Welcome And Easter Second Chances

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Welcome to the Boundless Bible. My name is David Shapiro. Hey everyone. I know that depending on when you're listening to this podcast, it might not be anywhere near Easter, but this for those listeners, this is actually right after Easter. This is a couple days right after Easter 2026. And I'm really excited to kind of talk about today's message with you guys and the conversation is around second chances, which is I think really fitting for the Easter season.

Resurrection Needs A Real Sacrifice

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Yeah, I mean, look, second, second chances are big to me. Easter is is big to me. We were recording this on Good Friday. So happy Good Friday to you guys. But you know, Easter, if if you guys remember, is the day that I came back to the church. You know, the the it was my resurrection story, if you will. You know, 20 25 years of living as an atheist, as a non-believer, and at times even a a disbeliever. And, you know, I I had a full life as a secular person, but the life was empty, to be, to be fair. I mean, it was empty. There was there was kind of a lack of purpose. And even when I would find purpose, purpose fades when it's man-made, because sometimes I like pizza and sometimes I like Chinese food. You know, it's just you can get really committed to one thing, and then over time that changes. So when you're when your focus is self, the the focus changes, and you end up reality sets in, is that you're pointless or you're you're purposeless. But but I say all that to say, you know, this is a big topic for me because obviously, you know, God gave me my second chance, but it it kind of was on my heart this morning, guys. I I told David last night that I was going to start like this, but but I'm actually gonna change it a little bit because it hit me the big thing. And the big thing about second chances and and God is that, you know, there's Jesus died on the cross so he could be resurrected. And that is important for us and our lives because we too can be resurrected. But here's the thing there must be a sacrifice for that resurrection to happen. You can't like the day that I came back that Easter Sunday was a gigantic turning point in my life. And yet it actually wasn't the moment that things changed, if that makes sense. So, you know, there there was the Sunday, and I, you know, I left that Sunday, you know, after the Sunday and Monday, you know, through Friday and the next months, you know, was was a big change. I realized that something had shifted, but nothing really changed. And I think over the next couple months I even thought, well, what was that? Like it was something, but nothing actually changed. And it wasn't until about eight months later that I was, you know, still going to church. And thank God I kept going to church. And there was a message, and and it, you know, whatever it was, it moved me to call to make an actual change in my life. And it wasn't until eight months later that my actual life began to change. And why was that? It's because I committed to make different decisions. It's because I just I realized that you can't just resurrect because you want to resurrect. You have to sacrifice. Your actions must change. The old me had to die. The old actions, excuse me, had to die. The the old ways of behaving, the old behaviors had to die. And and that is the really like what I what I want to talk about today, you know, with you guys is that it's it's great that you go to church and do those things, but if you're not living it out, if it's not affecting the way that you live on your daily basis, you know, you you haven't made the sacrifice in order to make the full resurrection. But but that being said, the good news is if you're willing to repent, if you're willing to make changes, if you're willing to, you know, change your life and to act more in godly ways and less in selfish ways, man, it's not just second chances, it's second chances, 20th chances, 200th chances, and and beyond. And and and I'm so grateful for that. And I just want to talk to you guys today about that.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Yeah, well, first welcome. This is like your your welcome back birthday. So welcome back birthday. Yeah, that's it.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

My welcome back birthday, indeed.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Yeah. Um I got three.

SPEAKER_03 4:05

And what's funny is you got angles on my kid.

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Even as you're talking, you know, I when we come up with a topic and you know, my brain starts to go, and I and we will get into it the second chances that, and like you said, the 20th chances and 40th chances that God gives you. But it also, as you were talking, I was like, there's also chances that we as people give to God, the faith, church, messages, things like that, where there are times where we have to go back several times and you know, we have to give something because a first chance might go, no, it didn't feel like I thought it was gonna feel. And you give a second chance, you go, wow, okay, that felt a little bit different. So as you were talking, I was like, you know, there's second chances is also built into us. Yeah. Um, as we are creating love's image, that's probably one of the things that we're created with. For sure.

