S1: Coming to you live from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Hey. Good morning. I'm Ali, this is Carl and crew.
S2: You know, because I live in a city where I
S2: don't have a big, lush backyard. Um, there's not a
S2: lot of green space around where I live. I have
S2: one single tree on my. On our property. Just one.
S3: Oh, man.
S2: Wow. But let me tell you about this tree, because I.
S2: I can't explain why this tree is different, but this
S2: tree is different than any other tree on the entire block.
S2: How so? And I've. I've watched this for now, several years.
S3: Okay. All right.
S2: So there's a typical cycle that trees go through that
S2: they all lose their leaves around the same time. So
S2: you'll look and you and come fall. Sure. You'll see
S2: all of the colors start to change. That's like October. November.
S2: You get like those beautiful, rich hues. The yellows, the oranges,
S2: the reds. I love that season too. And then as
S2: the months go on, the trees all lose their leaves. Right? Right.
S2: Except for my tree. I kid you not.
S4: Really? Even in the winter.
S2: Even in the winter. Really? And I will look and
S2: I will see a whole block. Because everyone kind of
S2: has a tree in their in the same place in
S2: front of their house. It's kind of like they're all,
S2: you know, between the tree and the or between the
S2: street and the sidewalk. Everyone on my block has a
S2: tree for the most part. This is how they designed it.
S4: This isn't some trick story where it's like an evergreen tree.
S2: No no no no. I because I'm really curious and
S2: I've not figured out why. And so every tree on
S2: the entire block will be leafless except for my tree.
S2: My tree doesn't lose its leaves, and they stay green.
S2: They don't stay green. They will change colors later. They
S2: change colors later than than the rest of them. But
S2: they do change colors. But then the leaves remain on
S2: the branches and then come like as spring is turning.
S2: Then they the leaves will drop off in the spring
S2: and then quickly. Especially this year. It was a very
S2: quick turnaround. Quickly replaced by the buds so that it
S2: could relief for the for the next season. Interesting. It is.
S2: And this isn't like some sort of riddle. You finding anything?
S5: That's what I'm thinking.
S4: Uh, so are they dead when they're on there? But
S4: they just don't fall off?
S2: Um, I would say they don't look vibrant.
S4: They're brown.
S2: They're brownish red.
S4: Okay. So I don't know. I don't know how to
S4: pronounce this word. There's a process called Mars. Mhm. Mhm.
S4: I don't know something like that. M a r c
S4: e c e n c e. This is a natural
S4: phenomenon where leaves dry up and remain attached to the
S4: branches throughout the winter, eventually falling off in the spring.
S2: Interesting.
S4: It's naturally occurring. It doesn't happen on every tree, obviously,
S4: but it does happen.
S2: Okay, so I've got a couple of theories from our listeners.
S2: Let's see. It's not a native tree says 0362 okay.
S2: 7905 Oak tree. Another another vote for maybe it's an
S2: oak tree. Uh, 6411 says maybe it's a male walnut tree.
S2: Do trees. There's such a thing as a male and
S2: a female tree. Am I am I missing that? It
S2: just it's it's Ellie's tree. It's.
S4: None of us know anything about trees or plants.
S2: Brown thumbs. So bad. Yeah. It's one of those questions
S2: that you're like, is this gonna sound like a dumb question?
S4: Male trees have a, uh, a pollen producer job. That's
S4: what they do is to produce pollen. Female trees bear
S4: fruit or seeds.
S2: Huh. Okay. So, okay, I don't. So these are good
S2: working theories, but it is a fascinating thing to look
S2: out in the middle of January and see that you
S2: have the only tree on the block with leaves. Makes
S2: me feel kind of special.
S4: I hate that.
S2: Sweet. And so it makes me think of Psalm one.
S2: My tree, the one tree on our property, the only
S2: one we have. And I should also add that it's
S2: not as mature as some of the other ones on
S2: the block. For those of you who are trying to
S2: put together a theory, add that little piece of evidence
S2: to whatever you're coming up with. Because I'm if you're
S2: an expert on this and have a have a working theory,
S2: I'd love to hear it. It's not a mature tree.
S2: There there are many more mature trees. Our our house
S2: got rebuilt, and so they must have torn down the
S2: original tree and replanted one so that it would look
S2: in line with the rest of the block. But I
S2: get this special tree that stays with its leaves.
S4: Just for.
S2: You all year round. How can we be like that tree,
S2: not losing our leaves, flourishing despite the harsh conditions around us?
S2: I want to be like the tree in my yard.
S2: The only one I've got. That's my role model. Why
S2: would you make a tree? Your role model? I'll explain.
S2: Coming up. It's actually a totally biblical to want to
S2: be like a tree. Let's go to Psalm one coming up.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Well, once again, the boom crew has come through in
S2: a major way. I think the mystery has been solved.
S2: Here's what I am have determined to be. Most likely
S2: the case because of what the boom crew has reported back. Yes,
S2: many of you have said it's probably an oak tree,
S2: and one person whose dad was a landscaper says more specifically,
S2: a pin oak. They said my dad planted one in
S2: the backyard of the house I grew up in. He
S2: was a landscaper. The Pin Oak did that every year.
S2: It didn't lose its leaves until spring. So I did
S2: a little Google research myself. I looked at some pictures
S2: of a pin oak and based on my visual assessment.
S4: Your keen eye.
S2: By your expertise there, Miss Green Thumb? Exactly. The person
S2: who can't keep house plants alive has now determined that
S2: what is in my yard is likely a pin oak tree,
S2: which does not lose its leaves until the new buds
S2: push them off in the spring.
S4: Well, there you go.
S2: Which means the rest of my block must have a
S2: different type of tree than I do, because I'm the
S2: only one that has this little privilege.
S4: There you go.
S2: Boom! Crew. Way to go. Let's go to Psalm one.
S2: Mystery solved. Psalm one. We are called to be like
S2: a tree. I'm going to read this to you. Blessed
S2: is the man who walks not in the counsel of
S2: the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor
S2: sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is
S2: in the law of the Lord, and on his law
S2: he meditates day and night. He is like a tree
S2: planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in
S2: its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all
S2: that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so,
S2: but they are like chaff that the wind drives away.
S2: Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor
S2: sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord
S2: knows the way of the righteous, but the way of
S2: the wicked will perish. Ultimately, we're going to go one
S2: of two ways in terms of how we approach our lives,
S2: and really only one of two, two ways we are
S2: either going to be like a tree or like chaff
S2: that the wind drives away. Coming up, let's break down
S2: why we want to live like a tree. Maybe a
S2: pin oak tree, to be more specific.
