The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - 5 Things That Will Complicate Your Life

Episode Date: May 31, 2019

Looking for peace and simplicity? Get rid of the factors that complicate your life. Jeff zeroes in on the things that disrupt our peace and rupture our relationships. He explains how each of these things affects us and what we can do to overcome these disruptions and find our inner calm. Snippet from the Show “When we choose to sin, it complicates our lives in powerful ways ... we lose the integration between soul and body.” Do you have comments or questions for Jeff? Use the comment box below, or email Jeff at [e-mail]. You may hear your question or comment in an upcoming podcast episode! Check out the shownotes for this episode at ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow or email us at [e-mail] and we'll send them straight to your inbox!

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven's show, episode 118, five things that will complicate your life. Hey, I'm Jeff Kavins. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven Show. Hey, welcome to the show, post-memorial day. I hope you had a wonderful time with family and a time to reflect on the great things that have happened in our country and to give thanks to those who have served in the military throughout the years.

We had a good time. On my wife's side of the family, Emily's side, there are a lot of people who have served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, in the Gulf War. and so we really had a good time went to a seminary up in northern Minnesota, and I'll say a little bit about that in just a few minutes, but it was really a wonderful time. What's interesting is that on my side of the family, there really isn't that many people who served. It just seems like everybody seemed to miss one of the wars, and I was too young, just barely too young for the Vietnam War. So military is not a part of my side, but it certainly is on Emily's. You know, and we went up to honor her mother and her father, which her mother was laid to rest just recently, Alice Tobler. We also were able to honor her

grandma and her grandpa and a lot of other relatives. And I have a beautiful picture of two of our grandchildren, Dominic and Frankie, in their raincoats because it was cold and rainy at the cemetery, and there they had a 21-gun salute. It was raining. People were standing in the rain, honoring the fallen, and those who were in their family who served in the military. And there's my two grandkids standing there next to their great-grandparents' grave, as Emily, my wife, has a knife, and she is trimming the edge of the gravestones, so it looks nice. And we do that every year. picture just really touched my heart. I took that picture, and I put that on Instagram, on my Instagram account this week, if you want to, you want to check that out. But it was really,

really touching. And I talked, you know, I spoke a little bit on Instagram about how, how we teach our grandchildren respect. And boy, does Emily do this in this particular, in this particular picture. So we are post-memorial day, and we're going to be talking. about five things that will complicate your life. Now, you just, we don't want to complicate your life, but you know what I mean? It's the reverse of it. These are five things that will complicate your life, but you want to avoid them so that, so that you can live a life of simplicity, you can live a life of devotion to Christ, and you're not all caught up in the things of the world like so many are. Hey, a couple of things before we get into that subject,

I want to remind you that in 2020, the year 2020, there's going to, it's a big year for Israel for us. We're going twice to Israel in January. If you want to get in on that trip and go with us, we have a few places open still in the January pilgrimages. That's on my website, jeffcavens.com. But the big one that I want to announce to you is the big trip with Father Mike Schmitz. The two of us are going to go in June of 2020. It's for young adults. That's typically up to around the age of 30. and we're going to have three outstanding singers coming with us to put on concerts in the Galilee, right on the Sea of Galilee, and in Jerusalem, and that's going to be Taylor Tripodi, Ali Aliah, and Brother Isaiah. They're going to be putting on concerts and just doing a bang-up job there.

And so we're looking forward to bringing hundreds of young adults to Israel to pray on these sites, to have Mass in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Copernum, and also to pray the rosary on all these sites, and just to have a good time of fellowship. And we're going to be focusing on discerning what God is saying in your life right now. That's with Father Mike Schmitz and myself, 2020, June of 2020. You can find the information on my website, jeffcavens.com, under pilgrimages. Right now, at least, you can get your name in, and at least that gets you a place. and then I think in about a month or so, we're going to be taking down payments for that trip.

