May 4, 2025 • 31 mins
Pastor Vera McEwen is incredibly excited to give an open welcome to all at Love God Ministries! An online community where all truly are welcome, Pastor Vera embodies the Love of Christ through witness and discipleship. She founded Love God Ministries because conversations with people revealed a need for a community of believers where it does not matter how you look but recognize that you are a child of God.
Pastor Vera has been teaching and preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Word of God for over 30 years. Her primary emphasis is spreading God's Love by providing pastoral care, preaching God's Loving Word, teaching God's Light-Filled Word, and implementing God's Living relational group architecture via in home communities.
She is currently reviewing the prospects of a doctorate in religious studies with an emphasis on Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic as encouraged by her professors at seminary. In addition to her vocation as Pastor she ministers as a certified professional and personal coach.
With God's help, she implements 1 Thessalonians 5.11, motivating people to be and do their very best by building one another up. Pastor Vera is a joyous, ever singing sister in Christ who after years of being pursued by God, stopped running and answered the call, halleluiah, הַלְלוּיָה
https://www.lovegod-ministries.org/
Pastor Vera has been teaching and preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and the Word of God for over 30 years. Her primary emphasis is spreading God's Love by providing pastoral care, preaching God's Loving Word, teaching God's Light-Filled Word, and implementing God's Living relational group architecture via in home communities.
She is currently reviewing the prospects of a doctorate in religious studies with an emphasis on Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic as encouraged by her professors at seminary. In addition to her vocation as Pastor she ministers as a certified professional and personal coach.
With God's help, she implements 1 Thessalonians 5.11, motivating people to be and do their very best by building one another up. Pastor Vera is a joyous, ever singing sister in Christ who after years of being pursued by God, stopped running and answered the call, halleluiah, הַלְלוּיָה
https://www.lovegod-ministries.org/
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
The following content is provided by I Am Refocused Radio
contributor Pastor Vera McEwen with Love God Ministries. We'll be
sharing today's message, and now here is your host, Pastor
Vera McEwen.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
It is twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Let us dive into the divine word of God.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Let us take a journey on.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
The road, the way, the path of penitents. When you
unplug your pride, When you unplug your pride, when you
(00:57):
unplug your pride, then.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
You are ready.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
To peruse, to place one foot in front of the
other on the path of penitents, for there is no
room for pride on that path. Turn with me to
(01:29):
the first reading for the day. The first reading for
the day can be found in Joseiah Hoseah's in the
Old Testament. After the songs, there you are Hosea, Chapter fourteen.
We're gonna hone in on verses one and two. The
(01:49):
very first word that verse one says in the NIV
is return. That word in Hebrew is suva, return or sab.
We talked about that in our previous message. Suva means return, repent,
(02:16):
come back, turn around, change your direction and go toward
the Lord, your God. Verse one says, return Israel to
the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall.
(02:42):
Your sins have been your downfall. Today we are honing
in on unplugging pride. Unplug pride, unplugged pride, and repent.
Unplugged pride, and return unplugged pride and suvi turn back
(03:14):
to the Lord your God. And verse two it tells
us what we're to do, and we turn back. So
Joseah is not giving us the word to do something
and then not telling us how to do it. So
Joseiah actually specifically lists how we are to do it.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
It says, take words, and then.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Joseah provides the words to take. Take words with you
and Suvah. Return, repent, turn back, turn around.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
To the Lord.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Say to the Lord. Joseiah tells us forgive. So make
a request of the Lord, when you unplug pride, to forgive,
forgive all our sins, specifically unplugging that sin of pride.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Forgive all our sins and receive receive us graciously.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
That we may offer the fruit of our lips. Verse
one says return Suvah. Verse two says return Suva. And
then it says, when you return and speak these words
that I will give you.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
The Lord will.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Receive you graciously and place words on your.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Mouth that our fruit full.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Unplug pride, return, repent, and request, so that you can
be placed on the path and.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Plugged in to penitents.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Unplugged pride, plug in penitents.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Turn with me to the Psalm for today.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
The song for today is Psalm six in its entirety,
We're gonna hone in on verse six and nineteen.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Hosean just gave us words to speak to.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
The word Lord, when we return, when we turn, when
we repent, when we Salveba, and this Psalm miss gives
us a dish words. But I tell you that sometimes
we don't even have the words to speak. Have you
(06:09):
been downtrodden in a way that prevents.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
You from even speaking out? Verse six says I am
worn out? Have you been worn out at your last
(06:33):
the summer?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Says I am worn out from my groaning. Sometimes we
don't even have words from my groaning, and I drench.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
My couch with tears.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
From weeping. There are times when we are so worn out.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
The weight of the world has weighed us down that
all we can do is weep.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
All we can do is grown. All we can do
is wreathe in our despair. Verse nine says, the Lord
has heard. The Lord hears you when you've grown. Hosea
(07:35):
may have given you the words, and you may not
be able to speak those words. But the Lord hears
you when you weep. The Lord hears you when you
cry out. Verse nine says the Lord has heard my
cry or mercy.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
The Lord accepts my prayer.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Unplug pride, return repent, request, unplug pride, grown, weep, pray,
(08:16):
turn with me to James. The New Testament reading in
James begins in chapter four. It includes verses six through ten.