S1: You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't
S1: take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: The first time I heard this message or this passage
S2: of Scripture preached, it was in a sermon series called
S2: Like a Tree. It was preached by my pastor, probably six, seven,
S2: maybe eight years ago. And it has stuck with me,
S2: and it has remained one of my favorite chapters in
S2: all of Scripture, because it is so practical and establishes
S2: very clearly the way of the righteous versus the way
S2: of the wicked, the way of the righteous. The righteous
S2: man is like a tree that's planted by streams of water.
S2: Now a tree that's planted by streams of water is
S2: ones that's very close to the source. The water is
S2: able to quickly travel through the root system, constantly providing
S2: that life sustaining nourishment. Right? Yeah. Perfect spot. The healthiest.
S2: That's the picture of the the way of the righteous.
S2: Planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in its season. Fruitful.
S2: We want to live fruitfully. Its leaf does not wither
S2: in all that he does, he prospers. That's the person
S2: who goes the way of the righteous, who is like
S2: a tree. But then verse four, the contrast. The wicked
S2: are not so, but are like chaff that the wind
S2: drives away. Now I had heard about chaff, but I
S2: needed to do a refresher on it. So I watched
S2: a YouTube video last night to actually see what it
S2: looks like to separate wheat from chaff. The chaff is
S2: just the husks and the straw. It's not the usable
S2: part of the wheat. So when the wheat is threshed,
S2: what the farmer will do is actually throw it in
S2: the air by the handfuls. It's kind of a wild
S2: thing to watch because it's just it's literally just throwing
S2: it in the air. And that's how it's separated, because
S2: that kernel of wheat will fall to the ground. The
S2: chaff will be driven away by the wind. Literally what
S2: it says in the scripture, it will just be carried away.
S4: Because it's hollow. So it just gets carried off.
S2: Yeah, it's lighter in in weight. So it just that's
S2: how they separate it out.
S4: That's cool.
S2: I thought wow. Like there's no and that's still I
S2: guess the most efficient way of doing it.
S4: That's awesome.
S2: I love that like no real brain science there. The
S2: wind just takes it. Okay. So when you think about
S2: it that way, like, wow. So the person who does
S2: not go the way of God is like the chaff
S2: which just the wind is driven wind. The wind drives
S2: it away. And you think about the life of somebody
S2: who's planted versus someone who's just carried with the wind.
S2: And there's so many implications for this. But when it
S2: boils down to it hinges on verse two of this
S2: passage of Scripture. His delight is in the law of
S2: the Lord. What makes you like a tree delighting in
S2: the Lord. Delighting in the law of the Lord, which
S2: is just the instruction of God. God's word meditating on
S2: God's Word day and night. Making that what drives you,
S2: what sustains you as opposed to the wicked? Who is
S2: going to get counsel from the wicked? Who's going to
S2: stand in the way of sinners? Who's going to sit
S2: in the seat of scoffers? The the arrogance and the
S2: haughtiness of thinking that we know the way? Yeah, right.
S4: Oh, goodness. Yeah. We we trust in our own, our
S4: own minds, our own logic. Way too often. When my
S4: mind can't be trusted for some of the most simple things. Sometimes. Right.
S4: So why should it direct the way I go for
S4: my entire life?
S2: Right? You want to be rooted. You want to be planted.
S2: You don't want to be carried away by the winds
S2: of anything that you hear. You know how hard it
S2: is to try to keep up with what culture considers
S2: right and wrong. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S2: You know how much gymnastics you have to do to
S2: try to bend and yield, to make what you believe
S2: line up with what's popular at any given moment because
S2: it changes quickly.
S4: Very.
S2: The just think about the trends, the fashion trends that
S2: you wore when you were in high school or college,
S2: and how hard it is just to keep up with
S2: the fashion trends. Sure. And all of a sudden you
S2: find that your current wardrobe is somehow out of date,
S2: even though you just bought new clothes, you bought new
S2: clothes three, four years ago, and all of a sudden
S2: you go, oh, well, I guess that that's not. Are
S2: people not wearing skinny jeans anymore? Apparently not. I still
S2: like my skinny jeans. Side note but apparently that's not
S2: what's popular. How much harder is it to keep up
S2: with the changing tides of what is considered true and right?
S4: Sure. Yeah.
S2: You know, and you think about I think a lot
S2: about this because I'm raising children who are in those
S2: critical years where they're starting to really develop their own worldview,
S2: how they see things. I mean, for a while, when
S2: kids are infants, toddlers, they're there's not a lot of
S2: questioning in the toddler years.
S4: No, some there's a question. There is some questioning.
S2: Questioning about the different than the teenage questions.
S4: Definitely.
S2: So the why questions of the toddler years. Looking back, boy,
S2: those were a lot easier to answer, weren't they? And
S2: then kids hit their teen years, and they start to
S2: have to grapple with a lot of what they're hearing,
S2: a lot of what they're seeing, a lot of what
S2: they're told is true. And it's good to be able
S2: to give your kids God's Word, because then you're not
S2: trying to figure it out as you go.
S4: Yeah, That truth doesn't change with the world. It stays
S4: the same, and we can always go back to it, right?
S2: So think about this because things are changing so quickly,
S2: it's very possible that three years. Let's say you have
S2: a kid who's I have a son now who's 12.
S2: He's my youngest. Three years from now, when he's 15,
S2: things will have changed.
S4: By a lot.
S2: By a lot. So that means that what it absent
S2: the Word of God, absent delighting in the law of
S2: the Lord, I'm going to be. I would be telling
S2: him something today that won't be true in three years,
S2: that I will then have to say, okay, son, I
S2: know I told you that this was right. Now I'm
S2: going to have to say I. This is right now. Yeah.
S2: Imagine how confusing that is.
S4: Yeah, it's super confusing. And it's Sometimes it feels easier
S4: or more comfortable when we can change things based on
S4: how the world is going, because it's difficult to say, nope,
S4: this is still true, even though it's even though it's
S4: not popular, it's still true.
S2: It won't change.
S4: It's good that there's an anchor.
S2: An anchor for our souls. And Psalm one is a
S2: good passage to read with your kids because it helps
S2: them connect. Why the Word of God is so important.
S2: It's not enough for kids to know that we just.
S2: We read the Bible because that's what Christians do. That's
S2: not going to carry them through when their faith comes
S2: under attack. No, no it won't. They need to know
S2: that there is a way of the righteous that's a
S2: delight in the Word of God. That goes God God's way.
