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May 7, 2025 Daily Reading- Read the Bible in 1 Year
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Thank you for joining me as we learn about the connection between Passover, First Fruits, Shavuot (pronounced shav-oo-oat) and Pentecost. As part of understanding and observing the festivals that God has appointed for us to observe, we count the Omer (pronounced oh-mare) today and then have our daily Bible reading session!
Here is the link for a downloadable devotional if you would like to count the Omer for yourself. It has been put out by the Messianic Jewish Congregation Shoresh David in Florida: https://www.shoreshdavid.org/download/counting-the-omer-booklet/
Today's reading covers 2 Chronicles Chapters 19 and 20. We will read about King Jehoshaphat returning home to Judah after fighting a joint battle with King Ahab of Israel to attempt to reclaim the city of Ramoth from the king of Aram. Upon his return to Judah he will be met with admonishment from Jehu, the prophet, who told King Jehoshaphat he should not be making deals with or working with Israel, who is not obeying or loving God. We will see Jehoshaphat seeking God when Judah is threatened by a large enemy force and God winning the battle for His people. In our discussion today we will talk about the mathematical Order of Operations and see how it directly relates to our spiritual life. Much like a young child, we often want to do everything ourselves, saying, "I do! I do!" when we should really be asking God for his direction, first. In the same way that we can sometimes look at a math problem by seeing the answer and then working backward to figure out how to get the right answer, we need to look at today's reading and see that the "answer" is winning the battle and the proper order of operations is to first, ask God for His direction, second, obey, and this equals winning the battle! We need to remember not to try to do even "little" things by ourselves without consulting God, because this is not the proper order of operations for life! We need to remember that if it is God's will, we will be successful and if it is NOT God's will, we will fail, much the same way that King Jehoshaphat made ANOTHER deal with Israel to build ships with them, and God destroyed them because He had already told King Jehoshaphat NOT to deal directly with Israel!
Registration for the live event is a tiered pricing event, so you are not required to pay to attend, only if you feel led. If you feel led to support this event with either a paid live registration or a monthly membership then I will give back to YOU by sending you a printed copy of the monthly calendar on sugar cane paper along with a set of stickers for the month to keep track of your daily commitment to read the Bible with me every day.
Monthly memberships to support this event can be purchased on my site, here: https://www.inthefamilywaycoaching.com/offering_packages Please note, while this FREE online event is a family friendly event and the Bible we are using is suitable for ages 7 and up, you must be 18 or older to support this event by purchasing any monthly membership or by registering for the live event, whether registration for the live event is done with or without supporting the event with a paid registration.
If you enjoyed today's reading and feel like God has lit YOUR light today, please click the LIGHT button (it looks like a HEART or LIKE button) and consider subscribing to or following my channel, if you have not done so already.
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Transcript
Introduction to Omer Counting and Bible Reading
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome, welcome everybody. Today is May 7th. It is Wednesday. It's 2025 and you are here with Robin at In the Family Way Coaching.
00:00:14
Speaker
I am so glad that you are here with us as we are here for our daily counting of the Omer and our daily Bible reading. We are going through the Bible this year using the Day by Day Kids Bible, which has been written by Karen Henley.
00:00:30
Speaker
And if you are following along on that daily commitment calendar, go ahead and get that out and your sticker or however you are keeping track. Because guess what? You're about to hear the Bible today.
00:00:44
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In case you do not know, you can download your own copy of that commitment calendar. You don't need to input your email address. You don't need to input any payment information.
Commitment Calendar Instructions
00:00:54
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i just have it available for you on my website so you can keep track of your personal commitment to hear the Bible each day.
00:01:01
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And you can find that on my website at
00:01:11
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dot com and you click on the tab for read the Bible in one year. You will see a picture of a giant calendar for the month and then if you scroll to the bottom, you'll see an arrow pointing to the bottom left hand corner of that cal calendar and then that's the little link where you click to download it.
Addressing Technical Difficulties
00:01:32
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So thank you for joining me today whether you are following along on your favorite podcast or whether you are watching on video. I'm so glad that you're joining with me this year. This is my take two of the video.
00:01:45
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I was almost done with the reading and then there was a sudden problem. So I hope I remember everything that I was going to say there.
00:01:56
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I hadn't actually gotten to that part yet, but.
Understanding the Omer and Anticipating Blessings
00:01:59
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Okay, so today we are going to have our daily counting of the Omer. This is a commandment that God has given us to do personally.
00:02:08
Speaker
And so if you are interested in counting the Omer personally, you can look that up on your own and you or you can follow a along on a devotional that Shoresh David, a Messianic Jewish congregation, has put out on their website as a free download as well.