SPEAKER_03 4:51

Yeah, I mean, again, you know, I think it's so important that that we look at that for both ways as well, right? Like you said, God's gonna give us second chances, but but also humans have to be willing to give God a second chance. I mean, part of part of the reason that people leave church is because of church hurt, you know, and things like that. And so there was a you know, there's there's an equal amount of I had to be open to going to church in the first place, right? So not not saying that I'm responsible for my own salvation there at all by any stretch, and don't don't confuse that to say that. But you know, there's there's a give and a take in life, and this is one of those times that you know I gave a little and got a lot.

Teshuvah Returning Home To God

SPEAKER_00 5:23

No, no, there are listen, there are people who are choosing to fight their urge. They don't go. So when when you do follow through and you obey and you go, you do want a little bit of that credit going, okay, I could have stayed stubborn and and I didn't. And that's great. And listen, Javi and I are very happy that you didn't because we all got to meet. Uh what's really interesting, just really before we kind of jump into the second chances and that conversation, I always look at it from that Jewish perspective. And the word is actually teshuvah, and what it means is to come home, to turn away from sin and to come home. And if you think about that, God wants us to come home. It is the entire story of the Old Testament where the Israelites sin, they fall away, God forgives them, and then they return home. It's that Teshuva. Wow. Uh, it is that that desire to want to be with God again, and God saying, Yes, I want you to return. And he actually says it. So I have Hosea 14, 1 and 2, and then Joel 2, 13. This is return, O Israel. This is return to thy God, your Lord. And this is that that thought of Teshuva of listen, you you went away, yeah, prodigal son, you went away, and I'm here with arms wide open and and welcome to your return. So I just wanted to bring that in too. Is it's just a really beautiful thought of the Jewish version of second and third and 20th chances, it's just you know, come back to me.

Why We Chase Bad Memories

SPEAKER_01 6:49

20th chance. I love that. Yeah, I think I I like to say that God is the God of many chances, and we see that, you know, like that that verse actually reminds me of the prodigal son, and you know, and giving that second chance and coming back to the house and being received the way he was received. So I think it's a beautiful depiction of of God and and being the father in that story, the prodigal son, but also what you're saying right now with just was that that was Joel, you said yeah, Joel and and the other one was Hosea. Jose, yeah. Yeah, it's a beautiful thing. Second chances are tough, you know. Like it makes me think about you know, forgiveness, repentance when you think when I talk about second chances and and stuff like that. And I think that's a hard thing for us to do, which I think is why it's so important. Um that's such a human thing that's so hard for us to admit our wrongs and turn away from them, especially for things that we think that are that feels good. So, you know, so I think this is an important episode of talking about second chances, the hope of that, but also the the how hard it is sometimes to turn away from your ways.

SPEAKER_03 7:57

And you know, I mean that that's the hard part, right? I mean, the you know, the one of the things it was I was struck this morning by this idea that you know, when I was a kid, I I was in the church, and yet and I and I knew it, right? I I knew the God of of my youth, and I believed in that God, and I and I had experienced that God. I mean, you know, when I was a teenager, I went to these camp things and I felt nothing less than the hand of God, you know, right on me to say, here's where you're going, and this is what you're doing, and this is why you should do it. I mean, just the it was it was tangible even. So, like, why do we why do we walk away from those moments? You know, and I I thought, you know, that's another reason is or another thing to talk about. And I think it's it's important just to say that all of us humans we're we're guided by this thing inside of us. And and the thing in that what is it, what is it that the the Bible says the the heart is deceitful? We follow our heart, but the heart is deceitful. You know, we we we ask ourselves, well, this is gonna feel good. Well, that's okay. It can't be that dangerous, it can't be that bad, you know. Or, you know, I or or you know, one of the things that I was thinking this morning, how many, how many times does somebody go, I know I shouldn't do this? Right, but I only live once. I only live once. So I just want to experience what it's like, right? I want to, I want to know what that's like. I just want to, I just I just need to know it for myself and then I'll turn it away. Or whatever the, you know, whatever that that thought process is in their heads. But it got me thinking, like, and and I'm and I'll be honest, that was my thought process. Much, much of the stuff that I did in my life was me saying, you know, well, I know I shouldn't do that, but I I want to grow up and say, you know, be able to say, I did that. You know, when I'm 80 years old, I want to look back and say, well, I did that thing. But I started to think about this morning for the first time with a clear head, and I was like, people who collect, if you're trying to collect memories, if that's your idea, right? Collecting memories, do you collect torn baseball cards? No. Right? Do you like if you like perfumes, do you pick up like the nastiest thing you can find and like put that in your collection just because it's there? Like, we you don't collect the bad things, right? You collect the good things. And so why are we as humans like running, and it's just a weird thing to think of. Like, we don't we run towards these things knowing that they're bad because we we because somewhere in the back of our head, and I'm air quoting for those who are listening, like, you know, because I don't want to miss out on this experience. But what you're really doing is creating an experience that you shouldn't have, and it's not positive, and it is, and it and it does lead you away from the positive experiences that, you know, could I go back now in, you know, to be 18, 19 years old when I was falling away from the faith and gone back to it, there was a whole life ahead of me that was positive and you know, and and flourishing and profitable, you know, to the spirit. And and but but I didn't, you know, and again, it was because I was chasing those, I was chasing the ripped baseball cards essentially.

