Christ With Coffee On Ice - love always costs

Episode Date: August 21, 2026

Hey y'all ! Welcome to another Friday with CWCOI ! In this week's episode, our host, Ally Yost talks about the negative impacts that convenience can have us. Our character and our faith is important to God and convenience can be a direct threat to those things. It can take away the opportunity for us to be curious, to go the extra mile, or even to be uncomfortable. God often forms us in the process and in the waiting. Don't lose sight of that because you're relying on convenient tools to get by. "Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23 _____________________________________________ ☆ PRE-ORDER 'LOVE THAT LASTS' HERE: https://allyyost.com/en-usd/pages/book ☆ OUR NEW MERCH IS LIVE! SHOP AT: https://allyyost.com ☆ Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University ➤ GCU.edu ☆ If you're struggling with OCD or unrelenting intrusive thoughts, NOCD can help. Book a free 15 minute call to get started ➤ https://learn.nocd.com/COFFEE ☆ give your clothes a second life with Vinted. download the free Vinted app and for a limited time, enjoy free shipping in the US on Vinted ☆ Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to ➤ www.Quo.com/COFFEEONICE ☆ MY BIBLE (code 'ALLYYOST' at checkout) ➤ https://hosannarevival.com/collections/beautiful-bibles/products/nlt-notetaking-bible-belfast-theme ☆ TUMBLER LINK ➤ https://allyyost.com/products/cwcoi-glass-tumbler-white _____________________________________________ Connect further with us ! TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@christwithcoffeeonice  Instagram ➤ https://instagram.com/christwithcoffeeonice  _____________________________________________ Connect further with Ally ! TikTok (2M) ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@ally_yost  Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/ally_yost/  ShopMy ➤ https://shopmy.us/allyyost  Pinterest ➤ https://www.pinterest.com/ally_yost1/_created/

Hello, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Christ with coffee and ice. I am your host, Ali Yost. It is a joy and honor to be here with you guys today. Happy Friday, everybody. I believe it's Friday, right? Yes, it's Friday. Oh my gosh. Hallelujah. How did everybody do this week? Did you guys do all right? Are you hanging in there? I actually cannot believe that we are more than halfway through August. Like, I actually truly believe that time just keeps flying faster and faster. How do we slow that down? And also, what does that mean? Does that mean that we're just getting busier? Like, what is it that actually makes time go by so fast? Okay, I have really big news for you guys. Um, I can't believe it's taken me this long to actually even tell y'all that I have taken on

a new hobby. And I am not a girl of hobbies, really. If I'm being so honest, I would like to be the kind of person who picks up hobbies and, like, does things on the side of her life. But unfortunately, I feel like life just life's so much that I don't have extra time to really pick up hobbies. Well, I probably do. I could just stop scrolling so much on my phone, which I have been, actually. I have been so much less present on my phone, which has been amazing and freeing. Granted, people have not been hearing back from me as much, but that's okay. I'm learning how to let that go.

I haven't mastered it yet, but I am learning to let go of the pressure of believing that I am a disappointment in failing everybody if I can't get back to everybody all the time or ever. I don't know. Is that a foreign concept? Is that bad? Is that not being kind? Like, sometimes I just can't get back to people. Does that make, okay, we're working through that. That's all right. That's for therapy. Not Christ with coffee and ice. That's for therapy, Allie. But anyway, I have. I've been better at being less scroly-poly on my phone. And so with the time that I probably would spend scroly-polying, I have been crafting. And crafting in a way that's been so fun, I've been bedazzling. I've been bedazzling. And I have so many exciting stories to tell you guys about my bedazzling journey.

Okay. Story number one is that the very first thing I decided to bedazzle was my pepper spray, which I grew up calling mace because that's what my dad called it but then the more I told people I like I told one of my friends I was like I bedazzled my mace and they were like you're what and I was like my mace and they're like what do you talk and I go my I was and in my mind I was like I don't know another way to oh I guess pepper spray and they were like oh you're pepper spray and then I was talking to my sister about it and my sister was like yeah no allie I think we're the only people on planet earth that call it mace because that's what dad called it

because that's its, like, technical term. But everyone else knows it is pepper spray, I think. Anyway, why did I take you down that rabbit hole? It didn't matter. It felt important to me at the moment. We're moving on. I got myself some pepper spray, which I actually don't typically have on me. But now be prepared because it's always going to be on me, all right?

No, but I just wanted an excuse to pepper. Not peppers. I pray to God, I never pepper spray a single person. I just wanted an excuse to bed down. dazzle something and a pepper spray bottle seems small and not nearly as intimidating and it was something I could have on me all the time because I'll put it on my keychain. Oh my gosh guys I promise. Wait a minute. What was that? No, you want to know what it was. You want to know what it was that actually made me want to get pepper spray. This is so sad. It actually has nothing to do with like

dangerous human beings and everything to do with my fear of dangerous dogs because I have seen and heard too many times of people like okay this is so valid if you guys want to just get to the episode feel free to fast forward if you're new here we do kind of yap a little bit for like the first 10 15 minutes and then we'll get into the good stuff so it's totally okay if you want to fast forward but to just chat with you guys for a sec i saw a video on ticot and granted i've i've seen plenty of this happen and it's sad and i've even heard of people close to me where this has happened to them and it's awful where people will not have, they won't have control at their dog. And it'll be like a big dog, unfortunately, like a German shepherd or something.

