S2 EP5. Who Is Jesus?
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Hello, everybody. Happy Friday. Welcome to another episode of Christ with Coffee on Ice. Okay. Hey, if you're not physically watching, you're probably like, what was so funny?

funny, Allie. Y'all listen. So I got this cute little mug. All right. It's got Daisy all over it. If you can see, it's got a bunch of little wiener dogs on it. So cute. I actually got it in London and it was the only one. And I was like, it's a sign. They didn't have any boxer ones, which was kind of a bummer. So I could not get a mug with Gracie on it, but

I have enough things with Gracie on it. Daisy hasn't had her moment. Like I legit have crewnecks with Gracie's face on it. I am her biggest fan. Her name is tattooed on my body, which is absurd. Actually, a lot of you guys probably don't know that. But yeah, I got I got Gracie's name tattooed on me.

It's not like that. It's cute and it's tasteful. It's like in this um, I don't even know if you can see it from here But it's in like this cursive So it's cute and honestly you wouldn't even really know unless you looked close to it says gracie may And we put little coffee beans at the end of gracie because I call her bean And my tattoo artist actually I was just gonna do gracie may but

my tattoo artist was like, it'd be really cute if we put some coffee beans. She's like, we don't have to do it, but this is just an idea. And it is the cutest thing ever. And how actually fitting for this podcast. Beans everywhere. We got our coffee beans. Okay. Anyway, so they didn't have any boxer ones. So we got this cute little daisy cup and I love it. I've got my peppermint mocha in here and I'm

I just had to fish out a freaking Gracie hair out of my coffee because when I was setting up to start recording, she was getting the smell of it. She might have even gotten a taste of it, to be honest. I caught her. I caught her red handed with her little nose in my coffee. So anyway, that's why I was giggling. I just was fishing out a dog hair out of my coffee, which if you guys have dogs or any animals for that matter, I'm sure you can relate to that is we are always finding their hair everywhere.

I'll,

I'll find their hair somehow in my foundation as I'm putting on my makeup in the mornings. I don't know how that happens, but it does. But anyway, happy Friday, everybody. Thank you for being here. Are we loving season two so far? I think I'm loving season two so far. I think that it's crazy because when I, you know, for season one, I was always nervous that I wouldn't be able to make the episodes long enough. And I feel like God is slowly getting me out of that fear, especially with season two. Like the way that we've been able to just talk and talk.

I don't know how long these episodes are ending up being after we edit and everything, but I know that they have to be longer than what season one was. And so God is just so cool how he really does. He really shows you how your fears are so limiting and so untrue and such a lie. And so anyway, I just love what he's been doing so far. I love how long these episodes have been. And I love that we've been able to just chat and just talk about Jesus for as long as the Holy Spirit wants to go on for. So...

With that being said, I have no idea. Well, I have a little bit of an idea of what we're going to cover today, but it's been a while since we've actually like read scripture together and kind of broken it down. Now, granted, we're going to be reading some scripture that I've already read myself, but I don't know. Let's just like keep going. I don't even know

even know where we're going to go right now. If anything, this would just be like a great opportunity to just open your Bible, feel like there's somebody else kind of holding you accountable. We can read it together. Even if we don't fully comprehend it, it's still good that we're getting our nose in our Bible right now and we are reading scripture. So it was really cool because the other night, this is how I know God is real. Okay. There are just so many

things that he does on a daily basis, y'all. Like, it's crazy because we know he's real, but you know how when you see him, like, actively moving in a moment or talking to you or he does something and you're just like, oh, so, like, you're real real. Oh, so, like, you're, like,

actually here. Oh no. So you're actually listening to me at all times. Like when you're a believer, it's like, yeah, sure. No, we, we believe absolutely. But even being a believer, you will still be like, Oh, whoa. Like, no, he's actually here. No. So you're like the real deal, you know, like we know he is, but there's some

about like actually experiencing him in a moment and him just doing something where you're like, okay, so you were listening to me. Okay. So that the only option that could have ever been from was God. Like that was God, right? Okay. So I had one of those moments a couple of nights ago. Y'all know I'm still fairly new in my journey, right? I've been doing this thing with Jesus. I've been walking this, this walk of faith with God for a little less than a year. So it hasn't been all that long yet. And so there are still a lot of questions that I have in

you know, within my faith. And there's a lot of things that I feel stumped on when it comes to trying to explain like what Christianity is in some ways, right? The biggest thing for me is like,

we all know that God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus are all God, right? We all know that those are all different forms of God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is also from God. Jesus is the Son of God, but also he is God. And sometimes that's like confusing for even me to try to explain to people, I guess. So if you're like a

first off freaking beginner here to the Christian world. Welcome. Thank you for being here. But also you're not alone if like those three things can sometimes confuse you. And I think it's just hard to try to wrap around, like wrap, I say this literally almost in every single episode, but it's hard to fully wrap our minds around like how God does it, you know? So anyway, I was having a moment laying in bed and I was like, God, I just really want

want to like understand all of that I want to understand it enough where I can actually put it in words and explain to somebody how you are all of that you know like how did God send down Jesus as his son

