WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.459 Depending on when you're hitting play on this 00:00:01.459 --> 00:00:03.879 episode, our country is celebrating a pretty 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:07.440 big milestone. We're staring right at the 250th 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:09.740 anniversary of the United States. And right out 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:11.939 of the gate, I want to say this really clearly 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:15.380 and sincerely. I am so incredibly grateful to 00:00:15.380 --> 00:00:18.399 be an American. I don't take for granted the 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:20.859 freedoms we have, the opportunities we've been 00:00:20.859 --> 00:00:23.500 handed, or the sacrifices made by people who 00:00:23.500 --> 00:00:27.019 came before us so we could work, worship, raise 00:00:27.019 --> 00:00:29.719 our kids, and speak honestly without looking 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:32.960 over our shoulders. That is an absolute gift. 00:00:33.579 --> 00:00:36.679 But there is a massive, eternal difference between 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:39.399 being grateful for the country you live in and 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:42.600 letting that country define your identity. Because 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:45.619 our American identity usually doesn't try to 00:00:45.619 --> 00:00:48.460 kick our faith out of the car. It just politely 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:52.079 pushes it into the backseat. We slow cook the 00:00:52.079 --> 00:00:54.579 American dream. and the Christian life together 00:00:54.579 --> 00:00:57.780 until the lines get blurry enough that we start 00:00:57.780 --> 00:01:01.259 believing building a prosperous life is the same 00:01:01.259 --> 00:01:05.200 thing as following Jesus. We listen to the cultural 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:08.560 scripts. Work hard. Build something bigger than 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:10.819 what you came from. Give your kids everything 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:14.540 you never had. Get ahead. Make something of yourself. 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:18.040 And none of that is automatically evil. Hard 00:01:18.040 --> 00:01:21.040 work is a virtue. providing for your family is 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:24.060 honorable stewarding your life well is deeply 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:26.980 biblical but good things become dangerous when 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:29.739 we try to build a foundation on them the American 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:33.000 dream doesn't just invite us to work it demands 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:36.680 that we measure it asks how much did you build 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.379 how far up the leadership ladder did you get 00:01:40.379 --> 00:01:44.120 how comfortable is your life how impressive does 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:47.200 it look from the road without even realizing 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.670 it We start building our own little kingdoms 00:01:49.670 --> 00:01:54.150 right here on earth. And even worse, we're baptizing 00:01:54.150 --> 00:01:57.450 them with Christian vocabulary so we feel better 00:01:57.450 --> 00:02:00.969 about it. We call blinding ambition faithfulness. 00:02:01.090 --> 00:02:04.609 We call redline exhaustion being responsible. 00:02:05.030 --> 00:02:08.469 We call consumer debt normal. We call luxury 00:02:08.469 --> 00:02:12.229 blessing. We call total independence maturity. 00:02:13.129 --> 00:02:16.030 And then we sit on the edge of our beds at night 00:02:16.030 --> 00:02:21.189 wondering why our souls feel hollowed out. That 00:02:21.189 --> 00:02:23.270 is what we've been discussing throughout this 00:02:23.270 --> 00:02:27.189 entire pot. The pressure to produce. The panic 00:02:27.189 --> 00:02:30.169 of waiting. The burnout hiding underneath responsibility. 00:02:30.669 --> 00:02:33.650 The grief that refuses to cooperate with our 00:02:33.650 --> 00:02:37.830 plans. The outcomes we try to control. The success 00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:42.330 we keep trying to define on our own terms. Now 00:02:42.330 --> 00:02:44.409 that we've reached the final cup of the season, 00:02:44.590 --> 00:02:47.750 we have to ask the question underneath all of 00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:53.330 it. What have we actually been standing on? If 00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:55.169 you and I are building our lives on productivity, 00:02:55.490 --> 00:02:58.949 comfort, status, and a dream that requires constant 00:02:58.949 --> 00:03:02.009 striving to sustain it, eventually one of two 00:03:02.009 --> 00:03:05.030 things is going to happen. Either the whole house 00:03:05.030 --> 00:03:08.889 collapses under its weight, or, by the grace 00:03:08.889 --> 00:03:13.300 of God, He shows us, The sand before the collapse 00:03:13.300 --> 00:03:19.479 destroys us. And that is mercy. God never exposes 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.699 a shaky foundation to embarrass you. He exposes 00:03:22.699 --> 00:03:26.240 it to rescue you. He shows you the sand so that 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.780 you'll stop trying to anchor your life to it 00:03:28.780 --> 00:03:32.639 and come back to the rock. At the end of the 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.900 