Jesus Christ: Our Advocate and Mediator Explained

Summary

In this heartfelt episode of Bible Women in Bathrobes, host Tamara K. Anderson is joined by Kari Anjewierden and Bonnie Randall for a deep and relatable discussion on the powerful role of Jesus Christ as our advocate and mediator. Drawing from personal stories and scriptural insights, the trio unpacks what it truly means for Jesus to be our advocate—someone who stands up for us, defends us, and bridges the gap between us and God, especially when we fall short. The conversation explores how “Jesus Christ as our advocate” is not just a theological concept, but a source of comfort and hope for anyone feeling weighed down by mistakes or guilt.

Listeners will discover how Christ’s advocacy offers a pathway to reconciliation, healing, and a renewed sense of worth. The episode also highlights the contrast between the Savior’s loving defense and Satan’s role as the accuser, illustrating how Jesus lovingly guides us toward our potential rather than shaming us for our shortcomings. Whether you’re seeking to better understand the concept of a spiritual advocate or longing for reassurance in your faith journey, this episode on “Jesus Christ as our advocate” delivers encouragement, practical insights, and a reminder that you are never alone. Tune in for uplifting perspectives that will inspire you to embrace Christ’s mediating love in your own life.

Takeaways

• The concept of Jesus as our Advocate is akin to having someone vouch for our character during moments of accusation, providing us with solace and assurance.
• In the realm of spiritual matters, Jesus serves not only as our Advocate but also as our Mediator, bridging the gap between humanity and divinity with profound grace.
• Understanding Jesus as both Advocate and Mediator illuminates the importance of His intercessory role, especially in times of personal struggle and sin.
• The loving nature of Christ’s advocacy reminds us that we are not alone in our trials; He is continually praying for our strength and redemption.
• Repentance, as discussed in the podcast, is framed not as a burden, but as an invitation to embrace change and receive Christ's transformative love.
• The imagery of Jesus praying for us serves as a powerful reminder of His unwavering support, encouraging us to lean on Him during our most challenging moments.

Host & Guests

Tamara K. Anderson @tamarakanderson

Tamara, founder of Women Warriors of Light, is a dynamic speaker, award winning author, and a podcaster. She is driven by her Christian faith to inspire faith in Jesus Christ. Alongside her husband, Justin, she navigates the joys and challenges of parenting four children with autism, ADHD, and mental health hurdles. You can find out more about Tamara on her website: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/

Bonnie Randall @bonnie.randall

Bonnie Randall is a wife, mother, trainer, speaker, actress, copywriter, heart centered life coach and has also been a business and marketing consultant for over 20 years. Her real passion is to help people grow as individuals and teach them how to resolve limiting beliefs. Bonnie enjoys teaching about mental health, abuse prevention and recovery classes. She runs a trauma recovery support group and YouTube channel called, Come Off Conqueror, which helps survivors of abuse find Christ centered healing. Find out more at: https://www.youtube.com/@comeoffconqueror 

Karalee Anjewierden @pocket.miracles

Karalee Anjewierden is an author, motivational speaker, and fulfilled mother of six. She has appeared on several podcasts and presented at various retreats and events. Karalee is an avid story seeker, passionate about connecting with people and places. She loves to travel and does so extensively, collecting new and wonderful stories, friends, and miracles she can share along the way. Find her online at www.pocketmiracles.com. She is also on Instagram and Facebook @karaleeanjewierden 

Transcript 

Tamara K. Anderson

00:00:00.560 - 00:00:31.750

Have you ever been accused of doing something and then wished somebody could say, hey, hey, I can vouch for Tamara and say, I know them, they're a good person. Don't, don't be too critical of them.

If you've ever had somebody stand up for you like that, you know what it is to have somebody who advocates for you. And today we're going to talk a little bit more about what Jesus Christ is as our advocate and what that means to us now and in the future.

So stay tuned.

