Anyone watch Love Is Blind? So good. And so bad. If you watch it, you know what I mean. I never watch shows like this one. The “F” word is thrown out so casually, and it’s very worldly, but it sucked me in.
As I was watching and couldn’t stop watching, I started feeling guilty. But here’s what happened with those guilty feelings. I would just silence my internal dialogue. But my silencing attempts were not stopping the guilty feelings. I had to think of something better to keep the “binge watch state of mind” alive, so I began telling myself all the good reasons for watching the show. You know, like, how this show is helping me learn about relationships… this show is giving me content… I need to know what’s going on out there, etc.
Around that time, I was listening to a sermon from Brooke Ligertwood. She said something that convicted me in a moment. I stopped the video, thought about it, rewound the video, listened again, and then stopped it again to write it in my notes.
Here’s what she said:
“Compromise is convincing yourself that it is okay to do the wrong thing if it is for the right reason.”
I have to be honest; I haven’t listened to a message in a while that made me feel “called out”. But this one did because it is something I do more often than I would like to admit. In fact, I have “justified” my actions at times like this for as long as I can remember and never felt convicted for it. I don’t remember ever being “called out” about it. Maybe I have not been “called out” for it, because from the outside looking in, I always had a good reason for my actions. Again, the justifications…it helps me understand people better…I can relate to people more…I could show people you can love Jesus and…
I have heard it said that when people train to identify counterfeit money, they begin with studying genuine money. They study the real thing, learning all its details and characteristics so well that they can easily spot when something is off. So, here’s what I am being convicted of today: We don’t learn more about Jesus from studying the world, we learn more about Jesus from studying the word. You might need to read that sentence again. Anytime your heart (or mine) tells your otherwise, that is most likely the voice of compromise.
More often than I like to admit, if you searched my heart, you would see conviction covered up with piles of comprising statements that I said so beautifully and convincingly that I began to believe them myself.
You see, the only way to “call yourself out” of compromises is to humble yourself and confess what your convictions are really saying. It takes an honest and willing heart to admit that you have been doing the wrong thing and disguising it for the right reasons. This is something a friend, a family member, not even your own mother can teach you; it is only the job of the Holy Spirit working within you and your willingness to listen.
In John 12:1-8, there is a story told about Mary who took a pound of expensive oil and poured it all out on the feet of Jesus. Judas was sitting nearby watching this go down and Judas says, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
Judas was doing just what I’m talking about. He was doing the wrong thing but disguising it for the right reason. But Judas literally had Jesus in the room with him to call him out. The bible says in the next verse, “Judas said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag, he used to help himself to what he put in.”
It is important that you call yourself out for the compromises in your life because your compromises don’t just affect you. You are likely leading others to believe in your compromise because you have learned to eloquently disguise it with a spiritual message, just as Judas tried to do. Judas was hiding his “compromise” by giving it a spiritual twist, but Jesus was not fooled. Sounding spiritual never has made the wrong thing right.
Other topics of compromise found in the church and in my own life look like –
· Setting or not setting boundaries before marriage.
· How much you can drink and why you drink.
· What you listen to and watch.
· Words that you say, and things disguised as a joke.
Think about what you might be leading others around you in or to. Are you leading out of a place of compromise in your own heart or are you leading out of a place of conviction about God’s heart? The fruit of your life will tell the story. Leading with conviction starts first with living an honest life with yourself, then you can lead others with conviction based on God’s word, not the words of the world.
What’s up, friend! I’m so excited to share this Sisters + Friends episode with you! This one features some of mine and Christian’s best friends, Freddie and Parker Amos. I’m sure you already know Freddie, as she’s been on the podcast and is our counselor at Live Original. But her husband Parker joins us in this conversation as well and it is so great!
We talked all things relationships, marriage, friendship and more. Christian and I kicked off the conversation by addressing a little tiff we had earlier that morning. Long story short, it led me to my first piece of marriage advice: Do not start on the defense. Remember you are on the same team working toward the same goal.
I then asked if Freddie or Parker had any relationship advice to give from any of there communication flops. Freddie answered by saying it varies for her and Parker. She said that for her, she has to assume that Parker is going to respond while having her best interest at heart rather than assume the worst in her. She also has to remember that it’s not just about her when they’re trying to resolve something. It’s about their marriage and also what will be best for Parker rather than assuming she knows what’s best.
It truly is so easy to assume what is best instead of bringing it up. It’s also true that we often do wait to address an issue and I have found that the longer you wait, the more the problem multiplies. This could all be resolved by taking time to address the problem even though it might not be fun.
We then began to tell the story of how we all met and became friends. Christian and Parker were kind of the OG’s. Without their friendship, Freddie and Parker wouldn’t even live in Louisiana. Parker said the first time he remembers meeting Christian, they were in high school. Parker lived in Auburn at the time and Christian was still living in Florida. They met at a rush event for a fraternity that they were both considering rushing at the time. He knew Christian as the “cool surfer dude from Florida.” This was so funny to me because when I met Christian, I thought he looked like a hot lifeguard haha.
Christian chimed in and said it took a few months for Parker and him to become good friends because he was still in his crazy phase and Parker was not. But they ultimately became friends through church. They developed such a deep friendship, and I always say that Christian and I probably wouldn’t have started dating without Parker. I asked Christian to take us back to the conversations he had with Parker leading up to when he began pursuing me.
This is a great example because often when people start pursuing someone, they keep quiet about it or it’s not actually much of a pursuit at all. It gets isolating and bad. But Christian had his friends as a part of mine and his relationship before we were even in one.
Christian mentioned that he typically is an indecisive person. So he needed people in his life to speak into this relationship. He and Parker talked through what mine and Christian’s relationship would look like, how Christian would lead, etc. Parker gave Christian plenty of dating advice during this time, and eventually, it became Parker’s turn. He began dating Freddie!
