ADITLO: Guarding Your Heart

hey, what's up, everyone. Welcome back to the day in the life of podcasts. It's E and Peyton, and we are so excited for today's episode. Um, we kind of touched on it last week, but we really just wanted to kind of dive into it because we feel like it's a really good topic. Yeah. So this week we're going to talk about guarding your heart. And so whenever you think about guarding your heart, I think the first verse that comes to mind is the Proverbs verse that says guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. And then another version of it is guard your heart for it's the wellspring of life. And so we just kind of wanted to deep dive on like, what exactly. Does God see your heart as in like, what is your heart and why do we need to protect it? And what his idea of guarding our heart means. So I don't know. Whenever I started to think about guarding your heart, I kind of felt like it was hand in hand with just repentance. Yeah. Because I feel like. Guarding my heart. I've been trying to guard my heart by trying to not lead me to sin. And so, yeah. To not leave me to sin is repenting and realizing what my sin is and trying to turn away from it and to cause there to be as little distractions as possible. Yeah. If you think about it though, like our heart is the center of everything, literally it's the center of your body. It's the center of your health? Um, we make every decision from our heart. We go with our heart, like what our hearts is most of the time. And most of the time that's the holy spirit. Look at this quote, unquote heart. It's the holy spirit. So if you don't guard that and have the armor to say no, or, um, you know, know what's right from wrong. Then you're just going to be a lot of stray by sin. So like guarding your heart really means like putting up those walls and protecting yourself from that barrier of sin and lies because the devil is all laws and he wants to take you. So I think like, you know, Trying to figure out how to guard your heart is the biggest thing to start. And, you know, I like my first thought was like, how, how do you do that? And, you know, we have it kind of like sitting in front of us. The Bible is literally the biggest way to guard your heart is to. You know, get that knowledge and seek it from the Bible, because if you don't have the armor or the equipment. To guard your heart, then how are you even gonna start? Like, yeah, you won't have the ability to do it because you don't know what's right from wrong. And God literally gives us frictions in the Bible. Yeah. We were talking about it a little bit earlier. I feel like whenever something happens to you, you already have your list in your head of the people you want to call because you know how people are going to react. And so like, you'll call this friend because she's going to react to this way. You'll call your mom. Cause she's gonna tell you you're right. And those people are crazy. And then you're going to call. Your dad because he doesn't care and it's just going to listen. Like there's different people for who you call for certain things. And so I feel like we know how the person is going to react before we even call them to ask them questions. And so. We do that because we know them and we have a relationship with them. Right. And so. To have a relationship with God. We have to look at what he has to say. And he has a whole book of what he has to say. And we, we stress this all the time, but we can't stress it enough because there's people still not reading their Bible. And none of us read it as much as we should, because it should be the, like, it's the entire. NIS of what our life needs to be is just like, that's why we were put here is to love the Lord and to live out our life for him. And so. We put it off. And this is another point that we have later is like your priorities. But you can't put off reading the Bible because that goes hand in hand with having a relationship with him because that's how, you know, How he is, and you won't even need to call him. I mean, you always have to pray, but if you know what God says about those specific situations, because you've read your Bible, you know how to react. Yeah. Like I said, it's like literally a handbook on how to live life. And if we don't know it, then how in the world are we going to know how to live our lives? So you have to remember every day that you're supposed to, you know, dive in the word, but it's hard. And I am as guilty as the rest of them. Like, I truly didn't think it was not, not, not important, but like I always felt led to just watch sermons or listen to podcasts. Like I never really thought, well, Hey, I should be reading the actual book of what God says, because that might help me. But I have been traveling. I finished my first whole book of the Bible. And I. It's really weird to say, like you think, like I've never sat down and read entire thing, entire book of the Bible. And I read through Romans. And I was like, this is an accomplishment, like I'm learning so much because you only hear stories, but like when you actually take the time to learn for yourself, it's like, Oh, my gosh, like, like, uh, Light bulb moment goes off in your head and you're like, whoa, like this is actually what it says. And it's like, it says how we're supposed to live. And it tells you why things are the way they are and why things are wrong. So if we can't, you know, arm ourselves with God's knowledge, then we're not going to know right from wrong. And. The reason that he puts the right and wrong in the Bible is to steer us away from the bad things. I think a lot of times in our society, Um, You know, guarding your heart, kinda, it gets thrown in with the, you know, conception ABI. Yeah, like judgemental judgment or. And it's, it's not, it's not supposed to be judgmental at all because I think when people like state guard your heart, They're like, oh, so you're judging me. And, or you have to stop hanging out with that person or you have to, you know, tell them to their face that they're wrong and that's, that's not at all what it is. No. Like you have to, you know, sit back for yourself and be like, You know, I can't, I can't partake in this or I can't, I can't live the way you're living. Not because I don't love you just because I can't put myself in a bad