We're gonna hone in on verse eight and ten, but
I encourage you to read the entire scripture. James speaks
(08:41):
out in this verse. Verse eight says, come near to God.
On the path of penitents, we migrate on the path
of penticent We peruse. On the path of penitence, we
(09:05):
journey toward God. Come near to God, and God will
come near to you.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
You see, you don't have to just walk on that path.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
When you unplug your pride, you're walking toward God and
God is walking toward you.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Come near to God, and God will come near to you.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart. Purify
your hearts, you double minded. Unplug pride, Unplug pride and purify.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Verse ten, the very.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
First word says, humble yourselves. Unplug pride, Purify and humble
yourselves before the Lord, and the Lord will lift you up.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Do you want the weight of your sins to be removed?
Then i'mplow the pride and the return. Do you want
to be created.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
A new unplugged pride and purify your hearts? Become humble,
and the Lord will lift up every sin, every transgression,
every iniquity.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
From your being.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Unplugged pride, Purify your heart, be humble.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Plug in penitents.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
The gospel reading today can be found in Matthew Chapter nine.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Matthew is in the New Testament as well.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
It's the very first gospel we're gonna hone in on
verse nine because verse nine.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Teaches us.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
How to unplug pride and plug in penitents.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Read with me.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
It says, as Jesus went on from there, Jesus saw
a man named Matthew sitting at a tax collector's booth.
Jesus said, follow me. Jesus said, follow me. Do you
(11:52):
want to unplug from your everyday despair? Do you want
to unplug from the bullying that's happening to you on
your computer, on the internet, on your device. Jesus says,
fo me. He told us to Matthew. And what did
(12:15):
Matthew do? Did Matthew think about it? You know, I'm
sitting here, I've got to counter my money first. Did
Matthew say, well, you know I gotta go back and
do this first, or no, Matthew unplug the pride immediately
and plugged in penitents by following Jesus. It says that
matth you got up and followed him. Are you ready
(12:39):
to unplug the pride and follow unplugged pride and plug
in penitents. When you unplug pride, you souv u return,
You repent, you request in your own words or the
(13:05):
words of hype Koseia.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
But if that's not enough, if you are worn out,
then you can groan, you can weep and pray, the
psawmist tells us.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And then James tells us to unplog pride and purify
your heart in a humbling way.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
And Jesus simply says, in Matthew unplugged, pride.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And follow. I'll never forget when I worked a long time.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Ago before I became a cranial sacral therapist full time
and began own schooling.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I loved my job.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I became certified in all these credentials, and I felt
really confident.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
About what I had achieved.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And not only did I feel confident, I had pride
in all that I'd done. I had all of these
degrees and I had all of these certifications, and they
would call on me to do all kinds of work,
to travel around constantly. And then when God called me
to homeschool my daughter, I decided to leave that behind.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Now.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
It took a couple of convincings. I wasn't like Matthew.
I didn't drop everything and follow. But once I was convinced,
I stopped working in corporate America, took up my CST practice,
began full time, and I knew I was going to
tackle it like I had tackled everything else. I became certified,
(15:01):
I had all of these credentials, and I thought I'd
walk in as though I'd walk into my office as
a program, project, portfolio engineering manager, only to find that
I had no clients.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
None that happened the first month, the second month, the
third month, and yet I was spending like I was
still working for Corporate America. I was dressed just like
I was working in Corporate America. And I could not
figure out why I did not make any money, why.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I didn't have any clients. And then I finally had
this little trickle of clients coming in every so often.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
I changed the way I dressed, but I still was
not bringing in enough to support my daughter. And I
I had to unplug my pride, forget about my credentials,
forget about my certifications, my degrees, and I humbled myself.