Parker began sharing about the beginning of his and Freddie’s relationship and what that looked like. They met during their freshman year of college at an event called the Oaks Retreat at Auburn. Parker said that when they met, he remembered her by her unique name and her super cool lifted jeep. He quickly found out she had a boyfriend, so he kept his distance. But eventually, when they broke up, she became pretty vocal about the interest she had in Parker. Everyone was so excited when Freddie and Parker started dating. It’s important to note though, that once Freddie broke up with her ex boyfriend, she and Parker didn’t immediately start dating. They took some time and space before jumping into another relationship. It’s also important to be intentional about not bringing baggage from past relationships into a relationship with the person you’re going to marry. Not that some of that won’t come in somehow or need to be addressed, but it is important to still take that time and space before jumping into a new relationship. What I saw with myself is that I kept repeating the same cycles in my relationships. The reason I didn’t fall into the same situation with Christian is because, for one, he led better than anyone else I’d dated. And also, the Lord had truly prepped my heart after my last breakup by reminding me to just slow down.
Freddie went on to share how cool it was that when she met Parker, her heart desired both Parker and time to herself. The Lord was so kind to grant her both. He allotted her the time she needed outside of a relationship, and at the right time, began her relationship with Parker. Parker mentioned how in college, everyone is seemingly trying to find the right person instead of being the right person. If we would just focus on being the right person God’s called us to be instead of looking for that person first, it would all work out much better. He sees their story as a great example of God displaying this concept.
I would say this to people as a practical piece of advice: Listen to the sermons and podcasts on dating. Read the books on dating. Do all the things. I did this before I met Christian, and it truly got my heart posture right. I think it’s great to prep for the relationship way before you ever get into the relationship. I believe this shows God that while you are surrendered to His plan for your life, you’re also preparing for what He has for you.
Another topic I wanted to address was community. We’ve talked about community in dating, singleness, and other seasons, but I wanted to talk about community in marriage. Often, when people get married, they begin to isolate themselves, which is a very dangerous place to be because you definitely need couple friends in that season. I remember at Freddie and Parker’s rehearsal dinner, the amount of friends who stood up and spoke so much life over them and blessed them was such a beautiful thing. Many of those same friends are still walking through life with them. For Christian and me too, all the people who spoke life over us and encouraged us are still walking through life with us. It’s so important to hang on to those relationships.
So, I asked Freddie and Parker what it looks like for them to be in community in marriage. Parker talked about how they both prioritize each other having individual friendships too. For example, Parker having a friend like Christian to encourage him and hold him accountable will allow Parker to be a better husband for Freddie. When he is in community, he is healthy as a husband. He mentioned the importance of prioritizing this, because isolation leads you to believe that you are the only one walking through a situation. Community will help you pick up on the things that might seem a little off in your relationships. They’ll call you out and hold you accountable, even when you aren’t willing to be honest about what’s going on in your life.
Also, when you’re dating someone, you don’t want to say anything negative about that person and lead your friends to think poorly of them. Even though you might love your person, we’ve gotta be real … your friends can turn on a dime, am I right? They can think your person is the best one minute and the worst the next. So, when you’re married, it’s important that you don’t throw your spouse under the bus or talk bad about them. But instead, bring your friends in to speak life into your relationship. At that point in your life, you should have friends that trust and love both you and your person enough, to where if you say one thing, they won’t automatically think of you as a bad person who talks negatively about their person. They’ll actually be more concerned about how to fix the problem at hand in the best way.
Christian then reiterated the idea that you can be in community, but not actually be open and transparent. For example, that same morning, Christian and I had a little argument, and we told Freddie and Parker about it. As it turned out, they had actually had an argument of their own that morning too. They could’ve kept it to themselves when we were sharing about ours, but they didn’t. They let us in to what they were walking through. And that is what true community should look like. Your struggles actually help each other.
Christian and I used to get really bummed about not having community with other couples. In fact, we would get our feelings hurt when we weren’t invited to other people’s small groups. For those looking for community and feeling like they just can’t find the right group, I would encourage you to start your own! Christian and I recently started a Wednesday night Bible study at our house that has been so fruitful. Sometimes we have to look at the things we’re complaining about and think, “Actually, can I fix that problem?” This was certainly a situation that Christian and I could fix.
Next, I addressed a big topic in relationships: comparison. This is so important to talk about because it is so prevalent. The minute you get discontent with who you’re with because you compare them to another person, it will mess up your entire relationship. There have even been times in mine and Christian’s relationship when this topic surfaced. When we had Honey, I remember saying things like, “Oh, other people’s husbands are so helpful.” Looking back, I was comparing Christian, in a sense, to how helpful other husbands were, even though I would never want to be married to any of those people. I love Christian and I’m so attracted to him. Even more than just that, I love everything that he is and how he serves our family. But because I compared him to someone else’s husband based on one thing, all of a sudden I started getting mad at him for little things that he wasn’t doing. I’ve just seen the potential for this topic in our marriage to be such a destructive thing. It wasn’t that I was comparing him in a physical appearance, but I was comparing him in terms of helpfulness. Typically, when we think of comparison in relationships, we think of females comparing themselves to others. And while that does lead to discontentment in who we are, we don’t think about comparison affecting an entire relationship, especially in a marriage.
Freddie chimed in by mentioning how important it is to avoid comparison in relationships. Instead of allowing ourselves to make excuses, we should remind ourselves, “Actually, my relationship is so important to me and I’m going to prevent myself from letting my eyes wander.” Like Freddie said, things don’t change when you’re even in a serious relationship with the person you do love. You still have to protect yourself in the same ways.
Christian and I had just been listening to Ben Stuart’s message on David and Bathsheba, which I highly recommend if you’ve never heard it before. One thing Ben talks about is the fact that God gave us curiosity. But he reminded us to make sure we’re using our curiosity in healthy and beautiful ways because it leads to innovation. He said that if we are lazy with our curiosity, it can lead to sin.
When Christian and I are watching a show and it looks like things might be about to get inappropriate, Christian gets on his phone and won’t watch whatever is happening on the screen. I appreciate this so much because it shows that Christian isn’t concerned with being curious about the screen. But instead, he only has eyes for me. I think many people believe that we don’t have control in an instance like that. And we do, but we have to fight for it.
