July 15, 2024 • 34 mins
What if true transformation isn't about erasing sin but about renewing our minds daily? Join me, Jason Hopkins, as we tackle this challenging yet profoundly enriching concept of biblical transformation. Through scriptural insights and personal anecdotes, we'll explore the ongoing battle between our renewed spiritual selves and our old fleshly desires. Learn how filling our lives with godly content is vital for supporting our journey to becoming new creations in Christ.
Have you ever wondered how suffering can lead to spiritual growth? In this episode, we'll discuss the transformative power of suffering by examining the five R's of biblical transformation: Replacement, Repentance, Restoration, Renewal, and Reconciliation. By unpacking key scriptures and diving into the concept of neuroplasticity, we'll reveal how God replaces our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, guiding us toward continuous renewal. Discover the importance of healthy relationships in God's plan for our healing and redemption, and see how God uses others to restore and heal deep-seated wounds.
Are you struggling with addiction or trauma and seeking a path to freedom and intimacy with God? This episode will take you on a journey of restoration through an identity transformation in Christ. We'll highlight the significance of baptism as a physical representation of our spiritual rebirth and share personal stories of overcoming life's deepest pains. Plus, you'll gain practical tools for renewing your mind and confronting generational curses, setting the foundation for a life filled with hope and healthy relationships. Don't forget to download and share this episode to help spread our message of hope and redemption to others in need.
Are you inspired by what you hear today? Jason deeply appreciates his listeners taking their time to listening, downloading, and sharing The Hopeful Perspective Podcast. Please help me spread 'hope' to others by writing a review for the podcast making it reachable for all who need to be inspired, encouraged, and changed by hoping once again. Further, understand that downloading the podcast is a surefire way to help increase the algorithm thus the reach of The Hopeful Perspective, even if you delete the episode after listening so as to not affect your data storage. I have also provided a (Support the Show) link DIRECTLY ABOVE THIS PARAGRAPH to click on for those who have shared with me they are "all in" and feel called to financially support the mission and vision of The Hopeful Perspective. A special thank you to those who have made this humble step to financially support the podcast. Without you, there is no US!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Hopeful Perspective podcast.
I am your host, jason Hopkins.
To this point on the show, wehave examined my personal story
of suffering and healing painand purpose, as well as we have
discussed the biblicalperspective on suffering and
forgiveness.
We have learned how my lifeillustrates God's glory through
(00:20):
my own experiences moving fromsurvivor to thriver and victim
to victor.
Through my own experiencesmoving from survivor to thriver
and victim to victor.
Though my past was full of painand suffering, I have been
restored with purpose andsanctification.
I have been redeemed.
I have also been called tofollow Christ in my redemption.
We have further examined twoimperatives that Jesus gave all
(00:40):
of his disciples to pick up ourcross and sacrifice our
self-interests, as well as toforgive others as we ourselves
are forgiven.
Today we are going to discussthe biblical imperative to be
transformed by the renewing ofour minds what biblical
restoration actually looks like.
(01:00):
So I encourage you to grab yourfavorite snack, hot or cold
beverage, get comfortable andcome on this journey with me
today as we explore the powerand the freedom found in
transformation into a new childof God.
Before we jump into today'stopic, I want to discuss some
exciting news regarding thepodcast.
(01:22):
I have been invited by a goodfriend to collaborate with him
on the podcast he hosts and toshare my story for God's glory.
If you've been following fromthe beginning of our short
history, you know that themission and vision of the
podcast is to share the hopefulperspective with as many people
as possible, to extend our reachand to influence others as we
(01:44):
grow.
I have stated that, whether wereach five people or five
million people, that the Lordwill be glorified through this
podcast, so I am excited to beinvited by my friend so early in
the process.
Stay tuned for the dates andthe location of this upcoming
collaboration.
For the dates and the locationof this upcoming collaboration.
(02:07):
Last week, we looked at thecommand to forgive, as Christ
forgave us when we haveundergone pain and brokenness.
The path to His glory isn't aneasy one, yet it is worth it.
Forgiving others for the way wehave been wounded and
perpetrated is one of the severechallenges this side of heaven.
This week, though, I want toconnect this concept of the
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command to forgive others as weare forgiven to the opportunity
of experiencing biblicalredemption, and I want to do so
by opening us up with thequestion are we conditionally
promised fulfillment by simplyforgiving others.
I want you to consider thisquestion as you think of the
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times in your life you have beenwounded.
Was it enough to simply forgiveyour perpetrator, or did you
have lingering effects from thepain that had been caused?
How do you move through thepain of the past as you walk in
faith?
How do you walk in faith byforgiving others or being
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forgiven for an atrocity youhave committed, yet you still
carry the pain?
How do we reconcile our faithwith forgiveness and restoration
and with true transformation?
Some people may just refer to abiblical verse,
over-spiritualizing the pointthrough their misapplication of
his word.
(03:30):
Take this one from Paul in hissecond letter to the Corinthians
, 2 Corinthians 5.17, saysTherefore, if anyone is in
Christ, the new creation hascome, the old has gone and the
new is here.
This verse can be misapplied tosuggest that once a person has
found Christ, he or she will sinno more.
(03:51):
I have literally heard thistheology preached from verses
such as this.
Such faulty teaching denies thehumanity we have and the faulty
belief system that Biblebelieving Christian followers
must reconcile and work through,belief system that
Bible-believing Christianfollowers must reconcile and
work through.
In fact, paul is addressing thetransformed perspective he has
within his faith journey.
He now views every person as aneternal being, not merely just
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an earthly or fleshly one.
This is a result of acceptingChrist's eternal and divine
being.
Anyone who is in Christ becomeslike Christ.
That person is indeed a newcreation.
Yet we are still human beingsthat with an authentic eternal
being as well as our mortalflesh, that they can be at war
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with one another.
Paul says in Ephesians 6.12 thatwe wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but againstprincipalities, against powers,
against the rulers of thedarkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness, even inhigh places.
This is the battle that ourselfish spirit wages against the
renewing of the mind and thenew creation of actually
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becoming like Christ, ofactually becoming like Christ as
a new person.
We are to be filling our lifeup with the things of the Spirit
versus the things of the world.