And it'll get off leash. It'll get out of the yard. I don't know, but it'll run charged towards another dog that is peacefully on a walk with their owner on a leash and attack it. And I hate when this stuff pops up on my 4U page. It's so unwarranted and like I didn't want to see it. But you know, sometimes things just pop up on your phone and you're like, wow, that's the danger of social media. is I think it can be so exhausting emotionally because you just never know what you're scrolling to next, you know, we're kind of like taking a risk every time and just like relying on the algorithm.

But sometimes I scroll onto things and I'm like, wow, I literally could have gone my whole life without ever knowing that that existed or that fear I needed to have was there. And it was this video of somebody's dog getting attacked because one owner didn't have control of their dog and the other one was getting it. It was sad. So with that being said, I like thought about it. it and I was like and guys a little dog ran up to Gracie while we were on a walk like a week ago granted Gracie was definitely startled but she was fine because she's not a violent bean um but it just got me to thinking and then after I saw that video I was like this is a real thing and it terrifies me and I was like what would I do if I was in a scenario like that because I can't

physically pick Gracie up she's too big like I could never like pick her up and run and so my answer in that moment was like, well, I guess pepper spray. Like, that's the only thing I could think of to, like, stop, because I'm just a girl. Like, well, I don't know what I would do in a situation like that. Like, the video I watched was at least, like, the owner was a man and he could pick his dog up and, and try and keep it from the other dog. But I was like, I can't, I don't even know how I would defend myself or Gracie in a moment like that, you know? And so anyway, I got, I got pepper spray for that reason. And then I bedazzled it. And I actually brought it to show you guys, because I'm really proud of it. Look at how...

No. It's grievous. Is it gonna focus? I don't know. It might be hard to focus on. Isn't it fun? I freaking did that all by myself. And I bedazzled it in one night. It took me three hours. Okay, but the other part of this story that's really funny is so I bedazzled this for four hours, or three hours, right? The next morning I work out with my trainer Lindsay.

and we're doing shoulder workouts. Like we're doing like a shoulder raise, whatever. Are these your delts? What are these? So we're working out these guys. Okay? And I usually can only do like five pounds. Okay.

And all of a sudden, first, this is like our first set of doing these, okay? By the second or third rep on my right arm specifically, I crashing out. Like my arm could not, it was toast. But my left arm was still crushing it. And Lindsay was so confused. She was like, it was as if I was on my third set by now. And we just started. And she's looking at me.

She's like, what's going on? And I was actually concerned. I was like, wait, am I okay? Like, what's wrong on my shoulder? And then it dawned upon me that I had been bedazzling for three hours the night before. And my arm was like this. Bebe, beep, beep, beep. As I'm bedazzling, my elbow was raised in the air for three hours.

I'm like, no wonder my shoulder is toast right now. But have you ever heard of something? something like that in your life? Have you ever heard somebody not being able to work out their shoulder at the gym the next morning because they bedazzled too hard? Ridiculous. We were dying, laughing. So then she gave me like a 2.5 pound plate to lift for my right arm. And then we kept doing the five pounds on the left. Ridiculous. Like genuinely ridiculous. So that was really fun. But yeah, I've started this new hobby of bedazzling. And I can't believe. I believe I didn't know that this existed, but doing stuff like that.

Talk about, I mean, we've been talking about psychology lately here on the pod. I would love to dissect that. But like, it is so good for your brain? Hello? This is why we need to do hobbies. Not so we can just say we do hobbies and impress everybody, but because it's actually good for your brain. Like, I felt like I was able to process more emotionally. Like, like, it was taking the mess of my brain.

and like untangling it like a wadded little ball of yarn and i put on some music in the background and it was beautiful it was like serenity i loved it i actually felt like jesus i felt like jesus was like in in it with me it was so peaceful bedazzling has been so peaceful for me so my next project now is my hairbrush i'm bedazzling the backside of my hairbrush right now so that'll be next thing that I'll bring to show and tell when it's done. Okay, guys, we're done. Just a little life update. Encouraging you got you guys to pick up hobbies because it's good for us. I don't know what my next hobby will be, but bedazzling is doing it for me. I love it. Some of you guys were saying I should bedazzle the mic. I don't know. If you guys have any ideas of how we could bring it to the

pod, a lot of you guys actually suggested bedazzling are Christ with coffee and ice cup right here. but then somebody did point out like the sweat like the water that happens on the outside here and I actually don't think that would work with bedazzling a cup but I could bedazzle the mic I don't know but I just don't want it to be too much and these things are expensive so I'm like what if I change my mind I spent a lot of money on this mic I don't know we'll see

maybe there's some kind of thing I could put on it and then bedazzle that whatever. Badazzling has been my thing lately. Hey guys, have a great day. Have a great day. What am I saying? Where was my brain going with that? Have a great day.