Intro/Outro

00:00:33.670 - 00:01:09.760

Welcome to Bible Women in Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort.

Join us Tuesday morning as the gals from Women warriors of Light and their guests don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount, we explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood, and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments.

Tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:15.280 - 00:01:28.560

Hello and welcome to another episode of Bible Women in Bathrobes. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson. And joining me are two amazing women, women, Kari Angewerden. Kari, thank you so much for being here today.

Kari Anjewierden

00:01:29.120 - 00:01:33.120

Oh, thanks for inviting me. I love to come speak about the scriptures.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:33.360 - 00:01:39.840

I know, it's so great. And another favorite of mine, our co host, Bonnie Randall. Bonnie, thanks for being here today.

Bonnie Randall

00:01:40.160 - 00:01:43.040

Thanks for letting me join. It's nice to be back.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:43.440 - 00:02:31.230

I know you've been busy. She moved, so it's kind of good to have her back.

All right, guys, well, today we're going to be talking a little bit about Jesus Christ as our advocate or our mediator.

And those are terms that we find in the scriptures and a word like intercession that we just don't use very often in our vernacular, unless you're like an attorney or something like that. Because they have mediators and advocates and stuff like that in the law. And perhaps that's why this is so meaningful. Is, is.

And we're going to talk about Jesus and, and the law and how all that works. So let's kick it off with Kari. Would you mind telling us what the definition of an advocate is?

Kari Anjewierden

00:02:32.190 - 00:02:50.400

So an advocate is a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person or cause. A person who pleads for or in behalf of another. So who speaks up and, and helps defend someone.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:02:51.040 - 00:04:12.710

Yeah, I love that.

And if you've ever been accused, even if, even when you were little, you know, and got in trouble with mom or dad, an Advocate would be someone that comes and says, oh, no, no, no, no, no. Let me explain to you what happened, or let me speak in defense of my friend here.

There's a really great verse in First John, chapter two, verse one, where it talks about Jesus Christ being our advocate. And after I read this verse, let's. Let's talk a little bit about what that means from the spiritual perspective.

It says, my little children, these things I write unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And I'm going to read just a little bit of verse two.

And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

And so I'd love to just dive into this verse and talk about what do you think it means for Jesus Christ to be an advocate for us, especially when we have committed sins? You know what I mean? What does that mean? What does that look like? Kari, let's start with you, and then we'll do. Bonnie.

Kari Anjewierden

00:04:13.430 - 00:05:06.860

I love my Savior. I love that he knows me individually, personally. He knows where I am at in my life.

He knows where I am at spiritually, and he is able to meet me wherever I am at in those moments. And, and especially because my Heavenly Father often feels untouchable, unapproachable. Maybe sometimes I'm.

I'm getting to a better place with him too. But I love that the Savior can bring me directly to him.

When I am in those spaces where it's hard for me to connect with a heavenly Father, my Savior is there to help bridge that gap and to bring me to Him. And I love that.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:05:08.460 - 00:05:25.500

1. I love that, too. And, and you're. You're also tying in how Jesus is a mediator with us, you know, with the Father.

Bonnie, would you mind sharing with us what a mediator is? And then we'll. We'll talk about how all this ties together.

Bonnie Randall

00:05:26.630 - 00:07:08.280

So by definition, right, a mediator is someone who intervenes, right, between two parties who are at odds with each other, with, like, the goal of reconciliation. Right. If you think about a mediation company, when it comes to the law, right, what is their job? They act sort of like a judge, but not really.

They're not there to rule. They're there just to help each parties communicate and come to a common solution. A win win is usually the desired outcome. Right.

The very first thing that always comes to mind when we think of that is a divorce attorney and like a divorce mediator and what they're supposed to be doing right is bringing the two sides to come up with a solution that will solve both people's problems.

