Podcasts about experiencing god

Blog 1401 (4.26.2025)***Remember: a contemplation question should invite quiet self-examination rather than intellectual analysis.***What does it mean to experience God, not as an abstract idea, but as a Living and Present Reality?Developing a deeper awareness of the Divine Presence, trusting spiritual guidance, and moving beyond fear and doubt.Considering God's Love, Light, Wisdom, and Power as Realities that can be consciously experienced, not merely concepts understood by the mind.Reflecting on the relationship between faith and spiritual certainty, the power of prayer and affirmation, and releasing our need for control.Becoming more aware of the Divine Presence within and around us.Trusting Divine Love to guide and transform our lives.Take a quiet moment to listen, reflect, and consider how these teachings might deepen your own spiritual awareness.Books:Book of Revelation, Chapters 15 and 16:1-19 (NIV)The Goal of Life - Hiram Butler (1908)The "I AM" DiscoursesMusic:Homegrown - Blue Dot SessionsThe Basket - Blue Dot SessionsThe Summit - Blue Dot SessionsThe Mark Of God: Understanding Your “I AM Presence” © 2026.

We want to connect with you! If you would like to learn more about FBC and find out how you can get involved with the ministry, click the link below. https://fbcelkhart.churchcenter.com/people/forms/993677

Text: Romans 1:8-13Hosts:J. Kent EdwardsVicki HitzgesNathan NormanNarrator: Brian French The CrossTalk Podcast is a production of CrossTalk Global, equipping biblical communicators, so every culture hears God's voice. To find out more, or to support the work of this ministry please visit www.crosstalkglobal.orgDonateProduced by Nathan James Norman/Untold Podcast Production© 2026 CrossTalk Global

Support the show

We live in an outrage culture. Social media thrives on anger, and people are more divided than ever. Anger feels justified, but it's exhausting, isolating, and ultimately destructive. Brant Hansen shares from his book, "Living Unoffended: The Joy of Simple Peace in An Angry, Anxious World." Originally aired June 17, 2026 Check out Susie's podcast God Impressions on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: click here

Guided Question Are you trying to live the Christian life in your own strength, or are you learning to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit—and what might God be asking you to surrender in order to follow Him more fully? Summary In Matthew 4:12–25, Jesus steps into His public ministry, bringing Matthew's carefully prepared introduction to its climax. After His temptation in the wilderness, Jesus returns “in the power of the Spirit,” demonstrating a crucial truth for the Christian life: God has given believers the Holy Spirit, but we must learn to depend on His power rather than our own strength. Jesus begins His ministry not in Jerusalem, the center of religious and political influence, but in Galilee—a region viewed as rough, unsophisticated, and spiritually unimportant. Yet the people of Galilee recognized their spiritual need and were more open to Jesus' message. This becomes a warning against religious “tokenism”: outward religious activity can create the illusion of spiritual health while keeping people from genuinely encountering Christ. Jesus came for those who recognize their need for Him. The calling of Peter, Andrew, James, and John also reveals that discipleship is more than passive belief. To follow Jesus means becoming a learner and being willing to radically alter our values. These disciples left behind their vocation, security, family expectations, and familiar ways of life in order to follow Christ. Finally, Jesus' ministry of teaching, proclaiming, and healing demonstrates that the gospel is not merely something to be spoken. His works authenticated His message, and His ministry provides a model for the church: if the church is going to effectively advance the gospel, it must demonstrate the credibility of its message through faithful deeds as well as words. Outline Jesus Prepared for Public Ministry Matthew presents Jesus' credentials before the Sermon on the Mount. The wilderness temptation prepared Jesus for ministry in the power of the Spirit. Living by the Power of the Spirit Jesus returned from the wilderness empowered by the Spirit. Christians cannot live the supernatural Christian life through human strength. Trials can teach us to depend on the Holy Spirit. Three Keys to Experiencing God's Power Recognize that we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength. Believe that God has made His power available through the Holy Spirit. Exercise that faith continually in everyday situations. Jesus Begins in Galilee His ministry fulfills Isaiah's prophecy. Galilee was spiritually open because its people recognized their need. Religious tokenism can hide spiritual poverty. The Cost of Discipleship Peter and Andrew left their vocation. James and John left their father and family expectations. Following Jesus requires a radical alteration of values. A Ministry Authenticated by Deeds Jesus proclaimed the gospel through teaching and demonstrated its reality through healing. The church must be more than talk. Gospel ministry should be authenticated by faithful deeds. Key Takeaways The Christian life cannot be lived effectively through human strength. The Holy Spirit is God's provision for supernatural Christian living. Trials can teach us to depend on God's power rather than ourselves. Religious activity is not a substitute for genuine faith in Christ. Discipleship requires surrendering whatever competes with following Jesus. Following Christ means becoming a learner whose values are continually shaped by Him. The church must demonstrate the gospel through both words and deeds. If there is no spiritual power, ministry can become nothing more than human programs and effort. Scripture References Matthew 3:16 — Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit. Matthew 4:1–11 — Jesus is tested in the wilderness. Matthew 4:12–16 — Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy. Matthew 4:17 — Jesus calls people to repent because the kingdom is near. Matthew 4:18–22 — Jesus calls His first disciples to follow Him. Matthew 4:23–25 — Jesus teaches, proclaims the gospel, and heals. Luke 4:1 — Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit and led into the wilderness. Luke 4:14 — Jesus returns in the power of the Spirit. Hebrews 5:8 — Jesus learns obedience through suffering. Jeremiah 17:5 — Human strength cannot replace dependence on God. 2 Corinthians 3:5 — Our adequacy comes from God. James 1:2–4 — Trials develop spiritual maturity. Matthew 10:37 — Following Jesus requires ultimate loyalty to Him. Isaiah 9:1–7 — The coming Messiah brings light to those in darkness.   Recorded 2.6.83

SERMON NOTES: What does it mean to stand firm in the faith when life gets hard? In this sermon from 1 Corinthians 16:13–23, we are reminded that the Christian life is a fight—but we were never meant to fight alone. Paul calls believers to be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, and do everything in love. Pastor Will explores what it means to endure hardship with realistic expectations, cling to the truth of the gospel, and rely on the strength of Christian community. Our faith is grounded in the objective work of the triune God: the Father loved us and chose to save us, Jesus Christ lived and died for our sins, and the Holy Spirit makes us alive and dwells within us. Because of these truths, we can face suffering without losing hope. This message also explores the threats to our faith—including suffering, sin, cultural pressures, and spiritual opposition—and why the local church is essential for helping Christians persevere. We need flesh-and-blood community. We need one another. Together, we must fight the fight of faith. TAKEAWAYS: - The Christian life is a fight, but we were never meant to fight alone. God gives us the church and one another so that we can persevere together. - Standing firm means clinging to the truth of the faith. Our hope isn't based on how well we fight but on the God who fights for us. - Our faith is grounded in what God has actually done. The Father chose and loved us, the Son died for our sins, and the Holy Spirit makes us alive and dwells within us. - Christians should have realistic expectations about suffering. Following Jesus doesn't mean life will be free from hardship. Scripture prepares us to endure hardship rather than be blindsided by it. - We face real threats to our faith. The flesh, the world, and the devil can all pull us away from trusting God and living faithfully. - Hardship can tempt us to doubt God's love, grace, and presence. But suffering isn't evidence that God has abandoned us. Jesus himself suffered while remaining confident in the Father's love. - God's grace is for real sinners. Jesus didn't die for sanitized or hypothetical sins. His grace reaches people in the midst of their actual sin and brokenness. - Christian courage isn't the absence of fear. Courage means recognizing what is happening, acknowledging the fear, and faithfully doing what God has called us to do anyway. - Christian faith is meant to be lived in community. We need flesh-and-blood brothers and sisters who can encourage, challenge, support, and carry burdens with us. - We must fight the fight of faith together. Standing firm, being courageous, and doing everything in love are things we pursue together as the church. REFLECTION & APPLICATION QUESTIONS: 1. Where are you currently experiencing a "fight" in your life, and how are you responding to it? 2. Are you trying to face something alone that God intended you to face within Christian community? Who could you invite into that struggle? 3. What expectations do you have about the Christian life that may be unrealistic? How might those expectations affect your faith when hardship comes? 4. When hardship comes, which do you most naturally doubt: God's love, God's grace, or God's presence? Why? 5. Which of the three threats discussed in the sermon—the flesh, the world, or the devil—do you find yourself most vulnerable to? 6. What truth about God do you need to cling to when your circumstances make you question Him? 7. Is there a sin, failure, or part of your past that you struggle to believe God's grace can cover? What does the gospel say about that? 8. What would courageous faithfulness look like for you right now—not the absence of fear, but obedience in the presence of fear? 9. Who are the people in your life who help you stand firm in your faith? Are you intentionally investing in those relationships? 10. Where might God be calling you to strengthen or encourage someone else in their fight of faith? ——————————————— CHAPTERS: 00:00 - 1 Corinthians 16:13–23 01:10 - Grieving With Hope 03:00 - We Were Never Meant to Fight Alone 04:40 - Stand Firm in the Faith 07:13 - The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 11:21 - Experiencing God's Grace and Presence 14:51 - The Threats to Our Faith 17:28 - The Flesh, the World, and the Devil 20:48 - When Hardship Makes Us Doubt God 23:10 - Courage, Love, and Christian Community 31:15 - We Need the Church 33:20 - Fight the Fight of Faith ——————————————— Please visit our website at reconcilecc.org for any questions. Thank you for helping support our mission to Preach The Gospel. Produce Disciples. Pursue Justice.