Am I leaving? Is the episode over? You guys, we're going to start the episode now, okay? I love you. I am really excited for this episode because I'm about to get slapped around by the Holy Spirit. Yep. I will be. I'm going to be smacked around.

I am going to be put in my place. I'm going to be humbled and I'm going to be convicted and very excited about it. And I know you guys will be too because there is no way that what we're going to talk about today, we won't all feel convicted in. Because it's just the time we're living in. It is what it is. And there are generations hundreds of years ago that obviously there's probably always been a sense of convenience in one way, shape, or form. but I think the way that we have it now is like it's never been in the history of ever, to the point where it's worth talking about and acknowledging, and acknowledging the unhealth that comes with it, and how it could be negatively bleeding into so many aspects of our life,

including aspects of just opportunity for us to grow as people. But I think that those things are really important to God, is our character, and our faith. And I think that this specific thing can be a direct threat to that. And I believe that the enemy has been using it in a way that we have willingly been like, yeah, this is awesome. Because there is something so awesome about the convenience of which, you know,

the century that we live in, which is the 21st century in the year 2026, but everything is wildly convenient. to us. And when I say that, I'm talking about how we can pretty much, pretty much anything we want, we could have at the snap of our fingers, at the click of a button. We could have fresh groceries at our front door without having to step into a grocery store. We can have our entire to do list done in the sense of even like running errands or having to go get and get things at the store. that can also be dropped off at your front door. I can't tell you how many times I've door dashed hot food to my front door because I don't feel like cooking or even first thing in the morning.

I just want a coffee and a breakfast burrito and so I'm door dashing that to my house. Like it's crazy. The privilege and convenience that we have with where we are today and especially America, like where we live in America is so convenient. And we are so privileged in so many ways. And so I think that because of that luxury, because it is, it's a luxury. Like a lot of these, these aren't necessities. But because of that, I think it definitely has created unhealth in our culture and even probably in our day-to-day lives, in our habits, in our thought patterns.

I mean, it could be in anything and everything. But having that sense of convenience, I think can make us really lazy. And I think it takes away a lot of opportunities to be curious, to go the extra mile, to do the hard work, to be uncomfortable. And convenience says, hey, you don't want to be inconvenienced? You don't want to be uncomfortable? I can do it. You know, Amazon, I mean, it's ridiculous how, and I am so guilty. I have an Amazon Prime account.

Okay. My book is available on Amazon. And when it's live, live, it'll be available for Amazon Prime. So, like, I'm not saying that we all need to, like, delete our Amazon accounts. I'm not saying that we need to boycott all of these things. I think that when stewarding these things well, they can be used as tools for efficiency and help if you need it, you know? Like if you're a busy single mom and you're like, I actually physically cannot take all of my children and go to the grocery store today.

I'm going to pay the extra fee to have somebody else do it for me. Like that? Because you can't like, yes, right? So there are, I don't think that this is an episode where we're going to be like boycotting all of these things or at least I, hey, if that's what you feel, I respect it. But that's not what we're going to talk about today. I think what we're going to talk about though is like the extreme of which these things can feed. just a lifestyle of not wanting to be inconvenienced and to not want to go the extra mile or be uncomfortable or to learn, you know? I think even the convenience of us being able to have

something like chat CBT, which I've utilized even for the podcast, I've been transparent about that and I want to be transparent with you guys right now that I do use it sometimes because it's helpful. I do believe it's still a tool. But I think even with that, obviously, It can be used as an extreme where it's like now we're using it as a complete crutch where we no longer have curiosity. There is no studying or digging or seeking things on our own and collecting data on our own. Everything is so instant nowadays. And I think that this kind of convenience is actually the very thing that takes us away from what I think. think God values the most. And I think some of the core values of which God does in his children as we walk

with him and we go through the process of life with him and we're being sanctified and we're being renewed. And, you know, he's just continuing to mold us and father us and lead us is God often forms people through process, waiting, sacrifice, and perseverance, not instant gratification. And so I think that because of the times that we live in of like this instant gratification, it actually preaches the opposite of what God encourages us to do on a daily basis, which is to go through the process, to wait, to sacrifice, to persevere, right? To go the extra mile, to push, to sacrifice.

Like those are qualities that God really values. And I think that those are the pillars of which grows good character and allows us to mature and grow. And so you take those things away and it's like everything goes gray. Life is just kind of lived. Everything goes a bit numb. You know, because there's no substance. Everything is just ping. Bing.

