Cheer UP! Podcast
Cheer UP! Podcast
Journeying With Matthew
Ever wondered how a tax collector became one of Jesus’ closest followers? We explore the fascinating transformation of Matthew, diving into his journey from collecting taxes to documenting the life of Jesus. Reflecting on Matthew’s story, we discuss how our own skills and experiences can be repurposed for a higher purpose, just like Matthew's were. Is God rewriting your story?
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Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, kara R Hunt, and with me is Sherry awesome human being, swalwell.
Speaker 2:How are you?
Speaker 1:doing today, Sherry.
Speaker 2:I am doing fantastic. I love my iced coffee. I will never not love my iced coffee, but I decided well, okay, so we have like a little guilty pleasure in our house, and that is I have started making iced coffee here at home. But I really hate like crushing up the ice myself, like I've used our blender and I've used a hammer and not like a hammer, hammer, oh, I was going to say a hammer, you know, but then I ended up breaking through all these bags and it just gets really expensive. Oh, our, our middle is home. Our middle daughter, our only daughter, is home from college and she's like oh, mom, you can buy ice right from um kick filet and they've got really good ice. And so she bought it on a whim one time.
Speaker 2:Because we cannot for the life of us. We have five people, four people, whatever in our house and we cannot keep up with the influx of ice. Like we use so much ice. So it's either I, you know, do it and, for whatever reason, our freezer doesn't freeze it really quickly either. So we always have to either buy ice or do something to ice or whatever.
Speaker 2:So, long story short, chick-fil-a has got the best ice. Like it is so awesome. It's like the right size and everything. And I always tell people, unless you have iced coffee or like an iced something, don't be wasting that ice. You can use the others like cubes. You don't get to use the Chick-fil-A ice. So today I went to buy more and I decided I was going to buy one of their cherry berry iced teas. Oh, my goodness, you can get it sweetened or unsweetened. You've got to try it. It is like so good, it's just nice and refreshing. So that's what I'm sipping on this morning as we get ready to delve into or continue our talk about the New Testament. So again, not an affiliate with Chick-fil-A, but they do have some really great ice cream.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know right and very, very icy.
Speaker 2:That's really. Oh, you also can get it as lemonade or as like a frozen drink. You can get it all different kinds of ways. I just got the unsweetened icy, but it is so good.
Speaker 1:I know I was just thinking. I'm like you and I sometimes go on and on about Chick-fil-A and I'm like they're probably going to think we're sponsored by them or we are affiliated with them in some kind of way, and the answer to that is no Again. We're just consumers who just happen to really enjoy that particular restaurant and everything else. As a matter of fact, if you ever hear Sherry and I talk about any type of product, whether it's coffees, teas, journals, books, bibles, chick-fil-a or anything like that, rest assured that that is just us talking. Give you guys a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak, of the lives of Kara and Sherry, because the Chiripod's cast is not sponsored by any business or company.
Speaker 1:Okay, so, it is literally just us sharing our likes and dislikes and some of the things we have just come across. You know, in a past year or so, or you know things that make us smile, or you know, or something like that. But no, we're not sponsored by any company or affiliated with anyone. So I just wanted to throw that out there, just in case somebody wondered. Case somebody wondered, so we just. But we just want to say thank you all for listening to our chit chat and for just tuning in every week saying hi and just being here, just tuning in, just saying hey. You know, I want to get my dose of joy this morning, a little bit of inspiration, you know, and find out maybe about some biblical figures along the way, because that's what we've been talking about the past couple of months since, I believe, february, and I think it was last week, sherry, right when we put our toe into the New Testament right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so we're kind of we're just starting with the New Testament. Yeah, and so we're kind of we're just starting with the New Testament. And again we go through these stories and the people, because thousands of years may have passed, but oh, different people, same stories. Right, the players have changed, but the story and the plot lines have not, and neither has the enemy's ways, the things he could try to use to distract, you know, god's people. So we just kind of bring some of those things to light and just kind of see what they went through back in the biblical days and how it reflects to us today.