So in terms of the Savior, I love what you wrote in, in the definition that you gave us was a true mediator is trusted by both sides and can effectively communicate each party's needs and perspectives. So they're neutral party. And then the scripture that goes along with that is First Timothy, chapter two, verses five through six.

And part of that is for there is one God and one mediator between God and men. The man, Jesus Christ. Jesus, excuse me, who gave himself a ransom for all to be, to be testified in due time.

So he is our great mediator, the one who knows us all and loves us all, and is that neutral party that can mediate any dispute?

Tamara K. Anderson

00:07:09.079 - 00:09:01.019

Yeah, so, so beautiful. I love that image of Jesus being in between, you know, our in between with the Father.

So many times it's hard to read verses in the scriptures that talk about how knowing unclean can enter the kingdom of heaven, you know, that just kind of stabs you and you go, well, I'm screwed. You know, and, and it's times like these when you realize, oh, but how neat it is that we have Jesus. And how we.

How we desperately need Jesus so that we can make it back home, so that we can have him kind of that person, that in between person that makes it possible for that price to be paid. Because, you know, we have broken a law every time we sin, we've broken some kind of heavenly law and that separates us from God.

We can't go where he is. And that makes my heart sad. Even though I can't remember my heavenly home. I think there's a part of my soul that just longs to be there. And I.

I want to go back there. I want to return to God. And I know that I'm making mistakes all the time.

And so I'm so thankful that from the beginning God knew that we would all need help to make it back home, that we were in a growing place here on earth where we could learn and be tested, and that we were going to make lots of mistakes. And so in order to pay for those mistakes, that's why Jesus came and that's why he is our go between with the Father. Any thoughts on these verses?

Bonnie? You look like you want to say something.

Bonnie Randall

00:09:01.740 - 00:12:39.350

I always want to say something. Let's be honest, miss opinionated over here. These two names, though, are two of my favorite.

And I recently, I mean, just last week I chuckled when I got Your email, right? Because I'm laughing, going, oh my gosh. The word advocate came up two or three different times with different clients this last week.

And Mediator came up with a different client and in kind of the same way that we're talking about it, but also in slightly different context. So advocate, you. There's. If he's defending us, right, he's defending us from something or someone, right?

And there's two someones that come to my mind when I think about, well, what is the opposite of an advocate, an accuser. And if you go back to the Bible and Revelations, I want to say it's 1210 is where the Satan is described as the great accuser.

In fact, I pulled it up and it's right here. It says, a call tells him, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before God day and night. And that's Satan, right?

Satan wants to so badly bring up every single past sin, every single weakness, everything we've ever done wrong and everything that is wrong about us and about the world and about other people. He's constantly accusing us.

And that makes a lot of shame and guilt and it brings us down because I don't need to be reminded of how terrible, what terrible things I've done or my weaknesses. I know them plenty, thank you Satan very much.

But he constantly reminds me of them and he makes me feel unworthy to sit at the Savior's feet or to approach the bench of God, who at the end of the day is going to judge me.

And knowing that I have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who's my elder brother, who is willing to defend me and help me overcome those sins and overcome those weaknesses and help me see the truth, right? I don't think that he excuses us in our sins, right? He didn't with like the woman taken in adultery, for example, right?

He told her not to sin no more, but he stepped in between her and those men who wanted to stone her in such a powerful way. That story is me.

He stepped in between me and my sins and the things I did wrong and said, bunny, you gotta stop, but let me show you why and how you can stop. Where is this stuff coming from? What past traumas are creating this toxic or unhelpful behavior patterns, Right?

Let's understand why you're having a hard time with this. And now let me show you the truth of who you are and how I know that you can overcome that weakness or overcome that sin.

He doesn't shame me into improving. Instead he loves me into Improving and shows me my potential. And by showing me my potential, I want to live up to that. That makes sense.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:12:40.150 - 00:13:54.070

Yeah. Yeah. That is so, so beautiful. I. I love exactly how you've described it and it. And I love that you said that he loves you into your potential.