But then how is Jesus also God, right? Like we try to wrap our minds around. And I know a lot of you probably like, Allie, it's very simple. I am still just trying to wrap my mind around all of it. You know, like I fully believe in God. I fully believe in the Holy Spirit. I fully believe in Jesus because I felt all of it. Like I know it all exists, but sometimes it's hard to like wrap our minds around all of it. So I'm having that moment with God. I'm being so vulnerable right now with y'all by admitting that. And I was being so vulnerable with God in that moment too, where I was like, I just want to understand all of that.

so that I can continue to be, you know, a source of clarity for people through you, right? You show me so then I can bring that sense of clarity to others. So I'm having that moment. I'm not asking God for a sign. You know, if anything, I was just kind of having a moment with him where I was speaking with him and I was like, yeah, so this is just kind of like what's

I want to start Hebrews.

I have no idea what Hebrews is about. I've heard people say good things about Hebrews. I have my daily devotional. There have been many a times where, you know, there are pieces of scripture that's been pulled from Hebrews. And so I was like, I've never read it. I have no idea what it's about, but I want to open Hebrews.

So I opened Hebrews, which is what we're going to read today. Okay, so I want everybody to open their Bibles. If you have your Bible with you and you're already prepared, so freaking proud of you. If not, that's okay. I'm going to give you a moment to grab your Bible or if you need to pause this, do it. I think I've mentioned this before, but I have the new international version. Is that what it stands for? NIV.

All right, so we're going to open Hebrews. And so I open Hebrews and this is what I read. This is Hebrews 1. Okay, the very beginning. Y'all are following, right? Okay, good. So God's final word, his son. In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, he had spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom also he made the universe.

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited as superior to theirs."

Is that not absolutely insane? I swear, I was literally sitting in bed saying, God, how do we even describe Jesus? How do we make it clear to people that he is the son of man, but also he is God? And I literally stopped in my tracks after I read that. And I was like, okay, God, so you do listen to me, right? Right?

It's just so wild how he truly will show up for you in a moment where I wasn't even expecting it. I was just kind of expecting to read my Bible as I was any evening. And he made it so much clearer to me of how we could describe who Jesus is, right? So God starts off by saying that he has spoken to our ancestors through the prophets, which is the old testimony, at many times and in various ways. God had always told us that he was going to come down in human form, right? The son of

Right? So, right?

So God is clearly saying here that Jesus is equal to God. Jesus is also God. Because he appointed Jesus, heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The sun is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, which means...

If God is saying that Jesus is the exact representation of who God is, then Jesus is God. He's just in human form, sustaining all things by his powerful word. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he had inherited is superior to theirs.

Which I think is pretty cool because I think that when we if we have any questions about who God is, his character, even just like how his presence could feel, you know, like because we haven't physically seen God.

or have been able to face him, you know, face to face yet, sometimes it can be hard to understand what that encounter would be like, you know, to meet God. And so I think that that's what's so beautiful about what God had done through Jesus and what he's telling us here. He's telling us that Jesus is the exact representation of his being. I also think that

the chosen does such a good job at this and Jonathan Rumi does such a great job at portraying Jesus with such a gentleness and he's just so pure like pure love and he just holds so much empathy and kindness even in his eyes you know I can't even imagine what it had to have been like to encounter Jesus at the time but if we ever

question, you know, how God's presence could feel, you know, aside from how we feel him just on a spiritual level and through the Holy Spirit, you know, from a day-to-day basis or whatever, it's just really incredible that we are able to kind of connect those two things.

and see that exactly how Jesus was on earth is an exact representation of God, that our God is gentle and he does have so much empathy and sympathy for his children. But we need to remember that our God is not this big scary guy in the sky, you know, who wants to just punish us or make us feel bad or is disappointed in us.

It is clear that through Jesus, we are really shown the characteristics of who our God is, which is gentle and he is sympathetic and he cares about us. And he has so much compassion for us. And it's easy to fall into that pit of, you know, kind of seeing him as this big, scary God thing.

in the sky who could wipe us out in any minute, which is true, I guess, you know? I mean, he definitely could wipe us out in any minute, but that's not the type of God that he is. He has so much compassion for us, and he has so much understanding, which is exactly how Jesus walked the earth. So it is incredible all of what Jesus did for us, all of what God did for us here on earth, but

It's even more incredible that we were able to put an actual person, a face, and just an overall sense of who our God is. So then we go on to Hebrews 1.5. For to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son, today I have become your father. Or again, I will be his father and he will be my son. And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, let all God's angels worship him.

In speaking of the angels, he says,

He also says,

They will perish, but you will remain. They will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe. Like a garment, they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end. To which of the angels did God ever say, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet? That is so savage. Until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet!

