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We gather here today with open hearts and mind to grow in faith and truth.
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In every word we find the pages of the word alive and full of grace, inspiring faith with him as we seek his face by
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Bible bites, Bible bites, in starting fake one bite at a time with every verse we
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Find our way to live our lives in his light and shine.
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Welcome to Bible Bites, the podcast where we work to inspire faith one bite at a time.
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I'm your host, Randy Black.
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Rejection is a deeply human experience, one that touches hearts, disrupts families, and shakes identities
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Leah, the unloved wife of Jacob, knew this pain intimately.
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Yet her story in Genesis chapter twenty nine is not ultimately one of despair, but of divine redemption
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Through Leah's tears, God brought forth a legacy that would shape the nation of Israel.
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This episode is exploring that and how God responded to Leah's rejection with compassion and with purpose
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and how Christians today can draw strength from her journey of faith and resilience.
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Let's open up with a word of prayer
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Heavenly Father, we come before you today seeking wisdom, comfort, and encouragement from your word.
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As we open our hearts to the story of Leah, may we recognize your faithfulness even in seasons of rejection and heartache.
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Teach us, Lord, to lean on you when others fail us, and to find our identity in your love alone.
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Help us to see how you bring purpose out of pain and beauty from brokenness
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It's in Jesus' name we pray.
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Amen.
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From the moment that Jacob married Leah, under the deception of her father Laban,
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Her role in the marriage was marked by pain and rejection.
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Jacob's love was always directed toward Rachel, Leah's sister.
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Yet, in Leah's sorrow, God saw her.
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The passage begins with this powerful truth.
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Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved
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The Hebrew word for unloved can also mean hated or disregarded.
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This highlights the emotional depth of Leah's loneliness.
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And yet, God's response is not silence.
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He opens her womb, giving her a role in the unfolding plan we see of redemption
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Leah's response to the birth of her children reveals her internal struggle and growth.
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With her first son, Reuben, she expresses hope that Jacob will finally love her
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With Simeon, she acknowledges that the Lord has heard her.
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By the time she bears Judah, her focus has shifted
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This time I will praise the Lord.
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No longer does she tie her worth to Jacob's affection.
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She chooses to glorify God.
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That turning point is crucial.
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It reflects a spiritual maturation, a deepening relationship with the Lord, and an understanding that divine love is more sustaining than human affection.
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Leah's story is echoed elsewhere in Scripture.
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Psalms 34:18 says, The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
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Her life models that truth.
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In her most vulnerable state, God met her with compassion and with purpose
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Her son Judah would become the patriarch of the tribe from which King David, and eventually Jesus Christ, would descend.
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Leah, the rejected wife, would become the matriarch of the Messiah.
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Even Isaiah 61, verse 3 speaks to God's ability to bring beauty from sorrow, to grant those who mourn in Zion.
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giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning.
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Leah's story mirrors that divine exchange
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Her praise, born of pain, sets an example for all who feel overlooked or cast aside
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We have five key takeaways from our scripture here today.
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Our first is that God sees the rejected and responds with compassion
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Leah's story begins with a powerful declaration.
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Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved.
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This is not just a passing observation
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It is a profound truth about God's character.
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He sees what others overlook.
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In a household where affection was centered on Rachel, Leah's emotional and spiritual needs might have gone unnoticed by those around her
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but not by God.
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His awareness led him to act.
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He opened her womb, giving her children and significance within the family
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This speaks directly to the heart of anyone who's ever felt invisible.
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Psalms 139, verse 1 affirms, Lord, you have searched me and known me
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God's sight is not passive, it is active, compassionate, and redemptive.
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For the believer, this means our pain never goes unnoticed.
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And our tears
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They're never wasted.
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As in Leah's case, God doesn't just see our suffering.
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He intervenes in his timing, offering healing, purpose, and ultimately restoration.
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Our next takeaway is that our identity should not be rooted in human approval
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Leah's early responses to the birth of her son show her longing for Jacob's affection.
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Surely now my husband will love me.
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Now he will become attached to me.
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Her value in her own eyes was contingent upon how Jacob responded to her.
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This is a trap that many fall into.
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tying self worth to the opinions or the validation of others, especially those closest to us.
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But human love, when e even genuine, is inconsistent and fallible.
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True identity must be rooted in something unchanging.
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God's love.
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As Leah matured, her focus shifted.
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By the time Judah was born, her response was different
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This time I will praise the Lord.
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Her joy and purpose were no longer tethered to Jacob's approval, but to her relationship with the Lord
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Galatians chapter 1, verse 10 challenges believers with this question.
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For am I now seeking the favor of people or of God?
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Or am I striving to please people?
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If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond servant of Christ
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Leah's story reminds us that God's affirmation must be the foundation of our identity, secure, eternal, and unshakable
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Our third takeaway is that God uses our pain for a greater purpose.
