 Oh, this is gonna be a great sister to sister. Here's a good question. Are there any scriptures that are confusing? And we're gonna talk about some inspiring Bible characters and annoying Bible characters. I like them all. I like you too. Stay tuned. What kind of jamming to the music and we're looking forward to talking with you. And here's who we are. Five beautiful, intelligent women of God. And what we do is we bring our answers from the Bible and our hearts to the questions that you ask us. You ask us these questions, you send them in. And here's what you said. You said, what's a scripture verse that's confusing to us, to me, to you, to Flo? Confusing. I'm confused. I know. I know. I know. Flo, you're never confused. It's funny, because you guys know how I am with certain questions, right? But this one kind of came to me right away. Because when you think of death in the scriptures, I'm a little puzzled. And I did, you know, maybe I need to do more, not maybe I need to do more research, but you know, there's scripture that says you fall asleep in Christ and the dead in Christ will rise. Then there's the scripture, you know, if you're absent from the body, you're present with the Lord. And then there's the scripture that says, you know, the saints are crying over the altar. How long? How long? So I'm like, what really scripturally that I can soundly say, you know, happens when a person passes away? Are they asleep? And when the trumpet sounds, they come out, you know, or are they in heaven right now at this moment from the time they're sold, departs their body? Yes. So, well, you know. That's what I think. Yeah. But, you know, I need scripture to support them all. I think I, if you ask me what do I think or feel what I tend to lean towards and that's that the moment that I close my eyes when my soul leaves my body, I'm with the Lord. But there is scripture that also supports otherwise. So there, you know, there's like two schools of thoughts there. Listen to this, this is how I learned it. Cause I was a little Catholic girl and here's Jesus on the cross and here's the two bad guys and this bad guy saying, well, get us off of here. And this bad guy said, I'm really sorry. And here's what Jesus says today. You will be with me in paradise. So I'm going with that. So what do you do? I mean, really though, cause when I think about it is, you know, one of the greatest apologetic tools is listening. And so when I listen to others, I've had people ask me, you know, Pastor Flo, what happens when, and they hit you with these scriptures and I'm kind of going, well, yeah, that is in the word. You know, what do you have? Amy, is it, what's confusing? A confusing one to me is Paul's, I was given a thorn in my flesh. I've heard so many sermons about the, I'm going to say the D-A-M thorn and the flesh. I mean, you know what I mean? A darn thorn and the flesh. What is that? Who was that? Was it a spirit? Was it a thing that just kept, you know, but I mean, I think we've all felt like that, you know, that there's just something always there, you know, that is, you know. Well, George thinks he had arthritis. No. George! George is the illogical. Let George speak for himself. No, Paul had arthritis. Well, it's not confusing anymore. Oh, Paul answered that. Paul had arthritis, so I get it. What do you have, confusing? Oh, man, mine isn't good like that. What are you going to spell a swear word? What today? Maybe in my head. Proverbs 26 says, don't answer a fool. According to his folly, you'll be like him. Then the very next verse is answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. That's confusing. Yeah, and I was trying to decipher through that, so I thought like this. Don't answer a fool on the same terms. You know how Jesus, when they asked him a foolest question, he gave him an answer back? But answer, but don't answer according to his folly, the way he would do it. Answer with truth. So that was scripture. Bother me because sometimes I think, man, you're just talking foolish. I'm not going to even bother with you. Proverbs the beginning of it, but God says, don't leave him alone. Help him out. You know, try to. I'm sure I need that, too, when I'm talking foolish. That's good. Leave it to Roxy to answer her own confusion. Exactly. That's a great point. She's like, I'm confused, but here's the answer. I got it. Hey, guys. I love these sisters. So, Roxy, could you clear up my confusion? Oh, I don't know. I was always confused about God hardening people's hearts. Like when it said at Exodus, like when God hardened Pharaoh's hearts, and I know it was like part of like the whole story in the plan and everything, but like, it just confused me. It was like, why would God harden someone's heart? Like that was always real confusing to me. So you know, when I get to heaven, that's one of the questions. Yeah. That's good. Well, I have this really cool little question here and it goes like this. This is going to be fun to hear your answers. Name a character in the Bible that you don't like, and you have to tell us why. Roxanne, do you have one? Oh, am I supposed to answer this? Okay, I'm going to answer my own, why would you say, okay, okay. I'm going to answer this like this. I'm not going to answer you a person I don't like. I'm going to ask to answer you a person I think most people don't like. Okay. But I kind of respect her. What's a girl? It is a woman. Of course it's a woman. Okay. No, no. Just kidding. I'm not being generous here. Queen Vashti, married to the king. He's like the king of all of Persia, 11 countries or something. I mean, this guy could knock your head off. And he's having a big party with all his boys and asks her to come and parade herself in when he's drunk. And she says, no. Can you imagine a person, the guts, it took this queen, now she gets a bad rap because the king dethrones her and sends her away. I'm glad he didn't kill her, of course. But she refused to parade in front of a bunch of partying men. And I give her credit for that. But the way it kind of, the Bible doesn't say much about whether she was right or wrong. I think many times to usher in Queen Esther, it occurred. But women have to realize you don't need to parade yourself. You don't need to prove yourself. Even if you're the queen. Don't do what other people tell you. Do what's in here. Good message. You missed the point of this question. I did. I usually do. Don't. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. I want to rescue you. But it does. Well, the thing about Jezebel, okay, you know, we hear the Jezebel spirit. The Jezebel spirit. Now, they have a Jezebel spirit. And the Jezebel spirit can really be male or female controlled. It's manipulative, it's deceptive, it's divisive. It takes over. And I totally believe in it and agree with the Jezebel spirit. If you read about Jezebel, she was evil. But it also has been an abusive thing. strong-willed woman a woman who said you know is confident or a woman who they can say in the church oh she's a Jezebel spirit and I'm thinking man you better you better know what you're talking about before you label somebody a Jezebel spirit so even though she's like a bad girl and that spirit is real and it's operating and it's dividing churches on the daily it has leaned toward abuse and misuse of women in the church oh she's she's a Jezebel spirit because she wants to lead the kids ministry because she's good at administration telling people what to do you you know so I think we have to be careful we don't like her anybody who don't you like I mean I don't know why it's all women that we're like not like but like I'm still on the woman train because every month I get a little mad at Eve I'm just saying I get a little angry for the whole curse thing that we got going on here yeah just saying well I don't like Herod and he's a guy I thought you liked everybody but I don't like Herod so all right rewind how about you so I honestly don't know that I have anybody that I don't like I think I learned from everybody because when you say character too it's it there's an implication there that it didn't really happen like it's fictional you know so because even with Herod what I learned from Herod is how far jealousy can go and jealousy is as cruel as the grave and so it carries the spirit of murder with it you talked about Eve I thought about Adam and I'm thinking what I don't want to do is not know my place and allow something to come in and usher and you're so authority for me that God has given me and then it affects the generations down the line that's pretty deep you know well I mean that's what happens yeah you know what I mean so you know because you know Adam had a role to play and he didn't play it I don't know what was going on in his mind or what was happening with him that Eve was able to do what she did as far as what you know it's what okay so she ate the fruit but for him to partake of it and we all are guilty of that on some level or another you know we partake of some things well we kind of know one here like I'm not supposed to be doing that but we can be swayed by other people so I it's hard to say I don't like them okay but I don't want to walk the same thing okay well I have this instead of not liking I want to know what you do like so Amy here's here's a question for you an unnamed person character or a story in the Bible that inspired you I have the best one I love this lady in the Bible okay she has no name it just calls her a wise woman from the city so second Samuel and it's in chapter 20 you've got to read it verses 14 through 22 it's so good so Joab is leading the Israelite army they want one bad guy and they were told this one bad guy is in this city and this wise woman who understands what's happening in her city sees this is not good and Joab why would you want to come destroy this city what does she say we are the the we are the faithful in Israel why would you destroy a city that is the mother in Israel and he's like well I just want this one guy and she says to him give me a minute and I'll be back with his head yeah oh yes so she had that much wisdom to see what was coming in and out of her city that she went in with her influence this wise woman and she said we need this guy's head and they listen to her they throw out the head and he's like thanks peace out city safe and rescued because of a wise unnamed woman I know I have a small story that's so unbelievable and it's something that came to me when I was reading the questions and again I'm answering today what the heck its first chronicles for it's the prayer of Jabez and do you know that in the middle of the the history of Judah's genealogy in the middle of it this is what God has us read oh there's a guy named Jabez and the mother named him Jabez because it caused pain in childbirth this this comes out of the total blue and here's what Jabez says oh that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory that your hand would be with me and you would keep me from evil this is Jabez we don't even know who he is asking God that I may not cause pain so God granted him what he requested and then it went on to something else the prayer of Jabez little tiny in chronicles okay go ahead Kathy all right she I'm sorry Corey you can record it but I'm not answering the question she has a name all right that's Abigail man she's my woman so is that lady in that unnamed lady I gotta read that chop his head off and have it Samuel who Abigail stood up to her foolish husband who wouldn't feed David and his 400 men she stood up to him and said pardon me my husband's foolish and she fed him and then she stood up to king David who had 400 men that was about to kill her foolish husband and she stood up to him could you imagine standing up an army of 400 men I mean we read these things and they turn out well but when they're going through this these strong women as you were saying these strong women would we have rebuked her for going against her husband today would we have think about it as she intervened and God and David recognized her wisdom she stopped David from murdering somebody and then she stopped her foolish husband from being murdered although he died later and David married her as queen but there you go hey I just want to know from you a quick little Bible story of unnamed person or name unnamed okay whatever you want E E E E knock and Job Job because all of the heck he went through he never lost his position with God never lost his faith you know he was able to go through the test E not because of his his heart he just walked with God until he was no more and off he went up so good this is so good today listen stay right there because we have a very special second half of this program we'll be right back hello to all of you and welcome back I alluded to a very special second half of the show and here's why we've been together now for nine seasons we know each other we love each other but we don't know everything about each other because we answer the questions that you send in but right now today I'm so thrilled to have my sister Corey going to tell a little bit more about her and the easiest way for me to start with that Corey is and I know we all have trials but is there a specific time of pain or a time of joy that you'd want to share with us and really you're sharing it with a lot of other people sure I am before I do that I'm going to jump back to the last question because it sort of ties into that believe it or not so the small character in the Bible is from Esther actually we talked about Queen Vashti and Esther