00:02:26
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And I will put the link to that down below in the description and you will be able to see that and download it from wherever you are.
00:02:39
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Blessed are you, o Lord our God, King of the universe, who has set us apart by your commandments,
00:02:54
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and has commanded us to count the Omer.
00:03:01
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Today is the third day of the fourth week and day 24. I have counted the Omer.
00:03:14
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I love the devotional that Shoresh David has put out. They always have such wonderful thoughts and it doesn't take a long time. And I found one of them particularly helpful a couple of weeks ago that I even referred to um yesterday and today that God is using.
00:03:32
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And I and just really enjoy it. And I was following along in a book as well. And um It's also has some great stuff, but I've i've really been counting the Omer with ah the Shoresh David download there.
00:03:49
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So i hope that you are finding that God is blessing you during this time of harvest. We are to count down the 50 days after the festival of first fruits, which is the day that commemorates Jesus's resurrection because he is our first fruit of the resurrection of the dead.
00:04:07
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And this is the time of harvest in the spring where ah we are to expect and anticipate God's bountiful harvest everywhere in our life.
00:04:17
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And we have a tendency to think of bountiful harvest in terms of ah money, but that doesn't have to be just associated with money. And I pray that God helps you open your eyes, your spiritual eyes, to see where God is blessing you in your life.
00:04:33
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It can be with a bountiful relationship, It can be with a renewed relationship that is that is blossoming and and multiplying. It can be with spiritual growth during this time of obedience.
00:04:49
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We know that when we obey God, he blesses us. And so I pray that as you are obeying God during this time of counting the Omer for yourself, that you are also have up your eyes open spiritually to see all the many places that God is blessing your obedience.
00:05:10
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I know I have been experiencing a lot of blessings of a bountiful harvest, and I'm just so thankful to God ah for ah for these blessings that he is bestowing upon me.
00:05:24
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And we are counting down 50 of these days till we get to the day of Shavuot or Pentecost. And in case you don't know, Pentecost means 50 days.
00:05:35
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So isn't that cool? I like those little tidbits of information. and And just as God gave us the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that 50th day at Pentecost, which was um foreshadowed in the Old Testament, with that final day of harvest on Shavuot, I am curious to see what God will pour out for us this year.
00:05:58
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Aren't you? I'm excited. It's like it's even better than waiting for Christmas. These 50 days of counting down or counting up, these are. We are counting 50 days. We're not counting down from 50 to 1.
00:06:12
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Oh, so exciting. Well, here we go. We are going to begin our reading here in just a moment.
Lessons from King Jehoshaphat
00:06:18
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Let me give us a little bit of a recap as to what we saw yesterday so that we understand the continuation of our story today.
00:06:26
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Today's reading takes place in 2 Chronicles chapters 19 and 20. And King was... ah yesterday how king ahab was wanting to go to battle in order to reclaim a city.
00:06:41
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We saw there that King Jehoshaphat of Judah was with him and that they were working together. And we saw that Jehoshaphat advised King Ahab to ask God about it.
00:06:55
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And so Jehoshaphat had false prophets who were lying to him, according to Micaiah. But Micaiah told the truth. And he said that you need to send the people home in peace.
00:07:07
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and instead king ahab didn't do that instead he had fulfilled what micaiah had said was going to happen the people would have no leader and that was because king ahab ah put on regular clothes to where the the army couldn't even identify who he was which was his point but then neither could his people and then we saw that he was killed and that was fulfilled when what god had told king ahab prior So now we're going to see King Jehoshaphat back in Judah.
00:07:42
Speaker
And King Jehoshaphat was working together with King Ahab. And this was something that he was not supposed to be doing. Because he if you remember, he had suggested that ah King Ahab inquire of God as to what he should do.
00:08:02
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But he also heard Micaiah, the prophet, tell them that they should have the people go home in peace. And yet he still sent him and his army out there to fight with King Ahab.
00:08:14
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So he also fought against the enemy army, knowing that that's not what God had wanted them to do. So he had disobeyed God yesterday. And today we're going to see God speak about that.
00:08:28
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So today's selection is entitled Facing the Enemy.
00:08:35
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Now Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, got home safely from the fight at Ramoth. Then the prophet Jehu went to his palace to see him. You may remember that Jehu was appointed ah by God through Elijah.
00:08:50
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Elisha, he had said to appoint him as well.
00:08:55
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God is angry at you, said Jehu. It's because you helped King Ahab. Is it right for you to help sinful people? Is it right to love people who hate God?
00:09:09
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But there is some good in you. You got rid of idols. You are trying to obey God. Then King Jehoshaphat went to the towns of Judah and he got the people to obey God again.