Speaker 1:So, once again, thank you for tuning in to all of our lawyer listeners that show up every week. We thank you, tuning in to all of our lawyer listeners that show up every week. We thank you, we appreciate you, and so we all know that you could be doing something else, but you're tuning in to us today and you have no idea how much we appreciate it. So thank you, thank you, thank you. We see you, we see everyone who's across the country, across the states and those globally. So just thank you, thank you, thank you. We appreciate you and we're so glad you're here and if you're being blessed by the podcast, then please share it with a friend.
Speaker 1:It helps us with the algorithm and it will also help us to get to know them and your friends better, so you and your friends better. So if you're being blessed by it, please don't forget to share. We greatly appreciate it. All right, last week we started off the New Testament with Jesus, of course you know, and so now we're going to delve into the Gospels a little bit over the next couple of weeks, and today we are starting with Matthew. Hi, yeah, yeah, sherry, what is it that we should know about Matthew?
Speaker 2:Well, I, first off, he was a tax collector.
Speaker 2:And as I was delving into it today and asking the Holy Spirit who he wanted me or what he wanted me to highlight about Matthew today, he just really downloaded a few thoughts and they came, for I, I love, love, love, my study Bible. It is Bible new international version and it has all of these really cool notes. And then it has, like, all of these really cool write-ups of different people in the Bible. And as I was reading the write-up about Matthew, it was so interesting and it just really reminded me and confirmed to me, highlighted to me, how, like you were saying, cara, that these people may have lived thousands and thousands of years ago but yet what they have to teach us is so relevant for us today, in 2024 and beyond. And so Matthew was a tax collector. You can compare him to the other different disciples because some of them were fishermen, and one of the things that was highlighted to me was that the fishermen, they always could go back to occupation if the Jesus thing didn't work out, which we all know. The Jesus thing did work out because Jesus is the son of God, but when they were asked to follow him, if there was any doubt in the back of their mind, they could be like, okay, well, we still have an occupation we can go to, we can still be fishermen, we can still. You know, we have a backup plan. Matthew didn't have a backup plan. He was a tax collector. And when Jesus said come follow me, and he said absolutely. And he dropped everything and went. He didn't have a backup plan. Like he quit and he burned bridges so he was all in from the get-go, he all in from day one. I'm not saying the other ones weren't, but I'm saying he had to be like. He made that choice from the get go, and so that really stuck out to me. That was really cool Because he had more to lose, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:And then, as I was Googling about him, somebody else another commentary made the comment about how there are verses in the Bible that talk about or that Jesus said you know, I, I sit with sinners and tax collectors, and tax collectors were considered quote unquote sinners, not because they all were bad, but because they had a bad reputation. It would be like I would assume and correct me if I'm wrong, tara, but it would be like if like mafia nowadays, you know, like somebody who's corrupt and is trying to stick forward to the man. So, and Jesus was saying I came for everybody, and he was so adamant about that and he practiced what he preached, that Matthew, he had Matthew in his posse, he had a sinner collector in his posse from day one, and so that was another interesting tidbit about Matthew that I thought was really cool to bring out. Then it was talking about how Matthew, pre-jesus, before Jesus, came and invited him to be one of the disciples. He had a lot of experience with tax collecting. He had a lot of experience with accounting, with bookkeeping, with records, with all of those things. And Jesus is not stupid Like Jesus knows everything.
Speaker 2:And so he took, he handpicked Matthew and he said from now on, you're going to record, keep my life, you're going to document my journey, my mission, my purpose, my plan. And he knew that. And so it's really cool how Jesus knows everything. But how he took this tax collector and he gave him a choice. He said come follow me. He didn't say you have to, he didn't say I'm commanding it, I'm forcing you, you have no choice. And he said come, follow me.
Speaker 2:Matthew came and followed him and God picked up the pen of his story and rewrote it. A new history for him, a new purpose and a new mission and a new plan. And God does the exact same thing for us. So the things that we learn from, or one of the things, one of the main encouragements that we can learn from Matthew is the fact that God knows our beginning, our middle and our end. God is preparing us for our end by our beginning and our middle, and he he did that for me too, and I remember I was a transcriptionist, a medical transcriptionist another thing that Kara and I have in common.