day, the goal was never to build a life that 00:03:35.900 --> 00:03:40.180 looked dazzling to people driving by. The goal 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:42.840 was always to stand before our creator and hear, 00:03:42.979 --> 00:03:48.539 well done, good and faithful servant. Not well 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:52.219 traveled. Not highly impressive. Not incredibly 00:03:52.219 --> 00:03:58.060 comfortable. Faithful. The false dreams we built 00:03:58.060 --> 00:04:03.400 on are going to crack. Our plans are going to 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:07.199 shift. The storms are absolutely going to blow. 00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:13.900 But a better foundation still stands. Welcome 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:15.699 to Grace in the Grind, brought to you by Arrow 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:17.759 and Roots Coffee Company, where faith meets the 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.540 everyday. Here we take time to notice God's presence 00:04:20.540 --> 00:04:23.500 in the middle of life's busiest moments, to find 00:04:23.500 --> 00:04:26.740 encouragement, clarity, and a reminder of His 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:30.199 grace right in the grind of daily life. So grab 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.680 your coffee, and let's take a sip of this cup 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:37.279 together. Before we go any further, let me pause 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:39.579 to tell you what's brewed today. Today I've got 00:04:39.579 --> 00:04:41.639 Ozark Roots from Arrow & Roots Coffee Company 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:45.439 brewed in a drip. I love it this way. It's simple, 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:49.379 steady, and dependable. Nothing flashy. Now today 00:04:49.379 --> 00:04:52.319 we are landing this whole season by asking one 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:56.019 ultimate question. What foundation is still standing 00:04:56.019 --> 00:05:00.079 when the dream starts to crack? If you've been 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:02.860 tracking with us through the entire pot too, 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:06.220 You know we haven't been arguing that hard work 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:09.519 is evil or that planning is stupid. Those are 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:13.720 really good things. And if you ask my wife, I 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:18.439 plan all the time and I work all the time. But 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:21.500 good things become dangerous the second we try 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:24.860 to anchor our entire identity to them. The American 00:05:24.860 --> 00:05:29.199 dream is great at handling a winning streak, 00:05:29.420 --> 00:05:34.160 progress, achievement. or upward mobility. But 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:36.600 it has very little vocabulary for the things 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:41.139 that actually make up a human life. Grief, limits, 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:46.680 waiting, and obedience. The kind of faithfulness 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:49.339 that looks completely ordinary from the outside. 00:05:50.779 --> 00:05:53.459 That is where scripture brings us back to reality. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:57.959 When the floor falls out, our foundation cannot 00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:01.579 be built on success, productivity, financial 00:06:01.579 --> 00:06:06.300 stability, or the idealized version of life we 00:06:06.300 --> 00:06:10.199 thought we'd have by now. Those things may be 00:06:10.199 --> 00:06:14.459 gifts, but they make terrible ground. You can 00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:18.600 enjoy a gift. You cannot stand on it. So today, 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:22.899 we're turning to Matthew 7, 1 Timothy 6, and 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:26.019 1 Corinthians 3 to ask, when the storm hits, 00:06:26.339 --> 00:06:31.399 what actually holds? At the end of the Sermon 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:34.000 on the Mount, Jesus tells a story many of us 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:38.839 have heard a thousand times. Two men build two 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:42.720 houses, one on the rock, one on the sand. And 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:45.480 if you grew up in church, yes, that Sunday school 00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:48.379 song is already playing on a loop in your brain. 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:52.259 And you're welcome for that. But Jesus is not 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:55.759 giving a DIY framing lesson today. And I'm not 00:06:55.759 --> 00:06:59.399 giving any music lessons today. He's showing 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:03.779 us what happens when life puts pressure on what 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:07.300 we have built. And notice, the exact same storm 00:07:07.300 --> 00:07:12.920 hits both houses. Therefore, everyone who hears 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:15.379 these words of mine and acts on them will be 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:18.060 like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:22.519 And the rains fell, and the floods came, and 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:24.959 the winds blew, and slammed against that house. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:29.879 And yet, it did not fall. for it had been founded 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:33.079 on the rock and everyone who hears these words 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:36.740 of mine and does not act on them will be like 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.899 a foolish man who built his house on the sand 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:44.459 and the rains fell and the floods came and the 00:07:44.459 --> 00:07:48.019 winds blew and slammed against that house and 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:53.980 it fell and the collapse was great the same rain 00:07:53.980 --> 00:07:59.449 the same flood the same wind The difference wasn't 00:07:59.449 --> 00:08:02.629 the weather. The difference was underneath. The 00:08:02.629 --> 00:08:05.290 storm doesn't create the problem. It just reveals 00:08:05.290 --> 00:08:09.269 what was already there. Think of it as a spiritual 00:08:09.269 --> 00:08:12.509 home inspection. Everything looks great from 00:08:12.509 --> 00:08:15.110 the curb until life crawls into the crawlspace 00:08:15.110 --> 00:08:18.990 with a flashlight and says, yep, we've got a 00:08:18.990 --> 00:08:23.069 major issue here. The storm is the ultimate diagnostic 00:08:23.069 --> 00:08:26.230 tool. When work slows down, what are you leaning 00:08:26.230 --> 00:08:30.279 on for your work? When grief crashes in, what 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:34.340 did you subconsciously assume God owed you? When 00:08:34.340 --> 00:08:37.179 the bank account bleeds, what does your heart 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:41.100 reach for to feel safe? The American dream asks, 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:45.340 how does it look on the outside? Jesus asks, 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:50.419 will it stand when the sky turns black? And Jesus 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:53.179 says the wise person is not the one who simply 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:57.570 hears his words and agrees. It is the one who 00:08:57.570 --> 00:09:02.169 hears his words and does them. Not hears and 00:09:02.169 --> 00:09:05.669 nods. Not hears and highlights it. Not hears 00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:09.070 and texts the podcast link to a friend who really 00:09:09.070 --> 00:09:14.990 needs to hear this. Hears and does. The American 00:09:14.990 --> 00:09:18.870 dream says, build something impressive. Jesus 00:09:18.870 --> 00:09:24.070 says, build on my words. Only one of those houses 00:09:24.070 --> 00:09:28.730 is still there. when the weather clears. Let's 00:09:28.730 --> 00:09:31.649 bring this down to eye level. Lately, Christy 00:09:31.649 --> 00:09:34.429 and I have been looking at some of our very normal, 00:09:34.470 --> 00:09:37.870 unglamorous life stuff. Debt, spending habits, 00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:41.149 lifestyle creeping in a direction, stewardship, 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:46.070 the quiet pressure to keep up. It wasn't a dramatic 00:09:46.070 --> 00:09:49.169 financial ruin by any means. It was just good 00:09:49.169 --> 00:09:52.129 old -fashioned life creeping down one direction. 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:56.100 Something breaks. An unexpected bill shows up. 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:00.779 A few convenience purchases feel manageable in 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:03.159 the moment. And then one day you look at the 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:07.100 numbers and realize, okay, our bank account is 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:10.820 officially trying to stage an intervention. So 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:13.240 we sat down and started asking those fun, romantic 00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:16.039 questions every married couple dreams of when 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:18.440 they're about to get married. Where do we cut 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:23.000 back? What have we treated as normal that really 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:25.830 shouldn't be? What are we calling necessary that 00:10:25.830 --> 00:10:28.950 may just be convenient? The longer we talk, the 00:10:28.950 --> 00:10:31.350 more we realize this wasn't just a financial 00:10:31.350 --> 00:10:34.350 conversation. It was a discipleship conversation. 00:10:34.730 --> 00:10:37.590 Because stewardship is not only about money. 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:41.289 It's about our desires. It's about our attention. 