situation that I could disrupt my beliefs and my feelings of what God says. That is true. You know, Because it's the truth. And so your, you can't. It leads you down that path of, if you're not guarding your heart, you're a quote on quote lukewarm Christian. Yeah. Because you're like dancing on that line of like, this is what I believe. This is what I believe, but then you go hang out with certain friends and you're like, Well, I don't know if God's really mean in that when he says that and it's like, you know, that, that's what he said because yeah. People try to read in between the lines a lot. Like there. People have told me before that. Um, oh, when Adam and Eve ate the apple, that meant they had sex. Like people try and like. But I feel like for the most part, the Bible is like plain as day because it's like, if they, if God meant that they had sex, He would have said, and they had sex. Because the Bible talks about sexual sin and sexual immorality. So often. That the biggest open line is not going to be. Yeah, you. You know what I mean? Like people try to read into it too much to make excuses for certain things. Right. And that goes into another thing too. Like. You know, you may have your beliefs, but is it the truth? Like the books of the Bible are the truth. And no matter what you think it may or may not be true, what is true is what's written in the Bible and that's all he gave us. And, you know, he didn't adapt to this world in this day and age. He wrote it, you know, However many years ago, billions, but, um, he wrote it then and there for it to apply to an entire entire generations lifetimes. And so like, you can't just make up or say that he didn't mean these certain things because you don't know. And that's all we have to go by is what the Bible says. And so he can't change it. Like, I think a lot of times we try to change the Bible what today to fit our needs. And that's not how it is. And it's not how it should be, but we all do it. Yeah. I think it also goes along with people. How many times do you hear people say like, well, that's not a God. I want to believe in, or that's not, I don't want to believe in a God who says this and doesn't say this or that lets people die young or that condemns these people. Okay. First and foremost. It's not about you wanting to believe, because whether you believe or not, he is God. And. Every like whenever he comes back, it says that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is the Lord. And so you not wanting to believe. Like you're all important, but in the. Schema God, you not wanting to believe is not going to affect him being God, because you're a human and he is the almighty powerful sovereign king, right? Like you not believing and not being able to wrap your mind around the fact that there's a God doesn't change the fact that he's God. Right. And I think that's extremely important because we literally all the time try to rewrite, rewrite how the Bible was. It was supposed to be. And I think that goes into why people think that guarding your heart means judgment. And it doesn't mean judgment. It just means that you can't partake in those things because you know, that's going to put you at risk because how many times do we start to hang around something that we don't necessarily believe in, but then when, when time comes along, you're like, oh, well it's not that bad because the more you're around it, the easier art to be associated, like you're, it's. You're going to see it as more. Okay. The more you're around it. Yeah. Because it's going to seem natural. Yeah, I hate to use this analogy, but my mom used to tell me this all the time. She is like, when you start hanging around crap, you're going to smell like it. And it's true. True. Like, if you start to hang around bad things, you're going to eventually do it. And I used to tell her all the time, like, no, I'll never fall into that trap. I'll never do this. I'll never do that. Well guess what I did. And I didn't believe her until. Literally lived it. And it's so true. So that's why it's so important to put up those walls of the faith and your foundation in Jesus, because he's going to show you what's right and wrong. And I think that kinda just goes into too, like you have to, you have to pray to God and ask him to give you the desires of your heart because. You're going to want the worldly things, which is so sad to say, but we often times like we were we gonna, we're gonna want, what is it this world? And that's not what God has for us. And it's not what he wants. As to believe in either because the world is full of the enemy and the enemy is the king of lies. It says that in the Bible, I think that's just so interesting to think that everything that we believe in that's not of God is a lie. And I think we are so tricked. Are your tricks so easily into believing everything? It's also because I've heard a lot lately about how, um, Satan. Doesn't create anything. He. Because he's not a creator he's like, and he's a trickster. And so things that are so close to what God says, like if people aren't on their guard and aren't looking into these things, Like say I come and tell Eva, I'm like, no, I heard that that's okay. Yeah. And I'm a Christian. So she would believe me. But you have to keep your guard up and be like, Yeah, no. The Bible specifically says that this is not okay. I'm not going to. I'm not going by Peyton's version of the Bible. I'm going by what the Bible says. So you can't because the devil tries to trick people and he'll try to slightly alter it enough to where you're like, well, I could see where he would say that that's, you know, like I can see how that can be seen that way. And so they try and change just little things enough to throw you off your game so that you're still sending, but you don't think that you're sending and how many more people are you going to go tell that to? And you're going to cause them to stumble. Stumble, which is its sin in itself one and two. You're going to cause other people to stumble and then they're going to cause more people to stumble. And that's how the devil goes around. Yeah, it literally says in Peter five, eight. Be sober-minded be watchful. Your adversary, the devil. Girls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. So he literally goes around all the time and