John tells us in 1 John 2.16that for everything in the world
, the lust of the flesh, thelust of the eyes and the pride
of life comes not from theFather but from the world, where
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I used to love the beats andthe rhythms and even the lyrics
to justify my favorite secularartists, many who are
communicating the lies of theenemy, you know, like glorifying
the flesh, living a hedonistic,sex, money-grabbing,
self-gratifying lifestyle, and Iwould eventually found that
replacing them with music thatis truly worshiping God edified
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my soul, this new person I wasbecoming and building my spirit
up to be, whereas I was usingthe influence of mass media,
hollywood and other significantinfluences to speak the similar
lies as before mentioned to me,where I was filled with lies and
even death.
I now know to turn to themediums that the Lord has given
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to us that speak life.
I have to choose to fill myentertainment with content that
either aligns with moral,biblical and godly messaging and
lives in alignment to his wordsthat fill me up.
You see, my tastes, mypreferences and my desires begin
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to change as a new creation.
Yet how do we reconcile thisfact that we are a new creation
once we submit ourselves to theLord, yet we still do battle
with the beliefs, the attitudesand the behaviors of our old
flesh?
This is a common question foranyone who has come into Christ.
I have counseled several addictsin my time who came to Christ,
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yet they had to battle theunderlying belief systems that
led the addicted person to thetrue freedom found in their
newfound relationship.
The truth is, most everyone isaddicted to something.
Another word for addiction isidolatry.
We are filling ourselves up andcoping with something that is
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not of the Lord and is oftendestructive to us physically,
mentally, emotionally,spiritually and then
relationally.
Think of how the followingadditions or coping mechanisms
or idols, if you will qualify inaffecting those five holistic
areas of our life.
Think about how drinking,drugging, binge eating, lying,
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manipulating, food, addiction,overworking, sex, pornography,
masturbation and lust, cheatingon our spouse emotionally and or
physically, denial, anxiety,rage, physically or emotionally,
passive-aggressive gambling,over-spiritualizing, you know,
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like a Pharisee, shopping,escaping, and the list is
exhaustive.
You can see that often theaddictions and symptoms are
sometimes difficult todistinguish in amongst
themselves between ouraddictions, our relapses, our
sins, our idols.
Relapses, our sins, our idols.
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Our choosing anything over ourcreator as a new creation in
Christ is an idol.
I have met so many Christianswho live in this duplicity or
another word, hypocrisy and arebattling these symptoms or
challenges in the flesh and arewhite-knuckling, trying to
barely hold on.
They are trying to outrun theirpain, thus creating stress, and
this stress triggers theemotions that drive our
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addictive behavior.
The problem with this is wehave God-given, healthy emotions
.
You know our new self.
But even the painful ones thatwarn us are there to show us
that something is wrong.
Constantly anesthetizing theseemotions by overriding them with
addiction leads to obviousdestruction.
This is not what you werecreated for, what you were
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deemed for, nor is it how we letour lives shine.
We were created for authenticrelationships with God and
others, and when we are steepedin our flesh, our addiction with
God and others, and when we aresteeped in our flesh, our
addiction and our copingmechanisms we are anesthetizing
our conscience that the HolySpirit uses to inform us when we
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are on the bad path.
We are essentially silencingthat voice of God within our
lives.
We were created to look to Godfor guidance and not rely on the
destructive things of thisworld.
Yet I believe another point forus to consider is equally
significant, and it is foundwithin this continual discussion
we have regarding suffering andsalvation, right here on the
podcast.
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Once we understand the purposeof suffering, we begin to see
how we are being transformedthrough the fires of these
addictions and temptations,these trials and these
tribulations, and this is oftenthe only battle plan to wage the
war of our flesh.
Peter said in this way in hisfirst letter, chapter 5, verse
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10, and the God of all grace,who called you to his eternal
glory in Christ, after you'vesuffered a little while, will
himself restore you and make youstrong, firm and steadfast.
Do you remember that one?
But how is it that we are madestrong, firm and steadfast?
If you will humor me in my useof alliteration, then we will
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see five R's that help usunderstand this process of true
biblical transformation.
More there have been similardescriptions used by many, true
biblical transformation.
More there have been similardescriptions used by many, but I
have found this one to behelpful for my process.
The first R is replacement.
Jesus said in the Old Testamentto us I will give you a new
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heart and I will put a newspirit in you.
I will remove from your heartof stone and give you a heart of
flesh Ezekiel 36, 26.
God is the one who graciouslyreplaces our hearts of stone
with hearts of flesh.
That is how we can come to knowhim, because he first loved us
and he gives us this new heartand we thank him for his grace.
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Jesus replaced when he came toearth.
He replaced the old laws ofsacrifice known in the Old
Testament, with his becoming thesacrifice, once and for all,
for eternal salvation to all ofthose who would come to love him
.
Who would come to love him.
Therefore, what we once putworship to is now replaced and
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our second R now becomessignificant.
First is replacement, the secondis repentance.
We are literally now with a newheart.
We're going to turn 180 degreesfrom our old self and our old
life and now to God for our newlife.
We do this by making a changeof mind, a change of heart and
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action, by turning away from sinand self and returning to God.
He's given us this new flesh,this new heart, but we have to
change the beliefs of the oldmind and the flesh.
Repent then, and turn to God sothat your sins may be wiped out
, that times refreshing may comeon you from the Lord.
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That's in Acts 3.19.
We are to repent, and then ourthird R comes into play, the R
of restoration.
Though sacrificing our self-will, self-centeredness and
submitting to God's will, ourminds need to be continuously
restored or renewed.
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Either R really works in thisplace, doesn't it?
Romans 12 says this.
Therefore, I urge you, brothersand sisters, in view of God's
mercy, to offer your bodies as aliving sacrifice, holy and
pleasing to God.
This is your true and properworship.
Do not conform to the patternof this world, but be
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transformed by what?
The renewing of your mind.
Then you'll be able to test andimprove what God's will is his
good, pleasing and perfect will.
Neuroscience today has come along way in the past 40 years,
and we've discovered more aboutour brains within this time
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frame than any other period ofour life.
Humans have the ability toactually rewire their brains by
forming new neural pathways.
This is a process calledneuroplasticity.
The brain usually will do thison its own in response to, say,
injury or disease, but peoplecan also slowly rewire their
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pathways by focusing theirattention.
That's a medical definition.
This sounds kind of familiarfrom Romans, chapter 12, doesn't
it?
We can literally teach thelimbic system, that is, that
survival brain, that we nolonger live in fear or survival,
but we now live in faith andsacrifice.