Speaker 2:We both did that and I remember saying well, first off, I think it was like 2007 or something, when the purpose driven life became really popular by Rick Warren, and I remember reading that. And I also remember a friend of mine saying to me and they didn't mean this in a bad way, but I was telling them what I did for a living and the whole reason why I was a medical transcriptionist was so that I could stay at home with our kids and yet still earn a living, still help with our finances. And so the friend said to me they're like oh, what a horrible job, like I can't believe that that's what you do. That sounds so boring and I thought well, it's a job, it's not a purpose, it's not a mission. My mission, my goal in life, is to be a stay at home mom. And if I have to do this for a living, to be to accomplish my goal, my purpose to be a stay at home mom, well then so be it. I'll, I'll do this, I'll, I'll swing hamburgers, I'll. You know, whatever it is that I have to do.
Speaker 2:And so I read the purpose driven life, and as I was reading that that is kind of well, I read that book. Then I read the Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, and those two books combined changed my life and they showed me that I had a purpose and a mission. And I remember looking back on it and I remember thinking to myself when God transitioned me out of medical transcribing and into fields that were more aligned with writing, because I never, well to this day, I still really don't consider myself an author. I consider myself God's secretary. All mistakes are mine, all praise goes to him, and when he has something else in mind for me to do, then I will hang up the writing and I will go and do that.
Speaker 2:But I remember thinking how God just has this amazing sense of humor and he just has this. Well, I call it a sense of humor, but honestly I really just think it's an unconditional love. Because I remember thinking to myself he took 10 or 12 years to refine my writing skills because I was someone that in high school I got most improved writer in my in my high school English class I was like that's how bad I was. My mom was a reading and recovery teacher and I didn't know a noun from a verb, from an adverb. I didn't know any of that stuff and, to be honest, I'm not sure if I still do.
Speaker 2:I don't know if I could at least teach it to anybody. But I remember saying to God I'm like God, you are so awesome because you literally took 10 years and taught me English and paid me for it. Like you, let me get paid for this. And that's kind of how I feel. Like Matthew is like God prepared him ahead of time. He taught him the accounting skills. He taught him the I don't even know what all kinds of skills go into tax collecting, but I'm kind of sure all kinds of math stuff and record keeping because you got to have good books. Or if you're cheating people, you got to have good books. And if you're not cheating people, you got to have good books because you have to know what the heck you're doing either lying or telling the truth, all that kind of stuff and he used all of that for his glory so that Matthew could then, in turn, when it was his turn to to change his purpose and his plan um, to be God's way, to be Jesus's way, he had the tools and the skills that were necessary. So I want to encourage people with that today. I'm not ending the thing, but I'm just saying this is my encouragement. This is what God was kind of showing me was that I have a friend it was John Ramirez and he's always saying God is writing your story. Let go of the pen and let God write your story. Let God write your story. If you're in the middle of a valley, don't despair, because God is in the middle of writing your story. He's not done yet, and I just thought to myself that is just so true because that's exactly what he did for Matthew and that's doing for us.
Speaker 2:So that is kind of what I wanted to highlight about Matthew today and I just want to encourage people I don't know where you're at in life. I don't know if you're where I was with. The purpose-driven life where I'm like medical transcriptionist is not like my end-all, be-all. It's not my goal. Not that that's a bad goal, it just wasn't my goal.
Speaker 2:My heart was always to just be home with my kids and I knew God had something different for me, but I didn't know what it was. And, honestly, if he had kept me in medical transcriptioning for the rest of my life, I would have been fine with it. I truly would have, because my goal, my heart, was to be a stay at home, mom was to be the keeper of our house, and so that's my goal, or that's my encouragement today is God is not done writing your story. So if you don't feel like like you're where you're supposed to be, talk to him about it, pray about it, trust him, because he's using whatever it is in your life right now to prepare you for what? For the wonderful things that he has for you. So, kara, I'm going to toss it back over to you, because that's my words of wisdom today.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't have much to add. A couple of things I wanted to piggyback on, though. Whoever said, oh my gosh, medical transcription, it has to be so boring obviously has never been a medical transcriptionist. Okay, so I can't remember what department you worked for, but because I worked in-house and at home as a medical transcriptionist, so right outside the ER and in, you know, in radiology and cardiology and all these different fields gastroenterology, neurology and different things like that. But when I was working at home for, as a medical transcriptionist, the main account I had was radiology. And boy you, I never knew what I was going to wake up to that day, right?
Speaker 1:I mean there were people who were coming in with nails in their hands because they were putting on a roof and they didn't move their hand in time when they were putting the shingles on.