But at least get your name in now so we know how many people are interested. Hey, Monique writes and says, I want show notes. If you want show notes for every show, you've got to let us know, and we'll put you on that list and you'll get them. But she asks a good question. She said, I want to get show notes for past episodes, too. How do I do that? And my amazing producer, Christina, told me how. how to do it. She said there'll be a link in this episode in the show notes, and you can copy,

it's a link to past shows, to the archives, and then you can copy and paste them into Word or whatever, you know, whatever you want to paste them into. But that's how you can do it. Hey, Ruth, Matt, I got your emails. Thanks for them. You gave a lot of good suggestions on show topics in the future. You know, many people say that they stumble upon the show. They stumble upon it. How? Well, algorithms. They go searching on the web, for a particular topic, like today we're talking about, you know, complicating your life. And they're looking for these subjects, and then they stumble, which is a Greek word for God leading them to the website. And you can help by telling your friends about the show

and you're rating it in iTunes, Google Play, in other places, SoundCloud, and we do appreciate that. Onward and upward here, deep in the woods of Minnesota. By the way, it is beautiful out right now. the lake is like glass with loons on it, some Canadian geese, and a new bird that I just learned about called a turn as they, as I'm right there, right there. They just dive into the water, trying to get minnows or something. Anyway, I love being at the old cabin in the woods and talking to you. Okay, so we're talking about five things that will complicate your life. Now, I know there's a lot of things that can complicate your life, and I've narrowed this down to five. It certainly is not the definitive list, but there's the things that I was thinking about that I wanted to pass on to you.

Numeral one, this will complicate your life, and this is kind of a broad category. Some of the other things that we're going to mention could fit under this category, but it's, you guessed it, sin. Number one, sin will complicate your life. It really, really will. One of the great reads that I would recommend to you is John Paul II's, writing a small little booklet called Reconciliation and Penance. Reconciliation and penance, and he's got just gems in there about sin and how to avoid it, and the fact that it really does complicate our lives in such a, you know, it's such a big way. It really, really does. Well, you know, sin, Pope John Paul II talks about how sin affects our lives, but it also affects other lives.

and sin is simply going contrary, living contrary, thinking contrary and dwelling on it, contrary to what, contrary to God's will. And we have original sin with our original parents, and that's dealt with in baptism. But when we choose to sin, which is a disobedience of the creature towards the creator, it really does affect our lives. And it complicates our lives in some a powerful, powerful way. And I want to share just a couple things about that. When we sin, we lose the integration between soul and body, and that complicates our lives. And we know from church teaching that the appetites, after the original sin, the appetites now govern the soul. And we've got to deal with that, because if we give into the appetites, it's certainly complicated

our lives, and it makes family life, it makes work, it makes your own mental state, very complicated. Paul puts it this way. He says, he says there's a war that is taking place in Romans 715, and I'll put all these scriptures in the show notes for you. So Monique, you got them now, but you're going to get past shows, too, if you go back. And so what Paul says in Romans 715, he says, there's something he doesn't understand. And maybe you feel this way, too. He says, I do not understand my own actions. I don't understand my own actions. There's something working in me here that I just don't understand. He says, for I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. And then he says, well, who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ.

So he realizes that due to sin, there is this struggle that takes place in his life. Do you feel like that? I mean, do you go through that in your own life with maybe it's food, maybe it's things, maybe it's your attitude, maybe it's a sexual behavior, whatever it might be. You say, I don't understand my own actions. Well, sin works in us in a way that really complicates our lives, and it can cause complications for other people around us as well. It affects the soul. You know, instead of the intellect guiding the will by the light of truth, the intellect is

darkened and the will acts impetuously without gathering all the necessary data. So due to sin, we oftentimes just dive into something that's an appetite of the flesh. And we don't even think and suddenly, dang, there we are. We're in a state of complication. So from now on, everything in man would make for his immediate and separate gratification after the fall. And if you're going to go for immediate gratification, my friend. I'm telling you right now. I'm big brother sharing this with you. I share it with myself. You are going to complicate your life if you give into that. You really are. John Paul II talks about sin, how it affects others. He says because sin is familial, that is family related, it affects not only your relationship with God, but also the

entire family. While sin is committed personally, it is perpetuated in community, which makes sin easier to commit as each generation passes. And that's really true, right? He talks about a communion of sin. He says, there is no sin, not even the most intimate and secret one, the most strictly individual one that exclusively concerns the person committing it. Exclusively is the operative word there. He says, every sin has repercussions on the entire ecclesial body and the whole human family. That's reconciliation and penance. The booklet I was talking about, that's number 16. Now, that's really an important point that he brings up because what he's saying is, is that if you walk in sin, no matter how secret you think it is and how personal you think it is and nobody's going to know

a thing about it, he said it's going to affect all of us, the whole body, the whole human family. and that leads to further complications in the world today. In that same paragraph, paragraph 16, he said that social sins are the result of the accumulation and concentration of many personal sins. Very powerful. But listen to this one paragraph from that great booklet, Reconciliation and Penance. This is solid gold, what I'm going to share with you right here. He says, no one wishing to investigate the mystery of sin can ignore this link between cause and effect. As a rupture with God, sin is an act of disobedience by a creature who rejects, at least implicitly, the very one from whom he came and who sustains him in life.