just seeks for people to like engulf into. And sin. And, um, we have to just, we have to be on watch. We see things every day in the world, and it's a scary place. And we're like, we don't know what to believe, but that goes back to like knowing, knowing the truth. And reading your Bible. It's so, so important to actually read. And see what God has to say for himself. Rather than what the world has to say. Right. Because we're people and we're going to screw things up. And so even something that we might say might contradict what the Bible says exactly. And you might need to be like, yeah, that's not what that says. Yeah. Because once it goes down the telephone, like people are bound to mess something up. So if you go to the Bible where profits were told exactly what pinned a paper. Put down or it's, Jesus's read words in there. Yeah. You know? This is truth because that's the Bible and it's not what a person has altered for their agenda. Yep. We try to fit the Bible to origin to all the time, or like, we'll say, um, You know, kind of going towards like turning away and repinning will say, I'll start tomorrow. Or I'll I'll, I'll just do it one time and this'll be it, or it's just one night. Like I shouldn't try it. Just try it. I just want to see what it's about. Everyone does. And, um, We oftentimes just don't know. If we're going to get it tomorrow. the Bible says that the, that the Lord is going to come back or get even the night. And so you may not have tomorrow to, you know, Prepare your heart and be ready for what God has or when God comes. So like, why not start now and doing the little things or asking God to come into your heart. And praying that you want to repent, because I think it's hard to, I've had to struggle with like, Asking him just like, please take this out. I'm like, please take this away from me. Like, please make me not want it anymore. Like, and I think that's a hard prayer to pray because he will, he will, he will take that desire from you. If you ask. I saw a tick doc. That was kind of funny. And it was like, he was talking about the prayer that we always say, if it's not for me, Lord, get it away. And they're like, don't pray it if you don't want it to happen because. It's almost in silly. And I just think it's so funny because, um, the Lord is, is gonna always prevail, but we have to want it. And if that's why he kind of gives us free will too, because. He's not gonna, I mean, he doesn't want to force you to love him. If he doesn't want you to force, force you to follow his word, but why wouldn't you want to follow it? Like, if you think about everything good, it's going to, it's going to come from the Bible. Anything bad is not going to be in there because you think about all the things that we deem as good in this world. Are they actually good? Like, are you actually benefiting from what you're doing or is it just a quick hi. I it makes, okay. I wanted to do this pop culture reference for you guys somewhere in here. And I think it's perfect as where you were saying that people just need to ask. And we always go back to our ask, seek, knock. Those who ask also should be able. Yeah, that'll be mine. Um, but so I was. Okay. So everyone had saw that Joshua Bassett, the, um, guy that was on the high school musical TV show, he just recently got baptized. And so that intrigued me to want to listen to more of his music, because I feel like you can learn a lot about a person based off of their music. And so I was listening to one of his songs and it's called lifeline. And it's pretty much talking about how he liked didn't want to be alive, but he was thinking about like his parents and he was thinking about other people, and then he. And like one of the lyrics is that he was praying to a God. He never, like he says, I'm praying. I've been praying to a God. I've never known. And it, it gives me chills right now. Just thinking about that, like he just wrote this song about his feelings and he had been praying to a God that he didn't even, like, he didn't know if God was real. He didn't already have a relationship, but he was so desperate that he was praying to a God that he didn't know if he existed. But he asked and that door was open for him. And now he so quickly has a relationship with Jesus. And was saved and baptized. And that's just awesome because he is a person that. That's not cool for him. Like people don't think that that's cool because he's in Hollywood and he's, he's not where it's deemed cool to be a Christian at all. So the amount of strength and courage that I think that, that took for him to get up on the stage and get baptized is just amazing. It's it's definitely amazing and it's pretty powerful. Because, you know, Christianity is not going to be the popular way to go. And I just hate to say that, but it's not because, I mean, it says it in the Bible that we're going to be persecuted. So why would it be the popular thing if they hated Jesus, what makes you think that they're going to like you, you know, so I think it's, it's so crazy to think about that, but I love his story, like how, and even though it was sad and, you know, he turned to Jesus, but you know, like, like he always does. He turns, he turns it into good, but. It's so cool to just see how God moves and, you know, you just have to ask and, you know, often times today we don't ever think to ask or nor do we really think about anything in this day and age too. We just do, how many times have you heard, you know, yellow or, you know, you just need to go do this or just do it, or you, you have to do this because everybody else is doing it. Well, the Lord specifically states like to think before you act. And I think a lot of times we don't ever think before we act and we just do. And so going back to guarding your heart, like if you just go and live your daily life carelessly. That's it. You're not gonna build that relationship with Jesus. And you're going to experience hardships. Like you're going to experience the bad because you're not building up your armor. You're just living in going with the flow. Yeah. And that's not how God God calls us to live. Because God sent us a book of directions and he wants you to live by those directions, not live carelessly Yeah. And the Bible also says that those who believe in Jesus will have a sound mind, and