(16:12):
I humbled myself and decided that this was no longer
my practice. I decided to make it God's practice. I'll
never forget that day. I'm like God, I cannot do
this myself. I don't know what I'm doing. I need
a CFO because.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
My finances are out of management.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I need a CEO because I need a great plan
and some organization. And I need a CIO and I'm
not good enough to do it.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I need you to do it. I remember weeping.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
And crying, literally laying on the floor, sweeping and crying
and when I called on God, God answered.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
From a CFO perspective.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
God said, you need to stop using your cards as
though you were still working for Corporate America, because you're
not right.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Now immediately stopped.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
You need a financial plan, worked on a financial plan
with God, looked it up, looked down at how I
needed to do that.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And then the most effective.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Thing that my CIO God gave me was the gift
of insurance.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
God said, you need to start taking insurance.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
I'm like, what, I don't know how to do that.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
So I became.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Certified to take insurance. And then I didn't know how
to in process the request. So my CIO taught me
how to process these requests for insurance, and all of
a sudden, I was making the same amount and more
than I was making before as an engineer, as a
program portfolio manager.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
As a Corporate America person.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Because I chose to unplug my pride, bend down low,
and allow God to be my CFO, my CEO, and
my cioh and learn from God.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I tell you, are you ready to unplug your pride
and repent?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Are you ready to unplug your pride and request? Are
you ready when you're worn out to unplug and weep,
to unplug and groan and pray so that your heart
(18:46):
can be purified, so that you're very being.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Can be changed from a prideful person to a pentitent person.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
Are you ready to unplug your pride and plug in penitents?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
I think I think of creation when I think of
humbling and penitence.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
I had the wonderful opportunity to unplug this past week.
The place that I went said no cell phones, no computers,
We're gonna go out in nature.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Yay.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
I love being out of nature. And thankfully there were
no phones ringing, there, nothing, nothing.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
And I remember stumbling on this path and looking down,
and what I saw was so absolutely amazing.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
It was this.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Rock formation, and this rock formation was below and around
it was something that looked like a hand, but it
was actually the root of a tree that it.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Borne into this rock.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And the rock made itself pliable and breakable and crumbleable,
and so that the tree could grab a hole and
take root and.
Speaker 6 (20:34):
Grow and grow. And then was this tall canopy of
a western himn rock. In order for that to happen,
the rock had to unplug. Can you learn from the rock?
(20:56):
Can you learn from the rock.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
The rock had to be.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
And support and hold up so that the tree could
wide itself around the rock and take.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
A foothold on it and.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Rise, and in doing so it took energy and portions
of the rock up into the canopy.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I love how nature teach us us to unplug pride
and plug in penitents.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I love music, and one of the things that I
always say is that you'll remember a song longer than
you'll remember my sermon.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So I always try.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
To have songs that are in alignment with my sermons.
When I have musicians who are willing to provide their services,
I have a song to you, just a few bars,
And I bet you know this song. Bumba bumba bom
bomba bum bum Do you know that brum ba bum
(22:14):
bum bum ba bum bum bum bum ba boom. It's
Indiana Jones. That's right, it's the theme song from Indiana Jones.
And you'll always hear that throughout the movies right in
some way former shape.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
And there's this one favorite of mine.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
It has Sean Connery and Harrison Ford and it's Indiana
Jones and The Last Crusade.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
And in this Indiana Jones and the last Crusade. We've
got Indiana Jones bum ba bom bom bomba bomb, and
you know his theme song music is a music that's
full of pride. You know, he knows what he's going
to do.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
He's gonna go grab that billion dollar artifact, maybe trillion
dollar artifact.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
And bring it back out of wherever it is.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Right, Well, there's this portion where he's going through his
father's journal and Sean Connery is his father. Now Sean
Connery is injured and he's trying to walk this through
this path with his son Indiana, and Indiana's cruising through
this path bump bam bomb bump ba bomb.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
And then all of a sudden, he's reading the journal
to recognize where he needs to go on this path,
and his father's reading along at the same time in his.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Mind because he had written it down.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
And Indiana's at this kind of crossroads with a decision
what do I do next?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
How do I get across this?
Speaker 3 (23:50):
And it says the penitent person, right, and Sean also
says the penitent the person, the penitent person, And so
Sean Connery is thinking, bah.