It is therefore, get this, get this, get this, don't write it down, don't go, I'll put in the show notes, he says, therefore it is a suicidal act. What's a suicidal act? Sin. Since by sin, man refuses to submit to God. His internal balance is also destroyed, and it is precisely within himself that contradictions and conflicts arise. Wounded in this way, man almost inevitably causes damage to the fabric of his relationship with others and with the created world. This is an objective law and an objective reality verified in so many ways in the human psyche and in the spiritual life, as well as in society, where it is easy to see the signs and effects of internal disorder. Internal disorder, you got that? That is complication. Internal disorder.

So if you don't go to confession regularly, you will live a complicated life. You've got to take care of sin. And sin is the number one way, which we're going to see later on in Corinthians that Paul talks about, it's the number one way to rupture the peace in our life and bring about a complication that is not only affecting our life, but the lives of others. Numeral two, the second way, the second way that we complicate our lives, number two is we don't have any shape to our day. We don't have any shape to our day. How many times, and I got my hand raised, by the way, looking out at the loons right now, I got my hands raised because I have been guilty of this, and that is you get up in the morning

and then life kind of hits you right in the face. You know, you get up and maybe you're getting into a routine that keeps you from a shape to your day. Like you get up, you turn Good Morning America on, or you listen to local news, you pick up the paper, you eat a couple of muffins and your coffee, your tea, and boom, you're out the door. And you're caught on the treadmill at that point until you come home, and that's got its own little patterns that keep you from doing the things that you know are priorities, those things that you're called to in your life. And the number one thing is that you've got to meet with God. You have to meet with the Lord every single day. I have a saying in my book, the latest book, The Activated Disciple. You can get that at Ascension Press.

And it is that the shape of your day reflects the love of your life. If you're in love, the shape of your day is going to change. If you're married, the shape of your day changes. You have a spouse. You have children. You have things that you need to give priority to in your life. But if you're not conscious of the shape of your day, then it's going to take on a shape that is out of your control.

And you will be controlled by the tyranny of the urgent in your life. You really will. And it's going to take a little bit of work. You can do it. roll up your sleeves, little elbow greased, get your day back in shape, so it reflects the love of your life. And so, for example, Emily and I, we meet every morning, just did prior to this here in the deep woods. And what do we do? We spent an hour together, and we prayed, the scripture of the day, the gospel of the day. We did lexio divina. Why? Well, two things. One, the shape of our day

is reflecting the fact that we love Jesus. And two, we love each other, and we love being married and talking with each other. So the shape of our day does reflect the love of our life, and in the evening there's a time of reflection. And throughout the day, you are situationally aware of what's going on around you. You walk with your posse. That's right. You walk with your posse. And that's your favorite saints that you've committed to getting to know and to want to be like. So that's, so that's the shape of your day. So if you want to live a complicated life, don't pay any attention to the shape of your day. It will get complicated. Believe me, it'll get complicated. By the way, I want to hear your thoughts on this. You can email me at Jeff Kavens at the Jeff Kavens show and, or no, Jeff Kavens

at ascensionpress.com. That's it. Don't even know my own email. It'll be in the show notes. Anyway, I want to hear how this is affecting you. You know, related to no shape to your day. Related to that is saying yes to everything. Doesn't that complicate your life? How many times do you get invitations? Your diocese is having a jamboree. Your church is having a special golf outing, dinner tonight, all of these things. And some of these things are good, and it's good to participate. But how many of these things do we really need to go to? So we have a habit of saying yes to invitations. We can't say no. And that can lead to a complication in our life because it's easy to say yes when it's five months out, then five months suddenly is here. And it's like,

oh, my, why did I do that? Why did I say yes to that? I just complicated my life. I really don't want to go now. And if I don't go, now I got a call. You know, no shape to your day saying yes to invitations. Husbands and wives who don't meet regularly, that will complicate your life. That's part of the shape of your day. Let me just share this with you. If you're looking for a spouse right now in your life, you're single, you're listening to the show, and you're praying about a spouse. I want to give you a tip here. Find someone who will slow down and be with you. That's right. Find someone who wants to be with you. Not just now. But when you get married and life becomes more complicated, you know you've got that

anchor in the relationship. Really look for that in a relationship. So if you don't meet with Jesus and your posse throughout the day, you're going to live a complicated life. I got three more coming up here. I'm going to take a break when I come back. I got three more ways that we complicate our lives. You're listening to The Jeff Kaven Show. Do you find it difficult to end? enter into the mysteries of the rosary? What about personally applying them to your life? Drawing from the writings of the saints, the Bible, and Catholic tradition, Matt Frat has produced Pocket Guide to the Rosary,

a masterful work that teaches Catholics how to truly meditate on the mysteries of the rosary, how to pray the rosary like the saints, and so much more. If you're looking to deepen your prayer life and improve the way you pray what St. Padre Pio called the weapon of our times, we invite you to check out pocket guide to the rosary by Matt Frad. To order, visit ascensionpress.com or Amazon. And I do welcome you back and hope that sharing with me during this time every week adds to declusses. during your life, to not being complicated, that the things we're sharing on the show every week are good for you, and they really lend themselves to making a good walk with the Lord, a peaceful walk with the Lord. Okay, so we're talking about five things that will complicate

your life. We looked at sin. We looked at no shape to your day. Number three, now this one you might not have thought was going to be on the list, but it is. Gossip and lying. Gossip and lying are the third ones. They will complicate your life. Oh, boy, do they complicate your life? You know, there was a great story, a rabbinic story of a rabbi who had a number of great Talmudim students. Talmeid is Hebrew for students. And one of the Talmud, one of the Talmuddin, starting to gossip about the rabbi and saying things about the rabbi that simply weren't true. and the things that the student said about his rabbi, who he used to love and adore, and really still does, but he's starting to gossip about some things. These rumors and this gossip started to spread around the village. And after a month or so, the student came to his senses, kind of like the prodigal

son, and he came to his senses, and the rabbi knew that he was gossiping about him, and the student came to the rabbi, and he said, Rabbi, oh, rabbi, I am so sorry for what I have been saying in the village about you. Rabbi, my teacher, my great one, please forgive me, and let our relationship be restored as it was before. And the rabbi said to the young student, he said, my Talmud, my student, do this. I want you to go, and I want you to go. And I want you to get a feather pillow. I want you to go up on top of the roof and cut the feather pillow open, and I want you to let it blow in the breeze so that the feathers will flow out to every corner of the village. And on that windy day, the student went up, and he went up on top of the roof

and he was going to cut that feather pillow open. And he said to the rabbi, he said, Rabbi, that would be impossible. That would be impossible. And the rabbi says, when you gather all those pillows, or all those feathers, and you put them back in the pillow, then our relationship will be restored to what it was. And that's when, again, the student said, that could never be. And the rabbi said, and neither will our relationship ever be the same. It'll be good, but it will never be the same. You see, gossiping and lying, they complicate our lives. And one of the reasons is that gossip and lying is tied to the father of lies, Satan. John writes about this, both in his gospel and his epistle, the first epistle, he says in 1st John 3.8, it'll be in the show notes.

He says, he who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sin from the beginning. The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. And he gives a further revelation in the gospel, John chapter 8 and verse 44. Speaking of the enemy, he says, He who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sin from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. So you see, the devil is not only the arch enemy, but he's a father of lies. So one of the problems with gossiping, one of the problems with lying, is that it forces you to be several people at once.

got to conduct different life patterns. You know, when you tell a lie, then you have to go into your backlog and figure out, what did I, what did I say to that person? And what did I say about that other person? We gossip, we lie, and that will complicate your life because it forces you to live not only in the present, but you have to be aware of what you said in the past. You see, the person who tells the truth can always live in the in the in the in the moment uh they don't have to think about what did i say i speak truth i do not gossip i do not lie and i and i and i can be sure of that and so i can i can live fully in the in the current moment without wondering what did i say about this person or say about that person you see what i'm you see what i'm saying uh it's it's it's

