Deception & Credit Card Debt: Joshua 9

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Trusting the wrong person can lead to painful lessons, as I discovered during my wedding planning experience. In this episode, I share my deeply personal story involving deception that culminated in $14,000 of credit card debt, leading to a journey of reflection and spiritual growth. It’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions, from the excitement of planning my wedding to grappling with betrayal from a close friend who mismanaged my finances. 

Through this experience, I learned to seek God first before making major decisions, grounding myself in faith as a safeguard against deception. Exploring the biblical parallels to my story, particularly the lessons found in Joshua 9, we uncover the consequences of hasty decisions made without divine counsel. It's crucial to recognize that deception can come in various forms, and awareness can protect us from potential pitfalls. 

Join me for an inspiring conversation on the significance of faith in navigating life's challenges. My hope is that sharing my story will encourage you to deepen your relationship with God and seek His guidance in every area of your life. 

Key passages:

Joshua 9

Joshua 9:3-7

Romans 1: 19-20

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode44.
This week's devotional istitled Deception and Credit Card
Debt, joshua 9, and I surpassed2,700 downloads.
Woo, let's go.
Hi, I'm Jesse Morgan.
I used to just share home decorand renovation tips on social
media, but now I'm sharingsomething even closer to my

(00:21):
heart my journey and love forJesus Christ, my Savior.
Welcome to the Jesse MorganDevotions for the Christian Hot
Podcast.
This is a weekly devotional.
I started back in May 2024, butthe inspiration for it came
much earlier.
It was rooted in a faithjourney that began when my
daughter was born four monthsearly in 2023.
Through that challenging time,god worked in ways that truly

(00:43):
amazed me.
On this podcast, I sharepersonal stories of faith, woven
together with scripture, toshow just how incredible God's
word can be in our everydaylives.
My hope is that through thesestories, you'll be encouraged,
uplifted and reminded of God'slove and presence, no matter
what you're going through.
So I invite you to spend lessthan 15 minutes with me each

(01:05):
week as we reflect on thesedevotionals together.
Let's all pray within Joshua 9,key verses Joshua 9, joshua 9,
3-7, and Joshua 1, 19-20.
This week's devotional is hardto share on such a big platform.

(01:26):
It's deeply personal and evento this day, it still
disappoints me.
I've moved past the anger, but,god knows, my heart still aches
over the outcome.
That said, I am at peace.
So here it goes.
Many people know I'm married.
I had a beautiful wedding in2018 in Orlando, florida,

(01:51):
surrounded by family and amazingfriends.
I cherish those memories, butthere was some unexpected drama.
It all started with a goodfriend and my first wedding
coordinator yes, you read thatright.
First when I got married.
First when I got married, myhusband I'm sorry when I got
engaged, my husband and Idecided to take our time

(02:13):
planning the wedding, so we hadan almost two-year engagement.
About a year and a half beforethe wedding, I set the date,
chose my bridesmaids and beganlooking for a dress and venue.
One of my good friends, someoneI've known since she was six,
was part of my wedding party.
We had grown even closer aftercollege and I loved her and her

(02:36):
family dearly.
I was excited to have her be apart of my wedding and when she
offered to be my coordinator, Iwas relieved.
She lived in Orlando and hadgreat vendor connections and it
seemed like, you know, theperfect fit.
She helped me find a florist,emcee photographer, my dress and

(02:56):
the venue.
She even had her own LLC and astructured payment setup.
So I shared my paymentinformation and my credit card
was billed monthly for thevendors.
Then, about seven months beforethe wedding, something told me
to check my credit cardstatement.
What I found shocked me.
The balance, which should havebeen around $1,200, had

(03:18):
skyrocketed to $14,000.
I had been making payments buthadn't checked the details for
months.
I immediately called my friendto question the charges, but she
brushed me off, saying she wasbusy and was about to go on an
interview.
As I reviewed the transactions,I noticed a strange charge for

(03:39):
car insurance in Orlando.
Weird, that didn't make sense.
I didn't own a car there.
When I called the company, theytold me the policy was under my
friend's boyfriend's name.
I was in disbelief.
I froze all charges andrepeatedly tried to contact my
friend.
Soon I discovered myphotographer was never booked

(04:01):
and that I had lost thousands ofdollars.
In the end she lashed out at mecalling me insecure, a liar and
pathetic.
She even said I couldn't handleanything without my mother, who
had stepped in to help becauseof the stress I was under.
Of course.
She then dropped out of mywedding and blocked me on all

(04:22):
social media platforms.
Mature right Deception at itsfinest.
But you know what?
I realized that part of thiswas my fault too.
I relied on human wisdom andknowledge instead of seeking God
first.
I didn't take the time toresearch or consider other
options, other coordinators.