And honestly, I think that if it were up to us and God didn't give us these kinds of heart checks like today's episode, I pray for that and hope for that. We would live that way forever and ever, but I think that life would be so dull if we're being so honest. Like the easy way is typically probably the dullest, least fruitful way. But I think in our human instinct, we want that. Like, we want the easiest way. But God doesn't give us the easiest way.

God never gives us instant gratification because he knows that that's fruitless. There's actually nothing to gain in instant gratification, especially when it comes to character growth and our faith and just the things that God wants to teach us and show us and strengthen us in. There's just no way you're going to get that kind of fruit from a path that's just instant gratification and convenience and, oh, whatever you want, you got it right now. Right in this moment, there you go. Bing. Genie in a bottle. Here you go.

Right at your front door. And so let's talk about that. Let's talk about the contrast of that. I think that, yeah, I'm ready to be convicted because I don't want to get comfortable inconvenience. I want to learn to be inconvenienced more. I want to learn to be uncomfortable more. And I think the more that we are okay with being inconvenienced and uncomfortable is,

is the more that we also get to experience more of God. And we get to experience more of his character because it's in those times that we need him and we need his comfort. Like he sent his Holy Spirit. And one of the things that God says about his spirit is that it is our comforter. And so we would never need that if we were never uncomfortable. And so I think that should be our deepest desire is to be uncomfortable, to be inconvenienced, you know, to be in a place where we have to sacrifice.

to be in positions where we have to wait and be in the process and have perseverance because the only place we really could get true perseverance that never ends is through Jesus. And so if these are the things that we have to have because God isn't going to just give us instant gratification, we're going to experience more of him. And that in itself is a gift. The question becomes here today, if we remove every inconvenience from our lives, are we also removing many of the opportunities God uses to shape us? I think we've already kind of covered that.

I think we've unveiled that. That that's the truth here is that if we're choosing convenience all the time, then that means that we are missing out on the opportunities where God would further shape us and mold us and create us into the people that he has always intended us to be, you know? and I think that if you have had any relationship with God, no matter the time span of that, okay, it could be that you've known him your whole life, it could be that you've only known him for a year.

But I'm sure by now you've realized that there's something about God that's really special. And the thing that's really special about God is that he doesn't always work in the quickest way. And when I say that, I mean, like whatever our definition of quick would be, which I think is instant. We want instant gratification. But God doesn't work that way. And it's the best thing about him because it's where the most is produced in us and in our relationship.

It's holy. When God calls us to wait and be disciplined in that waiting and to sacrifice and to resist our own flesh and to pick up our cross daily and to kill our flesh, it is holy. It's beautiful. But it hurts so bad. But that's like actually the best thing about God. But it's the first thing you're going to realize about him. He's not always going to be working in the quickest way. And we've seen this a lot in the Bible. Okay. So if you haven't seen it in your own life yet, that's all right. It will. But also, if we read the Bible, God shows us that the time. I mean, Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years. David waited years before he was actually anointed to become king of Israel. Jesus himself actually waited 30 years in his life before

beginning his public ministry. He didn't even start until he was 30. And he waited his whole life for that ministry and then three years later he's then crucified. He actually only was able to do that ministry publicly for three years. So I think that something we could definitely say about who God is, Lord, I love you. I love you. Um, is God appears far more interested in forming people than in accelerating outcomes or giving us that instant Amazon Prime. He is way more interested in forming you and your heart than he is anything else. I think convenience can kill gratitude. I think that as things become instant to us, you know, like, again, if we're using examples

like your groceries appear at your doorstep, your coffee is ready in minutes, your favorite show starts instantly, and then the next episode is available and you just keep watching and binging. But like, I think because of these things and how we can instantly just like, you know, be entertained in a moment if we want to or whatever that is. But I think it's easy to just stop seeing all of these things as gifts. And I think that one of the best heart postures to have, especially when feeling close to God, is a heart of gratitude. I think also a heart of gratitude is a heart that if your heart is filled with gratitude and thanks towards the Lord, it's very hard for anything else to fill it in the sense of like resentment, bitterness, negativity.

but if your heart is genuinely filled with gratitude and thanksgiving to the Lord for all the things that you have and just, you know, it's a lot harder to harp on the uncertain things in your life or the things that may not make sense or maybe even the things that you desire for and they're not in your life, it is hard to live in that place if you are constantly, no matter this season having a heart posture of gratitude because everything kind of loses its value a little bit. Like I said, like without a little grit, without a little oomph, without a little, hey, I had to get out of the house and go to the grocery store even if I didn't want to. Like it seems so silly, but without that, everything does get more dull. Like even the simple gift of being able to

have groceries in our fridge, it gets a little dull. Scripture repeatedly calls God's people to remember his provision and give thanks. Gratitude grows when we recognize dependence, not entitlement. Another thing that convenience brings out of us, which is the opposite of the fruits of the spirit and opposite of even the biblical definition of love. Love is defined in the Bible in 1st Corinthians 13, 4 through 8. And the very first thing that's listed is love is patient. and kind. And patience is a thing that I think convenience and this like hyper instant gratification