Sacrifice And Shame Then And Now

SPEAKER_00 10:32

Yeah, and I think, you know, listen, there's there's a conversation about whether or not God knew this or not, whether or not you had like that free will to walk away and this was all part of your story. I will say that one of the things you mentioned, which was interesting, is you're talking about the sacrifice that we need to take in our second chances as well. And it just, it just hit me, you know, we talk about us being dumb man, dumb humans all the time. But because we're also filled with pride and guilt and shame, it's really interesting because I I've actually done a deep dive over the last couple of weeks on sacrifice in general, from Levitical law sacrifice. And stick with me for a second. But God gave us the ability to sacrifice so that we can come back to him. It is part of that teshuva, it's part of that return. And I'm wondering if it's hey, because man is so stubborn, he does something wrong, he's not coming back to me because he thinks he's not worthy. Let me give him away, let me give him sacrifice so he feels as though, hey, I'm doing something, I'm sacrificing something, so I'm now worthy again of being in your presence. And I think about, you know, we talked about Adam and Eve and God saying, Where are you? and them hiding and covering up. It's it's that shame and guilt and all that stuff. And I'm just wondering if, not to say it's the exclusive reason, but one of the reasons God might have given us sacrifice is so that way we are are able to come back to him without holding on to all this guilt and shame and feeling like we don't even deserve to be here. That is really brilliant.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

Javi, what do you think about that? I got something to say about that, but I want to hear what you gotta say about that first.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Yeah, I mean, when I when I think about sacrifice, I think about letting go of something that's really close to you. And it's like it's like the tithing, right? It's letting go of something, it's like something that you hold tight, that's something you feel that you you can't live without in a sense, right? Yeah, it's a giving, it's a generosity thing. And by letting that go, it's also showing that I look at God as my, you know, a reverence, right? So by sacrificing whatever it is, sacrificing your your finances, sacrificing a goat, sacrificing your time, sacrificing something as a servant to God, it's showing God, hey, I am a reverence of you, and I'm gonna use this time for you, kind of thing. So I think it's a big deal in our lives to do that. Well, what happens eventually, you know, when we see that we're sacrificing animals with blood, right? It was a sense of like, I think what ends up happening was I am still doing what I'm doing, and I'm gonna do the sacrificial stuff to wash away my sins, what I did, but I'm continuing living the life that I did live. And we can see that now with a lot of things, even accepting Christ.