You know, he sees our worth. He sees our value as sons and daughters of God. And Satan's goal is just to chain us up and drag us down.

You know, I mean, that's always been his goal from the beginning. And how neat it is that when we come unto the Savior, he can remove those chains.

And I'm so thankful for that, that we don't have to spend eternity chained up in hell, you know, that we can be freed. And not only is Jesus the one who helps free us, but he is also the one pleading for us. Right? He is the one asking for mercy, you know?

Yes, they broke it, but I have paid the price. I have paid the price and I have redeemed them. I have brought them back. We talked about redeemer a couple weeks ago. So beautiful.

Kari, any thoughts on this?

Kari Anjewierden

00:13:55.510 - 00:15:21.900

That's so, so beautiful. Both of those. Been thinking about the word love. And to me, both of those words are kind of umbrellaed in that word of love. Because even.

Even in our day, for someone to be an advocate or a mediator for someone else, you truly have to have a deep love for that person or for trying to get to the. To the root cause, as Bunny was talking about.

And it makes me appreciate and be so grateful for the love that a Savior has for me, for the mercy that he shows me when he doesn't need to. But every day I'm. I'm finding those experiences where he is showing me that love and that.

That advocacy, whether it's for me, whether it's for my children or other family members, for whoever it is. And I.

I guess I would just add that piece that I love that he is love, and that I feel completely surrounded in his love when I'm in those situations where he's advocating for me.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:15:23.260 - 00:18:04.210

Oh, this is so good. I've been thinking that there's one other word that we need to talk about before we kind of can. Can fully see who Jesus is to all of us.

And it's the word intercession. And again, this is not a word we use very often, but it means a pleading on behalf of another person, a prayer to God on behalf of another.

And when I read that verse right. Or when I read that definition right there, I just had a verse from the Scriptures pop into my mind, and it's. It's found in Luke, chapter 22.

And this is Jesus prophesying and telling Peter right before his crucifixion, right before his betrayal, that before the crows he is going to deny him three times. And. And then he. I love this. He Sundays.

In verse 31, he says, and the Lord said, simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

And I love this image of Jesus praying for us. He's making an intercessory prayer almost for Simon here. Simon, you're going to have a hard time here.

You're going to go through something really, really difficult. But I. I have prayed for you. And I can see him looking at each of us at times when we feel like we're.

We've stumbled and fallen and our knees are all bloodied up and our elbows and hands and. And we're probably looking up at him going, oh, I crashed and burned again, Lord. And I can say, hey, Tamara, Bonnie, Kari, it's okay.

I have prayed for you that your faith fail you not. And that touching image is so tender to me. The thought of Jesus praying for me that I'll stay strong, that when I crash and burn, it's okay.

I'm praying for you, you know? And how sweet that image is. Oh, my heart just almost breaks at the thought of it.

Bonnie, what are your thoughts with any of these verses or of any other stories or other thoughts that have come to mind?

Bonnie Randall

00:18:04.690 - 00:22:59.320

Going to Mediator and thinking about along the lines of intercessory and how he intercedes on our behalf and thinking about what a mediator is. Right? It's bringing two people together to come up with, like, he's interceding for both sides, both of us. I have a very personal story to share.

I think there'll be a lot of people who can relate to this, but when my husband and I were really struggling a few years ago, we were really considering getting a divorce. And surprise those people who know us, they're going to be shocked to hear that. But we were. We were really, really struggling.

And I went to this therapist who said something to me that I will never forget. He said, your husband isn't the enemy, Bonnie. There's only one enemy. I'm like, who? He looks at me this funny look, like, are you serious?

And I'm like, oh, Satan. Satan's the enemy. And he goes, yeah, your husband's not the enemy, like, but he's done some pretty mean things.

He's like, yeah, and you've no doubt probably done some pretty mean things too. I'm like, yeah, I guess you're probably right.