Speaker 1:There were people who came in because they chopped up almost off a toe with their lawnmower, chopped up almost off a toe with their lawnmower. There were so many, yeah, sad incidents with kids in the summer and pools, swimming pools, you know, um, and just so many different things. Some would be funny, some were just heart-wrenching and others were heartbreaking. So it was never. It's like when, when someone says it was boring, it's like, no, because you never know, because every few minutes you're getting a new patient with a new situation, you know, or a new thing that's happening and things like that. I mean, some were down more growth, some were super interesting, but it just goes to show. And for the ones that were more lighthearted and you're like, come on those. It just goes to show. And for the heart, you know, for the ones that were more lighthearted and you're like, come on, those people should have known better, you know, but they weren't, they weren't seriously hurt or it was something that could be easily fixed, but then when you got those heart-wrenching ones. That's when your job turns into a ministry, right, amen.
Speaker 1:Going back to what you were saying about how God used Matthew, because as you're reading these heart-wrenching stories, these accidents that happened, and you're transcribing what actually happened to their body during the process, one of the hospitals I actually had to work for was a children's hospital, and that's all I'm going to say about that, because not just your typical childhood hijinks are in there right, falling off a skateboard, doing all this stuff. Of course there's that. But then there are people who harm children, right, and they do it intentionally. And when these children have to be examined and you're sitting there having to transcribe it word for word, your prayer, your job turns into ministry and you're praying for that child and for their recovery, for their healing, that the person will be caught, that the doctors will be able to fix whatever was broken inside this tender, innocent child. So it is definitely not boring and it just goes to show you that God can take even the messiest of circumstances and he can have you minister to them.
Speaker 1:Now, that child, their family, that person who was hurt or in a car accident. They didn't even know I existed, right, they didn't even know Sherry existed. We're on the other end, right, they didn't even know Sherry existed. We're on the other end. You know we're not the faces they see, you know, when they come in for emergency help or something like that. But God knew that we'd be breaking our hearts of the things that we would have to be listening to and transcribing in graphic detail sometimes, that he knew that we were on the other side.
Speaker 1:You know praying you know, even through broken hearts and tears.
Speaker 2:I'm going to interrupt you right there and say I wouldn't even be surprised if God purposefully assigned those ones to us because he knew we would pray.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely, you know what. I didn't even think of that, right, you know because. You know, because, as we all know, reports like that goes into a pool for whichever transcriptionists get to it first right.
Speaker 1:Right, you know, and the ones that will come through to me. And so you're right, you know. So we don't see all the behind the scenes or the moves that God is making. And so if you ever think that your job is boring or that it doesn't make a difference in a world, there's no purpose to it, think again. God can take anything and everything, any type of job, and turn it into a ministry, whether it be full-time ministry or you know Whether it be full-time ministry or you know a case-by-case basis, you know type of ministry, and it's just amazing how God works.
Speaker 1:And so, and we got to remember, back in biblical days, he was a tax collector. It's not like our IRS agents today, right, you can call them, you can give them your name and your social security number and or your tax ID number, and they could pull up all your taxes back to who knows how many. And if you miss some years, they can tell you that, and they can tell you how much money you made each particular year, how much taxes you paid and what you're paying taxes on. Mother didn't have that. He didn't have access to that. He was literally, I think.
Speaker 1:Back then they went door to that. He was literally, I think. Back then they went door to door and you had to have all of that information on you, rather carrying it in a satchel or something, because I mean, this person may have a hundred donkeys and 500 goats, you know, and so many servants on this much land, you know, and like eight camels and the other person you know maybe not so much. So it was like you had to have this information you know with you, like at all times so, but you know what's so important in that job Details and excellent record keeping.
Speaker 2:You had to keep excellent records.
Speaker 1:You couldn't assign those 100 goats with one family to another family. If you were being honest Right, if you were being honest you had to be careful, you had to be very detailed and you had to know what each family had and you know everything they owned. You had to keep excellent record keeping. And so, like you said, jesus used that to his benefit. Right, because he's like you're used to doing this kind of stuff. As a matter of fact, you know, I, you know, start taking notes. You already know how to do that anyway, you know, basically that's the care translation, but you know, and everything else.