SPEAKER_03 13:12

I think we see that a lot. I mean, so before I hit that one, which I think you're right on, is you know, David, I think what you're I think the other thing that you're saying is like we humans need tangible, visible, I don't know, stimuli to feel like we've solved something. Like if Jesus says, no, you're okay, just say I'm sorry, like, and you'll be back, we're like, yeah, that's not enough. Like somewhere deep down, we're like, that's not enough. So we have to make a physical, a physical offering. And like it doesn't have to be, you know, it doesn't have to be a goat, but it, but it could be. Well, and that in that time it was a goat, right? It was just about the goat or the or the money or the whatever it was, but it was a sacrifice. It was to me to say, okay, I have lost the favor of the Lord, but I'm giving something back, which means I'm earning it back. We never really had to earn it back, but it's just it's God's way of saying, okay, like I know you need a visible visceral reaction to it. So I'm gonna give you the visible visceral reaction, which is why with New Testament Jesus, we don't need that anymore. We've got now we have things like baptism. Now we have things like you know, confessing to your peers. Now we have, you know, other outward ways of not absolving sin, but a ways of like acknowledging our sin in public and saying, hey, I take control over this, or I take I take what's the word, take accountability for this and and so forth.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

But which humans end up taking that again, because we're human and we need something more. We then distort the gospel and say, Well, I need to now confess to somebody else. I need to have this baptism, otherwise, I'm not forgiven. And they start to need more of it. So I just think in in God's brilliance, he was like, I know you're going to need something. So here it is.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

Yeah. I I think that's really, I think that's really solid. And and Javi, to what you're saying too, I mean, it's it's the idea that, you know, even today we still do this. You know, we we we go to church, we profess our faith, we get baptized, we, you know, go back about our days, and then we sin again. And, you know, we we don't know what to do after that. We we don't know what to do. And so, like, we it, you know, in what we all we have to do is say, sorry, Lord, I I messed up, you know, I repent, I'm gonna, and try to make that different. But we we still do try to I don't know, we we still try and I don't even know. Like we we kind of live in our guilt a little bit and and we don't quite come back the way we should, but that's what the second chance I think I think that's what this episode's about is like all we really have to do is turn around and say I'm sorry, and to try and repent. And the sacrifice doesn't have to be grand, it needs to be sacrificing my actions. If if my action of sin is X, the only sacrifice I really need to make moving forward is not doing X. Like that's the sacrifice that I need to be making. But I think we make it into something much bigger.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

Yeah, and and you actually coming kind of full circle the way you started, Jason, with your story. Ezekiel 36, 26, this is where he talks about God giving a new heart and a new spirit.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

And this is where you said, Hey, it wasn't enough that I just went to church and felt moved and felt the presence of God. But then over the next few months, you had to start to change things about you and what you were doing and how you were living and things like that because you were moved to, not because you had to, otherwise God would reject you, because you went through that that spiritual change yourself. And I think it's true. I think when you first accept God, or when you not first, but when you accept God at all, that yes, He will give you a new heart and a new spirit. And then what do you choose to do with that? Yeah.

Faith Becomes Real Through Obedience

SPEAKER_03 16:34

Well, I'll and the multiple chances. The multiple chances, right? Like, and and I and by the way, I continue to sacrifice things today, and I continue, and as I so I actually want to change the order of that slightly though, David, from what you said, because I don't think, yes, I think that there was the day that I that you know that that God gave me a softened heart and you know made me a new creature. But and and then yes, there was a time when my spirit was changed, but there I'm still talking about there's a point in the middle too, right? And like I've had this, I've had this thought a lot lately that, and bear with me for a second. We talk a lot about you can't understand somebody until you walk in their shoes, right? That's a that's a known statement. We all understand it. You can't judge somebody until you've walked in their shoes. Because when you've walked in their shoes, you understand their motivations, you understand their reactions, you understand who they are, what they are, why they do what they do. You with me so far? All right. So God has asked us to be lots of things. Why has he asked us? Because he wants us to walk in those shoes. And in because we can't understand God until we walk in those shoes. And so I can't sit back and read the Bible and say, oh, I understand God. I can't do it. I mean, I can I can have a small, top-level, superficial conception of what God wants me to do and why. But I'm telling you from a firsthand experience, that first year, that first eight to nine months that I was in the faith and reading the Bible and getting things, I wasn't changing my actions. So I was seeing it from afar, but I wasn't walking in the shoes. I wasn't walking in the shoes, so I wasn't changing. Now that's why I'm saying, I know, David, you're saying, you know, you're gonna change and you're and you're, you know, the the things that you change are going to change who you are. But I I personally don't feel like it was until I said, wait a second, I'm reading this book, it's telling me how to live, and I'm looking at how it's telling me, and then I'm looking at my life, and I'm not doing those things. And it wasn't until I had and I started doing those things that I started going, oh, maybe that's why that Bible verse said that. Oh, maybe that's why Jesus asked that. Oh, maybe that's why these guys were cursed for doing that thing. And so it was, there's this for me, there's this structure of like acknowledgement that you have to change. There's the, and then there's the acting out and having the discipline andor the obedience to do it. And although the heart has been changed, the heart hasn't fully been transformed until you have committed to doing those things. And so I think that's if there's an encouragement I can give for anybody out there, particularly understanding this this episode is gonna come out after Easter. So if you're somebody who's just finished with Easter and you're like, man, I had this mountaintop experience, what do I do about it? The answer is go read that Bible. And if it's asking you not to do that, don't do that. And if it's asking you to do this, do that. I mean, and and it's gonna feel weird. And that, and this is one of the weird things is when you try to change yourself, it feels weird. When you start to do things in different ways, it's it's uncomfortable. But it's in the discipline of doing those uncomfortable things that you will change. And the changes that you see in yourself, you will undoubtedly 100%, you will appreciate and you will benefit from. And and that's again, that's kind of the the the encouragement I want to give anybody out there is that there's there's a change that has to happen, and that's the change that's gonna allow you to see God.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