And he said, so let's focus on finding a win win here and thinking about stopping to make your husband the enemy and focusing on you guys becoming a team again and fighting the real enemy. And he said, and I'm like, okay, that sounds great in theory, but how do I do that?

And he taught me this idea of bringing the Savior into our relationship as the mediator. You've probably heard and seen, like when you got married, the pastor probably said, like, think of marriage like a three legged stool.

And you have you and your husband and the Lord. If you have. If you're missing one of them, the stool falls. You've probably heard that analogy. And I thought, oh, that's great.

That just means we need to read our scriptures and say our prayers and go to church and everything will be hunky dory. No, no, no, no, no, no. That is not at all what it actually means.

It means that the Savior is there to bridge the gaps that are between you and your spouse when you argue and you're trying to find a common solution and you're trying to solve whatever problem it is that you're having. If you bring the Savior as the mediator.

So you start that argument or that discussion really with a prayer and you invite the Savior to be there with you, it changes everything. You're no longer yelling at each other. You're seeing the other person through his eyes.

Those eyes of love and compassion that Kari was talking about. Those eyes of intercession. Because the Savior loves each of you equally. And while one might have been more toxic or whatever, right?

We can play the blame game all we want, but that person's still worthy of love. And you're still worthy of love. And you both are worthy of receiving love and receiving all those blessings.

So when the Savior is invited into those discussions, he helps you find the solution. He helps you see the other person through his lens, through his eyes. And we stop being the accuser of the other person.

We can choir our inner critic that is accusing us. We can quiet Satan and cast him out of the conversation. And we can let love abound like what Kari was talking about, right?

When we love each other through that Christlike love, there is no problem we can't solve.

And I'm humbled and so eternally grateful to say that once we started Doing that and bringing the Savior into our therapy and into our discussions and into all of our conversations, we started to solve the problems that we were having, and we started to find love and compassion and heal all those broken things that were so toxic and so dysfunctional in our marriage. Those things were resolved. We still have issues to re. To go through. Right? Like, life is still a journey. Life's still progress.

We're still very imperfect humans, but we now can come at it from a place of love and problem solving and remembering what the real problem is.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:23:00.120 - 00:23:29.180

Wow, that is powerful.

Thank you so much for being vulnerable and sharing that, because you explained both advocate and mediator and how Jesus bridges the gap between the two parties. And I love how you pointed out that the true adversary is Satan. You know, that's who the. Our adversary is in life. And that's beautiful.

Kari, are there any thoughts you had that you wanted to add to that?

Kari Anjewierden

00:23:29.980 - 00:24:13.050

I'm not sure how to add to that. That was beautiful, Bonnie. Thank you. I think that kind of hits exactly what the Savior does for us. And I just.

I guess for me, just want to be grateful every day for that blessing in my life that he has given of being that advocate and that mediator, because I don't think we always look at it in that way. And so thank you, Bonnie, for. For helping us see that in a way that. That we can approach him and be so grateful and every day for that.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:24:14.570 - 00:25:14.940

That was so, so beautiful. I'm thankful to know that even though I fall short daily, that Jesus is there praying for me. He's there rooting for me. Hey, Tamara. It's okay.

Remember the real enemy, Satan. We're. We're working together, you and me. You know, we're going to get you to those better promises.

But it's a road we can't take by ourselves and arrive there. You know, we can't make it to heaven on our own. I think there's.

There's several places in the scripture that says there's no other name by which salvation comes. I think we talked about that back when we talked about the name of Jesus.

But he is the only one who can help us bridge that gap, because the gap between us and heaven is very, very broad and long. But he stands between there and He. It's like he offers a bridge. He says, look, I paid the price, and you can now walk across this bridge.

Bonnie Randall

00:25:15.900 - 00:27:54.000

Bonnie, so many times in the Christian faith, right? Like, we. We put so much expectations on ourselves, thinking like, we know that in order to get to heaven, you have to be perfect.

