Podcasts about affirmations

[Season 6, Episode 22 ] In this uplifting episode of the I AM Beautiful Wild Free Podcast, we declare with a full heart: I AM Thankful and Grateful.

In this solo episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Jesse Schwamb explores the profound theological underpinnings of Jesus' parables in Luke 15. With co-host Tony Arsenal absent due to illness, Jesse takes listeners through the "deleted scenes" – insights and reflections that often occur off-mic – about the parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin. These stories reveal God's relentless pursuit of sinners and set the stage for the upcoming discussion of the Prodigal Son parable. Jesse unpacks how these parables demonstrate not just God's willingness to receive sinners, but His active seeking of them – a grace that doesn't merely find us willing but makes us willing. This episode serves as a theological bridge, slowing listeners down to fully appreciate the scandal of God's love before diving into Jesus' most famous parable. Key Takeaways Context Matters: The parables of Luke 15 are Jesus' response to the Pharisees' grumbling about Him receiving sinners and eating with them. This historical context reveals the radical nature of Christ's ministry compared to the religious establishment. Grace Makes Us Willing: Drawing from Thomas Watson's quote, Jesse explains that God's grace doesn't find us willing to repent but actually creates that willingness in us – a foundational concept in Reformed theology. The Initiative of God: In all three parables, God is portrayed as the active seeker. The shepherd searches for the sheep, the woman sweeps for the coin, demonstrating that salvation begins with God's initiative, not ours. The Scandalous Love of Jesus: Christ's approach to sinners appeared scandalous to religious leaders because it violated their understanding of who deserved God's attention. Christ's Sympathetic Identification: Jesus doesn't just save us from a distance but enters into our suffering, identifying with us in our pain while remaining sinless. Heaven's Joy Over Salvation: The parables reveal God's extraordinary joy over each individual sinner who is saved, showing that the entire cost of redemption would be worth it even for just one person. From Death to Life: Drawing from Colossians 2, Jesse emphasizes that Jesus didn't come to make bad people good but to make dead people alive, canceling our certificate of debt through His cross. The Scandal of Divine Initiative The religious establishment of Jesus' day operated on the principle that religion was for "good people" – those who could maintain moral standards and ritual purity. When tax collectors and sinners were drawn to Jesus, the Pharisees were scandalized not just by Jesus' association with them, but by the possibility that these "hopeless cases" might be included in God's kingdom. This context sets up the revolutionary nature of Jesus' parables. As Jesse explains, "Religion by itself cannot help any of those people. Can't help pariahs in that way, and so it did no good then to command the good people to mix with the bad people, and then to treat them kindly and tell them of new possibilities." What makes Christianity utterly unique is that it begins not with human initiative but with divine pursuit. God in Christ actively seeks those who are lost, not waiting for them to clean themselves up or take the first step. This complete reversal of religious expectations demonstrates why these parables were and remain so radical. Grace That Transforms Our Unwillingness The Reformed theological principle that Jesse highlights through Thomas Watson's quote – "Grace does not find us willing, but grace makes us willing" – strikes at the heart of human pride and misconception about salvation. Left to ourselves, we don't merely lack the ability to come to God; we actively resist Him. Jesse elaborates: "How good of God that He would send His Son unto us while we were yet His enemies. In other words, while that clenched fist was within us, while we saw God as only a threat, while we wanted to be covenant breakers, that's what we wanted. We want to rebel against Him." The wonder of grace is not just that God forgives when we repent, but that He creates the very repentance within us. This is why the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the one – the sheep doesn't find its own way home. This is the beating heart of Reformed soteriology: salvation is entirely of the Lord, from first to last, which makes it secure and gives all glory to God alone. Memorable Quotes "God seeking us is the foundation of seeking Him. Grace does not find us willing, but grace makes us willing, and I think that's exactly what we're getting in this first advent of Christ. By way of these stories, of course, this grace that makes us willing. That is the Reformed theology." "He's not this like sinless Superman. What I mean by that is... it takes out the humanity of Christ. It takes out this feeling heart of Christ as if to like separate him so much from us. But the beauty of these parables is... Christ puts himself close to us in that he feels like us, though he is not us, and that is the heart. That is where his power of coming to save is brought into our lives." "Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He also has taken it out of the way. Having nailed it to the cross. How good is that sentence?" Full Transcript [00:00:08] Jesse Schwamb: It reminds me of this quote from. Thomas Watson who said, God seeking us is the foundation of seeking him. Grace does not find us willing, but grace makes us willing, and I think that's exactly what we're getting in this first advent of Christ. By way of these stories, of course, this grace that makes. Us willing. That is the reform of theology. How good of God that he would send his son unto us while we were yet his enemies. In other words, while that clenched fist was within us, while we saw God as only a threat, while we wanted to be covenant breakers, that's what we wanted. We want to rebel against him. Welcome to episode 473 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse, and this is the podcast for Lost Sheep and Lost Coins. Hey, brothers and sisters, you're listening to another episode of The Reformed Brotherhoodhood, but you've probably already noticed. That we are missing my co-host and my brother Tony, who regrettably was taken up ill this week, and so in his convalescence, I'm coming at you with a solo episode and what are you probably asking is worth listening to in the solo episode? Well, I have a proposal for you. So often what happens is when Tony and I sit down. And we record a beautiful, robust conversation, the definitive kind of talk on some topic. We shut off the microphone. And then of course he and I continue to talk to one another. And what often happens is somehow, like a second or a third episode basically starts because we go back to what we were talking about before and we have some kind of new insight or something new that we wanted to say that didn't make it into the episode. [00:01:56] Deleted Scenes and Parables Overview [00:01:56] Jesse Schwamb: And so this episode is gonna be about some of those deleted scenes if you were, were like the things that. We talked about, but didn't make it into some of our recent conversations about the parables, these three parables of the Lost Sheep, the lost coin, and now The Lost Son. Now I know what you're thinking, and I made a promise to Tony. We're not gonna get to the Prodigal son on this episode. That is something he and I are looking forward to discussing with one another and with you. So that will be next week. But on this little episode, I thought it was best to slow down just for a second and to give you, again, some of those things we've been talking about as we've been thinking about lostness, and to set that up as a precursor to wet your appetite just a little bit for this biggest of all of the parables, maybe the most well-known parable in the entire universe. The parable of the prodigal son, which again, is coming for you, but not on this one. Don't even get me started. How dare you. Now, normally if this were a traditional episode, you would hear that ous segue from me that goes something like this. Hey Tony, are you affirming with or denying again, something on this episode? And because it's just me, it'd be super weird to do something atenol with just myself. [00:03:17] Affirmations and Community Engagement [00:03:17] Jesse Schwamb: I figured it is high time for me to give you a particular affirmation, so here's what I'm gonna do. I am affirming with you like you brother and sister listening. I truly am affirming with you because as the year draws to close, I was thinking just again, how grateful I am for everybody who hangs out, everybody who listens, everybody who gives to the reformed brotherhood, because we all do it together. Nothing happens by accident. Nothing shows up in your podcast feed without somebody taking care of the attendant costs, without people lending their voices, without conversation around it. And if you're wondering, well, who are these other people? Because I thought it was just you too. There are brothers and sisters from all over the world who are looking to follow closely after Lord Jesus Christ, wanting to process theology and wanting to do so in a way that makes us better and more obedient toward our loving savior. And in serving those around us. And the good news is you also can just connect with us and with them. And the best way to do that, as we've said so many times before, but I'm gonna say it one more time for everybody in the back, is you can join our Telegram group. Telegram is just a messaging app, and we've carved out just a little corner of that app so that people that are listening to the podcast can come hang out and talk about. Whatever you want. So the way to do that is go to any browser, pick your favorite one, and just type in t me slash reform brotherhood, t me slash reform brotherhood, and that link will get you there. You can also do another thing. You can go to reform brotherhood.com. The podcast does have a website, believe it or not, and on that website, reform brotherhood.com live, all of the other episodes we have ever recorded. And so you can search those by topic about what's going on in them. You can find all kinds of different things to listen to. You'll also find a link there if in fact you would like to also support the podcast. So we are so grateful for so many brothers and sisters. Who have decided, you know what? I've been blessed by the conversations by the community, and I wanna make sure that it remains that way free of charge to everyone. And they're the ones along with us that are shouldering that burden, and I'm so grateful. So you can find a link there if in fact you are so inclined to give so. Brothers and sisters, I'm affirming with you it's time that I did that, and I'm so grateful for all of you. And again, the purpose of this little episode is to spend a little bit of time getting ready, getting after it. [00:05:42] The Parables' Context and Significance [00:05:42] Jesse Schwamb: For this, the biggest of all, the granddaddy of all the parables, the parable of the prodigal son and I, as I was thinking about this episode, it occurred to me it's a bit like, I don't know where you live. Where I live, there are these signs on the road that can script the speed at which you can travel on those roads at least legally. Right, and I was thinking about this as I was driving the other day, that I have a road with a speed limit. Say it's 50 miles an hour, but there is a bend in this road. And on that bend as I approach it, there's another sign of a different color that's more suggestive and it's a lower speed limit. It's as if to say, listen, I know you can travel at 50, but what might be wise right now is to slow it down so that you don't veer off the road because. As you take this turn, what's best practice, what's most safe for you is to slow down for a second. And I was kind of thinking about that as we were going into these parables. We wanna get to the parable of the prodigal sun. It's dramatic, it's dynamic. There's all kinds of lovely details in it. It's exciting. We've got people now finally, whereas we had intimate objects in agriculture, now we're getting to human family dynamics and interrelations and all this activity. And it's good. We should wanna get there, but I'm kind of feeling like it's a bit like that sign that says, you know what? We might wanna slow down for a second before you turn into this parable. Why don't you take this curve at a slightly slower speed? And so hence this little tiny episode to bring to you again, some of those deleted scenes. Some of the things that Tony, I've been talking about that never have quite made it into all of the recordings, because they probably happened before afterwards and the recording button had already been disabled. So. Let me give you the thing that I think, Tony, I've been talking about a lot and we've definitely been thinking about, and that is again, going back to like, why did these parables even come up? Like was it Jesus volition just to start talking about this stuff? Why is it that there are three versions of it? Why are they kind of escalating and growing in magnitude? There's clearly a crescendo coming. Hopefully you're hearing it. Like it's picking up, the pace is moving, the volume is increasing, and the stakes are getting higher and higher and higher. So what gives why all of this? And I think we gotta go back to Luke 15. Of course. We gotta look at just that first verse because to me. [00:08:00] The Heart of Reformed Theology [00:08:00] Jesse Schwamb: In Luke 15, this is some of like the best comfort food of the gospel, don't you think? I mean, in this, it's like the warmest, richest passage, almost all the gospels in terms of the presentation of this really good news. And you know, these stories aren't just sentimental tales. They actually reveal the beating heart of reform, theology, the beating, passionate love. And heart of Christ for his people. This truth that God is the one who seeks, saves, and rejoices over sinners. And so we gotta start in context because it's precisely because of that beating heart, that initiative, that volition, that Christ brings all of this up, but he brings it up in response to something that's happening. And that's where we get in verse one. Now, the tax collectors and sinners we're all drawing near to him. I think sometimes we run, at least I do way too past. Fast past that verse, the tax collectors and the sinners we're all drawing near to him. It should be the kind of thing like talk about things that make you go, Hmm, why? Why are we getting that now? That specific indicator here that they're drawing near. And then not only that it's being told to us, but of course what was it about Christ that drew these people? Because traditionally there, there was a lot of religion happening in Jesus' day. In some ways something special and different is happening here, that while the religion was not drawing these people, that the, the superstructures there, the participants, the leaders were not drawing this crowd by design. Instead, they're drawn to Jesus. There's something not just in the teaching but who he is, and Luke tells us tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him. He goes on to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled saying, this man receives sinners and eats with them. As a result of this, Jesus tells then these three parables. It's almost like Jesus essentially saying to the Pharisees, listen, you're accusing me of receiving sinners. Yes, you are exactly right, but I want you to know why. What a beautiful thing for him to explain and then to explain it in these thrice kind of implications and stories and metaphors. It's a beautiful thing. It reminds me of this quote from. Period in Thomas Watson who said, God seeking us is the foundation of seeking him. Grace does not find us willing, but grace makes us willing, and I think that's exactly what we're getting in this first advent of Christ. By way of these stories, of course, this grace that makes. Us willing. That is the reform of theology. How good of God that he would send his son unto us while we were yet his enemies. In other words, while that clenched fist was within us, while we saw God as only a threat, while we wanted to be covenant breakers, that's what we wanted. We want to rebel against him. And it's an incredible thing. It's far better, not that grace finds us willing, but that grace makes us willing, that grace compels us because we do not even know what's the best for ourselves. And so here again, Jesus tells us these three parables, these three stories to convey this incredible point. And that is that there is surely hope for all. God's love extends even to these sinners. That the glorious truth, that glorious truth shines out in all of these parables, and it's meant to be impressed upon us in like increasing degree that God's amazing love is both in its scope and its reach, and especially contrast. The ideas of then these. Pharisees and the scribes on this subject, he comes at them hard with these series of events and these stories. Tony, I've been talking about that a lot. Like we just can't get beyond that. I can't even, I wish I could comprehend it in a more deep way. You know, the first two parables are, it's dying to impress upon us that the love of God. Is this activity. It is effort and fire and reach and going after and passion and love, and it seeks out the sinner and it takes like infinite trouble in order to find him and rescue him. It's willing to pursue all to love, all, to take up the cost of all, and then to show the joy of God and all the hosts of heaven when even just one. Soul is saved. So it's not even this massive effort undertaking, which weighs the benefits and the costs and says, well, it's gonna be worth it in the end because the dividends earned from making this investment will be far greater than the investment itself. And what God does in Christ is he sends his son not. Reservedly, not like arms reach, so he could snatch him back up when harm beel him, but he gives him so unreservedly in passive and active obedience so that the sinner might be saved. Even just one and one, just one is saved. All of heaven rejoices there. There is a full consummate expression of happiness and completeness and joy of just one. Being saved and brought into God's kingdom. In other words, if that entire cost were for just one, God would still be willing to bear it. Jesus would still come in his active and past obedience to accomplish that very thing. And it's all of this that's moving us, of course, to the parable of the prodigal son, but I cannot even get there. Don't, don't even try to get me to go there. I know you're all doing it. So there is this great and incredible outstanding point. [00:13:20] The Scandalous Love of Jesus [00:13:20] Jesse Schwamb: It's something else that Tony had been talking about is that there's a simplicity, of course in all of these accounts, but there's also like this great complexity, especially because of this context. And I think as well what we've been really. Settling on in our conversations outside of the podcast is just how scandalous this makes Jesus seem and appear like that Jesus does appear or he should appear to us like too good to be true, too loving, too kind, too recklessly spend thrift. And again, that's what we're gonna find in the next parable, but that that is for real and it doesn't make him weak. It might be an expression of meekness, a power under control, but it shows that the humility of God in Christ is really beyond our ability to comprehend in reach that is so thorough and so full, and so rich and so warm that Christ is, as it were, experiencing a great, great joy. In the sinner coming and being saved, and him identifying with the sinner to such a degree and going out and finding what was lost to bring it back in. That this act of even when we come to him in repentance over and over again, we do not exhaust him because so great is his love for us. That he's coming to save continually and always, that he doesn't have to save over and over again. There's no additional sacrifice that's necessary, but that, that sacrifice is so great, so grand, so complete that it continues to bring us back into the fold to save us as it were. Over and over again to restore us onto fellowship with him to restore the harmony of our relationship while never having to rescind or to rebuild again the initial identity that we have in Christ that was accomplished on the cross, but that this just seems too good to be true. It just seems so miraculous that my own sin. As it continues to compound day after day, that is like continue to do the things I don't wanna do, as Paul said. But the very things I don't wanna do, those are the things that I do. It seems like this. At some point God would just become thoroughly exhausted with, and that's not the case. And these parables prove that to us over and over. And over again. So this very context and setting of these parables shows. I think all of this like perfectly, and Tony and I have just been conversing about that a lot. We keep going back to it. Maybe we're a little bit afraid that if we keep talking about it, you're gonna be like, you already said that, say something different. But we can't help. We're really come back to this and. Again, I'm drawn to this line that these sinners, the publicans, if you're totally down with the King James version that they drew near unto him, they came to him. There was something about him that they were almost like compelled or constrained as, as Paul says, like God's love compels us or constraints us. That they themselves were feeling that almost this magnetism toward Christ to want to be in his presence toward what, hear what he has to say, and what a beautiful setup that they're being drawn into him. He's eating with them. He's doing this. Most intimate thing, spending time with the me, my shoulders, with 'em, and of course the Pharisees, the scribes, the religious leaders, they see this and it's recorded that they're grumbling. They're complaining, right, man, what an adventure in missing the point. But that's there for us. I really think to pick up here as we try to understand what these parables mean, again, it's not just like the teaching. The teaching is so good, it's so rich and juicy and, and full of so many things for us to consume and to understand and to meditate on and to metabolize. As well that we can just quickly mix Miss, like this incredible perspective of like the context of which it took place, like the literal environment and the circumstances of life, which in some ways were the progenitor, or at least were the very thing, the fertile soil, which gave Christ the opportunity to plant. Then these seeds of the story and what I'm raised by is they felt that. I think these sinners felt that there was a chance even for them, that like in these man's teachings, there was a new and fresh hope, and even the Pharisees and the scribes saw precisely that thing. I think that's why, that's why they're complaining, and they had regarded these sinners as being so utterly and entirely behind, beyond hope and redemption. I mean, that was really the Orthodox view. It was to say like, listen, they're so hopeless that they were to be entirely ignored. Religion was for good people. It had nothing to do with bad people. You know, unfortunately, that's so much I think of how people view even Christianity today, that this is a club for people who have it mostly together or wanna have it together or think that they can get it together. Religion is for the good people and it should have nothing to do with the bad people. And it certainly had nothing to. To give these sinners just in the in, in our own day. Religion, by and in of itself, has nothing to give anybody, certainly nothing to give those who are hurt. Who are feeling hopeless, who are down and out, who are the abused, who have been written off, who are marginalized, who are pariahs, who feel that the guilt is overwhelming in their lives, who have all of these regrets. Religion by itself cannot help any of those people. Can't help you oriah in that way, and so it did no good then. To command the good people, to mix with the bad people, and then to treat them kindly and tell them of new possibilities. Religion, even in Jesus day, didn't offer that. And so you can see then that the Pharisees of the scribes were annoyed by our Lord's teaching. Anyone who saw any hope for this public or sinner must to them be entirely wrong and a blasphemer, because that's not who religion was for. And yet the sinner here. I mean, can you only imagine loved one like the sinner here in seeing Jesus? And being with Jesus, and they were drawn to him by understanding that there was some kind of new and fresh hope for them. And that's what's delivered in these parables to us. That how scandalous love of God is, is that from the jump, those who are with him recognize the scandal and said, this is so otherworldly that it seems like. This could be for me. And that is exactly why Jesus came, right? He came to seek and to save those who are lost. The point is was not how he could be received back, but whether he could be received back at all, whether he deserved anything at all. And so the sinner coming and saying that, is it possible that even for me. There is hope that even for me, there could be restoration with God. That for all the things which I already know, that I'm far from God, that I see him as the one who has these incredible and high in standards that I have transgressed, is it possible that there is hope for me? You know, just this morning on our Lord's day, because that's time of year, one of the songs that we sang was Joy to the World, and I was thinking even as we were preparing to sing that what, what other people conceive of that? Him. You know, we might rightly ask, is there any joy in our world today? Is there any hope? Is there any peace? And the answer is, yes, there is. It's in Jesus. You know that he is the answer. But we sometimes need to start saying, what is the question? And the question is, who can come before God? What can I do to be saved? That is the question. And these sinners at least understood that. They're drawn to Jesus, they're drawn to come before him. And so this stands out to me. It's something that we've been talking about a lot, this possibility of a new start, a new beginning for all, even for the most desperate, the ones that were so far off that they recognized that they couldn't probably even turn around. You know, sometimes like we colloquial say, listen, all you have to do is turn around and we use that language because we're tying it with this idea of repentance, you know, to turn. Toward God to to forsake that which is our natural selves by the power of the Holy Spirit and to come back into the family of Christ. And I think that is good, but I think the sinner also recognizes that the only prayer that we have is that Jesus have mercy on me. Have mercy on me that that's the right place to start. And I see in this, this idea, of course that's clearly articulated by our savior, that God is doing all the things that we are so lost. We're like that lost sheep that's just gone astray. That we desperately need help because we can't find our way back. I'm not sure we can even barely turn around. And I think if. What Thomas Watson is saying is correct. Then the beauty of Grace is that it does make us willing because I, for one, would go kicking and screaming all the way. But the fact that it makes us willing, it makes us come to our senses, which I have a feeling is something we will explore in a future, future episode, but that God is setting forward all of that initiative, you know. I like that John Rowan, John Owen also writes the sheep strays and knows not how to return, but Christ the good shepherd will lose none of his flock, but fetch them home. I love this idea. That's from his expedition on Hebrews. Actually, it's not even about this particular passage. The sheep does not seek the shepherd. The shepherd seeks the sheep. So even in this narrative, we see all these beautiful elements that. You know, Tony, I talked about before this total depravity, but it's just a narrative form that there's no one that seeks after God. And so what we find is that God is bringing forward election, choosing his own. He's bringing about definitive atonement, he's saving his own, and then there's a sexual calling he's bringing to himself his own. It's like the Westminster Larry Catechism says in. Uh, 59 Christ, by his intercession answers the demands of those for whom he has died and for them only. And all of this then brings about this like great and incredible rejoicing in heaven. I think, not just because it's like, it's great to find lost things, but it's also great to see that God has done the very thing that he said he was going to do, that he's the one that's, that he's the author and perfecter of salvation. And so God delights. In the work of redemption. So this is like the thing that I think is incredibly scandalous. [00:23:01] Christ's Compassion and Solidarity [00:23:01] Jesse Schwamb: This is the thing that Tony and I have talked a lot about, like privately, and that is how much Jesus has compassion and the ability, the true ability to sympathize. And that in these I, I think like underneath. All of these little parables and stories. The only reason there is an action of love. That love always leads to giving. Love always leads to going. Finding love always leads to drawing in that the only reason that is happening is because of this incredible ability of Christ to sympathize with us. You know, the burden of these verses, the anchor of these verses is Christ sheer an amazing solidarity with all of his people. All our natural intuitions tell us that Jesus is with us on our side present helping. When life is going well. It's easy to see that. It seems very clear, but in this text, we're finding that those who are drawn are the ones whose life are decidedly not going great, not doing that well. And so the opposite is being. Presented for us in this kinda stark relief. It's in our weakness that Jesus sympathizes with us. It's in our pain and our own destructive behaviors that he comes, not because he himself has experienced any sin, but because he is a savior whose heart is wide open to go after and to embrace those who are in that state, which seems incredible. Scandalous, like in our pain, Jesus is pained in our suffering. He feels the suffering as his own, even though it isn't. He's not this like invincible divinity. Well, lemme say it this way. It's not that his invincible divinity is threatened, but in the sense that his heart is feelingly drawn into our distress. Is that a word? Feelingly, like that. He literally wants to, he feels himself into our distress and, and in that doing so his joy is increased because he's identifying with his children because he is coming close to them because he is going after them. His love leads to that kind of feeling ness, so it's. It is not only that Jesus can reveal, relieve us and reveal, I suppose, but relieve us from our troubles like a doctor prescribing medicine. It's also that before any relief comes before, like a day of restoration comes before like that day of the shackles falling off before that time when the breakthrough happens, he's with us in our troubles like a doctor who has endured the same disease. That's what's wild. That's what makes all of this so different than any other religious worldview, than any other kind of conscription of how to think about the world and any other philosophy. And he's a sinless man, but he's not this like sinless Superman. And what I mean by that is I think some of you heard, if you've listened for any length of time, you know that there's this song. That is a children's song. That is something like Jesus is my superhero, and I always bristle that a little bit because it takes out the humanity of Christ. It takes out this feeling heart of Christ as if to like separate him so much from us that we want all of this power. Of course we want this. Alien power to come and to restore our lives, to intercede, to do the thing that we cannot do for ourselves. But the beauty of these parables is the thing that we cannot do for ourselves is still the thing that Christ puts, puts himself close to us in that he feels like us, though he is not us, and that is the heart. That is where his power of coming to save. Is brought into our lives. He comes and saves us because he knows us. And to know us is to become like us. And to become like us is to be humiliated, to come and to humble himself and to condescend to such degree that he is again, like this doctor who can heal. But before any of that comes, he's with us in the troubles. This is Emmanuel, this is God with us, that he is the one that comes and stands shoulder to shoulder with us in that pain that feels and empathizes and comes and ministers to us in that pain, and takes great joy in doing so. And in fact, his joy, as it were, is enlarged in doing that. [00:27:09] The Joy of Salvation [00:27:09] Jesse Schwamb: Our tendency, I think, is to feel intuitively that the more difficult life gets, the more that we're alone. We sink further into pain, we sink further into felt isolation, and these passages correct us. Our pain never outstrips what he himself shares in. That is what's remarkable. That is what drives and fuels, I think, in a way, this passionate heart of Christ towards us and then results in this kind of unbelievable, really loved ones. Incredible, outstanding, inconceivable good news that Christ has saved us, that he would come and in the midst of our great ugliness and sinfulness and unkindness and selfishness, that he would not only identify with that and say, you who are broken, I delight. To repair you, but that we receive then not just a restoration, but then all of the benefits that Christ himself has earned that are due him for his obedience. These also get credited to us. I think it's impossible for me not to conclude this little conversation that we're having without going to Colossians chapter two, which again, I've said this before, but as somebody who's worked in finance and banking, all of my adult life. Actually, I dunno why I would say it that way, because you really can't, shouldn't be working in finance or banking as a child. But for all of my life I just find this language so resonant. And if you're a person that's borrowed money for any length of time or maybe basically just worked in the world and had to endure, if that's your word, or interact with finance than you are probably gonna resonate with this. This too. But this is. An expression of what God has done for us in Christ. And I wanna begin reading in verse 13. And you being dead in your transgressions. Oh, man. Uh, sorry, I, I hate to do this. I often don't like to do this, but you're just gonna get my commentary, the Jesse commentary in between these in, in the midst of these verses because I, I should probably best practice to read the whole thing for y'all. But I just, I am dumbfounded. I keep getting dumbstruck by these words and thinking about these in light of, uh, the incarnation and of Christ coming and these parables that he's teaching us that are just showing like as if he's just opening up his heart to us, and I can't, but help but stop and pause and say, are, are you hearing this too? And you being dead in your transgressions. This is so horrible, isn't it? Like who wants this to be true of them? But this is, this is my story and your story that we were dead and it's not a who done it mystery. You know what killed us? Our transgressions, yours and mines our own work. That the minimum wage of sin is death and that your transgressions killed you and that you were in that state. You were in that state actually from the beginning, from the time that you were born. You were dead and you were dead in your transgressions. That is super bad. I mean, that's the understatement of this entire conversation. It, it's horrible. Uh, I can't think of anything worse. It's true of all us. So is it possible that it could get worse? It does actually. And you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, that is like you were not just, it would be worse enough that of course, like you the Law of Christ, but you love to do it. That was your jam in your flesh. The flesh that you wanted to embrace, the selfishness that was who you are, apart from Christ, which the Bible tells us is the opposite of being circumcised brought into the family. You were far away as far away as possible. You were so far out of the government that you were uncircumcised. That's who you were. You were dead. You were dead because of your transgressions, and then you were so far outside of the family of God, there was no hope for you. In your own self, there's nothing you could do to make a way. There was nothing that you could do to write yourself. You were dead in your transgressions, uncircumcision of your flesh. Sit on that for a second, and you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, Jesus made you alive with him having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions. So again, this is. Incredible. Not just that you would be forgiven, but that you'd be made alive in Christ. There's this falsity out there somewhere. Again, this is what religion teaches you, teaches us that Jesus came to make bad people good. I mean, that's really what the Pharisees were after in their own lives. There was their promulgating a system in which what religion does is it's for good people and at best what it can do is make maybe some bad people. Good. But if you're too bad, it's not for you. It's too bad. It's unfortunate, but it's not your thing. It won't work. But what the scripture tells us, what these parables press us with is not that Jesus came to make bad people good, but he came to make dead people alive. And so what we have here is a clear indication of that, that even in the midst of your, your horrible state, that that state, that it seemed hopeless, that here Jesus God, through Jesus made you alive with him having graciously forgiven all of our transgressions. Then here's the, here's the amazing part as if like, we didn't understand that, and I think like you and Paul here saying like, this should be clear, but I'm gonna double down on this. I'm gonna use some language that should be abundantly clear to you just how bad things were and then how much freedom you should feel, what your lightness, what the, the bounce in your steps should be like because you were once dead uncircumcised. Now you've been made alive and you've been having everything graciously forgiven in Christ. Here, here's what it's like having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He also has taken it out of the way. Having nailed it to the cross. How? How good is that sentence? Christ in his death canceled out the. Certificate of debt. Again, something that was codified against us. So other words, it was documented. These were not just, and they weren't just this little statement that said like, it's really bad for you. You owe something. There's something that's been heaped up against you. But they were decrees against us. They were hostile to us. They were literally the thing that was going to kill us for all and separate us from Christ. That thing, that certificate, he has taken it. Out out of the way, having nailed it to the cross, having disarmed the rulers and authorities, he made public display of them having triumphed over them. So it's this incredible sense that not only has Christ. Taking the certificate, cast it aside, paid for it in full. But then above and beyond that, he's disarmed the rulers and authorities. He's made a public display of them. He's triumphed over sin, death, and the devil in such a demonstrative and public way to show that he's the ruler of all the world. That he's the promise maker and he's the promise keeper, that he's just, and that he's justifier. And so Paul says to us, then Christian. How ought you to live? How ought you to behave? Is this not the best news that you could possibly hear? So all of that, I think is literally just the smallest backdrop to leading us into this final parable, this escalation really, of course, the three parables in one about the prodigal son and. I would admonish you to think on that. This little extra pause that we've had here I think is good because I need to at least to remember that this is what's leading us for Jesus to say, to start with a story that says A man had two sons. You know, after we've talked about sheep. We talked about coins and then he goes, and a man had two sons. What a beautiful like beginning what? What incredible language, what brilliance, all of this to show us his true heart for us. And I think it's always worthwhile to stop and to pause for a second. And to consider that heart as we make ourselves ready to receive this final and amazing parable. [00:35:13] Conclusion and Next Episode Teaser [00:35:13] Jesse Schwamb: So I hope that you will continue to hang out with us, that you yourself will not take my word for it or Tony's word for it, but you yourself, go to Luke 15 read. It takes maybe. I dunno, 45 seconds to read all three of these and to spend some time thinking about what it is that Christ has done for us. That we're the lost sheep, we're the lost coin. We're also this lost son, son, daughter, that this was all of our stories. At some point, we can't escape the fact that this really is our biography and. It hits close to home because we find that when we examine ourselves that we are the ones that were lost in our transgressions and dead. That we are the ones that were un circumcised, but God has made us alive together with Christ. I mean, read, read Colossians two and read Ephesians one, and what you're gonna find is we have every reason to rejoice, and these stories should compel us into. A life of constant rejoicing for what Christ has done for us. That's the reason for every season. It's the reason for the Christian life, and certainly so much of what we find reflected in reform theology proper. So you know what to do. Come hang out with us on the Telegram chat, continue to process with us alongside of us in conversation with us, these incredible parables, because I do believe there's so much here. We'll, we're never going to plumb the depths of these, and this is just our feeble attempt. To get us in the right place as we make that final hair point turn into this, that we slow down just a little bit and consider what great thing that Christ has done for us and what God, the Father and the Holy Spirit has wrought in our lives by way of this incredible salvation. So you know what to do. Come back next week and we'll get after the parable. Of the prodigal. But until you do that, until we chat again and Tony rejoins us safe and strong, and Lord willing, as great as ever, honor everyone. Love the brotherhood.