Speaker 7 (24:03):
Blah blah bah bah bah, what do I do? What
do I do, penitent person, pitted person, what do I do?
I need to drop down, that's right, I need to
drop down on my knees. I need to drop down,
And as he does, he is saved.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
What your billion dollar artifact is that you're trying to
receive on your journey.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I don't know what you are going through this very minute.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
I don't know if you can specifically use the words
of Joseiah and speak them out. I don't know if
you're at a groaning state where you're groaning and weeping.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
But this is what I do know. When you unplug
your prom and plug in penitents, the Lord will lift
you up so that you will rise as high as
the canopy. The Lord will remove all strain and struggle
(25:16):
from you.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
The Lord will put you in the center of whatever
storm is happening in your life.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
All you have to do is be willing to do
just as.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Jesus said, unplugged your pride and follow plug in penitence.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you all ways.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
Share that peace.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Let us listen to the prayer of the day.
Speaker 8 (27:00):
Prayer of the day, a prayer of humbling and healing. Oh,
Holy and glorious God, ancient of days, keeper of covenance
(27:28):
and mercy. We come before you this day, not with
polished words, but with broken spirits, bare souls, and vowed heads.
We confess Lord, that we have filled our hearts with idols,
(27:53):
the pride of life, the rush of power, the noise
of our own importance. We have been plugged into the
frenzy of control while neglecting. You're still small voice. Forgive us.
(28:21):
Unplug us, oh God, unplug our pride, our self reliance,
our need to always be right, and teach us again
to kneel. May we be still enough to know that
(28:41):
you are God, not us, not our systems, not our kingdoms.
You our God. To the leaders of nations, corporations, universities, schools, ministries,
(29:08):
O Lord, send a holy disruption, Interrupt pride with repentance,
replace domination with mercy, and let the righteous rise like
the dawn in the halls of power.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
We acknowledge that your.
Speaker 9 (29:31):
Earth groans beneath the weight of our misuse. We have
not tended your garden.
Speaker 8 (29:42):
Well.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
We have taken more than we have sown. But today,
O Creator, we repent.
Speaker 8 (29:53):
Make us stewards again, gentle, watchful, grateful us to live
in harmony with your design to restore, not just reap.
And for those who are sick on the well, in
(30:21):
despair without hope today, those whose bodies ache, whose hearts
are heavy, whose minds feel overwhelmed, stretch out your healing
hand jehoah rafa, comfort them, restore them, Surround them with
(30:46):
care and peace, the peace that passes understanding. Let them
know they are not forgot to. From now on, Lord,
let us walk light, more aware, more surrounded by surrender,
(31:18):
not unplugged from you, but from all that clouds our
view of You. Make us your people again. In Jesus' name,
we pray Amen.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
They is shall I agree with and Refocus Radio Make
sure you go to Refocus radio dot com to listen
to today's episode once again.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
If you aver say, keep God first, stay focused in peace,
The following content is provided by I Am Refocused Radio
contributor Pastor Vera McEwen with Love God Ministries. We'll be
sharing today's message, and now here is your host, Pastor
Vera McEwen.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
It is twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Let us dive into the divine word of God.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Let us take a journey on.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
The road, the way, the path of penitents. When you
unplug your pride, When you unplug your pride, when you
(00:57):
unplug your pride, then.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
You are ready.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
To peruse, to place one foot in front of the
other on the path of penitents, for there is no
room for pride on that path. Turn with me to
(01:29):
the first reading for the day. The first reading for
the day can be found in Joseiah Hoseah's in the
Old Testament. After the songs, there you are Hosea, Chapter fourteen.
We're gonna hone in on verses one and two. The
(01:49):
very first word that verse one says in the NIV
is return. That word in Hebrew is suva, return or sab.
We talked about that in our previous message. Suva means return, repent,
(02:16):
come back, turn around, change your direction and go toward
the Lord, your God. Verse one says, return Israel to
the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall.
(02:42):
Your sins have been your downfall. Today we are honing
in on unplugging pride. Unplug pride, unplugged pride, and repent.
Unplugged pride, and return unplugged pride and suvi turn back
(03:14):
to the Lord your God. And verse two it tells
us what we're to do, and we turn back. So
Joseah is not giving us the word to do something
and then not telling us how to do it. So
Joseiah actually specifically lists how we are to do it.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
It says, take words, and then.