So we think I have to do everything perfectly right. I have got to do all these things, right? And there's this big debate about faith versus works and all that stuff.

And, and we get caught up in that works mentality of thinking, like, I have to do and be and follow all of these commandments and I've got to say my prayers. There's just so much stuff to do.

And the message of grace and the message of the Savior is, look, you're not going to get to heaven on your merits alone. Your actions are not what's going to get you to heaven. I'm speaking from the Savior, right? The Savior is who's going to get us to heaven.

And so what do we have to do? Like, what is the worst part of it?

It's accepting him and believing him and taking on that grace and allowing him to cover us with that grace and to allow him to change us as we accept him and we believe Him. The irony of it is that we do change and we do become perfected and we do end up becoming this person that is fit for heaven.

That's the irony, right, Is that it turns out that it is in a weird, roundabout way, my works that get me there. But it's only my works when they're coupled with the Savior.

And I'm allowing him to work in me and work through me and change me and sanctify me and cleanse me and all those things. It is him that bridges that gap. Still, does that make sense? Like, it's so paradoxical, right? Like, that's just the irony of that whole statement.

And I feel like it's hard to wrap our heads around sometimes. And it causes like, as a, as a life coach that works with women all the time dealing with this, right?

It causes, it can cause depression and self esteem issues and perfectionism and just this like, rat race. But we have to remember it's not on our merits alone. It's combining our efforts with him.

And when we do that, it magnifies us and that's what qualifies us. What do you think about that? Like, am I crazy here?

Tamara K. Anderson

00:27:54.720 - 00:29:52.320

No, no, no. I think that's beautiful how you explained it. And it just makes my mind go back to what has he asked us to do?

He's asked us to have faith in him, which is that first principle of the gospel. And the second thing he asked us to do, repent.

I mean, how many times in the Scriptures does He say, repent, it's time, let go of those sins Let him go. Have faith in me, and. And then we can work together, and we work side by side, and we get you where you need to go, right? And I love that.

I remember I was talking to my daughter once a couple years ago, and she had just come from, like, I can't remember, some kind of church class. And she said, I've got it. She goes, I finally figured it out. I'm like, what? What did you figure out?

She says, so many times people say that there's such a big list to get to heaven that they're never gonna make it. And she goes, really? All God is asking us to do is have faith and repent over and over and over and over. So don't worry about everything else.

Just focus on Jesus and keep repenting and you'll be okay. And that's all. That's all. That's all he's asking us to do. And I'm like, you know what? That. That summarizes a good deal.

I mean, if everybody just understood that those principles. That's. That's really what Jesus is asking. Come to me, have faith, and I bridge that gap. You know, you repent. You let go of those things.

Make baptismal promises, get the Holy Ghost. And like Bonnie said, I change your heart, I change your. And. And in the meantime, he's advocating for us. He's advocating. Come on, you can do it.

He's our cheerleader. He's the one that bridges that gap, that allows that saving and the redemption to come into play. He's amazing. Oh, my gosh. We're almost out of time.

Okay, let's wrap it up. Okay. Kari, final thoughts or takeaways you'd like to share?

Kari Anjewierden

00:29:52.840 - 00:29:53.080

Yeah.

Kari Anjewierden

00:29:53.080 - 00:30:49.500

As we've been talking, I've been thinking about the poem the Footprints in the Sand. And, you know, in the poem, it talks about in those moments that are our toughest, Christ is carrying us. But. But really, he's always carrying us.

He always has us. And. And we talked about being able to walk across that bridge, but he's carrying us across that bridge. He has us.

And how do you become like someone that you don't know? And so that relationship with him truly helps you to see who he is and. And how he sees you, and it allows him to carry you.

That is where some of that faith comes, I think, to be able to allow him to carry you in those moments when we want to do it ourselves.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:30:49.660 - 00:30:50.060

Right?