like you need to pray for a sound mind. And I just think that that's really cool. Because who would not want to have a sound mind? Like, why would you want to not think, but it's, I also just want to tell you guys, like, I lately have just been able to like spit out things that I have heard in the Bible like that, like it's gotten so much easier. And so it reminds me of what, um, The pastor at long hollow, Robbie says, he always says, we, uh, he says, get into the word until the word gets into you. And it's, I feel like it's proof that it's the living word. Because it just, it gets into your mind so much easier than anything ever does because it's not even like we really study it. Like we shouldn't be like, I'll just read it and it'll stick out to me and stay in my mind. And that's just crazy. Oh, it's insane. I mean, you can apply it to every day. Um, like if, like we said, even though the Hebrew, wrote it a billion years ago, Um, it still can be applied today and we can't change it because if you sit there and read, like it's going to line up, like I just got done finished reading artist. I just got done finishing Romans. And, um, It lines up to things that are happening today. Like the exact thing. Exact same things. And I'm like, are you kidding me? Like, I feel like I just experienced this last week. Or do you think about it? Like every generation thinks that they're going to be the generation where Jesus comes back. Like, I just know that it's been every generation, like they see things and they're like, what. Yeah. It can get worse and then it gets worse than that. And how could it get worse? Yeah, no, it's always, it always gets worse. But that's, I mean, it's biblical. That things are going to get so bad and then Jesus will come back. We don't, we don't ever know the Tom. We know that there's burning pains and things leading up to it, but we're always at a Tom of being prepared because we don't know this could be God's worst for us and he could come back tomorrow. Yeah. I also just like, want to level with you guys and be honest that like, It is natural to sometimes feel fear when people talk about Jesus coming back, because like, you're scared for other people. Like, you know, that there's people in your life that haven't been saved and it starts like freaking you out. And you're like, well, I don't have, like, I love God and I'm ready for Jesus to come back. But like, it scares me. Then it's going to be over and nobody's going to have a choice anymore, but you just have to kind of give that up to God and guard your heart. It's just you and God that man, like none of us even really know what heaven's going to be like. And so like, you don't know if it's just going to be, you don't know if your people are going to be your people in heaven or if it's just going to be about worshiping God. So you cannot hold on to this world because it's not going to matter. And that's not what eternity is going to be. No, I think that's so good. I think. Also like just going back and reading the word. I used to get anxiety about, you know, Jesus coming back. I mean, I'm excited for it. Yes. But like, am I, am I prepared enough? Like, do I know everything that I'm supposed to know? Like, it just, it brings so much anxiety and it shouldn't because it's our, it's our savior. That's coming to get us. But like, it's just, it brings so much anxiety, but I think that goes back to like reading it. Like that's one of my next books that I want to read is revelation. Yeah. Because I think if I am, I'm so scared about this, but I've never read it. Like I've never read it for myself. And that goes back to having wisdom. And I just think that's so important too, with guarding your heart, as you have to have the wisdom and the knowledge and wisdom is so, so important in the Bible. And it's also a, her, like we said last week, and I think that's really, really cool because, and you know, our slogan that we say every single day, More precious than rubies is actually talking about wisdom. And I think that goes so, so good with what we are trying to do and what you guys could do too, is because having Jesus's wisdom makes you more precious than rubies. Like, if you have that knowledge, then you are greater than things of this earth. Yeah. Like it's so, so important and that's how you guard your heart. And that's how you build up to what God has for you is because you're reading and living by his word. And then, then you can go out and spread it. I also wanted to dive in since we brought up how we're doing this. So. One, you can't compare your works and other people's works together. And for two. Your works. Don't outweigh not having any sacrifices because. Say we film, right? Every, like once a week we film. But we're not giving anything up. That doesn't mean that things that we're not okay with giving up. And like, if we won't sacrifice other things, like it doesn't outweigh you, can't just be like, oh, well I have a podcast. Yeah, like you still have to obey and you have to make sacrifices. Because the works don't mean as much if you're not sacrificing things, because if it's super easy, It's not a sacrifice. It's not something that you're giving priority. Like God wants to be the priority. So if I'm just like, oh yeah, when I'm not doing anything, we can film. Yeah, then it doesn't matter because I'm not sacrificing anything. To do this for God. He wants to be my number one. And so it needs to be at the end of the day, I'm getting this done because I'm doing it for the Lord and I don't care what it oversees. I don't care what I don't get to do. Yeah. Because I need to do this for him. Yes, I think that's so, so important. And you know, God's worth more than easy, you know, if we think about it, like if we just did everything, when it was convenient for us, Like, what does that telling him? Like, does he do everything when it's convenient for him? No. Is it convenient for him to die on the cross? I bet that was real uncomfy. Yeah. Even last week, I did not go to church because my tummy hurt. That's hard guys. The struggle is real. When he was hanging from nails. Yeah. He could have got, like, he could have snapped his fingers and went back and hadn't, but he didn't. And so we need to be conscious about that guys. Yeah. It's so important. It literally goes back to, you