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Pause – Episode 28

Pause. When was the last time you stopped and took stock of what was happening in your life? I just wanted to stop and do a heart check in this episode. I must take a breath and ask, have I been pursuing my kingdom with The Hope Over Coffee Podcast? I have to take a step back and take the bigger picture of Hope Over Coffee and my role in it. I have to navigate the tension between the calling God has called me to and my fleshy pride and selfishness. Now and then, we need to stop and look at the bigger picture. We must seek the wise counsel of those around us and over us. I can get so wrapped up in the number of downloads the podcast can get that and quickly lose sight of what I am here for. To be in complete submission to what Christ has called me to. To be in this season of being an encouragement to men. To let others know there is freedom out there. We are not bound and stuck in the sin that so easily entangles us. We can get out of that ditch we are stuck in, and it takes Christ to do it. I have also been working through this message that God has given me. One that we are holding on to so many things in our hearts. We have hurts, trauma, and hang-ups that get shoved down in our hearts. We then pile the soil on top of it and pack it down tight. Our hearts are getting stiff and compacted tight. We must go to work, dig these things up, and make room for Christ. When we make the room, He can do the work of turning our hearts back to flesh. We can overcome our pains and genuinely know the freedom of following Christ. Pause.

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The One Thing YOU Can't Live Without!

The One Thing YOU Can’t Live Without! – Episode 27

The one thing you can’t live without! What is it? Is it sex, drugs, alcohol, or porn? Does that make these things your greatest need to survive? What about not doing these things? Is that your greatest need? To be sober with whatever your addiction is? Is your greatest need to stop watching porn, to not have our focus entirely on having sex, or to be the most influential person you know. Is your goal each week just to make it to the weekend so you can get drunk and forget your worries? Our greatest need is Jesus, and sobriety is too small a goal. We must walk by the Spirit and do so in the community of other men! Walking in Spirit is also walking in accountability. I must have intimate relationships that know me, and I know them. This is how we love and are sharpened. We come out of our bondage, addiction, and compulsions through walking by the Spirit. We live a Spirit-controlled self that brings us to bring us closer to Jesus. We didn’t become addicted overnight, it will take time to get out of it. Trust God in the journey of being Christlike.

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Verses Mentioned:

Galatians 5:16
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Ga 5:16.

Romans 8:6
So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015), Ro 8:6.