I wanted to lament go for it. Go ahead, go for it. No, I wanted to I don't want it, I wanted to say, like, you know, second chances are not easy, and I think anyone that has maybe is walking with Christ and then falls back kind of what you're saying, Jason. It's kind of hard for you to come back to it, right? And go, you know, I want to follow this again, or do I even believe in this, right? Or would he even accept me? And I just want to give that encouragement that he will, you know. We see that throughout the Bible. Second chances happen all the time. I mean, we see the biggest one uh that comes out, especially in the New Testament, is Peter, right? And how he was given the second chance. You know, you have Jonah, Samson, you have David that was given second chances. Time after time, they fall and they came back. You know, they were accepted into God's kingdom. And I just want to give that encouragement to someone out there that if they're saying they're thinking to themselves, hey, would he even give me a second chance? Would he give me another chance? I did this, this is horrible. I think as you're alive, you have a second chance. If you're listening to this, you're alive, you have a second chance to come back to God, and you have to repent and turn away from it. And I think going back to what you were saying, Jason, about you know, trying to think I think it's hard for us to even like read a book about exercising and then going out to actually practice the exercise. Right, right, you know, yeah, and you know, for us to live it out and go, I'm reading the Bible, it's telling me to stop doing this. I it feels good. I don't want to stop doing this, it has to come together. The uh the the faith and the action have to come together to do it, and it's hard, it's not easy. But a quick way that I would say to anyone is whatever you want to change, whatever you want to repent against, right? You you by repenting meaning I recognize this, I am aware that I'm doing this wrong, and I want to turn back from that. Pray on that and take a step forward. And God's gonna show you, He's gonna put it in front of you and going, I'm giving you a chance to turn away from it, I'm giving you a chance to turn away from patience, you know, anger, cursing, whatever it is, right? Whatever sin that you might be turning back from, and walk, walk that way. So sorry, I went on a little rant there, but no, you're good.

SPEAKER_03 21:49

And even to sorry, I don't but just want to keep that up because if you fail the first time or the tenth time or the twentieth time, you know, if you if you say that my like you just said, you know, cursing, right? Or or you know, alcohol or whatever your whatever your sin is, yeah, it's not a one time thing, right? Like you're gonna you're gonna screw that up again, and that second chance is gonna be there for the next time too. And so like I think that's the other thing is like people think, well, okay, well, I really tried and I couldn't do it this time. And it's like, so he's not gonna accept me back this time. I'm not, I can't do this. And it's right, that's just not the way it is. Like you're you're gonna have to keep coming back over. Over and over and over, and he's always going to be there every single time.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

And we had an episode on salvation and stuff, right? So salvation is you accepted Christ in your life, salvation is there. Now you have to live it out. You know, you have to really live it out. So I think we talked about David. Sorry, you got stepped up. You got stepped on twice.

