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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to have you

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Speaker 2: listening with us. Today's topic is on how the Lord

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Speaker 2: prepares us to carry God sized dreams.

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Speaker 3: We'll return with the devotional after a brief message from

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Speaker 3: our sponsors. Parts Prepared for Divine Assignments, written and read

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Speaker 3: by Jennifer Slattery.

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Speaker 2: So now I charge you, in the sight of all Israel,

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Speaker 2: and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the

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Speaker 2: hearing of our God, be careful to follow all the

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Speaker 2: commands of the Lord, your God, that you may possess

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Speaker 2: this good land and pass it on as an inheritance

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Speaker 2: to your descendants forever. And you, my son Solomon, knowledge

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Speaker 2: the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted

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Speaker 2: devotion and with a willing mind. For the Lord searches

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Speaker 2: every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If

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Speaker 2: you seek him, he will be found by you. But

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Speaker 2: if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. Consider now,

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Speaker 2: for the Lord has chosen you to build a house

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Speaker 2: as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work first.

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Speaker 2: Chronicles twenty eight, verses eight through ten. Years ago, when

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Speaker 2: I began to sense that God was opening doors for

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Speaker 2: publication and establishing my calling. I became overwhelmingly aware of

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Speaker 2: my sin, flaws and weaknesses. I feared I wasn't spiritually

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Speaker 2: or emotionally mature enough to hold any type of platform

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Speaker 2: for him. Initially, I wanted to withdraw and choose a

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Speaker 2: less visible role also known as suppress and deny my gifting.

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Speaker 2: As I prayed through this, however, the Lord helped me

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Speaker 2: see that yes, I assess my faults and potential vulnerabilities correctly,

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Speaker 2: but my imperfection needn't disqualify. My recognition could in fact

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Speaker 2: lead to growth and strength so long as I remained

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Speaker 2: focused on and connected to Him. If I wanted to

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Speaker 2: live more like Jesus in this new and much more

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Speaker 2: public role, I needed to consistently apply King David's advice

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Speaker 2: for his son Solomon. David, ancient Israel's second king, knew

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Speaker 2: his life near its end and wanted to ensure his

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Speaker 2: son had everything he needed to lead the nation well

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Speaker 2: and complete David's long held dream of building the first

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Speaker 2: permanent temple for God. This assignment must have felt overwhelming.

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Speaker 2: To succeed, Solomon needed much more than building math, leadership,

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Speaker 2: and problem solving skills. He needed to maintain a close

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Speaker 2: relationship with God in which he remained alert to the

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Speaker 2: Lord's voice and set his heart on dependent obedience. Intersecting

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Speaker 2: life and faith, we probably all landed in situations for

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Speaker 2: which we felt severely ill equipped. Perhaps your parenting a

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Speaker 2: rebellious and drug addicted teenager, managing a highly toxic team,

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Speaker 2: facing a diagnosis with confusing treatment options, or trying to

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Speaker 2: heal from deep childhood wounds. When the path ahead feels

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Speaker 2: steep and shrouded in fog, we can stall in fear,

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Speaker 2: march ahead in human foolishness, or apply today's passage again.

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Speaker 2: This reads, be careful to follow all the commands of

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Speaker 2: the Lord your God. Serve him with wholehearted devotion and

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Speaker 2: with the willing mind. For the Lord's searches every heart

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Speaker 2: and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him,

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Speaker 2: he will be found by you. The Lord has chosen you.

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Speaker 2: Be strong and do the work. Let's break this down one.

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Speaker 2: Be careful to follow God's commands. This implies living with

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Speaker 2: intention and pre determining to obey however he leads. Of course,

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Speaker 2: I must know the Lord's will, as recorded in scripture

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Speaker 2: and whispered in my heart to remain intimately aligned with

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Speaker 2: my savior. Two, Serve Him with my wholeheart. Sadly, I

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Speaker 2: often carry mixed motives. I want to honor Christ and

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Speaker 2: to self protect. I long to love my family well,

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Speaker 2: but my pride often gets in the way. I choose

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Speaker 2: contentment while simultaneously fighting against a desire for increased wealth, beauty,

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Speaker 2: or better health. But with God's help, I can worship

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Speaker 2: Him with a unified heart. Three. Seek God through prayer,

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Speaker 2: Bible reading, worship, journaling, and inviting Him to remove any

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Speaker 2: lies that distort my perspective of him. He will be

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Speaker 2: found by me. I'm comforted knowing that God never withholds

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Speaker 2: love or relationship. He always makes himself available to us.

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Speaker 2: The moment I take a step toward him, he is

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Speaker 2: already moving toward me James four, Verse eight. Four. The

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Speaker 2: Lord has chosen you. When my insecurities tell me someone

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Speaker 2: else would perform my responsibilities better, the Spirit reminds me

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Speaker 2: that God placed me in this role. He alone holds

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Speaker 2: the figure to pen for my life and the power

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Speaker 2: to make my efforts fruitful. Five. Be strong and do

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Speaker 2: the work. While I want to begin each day quietly

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Speaker 2: connecting with Christ.

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Speaker 4: Eventually I must leave my figurative prayer closet to follow

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Speaker 4: however he leads. May these steps and your father, who

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Speaker 4: preserved them in writing, increase your courage and resolve the

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Speaker 4: next time you feel overwhelmed or insufficient for whatever stands

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Speaker 4: before you.

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Speaker 1: The Crosswalk Devotional is a production of Life Audio and

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Speaker 1: Salem Media. If you liked what you heard today, please

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Speaker 1: can find the show. For more faith filled inspirational podcasts,

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Speaker 1: visit us at lifeaudio dot com.