Okay, sorry, moving on. Okay, Hebrews 1.14 now. Okay.

So from my understanding, we're just being told how legit Jesus is, right? Like he is the son of man. He is the son of God. And he is not like the other angels. Obviously, angels do have superiority and they have a very important role in the kingdom. But this is just letting us know where Jesus lies in the rankings and how legit he is.

Jesus is, right? Explaining to us that the Son is superior to even the angels in heaven. Now Hebrews 2, warning to pay attention. We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding and every violation and disobedience received is just punishment.

How shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? I have this highlighted. This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Jesus made fully human. It is not to angels that he has subjected,

the world to come about which we are speaking but there is a place where someone has testified what is mankind that you are mindful of them a son of man that you care for him you made them a little lower than the angels you crowned them with glory and honor and put everything under their feet

Y'all, this is so good. This is like my favorite part. So that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone.

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God for whom and through whom everything exists should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

He says,

and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God forever.

And that he might make anointment for the sins of the people. Get this, y'all. This is so good. This is it. This is the biggest summary of what we've been reading, okay? So if you haven't understood until now, this is the moment where it summarizes everything. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Y'all, this is so good. And this is, ah, this is such a good explanation to why God had to come down in physical form, right? The thing is, is I don't know how strong our faith would be today if we had to just believe in a God who

Guides us and tells us how we should live our life, right? Because as humans naturally we need a shepherd We need someone to leave we are the cute little lambs the sheep who need someone to guide us in life Okay, a lot of our egos get in the way of that a lot of us think that we know what we're doing and then we find out we really truly Actually are clueless in this world if we do not have god guiding us, right? So we have to have full trust and

in whoever it is that's leading us and guiding us, right? And sometimes, and we can relate this even to our own lives, where you're getting advice or if you're receiving guidance from somebody, it's very hard to receive that guidance or it's very hard to trust the credibility of what they are saying if they haven't necessarily either walked in your shoes or they haven't experienced the same things you have or similar enough where it's like, okay, yeah, no, I could definitely listen to this person because

They knew what it was like to walk in my shoes or they've gone through this season that I'm going through now. That's why God also calls us to respect our elders, right? And to respect our mothers and fathers and the people who are older than us because they have already walked through the season, most likely the seasons that we have walked through or are walking through right now, you know? And it's important.

to seek guidance from people who are older than us because, you know, for that reason, they most likely have faced the same temptations or hardships or loss or, you know, experiences that you are now experiencing, okay? What kind of trust would we really have in a God if he was simply just guiding us, telling us what we should do, but he hadn't really technically walked through it? Like, sure, yeah, he created us.

And he knew about all of the hardships we were going to face. But how are we supposed to have our trust in a God that doesn't even really know what it's like to walk through temptation or to walk through betrayal, hurt, feeling rejected? You know, all the hardships that we face as humans here on earth every single day. It would be really hard to have full, full faith in a God who

Face the things we face, though. This is just one of so many reasons why Jesus had to come down to earth. Not only because we were destroying ourselves, not only did he have to die for that and our sins. That is so very true. And we hear about that every time, you know, we're discussing Jesus is he died for our sins, right? We were saved by the blood of Christ.

We hear that and that is such an important piece of why Jesus came to earth and why God called him to earth to save all of humanity. But there are so many other parts to why God had to come down in physical form to save us. It was also for just credibility. It also is that last sentence, y'all. Hebrews 2.18, because he himself suffered when he was tempted, so he is able to help those who are being tempted.

You are not going to take advice from somebody who has never had to face alcoholism in their life. You are not going to listen to them if they have never had to face it in their life, preaching to you about how you should just put the alcohol down, you know, do this, that, and the third, and you'll get over your addiction. How are you supposed to take advice from somebody like that when you're like, I get it, but also who are you to say how easy or hard this journey of addiction to alcohol is for me when you've never had to walk through it?

God has thought about everything, y'all. He thought about everything and he knew that he knew

He knew that it was unlikely that his children would listen to him and look at him as a credible God if he hadn't walked through those same hardships. So he said, okay, then I'm going to go down to earth and I'm going to endure the same suffering, if not more suffering than what my children will ever face or what my children will face so that I can be credible.

They can trust me because he who suffered temptation will then be able to help those same people who will encounter the same temptations and suffering in the future. A really good analogy that you could also compare it to is the way that a captain goes down with their ship. You know, that's like very much a thing. When their ship goes down, there's a good chance the captain is going down too, you know? And that is how God views his children. That is how he views us. He said,

If my children are going to suffer, I'm going to suffer with them because that's how much I love them. That's how much I care about them. Not only am I going to suffer with them, I'm going to suffer even more to show them the guidance that they need to get through it. If that is not a loving God, I don't know what is.

going back to Hebrews 2.9, where it says, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. Jesus tasted death for us. The other part of this that God was completely aware of is that up until this point, right? Because when we skip up to 2.14,

Right. Where it says, since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity that way. Right. Because Jesus came in flesh and blood so that by his death, he might break the power of him who holds the power of death. That is the devil. Right. So it says that up until this point, so many people were held in slavery. They were held in the chains of their fear of death. Right.