Speaker 1:So he took what he already did, whatever he already knew to do so well, and used it for his glory, for his kingdom and for his ministry. So don't ever, you know, just get dissuaded or down, or you know, all I do is I go in and I, you know, twist a couple of bolts and you know I shine up a piece of machinery and everything else and you think that's all there is to it. No, there's so much skill that goes behind that that God can use. So don't ever think there's no purpose to whatever assignment that you have now, because you never know it could be a godly assignment. Like Sherry said, he could have you in that position for a particular reason. It could be just for a particular person as well. Okay, I'm done. Sherry said he could have you in that position for a particular reason. It could be just for a particular person as well, okay.
Speaker 2:I'm done, sherry. Well, I just finished reading a book by somebody. I don't even remember who it is it's a male author and I wish I could remember the title of it but he was talking about how he wanted to be in youth ministry and he knew he was supposed to be in youth ministry and he knew he was supposed to be in youth ministry. The people that he worked for knew he was supposed to be in youth ministry. His friends and family knew he was supposed to be in youth ministry and God put him in, construct no roofing, put him in roofing for like five to 10 years. I cannot, honestly, I don't remember all the details. I just remember thinking ah, you know, that is so true. How is God using him and preparing him? And he was using him because he was teaching him people skills. He was teaching him persistence.
Speaker 2:He was teaching him perseverance. He was teaching him patience. He was teaching him all kinds of things that he needed in ministry. He was teaching him all kinds of things that he needed in ministry. And sometimes the best way to learn the skills that you need to step into the plan that God has for you is not in the actual department or the actual occupation of what your heart desires. Sometimes God needs to humble us, sometimes God needs to put people in our path, and the only way we'll be on the path with those people is if we're in a job that's different from what we desire. Like there are so many different avenues and different reasons and different things, and I guess I just want to encourage people today.
Speaker 2:If you're somewhere where you don't want to be, is this all that that there is to life? Is this, is there more to this life? Or is this how I'm going to die? Is this, is this it? Have that conversation with God and say God, you know my heart's desire, you know what I wanted, you know how I want to serve you, you know what gift you've given me and you know what if you haven't given me and what gifts I want to have, and blah, blah, blah, and then just trust him because he I love the verse in the Bible where Ephesians 3, I believe, hold on. I have my Bible right here. I think it's Ephesians 3, 23, and something else Hold on Ephesians 3, 20, and 21. So now to him, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is worked within us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Speaker 2:Go into that, um, that mindset of well, I want to do, I want what he has, I want what she has, because all that's going to do is frustrate you and it's going to please the enemy because he's going to be like, ah, comparison, huh, ah, not happy, discontent, huh, ah, this, ah that. No, god, if you can trust him, if you choose to trust him, he will do far measurably more than you can ever ask or imagine. And I am, I am telling you from experience all I did was say to God you know what, god, I don't think I want to be a medical transcriptionist my whole life. I think that I want to be in ministry. I think that you have something different for me, and that's all I did. That's all I said. I want to be in ministry. I think that you have something different for me, and that's all I did. That's all I said.
Speaker 2:I didn't set out to be a writer. I didn't set out to quit transcribing. I didn't set out for any of that stuff. He knew that my heart's desire was to be a mom, a stay-at-home mom. He knew that my heart's desire was to serve him. And he's the one that put it all into place. And I'll tell you, it's really hard sometimes and I'm not where I want to be yet. But this year he has taught me that when I let him write the story, when I give up control of the pen, he does far more for me than I could ever ask or imagine.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I know he has great plans, but I also know that he's been changing my heart because he knows and I know well. I know that my desire is to serve him wholeheartedly, 100%, and if I'm not ready yet, then I don't want to be promoted. I want to wait and make sure that God only promotes me when it's his timing and when I'm ready. I don't want to screw anything up. I don't want to up people. I don't want to pick something wrong because I haven't learned it the right way yet. I don't want to be so afraid of messing things up or messing people up or, you know, speaking wrongly that I then drag my heels and don't go at God's pace. I want to go in God's timing and when we can trust him and when we can be honest with him and say this is what I want.