Kari Anjewierden

00:30:50.580 - 00:31:18.430

Like the little kid. I do it myself, but sometimes, you know, we can't. And. And he's not expecting us to. He, he wants to carry us through it. He does.

He does want us to be with him though, and to help. I mean, yes, there's still a works part of that, right? But, but really he's doing the carrying. I mean, let's get real.

Kari Anjewierden

00:31:19.470 - 00:31:19.830

He.

Kari Anjewierden

00:31:19.830 - 00:32:38.260

He lets us do a few works to make us feel like we're doing something. He's really the one doing all the caring. So I think that come to know him. Like you said, Tamara, the cut, the coming to him, the repenting.

And I love that I can do that anytime, anywhere. I can do that daily. I can do that minute by minute. I can do that whenever I need to, to say, you know, I'm sorry, I messed up again.

But he's always there to pick me up when, you know, Bonnie was talking about when we skin our knee or whatever, he's always there to pick us up and to wrap his arms around us and to carry us wherever we need to go. And so I, I want to think of him in that way.

When I think of advocate and mediator, I want to think of that person that Bonnie was talking about that's cheering on both sides, that I'm not alone. But I also know that he's got somebody else's back too. So I can look for somebody else's back.

I can also be that person for somebody else because I know him, because I love him, because he loves me. I can be like him when I allow him to carry me through those things.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:32:38.820 - 00:32:41.940

Beautiful, beautiful, Bonnie. Final takeaway.

Bonnie Randall

00:32:42.420 - 00:35:21.250

The main thing that I take from both of these descriptions of Christ is that I am already worthy of his love and already worthy to get into heaven because of his grace and atonement. That by me, meaning not worthy as in like sinless, but worthy as in my worth is infinite.

And that because I have great worth and because I am his daughter and his child, I'm a child of God, just by that fact alone, I have a mansion waiting for me in heaven. And that the only thing I have to do is believe him and repent. I loved this last weekend.

A woman from our church talked about this idea of worthiness and worth and how it's already there and, and it's not based on my to do's and my actions and things like that. And she said something really important about repentance. She said that when the Savior is inviting us to repent, he's actually saying, I love you.

He wants us to be with him in heaven and he wants it so badly that he died. He suffered the most agonizing suffering that we can't even fathom.

We can't even wrap our heads around the pain that he went through in that garden of Gethsemane, the humiliation of hanging there on a cross, the pain of having your legs broken and spear going through you and just hanging there by your wrists and your hands.

I mean, the amount of agony that he went through to get us there represents the amount of love and the potential that he sees in each and every one of us. My worth is great, and I know it because of the prints and the marks and the works that he did for me.

And so when I go to him to repent, what I am saying is I love you, too. I believe you and I want you to make me whole and I want you to change me. Because that's what true repentance is. Repentance is just change.

It's just another word for change and coming unto the Savior. And so when we do that on a daily basis, we allow him to make us into his image and make us into heaven. That's what we're doing when we repent.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:35:22.530 - 00:36:20.550

Oh, so beautiful. Thank you so much. My biggest takeaway from this episode is just that image of Jesus praying for us.

And so if you're struggling to believe that he can and loves you enough to pray for you, he does. And I want you, I invite you this week to picture that. To picture Jesus loving you so much that he pleads for you.

He prays like he prayed for Simon Peter, that your faith fail you not, and that you have the courage to turn to him and to change. And with his grace, you are strong enough and you can make it. And I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful to know that Jesus is our advocate and our mediator. And I invite you to keep remembering that when you're discouraged, he loves you.

Intro/Outro

00:36:21.830 - 00:37:02.560

Thanks for tuning in to Bible Women and Bathrobes, hosted by Women warriors of Light. We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women or the teachings of the Savior today with you.

If today's episode brought someone special to mind, be sure to spread the word and don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a moment of inspiration and sisterhood. Just a friendly reminder. All opinions we share are entirely personal as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings, just like you are.

Until next time, stay faithful and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.