Pause for a breath you didn't know you were holding.This soft landing is for the woman who's been holding it together so well that no one thinks to ask if she's okay.This week's affirmation:"The strategies, steps, decisions that got me here served their purpose — I release them with grace."You don't have to carry what no longer fits. You don't have to make letting go mean you failed.What got you here won't always get you where you're going. And that's okay.This weekend, ask yourself: What am I holding onto simply because it once worked?Thank it. And let it go.New Soft Landings every Friday. Save this. Share it. Come back to it when you need the reminder.

Did you know there's MAGIC in your Meditation Practice? Say Goodbye to Anxiety and Hello to More Peace & More Prosperity! Here Are the 5 Secrets on How to Unleash Your Meditation Magic https://womensmeditationnetwork.com/5secrets Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Close your eyes, And soften your face. Breathe… Relax your shoulders,  Soften your belly, And feel your arms and legs get heavy, And relax.  PAUSE… Melt into your bed, Slowing down your breathing, Slowing down your mind, And bring yourself here.  Sleep comes naturally to me. Sleep rejuvenates me I am ready to sleep PAUSE… I welcome deep rest.  My body heals while I sleep My dreams are happy and harmonious Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,

Segment #56 of The Daily Alignment w/ Grant Mitt, affirmations to start your day. A Segment of the Grant Mitt Podcast.  Apply for business mentorship (Book a call) https://grantmittconsulting.com/b2b-vsl Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/grantmitt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Segment #55 of The Daily Alignment w/ Grant Mitt, affirmations to start your day. A Segment of the Grant Mitt Podcast.  Apply for business mentorship (Book a call) https://grantmittconsulting.com/b2b-vsl Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/grantmitt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Links & resources:To follow more info about the podcast@levelup.debbienealCheck out my personal instagram account@debbie_neal

This birth story is such a beautiful reminder that preparation, prayer, and unwavering partner support can truly transform the labor experience. In this episode, Kaitlyn and her husband Kale share their faith-filled home birth journey — from unexpected pregnancy challenges and prenatal depression to the incredible moment Kale caught their baby in the birth tub.You'll hear the raw realities of third-trimester pain, mental health struggles, intentional birth prep as a couple, and the powerful role prayer played when their birth took an unexpected turn. This episode is packed with encouragement for moms preparing their bodies and minds for birth — and for dads learning how to show up with strength and confidence when it matters most.This was such a meaningful birth story to record, and I truly hope you absolutely love it.Here's some highlights from the episode: • Unexpected pregnancy symptoms and fears surrounding possible cholestasis • The reality of severe third-trimester pain and prenatal depression • How Kaitlyn chose a home birth and found the right midwife • How they prepared for labor together as a couple • What labor looked like from both the mom and dad perspective • Natural pain relief methods used during home labor • The moment Kale caught their baby • A delayed placenta and the powerful role prayer played • What it was like emotionally for both of them to experience a home birth • Their best advice for expectant moms and dads preparing for birthThis episode is a beautiful reminder that birth is not just a physical experience — it's emotional, spiritual, relational, and transformational. Whether you're planning a home birth, a hospital birth, or trying to figure out each of your roles during pregnancy and birth, this is the perfect episode for moms AND dads! ❤️ Don't forget to RATE & FOLLOW the Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy Podcast! Leave a Review! ⭐️ Here's how >> On Apple Podcasts Find “Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy” podcast Select “Ratings and Reviews” Click the stars! Select “Write a Review” and tell us what was the most amazing, comforting, eye-opening thing that you loved! On Spotify Find "Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy" podcast Click the 3 dots "..." Select "Rate podcast" Click the stars and write a quick review! FOLLOW "Pregnancy & Birth Made Easy" so you never miss an episode that makes pregnancy & birth feel easier! Here's how to do it in just 2 seconds: On Apple Podcasts → Tap the “+” Follow button in the top right corner of the show page. On Spotify → Tap the “Follow” button right under the show titles Let's Connect!Join the Course! https://www.myessentialbirth.com/getstartedEmail: hello@myessentialbirth.com. Follow @myessentialbirth on INSTAGRAM!

With the release of Absolute Batman #15 and the big reveal of Absolute Joker, we're excited to welcome artist Jockonto the show for the first time. We would consider this comic an event even without the gnarly origin story at its center. This is also a big reunion for the artist and his writer collaborator, Scott Snyder. They've been delivering killer Batman comics since The Black Mirror, and have already re-invented the Joker concept in The Batman Who Laughs. However, the Absolute Universe allows them to swing for the fences in a way that the main continuity never could. And, as you'll hear, this required a little recalibration from Jock. Thankfully, Jock grew up consuming some of the most radical comics on the planet, 2000 AD. These Mega-City One stories, often featuring the iconic Judge Dredd, shaped Jock's imagination and taught him the unique power of a visual narrative. They also revealed why we must never be too enamored of the characters and stories we adore. Conformity is abhorrent. Toys are meant to be broken because that's the direct result of good, continuous, serious play. If you keep them precious on the shelf, they get dusty and stiff. To understand characters like Batman and Judge Dredd, we must constantly redefine them, whittling them down to their defining characteristics. We discuss with Jock how he had to recalibrate his idea of Batman and Joker before taking on Absolute Batman #15. We talk about his new 2000 AD release, The Art of Judge Dredd by Jock. We examine how 2000 AD continues to influence his work, including Absolute Joker, and how he crafts certain two-page spreads in this comic. Absolute Batman #15 is out now from DC Comics. It's written by Scott Snyder, illustrated by Jock, colored by Frank Martin, and lettered by Clayton Cowles. You can continue this conversation with Jock by following him on Blue Skyand Instagram. This Week's Sponsors Are you ready to face the future? Look no further than 2000 AD – it's the Galaxy's Greatest Comic! Every week 2000 AD brings the best in sci-fi and horror, featuring characters like Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and more! Get a print subscription to 2000 AD, and it'll arrive at your mailbox every week, and your first issue is free. You'll also receive the HUNDRED PAGE 2000 AD Christmas Special this December at no extra cost! Or, subscribe digitally, and you can download DRM-free copies of each issue for only $9 a month. That's 128 pages of incredible comics every month for less than $10! Head to 2000AD.com and click on ‘subscribe' now – or download the 2000 AD app and start reading today! This Winter, from IDW Publishing, the Heroes in a Half-Shell take on the King of the Monsters! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Godzilla #1 crashes into comic shops on November 12th. Written by Godzilla Kei-Sei Scribe Tim Seeley and illustrated by the brilliant Turtle artist behind the Nightwatcher series, as well as the Stranger Things/TMNT crossover, Fero Pe, this new series finally brings two of our favorite franchises together. How can this reptilian miracle be?  Long before the organization was corrupted by Shredder, the Foot Clan's original purpose was to save Japan from Kaiju! Now, in the present day, Godzilla and its fellow monsters have reappeared. Not only is the Foot not prepared to stop them…it would seem Shredder himself is behind the attacks! The Turtles are always crossing over into rad nerd realms, but this one might be the king crossover of them all.  Other Relevant Links to This Week's Episode: Subscribe to The Stacks, Comic Creators Name Their Favorite Comics Previously on CBCC: Daniel Warren Johnson on Absolute Batman Annual Previously on CBCC: Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta on Absolute Batman Comic Book Film Club: 30 Days of Night at the Alamo Drafthouse Winchester on 12/14 Final Round of Plugs (PHEW): Support the Podcast by Joining OUR PATREON COMMUNITY. The Comic Book Couples Counseling TeePublic Merch Page. And, of course, follow Comic Book Couples Counseling on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Bluesky @CBCCPodcast, and you can follow hosts Brad Gullickson @MouthDork & Lisa Gullickson @sidewalksiren. Send us your Words of Affirmation by leaving us a 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts. Continue your conversation with CBCC by hopping over to our website, where we have reviews, essays, and numerous interviews with comic book creators. Podcast logo by Jesse Lonergan and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou.

10-Minute Guided Meditation for Stress and Anxiety Relief: Body Scan, Affirmations, and Quick ResetHi Friend, ready for a 10-Minute Calming Meditation to genuinely release stress and anxiety? This practice is your quick reset to help you drop the weight of the day and reaffirm your inherent peace.In this session, we focus on total body relaxation using a mindful body scan to soften your jaw, release your shoulders, and let go of any tightness in your chest or abdomen. We then transition into repeating empowering positive affirmations like, "I am safe," and "I trust myself".Start your day or end your evening feeling more centered and safe. Use this 10-minute mindfulness practice to leave overthinking and worry behind.

Segment #54 of The Daily Alignment w/ Grant Mitt, affirmations to start your day. A Segment of the Grant Mitt Podcast.  Apply for business mentorship (Book a call) https://grantmittconsulting.com/b2b-vsl Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/grantmitt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know there's MAGIC in your Meditation Practice? Say Goodbye to Anxiety and Hello to More Peace & More Prosperity! Here Are the 5 Secrets on How to Unleash Your Meditation Magic https://womensmeditationnetwork.com/5secrets Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Settle yourself into bed, Feel the support beneath you, The warmth around you, The comfort of this moment. PAUSE Take in a slow breath, Filling your lungs completely. Hold it gently at the top. And then exhale, Letting everything soften. PAUSE Another slow inhale, Gathering the day. And a long exhale, Releasing it all. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,

Did you know there's MAGIC in your Meditation Practice? Say Goodbye to Anxiety and Hello to More Peace & More Prosperity! Here Are the 5 Secrets on How to Unleash Your Meditation Magic https://womensmeditationnetwork.com/5secrets Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Settle yourself into bed, Feel the support beneath you, The warmth around you, The comfort of this moment. PAUSE Take in a slow breath, Filling your lungs completely. Hold it gently at the top. And then exhale, Letting everything soften. PAUSE Another slow inhale, Gathering the day. And a long exhale, Releasing it all. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,

Stop a racing mind instantly and find deep relief from stress with this guided Body Scan and Anchor Breath meditation. In Part 2 of our Calming Anxiety Mini-Series, Clinical Hypnotherapist Martin guides you through powerful somatic techniques designed to regulate your nervous system and silence the noise of a busy day.If you are struggling with panic, feeling overwhelmed, or simply need a daily sanctuary to reset, this 10-minute session is your tether in the storm.We move beyond simple relaxation to finding your "Anchor"—a specific physical point of focus that stops the drift of anxiety—combined with subconscious affirmations to plant seeds of resilience.

Are you currently hiding in a bathroom, a parked car, or a quiet spare room? If the noise, the questions, and the demands of the holiday season have drained you to 0%, you are allowed to pause.December is peak "Social Burnout" season. In this 10-minute rescue session, Martin (Clinical Hypnotherapist) guides you through a powerful Energy Protection visualization to help you stop "doom-pleasing" others and start protecting your peace.Think of this as an emergency charger for your mental health—a way to maintain your Winter Arc of self-care even when the family chaos is high.In this 10-minute session, you will:

Segment #53 of The Daily Alignment w/ Grant Mitt, affirmations to start your day. A Segment of the Grant Mitt Podcast.  Apply for business mentorship (Book a call) https://grantmittconsulting.com/b2b-vsl Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/grantmitt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support yourself and your fertility journey with this 10 minute guided affirmation meditation. This practice begins with a few moments of grounding and then leads you through an affirmation practice. Free fertility meditation bundle Order: You Are Not Your Thoughts: An 8-Week Anxiety Guided Meditation Journal ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠order on Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠order at other bookstores here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Order Meditation For The Modern Family⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Meditation TT 40-Hour Meditation Teacher Training is now open for enrollment ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Learn more and enroll here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Let's Connect Email Kelly your questions at info@yogaforyouonline.com Follow Kelly on instagram @yogaforyouonline Please rate, subscribe and review (it helps more than you know!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Christina shows up at the end of a long day—post-walk, unfiltered, and debating whether she should even hit “upload.” But the story behind why she almost didn't post this one is worth the listen.She also pulls back the curtain on a behind-the-scenes disaster that nearly pushed her over the edge this week. Let's just say it involves a 35-minute recording, a message from her assistant, and a very real “I might cry” moment. Christina doesn't reveal every detail here… but when you hear it, you'll feel it.From there, she shares how her best podcast ideas actually come together—and why next year's episodes are about to look very different. Think: founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and some surprising conversations she can't wait to bring back. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating  and leave us a comment on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser and Castbox about what you'd like us to talk about that will help you realize that at any moment, any day, you too can decide, it's your turn! 