And the only thing that held power of that up until this point was the devil, right? He held people in this form of captivity, this form of death, this form of slavery and chains with the fear of death. He controlled people and manipulated people with that. And so the other thing that God did through his death and his crucification was he overcame death, right?

and he took away the power that the enemy had through death. Up until then, the enemy owned death and made us fear it. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice, not only to free us from our sin, but to free us from the fear of death. Taking the power away from Satan, Jesus faced all suffering emotionally and physically, so we had nothing to fear because Jesus faced temptation. We can trust him and his guidance.

It is just so cool because I feel like when I first came to my faith, I kind of just knew of that one thing. You know, Jesus died for our sins and that's why he was crucified. But there's just so much more depth to that. There was just so much more that God thought about with how Jesus came and lived his life humbly. That's the other thing is like everybody thought that God was going to come down to earth as this all high mighty on a white horse, you know, dripping in gold and everything.

just wealthy, right? Like how you would think a king would be just wealthy. And God came down in a form of just humility and humbleness. Jesus was just a regular guy. He wasn't a regular guy. But looking at him from the outside, he was just a regular guy. It's just so incredible to see the way that God was so intentional about every part of who Jesus was and who he is and what he did and the hardships that he faced.

The temptations that he faced, you know, even in the forest for 40 days, the temptations that he faced throughout his entire life, the way that he was crucified, the way that he was betrayed by, you know, example, Judas, literally the ultimate betrayal. And if you are still very new to Christianity, or if you haven't gotten to this part in the story of Jesus, Judas was one of Jesus's disciples.

And Jesus knew that Judas was going to betray him. And it's unfortunate, but it also was such a crucial part of Jesus' story because without Judas essentially ratting out Jesus and...

But betraying Jesus, which led Jesus to his crucification, as horrible as that betrayal was, it was necessary for Jesus's story. And it was probably the only way that he was going to overcome death. And that is also just such a beautiful example of how God truly makes goodness out of everything. Through Jesus's betrayal, through one of his disciples who he had spent so much time with, he had built a relationship with.

Judas traded that loyalty for Jesus for, I don't even know how many pieces of silver. How many pieces of silver was it? It was for money. It was greed.

30 pieces of silver. Judas agrees to hand over Jesus in exchange of the 30 pieces of silver, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26 15. But Jesus ended up dying because of the betrayal that he faced. The beautiful part about who our God is, is that he not only was okay with enduring all of the hardships here on earth that he knew we would have to face, but like the worst.

I mean, the way that God was crucified, the way that he was killed is the unimaginable. He made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. That's how much he loves you. That is how much he loves you. I'm not just talking to us as a group. I'm talking into the person listening right now. That's how much he loves you. He knows you by name. He wanted you. And he literally died on the cross knowing you, knowing that you were going to come. And he did it.

Isn't that insane? And you know what? I think the biggest part about our faith is just showing that gratitude of how thoughtful our God is. Like he thought of everything when it came to Jesus coming down to earth. He thought of everything. And I think that's,

the best form of worship if there's anything that you feel like how can I repay God for that how in the world could I even come close to repaying him for everything that he did for us you know not only that but it also shows us how much gratitude we really should have for God and that is the best form of worship is gratitude and recognizing how intentional and how thought out all of this was by God

You know, I saw a TikTok the other day where somebody had been explaining why they fell away from Christianity. So this individual, it said it in their caption, they hashtagged ex-Christian. So I imagine they used to be a believer and now they're not anymore, which also is going to answer another question. I got a comment on a TikTok the other day where somebody was like, can you lose your salvation? Like if you're saved, can you lose that? And

I don't think that God ever takes away our salvation, but we can remove ourselves from it. Like, we can lose that relationship with him, you know? Just because we're saved doesn't mean then we don't have to worry about, you know, ever prioritizing our relationship with him. I mean, we can fall away from him for sure. And so that's why it is a constant battle of, you know, just continuing to stay close to him and continuing to stay in the word and just, you know, continue to acknowledge him and his greatness and...

to just have gratitude towards God because that is the best form of worship is just gratitude and acknowledgement that he exists and all of the blessings that he's given us, even just the blessing of being alive and breathing. That is the ultimate blessing is just we are alive and we're able to have a relationship with him here on earth. And the most beautiful part about life is having a relationship with God. That that is the biggest lesson that I have learned in this walk of faith is just the most beautiful part about life is yes, we

we get to experience this world. And even looking out my window right now, I have the most beautiful view of the hills of California and the palm trees and the blue sky and the sunshine when we're nearing December. It's crazy. The weather is beautiful. I mean, there are so many blessings that we get to experience here on earth. And he has painted us this beautiful,

beautiful just landscape of life and earth and sunsets and sunrises and beaches and snow and rain and lightning. And he has created so much beauty for us. All of this is for us. And that's insane. Like,

Like he literally created all of this for us so we would enjoy our time here on earth. You know, God thrives in creation and he loves to do it. But even aside from all of that, the most beautiful part about life is a relationship with God and just learning about him. Like our life here on earth is like our preparation. It's where we mold our relationship with him and we learn as much as we can about him before we go spend eternity with him, you know, after life here on earth.