know, guarding her art because. You have to know what's true. And what's not because you can go out on this world and people are going to try and say things and they're going to be like, it's okay. It's okay to miss a Sunday. I'll do it. And it's okay. We can go out tonight and you don't have to go to church tomorrow. It's okay. It's okay. That you're going to hear that a lot. But is it actually okay. Yeah, it's not, but it's like, and I feel like. It's kind of like the last time that we were talking about the Sabbath and how it's just more. Natural to do it now because Jesus died. And so I feel like there's a lot of people taking it for granted and things before you didn't want to send, because you'd have to go slaughter land and you'd have to, like, it was a whole ordeal, right? Yeah. And now you're just like, Jesus, I'm sorry. And it's like, it's supposed to be okay, but it's like, we, the whole point of guarding your heart and repenting is to try and not do those things because that's why he came. And so like, you don't want to make what he went through even worse because, you know, he was thinking about all of your sins that he knew was going to happen while he was dying. And I don't want to be the reason he had to hang in there longer. You know? Yeah. That's how I think about it. Yeah. I think, I think what people struggle with this so much, it's like overcoming. The those, those desires. And it's so hard. Like we were talking about last week with music, it's hard for us to, you know, give up that one thing. It's the sacrifice. And it's also guarding our heart because we know in the long run, like listening to that is not going to benefit us at all. Like listening to all that stuff that they're saying in rap music, or just anything that's dirty and not have God's word is not going to benefit us in the long run, but you have to learn. To. You know, I guess just ask him to take those desires away, because like we said, he's going to give you the desires of your heart, but if you don't ask for it, then he's just not going to grant it to you. So I think it's just, it's just so, so, so important to know, you know, watch what you take in, watch what you're you're surrounding yourself with. This goes back to, you know, your friend group. I mean, you can have great, great friends or you could have not so great friends, but you have to realize your surroundings because. If not, then they're going to angle for you and you're going to start doing the things that they're doing and you're going to start smelling, like, what would they smell like? So I just think it's important for us to just, you know, guard your heart with his word, because he only has the truth. It's not our truth. Yeah. And we're not saying to like stop being friends with people you've been friends with for so long because. Hello. We also talk about how Jesus can break shame and he can break all these chains. And he went and ate with the people like back then at that time, eating dinner with somebody. Proved that you like accepted them. Like that's what it was a show of. It was a show of that you had intimacy and accepted them as who they were. And so. I'm watched something today about Yes. And he was the chief tax collector. Yeah. So he was the worst of the worst tax collectors. Where did you watch that? Cause I just watched one too. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. The church sermon that I didn't go to last week, I listened to that this morning. And it was the key Zacchaeus. Okay. He was the chief tax collector. And so the tax collectors, those of you who didn't watch the chosen end up? No, I'm just kidding. Um, so the tax collectors were the people that were seen as like. Basically evil because most of them were Jewish people. Yeah. That turned on the Jewish people and started taxing them through the Roman empire. Right. And so they were taking pretty much their family's money. And giving it to the Romans that we're trying to oppress them. And so they were seen as turning their backs on God's because, or on God, because the Jewish people were the chosen people. And so they were turning their backs on their friends, their family, and all their loved ones. And they were supposed to be sticking it out with them through the hard times. But they weren't, they were taking the quote-unquote easy way out and they were just getting rich off of their people's money. And so that's the backstory on why tax collectors are so bad. And. He was the main one. And so even though he had the most money out of all of them and he had all of this stuff, he was still so unhappy with his life. And so he was the one who went and climbed the tree. He was okay, little man. So he was super short. And so he climbed up in the tree so that he could see Jesus. He just wanted to see Jesus. And I imagined him as like a man that like. It's kind of like a tough guy and like doesn't really care. Usually, but he like the fact that he was just so excited to see Jesus because he like. I don't know. It's just crazy to me. And Jesus like stopped in his track. Called him by name and was like, come get out of the tree. I'm having dinner with you. Yeah. And all of these people are like, say what. Yeah. So like, It's still. Okay. Two. Be with the people that aren't. Living their life for the Lord, because we are still called as Christians to lead people to the Lord. But it's also like that was Jesus and he was not ever going to sin. So it was safe for him to put himself. In all of these situations because he could handle himself no matter what was thrown at him, but that's not to say that you need to walk into a room full of at the time tax, collectors, prostitutes and all of that, and expect to come out. Unscaved because that's not going to happen unless you guard your heart and you go in there, like. These are my boundaries. This is what's happening. And even if you do that, People are still going to try and tempt you. Especially if you're the only person in the room. That has Jesus radiating off of you, you don't think there's going to be spiritual warfare going off or like the enemy is going to be like Gitter. Yeah. Get her. Yeah. No, he's not going to be worried about anyone else in the room. He doesn't care what anyone else does because they're already like that. He's going to be like, that's her figured