really, really important. You know, there's a word that we're all familiar with, which Paul uses, even in the New Testament, talking about hypocrisy. And hypocrisy, the word hypocrite, actually means an actor. And if you're going to start gossiping or lying, you're going to become an actor. You're not yourself. You're not living as yourself. But there comes a peace that you can experience when you live in truth. When you live in truth. If you just make up your mind today, day, I am not gossiping about anybody. I'm not gossiping about anybody. I'm not going to say anything contrary. I'm not going to lie. Then you are on the road to peace. But if you get caught up in gossip, you get caught up in lying, then your life is going to become very complicated and it might

even become painful. So if you're looking for that life that is filled with peace, don't gossip. Don't lie. Do what the scripture says. Speak the truth in love. Speak the truth in love. You know, there's a lot of talk about Pope Francis. People talk about Pope Francis. What do you think about this? What do you think about that? Do you know that not once, not once in his pontificate, have I said a word contrary, if I said anything that I'm going to regret. He's the Pope. I'm listening to what God is trying to tell me, and I am busy trying to become an activated disciple. I can say that about other relationships too, but I can also tell you this. In the past, if I have lied, it made my life complicated, especially when it got caught. If I gossiped about someone,

and then that person was showing the signs that they didn't like me, I just wondered to myself, did somebody tell? Did somebody say something? That's a complicated life. You don't have to keep backlogs or you don't, you know, getting caught with multiple stories if you tell the truth. Number four, number four, this will complicate your life. TV and social media overload. Ooh, wow. TV and social media overload. I have three scriptures for you coming up right here that they're going to blow your mind. They're going to be great for this if you're fighting it, and they're going to be in the show notes. Now, I really do believe that it complicates our life to watch too much TV, especially news TV these days. If you can even call it news,

It's more like news entertainment, but I've heard so many people, in fact, you know, some of you wrote me and said that you're burned out with the news. If you go down to most televisions, you know, in the dinner, in the living room, and you turn it on, you get about 500 channels to choose from. 500 channels. It's amazing how many choices we have. That's just TV. Then you go over to the Internet, you've got websites, you're You've got YouTube, you have, you know, you've got Snapchat, you've got Twitter, you've got Instagram, Facebook, on and on and on. And everything screams tend to me, work with me, and our lives are just overloaded.

I would suggest, as Emily and I have done, is that we use DVR, we tape what we want to watch, and that's all we watch. I don't just go on there looking for something. I have an idea of what I'd like to watch, and there's a few shows we kind of like to watch, and we record them, and then we watch them together. But when you start to DVR 10, 15 shows, isn't it wild when you go on there and you see, oh, wow, I've got this sporting show and seven episodes I haven't seen. And you've got this show, and America's got talent, and I don't.

And, you know, and you have seven of those backed up. And when am I going to get around to seeing those? Life becomes complicated. When it comes to TV and social media, I've got a couple scriptures that I think are going to be really good for you. Job chapter 31 in verse 1 said this. He said, I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze at a virgin? So what Job is saying is he's saying, look, I don't have just an agreement with my eyes, and I'm not going to look at certain things. He said, I have a covenant with my eyes. That's the highest, most powerful, binding instrument possible. He said, I made a covenant with my eyes. I'm not going to look on some of this stuff. I'm not going to do it. Have you made a covenant with your eyes?

When it comes to TV and social media, if not, life could become complicated. Life could become complicated. Particularly, let me just pause here and say to you men, I'm not saying women wouldn't struggle with this, but you men. My friend, if you're struggling with pornography, you're complicating your life. You are with your thought life. You're complicating your relationship with your spouse. You're complicating the relationship with your young children, especially your boys,

in your ability to be a father and a role model, and you might be living a secret life. You'll complicate life. Psalm 119 in verse 37, I love this one, turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways. Wow, that's good. Isn't that good? Make that a prayer. Write that on a card.

Put that in your phone. stick it on the bathroom mirror, whatever you need to do. Lord, turn my eyes from looking at worthless things. Isn't that good? Make that a prayer. God, help me to turn my eyes from looking at worthless things and give me life in your ways. You see, when we look at worthless things, we're looking for life. Oh, that's a good one. Man, I'm going to use that one this week. That's a good one. How about this one? Psalm 101 and verses three and four. I will not. set before my eyes anything that is worthless. Not good. I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away. It shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be

far from me. I will know nothing of evil. When it comes to TV and social media, nothing wrong with being involved, but you got to know where the limits are. And if it's keeping you from being with the Lord, keeping you from being with your family, if it is putting thoughts and ideas in your head which are contrary to God's ways, or if it's just plain worthless, then you need to reject it. You need to stay away from it and give your eyes and your mind and your ears and your heart over things that will give you life, life in his way. I love that. I love that. And number five, number five, wow, number five, five things that will complicate your life. The fifth one is focusing on stuff, things.