culture that we've gotten now really makes us impatient people. And when we're impatient, we're not kind. And so we've already fallen short of the biblical definition of what God says love is, which is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends. But isn't that interesting? And wouldn't that be such a goal of the enemy? Is to slowly, not obviously, but slowly take away. the qualities and aspects of us that that reflect the heart of the father like that definition of

love is who god is at the core of who he is he is patient and kind and so it would make sense for the enemy to tempt us by maybe overusing something like convenience and in that instant gratification to slowly take away those aspects of who god is that could be reflected in us does that make sense we've all got to be guilty of this but i think because of the convenience that we've been able to have through technology and instant delivery and all of these things is that we become frustrated by things that would have amazed people just 20 years ago like slow wifi we get so frustrated when our wifi doesn't work or when we don't have service on our phone or why for whatever reason you keep trying to call somebody and the phone the call keeps dropping waiting in line for five minutes

patience is a fruit of the spirit and fruit takes time to grow our habits can either cultivate or erode that patience isn't that crazy and this really does actually come down to habits like again I don't think that this means we need to boycott technology we need to boycott our phones our laptops, all of our subscriptions. I think it's more so about having the awareness of our habits and learning discipline and self-control, which also are characteristics that God encourages in us and wants to teach us through His Holy Spirit. And so I think each and every one of us are capable of having these resources and tools.

If we believe there is still a grace for them in our personal lives, I know everyone's convictions are different. But like I do believe there is a reality where we can still use these things, but they don't take over our lives and our habits. And the way that we balance these things in our life is still healthy. I think one thing to remember about the Christian experience and about what Jesus encourages us in our day to day is that we are to sacrifice. if convenience has become a little too normalized in our lifestyles, we won't want to sacrifice as much. And yeah, I mean, the truth is, is that he tells us to take up our cross daily. And so the Christian life isn't built around minimizing difficulty, but around faithful obedience.

And faithful obedience means sacrifice. I actually think faithful obedience to the Lord mostly means sacrifice. I think that's all it is, actually. And so the more we get numbed the idea of that or like desensitized to that, where now it's like annoying to sacrifice or be inconvenienced is when I think we need to be convicted. Like we need, we need God to realign things in our heart. And I think many meaningful things require choosing what's harder. And examples would be marriage.

I'm not married, but I can only imagine how that is a daily sacrifice to your partner. You know, learning to compromise, to live together, to agree on things, to disagree on things. But to learn how to put that person before yourself, you know, that there's so much sacrifice in marriage. parenting i would imagine like i hope to god that i can experience these sacrifices in my life um but serving others you know i think that could be serving at your local church or volunteering it could be something as simple as studying scripture i mean taking the time i mean that just hit me in the gut taking the time to be like no i'm i'm going to study the word of God, even though I don't want to, I don't feel like it, I'm tired, like, I'm going to put 10 minutes

aside. But that's a sacrifice. Another sacrifice, even just on like a relational human to human experience is forgiveness. That's a sacrifice. Because in the act of forgiving, you are laying down yourself to say, but I forgive you. You know, it's a form of humility. and humility is sacrifice. That alone, I want to stay on that a little bit longer because I think convenience, making it less desirable for us to sacrifice, could be the most dangerous thing about it, aside from everything else,

because I don't think that the big threat here in convenience is like how it makes life easier, you know? I think the threat really is on how it slowly trains us to avoid sacrifice. But the truth is, is sacrifice, guys, sacrifice is the language of love. It is. When have we ever felt the most loved by anyone? Well, there's a man who demonstrated it for us perfectly, and his name is Jesus

and he sacrificed his entire life for you like he literally his only purpose from the minute he was born until the day he died until the day he lived was for you and was to save your life it was for love and it was in love

but Jesus sacrificed his entire life and took on a debt that we could have never paid ourselves. And had he not done that, we would not be here today. But also, we wouldn't know what real love is. It's a love that lasts. But like, love is only love with sacrifice. Love is only love with selflessness. I think that the times that I have felt the most loved in my life,

is when I have seen the way that people have sacrificed for me. And it could just simply be their time. It could be their convenience. Like the times that I felt the most loved by people in my life is when I know that they probably could have been doing something more productive. Or they could have been somewhere else. Or they could have been in a meeting. But instead they were like, no, no, no, you matter. I want to be here for you.

Like, that's love. Those are the times I've felt the most loved is when people have sacrificed. Like, even if acts of service or, or like, gift giving is a love language of yours, what is the core of that? They've taken the time. They took the time to do the act of love, the acts of service for you. Or they took the time to, you know, go and get you a gift. And they took the time to listen to you about the things that you love. and then they took that to heart and they went, but it's the sacrifice, right?

