held away from the one who could bring him freedom. So when we turn on the news and we see these people, yes, it's heart wrenching, yes, it is frustrating, yes, it makes us angry sometimes.

And sometimes you look at it and you think, how could you? Are you serious right now? I mean, let's just be honest. Not too many times do you turn on the television and see men dressed up as women and think to yourself, Oh, that poor soul. You flippin moron. But where? Where's the lie? Where's the lie that you bought this, started all this?

That you have to do that. To be free. To be who I really am. This is how I need to act.[00:37:00] 

But is it really? You have to pretend to be somebody or not. You know, you were made in his image. So you were, you were made perfect.

We as the church have got, I cannot stress it enough. Maybe I'm off base here, I don't know, but we've got to get this right. And it starts with us. We cannot point fingers at other people and say, you are missing it. If in fact how we walk and live out our lives every single day, we're missing it too. And I'm not saying that we have to be perfect, because we're not going to be perfect.

If we say we have no sin, we are liars. Because there are, there are things. I mean, look at what I just kind of, just shared with you guys earlier. That [00:38:00] was wrong how I was carrying myself. I didn't realize I was doing it. I didn't wake up in the morning and think to myself, you know, today's a good day to be arrogant and prideful.

I didn't realize that's what I was doing, but it doesn't matter that I didn't realizing it. It didn't matter that I didn't realize it, I was doing it nonetheless. Right. And when he spoke it, I received it. The correction, I received it. And we move on. Yeah. But that's what we do. And that's where hopefully we form compassion and have the compassion that God had on us.

Because God, if we really look at our lives, look back at all the things that we've done. All the things that we said, God has been nothing shy of insanely patient with us.

So we need to be patient with others.

Lean not on our understanding, but in all our ways [00:39:00] acknowledge Him.

That is where we receive our direction. In all our ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct our paths. So I encourage you, if you are frustrated, if you are in a place where you think to yourself, I have had enough, I don't know why I'm so frustrated, I have been there, I am with you. But you don't have to stay there.

Get right. Spend some time with your Heavenly Father. Talk to Him. Ask Him. Father. Lord. Show me. You saved me, now show me what it is you have for me. Where am I missing it? And take time to listen. Get in his, get in his work, get in the Bible. Allow those words to come off the [00:40:00] pages and speak to your heart.

And reveal the things that he has for you. The Holy Spirit will talk to you while you're reading, I promise. He will talk to you as you seek God, because he only speaks what the Father says.

That's the beauty of it. That is the beauty of it. If you don't know the Lord and you're listening to this, listening to this, it is very simple. All you have to do is say, Lord, I am a sinner. I have missed it and I am tired. I don't want to do it my way anymore. I repent of those ways. That means to turn away from it.

I repent of my ways. I repent of the things that I have done, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe you died for me, Jesus, that you were [00:41:00] crucified, buried, and you rose again on the third day and proved yourself to be the Messiah.

I accept you. Come into my heart. Lead me. Guide me. Fill me, Holy Spirit. Lead me in righteousness. Thank you for that privilege father and you are now saved congratulations That's a wonderful thing if you in fact prayed that prayer please Let us know Shoot us an email blessings on Hope Road At gmail dot com.

You can send us a message. Blessings on Hope Road. We are on Instagram. We are on Facebook. I think there may actually be a tick tock on the way. Stand back. [00:42:00] We're branching out. Here it comes. Here we go, world. Here we come. But let us know if you prayed that prayer. If you have anything you would like to hear us discuss.

Send us a message. Let us know how we're doing. Um, we appreciate all the support. We appreciate you for listening. We love you. We are praying for you. And on the next episode, uh, you will have Miss Kelly and Miss Ashland. It's going to be the ladies take over for episode 21, so you might not want to miss that.

It's going to be good, I am sure. So we appreciate you guys. Thank you for listening. We love you. We are praying for you and we will see you next time.

Kelly: Thanks for listening to the blessings on hope road podcast. If you'd like to support the show, click on the link in the description and don't forget to follow the show to get [00:43:00] notifications whenever there's a new content.