Nov. 5, 2025

The Church of the Mirror in the End Times

The Church of the Mirror in the End Times

Send us a text A quiet morning, a harsh light, and a question that won’t let go: when you look in the mirror, do you see Christ—or just your brand? We start with that jolt and follow it through Scripture, culture, and conscience to expose how self-worship can hide in ministry clothes. Paul’s warning to Timothy, Luke’s call to the cross, and the sting of Revelation’s Laodicean letter help us name what’s gone wrong: reverence gave way to relevance, surrender to self-help, and holiness to hype. ...

Send us a text

A quiet morning, a harsh light, and a question that won’t let go: when you look in the mirror, do you see Christ—or just your brand? We start with that jolt and follow it through Scripture, culture, and conscience to expose how self-worship can hide in ministry clothes. Paul’s warning to Timothy, Luke’s call to the cross, and the sting of Revelation’s Laodicean letter help us name what’s gone wrong: reverence gave way to relevance, surrender to self-help, and holiness to hype.

We trace how image culture—likes, followers, platforms—has redefined success even inside the church. It sounds like influence, but it can function as idolatry when the goal becomes visibility instead of obedience. From Romans 1 to Isaiah 29, we confront the drift toward performance and the subtle temptation to use God’s name to build our own kingdoms. Then we pivot toward the cure: the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom, repentance as the doorway to renewal, and a cruciform life that says with John, he must increase, I must decrease.

This is a call to rebuild the altar and recover a Romans 12 vision of worship as a living sacrifice. We talk plainly about lukewarm comfort, prayer that waits for emergencies, and the quiet pride that resists correction. And we point to the path forward: deeper surrender, holy awe, and a redeemed mirror where Galatians 2:20 becomes visible—no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. If you’ve felt the pull between platform and presence, between being admired and being surrendered, this conversation will help you choose the cross and find real power on the other side.

If the message stirs you, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review so others can find it. Tell us: what part of your reflection needs to die so Jesus can be clearly seen?

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The Intro/Outro music is Are You Ready? by Floodgate. From the Album, Are You Ready? copyright 2002 OffBeat Ministries, Inc.
Floodgate is available on Apple Music and iTunes.
Music used with permission.

Thank You. I Love You!

SEE YA!

Rick




Be An Encourager...Not A Discourager!

Chapters

01:41 - The Mirror has Become the Altar

03:50 - The Idol of the Image

05:42 - The Death of Reverence

07:17 - The Spirit of Laodicea Revisited

09:17 - The Restoration of the Altar

10:54 - Fom Mirror to Mission

Transcript
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Today on renewed mindsets, have you ever had one of those mornings where you just stop and look at yourself in the mirror?

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Not to check your hair or to make sure that your shirt's straight, but to really look.

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I did that the other day.

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It was early.

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I'd been up late working on the podcast.

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My place was quiet.

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I got up and turned the bathroom light on.

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I leaned on the counter, and I caught my own reflection.

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And in that moment, the Lord spoke something that stopped me cold.

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I heard, Rick, you've spent a lot of time looking at your reflection.

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But when was the last time you saw me in it?

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And I froze.

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Cold chills.

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Because I knew exactly what he meant.

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Somewhere between the ministry, the busyness, the opinions, the posts, the ideas of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do for him, I started focusing more on my own image than his.

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Now that morning, I realized something that's it's hard for a lot of believers to admit.

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We can be doing God's work and still be worshiping ourselves in the process.

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We've built a church culture where the mirror has replaced the altar.

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So today on Renewed Mindsets, we're going to talk about the Church of the Mirror in the end times.

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Let's go, boys.

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Hey, welcome to Renewed Mindsets.

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I'm Rick and I'm so glad you're here.

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Now let's start with Paul's warning to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, 2 through 5.

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For people will love only themselves and their money.

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They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God.

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They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.

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Stay away from people like that.

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Now that sounds like the world outside the church.

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But when Paul was actually talking about was people in the church, people who would act spiritual but live self-centered lives.

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We live in a time when self-love has become sacred.

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It's been marketed as mental health, as confidence, as balance.

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But what it's often turned into is self-worship.

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The language of the cross, words like deny yourself, crucify your flesh, die daily, has been replaced by the language of self-care, self-esteem, and self-expression.

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Now, don't get me wrong, it's okay to rest.

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It's okay to take care of your body and your mind.

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But Jesus didn't say, Come follow your heart.

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He said, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

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That's Luke 9, 23.

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That verse doesn't get printed on many coffee mugs anymore.

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The cross isn't comfortable.

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The cross isn't convenient, but it's the only path to true life.

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Now, somewhere along the way, we've swapped surrender for self-help.

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We preach that God wants us to be happy, wealthy, and thriving, but not holy, humble, or broken before Him.

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Now let me tell you what I've learned.

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If your Christianity doesn't lead to a cross, it won't lead to Christ either.

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Now Romans chapter 1, verse 25 says, They traded the truth about God for a lie.

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So they worshiped and served the things that God created instead of the Creator Himself.

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This is the culture of image.

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Everything has become about how it looks.

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We've built our lives around the screen.

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We measure success in likes and shares and followers.

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And even in the church, we've baptized that obsession with words like influence and platform.

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But what happens when ministry becomes marketing?

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When the goal isn't to lift up Jesus, but to lift up our own name next to his.

