Exposing the Counterfeit Bride's Worldly Walk: Ep 7: Feet on Fire

0:00 Music. Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent. Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed. Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought was possible. Enlarge her territory. Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment. Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

0:49 This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen. Welcome back, family, to the Diary of Black Women podcast, Church Chronicles, episode seven, The Feet Walking in Worldly Ways. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we will continue our journey through removing the cover and exposing the counterfeit bride. So far we've seen the head replaced by man, the eyes blinded, the ears itching for lies, the mouth preaching another gospel, the hands exploited. Now the Spirit of the Lord is uncovering the feet of the bride. Feet are meant to walk in the ways of God, to carry the gospel of peace, to stand firm on the rock.

1:36 But with the counterfeit bride, her feet no longer follow Christ. Instead, they walk in the ways of the world, chasing politics. Power, platform, instead of pursuing holiness and the Great Commission. Romans 10 15 tells us how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Proverbs 4 verses 26 to 27 tells us, give careful thought to the path of your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left. Keep your foot from evil. And then in Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14, it reads, enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.

2:22 And many enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life. And only a few will find it. The bride was called to walk in holiness, but too often her feet have strayed into worldly paths. And the Lord is asking, whose path are you walking on? Minds? Or the world. The feet walking in worldly ways. The direction of your feet determines the destination of your life. Feet were created to carry the bride into her purpose, to spread the gospel, to walk in holiness, to pursue righteousness. But in the counterfeit church, her feet have wandered off the narrow road.

3:05 Instead of running to the altar, her feet run to politics. Instead of carrying the gospel of peace, her feet carry gossip and division. Instead of standing firm on the rock, capital R, rock of Jesus Christ. Her feet chase shifting sands of popularity, power, and influence. The Lord warns us in Proverbs 4, give careful thought to the path for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left. Keep your foot from evil. But the counterfeit bride doesn't stay on the narrow way. She turns to the right when it promises power and to the left when it promises influence.

3:52 She forgets that the straight and narrow is the only way to lie. Matthew 7 tells us that wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. The feet of the counterfeit bride are on the broad road. It looks easy. It looks successful. It looks appealing, but it ends in destruction. Family, it's not the walk of the bride because when her feet walk in worldly ways, she cannot carry the presence of the bridegroom. The bridegroom path is holy, sacrifice, humility, and obedience. The counterfeit bride walks in pride, ambition, and compromise.

4:34 The bridegroom cries out, where is my bride? Where is my bride whose feet run to righteousness instead of compromise? Where is my bride whose steps are ordered by the Lord and not directed by ambition? Where is my bride whose feet run? Carries the good news of salvation, not the agenda of man. Psalms 119, 133 says, Direct my footsteps according to your word. Let no sin rule over me. Isaiah 52, 7 declares, How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, and who says to Zion.

5:16 Your God reigns. My bride does not walk on the wide road that leads to destruction. She stays on the narrow path that leads to life. My bride does not chase the claws of man. She follows the steps of her bridegroom. My bride does not run after power. She runs into my presence. Where is my bride? Not the one who walks in worldly ways. Not the one who stumbles after politics and pride. Not the one who follows the footsteps of the crowd. But the bride whose feet are steady, who walk is holy, whose path is lit by my word. Who will walk with me until the end? Guarding my walk.

6:00 The direction of your feet determines where you end up. That means we have to be intentional about where and how we walk. The bridegroom is calling us to examine our steps and to make sure we are aligned with his path, not the world. So this is how you guard your walk. Number one, stay on the narrow road. Matthew 7, 14 says, small is a gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few will find it. Don't follow the crowd just because it looks successful. The narrow road may be harder, but it's the only one that leads to eternal life. Let God order your steps. Psalms 37, 23 says, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his ways.

6:49 Pray daily, Lord, order my steps today. Don't let me walk into places you haven't called me to. Let's take a moment right now and pray that. Lord, order my steps today. Don't let me walk into places you have called, you have not, you haven't called me to. Number three, examine your direction. Ask yourself, where are my feet taking me? Am I running to the presence of God or am I running the platforms? Am I standing firm in holiness or compromising to fit in? The path you choose reveals the bride you belong to. Number four, be ready to carry the gospel. Romans 10, 15 reminds us how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

7:32 The bride feats aren't made for chasing fame or fortune. They are made to carry the message of salvation to a broken world. Family, this is the call. Let your feet match your worship. Let your feet, don't let your feet wander into the world's way. Keep your steps steady in holiness. Let your path testify that you belong to the bridegroom. Let's pray. Father, we humble ourselves before you today. Forgive us for the times our feet have wandered off the narrow road. Forgive us for chasing power, politics, and platform instead of walking in your ways. Lord, may our steps be realigned with your word. Order our steps, O God.

8:15 Keep us steady on the path of righteousness. Give us discernment to recognize detours of deception and the courage to stay faithful even when the road is hard. Let our feet be swift to carry the gospel, not gossip. Peace, not pride. Salvation, not selfish ambition. And I speak these decrees. We decree our steps are ordered by the Lord. We decree we will not walk on the broad road of destruction, but on the narrow path that leads to life. And we decree my feet will carry the gospel of peace wherever I go. And we decree the bride of Christ will rise with holy footsteps, walking in truth, righteousness, and readiness for her bridegroom.

9:00 In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Family, today we expose the feet of the counterfeit bride, feet that wander into the worldly ways, chasing politics, power, popularity instead of holiness. But the bridegroom is still crying, where is my bride? The one whose feet stay on, stays on the narrow road, whose steps are ordered by the Lord, and whose walk testified that she belongs to me. There's a walk. I like that. There's a walk that has this confidence when you know whose you belong to. So this week, I want to challenge you to examine your steps.

9:42 Where are your feet taking you? Are you walking into a holiness or compromise? Are your feet standing firm on the rock, the rock, capital R-O-C-K, or sinking into the shifting sands of this world? The path you walk today reveals the bride you are becoming. Thank you for joining me on today with the Diary of a Black Woman podcast, Church Chronicles. If this word spoke to your spirit, share with someone who needs to be reminded to keep their walk aligned with Christ. You can always connect with me at thediaryofablackwomanslc.com, that's my website, or by email, diaryofablackwomanspodcast at gmail.com.

10:23 And don't miss the next episode, but heart, cold towards Christ. We uncover how the counterfeit bride has lost her first love and grown cold in devotion, and why the bridegroom is calling his people back to a heart burning with love for him. Until next time, remember, healing, truth, faith are found in Christ alone. This is your host, Connie Moore, signing off with love, strength, and a touch of cloud. And I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to this episode. And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14. Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

11:13 So today, we receive that truth. You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray. You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found. So we pursue. You said you will restore us from captivity. So we declare freedom over every place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small. Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen. Music.