South Union Christian Church09/13/2026Kramer BrooksSupport the show

In this episode, Ashley Campbell explores the concept of truth and love from a spiritual perspective. She emphasizes the importance of abiding in God's love, understanding salvation as a daily deliverance, and the role of the church as a community for sharing insights and experiences. The conversation delves into the process of personal growth through pruning, the significance of acknowledging one's reality, and the distinction between the spirit of truth and lies. Ultimately, Ashley encourages listeners to embrace truth and seek a deeper relationship with God.Takeaways:-Being of the truth means acknowledging your reality.-Perfect love casts out fear, allowing for growth.-Pruning is essential for bearing fruit in life.-Salvation is a daily experience of deliverance.-Abiding in God's love is crucial for following His commandments.-The church should be a community of sharing and support.-You can ask God boldly for your desires.-Your ability to accept reality affects your spiritual growth.-The spirit of truth guides us in our thoughts and actions.-Everyone has the capacity to hear the truth, even without the Holy Spirit.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Truth and Love02:53 The Process of Pruning and Growth06:11 Understanding Salvation and Daily Deliverance08:54 Abiding in God's Love and Asking Boldly12:02 The Role of the Church and Community14:49 Experiencing God's Love and Commandments17:58 The Importance of Acknowledging Truth21:12 The Journey of Accepting Reality23:49 The Spirit of Truth vs. Lies26:48 Conclusion and Call to ActionRumble Account: https://rumble.com/user/AshleyCampbellFacebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590000310120ANDhttps://www.facebook.com/dailyencouragementwithashleycampbell/Want to purchase a signed copy of mybook?https://buy.stripe.com/7sI8xdg6F2kZgSIfZ6ORRead the reviews on Amazon? https://a.co/d/gwyks9gWant to join my Facebook group that will equip you with the knowledge of the History of the UnitedStates, what the Constitution means and how you can preserve this great nation we live in?Join my paid group today! For only $10 a month, you will have access to classes that will help you have the knowledge you need to save your liberties given to you by God.Group Link:https://www.facebook.com/share/RA7FqCx95Lbv5gWv/Group Payment link:https://buy.stripe.com/cN24gX07H4t70TKcMVPodcast links:Apple/I tunes:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/daily-encouragement-with-ashley-campbell/id1625607569Amazon Music:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/4d32a7f2-1e3e-4045-aa13-2b77784c71d1/daily-encouragement-with-ashley-campbelliHeartRadiohttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-daily-encouragement-with-a-112334720/Overcast:https://overcast.fm/itunes1483675322/daily-encouragement-with-ashley-campbellRadio Public:https://radiopublic.com/daily-encouragement-with-ashley-c-WozzzRWant to sponsor the Podcast?https://buy.stripe.com/9AQbJpdYx8JnfOEfZ8

Margaret Maxey Ellis returns this week to continue sharing the story of how her marriage slowly healed after her infidelity. After confessing her affair to her husband, Margaret faced the long and difficult journey of rebuilding trust. With God's wisdom and grace, she learned how to walk alongside her husband as he processed the deep pain of betrayal. Margaret also discovered that she needed practical tools and support, but when she could not find the resources she needed, God began to reveal a new purpose for her story. Together, Margaret and her husband recognized an opportunity to help other women who have experienced infidelity in their marriages. That calling led Margaret to write her upcoming book, Chased by Grace. Her story is a beautiful testimony that God's grace is greater than our sin and that He can redeem even our deepest failures for His glory. Through her vulnerability, Margaret offers hope to women who are longing to find healing, restoration, and a new purpose beyond their past.   Connect with Margaret: Facebook Scripture Mentioned: Luke 15:1-7 I Corinthians 10:12 Song Mentioned: "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury     Links mentioned: Lifted from Shame Workbook Small Groups   To inquire about counseling, email Louise at Louise@louisesedgwick.com.