Giving God A Second Chance

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Yeah, we're talking, no, you're good. We're talking about people like the the the you have this feeling, this really high feeling of like, I went to church for Easter. I really felt God move in me. I'm ready. I'm I'm I'm just all in. There are people who, and I'm gonna bring up Lamentations 3, 22 to 23, because there are people who feel like God has given them the short end of the stick. And now they're having this moment of of some conflict. Of we were talking second chances from God and second chances from us. And Lamentations 3, 22 to 23, this is what happens. The Israelites are doing a lot of things wrong. They keep going against God. God allows the Babylonians to conquer them, to destroy Jerusalem and destroy the Temple of Solomon, the first temple. Yeah. And in Lamentations, this is remember, this is now them sad and upset that this is going on. They actually say that God is so faithful every morning. That's part of that is them saying, you know, they still love God, God still loves them. They are they know that God's gonna be faithful to them every morning, and and that he's not done. He's not done with what he's going to do with me. And it becomes confusing sometimes where somebody says, Hey, I if God's in control of everything and my life has not been going according to plan, and now I'm trying to accept God and He's giving me a second chance. This is that part where we go, we also sometimes have to give him a second chance because we don't understand his plan. We don't understand why things have happened. Could it have been somebody's free will? Could it have been us? Could it have been God? We we we wrestle with this and it's great to wrestle. Listen, God loves wrestle with him all day long, he loves it, but there is a moment where you have to realize that the second chance you want from God, he also wants from you out of love. And and this is that moment where the Israelites realize like we love God and we want to give him a second chance because we ultimately did it and they recognize that. But it is, it does become a very confusing moment for somebody who goes, I want to love you, God, but I I just have been going through so much. Why would you allow that? Yeah, and so these are those moments where I think second chances can go both ways. And I don't mean that in a way of, you know, God doesn't need my second chance. I I, you know, I give it to him freely because I love him, because he loved me first. But it is, it does become challenging with somebody who is struggling with this.

SPEAKER_01 24:54

I I I love that you said that because that's one of the things that I try to let people know too, like, right at church and second chances. Like, if you leave a church, I hope and pray that you go to another church, that you don't walk away from God, that you don't turn the other way away from God, you know. And I pray that you give him a second chance. You give, you know, don't how can I say this? Don't judge God because of a church, don't judge God because of a Christian, right? Even though a lot of times we are put in that pedestal, right? You know, be the Jesus somebody sees, right? I I heard recently. And I think I I love what you're saying there, David. I think you're exactly right, man. Like, and it's my I always pray for that because you know, obviously being at a church and just talking to so many people, and they feel like, oh, you know, this might not be the church for me, or this might be whatever, or I just came from a different church. And I love the fact that they're giving God a still a second chance to continue to to work with them and find a place for them, you know, regardless. And I don't want to leave it just on churches, many other things that we give give God a second chance, you know, like maybe you lost your husband and you know, stuff like that, and you feel like God took that away from you. Give him a second chance, go back to him because there is peace, there is something that he has for you with even with through your loss, you know.