(04:43):
I never thought about workingindividually.
I mean, I never even thoughtabout working with a close
friend and establishingboundaries or anything.
I just jumped in headfirst, andit cost me.
This reminds me of Joshua 9.
After Israel defeated Ai inchapter 8, the people of Gibeon

(05:03):
feared they would be the next tobe conquered by Israel, so they
tricked them.
They tricked Israel so badly inJoshua 9, israel, so they
tricked them.
They tricked Israel so badly inJoshua 9, 3-7.
And here is a summarizedversion.
They disguised themselves inraggedy-looking clothes,
pretending to be from a fardistant land, and begged for a
peace treaty.
Joshua and the Israelitesbelieved them without consulting

(05:26):
God.
Later they discovered thedeception, but it was too late.
Israel had made a treaty andhad to honor it, no matter how
they felt, and you will see therepercussions of that treaty in
the next chapter next week.
So, anyways, the lesson.
Deception can take many formsand if you don't seek God first,

(05:48):
our hasty decisions can havelasting consequences.
For Israel, it was an unwantedalliance.
For me, it was $14,000 incredit card debt entering the
marriage.
It took over four years to paythat off, a financial burden I
never should have carried in thefirst place.
And while the debt is gone, thedisappointment lingers.

(06:11):
And that's what sin does.
It lingers.
It makes you feel guilty,ashamed and sad.
But here's the truth.
Sin can also be a teacher.
It can strengthen our faith,makes us appreciate God's
goodness and reminds us of whattruly matters.
It also teaches us to look toGod first versus making hasty

(06:32):
decisions.
Joshua and I both learnedvaluable lessons about deception
, and we both learned that Godis nothing like that.
With God, what you see is whatyou get.
He is faithful, just and true.
He fights for you, he comfortsyou, he loves you
unconditionally.
There's no type of deceptionthat lives within the Lord.

(06:55):
This is why God needs to beyour first counsel, your first
confidant.
Always, he's here to lead youto the right path in life.
So let him.
And to wrap it up, it saysRomans.
And it says in Romans 1, 19through 20, since what may be
known about God is plain to thembecause God has made it plain

(07:17):
to them.
So, since the creation of theworld, god's invisible qualities
, his eternal power and divinenature have been clearly seen,
being understood from what hasbeen made, so that people are
without excuse.
You see no deception here.
God is showing his qualities.
Whether they're in your face,invisible, it doesn't matter.

(07:39):
God is here.
You can see his blessings, youcan see the love he has for you
through reading his word.
There's no deception there.
Amen.
Thank you guys for listening andlet's pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you somuch for this lesson.
Thank you for allowing me to bevulnerable and share something

(08:01):
that really was a tough storyfor me to share.
Thank you for the comfort thatI hope that brought to someone
and inspired someone tounderstand what deception is,
how to avoid it, how to seek youfirst and then also Lord.
I hope people understandlistening that they sin, they
make mistakes and they can moveon.
God wants you to move on andGod wants you to understand that

(08:24):
there's nothing you know,there's nothing deceptive about
him.
Father, we thank you so muchfor this lesson in Joshua.
We thank you so much for thisentire series on it and, lord, I
pray that everybody who'slistening to this podcast is
blessed, encouraged and justknows that they're loved and
that their stories are importantas well.
Father, I love you and I praiseyou in Jesus' name.

(08:45):
Amen.
Until next time, everyone,we're going to be studying
Joshua 10 and maybe 11.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I'm just excited to haveeveryone here and just support
it.
Love you Till next time.
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
I hope these devotions help youdraw closer to God each day.

(09:05):
If this episode encouraged you,please share it with someone
who might need the same message,and don't forget to subscribe
so you never miss a weeklyepisode.
Also, if you feel compelled,leaving a nice review would be
so appreciated as well.
For more information or toreach out, check the show notes
or visit jessimorganhomecom orfind me on Instagram at

(09:27):
jessimorganlife.
Remember God's timing is alwaysperfect.
Keep trusting him Until nexttime.
This is Jessi Morgan prayingoff Jesse Morgan Devotions
Behind the Scenes, startingright now.

(09:50):
I know some people are going tobe like what, jessica?
14,000 in debt?
Yeah, 14,000 in debt.
It was rough, it was not fun.
And dealing with that debtgoing into your wedding, it was,
um, it was a lot, but you knowwhat I remember.
My mom said you know what,jessica?
No, you're going to enjoy yourwedding, god's going to take

(10:13):
care of it.
And let me tell you the amountof blessings we received with
that wedding.
And God took care of it and itwas just such a beautiful time.
And, um, I just still havegreat memories of my wedding.
But the other praise I will sayI had 14,000.
I called my credit card companyand the good thing is I had my
statements, everything wasonline in the account and I was

(10:37):
able to get back around $5,000.
So the debt went down to likenine grand or so.
So that was great and at leastI worked towards getting rid of
that for the next four years.
But I was grateful because atleast that happened, you know.
But, man, you know, sometimeseven people that you're good,
cool with and you know thisfriend had kind of not the best

(11:00):
reputation at times in highschool, but they never did
anything to me.
But sometimes you just have tolisten to your instincts.
I had some feelings but Iignored them and that deception
happened and I never looked atother options.
I never sought God first, Inever said, hey, maybe I
shouldn't do this.
I just did.
I just went right in and Ibasically did what Joshua and

(11:22):
them did with the Gibeonites andit was, you know, lesson
learned.
But I'm at peace now with it.
Pray for that person all thetime and, you know, no hard
feelings anymore.
Still hurts because it was afriend that I cared about, but
no hard feelings, god's goodTill next time everyone.