Have you ever been reprimanded or punished by a church or perhaps even been asked to leave one? Not because you were immoral, not because you denied the faith, but because you had the audacity to think for yourself? Well, guess what? I have. And today, I am going to do something a little different. I am going to tell you my story, a very personal experience that happened to me nearly 25 years ago that changed my life forever. And I want to talk about what I learned from it, what I learned about independence and submission, about my conscience and church authority, and about following Christ, even when it costs you everything else.

Welcome to the Pristine Grace Podcast. I am your host, Brandon Kraft, and I am really pleased that you are here with me today. This is a show where I talk about theology, the gospel, and other various Bible subjects, as well as whatever comes to my mind. Today, we are going to touch on something very personal to me. But before I do that, I want to show you one of my favorite Bibles that I own.

Okay, this is show-and-tell time, and I think we are going to be doing a lot of show-and-tell on this podcast. Because you would not believe it, but I have a lot of books. I have probably maybe a thousand books. I have bookshelf after bookshelf after bookshelf filled with wonderful books. So I just might take a few minutes out of each podcast episode to show you what I have.

But anyway, right here is one of my favorite Bibles. And you might be thinking, "Well, that looks just like another Bible." And you are right; it is. It is another Bible. And of course, I love the Bible. But this is a King James Version Bible. And I love the King James Version. I am not dogmatic about it. I say use whatever Bible you want to use. I do not care what translation you use. And I find other translations to be quite useful to me. So I do not read just one translation. I read multiple ones. I use them for comparative studies, and sometimes when I have a hard time understanding the text in one translation, I will often turn to another translation to gain clarity.

But anyway, as I have gotten older, I have found that I really appreciate the King James Version more and more for a number of reasons. One is it happens to be the translation that the churches I attend tend to use. But second, I just really like the sound of the old King James Version. It is so poetic, and yes, it can be hard to read at times, but oftentimes it is just absolutely beautiful, especially when you get into the Psalms.

But anyway, since I have been using the King James Version a lot, and I have been using it in these podcast episodes, I decided to get myself a nice new paper Bible. I got this last year, and this is a Cambridge Bible, okay? It is the Cambridge Turquoise. And I have other King James Version Bibles, but this one is really special to me because, first of all, I love the leather on this thing, and I love the color blue. I do not know if you noticed, but I really like blue. But I really like the print on this thing, okay? And it is an old typeset. It is not digital. It is actually... I do not know what they call it, but it is the older type setting before there was digital printing. And I just find that it is really nice and easy to read. I really like how it is verse by verse, so each verse has its own line. And I also like how it has paragraph markings in there. And I also like how it has pronunciation in the text, especially. Let me see if I can find one here. Let me see if I can find something in Genesis here. Alright, so. You cannot see that on here, but I like how it handles pronunciation. And I just really like this Bible. OK, that is all I have to say. But you cannot just go on Amazon and buy this one. Yeah, you can get a black one, but you cannot get a blue one. And I think I got this blue one from evangelicalbible.com. I cannot remember the exact website, but just search for a blue turquoise Cambridge KJV Bible and you should be able to find it on the web.

But anyway, I really love this Bible, and I recommend, if you are looking for a Bible, to get one of these. All right, now we are going to go back to the podcast here. Oh, I also forgot to say, if you are new here, take a moment to subscribe. I am on YouTube, I am on Sermon Audio, I am on Apple Podcasts, and I am also on Spotify now.

Alright, and today, as I said, we are going to do something different. I am going to take a different approach. I am not going to give you a theological lecture. I am going to try not to, anyway. I am not going to walk through a doctrine systematically. Instead, I am going to share something very personal with you: a defining moment in my spiritual journey. It was a moment that was painful at the time, but it turned out to be one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me.

Now, I want to say up front, this is not going to be a quick episode. None of mine tend to be; they are about 30 minutes each, 30 to 50 minutes each. So get your coffee, get your tea, get your soda--I do not care what it is. Pause the video and come back. But we are going to take our time with this because I think there are some lessons here that many of you need to hear, especially if you are one of those battered sheep out there. Especially if you have ever been rejected by a church. Especially if you have ever been told you are too independent. Especially if you have ever had to choose between your conscience and someone else's approval.