SPONSORS: - Nobody likes a call center — ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs fixes that with voice AI that sounds human and works 24/7 in 30+ languages. Try it: https://elevenlabs.io/TOE - Don't sleep on [@ultrapouches]. New customers get 15% Off with code TOE at http://takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad - I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE This episode is about how an invisible God comes to feel present to someone who prays. It is not about whether God exists. Tanya Luhrmann, professor of anthropology at Stanford, joins to explain how people come to experience God as real, and why she thinks there are an awful lot of atheists sitting in church pews. We discuss Augustine hearing God speak, why the "spiritual but not religious" category has grown to nearly a third of Americans, why a more lovable, therapeutic God is paradoxically harder to believe in than a demanding one, and how practices like prayer and the Ignatian spiritual exercises make an invisible God feel present. The conversation also covers why religious studies classes (not biology classes) most often unsettle a young believer's faith, and the "liminal" psychological space — the same one that makes a childhood teddy bear feel alive — where Luhrmann argues God actually lives. FOLLOW: - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Substack: https://curtjaimungal.substack.com/subscribe - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - Crypto: https://nowpayments.io/donation/TOE - PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=XUBHNMFXUX5S4 TIMESTAMPS: - 00:00:00 - Experiencing God as Real - 00:05:32 - William James and "The More" - 00:10:45 - The "Teddy Bear" God - 00:16:00 - Neoplatonic Vibrational Theology - 00:21:40 - Placebo and Hypnotic Focus - 00:27:22 - Charles Taylor's Secular Age - 00:33:46 - Feynman's Two Heritages - 00:41:44 - Productive Doubt in Faith - 00:46:50 - Tarski and Belief Hierarchies - 00:55:40 - Apophatic vs. Cataphatic Prayer - 01:00:42 - Paracosms and Ignatian Exercises LINKS MENTIONED: - Tanya Luhrmann's Website: https://www.tanyaluhrmann.com/ - How God Becomes Real [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0691234442?tag=toe08-20 - When God Talks Back [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0307264793?tag=toe08-20 - The Faith Frame [Paper]: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327517833_The_Faith_Frame_Or_Belief_is_Easy_Faith_is_Hard - The Varieties Of Religious Experience [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/1439297274?tag=toe08-20 - Many Religious 'Nones' Around The World Hold Spiritual Beliefs [Article]: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/09/04/many-religious-nones-around-the-world-hold-spiritual-beliefs/ - The Cultural Kindling Of Spiritual Experiences [Paper]: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/677881 - Sacred Books Of The East: https://archive.org/details/SacredBooksEastVariousOrientalScholarsWithIndex.50VolsMaxMuller/01.SacredBooksEast.VarOrSch.v1v2v3comb.Muller.Buhler.Legge.Oxf.1879.1897./page/n43/mode/2up - A Secular Age [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/0674986911?tag=toe08-20 - Two Great Heritages: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman - The Book Of Job: https://www.sefaria.org/Job.1.2 - The Highs And Lows Of Sufi Whirling [Article]: https://www.gqmiddleeast.com/article/the-highs-and-lows-of-sufi-whirling - Say What Your Longing Heart Desires [Book]: https://amazon.com/dp/1503614247?tag=toe08-20 - Sechit Madra [Trainer]: https://www.instagram.com/sechit_madra/ - Wolfgang Smith [TOE]: https://youtu.be/vp18_L_y_30 - Jonathan Pageau [TOE]: https://youtu.be/X3co_AA6yec - Becca Tarnas [TOE]: https://youtu.be/E49g3zJerss Guests do not pay to appear. #science Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lamentations 3:25 NLT “The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.”   *Transcription Below*   Mike Blackaby serves as a church planter in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where he lives with his wife, Sarah, and their four children. He holds a PhD in Worldview and Apologetics from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of several books and Bible studies including God, Heroes, and Everyday Dragons, Experiencing God in Everyday Life and Straight to the Heart: Communicating the Gospel in an Emotionally Driven Culture. Listen to his sermons.   Daniel Blackaby is the author and co-author of nine books, including Experiencing God in Everyday Life, 7 Steps for Knowing, Doing, and Experiencing the Will of God and God, Heroes, and Everyday Dragons, as well as the imaginative fiction trilogy The Lost City Chronicles. Daniel holds a PhD in Christianity and the Arts and a ThM in Philosophy, Apologetics & Worldview from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He speaks on cultural engagement, Christianity and the arts, apologetics and reaching the next generation for Christ. He is the founder of The Collision (thecollision.org), a multimedia ministry designed to help Christians thoughtfully and biblically engage with culture and the arts. Daniel is married to Sarah, and they are the parents of twin boys.    Blackaby Website   Thank you to our sponsor: Sam Leman Eureka   Questions and Topics We Cover: How has faith been strategically passed along in your family to the next generation (and how can we do the same?!) How do your families personally preserve these stories of the generations of faith? Can you tell us more about Spiritual Markers and share how we can use this practice in our family to disciple our children?    Related Savvy Sauce Episodes: Brain Science and Spiritual Abundance with Ken Baugh Theology and Discipleship with Ken Baugh Gospel Truth for Salvation and Sanctification with Hunter Beless   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:09)   Laura Dugger: (0:09 - 1:45) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today, over 55 years later, at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka. Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at lemangm.com.   Mike and Daniel Blackaby are my guests for today. They come from a long line of incredible generational faith, and so they're going to share some stories about how they've inherited this rich legacy, and then also inspire us to do the same in our families. They also are authors of this recent resource, Experiencing God in Everyday Life.   Here's our chat.   Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Mike and Daniel. Glad to have both of you joining and would you first mind both introducing yourself and share your connection to Dr. Henry Blackaby, and maybe tell a few stories about his life to illustrate how his legacy has helped shape the heart behind this recent study.   Mike Blackaby: (1:46 - 5:00) Sure. My name is Mike Blackaby. I'm the oldest grandson of Henry, so I'm not gonna say that he loved me the most, but he loved me the longest of all of his grandkids, and I remember we lived close to him for a while, and then far, and then close again, so it was interesting being around him when we were teenagers, and then being around him later on as our own children were being born, sort of two significant times in our lives where we lived close, and I just remember when I was a teenager chatting with him about, what am I gonna do with my life?   What am I gonna do after high school? You know, like what everybody tries to figure out, and his advice was really just, if you follow God one day at a time, then you'll be exactly where you need to be in 10 years. You don't necessarily have to plan out your whole life. God has a plan, and you trust him today, and you'll end up where you need to be tomorrow, and so I've really taken that advice ever since then, and so I was grateful for that, especially at the time when I was trying to figure out, what am I gonna do with my life after high school graduation?   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I'm Daniel Blackaby, his second oldest grandchild. He would have probably said his favorite. Yes, second oldest, first favorite, and I live down here in Atlanta, Georgia, actually in the same neighborhood that he lived in. I came on to work for the family ministry, so kind of got to overlap with him the last couple years of his life, which was just a blessing to see him up close. Obviously, we grew up around him at various stages, but just kind of see him finish well, and to have both Mike and I have kids.   Our oldest kids are around the same age, and I think one of the memories, I was gonna share the one that Mike just shared, but I think one of the memories that, I don't know, was meaningful for me came near the end, and I actually wasn't even there personally, but the last picture, actually, that was taken of my grandfather before he passed away was actually him with my two, I have twin boys, and my father was gonna be on the road traveling, and he had stopped by, and I was busy doing something, but he took my kids, and they got to spend a bit of time with him, and there's a picture with them kind of by his chair, smiling, and I just sort of had that last moment. I think that's, and then he passed away, I think just a couple days after that, but the last time any of the family got to see him, and for me, it's just such a testimony of his faithfulness. He has his great-grandchildren around him, and being able to be blessed by him, even at the end of his life.   He had the opportunity to travel the world, do amazing things, but I think his, for me, his lasting legacy is just the way that he inspired his family, that he lived in such a way that even his great-grandchildren are inspired by his faith, and want to hear more about his story. So even though I wasn't there, that picture of my two kids sort of representing my family has just been a really meaningful one for me.   Laura Dugger: (5:01 - 5:12) Such a life well-lived, and I'm so curious, how has faith strategically been passed along in your family from one generation to the next?   Mike Blackaby: (5:14 - 10:41) Well, the funny thing is, I don't know that it's always been super strategic. In some ways, I think it's been organic. We didn't always maybe do all the things that you would expect a family to do. We didn't sit down at dinner time and have family devotions and stuff. I think we tried it for a while, and it never really took, but for us, when we watched our parents, both our mom and our dad, and aunts and uncles and grandfather, so many people live out their faith, it was just very real for them. There was never this sense of, I'm just doing this, or that they were different behind the scenes than they were when they were in ministry.   We got to see them on stage preaching, but then in the car on a road trip when they're frustrated with us annoying kids in the back, and there was no hypocrisy. It was the same thing, and I think something that's always stood out for me is, so much of our family was in ministry, so not just even in the faith, but in active Christian ministry, and we just never really heard our parents bad talk the church. There was lots of issues. There's always issues, and there's always things that happen, and it didn't mean that they wouldn't call out sin when there was sin, and not that, but this sense of, they always talked positively about God's church and about ministry, and I don't know, I think the more people I talk to, I think maybe that's not super common.   I think sometimes people, maybe especially pastor's kids, get turned off of it all because they see behind the scenes how, oh man, this is not good, and my dad, he served these people, but he kind of hated these people or whatever, and we just never really got that sense. It was very personal. It was very consistent. It was very authentic, and it was very positive, even though our dad and mom dealt with issues in ministry, and people are messy, right? You're gonna deal with that anywhere, but they're like, the church is God's plan A, and there is no plan B, and so my whole life, I've tried to be very, very slow to criticize the church in general.   A lot of people love to do that. I'm very slow to criticize something that God loves and Christ died for. It's not perfect, and there's issues that need to be pointed out for sure, but we just had a very positive example, I think, growing up, and so for myself at least, I was fearful of stepping into ministry because I was like, I can't preach. I can't get up in front of people, that sort of thing, but I also saw it as a great privilege. I didn't want to do it, but it wasn't because it was a bad thing to do. It was almost because it was such a good thing to do, and I didn't feel like I could or I was worthy of it or whatever, but just a very positive example, and the more people I talked to, the more rare that seems to be the case of people growing up in ministry families.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I think too, like Mike said, it wasn't necessarily always strategic as far as super scheduled, or we do this at this day, but I do think strategic is to build on what Mike said as far as just the mindset. Like our family was always very intentional, not just about not bad talking and being negative, but to celebrate where God has done things, like very much a value on just telling the stories of what God has done, either currently of just, hey, this happened today, or else just sharing stories of, hey, have I ever told you the story about your grandpa when he did this, or what God has done in the past, to the point that even like my kids who were, wouldn't have been born until decades and decades after those stories, and never even probably heard them firsthand from my grandfather, or even the generations before their great-great grandfather, know a lot of these stories because they were just, we would tell them, we would share them, we'd celebrate the things that God has done in the past, the things God has done in the present, so I think maybe not strategic as far as, okay, this is our Bible time now, from whatever, 10 to 10:30, but I think very strategic as far as just, we are going to celebrate what God has done, and sort of cultivate a posture of always looking for God's activity, and then not taking it for granted that everyone just sort of knows that, like making sure our whole family knows, this is a God thing, let's talk about it, and so in some ways, I think we probably had more spiritual conversations than we would have, had we sort of been more structured in our Bible study time, because it was very natural to say, when God does something, let's talk about it, and I think for both Mike and I, that's something we've tried to do with our own kids now as they're getting older, is just make sure you, to seize those opportunities to just celebrate when God does, you know, is faithful in our life, and not take it for granted that, you know, ourselves or our kids or families are just going to naturally sort of recognize that as God's faithfulness.   Laura Dugger: (10:43 - 11:34) Okay, that's huge, what you both are saying, because that is very biblical to pass along to the next generation through our words, through sharing the stories of God's goodness, I don't know how many verses there are that encourage us to do that, and it helps us remember, I think, reading and writing and even conversation that can all go together, so I was struck with all the stories that were included, that you recounted so well in this Bible study, so two parts, do you write these down like in a journal as they happen, and also it's so interesting to see the two of you being related, and even your background right now, full of books, and so I'm wondering if that was a value in your family, and just how that ties in the love of story and reading.   