S2: That ultimately leads to a life that's like a tree,
S2: a life that's free of hardship. Absolutely not. But a
S2: life that is planted, that is rooted, that will flourish,
S2: that will yield fruit in season, that will prosper. The
S2: way of the wicked is the way of saying, I'll
S2: take my counsel from X, Y, or Z. I'll lean
S2: on my own understanding. I'll see how that goes. Well,
S2: that leads to a life that's life. Like chaff that
S2: the wind drives away. Show your kids the YouTube video.
S2: Do you want your life to be like this tree
S2: that's rooted and planted? That even when storms come, it's
S2: not going to move? Or do you want a life
S2: that's like poof goes with the wind? Every kid's going
S2: to say, I think I want to be more like
S2: that tree. So then let's talk about the how. Verse two.
S2: His delight is in the law of the Lord, and
S2: on his law he meditates day and night. God's word
S2: is our life source. It really is. If we've got
S2: God's Word, we've got what we need to flourish and
S2: be like a tree.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super dei is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: Psalm one is one of my favorite chapters in all
S2: of the Bible, and it was from that teaching series
S2: that I mentioned that I first heard this expression of
S2: being privately held and publicly fruitful, and that has been
S2: one of the one of the single most transformational sort
S2: of approaches to Christian life that has shaped me. This
S2: idea that private health has to precede and sustain public fruitfulness. Yeah.
S2: And it's everywhere in Scripture. We see it in John 15,
S2: but it's because it's very tempting to try to bear
S2: to to look at the fruit first, to look at
S2: yielding fruit in season, to try to have leaves that
S2: don't wither. It's it's tempting to want to look at
S2: what's seen when it's really the unseen things that drive it.
S4: Yes.
S2: And sometimes it's it's almost like it's everywhere. And it
S2: can be it can be almost frustrating. And by that,
S2: I mean, like, sometimes it's easier to want to chase fruit.
S4: Sure. Yeah, absolutely. We're it's putting the cart before the horse. You're.
S2: Yes.
S4: Good example. You're looking for something that you're like. Well,
S4: this is the end goal. I want that, but you're
S4: skipping steps to get there. Uh, you have to you
S4: have to go in order, because the other stuff doesn't
S4: happen without first being with God and focusing inwardly.
S2: Yeah. And this is an ongoing this is an ongoing journey,
S2: I think, for, for in the life of the believer.
S2: What do you say? I mean.
S4: Oh, goodness. Yeah.
S2: Every day.
S4: Absolutely.
S2: It's that that journey of continuing to focus on the
S2: unseen things and coming up, we're going to have a
S2: special guest who kind of specializes in this with leaders,
S2: particularly leaders who've hit a tough spot in their ministry
S2: and need a place to turn. He walks with leaders
S2: through who've gone through moral failings, who's who've gone through crisis,
S2: or who are just experiencing burnout or the disconnect between man,
S2: what I'm what I'm preaching, what I'm trying to, um,
S2: project to the to the public. There's a disconnect between
S2: what's going on outwardly versus what's going on inwardly. The
S2: root system is no longer sustaining the tree. To continue
S2: on with our analogy. His name is Greg Dempster. He's
S2: got a powerful ministry based in the Grand Rapids area
S2: in Michigan, but he works with leaders from around the country.
S2: You're going to hear from him coming up.
S1: A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is
S1: in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Hey, I'm Ali, this is Carl and crew. We have
S2: been looking at Psalm one this morning, which is one
S2: of my favorite chapters in all of Scripture. I want
S2: to bring a special guest in. Greg Dempster, founder and
S2: director of Christ Life Ministries transformed, authentic, empowered. That's part
S2: of their mission. Christ's life exists to help Christian leaders
S2: remove the chasm that often exists between what they believe
S2: to be true about God and what they're experiencing daily.
S2: So much of this Greg, goes back to Psalm one, right?
S2: Delighting in the law of the Lord, meditating on it
S2: day and night. I'm sure that this is a familiar
S2: passage of scripture for you as well.
S6: It's an amazing passage. Psalm one God is inviting us
S6: to himself, right? I mean, we go to his word,
S6: to go to him, and that's where we find great delighting.
S6: It's not just words in a book. It's it's words
S6: that describe that, that help us encounter the living God.
S2: Talk a little bit about your ministry, because you deal
S2: specifically with leaders and describe the context that leaders often
S2: will find their way to you. What's usually going on
S2: that drives them?
S6: Yeah. Ali, we renew leaders. Actually, the better way to
S6: say it is that we serve leaders. We accompany them
S6: into the presence of the true Jesus, who's the only healer.
S6: And then we equip them to bring renewal to the
S6: organizations they lead. Most of the leaders that I work with,
S6: it's all word of mouth. These guys know someone that's
S6: experienced tremendous change and they want the same thing. And
S6: so they could be maybe a leader is forwarded along
S6: by their elder team and they're broken. They've made decisions
S6: that have shattered their ministry integrity. Or they're guys that
S6: are in front of a large organization, a large church,
S6: maybe a church of 15 or 20,000. And they really
S6: don't have anybody that they can let their guard down with.
S6: And my office in Grand Rapids just becomes the safest
S6: place in the Midwest for them to do the work
S6: necessary to get free.
S2: Yeah. Now, what is it that goes on in the
S2: heart of a leader that causes them to start to.
S2: They're still trying to produce fruit if we are true
S2: to Scripture, but something's going on in there in the
S2: underground of their life, right? I mean, there's either some
S2: sort of disconnect to describe it as based on what
S2: you know to be true about Scripture and what you've seen.
S2: It's always something going on underneath the surface, right? Well,
S2: before anything is seen, sometimes the first indication is is
S2: a big moral failing or some sort of misstep. But
S2: it's been going it's been building. Right.
S6: Yeah. It's what we've all experienced. It's that that sense
S6: that Augustine unpacks, he unveils when he says the heart
S6: is restless until it finds rest in God. So there's
S6: a sense that that things aren't working the way that
S6: they should work. You could be in front of the
S6: most prolific, growing church in America and go home after
S6: an amazing Sunday. And we've all done this. I mean,
S6: it doesn't need to be Sunday. It could be just
S6: Thursday evening after the big meeting.
S2: Yeah.
S6: And we're just feel broken. We feel like it didn't
S6: go as well as we thought it would go. And
S6: there's just this sense of reaching internally a thirsting for something.
S6: And we reach a point of recognizing that my performance,
S6: what I do for my job or my career or
S6: my ministry isn't going to satisfy that thirst.
S2: Hmm. Greg Dempster, Christ's Life Ministries with us right now.
