Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?

Are you seeking peace and freedom in a world that often leaves you feeling overwhelmed? 

Negative thoughts can be a burden, but don't let them weigh you down. Break free from the enemy's schemes. 

Discover how to discern reality from deception. Don't miss this life-changing episode!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:19

Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up podcast. I am your host, kara Ruhant, and with me, as always, is the beautiful and lovely and friendly and kind Sherry Swalwa.

Speaker 2: 0:33

How are you today, Sherry? I am doing fantastic. It is the second week of June. I couldn't be happier. We're starting to settle into our summer schedule And life is just good.

Speaker 2: 0:46

I have learned lately to have a different, to shift in a mindset.

Speaker 2: 0:51

It makes all the difference in the world that, instead of always getting upset or always having to plan things out well, I had written a blog years ago that said I wrote my calendar in a pencil so that I can erase it, And that's true. But I think that the last few years, or the last few months, God has really been teaching me that on a deeper level. And there is just a piece that comes with knowing that I can have a plan, but that when my plan gets interrupted, that instead of feeling like it's been interrupted, I need to, or I have a mind shift instead that says you know what? this is the plan that God had for me all along. He will redeem whatever it is that I needed to do, or whatever I thought was important and I needed to do today. He will take care of it and until then, I need to just find joy in fulfilling the plan or the purpose that he has for me for today And it just really truly makes all the difference in the world.

Speaker 1: 1:54

I know right, oh, my goodness, there's so much truth to that And because we've all, i believe, had those days or times where it's like, man, i tell you what. I'm going to get up tomorrow morning at this particular time. I'm going to do this, do this, do that, do this, you know, and I'm going to get all these things accomplished. And then you wake up that morning and it's like nothing goes the way that we had intended it to. You know, and sometimes that can be so frustrating to us, But, as you said, as Christians we need to change our minds and be like.

Speaker 1: 2:33

You know what that is okay. I really wanted to get those things done today. Some of them I needed to get done today. But you know what? God is in control of my life, that apparently none of that was supposed to happen And what did happen was supposed to happen. I'm going to rest in that truth. I am going to rest in his peace and he is going to redeem the time where I can still get those things done.

Speaker 1: 2:57

You know and you had mentioned earlier about how there's such peace in that, there is so much peace in that, so much peace There's, and you know what else is in there. Amen. There is freedom in that. It's just like, oh God, you know how I wish I wanted to get that done today, and you know how my boss or whatever, would have really liked me to get that done today. But it's okay. It's okay, all right. You have ordered my stuff I. Things happened the way that they did. How can I be mad at that? You know the beginning from the end. I don't. You know what really needed to be taken care of today Not me, you know. And let me just take a deep breath, let my shoulders become unhunched, let my fist become unclenched and my stomach become the same way, and just relax and breathe in the peace and freedom you have given me, to just trust in you, like a little baby on his daddy's chest, and just sleep peacefully and rest peacefully. Knowing that you got all of this Not today did not take you by surprise.

Speaker 2: 4:07

It may have taken me, but it did not take you Well yes, and the fun thing about that, i am so sorry, those allergies. I'm telling you they're still here. But that's okay, part of the plan. Part of the plan, see.

Speaker 2: 4:22

Yeah, but I have a friend and she's the one that kind of got me thinking along these lines, because you don't have to, like, make these major major changes in your mindset, it's just a small mindset shift. You're just shifting your mindset a little bit. It's not like you're like, okay, fine, then I'm never going to get anything done and I'm just going to only go by what God wants me to do and I'm going to sit on my couch until I hear God's voice and blah, blah, blah. No, if things change, if your plans change, no, trust, it is from God, he's got this and he's got better things and a better blessing for you ahead when you do it his way. So it's just a simple mindset change and that helped me tremendously because it wasn't like oh, one more thing I have to do, one more thing I have to pay attention to. It was just a simple mindset change but it makes all the difference in the world, just like you said, kara It does and it frees us up.