At Christian and Parker’s Bible study in Auburn, week after week, guys would talk about how they were trying to quit porn. One week, they finally put their foot down and asked the question, “Are we actually going to quit?” So, I asked the guys what that looks like for a man who admits he struggles with porn to actually take hold of something like that? Christian said that a lot of it starts by finding the common denominator. For someone, it could be late at night before bed, making the effort to not be on their phone. For someone else, it might be not taking their phone when they go to the bathroom. Covenant eyes is also a good idea. It’s a locked down browser that only allows you to search certain things. You have to be aware of which situations you struggle with the most. You have to go much further than just “Yes, I struggle with it.” You have to ask yourself, “Why am I struggling with it?” and “What situations do I let myself go there?”
Parker made the point that your fight with lust does not end once you get married. If anything, it increases, because the enemy wants your eyes to be anywhere except your spouse, especially when you’re having conflict and things get hard. He said that with any sin, you have to ask yourself, “Is this better or is Jesus better?” It’s definitely a fight, but that’s why it’s vital to have people who can hold you accountable.
Everyone talks about how everything changes when you get married, but we wanted to talk about some of the things that don’t change. When I was pregnant with Honey, everyone told me that my whole life was about to change. Well, there were actually a lot of things in mine and Christian’s lives that didn’t change once we had Honey. We’re still who we were before. We still have friends over. We still travel. So, that’s not necessarily always true that everything changes when you get married or have a baby. A lot changes, but not everything. I think some people have this idea that all their problems will change when they get married. Freddie mentioned that getting engaged, married, or having a baby will not solve your problems. Those things will actually challenge you a lot in your relationship.
I asked Freddie and Parker to mention some things they thought might change when they got married, but that have actually stayed the same. Freddie began sharing about struggles, whether it be sin or body issues. Marriage does not come in and make all those things better. It actually makes them harder, because it’s no longer secret to you. Parker sees those struggles all the time. But you have the option to either stay in your sin, or change something.
This led us to talk a bit more about the struggle of comparison. When my parents first got married, my dad used to get really jealous for my mom if other guys would look at her. A lot of people might have thought that he wouldn’t be jealous anymore once she had a ring on her finger. But when you have a deep lie inside of you, a ring doesn’t just change that. It changes when you decide to let the Lord heal that in your own heart. If you think anything other than God is going to heal a sin in your life, it’s not going to happen. Only God can take a sin and redeem you.
Parker said that when he got married to Freddie, he didn’t think he’d have time to do all the fun things he loves. But he still gets to hunt, fish, have time for music and all the things. It’s even better now because he gets to share all those things with Freddie. He said it’s important to find someone who’s going to encourage you in the things you love, as that’s what Freddie does for him.
Marriage is a serious thing. It takes intentionality and God being at the center of it. Then you will be able to be the best version of yourself for your spouse. It’s such a beautiful and fun thing, doing life with your best friend. For a culture that doesn’t value marriage, it’s very sad to see. Marriage is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us, as well as having children. A lot of people think that when you have kids, your life is over. But in some ways I think that our life began once we had Honey. And in so many ways it made Christian and me who we are.
These things that God designed and gave us in life, like marriage and family, are such beautiful things and the enemy will 100% be after your heart in them. But if you just follow the Lord’s leading on those things and are intentional about following His voice, you will find so much fruit in it all. At the same time, if you’re single and just don’t desire that yet, rest in the place God has you. God has you there for a reason. Singleness is a beautiful thing too. Paul actually said it’s better that you stay single. There’s beauty in all things that God creates. Being able to be content where you’re at brings so much fruit and blessing.
If you want to hear our full conversation, be sure to listen HERE!
I absolutely love one of the stories found in Matthew 25. It’s about the ten virgins and it’s always captivated me because when I was younger and read “the ten virgins” in this story, I was always a bit confused. But I began to replace “virgins” with “bridesmaids” to make it a bit easier to understand. And if you study the culture of Jewish weddings, it’s really interesting that the way they did weddings is so different than how we do them. And I honestly thank God because their way of doing things would be stressful. Weddings are already stressful enough. But let me explain how they did them. There were three different stages of a wedding process. So, you get engaged, then there was a commitment process, and I’m not too sure of all its details. Then, before you actually get married, the bridegroom (AKA the future husband) would go away to get the home and basically their whole life together ready for them. Well, in the meantime, the bride didn’t know when the bridegroom would return, meaning she didn’t know when the wedding day was going to be. So, every day she would have to prepare as if that were the day she’d be getting married. That is some major stress, am I right? Not only would the bride have to be prepared, but also her bridesmaids. We all know being in a wedding takes a lot of work, right? Which makes this even crazier! The bridesmaids would have to light their lamps because oftentimes the bridegroom would come at night and needed the way lit for himself. So, the bridesmaids’ job was very important.
I love how Jesus relates this story to what it’s going to look like when He returns.
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil. But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
‘No,’ said the wise ones, ‘or there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
Later the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’
But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:1
That’s a pretty intense scripture. It’s basically just reminding us to be prepared for the returning of Christ. For we don’t know the day or the hour.
Well, recently we were kind of talking about this in our office because I needed to delete social media for a couple weeks in order to step away for a second. And I was feeling a bit convicted by stepping away because I always tell people not to hide their light. I encourage them to use social media to shine their light, actually. So, I was a bit hesitant to delete it, even though my soul was desperate for a break and to just be with the Lord. Then I was talking to my team about it and realized that you need oil to light the lamp. And if I don’t have oil, my lamp is not going to be very bright. It was in that moment that I decided to make the decision to take a break. So, I wanted to use this space to talk about what it looks like to get your oil and have a light that sustains. In verse 2 of the passage above, it says that 5 of them were foolish and 5 were wise. My guess is that for most of us, when we think about foolish people, we think about people who are living their lives recklessly and foolishly. We don’t necessarily think about ourselves. But for these women, it wasn’t as obvious that some were foolish. They’re all friends with the bride and they obviously have somewhat of a respectable reputation that they would be asked to be a part of the bride’s day. So, what made them foolish?