out? It's, it's so important. You know, we do say that, you know, Jesus ate with sinners and that's, that's such a great point that you brought up that he was Jesus and that he can handle it. You know, that doesn't mean to say that we, that we can't go and sit with centers, but we also have to look at Jesus to, did he ever tell those people what they were doing was okay. No. Like, did he ever just condone what they were doing? No, absolutely not. And I think a lot of the times now we just tell people it's okay. Just because we don't want to have a tough conversation or we don't want to feel uncomfortable and I canceled. Just as guilty for it. Like, I will tell you. It's hard. If you sit in a room for people that do not believe the same thing as you, and you have to sit there and speak what you believe, not in a judgemental way, but a loving way. It's a hard thing to do. And when you have to do that, you have to be able to guard your heart and you have to have the knowledge from the, uh, from the Bible to back that up. Yes, that's what I was going to say. I was going to say, because. You have to prove what you believe is true and why it's so true, because if you're sitting here with a room full of people who don't agree with you, and then you're like, well, my God said, and they're like, well, where did they say it? And you're like, Um, Somewhere. And it's like, oh, if he is so powerful and so important, why don't, you know, Yeah, and it's true. Why would we not know? We need to know exactly what he says about these things, but that's where it's like, if you study it, y'all, it's going to get into you and you're going to be like, well, actually he said, quote on quote and it's just. Golf spit out of you. And that's not to say either, if you go, if you're like already in these situations on accident, Just say a quick little prayer and be like, holy spirit. Feel, fill me with what you need me to say. Make me answer these questions correctly. Make me interject when they say something that crosses your boundaries, you know, that's, that's really, really good. I want to go back to, you know, boundaries and setting those boundaries. Um, I guess. But like people wonder how, how do you go about setting those boundaries in a way? And, um, it's hard. It's really, really hard because you may be super close with the person. You may, it may be your best friend. But if they're, they're doing things that you don't agree with, and sometimes you just have to step away and that's, it's really, really hard, but you have to do what's best for God. And you have to have the good intentions in your heart and let them know it's not to be judgmental and I guess that you do, you don't believe in what they do, but you're never going to be, you know, Hateful towards them. And I think that's it's so. There's such a stigma on Christians right now that just because we don't believe the certain things of this world. It means that we hate others and that's not true at all. Know that. We are called to love people. And we are called to spread his word. And we each sin daily. So why would we judge anyone? Because we do the exact same sin or other sins. And since they're all equal to God in the Bible, So, like it's not coming from a place of judgment, but you have to. You know, want to get better and get out of those situations because you want to try to send as, as less as you can, like you want to get away from SIM, so you can't surround yourself with it and expect good outcomes. Right. Like you have to want to change. And try your best to get out of those situations. It doesn't mean that you don't love that person and you can't be there for them, but you, yourself just cannot partake in it. It's also just like, not everyone. That's not a Christian is not like they're not bad people because they just don't understand your standards. And so some of them probably too, like they know your boundaries without even like having to talk about it. Like if they're a good person and they know like, They can respect, Hey, she has these beliefs and I pretty much know that the Bible is not okay with that. So I'm not even really going to bring it up around her. Like people are going to be good people for the most part, but you still just have to be on your guard because even if they're good people. They're not living for the light. So if they're not living for the light. They're doing dark things. So the, like the devil comes dressed in light the first time that he comes. And so. They think that that's so good. And so people that are leading you astray don't even mean to be leaving you. Uh, stray. They just don't know. Yeah. And so that's why a lot of things like I've been watching so many things because I want to get in the brains of people that aren't Christian. And so I want to know why they believe what they believe. So I've been watching a lot of testimonies of people that, because again, I still want to guard my heart. So obviously I don't want to listen to like, All these things that these people still believe because they're going to have like the craziest wackiest stuff. So I'm like still I'm listening to, because I want it to still be for the glory of God. So I'm listening to how these testimonies change these people. So I've listened to astrology. I've listened to literal satanic devil worshipers. I've listened to witches. I've listened to all of this. And they all have said that things came to them, whether it be beings, whether it just be the acts that they were doing, it seemed so good. And then they all fell down this path and literally like wanted to die. And it was just crazy stuff. Like the most insane testimonies you guys have ever heard is what happened. And so I just think that that's very good point that it. Always seems good until it's way too dark. Yeah. I mean, does it everything we think about. Um, manifesting. It's so big in our culture right now, because what it's a quick fix. But that can lead you down a dark path. It's because it's not of God. It's not manna. Manifesting. Is like prayer, but it's not going to God. So who's it going to. This needs to be next week's thing. it's a big topic, but I think. You have to watch out for those things because you see, you see, like, I guess you could call crazy Christians or whatever, but it's true. Like you think about it. If you