Mike Blackaby: (11:34 - 19:55) Yeah, at least I preached a lot of those, because anytime there's a good story, it usually ends up in a sermon, and that's something we both sort of drew from our dad, he's a great storyteller, but just coming out of even what we were just talking about, you know, there's always stories to tell, I don't keep all the details, which is why usually I don't have a ton of the details in the story, it's sort of more the gist, my wife's the detail person, and we joke that she'll tell a story, and it'll take like 10 minutes, because she'll know every, and she loves all the details, and I'll tell the same story in like two minutes, because it's just like, you know, just hit the main points here, but I keep a little, I call it an illustration file, because I use them for preaching, but I think it's good to keep some sort of record, even if it's not all the details, but just the gist.   When we moved to Victoria, I live on Vancouver Island, we planted a church here in Victoria, the west coast of Canada, and it's a hard place to plant a church, and I have a file on my computer that's God's stories from Oak Bay, and it's just whenever we see God do something, I mean God's always at work, but whenever we see something, you know, that really stands out, I'll write that down, and I'm like, I don't want to forget these things, like I want to be able to pass on these stories, and I know I will forget them if I don't write them down, so there's the record of the stories, and then, you know, when we put them in a book, we try to make it interesting, and you know, we try to write it in a compelling way, but we do, at least I do, keep a record of those things, because I don't want to forget those stories. Those are worth passing down, and then when we get an opportunity to write something like this book, it's great because you can draw on these things, and you can say, whenever God does a work in my life, it's never just for me, like it's always part of something bigger, a bigger story of what God's doing, and so I want to pass those along, and if those stories can be encouraging for others, then great.   And one of the differences, I would just add, and then let Daniel go, but one of the differences between this book and the original Experiencing God is that the original Experiencing God has a lot of big God moment stories where you read, you're like, whoa, that's amazing, you're like, these miracle stories, but sometimes we can expect that that's the only way that God ever works, is the burning bush, or the fire from heaven, or these sort of big miracles we see in the Bible, or we read about in grandpa's life, and in this other book, we were very intentional to try and not just put the wow stories in there, there are those, those do happen, but we wanted to put some stories of just, hey, here's how this plays out, and it's not a huge earth-shattering miracle, it's just sometimes just regular life stuff, and most of life is in those moments, and God is in those moments, as well as the big moments, and so a lot of the stories we put in this book were, we actually edited out some of the ones that were a bit more like, whoa, that's cool, because we want people to see that God is in the ordinary stuff as well, and so sometimes those are a bit harder to think of, because the big moments stick in your mind pretty good, but when you're thinking about, what does this look like though in just the day-to-day, you're like, that's not as interesting, but we think hopefully it's even more powerful for people, because they can come to realize, wow, God is at work all around me, even in the ways where I didn't expect to see him, he's in those places too.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, well, and I'd quickly just say too that, you know, Mike's better at keeping track of stories, my wife and I were just talking the other day, how we regret that we weren't better like when our kids were growing up, and some of those funny things that they did, but I think in some ways that is also the value of just being very intentional about constantly sharing stories, is sort of the old oral tradition of just, you know, you may not remember, but you've told the story, and other people remember, because the funny thing with these books is you'd probably assume that, you know, if it's a personal story from me or Mike, that we were the one that put that story in, that we added, that was our idea, but a lot of times it would actually be, you know, like Mike might, he might not, I might still write the story, but he might add, hey, remember when this happened, and this would be a great illustration of this, and I'll be, oh, I forgot that happened, you know, like, oh yeah, now that I think of it, like, you know, or we'd tell our dad, like, hey, we heard you tell this story, like, why don't you add that here, and so it's sort of that collective memory of, you know, we may, it may jolt our memories, you know, and we learn some new ones.   Like, we wrote a youth version of this book, too, that comes out in the fall that parallels it, but we swapped out a lot of the stories for a bit more youth, youthy, kind of humorous ones, and I learned some stories about Daniel that I actually didn't know, that, like, one story that might be one of the funniest things that I've, like, ever heard is in that book, and so, yeah, it is fun to sort of go back into the archives and even learn some new ones. So, yeah, it is fun to sort of collectively and reminisce, even as we were writing them, but I'll say to you, because you asked us about the storytelling, like, the books, and that that very much is, I think, an application of what we were trying to get at in this book, of just, that was something we saw, like, our dad has a big library, we constantly would come into his office, see him reading a book. I think back, even our mom, when we were quite young, kind of had two rules that, I don't know if you even remember these, Maggie, one was we can always have an apple. At any time of the day, we can, we're always allowed to have an apple, and the second one was that she'll always buy us a book, if we read a book that she bought us, she'll always buy us a new book, so that we can keep reading, which she made that promise before we got quite as, as hooked. She had to sort of back down, when she couldn't keep up with, you know, the credit card couldn't handle. I had a huge stack of Goosebumps books. I think she was, like, hoping to steer us a little bit, like, well, I guess not just any book.   But that was just always a value to them. I mean, I mean, apple, and be healthy, make healthy choices, but the reading of just constantly be stretching yourself, you know, whether that's fiction, and as we got older, more non-fiction as well, mixed in there, different types of literature, but, you know, just any way that, as a family, we can encourage thinking, and storytelling, and, you know, whether, even if they weren't necessarily, you know, faith, Christian books, just stories, learning the power of stories, and a well-told story, and I don't know if you've done that, Mike, that's one of the, we've adopted those rules for my kids, of just, you know, if you're going to read a book, I'll buy you a new book. I want you guys to, and just, I want you guys to see me reading in my library, and just the power of books, and literature, and thinking, hopefully, some of that rubs off.   Mike Blackaby: Our kids love apples so much, though, that we can't really do the apple rule, because then we would just never have any apples. We just wouldn't have them for lunches. Well, and even today, we're all in a book club together, so with our dad, and with our sister, and our brother-in-law, and our cousin, and so we'll all choose a book that sort of stretches our thinking, and then we'll, they all, most of them all live right by each other, so they'll all meet together, eat Chinese food, and then a couple of us outsiders will zoom in, but that's even still a practice that we have in adulthood, is we'll do a book club together, and we'll read a book, and we'll discuss it, and big, big fans of reading old school books. Daniel's maybe more of a Kindle guy nowadays, too, but, and anything, same with our kids, just, hey, you guys just read anything. It's just good for you.   Laura Dugger: (19:57 - 20:13) It is so helpful in, I think, cultivating faith. That's fascinating to hear how different families do it in different ways, and I know that we can't share all of the stories, but now, Mike, you kind of left us hanging. Do you want to share that one story about Daniel that they may find in the youth resource?   Mike Blackaby: (20:15 - 21:52) Yeah, it might be a little, a little bit PG, Daniel, you may have to correct me, but you were, like, brand new to a school, too, like, your high school. He was a new student at his school, and they all went, they all went out on a lake, going, like, being pulled on a tube behind, behind, like, a speedboat, and so, of course, you're trying to make a good impression. You're, you're brand new. You don't have any friends yet, and so you're trying to, you're trying to break into this crowd, so Daniel goes on that tube, and, of course, you're trying to get you to fall off, and so they're taking these huge corners, and, and they, they wipe Daniel off of the back of that tube so hard that he loses his swim trunks, and he's floating there, and the boat's got to, like, make the big wide turn, and come back, and pick him up, and he looks, and his shorts are, like, you know, he's lost them way out in the lake, and so he's frantically swimming, trying to, trying to get to his shorts before, before the boat comes back, and so, for those of you who are, who are audio listeners only, you'll be thankful for that, I guess. Sorry, I apologize to the listeners, but I forget what point we're making. So, not, not the age you want to be to, to humiliate yourself.   Daniel Blackaby: I did find, I did swim fast enough, just to tie a bow on that. I was able to be covered. Somehow, I had never known that story, and I've laughed for, I mean, months now, I guess, whenever, whenever you wrote that. I'm still laughing about that.   Laura Dugger: (21:53 - 23:29) And now, a brief message from our sponsor.   Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago. If you visit their dealership today, though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership, like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle. This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible.   They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different. I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life, and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today. Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you, and they appreciate your business.   Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com, or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them at 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Kind of getting back to some of the thoughts of your study, why is it that you think so many Christians struggle to meet God just in the ordinary moments of life?   Mike Blackaby: (23:31 - 29:40) I think one reason might just be that our ordinary time is so full of distractions now, just so much more than it ever used to be, and everybody knows this, like with phones and just ads coming at you all the time, and constant noise, constant stimulus, and just being as busy. Technology has also allowed us to be very productive, which doesn't mean that we rest more. It means that we attempt to do more because we can do more, and so our lives are just full and busy, and I would say that probably one of the biggest reasons why we don't see God in the everyday is because our every day is so full of distractions, and if we're not intentional, just there's a million things that will come and take our attention and fill our time, and so that would be, I think that would be a big reason is life's just too crazy, and unless you push back against that intentionally, there's just so much that you'll miss out on.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I think too, just expectations. I think it's easier, maybe it's more flashy to see God in like a burning bush type moment of, oh that must be God, because that's a miracle that never happens, as opposed to just in the daily grind of life, and I think we're just we're sort of stuck in a worldly perspective. I know like our grandfather in the first Experiencing God book talked about God's activity is always God-sized, which is true, there always is that God eternal dimension, but I think even as we've, you know, the decades since that book and being able to go through that study with people, and we're so conditioned I think to think, well God's size must be big, you know, God's big, so whatever he does must be big and spectacular, which is not what our grandfather meant, you know, God's size just means God is in it, and the significance comes because God's in it, not because it's flashy, or it was in front of a lot of people, or you know, it was some miraculous story, and I think a lot of times we just miss the ordinary, because we're not looking for it, we're kind of looking, we may even get discouraged that God's not doing anything in my life right now, because there hasn't been a big moment, and if our spiritual eyes were open to just, well God was all around you in your family today, God is all around you at work today, or you know, that conversation you had at the grocery store, this, you know, that sense of peace you had when, you know, your schedule went crazy, and it was a chaotic day, but somehow you had this, those are all God moments, that's God's presence too, but we don't always recognize that, just because we're not looking for it, we don't, that's almost too small for God in our eyes, which I think says more about us than it does about God.   I know even just in the process of writing this book, it was sort of the act of trying to apply it into my own life, of you know, just being more intentional about, you know, if I'm just like in the living room with my kids, or doing, you know, whatever I'm doing at work or something, and just sort of sitting back a bit and being, this is a good moment, like this is a God moment, like this is, you know, my kids are laughing, this happened, there was a breakthrough at work, you know, some small comment that maybe I would brush off, that no, that actually is a sign of God's activity, and I think once you get in the habit of that, once that becomes sort of, you know, not that you're trying to like, where's Waldo, and force it if it's not there, and make everything a God moment, but if you just sort of get in the habit of keeping your eyes open and recognizing it, I don't know, it's sort of contagious, if you start noticing more and more, and you get in, you sort of, that becomes more of your default, and the more you do that, the more you realize, so God's been doing a lot of stuff that I've been missing, just because my own expectations are, I want God to do something that, in my eyes, seems more miraculous and spectacular, when maybe God wants to do something just as important, but way more intimate, or personal, or sort of, you know, behind the scenes.   Mike Blackaby: And something that's come up a couple times in our conversation is just the consistency and the practice of something, like Daniel said, if you put that into practice, it may not feel natural at first, but if you put that into practice, Daniel just said like, that'll become more your default, and even the language we use in the book, and other people use as well, is just the rhythm of your life. What is your life rhythm? What is those defaults that you fall into, either unintentionally or intentionally?   