Mind of Christ: Ep 1: Surrendered: The Mind of Obedience

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Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host,

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Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent.

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Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed.

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Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought

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was possible. Enlarge her territory.

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Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment.

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Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent

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to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

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This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen.

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This is your host, Connie Morris, and I welcome you back to the Diary of a Black

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Woman podcast with our Faith on the Go series.

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We know faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God, and this is why

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this space was created for your quiet moments, your work days,

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your commutes, and those in-between places where your spirit just needs to be refilled.

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Faith on the go is for the times when you're fighting battles not yet won,

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but already finished in Christ.

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It's for the ones who keep believing, keep pressing, and keep walking,

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even when the road gets long.

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So wherever you are today, settle in and let the Word of God strengthen your faith on the go.

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Today's topic for our day one is a mind of obedience, surrendered to the Father's will.

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The key scriptures today is found in Philippians chapter 2 verse 8.

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He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death

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on a cross. Even if we think about this, we know that this was a hard thing, right?

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And so we know Jesus humbled himself by becoming obedient even unto death, death on the cross.

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So let's see this through Jesus' eyes.

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When God says, let this mind be in you, he invited us to think like his son,

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to see life through the lens of surrender.

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Obedience is not a rule to follow. It is a relationship to protect.

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It's what kept Jesus aligned with his father through every season of his life.

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We know God loves obedience.

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And so if you get aligned with God, with that mind of obedience,

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then you too will love obedience.

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And that will continue to grow in that relationship. You know,

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when you have someone you trust, say, for instance, your parents,

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and they tell you to do something when you're a child, it seemed like you didn't have a choice.

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But in reality, we did, right? We did it.

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And after a while, we realized that doing that one thing for our parents,

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it was because we didn't want to.

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It was our attitude more than anything that had to change.

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But once we did it, we realized that when we are obedient to our father and

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our mother, the Bible says we will be blessed.

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But also, you see those blessings as you get older. they begin to trust you.

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Can you go do this? Can you go do that? Can I trust you in the little things

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so that I can give you more?

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And so those little acts of obedience as a child gives us the attitude like,

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okay, if I clean my room up, that's not going to hurt anything because I know

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I'm going to ask my mom to use the car this weekend or I'm going to ask for

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money for this event that I want to go to.

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And she says, yes, but she'll ask me, did I clean my room?

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Like that was a test, right? So even Jesus, as a young boy in the temple courts,

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Jesus looked at his anxious parents and said, did you know I must be about my father's business?

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It was something ingrained in him at a very young age. That moment wasn't a childless defiance.

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It was divine awareness.

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He already understood that his life was an assignment.

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Think about this though. When we know that our life is an assignment,

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we won't go wasting time.

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It's interesting that I say that because when I look back at my life,

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I feel like I wasted a lot of time. But as I'm getting older,

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I'm realizing this is an assignment.

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Everything I do is part of God's bigger plan for me. It says,

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I'm going to continue. Obedience began before the miracles.

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Remember Jesus did miracles, but he had to be obedient to first his father in

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heaven, which means he had to follow what his parents said on earth,

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his natural parents that God gave him.

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And we know that if you're obedient in the little things, when the big things

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happen, you won't draw back like Jesus didn't draw back from the cross.

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Years later, when Jesus' ministry grew through multitudes, the scripture said,

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Jesus often withdrew to a lonely place and prayed.

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That's found in Luke 5, 16. He refused to be led by the pressure of popularity.

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The son of God, full of power, still stopped to listen.

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His secret was not strategy. It was stillness. How many of us take time to just

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listen in a stillness, right?

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In the stillness. He said, he refused to be led by pressure.

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Of popularity. Then came Gethsemane. Under olive trees and moonlight, he fell to his knees.

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Father, if you're willing, take this cup from me.

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Yet not my will, but your will be done. Luke 22, 42.

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This was obedience at its deepest when the will of heaven collides with the weakness of flesh.

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In that garden, surrender wasn't easy, but it was holy.

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Obedience opened the doorway to redemption.

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Finally, at Calvary's hill, with the weight of the world pressing down,

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Jesus declared, it is finished, John 19.30.

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He completed the assignment in full. Obedience wrote the last line of the greatest story ever told.

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Let's look at some biblical commentary to get a better understanding about Jesus

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having the mind of obedience.

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Every step Jesus took revealed that obedience is born from trust, not fear.

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He obeyed because he knew his father's character.