All of that underneath, no matter the love language, it's the sacrifice that comes with it. And that's what makes love love. Is somebody going out of their way and being inconvenienced for you? Why? Because you're worth it. You're worth it to them. And that's love. Love isn't just loving somebody when it's convenient.

That's not love. That's just like easy, you know? love is when it's hard when you'd rather be doing something else when you technically don't have the time or the energy but you do it anyway love real love always costs something and a cost probably means a sacrifice and a sacrifice probably means being inconvenienced and so if convenience and instant gratification is slowly killing our desires to sacrifice. Like if it's making us want to just avoid sacrifice at all costs, we're probably going to love really poorly.

Biblical love almost always involves giving something of yourself. A parent loses sleep for their child. A spouse forgives after being hurt. A friend sits in the hospital with you for hours. A missionary leaves home. Jesus leaves home. heaven love is expensive okay love has a cost biblical love okay the love that god tells us to show every single day the love that god first showed us we love because he first loved us and demonstrated

what that actually looks like but i think unfortunately our culture has a very different goal our our culture preaches love but it's it's not it's not real love right It's the counterfeit. It's the knockoff because this is real love. And so it's interesting because our culture will try to preach love, but then at the same time, our culture has a completely different goal of what God tells us real love is, which is remove friction. Culture tells us, no, no, no, remove discomfort. Make everything easier.

Make everything faster, more efficient. Everything is just on demand. Right there, we celebrate anything that reduces effort. Culture also like preaches to just less effort, less having to work. You know, it's like we'll see all of these ads of like, want to make money this quick or like want to. There's so many things in our culture where it's like no effort, no friction, make everything easier. And again, I don't think that those are inherently bad things. I don't think we need to be boycotting anything. Tools are great. Tools that make us more efficient

and make things easier sometimes. Hey, I'm about it. I'm not saying that they're necessarily wrong. I mean, if we're even going to use technology as an example, I mean, technology connects families from across the country, the world, right? Like, thank God for FaceTime. I live on the other side of the coast from my family. And I can't imagine what it would be like to not be able to connect with them. the eyeball. I mean, yes, it's through a screen, but technology does make things easier for relationships, but then also it does make daily life more manageable, which I'm grateful for. So there are aspects that are still good about it. But I think the real question is, what happens when we begin applying the same mindset to our relationships and our faith,

though because I think that once that mindset is like embedded in our minds then it really does bleed into all of these other things like if we're already thinking on like how can I do less if that's the thinking process already it might start to bleed into things like how can I spend less time serving how can I avoid difficult conversations how can I get the benefits of community without the responsibility. How can I follow Jesus with the least disruption to my lifestyle? Those are very different questions than asking God something like, Lord, what are you calling me to lay down today?

And I think that's the heart posture. That is the walk with Jesus, right? Is saying, what do you want me to lay down? How can I be a vessel? How can I sacrifice today? How can I be used today? What do you want me to give up? And that could just be your comfortability.

Like maybe he just wants you to give up 10 minutes of being comfortable in your day to go talk to that stranger that he's highlighted to you out in public to encourage. It doesn't always have to be like this big dramatic thing where you're like, God, what is it in my heart that I need to rip out? Sometimes it's like that. Sometimes he is like, I actually want you to lay down your job. quit your job and you're like what but then sometimes it really can be like are you willing to sacrifice a few minutes out of your day to encourage a stranger or to sit down with me to spend time with me before the rest of your day sweeps you away

and what's really awesome about jesus is and we see this in scripture is that he never invites anybody into convenience ever he never was he was like hey leave everything behind and follow me. And then he wouldn't really give any other information. He wouldn't make any promises that it was going to be an easy road. He was like, oh, you follow me. Come this way. And leave your family's behind and leave everything behind, right?

But like, Jesus never invited people into convenience. I don't think he ever invited me into convenience. I think that when he ripped me out of the world, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. But I can't say that it was the most convenient thing. I think that what would have been convenient was staying where I was because it was comfortable and it was easy it was empty and dull and boring

and had I lived a single minute longer in that place I mean I knew I needed out but it wasn't the most convenient thing I think it was just again like I was so desperate and when Jesus invites us to pick up our cross daily and follow him, which by the way, that is from the scripture, Luke 923. The full scripture is if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. A cross, we know this, right? Because obviously Jesus going on the cross and dying was not convenient for him.

So it's obvious that the cross, if he's then encouraging us to take up our own crosses, those are not symbols of convenience. that was an instrument of death, right? So Jesus wasn't saying life would simply be difficult. He was calling his followers to die to self as well. So that's actually the opposite, if we think about it, of what culture has taught us, which is to center our lives on comfort, convenience, easy. And I think it's safe to say that the gospel itself is built on sacrifice.