00:10:42.090 --> 00:10:46.470 And what we choose to call enough. That gets 00:10:46.470 --> 00:10:49.269 uncomfortable fast in a culture that treats more 00:10:49.269 --> 00:10:53.659 like a basic human right. Most of what we already 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:57.700 have gets the job done. But culture loves to 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:01.419 whisper, getting the job done isn't enough. You 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:05.059 deserve the upgrade. The question isn't just, 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:09.279 can we afford this? The deeper question is, who 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:12.799 is discipling our desires? Is scripture training 00:11:12.799 --> 00:11:16.340 us in contentment, or is a marketing algorithm 00:11:16.340 --> 00:11:21.309 training us in dissatisfaction? That's why 1 00:11:21.309 --> 00:11:28.590 Timothy 6 hits so hard. 1 Timothy 6, 6 -10 says, 00:11:28.889 --> 00:11:32.570 But godliness actually is a means of great gain 00:11:32.570 --> 00:11:36.250 when accompanied by contentment. For we have 00:11:36.250 --> 00:11:39.610 brought nothing into the world, so we can take 00:11:39.610 --> 00:11:44.250 nothing out of it either. If we have food and 00:11:44.250 --> 00:11:48.740 covering, with these we shall be content. But 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:52.220 those who want to get rich fall into temptation 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:56.360 and a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:59.740 which plunge people into ruin and destruction. 00:12:01.340 --> 00:12:05.659 For the love of money is a root of all sorts 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:10.899 of evil, and some, by longing for it, have wandered 00:12:10.899 --> 00:12:14.120 away from the faith and pierced themselves with 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:20.450 many griefs. So what it says, godliness with 00:12:20.450 --> 00:12:25.389 contentment is great gain. That sentence is offensive 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:30.769 to American economic machines. Culture says gain 00:12:30.769 --> 00:12:36.289 equals more. But Paul says great gain is godliness 00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:41.149 with contentment. A soul that can say Christ 00:12:41.149 --> 00:12:44.769 is enough, even when this season is not everything 00:12:44.769 --> 00:12:50.039 I wanted, Scripture honors diligence and responsible 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:55.840 stewardship. It also warns us that money is never 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:59.779 just money. Sometimes the budget exposes the 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:04.419 soul. Every expense asks a question. What am 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:06.860 I trying to comfort? What am I trying to prove? 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:10.360 What anxiety am I trying to shop away? If Christ 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:13.259 isn't enough, the next upgrade won't be either. 00:13:14.990 --> 00:13:17.870 More might distract us for a weekend, but it 00:13:17.870 --> 00:13:20.529 cannot carry the weight of an immortal soul. 00:13:21.330 --> 00:13:24.870 The question shifts from, how do I squeeze the 00:13:24.870 --> 00:13:29.330 most comfort out of this life? To, how do I faithfully 00:13:29.330 --> 00:13:33.110 manage what belongs to God? Because all of it 00:13:33.110 --> 00:13:35.889 belongs to Him. Your paycheck, your house, your 00:13:35.889 --> 00:13:39.250 Tuesday afternoon, your future. That's humbling. 00:13:39.809 --> 00:13:43.070 But it is also a massive relief. You aren't the 00:13:43.070 --> 00:13:46.330 owner. And you don't have to be the savior. You're 00:13:46.330 --> 00:13:49.350 the manager. You are called to faithfulness, 00:13:49.370 --> 00:13:55.029 not absolute control. Paul gives us another construction 00:13:55.029 --> 00:13:58.049 picture in 1 Corinthians 3, and he doesn't leave 00:13:58.049 --> 00:14:01.529 room for confusion. According to the grace of 00:14:01.529 --> 00:14:04.070 God, which was given to me like a wise master 00:14:04.070 --> 00:14:07.529 builder, I laid a foundation, and another is 00:14:07.529 --> 00:14:10.490 building on it. But each person must be careful 00:14:10.490 --> 00:14:14.279 how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:18.220 other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus 00:14:18.220 --> 00:14:21.360 Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:26.480 with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, 00:14:26.740 --> 00:14:30.940 or straw, each one's work will become evident. 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:35.179 For the day will show it because it is to be 00:14:35.179 --> 00:14:39.039 revealed with fire. And the fire itself will 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:43.690 test the quality of each one's work. If anyone's 00:14:43.690 --> 00:14:47.450 work which he has built on it remains, he will 00:14:47.450 --> 00:14:51.049 receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned 00:14:51.049 --> 00:14:55.490 up, he will suffer loss. But he himself will 00:14:55.490 --> 00:15:01.769 be saved, yet only so as through the fire. No 00:15:01.769 --> 00:15:04.429 one can lay a foundation other than the one already 00:15:04.429 --> 00:15:08.250 laid, which is Jesus Christ. That's the heart 00:15:08.250 --> 00:15:11.110 of this whole pot. There's no better foundation 00:15:11.110 --> 00:15:14.909 than Christ. Not the American dream. Not your 00:15:14.909 --> 00:15:18.110 career trajectory or retirement plan, your parenting 00:15:18.110 --> 00:15:20.669 strategy, or your ability to hold everything 00:15:20.669 --> 00:15:24.750 together. Those things may matter. Some of them 00:15:24.750 --> 00:15:28.009 may be good. But they are not load -bearing. 00:15:28.549 --> 00:15:31.450 Paul warns that a day is coming when our work 00:15:31.450 --> 00:15:35.470 will be tested by fire. That's sobering. Some 00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:37.629 things look incredibly impressive on earth right 00:15:37.629 --> 00:15:41.470 now. Right up until eternity evaluates them. 