Speaker 1: 5:19

You know, because when we get super frustrated, super uptight, you know it affects our bodies and our stress levels. Stress leads to cancer and other illnesses.

Speaker 2: 5:30

And what kind of testimony is that? Do you want to be that crab Christian? I don't.

Speaker 1: 5:35

Right, or are just a sour plus.

Speaker 2: 5:38

Exactly, exactly.

Speaker 1: 5:42

It's what we used to call it back in the day, you know. So you know, and it's like which had always. What's the word I'm looking for? As a young Christian, it always kind of confused me. I guess is the way, because I'm like Well, wait, this person is highly looked up to, you know from the church and from the leadership, and they've obviously been here, you know a while and everything else. So they've obviously been welcomed at the Laura Pro while as well. But why are they so sad?

Speaker 1: 6:16

You know why are they so stabby and mean, You know, it just always kind of looked like they just were fucking on the limit, right?

Speaker 1: 6:22

You know, Yeah, and I used to be confused. I guess that what I have to look, you know you kind of start thinking, you know your mindset can easily be like. Is that what I have to look for too As a Christian as I grow. Am I going to become that person, you know, and the truth is no, you do not have to. Okay, that is not saying life is not going to throw you lemons. We would. You would never hear me and Sherry say that. It is just how we react to those lemons, you know.

Speaker 2: 6:54

We just have chosen, kara, to add cherry or raspberry or lime to our lemons and make it into a lemonade. Yes, yes, and why do we?

Speaker 1: 7:04

do that Because God has told us that He has overcome it all and we already have the victory right. And so, and we have learned through our spiritual walks with Him, individually and together, that we can trust Him, his, his, his, god's rap sheet with us is like long. Okay, his reputation sheet with us is like long. We know, we have seen, we have witnessed with our own eyes how God has come through time and time and time again. So it's just we have learned to like okay, lord, here we go again. You would think, even after all this, i wouldn't be this anxious about something, but I, i'm going to trust in you. I am going to trust in you, and why? Because He has been so faithful, even in the little things that no one knows about except Him and I, you and I, or the two of us and Him. You know what I'm saying. It's like He has been faithful.

Speaker 2: 8:02

My favorite song is the goodness of God song And I told my husband I want that song at my funeral because it it just so speaks about God's faithfulness and how He has been so, so good. I love that song. It sums up exactly what you're saying.

Speaker 1: 8:20

Absolutely It does, and it is just. It's just so amazing that when you, when you have that experience, you're just like, wow, you know what I'm saying. And to bring it, to bring it back to this terra firma, so to speak, to bring it back to earthly terms, because you know people be like, yeah, you know that's God or whatever, but, believe it or not, we trust people all the time. And so how can you not create the God that, that that created you? For instance, i have those people in my life, friends and family who I know. If they tell me they're going to do something, they're going to do it. I don't need to call them, i don't need to remind them, i don't need to send them a text or an email, i don't need to bother them about. Hey, you know this is coming up. You said you're going to do it, are you going to do it? Are you going to do it? Are you going to do it? You're going to do it. I don't even have to worry about it, right, because their word is gold, right, and they don't commit lightly to anything. And if they say they're going to do it, they're going to do it And they're going to show up with bells on and it's going to all be done, right, and that's how God is. He's like, you know. And how do I know that about those particular friends and family? right, because they have shown me throughout my life that that's who they are. They have shown me that I can be counted, that they saying using their perspective, they have shown me that, kara, you can count on me. Kara, when I give my word, i mean it. And when I tell you I'm going to do something, i'm going to do it. And when I say I'm going to show up, i'm going to show up, and I'm probably going to be early. You know what I'm saying. They have shown me that through the years And it's the same way. But if you have friends like that and you can trust them, then how much more can we trust God? Right, because he has always shown up. He will always show up. It may not be in our timing, but he will, you know. And so that same trust that we give to our friends and family that are constantly there for us and they show up, you know, when we need them, we know that God is the same way.