In this second episode of the Peace series, we move gently from intention into embodiment. Today's practice centers around a simple yet powerful peace affirmation—one designed to settle the heart, quiet the mind, and remind the body that it is safe to rest. As you breathe and repeat this affirmation, you'll be guided to release tension that often hides beneath the surface during busy seasons. This episode is perfect for moments when the world feels heavy, the calendar feels full, or your thoughts feel restless. Peace does not need to be chased. It can be chosen. And today, you are choosing it—one breath, one moment, one affirmation at a time. Enjoy a Bonus episode from the Sip and Om meditation app (you're invited to try it free for a week!). This is a replay of a series I recorded a few years ago! ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES As the year winds down and the world grows louder with commitments, celebrations, and expectations, this series invites you to do something rare and powerful: slow down. The Peace Meditation Series is your gentle companion through the end-of-year rush and into the quiet promise of a brand new beginning. Each episode is designed to help you release what no longer serves you, soften the nervous system, and return to a deep sense of calm—no matter what the season brings. Whether you are reflecting on the year behind you or setting intentions for the year ahead, these moments of stillness are here to steady your breath, clear your mind, and reconnect you with your inner peace. This is not about striving or fixing. It is about remembering the calm that already lives within you. Welcome to your season of peace. Welcome to "A Gentle Path to Peace." This is day 2 of a 7-day meditation series, "A Gentle Path to Peace," episodes 1648-1654. Prepare to embrace peace in daily life. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: "Peace Walk" This week, your challenge is to go on a Peace Walk. As you walk, notice what brings you peace. Notice also what might bring other's peace. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Peace Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "Positive energy nurtures me." Day 3:  Breath of Peace Day 4:  Ksepana mudra for peace Day 5:  Third Chakra for trusting peace Day 6:  Peace Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Have you ever caught yourself saying, “I know I'm meant for more” and yet, you're stuck in the loop of self-doubt, imposter syndrome, or playing small?In this episode, George rips the Band-Aid off one of the biggest lies entrepreneurs tell themselves: that our beliefs are facts. They're not. And if we don't rewrite them, they'll keep running the show. If you want to change your results, your business, your impact… It starts with one belief. And this episode gives you the blueprint to make that shift in less than 30 minutes.George guides you through a practical 4-part process to expose the limiting thoughts holding you back, embody a new empowering belief, and integrate it into your daily habits.This isn't about vision boards or empty affirmations, it's about real transformation through emotional intensity, consistent reps, and embodied practice.What You'll Learn in This Episode:Why most of your beliefs would never hold up in a court of law (and why that's liberating)The exact 4-step framework: Think it → Feel it → Act it → Become itHow to identify a disempowering belief and calculate what it's really costing youWhy emotional intensity is the “missing ingredient” in affirmationsThe daily actions and rituals that lock in your identity shift Key Takeaways:✔️Beliefs aren't facts. They're just repeated thoughts with emotional charge. You can choose new ones.✔️Emotional intensity + repetition = transformation. Affirmations without feeling are just empty words.✔️Identify your current disempowering belief and ask: Is it true? What is it costing me?✔️Replace it with an empowering belief that aligns with the future you want, then act on it today.✔️Environment shapes identity. Record your new belief, speak it out loud, and surround yourself with reminders. Timestamps & Highlights:[00:00] — Welcome to Reset in 20: Episode 3 intro + belief breakdown[03:36] — Foundational 4-part framework[07:40] — Quote from OG Mandino: Why action shapes thought[10:55] — Limiting beliefs: The invisible blocks we rarely name[14:12] — 4 reflection questions to dismantle false beliefs[17:30] — Emotional intensity & repetition: The real rewiring formula[19:18] — How to write and feel your new belief[22:50] — Embodying new beliefs in your actions, environment, and daily rhythmYour Challenge This Week:If this episode sparked something, DM your new belief to George on Instagram @itsgeorgebryant and he'll personally celebrate it with you.And if you're enjoying the Reset in 20 series, share this with one friend and commit to all 7 episodes together.Book Mentioned:The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino: for embedding beliefs through repetition and emotion. Join The Alliance: The Relationship Beats Algorithms™ community for entrepreneurs building meaningful businesses through connection.Apply for 1:1 Coaching with George: Build a business aligned with your heart, not just your head.Check out upcoming live events and workshops at: https://mindofgeorge.com/retreat/

Somatic Shake: 7-Minute Nervous System Reset for Anxiety & Trauma ReleaseStop trying to "think" your way out of anxiety. If your chest feels tight, your mind is racing, or you are stuck in a "fight or flight" loop, sitting still to meditate is often the hardest thing you can do.In this session, Martin (your Clinical Hypnotherapist) guides you through a powerful 7-Minute Somatic Shake designed to physically move stress out of your body. Instead of forcing calm, we use Somatic Healing techniques to discharge the adrenaline and Cortisol trapped in your muscles.Perfect for Holiday Stress, panic attack relief, or simply resetting after a long day, this practice uses movement, visualization, and sound to signal safety to your primal brain.In this episode, you will learn how to:Shake It Off: Use gentle movement to manually lower cortisol levels and mobilize stagnant energy. Release Trauma: Visualize stress leaving your body as "grey smoke" and drop the heavy weight of emotional obligations. Stimulate the Vagus Nerve: Use breath and audible humming to hack your nervous system and exit survival mode.Find True Stillness: Experience the profound contrast of being "safe, grounded, and light" immediately after movement.Chapter Timestamps:00:00 – Intro: Why you shouldn't sit still when anxious01:04 – The science of Somatic Healing vs. Meditation01:37 – Technique 1: Mobilizing energy (Hand Shaking)02:19 – Visualization: Releasing the "Grey Smoke" of stress02:51 – Technique 2: Leg Shaking & Trauma Release03:05 – The "Winter Coat" Visualization (Dropping the weight)03:51 – Technique 3: Vagus Nerve Stimulation (Sound & Breath)04:33 – The Reset: Finding total stillness05:22 – Affirmations for safety and grounding06:26 – How to use this tool in your daily lifeCall to Action: Did this session help you shift your energy? Don't forget to Follow/Subscribe to the show so you have this "Somatic Reset" in your pocket whenever you need a quick Mental Health Break.If you are feeling lighter, please share this episode with a friend who might need to shake off the weight of the world today.

What if your energy was your greatest resource and you could reclaim it starting today.In this week's episode, we explore energy as currency, how we spend it, where we leak it, and how to call it back home. We talk about the habits, relationships, thoughts, and loops that quietly drain us, and how awareness becomes the moment we take our power back.This conversation is a reminder that everything is energy and the way we direct it shapes our reality. When we stop reliving the past, stop future-tripping, stop overgiving where there is no return, and stop competing with everyone else's highlight reel, we begin creating instead of comparing. We return to the present. We return to ourselves.May this episode serve the woman you are today and the inner girl inside you who was never taught how precious her energy truly is.Key takeaways:Energy is currency. Spend it where it nourishes you.An energy leak is anything that costs more than it gives back.Rumination, regret, and what-ifs drain power from the present moment.Your potential lives only in the now.Competing dilutes energy. Creating amplifies it.When you reclaim your energy, you reclaim your life.Affirmation to close:I honor my energy. I choose where it goes. I reclaim my power, one present moment at a time.Sponsor note:To place your work in front of a powerful, heart centered audience of women, explore Empowering Her sponsorship packages atmelodypourmoradi.com/sponsorship.Find all of Melodys books at www.melodypourmoradi.com/books.Let's Stay Connected!As an empowerment coach, author, twin girl mom, and the creator of the GiRLiFE Academy, my mission is to help every woman and girl discover her voice and live a life that lights her up from the inside out.I'd love to connect with you and continue this beautiful journey together!

Thank you to our lovely sponsors : *⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SHOPIFY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.shopify.com/habitsofagoddess⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *⁠⁠MasterClass x Kim Kardashian⁠⁠: The New Rules of Business: The 10 Kimmandments is available exclusively on MasterClass starting on 12/4. “MasterClass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to ⁠⁠https://www.materclass.com/GODDESS ⁠⁠for the current offer.” *⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BETTERHELP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: Get matched today with a licensed therapist when you visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.betterhelp.com/habitsofagoddess⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠.  * Follow and connect with me here:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tiktok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.tiktok.com/@jasminerasco1?_t=ZT-90xO4XoWDSH&_r=1⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/habitsofagoddess⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@habitsofagoddess/videos ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *Here's how to support the podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/habitofagoddess ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *Book a Goddess Chat session with me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://habitofagoddess.com/products/goddess-chat-calls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if you could bend time — not to do more, but to experience more joy, energy, and fulfillment? In this powerful episode of Got Clutter? Get Organized!, I'm joined by Michelle Niemeyer, a former attorney who turned her own burnout into a blueprint for transformation. After more than 20 years in law, a divorce, and an autoimmune diagnosis, Michelle realized something had to change. She went back to school, became a certified health coach, and immersed herself in the science of wellness, motivation, and happiness. What emerged was The Art of Bending Time — a simple, holistic system that helps clients reclaim up to 10+ hours of productive time each week while restoring peace and purpose to their lives. We discuss how your health, routines, and even your home environment play a role in burnout and recovery — and how reconnecting with your joy can change everything. What You'll Learn in This Episode: How burnout led Michelle to develop The Art of Bending Time The connection between joy, health, productivity, and organization Why aligning your routines, space, and schedule can unlock clarity Real-life results from people who reclaimed time and fulfillment How to enter 2026 with intention — not exhaustion Connect with Michelle Niemeyer: Text: 3377 Clarity Website: https://www.michelleniemeyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theartofbendingtime LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-niemeyer-3997936/

Did you know there's MAGIC in your Meditation Practice? Say Goodbye to Anxiety and Hello to More Peace & More Prosperity! Here Are the 5 Secrets on How to Unleash Your Meditation Magic https://womensmeditationnetwork.com/5secrets Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Settle in. Let the day slip away as you sink into your bed, Feeling the gentle support beneath you. PAUSE… Close your eyes, And bring your awareness to your breath. LONG PAUSE… Take a slow, deep inhale… And a long, releasing exhale. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,

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Your greatest business asset is your mind. This session programs your subconscious with the key traits of successful entrepreneurs: embracing risk, seeing opportunity everywhere, and persevering with unwavering belief in your vision. Unwind now with our positive sleep affirmations podcast. Our soothing affirmations relax the mind and prepare the body for rest. Hit play, and drift into Good Sleep... Listen to more positive sleep affirmations by subscribing to the audio podcast in your favorite podcast app:  Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-sleep-positive-affirmations/id1704608129⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3OuJvYoprqh7nPK44ZsdKE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And start your morning with Optimal Living Daily! Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optimal-living-daily-mental-health-motivation/id1067688314⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1hygb4nGhNhlLn4pBnN00j?si=ca60dcfd758b44b4⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your greatest business asset is your mind. This session programs your subconscious with the key traits of successful entrepreneurs: embracing risk, seeing opportunity everywhere, and persevering with unwavering belief in your vision. Unwind now with our positive sleep affirmations podcast. Our soothing affirmations relax the mind and prepare the body for rest. Hit play, and drift into Good Sleep... Listen to more positive sleep affirmations by subscribing to the audio podcast in your favorite podcast app:  Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-sleep-positive-affirmations/id1704608129⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3OuJvYoprqh7nPK44ZsdKE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And start your morning with Optimal Living Daily! Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optimal-living-daily-mental-health-motivation/id1067688314⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1hygb4nGhNhlLn4pBnN00j?si=ca60dcfd758b44b4⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Equip yourself with the mental tools to face any storm. These affirmations are your nightly training in resilience, helping you cultivate the inner strength and adaptability needed to navigate life's inevitable ups and downs. Unwind now with our positive sleep affirmations podcast. Our soothing affirmations relax the mind and prepare the body for rest. Hit play, and drift into Good Sleep... Listen to more positive sleep affirmations by subscribing to the audio podcast in your favorite podcast app:  Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-sleep-positive-affirmations/id1704608129⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3OuJvYoprqh7nPK44ZsdKE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And start your morning with Optimal Living Daily! Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optimal-living-daily-mental-health-motivation/id1067688314⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1hygb4nGhNhlLn4pBnN00j?si=ca60dcfd758b44b4⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Equip yourself with the mental tools to face any storm. These affirmations are your nightly training in resilience, helping you cultivate the inner strength and adaptability needed to navigate life's inevitable ups and downs. Unwind now with our positive sleep affirmations podcast. Our soothing affirmations relax the mind and prepare the body for rest. Hit play, and drift into Good Sleep... Listen to more positive sleep affirmations by subscribing to the audio podcast in your favorite podcast app:  Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-sleep-positive-affirmations/id1704608129⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3OuJvYoprqh7nPK44ZsdKE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And start your morning with Optimal Living Daily! Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optimal-living-daily-mental-health-motivation/id1067688314⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1hygb4nGhNhlLn4pBnN00j?si=ca60dcfd758b44b4⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let go of the day and drift into calm, restorative sleep.In this soothing bedtime practice, you'll hear gentle sleep affirmations designed to quiet the mind, relax the body, and help you fall asleep peacefully. Each positive affirmation is designed to draw you into a state of total calm - so you can wake up tomorrow feeling rested, restored, and renewed. ✨Perfect for ;Bedtime relaxation.Insomniacs.Overthinking.Anyone who struggles to switch off at night.If the festive season is tiering you out and you're ready to fall asleep; lie back, breathe deeply, and listen into these peaceful affirmations for sleep.Thank you for listening, Sam Jarvis,Host @ Breathingspace.Episode tags: sleep affirmations, deep rest, positive energy, bedtime meditation, relaxation, overthinking, peaceful sleep, subconscious reprogramming, Bedtime affirmations, nighttime affirmations, sleep podcast.

Drift into deep rest with calming rain sounds, gentle ambient music, and soothing healing affirmations. This peaceful sleep meditation is designed to relax your body, quiet your mind, and plant loving, positive thoughts as you fall asleep. Let go of the day and enter a state of calm, healing, and inner peace.Want access to an ad-free, 8-hour version of this episode? Try Deep Sleep Sounds Premium free for 7 days: https://sleepsounds.supercast.com/.Create a mix of your favorite sounds by downloading the Deep Sleep Sounds App at: https://deepsleepsounds.onelink.me/U0RY/app.Having an issue with Deep Sleep Sounds or want to ask us a question? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.   Our AppsRedeem exclusive, unlimited access to premium content for 1 month FREE in our mobile apps built by the Slumber Studios team:Slumber App: slumber.fm/deepsleepsounds Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

10 Minute Morning Meditation: Instant Calm & Focus | Positive Mindset ResetUnlock your full potential before you even leave your bed.Welcome to a powerful 10-minute morning reset designed to banish morning grogginess and replace it with clarity, confidence, and high-vibration energy. Whether you are waking up with a racing mind or simply want to start your day with intention, this guided practice is your sanctuary.Hosted by Martin, your Clinical Hypnotherapist, this session is perfect for beginners and seasoned meditators alike. We begin by grounding your energy with a visualization of golden light rising from the earth, releasing tension from your jaw and shoulders. You will then invite the warmth of the morning sun to cascade through you, clearing away mental fog and aligning you with your higher self.In this episode, you will:Oxygenate & Unwind: Use deep breathwork to release the residual heaviness of the night.Visualise Success: Seal your intention with the "Golden Light" grounding technique.Reprogram Your Mind: Use powerful affirmations to attract miracles and success effortlessly.Affirmations used in this session: To help these settle into your spirit, we focus on four key pillars of self-belief:"I am ready to rise and shine brighter than ever before.""I am capable of handling this moment.""I choose to focus on my intention today.""I attract miracles and success effortlessly."Make mindfulness part of your daily routine. If you are new here, please subscribe and hit the notification bell to prioritize your peace. Take care, smile often, and be kind.

