Ep 85: Batteries in the Scale

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What can the dread of stepping
on the scale teach us about

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resisting the transformative
nature of God's Word?

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Let's talk about that.
Welcome to the show.

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I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for
your Sunday morning drive.

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The short podcast with the goal
of providing some motivation,

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Dr. and encouragement on your
way to worship and helping you

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recenter your mind on spiritual
things on hectic Sunday

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mornings.
We are brought to you by the

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Let's go ahead and get the show

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on the road.
This is episode 85, Batteries in

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the scale.
Let's go to church.

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Are we there yet?
The batteries in our bathroom

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scale have been dead for months
and I honestly didn't think much

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of it at first.
Yes, you're right, it isn't a

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coincidence that this episode
just happens to drop after one

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of the most food centric
holidays on the calendar.

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But anyway, you know, I thought
maybe it'll be good for me not

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to stand on that scale every
day.

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And because, you know, some say
it's not good to become obsessed

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with a number and so dead.
The batteries stayed and all was

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well until I began to notice my
shirts getting a little more

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snug and my pants were getting a
little tighter.

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Not great, but still I didn't
replace the batteries.

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Why bother, right?
It's not urgent.

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At least that was my thought.
I think the wake up call came

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when my wife began to drop what
I'm going to call hints now.

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Now I'm sure she'll deny the
intent behind it, but she would

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say things like hey, the battery
in the scale is dead or we

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really need to replace that
battery.

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And she said it with what?
Looking back on it, I'm going to

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call a suspiciously targeted
level of persistence.

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It was then that I realized the
reason I haven't done it yet was

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because I'm a little bit scared
to.

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I've gone for so long without
stepping that scale that I'm

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worried what I might see, even
though I can already tell it's

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not going to be good.
Well, Long story short, I put it

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off long enough that Whitney
replaced them herself, and with

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some trepidation, I stepped up
and the scale told me what I

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already expected.
I wasn't where I wanted to be.

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But I'm glad I know, because now
I know what I need to do to get

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back on track.
And I guess it comes as no

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surprise at this point, But I
see some spiritual application

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here, and I think it relates
really well to what James James

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writes in James chapter 122
through 25.

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He says, but be sure you live
out the message and do not

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merely listen to it and so
deceive yourselves.

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For if someone merely listens to
the message and does not live it

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out, he is like someone who
gazes at his own face in a

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mirror.
For he gazes at himself and then

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goes out and immediately forgets
what sort of person he was.

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But the one who peers into the
perfect law of liberty and fixes

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his attention there and does not
become a forgetful listener, but

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one who lives it out.
He will be blessed in what he

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does.
Now if you found this passage as

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confusing as I have in the past,
let me help break it down for

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you.
James is saying that someone who

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hears A biblical truth,
understands it clearly and has

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the opportunity to change, but
then walks away from an

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encounter with the truth
unaltered is like someone that

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sees themselves clearly in a
mirror.

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Flaws, conditions,
imperfections, the whole

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shebang, but then just walks
away an immediate forgets what

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he saw.
In other words, James is telling

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us that in the same way for
getting our own appearance is

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absurd and unnatural, so is
hearing God's word without

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transformation.
Now let's sub out that mirror

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with my scale.
Get the picture?

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Sometimes we, and yeah, I'm
definitely including myself in

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that, are worried to look in
that mirror or step on that

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scale because we don't want to
be reminded of where we are and

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we dread the process of
changing.

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And I think many times as we do
this with God's Word, we may not

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want to lay our lives alongside
the scale of inspired truth,

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because it might hurt to see how
far off we are from the example

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of Christ.
And maybe we're scared to, or

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even resistant to beginning the
process of becoming doers of the

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Word and not just hearers.
But it must be done because just

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as seeing that number on the
scale should push me to action,

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God's Word should motivate us in
a transformative way.

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Stepping on that scale and in
front of that mirror that is

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God's Word is going to reveal
truth in US.

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And not all of that is going to
be pleasant to see.

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It's going to expose motives,
reveal sin, show areas where we

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lack spiritually.
It may reflect truths about our

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hearts that are hard to bear.
And most importantly, it will

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illuminate where change is
needed.

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And once we see those things,
don't walk away unmotivated or

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unchanged.
Put those batteries in the

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scale.
Look into the Word of God and

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don't willfully neglect changes
that will please Him because

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spiritually speaking, I'm sure
we can always find some fat to

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trim and thanks be to God that
He shows us how.

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Well, those are my thoughts for
your Sunday morning drive.

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Now it's time to hear yours.
Our discussion questions for

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this week are what fears keep us
from honestly letting Scripture

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reveal spiritual areas that need
change?

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In what ways do we distract
ourselves so we don't have to

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confront what God's Word might
show us about our hearts?

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And what are some areas in our
lives where we can improve

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spiritually?
And what does God's Word tell us

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about how to make that happen?
Hey, thanks for listening.

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I hope you have a great week and
I'll see you Sunday.