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But how do we do this?
We face our current fears andeven our pain that wants to lie
to us about yesterday, with ournew belief system and new action
step that is different than weever have taken before.
And don't be surprised that,though, our relationships are
marred when we are living in sin, that God used relationships in
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the beginning and he will withyou today within your healing
process.
You see we were created by himto have healthy, close and
intimate relationships and yetthese stand to be the most
valuable things we lose withinour sin, that the enemy wants to
do nothing but steal, kill anddestroy from.
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Yet God will still use thepower of healthy relationships
in correlation with those whoare living relapsed, isolated
and idolatrous lives.
I want you to think about acouple examples, if you will.
If you were wounded by a motheror your father, do not be
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surprised when God will sendhealthy mother or father figures
into your life in your futureto change your heart.
I think of the many fostermothers and then my own
mother-in-law, who I love somuch, who has helped redeem
these mother wounds.
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If you've been affected byracism or hatred, or you or
yourselves battle with those twothings, don't be surprised when
God sends you one from theoffending party for you to
forgive and change your heart,or he sends somebody that you
have disdain for to come intoyour life.
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I think of a couple friends ofmine, a former skinhead who was
himself guilty of racism.
And then I think of anotherfriend, this black man, who
faced blatant hatred and racismin his early childhood and now
the two of them, in their adultlives, were used in each other
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to heal the deep-seated woundsthat each bore New results over
time and, as a result, god'sforgiveness and individual
restoration occurred in theirlives, and today they are close
friends.
See, godly, redemption makesthe supernatural appear
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completely natural.
One of the beliefs I haveacquired and grown in is that
God's word and God's world donot contradict one another.
This idea of our brain beingcapable of renewal and rewired
was indicated, as we saw in hisword, millenniums before, and
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now we have the ability tounderstand what we deal with
today.
But check these out.
Colossians 3, verses 1 through10, says since then you have
been raised with Christ.
Set your hearts and that'sanother way the Bible says your
minds on the things above, whereChrist is seated now at the
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right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above,not on earthly things, for you
died and your life is now hiddenwith Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life,appears, then you will also
appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore,whatever belongs to your earthly
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nature sexual immorality,impurity, lust, evil desires and
greed, which is idolatry.
This is what the word is saying.
Because of these, the wrath ofGod is coming.
You used to walk in these waysin the life you once lived, but
now you must also rid yourselvesof all such things as these.
Look at the list.
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Continue here anger, rage,malice, slander and filthy
language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, sinceyou have taken off your old
self with its practices and haveput on the new self, which is
being renewed in the knowledgeand the image of its creator.
There is so much in that versethat we could unpack, and I
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would encourage you to read itover and over again as we
discuss these concepts.
Do you hear what tense thatPaul is speaking in, though?
I want to draw attention tothis recurring point.
Did Paul say and you have puton the new self, which was
renewed?
Go back and read it.
See, I don't read that either.
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We have put on the new self,which is being renewed.
Once again, we see that ourrestoration is not just one of
an immediacy, but of an ongoingprocess.
I have had to practice anddiscipline myself in the matters
of my faith by changing thesebeliefs that were underlying,
which drove my emotions in turns, driving that old, selfish and
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idolatrous behavior.
With the level of pain andtrauma I have experienced in my
life, I've been told that Iwould be fully justified if I
was drowning my sorrows with sex, drugs, serial relationships,
booze or whatever I could tostop the pain, the depression,
the anxiety, the nightmares, thepost-traumatic stress disorder,
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and I've spent long seasonsutilizing some of these to do
just that.
Yet I was left feeling emptier,further isolated and in deeper
sorrow than I even began in.
That is until I faithfullycommitted to addressing these
sorrows and facing theunderlying pain when I started
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facing my walk with integrity.
I was tired of trying by myselfto change these behaviors.
I resented, and this wouldhappen regardless of the
sacrifice and the suffering thatI would face going forward.
It would happen with Jesus andhis Holy Spirit, with God as my
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new father showing the samepower that he resurrected his
godly son in from death, andhe's now doing that to resurrect
me.
So this leads us to the next R,that is, that resurrection
power through Christ's death,and this is in Romans 6, 1-4,.
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Through Jesus' death andresurrection, we are promised
restoration from death to life.
Paul asks us this relevantquestion.
What shall we say then?
Shall we go on sinning so thatgrace may increase?
By no means.
We are those who have died tosin, so how can we live in it
any longer?
We are those who have died tosin, so how can we live in it
any longer?
And verse 3 says or don't youknow that all of us who were
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baptized into Christ Jesus werebaptized also into his death?
We were therefore buried withhim through baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christwas raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, we toomay live a new life Again.
That's Romans, chapter 6.
We too may live a new lifeAgain.
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That's Romans, chapter 6.
I love the discipline of baptismthat all of us are called to
undertake in the command when weare given as his followers once
we have repented from our waysand turned our life over to him.
This decision to be physicallybaptized plays out a physical
representation of what Pauldescribed in the spiritual realm
within Romans, chapter 6.
Grace was given to us as a freegift, yet not as a license nor
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justification to continue in sin.
You see, we were buried withChrist and then raised again
with him.
We were created for intimacywith God and others, and that's
part of what we were resurrectedtoward.
And this brings us now to thefinal R in our restoration
paradigm, that of reunion or,you could say, reconciliation,
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and I will be going into this ina little more depth in our next
episode.
But for today's sake, I want usto see how this plays into this
restoration process.
I want us to see how this playsinto this restoration process
being justified by Jesus'sacrifice for us.
Did you know that we are nowreunited with God the Creator,
as His now redeemed creation?
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See, just like Adam and Eveused to walk with God in the
cool of the day and literallytalk with Him, once they were
separated, he had to now find anew way and a new sacrifice to
reunite us to our creator.
It says this in Romans, chapter5,.
Since we have now beenjustified by his blood, how much
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more shall we be saved fromGod's wrath through him?
For if, while we were God'senemies, we were reconciled to
him through the death of his son, how much more, having been
reconciled, shall we be savedthrough his life?
Not only is this so, but wealso boast in God, through our
Lord, jesus Christ, through whomwe have now received this
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reconciliation, this reunion.
So, while we were out there,living as sinners in a world
cursed, as we were dying in oursin, we were then found worthy
by him, we became justified bythe sacrifice that he wanted to
make for us, and we werejustified by that grace.