is one of my favorite stories in the Bible and so character that jumped out to me last time I was reading Esther were actually the eunuchs okay do we all know what eunuchs are they were the castrated males that helped take care of the king's harem basically and the eunuchs and Esther were really important they were the ones that basically helped Esther get to her position like they prepared her for when she was going before the king and the eunuchs were the ones that gave the messages between Esther and her uncle so the famous line in Esther for such a time as this was actually the message that was spoken by the eunuch to between the uncle and Esther that was actually spoken by the eunuch and that really stood out to me the last time I read Esther because I was like you know you know Esther is the name of the book and you know it's it's such a great book but it's these you know minor characters that this eunuch could have literally you know given a different message he could have thrown Esther on there to the bus he could have you know taken the glory on for himself but he carried out this message that was given to him and it was part of God's plan and that's part of my testimony because I've had a time in my life that was full of pain and I haven't talked about it a whole lot I don't even know if you guys are aware of it but I did have a miscarriage in my life and it was a time in my life when we had just recently moved we were part of a new church so we didn't have a you know a big church family that you know was very supportive because we didn't know a lot of people at that time so it was a really painful time in my life and there was somebody that was you know a friend from the church that I didn't know very well that just stepped up and they brought a meal to me and they're not somebody that's you know you know big personality or somebody that has to be out front or a big character you know like it not somebody that is you know would be a main character in the bible there somebody that might be considered a minor character you know and um but they were a big character in my life the little thing they did in my life really mattered and it their actions in my life made such a difference and it turned that pain in my life into great joy because of that friendship that they developed and those little things they did for me um and that person's actually here on set um and and she works here it's it's Laurie she is she is um she is one of the floor directors here and she's um there's a picture of her up there um she's just a dear friend to me um sorry yeah um she's special to me and um and I just am thankful to the lord for her role in my life and how he's kind of weaved us together through being at cornerstone together and um bringing me here to sister to sister and you know she she works behind the scenes here but you know the lord uses her on this show and all the other shows here at cornerstone and so I just want to encourage anybody that feels like maybe their you know testimony isn't you know this big grand thing or that that they don't have a big role to play that they don't you know they're not a singer they're not a speaker you know that they don't have maybe um you know something that is out front you have something to share you have a role to to something that you can do for somebody and it might not seem like something big but just by Laurie bringing me a meal meant so much to me and it it changed my life it meant so much to me so that was a time of pain but it really was a trajectory of of leading to great joy in my life you are such a strong Christian woman your whole life we hear about your parents and growing up well was there another time that god showed up big in your life you know I I thought a lot about this and you know I feel like you know I'm a I'm a big personality I like things big I like things bright and glittery and you guys know that I'm always about the bling and the shoes and the glitter and you know I sometimes used to get frustrated about um you know I didn't have this big testimony I I got saved when I was a little girl you know and there's there's beauty in that right there's beauty that I got to live my whole life growing up under the shadow of his wings right and that I didn't have to have this um you know huge painful turnover in my testimony and I think I think I wanted I want to share that that it's you know I want to share the scripture about um you know the time in in first kings where um I think it was Elijah he went out and he he stood in the mount before the lord and the lord passed by in a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke the pieces of the rocks before the lord but the lord wasn't in the wind and after the wind and earthquake the lord wasn't in the earthquake and after the earthquake a fire but the lord wasn't in the fire and after the fire the sound of a low whisper and that's where the lord was and so I just look back at my life and yeah the lord is there plenty of times in big ways but the lord was there in all the little ways in all the in between and all the times that I didn't know he was there that's when it matters all the times that he saved me from myself all the times when he answered no to prayers that I thought that I needed or that I wanted all the times when I didn't know what I needed but he did he was there what I need is a whole quarry show next time stay right there we're gonna wrap this up thank you sister here on sister to sister we always end with a scripture and I got to pick the scripture today so I picked my favorite favorite verse and it's from my favorite book of the bible romans it's romans 8 26 in the same way the spirit helps us in our weakness we do not know what we ought to pray for but the spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans I love how the ESV puts it it says with groanings too deep for words I remember the very first time that I read that scripture it literally brought me to tears thinking about how deeply the Lord loves us that he knows us so well better than we know ourselves when we don't even know what we should pray for that the spirit is crying out on our behalf there is such peace in knowing that as a parent there's so many times when I am groaning out in a way with wordless groans for my children going through teens and adulthood and I am just so thankful that we have a father that is doing the same for us and knows us so much better so if you don't know what you ought to pray for have peace in knowing that the father is doing that for you and it was so great to hear Cory's story today and don't ever forget you have a story too and we have a scripture that goes like this as iron sharpens iron so does the countenance of a man or a woman or a sister sharpen the other see you next time