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Now from the beginning, the serpent whispered, You will be like God.

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Genesis 3, 5.

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That wasn't just the fall of man, it was the rise of self.

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The desire to take God's throne, to call our own shots and define our own truth.

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It's why pride is still the devil's favorite weapon.

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Pride doesn't need a golden calf anymore.

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It just needs an iPhone and an ego.

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We've turned the altar of worship into a stage for performance.

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And what's worse, we've convinced ourselves it's all for God.

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Now, if we're not careful, we can use his name to build up our own kingdom.

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We can spend years talking about surrender while quietly craving applause.

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But John 3.30 gives the antidote.

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John said, He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

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That's not the voice of a modern influer, is it?

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That's the voice of a man who had a follow and was willing to lose it to see Jesus glorified.

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Now Isaiah 29, 13 says, These people say they are mine.

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They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

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And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.

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There's a difference between excitement and encounter.

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We've built churches that know how to create energy, but not necessarily intimacy.

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We know how to move emotions, but not always hearts.

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And the truth is, God is not impressed by hype.

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He's looking for holiness.

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Worship has become casual.

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Prayer has become optional.

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Reverence has been replaced by entertainment.

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And yet the power that transformed lives only comes when the fear of the Lord returns.

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Psalm 111.10 says, Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.

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Reverence is not terror, it's respect.

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It's awe.

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It's knowing he is God and we are not.

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When that truth hits you deep, you can't be prideful in his presence.

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When Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he cried out, Woe is me.

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That's reverence.

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We don't need louder songs.

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We need deeper surrender.

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We don't need more lights.

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We need more light.

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And when reverence returns, repentance follows.

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When repentance returns, revival follows.

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Revelation 3, 15 through 17 says, I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold.

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I wish you were one of the other, because since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

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You say I am rich, I have everything I want, I don't need a thing.

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And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.

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That is the Church of the Mirror.

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The Laodicean spirit is alive and well today.

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We are rich in resources, but we're poor in repentance.

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We have programs, we have platforms, we have podcasts, but we have little power.

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Jesus isn't on the inside of this church shouting directions.

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He's on the outside knocking, asking to be let in.

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And if that doesn't break your heart, you've stopped hearing his.

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We live in a generation that doesn't deny God.

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It just doesn't need him.

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We pray when we're desperate, but we plan without him the rest of the time.

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Comfort has become our compass.

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We no longer ask, is this pleasing to God?

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We ask, will this work for me?

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And because of that, the church has become lukewarm, satisfied with half obedience and partial surrender.

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Jesus' solution wasn't new programs.

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He said, I correct and discipline everyone I love, so be diligent and turn from your indifference.

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Revelation 3 19.

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This is a wake-up call to the church.

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It's time to stop admiring our reflection and start seeking his face again.

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And this comes up a lot lately.

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Romans 12, 1 and 2.

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It says, And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.

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Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind he will find acceptable.

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This is truly the way to worship him.

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Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

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This is what God's after.

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He doesn't want our image.

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He doesn't want performance.

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He wants our surrender.

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We're not called to be a perfect mirror.

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We're called to rebuild the altar.

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That's where transformation begins, not with self-improvement, but with self-sacrifice.

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When we lay our lives down, God raises something new.

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When we stop fighting to be seen, God starts being seen through us.

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And here's the truth the mirror isn't evil.

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It just needs to be redeemed.

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When you look into it, you should see the face of someone crucified with Christ.

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Someone who can say, It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

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Galatians 2.20.

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That's what real beauty looks like in the kingdom.

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Not perfection, not performance, just reflection.

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His reflection.

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Now I believe 100% that God is calling his church back to the altar, back to brokenness, back to purity, back to humility.

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We can't change the world while we're still obsessed with our image in it.

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We were never called to be admired.

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We were called to be surrendered.

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The church of the mirror must become the church of the cross again.

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So today, as you pray, ask the Lord to show you what part of your reflection still needs to die.

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Ask him to burn away pride and vanity and the need to be noticed.

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Ask him to fill you again with the fire of holiness, the kind that lights up a dark world without ever pointing back to you.

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Pray with me.

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Father God, we repent for every moment we've loved the reflection more than the Redeemer.

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We lay down our image, our ego, and our pride.

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Teach us to serve without needing to be seen.

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Teach us to worship without wanting to be admired.

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Transform us until the only thing left in the mirror is you.

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In Jesus' precious name I pray.

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Amen.

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The executive producer of Renewed Mindsets is Christy McCurry.

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That's all for today, but I'll be back with more unfiltered biblical truth and undeniable prophecy.

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The time to wake up is now.

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If today's episode challenged you, don't keep it to yourself.

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Tell someone, please, text them a link.

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Share the truth while there's still time.

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Visit renewedmindsets.com to stay connected and to listen to past episodes.

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And check out our merch at renewedmindsets.store.

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Jesus is coming soon.

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Stay watchful.

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Stay holy.

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Stay renewed.

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Until next week, I'm Rick.

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Be an encourager, not a discourager.

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I love you.

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The intro and outro music for the Renewed Mindsets podcast is Are You Ready by Floodgate.

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From the album Are You Ready?

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Copyright 2002 Offbeat Ministries Inc.

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Bloodgate can be found on Apple Music and iTunes.

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Music used with permission.