And again, like Romans 6already indicated, this is not a
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license, nor is anything thatwe can boast in ourselves.
It's not our work, but how muchmore fulfilled are we now that
we are alive in him and we cannow boast in the one who brings
us this restoration and thishealing.
This paradox is a profound onethat shapes our hope as the new
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redeemed.
You see, when we rediscover ournew identity in Christ and we
live in that new identity inthat place of restoration, we
are drawn intimately to God andwe cannot help but to have those
close, intimate relationshipswith other people that are
actually required and desiredwithin the healing process.
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When we confront our fears andour pain with faith and
generational curses are brokenand we are unified with the Holy
Spirit to form thriving familylegacies, hope happens.
See, my alcoholic,drug-addicted parents did not
necessarily determine myidentity.
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They serve neither as my excuseto do the same things nor as my
primary influence.
God, the Father, parented meand parents me now in my new
identity.
He moved me from being aneventual orphan to a child of
his.
I am his son, he is my father,and we can have a good, close
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and healthy relationship.
You see, we have to alwaysremember, with a sober mind,
that the difference of movingfrom victim to victor, as we
constantly say, or victim toperpetrator is separated by a
thin line, a decision on thepart of the victim.
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That's what Paul was saying in 2Corinthians 5, 17, in terms of
his perspective of every personbeing an eternal being.
You know that verse we read atthe beginning that could
actually be misinterpreted.
He says that we have theopportunity, as eternal beings,
to become like Christ.
Remember, therefore, if anyoneis in Christ, the new creation
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has come and the old has gone.
The new now is here.
I know for me, on my journey infaith as a young believer and
one who had encounteredcontinuing hardships well into
my faith, that this process,demonstrated through the five
R's we just talked about, hasbeen evident all throughout as a
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person who has relied fully onmyself being a rage depression,
sex relationship addict, as wellas demonstrated by the multiple
personalities developed for myprotection.
And remember each of thosepersonalities with their own
trauma and, believe it or not,their own individual addiction
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sometimes, or their ownaffection, you can now imagine
how I would have found itextremely difficult to fully
submit to God's plan andprotection for some time.
This process of submission wasa painful one.
I can't lie, as I literally hadto put to death the false
belief systems and the lies theenemy had projected over me from
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a very young age, well into myadulthood, that I couldn't trust
anyone in authority for they'regoing to be out to hurt me as a
victim of sexual abuse and rape, even bearing the physical
scars of genital mutilation.
Today, I lived in afull-fledged battle of sexual
and porn addiction throughout myyoung faith, further steeping
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my shame and secrecy.
The truths found in scripturedeclaring these acts to be the
old self fell on deaf ears formany years while I was stuck in
my addiction fell on deaf earsfor many years while I was stuck
in my addiction.
It wasn't until I was able torenew the mind and literally
deal with my affected neuralpathways that were created
through addiction that I beganfinding freedom and liberty from
the heavy chains that had beenholding me down.
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The healing processes, thetherapy, the tools.
For example, there's one calledthe Genesis Process, another
one called Five to Thrive, andanother one from a book called
Living from the Heart.
Jesus Gave you tools thathelped me through my disorders
and addictions.
They were used in myrestoration, and we will discuss
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some of these at greater lengthin future podcasts.
I would love for you to not justwalk away with information, but
also biblical tools for yourredemption, for it is my desire
to have anyone listening todaythat currently walk in bondage
to find the freedom that I nowhave, that I now have to find
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that hope.
Yet, for some of us today, Irealize that our bondage is due,
in part, to the fact that wehave been relying to live our
own lives on our own termsInstead, and all of our best
attempts to change our liveshave fallen short.
And all of our best attempts tochange our lives have fallen
short, and that is whether youare a believer or you don't know
what you think yet about God.
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You are listening today, though, and you are feeling this
prompting to consider life onhis terms.
If that is you today, or youare someone who is ready to
recommit yourself to the Lord.
I want to pray this prayer withyou, lord Jesus.
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I repent of my sins, of my ownself-will, and I surrender my
life to you.
Wash me clean.
I believe that you are the Sonof God, that you died on the
cross for the forgiveness of mysins and you rose again on the
third day for my victory.
I believe that in my heart, andI make confession right now
with my mouth, that you, jesus,are my Lord and my Savior.
I want to live my lifeaccording to your terms and I
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pray for you to change me, myheart, my mind, my beliefs, from
the inside out.
And it is in your name today,jesus of Nazareth, that I pray
Amen, amen.
If you have today agreed withthis prayer from the depths of
your heart, if you have todayagreed with this prayer from the
depths of your heart, I welcomeyou to the eternal family of
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God.
I encourage you to find anorthodox, biblical-based faith
family who worships the Lordpassionately.
Also, devote yourself to thereading of his scriptures.
As you can tell, there is somuch to gain from living this
new life, and his guidance isfound in his love letters, the
Bible to us.
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Finally, today I want toencourage you that if you are
dealing with addiction still, ormental health issues such as
anxiety, depression and anger,and you're living in shame, I
want to encourage you toseriously consider the fact that
by choosing life with the Lordmeans you don't have to do it
alone anymore.
(31:11):
As a matter of fact, you won'theal alone.
Consider seeking out aChristian therapist who can
utilize both tools fromscripture as well as integrate
healthy tools from the medicalspace to assist you in becoming
that all God wants you to be.
He is a God of hope, my friends, and he desires us to display
(31:35):
that hope as we find it and webelieve it deep in our souls and
our heart and we live it.
Next time on the HopefulPerspective podcast, we will
examine that fifth R, or thehope found in biblical
reconciliation.
What does it mean to bebiblically reconciled and how
(31:59):
does our pursuit in the ministryof reconciliation show the
world Christ?
Are all relationships that haveat one time been broken
intended to be reconciled?
If there are situations thatthis is a no-to, how do we build
healthy boundaries in theserelationships?
What are the practical steps ofhealthy reconciliation.
(32:21):
These are a few of thequestions and principles that I
will hope to address next timeon the Hopeful Perspective
podcast.
Until then, I want to thank youfor joining me today along this
journey and if you'd be so kindto follow, subscribe and, most
importantly, to download thisepisode, even if it takes up
(32:43):
space.
Download it and delete it,because this is the way that we
help the algorithm and to helpothers who may need this hopeful
perspective in their lives.