S2: Coming up, let's talk about what it looks like to
S2: come out of that. For the leader. Yes, that Greg
S2: works with, but also for you in your personal life,
S2: maybe you're in a a season of of man. Dryness.
S2: Maybe a desert season where you're still trying to minister
S2: to others. But what's going on beneath the surface is discontent.
S2: Is a lack of peace, a lack of finding your
S2: rest in Christ. Let's talk with Greg coming up.
S1: He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then
S1: he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl
S1: and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Where does a pastor or a leader go when they've
S2: experienced some sort of moral failing or some sort of
S2: crisis of leadership, or they're just struggling on the inside
S2: and not sure who they can talk to as they're
S2: continuing to minister to people as they themselves are struggling. Well,
S2: oftentimes they go to my guest, Greg Dempster, founder and
S2: director of Christ Life Ministries. Your ministry exists to help
S2: leaders who find themselves in this position. What have you
S2: learned about some of the warning signs that often can
S2: lead to some sort of a public failing? What's going
S2: on beneath the surface that usually, if heeded, could potentially
S2: prevent something like this from happening?
S6: I just think that a lot of the time, a
S6: leader can't put their finger on exactly what it is.
S6: They just feel a lot of disruptive emotion, a lot
S6: of stress. Maybe they go the other direction. Maybe it's
S6: melancholy and discouragement, insecurity, inadequacy. The problem is that disruptive
S6: emotion is actually a fruit. It's not the root. The
S6: disruptive emotion is is an indicator that distortion is in play.
S6: Somewhere along the line, they've picked up a governing idea
S6: that's flawed and they're living their life according to it.
S2: Why have you made this your life's work? What? I'm
S2: sure there must be something in your own story that
S2: prompted you to really have a passion for this work?
S6: Totally. I mean, it was I think it was 18 years,
S6: 19 years of full time pastoral ministry and and God,
S6: by his grace, just blessed the things. When I say blessed,
S6: I mean that his hand was resting powerfully on the
S6: ministries that I got to be a part of. And
S6: some of those were with Carl, you know, in both
S6: Arkansas and Alaska. But in desperation, we saw we sought
S6: God's face, humbled ourselves, fasted and prayed and saw God
S6: move in undeniable ways. And it was in the midst
S6: of all of that success that I began to realize, wow,
S6: I've got some patterns in my life that don't seem
S6: to be all that healthy. Like I would read Isaiah
S6: 58 about the fasting that God designed and purposed fasting
S6: to be, and it didn't have pride as a result
S6: of fasting and performing. And I just realized, wow, I
S6: feel like I'm. I'm running too hot too long. I
S6: just knew that I couldn't continue the way that I
S6: was living. And that's when I began my own healing journey.
S2: What is key to that healing journey? Obviously there's there's
S2: nothing new under the sun, so there's no magic formula here.
S2: But what are those steps toward healing when someone is
S2: burdened and burnt out?
S6: I think that's really easy. You know, we've got to
S6: start with ownership. Romans ten nine clearly lays out the
S6: pathway to salvation, and part of that is confessing Jesus
S6: as my new master. That's it. That that I'm transferring
S6: ownership of my life to him. He owns me now.
S6: That's got to be in place. If I'm still running
S6: my own life, there's no way I'm going to run
S6: it towards health and towards deeper relationship with Jesus. I've
S6: got to bow my heart, my knee to the living
S6: God and confess his ownership of my life. Number two
S6: is found out of Jeremiah 213, where it says the
S6: nation of Israel has committed two grievous sins. They have
S6: forsaken me, the fountain of living water. And they tried
S6: to do it on their own. And oh, by the way,
S6: doing it on your own lead in that passage to
S6: intense labor and total failure. That's a snapshot of what
S6: many of these guys and gals are experiencing in ministry
S6: intense labor and total failure.
S2: You know, sometimes when you're walking with the Lord for some,
S2: some years, you can feel a quiet frustration like, God,
S2: I'm not. I'm not changing the way I want to.
S2: I have this desire to be more like you. I'm
S2: listening to sermons. I'm trying to read my Bible, and
S2: I feel like it's not working. What do you do
S2: with that emotion where you feel like you're doing the
S2: things to be faithful, but on the inside, you're not
S2: sure if it's actually changing you.
S6: I think you've got to learn from it. I think
S6: more often than not, we shove those emotions down. I
S6: think what God wants us to do is learn from them.
S6: He obviously is allowing us to feel what we do
S6: for a reason, and it's to draw us back to him.
S6: It's like it's like when you're driving on the freeway
S6: and you get a red light that begins flashing on
S6: your dashboard, it's time to pull over and figure out
S6: what's wrong. Disruptive emotion is used by God at times
S6: in that same way to show me. Wow. Okay, hold
S6: on a second here. I'm actually operating as my own master,
S6: my own center, my own provider, and as a result,
S6: I'm feeling stress and tension or discouragement or whatever's disruptive.
S6: Emotion teaches us in many different ways about what we're
S6: carrying on our own shoulders.
S2: Wow. Last question. I got about a minute left, so
S2: give me the kind of the the Reader's Digest version.
S2: But sometimes our feelings can be fickle. When should you
S2: not lean so heavily on what it is you're feeling?
S6: I think again, going back to where we just were, ownership,
S6: we got to practice ownership. Number two, as we feel
S6: we've got to submit our how we're feeling, how we're
S6: perceiving life to the Almighty. Psalm 139 does say that
S6: there's nowhere we can go where the Spirit of God,
S6: where we we can flee the presence of God.
S2: Yes.
S6: That we need to bow down, even bowing down right
S6: now as you're listening, as you're your listeners are connecting
S6: to this program and submitting their lives to God's ownership
S6: and asking for John 16, the counseling work of the
S6: third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to lead
S6: them into all truth.
S2: Thank you so much. Greg Dempster. Our guest this morning, uh,
S2: took some time out to be with us. If you
S2: want more, just text life to 800 555 78. 98
S2: more on Christ Life Ministries. Just text life to 800
S2: 555 7898.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: I think back to my freshman year in college. There
S2: was a scripture verse that I scrawled out and used
S2: some colored highlighters, pink and yellow, and I put this
S2: up in my room. It happens to be the verse
S2: that YouVersion says was the verse of the year in
S2: 2020 for my freshman year in college was years before that,
S2: but it was Philippians 461. Oh boy. Philippians four six,
S2: which talks all about dealing with fear and anxiety. You
S2: super dye. Will you pull up Philippians four six for
S2: me so that I can read it word for word?
S2: But I remember how I just needed something to go to.