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:45.960 You can spend your whole life building something 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:50.360 people praise you for, only to realize it can't 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.519 survive the fire. But this isn't meant to terrify 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:58.320 us into despair. It's meant to wake us up. A 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.419 better foundation stands because Christ stands. 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:05.539 When markets crash, he stands. When the plans 00:16:05.539 --> 00:16:11.200 shift, Christ stands. When grief comes, he still 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:15.879 stands. When success leaves you empty, Christ 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:20.860 is standing. When your strength runs out, Christ 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:26.259 stands. The foundation is not a theological concept. 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:32.220 It's a person, and his name is Jesus. Here is 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:35.419 where grace meets us. Not by shaming us for absorbing 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:39.460 cultural expectations. Not by mocking us because 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:42.820 we believed things we were handed. Not by saying, 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:47.039 wow, I cannot believe it took you so long to 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:51.179 notice the sand. No. Grace meets us by freeing 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:53.080 us from the expectations we were never meant 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.419 to carry. When Christ is the foundation, success 00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:59.500 no longer defines you. Failure doesn't either. 00:17:00.019 --> 00:17:03.919 Work becomes faithfulness, not proof. Rest becomes 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:07.960 trust, not irresponsibility. Waiting is still 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:10.940 hard. but it's no longer evidence that you are 00:17:10.940 --> 00:17:15.660 behind. Grief still hurts, but it doesn't mean 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:20.420 God has abandoned you. You are finally resting 00:17:20.420 --> 00:17:25.099 your weight on someone who already holds. That 00:17:25.099 --> 00:17:27.779 changes the whole posture of your life. You can 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:30.359 work hard without believing your worth depends 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:33.900 on it. You can steward wisely without worshiping 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:39.180 security. You can simplify without shame. You 00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:42.819 can repent without spiraling. You can rebuild 00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:46.259 without pretending nothing was cracked. Because 00:17:46.259 --> 00:17:49.160 the foundation is not shifting every time the 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:53.700 circumstances shift. Christ still stands. Look 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:57.559 back over the whole pot. The takeaway is not 00:17:57.559 --> 00:18:01.220 that hard work is bad, planning is foolish, or 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:04.319 providing for your family doesn't matter. Those 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.339 are excellent things and godly things. But good 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:10.539 things become dangerous when we ask them to carry 00:18:10.539 --> 00:18:16.220 the weight only Christ was meant to hold. If 00:18:16.220 --> 00:18:19.180 your definition of enough is always one step 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:23.920 ahead of wherever you currently are, you're being 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:27.819 led by appetite. And appetite is a terrible shepherd. 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:31.880 It never says, we're good. It just whispers, 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:35.920 what's next? But if God exposes sand underneath 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.099 your feet today, He's doing it to rescue you, 00:18:39.180 --> 00:18:44.759 exposing what is ultimately something that's 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:48.200 going to wreck you. It's the ultimate form of 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:52.759 mercy. So we simplify, we repent, and we receive 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:56.079 grace right where shame has been shouting the 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:59.460 loudest. A life built on Jesus may not look flashy 00:18:59.460 --> 00:19:04.319 from the road, but it does stand. For our practical 00:19:04.319 --> 00:19:06.849 move forward this week. Let's skip the grand 00:19:06.849 --> 00:19:10.309 life overhaul. Don't make a dramatic social media 00:19:10.309 --> 00:19:14.789 announcement about your new season, new me. Don't 00:19:14.789 --> 00:19:16.970 buy a new journal, create a new color -coded 00:19:16.970 --> 00:19:20.150 system, and abandon it by Thursday. Just sit 00:19:20.150 --> 00:19:23.769 quietly with the Lord and ask one question. What 00:19:23.769 --> 00:19:30.369 is this season exposed about my foundation? You 00:19:30.369 --> 00:19:32.930 can ask that about your anxiety. You can ask 00:19:32.930 --> 00:19:36.599 it about your calendar, your spending. your exhaustion, 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:41.920 your need for approval. Any of those things can 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:46.200 expose things. Then take one small, faithful 00:19:46.200 --> 00:19:49.759 step towards rebuilding on Christ. Maybe it's 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:52.740 an honest budget conversation. Maybe it's deleting 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:56.240 an app that breeds discontentment. Maybe it's 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:58.640 apologizing to your family for being physically 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:01.920 present, but mentally miles away chasing a dollar. 