are manifesting something and then it happens to you, like that's not from God. Thank you. Didn't ask him. Pray to God. No. Literally like demons and things that are sitting around listening and trying to intervene on things. Yeah. And so they like. It's crazy. We'll have to talk about it. It's very, very crazy. And it's, it's kind of a spooky talk IVIG. Eve, but intrigues me. I'm not good at the. The spirits. One thing that I really did want to get across to you guys was when we were talking about. Oh, well, I don't want to believe in a God who believes that. It made me think how all of us act. When things don't go our way. You know, like if I ask him to do something and he's like, no, I'm like, no, what do you mean? No. You know, and you just start getting like, upset that people aren't doing what you want them to do. Imagine if you created the entire universe and they're all like, I'm gonna go do what I want to do. Yeah. How would you feel even parents, like, you know what I'm talking about when your kids just like. And goes and messes up and like, does things that you specifically told them not to. I think that he's a pretty just and loving God. Yes. Given all things, because if you put yourself in that situation, There's no telling how I would've reacted. We would've given up by now, but we're not gone. The flood would have been a lot worse. If it was me. Yeah. We were in control. But if you think about that, it's just crazy and that's why he's perfect. And so when people say like, oh, well, that's not fair. That's not fair. Imagine if it was you, you would have like made it a million, you would have not even been able to handle yourself. Yeah. Yeah. You're not so upset. Yes, absolutely. And I think that kind of goes back to what we talked about a little bit last week is that God doesn't put these rules in place. Protect us. We're meant to protect you and help you live your best life. There him. Yeah. Like, he's trying to tell you how to get to the other side and how to live a great life here on earth. Even things like specifically like donate pork. There was scientific evidence that like back then. Pork was harmful to the body, like your digestive and like, it wasn't good for you. Yeah. And so it's just like basic things like that. He's just like, don't do that. And then he watches us do it, and he's like, For real. Yeah. That's like when a kid, you turn on a hot stove and they're like, Yeah. And you're like, don't touch it. And they're like, oh, I want to touch it. And you're like, no, don't touch it. Yeah. It's like. Just a. I feel bad for him because. It's just up there watching us screw up all the time. And then he sent his son. To someone had such a good analogy of it the other day, because like, Jesus is like, He's got, and so he's our father, but he's also almost like it was the big brother coming down and taking our heat for us. Yeah. Because it's like, if you're ever in trouble and it's like, both of you get in trouble, like he just. Okay. Laid down and took it for us. Literally took the punishment, literally shed his blood for us. And I think it's insane to talk about. We might have to do an episode on that too, when it closer to Easter, because we really think about it and like sit and listen. Like he actually died for you. And he like felt every sin that has ever been committed on him. Like he felt it himself. It's so crazy to think about. And so if we're out here just like living carelessly and not like caring about anything or not guarding our heart, like, what is that pill in God? Like actually, what does that tell you? God, because if he can sit down and lay his life down for you, and you're just going out here, running around, doing absolutely whatever you want to do and not what God has called you to do that, how is he going to bless that? You know, like you're gonna end up, uh, down the dark path because you're not following the set of instructions that he gives you. And it seems like such not a big deal to us. But it's actually a huge deal. Like those little choices that you're making, you just keep putting God lower and lower and lower and lower every single time you put something else above him. Yeah. It's like priorities. Like you said earlier. So, I mean, you just got to learn to live through his word and read his word because you can't. You can't act out something that you don't know, it's like playing a sport without an equipment. Like you can't. You can't. Be prepared for something. If you haven't read up on or gotten all the equipment for or practiced. I guess just not gonna happen. So if you haven't gotten all the equipment to guard your hoarder, read the Bible, then. How are you? You can't like you can't at all. Yeah. We cannot finish this. Episode without talking about idols. Because that's a huge thing that you need to guard your heart from. Um, So our Mimi actually sent us this verse this morning. It says, praise the Lord, let all that. I am praise the Lord. Don't put your confidence in powerful people. There is no help for you there when they breathe their last, they will return to the earth and all the plans, all their plans will die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord, their God, he made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them. Please keep. Uh, he keeps every promise forever. That was Psalms 1 46, 1. 3 36. I love that. I think that's so, so good because. We have bottles for everything. Yeah, and we definitely need to learn how to grow your heart from them. Like your phone can be an all. Your relationship can be an auto. Your work can be an idol. Like you can make anything. It even goes hand in hand with priorities because we were using the example earlier. I was saying, I get to go to the Taylor swift concert in may, right? And so. The devil wants a form of worship. And if anything that's not of God is of the devil. If you're doing other things. So like if I'm at the Taylor swift concert and I'm like, woo karma. Karma karma singing her song about karma and then. I go to church, the following weekend. And there everyone else is worshiping and I'm just like, Yeah. And I'm being quiet and I'm not saying anything. That's giving the devil more worship than it's giving God. Like you have to at least keep God as an equal priority, but most, definitely higher. But like, if I