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Leah's pain, the unwanted marriage, the unreciprocated love, and the constant comparison.
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could have led to bitterness or despair.
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But God was not absent in her struggle.
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Through her lineage came Judah, and through Judah came David, and ultimately Jesus Christ the Messiah
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What seemed like a broken situation was actually the soil for a divine legacy.
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This is the redemptive nature of God's work.
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He doesn't waste suffering.
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In fact, some of his greatest plans are birthed from our lowest moments.
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Romans chapter 8.
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28 assures believers.
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And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose
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Leah likely did not know the full extent of what God was doing through her, and neither do we.
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But we can trust that we can surrender our pain to God.
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He redeems it for something far greater than we can imagine.
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Not just for our sake, but for others and even for generations to come.
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Our fourth takeaway is that praise can arise even in painful places.
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One of the most remarkable events of Leah's journey is her spiritual transformation
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Despite repeated disappointment, she eventually lifts her eyes and says, This time I will praise the Lord
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That moment of praise is not rooted in a change of circumstance.
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Jacob still favors Rachel, but in a change of heart.
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Leah began to worship not because her life was perfect, but because she recognized God's presence in her imperfection
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This is true sacrificial praise, honoring God not just after the blessing, but within the brokenness.
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The Psalms are filled with similar examples of praise rising out of distress.
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David writes in Psalms 42, verse 11, Why are you in despair, my soul?
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And why are you restless within me?
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Wait for God, for I will again praise him for the help of his presence, my God
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As Christians, we are called not only to endure trials, but to learn to worship through them.
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Leah teaches us that praise can coexist with pain
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In fact, praise may be what lifts us out of the pain into renewed faith and perspective.
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Our last takeaway of this scripture is that true resilience is grounded in faith.
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Leah's resilience is not just a matter of grit or survival, it is rooted in her growing trust in God.
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Despite rejection, despite the absence of affection from her husband, she continues to live, bear children, and seek meaning
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Her resilience emerges as her faith in God deepens.
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This kind of resilience doesn't ignore pain
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It acknowledges it, but chooses to trust God's goodness and purpose anyway.
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Isaiah chapter forty thirty one says, Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.
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They will mount up with the wings like eagles.
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They will run, not get tired, they will walk, and not become weary.
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Leah models what it looks like to wait on the Lord, not passively, but with enduring hope.
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In today's world, resilience is often portrayed as self-reliance.
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But Leah's story reveals that spiritual resilience
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is God reliance, leaning on the one who sees, hears, and delivers.
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Through her story we are reminded that when our strength runs out
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God's grace is sufficient, and his power is perfected in our weakness
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Leah's journey mirrors the emotional struggles that many believers face today, being unseen, unappreciated, or misunderstood by the people closest to us.
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But her example teaches us that our value is not defined by how others treat us, but by how God sees us.
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When Leah turned her eyes from Jacob to the Lord, her heart changed
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Her last recorded words in this passage are not about being loved by a man, but about praising her God.
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That shift is transformative.
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And it could be the same for us.
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The world may reject us, but God never does.
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He not only sees.
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But also acts, just as he opened Leah's womb and wove her into his redemptive plan.
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Leah's story also gives hope to those living in complex family dynamics, in unbalanced marriages, or under the weight of comparison.
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Rachel may have had Jacob's affection, but Leah had God's favor.
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The story doesn't minimize Leah's pain, but it magnifies God's power to work through that pain
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Finally, we must reflect on the legacy of Leah.
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Though rejected by Jacob, she became the ancestor of royalty and divinity
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That's the kind of reversal God is capable of performing.
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He turns ashes into beauty, mourning into praise.
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For any Christian facing rejection or insignificance, Leah stands as a clear reminder.
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God sees, God hears, and God redeems.
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Before we preview our next episode, let's close this out with another word of prayer.
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Lord God.
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Thank you for the story of Leah and the powerful lessons it teaches us about your unfailing love and faithfulness.
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In times when we feel rejected, unseen, or unloved by others,
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Remind us that you see us clearly and care deeply.
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Help us to root our identity not in the approval of others, but in your everlasting love.
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Teach us to praise you in every season, whether joyful or painful, and trust that you are working all things for our good.
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May we, like Leah, find strength in your presence and ultimately resilience in our faith.
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In the name of your son, Jesus, we pray.
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Amen.
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On the next episode of Bible Bites, we're going to be looking at Leah another time.
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This time, Genesis chapter 30, verses 14 through 21.
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And this is a a passage where we're going to look at how despite her weaknesses, despite her flaws, God was able to bless her.
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And use her in this ultimate redemptive plan he had for us in the world.
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So join us on the next episode of Bible Bites, the podcast where we work to inspire faith.
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One bite at a time.
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Bible bites.
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Bible bites.
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Inspiring faith one bite at a time.
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Every verse we find our way To live our lives in his life and shine
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Bubble bites, bubble bites, inspiring faith one bite at a time