00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:06.279 Maybe it's finally admitting, that the pace you've 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:09.400 called responsible has not actually been faithful. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:13.220 Your prayer doesn't need to be impressive. It 00:20:13.220 --> 00:20:17.279 can be as simple as, Lord, I see the sand. Help 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:20.059 me come back to the rock. That's a foundational 00:20:20.059 --> 00:20:24.440 prayer. Before we wrap up, thank you so much 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:27.700 for walking through Part 2 with us. If this show 00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:30.640 has been helpful and you want to support what 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:32.970 we're doing here, One of the simplest ways is 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:34.829 buying a bag of coffee from Aaron Root's Coffee 00:20:34.829 --> 00:20:38.269 Company. It's genuinely good coffee, and it helps 00:20:38.269 --> 00:20:42.710 these honest conversations keep going. And it's 00:20:42.710 --> 00:20:46.190 a simple way to not just support this show, but 00:20:46.190 --> 00:20:49.470 it also supports our family as we strive to do 00:20:49.470 --> 00:20:54.190 ministry and continue these conversations. This 00:20:54.190 --> 00:20:56.430 season was called The Fall Stream We Built On. 00:20:56.970 --> 00:21:00.680 Sold a lie. And if there is one thing I hope 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:03.779 we've realized, it's that the lie was never just 00:21:03.779 --> 00:21:08.440 out there in the culture. The false dream got 00:21:08.440 --> 00:21:12.359 inside us. It shaped our expectations. It hijacked 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:14.839 our fears. It trained definitions of security, 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:18.559 trained our definitions of success. But the gospel 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:21.420 does not just forgive our sins and leave our 00:21:21.420 --> 00:21:25.059 foundations untouched. Christ saves the whole 00:21:25.059 --> 00:21:30.279 person. He reorders what we love, what we chase, 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:35.240 what we call success, what we call enough. So 00:21:35.240 --> 00:21:37.559 if this season brought things into the light, 00:21:37.700 --> 00:21:42.880 don't run from it. Bring the anxiety, the financial 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:46.519 stress, the exhaustion, the pride, the disappointment. 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:50.460 Bring it straight to him. Christ is not fragile, 00:21:50.579 --> 00:21:54.900 and he is not surprised. He is the foundation 00:21:54.900 --> 00:22:00.779 that still stands. And he is kind enough to rebuild 00:22:00.779 --> 00:22:03.279 what we finally stopped pretending is stable. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:08.559 That sets up exactly where we're heading in our 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:15.240 next season. So, we have one final extra shot 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:18.339 from Pot 2. But after that, Pot 3 is going to 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:21.160 tackle a new question. What does God actually 00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:25.390 say about his church? Not just what our... childhood 00:22:25.390 --> 00:22:29.569 tradition did, not what our personal preferences 00:22:29.569 --> 00:22:33.150 are, not just what church has looked like in 00:22:33.150 --> 00:22:35.849 our corner of the world. Those conversations 00:22:35.849 --> 00:22:39.650 do have a place. But we need to be opening the 00:22:39.650 --> 00:22:43.750 Bible and asking what Christ actually bought 00:22:43.750 --> 00:22:48.190 with his own blood. We're going to build our 00:22:48.190 --> 00:22:51.289 view of the church from the bedrock of Scripture 00:22:51.289 --> 00:22:55.829 up, not to attack tradition. not to chase novelty, 00:22:56.109 --> 00:23:00.569 but to make sure that Jesus has the first and 00:23:00.569 --> 00:23:04.329 the final word. Because the church does not belong 00:23:04.329 --> 00:23:09.009 to us. She belongs to Christ. If part two has 00:23:09.009 --> 00:23:11.470 been helpful, share this season with someone. 00:23:12.109 --> 00:23:15.269 Don't send it like a spiritual grenade. Send 00:23:15.269 --> 00:23:18.769 it like an invitation. Just say, hey, this challenged 00:23:18.769 --> 00:23:21.450 me. I thought it might be helpful to you too. 00:23:22.170 --> 00:23:25.609 And don't forget to follow Leave a review and 00:23:25.609 --> 00:23:28.589 subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. 00:23:29.430 --> 00:23:31.490 Thanks for listening to Grace in the Grind, where 00:23:31.490 --> 00:23:33.190 we keep our coffee strong and our faith stronger. 00:23:33.670 --> 00:23:36.829 The false dreams will crack. The plans will change. 00:23:37.089 --> 00:23:40.430 The storms will absolutely blow. But a better 00:23:40.430 --> 00:23:43.650 foundation still stands, and his name is Christ. 00:23:44.529 --> 00:23:45.849 We'll see you in the next cut.