S2: And there was looking back, there were plenty of things
S2: in my life that needed to be squared away for
S2: peace to come. There was a disconnect for sure. I
S2: was hoping that I could apply a verse and not
S2: deal with some of the things that needed to be
S2: dealt with. That doesn't work so well.
S4: Not so much.
S2: It's like, let's deal with some of this other stuff.
S2: I wish I would have had someone to tell me
S2: that at the time. But it's common to go to
S2: God's Word to try to grab on to something that's
S2: going to bring you some comfort. And we know that
S2: the Word of God is living and active, and it's powerful.
S2: It's sharper than a double edged sword. Useful for teaching
S2: and correcting. I didn't have all of that committed to
S2: memory at the time, but Philippians four six was the
S2: one that I had.
S7: It's do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
S7: by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
S2: And the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your
S2: hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I want to know
S2: from you this morning what is that verse for you?
S2: That was the first one that stuck to you. Maybe
S2: you actively sought to remember it, wrote it out on
S2: a note card, or posted it up somewhere. Or maybe
S2: you just heard it and it just stuck to you.
S2: You didn't even try to remember it. Do you have
S2: one of those that verse that you first remember sticking 800, 555, 78, 98,
S2: 855 five 7898. You got a thought on this, Diana?
S7: Oh, mine, without a doubt. I've talked about it. Definitely
S7: is in Romans. I mean, I could take all of
S7: Romans eight, but to narrow it down just a little
S7: bit more, it really is. It's 38 and 39. It
S7: just it says, I am convinced. Death, life, whatever. Angels, demons,
S7: nothing present, future, whatever. Neither height nor depth. Death. Death, rather,
S7: anything in all creation, in all creation, can separate us
S7: from the love of Jesus Christ. Oh, that's.
S2: A good.
S7: One. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
S2: So I want to hear from you this morning. And
S2: this isn't just necessarily like your favorite verse. Maybe it is,
S2: but this is the one that you heard it and
S2: it stuck to you. 855 five 7898 what was that
S2: first Bible verse or passage that you heard and it stuck?
S2: 855 five 7898 this is David Crowder. Somebody prayed.
S1: You're listening to Curl and Crew on Moody Radio.
S2: We are really talking about the Word of God today,
S2: celebrating the Word of God and its impact in the
S2: shaping of us. We've been in Psalm one. Blessed is
S2: the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
S2: nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in
S2: the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the
S2: law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates
S2: day and night. That person is described as like a
S2: tree planted, flourishing, prosperous. I'm asking you, what's the first
S2: passage of scripture? Maybe a single verse that you remember
S2: sticking to you? You didn't just hear it, it stuck.
S2: 800 555 7898 Roberta calling in this morning from Chicago.
S2: Give me the verse and tell me, why is this
S2: the one that's stuck?
S8: Okay, this is Matthew 625. Therefore I tell you, do
S8: not worry about your life, what you will eat or
S8: what you will drink, or about your body, what you
S8: will wear. Is life more than food and the body
S8: more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air.
S8: They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns. And
S8: yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of
S8: more value than the.
S2: Yes.
S8: Well, yeah. This was great to me because I was
S8: a single mom. You know, I had my daughter at
S8: 19 and, you know, we had a wonderful life. Jesus
S8: was always there. That was kind of my go to.
S8: You know, you get a little frightened. You're when you're
S8: a mom and you really have to produce and know
S8: that there's two of you that you're responsible for.
S2: Sure.
S8: So that was the one verse that I don't know
S8: how I actually came into it originally, but I was
S8: always reading Bible verses. They comforted me. And this one
S8: then kind of when I did read it kind of
S8: stuck with me. So like I say, it was my
S8: go to when I was raising my daughter when she
S8: was young, which, by the way, I'm now 84 and
S8: she's 65.
S2: Roberta, I love that. Thank you so much. Calling in
S2: this morning from Chicago. I'm asking you, what's that verse
S2: for you? Not just a favorite verse, but it's the
S2: one that you heard it and it it stuck to you.
S2: You've held on to it. 805 55, 78, 98. Would
S2: love to hear your call. Your verse this morning. 805
S2: 55 7898.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Love hearing and seeing these verses. That was the first
S2: verse for you that stuck to you. The Word of
S2: God is powerful. Sometimes you can be exposed to it
S2: for a lot of time and then and not really
S2: get it. That was true for me. But then a
S2: verse hits you and it sticks. 855 five 7898. What
S2: was that for you, Doug? First time caller from Wisconsin.
S2: What's that? First time that the word of God it
S2: stuck to you?
S9: Um, what stuck to me was John 16. Um, truly, truly,
S9: I say to you, I have many things to say
S9: to you, but you cannot bear them now.
S2: Curious. Doug, what do you think it was about that
S2: verse that stuck for you?
S9: Okay, so I read that there was like a big
S9: charismatic movement in the late 70s, um, in our church,
S9: in and neighborhoods. And so I was in high school
S9: at the time, and a friend of mine, we studied
S9: the Bible a lot together. And, um, that was one
S9: that stuck to me. I was like I said, in
S9: high school, and now it's all more about, you know,
S9: I'm a little older today, and, um, it's important that I,
S9: you know, get back to, you know, my roots and
S9: start reading gospel.
S2: Yeah. Is that something that you're wanting to do, Doug?
S2: Get back to really reading God's Word. Am I understanding
S2: that correctly?
S9: That is correct. I got this app through the word
S9: I started in October of last year and it's awesome.
S9: So yeah. And then listening to you guys on the radio.
S2: Awesome. Doug, first time caller from Wisconsin, I want to
S2: encourage you in that, that God's bringing you back to
S2: his word. Stay faithful in it and and watch how
S2: he's going to use it in your life. Uh, be encouraged.
S2: I appreciate your call this morning. Let's go to Tamela
S2: calling in this morning from Orland Park, Illinois. Tell us, Tamela,
S2: what's that verse that stuck to you?
S10: Psalm 27. Psalm the Lord is my light and my salvation.
S10: Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of
S10: my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked,
S10: even my enemies and my foes, come upon me to
S10: eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. And that
S10: has been my daily delight. My bishop, my late Bishop
S10: Jonathan Greer senior, gave me that scripture, um, and said
S10: it would be my life scripture, and it has proven
S10: to be my life scripture. I've seen some dark days,
S10: but the light of God has shined on my path
S10: each and every time.
S2: Tamela, awesome. Appreciate your call this morning from Illinois. Uh,
S2: what about you? What's that verse? The first one that
S2: you remember hearing that really stuck to you? 800 555
S2: 7898 Kim calling in this morning from Gilberts, Illinois. Uh,
S2: tell me, what's the verse for you that stuck with you.