00:09:23
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He chose judges for the cities. Be careful when you judge, he told them. Remember that you are not judging for people. You are judging for God.
00:09:37
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He is with you when you say what's right and what's wrong. So make God the most important one. He is fair and right. King Jehoshaphat also chose priests from the family of Levi.
00:09:53
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Keep serving God no matter what, he told them. Look up to God. Serve him with your whole heart and tell the people not to sin.
00:10:05
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If they don't sin, God won't be angry. Be brave and do your job well. God will be with you.
00:10:17
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One day some men came to see King Jehoshaphat. A big army is coming this way, they said, and they're coming to fight us. Jehoshaphat was surprised and afraid.
00:10:31
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He told all the people not to eat. They all came together to pray for God's help. People came from every town.
00:10:42
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Jehoshaphat prayed with them in front of the worship house. God, you are the God of who who is in heaven. You are the king of all kingdoms.
00:10:55
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You are strong. Nobody can stand up against you. You gave your people this land. We built a worship house here for you.
00:11:07
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We said we'll come here if we get into trouble. And we'll call out to you in our trouble. And you will hear us and save us. But now an army is coming against us, said Jehoshaphat.
00:11:23
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We are not strong enough to win the battle. We don't know what to do. We are waiting for you to tell us.
00:11:33
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All the men stood there. All the women stood there. All the children and little babies were there too. Then God's Spirit came on one of the men.
00:11:47
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King Jehoshaphat, all you people, listen.
00:11:53
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Here is what God says, he said. Don't be scared. Don't give up. The fight is not yours. It is God's.
00:12:04
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God says to march out to meet the enemy, army, tomorrow. And they will be coming up the Ziz Pass. You'll find them at the end of the valley in the desert.
00:12:17
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You won't have to fight. Just stand there and watch. you'll see how God saves you. So God says not to be afraid.
00:12:30
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He says not to give up. Go out tomorrow, face the enemy. God will be with you.
00:12:41
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King Jehoshaphat bowed down. All the people bowed down and worshiped God. Then some of them stood up and they began cheering loudly for God.
00:12:53
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Early the next morning, the army of Judah headed out for the desert. King Jehoshaphat said, Listen, people, trust in God. He will save you.
00:13:05
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Believe in his prophets. You will win.
00:13:11
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Jehoshaphat talked to the leaders. Then he chose singers to sing to God. They praised God. Then they led the army.
00:13:22
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They sang, give thanks to God, his love lasts
00:13:29
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So they sang, they praised God. Then God began to work out his plan against the enemies.
00:13:41
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The enemies began to fight each sir other each other. Sometime later, God's people came to the place where the enemy army was.
00:13:55
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All they saw were dead bodies. None of the men from the enemy army had lived. Jehoshaphat and his men found riches at the enemy camp.
00:14:10
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They found lots of clothes and other things. There was so much that it took three days to gather it all. God's people got together in the valley and they cheered for God.
00:14:24
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Then they went back home. They were very happy because God had won. They went into the worship house and there they played harps and horns.
00:14:39
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Now the other nations heard what happened. They heard that God had been the one to fight for his people. The other nations were afraid.
00:14:52
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So Jehoshaphat's kingdom of Judah lived in peace.
00:15:00
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Sometime later, Jehoshaphat made a deal with Ahaziah. He was the king of Israel now. And he was a bad king just like his father Ahab.
00:15:12
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But both kings built some ships to share. And these ships were for bringing things to buy and sell. Then a prophet came to Jehoshaphat.
00:15:23
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He said, you made a deal with Ahaziah. So God will get rid of what you built. And later the ships crashed. They couldn't sail anywhere.
00:15:38
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And that is the end of our reading today.
00:15:44
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So at the beginning of our reading and at the end of our reading, We are met with Jehoshaphat having been addressed by God for having made a deal with the king of Israel.
00:16:00
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Israel was not obeying God. They were not to be making deals with them. They were to instead be only looking to God.
00:16:12
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And we talked about this a couple of days ago where the king of Judah was making a deal with the king of Aram. And he shouldn't have done that either. Or Israel did that.
00:16:25
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And he shouldn't have done that either. Because they're supposed to be looking to God.
Spiritual Obedience and Aligning with God's Will
00:16:34
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In mathematics, there is a concept called the order of operations. And in the order of operations, you have to do the math in a certain order or you will get the wrong answer.
00:16:53
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And so that what that means is that you can do all the right things, but if you don't do them in the right order, you will get the wrong answer.
00:17:05
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So the right answer is to obey God if you are looking to overcome whatever challenge you are looking to overcome.
00:17:17
Speaker
And notice how we have big challenges coming. And when we have great big challenges, great big battles, great big armies, that is where people have a tendency to look for God's guidance. When something looks too big for us, then we say, oh my gosh, I'm going to need help on this one.