Here are a few things they were:
They weren’t prepared.
They were lazy.
They weren’t involved.
They were complacent.
When you think of foolishness like this, it’s honestly pretty relatable. Sometimes I’m all of these things. Well, then there were 5 wise people.
Here’s a few things they were:
They were wise.
They were prepared.
They were thoughtful.
All of these things are truly a requirement in order to have light. Recently, I was in my jeep and my low oil signal was on. Well, I ignored it and after a few days it changed to “oil required.” Something had shifted. The reason I hadn’t gone to get oil was because it would have required me to go and sit for a minute, and I just didn’t have time for that. It’s little things like that that don’t really seem like a requirement that actually end up being really detrimental later. A lot of times we can put them off, and all of a sudden, you really see how crucial it was to sit and receive what you needed. Wow, that’s such a word for just sitting with the Lord. It’s easy to get so busy and neglect time with Him until all of a sudden we have nothing left to give. If you’re seeing the low oil sign, go ahead and address the problem.
When the foolish people took their lamps, they didn’t have any oil, so it actually meant nothing. I think a lot of times you can bring your lamp places and think you can get by just because it looks like you have a lamp with you. But in all reality, your lamp alone won’t do anything for anybody. It’s your oil that’s going to change people’s lives. We have to make sure we have what makes our lamps have meaning and purpose. And that is the Spirit of God. The religion side of it may be the lamp, but the relationship side of it is definitely the oil.
On the other hand, the wise didn’t just have enough. They had extra oil in their flask. At first, my mind thought, “Well then give them the extra oil!” But it’s really important to realize that somebody else’s oil cannot light your lamp. Their light can lead you, but it can’t light your lamp. Only the light of Jesus can. So, yes. Surround yourself with great people who are preaching Truth. But remember that getting oil for yourself isn’t something anyone else can do for you. So, even though they had extra oil, it couldn’t help any of the others out because the oil was an individual decision.
When my oil light came on in my car, it was a true reflection of my spiritual life at the time. When I saw that light I could feel my spirit saying “low oil, need maintenance.” So, for two weeks I just paused for a second and sat with the Lord. And even though my life was still really busy for those two weeks, it just rejuvenated me in a new way because I knew the maintenance was needed. Most of the time, you’re the only one who can truly see the signals in your life and know the shift you need to make. It’s your decision to get the oil you need.
When I returned to social media, it was cool to see the words the Lord had given me during that break that I was able to share with other people. My oil refill meant giving up social media, but it can be any area of your life. You know where the maintenance is required. And it’s always worth it. You know what’s awesome? I got the oil changed in my car, and I felt peace again. I took my social media break to spend time with the Lord, and when I came back to social media I felt peace. The minute that you actually respond to the problem, you begin to feel peace. God can fix those things. The problems don’t always go away. Sometimes it can take months, years, or however long. But you’ve got to respond for it to ever be fixed.
Friend, I’m so excited to share my message from Jennie Allen’s women’s conference, IF:Gathering 2022, with you! This message is so needed in our world today and I encourage you to watch the full version here 🙂
Jennie actually asked me to preach on a specific topic. She asked me to preach on the difference between my truth and God’s truth. That’s a big topic. And if you’re in the Millennial or Gen Z day in age, you know that’s a really big battle that we’re facing. You see everywhere, “live your truth.” Literally, Christian and I were in LA recently and there was a huge billboard that said, “We the youth, live your truth!” It’s everywhere. This message is parading saying your truth will set you free and it’s the best way to live. But friend, I’m here to tell you that is a lie.
I want to start by giving some background on what this generation is believing when it comes to “your truth.” Urban Dictionary is a database where the most liked definition of a term becomes the proposed definition. So, here’s what Urban Dictionary says “my truth” is:
“A non-negotiable personal opinion. This is a convenient phrase for avoiding arguments because people can contradict your opinion, but not your truth.”
That’s actually kind of scary because there’s a generation that can put “my truth” behind whatever they’re feeling in a moment. And as long as it’s their truth, you can’t argue it. Used to, it seemed like the truth was pretty straight forward. We almost all knew that telling someone the truth was the most loving thing you could do. Like, if someone sitting across from me at lunch has a giant spinach leaf in their teeth, the best thing you could do in that moment is to tell that person that they have spinach in their teeth. It may be awkward, but it’s loving.
But nowadays it gets really tricky because you could literally tell someone they have spinach in their teeth and they could say, “No I don’t.” And they would stand strong to that statement because it’s their truth. Circumstances like this can get you questioning what actually is true.
What’s really difficult is when nothing is true, then what is love? What is freedom? What is anything if we don’t have a foundation of truth? It seems like this is a problem that just our generation is facing, but this has been around for a very long time, even back in Jesus’ day.
In John chapter 18, Jesus is talking to Pilate because at this point in the story, the Jews were so fed up with Jesus. He was challenging everything they believed and they were ready to get rid of Him. Since they wouldn’t kill people, they thought that if they made Jesus look bad enough to the Romans, they might crucify Him. So they turn Him in and Jesus begins having this conversation with Pilate when the truth becomes super confusing. Here’s how the conversation goes:
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” retorted Pilate.” (John 18:35-38)
You see, this question dates all the way back to when Pilate asks Jesus, “what is truth?” Pilate had to have felt like the truth was so confusing because the Jews were saying one thing about Jesus and Jesus was claiming another. After this moment, Pilate goes away and tells the Jews he finds no guilt in Jesus. He begins claiming his own truth.
“With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.” (John 18:38-40)
Barabbas was a robber. This sounds crazy, right? Here Jesus is, healing the sick, making the blind see, feeding the 5,000, and Pilate doesn’t personally see any Guilt in Him. And the people still chose Barabbas. That’s what happens when you don’t have a foundation of truth. Whatever the majority says is true becomes true to you. Pilate knew there was nothing wrong with Jesus. But because the crowd said, “Give us Barabbas,” the truth changed. We live in a generation that allows the majority to rule. Whatever Instagram, Tiktok, or the news says is the truth. We don’t even need to fact check it. If everyone says it’s true, then it must be true.