Segment #52 of The Daily Alignment w/ Grant Mitt, affirmations to start your day. A Segment of the Grant Mitt Podcast.  Apply for business mentorship (Book a call) https://grantmittconsulting.com/b2b-vsl Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/grantmitt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know there's MAGIC in your Meditation Practice? Say Goodbye to Anxiety and Hello to More Peace & More Prosperity! Here Are the 5 Secrets on How to Unleash Your Meditation Magic https://womensmeditationnetwork.com/5secrets Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Take a long, deep cleansing breath. PAUSE… Let the day fall off your shoulders. PAUSE... Loosen your grip. On the to-do list. On the unspoken worries. On the background hum of unease that's been quietly living in your body. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,

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End the struggle with food. This session helps you reprogram your mind for mindful eating, fostering an awareness of your body's needs and promoting a healthy relationship where food is nourishment, not a source of stress. Unwind now with our positive sleep affirmations podcast. Our soothing affirmations relax the mind and prepare the body for rest. Hit play, and drift into Good Sleep... Listen to more positive sleep affirmations by subscribing to the audio podcast in your favorite podcast app:  Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-sleep-positive-affirmations/id1704608129⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3OuJvYoprqh7nPK44ZsdKE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And start your morning with Optimal Living Daily! Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optimal-living-daily-mental-health-motivation/id1067688314⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1hygb4nGhNhlLn4pBnN00j?si=ca60dcfd758b44b4⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