Speaker 1: 10:28

He is not a fair weather God. He is just not like a fair weather friend. They're good when the weather is good, they're there, but when the weather is bad, you don't hear from them, right, right, or you know things like that. He is not a fair weather God. You know we've all had our fair share of fair weather friends, right? You know, if you've lived as long as Sherry and I, you probably have more than you would like to even think about, you know. But that's okay, because they showed us of you know, of what not to expect from certain people. But we don't even have to worry about that with God because he's not a fair weather God. He is just like that friend, that family member that is there 100%. Not only does he have your back, he's went before you and even prepared the way.

Speaker 1: 11:16

Okay, so that is what we're talking about. We say there's peace and freedom when things do not necessarily go our way, but the day doesn't go the way we expected it. But it's like we step back and we have to change that shift and be like you know what I got. I've been in a relationship with you long enough to know that that's okay, like I don't even know how. Know how all it is is go to work out, but it is going to work out, okay, you know so, which is like an awesome segue into what we're talking about for the next couple of weeks. So we are talking about just different topics from the book see and as Louis. The author is CS Lewis. The book is the screwed tape letters classic literature. I believe the original came out in 1941 or somewhere around that time, so it's definitely a classic literature and we describe why we were talking about it, this particular book, this summer. We also gave so much more information in last week's episode, so we're going to be talking about it for the month of June, july and August, and the first episode on this topic was on June 7th episode. So if you haven't heard that episode, please go back and listen to that one, because it gives you a lot of background information and a lot of scriptural foundation for what we are talking about. I think we shared maybe about 10 scriptures that kind of talks about especially demons and how demons affect people and the source of demons, and all of that in our June 7th episode. So please go ahead and listen to that one, and we laid out the scriptures for that one, and so I just think that when you listen to that one, this one will be the further. The rest of these episodes will be so much easier and you kind of get a better understanding of what we're talking about.

Speaker 1: 13:21

Because the screw tape letters is about letters that a demon, whose name is screw tape, is writing to his nephew, whose name is Wormwood. They are called the screw tape letters And the reason he's writing these letters is because Wormwood has been assigned to a particular patient, as it's called to in the book, and he's referred to a particular patient or a particular person to just kind of really just guide him to hell. Basically, that's it in the nutshell. But Wormwood, the nephew Wormwood, is new to demonship or whatever, however that goes, and so he's a lower ranking demon. And so his quote unquote uncle's screw tape is telling him how to really get this person to do what he wants them to do. And today we're just going to talk about the main topic of chapter one. Again, the screw type letters is a book by CS Lewis. It has about 31 chapters And I don't think there's more than six, maybe seven chapters per excuse me six or seven paragraphs per chapter. So it's not a very long book. But again, it's the uncle trying to mentor his nephew Wormwood into how to manipulate the human being is basically what it is.

Speaker 1: 14:53

So again, for those of you like what demons? and you're just tuning into the podcast and you're like, are they scriptural? Like what do you mean by that? Please listen to the June 7th podcast and just follow up on those scriptures and use exactly what we're talking about and what you know. What we're covering today. Today we are going to talk about the main topic, so we're going to take it each episode. Lastly, was the introduction and we gave the foundation for the scripture foundation and everything else, the June 7th episode.

Speaker 1: 15:31

From now on, we're going to be taking a chapter per episode and covering one of the main topics, and the main topic of chapter one is thinking versus experience, or another way to put it is reality versus unreality. You know is to be reason and reality. Let me put it that way Thinking versus experience, reason and reality is basically what Uncle Screwtape is trying to teach his nephew Wormwood when it comes to their quote-unquote human on earth. That Wormwood is trying to manipulate and do what he wants him to do. And basically in it, in this one letter, he's basically just Uncle Screwtape is just trying he's not happy, pretty much, with the way that Wormwood is like leading his human being to think towards a certain thing.

Speaker 1: 16:48

Like Wormwood, the nephew, who's an inexperienced demon, is just trying to get the human to think more materialistically about things, to focus on cars, houses, you know, and things like that. And his Uncle Screwtape is like, yeah, what? No, we're going to do something different. I need you to get your hooks in him. So we're going to start with getting him to really think about reason and reality, you know, and experience, you know, and everything else.