Proverbs 12:15 says this:
“The way of fools seems right to them,but the wise listen to advice.”
I don’t want to be a generation of fools thinking our truth is the right truth. Just like when the people wanted to release Barabbas, a criminal who was actually dangerous, it didn’t make sense. Your truth is not really concerned with what makes sense or what’s better in the long run. Your truth is always going to seek what is the most comfortable thing in the moment. And Jesus made them so uncomfortable. Your truth allows you to stay the same. THE truth requires change. It requires repentance and a heart shift toward Him.
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
When I was preparing for this message, I couldn’t remember where that passage was in scripture. So I googled, “Where is the verse when Jesus said, ‘and the truth will set you free’?” The first thing that popped up said, “Who said the truth will set you free?” And it showed a list of people who have said this great line. Along with all these names was Jesus.
As I was reading this, I realized that’s the problem. That sentence is not true for anyone to say but Jesus. And do you know why it’s true when Jesus said it? It’s because when He said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free,” He was literally talking about Himself. He knew that He holds the power beyond the grave. He knew He would resurrect from the dead to life. So, that’s actually true for Him to say.
His truth actually will set you free. Now, if I say that MY truth will set you free, it holds no power. It’s not true. Here’s a reminder that may seem obvious but I think we forget sometimes. The reason why the truth is powerful is because it’s true.
I want to mention something that Christian often says to me. He says I’m the most beautiful girl in the world. While this really is so sweet, deep down, the practical side of me thinks that that’s just not true. I know that sounds a bit silly, but I’ve seen some gorgeous women in this world. But what’s so powerful to me is when he says, “I love you.” I love this because I know it’s true. Even after all that we’ve been through together, he loves me. And the fact that that is true makes it so powerful.
We have a generation that would rather be puffed up than set free. They’d rather be told they’re the most beautiful girl in the world than “I love you.” They’d rather be told the thing that makes them feel the most god-like than be completely loved by God. But being loved by God is so much more powerful than any moment of power that you could ever feel.
I was on Instagram one day, and this whole idea of my truth vs. the truth is stuck in my head when I scroll past one of my favorite influencer’s post. I follow her simply because I like her clothes. There’s no real spiritual tie there, just to clarify. She began talking about Wonder Woman. And for those of you who don’t know, that’s my favorite movie.
So, I click to the next slide and begins talking about how thankful she is that women have a heroic figure like her to look up to because little boys have had these their whole life. Superman, Spider Man, Black Panther. Then I click to the next slide and she says, “All of this got me thinking that maybe that’s why I don’t relate to God, because He’s a man. That’s probably why it’s never worked for me. So I heard someone talking about a woman version of God and I started praying to her. It’s been so empowering for me and my daughters.”
I sat back and thought about how tricky situations like that can get. Because she had me with Wonder Woman and the idea of her being an inspiration. But it got tricky when she took it to her relationship with God. See, if I didn’t have ears to discern the truth, it would have been easy for me to look at my own self and wonder if the same concept would work for me.
Then I clicked a few slides further and someone asked where she found that concept in scripture, and she literally said, “I actually haven’t. But if you find it, let me know.” There was no fact checking that took place to support her argument. But once again, the truth is powerful because the truth is true. Prayer is powerful because there is a real God in heaven who I am praying to. And yes, I call Him my Father. But that doesn’t mean I can’t relate to Him. He’s the one who knit me together in my mother’s womb and made me in His image.
Here’s the thing. Praying for your own empowerment won’t get you anywhere. It won’t stop the war going on and it won’t heal the sick. We have to pray for the power of God.
The enemy plays a game with us every day that we all know. Two truths and a lie. We played that game last year actually. We went out in Atlanta and asked a girl these questions:
The “a” in Chick-fil-A stands for grade A meat.
Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays.
Chick-fil-A only uses born again chickens.
Y’all. She chose the first one. She legitimately chose the third one to be truth. What?! That’s hilarious now. But why did number 3 seem true? It’s because it was a lie mixed in with the truth. The enemy plays this same game with us. He says, “Oh you overslept this morning? True.” “Oh you’re not where you want to be in life? True.” “You’re worthless.” All of a sudden that lie seems true because the other two were true.
Let me tell you another thing the enemy does. He says, “Oh, you love your best friend. Your best friend’s beautiful. You’re attracted to your best friend.” And you think, “Wait a second. Is that true? Because the other two things were true, so maybe that means this its true.” When we’re not rooted in a foundation of truth, we begin to search those lies and see if they might be true so that we can be free. But we don’t stop long enough to say, “I find my true freedom in you, Jesus. You are the way, the truth, the life. I’m following You to get to everything my heart desires, which is God.” He is love, truth and power.
We look at the story of Jesus and Barabbas and wonder why they picked Barabbas. Well my question is, why do we choose Barabbas? Barabbas was known for three things. He was a murdered, a robber, and a rebel. These sound a lot like steal, kill, and destroy. The same characteristics of the father of lies.
You see, in life there will be a daily choice to hear the voice of truth or the lies of the enemy. Because the truth is we have a Savior and an enemy. Don’t choose Barabbas just because it’s more comfortable in a moment. Choose Jesus, because although it requires change from the inside out, it is purifying you in such a way that you can stand before a holy God blameless and truly feel the power of what freedom really is.
Hi friend, I am so excited to share my message from Passion 2022 with you! I pray this encourages you and speaks Truth into your life!
Starting out, I need to say that what I know more than anything is that the enemy does not want you to receive the message I’m about to share. I know the enemy doesn’t want you to be reminded of who you are and what you’re called to do. But the enemy cannot stop the move of God.