And if you, you have to create the rhythm of looking for God's activity, and I think that's one thing the original Experiencing God did, is it opened people's eyes to, God is at work all around me, and if I'm gonna see that, if I'm gonna recognize that, then I need to be looking for that. It's not that it starts happening because I start looking, but I start seeing it because I start looking. It's always been there. And so just building that consistency, and those rhythms, and one of the things we really hit on in the book is, you are shaped by what you do consistently over time. And it's interesting, because the big moments maybe inspire you, but they don't necessarily shape you into who you are. It's the erosion of rock. It's the consistent small things that build up over time that really shape your character and shape your faith. And so, the big moments play a part in that, but just like anything else, if you want seeing God's activity to become the default rhythm of your life, it's one of those things that you have to put into practice, because it's not going to be naturally what you do, just right off the bat. It's one of those things that has to be learned and practiced. But as you do, it slowly does become second-rate, and it does become more of the default. And you are just aware of looking around for where God is at work and recognizing it, but it's not going to just happen by accident, because very rarely do good, healthy things happen just unintentionally and by accident. Absolutely.   Laura Dugger: (29:42 - 30:22) And there's this verse that's been meaningful all year, but it's one that I was, again, reflecting on today from Lamentations 3:25, and it kind of ties into what you're talking about. It says, "The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him." And I think you're talking about cultivating those small incremental steps of spiritual growth by even just searching for Him and being on the lookout and expectantly awaiting for Him to do something. So, would you build on that and share a few more practical habits that we can cultivate to experience progressive sanctification?   Daniel Blackaby: (30:25 - 37:43) Yeah, well, I know, because in the book, each unit, we give different suggested habits that contribute to that rhythm of intentionality. And obviously, we start the book with sort of the standard, you know, read your Bible, pray, things that every Christian should, that should just be a part of your rhythm at any stage of life. But I think a lot of times when we think of habits and things, I think people get intimidated because we're busy, and obviously, it's a matter of priority. We make time for the things that we love and prioritize. So, most of the time, busyness is an excuse to prioritize, you know, watching Netflix or going to bed early or whatever it is instead of God things.   But I think one of the things we try to do in the book, too, is just redeeming the time of, you know, that they're not necessarily that you need to, okay, well, I have a busy life, and I got to add 10 new habits into my life, and slot them into whatever remaining, you know, openings I have in my busy schedule, but just kind of reclaiming some of these times or, you know, and a lot of the habits, too, they're not necessarily just, you know, go spend two hours fasting and prayer before work every day, things that are that are daunting. I think a lot of them can be small, just mindset things. I know one of our habits is just gratitude, where we encourage people, like if you're standing there by the coffee maker half asleep, you know, in the morning before you're going to go to work or school or whatever you're doing, like if you're just standing there waiting for your coffee, you got whatever, two minutes, you know, use that moment to voice a prayer to God and just thank Him. Find one thing that you can thank Him for that day, and that's not adding, you know, that's not adding a lot of commitment, but it's starting your day, you know, one of the first things you do is, before you even had coffee, is thanking God for something, and you do that every day, every day, you start every day thanking God for something, then that begins to shape your rhythm, to grow you into being a more thankful person.   Rather than, you know, spending that time to think about how much you don't want to go back to work this morning, or you're too tired, or you know, regretting that you stayed up too late, or, you know, you feel sore from how you slept on your pillow, like things that could sort of shape our day, and I mean, the book has a lot of those sort of things, even just commutes, you know, we encourage people, pick one day, just, you know, one day, if you're going to work or picking up your kids from school, or whatever your regular commute is, and just turn off the radio, turn off the audiobook, just, you know, you can pray in that time, or you can just look and, you know, appreciate the sky, or you can just have some silence to kind of clear your mind from all the stimuli that you get, you know, so much throughout the day, and so I think, for me, those are the ones that have been the most impactful for me. Obviously, if you're not reading your Bible, or praying, some of those things work to include those, but I think a lot of the habits, especially when it comes to noticing God, and joining God in the small things, can be small habits of just shaping, how can I become a more gratitude, or grateful person, or generous, or encouraging person, you know, encourage one person at work each day, there's different things like that, but I think over time, those do contribute to sort of these bigger rhythms of aligning yourself more with kind of God's presence.   Mike Blackaby: Yeah, one that I like, that has challenged me and stuck with me is the water basin. It says he went over to this water basin, and he used that to wash his disciples' feet, and of course, the practice would have been for a servant to have done that when they all got there, and maybe a servant already did that, it would seem odd if a certain servant had already done that, and then Jesus repeats it, maybe that's how it happened, but I get a sense that they went in, and nobody had done that, sort of the custom got missed, and they're all sitting there with dirty and disgusting feet, and Jesus is the one that takes the initiative, doesn't just wait for somebody else to do it, we don't hear of any of the other disciples saying, oh, well, somebody's got to do this, sort of like someone's got to do the dishes, I guess I'll go do it, like it's Jesus that does it, there's the sense that the water basin was there the whole time, but Jesus is the only one who took the initiative to use it, and so I would say everything that we want to develop in our character towards Christlikeness is going to come out of the foundation of humility, a posture of humility is where all of that is built on, and so the act of serving others, what it does is it slowly makes us humble, it's the action of putting someone else before myself, if I do that over and over again, eventually that starts to wear down my pride, that actively pushes back against my pride by putting somebody else in front of me, and that's good, if I can work my way down to a place of humility, then that's a great starting place for everything else that God wants to develop in my character, and so one of the practices would be everywhere you go look for the water basin, like every room you walk into, everywhere you go there's going to be an opportunity to serve others, most people are going to ignore it, most people are going to let that water basin sit there and wait for somebody else to do it, cultivate the habit of being that person, of saying everywhere I go I'm going to be the one who starts stacking chairs, I'm going to be the one who starts collecting everyone's dirty dishes, I'm going to be the one who asks if anybody could use a top-up on their water or their coffee, I'm going to be that person, and when I'm at home, it's like where are those moments, if I see that my wife needs something, am I going to wait for her to ask, or am I going to see that as a water basin moment, and I'm going to jump on it, and that's hard for me, that's not natural for me, and so that is something I'm actively for years now just trying to do that, but every time I see a water basin and use it to serve somebody else, I'm pushing back against my natural tendency towards pride, and I'm setting myself up to receive whatever else the Holy Spirit wants to, whatever fruit of the Spirit that needs to be developed in me, comes out of the foundation of humility, and so something like that, it's not a scheduled thing, but it's a mindset, it's a habit of saying, okay, everywhere I go, there's going to be a water basin, and so every room I walk into, I can ask where is that, and then take that opportunity to serve, and over time, that should start to develop humility in you, and that's a great place to be for everything else that God wants to do in your life.   Laura Dugger: (37:43 - 39:07) I love that picture of the water basin, and I was telling my husband last night, he does this so well to jump to serve others, and it's a quiet form of leadership, but that is one way that he spiritually leads our family, and I was hoping to encourage him last night, I saw it in one of our daughters then as well, and I know that it sadly didn't come from me, but from her witnessing him and just that eagerness to serve, so I think it's contagious as well, these even practices, and the spirit lights the flame, but to fan the flame, you guys talk about some other ideas, I'll just mention a couple more. I love how you said activate the other side, so maybe learn from podcasts or from reading, and that's more of our thinking brain, so to activate the emotional brain, you're talking about listening to worship songs, or vice versa, if you're always going to music, activate the other side, and another personal favorite was reflective journaling, and you just elaborate on all of these practical ideas, and I think it was really helpful, but you also sprinkle in insightful questions and tips throughout the whole study to inspire us to deeper levels of connection with God, so do you mind just sharing a handful of those?   Daniel Blackaby: (39:09 - 48:32) Yeah, I think just trying to think of it in that terms of all, where, you know, where has God brought me, where do I have to go, and then I'm curious, because we repeat that activity at the end to see if throughout the study, people maybe evaluate themselves differently than they did at the start, but even just questions like, which I believe Mike actually added these ones in the book, but just, you know, list the places that you go to, kind of your weekly schedule, and then how many, what percentage of the people there are believers or not believers, you know, as far as just joining God on mission in your everyday life, I don't think we're always aware of those things, that we assume we believe in missions, we want, we're joining God's activity, but if we actually stop to reflect, is what, you know, I may go, other than maybe like the dentist or something, I may go or the grocery store, and I'll talk to these people, like I could go days without even coming in contact with someone that doesn't share the faith that I do, I mean, Mike is in a more secular surrounding, like I'm down here in the Bible Belt, so it's, you even have to be more intentional to, even like the restaurants, and my dentist is already a Christian, you know, they're playing, I was there yesterday, they were playing worship music, so I get, you do sort of need to be, you know, more, maybe more intentional with that, but I think it starts with just being honest and sort of reflecting on where has God placed me, and how am I, you know, am I joining Him the way that He has called me to, am I around Christians all the time, am I around non-Christians, am I, you know, my community, am I actually being a blessing to my community, am I involved in my community throughout my everyday, you know, weekly schedule, so I think a lot of the activities are just kind of guidance to reflect on sort of where we are in that process, and maybe where God could have us if we were to step out a bit more with faithfulness.   Mike Blackaby: Yeah, I like that. Some of the questions we asked are, they're not necessarily super profound, but there may be questions that aren't intentionally asked all that often, even something like, how would you define spiritual maturity? You ask somebody, “Do you want to grow in your faith?” They're like, yes, I do. Okay, so what are you growing towards? Like, what's the end goal? And most people will probably say, well, I want to be like Jesus. Well, what do you mean by that? Like, you want to go around casting out demons and, you know, feeding 5,000 people through miracles? Well, I don't know, I mean, I want to reflect his character. Okay, so in what way? What character trait of Jesus do you think? Like, narrow it down. Don't just say, I just want to be like Jesus. Well, like, here's Jesus, and we're all way down here, so that's just like, it's like climbing Everest. It's like, well, yeah, I want to get up there. Okay, so what's your map to get there? I don't know. I don't have one.   And so, this idea of just making it, just zeroing in, okay, the fruit of the Spirit, start there. What's one fruit? Pick one thing. You spend the rest of your life working on that one thing, but it's like, okay, what stands out right away to you? Patience. Yeah, for me, it's patience with my kids and with, you know, everything, traffic. It's just like, okay, man, I need this fruit in my life. Okay, so start there. Don't try to just become like Jesus. Say, here's one thing about Jesus that I need to cultivate in me. And if I become a more patient person, then I'm actually becoming a more spiritually mature person, because there's a certain part of my life that is aligning more with the character and the person of who Christ is, who is our model. That is the blueprint of who we desire to be like.   And so sometimes the questions we ask, they're not necessarily super deep or profound, but maybe they're just hopefully helping people to focus it a little bit and to say, okay, we all want to be spiritually mature, but none of us really have a plan to get there. We just sort of hope it happens, like Daniel said, over time. If I'm a Christian long enough, or if I just also, if I fill my life with enough Christian activities, if I just read enough Christian books, if I go to enough Christian Bible studies, that will just make me into a mature Christian. And there is some truth to that. That stuff does shape you. But I heard a pastor one time say, experience doesn't make you wiser, it makes you older. Evaluated experience makes you wiser. And so just putting in time doing Christian activities without reflecting on them or being intentional about it doesn't necessarily make you a more mature person. It just makes you somebody who's been to a lot of Bible studies.   And in one sense, it can almost be immature to say, okay, I don't actually know how to disciple myself. And so, I show up every time the church offers me something to sign up for, but if they don't offer me something to sign up for, then I actually don't know how to take control of my own discipleship. I don't know what to do. And so, in one sense, ironically, the end goal of this book is to help wean people off of needing these types of books all the time. It's sort of counterproductive. Like, hey, the best thing is less and less people need to buy this book. But this idea of build rhythms into your life, take control of your discipleship. A mature Christian shouldn't be needing to be spoon fed or bottle fed 20 years into their Christian walk by saying, okay, what's the next thing that I need to read? After 20 years, Jesus had his disciples for three years, and then he made them the leaders of the church. It's like after three years, he thrusts them into leadership. And we go for 20 years. And if somebody's not telling us what Bible study to take, we don't know what to do.   