Speaker 1: 17:18

So he really wants him to manipulate his thoughts in a way, instead of getting him focused on something else you know And to just read, you know, he wants him to use everyday distractions to mislead the man, to just mislead him into anything and everything that he did.

Speaker 1: 17:41

For instance, if he thinks something is blue and he really likes blue and blue is good for him and he knows blue is good for him, i really want you to get him to focus on a color red Because red's going to be bad for him and then, because that's bad for him, that's going to lead him into other things that are bad for him, And then we could just get our hooks in as demons more and more and more and more. So let's really just mess with his thought life And that's basically what his letter to his nephew is about. As the demons Like I just want you to mess with his thought life. Don't get him focused. Don't let him get focused on anything like that. You know. Just focus him on things that's going to be bad for him and it leads to more things that are bad for him. So what did you think of chapter one, sherry?

Speaker 2: 18:32

Well, i loved the way that you explained it. You explained it so well And it makes me think the counteractive or the counterintuitive part of that is it is so important that we take control of our thoughts, that we take captive our thoughts so that the enemy can't, or to disrupt the enemy's schemes and his plot in our life. And I mean that's like scriptural, and I love how CS Lewis turned it into a lesson through fiction. Like well, you and I both love fiction anyway to begin with, like I can give biblical truths through fiction all day long because that's just my heart. And so the fact that he was doing this in such a way that appeals to everybody in his time you know, it wasn't just for women, it wasn't just for kids, it wasn't just for men, but for everybody. And it talks about the taking captive our thoughts and how important that is.

Speaker 2: 19:32

So, like a tip, if you're reading through this and you're going, okay, so what am I supposed to do? How do I do that? So one of the things that I love to practice in my own life is that I remind myself that you can't have two opposite thoughts at the same time, so you can't think about blue and green at the same time. You can't think about heaven and hell at the same time. You can't think about Satan and the enemy at the same I mean sorry, satan and Jesus at the same time. You can't think about worry and fear at the same time. You can't think about anxiety and peace at the same time. Whatever your mind focuses on, that is what you will think about.

Speaker 2: 20:14

So how do you take your thoughts captive? It doesn't have to be anything long and drawn out. You can do it in one of three simple, easy ways. You can do it at the grocery store, you can do it in your car, you can do it in bed. You can do it whenever or wherever you need to Is one for me. If I can't think of a song or a memory verse or a Bible verse that I want to repeat over and, over and over again, then I just say the word Jesus, jesus.

Speaker 1: 20:39

Jesus.

Speaker 2: 20:40

Although my favorite, i love to talk, i love to speak his name back to him. So my three go-tos are Jehovah Rafa, which means healer, jehovah Jairah, which means my provider, jehovah Shalom, which means my peace. So I love to repeat over and over Jehovah Jairah, jehovah Rafa, jehovah Shalom, jehovah Jairah, jehovah Rafa, jehovah Shalom. And it's not just a mantra, it's not just the yoga meditation, it's Jesus is my healer, jesus is my provider, jesus is my peace, jesus is my healer, jesus is my provider, jesus is my peace.

Speaker 2: 21:15

It's getting that in me and it's reminding myself of who he is, because if he's providing for me, if he's healing me and if he's giving me peace, then those are three things that are going to combat pretty much any negative thoughts that I need to have taken captive. So that's what I like to do. If I don't do his names, then, like I said, i will ask God for a specific scripture and I'll repeat that over and over again, putting it into my soul, not just saying the words mechanically, but thinking about what I'm saying. Or I like to ask God for a specific song and then he usually will give me a phrase from the song and I'll just sing that over and over and over again. So that is an easy way to take thoughts captive And I think that the way that CS Lewis talked about it in the first chapter was amazing and that's like a really good way to put that simple but profound truth into practice.