And now you can contributemonetarily by pressing our
Support the Show link that isembedded on your platform in
(33:03):
your episode descriptions.
Realize that all of yourcontributions are being utilized
to grow the podcast, to broadenour reach and to share the hope
of Christ.
You may have heard that ournext practical steps would be to
purchase the second mic orheadphones and even whatever
necessary equipment we can sothat we can have interviews with
(33:25):
others live here on the podcastwho have experienced hope
amidst their trials.
Others live here on the podcastwho have experienced hope
amidst their trials.
I want to shout out mygratitude to the multiple new
donors who already have madethis commitment to support us
financially.
Without you, it would not bepossible to reach as many lives
with the message of hope that wehave, and I would love to reach
(33:46):
as many that are still walkingin difficulty and darkness, like
I have, or anyone who needs tobe reminded that hope is real.
So thank you so much in advancefor these considerations and
until next time, remember youare loved.
Welcome to the Hopeful Perspective podcast.
I am your host, jason Hopkins.
To this point on the show, wehave examined my personal story
of suffering and healing painand purpose, as well as we have
discussed the biblicalperspective on suffering and
forgiveness.
We have learned how my lifeillustrates God's glory through
(00:20):
my own experiences moving fromsurvivor to thriver and victim
to victor.
Through my own experiencesmoving from survivor to thriver
and victim to victor.
Though my past was full of painand suffering, I have been
restored with purpose andsanctification.
I have been redeemed.
I have also been called tofollow Christ in my redemption.
We have further examined twoimperatives that Jesus gave all
(00:40):
of his disciples to pick up ourcross and sacrifice our
self-interests, as well as toforgive others as we ourselves
are forgiven.
Today we are going to discussthe biblical imperative to be
transformed by the renewing ofour minds what biblical
restoration actually looks like.
(01:00):
So I encourage you to grab yourfavorite snack, hot or cold
beverage, get comfortable andcome on this journey with me
today as we explore the powerand the freedom found in
transformation into a new childof God.
Before we jump into today'stopic, I want to discuss some
exciting news regarding thepodcast.
(01:22):
I have been invited by a goodfriend to collaborate with him
on the podcast he hosts and toshare my story for God's glory.
If you've been following fromthe beginning of our short
history, you know that themission and vision of the
podcast is to share the hopefulperspective with as many people
as possible, to extend our reachand to influence others as we
(01:44):
grow.
I have stated that, whether wereach five people or five
million people, that the Lordwill be glorified through this
podcast, so I am excited to beinvited by my friend so early in
the process.
Stay tuned for the dates andthe location of this upcoming
collaboration.
For the dates and the locationof this upcoming collaboration.
(02:07):
Last week, we looked at thecommand to forgive, as Christ
forgave us when we haveundergone pain and brokenness.
The path to His glory isn't aneasy one, yet it is worth it.
Forgiving others for the way wehave been wounded and
perpetrated is one of the severechallenges this side of heaven.
This week, though, I want toconnect this concept of the
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command to forgive others as weare forgiven to the opportunity
of experiencing biblicalredemption, and I want to do so
by opening us up with thequestion are we conditionally
promised fulfillment by simplyforgiving others.
I want you to consider thisquestion as you think of the
(02:50):
times in your life you have beenwounded.
Was it enough to simply forgiveyour perpetrator, or did you
have lingering effects from thepain that had been caused?
How do you move through thepain of the past as you walk in
faith?
How do you walk in faith byforgiving others or being
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forgiven for an atrocity youhave committed, yet you still
carry the pain?
How do we reconcile our faithwith forgiveness and restoration
and with true transformation?
Some people may just refer to abiblical verse,
over-spiritualizing the pointthrough their misapplication of
his word.
(03:30):
Take this one from Paul in hissecond letter to the Corinthians
, 2 Corinthians 5.17, saysTherefore, if anyone is in
Christ, the new creation hascome, the old has gone and the
new is here.
This verse can be misapplied tosuggest that once a person has
found Christ, he or she will sinno more.
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I have literally heard thistheology preached from verses
such as this.
Such faulty teaching denies thehumanity we have and the faulty
belief system that Biblebelieving Christian followers
must reconcile and work through,belief system that
Bible-believing Christianfollowers must reconcile and
work through.
In fact, paul is addressing thetransformed perspective he has
within his faith journey.
He now views every person as aneternal being, not merely just
(04:15):
an earthly or fleshly one.
This is a result of acceptingChrist's eternal and divine
being.
Anyone who is in Christ becomeslike Christ.
That person is indeed a newcreation.
Yet we are still human beingsthat with an authentic eternal
being as well as our mortalflesh, that they can be at war
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with one another.
Paul says in Ephesians 6.12 thatwe wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but againstprincipalities, against powers,
against the rulers of thedarkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness, even inhigh places.
This is the battle that ourselfish spirit wages against the
renewing of the mind and thenew creation of actually
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becoming like Christ, ofactually becoming like Christ as
a new person.
We are to be filling our lifeup with the things of the Spirit
versus the things of the world.
John tells us in 1 John 2.16that for everything in the world
, the lust of the flesh, thelust of the eyes and the pride
of life comes not from theFather but from the world, where
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I used to love the beats andthe rhythms and even the lyrics
to justify my favorite secularartists, many who are
communicating the lies of theenemy, you know, like glorifying
the flesh, living a hedonistic,sex, money-grabbing,
self-gratifying lifestyle, and Iwould eventually found that
replacing them with music thatis truly worshiping God edified
(05:47):
my soul, this new person I wasbecoming and building my spirit
up to be, whereas I was usingthe influence of mass media,
hollywood and other significantinfluences to speak the similar
lies as before mentioned to me,where I was filled with lies and
even death.
I now know to turn to themediums that the Lord has given
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to us that speak life.
I have to choose to fill myentertainment with content that
either aligns with moral,biblical and godly messaging and
lives in alignment to his wordsthat fill me up.
You see, my tastes, mypreferences and my desires begin
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to change as a new creation.
Yet how do we reconcile thisfact that we are a new creation
once we submit ourselves to theLord, yet we still do battle
with the beliefs, the attitudesand the behaviors of our old
flesh?
This is a common question foranyone who has come into Christ.
I have counseled several addictsin my time who came to Christ,
(06:55):
yet they had to battle theunderlying belief systems that
led the addicted person to thetrue freedom found in their
newfound relationship.