End the struggle with food. This session helps you reprogram your mind for mindful eating, fostering an awareness of your body's needs and promoting a healthy relationship where food is nourishment, not a source of stress. Unwind now with our positive sleep affirmations podcast. Our soothing affirmations relax the mind and prepare the body for rest. Hit play, and drift into Good Sleep... Listen to more positive sleep affirmations by subscribing to the audio podcast in your favorite podcast app:  Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-sleep-positive-affirmations/id1704608129⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3OuJvYoprqh7nPK44ZsdKE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ And start your morning with Optimal Living Daily! Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/optimal-living-daily-mental-health-motivation/id1067688314⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/1hygb4nGhNhlLn4pBnN00j?si=ca60dcfd758b44b4⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Segment #51 of The Daily Alignment w/ Grant Mitt, affirmations to start your day. A Segment of the Grant Mitt Podcast.  Apply for business mentorship (Book a call) https://grantmittconsulting.com/b2b-vsl Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/grantmitt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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In this theologically rich episode of The Reformed Brotherhood, Jesse and Tony delve into the Parable of the Lost Coin from Luke 15:8-10. They explore how this parable reveals God's passionate pursuit of His elect and the divine joy that erupts when they are found. Building on their previous discussion of the Lost Sheep, the brothers examine how Jesus uses this second parable to further emphasize God's sovereign grace in salvation. The conversation highlights the theological implications of God's ownership of His people even before their redemption, the diligent efforts He undertakes to find them, and the heavenly celebration that follows. This episode offers profound insights into God's relentless love and the true nature of divine joy in redemption. Key Takeaways The Parable of the Lost Coin emphasizes that God actively and diligently searches for those who belong to Him, sparing no effort to recover what is rightfully His. Jesus uses three sequential parables in Luke 15 to progressively reveal different aspects of God's heart toward sinners, with escalating emphasis on divine joy. The coin represents something of significant value that already belonged to the woman, illustrating that God's elect belong to Him even before their redemption. Unlike finding something new, the joy depicted is specifically about recovering something that was already yours but had been lost, highlighting God's eternal claim on His people. The spiritual inability of the sinner is represented by the coin's passivity - it cannot find its own way back and must be sought out by its owner. Angels rejoice over salvation not independently but because they share in God's delight at the effectiveness of His saving power. The parable challenges believers to recover their joy in salvation and to share it with others, much like the woman who called her neighbors to celebrate with her. Expanded Insights God's Determined Pursuit of What Already Belongs to Him The Parable of the Lost Coin reveals a profound theological truth about God's relationship to His elect. As Tony and Jesse discuss, this isn't a story about finding something new, but recovering something that already belongs to the owner. The woman in the parable doesn't rejoice because she discovered unexpected treasure; she rejoices because she recovered what was already hers. This illustrates the Reformed understanding that God's people have eternally belonged to Him. While justification occurs in time, there's a real sense in which God has been considering us as His people in eternity past. The parable therefore supports the doctrines of election and particular redemption - God is not creating conditions people can move into or out of, but is zealously reclaiming a specific people who are already His in His eternal decree. The searching, sweeping, and diligent pursuit represent not a general call, but an effectual calling that accomplishes its purpose. The Divine Joy in Recovering Sinners One of the most striking aspects of this parable is the overwhelming joy that accompanies finding the lost coin. The brothers highlight that this joy isn't reluctant or begrudging, but enthusiastic and overflowing. The woman calls her friends and neighbors to celebrate with her - a seemingly excessive response to finding a coin, unless we understand the theological significance. This reveals that God takes genuine delight in the redemption of sinners, to the extent that Jesus describes it as causing joy "in the presence of the angels of God." As Jesse and Tony note, this challenges our perception that God might save us begrudgingly. Instead, the parable teaches us that God's "alien work" is wrath, while His delight is in mercy. This should profoundly impact how believers view their own salvation and should inspire a contagious joy that spreads to others - a joy that many Christians, by Tony's own admission, need to recover in their daily walk. Memorable Quotes "Christ love is an act of love and it's always being acted upon the sinner, the one who has to be redeemed, his child whom he goes after. So in the same way, we have Christ showing the self-denying love." - Jesse Schwamb "The coin doesn't seek the woman. The woman seeks the coin. And in this way, I think we see God's act of searching grace... The reason why I think it leads to joy, why God is so pleased, is because God has this real pleasure to pluck sinners as brands from the burning fire." - Jesse Schwamb "These parables are calling us to rejoice, right? Christ is using these parables to shame the Pharisees and the scribes who refuse to rejoice over the salvation of sinners. How often do we not rejoice over our own salvation sufficiently?" - Tony Arsenal Full Transcript [00:00:08] Jesse Schwamb: There still is like the sovereign grace of God who's initiating the salvation and there is a kind of effect of calling that God doesn't merely invite, he finds, he goes after he affects the very thing. Yeah, and I think we're seeing that here. The sinner, spiritual inability. There's an utter passivity until found. The coin doesn't seek the woman. The woman seeks the coin. And in this way, I think we see God's act of searching grace. It's all there for us. And the reason why I think it leads to joy, why God is so pleased is because God has this real pleasure. To pluck sinners as brands from the burning fire. Welcome to episode 472 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. [00:00:57] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. [00:01:01] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. [00:01:02] Jesus and the Parable of the Lost Coin [00:01:02] Jesse Schwamb: So there was this time, maybe actually more than one time, but at least this one time that we've been looking at where Jesus is hanging out and the religious incumbents, the Pharisees, they come to him and they say, you are a friend of sinners, and. Instead of taking offense to this, Jesus turns this all around. Uses this as a label, appropriates it for himself and his glorious character. And we know this because he gives us this thrice repeated sense of what it means to see his heart, his volition, his passion, his love, his going after his people, and he does it. Three little parables and we looked at one last time and we're coming up to round two of the same and similar, but also different and interesting. And so today we're looking at the parable of the lost coin or the Lost dma, or I suppose, whatever kind of currency you wanna insert in there. But once again, something's lost and we're gonna see how our savior comes to find it by way of explaining it. In metaphor. So there's more things that are lost and more things to be found on this episode. That's how we do it. It's true. It's true. So that's how Jesus does it. So [00:02:12] Tony Arsenal: yeah. So it should be how we do it. [00:02:14] Jesse Schwamb: Yes. Yeah, exactly. I cut to like Montel Jordan now is the only thing going through my head. Tell Jordan. Yeah. Isn't he the one that's like, this is how we do it, that song, this is [00:02:28] Tony Arsenal: how we do it. I, I don't know who sings it. Apparently it's me right now. That was actually really good. That was fantastic. [00:02:36] Jesse Schwamb: Hopefully never auto tuned. Not even once. I'm sure that'll make an appearance now and the rest, somebody [00:02:42] Tony Arsenal: should take that and auto tune it for me. [00:02:44] Jesse Schwamb: That would be fantastic. Listen, it doesn't need it. That was perfect. That was right off the cuff, right off the top. It was beautiful. It was ous. [00:02:50] Tony Arsenal: Yes. Yes. [00:02:51] Affirmations and Denials [00:02:51] Jesse Schwamb: I'm hoping that appearance, [00:02:53] Tony Arsenal: before we jump into our, our favorite segment here in affirmations of Denials, I just wanted to take a second to, uh, thank all of our listeners. Uh, we have the best listeners in the world. That's true, and we've also got a really great place to get together and chat about things. That's also true. Uh, we have a little telegram chat, which is just a little chat, um, program that run on your phone or in a browser. Really any device you have, you can go to t Me slash Reform Brotherhood and join that, uh, little chat group. And there's lots of stuff going on there. We don't need to get into all the details, but it's a friendly little place. Lots of good people, lots of good conversation. And just lots of good digital fellowship, if that's even a thing. I think it is. So please do join us there. It's a great place to discuss, uh, the episodes or what you're learning or what you'd like to learn. There's all sorts of, uh, little nooks and crannies and things to do in there. [00:03:43] Jesse Schwamb: So if you're looking for a little df and you know that you are coming out, we won't get into details, but you definitely should. Take Tony's advice, please. You, you will not be disappointed. It, it's a fun, fun time together. True. Just like you're about to have with us chatting it up and going through a little affirmations and denials. So, as usual, Tony, what are you, are you affirming with something or are you denying again, something? I'm, I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm ready. [00:04:06] Tony Arsenal: Okay. Uh, it is, I thought that was going somewhere else. Uh, I'm, I'm affirming something. [00:04:13] AI and Problem Solving [00:04:13] Tony Arsenal: People are gonna get so sick of me doing like AI affirmations, but I, it's like I learned a new thing to do with AI every couple of weeks. I ran across an article the other day, uh, that I don't remember where the article was. I didn't save it, but I did read it. And one of the things that pointed out is that a lot of times you're not getting the most out of AI because you don't really know how to ask the questions. True. One of the things it was was getting through is a lot of people will ask, they'll have a problem that they're encountering and they'll just ask AI like, how do I fix this problem? And a lot of times what that yields is like very superficial, basic, uh, generic advice or generic kind of, uh, directions for resolving a problem. And the, I don't remember the exact phrasing, 'cause it was a little while ago since I read it, but it basically said something like, I'm encountering X problem. And despite all efforts to the contrary, I have not been able to resolve it. And by using sort of these extra phrases. What it does is it sort of like pushes the AI to ask you questions about what you've already tried to do, and so it's gonna tailor its advice or its directions to your specific situation a little bit more. So, for example, I was doing this today. We, um, we just had the time change, right? Stupidest thing in the world doesn't make any sense and my kids don't understand that the time has changed and we're now like three or four weeks past the, the time change and their, their schedule still have not adjusted. So my son Augie, who is uh, like three and three quarters, uh, I don't know how many months it is. When do you stop? I don't even know. When you stop counting in months. He's three and a quarter, three quarters. And he will regularly wake up between four 30 and five 30. And when we really, what we really want is for him to be sleeping, uh, from uh, until like six or six 30 at the latest. So he's like a full hour, sometimes two hours ahead of time, which then he wakes up, it's a small house. He's noisy 'cause he's a three and a half year old. So he wakes up the baby. The baby wakes up. My wife, and then we're all awake and then we're cranky and it's miserable. So I, I put that little prompt into, um, into Google Gemini, which is right now is my, um, AI of choice, but works very similar. If you use something like chat, GPT or CLO or whatever, you know, grok, whatever AI tool you have access to, put that little prompt in. You know, something like since the time change, my son has been waking up at four 30 in the morning, despite all efforts to the contrary, I have not been able to, uh, adjust his schedule. And so it started asking me questions like, how much light is in the room? What time does he go to bed? How much does he nap? And it, so it's, it's pulling from the internet. This is why I like Google Geminis. It's actually pulling from the internet to identify like common, common. Related issues. And so it starts to probe and ask questions. And by the time it was done, what it came out with was like a step-by-step two week plan. Basically like, do this tonight, do this tomorrow morning. Um, and it was able to identify what it believes is the problem. We'll see if it actually is, but the beauty now is now that I've got a plan that I've got in this ai, I can start, you know, tomorrow morning I'm gonna try to do what it said and I can tell. The ai, how things went, and it can now adjust the plan based on whether or not, you know, this worked or didn't work. So it's a good way to sort of, um, push an ai, uh, chat bot to probe your situation a little bit more. So you could do this really for anything, right. You could do something like I'm having, I'm having trouble losing weight despite all efforts to the contrary. Um, can you help me identify what the, you know, root problem is? So think about different ways that you can use this. It's a pretty cool way to sort of like, push the, the AI to get a little deeper into the specifics without like a lot of extra heavy lifting. I'm sure there's probably other ways you could drive it to do this, but this was just one clever way that I, that this article pointed out to accomplish this. [00:08:07] Jesse Schwamb: It's a great exercise to have AI optimize itself. Yeah. By you turning your prompts around and asking it to ask you a number of questions, sufficient number, until it can provide an optimize answer for you. So lots, almost every bot has some kind of, you can have it analyze your prompts essentially, but some like copilot actually have a prompt agent, which will help you construct the prompt in an optimal way. Yeah, and that again, is kind of question and answer. So I'm with you. I will often turn it around and say. Here's my goal. Ask me sufficient number of questions so that you can provide the right insight to accomplish said goal. Or like you're saying, if you can create this like, massive conversation that keeps all this history. So I, I've heard of people using this for their exercise or running plans. Famously, somebody a, a, um, journalist, the Wall Street Journal, use it, train for a marathon. You can almost have it do anything for you. Of course, you want to test all of that and interact with it reasonably and ably, right? At the same time, what it does best is respond to like natural language interaction. And so by turning it around and basically saying, help me help you do the best job possible, providing the information, it's like the weirdest way of querying stuff because we're so used to providing explicit direction ourselves, right? So to turn it around, it's kind of a new experience, but it's super fun, really interesting, really effective. [00:09:22] Tony Arsenal: And it because you are allowing, in a certain sense, you're sort of asking the AI to drive the conversation. This, this particular prompt, I know the article I read went into details about why this prompt is powerful and the reason this prompt is powerful is not because of anything the AI's doing necessarily, right. It's because you're basically telling the AI. To find what you've missed. And so it's asking you questions. Like if I was to sit down and go like, all right, what are all the things that's wrong, that's causing my son to be awake? Like obviously I didn't figure it out on my own, so it's asking me what I've already tried and what it found out. And then of course when it tells me what it is, it's like the most obvious thing when it figures out what it is. It's identifying something that I already haven't identified because I've told it. I've already tried everything I can think of, and so it's prompting me to try to figure out what it is that I haven't thought of. So those are, like I said, there's lots of ways to sort of get the ais to do that exercise. Um, it's not, it's not just about prompt engineering, although that there's a lot of science now and a lot of like. Specifics on how you do prompt engineering, um, you know, like building a persona for the ai. Like there's all sorts of things you can do and you can add that, like, I could have said something like, um. Uh, you are a pediatric sleep expert, right? And when you tell it that what it's gonna do is it's gonna start to use more technical language, it's gonna, it's gonna speak to you back as though it's a, and this, this is where AI can get a little bit dangerous and really downright scary in some instances. But with that particular prompt, it's gonna start to speak back to you as though it was a clinician of some sort, diagnosing a medical situation, which again. That is definitely not something I would ever endorse. Like, don't let an AI be your doctor. That's just not, like WebMD was already scary enough when you were just telling you what your symptoms were and it was just cross checking it. Um, but you could do something like, and I use these kinds of prompts for our show notes where I'm like, you're an expert at SEO, like at um, podcast show notes. Utilizing SEO search terms, like that's part of the prompt that I use when I use, um, in, in this case, I use notion to generate most of our show notes. Um, it, it starts to change the way that it looks at things and the way that it, I, it responds to you based on different prompts. So I think it, it's a little bit scary, uh, AI. Can be a strange, strange place. And there's some, they're doing some research that is a little bit frightening. They did a study and actually, like, they, they basically like unlocked an AI and gave it access to a pretend company with emails and stuff and said that a particular employee was gonna shut out, was gonna delete the ai. And the first thing it did was try to like blackmail the employee with like a risk, like a scandalous email. It had. Then after that they, they engineered a scenario where the AI actually had the ability to kill the employee. And despite like explicit instructions not to do anything illegal, it still tried to kill the employee. So there's some scary things that are coming up if we're not, you know, if, if the science is not able to get that under control. But right now it's just a lot of fun. Like it's, we're, we're probably not at the point where it's dangerous yet and hopefully. Hopefully it won't get to that point, but we'll see. We'll see. That got dark real fast, fast, fast. Jesse, you gotta get this. And that was an affirmation. I guess I'm affirming killer murder ais that are gonna kill us all, but uh, we're gonna have fun with it until they do at least. [00:12:52] Jesse Schwamb: Thanks for not making that deny against. 