Focusing on stuff and things. You know, this is one that we really do struggle with as Americans, don't we? We get our minds so focused on stuff. Stuff is Greek for junk. Not really. Don't go to the bishop with that one, all right? So stuff, things. And this is tied very much to the beginning of the Bible with the fall of Adam and Eve.

Because you remember very well that when Adam and Eve were put in the garden, when Adam and Eve were, this is going to be good, you're going to like this. And you're going to particularly like what Paul says about this. When Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were given access to every tree, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were not to eat it, the fruit of it, or they would die. and then comes the enemy and the enemy says did god say you shall not eat of the tree and and adam didn't speak up but eve did and she said she said we can't eat of this tree nor can we even touch it which he didn't say that nor can we touch it lest we die and the enemy said you're not going to die you see god knows God knows that in the day that you touch this, you're going to be like him, knowing good and evil.

Now, that's a good thing, the enemy's saying. If you will eat it, you will become like him. In other words, if you disobey him and he's keeping something from you, but if you disobey him and you actually eat it, you're going to become like him, and that's not what he wants, which is sort of weird because we are created in the image and likeness of God. But notice Notice Eve's description of the fruit. She said it's beautiful to the taste. It's wonderful to the taste. It's beautiful to the eyes. And it makes one wise. That's pretty good, isn't it? It's beautiful, tasty, makes one wise. What's not to like about that? Well, what's not to like about that is that God said, no, obey me rather than go after the creation. Obey the creator rather than the creation. And what happened with Adam and Eve is that they disobeyed their heavenly father and they grasped at the beautiful things here on earth, which we've got a lot of them. And all God said was don't eat fruit from that tree. And when they did it, they fell. That's

original sin. And everything got complicated at that point, which brings me back to the first point, sin complicates our lives. But listen to what Paul's observation was about the fall of Adam and Eve and her deception. Listen to this. This will blow you away. This is exactly what we're talking about this week. Second Corinthians 113. It's in the show notes. But I am afraid, Paul says. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your of thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. But listen to the translation here from the New American Standard. I have several translations on the big desk here up in the woods. And this New American Standard Bible, which I've read for years, listen to the

translation here. Paul says, but I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. My friend, if you are being pulled away and focusing on things and stuff and you can are searching endlessly on eBay and the Internet for stuff, and you can't get it out of your mind, you want stuff, you are deceived. I'm being honest with you. I'm just, I'm here to help. Both of us. I'm here to help me and you. You're being deceived. Just like Eve, that you think that if you can grasp after the beautiful, the tasty, and things that make you wise, you make a name for yourself, you are being led away from the simple and pure devotion to Christ. Don't let things rule your life. Turn to relationships, things that are eternal, truth, wisdom, beauty, the relationship with the Lord. Turn to things that are going to satisfy you. Not worthless things are going to fill your life with complication and junk and end up at the goodwill only to turn

around and buy them again. Get off. Get off of this treadmill and uncomplicate your life. Those are the things I wanted to share with you this week, and I hope that they are helpful. five things that complicate our lives. That's sin, no shape to your day, gossip and lying, TV and social media overload, and focusing on things. Let me pray with you as we conclude the show today. And as I am praying here, I am overlooking this pure glass lake and thinking about the simplicity of walking with Jesus along the northern shores of the of Galilee. By the way, pray for me. In two days, I go to Israel. We're taping a new show, a new great adventure show over in Israel. It's going to be good. And in fact, my next show,

the next one or the one after that's going to be from Israel. So I'm looking forward to that. Let's pray, shall we? In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, I thank you for my friend. I thank you, Lord, for their desire for meaning and truth and relationship with you, their desire to become activated disciples. Lord, we submit to you today these five categories and ask you to help us deal with sin, help us to have a shape to our day that reflects that we love you. Lord, keep us from gossip and lying. And Lord, help us to govern our eyes and our soul when it comes to TV and social media. And Lord, may you be the reward in obedience to you. may that be the reward rather than things of this earth. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus,

and we ask for the intercession of our mother, Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with the blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. I love you. And I ask for your prayers. And I would pray for you. week.