Speaker 3 (03:40):
Joseah provides the words to take. Take words with you
and Suvah. Return, repent, turn back, turn around.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
To the Lord.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
Say to the Lord. Joseiah tells us forgive. So make
a request of the Lord, when you unplug pride, to forgive,
forgive all our sins, specifically unplugging that sin of pride.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Forgive all our sins and receive receive us graciously.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
That we may offer the fruit of our lips. Verse
one says return Suvah. Verse two says return Suva. And
then it says, when you return and speak these words
that I will give you.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
The Lord will.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Receive you graciously and place words on your.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Mouth that our fruit full.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Unplug pride, return, repent, and request, so that you can
be placed on the path and.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Plugged in to penitents.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Unplugged pride, plug in penitents.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Turn with me to the Psalm for today.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
The song for today is Psalm six in its entirety,
We're gonna hone in on verse six and nineteen.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Hosean just gave us words to speak to.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
The word Lord, when we return, when we turn, when
we repent, when we Salveba, and this Psalm miss gives
us a dish words. But I tell you that sometimes
we don't even have the words to speak. Have you
(06:09):
been downtrodden in a way that prevents.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
You from even speaking out? Verse six says I am
worn out? Have you been worn out at your last
(06:33):
the summer?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Says I am worn out from my groaning. Sometimes we
don't even have words from my groaning, and I drench.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
My couch with tears.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
From weeping. There are times when we are so worn out.
Speaker 5 (07:08):
The weight of the world has weighed us down that
all we can do is weep.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
All we can do is grown. All we can do
is wreathe in our despair. Verse nine says, the Lord
has heard. The Lord hears you when you've grown. Hosea
(07:35):
may have given you the words, and you may not
be able to speak those words. But the Lord hears
you when you weep. The Lord hears you when you
cry out. Verse nine says the Lord has heard my
cry or mercy.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
The Lord accepts my prayer.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Unplug pride, return repent, request, unplug pride, grown, weep, pray,
(08:16):
turn with me to James. The New Testament reading in
James begins in chapter four. It includes verses six through ten.
We're gonna hone in on verse eight and ten, but
I encourage you to read the entire scripture. James speaks
(08:41):
out in this verse. Verse eight says, come near to God.
On the path of penitents, we migrate on the path
of penticent We peruse. On the path of penitence, we
(09:05):
journey toward God. Come near to God, and God will
come near to you.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
You see, you don't have to just walk on that path.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
When you unplug your pride, you're walking toward God and
God is walking toward you.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Come near to God, and God will come near to you.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your heart. Purify
your hearts, you double minded. Unplug pride, Unplug pride and purify.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
Verse ten, the very.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
First word says, humble yourselves. Unplug pride, Purify and humble
yourselves before the Lord, and the Lord will lift you up.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
Do you want the weight of your sins to be removed?
Then i'mplow the pride and the return. Do you want
to be created.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
A new unplugged pride and purify your hearts? Become humble,
and the Lord will lift up every sin, every transgression,
every iniquity.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
From your being.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Unplugged pride, Purify your heart, be humble.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Plug in penitents.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
The gospel reading today can be found in Matthew Chapter nine.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Matthew is in the New Testament as well.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
It's the very first gospel we're gonna hone in on
verse nine because verse nine.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Teaches us.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
How to unplug pride and plug in penitents.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Read with me.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
It says, as Jesus went on from there, Jesus saw
a man named Matthew sitting at a tax collector's booth.
Jesus said, follow me. Jesus said, follow me. Do you
(11:52):
want to unplug from your everyday despair? Do you want
to unplug from the bullying that's happening to you on
your computer, on the internet, on your device. Jesus says,
fo me. He told us to Matthew. And what did
(12:15):
Matthew do? Did Matthew think about it? You know, I'm
sitting here, I've got to counter my money first. Did
Matthew say, well, you know I gotta go back and
do this first, or no, Matthew unplug the pride immediately
and plugged in penitents by following Jesus. It says that
matth you got up and followed him. Are you ready
(12:39):
to unplug the pride and follow unplugged pride and plug
in penitents. When you unplug pride, you souv u return,
You repent, you request in your own words or the
(13:05):
words of hype Koseia.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
But if that's not enough, if you are worn out,
then you can groan, you can weep and pray, the
psawmist tells us.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And then James tells us to unplog pride and purify
your heart in a humbling way.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
And Jesus simply says, in Matthew unplugged, pride.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
And follow. I'll never forget when I worked a long time.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Ago before I became a cranial sacral therapist full time
and began own schooling.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
I loved my job.