'cause I can only imagine the direction that one to taken. [00:12:57] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. At least when the AI hears this, it's gonna know that I'm on its side, so, oh, for sure. I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords. So as do Iye. [00:13:05] Christmas Hymns and Music Recommendations [00:13:05] Tony Arsenal: But Jesse, what are you affirming or denying today to get me out of this pit here? [00:13:09] Jesse Schwamb: So, lemme start with a question. Do you have a favorite Christmas hymn? And if so, what is it? [00:13:16] Tony Arsenal: Ooh, that's a tough one. Um, I think I've always been really partial to Oh, holy Night. But, uh, there's, there's not anything that really jumps to mind my, as I've become older and crankier and more Scottish in spirit, I just, Christmas hymns just aren't as. If they're not as prominent in my mind, but oh, holy night or come coming, Emanuel is probably a really good one too. [00:13:38] Jesse Schwamb: Wow. Those are the, those are like the top in the top three for me. Yeah. So I think [00:13:42] Tony Arsenal: I know where you're going based on the question. [00:13:44] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, we're very much the same. So, well maybe, so I am affirming with, but it's that time of year and people you, you know and love and maybe yourself, you're gonna listen to Christian music and. That's okay. I put no shade on that, especially because we're talking about the incarnation, celebrate the incarnation. But of course, I think the best version of that is some of these really lovely hymns because they could be sung and worshiped through all year round. We just choose them because they fit in with the calendar particularly well here, and sometimes they're included, their lyrics included in Hallmark cards and, and your local. Cool. Coles. So while that's happening, why not embrace it? But here's my information is why not go with some different versions. I love the hymn as you just said. Oh, come will come Emmanuel. And so I'm gonna give people three versions of it to listen to Now to make my list of this kind of repertoire. The song's gotta maintain that traditional melody. I think to a strong degree, it's gotta be rich and deep and dark, especially Ko Emmanuel. But it's gotta have something in it that's a little bit nuanced. Different creative arrangements, musicality. So let me give two brand new ones that you may not have heard versions and one old one. So the old one is by, these are all Ko Emanuel. So if at some point during this you're like, what song is he talking about? It's Ko. Emmanuel. It's just three times. Th we're keeping it th Rice tonight. So the first is by band called for today. That's gonna be a, a little bit harder if you want something that, uh, gets you kind of pumped up in the midst of this redemption. That's gonna be the version. And then there are two brand new ones. One is by skillet, which is just been making music forever, but the piano melody they bring into this and they do a little something nuanced with the chorus that doesn't pull away too much. From the original, but just gives it a little extra like Tastiness. Yeah. Skill. Great version. And then another one that just came out yesterday. My yesterday, not your yesterday. So actually it doesn't even matter at this point. It's already out is by descriptor. And this would be like the most chill version that is a hardcore band by, I would say tradition, but in this case, their version is very chill. All of them I find are just deeply worshipful. Yeah. And these, the music is very full of impact, but of course the lyrics are glorious. I really love this, this crying out to God for the Savior. This. You know, just, it's really the, the plea that we should have now, which is, you know, maranatha like Lord Jesus, come. And so in some ways we're, we're celebrating that initial plea and cry for redemption as it has been applied onto us by the Holy Spirit. And we're also saying, you know, come and fulfill your kingdom, Lord, come and bring the full promise, which is here, but not yet. So I like all three of these. So for today. Skillet descriptor, which sounds like we're playing like a weird word game when you put those all together. It does, but they're all great bands and their versions I think are, are worthy. So the larger affirmation, I suppose, is like, go out this season and find different versions, like mix it up a little bit. Because it's good to hear this music somewhat afresh, and so I think by coming to it with different versions of it, you'll get a little bit of that sense. It'll make maybe what is, maybe if it's felt rote or mundane or just trivial, like you're saying, kind of revive some of these pieces in our hearts so we can, we, we can really worship through them. We're redeeming them even as they're meant to be expressions of the ultimate redemption. [00:16:55] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah, I, um, I heard the skillet version and, uh, you know, you know me like I'm not a huge fan of harder music. Yeah. But that, that song Slaps man, it's, yes, [00:17:07] Jesse Schwamb: it does. It's [00:17:07] Tony Arsenal: good. And Al I mean, it, it also ignited this weird firestorm of craziness online. I don't know if you heard anything about this, but Yes, it was, it was, there was like the people who absolutely love it and will. Fight you if you don't. Yes. And then there was like the people who think it's straight from the devil because of somehow demonic rhythms, whatever that means. Um, but yeah, I mean, I'm not a big fan of the heavier music, but there is something about that sort of, uh. I don't know. Is skill, would that be considered like metal at all? [00:17:38] Jesse Schwamb: Oh, that's a loaded question. Probably. [00:17:39] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. So like I found, uh, this is, we're gonna go down to Rabbit Trail here. Let's do it. Here we go. I found a version of Africa by Toto that was labeled as metal on YouTube. So I don't know whether it actually is, and this, this version of skill, it strikes me as very similar, where it's, ah, uh, it, it's like, um. The harmonies are slightly different in terms of like how they resonate than Okay. Other harmonies. Like I get [00:18:05] Jesse Schwamb: that [00:18:06] Tony Arsenal: there's a certain, you know, like when you think about like Western music, there's certain right, there's certain harmonies when, you know, think about like piano chords are framed and my understanding at least this could be way off, and I'm sure you're gonna correct me if I'm wrong, is that um, metal music, heavy metal music uses slightly different. Chord formations that it almost leaves you feeling a little unresolved. Yes, but not quite unresolved. Like it's just, it's, it's more the harmonics are different, so that's fair. Skillet. This skillet song is so good, and I think you're right. It, it retains the sort of like. The same basic melody, the same, the same basic harmonies, actually. Right. And it's, it's almost like the harmonies are just close enough to being put into a different key with the harmonies. Yes, [00:18:52] Jesse Schwamb: that's true [00:18:53] Tony Arsenal: than then. Uh, but not quite actually going into another key. So like, sometimes you'll see online, you'll find YouTube videos where they play like pop songs, but they've changed the, the. Chords a little bit. So now it's in a minor key. It's almost like it's there. It's like one more little note shift and it would be there. Um, and then there's some interesting, uh, like repetition and almost some like anal singing going on, that it's very good. Even if you don't like heavier music. Like, like I don't, um, go listen to it and I think you'll find yourself like hitting repeat a couple times. It was very, very good. [00:19:25] Jesse Schwamb: That's a good way of saying it. A lot of times that style is a little bit dissonant, if that's what you mean in the court. Yeah. Formation. So it gives you this unsettledness, this almost unresolvedness, and that's in there. Yeah. And just so everybody knows, actually, if you listen to that version from Skillet, you'll probably listen to most of it. You'll get about two thirds of the way through it and probably be saying, what are those guys talking about? It's the breakdown. Where it amps up. But before that, I think anybody could listen to it and just enjoy it. It's a really beautiful, almost haunting piano melody. They bring into the intro in that, in the interlude. It's very lovely. So it gives you that sense. Again, I love this kind of music because there's almost something, there is something in this song that's longing for something that is wanting and yet left, unresolved and unfulfilled until the savior comes. There's almost a lament in it, so to speak, especially with like the way it's orchestrated. So I love that this hymn is like deep and rich in that way. It's, that's fine. Like if you want to sing deck the Holes, that's totally fine. This is just, I think, better and rich and deeper and more interesting because it does speak to this life of looking for and waiting for anticipating the advent of the savior. So to get me get put back in that place by music, I think is like a net gain this time of year. It's good to have that perspective. I'm, I'm glad you've heard it. We should just open that debate up whether or not we come hang out in the telegram chat. We'll put it in that debate. Is skillet hardcore or metal? We'll just leave it there 'cause I have my opinions, but I'm, well, I'm sure everybody else does. [00:20:48] Tony Arsenal: I don't even know what those words mean, Jesse. Everything is hardcore in metal compared to what I normally listen to. I don't even listen to music anymore usually, so I, I mean, I'm like mostly all podcasts all the time. Anytime I have time, I don't have a ton of time to listen to. Um, audio stuff, but [00:21:06] Jesse Schwamb: that's totally fair. Well now everybody now join us though. [00:21:08] Tony Arsenal: Educate me [00:21:09] Jesse Schwamb: now. Everybody can properly use, IM prompt whatever AI of their choice, and they can listen to at least three different versions of al comical manual. And then they can tell us which one do you like the best? Or maybe you have your own version. That's what she was saying. What's your favorite Christmas in? [00:21:23] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And [00:21:24] Jesse Schwamb: what version of it do you like? I mean, it'll be like. [00:21:28] Tony Arsenal: It'll be like, despite my best efforts, I've been un unable to understand what hardcore and medical is. Please help me understand. [00:21:37] Jesse Schwamb: Oh, we're gonna have some, some fun with this at some point. We'll have to get into the whole debate, though. I know you and I have talked about it before. We'll put it before the brothers and sisters about a Christmas Carol and what version everybody else likes. That's also seems like, aside from the, the whole eternal debate, which I'm not sure is really serious about whether or not diehard is a Christmas movie, this idea of like, which version of the Christmas Carol do you subscribe to? Yeah. Which one would you watch if you can only watch one? Which one will you watch? That's, we'll have to save that for another time. [00:22:06] Tony Arsenal: We'll save it for another time. And we get a little closer to midwinter. No reason we just can't [00:22:10] Jesse Schwamb: do it right now because we gotta get to Luke 15. [00:22:12] Discussion on the Parable of the Lost Coin [00:22:12] Tony Arsenal: We do. [00:22:13] Jesse Schwamb: We, we've already been in this place of looking at Jesus' response to the Pharisees when they say to him, listen, this man receives sinners and eats with them. And Jesus is basically like, yeah, that's right. And let me tell you three times what the heart of God is like and what my mission in serving him is like, and what I desire to come to do for my children. And so we spoke in the last conversation about the parable lost sheep. Go check that out. Some are saying, I mean, I'm not saying this, but some are saying in the internet, it's the definitive. Congratulation of that parable. I'm, I'm happy to take that if that's true. Um, but we wanna go on to this parable of the lost coin. So let me read, it's just a couple of verses and you're gonna hear in the text that you're going to understand right away. This is being linked because it starts with or, so this is Jesus speaking and this is Luke 15, chapter 15, starting in verse eight. Jesus says, or a what woman? She has 10 D drachmas and loses. One drachma does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it. And when she has found it, she calls together her friend and her neighbors saying, rejoice with me for I found the D Drachma, which I lost in the same way I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. [00:23:27] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. On one level, this is, uh, again, it's not all that complicated of a scenario, right? And we have to kind of go back and relo through some of the stuff we talked about last week because this is a continuation of, you know, when we first talked about the Matthew 13 parables, we commented on like. Christ was coming back to the same themes, right? And in some ways, repeating the parable. This is even stronger than that. It's not just that Christ is teaching the same thing across multiple parables. The sense here, at least the sense I get when I read this parable, the lost sheep, and then the prodigal, um, sun parable or, or the next parable here, um, is actually that Christ is just sort of like hammering home the one point he's making to the tax collectors and or to the tax collectors or to the scribes who are complaining about the fact that Christ was eating with sinners. He's just hammering this point home, right? So it's not, it's not to try to add. A lot of nuance to the point. It's not to try to add a, a shade of meaning. Um. You know, we talked a lot about how parables, um, Christ tells parables in part to condemn the listeners who will not receive him, right? That's right. This is one of those situations where it's not, it's not hiding the meaning of the parable from them. The meaning is so obvious that you couldn't miss it, and he, he appeals, we talked about in the first, in the first part of this, he actually appeals to like what the ordinary response would be. Right? What man of you having a hundred sheep if he loses one, does not. Go and leave the 99. Like it's a scenario that anyone who goes, well, like, I wouldn't do that is, looks like an idiot. Like, that's, that's the point of the why. He phrases it. And so then you're right when he, when he begins with this, he says, or what woman having 10 silver coins if she loses one, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until he, till she finds it. And of course, the, the, the emphasis again is like no one in their right mind would not do this. And I think like we think about a coin and like that's the smallest denomination of money that we have. Like, I wouldn't, like if I lost a, if I had 10 silver coin, 10 coins and I lost one of them, the most that that could be is what? 50 cents? Like the, like if I had a 50 cent piece or a silver dollar, I guess, like I could lose a dollar. We're not really talking about coins the way we think of coins, right? We're talking about, um. Um, you know, like denominations of money that are substantial in that timeframe. Like it, there was, there were small coins, but a silver coin would be a substantial amount of money to lose. So we are not talking about a situation where this is, uh, a trivial kind of thing. She's not looking for, you know, I've, I've heard this parable sort of like unpacked where like, it's almost like a miserly seeking for like this lost coin. Interesting. It's not about, it's not about like. Penny pinching here, right? She's not trying to find a tiny penny that isn't worth anything that's built into the parable, right? It's a silver coin. It's not just any coin. It's a silver coin. So she's, she's looking for this coin, um, because it is a significant amount of money and because she's lost it, she's lost something of her, of her overall wealth. Like there's a real loss. Two, this that needs to be felt before he can really move on with the parable. It's not just like some small piece of property, like there's a [00:26:57] Jesse Schwamb: right. I [00:26:57] Tony Arsenal: don't know if you've ever lost a large amount of money, but I remember one time I was in, um, a. I was like, almost outta high school, and I had taken some money out of, um, out of the bank, some cash to make a purchase. I think I was purchasing a laptop and I don't know why I, I don't, maybe I didn't have a credit card or I didn't have a debit card, but I was purchasing a laptop with cash. Right. And back then, like laptops, like this was not a super expensive laptop, but. It was a substantial amount of cash and I misplaced it and it was like, oh no, like, where is it? And like, I went crazy trying to find it. This is the situation. She's lost a substantial amount of money. Um, this parable, unlike the last one, doesn't give you a relative amount of how many she has. Otherwise. She's just lost a significant amount of money. So she takes all these different steps to try to find it. [00:27:44] Understanding the Parable's Context [00:27:44] Tony Arsenal: We have to feel that loss before we really can grasp what the parable is trying to teach us. [00:27:49] Jesse Schwamb: I like that, so I'm glad you brought that up because I ended up going down a rabbit hole with this whole coined situation. [00:27:56] Tony Arsenal: Well, we're about to, Matt Whitman some of this, aren't we? [00:27:58] Jesse Schwamb: Yes, I think so. But mainly because, and this is not really my own ideas here, there's, there's a lot I was able to kind of just read and kind. Throw, throw something around this because I think you're absolutely right that Jesus is bringing an ES escalation here and it's almost like a little bit easier for us to understand the whole sheep thing. I think the context of the lost coin, like you're already saying, is a little bit less familiar to us, and so I got into this. Rabbit hole over the question, why would this woman have 10 silver coins? I really got stuck on like, so why does she have these? And Jesus specific about that he's giving a particular context. Presumably those within his hearing in earshot understood this context far better than I did. So what I was surprised to see is that a lot of commentators you probably run into this, have stated or I guess promulgated this idea that the woman is young and unmarried and the 10 silver coins could. Could represent a dowry. So in some way here too, like it's not just a lot of money, it's possible that this was her saving up and it was a witness to her availability for marriage. [00:28:57] The Significance of the Lost Coin [00:28:57] Jesse Schwamb: So e either way, if that's true or not, Jesus is really emphasizing to us there's significant and severe loss here. And so just like you said, it would be a fool who would just like say, oh, well that's too bad. The coin is probably in here somewhere, but eh, I'm just gonna go about my normal business. Yeah. And forsake it. Like, let's, let's not worry about it. So. The emphasis then on this one is not so much like the leaving behind presumably can keep the remaining nine coins somewhere safe if you had them. But this effort and this diligence to, to go after and find this lost one. So again, we know it's all about finding what was lost, but this kind of momentum that Jesus is bringing to this, like the severity of this by saying there was this woman, and of course like here we find that part of this parable isn't just in the, the kingdom of God's like this, like we were talking about before. It's more than that because there's this expression of, again, the situation combined with these active verbs. I think we talked about last time that Christ love is an act of love and it's always being acted upon the sinner, the one who has to be redeemed, his child whom he goes after. So in the same way, we have Christ showing the self-denying love. Like in the first case, the shepherd brought his sheep home on his shoulders rather than leave it in the wilderness. And then here. The woman does like everything. She lights the candle, she sweeps the house. She basically turns the thing, the place upside down, searching diligently and spared no pains with this until she found her lost money. And before we get into the whole rejoicing thing, it just strikes me that, you know, in the same way, I think what we have here is Christ affirming that he didn't spare himself. He's not gonna spare himself. When he undertakes to save sinners, he does all the things. He endures the cross scor in shame. He lays down his life for his friends. There's no greater love than that. It cannot be shown, and so Christ's love is deep and mighty. It's like this woman doing all the things, tearing the place apart to ensure that that which she knew she had misplaced comes back to her. That the full value of everything that she knows is hers. Is safe and secure in her possession and so does the Lord Jesus rejoice the safe sinners in the same way. And that's where this is incredibly powerful. It's not just, Hey, let me just say it to you one more time. There is a reemphasis here, but I like where you're going, this re-escalation. I think the first question is, why do the woman have this money? What purpose is it serving? And I think if we can at least try to appreciate some of that, then we see again how Jesus is going after that, which is that he, he wants to save the sinner. He wants to save the soul. And all of the pleasure, then all of the rejoicing comes because, and, and as a result of that context. [00:31:22] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. [00:31:23] Theological Implications of God's People [00:31:23] Tony Arsenal: The other thing, um, maybe, and, and I hope I'm not overreading again, we've, we've talked about the dangers of overreading, the parables, but I think there's a, and we'll, we'll come to this too when we get into the, um, prodigal son. Um, there is this sense, I think in some theological traditions that. God is sort of like claiming a people who were not his own. Right. And one of the things that I love about the reform tradition, and, and I love it because this is the picture the Bible teaches, is the emphasis on the fact that God's people have been God's people. As long as God has been pondering and con like contemplating them. So like we deny eternal justification, right? Justification happens in time and there's a real change in our status, in in time when, when the spirit applies, the benefits that Christ has purchased for us in redemption, right? But there's also a very real sense that God has been looking and considering us as his people in eternity past. Like that's always. That's the nature of the Pactum salutes, the, you know, covenant of redemption election. The idea that like God is not saving a nameless, faceless people. He's not creating conditions that people can either move themselves into or take themselves out of. He has a concrete people. Who he is saving, who he has chosen. He, he, you know, prior to our birth, he will redeem us. He now, he has redeemed us and he will preserve us in all of these parables, whether it's the sheep, the coin, or as we'll get to the prodigal sun next week or, or whenever. Um. It's not that God is discovering something new that he didn't have, or it's not that the woman is discovering a coin, right? There's nothing more, uh, I think nothing more like sort of, uh, spontaneously delightful than like when you like buy a, like a jacket at the thrift store. Like you go to Salvation Army and you buy a jacket, you get home, you reach in the pocket and there's like a $10 bill and you're like, oh man, that's so, so great. Or like, you find a, you find a. A $10 bill on the ground, or you find a quarter on the ground, right? Yeah. Or you find your own money. Well, and that that's, there's a different kind of joy, right? That's the