There's a sense of, God, would you make me a mature believer, that I can then begin to pass this on to someone else, to a believer that's coming behind me. And slowly, as we progress down this road, we're passing it on to the others coming behind us. And we never stop growing. But there is a sense of, am I still doing the same things 20 years down my Christian road that I did when I started? Or have I grown at all? And what's the evidence? How do you measure spiritual growth to even know that? And so those types of questions, they're not necessarily super deep or profound, but they're questions that we may not ask in our normal everyday lives. And so, I think that's a good starting place just to get people thinking, if I want to grow, what am I growing towards? And then how do I get there? So that's some of the heart behind it.   Laura Dugger: (48:32 - 50:04) I want to make sure that you're up to date with our latest news. We have a new website. You can visit thesavvysauce.com and see all of the latest updates. You may remember Francie Heinrichson from episode 132, where we talked about pursuing our God-given dreams. She is the amazing businesswoman who has carefully designed a brand-new website for Savvy Sauce Charities. And we are thrilled with the final product.   So, I hope you check it out. There, you're going to find all of our podcasts now with show notes and transcriptions listed, a scrapbook of various previous guests, and an easy place to join our email list to receive monthly encouragement and questions to ask your loved ones so that you can have your own practical chats for intentional living. You will also be able to access our donation button or our mailing address for sending checks that are tax deductible so that you can support the work of Savvy Sauce Charities and help us continue to reach the nations with the good news of Jesus Christ. So, make sure you visit thesavvysauce.com.   One other tip that we can hit on is another personal favorite, something that you call spiritual markers. So, can you tell us more about this idea of spiritual markers and how can we incorporate these into our own walk with the Lord and discipling our children?   Daniel Blackaby: (50:07 - 54:54) Yeah, well, I think in some ways this sort of brings us full circle to where we started with as far as just, you know, as you recognize the moments that that you have, you know, very clearly heard from God or experienced God or joined in God's activity and just allowing those, you know, like through the Bible there's, especially in the Old Testament, people are constantly making altars and, you know, God doesn't think we'll stack a bunch of rocks here so when we see the rocks we remember and we can tell our kids about it and this sense that let's do things that remind us of what God has done in the past, not just so that we can sort of, you know, be nostalgic and reminiscent about the good old days, but that as we face challenges today, we can, you know, hey, God was faithful there.   Every time I see, like I know I have a part of my testimony involved, kind of pretty miraculously receiving a letter, a handwritten letter from a friend that God used to answer prayer, and as we're recording this podcast, I can look and like I have that framed, you know, in my office, like every day I see, you know, at my lowest moment, God was there for me and I have physical evidence that God was there for me, that as, you know, as I face new challenges decades and decades later, that, you know, may look nothing like those challenges. I know it's the same God that guided me, that was provided for me, was faithful then. He's still the same God that I can trust today.   So in many ways, I mean, that can be stories, that can be, you know, I'm a big proponent of just getting physical objects or reminders or things that, whether that's like a picture or just, you know, like I have another, when I was working on my dissertation for my PhD and under a lot of stress, my kids were very young, you know, they were born my first semester, so I was very stressed, and I had one of my kids came up one day when I was just really under a lot of pressure and gave me a picture. It's just a bunch of scribbles and some random, like, animal stickers and stamps, and it's just very abstract, modern, impressionist art, but he gave me that and just sort of, you know, on his own initiative and, you know, just to let me know that he, you know, he loved me, and that's so meaningful. I have that also framed, you know, he's embarrassed now, he's 11, and you say, oh man, that's awful, but I keep that in a very prominent place in my, you know, that's not necessarily God's provision, but I think it is God working through my son to remind, just remind me that, you know, God is at work in my family and using my family and my children, and so I have sort of all around me even now, like, there's just things that I've put around me to remind myself that, you know, when I face a challenge today, trust to what God's done in the past, you know, trust those moments that, you know, that I can move forward with that confidence, that I can still trust him today.   Mike Blackaby: I think that all of that is dead on. I'm a fan of the physical reminders too, like, have, like, that's what they did in the Old Testament, they would, they'd pile rocks together and that would spur on conversations specifically with the next generation, and so, yeah, I think tell the stories to everybody, but be even more intentional to tell the stories to the generation coming behind you, and if you need reminders of those things, then, yeah, fill your home, don't just clutter up your home, but fill your life with reminders of God's goodness, because no matter how good he's been in the past, it's easy to forget that when you're right in the storm today, and so sometimes you just need that reminder, say, okay, like, I remember feeling this way before, and yet God got me through it that time, and I believe he'll get me through it this time too, and not even just the hard times, but recognize and be quick to give God credit for the good things, and just, you know, remember those, we're in a good, we're in a good season in our church right now after some difficult, just hard work, and we're seeing some harvest, and we're seeing some good things, and I know there's ups and downs in ministry, and so I've been telling people I'm just enjoying the up right now, you know, and probably should memorialize it in some way to also look back and say, hey, when things get rough, it doesn't usually stay there forever, and things are good, it doesn't always stay there forever either, you know, growth happens through struggle and tension and those types of things, not ease, and so, yeah, the physical reminders are good.   Laura Dugger: (54:56 - 55:12) And we didn't even get to touch on something, you're bringing out the seasons of life and how God brings the harvest and those winter seasons and how it's cyclical, so if all of this message is resonating with someone, where can we go after this chat to learn more from the two of you?   Mike Blackaby: (55:14 - 57:32) Most of, I'm not super active on social media anymore, I probably should be, but I would say most of anything worth hearing that I have to say, I put in my sermons, and so if anybody ever wants to just tune in, we've got a live stream at our church where whatever God is currently teaching me usually ends up in my teaching just week to week on Sundays, and so I would say commit to your own church, let your pastor be your pastor, but if you're ever interested in maybe gaining some other perspective or, you know, looking for something to listen to on the way to work, our church has a live stream that you can go to, Canvas Oak Bay is what our church is called, so anything profound that I have to say will at some point end up in there.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, I think you can, for me, you can, I mean, blackaby.org, I work for the ministry, and a lot of the stuff that, I mean, Mike or I, or our father, or other relatives, or things related to this book, I gather resources, and you can find a lot of information and resources on the website, and one of the things I personally do is I run a kind of a culture engagement ministry, The Collision, if anyone wants to check out TheCollision.org, do a lot of, in some ways, applying the message of this book, just in the field of kind of the arts and pop culture, you know, in movies, you know, finding where's God at work, or what's the conversations happening in culture through, you know, the trends, and the stories, and things that are happening, and just trying to guide people to join those conversations, so if that sounds like something, or if you have kids, and you want to help, you know, guide them through some of those conversations, love to have you guys check out our website there, too.   Mike Blackaby: Yeah, I also recommend TheCollision.org, it's good, I love reading Daniel's movie reviews, and it's unlike other things that are out there, what he sees in culture is really good, helping people navigate as a Christian exile, navigating through this world, it's really good, and so I encourage people to check that out, too.   Laura Dugger: (57:33 - 57:54) Thank you for those wonderful recommendations, we'll add links to all of that in the show notes for today's episode, and the two of you may already be familiar, we're called The Savvy Sauce, because savvy is synonymous with practical knowledge, and so as my final question for both of you today, what is your savvy sauce?   Mike Blackaby: (57:57 - 1:00:59) Do or do not, there is no try. I would say, this is, I heard somebody say this years ago, and I've always loved it, they said, nothing good happens after 11 p.m., so put away your phone, turn off the TV, you're not going to do anything typically that grows your faith, or encourages your soul, after 11 o'clock, just go to bed, I mean, not much of good typically ever happens late at night, and so, I mean, I know someone will say, well, no, at midnight, this great thing happened to me, like, yeah, I know, it's not a, it's more of a proverb than anything, it's a, typically, this is what, typically, good things don't happen after 11 o'clock, and so, build the habit of putting your phone away, and getting off screen time, getting off your computer, any of that sort of stuff, don't go late into the night on any of that stuff, because typically, healthy things don't happen.   Daniel Blackaby: Yeah, but my two kids had their first sleepover last night at our house, and so I think they learned firsthand that staying up super late, I don't know, there's a lot of chaos, I don't know what was good that came out of that, but I think, maybe for me, kind of a motto, and I've sort of phrased it different ways over the years, but something that I've really tried to use when faced with decisions, is just to, like, choose what I want most, instead of what I want now, and I feel like most healthy decisions can be summed up in this, what I want now is to eat this, you know, donut that was left on the counter, or eat, you know, potato chips for breakfast, or whatever, like, what I want most, though, is to be a healthy example for my kids, or to feel good, or, you know, what I want now might be to just veg on the couch on my phone, and just do nothing, like, what I want most is to, you know, be well-read, or to be, you know, in good shape, so I should go for a run, or whatever it is, like, just, and I'm not, I don't always make the right choice in that, but that, for me, that's just been a helpful of, you know, most decisions come down to, like, this is what I want, but what I want most, and what would be the decision that gets me closer to that, rather than just sort of feeding my kind of carnal impulses, which usually are very rarely edifying, or healthy to the spirit, or body, or mind, or anything, so I've put that on, you know, like, if I make a running schedule, or different things, I've sort of put that, some version of that slogan, just to remind myself, like, even this, you know, I once printed off a sign, I put it on our pantry, of just remembering, what do you want most, what do you want now, like, because don't, you know, don't go for that snack shelf now, but so, for me, that's just been one of those things that I've tried to, I'm constantly telling myself, just, you know, choose what I want most, not just what I want now. That's good.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:00 - 1:01:30) I love it. You both have just shared profound wisdom and insight today. I'm so grateful for your generosity of time, and just inspiring all of us, even giving hope, and all of that through this uplifting conversation, where we're getting to see the thousand generations blessed through the faithfulness, even of those who have gone before you, and you two also carrying the torch on. So, thank you so much for everything you shared today, and thank you, Daniel and Mike, for being my guests today.   Mike Blackaby and Daniel Blackaby: (1:01:31 - 1:01:32) Thanks so much for having us.   Laura Dugger: (1:01:33 - 1:05:16) One more thing before you go, have you heard the term gospel before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you, but it starts with the bad news.   Every single one of us were born sinners, but Christ desires to rescue us from our sin, which is something we cannot do for ourselves. This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So, for you and for me, it means we deserve death, and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved.   We need a savior, but God loved us so much. He made a way for his only son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with him.   That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life. We could never live and died in our place for our sin.   This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus. We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished. If we choose to receive what he has done for us, Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”   So, you pray with me now. Heavenly father, thank you for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to you.   Will you clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare you as Lord of their life? We trust you to work and change lives now for eternity. In Jesus name we pray.   Amen. If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring him for me. So, me for him, you get the opportunity to live your life for him.   And at this podcast, we're called The Savvy Sauce for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So, you're ready to get started.   First, tell someone, say it out loud, get a Bible. The first day I made this decision, my parents took me to Barnes and Noble and let me choose my own Bible. I selected the Quest NIV Bible and I love it.   You can start by reading the book of John. Also get connected locally, which just means tell someone who's a part of a church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.   We want to celebrate with you too. So, feel free to leave a comment for us here. If you did make a decision to follow Christ, we also have show notes included where you can read scripture that describes this process.   And finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, “in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.   And if you've already received this good news, I pray you have someone to share it with. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