That's literally the entire gospel. Every major event in redemption involves sacrifice. You think about the movies that are the most moving, those movies that really just get you and they're heart-wrenching and they're just like, you know? And it's the moment, I really believe it's the movies and it's the moments and the story arcs of when somebody sacrificed. They either put their life on the line or they gave their life or they sacrificed their time. or they sacrifice their time, but like any story that I think we just love is like, wow, the sacrifice.

Every major event, every great story. It always involves sacrifice. Here's another concept. If we eliminate every small inconvenience, we may also weaken our ability to endure larger ones. I think that that goes back to God's desire to shape our heart. and to shape our character and who we are as people because the truth is like, I believe that in the small acts of self-denial every day,

those are the things that feel really minor and small, maybe in the moments, but like those really do build up to something that ultimately shapes our hearts for larger acts of faithfulness. And so it's in those little acts of self-denial that prepare us over time for the larger acts of faithfulness where we really got to dig. I think another really fun observation to make about Jesus, okay, just as the perfect man that he was. Because if we want to be like anyone, it should be Jesus because he demonstrated a perfect life for us so that we could follow his lead and try to reflect as much of him as we possibly can. He actually is a very efficient God.

and I believe that even in the times that he was constantly interrupted, he was interrupted often throughout his ministry. He was interrupted by children, blind beggars, a woman with a 12-year illness. Remember he was walking in the crowd and she pulled on the corner of his robe. Like that was technically an interruption. People who wanted healing, people who wanted answers. but like there were plenty of times that we saw in the story of Jesus as he was here on earth where he had gotten quote interrupted although I do think he used it all all of it all at once but I guess from a human perspective like yeah I mean he was interrupted all the time but Jesus's perspective I think in these moments is that they were often opportunities to love

Because I think from a productivity standpoint, interruptions are obstacles. But Jesus used these obstacles, air quote, or interruptions as opportunities to love. Why? Because there was a sacrifice. There was a inconvenience, right? There was something that didn't go as planned. Like if Jesus was on his way to do something and then somebody stopped him, that was an opportunity for him to demonstrate love. And that's what he chose.

And so I think a really real question that we could ask ourselves is have we become so committed to efficiency? Whoa, this is good, guys. That interruptions feel like enemies instead of invitations. We're going to let that marinate for a while. That's crazy. Another thing that I believe that convenience, if we've let it kind of overtake our mindset and the way that we live our lives, is it can replace dependence. You know? I think one of the greatest.

spiritual dangers is self-sufficiency. I mean, we saw that when we were reading in the book of Revelation, one of the churches that God was speaking to was the church that had become self-sufficient. And I think that when everything is easy and everything is going our way and everything is just instant, we can slowly begin to believe we don't really need God. Or again, I think that think that that sense of gratitude because I believe that we can only be filled with a grateful heart towards God if we recognize our dependency on him and how much we need him right and that he is our provider and so if we've lost sight of gratitude because everything's gotten so normalized for us and everything's been so instant and simple things like groceries in our fridge

and, you know, having access to our favorite shows and being able to relax on a couch and in a home that's clean with air conditioning. Like, we've lost sight and no longer have gratitude for that. We could lose sight on dependency to God and recognizing that we need him. And so, yeah, when everything is easy, we can slowly begin to believe that we don't really need God. Or maybe we forget about that part when it comes to our relationship. relationship with God is that we need him and that we only have the things we have because of him. And so something that's very true is Jesus teaches us to pray, give us this day our daily bread.

And that prayer reminds us that every day is sustained by God's provision, even when modern life makes us feel independent. That prayer kind of brings us back to the place of God. We need, I need everything I need for. today, I have to get it from you. I think another really special thing about God that makes him so God is that he often meets us in the slow things. God loves to meet us in the times where we have to be very patient and we have to go slower than we probably want to, right? But I think that that's like when God does the best works in us. And I think that that's, I mean, if we think about how spiritual growth even happens in us, it's never going to come at a pace that's rushed or quick or instant. I mean, if we think about how spiritual growth happens in us, it's through things like prayer

over and over again, right? Constant prayer and talking with God and commuting with him. And even in silence, moments of silence are feeling like, you know, nothing's really happened yet. You're not really sure how God is moving or maybe you do feel like he's a little bit more silent or he's not giving you the answers that you want or um you know confession like sitting with god and being like lord i need to hand this over to you i'm sorry i confess this thing right repentance um like none of these things can be rushed and the truth is is that if god's going to grow us it has to be in a place of being present versus like the productivity of the pace you know um he needs present people.

He needs people who will be in the moment willing to go at the pace that he's taking. And it's probably going to be at a pace that requires patience and endurance. But he's preparing us in that. You know, he's like equipping us. He's giving us the tools. He's helping us strengthen our muscles in more ways than one. I mean, it's not just spiritually. It's not just in our biblical knowledge or in our relationship with him.

a relationship with others and our relationship with ourselves and how we perform in life, you know, and at our jobs, like, he's fathering us in that. The idea of convenience slowly convinces us that we don't need perseverance, patience, community, or even God. The gospel doesn't promise an easy life. It promises that Christ is with us in every season. Perhaps some of the very inconveniences we try to eliminate are the places. where God is doing his deepest work in us.