point, is like, there's a delight that comes with finding something. And again, like we have to be careful about like, like not stealing, right? But there's a different kind of joy that comes with like finding something that was not yours that now becomes yours. We talked about that with parables a couple weeks ago, right? There's a guy who finds it, he's, he's searching for pearls. He finds a pearl, and so he goes after he sells everything he has and he claims that pearl, but that wasn't his before the delight was in sort of finding something new. These parables. The delight is in reclaiming and refining something that was yours that was once lost. Right? That's a different thing. And it paints a picture, a different picture of God than the other parables where, you know, the man kind of stumbles on treasure in a field or he finds a pearl that he was searching for, but it wasn't his pearl. This is different. This is teaching us that God is, is zealous and jealous to reclaim that which was his, which was lost. Yes. Right. So, you know, we can get, we can, maybe we will next week, maybe we will dig into like super laps area versus infra laps. AIRism probably not, I don't necessarily wanna have that conversation. But there is a reality in the Bible where God has a chosen people and they are his people, even before he redeems them. [00:34:52] Jesse Schwamb: Exactly. [00:34:53] God's Relentless Pursuit of Sinners [00:34:53] Tony Arsenal: These parables all emphasize that in a different way and part of what he's, part of what he's ribbing at with the Pharisees and the, and the scribes, and this is common across all of Christ's teaching in his interactions and we get into true Israel with, with Paul, I mean this is the consistent testimony of the New Testament, is that the people who thought they were God's people. The, the Jewish leaders, especially the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the scribes, the, the sort of elites of, uh, first century Jewish believers, they really were convinced that they were God's people. And those dirty gentiles out there, they, they're not, and even in certain sense, like even the Jewish people out in the country who don't even, you know, they don't know the scriptures that like, even those people were maybe barely God's people. Christ is coming in here and he is going, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Like you're asking me. You're surprised that I receive sinners and e with them. Well, I'm coming to claim that which is mine, which was lost, and the right response to that is not to turn your nose up at it. The right response is to rejoice with me that I have found my sheep that was lost, that I have reclaimed my coin that was lost. And as we'll see later on, like he really needles them at the end of the, the, uh, parable of the prodigal son. This is something I, I have to be like intentional in my own life because I think sometimes we hear conversion stories and we have this sort of, I, I guess like, we'll call it like the, the Jonah I heresy, I dunno, we won't call it heresy, but like the, the, the like Jonah impulse that we all have to be really thankful for God's mercy in our life. But sort of question whether God is. Merciful or even be a little bit upset when it seems that God is being merciful to those sinners over there. We have to really like, use these parables in our own lives to pound that out of our system because it's, it's ungodly and it's not what God is, is calling us. And these parables really speak against that [00:36:52] Jesse Schwamb: and all of us speak in. In that lost state, but that doesn't, I think like you're saying, mean that we are not God's already. That if he has established that from a trinity past, then we'd expect what others have said about God as the hound of heaven to be true. And that is he comes and he chases down his own. What's interesting to me is exactly what you've said. We often recognize when we do this in reverse and we look at the parable of the lost son, all of these elements, how the father comes after him, how there's a cha singer coming to himself. There's this grand act of repentance. I would argue all of that is in all of these parables. Not, not to a lesser extent, just to a different extent, but it's all there. So in terms of like couching this, and I think what we might use is like traditionally reformed language. And I, I don't want to say I'm overeating this, I hope I'm not at that same risk, but we see some of this like toll depravity and like the sinner is lost, unable to move forward, right? There still is like the sovereign grace of God who's initiating the salvation and there is a kind of effect of calling that God doesn't merely invite, he finds, he goes after he affects the very thing. Yeah, and I think we're seeing that here. There is. The sinner, spiritual inability. There's an utter passivity until found. The coin doesn't seek the woman. The woman seeks the coin. And in this way, I think we see God's act of searching grace. It's all there for us. Yeah, it's in a slightly different way, but I think that's what we're meant to like take away from this. We're meant to lean into that a bit. [00:38:12] Rejoicing in Salvation [00:38:12] Jesse Schwamb: And the reason why I think it leads to joy, why God is so pleased is because God has this real pleasure. Jesus has this real pleasure. The Holy Spirit has this real pleasure. To pluck sinners as brands from the burning fire. You know, it was Jesus, literally his food and drink like not to be too trite, but like his jam went upon the earth to finish the work, which he came to do. And there are many times when he says he ammi of being constrained in the spirit until this was accomplished. And it's still his delight to show mercy like you're saying He is. And even Jonah recognizes that, right. He said like, I knew you were going to be a merciful God. And so he's far more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved. But that is the gospel level voice, isn't it? Because we can come kicking and screaming, but in God's great mercy, not because of works and unrighteousness, but because of his great mercy, he comes and he tears everything apart to rescue and to save those whom he's called to himself. [00:39:06] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. I love that old, um, Puritan phrase that wrath is God's alien work. And we, you know, like you gotta be careful when you start to talk that way. And the Puritans were definitely careful about everything. I mean, they were very specific when they spoke, but. When we talk about God's alien work and wrath being God's alien work, what we're saying is not, not that like somehow wrath is external to God. Like that's not what we're getting at of Right. But when you look at scripture and, and here's something that I think, um. I, I don't know how I wanna say this. Like, I think we read that the road is narrow and the the, um, you know, few are those who find it. I think we read that and we somehow think like, yeah, God, God, like, really loves that. Not a lot of people are saved. And I, I actually think that like, when we look at it, um, and, and again, like we have to be careful 'cause God, God. God decreed that which he is delighted by, and also that which glorifies him the most. Right? Right. But the picture that we get in scripture, and we have to take this seriously with all of the caveats that it's accommodated, it's anthropopathism that, you know, all of, all of the stuff we've talked about. We did a whole series on systematic theology. We did like six episodes on Divine Simplicity and immutability. Like we we're, we're right in line with the historic tradition on that. All of those caveats, uh, all of those caveats in place, the Bible pic paints a picture of God such that he grieves over. Those who are lost. Right? Right. He takes no delight in the death of the wicked. That's right. He, he, he seeks after the lost and he rejoices when he finds them. Right. He's, his, his Holy Spirit is grieved when we disobey him, his, his anger is kindled even towards his people in a paternal sense. Right. He disciplines us the way an angry father who loves us, would discipline us when we disobey him. That is a real, that's a real thing. What exactly that means, how we can apply that to God is a very complicated conversation. And maybe sometimes it's more complicated than we, like, we make it more complicated than it needs to be for sure. Um, we wanna be careful to preserve God's changeness, his immutability, his simplicity, all of those things. But at the end of the day, at. God grieves over lost sinners, and he rejoices when they come back. He rejoices when they return to him. Just as the shepherd who finds his lost sheep puts that sheep on his shoulders, right? That's not just because that's an easy way to carry a sheep, right? It's also like this picture of this loving. Intimate situation where God pulls us onto himself and he, he wraps literally like wraps us around himself. Like there are times when, um. You know, I have a toddler and there are times where I have to carry that toddler, and it's, it's a fight, right? And I don't really enjoy doing it. He's squirming, he's fighting. Then there are times where he needs me to hold him tight, and he, he snuggles in. When he falls down and hurts his leg, the first thing he does is he runs and he jumps on me, and he wants to be held tight, and there's a f there's a fatherly embrace there that not only brings comfort to my son. But it brings great joy to me to be able to comfort him that that dynamic in a, uh, a infinitely greater sense is at play here in the lost sheep. And then there's this rejoicing. It's not just rejoicing that God is rejoicing, it's the angels that are rejoicing. [00:42:43] The Joy of Redemption [00:42:43] Tony Arsenal: It's the, it's other Christians. It's the great cloud of witnesses that are rejoicing when Aah sinner is returned to God. All of God's kingdom and everything that that includes, all of that is involved in this rejoicing. That's why I think like in the first parable, in the parable of the lost sheep, it's joy in heaven. Right? It's sort of general joy in heaven. It's not specific. Then this one is even more specific. It's not just general joy in heaven. It's the angels of God. That's right. That are rejoicing. And then I think what we're gonna find, and we'll we'll tease this out when we get to the next par, well the figure in the prodigal son that is rejoicing. The one that is leading the rejoicing, the chief rejoice is the one who's the standin for God in that parable. [00:43:26] Jesse Schwamb: Right, exactly right. So, [00:43:27] Tony Arsenal: so we have to, we have to both recognize that there's a true grief. A true sorrow that is appropriate to speak of God, um, as having when a sinner is lost. And there's also an equally appropriate way to speak about God rejoicing and being pleased and delighted when a sinner returns to him. [00:43:53] Jesse Schwamb: That's the real payoff of this whole parable. I think, uh, maybe all three of them altogether, is that it is shocking how good the gospel is, which we're always saying, yeah, but I'm really always being moved, especially these last couple weeks with what Jesus is saying about how good, how truly unbelievable the gospel is. And again, it draws us to the. Old Testament scriptures when even the Israel saying, who is like this? Who is like our God? So what's remarkable about this is that there's an infinite willingness on God's part to receive sinners. [00:44:23] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:44:23] Jesse Schwamb: And however wicked a man may have been, and the day that he really turns from his wickedness and comes to God by Christ, God is well pleased and all of heaven with him, and God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, like you said, but God has pleasure and true repentance. If all of that's true, then like day to day, here's what I, I think this means for us. [00:44:41] Applying the Parable to Our Lives [00:44:41] Jesse Schwamb: Is when we come to Christ for mercy and love and help and whatever anguish and perplexity and simpleness that we all have, and we all have it, we are going with the flow. If his own deepest wishes, we're not going against them. And so this means that God has for us when we partake in the toning work of Christ, coming to Christ for forgiveness, communing with him despite our sinfulness, that we are laying hold of Christ's own deepest longing and joy. [00:45:10] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. And [00:45:10] Jesse Schwamb: Jesus is comforted when we draw near the riches of his atoning work because as his body, even his own body in a way is being healed in this process. And so we, along with it, that I think is the payoff here. That's what's just so remarkable is that not only, like you're saying, is all heaven kind of paying attention to this. Like they're cognizant of it. It's something worthy of their attention and their energies and their rejoicing. But again, it's showing that God is doing all of this work and so he keeps calling us and calling us and calling us over and over again and just like you said, the elect sinner, those estr belongs to God and his eternal purpose. Even that by itself, we could just say full stop. Shut it down end the podcast. Yeah. That's just worthy to, to rejoice and, and ponder. But this is how strong I think we see like per election in particular, redemption in these passages. Christ died for his chief specifically crisis going after the lost coin, which already belongs to him. So like you were saying, Tony, when you know, or maybe you don't know, but you've misplaced some kind of money and you put your hand in that pocket of that winter coat for the first time that season and out comes the piece of paper, that's whatever, 20 or whatever, you rejoice in that, right. Right. It's like this was mine. I knew it was somewhere, it belonged to me, except that what's even better here is this woman tears her whole place apart to go after this one coin that she knows is hers and yet has been lost. I don't know what more it is to be said. I just cannot under emphasize. Or overemphasize how great God's love is in this like amazing condescension, so that when Jesus describes himself as being gentle and lowly or gentle and humble or gentle and humiliated, that I, I think as we understand the biblical text, it's not necessarily just that he's saying, well, I'm, I'm displaying. Meekness power under control. When he says he's humble, he means put in this incredibly lowly state. Yeah. That the rescue mission, like you're saying, involves not just like, Hey, she lemme call you back. Hey, come over here, says uh. He goes and he picks it up. It's the ultimate rescue, picks it up and takes it back by his own volition, sacrificing everything or to do that and so does this woman in this particular instance, and it should lead us. I think back to there's this virtuous cycle of seeing this, experiencing this. Being compelled by the law of Christ, as Paul says, by the power of the Holy Spirit and being regenerated and then worshiping, and then repenting, and then worshiping, and then repenting, and then worshiping. Because in the midst of that repentance and that beautifulness recognizing, as Isaiah says, all of these idols that we set up, that we run to, the one thing they cannot do for us is they cannot deal with sin. They cannot bring cleanliness and righteousness through confession of sin. They cannot do that. So Christ is saying, come to the one you who are needy, you who have no money. To use another metaphor in the Bible, come and buy. And in doing so, we're saying, Christ, Lord have mercy on me, a sinner. And when he says, come, come, I, I've, I have already run. After you come and be restored, come and be renewed. That which was lost my child. You have been found and I have rescued you. [00:48:04] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And these, these are so, um, these two parables are so. Comfortable. Like, right, like they are there, there are certain passages of scripture that you can just like put on like a big fuzzy warm bathrobe on like sn a cold morning, a snuggy. Yeah. I don't know if I want to go that far, but spirits are snuggy and, and these two are like that, right? Like, I know there are times where I feel like Christ redeemed me sort of begrudgingly, right? Mm-hmm. I think we have, we have this, um, concept in our mind of. Sort of the suffering servant, you know, like he's kind of like, ah, if I have to do it, I will. Right, right. And, and like, I think we, we would, if, if we were the ones who were, were being tasked to redeem something, we might do it. You know, we might do it and we. We might feel a certain sense of satisfaction about it, but I can tell you that if I had a hundred sheep and I had lost one, I would not lay it on my shoulder rejoicing. I would lay it on my shoulder. Frustrated and glad that I finally found it, but like. Right. Right. That's not what Christ did. That's right. Christ lays us on his shoulders rejoicing. Right. I know. Like when you lose something, it's frustrating and it's not just the loss of it that's frustrating. It's the time you have to take to find it. And sometimes like, yeah, you're happy that you found it, but you're like, man, it would've just been nice if I hadn't lost this in [00:49:36] Jesse Schwamb: the That's right. [00:49:37] Tony Arsenal: This woman, there's none of that. There's no, um, there's no regret. There's no. Uh, there's no begrudging this to it. There's nothing. It's just rejoicing. She's so happy. And it's funny, I can imagine, uh, maybe, maybe this is my own, uh, lack of sanctification here. I can imagine being that friend that's like, I gotta come over 'cause you found your coin, right? Like, I can be, I could imagine me that person, but Right. But honestly, like. This is a, this is a situation where she's so overcome with joy. She just has to tell people about it. Yeah. She has to share it with people. It, it reminds me, and I've seen this, I've seen this, um, connection made in the past certainly isn't new to me. I don't, I don't have any specific sorts to say, but like the woman at the well, right. She gets this amazing redemption. She gets this, this Messiah right in front of her. She leaves her buckets at the well, and she goes into a town of people who probably hate her, who think she's just the worst scum of society and she doesn't care. She goes into town to tell everybody about the fact that the Messiah has come, right? And they're so like stunned by the fact that she's doing it. Like they come to see what it is like that's what we need to be like. So there's. There's an element here of not only the rejoicing of God, and again, like, I guess I'm surprised because I've, I've, I've never sort of really read this. Part, I've never read this into it too much or I've never like really pulled this out, but it, now that I'm gonna say it, it just seems logical, like not only is God rejoicing in this, but again, it should be calling us to rejoice, right? Christ is. Christ is using these parables to shame the Pharisees and the scribes who refuse to rejoice over the salvation of sinners. How often do we not rejoice over our own salvation sufficiently? Like when's the last time? And I, I don't want to, this is, this can be a lot of loss. So again, like. God is not calling every single person to stand up on their lunch table at work, or, I don't know if God's calling anybody to stand up on the lunch table at work. Right. To like, like scream about how happy they are that they're sick, happy, happy. But like, when's the last time you were so overcome with joy that in the right opportunity, it just over, like it just overcame you and you had to share it. I don't rem. Putting myself bare here, like I don't remember the last time that happened. I share my faith with people, like my coworkers know that I'm a Christian and, um, my, they know that like, there are gonna be times where like I will bring biblical ethics and biblical concepts into my work. Like I regularly use bible examples to illustrate a principle I'm trying to teach my employees or, or I will regularly sort of. In a meeting where there's some question about what the right, not just like the correct thing to do, but the right thing to do. I will regularly bring biblical morality into those conversations. Nobody is surprised by that. Nobody's really offended by it. 'cause I just do it regularly. But I don't remember the last time where I was so overcome with joy because of my salvation that I just had to tell somebody. Right. And that's a, that's a, that's an indictment on me. That's not an indictment on God. That's not an indictment on anyone else. That's an indictment on me. This parable is calling me to be more joyful about. My salvation. [00:52:52] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. One of the, I think the best and easiest verses from Psalms to memorize is let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Yes. Like, say something, speak up. There's, there's a great truth in what you're saying. Of course. And I think we mentioned this last time. There's a communal delight of redemption. And here we see that played out maybe a little bit more explicitly because the text says that the joy is before the angels, meaning that still God is the source of the joy. In other words, the angels share in God's delight night, vice versa, and not even just in salvation itself, but the fact that God is delighted in this great salvation, that it shows the effectiveness of his saving power. All that he has designed will come to pass because he super intends his will over all things that all things, again are subservient to our salvation. And here, why would that not bring him great joy? Because that's exactly what he intends and is able to do. And the angels rejoice along with him because his glory is revealed in his mighty power. So I'm, I'm with you. I mean, this reminds me. Of what the author of Hebrew says. This is chapter 12, just the first couple of verses. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses in this communal kind of redemption of joy surrounding us. Laying aside every weight and the sin,