So it's our life before our real life, like forever life. Like this is like kind of a dream almost where we just learn and we familiarize ourselves with how great our God is. But this ex-Christian had said, and you know, we just had an episode about this where we started to talk about heaven and earth and what is essentially the determining factor of whether you go to heaven or, did I say heaven or earth? I meant heaven or hell.

We talk about earth too, you know, hi, we're here on earth, but heaven and hell, right? We had our episode about that. And what is the determining factor? What is the thing that initially gets us to heaven or, you know, the absence of heaven, right? The absence of life, the absence of light, the absence of God, the absence of his presence, okay? Which is hell. Hell is just the absence of heaven, light, right?

All things good. God. God is good. God is love. Right. So what is the opposite of that? Hell. Right. So we covered all of that. And essentially what we concluded to is that the determining factor is truly prioritizing God in our life here on Earth, living it with him and having a relationship with him.

Period. You have to have a relationship with God, a genuine, authentic, wholehearted. We have humiliated ourselves. We have humbled ourselves.

at the feet of God. We trust him with every fiber in our being. We don't go to him empty. I mean, we go to him empty, but we don't go to him with empty words is what I'm saying, right? Because he ultimately is the thing that fills us when we do feel empty. So when I say empty, I mean like we don't go to him with insincere words. We don't go to him with empty prayer. We go to him with intentional prayer. We go to him with intentional hope. We go to him with hope, even if it's

the size of a mustard seed, right? Even if we just have a little bit of hope, a little bit of faith in God, that's all he needs to work with us and to work for us.

But as long as you have that relationship with the Lord and as long as you, you know, ask him for forgiveness every day because we are so imperfect and you prioritize him and you love him with your whole heart, that is the ticket to the gates of heaven. That is the ticket of forever with Jesus, right? So this creator, I'm sorry, I keep getting like sidetracked a little bit because I get so passionate about it. But what they were saying is,

What is the difference between God giving us free will though, right? And essentially giving us an ultimatum though, or like threatening us. Because if God's giving us a choice to either live with him here on earth, to choose to live by God, to obey him, to love him, to prioritize him and have a relationship with him, right? Or we decide to live life alone, right?

But with that comes the consequence of going to hell, which sounds like a threat, which sounds like you're just scaring people into having a relationship with him, right? This is such a good topic because I bet that that is also another reason why people don't believe that God is real because they're like, okay, well, if he's such a loving God, why? Well, one, why does he send people to hell? And then we explain because of free will, he's given us a choice.

And then the next question that does come after that is, okay, well, if that's the case, why do we get punished for choosing to not live with him here on earth though? Because now it just sounds like, well, if you don't love me, then I'm just going to punish you for all of eternity.

And so that's what this person was saying is they said, what's the difference? And they said, and I have yet for a Christian to tell me what the difference is because that's what it looks like to me. It looks like God is just threatening us and basically saying, if you don't love me, then you can just be miserable in all of eternity forever. And the reason I brought up gratitude and the reason that it's even leading me to this topic right now is because I really believe that we need to humble ourselves to a place where

where we are being honest with ourselves about who we are and who God is, right? Because let's say you do decide to live life here on earth

living by your own rules. You don't necessarily even have to be an evil person. Like you're not out, you're like committing major crimes like murder, but you're living your own life though, for sure. You're doing everything against God and what he guides us, right? He is our shepherd. We are sheep. He's telling us the best quality of life that we could live is with him. He's not promising us a perfect life. And he's also not

promising us that we won't face hardships and we won't face pain. We won't face mourning. We won't face, you know, rejection. We won't face anything that's hurtful, right? I mean, we will expect and endure pain in this life here on earth, right? That's what makes this earth and heaven, heaven, because heaven, there is no pain. There is no evil.

There is no stealing. There are no tears. There is no sadness, right? In heaven. So that's what makes heaven, heaven and earth. Earth is like, yeah, we are going to have to endure pain and suffering and sadness, right? So he doesn't promise us a perfect life, but he does promise us a wonderful life. And your definition of wonderful can be different than mine. But my definition of a wonderful life is no, it's not a perfect life, but it's beautiful because we get to endure everything with God. We get to literally experience his love.

His grace, his forgiveness, his grace and his forgiveness. We get to experience love that is just hard to even put into words. It'll bring you to your knees. It is the most dopamine. It is the most incredible feeling. Nothing else compares. Nothing else compares. Not a glass of wine, not a hit of a blunt. Nothing else compares to God's love.