Speaker 1: 22:13

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 22:14

In today's society and culture, with so many things going on, it's a lot, but it could be an everyday life as well. I remember I think it was a pastor or church I used to go to, but this is kind of like a really good example of how the enemy tries to get you to think about something else instead of what you're supposed to be thinking about. And I think he was talking something along the lines of when he was maybe like a younger pastor or whatever, and he would be at the pulpit and he's like, and he's going to get ready to preach the word or whatever, and he was pretty much used to say to him he has always liked when it comes to women. He was saying that he always liked shapely legs and things like that, and so he would say that it was like I think this happened a couple of times with him He'd say he'll be getting up there, he'll be getting ready to preach the word or whatever and everything else, and he'd say to him, right there in the front pew, you know, will come someone who has them like a short skirt and really shapely legs, you know, and his mind would wander. It's almost exactly like what screw tape was telling to his, the demon screw tape was telling to his demon nephew get them focused on something else, so they're not as effective with the good thing. And so he's like you know, i'm up there and I'm going to preach, you know, all of a sudden someone comes in, you know, and they sit right there in front of me, you know, and they, you know, have these you know legs and stuff on, and his mind will automatically just be like drawn to that And he was like, okay, nope, you're not fixed that situation, you know, and everything else. So he started having like friends and family sit in the first couple of pews, i think, and staff, you know, and everything else, so that there wouldn't be any room for like other people to, you know, like people who just come in the church, you know, whatever, and things like that, who would just come up there and would kind of be a distraction to him, you know. So he could grow like in his ministry and, you know, become strong enough with that.

Speaker 1: 24:38

So sometimes it's like something as simple as that. We all have something that will distract us regardless. Right, we could be. I am getting ready to read my Bible, i am gonna do my devotion time, you know, and everything else. And then something comes up and it may not even be a good thing, you know what I'm saying. It's like it could be, but you know what? I didn't finish that ice cream last night. I think I'm just gonna go, and it's only half a gallon, you know. So I think I'm just gonna eat the ice cream while you know, doing my devotions or something like that.

Speaker 1: 25:15

And pretty soon you become obsessed with that thought about the ice cream, you know, and a lot of times it's so subtle that we don't realize that those thoughts have been influenced. You know, in today's world everyone's talking about social media, influencers and everything else, but there's the demons have been influencing people for a whole lot longer. Right That all of a sudden, instead of us getting deep into a really good, deep devotion and study, we are looking at something. We become consumed with the ice cream. And if it was just eating the ice cream, that's one thing. But then if you already struggle which there are demons watching us all the time if you already struggle with overeating or eating when you're not supposed to, or eating sweets or eating sugary things, then that just leads you down the road And we all know that when you eat something sweet, it just sugar builds up something in you that makes you want something else sweet, right, it's just, oh, wow, you know okay.

Speaker 1: 26:23

So guess what? Well, you know what? I guess I finished the candy bar as well. And so then it's leading you down a whole road of a path. You really didn't intend to go and you didn't really think you were gonna go, but you did not know that it was all influenced by a little thought that was placed inside your head, and now you're more focused on, well, what else can I eat, instead of just getting deeply and deeply into that word. You know, it just happens so subtle, doesn't it, sherry?

Speaker 2: 26:49

Oh, absolutely, and you know, somebody told me and I always like to remember this they can't read our thoughts, but Satan studies our lives. And that is why it's so important that we speak truth instead of death, or speak life over ourselves instead of death, because if we speak death over ourselves, then that's fair game for him, he's saying okay he said it, i'm just gonna let it come to pass, And so he can't hear our thoughts. He's not all powerful and all knowing and everywhere like like thought, but he has his minions everywhere and they study.

Speaker 2: 27:31

Like somebody else said too, if Christians were as what is the word I want were as intentional and as dedicated as Satan's army is man, would we be powerful and we would be unstoppable? They make it their mission and their life to destroy people and we take it lazily And a lot of people don't even realize, like you said, that the thoughts and all of those things that they plant in us because they're crafty, they're patient, they take their time and they wait for the right opportunities, and we get lazy.