Jesus didn't come to make our lives merely easier. He came to make us new. Sometimes the very moments we try to avoid, serving when we're tired, forgiving when we've been wounded, staying present when it's inconvenient, are the moments when God is shaping us into the image of Christ.

If comfort becomes our highest value, we'll eventually avoid the very sacrifices through which love grows. The cross reminds us, that the deepest love the world has ever known was not convenient. It was costly. And Jesus calls his followers not just to admire that love, but to embody it. I think what we could all do after this episode is go and sit with the Lord and be like,

okay, God, now that I have been made aware of the ways that maybe I have been overusing convenience, like, how do you want me to move forward from here differently? if at all. Maybe you've had really good boundaries about these things already, and I love that for you. But if you're in the same boat as I, where maybe you've probably taken convenience a little too far, maybe you've door dashed a little too many times, and now you're a little numb, and you actually prefer convenience over being inconvenienced, and you don't see inconvenience as an invitation to love someone better or to grow more, or to just simply, like, obey. obey God and to allow him to use it as an opportunity to grow you, right?

But I think even a question that you could ask yourself after this is, am I using convenience to love God and love others more? Or am I using it to protect my own comfort? Yikes. Yeah, I think God has so much grace for us. And I think that it's just a huge carrot that's way. in front of our faces every day of just that instant gratification and that simple $12 subscription a month for Amazon and now you can have everything at your doorstep whenever you'd want

within hours now. Like he has so much grace for us. It's hard. It's hard. Like I mean it's just it's so easy now. But I think let us not lose sight of the opportunity that there is in places of discomfort and being inconvenienced. I think there's more in those moments than we remember sometimes. And so I just pray, let's just end the episode in prayer. I just pray that the Holy Spirit convicts us even just like through little things throughout the day or maybe just like gives us like a friendly challenge. You know, like it doesn't always have to be.

like God, let me know when I'm doing something wrong. Like, yes, actually, please let me know when I'm doing something wrong. But it could always just be like, sometimes I feel like the Holy Spirit can kind of just like nudge you like a friend and be like, hey. But do you want to go, you want to go do this instead? Like you could order that, but like, do you want to just do, you know? Like, I just, I pray for that. So Lord, God, I thank you for what you had for us in today's episode.

and God, I thank you for reminding us the truth of what it means to be inconvenienced and that it's in inconvenience where there's an opportunity to love in a way that you teach us to love. And God, I pray that we don't continue to allow these things to rob us of gratitude and sacrifice and wanting to grow and go deeper with you. and to go deeper with other people and to love better, Lord. We just pray that you continue to humble us, to bring us back down to earth as culture continues to try to shove all of these other things down our throats or convince us that there are easier ways to live.

Just remind us of the truth, God, of who you call us to be and who you are at your core. And I just pray right now by the power of the Holy Spirit that you just point. things out in our days where you lovingly nudge us in the right direction and maybe even challenge us to go out of our way and be inconvenienced. And Lord, I pray that even after those moments that we actually get encouraged by whatever it is that you do in that moment. Like I pray that it's actually really empowering and it makes us feel closer to you and it makes us feel like more of a sense of purpose because there's just like nothing more fulfilling than being used by you, God. and so we just ask Lord that you use us today and we thank you for your wisdom we love you we honor you

and we pray all of these things in your name amen oh also god please forgive us for all the ways that we have let convenience kind of take over and we've lost sight of what's important which is you our dependency on you our gratitude for all the things in our life that are good and love, like true sacrificial, biblical love. If we've ever lost sight of that Lord, we repent. And we're sorry for taking shortcuts and for taking the easy way out sometimes when maybe that wasn't the right thing to do. We love you.

Amen. Amen, you guys. Hey, I'm really proud of you. I'm really proud of you. Thank you for being here. I love you guys. I've been loving. how much time we've been spending together.

I hope that you guys have been enjoying this Wednesday, Friday schedule that we've been doing the last few weeks. Yeah, I'm really proud of you guys. I love you. I'm excited to read your comments below, too, because I feel like this is such a rich conversation starter. And, yeah, I just would love to hear y'all's experiences, perspectives, maybe even stories, you know. when it comes to just the days that we're living in with the convenience that we have,

everything being at our fingertips all the time. So I love you guys. I'll see you in a few days. Have a beautiful weekend and a beautiful Monday and Tuesday until we all see each other again on Wednesday. Oh wait, before we go though, can we do something really cool today?

Duh. Can we demonstrate what it means to really love like Jesus loves? Sacrificial love? Can we show somebody how cool Jesus is today? Can we walk more like him, talk more like him, be more like Jesus today, love like Jesus. Okay. I love you guys. I'll see you next time. Bye.