So he does promise us a beautiful life though, because there is beauty even in the suffering. There is beauty even in the pain. There was beauty in God literally dying on the cross, the ultimate suffering, the ultimate pain, the ultimate excruciation that he had to feel. There was still beauty in that, right? Jesus suffered so much, but gosh, was it a wonderful life. It was a beautiful life. He lived out his purpose through God.

He literally changed mankind. He saved us from all of our sins, right? So God doesn't promise us a perfect life, but he does promise us a wonderful life if it's lived with him, a beautiful life if it's lived with him, because we get to endure all of those things with him. So

So he says, you can live life and I promise I will bless you. I promise I will bring light to the darkness in your life. I will make things beautiful. I will make things that were first made for evil. I will turn it around for good in your life. Just follow me.

So he promises us those things, you know, if we decide to live life with him here on earth. And he does give us the choice of free will and says, but if you don't decide to live life with me and you want to do things on your own terms, I'm not going to force anybody to love me because also God does not need us. We need him. And so it's not a threat. It is a warning though. It is an absolute warning. And it isn't anything that's supposed to scare anybody into believing in God.

Right. Because also that is not a genuine relationship. That is a relationship where you're coming at it, where you're like, OK, well, I definitely don't want to go to hell. So I guess I'll just like get to know this Jesus guy because I don't want to suffer in all of eternity, you know. But if we're being honest about who we are and who God is, if you do decide to live life by your own rules, you're not listening to God.

But then after that, you want to just also live in eternity how you want. You face God at the end of all of this and you said, yeah, well, I didn't really feel like believing in you and I didn't want to listen to you and I wanted to live my own life. And now I also would really like to live in eternity where I'd like to live in. Maybe you don't even want to go to heaven. Maybe you don't even want to go to hell. Maybe you're kind of like, well, why can't there just be like an in-between? Let's just like somewhere comfortable, you know, like why do I have to go and suffer in hell or

go to heaven why can't I just be somewhere in the middle and personally I just think that that is the most selfish mentality when I say we need to humble ourselves we really need to humble ourselves and say do you really deserve that why do you deserve to enjoy all the blessings that God has given us right not only that but he has also given you life he has put the air in your lungs and

He has blessed you by being alive here on earth. You get to live through everything that God has created and never once acknowledging him, never once acknowledging or praising him for the life that he's given you.

So not only that, but then after that, after not even acknowledging the one who created you, gave you life, has provided all of this for you, you now want to go spend eternity how you want to without ever having to acknowledge him. That feels very selfish. And honestly, y'all, it really is as simple as just having gratitude.

That's all it is. That's all he wants. When I say that the best form of worship is gratitude, he just would hope for the acknowledgement, not because he needs it, but honestly, because he loves you so much and he knows what it means to not live by him and with him. But what makes you think that you deserve to live life and

And kind of have your cake and eat it too. You know, it literally is that saying of like, you want your cake and you want to eat it too. You don't want to have to live by the fact that there are consequences to your actions. Just like in anything in life, y'all. There are consequences to every decision that we make. So God's going to give us the freedom to make that decision for sure. But why do you think?

think that you get to just live off of all of the blessings that God has given you. You get to just enjoy life here on earth that he provided for you, but then you don't acknowledge the one who gave you that. It really comes down from gratitude. It really comes down to having gratitude and it comes down to acknowledgement. Just like most of us like to feel acknowledged, we

You know, this is like on the simplest terms ever, but it's the same way that I would hope if the person in front of you in the drive-thru decided to buy your coffee or you're standing in line, you know, getting your coffee and the person behind you or in front of you

decides to buy you your coffee. You're telling me that you're going to walk out of that coffee shop enjoying all the goodness of that coffee. It's going to give you energy. It's your favorite, by the way, because you ordered it. You got your favorite caramel macchiato and you're loving it. You're not going to praise and give thanks to the person who bought you your coffee. I mean, that is such a small example, but the same way

that you would most likely praise and thank that person. Why doesn't God deserve your praise and gratitude for literally giving you life?

Why do you deserve? Because I know if we're being honest, I know for sure I don't deserve that. Like who do you think you are that you're allowing your pride to be so huge that you think you deserve to live here on earth and do all of what you want to do and then you go get to live in eternity exactly how you want as well. And I don't say that to like, you know, cast any judgment onto anybody because even I myself lived in a very selfish way before I found Jesus and I made all my own rules and

And I lived by all my own rules. And I didn't obey God. I barely, I mean, I acknowledged him and I was grateful, but I could have been a lot more grateful. And I should have been acknowledging him every single day that I was alive.