S11: From Matthew 1615 and 16, where Jesus asked the disciples,
S11: who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answers,
S11: you are the Christ, the son of the living God.
S11: I taught that over 30 years ago to my Awana girls,
S11: and I taught them that. It's the question all of
S11: us have to answer for ourselves. Who do we say
S11: that Jesus is?
S2: That's good. Matthew. That's Matthew five or Matthew 1615 through 16.
S2: Thank you, Kim, for calling in this morning. Says, but
S2: what about you? He asked, who do you say I am?
S2: Simon Peter answered, now verse 16, you are the Messiah,
S2: the son of the living God. You nailed it, Kim.
S2: That's the question that every one of us has to ask.
S2: It's who do you say I am? Not just what
S2: does everybody else say? What do you say? Who is
S2: Jesus to you? Thank you so much for calling in.
S2: Let's go to John from Kentucky. John, give me that verse.
S2: That's the first one that you remember sticking to you.
S12: Well, for me, the verse that stuck 25 years ago
S12: was Matthew chapter five, verse 16. And it says, let
S12: your light shine before men, that they may see your
S12: good deeds, and praise your father who is in heaven.
S12: And it stuck because I was so excited, you know,
S12: when I heard the gospel and gave my life to Christ.
S12: But I felt really ill equipped to share. Yeah. And
S12: when I heard that verse, boy, it just it just
S12: told me once and for all that I didn't have
S12: to be a Bible scholar to share with the guy
S12: next to me. I just had to let this light,
S12: this new light shine. And it would be compelling towards Jesus.
S12: And it has been for a long, long time.
S2: John. You know what I. I love your call because
S2: the simplicity of that discovery that, you know, you think
S2: about when we come to the word honestly, sometimes we
S2: can come like, oh, I've, I've, I've read this before,
S2: but when we come with fresh expectation and John coming
S2: as a new believer going, I know I want to
S2: share my faith, but I feel ill equipped. And then
S2: reading that. John 516. Do you grab that for me, Jonathan?
S4: Let me get.
S2: It. I want to I want us to hear that
S2: one word for word and catch, catch the impact of it.
S2: Even if you've heard it many times before, that we can.
S2: We don't have to be a Bible student, a Bible scholar,
S2: to be able to share our faith in Christ with
S2: other people. You got that pulled up?
S4: Uh, it was Matthew.
S2: Matthew 516. Sorry about that. I think I think I
S2: gave you the wrong one.
S4: No problem. I got it in the same way. Let
S4: your light shine before others so that they may see
S4: your good works and give glory to your father who
S4: is in heaven.
S2: That people seeing in your life, the light of Christ,
S2: allows them to glorify their father in heaven. John. Really,
S2: really sweet call this morning. What do you say? What's
S2: that verse? That's the first one that you remember hearing
S2: that stuck 800 555 7898. Take a couple more calls here.
S2: 800 555 78. 98.
S1: He was running from God, but God's love brought him home.
S1: Carl is in the crew. It's Carl and crew on
S1: Moody Radio.
S2: Death. You are dead to me. Where do we get
S2: that from? Well, the word of God. Death. Where is
S2: your sting? All of this we get from the Word
S2: of God. Everything we know to be true about life,
S2: about the world, about our identity. We get from the
S2: Word of God. Think about that for a minute. What's
S2: that passage of Scripture? That verse? That was the first
S2: one that you can remember hearing and it stuck to you.
S2: 855 five 7898 let's go to James calling in this
S2: morning from Wisconsin. Tell me the first verse you remember
S2: sticking to you.
S13: Um, the Romans 829. Why? Because they I've misquoted Romans
S13: 828 like probably everybody on the planet at some point
S13: that all things work together for good to them that
S13: love God. Yep. I forgot the part. Who are the
S13: called according to his purpose? Romans 829 defines his purpose beautifully.
S13: That we be conformed to the image of His son,
S13: the firstborn among many brethren.
S2: That's a great observation. I'm going to pull this up because, James,
S2: you I want to I want to spend a little
S2: bit of stay on the can you stay on the
S2: line for about one more minute?
S13: Sure.
S2: Okay. So Romans 828 I want to bring this up
S2: because this is this is important. A lot of people do.
S2: Quote we know and we know that for those who
S2: love God, all things work together for good, for those
S2: who are called according to his purpose. That's often quoted
S2: that God works all things for the good. But you're right.
S2: Sometimes it gets separated from verse 29 for those whom
S2: he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the
S2: image of His Son, in order that he might be
S2: the firstborn among many brothers. So the things that God is, are,
S2: is working for good are for the conforming. Conforming to
S2: the image of his son. Those things are linked together.
S2: James does that. When that hits, does that still hit
S2: you today? When you even as you're as you're sharing it?
S2: Because I, I appreciate it. Does it still hit you
S2: in a, in a deep place?
S13: Oh you betcha.
S2: Awesome. James, thank you so much from Wisconsin. Uh, hold
S2: on the line. I want to get James a Carling
S2: crew prize pack. I appreciate him calling in this morning.
S2: Let's go with Eliana from Florida. What's that first verse
S2: that you remember hearing and it stuck to you?
S14: Oh, hi. Yes. Um, I was 17 at that time,
S14: and I grew up in Brazil. And between mountains, I
S14: was surrounded by mountains. I was feeling very lost at 17,
S14: not knowing what I was going to do and this
S14: and that. Matt and I decided to open the Bible
S14: and that verse came up. Psalm 121 I lift my
S14: eyes to the hills. Where does my help comes from?
S14: My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven
S14: and earth. Until this day, that verse pops up all
S14: the time. Every time I'm in a situation that I
S14: don't know what to do, who to go to. I'm
S14: a widow now, um. And every event that I have,
S14: which I have many, I lift my eyes to the hills.
S14: Where does my help come from? Not from this person
S14: or that, or this or that. It comes from the Lord,
S14: straight through him. And he has helped me all those years.
S14: I am the late 60s now, and God's Word is amazing.
S14: It's alive.
S2: Wow. From Florida. Thank you so much. I did you
S2: go there with her in your mind that.
S7: You're.
S2: You live in a mountainous region and you're searching for direction.
S2: You opened the Bible and you see, I lift my
S2: eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
S2: My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
S2: That's almost breathtaking, thinking about it like that, right? It's
S2: amazing how powerful calls this morning. Let's go to Robert
S2: from Bolingbrook. Robert, tell me, what's that verse? The first
S2: one that you can remember hearing that it really stuck
S2: to you.