The truth is, most everyone isaddicted to something.
Another word for addiction isidolatry.
We are filling ourselves up andcoping with something that is
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not of the Lord and is oftendestructive to us physically,
mentally, emotionally,spiritually and then
relationally.
Think of how the followingadditions or coping mechanisms
or idols, if you will qualify inaffecting those five holistic
areas of our life.
Think about how drinking,drugging, binge eating, lying,
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manipulating, food, addiction,overworking, sex, pornography,
masturbation and lust, cheatingon our spouse emotionally and or
physically, denial, anxiety,rage, physically or emotionally,
passive-aggressive gambling,over-spiritualizing, you know,
(08:04):
like a Pharisee, shopping,escaping, and the list is
exhaustive.
You can see that often theaddictions and symptoms are
sometimes difficult todistinguish in amongst
themselves between ouraddictions, our relapses, our
sins, our idols.
Relapses, our sins, our idols.
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Our choosing anything over ourcreator as a new creation in
Christ is an idol.
I have met so many Christianswho live in this duplicity or
another word, hypocrisy and arebattling these symptoms or
challenges in the flesh and arewhite-knuckling, trying to
barely hold on.
They are trying to outrun theirpain, thus creating stress, and
this stress triggers theemotions that drive our
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addictive behavior.
The problem with this is wehave God-given, healthy emotions
.
You know our new self.
But even the painful ones thatwarn us are there to show us
that something is wrong.
Constantly anesthetizing theseemotions by overriding them with
addiction leads to obviousdestruction.
This is not what you werecreated for, what you were
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deemed for, nor is it how we letour lives shine.
We were created for authenticrelationships with God and
others, and when we are steepedin our flesh, our addiction with
God and others, and when we aresteeped in our flesh, our
addiction and our copingmechanisms we are anesthetizing
our conscience that the HolySpirit uses to inform us when we
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are on the bad path.
We are essentially silencingthat voice of God within our
lives.
We were created to look to Godfor guidance and not rely on the
destructive things of thisworld.
Yet I believe another point forus to consider is equally
significant, and it is foundwithin this continual discussion
we have regarding suffering andsalvation, right here on the
podcast.
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Once we understand the purposeof suffering, we begin to see
how we are being transformedthrough the fires of these
addictions and temptations,these trials and these
tribulations, and this is oftenthe only battle plan to wage the
war of our flesh.
Peter said in this way in hisfirst letter, chapter 5, verse
(10:14):
10, and the God of all grace,who called you to his eternal
glory in Christ, after you'vesuffered a little while, will
himself restore you and make youstrong, firm and steadfast.
Do you remember that one?
But how is it that we are madestrong, firm and steadfast?
If you will humor me in my useof alliteration, then we will
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see five R's that help usunderstand this process of true
biblical transformation.
More there have been similardescriptions used by many, true
biblical transformation.
More there have been similardescriptions used by many, but I
have found this one to behelpful for my process.
The first R is replacement.
Jesus said in the Old Testamentto us I will give you a new
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heart and I will put a newspirit in you.
I will remove from your heartof stone and give you a heart of
flesh Ezekiel 36, 26.
God is the one who graciouslyreplaces our hearts of stone
with hearts of flesh.
That is how we can come to knowhim, because he first loved us
and he gives us this new heartand we thank him for his grace.
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Jesus replaced when he came toearth.
He replaced the old laws ofsacrifice known in the Old
Testament, with his becoming thesacrifice, once and for all,
for eternal salvation to all ofthose who would come to love him
.
Who would come to love him.
Therefore, what we once putworship to is now replaced and
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our second R now becomessignificant.
First is replacement, the secondis repentance.
We are literally now with a newheart.
We're going to turn 180 degreesfrom our old self and our old
life and now to God for our newlife.
We do this by making a changeof mind, a change of heart and
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action, by turning away from sinand self and returning to God.
He's given us this new flesh,this new heart, but we have to
change the beliefs of the oldmind and the flesh.
Repent then, and turn to God sothat your sins may be wiped out
, that times refreshing may comeon you from the Lord.
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That's in Acts 3.19.
We are to repent, and then ourthird R comes into play, the R
of restoration.
Though sacrificing our self-will, self-centeredness and
submitting to God's will, ourminds need to be continuously
restored or renewed.
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Either R really works in thisplace, doesn't it?
Romans 12 says this.
Therefore, I urge you, brothersand sisters, in view of God's
mercy, to offer your bodies as aliving sacrifice, holy and
pleasing to God.
This is your true and properworship.
Do not conform to the patternof this world, but be
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transformed by what?
The renewing of your mind.
Then you'll be able to test andimprove what God's will is his
good, pleasing and perfect will.
Neuroscience today has come along way in the past 40 years,
and we've discovered more aboutour brains within this time
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frame than any other period ofour life.
Humans have the ability toactually rewire their brains by
forming new neural pathways.
This is a process calledneuroplasticity.
The brain usually will do thison its own in response to, say,
injury or disease, but peoplecan also slowly rewire their
(13:54):
pathways by focusing theirattention.
That's a medical definition.
This sounds kind of familiarfrom Romans, chapter 12, doesn't
it?
We can literally teach thelimbic system, that is, that
survival brain, that we nolonger live in fear or survival,
but we now live in faith andsacrifice.
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But how do we do this?
We face our current fears andeven our pain that wants to lie
to us about yesterday, with ournew belief system and new action
step that is different than weever have taken before.
And don't be surprised that,though, our relationships are
marred when we are living in sin, that God used relationships in
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the beginning and he will withyou today within your healing
process.
You see we were created by himto have healthy, close and
intimate relationships and yetthese stand to be the most
valuable things we lose withinour sin, that the enemy wants to
do nothing but steal, kill anddestroy from.
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Yet God will still use thepower of healthy relationships
in correlation with those whoare living relapsed, isolated
and idolatrous lives.
I want you to think about acouple examples, if you will.
If you were wounded by a motheror your father, do not be
(15:22):
surprised when God will sendhealthy mother or father figures
into your life in your futureto change your heart.
I think of the many fostermothers and then my own
mother-in-law, who I love somuch, who has helped redeem
these mother wounds.
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If you've been affected byracism or hatred, or you or
yourselves battle with those twothings, don't be surprised when
God sends you one from theoffending party for you to
forgive and change your heart,or he sends somebody that you
have disdain for to come intoyour life.