So I'm absolutely not pointing fingers because I lived that way for a long time too. And I'm just grateful to God that he gave me the time here on earth to seek him and find him and know the truth. And I'm so grateful that I am where I'm at now. But I think the biggest thing that we need to remind ourselves is

is gratitude. I think that's the truth of it all. Is it really? And I think we make it more complicated than it needs to be. Why is it this big fight of like, I'm going to stick it to the big guy and I'm going to live life how I want. And also screw that I'm not going to heaven or hell. Why can't, why do I, why, why are you giving me this ultimatum? Why are you giving me this option of like, well, I have to love you. Or if I decide not to, then I just go to hell because those are the consequences of deciding to not live out the full, but

potential that God put you on here on earth, earth for. Those are the consequences of not fulfilling and living out the purpose and the plan that God has for you here on earth. It isn't even just about having a relationship with him. It is, but it's also, he put you here on earth for such a beautiful purpose to impact other people's lives. And I know that you think

that you can impact other people's lives through your plan. And you know, you probably do in ways, but there is such a greater plan that God has for you, a way that you will impact people on this earth that you actually probably could have never comprehended because you can't do it without him. And once you allow him in your heart and you accept him, you are allowing yourself to also fully live out your potential in life.

everywhere in your life. It's not just about you. It's not just about us. It's not just about having our cake and eating it too and wanting to live life the way that we want to live it and then also in eternity the way that we want to live it. We need to take our egos out of the equation. We need to put our egos aside. We need to humiliate ourselves and realize who we are and be honest with who you are. Do you really deserve that and who God is?

I'm not saying you're worthless. I'm not saying you don't deserve anything. But don't you think at the least that he deserves the acknowledgement. He deserves the praise. He deserves the love. And if you decide not to, then yeah, that is your free will. But also can we acknowledge all that he sacrificed? The fact that he loved you so much that he didn't only give you breath in your lungs and you have a life, but he came down to earth and he made the ultimate sacrifice. He defeated death.

He took away the burden and the slavery of the fear of death from Satan to free us from those chains.

He came down and he endured the same suffering that we endure more suffering. He came down and he faced the same temptations, knowing that we were going to face those temptations so that he could be a credible God and we could trust him in his guidance. We could trust him as a shepherd to guide us in our lives, knowing that he knows exactly how it feels because he also lived that.

Don't you think that he deserves that gratitude? All the worship in the world, don't you think he deserves that? A fair relationship is a two-way street. And it is not fair to enjoy all the beauty of life and to enjoy the blessings that God has given us without simply acknowledging his goodness. And that's what it is. It's about having a relationship with him and acknowledging his goodness.

And you may not even understand why God wanted you. You may not even understand why you were put here on earth. You know, I guess we didn't really have a choice when it comes to that. But there must be a pretty awesome reason to why you're here. Because if God wanted you, you must be pretty special. And the biggest thing that we need to trust him in is that alone. Because if God wanted me here, I must have a purpose. A bigger purpose than I even realize right now.

And it's so crazy because sometimes I feel like, you know, we have these passions and we have these things that we love to do. And we have these talents, you know, which God has also blessed us with. And sometimes we use our talents or our passions in a way that still feel confusing, where you're like, there's this thing that I like to do, but it's not completely fitting yet. And the cool thing about our purpose, you know, and fully understanding why God chose us, though, is that I think God...

for the entirety of our lives, shows us our purpose. And it's not even an overnight thing. I mean, we will forever be understanding why God put us here on earth through every season of our lives. But we have to just find peace in the fact that there will be seasons of our lives where we are questioning what our

purpose here is or why God gave you certain talents. You know, I was just on a podcast episode. I don't even know if it's live by now. I don't think it is yet, but I was on a podcast a few days ago. We recorded it and it was so cool because I was telling my story of, you know, who I've been up until this point in my life and this season with Jesus and

what I had been doing on the internet, which was, you know, encouraging women specifically, but everyone, but encouraging others and, you know, spreading love and light. And the difference of what I was doing then and the difference of what I was doing, of what I'm doing now is I was seeking the

the wisdom within myself and I was looking for the right things to say within myself most of the time. Now, when I made my testimony video, I did mention that there were times where I did sit down with God and I started pulling from him because I was getting to a point where I said, I don't know what else to pull from within myself. I don't know what else to say to people online. I feel like I need to continue to pour out positivity, but I don't know where else to pull it from. I'm empty.