Speaker 1: 28:15

Yeah, we get lazy and we don't even think about it. And it's lazy as in not keeping our eyes open and studying and building up our relationship with the Lord, so that when those things happen, we could say not today, satan, you're not doing it Exactly.

Speaker 2: 28:38

We use the ice cream over the Bible study.

Speaker 1: 28:43

Yes, you know, and things like that. And it's just like you get to the point to where you're just like nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, and it is, and that instigates spiritual warfare, right, because your flesh is like I'm really craving that ice cream, and what harm is it going to do to just eat the ice cream? It's ice cream for ground out loud. You know what I'm saying. But if you already have health issues, you know, or something like that, or you have a problem with eating, overeating or gluttony or sweets or anything like that, anyway, and they've been studying for a while and they're like I'm going to put this thought in there, you know, and it's going to be so good, but oh, my goodness, this is the best ice cream ever. It tastes so good, and yet you're trying to do your devotional. What is happening? The word that devotional is not getting into your heart, right, it's not getting into it the way it could be, because now you're distracted, and that's the whole point of devotional. You are devoting that time to God, whether it's a 30 seconds or just 30 minutes, that means devoted. That's the one thing you are supposed to be doing, right? You're not supposed to have anything else, you know, as a distraction. Now, obviously, not everyone has an issue with food, right, and someone could be eating a bowl of cereal by doing their devotional and it's not a problem. But there are others to where it just leads into other things. Right, it becomes a very strong distraction for them And that is what we have to watch out for, because it can be so subtle. It's so subtle And even in today's world there are people who are telling you that A is not A and B is not B.

Speaker 1: 30:27

I don't care what you say. It may look that way, it may have been that way since the first human was on the earth, but A is not really A and B is not really B. Because you know, you can decide that you want to be a C or an E or an F or an L or a Q. You can decide all of those things and you could be like oh, you know, i want to be this, you know, or something like that. But reality is saying what are you doing? This is ridiculous. There is only A and there's only B. That's the reality. But then you have this demon influencer coming and you may be aware but are not be aware. Like what are you? that is nonsense. Like, who told you that? Who told you that there was only A and there was only B?

Speaker 1: 31:30

You can be cute. Like you can be cute, and you know what? that reminds me of The Garden of Eden, sherry. Yeah, it reminds me of the Garden of Eden, where the Satan, the serpent, is saying they can't really tell you that you can't eat of the tree, of that particular tree or whatever. Did he really say that or did he say this? And the only reason he don't want you to is because of this.

Speaker 1: 32:05

She was beguiled. Eve was beguiled by the serpent because he was leading her to believe something that wasn't necessarily true. And in today's society, when you know, when reality itself, things in the real world that you've always known and always has been, that there's an A and there's a B, but yet there's this demon influencer telling you nope, you can be a cute, you can be a cute. You know who said like, is it really an A? Is it really just a B? But why can't you be a cute? Why can't you be something else? You have to ask yourself, and especially as believers where is that thought coming from? Are you being beguiled by a snake with a forked tongue, just like Eve was.

Speaker 2: 32:59

And you also have to ask yourself, cara are you being loving to the person who believes they're a cue by going along with them, or are you more loving if you show them the truth in love?

Speaker 1: 33:14

Absolutely 100 percent, Because if you truly love that person, you don't want them listening to a snake that's going to lead them down a gone path, as they used to say. And for you to agree with that person and say, oh, you're a cue, let's celebrate you being a cue, you know, or whatever, and you know that there's only an A and a B, but you want to try and show your support. You know what you're supporting them in.

Speaker 1: 33:45

You're supporting them in their inevitable fall, because that is what's going to happen. That's what you're supporting them in. You are not supporting them in the truth. You're help leading them down a path that leads to more confusion. And as believers, we know who the father of confusion is. It is Satan himself, and he sends his demons out to influence people in their thoughts, to make them think that reality is really not reality and that let's question reality and we're going to create our own reality. Okay And so. And then you know, you start believing into that, and then you find out that it leads down a darker and darker and darker path.