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I think of a couple friends ofmine, a former skinhead who was
himself guilty of racism.
And then I think of anotherfriend, this black man, who
faced blatant hatred and racismin his early childhood and now
the two of them, in their adultlives, were used in each other
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to heal the deep-seated woundsthat each bore New results over
time and, as a result, god'sforgiveness and individual
restoration occurred in theirlives, and today they are close
friends.
See, godly, redemption makesthe supernatural appear
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completely natural.
One of the beliefs I haveacquired and grown in is that
God's word and God's world donot contradict one another.
This idea of our brain beingcapable of renewal and rewired
was indicated, as we saw in hisword, millenniums before, and
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now we have the ability tounderstand what we deal with
today.
But check these out.
Colossians 3, verses 1 through10, says since then you have
been raised with Christ.
Set your hearts and that'sanother way the Bible says your
minds on the things above, whereChrist is seated now at the
(17:27):
right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above,not on earthly things, for you
died and your life is now hiddenwith Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life,appears, then you will also
appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore,whatever belongs to your earthly
(17:49):
nature sexual immorality,impurity, lust, evil desires and
greed, which is idolatry.
This is what the word is saying.
Because of these, the wrath ofGod is coming.
You used to walk in these waysin the life you once lived, but
now you must also rid yourselvesof all such things as these.
Look at the list.
(18:10):
Continue here anger, rage,malice, slander and filthy
language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, sinceyou have taken off your old
self with its practices and haveput on the new self, which is
being renewed in the knowledgeand the image of its creator.
There is so much in that versethat we could unpack, and I
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would encourage you to read itover and over again as we
discuss these concepts.
Do you hear what tense thatPaul is speaking in, though?
I want to draw attention tothis recurring point.
Did Paul say and you have puton the new self, which was
renewed?
Go back and read it.
See, I don't read that either.
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We have put on the new self,which is being renewed.
Once again, we see that ourrestoration is not just one of
an immediacy, but of an ongoingprocess.
I have had to practice anddiscipline myself in the matters
of my faith by changing thesebeliefs that were underlying,
which drove my emotions in turns, driving that old, selfish and
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idolatrous behavior.
With the level of pain andtrauma I have experienced in my
life, I've been told that Iwould be fully justified if I
was drowning my sorrows with sex, drugs, serial relationships,
booze or whatever I could tostop the pain, the depression,
the anxiety, the nightmares, thepost-traumatic stress disorder,
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and I've spent long seasonsutilizing some of these to do
just that.
Yet I was left feeling emptier,further isolated and in deeper
sorrow than I even began in.
That is until I faithfullycommitted to addressing these
sorrows and facing theunderlying pain when I started
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facing my walk with integrity.
I was tired of trying by myselfto change these behaviors.
I resented, and this wouldhappen regardless of the
sacrifice and the suffering thatI would face going forward.
It would happen with Jesus andhis Holy Spirit, with God as my
(20:27):
new father showing the samepower that he resurrected his
godly son in from death, andhe's now doing that to resurrect
me.
So this leads us to the next R,that is, that resurrection
power through Christ's death,and this is in Romans 6, 1-4,.
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Through Jesus' death andresurrection, we are promised
restoration from death to life.
Paul asks us this relevantquestion.
What shall we say then?
Shall we go on sinning so thatgrace may increase?
By no means.
We are those who have died tosin, so how can we live in it
any longer?
We are those who have died tosin, so how can we live in it
any longer?
And verse 3 says or don't youknow that all of us who were
(21:13):
baptized into Christ Jesus werebaptized also into his death?
We were therefore buried withhim through baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christwas raised from the dead through
the glory of the Father, we toomay live a new life Again.
That's Romans, chapter 6.
We too may live a new lifeAgain.
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That's Romans, chapter 6.
I love the discipline of baptismthat all of us are called to
undertake in the command when weare given as his followers once
we have repented from our waysand turned our life over to him.
This decision to be physicallybaptized plays out a physical
representation of what Pauldescribed in the spiritual realm
within Romans, chapter 6.
Grace was given to us as a freegift, yet not as a license nor
(21:58):
justification to continue in sin.
You see, we were buried withChrist and then raised again
with him.
We were created for intimacywith God and others, and that's
part of what we were resurrectedtoward.
And this brings us now to thefinal R in our restoration
paradigm, that of reunion or,you could say, reconciliation,
(22:20):
and I will be going into this ina little more depth in our next
episode.
But for today's sake, I want usto see how this plays into this
restoration process.
I want us to see how this playsinto this restoration process
being justified by Jesus'sacrifice for us.
Did you know that we are nowreunited with God the Creator,
as His now redeemed creation?
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See, just like Adam and Eveused to walk with God in the
cool of the day and literallytalk with Him, once they were
separated, he had to now find anew way and a new sacrifice to
reunite us to our creator.
It says this in Romans, chapter5,.
Since we have now beenjustified by his blood, how much
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more shall we be saved fromGod's wrath through him?
For if, while we were God'senemies, we were reconciled to
him through the death of his son, how much more, having been
reconciled, shall we be savedthrough his life?
Not only is this so, but wealso boast in God, through our
Lord, jesus Christ, through whomwe have now received this
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reconciliation, this reunion.
So, while we were out there,living as sinners in a world
cursed, as we were dying in oursin, we were then found worthy
by him, we became justified bythe sacrifice that he wanted to
make for us, and we werejustified by that grace.
And again, like Romans 6already indicated, this is not a
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license, nor is anything thatwe can boast in ourselves.
It's not our work, but how muchmore fulfilled are we now that
we are alive in him and we cannow boast in the one who brings
us this restoration and thishealing.
This paradox is a profound onethat shapes our hope as the new
(24:11):
redeemed.
You see, when we rediscover ournew identity in Christ and we
live in that new identity inthat place of restoration, we
are drawn intimately to God andwe cannot help but to have those
close, intimate relationshipswith other people that are
actually required and desiredwithin the healing process.
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When we confront our fears andour pain with faith and
generational curses are brokenand we are unified with the Holy
Spirit to form thriving familylegacies, hope happens.
See, my alcoholic,drug-addicted parents did not
necessarily determine myidentity.
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They serve neither as my excuseto do the same things nor as my
primary influence.
God, the Father, parented meand parents me now in my new
identity.
He moved me from being aneventual orphan to a child of
his.