Salvation Versus Solutions Partnership

SPEAKER_03 26:11

So I like all that you guys are saying. I I just want to like there was a there was something I read recently that put it into context for me, and I think it's just a a another way of saying what you guys are saying, but just so if anybody's needing a third and final way to kind of put it together to put it to bed, right? So if we if we beat this, sorry. I I I read something along the lines of like God provides the seeds, the rain, and the growth, but expects you to participate in the harvest. Like it's a it's a partnership. And and this is why like what David was saying, like he's not saying that you need to like make the first step because God needs it, but there's a certain there's a certain partnership that happens between humans and God. And it's like God can make all these things happen. God can lay all the God can lay the winning numbers in your hand, but you still gotta play the lotto. Like there's there's things that have to you you still have a participatory a participatory act in the you know, in the relationship. And so even in my situation, I hate that I hope this isn't a me episode. I'm just using me because I'm the the closest analogy I know to to this story, but I had to be willing to do the work. You know, God, God definitely I'm telling you, if you if I ever sit down and tell you guys the whole testimony, which I've told you guys, there's nothing less than miraculous that I sat in church that first day. There's it's it's nothing less than miraculous. It was completely divine. There's no no possible way where I was in my life, who I was in my life, or what I believed in my life that I was gonna stand in that church that day wasn't gonna happen. And for God to literally encounter me in that place and say, this is it. I've I've given you enough rain, I've given you enough leash. I'm reading I'm reining you back in. But I, you know, there's still after that, there's there's time that I had to partner with God and say, God, God, you're teaching me stuff, but I still have to act it out. Like I said, today, today was, you know, I've talked about it already, but there were things that I had to do to change. I I had to change my attitudes, my beliefs, my perspectives, the way that I looked at things, the way that I responded to people, the way I responded to myself. I mean, all those things, and I'm still working on those things tremendously and will continue to work on them for the rest of my life. But there's I I finally see that there's just this participatory relationship. It's not just a God make this for me. Pastor Eric said something really interesting last night, too. He said, you know, most people aren't looking for salvation, they're looking for a solution. And that that one that one hits pretty hard. Yeah. Because it's true. People want someone to save them from those situations, but they don't want to do anything about it.

SPEAKER_00 28:31

Yeah. I'll I'll tell you something that as you're talking just reminds me is the what what true love, what real love from God is. And you're talking about the struggles that you went through and the miracle of you just even being there and all the things you've gone through since. And for me, being present for most of that, I understand what you're saying is 100% true. There was a lot that you went through for the ability to be where you are now with God in relationship. And then I think about love and I think about God and what he went through for us and Jesus and what he went through and the beating and the crucifixion. And I say that because anybody who's in church who's saying, you know, hey, I felt something, I don't really know, you know, what it is, but I'm feeling it. I'm going, all the things that you've gone in through your life where you're saying, man, I you don't understand what I went through. And I'm going, I I might not, but you know who does is Jesus. He went through what he went through for for us. And uh that to me is the single most reason why I hope I'm worth a second chance for God because he loves me, but he is worth a million of my chances uh because of how he loved me. Yes and and loved me in a way that I could never even understand. So I hope for anybody there who's thinking about this, you will give him that second chance because of how he loves you. Because he'll give you a million chances. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:46

Yeah. You know, I wouldn't be a good Christian if I didn't say the following two. I've been talking a lot about the work that I had to do, and I I'm I'm missing a grand part of that, and that's on me. I haven't done the work. I mean, I've had to make some decisions and I've had to do it, but I've had to do it with God's strength. I've, I mean, I I've only been given what I've been given, been blessed by the ways that I've been blessed, and and even given the strength to do what I, you know, to do the work of finding him more deeply or changing my actions. But that's I'm I'm I I might have presented it as if it was me who made those things happen. And it was not me who made those things happen. It's just that participation again. God has opened the door and I've I've had to, you know, I've had to take a step of faith from time to time. And God has has opened five doors and I've had to walk through all of them. But but at the end of the day, it was it was still God who opened the door. And it was still God who gave me the strength when I said I can't do this. So it's partnerships, partnerships kind of, I don't know. I want to leave it there that it's not just me who's doing these things. I think I might have sounded a bit like, hey, I did this.

SPEAKER_00 30:48

No, you're you explained it well before, you explained it well now. I I think I don't know if too many people would disagree that it's a partnership that, you know, from the very beginning, God didn't, he wasn't bored and made us. He made us because he loves us and he wants partnership with us. And if you look at anything in the Bible, if you look at Revelation, the very end, the the defeating of Satan is through the blood of Christ and our testimony. There's partnership even in Revelation to defeat Satan. God doesn't need us to defeat Satan, He's including us. What a show of love that is as well. And I I agree with you, Jason. I don't think it sounded that way at all. Okay, good. Um, I I think you you you definitely have shared in the work, and and it's it honestly has been a blessing to watch. And and I'm sure somebody who's watched me in my in my walk and my journey would say the same thing. But for me, being able to watch yours, you know, last night it's funny, I'm the person who always ministers to everyone else. And last night, Jason had the ability to minister to me and did it very well. And and we can say, yes, the Holy Spirit was working through you, and it was a partnership with God, but you were the one who stood there and and took the uh the responsibility of staying there in that conversation with me and ministered to me well. And a full full circle moment for you to go from Easter services accepting and thought about the services years later ministering. So good open.