Speaker 3 (13:58):
I became certified in all these credentials, and I felt
really confident.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
About what I had achieved.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
And not only did I feel confident, I had pride
in all that I'd done. I had all of these
degrees and I had all of these certifications, and they
would call on me to do all kinds of work,
to travel around constantly. And then when God called me
to homeschool my daughter, I decided to leave that behind.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
Now.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
It took a couple of convincings. I wasn't like Matthew.
I didn't drop everything and follow. But once I was convinced,
I stopped working in corporate America, took up my CST practice,
began full time, and I knew I was going to
tackle it like I had tackled everything else. I became certified,
(15:01):
I had all of these credentials, and I thought I'd
walk in as though I'd walk into my office as
a program, project, portfolio engineering manager, only to find that
I had no clients.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
None that happened the first month, the second month, the
third month, and yet I was spending like I was
still working for Corporate America. I was dressed just like
I was working in Corporate America. And I could not
figure out why I did not make any money, why.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
I didn't have any clients. And then I finally had
this little trickle of clients coming in every so often.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
I changed the way I dressed, but I still was
not bringing in enough to support my daughter. And I
I had to unplug my pride, forget about my credentials,
forget about my certifications, my degrees, and I humbled myself.
(16:12):
I humbled myself and decided that this was no longer
my practice. I decided to make it God's practice. I'll
never forget that day. I'm like God, I cannot do
this myself. I don't know what I'm doing. I need
a CFO because.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
My finances are out of management.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
I need a CEO because I need a great plan
and some organization. And I need a CIO and I'm
not good enough to do it.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I need you to do it. I remember weeping.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
And crying, literally laying on the floor, sweeping and crying
and when I called on God, God answered.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
From a CFO perspective.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
God said, you need to stop using your cards as
though you were still working for Corporate America, because you're
not right.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Now immediately stopped.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
You need a financial plan, worked on a financial plan
with God, looked it up, looked down at how I
needed to do that.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
And then the most effective.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Thing that my CIO God gave me was the gift
of insurance.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
God said, you need to start taking insurance.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
I'm like, what, I don't know how to do that.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
So I became.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
Certified to take insurance. And then I didn't know how
to in process the request. So my CIO taught me
how to process these requests for insurance, and all of
a sudden, I was making the same amount and more
than I was making before as an engineer, as a
program portfolio manager.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
As a Corporate America person.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Because I chose to unplug my pride, bend down low,
and allow God to be my CFO, my CEO, and
my cioh and learn from God.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
I tell you, are you ready to unplug your pride
and repent?
Speaker 3 (18:23):
Are you ready to unplug your pride and request? Are
you ready when you're worn out to unplug and weep,
to unplug and groan and pray so that your heart
(18:46):
can be purified, so that you're very being.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Can be changed from a prideful person to a pentitent person.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
Are you ready to unplug your pride and plug in penitents?
Speaker 2 (19:17):
I think I think of creation when I think of
humbling and penitence.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
I had the wonderful opportunity to unplug this past week.
The place that I went said no cell phones, no computers,
We're gonna go out in nature.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Yay.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
I love being out of nature. And thankfully there were
no phones ringing, there, nothing, nothing.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
And I remember stumbling on this path and looking down,
and what I saw was so absolutely amazing.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
It was this.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Rock formation, and this rock formation was below and around
it was something that looked like a hand, but it
was actually the root of a tree that it.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Borne into this rock.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
And the rock made itself pliable and breakable and crumbleable,
and so that the tree could grab a hole and
take root and.
Speaker 6 (20:34):
Grow and grow. And then was this tall canopy of
a western himn rock. In order for that to happen,
the rock had to unplug. Can you learn from the rock?
(20:56):
Can you learn from the rock.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
The rock had to be.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
And support and hold up so that the tree could
wide itself around the rock and take.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
A foothold on it and.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Rise, and in doing so it took energy and portions
of the rock up into the canopy.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I love how nature teach us us to unplug pride
and plug in penitents.
Speaker 3 (21:38):
I love music, and one of the things that I
always say is that you'll remember a song longer than
you'll remember my sermon.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So I always try.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
To have songs that are in alignment with my sermons.
When I have musicians who are willing to provide their services,
I have a song to you, just a few bars,
And I bet you know this song. Bumba bumba bom
bomba bum bum Do you know that brum ba bum
(22:14):
bum bum ba bum bum bum bum ba boom. It's
Indiana Jones. That's right, it's the theme song from Indiana Jones.