I am his son, he is my father,and we can have a good, close
(25:23):
and healthy relationship.
You see, we have to alwaysremember, with a sober mind,
that the difference of movingfrom victim to victor, as we
constantly say, or victim toperpetrator is separated by a
thin line, a decision on thepart of the victim.
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That's what Paul was saying in 2Corinthians 5, 17, in terms of
his perspective of every personbeing an eternal being.
You know that verse we read atthe beginning that could
actually be misinterpreted.
He says that we have theopportunity, as eternal beings,
to become like Christ.
Remember, therefore, if anyoneis in Christ, the new creation
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has come and the old has gone.
The new now is here.
I know for me, on my journey infaith as a young believer and
one who had encounteredcontinuing hardships well into
my faith, that this process,demonstrated through the five
R's we just talked about, hasbeen evident all throughout as a
(26:30):
person who has relied fully onmyself being a rage depression,
sex relationship addict, as wellas demonstrated by the multiple
personalities developed for myprotection.
And remember each of thosepersonalities with their own
trauma and, believe it or not,their own individual addiction
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sometimes, or their ownaffection, you can now imagine
how I would have found itextremely difficult to fully
submit to God's plan andprotection for some time.
This process of submission wasa painful one.
I can't lie, as I literally hadto put to death the false
belief systems and the lies theenemy had projected over me from
(27:14):
a very young age, well into myadulthood, that I couldn't trust
anyone in authority for they'regoing to be out to hurt me as a
victim of sexual abuse and rape, even bearing the physical
scars of genital mutilation.
Today, I lived in afull-fledged battle of sexual
and porn addiction throughout myyoung faith, further steeping
(27:41):
my shame and secrecy.
The truths found in scripturedeclaring these acts to be the
old self fell on deaf ears formany years while I was stuck in
my addiction fell on deaf earsfor many years while I was stuck
in my addiction.
It wasn't until I was able torenew the mind and literally
deal with my affected neuralpathways that were created
through addiction that I beganfinding freedom and liberty from
the heavy chains that had beenholding me down.
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The healing processes, thetherapy, the tools.
For example, there's one calledthe Genesis Process, another
one called Five to Thrive, andanother one from a book called
Living from the Heart.
Jesus Gave you tools thathelped me through my disorders
and addictions.
They were used in myrestoration, and we will discuss
(28:25):
some of these at greater lengthin future podcasts.
I would love for you to not justwalk away with information, but
also biblical tools for yourredemption, for it is my desire
to have anyone listening todaythat currently walk in bondage
to find the freedom that I nowhave, that I now have to find
(28:55):
that hope.
Yet, for some of us today, Irealize that our bondage is due,
in part, to the fact that wehave been relying to live our
own lives on our own termsInstead, and all of our best
attempts to change our liveshave fallen short.
And all of our best attempts tochange our lives have fallen
short, and that is whether youare a believer or you don't know
what you think yet about God.
(29:16):
You are listening today, though, and you are feeling this
prompting to consider life onhis terms.
If that is you today, or youare someone who is ready to
recommit yourself to the Lord.
I want to pray this prayer withyou, lord Jesus.
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I repent of my sins, of my ownself-will, and I surrender my
life to you.
Wash me clean.
I believe that you are the Sonof God, that you died on the
cross for the forgiveness of mysins and you rose again on the
third day for my victory.
I believe that in my heart, andI make confession right now
with my mouth, that you, jesus,are my Lord and my Savior.
I want to live my lifeaccording to your terms and I
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pray for you to change me, myheart, my mind, my beliefs, from
the inside out.
And it is in your name today,jesus of Nazareth, that I pray
Amen, amen.
If you have today agreed withthis prayer from the depths of
your heart, if you have todayagreed with this prayer from the
depths of your heart, I welcomeyou to the eternal family of
(30:31):
God.
I encourage you to find anorthodox, biblical-based faith
family who worships the Lordpassionately.
Also, devote yourself to thereading of his scriptures.
As you can tell, there is somuch to gain from living this
new life, and his guidance isfound in his love letters, the
Bible to us.
(30:51):
Finally, today I want toencourage you that if you are
dealing with addiction still, ormental health issues such as
anxiety, depression and anger,and you're living in shame, I
want to encourage you toseriously consider the fact that
by choosing life with the Lordmeans you don't have to do it
alone anymore.
(31:11):
As a matter of fact, you won'theal alone.
Consider seeking out aChristian therapist who can
utilize both tools fromscripture as well as integrate
healthy tools from the medicalspace to assist you in becoming
that all God wants you to be.
He is a God of hope, my friends, and he desires us to display
(31:35):
that hope as we find it and webelieve it deep in our souls and
our heart and we live it.
Next time on the HopefulPerspective podcast, we will
examine that fifth R, or thehope found in biblical
reconciliation.
What does it mean to bebiblically reconciled and how
(31:59):
does our pursuit in the ministryof reconciliation show the
world Christ?
Are all relationships that haveat one time been broken
intended to be reconciled?
If there are situations thatthis is a no-to, how do we build
healthy boundaries in theserelationships?
What are the practical steps ofhealthy reconciliation.
(32:21):
These are a few of thequestions and principles that I
will hope to address next timeon the Hopeful Perspective
podcast.
Until then, I want to thank youfor joining me today along this
journey and if you'd be so kindto follow, subscribe and, most
importantly, to download thisepisode, even if it takes up
(32:43):
space.
Download it and delete it,because this is the way that we
help the algorithm and to helpothers who may need this hopeful
perspective in their lives.
And now you can contributemonetarily by pressing our
Support the Show link that isembedded on your platform in
(33:03):
your episode descriptions.
Realize that all of yourcontributions are being utilized
to grow the podcast, to broadenour reach and to share the hope
of Christ.
You may have heard that ournext practical steps would be to
purchase the second mic orheadphones and even whatever
necessary equipment we can sothat we can have interviews with
(33:25):
others live here on the podcastwho have experienced hope
amidst their trials.
Others live here on the podcastwho have experienced hope
amidst their trials.
I want to shout out mygratitude to the multiple new
donors who already have madethis commitment to support us
financially.
Without you, it would not bepossible to reach as many lives
with the message of hope that wehave, and I would love to reach
(33:46):
as many that are still walkingin difficulty and darkness, like
I have, or anyone who needs tobe reminded that hope is real.
So thank you so much in advancefor these considerations and
until next time, remember youare loved.
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