S15: Uh, the one that I love so much is found
S15: in Psalms 139, verse 23. Search me, O God, and
S15: know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and
S15: see if there be any wicked way in me. And
S15: lead me in the way everlasting.
S2: Beautiful. Why that one, Robert? What's that done in your soul?
S15: Because I have a desire to be more like God.
S15: And God knows me better than anybody. And I want
S15: him to look inside of me and show me the
S15: good and the bad. But the aim is to whatever
S15: God says to conform to it, fix it. Be more
S15: like God, because I think we can handle life a
S15: whole lot better if we were more like Jesus.
S2: I think you'll get 100% agreement on that one. Robert.
S2: Thank you so much for calling in this morning from Bolingbrook.
S2: Let's squeeze one more in here. Let's go. Willie from Chicago. Willie,
S2: tell me, what is that verse for you? That's the
S2: first one that you remember hearing and it's stuck.
S16: It's not so much. It's the first one. It was
S16: what stuck to me for 40 years plus. Okay. I
S16: trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean
S16: not to thine own understanding, but in all thy ways
S16: acknowledge him. I wasn't about a Bible person, but I
S16: was around people. That was Bible, you know. And and
S16: God delivered me from a drug addiction, walking and talking.
S16: But I had to have something to go by. So
S16: every time something wouldn't go. I'd just say, trust in
S16: the Lord. Yes, I would put it in my spirit.
S16: Trust in the Lord.
S17: Trust in the Lord my heart.
S16: And lean not to thine own understanding, but in all
S16: thy ways acknowledge him. It made no difference whether the
S16: police picked me up, or whether I was doing something
S16: that was damnable. You know, I just knew that trusting
S16: in the Lord would get me to where he got me.
S2: Yeah, because we know that when we trust in ourselves. Willie,
S2: I'm sure you've seen, like the rest of us, that
S2: trusting in our own understanding does not lead us to
S2: a good place. Love that. Proverbs three five through six.
S2: Leaning on the understanding of the Lord. That's when we
S2: walk in true freedom. Fantastic calls this morning. Thank you.
S1: Romans eight brought her to Jesus while broadcasting traffic overnight.
S1: Super dei is in the crew, it's curl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: It's been a great morning so far. Hearing of all
S2: of your scripture verses, especially the ones that have really stuck.
S2: It's been a real pleasure. If you missed anything, check
S2: the show cast. If you want the show, just text
S2: show to 800 555 7898. Text show to 855 five 7898.
S2: Coming up here on Carlin Crew, we've got a special
S2: guest if you need to freshen up your quiet time.
S2: She's got some important, helpful tips for you.
S1: He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
S1: can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
S1: Carlin crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Usually pretty soon after you become a follower of Jesus Christ,
S2: you start to hear some of the terminology that gets
S2: thrown around. People talk about doing their devos or having
S2: their quiet time or their devotional life. And maybe you
S2: didn't know what that meant right away, but you didn't
S2: really want to ask, what is this thing called quiet time?
S2: Or it's possible that you've been in Christ for a
S2: lot of years. You know exactly what people are talking
S2: about when they say quiet time. But somehow that close
S2: connection with Jesus in that time carved out to spend
S2: with him, always feels like it's missing something. Like you're there.
S2: But man, are you meeting with Jesus. I want to
S2: introduce a special guest Ashreeta ChuChu. This is such a.
S2: Your heart is to help people cultivate this quiet time.
S2: This intimate time with the Lord. Uh, first of all,
S2: welcome to Carl and crew. You're one of our absolute favorites.
S2: Why do you find such joy in talking about this
S2: topic in particular?
S18: Because it is just such a mind blowing invitation to
S18: come into this space of not just knowing about God,
S18: not just learning facts about him and Bible trivia, but
S18: actually knowing him and being known by him. A space
S18: in which your heart is open to the Spirit of God,
S18: and he searches you and speaks to you and leads
S18: you in ways that affect your day to day life?
S18: That is what I am passionate about helping people delight
S18: in the presence of Jesus. It's so much more than
S18: what we typically think of when we think of quiet time.
S2: Ashreeta ChuChu, our guest right now. She is a national speaker,
S2: best selling author, founder of One Thing Alone Ministries, which
S2: is an online ministry that helps overwhelmed women find joy
S2: in Jesus. You mentioned the things that we feel like
S2: we're supposed to do. So most people would say, okay,
S2: my quiet time. It should consist of some time reading
S2: God's Word. So I'm opening my Bible. Maybe I have
S2: a devotional book to sort of support me in that,
S2: and then maybe I close my Bible and then, okay,
S2: it's time to pray. So I close my eyes and
S2: I sit there and I talk to God, or I
S2: try to. And then after maybe 15, 20 minutes, maybe
S2: an hour even, I'm on to the next thing. Sometimes
S2: it can feel like that can become the routine, but
S2: we don't feel like it's doing anything. And is it
S2: okay for me to even say that?
S18: Doesn't it feel kind of like taboo? Like we shouldn't
S18: talk about being bored with a Bible. We shouldn't talk
S18: about this unease of am I missing something here? Right?
S18: Surely there's got to be something more. And when we
S18: talk about quiet time, I mean, even the term itself
S18: is kind of like it's got to be quiet. But
S18: what if you have toddlers running around the house? What
S18: if you're charged with caring with an elder parent who
S18: is in your home and needs your attention? What if
S18: your life is not quiet? And even when you sit
S18: down to try to spend time in quiet, it doesn't
S18: go the way you expect it to or the clouds
S18: don't part to to this divine revelation. And I think
S18: we need to be careful, even with good practices or
S18: best practices. Right? What you described and what's often prescribed
S18: to Christians, it's not Word of God. Like there's nowhere
S18: in the Bible where God says, thou shalt read your
S18: Bible every day. Thou shalt spend 60 minutes in study
S18: or prayer. We need to be careful to not turn
S18: into these legalistic things that we ought to do to
S18: somehow secure the approval or pleasure of God. If you
S18: are in Christ, then when the father looks at you,
S18: he sees the perfect righteousness of Jesus. You can't add
S18: anything else to that. So let's stop trying to earn
S18: God's approval with what we do. That's legalism. That's trying
S18: to perform for him. Instead, I like to shift the
S18: perspective and the conversation into what is God's invitation to us.