Speaker 1: 34:33

And when you support someone, in that you have helped lead them there, whether it was intentional or unintentional, because you yourself have been influenced in saying by a demon influencer, saying, oh, you've got to support them. How can you not support when they're just trying to be a cue? How can you not do that? Right, how can you? I thought you'd love them. That's your sister, that's your brother, that's your cousin, that's your friend. How can you not support them? Shame on you for not supporting them, shame on you for not supporting them. So you've been influenced as well and it leads you both. Now he has two for the price of one, but if you love them, like Sherry said, you will say, okay, let's talk about this, and this is not the way that God wants you to go, and let me explain to you why. So thank you for bringing that up, sherry. That is a very good point. Anything else you want to add before we wrap up today's topic on reality and thinking and versus experience and being influenced by our thoughts?

Speaker 2: 35:41

I think the only other thing that I want to encourage people with is that, as there are minions and demons and the enemy prowling around the world, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us We have that secret weapon And he is our comforter, our advocate.

Speaker 2: 36:02

When we ask for wisdom, god says that He'll give it to us. So we have that secret weapon, we have that missile that can demolish and destroy. So we actually are more powerful, and that's one of the reasons why Satan and his minions are so persistent and so intentional and so insidious. One thing is they are only imitators. They cannot create anything new. So, therefore, anything that he does, he only has like a handful of tricks up his sleeve. Now he can change them in all different ways to make it look different and to catch us off guard, but he cannot create anything new. He can only imitate what God has done, which makes it more confusing, which is why we need to stay in the Word, so that we know the truth from the falsehood, and the truth will set us free. But having said all that, we have the secret weapon, the ultimate secret weapon, and that is the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, when we take that time to get to know Him and when we take that time to grow our relationship with God, he is going to reveal to us, he's going to give us those nudges, he's going to give us those uncomfortable feelings of man.

Speaker 2: 37:23

This person sounds like they're saying all the right things, but I just have this feeling that it's not right. There's something not right. Holy Spirit, will you give me wisdom and revelation and clarity to figure out what it is, or show me that they are up and up and true? and I just don't know enough of the Bible that I need to learn more or reveal to me where they are false, where they are trying to get me away from the truth, where they're trying to deceive me. And He answers every single time, not always right away. Sometimes He wants you to dig deeper, sometimes He wants you to get quiet, sometimes He's saying I would love to give you that answer, but you need to slow down for a minute so you can hear me. You got to stop for a little bit so you can hear us, so we can have this conversation. But He always answers And that's what I love. So John 1633 tells us that these things I have spoken to you. This is Jesus speaking in me. You may have peace In the world. You will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, i have overcome the world.

Speaker 2: 38:29

If you're looking for a way to grow that relationship with God, we suggest the Bible believing church. If you want something extra and a little bit more than I suggest, or I would encourage and invite you to come check out the Jesus in the Everyday Membership. You can find out more about it on my website, cheeryswallwellcom. I also would love for you to go over to Cara's website, cararhuntcom. She has all kinds of goodies over there. She has videos, she has information about her books, she has information about how to become a believer, how to become a Christ follower all kinds of wonderful things. I would just like to invite you all to go check out both of our websites.

Speaker 2: 39:15

If you need prayer or encouragement, email us at cheerapodcastcom. And we would love for you to join the Facebook group again called Cheer Up Podcasts nice and easy so that we can continue our conversation about the screw tape letters, because we want to hear from you. We want to hear your opinions, your thoughts, your comments. How do you take your thoughts captive? How do you grow your relationship with God? How do you discern the truth from a lie? We want to hear from you.

Speaker 2: 39:46

We want to know your tips and your tricks and your disciplines so that we can implement them into our lives as well. We learn from you just as much as we hope we encourage you. So have a great rest of your week. Next week, come back, because we're going to talk about love of neighbor versus hatred. I hope you are enjoying the screw tape letters as much as I am. Like I said, kara, i'll probably be thanking you every single week for having us do this series because it is so much fun. Have a great week, the rest of the week, guys, and we will talk to you next week.