Speaker 2:Obviously, matthew was busy minding his own business and Jesus came to him. Do we or do we not trust God that he can come to us when he's ready to promote us, when he's ready to flip the script and when he's ready to change things up and give us our heart's desire in a different way? Do we trust him? I think that is the other question that I have for everybody today. Do we trust him? Is there anything else that you want to add, kira?
Speaker 1:No, except just stay encouraged, right, just stay encouraged. And I guess all of us, for example, I was just thinking of a friend of mine who works in like a sandwich shop and you would think, oh my goodness, like how boring is that. I mean, you can only make so many turkey ham, chicken sandwiches, you know, with lettuce and tomato, you know, and things like that. Like, you know how boring is that. But you know the difference and I'm pretty sure everyone has experienced this where you go into like a sandwich shop and you tell them you want this in your sandwich, on this type of bread and all this stuff, and they hand it to you. You go about your day, but then you walk into a sandwich shop and before you even get in the door, they're calling your name. Hey, sherry, how are you? Oh my gosh, you know, do you want this? You like that tuna salad, don't you? Oh my gosh, okay, let me go ahead and get that ready for you. And they customize the experience, not just the sandwich, right, and it's like they are doing that, as if they are doing it unto the Lord, so to speak. Right, because that's they are doing it unto the Lord, so to speak. Right, because they are making you feel special when you go in. And not only that, they get to know you as a person. They know your name, they know your favorite drink, they know your favorite type of sandwich, they know your favorite type of snack or treat to go along with it.
Speaker 1:All of that makes a difference. And all of that is also customer service skills. And if you're ever going to go into any type of ministries, whether it's with children, little kids, well, even babies, right On up to senior citizens you need those type of skills, because people don't really. You know what is that old saying? People don't know how much you don't care, what you know. They just want to know that you care. And a lot of times God has us in positions to let us, for us to learn how to show that we care, not that we don't care, but for us to put us in positions to learn how to show others that we care. And I think that's all I wanted to add to that, sherry.
Speaker 2:I am so glad that you did. That was the perfect way to end it. So I know that I and I believe that Kara too we would love to hear your stories. We would love to hear how God is using you and preparing you and the different testimonies that you have of how you're able to look back and see how God has prepared you and how God has used the different experiences that he's given you. So email us at cheeruppodcasts at gmailcom, or head over to the Facebook group Cheer Up Podcast and start a conversation with everybody, and then we can all share in praising God about your different praises and their reports, or praise reports and different testimonies of how God is using you and has prepared you for the work that he's had you step into. Go over to Kara Arshunt. I think we talked about this in the last couple of weeks, but she now has audio books for all of her paper doll series. Is that correct, kara? All of them.
Speaker 1:Oh, yes, All five that are currently out. Yes, they are all on audio book. Yes, so if you like listening to your books, just go to audiblecom and you'll be able to just type in my name and you'll be able to download them or upload them and listen to them or just to play.
Speaker 2:Amen. I am so excited for Kara because that is huge. Many friends who love audiobooks and love to to listen to stories that way, and so, um, head on over to care our hunt, or head on over to audible and you can download yours today. I would, if I was you, I would start at the beginning, start with paper dolls and then, oh yes, kite, paper dolls, priscilla, paper dolls lydia and paper dolls eve, and she is working on Paper Dolls Mary, and I am so excited I cannot wait to read Mary's story. I just absolutely love Kara's writing. I love the characters that she has created. They are my friends too, so head over and make them your friends as well. You can come over to my website if you want to. I have the six book fiction series, the Redemption of Green Pine. If you like shorter books and novellas or short stories, you can pick up the Seasons of Green Pine. There's seven short stories there. That kind of give you that little extra to learn about the different characters in the big full length novellas. You can check out either one of those.
Speaker 2:And don't forget that John 1633 is our podcast verse. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace In the world. You will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. You will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
Speaker 2:And I think that even today's topic that we were talking about fits in with that really nicely, because Matthew, he kind of was going through a come follow me moment and he didn't really know what all that entailed. So that can cause tribulation. Even good things can cause tribulation and trials. God says be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. He gives us peace in the midst of and in the midst of bad stress and we really don't have to worry that God is right there helping us along the way. So we are so glad that you were with us today. Have a great rest of your day today and next week we're going to come back and we're going to talk about Mark, the second gospel in the New Testament. Have a great week, everyone. Bye-bye, thank you.