South Union Christian Church09/06/2026Jeremy ClarkSupport the show

Psalm 63 Pastor Philip McCollum When you are in the wilderness, you can experience God knowing satisfaction and confidence because you are in Christ.

On this episode of Faith and Family Fellowship, Pastor Chris Buscher speaks with Victoria Harr, author of Awakening Your Spiritual Senses: Experiencing the Fullness of God.Victoria discusses what she means by spiritual hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling, and how believers can become more aware of God's presence in everyday life.The conversation also looks at spiritual discernment, recognizing God's voice, staying grounded in Scripture, and the importance of seeking God Himself rather than simply chasing spiritual experiences.Find Awakening Your Spiritual Senses by Victoria Harr on Amazon.CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR = https://www2.grandmotherslegacy.com CONNECT WITH PASTOR CHRIS = @ pastorchrisbuscher.com

What if the Christian life isn't about becoming “good enough,” but learning to experience how deeply God already loves and delights in you?In this episode of Soul Sense, Mark sits down with Dr. Bill Senyard, author of Good Enough Christian, Good Enough Parent, and Before the Couch. Bill explores why Christians can believe the gospel intellectually yet struggle to actually experience God's love. Drawing from Scripture, neuroscience, attachment theory, and decades of counseling and ministry, he discusses shame, trauma, the Holy Spirit, awe and wonder, parenting, marriage, and the “dancing Father.”If you've ever wondered whether you've repented enough, whether God is disappointed in you, or whether you're really “good enough,” this conversation offers a different way of seeing the gospel.⏱️ TIMESTAMPS00:00 — Introduction to Dr. Bill Senyard01:03 — Why “Good Enough” Christianity?02:41 — Seven Hindrances to Experiencing God's Love05:01 — Why We All Have “Daddy Issues”05:54 — The Forgotten Member of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit07:03 — How Our Brains Protect Us From Love09:20 — Experiencing God's Delight13:13 — The Prodigal Son & the Dancing Father15:24 — What We Miss About the Gospel16:42 — Awe, Wonder & the Mystery of God20:57 — Thomas, Doubt & Experiencing Jesus27:50 — The “Simple and Poetic Gospel”29:09 — A Prayer for Experiencing God's Love31:25 — The Power of the Gospel to Rewire Us33:29 — Experiencing Christ's Love in Marriage35:18 — The Father & Son Who Laugh and Dance36:33 — Does God's Delight Enable Sin?37:50 — The Holy Spirit's Role in Experiencing God's Love42:07 — Good Enough Parent & Helping Teens Know They Are Loved47:19 — Experiencing God's Delight in Marriage50:24 — Before the Couch: When Marriage Needs a Miracle51:53 — “God Does His Best Work With Dead Things”52:46 — Bill's Resources54:06 — Final Thoughts

Experiencing God’s presence isn’t just for “super spiritual” people. In this conversation, Dr. Catherine Toon and Steve McVey explore the Christ Current and how ordinary believers can step into real encounter, stillness, and union with God. If you’ve longed to feel God’s love, hear His voice, or move with the Holy Spirit’s flow in daily life, this episode will help you relax out of striving and into the safe, healing presence of Jesus. In this episode, you’ll learn: - Why meditation and contemplative prayer are deeply Christian ways to experience God’s presence. - How to move from fear, overthinking, and “beta fight or flight” into stillness and trust. - What it means to feel the Christ Current and experience oneness beyond religious boxes. - Practical ways to tune into God’s frequency and let His love transform your body, emotions, and inner world. To support the ministry with tax-deductible donations: https://catherinetoon.com/support/ Marked by Love, Revised & Expanded Edition is here:
#1 Best Seller & #1 New Release in our category! Get your copy: https://amzn.to/3K2J9ZV God, Male & Female?: https://amzn.to/49hzCIM CONNECT WITH CATHERINE: ► Website: https://catherinetoon.com/ ► Facebook: @catherinetoonmd
 ► Instagram: @catherinetoon
 ► Twitter: @catherinetoonmd
 ► YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CatherineToonMD FREE RESOURCES: ► Podcast: https://catherinetoon.com/perspectives-podcast/ 
 ► Free eBooks: https://catherinetoon.com/free-downloads/ 
 ► Blog: https://catherinetoon.com/blog/ 
 ► Free chapter of Marked by Love: https://catherinetoon.com/mblfreechapter/ ABOUT CATHERINE: Encouraging you to experience God and discover who you truly are!
 Catherine has been in the business of changing lives for decades as an author, speaker, and prophetic coach. She is incredibly gifted at calling forth personal destiny and has helped thousands of individuals who are on that journey.

In this episode of the Radical Radiance podcast, Sarah Freymuth shares her heartfelt journey through life's hard seasons and how God has sustained her in the valley. This episode explores the importance of embracing God's presence in suffering, the power of worship in all circumstances, and trusting God's higher ways.Keywords:faith, suffering, hope, worship, God's presence, patience, mental health, waiting, God's goodness, spiritual growthChapters00:00 Introduction to Sarah Freymuth and her new book02:23 Why Sarah wrote 'All the Hard Things'04:25 Experiencing God's presence in suffering06:49 God's goodness in valleys and mountaintops09:18 The concept of good hard things11:53 Waiting well in God's timing13:48 Dealing with unanswered questions and mystery16:48 Worship when it feels hard19:41 Myths about God's love and suffering23:48 God's refining work in seasons of waitingLinks:Speaking: https://www.radicalradiance.live/speaking Creative Business Coaching: https://www.radicalradiance.live/coaching Camp for Creatives: https://www.radicalradiance.live/campforcreatives Listen to Radical Radiance on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radical-radiance/id1484726102?uo=4 Listen to Radical Radiance on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/55N56VtU6q33ztgJNw7oTX?si=29648982bc91475f Take the FREE Waiting Personality Quiz: https://www.tryinteract.com/share/quiz/676d5c2884dd1e00159563f6 Take the Why Are You Stuck in Your Calling? Quiz: https://www.tryinteract.com/share/quiz/657326e6544f610014b40b67 Books:You're Not Too Late: Trusting God's Timing in a Hurry-Up World: https://amzn.to/44omO3kDo the Thing: Gospel-Centered Goals, Gumption, and Grace for the Go-Getter Girl: https://amzn.to/43IaFpMBefore Dawn: Knowing God's Presence in the Dark Seasons of Life: https://amzn.to/4pdsZjv Jasper Meets Sparkle the Firefly: https://www.thejasperbooks.com Sponsors:Christian Standard Bible: Do you ever sit down with your Bible, ready to really dig in… and then get pulled a hundred different directions? I want to tell you about something I love: the CSB Spiral-Bound Notetaking Bible. It lays completely flat, with wide margins made for sermon notes, prayers, and reflections — so you can record what God is teaching you and look back on it later. It's perfect for your own quiet time, and a beautiful tool for your small group, too. Click here to grab yours today.Unsifted: What if bread wasn't actually the problem? We've been told to cut the carbs, fear the gluten, avoid the bread basket. But what if it was never the wheat — it was what we did to it? Most store-bought flour was milled months ago — stripped of its fiber, its enzymes, its nutrients. By the time it hits your kitchen, the good stuff is already gone.Unsifted changes that. Their Starter Kit with premium pre-blended whole grains let you mill fresh flour at home in just seconds— no complicated ratios, no guesswork, no failed loaves. Just whole grains, freshly milled, baked into something your family will actually fight over. Go to unsifted.com to learn more.

A prayer that reveals the heart of faith and confidence in God's power. Key Scriptures: Ephesians 1:15-23 NLT Connect with us & let us know you are listening and how we can pray for you... https://www.pursuitnazarene.org/online-connection-card

Experiencing God's Power Ben Brummett God is all-powerful, and we all experience His power

Support the show

Experiencing God's Presence Ben Brummett Every Christian can experience the presence of God. In the New Testament, we see three interrelated ways in which we can experience God's presence: 1. Walking by the Spirit; 2. Abiding in the Son; and 3. Drawing near to the Father.

We get into why loving people actually feels so hard right now, what happens when you're only keeping score of how loved you feel, and how holding onto unforgiveness is quietly wrecking your closeness with God.

Experiencing GodSeries: Summer in the PsalmsPreacher: Cory BrockSunday MorningDate: 16th August 2026Passage: Psalm 63:1-11

Topics:  Sick Burns of the Bible, Play Catch, Flaking, Experiencing God, Flowers/Pre-Valentine's BONUS CONTENT: The Odyssey Movie Review   Quotes: "Being able to play with your kids is one of the best things in life." "There's a difference between knowing about someone and experiencing someone."  "…And that's when I decided to give you my car." . . . Holy Ghost Mama Pre-Order! Want more of the Oddcast? Check out our website! Watch our YouTube videos here. Connect with us on Facebook!

How do you actually recognize God's grace at work in your life? Christians talk constantly about grace. We know that salvation is by grace, that we need God's grace to grow in holiness, and that we cannot live the Christian life by our own strength. But what does God's grace actually **look like in everyday life**? How can we recognize when the Holy Spirit is moving us, strengthening us, convicting us, or inviting us into something? In this episode of **The Normal Christian Life Podcast**, Fr. Michael and Fr. Christopher Trummer continue their conversation from *Faith Works* by getting very practical about the experience of God's grace. Grace is not simply a pleasant spiritual feeling. Sometimes God gives us peace and consolation. Other times His grace comes as conviction, holy discomfort, a new desire, unexpected courage, clarity about what to do next, strength to endure something difficult, or encouragement through another person. And sometimes we don't experience the grace before we act. We encounter it in the act of obedience—as we step into what God is asking us to do. We discuss how to recognize God's grace, distinguish grace from our own impulses, become more attentive to the movements of the Holy Spirit, and cooperate with what God is already doing in our lives.   Ultimately, learning to recognize grace helps us move from vaguely believing that “God is at work” to actually noticing His personal love, presence, guidance, and action in the concrete circumstances of our lives. If you've ever wondered, “Was that God?”, this episode is for you.   CHAPTERS   00:00 What does God's grace actually look like? 03:00 Making God's grace concrete and personal 07:00 Why recognizing grace matters 11:00 Grace isn't always a good feeling 16:00 Conviction, restlessness, and holy discomfort 18:00 God works through desires and inspirations 24:00 Grace as strength, courage, and endurance 29:00 Sometimes you have to “do it scared” 32:00 Grace often comes through obedience 34:00 Clarity, light, and knowing the next step 40:00 Recognizing what God is doing in a season 43:00 “My grace is sufficient for you” 48:00 Recognizing God's peace in difficult circumstances 51:00 God's grace is strongest in His will 55:00 Grace through affirmation and encouragement 1:01:00 The ordinary ways God gives us grace 1:06:00 Sacraments, the Eucharist, and being receptive to grace 1:11:00 Extraordinary encounters and ordinary grace 1:13:00 Finding grace in the duties of everyday life 1:15:00 Experiencing God's grace through beauty 1:18:00 Passivity vs. active receptivity 1:19:00 How to respond when you recognize grace 1:20:00 Two questions for prayer and reflection 1:21:00 Closing prayer

Victorious Living

Victorious Living

We're dealing with ever-increasing levels of anxiety, dissatisfaction, and despair. Are you feeling weary? John Eldredge shares from his book, "Experience Jesus. Really: Finding Refuge, Strength, and Wonder through Everyday Encounters with God."  Get the workbook here Originally aired March 3, 2025 Check out Susie's podcast God Impressions on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: click here