Right. God is never empty. Oh, my gosh. He's forever and ever. Right. We will forever be pulling wisdom and knowledge from him. But me, I was empty. I said, I at least got no more advice. Ali's got no more words of wisdom. So I would sit down and start praying to God. And it would just flow out of me like in a way that just did not make sense to me other than the Holy Spirit was working on me.

slowly but surely working on me. But for the most part, I mean, I was at times looking within myself trying to find that wisdom, which is like,

just so silly because all wisdom we get is from God. And so the difference of what I was doing then and now is now I'm actually, I am channeling Jesus and I'm allowing him to use me as a vessel. And I'm saying, God, speak through me. This isn't me. This is you. This isn't about me. This is about you. And that was the difference. That was the small shift in what I was doing then and now. But the same thing that I was doing then that I am now is I was ministering. I was

was being a place of guidance for people. I was, I was a place of advice and hope. And it's crazy because, you know, so when I was on this podcast a couple of days ago, this person was like, you were ministering then you literally were doing the gift of what God gave you, which is to talk and help guide people and give them hope and clarity. You were using your gift. It just needed to be tweaked

a little bit and you needed to do it in glorification of God, right? And centering God at it and not yourself. So it's just so crazy. I guess what I'm saying is like, sometimes we have these talents and we don't even really know what God gave it to us for until he really starts working through us. And until we really allow ourselves to open our hearts

and let him use our talents. Let him use our talents. Stop identifying ourselves so much in our talents and putting more of our talents in credibility to God, giving him the credit, letting him use our talents to glorify him because that's why he gave them to us, right? So I've had this talent already.

of connecting with people and giving them hope and approaching things in a gentle way, in a way of just uplifting people, right? I just needed that tweak. And so if you don't feel like you fully understand what the purpose of some of your talents are, maybe give more of it to God.

I don't even know where this podcast episode is going anymore. We've covered like four different types of topics, but it is so insane how intentional God is right from the beginning. He knew the talents he was giving me right from the beginning. He knew the talents he gave you right from the beginning. And it's only a matter of time until it becomes more and more clear to you of why he gave you that talent from the beginning, you know, why he's given you this certain passion from the beginning. And if you're in a season of confusion or not understanding it, that's okay.

But to continue to try to glorify God as much as you can through that talent, through that passion, whatever it is that you're doing, whatever it is that makes you feel so whole, continue to find ways to use that to glorify God, to give thanks to God, to give gratitude to him for all the beauty that he has given us in this life, the talents that you have, the way that you are able to connect with

to others through whatever that is that you love to do, the passion, the talent that you have. It all comes down to gratitude. It all comes down to thanking Jesus for all that he did, understanding why it was so necessary for him to come down to earth the way that he did, the way that he died, the intention behind all of it. I mean, God is good. God is good. And there's not one thing that he doesn't think about. I swear there's not one thing that he did not already think through.

So anyway, that's Hebrews, y'all. That is Hebrews. That is just the beginning of Hebrews. I'm told that it gets even better, so I can't wait to continue to read Hebrews. But thanks for breaking it down with me. Thank you for reading the Bible with me today, guys. Thank you for being here. Thank you for letting me just kind of go on a bunch of different tangents. I told you I wasn't really sure what was going to happen with this episode, and I think that was clear as day with how random this was. We didn't really have like one topic. We kind of

covered a few, but it was good. It was good. And I think I really needed it. And I hope that it spoke to somebody. I hope that it blessed somebody. God, I, I pray over this episode, Lord, I pray that you spoke to the people who are listening in today. And I, I also pray that you continue to let this just be a domino effect where what we spoke about today on this podcast, you are able to use every listener to then pour into anyone in their lives.

Pour the knowledge, pour the wisdom of what people took from this episode into the people in their lives. And then the people in their lives can then pour it into the people in their lives. And it is just a rippling effect. God, I just pray for a rippling effect from this episode.

In Jesus' name I pray, amen. I love you guys. I hope you have the most beautiful week. I will see you next Friday. Thank you for supporting the podcast. Thank you for being here. Thank you for loving it. Thank you for supporting season two. If you haven't written a review for the podcast yet, please do that if you have a couple minutes.

It means so much to me. Also, I'm sure you guys have noticed we have had zero ads for this podcast yet. We haven't had any sponsorships yet, which is fine. We are going at the pace that God is calling us to go at the pace at. And you know what? Maybe we just need to build this podcast where we don't have it before.

you know, just bombarded with a bunch of ads yet. I think it's kind of nice and refreshing that we are able to start it off and in a place of just purely worshiping and honoring him. But with that, we don't really have any sense of income yet for this podcast. And I think I've been vulnerable with y'all and I've let you know that I would really love to make this

a part of my full-time gig like this would be such an incredible dream come true to say that you know we are fully honoring jesus here on this podcast but also we are being supported as well so there is an option to give to the podcast you can give as small as 99 cents if you want just a dollar but it would mean the world so i believe you can find that in the link in our bio on our instagram page on our tiktok page i'll make sure that it is also linked in the description here as well to give

but that is so highly appreciated. But if not, please write a review too. That's huge, huge for the podcast. Thank you guys. I love you so much. I'm praying for all of you that you are covered in the Holy Spirit for this next week. Spend some serious time with Jesus. And also, why don't we just go show somebody how cool Jesus is today? Let's walk a little bit more like Jesus today. Let's show somebody how cool he is, how incredible his love is, his empathy, his compassion.

His forgiveness, y'all. Let's walk a little bit more like Jesus today. I love you. I will see you next time.

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