00:17:38
Speaker
But when we have little tiny things, we think, oh, I know how to do this, I can do it. And it reminds me very much ah of a little child. And I have a tendency to do this too, even as an adult, but we see it and it might be easier for us to recognize if we think about a little child, like a toddler.
00:17:57
Speaker
And what is one of the one things we often hear young children say? I do, me do, I do it myself. And we have a tendency to not outgrow that.
00:18:11
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We want to do things ourselves. I can do it. I can do it. Me do. Me do. and so we go through life with this me do, can do it attitude.
00:18:24
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And what we find is that that's not the proper order of operations.
00:18:31
Speaker
We need to ask God like we saw yesterday they did for the battle. But even then they asked God, but then they didn't do it. The problem looked small. um They thought they could do it. They had two against the army of the city for Ramoth.
00:18:48
Speaker
And they thought, oh, surely the two of us, we can do this. We don't need God's help. Even though God said we're not gonna win, That's the wrong order of operations. We have talked about that first, like with Elijah, and when he was saved and taken care of by God, that with especially with the widow, that first she had to obey.
00:19:12
Speaker
Then God would provide enough for everybody. First obey, then provision. So first we need to obey and seek God's guidance.
00:19:28
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Even when it looks small, instead of saying, i do, i do. And then God will give us his guidance. And then if equals success.
00:19:42
Speaker
And throughout life, we we always want to do it our way. And that's not the way it's supposed to be. So today we need to be encouraged to make God the most important one in everything.
00:19:58
Speaker
God is a very orderly God. And we see that math doesn't change. When we do math the wrong order, we get the wrong answer. When we do things in the right order, we get the right answer.
00:20:14
Speaker
So if you are seeking success, Then working backwards, how many times have we done math by knowing the answer first and then working backwards to see now what can I do to get the right answer?
00:20:27
Speaker
Sometimes it's easier to see things that way if we know the answer and then see, well, what do I need to do in order to make the math work out that way? And the math works out with the order of operations that we have to do things in the right order.
00:20:42
Speaker
Step one, ask God. Step two, obey. Sometimes God gives us great big challenges because he is drawing us to himself.
00:20:56
Speaker
We have to get to the point sometimes to see, uh-oh, this is too big for me to do a alone, and then ask him for his guidance. But we need to look to God for even the little things.
00:21:09
Speaker
We are taught in the Bible that it says, do not make plans and say tomorrow I will do this and I will do that. Instead, we are supposed to say, if it is God's will, I will do this.
00:21:25
Speaker
So if that's the order of operations again, right there. First, seek. Second, listen. Three, obey And the answer will be that God will win the fight.
00:21:40
Speaker
Sometimes we have to ah still step out. we God always has us go out. And sometimes we still have to do the fighting as well, but God will be with us while we do the work.
00:21:52
Speaker
And sometimes we get to just walk up and watch God win the battle for us. And sometimes we don't even have to fight. But first, in order for that to happen, then we need to seek God listen and obey.
00:22:10
Speaker
He told them to march out with their army and face the army. And they did. They obeyed. So they did everything in the right order. And guess what?
00:22:21
Speaker
Their obedience was rewarded by seeing God do an amazing thing. And it was so amazing that all the nations around them knew that it was amazing. And they were like, whoa, we are not messing with them.
00:22:34
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God fights for his people. Guess what? You are his people.
00:22:42
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I am his people.
00:22:45
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And we need to be less concentrating on I do, I do. And instead, let God do.
00:22:54
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The battle belongs to the Lord. So thank you for joining me today. i
Conclusion and Encouragement
00:22:59
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hope that you feel encouraged to have less you and more God. And if you feel that God has lit your light today, click that light button.
00:23:08
Speaker
It looks like a heart. Sometimes it looks like a thumbs up, but it's really a light button because we are the light of the world and we want to bring attention.
00:23:20
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to people learning about God by reading His Word every single day and seeing the daily application every single day in our own lives so that we can draw people to Him. It's all about God, isn't it?
00:23:37
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Making God the most important one in our lives and letting other people know that they need to make God the most important one in their lives.
00:23:47
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So thank you for joining me. Thank you for clicking that light button. And if you have the ability and are feeling led to subscribe or follow along with the channel, then that will also be another way of lighting the way for Jesus and being the way of the the light in the world.
00:24:05
Speaker
And together we can spread the word about reading God's word. I hope you have a fabulous rest of your day, whatever time of the day it is that you are getting around to hearing this.
00:24:16
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And I pray that you have a restful day and full of shalom and God's peace. I will be here for everybody again tomorrow.