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He believed that love never leads to loss. That's why his submission in the garden wasn't defeat.

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It was victory disguised as surrender. For us, obedience is the bridge between

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revelation and fulfillment.

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We can hear God's word daily, but until we act on it, we remain spectators of

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the promise rather than participants in it.

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When your mind is renewed to trust the Father as Jesus did, obedience stops

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feeling heavy. It becomes a holy alignment.

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God's instructions are invitations, not impositions. Every yes draws you closer to his heart.

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Sometimes obedience means stepping forward.

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Other times it means standing still until he says move.

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Both require faith. So reflection here, I want you to ask yourself,

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where have I hesitated because I couldn't see the outcome? Have I been waiting for clarity?

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When God's already gave a command? And am I obeying because I'm afraid of the

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consequence or because I love the Father's will?

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Let the Spirit show you that obedience isn't losing control, it's gaining peace.

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A section I have for this devotional is walking it out like Jesus.

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And so I have like five different points I want to show you how to walk it out like Jesus.

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So you start your day in surrender. Whisper this prayer. Whisper his prayer

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before your feet hit the floor.

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Not my will, but your will be done. So we're shifting the focus.

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Many times we're so we focus instead of outward, right?

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We want to think about how this is going to affect me when we're supposed to

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declare, not my will, but yours be done today, Lord.

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That single sentence resets your day.

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Number two, listen before you act. Follow Jesus' rhythm.

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Withdraw, pray, then move. Luke 5.16 and John 5.19.

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Create quiet moments where obedience can be born.

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Obedience is born in the quiet time when you're listening to the whispers of Jesus on what's next.

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Trust the timing. Number three, Jesus waited 30 years for three years of ministry.

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Hidden seasons prepare you for visible purpose. Ecclesiastic.

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Number four, obey when it costs. Love something, ask for a sacrifice.

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So even when it costs, when you love something, it does require sacrifice.

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Jesus chose the cross because he saw resurrection ahead. Hebrews 12, 2.

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And number five, finish what you started. Let his words be yours.

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I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

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God is saying like, can you finish the work I gave you to do?

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Seeing your life as an assignment, it shifts your focus. You're not going to waste time.

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I say sometimes I'm meant to daydream, you know, like I do. I like to take a

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moment and maybe watch a few videos or listen to a couple podcasts.

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But overall, that's not my meat to eat for the day. My meat is the word of God.

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What can I learn about Jesus today? Let's pray.

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Father, thank you for giving me the perfect example in Jesus.

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Teach me to recognize your voice above all others.

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When my plan collides with your purpose, help me to choose surrender over stubbornness.

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When obedience feels costly, remind me of Calvary, where love obeyed unto death and gave me life.

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Let my daily yes become a testimony of trust. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Let's decree, I have the mind of Christ. I trust the Father's heart and obey

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his word. My steps are guided by faith, not fear.

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Like Jesus, I say yes before I understand, knowing his will leads to a perfect peace and purpose.

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Where is God asking you to take a step of obedience that feels uncomfortable?

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And how can you mirror Jesus' trust in the faith in the Father as you respond?

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Where is he taking you? Where does he want you to go? Remember,

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our life is an assignment. it.

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Assignment unto God. If you were born again Christian, then you know that your

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life has been dedicated to Jesus and he has plans for you.

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He also has a way to get to those plans, right? So just pay attention.

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You've been listening to Faith on the Go series with your host Connie Morris

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from the Diary of a Black Woman podcast.

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I pray this word energized your faith and reminded you of God's promise.

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So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.

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It should not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please,

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and it shall prosper in the thing which I sent it.

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Isaiah 55, 11. Every prayer, every decree, every act of obedience, it adds up to something.

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If God said it, that means it will not return back to him. Some scriptures said empty-handed.

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He put his hand out, and when he pulls it back, he's not going to be empty because

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it's going to be full of all the things that you have done in obedience. Amen.

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And be confident of this. He who began a good work in you should carry it on

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to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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Philippians 1.6. Remember, it's him who gave you the work and it's him that's gonna finish it in you.

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So keep believing, keep walking, keep trusting because God will finish what he started in you.

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And I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to this episode.

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And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14.

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Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper

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you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

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So today we receive that truth. You said when we call on you,

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you will listen. So we pray.

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You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found. So we pursue.

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You said you will restore us from captivity. So we declare freedom over every

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place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small.

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Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen.