Episode intro:

Hello, Civilla Morgan here! Welcome to episode 25 of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast! Thank you for tuning in! So here’s the deal: 

I want this podcast to speak to people, not yell at people. Whether you are a Believer or not, a Christian or not, I want this podcast to be so plain in its language, that even if you have never stepped into a church, you will get this. You will get who Jesus is, and you will get what relationship with Him could be like, despite what people–Christians and non-Christians, try to do to get you to turn your back. Come along with me. I promise it will be a really cool experience! 

Body of episode:

Well, this is it! The final episode of the Not Just Another Religion and Politics Podcast. I believe I did what I set out to do: everything I said in the intro of every episode.  

If you have not listened to all of the episodes yet, you have time. I will continue to pay the hosting fees to keep the podcast alive on my http://www.civillamorgan.com website.   

If you would like to make a financial contribution to help pay the monthly hosting fee of $15.00, feel free to deposit that or any dollar amount to PayPal at booksbycivillamorgan@gmail.com. Your contributions will keep the episodes live and available for others to listen to well into the future.  

The other way you can help is to share the episodes. Tell someone, anyone, everyone, about this podcast. Send them a link to your favorite episode, or an episode you believe might help them on their spiritual journey. It would be greatly appreciated! 

I would like to say a great big THANK YOU to Rob Conley for producing these 25 episodes. I could not have had a better podcast producer, guys. He impressed me from day one with his skills. I mean just listen to the episodes! You may reach Rob at Gcatproductions@gmail.com if you or someone you know is in need of a podcast producer.  

Thank you, Rob!

So I went back and listened to the intro episode and realized I said something about episode 25 that’s not exactly correct anymore. I had mentioned that the 25th episode would be on the subject of the book of Revelations. Well, as you can see, not exactly. I decided to discuss Revelations in episode 23.

I started this podcast with a list outline of 25 subject matters, but I gave myself permission to make changes as I went along; recognizing that things change and we do not know what the future holds. That’s a lesson for somebody.

And I did make changes along the way: Changes to episode topics, re-scheduling guests, and moving episodes around. I did tons of research on my monologue episodes to be sure each episode was done to the best of my ability. I hope it shows. 

So…I would like to read a few pieces of listener feedback if you don’t mind…? 

‘…I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your podcast. You have really refreshing takes on a lot of things, even some things I don’t necessarily see the same way, you put your view in ways that make sense and allow me to think about them and challenge my opinions.’-Rob C.

‘Civilla, strangely in my busy day I came across an episode of your podcast. First, may I say I love the intro and closing music piece you’ve chosen. Good one Also, although I do not like to practice in ANY religious denomination and I have been exposed more than long enough to churches and congregations, I am a firm believer in light versus darkness and all that is associated with it. Keep doing what you are doing. Don’t give up. Your message is very important. Keep being a light to others. Have a good rest of your day!’–Lilly V.

This is in regards to episode 22–Angels and Demons.

Great Biblical reminders about our responsibilities as Christians. I long to see the church operating in unity and being that “light” about which Christ spoke.’–M. Miller.

I really enjoyed reading feedback from listeners. It’s always nice to know that people are listening and that what you are saying is helpful and encouraging. It’s the coolest thing!

And just because I’m finished with the 25 episodes for this podcast does not mean you cannot continue to send feedback. I will read your feedback and post them in the show notes for this episode.  

So, I won’t keep you for much longer, but I want to go over four quick points with you, and I really want you to keep these points close to your heart. They are really important to your Christian walk. Well, at least the first three points are:  

• I really believe it is important to be prayed up at all times as we never know when we will be facing demonic activity. Episode 22.

  Remember, episode 22 was entitled Angels and Demons. We discussed the fact that both are real and that it is important that we protect our hearts and minds. Start your day with prayer. Pray daily, read your Bible daily, which by the way is really easy to do these days as the Bible is right there on your phone. You can now take it with you on your commute and read it on the bus or train. Or listen to it as you drive. You can pray wherever you are, all through the day.  Besides, starting your day with prayer sets your heart and mind off in a positive direction.

• Keeping your heart in the right place is important!  

Look, as you can clearly see if you listened to all of the episodes, no one is perfect. You heard about my car wash incident, right? See episode 10. The best we can do is learn from our mistakes and mess-ups, and commit less of them as we mature–emotionally and spiritually. Saying ‘that’s just how I am’ and not maturing or changing in your Christian journey is not a good excuse, and it’s not a good look. The world is watching and listening.  

At least not a good one. That means your growth is stunted and oh, by the way, everyone around you, not just the world but your family and friends; can see it. 

They see it in your reaction to problems, issues, how you deal with being mistreated, and how you treat others. Your actions and reactions just should not be the same as they were five years ago, 10 years ago, two years ago. Keep trying to do better.  Look, I’m speaking to myself too. We all have hot buttons. We’re never going to be perfect this side of Heaven, but we still have to strive toward perfection:   

‘For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’–2 Peter 1:5-8. 

Keep a check on your heart at all times. It can easily go rogue.  You may say my heart is stronger than that. What do you mean by ‘easily’? Well, consider the fact that we are currently living in and through a pandemic. Everyone is tired and stressed out. Plus there are a lot of social justice issues going on right now, tons of mass killings. It can take a toll on anyone. We can find ourselves being short with family, friends, or strangers. We may have a level of fear we are not willing to verbalize, and honestly, we may not even realize it is fear because we have never had to deal with so much at once. I believe that especially in these times we should keep this in mind as we step out of our homes to go anywhere, morning, noon, or night. Wisdom could allow us to see our family at the end of the day. You know?    

If you keep your heart in the right place at all times, even when you put your foot in your mouth or react absolutely incorrectly to a situation; hang in there. Fix the situation if you can. And if you cannot, learn from your mistake. I truly believe the key to keeping your heart in the right place is to have a repentant heart, not a haughty ‘well they deserved it’ heart, even if they did deserve it. I really believe that when you check your heart, keep your heart in the right place, more issues will work out for the good than not.     

• Thirdly, never give up on your relationship with Jesus. You will have ups and downs. There will be times when you question His existence, His love for you; hey, even your love for Him. There may be times when you stop praying because a certain really important prayer was not answered. Trust me, I know. But know that He is always there. If you feel like He moved, check again, because it is not He who moved, but you. He just happens to know your beginning to your end, and your end to your beginning. 

‘I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.’–Isaiah 46:10.

He knows why and why not.  He knows what is still to come. We don’t. 

It doesn’t make things easier sometimes, but it’s good to know you can trust God with your heart.  

• Final point: It is OK to reach out to me even though the podcast is complete. You may reach me via email at religionandpoliticspod@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram @religionandpoliticspod. Just give me 24 to 48 hours to respond. 

Besides, I still want to hear from you on the question I ask in every episode: whether verbally or in the show notes: Who is God? 

It’s been a pleasure to be obedient to God’s command to create this podcast. I truly hope that through these episodes you have heard The Good News of who Jesus truly is.

Episode quote:

“The Lord bless you  and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you  and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”–Numbers 6:24-26.

Bye!

Podcast Producer: 

Rob Conley

Gcatproductions@gmail.com

 Links used for research:

https://www.openbible.info/topics/striving_for_perfection

Episode 10–Red Letters, What Do They Really Mean?

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod/Not_Another_Ep10_Final_8awrm.mp3

Episode 22–Angels and Demons:

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/notjustanotherreligionandpoliticspod/Not_Another_Ep22_FInalbd7hl.mp3