I want to take this time to remind you of who you are. I want to talk about identity, which should be a great conversation, right? As a culture, we love to talk about identity. We’re actually obsessed with it. We love talking about the enneagram, myers-briggs test, or any kind of online quiz we can take. We even like to talk about our childhood self and how we became who we are today. But it’s kind of strange, because even though we love talking about who we are, nobody actually likes to be hit with the question, “who are you?”
If you’ve ever been in a group setting like the first day of school, and the teacher says to go around the room and say a bit about yourself, it’s pretty awkward, right? All of a sudden, you’re hit with so much insecurity and awkwardness and you start questioning who you are, what you’ve ever done, and what to say in that moment that’s not too cocky but still cool. And that’s kind of a funny moment with silly insecurity and anxiety. But for some of us, the reality is there is true anxiety and insecurity around the thought of “who am I.” Because truthfully you might be sitting there right now thinking, “I have no clue who I am.” And not only is that the case, but you don’t know you’re purpose either. That’s a tough place to be, but you are not alone.
Then there are some of you who are just confused about who you are. You identify with all types of things but none of them are really fulfilling. A few weeks ago, I asked this question on Instagram: What do you identify yourself with? And I had thousands of answers. Some of which included looks, sororities, grades, gender, sexuality, race, disabilities. Then I had tons of people say, “I don’t know.” But then there are some of you who are confident to answer the question of “who am I?” Your answer is simple. “I am who You say I am.” But I want to follow up with this question: Has that actually changed who you are? Has who He says that you are actually changed the nature of who you are? Because we can say it all day long with confidence, but that doesn’t mean we’re confident people. You see, there was a time in my life when I could tell you all about who He says I am. Yet, I was still insecure and living in shame. So, what He said about me didn’t actually change me. Friend, you can know everything He says about you. But what ultimately matters is who He is to you. If He’s not on the throne of your life, then what He says about you isn’t going to change who you are.
So, as we dive into the topic of identity, I have another question for you. The answer to this question is going to tell us who we are and what we’re going to do with our lives. I want us to take a look at Matthew 16:13. But before I get there, I want to paint a backstory of the situation. Jesus is having a conversation with His disciples. It’s a huge conversation between Peter and Jesus in Caesarea, Philippi, a city known as the gates of hell. At the time, Caesarea was the central place for false worship. If you went to this city, you’d see temples lined up everywhere, all serving different gods. It’s a little strange that this is the place Jesus decided to have this conversation. But I know He had a purpose for it. So, as he’s surrounded by all these people worshipping other gods, he asks the question, “who am I?”
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-19)
I want to emphasize how big of a moment this is. Here at the “gates of hell,” Jesus is telling Peter He was going to use him as a rock for His church. Notice that when Peter recognized who Jesus was, Jesus in return, told Peter who he was. Peter’s identity was not found in who he or anyone else thought he was. It was found in who Jesus said he was after first establishing that Jesus is God. That’s the most important question you can answer. Who is God? Because whoever is on the throne of your life is going to be the one telling you who you are. Therefore, if God is God to you, then that should change everything about who you are. Who we believe we are will directly impact us to do the things we do in life.
After Peter was given his identity, he then was given his mission to build the church. What we’re trying to do as a culture is allowing the world to tell us who we are, attempting to establish ourselves in the world, then trying to have purpose and live with intention for the Gospel of Jesus. But those two things contradict each other. Because who the world tells you that you are, and what God calls you to do are typically not going to go hand in hand. We find ourselves studying the enneagram to find out who we are more than studying the Word of God to find out who we are. We’re scrolling through social media trying to find answers to these massive questions about who we are instead of leaning into the voice of God.
Let me clarify, I’m a big fan of those things. I’m a 6 wing 7 on the enneagram and could tell you all there is to know about it. I’m an ENFP and I know my zodiac sign. But none of that could tell me more about who I am than the one who knit me together in my mother’s womb. See, what happens is when I say those are the things I identify with, it excuses me to not have to be who I am called to be. I could say, “I’m a 6 so I’m just going to be afraid because that’s who I am.” But the Word of God says that you’ve not been given a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and self-control. So, we have to ask ourselves if we believe more about what the enneagram says about us or what God says about us.
I was at a friend’s wedding recently and everyone was sharing speeches at the rehearsal dinner. So, the mom of the groom stood up to speak and started her speech off with a very profound statement. She said, “Son, although nothing about giving you away feels natural, it is extremely biblical.” When I heard this, I couldn’t help but think about how true that is for so many areas in life. There are a lot of things in life that won’t come natural to us, but are extremely biblical. It’s not natural for me to turn the other cheek when someone slaps me across the face, but it’s biblical. It’s not natural for me to want to go the second mile with someone, but Jesus says that if a brother asks you to go one mile, then go another. It’s not natural for me to forgive someone who has hurt me, but the Word of God says to forgive seventy times seven. It’s not natural for us to even want to live sometimes because we wake up and feel like a failure. But it is biblical that your life has meaning and purpose.
Friend, there will be times in life when some things might legitimately feel natural, but even more legitimate than those feelings is the Truth of what God says that you are. Notice that I didn’t say your truth or my truth. I said THE Truth. One day I googled the verse John 8:32, “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus was listed as one of the many who said that the truth will set you free. But the reason it was so powerful when Jesus said it is because He is the Truth and He actually has the power to set you free. He is the way to freedom and will lead you to the Father. Culture will tell you that your truth will do the same thing, but that is a lie. So many of us want to be our own version of truth. Love, power, control. But what we have to consider is when we try to take on these God-like attributes, we’ve got to carry the weight of our sin. And we’re not able to do that. It’s the same thing Eve faced in the garden. She desired this apple, then the enemy tried to convince her that if she ate the apple, she would be like God. It’s that same temptation for us. We want to be like God. As soon as Eve took a bite of the apple, she realized that was all a lie.