Pause for a breath you didn't know you were holding.This soft landing is for the woman who's been holding it together so well that no one thinks to ask if she's okay.The affirmation: "I am allowed to disappoint people and still be good."Goodness isn't measured by how much access others have to you, but by how honestly you honour your limits.We examine why performance – the relentless yes, the full calendar, the reflex to fix – feels like safety, yet slowly erases our needs. And why boundaries aren't conflict. They're clarity.For perfectionists, oldest daughters, people-pleasers, and women unlearning the performance of strength.Choose yourself without apologising, so your next yes can be wholehearted.About Soft Landings: Every Friday on The Scenic Route, one grounded affirmation to help you rest, reset, and remember who you are.Send me a DM_____________________________________________________________________ Visit jenniferwalter.me – your cosy tree house where tired perfectionists and those done pretending to be fine find space to breathe, dream, and create real change.

Send us a textLet us bring in the New Year with awareness and the progressive movement to consciousness where there is no otherness, or at the least, start to recognize when we choose to engage in separation. Let us forge forward by creating  a state of balance within wherein hearts commune without effort.More in my new book, I Am Shakti (published by OBooks, UK)I Am Shakti - Affirming my Divine Feminine PowerI am ShaktiI am the Divine Feminine Power I am SovereignI am healedMy wounds are my medalsI am Prana, generating life forceI am light, I am darknessI am a warrior, I stand for cosmic justiceI am the Womb of humanityI am the PeaceI am Cosmic LoveAham BrahmasiI am That (consciousness)I am ShaktiI AmSupport the showMay Peace Be Your Journey~www.mayatiwari.comwww.facebook.com/mayatiwariahimsa.Buzzsprout.com Get Maya's New Book: I Am Shakti: https://www.collectiveinkbooks.com/o-books/our-books/I-am-shakti Amazon.com Bookshop.org

Did you know there's MAGIC in your Meditation Practice? Say Goodbye to Anxiety and Hello to More Peace & More Prosperity! Here Are the 5 Secrets on How to Unleash Your Meditation Magic https://womensmeditationnetwork.com/5secrets Join Premium! Ready for an ad-free meditation experience? Join Premium now and get every episode from ALL of our podcasts completely ad-free now! Just a few clicks makes it easy for you to listen on your favorite podcast player. Become a PREMIUM member today by going to --> https://WomensMeditationNetwork.com/premium Breathe it all out,  And come into the center of you. Relaxing yourself from within, And allowing these words to soothe you. Breathe it all out,  PAUSE (5 SEC)... And come into the center of you. Join our Premium Sleep for Women Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Sleep podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here --> https://bit.ly/sleepforwomen Join our Premium Meditation for Kids Channel on Apple Podcasts and get ALL 5 of our Kids podcasts completely ad-free! Join Premium now on Apple here → https://bit.ly/meditationforkidsapple Hey, I'm so glad you're taking the time to be with us today. My team and I are dedicated to making sure you have all the meditations you need throughout all the seasons of your life. If there's a meditation you desire, but can't find, email us at Katie Krimitsos to make a request. We'd love to create what you want! Namaste, Beautiful,

Hello my friend, and welcome to this powerful 10-minute grounding meditation designed to help you feel strong, build your inner confidence, and calm overthinking anxiety!In today's episode of Calming Anxiety, we will take a focused journey to connect you deeply with your foundation and core strength.This is your essential, non-negotiable time to let go of whatever you were just doing and settle into this moment.If you find your mind starting to race with worry or overthinking, this quick grounding technique will teach you how to simply notice those thoughts and gently, firmly bring your full attention back to your anchor point and the visualization of your deep, solid roots extending all the way to the core of the earth.You'll be guided to:Find a quiet place, either seated or lying down, where your back can be tall yet relaxed.Use your breath to release tension, worry, or restless energy down into the earth to be neutralized.Cultivate feelings of strength and resilience by internalizing affirmations like, "I am safe and grounded in this moment," and "I am confident in my ability to handle challenges".Use the stability of the earth to quiet the noise above, reinforcing the truth that you are stronger than your anxiety.Take this feeling of grounded strength with you as you move through the rest of the day. You are not just calm—you are powerful! This anchor is always here; you can return to it anytime, anywhere, in just a few mindful breaths.⏱️ Chapter Times00:00 - Welcome and Episode Intention00:19 - Finding Your Comfortable Anchor Position00:44 - Deep Cleansing Breaths to Let Go01:33 - Connecting with Your Physical Anchor Point02:06 - Visualizing Your Deep, Solid Roots to the Earth's Core03:29 - Breathing in Nourishing Energy, Releasing Worry04:27 - Mindful Observation and Labeling of Overthinking Anxiety05:46 - Connecting with Your Core Strength, Courage, and Wisdom06:08 - Affirmations for Inner Strength and Confidence08:13 - Integrating the Feeling of Power and Grounded Peace09:42 - Gently Returning to Your DayThank you for meditating with me. If this 10-minute anxiety relief session helped you build inner confidence, please share it with a friend who might need a quick confidence boost or a guided meditation for overthinking!Subscribe to Calming Anxiety and make this part of your routine.As always, BE KIND.Support the Show:Ad-Free Listening: Enjoy Calming Anxiety without ads at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/calming-anxiety--4110266/supportBuy Me a Coffee: Support hosting costs at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/calminganxietyRate & Review: Leave a 5-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to help us reach more listeners!Resources & Courses:Book Hypnotherapy: Schedule a one-on-one session with Martin at https://calendar.app.google/rXHMt8sRYft5iWma8 Pain & Anxiety Course:Manage negative thoughts and pain with The Physio Crew's course at https://offers.thephysiocrew.co.uk/home-painBreathing Challenge: Try our relaxing breathing challenge at https://www.martinhewlett.co.uk/breathing-challenge/Gift a Subscription: Share Calming Anxiety with loved ones at https://www.martinhewlett.co.uk/shop/calming-anxiety-gift-subscription/Get the App:iOS: Download Calming Anxiety at https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/calming-anxiety/id1576159331 Android:Get it on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=digital.waterfront.calming.anxiety&hl=en-GBConnect With Us:Email: Share feedback or requests at calminganxiety@martinhewlett.co.ukYouTube: Watch all episodes at https://www.youtube.com/c/calminganxiety?sub_confirmation=1 Social Media Support: For younger listeners struggling with social media stress, visit https://www.icanhelp.net/Backing Music: Chris Collins===================Affiliate links to the gear I use the items that give me a more tranquil life.Rode Podmic - https://amzn.to/3LN1JEdZoom Livetrak L8 - https://amzn.to/36UCIbySony ZV 1 - https://amzn.to/3JvDUPTGoPro Hero 8 Black - https://amzn.to/372rzFlDJI Mini 2 - https://amzn.to/3NQfMdY=============================Items I use for a more relaxed way of life :)Organic Pure Hemp CBD Capsules - https://amzn.to/3Ready for More Calm?Thank you for listening to the Calming Anxiety Podcast, featuring guided meditation, mindfulness, and sleep hypnosis sessions with Martin Hewlett. Our mission is to provide you with proven tools for anxiety relief, stress reduction, and a path toward deep relaxation. Use this episode anytime you need to calm your mind and feel more at ease.

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Segment #50 of The Daily Alignment w/ Grant Mitt, affirmations to start your day. A Segment of the Grant Mitt Podcast.  Apply for business mentorship (Book a call) https://grantmittconsulting.com/b2b-vsl Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/grantmitt/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tracklist and more info: https://www.bestdrumandbass.com/podcast572/Its the final episode before Let it Roll + Jungle Bells as we will be taking next week off, so we decided to go EXTRA HEAVY this week to prepare for the madness! We have a very special guest mix from Insomniacs "Discovery Project" winner FALKO, and as usual you have your resident Bad Syntax dialed in on the freshest heat available. So lock it in, and we cant wait to see you at LET IT ROLL & JUNGLE BELLS the next two weekends!Subscribe to the podcast: bestdnb.com/podcast  Virtua Point Zero - Wrath of Olympus / Giving Up [OUT NOW on Abducted LTD]Download / Stream: bestdrumandbass.com/altd132/Supported by: Doc Scott, Psidream, Figure, Nightstalker, Stonx, Jane Doe DNB, Bad Ace, Affirmation, Autopsy, Drone, dela Moon, Korax, DJ Odi, Bytecode, Direct Shift, Scout 22, ESKR, MV, Metric, Nox, Bass Bitches, Insom, Drbblz, Lennart Hoffmann, Klone, Crackindomes, Hijk, Stonerice, Needlenose, fibednb, ARI-ON, Lee UHF and more!Catch Bad Syntax alongside some of the largest names in the game in Atlanta for Jungle Bells 2025! Click the image for more info!

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