S18: And it is always relationship. So if we want to
S18: talk about reading the Bible, it's not to read the
S18: Bible to check something off a list. It is asking God,
S18: would you open my eyes to understand how you reveal
S18: yourself here in the word, to delight in the fact
S18: that God wants us to know him, and he does
S18: that as we read Scripture. If it's prayer, let's delight
S18: in conversation with God. It's not just running through a
S18: laundry list of, you know, my kids right now are like, God,
S18: would you help us go on this trip? And would
S18: you give us these kinds of neighbors? And would you
S18: put a chick fil A in our neighborhood? Like, right.
S18: They have this wish list about and hey, God wants
S18: to hear the desires of our hearts, but he wants
S18: that conversation. He wants us, yes, to share with him.
S18: But also do we pause to listen to what he
S18: might want to say to us? The good Shepherd still speaks,
S18: so in some ways it might be doing some of
S18: the same actions, but the heart motivation is different. Jesus
S18: says to the Pharisees, you read the scriptures and yet
S18: you miss me. They speak of me. So one of
S18: my prayers, Ali years ago that totally transformed how I
S18: approach this is God, may I not miss you in Scripture.
S18: Would you open my eyes to see and savor Jesus
S18: in all of these things?
S2: Ashrita ChuChu, our guest right now. Coming up, I'm going
S2: to ask her about a pretty big trip her family
S2: just took. And when I say big trip, I mean
S2: like months long. They were out of their house on
S2: a pretty epic adventure, and I'm going to ask her
S2: about it and how it has affected her relationship with God.
S2: More coming up here on Karl and crew.
S1: You're listening to Curl and Crew on Moody Radio.
S2: We've got Ashreeta ChuChu with us right now. National speaker,
S2: best selling author, founder of One Thing Alone Ministries. Just
S2: back from a pretty epic adventure with your family. Tell
S2: tell me about this trip you just took.
S18: Oh my gosh, it was epic. We spent two months
S18: in the southwest, um, eight weeks of road tripping with
S18: our camper like travel trailer, and we lived, I think,
S18: a total of 56 days in a space that is
S18: about the size of our bathroom and closet put together. Wow.
S18: And in so many ways, we were like, are we
S18: crazy for doing this? But it's the culmination of a
S18: years long years and years of dreaming and planning, um,
S18: and really just kind of following a hunch that for
S18: our family in particular, we could use more time together,
S18: away from our screens, away from our routines, together in
S18: God's nature, adventuring and exploring together. And it was just
S18: such a good thing for our family.
S2: As you spent time really outdoors, because obviously you were
S2: in your camper for some of it, but you got
S2: to really stop and pause and kind of take in
S2: the beauty of all that God's created. What did that
S2: do for your relationship with God?
S18: Yeah. I mean, how much time do you have it?
S18: Part of it, Ali, is just a reminder of how
S18: small we are. I think of how Scripture says, what
S18: is man that you are mindful of him. We got
S18: to hike in the Rocky Mountains. We stood on the
S18: edge of the Grand Canyon. We got to see just
S18: ancient cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde. Just so many incredible
S18: natural wonders and also like human made things on this trip.
S18: And again and again it was the majesty and beauty
S18: of God in creation. And even though, you know, just
S18: kind of to tie this segment with a previous one,
S18: my my quiet time quote unquote didn't look anything like
S18: what it is at home. It was a whole lot
S18: more time hiking outdoors. And as a family we memorized
S18: Psalm 121. I lift my eyes up to the hills.
S18: Where does my help come from? And as we would
S18: hike down into Bryce Canyon and see these different rock formations,
S18: telling our children look at the handiwork of God, and
S18: that he would be so good as to give this
S18: as a gift to us. What does that say about
S18: the heart of God the Father toward us? So many organic,
S18: beautiful moments of teaching that would just then boomerang right
S18: back to my heart. Ali. Yeah, like I was there
S18: telling my kids something and then it was like God's
S18: Spirit saying, no, this is for you too.
S2: It's so beautiful. You know, you took me there just
S2: in my mind. And I think about even. I live
S2: in a big city. I live in Chicago, and I
S2: can sometimes I'll just get to a place and I
S2: still see skyscrapers, but I'll just go to a place
S2: where I can see lots of grass and lots of
S2: trees and some flowers, and I'll just try to look
S2: up at the sky and look at the trees and
S2: look at the birds. And it's, you know, it's nowhere
S2: near the epic adventure that you went on. But there's
S2: something about just getting outside. Even if you live in
S2: an urban setting and just taking your eyes up a
S2: little bit and talk a little bit about this idea
S2: of having a devotional personality. Sometimes we think about devotions
S2: as kind of one set way. But what do you
S2: mean by the devotional personality?
S18: Yeah. So for years now I've been asking our readers online, like,
S18: how do you best connect with God? And I was
S18: intrigued that some people, like you said, it's when they
S18: stand on the beach and they see the waves coming
S18: in or they go out to that urban park and
S18: watch the birds fly over their heads. That is when
S18: they feel closest to God. And other readers were like, no, no, no,
S18: it's it's when I'm doing an inductive Bible study and
S18: I learn something new that I didn't know before. Like,
S18: that just expands my heart. And I feel so close
S18: to God and others like, no, no, no. It's when
S18: I'm out. Like serving those in need, serving in the
S18: soup kitchen, being the hands and feet of Jesus, delivering
S18: a meal. That is when I feel closest to God.
S18: And over the years I was like, I really think
S18: God has given us different personality types, so to speak.
S18: Like how we connect to him, how we feel close
S18: to him. And I think we do the church a
S18: disservice when we compare ourselves to each other, when we say, oh,
S18: I'm a better Christian, because look how much time I
S18: spend doing X, Y, and Z and you don't. Instead
S18: of celebrating the diversity of the body of Christ, that God,
S18: our creator, made us in different ways to connect with him.
S18: So we put together a quiz to kind of invite
S18: people into the freedom of discovering. How did God create
S18: you to connect with him? Is it watching the sunrise?
S18: Is it doing an inductive study? Is it, you know,
S18: going out and serving the poor or putting on worship
S18: music and singing at the top of your lungs? I
S18: think we can all do all of these things, but
S18: especially if you're feeling bored in your quiet time or
S18: you feel like you're stuck in a spiritual rut. Let
S18: me just encourage listeners to take that quiz and maybe
S18: try a new, fresh, creative way to connect with God.
S2: Ashreeta ChuChu. One thing alone Ministries if you want that
S2: devotional personality quiz. Other great resources on her website, as
S2: well as a YouTube channel where she has guided prayers,
S2: Bible study tips you can get all of that. Just
S2: text Delite to 855 five 7898. If you want resources
S2: from Ashreeta, just text Delite to 855 five 7898.