And you'll always hear that throughout the movies right in
some way former shape.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
And there's this one favorite of mine.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
It has Sean Connery and Harrison Ford and it's Indiana
Jones and The Last Crusade.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
And in this Indiana Jones and the last Crusade. We've
got Indiana Jones bum ba bom bom bomba bomb, and
you know his theme song music is a music that's
full of pride. You know, he knows what he's going
to do.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
He's gonna go grab that billion dollar artifact, maybe trillion
dollar artifact.
Speaker 2 (22:57):
And bring it back out of wherever it is.
Speaker 3 (23:01):
Right, Well, there's this portion where he's going through his
father's journal and Sean Connery is his father. Now Sean
Connery is injured and he's trying to walk this through
this path with his son Indiana, and Indiana's cruising through
this path bump bam bomb bump ba bomb.
Speaker 5 (23:24):
And then all of a sudden, he's reading the journal
to recognize where he needs to go on this path,
and his father's reading along at the same time in his.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
Mind because he had written it down.
Speaker 3 (23:39):
And Indiana's at this kind of crossroads with a decision
what do I do next?
Speaker 2 (23:44):
How do I get across this?
Speaker 3 (23:50):
And it says the penitent person, right, and Sean also
says the penitent the person, the penitent person, And so
Sean Connery is thinking, bah.
Speaker 7 (24:03):
Blah blah bah bah bah, what do I do? What
do I do, penitent person, pitted person, what do I do?
I need to drop down, that's right, I need to
drop down on my knees. I need to drop down,
And as he does, he is saved.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
What your billion dollar artifact is that you're trying to
receive on your journey.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
I don't know what you are going through this very minute.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
I don't know if you can specifically use the words
of Joseiah and speak them out. I don't know if
you're at a groaning state where you're groaning and weeping.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
But this is what I do know. When you unplug
your prom and plug in penitents, the Lord will lift
you up so that you will rise as high as
the canopy. The Lord will remove all strain and struggle
(25:16):
from you.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
The Lord will put you in the center of whatever
storm is happening in your life.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
All you have to do is be willing to do
just as.
Speaker 3 (25:36):
Jesus said, unplugged your pride and follow plug in penitence.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with
you all ways.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
Share that peace.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Let us listen to the prayer of the day.
Speaker 8 (27:00):
Prayer of the day, a prayer of humbling and healing. Oh,
Holy and glorious God, ancient of days, keeper of covenance
(27:28):
and mercy. We come before you this day, not with
polished words, but with broken spirits, bare souls, and vowed heads.
We confess Lord, that we have filled our hearts with idols,
(27:53):
the pride of life, the rush of power, the noise
of our own importance. We have been plugged into the
frenzy of control while neglecting. You're still small voice. Forgive us.
(28:21):
Unplug us, oh God, unplug our pride, our self reliance,
our need to always be right, and teach us again
to kneel. May we be still enough to know that
(28:41):
you are God, not us, not our systems, not our kingdoms.
You our God. To the leaders of nations, corporations, universities, schools, ministries,
(29:08):
O Lord, send a holy disruption, Interrupt pride with repentance,
replace domination with mercy, and let the righteous rise like
the dawn in the halls of power.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
We acknowledge that your.
Speaker 9 (29:31):
Earth groans beneath the weight of our misuse. We have
not tended your garden.
Speaker 8 (29:42):
Well.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
We have taken more than we have sown. But today,
O Creator, we repent.
Speaker 8 (29:53):
Make us stewards again, gentle, watchful, grateful us to live
in harmony with your design to restore, not just reap.
And for those who are sick on the well, in
(30:21):
despair without hope today, those whose bodies ache, whose hearts
are heavy, whose minds feel overwhelmed, stretch out your healing
hand jehoah rafa, comfort them, restore them, Surround them with
(30:46):
care and peace, the peace that passes understanding. Let them
know they are not forgot to. From now on, Lord,
let us walk light, more aware, more surrounded by surrender,
(31:18):
not unplugged from you, but from all that clouds our
view of You. Make us your people again. In Jesus' name,
we pray Amen.
Speaker 4 (31:38):
They is shall I agree with and Refocus Radio Make
sure you go to Refocus radio dot com to listen
to today's episode once again.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
If you aver say, keep God first, stay focused in peace,
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