My daughter, Honey, is the best little girl ever. I’m obsessed with her, if you haven’t already been able to tell from my social media. She is so fun and such a wiggle worm. So, with that personality, you can probably assume that she hates the car seat. If Honey could talk, she’d probably tell me that sitting in her car seat is not natural and it is her truth that she doesn’t need a car seat. But what I don’t do is agree with her and excuse her from the car seat. Instead, I strap her in as tightly as I can. Not because I’m trying to hold her back from who she truly is, but because I know what’s best for her life. Just because her truth may be different, it doesn’t mean that the effects of a car crash would be any different for her.
Just because we have a different truth doesn’t mean the effects of sin will be any different for us. Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to destruction.” And we have to trust God enough to know that He created us with beautiful intention and design. There is something amazing about the fact that He made us all original and diverse. But we can’t go find out more about our originality and identity by who the world says we are. We have to find that in who God is.
There’s a part in The Lion King that represents this so well. Simba had been living his hakuna matata lifestyle after he’d run from all his worry and shame from his past life. Then one day, as he was going to wash his face in the water, he looked and saw his father’s reflection instead of his own. All of a sudden, he was reminded of who he was and what he was called to do. Then he realized that he had to go back to his homeland of Pride Rock where destruction had been taking place. As he shows up back home and lets out a huge roar, Scar, the enemy in the move, turns around and with fear in his eyes says, “Mufasa?” He recognized Simba’s father’s voice in him.
Friend, when you get a good look at who God is and you know who you are, the enemy will no longer try to intimidate you, because he’s intimidated by who God is in you. “It’s no longer I that live, but Christ who lives within me.” (Galatians 2:20)
It doesn’t matter if we try to figure out who we are. What really matters is us trying to figure out who God is. Knowing who God is has changed everything about me. There’s a message from Priscilla Shirer that I’ve likely listened to 1,000 times because I need a reminder of who God is every day of my life. It’s called “Who’s Your Daddy.” I want to declare the same message over you.
Priscilla says she looks in the mirror and asks, “Girl, who’s your daddy?” Then she reminds herself, “He’s the beginning and the end. He’s the keeper of creation and the creator of all. He’s the architect of the universe and the manager of all time. He always was, always is, always will be, unchanged, undefeated, and never undone. He was bruised, but brought healing. He was pierced but eased pain. He was persecuted but brought freedom. He is risen to bring power and He reigns to bring peace. He is light, He is love, He is longevity, and He is the Lord. He is goodness, power, faithfulness, and He is God. He is righteous, powerful, and pure. His ways are right and His will is eternal. His mind is unchanging and His mind is on us. He’s our Savior, our God, our peace, our Lord, our comfort, our joy, and He rules our life. He is the wisdom of the wise, the power of the powerful, the leader of all leaders, the ancient of days, the ruler of all rulers. His goal was a relationship with me. He’ll never leave you, never mislead you, never forsake you, never forget you, never overlook you, and never cancel your appointment in His appointment book. When you fall, He will lift you up. When you fail, He will forgive you. When you are weak, He is strong. When you are afraid, He is your courage. When you are broken, He will mend you. When you are blind, He will lead you. When you are hungry, He will feed you. When you face trials, He is with you. When I face persecution, He shields me. When I face problems, He will comfort me. When I face loss, He will provide for me. When we face death, He will carry us all home to meet Him. He is everything to everyone every time everywhere and in every way. He is your God and that is who you belong to.”
If you believe that is who your God is, you will not be confused by who you are because He’s not confused by who He is. And He is not confused on the purpose of your life. Friend, you must know that the gates of hell shall not prevail past His Kingdom. The God in you can do more than you could ever think of, ask for, dream, or imagine.
We all know how real the lies of the enemy can be. But I want to take this opportunity to talk about truth. And it got me thinking about this story from the early stage of mine and Christian’s relationship. Let’s be honest. My husband is amazing. He is so sweet and kind. He is a man of God. But we all have our things, right? So, I want to share a moment with all of you.
It was our first argument and it was a big one. I’m not going to lie. We had been dating for about six months and everything at that point had been going well. We’re sitting at dinner and he’s telling me that his best friend just got a girlfriend and how amazing she is. So, I go to follow her on Instagram and instead of being on her main feed I ended up on her tagged photos. Long story short, this girl I don’t know at this party I don’t know about has my boyfriend’s arm around her. And I’m like, “Hold up. who’s this?” and “Where was this?” And his first response to my questions was, “I told her not to post that!” Okay, that just got a whole lot worse. So, we go home and it’s really awkward. Then I get all dramatic with the “I don’t even know if I can trust you” and “I don’t even know about this relationship.” You know how it goes.
Apparently, it was a going away party and Christian just stopped by and the girl jumped in a picture with him. But come on, you would be investigating too, right? Well, of course, love keeps no record of wrongs. Gotta let it go. So, I decided not to bring it up anymore. Then, nine months later, when we’re two months away from being married, I wake up from a nap and Christian is sitting there shaking. He said, “I have to tell you something. I lied to you. I didn’t actually tell her not to post it.” He further explained that he thought if he’d said he told her not to post it that it would make the situation better. But it actually did the opposite. So, what seemed like some huge deal ended up being nothing at all because of one little lie. And I think that happens a lot. All the sudden we’re so confused and we don’t even know where we’re at and it all circles back to some initial little lie. And sometimes the thing is, it’s hard to say the truth because it’s awkward. Sometimes the truth is even offensive. But on a more real note, the truth is actually loving.
However, in our generation, I don’t think telling the truth is really our problem. I think the hardest thing for us is actually knowing what truth is. Because everyone has their own truth, right? And it really is leading us down a bad path. Urban dictionary defines “my truth” as:
A non-negotiable personal opinion. This is a convenient phrase for avoiding arguments because people can contradict your opinion, but they can’t contradict your truth. This phrase is often used when seeking to justify a personal stance or action because you’re not allowed to argue with someone’s truth.
That’s a scary way to live when we are so entitled to our opinion that we change it to our truth so that no one can tell us that it’s wrong. It’s actually very confusing when we don’t have a standard for truth. Because if nothing is true, then questions arise such as what even is love or what even is confidence. It’s weird because you could tell someone they have food in their teeth and them deny it because of “their truth.” But it doesn’t change the fact that there’s food in their teeth. Proverbs 12:5 says this, “The fool is right in his own eyes, but the wise man listens to advice.”