So we are going to go back in time. We are going to go back to the year 2001, when I was 26 years old. I was young, and I was eager, and I was involved with my church. I was serving part-time in ministry, or I thought I was, or I was going to. And I was going to be in their theological studies program. Basically, it was going to be like seminary, where I would get to study the Scriptures and be trained to be a minister. And everything seemed to be going well. I was young and zealous.

And one day, one of my elders called me and said, "Hey, Brandon, why don't you come down to the office? I'd like to talk to you about a few things and maybe grab a Coke with you." Okay, so they lured me in. So you can see where this is going. I got there, and instead of the elder I was expecting, whose name was Rick, it was Rick, Sam, and John. I can't even remember their names. It's been so long. But anyway, I got there, and the three elders of the church were sitting there waiting for me. The secretary said, "They're in the office. Why don't you go back there and meet them? They're expecting you."

So I got there and walked into the office, and all three elders were sitting there talking. They walked me in, and then they looked at me as I sat down. Six eyes were on me. I said, "Hey, what's up?" One of them said to me, "Brandon, we noticed that you haven't tithed in the last few months." Okay, so I was not expecting that at all. I felt like I was being ambushed all of a sudden. I wasn't expecting that. Now, I also need you to understand something. I wasn't refusing to give. I actually was giving. I was tithing. But I wasn't tithing in their sense, okay? I wasn't giving according to their system, not according to their percentages or as often as they wanted me to. I was giving as the Lord led me, as I felt called to. I was young, married, and had a budget. And I was giving, you know, as the Lord had placed it on my heart.

And during that time, I had been reading the scriptures quite a bit. I was reading systematic theology books. I was reading my Bible constantly. I was devouring whatever I could find on the young internet at the time, which wasn't anything like it is today. And I had come to the conclusion that I didn't have to tithe because we don't. We're not under the law. The tithing was for Old Testament Israelites. And even if we were to tithe, even if tithing were a law for us today, well, tithing is so different today than what you see in the Old Testament, okay? First off, we don't deal with agriculture anymore. But anyway, I'm not going to get into that on this call, and I really don't ever want to do another study on tithing, whether we're underneath it or not, because quite simply we're not.

But anyway, I looked at them and I said the truth, what was on my heart. I said, I don't believe in tithing. I do believe in giving, though. But I don't see tithing as a requirement for me or any other believer. And I base this on what I see in Scripture. Oh my goodness. You should have seen the look on their faces when I said that. I was not prepared for the reaction that I got. Their jaws literally dropped, okay, and their faces were shocked. I mean, I stunned the room when I said those words. And the look of shock on their faces lasted only a few moments before they started firing back at me.

All right, they said to me, "Well, Brandon, the ancient Israelites were commanded to tithe. So that means you're commanded to tithe, and you're being disobedient." Alright, so my young 26-year-old self did surprisingly well with that accusation, and I'll never forget this moment. The Spirit was upon me, and I said to them, "I've been studying the scriptures, and I've recently concluded that I'm not under the law. But I'm saved by grace in Christ, who freed me from the law. I am now dead to the law. The law has no bearing on me whatsoever." Okay. And furthermore, I'm willing to give as the Lord places it on my heart. And then I started quoting scripture. This is one of the few times in my life where I had scripture memorized and ready to go. I don't know why I had it, but the Lord had put it in my brain and written it on my heart, and I had it memorized.

And 2 Corinthians 9, verse 7 says, "Paul writes, every man according as he purposeth in his heart. So let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loveth a cheerful giver." And then I also said, according to Galatians chapter 5, verse 1, "Well, I thought I'd won the argument. No, no, I didn't. I thought they'd be pleased. I thought they'd be happy that I was reading my Bible, that I was reading the scriptures. Okay, studying the scripture, coming to my own conclusions based on what I read in here. But I was wrong. Instead of being praised for reading the Bible, I was criticized. And they responded and told me that I shouldn't be studying the Bible without their oversight. And they admonished me to come to them for understanding. And they said I needed their guidance. And that's when I realized they didn't want me to study the Bible. They wanted me to submit to their interpretation of the Bible. And we went back and forth for a while, and finally they concluded that they needed to remove me from any possible ministry responsibilities in that church. And then they kicked me out of their theological studies program, which was their version of seminary.

And a few weeks later, I got together with one of the elders, Rick, and we were having a discussion, and I told him that I disagreed with him on everything that they had told me, that I did not believe in tithing and I wasn't going to tithe. And then I said that I also believe some things that maybe this church doesn't agree with, and I told them that I believe in limited atonement. And if you don't know what limited atonement is, it's basically theology. It's the understanding that Christ only died for his elect sheep. It's been something that the church has believed in for centuries. And there's a big old debate on that, whether Christ died for all people universally or just for a certain number of people. And I'd come to the conclusion that it was just his sheep. And they did not like that at all.

And in addition, I also said that I did not think it was right that he was paid a salary, a large salary for what he did. And that did not go over very well either. So I might have, I should have perhaps not said those things. Well, at least the salary part. But anyway, it does not matter. Do you know what he told me at that point? He said, "Brandon, I think you need to go find a different church. You need to go find a church that is more aligned with your way of thinking." And he did not say it in a cruel manner, but I still think it was a cruel thing to do.

But I am not going to judge him for it, and I hope that man is doing well, and I do not begrudge him at all. But I will tell you, at the time, I was devastated. And my heart really ached at that rejection. And I remember I walked out of that office, out of the church building, and I had tears in my eyes. I walked to the car and I pulled out my cell phone. Okay. And back then cell phones were not like this. They were, they, they, uh, looked kind of like a candy bar. Okay. Here, let me see if I can find one. Okay. It is a little bit thicker than this. Okay. This is an Apple TV remote, but it was a little cell phone that was like this. And I thought it was really, you know, I was in the space age and I got on the phone with my wife, and I called her, and I just got to say, the pain in my chest was tight. My chest was tight, and I told her that we were not welcome at that church anymore.

And I drove home in tears a few miles, and I was just depressed. It was just devastating to me. And I cried. I cried over a church. I cried over people who were supposed to be my spiritual family, over leaders who were supposed to shepherd me, to pastor me. And I felt like I was a failure, too. Maybe I was too rebellious. Maybe I had done something terribly wrong. Like, maybe I was the problem. Okay? Looking back on that now, I realize I was not the problem. My attitude may not have been all that great, but I was not the problem.

And looking back on that nearly 25 years later, I must say I am extremely thankful for it. I am thrilled and so thankful for all of that entire experience. I am thankful to God for it because I realized it was God's work in my life at that moment. And God used that rejection to set me free. Now, I want to be clear about something. My views on tithing and law for the believer have not changed, not one bit. I still do not believe tithing is a requirement for believers. I believe we are saved by grace and we are not under the law.

And since that time, I have found churches that agree with me on this. And I am very happy about that, and I have maintained my independent spirit fiercely when it comes to reading the Scriptures. I form what I believe through sound reason, logical deduction, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and also by analyzing the world around me. I do not depend solely upon the words of any man to determine what I should think or believe. I look to Christ and to Him alone, and I lean upon the Holy Spirit to guide me into all truth.

And as I was preparing this episode, I thought, is this not the way it ought to be for all believers? Think about it. Now before you think I am advocating for some kind of rebellious independence where everyone just does whatever they want, hear me out again, because that is not what I am saying at all. I do not deny that we are to be interdependent upon each other, that we should seek each other out for advice and seek each other out for help in discerning the Scriptures. There is nothing wrong with that. We need community. And we also need accountability.

Now, I am not a big fan of that word, accountability, due to the way it has been misused by churches these days. But yes, we do need accountability toward each other. We also need fellowship, okay? But when it comes down to it, when everything is boiled down, every single one of us stands alone before the Lord in our conscience. Ultimately, it is the Holy Spirit who guides us and leads us into all truth and understanding.

And the problem arises when church leaders abuse their authority and try to dictate to us what we should or should not believe. Now let me show you something from Scripture. Galatians chapter 1, verse 10 says, "Am I now trying to please men, or God? For if I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Paul says that plainly. And that is strong language. And it is the apostle Paul saying that. Paul, the man who worked with other apostles. Paul, he submitted to the Jerusalem Council, and he also valued church fellowship. But he also knew that his ultimate allegiance was to Christ, not to human authority. And when push comes to shove, he had to obey God rather than men.

And that is what I learned that day in the elder's office, that my conscience belongs to God and not to church leaders. Now, let me tell you something else I have learned over these last 25 years. It is easy for church leaders to fall into this trap. And I say this as someone who has been in leadership myself, at least with my online ministry and in my own family. As a parent, I have fallen into this trap with my son. I have tried to dictate what he should believe as he was growing up, rather than feeding him with the Word and with the truth and relying upon God to lead him as He sees fit.

And this is something I have had to learn as I have grown older: all of God's people are on a journey of discovery. And as a leader, you desperately want those under you to agree with you, to instantly agree with you. We become impatient sometimes, and we can fall into the trap of trying to force opinions and trying to manipulate the beliefs of other people instead of relying on the Spirit to guide them. And it is especially easy to do when you think you have everything right. But that is a terrible trap, because you often end up creating the opposite outcome of what you truly intended. You end up pushing people away. You injure them, you wound them, and you make them distrust all authority, and you damage their faith. Or you can damage their faith. Of course, the Lord can overcome all that. But you do all this because you could not trust the Holy Spirit to do His work in their lives.

Now, here is something else I want you to hear. Nobody ever learns the truth all at once. Nobody does. And I continue to learn more about God and His scriptures as I age in this life. And I cannot tell you how many times I have changed my opinion and my views on what scripture actually has to say. Not about the main things, but usually about the minor things, or some major things, but never about the gospel. Not since I have believed the gospel. And I expect that I will continue to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as I grow older. And the reason I believe that is because it is in the Bible.

Well, let me put it this way. We are admonished to grow in grace and knowledge. 2 Peter 3, verse 18 says, "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." Grow. Grow. What do you think that means? What does it mean to grow? Well, I will tell you what I think it means. I think it means to change. It means to develop. It means not staying where you are. It means to be something new down the road.

And my views will still continue to be strictly my own, shaped by my understanding of the Scriptures as the Spirit leads me. I try not to have them shaped by creeds, confessions, or the direct interpretations of any church leader. I know that by maintaining this fiercely independent stance, I will more than likely continue to be rejected by some men, not all men, but most. They want me to fit in nicely and neatly, to bow to their will, to get in line. But I will not, and I cannot, because it is not in my DNA. It is not my theological DNA. And yes, I have found myself trying to fit in at times, submitting to extra-biblical rules, church rules that I do not necessarily agree with. But many times, for the sake of maintaining peace, I will. And there is not anything necessarily wrong with that as long as your conscience is not violated.

But the Lord always brings me back to where I started on this journey. I am just a pilgrim. And it is the Lord who is my shepherd. He is the one who leads me, and He is the one who guides me as I walk through this life. And I am going to follow Him.

Now, let me say something else important here, because there is a balance that I think needs to be struck. And I do not want anyone to hear what I am not saying, okay? I am not advocating for rebellion against all authority. Because I know someone is going to accuse me of that. But no, I am not. I am not saying you should leave your church every time there is a disagreement. And I am not saying you should not submit to church leadership either. In fact, I think Scripture is very clear about honoring those who have rule over us. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17 clearly says, "Obey them that rule over you, and submit yourselves. For they watch over your souls, as they must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief. For that is unprofitable for you."

Scripture says we should obey and submit. Those are strong words, and they matter. Notice what it does not say. It does not say obey blindly. It does not say submit your conscience to others. It does not say let them dictate what you believe. It says obey them as they watch over your souls, as they shepherd you, as they lead you.

But what happens when they stop shepherding and start controlling? What happens when they demand you violate your conscience? What happens when they insist you believe something Scripture does not teach? That is where the line is. That is where you must say, "I respect you. I appreciate your leadership, but I cannot and will not violate my conscience."

Acts 5:29 says, "We ought to obey God rather than men." That is not rebellion; that is submission to the highest authority. Sometimes that means you will be rejected by others. Sometimes that means you will be called too independent. Sometimes that means you will walk out wounded. But here is the great news: you will walk out free. And that is worth it.

I want to tell you what happened to me after I left that church, because this is where God's grace became so evident to me. I was wounded by their rejection, by their judgment of me. I felt hurt. I felt rejected and alone. But God used that rejection to teach me something precious. He taught me that my identity is not found in a church. It is not found in my membership in any congregation. It is not found in my association with any group of people. My identity, and I am so sure of this now even today, and I am more sure about this than I ever was, my identity is found in Christ.

He taught me that my security does not come from human approval; it comes from Him. He taught me that freedom in Him is real and that it is worth fighting for. He led me to other believers who understood grace and who valued conscience. Perhaps they did not do so perfectly, but they did. They did not demand conformity to their system entirely. We are imperfect people in an imperfect world, you know? They are not perfect. Do we agree on everything? Oh, no. But they have given me the space to be led by the Spirit. They trusted God to work in my life, and they shepherded me without controlling me. That is where I found my freedom.

Now, I want to talk about the gospel for a minute because this whole story is really about the gospel. All right, so what those elders were doing to me, in my old church, whether they realized it or not, was putting me back under the law. They were adding requirements to the gospel. They were saying, "Grace is not enough. You need to tithe. You need to submit to our interpretation. You need to conform to our system." But that is not the gospel.

The gospel is that Christ has set us free. Galatians chapter five, verse one says, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Christ has made us free, not partially free, not free except for this list of rules, but free, truly free, free from the law, free from performance, free from having to measure up, because Christ has already measured up for us. He fulfilled the law perfectly. He lived the life we could not live, and He died the death we deserve to die. When He died, He cried out, "It is finished." John chapter nineteen, verse thirty says, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, 'It is finished,' and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit."

It is finished. The work is done. And the loss is fulfilled. The price has been paid. And that means we are free. And we are free to give cheerfully. Not out of obligation. We are free to follow the Spirit's leading, not man's rules. We are free to have our own conscience before the Lord. And that is the gospel. And it is glorious.

And when someone tries to put you back under a law, when they try to add requirements, when they try to control your conscience, well, they are attacking the gospel itself. They may not be doing it intentionally, but that is what is happening because the gospel is all about freedom. And anything that takes away from that freedom is another gospel.

Now let me speak to some of you who are in situations like I was. Maybe you are in a church where the leaders are controlling, where they demand conformity, where they question your salvation if you do not want to agree with them on every point. Well, let me tell you something: you are not crazy. You are not rebellious. You are not too independent either, okay? You are a child of God who is learning to follow the Spirit's leading. And that is exactly what you ought to be doing.

And yes, we should be humble. And yes, we should listen to wise counsel. And yes, we should consider what godly leaders have to say to us. But at the end of the day, you stand before God alone and you have to be able to say, "I followed you, Lord. I obeyed my conscience. I stood on what I believed you were teaching me."

Romans chapter 14, verse 5 says, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Fully persuaded in your own mind, not someone else's mind, yours. And that does not mean you are always right. It does not mean you will not change your views. And it does not mean you do not need input from other people. But it does mean that your conscience belongs to the Lord. And it does not belong to church leaders. And if church leaders cannot respect that, if they demand that you violate your conscience, if they kick you out for thinking for yourself, then perhaps it is time to find a different church.

And I know that is a very painful thing to do. And I know it feels like failure. And I know it hurts. But there is a season for everything, and you will not stay with everything forever. And sometimes God closes doors so that He can open better ones. Sometimes He uses rejection to set us free. And sometimes the best thing that can happen to you is getting kicked out of the wrong place, because it forces us to find the right place, or to learn to walk with God alone, or to discover that our identity is in Christ, not in a church building.

And now I have one more thing to say here to church leaders. Let me talk to you for a minute, because I know the temptations that can come from being in leadership. It is tempting to want everyone to agree with you. It feels good. And it is tempting to see this disagreement as rebellion. And it is tempting to use your authority to enforce conformity. But that is not shepherding people. That is controlling. Pastors, shepherds, they lead. They do not drive, they guide. They do not force, they protect. They do not dominate either. 1 Peter chapter 5 verses 2 and 3 say, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, and not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock." Not as being lords over God's heritage, not controllers, not dictators, but as examples. Lead by example, teach the word, trust the Spirit, trust Him to do His work and give people room to grow. And even if they grow in directions you do not expect, even if they come to different conclusions than you, even if they do not fit in your nice, neat, tidy system, lead. Because they are not yours. They are God's. And He is perfectly capable of leading them without your manipulation.

Now, let me come back to my story because there is one more thing I need to say. I am not bitter. I am not angry. I am not holding a grudge against those elders who kicked me out. In fact, I pray for them and I hope they are doing well. And I have a love for them in my heart even, because they are people too, caught up in systems that sometimes are quite evil and they are victims as well. But I will say this, I am grateful because God used that painful experience to shape me, to teach me, and to set me free. And I walked out wounded, but I walked out free. And that freedom has been worth everything.

And I have learned to think for myself, to study Scripture for myself, to follow the Spirit's leading, to value conscience over conformity. And I have learned that when you lose man's approval but gain God's peace, you have made a good trade. And I have learned that rejection by men does not mean rejection by God. Being kicked out of a church does not mean you are outside God's favor. That being called too independent might just mean you are learning to depend on God instead of men. And I have learned that the Christian life is a journey. It is a pilgrimage. And on that journey, you are going to have to make choices, sometimes difficult ones, sometimes costly choices. But at the end of the day, you must be able to say, I followed Christ, even when it cost me, even when it hurt, even when everyone disagreed. Because guess what? That is what disciples do. They follow Jesus. They do not follow systems. They do not follow leaders. They do not follow churches. They follow Jesus.

John chapter 10, verses 27 and 28 say, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." My sheep. Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice. Not the voice of church leaders, not the voice of systems, not the voice of tradition, but my voice. And they follow me, not men, not institutions, not programs, me. And no one can pluck them out of my hand, not church leaders who reject them, not elders who kick them out, not anyone, because they belong to Christ and he holds them secure. And that's the gospel. And that's what got me through that painful season: the knowledge that I belonged to Christ, that He held me, that His voice was the one I needed to follow, that His approval is what mattered. Not theirs, but His. And when you know that, when you come to realize that, when you can truly grasp that, not just in your mind, but in your very being, it sets you free. And it sets you free to follow Him wherever He leads. You are free to obey your conscience without worrying about what anybody else thinks. You are free to think for yourself and free to grow and change and develop as the Spirit teaches you. And that freedom, well, I have to say, is glorious. It's wonderful. I wish everyone could feel what I felt.

Now let me close with this. If you are listening to this and you have been hurt by church leaders, if you have been controlled or manipulated or kicked out or rejected for thinking for yourself, or if you have been told you are too independent, hear me. You are not alone. And you are not crazy. And you are not the problem. Yes, be humble. Examine your heart. Make sure you are not being rebellious or proud. But if your conscience is clear, if you are following Scripture, if you are walking with God, then stand firm in Him. Stand with Him. And stand in the liberty Christ has given you. Do not let anyone put you back under bondage. Do not let anyone control your conscience. And do not let anyone make you think that following Christ means submitting to their system. You belong to Christ. You belong to His system. All right? He is your shepherd. Follow Him. And if that means you walk a lonely road for a season, well, so be it. It is better to walk alone with God than in a crowd without Him. It is better to have God's approval than man's acceptance. And it is better to have peace in your conscience than peace with controlling men.

And trust that God will lead you where you need to be. He will bring you to believers who will shepherd you without controlling you, who will love you without trying to manipulate you, who will give you room to be led by the Spirit. Because that is how God works. He uses even our painful rejections to lead us to better places. He did it for me, and He will do it for you.

And just now, as I was thinking of it, it just came to my mind. The story of Joseph. Look what happened to him. His brothers sold him into bondage, into slavery. And look what God did with that story. Look what God did for Joseph.

So, that is about all I have to say today. That is all I have for you. It is a little bit unusual. It is a little different from my usual episodes, but I felt that some of you needed to hear it, and I hope it has encouraged you. I hope it has given you courage to follow Christ and to follow him even when it costs you, even when it costs you everything. And I hope it has reminded you that your freedom in Christ is real, and it is worth fighting for.

If you are having questions, or if you are going through something similar and need to talk, feel free to reach out to me. On my website, pristinegrace.org, there is a contact form. You can reach out to me. I am happy to talk to you, correspond by email, or even text with you. I do not care. However you want to communicate, I am willing to communicate with you, and I would be honored to hear from you. I would be happy to talk to you and even pray with you. And that is all I have.

So, grace and peace to you, and good night to everyone.