Mercy Urgency And Choosing Today

SPEAKER_03 32:10

The other thing that this this is I can't I can't acknowledge what you just said because it's weird for me to acknowledge that all that. But but I will say this. I I I mean, God, God does use me these days, and I and it is him and it's not me. And I again something I just felt compelled to say the other day, and I haven't really had a time to say it, but I want to say it out loud is that God, God is not using me because of my strength. He's using me despite my weakness. And again, that's another thing that I think people need to hear, especially there's there's a lot of people who listen to this podcast, and they're probably in a whole lot of different places in their walk. And, you know, I think it's easy to look at people who are the elders of the church or who are in places on podcasts or whatever, and think, oh man, he's got it all together, and he's, you know, he's he's got all the things to say and all the, you know, he's got the whatever. But the reality is it's not, it's just not the case. Like I know me, you guys know me, and and the reality is God is not using me because I I was already ready to be used. Like He He was like, Okay, you're willing, I'll make you able. And and that's a very big difference. And I and I'm again a sense of encouragement for anybody out there is that you too can do miracles if you if you are faithful, if you if you surrender and you obey and you are disciplined with his with his responsibilities that he gives you. I mean, this isn't this isn't a special calling here. This is this is anybody can have this calling, and I hope you take it.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

Yeah, no, and I I I think this is a good calling, and I think that you know, we've all been given many chances, and I think if anyone out there feels like they want to give a chance, I think God is there to give it to us. You know, we have the free will to choose, though. It's on you to choose it, to accept it. You know, and you you you have to know. I think I was reading this, Micah 718 says, Who is God like you? No, sorry, Micah yeah, seven, eighteen, sorry. Who is God like you who pardons sins and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy. And I think you could rest on that that he will wipe away your sins and show mercy to you, even how many chances you come back to him. And we could rest on that. And I think it's important because we do not know when our last day or Jesus' second coming, right? And there's no better time than now to repent and turn towards God. Um, in Hebrews 9 27, just know that it says, just as people are destined to die once, and after that they face judgment. Meaning, you have your life right now to accept Christ and receive it, because after we die, we will face judgment. And I think that's a big call for us to to to those that are listening, or even us to know that we must, if we want to be saved and God is here, is given a chance to save us, we must give our life now and accept Christ into our hearts and really follow it because we will not give we would not be given another chance after that.

Without The Cross No Resurrection

SPEAKER_03 35:15

So Jeshuva, return home. Yeah, I mean, prodigal son, prodigal son is definitely one that that gets me too. I mean, that that every time I hear return home, it's prodigal son, and and that don't don't don't tell that story in front of me. You'll get you'll see me get weepy. It's uh it's it's an emotional one for me. So Easter is here. Again, I I I just want to kind of wrap up with something that I that has been really impactful for me this this season, which has just been that without the cross, there is no resurrection. And that doesn't just mean that in Christianity, if there wasn't a cross, there wouldn't be resurrection. That means without suffering, there cannot be healing. Without the death of one thing, there cannot be the rebirth of another. Without sacrifice, there can't be, you know, resurrection. Without difficulty, there without obstacles, there can't be overcoming. You know, it's it that that's the thing that I've been left with this this season, is all those things and that and that the the resurrection of God or the resurrection of Jesus was assigned just like he was put on this earth to show us how to live, he was put on this earth to be resurrected, to show us how we could we too can be resurrected through through pain, through anguish, and through, and through just deciding to move on and become something else. So I, if anybody out there is listening to this who needs that message, I hope that today is your new day. I hope that you can accept that suffering that Jesus did as your suffering, and that you can use his resurrection for your resurrection. And if you if you have done that, if you'd like to do that, all of us are available for you know, we would love to hear your stories. So, guys, this is my favorite time of year. Happy Easter, and we'll see you next week. Bye. See you guys.