am nervous to raise my hand and praise God and get. Like if I won't get more into worshiping the Lord. And I'm at a Taylor swift concert or any concert, but, or a movie. Like if you just put those things above him, That's idolizing like you're, you're being okay with this, but you won't do it here. And why? I think we need to reflect as Christians to, as why people don't feel like it's concert every Sunday morning. Yeah. Like why do people feel scared? But then we go to actual concerts and we're having the time of our life. Yep. That's how every worship should feel. Yeah. It's like, where are you spending your most time? Because. You might, you might look at your phone more than you read your Bible, which we all do. Every single one. Definitely. I guarantee every single one of us and has more screen time than we do by the time. Yes, absolutely. And you think. Why, why do we do that? But then again, it goes back to like spiritual warfare and like having easier. Hang on to you and it's easier. And like we said, this past week, we have felt so distant from, you know, Feeling the Lord. And that does happen to everyone. It's it's normal. But we have to look back into things. What did we do this week that helped us? Like, it's not. Why did I not? Like, how did I not guard my heart? And how did this happen? Yeah, because like, especially when you're on fire for Jesus, we've talked about this before the devil doesn't care about the people he already has. He wants to get the people that he knows he doesn't have. So the more he can get us to stumble one we're on fire for Jesus. The more he's going to try. And so you have to be on your guard more than ever when you're on fire for Jesus, because he's going to be like, get her. Dinner. Yeah. It's like we went to, we had a worship night on Tuesday and like, after that worship night, I just like thought I would like be on such on. Hi. I'm down on my knees. At the time of my life. And then we go home and something's just weird. And it's like, why? Yeah. But like, what did we do to get out of it? You know, Like I had not picked up my Bible once that weekend. And I was wondering why. This is happening to me, but I wasn't guarding my heart. I wasn't preparing and trying to get out of that slump. And it's hard because you just don't even want to. Another thing for me is like, I'm not right. If I have not spent time with the holy spirit. Because. He also needs to make me focus because I. Like sometimes it's not okay to just be listening to worship music. Sometimes you need to turn. Sometimes it helps you feel the holy spirit, but sometimes you just need to be alone with God so that you can like focus on getting him there. Yeah, because it's not going to be easy all the time, especially if you feel distant. You're going to have to work for it. It's like inviting a friend over. You're going to have to be like, oh, come on. So you gotta be like, come on, holy spirit, come on. And then you'll be like, oh, Got it. Yeah. But you have like that feeling. I need that to be on fire. And so I'm not right if I don't feel, if I don't spend time with the holy spirit. And so that's what I've kind of been working on is like, if I need to drive to work without anything so that I can hear him talking, like when's the last time you were just alone with the holy spirit. Yeah. I really think that goes back to like preparing yourself because you can't do the work if you don't have the equipment. So you're going to literally have to plan or make some time of your day devoted to him. If you have not gone weeks without devoting an hour of time to God, like you can't expect an outcome of success because you not have not devoted any time to him at all whatsoever. So you can't, you can't expect your, your heart to be guarded from all these bad things. When you haven't, you haven't done anything at all to work towards it. And I think it's, it's so crucial and you know, we're about to be out of time, but, um, It's it's just so important. You have, do you have to dive into the word, you have to get closer to want and want that relationship with him to have to, to guard your heart, you know? It gets, it's so hard, but it's something that we going to have to learn as Christians to put up that wall and to block things out that aren't of God. Yeah. It has to come from your desires of your heart to want to, because you want to, it's not going to be the scare tactics don't work because you don't like. If you have sat through one of those sermons where they're like, if you die right now and now you're going to go to hell. That is a scare tactic and that's not loving and fearing God because he's God that is. Fearing going to hell. And so that's not the same. As growing a relationship with Jesus? No, not at all because that hasn't. Bond did you in any way? That's just why I don't want to go to hell Jesus. Yeah. Yeah. That's so true. And I think it's important to like, If you're not, you're not going to, it's not going to be bad once you give your life over to him, or once you start reading your Bible, you're going to seek good things because Jesus comes to cleanse our hearts and he helps gives you the desires of your heart. So he's going to give you a little glimpse of his light. And so when he gives you that little glimpse of your light, you're going to shine it throughout the world. Yes. And you're going to be an example of what God. Says he is, and it's going to be through you and he uses you to spread that light to the whole world. So please don't be discouraged. Like, if you feel like your heart isn't guarded or you feel like you're stuck in a moment right now, and you feel like you're drowning and you can't get out. Please don't be discouraged because if you just ask you to pray these simple prayers, he will come to you and he will help you get on the path that you're supposed to be on. And he will help you protect you from the things, but you're going to have to put in the work yourself to. Ask seek knock. I agree. Well, we really hope you guys learned something this week and this really long, actually this week, longer than last week. But, um, every time they get longer, I know I kind of love it though. But we really hope you all enjoyed it this week and we love y'all and hope you have a great rest of your week. Do you want more precious than rubies?