I don’t want us to be a generation of fools believing we’re right all the time. I never want us to get so confused and lost all because we aren’t willing to confront ourselves with the truth. I want to bring up a moment in the Bible whenever the truth was all up in the air and everything was confusing. At this point, Jesus had been arrested and the Jewish people were fed up with Him. They were convinced Jesus was not their king. They wanted to get rid of Him. But in Jewish culture they couldn’t kill. So, they thought if they told the Roman government, Pilot, that this guy was trying to be king, that they might think He’s trying to pose a threat to their empire. Then they would kill Him, because in Roman culture they could crucify. In summary, they were planning to mold Jesus’s story into a little lie and make them think He’s so terrible so they would kill Him. But the story goes on to judgement from Pilot. Pilot is confused as to why Jesus is there in the first place as He was a Roman and Jesus was a Jew.
“So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you say this of your own accord or do the others say this about me?’ Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done? Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered to the by the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.’ Then Pilate said, ‘So are you a king?’ Jesus said, ‘You say that I’m a king for this purpose I was born and for this purpose I’ve come into the world to bear witness to the truth everyone who is of the truth listens to me. and Pilate said, ‘What is truth?’Pilate went away he went outside to the Jews and told him I find no guilt in Him.” (John 18:33-38)
So, Pilate at this point kind of established his truth by saying he doesn’t seem guilty nor poses a problem.
But in verse 39:
“You have a custom that I should release one man over to you at Passover. So, do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” (John 18:39)
And I love how he says it. He’s like, “So this is obvious right? We’re going to release the king of the Jews because who cares he’s not really posing any threat. In fact, He’s actually healing people. Making the blind see. Turning lives around.” But no, all said not this man. Barabbas. And Barabbas was a robber. I mean is that not crazy!? And that’s what our feelings do sometimes. It’s like, I would actually rather not have the thing that makes me uncomfortable. I would rather have the thing that’s the worst thing for my life.
As we know the story goes, Jesus was crucified which means Pilate changed his truth to what the majority said truth was. And I think that that’s really happening in our day. If everyone says it’s true it’s got to be true. Oh I saw it on tiktok. I saw it on Instagram. It’s definitely true. Without even thinking does this actually benefit my life, we just take it as our truth. It impacts our lives in bigger ways than you think. We choose things that are more comfortable in a moment than doing something that’s best for us in the long run. And it’s funny because we don’t do it sometimes in the obvious thing. If you fall and you trip and you get a big gash what are you going to do? You’re going to put alcohol on it. You’re going to have surgery. You would do whatever you need to do even though it hurts stings. You’d rather endure the sting of a moment than a lifetime of infection, right? But we don’t do that in our spiritual life. Ephesians 6:13 says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of god that you may be able to withstand the evil day. And having done all that you can do to stand firm having fastened on the belt of truth.”
Let me tell you something. Truth is not comfortable. My daughter, Honey James Huff, is the CUTEST thing in the world. She hates the car seat because it’s uncomfortable to get in. But you know what I don’t do as her mom? I don’t say, “Oh you are so uncomfortable. Let me take you out.” No, I put her in the car seat even though she’s crying and I strap her in because it’s saving her life. You know what Christian told me the other day? He said he wears a belt around his waist at the gym for support and to protect him from getting hurt. You know why we need the belt of truth in our life more than ever? Because we cannot stand firm against the lies of the enemy right now unless we have a belt of truth. If you’re going to carry the weight of the world you have to stand on the truth of God. We all know the phrase, “truth sets you free.” It’s actually not true when many people say it. Not all truth sets you free. THE truth sets you free. Your truth doesn’t set you free. The truth that came 2000 years ago and died on a cross and actually can carry the weight of your sin sets you free. In John 8, Jesus said,
“Truly truly I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house. The song remains in the house. So, if the son sets you free you are free indeed.” (John 8:34-35)
Before that He says this, “If you abide in my word you are truly my disciple. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) Jesus said the truth will set you free. But how did he say that’s going to happen? If we abide in His word. That’s not even my truth. Jesus literally claims to be the truth. He says, “I am the way I am the truth I am the life. No one gets to the father except through me.” (John 14:6)
You know what the enemy does these days? He gives us lies daily. He says “Oh you overslept today? You’re not really where you want to be in your life. You’re worthless.” Man, all of a sudden, I’m absolutely worthless. I’m going to be very real with you because I see this happening too much to not say it. We love our best friend. She’s awesome. I love my best friend. She’s so beautiful. Wait am I attracted to my best friend? Well, there was that one time whenever I thought that so that must mean that I’m this. Oh wow yeah that must be true. I’m just going to follow this new truth because this is my new truth. And now why am I so confused because it sounded true at the beginning. But there was a little lie there that took a turn. And when we don’t allow the spirit to convict us and to stop us in the moment to have discernment to hear the voice of the enemy rather than the voice of God, we start to change our whole identity.
All of a sudden, we are our anxiety. We are our depression. We are our sexuality. We are our addictions. We are all of these things and we don’t know how we got here or why we got here. But if you go all the way back, there was a little lie planted that you took on as your truth. But if instead you would hear that and you would read the word, you say I am not my sexuality. I am actually not my anxiety. The enemy’s lies are not my identity. I am a daughter of a good father who created me. Who has healed me. Who has redeemed me. Who has washed me clean by the blood of sin.
Think about where you’re at right now. Do you have truth living in you or do you feel like a thief has come and destroyed your life? Now I want to tell you something powerful. If you’re sitting there right now and you’re saying, “Man I’m living with Barabbas. I have chosen what the enemy spoke over me. But today I want to choose Jesus.” You can. Take a moment in your heart where you make the decision that’s going to be life-changing. You no longer choose Barabbas. You choose Jesus.
Friend, I encourage you to watch this full message on YouTube and let Jesus speak truth into your life today!
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