Victorious Living

Victorious LIving

Victorious Living

Ever wonder where real strength comes from when you're feeling completely exhausted?In today's episode, Richelle Alessi guides us through Isaiah 40, exploring the comforting truth that God is never tired and always near to lift us up. Together, we'll discover what it looks like to receive strength from our everlasting Creator, even when our own energy runs out and life feels overwhelming.Let's come together as a community, taking time to refocus our hearts and join in prayer, trusting God to renew and empower us in every moment.Tap HERE to send us a text! Our podcast family is growing - introducing Men's Morning Devotional! Our dad, Steve Alessi, and all of our husbands are now hosting their own 5 minute devotionals every weekday - for men who want to become better husbands, fathers, and leaders! Listen, follow and subscribe here - MensMorningDevotional.comSupport the showNEW VIDEO EPISODES! You can watch our new video episodes on YouTube! Watch Our Video DevotionalsNEW TO MY MORNING DEVOTIONAL? We're so glad you're here! We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in a church in Miami, FL, and we're so blessed to partner with the My Morning Devotional community and continue the great work done by the show's creator and our friend, Alison Delamota.We pray our personal reflections and devotions will empower you to grow your faith in God, and that you'll join us every morning in prayer! JOIN THE MMD COMMUNITYSubscribe to the show on this appShare with a friendJoin our newsletter Follow Us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠⁠Leave a reviewMORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOYEnjoy more podcasts from Metro Life Studios, including:The Family Business with The AlessisMen's Morning DevotionalThe Mary and Martha Show Available on our Metro Life Studios app!Get The Metro Life Studios app 

Are you longing for assurance that you're not walking through life's challenges alone?Today, Richelle Alessi invites us into a heartfelt conversation about faithfulness as she reflects on Psalm 37:3-6. Together, we'll learn what it truly means to delight in the Lord, to trust His promises in both good times and hard ones, and to let our relationship with God become the foundation of our everyday. As a community, we'll discover how befriending faithfulness leads us to peace and joy, no matter what we face.Let's join in prayer and devotion, drawing closer to God and to each other as we seek His faithfulness together.Tap HERE to send us a text! Our podcast family is growing - introducing Men's Morning Devotional! Our dad, Steve Alessi, and all of our husbands are now hosting their own 5 minute devotionals every weekday - for men who want to become better husbands, fathers, and leaders! Listen, follow and subscribe here - MensMorningDevotional.comSupport the showNEW VIDEO EPISODES! You can watch our new video episodes on YouTube! Watch Our Video DevotionalsNEW TO MY MORNING DEVOTIONAL? We're so glad you're here! We're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in a church in Miami, FL, and we're so blessed to partner with the My Morning Devotional community and continue the great work done by the show's creator and our friend, Alison Delamota.We pray our personal reflections and devotions will empower you to grow your faith in God, and that you'll join us every morning in prayer! JOIN THE MMD COMMUNITYSubscribe to the show on this appShare with a friendJoin our newsletter Follow Us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Facebook⁠⁠Leave a reviewMORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOYEnjoy more podcasts from Metro Life Studios, including:The Family Business with The AlessisMen's Morning DevotionalThe Mary and Martha Show Available on our Metro Life Studios app!Get The Metro Life Studios app 

Have you ever wondered if you're missing what God is doing right in front of you? In this conversation, author and pastor Dr. Richard Blackaby shares insights from his new study, Experiencing God in Everyday Life: A Journey Toward Spiritual Maturity. Building on the timeless message of Experiencing God, Richard explains why spiritual maturity isn't reserved for mountaintop moments, mission trips, or church retreats. Instead, it's cultivated as we learn to recognize God's presence and activity in the ordinary moments that fill our days.Along the way, Richard shares personal stories about his father, Dr. Henry Blackaby, practical habits that help us hear God's voice, and encouraging reminders that God is often speaking more than we realize. Whether you're longing to grow deeper in your faith, hoping to become more spiritually attentive, or simply wondering what the next step looks like in your walk with Christ, this conversation offers biblical wisdom and practical encouragement to help you experience God—not just occasionally, but every day.

Bill English of Bible and Business and On Path Coaching outlines the complexities of the market today that are impacting those seeking single family homes and the reality of it being much more likely for most to rent versus buying a home. Richard Blackaby, co-author of "Experiencing God in Everyday Life," shares about the fruit that comes from recognizing God's presence in the ordinary moments and doing a reset, to determine the relationship between your obedience and spiritual maturity. The Reconnect with Carmen and all Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: Click here

Description: What if God is speaking far more often than you realize? In this conversation, Mike Blackaby shares how believers can recognize God's presence in the ordinary routines of life—not just during miraculous moments or spiritual highs. Learn practical rhythms that help cultivate intimacy with God through everyday faithfulness. If you've ever felt spiritually dry or wondered why God seems distant, this episode offers hope and practical encouragement.About the GuestMike Blackaby is a pastor, author, and speaker who co-authored Experiencing God in Everyday Life alongside members of the Blackaby family. Building upon the legacy of Experiencing God, Mike encourages believers to recognize God's presence in ordinary routines and develop sustainable spiritual habits that deepen intimacy with Christ. He holds a PhD in Worldview and Apologetics from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is passionate about helping believers think deeply and live missionally.Reasons to ListenPractical Faith Learn simple rhythms that help you experience God during ordinary moments instead of waiting for extraordinary ones.Lasting Transformation Discover why consistency—not spiritual highs—is the key to long-term discipleship.Actionable Wisdom Walk away with practical ideas you can implement immediately, including gratitude practices, silence, Sabbath, and habit-building.Big TakeawaysGod Is Already Present You don't have to manufacture God's presence; you simply need to become more aware of where He is already working.Small Rhythms Matter Daily habits shape who you become far more than occasional spiritual experiences.Valleys Build Character Spiritual maturity is formed through everyday faithfulness, not just mountaintop moments.Silence Creates Space Intentional silence and solitude help us hear God's voice amid life's constant noise.Start Small Lasting transformation begins with manageable habits that fit naturally into your current season of life.Missional ChallengesPractice Two Minutes of Silence Spend two uninterrupted minutes each day simply acknowledging God's presence.Attach a Spiritual Habit Connect one new spiritual practice—such as gratitude or prayer—to an existing daily routine like showering, driving, or making coffee.Look for God Today Before ending your day, identify one ordinary moment where you saw evidence of God's presence.Suggested Chapters00:00 Welcome & Introducing Mike Blackaby01:00 Why Experiencing God in Everyday Life Was Written06:30 Why We Miss God in Ordinary Moments15:00 Spiritual Rhythms That Build Lasting Faith18:00 The Power of Silence and Solitude26:00 Building Habits That Actually Stick32:00 Why Valleys Matter More Than Mountaintops40:00 Consistency Over Spiritual Highs44:00 Mike's Personal Spiritual Rhythms50:30 Where to Find the Book51:30 Fun Questions & Family Traditions56:00 Gardening, Rest, and Healthy Rhythms59:00 Final Encouragement & Closing10 Hashtags#themissionallife #themissionallifepodcast #ExperiencingGod #MikeBlackaby #ChristianLiving #Discipleship #FaithJourney #SpiritualGrowth #DailyFaith #JesusLinksBlackaby Ministries on FacebookBlackaby Ministries on YouTubeBuy The Book on AmazonBuy the book from Blackaby store____________________________________________________________________________________________>>>CLICK HERE to get your FREE 31 DAY MISSIONAL DEVOTIONALand to learn more about 'The Missional Life' ministry

Questions? Comments? Text Us!What does it mean to feel God's love through another person?In this episode of From God to Jerry to You, Jerry L. Martin reflects on an early moment in his relationship with God, when he was asked to “enter My heart.” The request frightened him, and when he asked for help, God answered: “Let Abigail love you. Feel My love through her.”That experience leads Jerry to explore how divine love becomes real through romantic love, family love, friendship, intimacy, tenderness, and human connection. Jerry considers the transcendent quality of love, the presence of God within our closest relationships, and the possibility that loving others is one of the deepest ways we become partners with God.Listen for a thoughtful reflection on God's love, spiritual intimacy, and the sacred power of loving and being loved.Get the books:Radically Personal: God and Ourselves in the New Axial AgeGod: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher***Continue the conversation with Ultimate Questions on calling, divine guidance, and how we recognize what is ours to do:https://substack.com/@ultimatequestions***Other Series:The podcast began with the Dramatic Adaptation of the book and now has several series:The Life Wisdom Project – Spiritual insights on living a wiser, more meaningful life.From God to Jerry to You – Divine messages and breakthroughs for seekers.Two Philosophers Wrestle With God – A dialogue on God, truth, and reason.Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue – Love, faith, and divine presence in partnership.What's Your Spiritual Story – Real stories of people changed by encounters with God.What's On Our Mind – Reflections from Jerry and Scott on recent episodes.What's On Your Mind – Listener questions, divine answers, and open dialogue. Stay ConnectedShare: questions@godanautobiography.comUltimate Questions SubstackGet the books: God: An Autobiography, Radically PersonalShare Your Story | Site | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

 Series Conclusion 

We live in an outrage culture. Social media thrives on anger, and people are more divided than ever. Anger feels justified, but it's exhausting, isolating, and ultimately destructive. Brant Hansen shares from his book, "Living Unoffended: The Joy of Simple Peace in An Angry, Anxious World." Originally aired June 17, 2026 Check out Susie's podcast God Impressions on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: click here

Principle 13 – Matthew, Experiencing God's Forgiveness     Matthew 6:1-15   To maintain intimate fellowship with God and one another, we must forgive those who sin against us.       NEW! - Let us know what you think of the program! Support the show

What does it truly mean when we say God is love? This profound exploration of 1 John 4:7-11 takes us beyond sentimental notions into the transformative reality of divine love. We discover that authentic Christian love isn't something we manufacture through effort or willpower—it flows directly from experiencing God's love ourselves. The passage reminds us that we are beloved before we are called to love others, a crucial truth that changes everything. When John writes that whoever loves has been born of God and knows God, he's speaking of experiential knowledge, not mere intellectual understanding. This is ginosko—a deep, personal encounter with God's love that fundamentally transforms who we are. The most striking revelation comes in understanding that God's love was made manifest at the cross, where Christ became the propitiation for our sins, absorbing the wrath we deserved. This isn't abstract theology—it's the greatest demonstration of love in history. God didn't wait for us to deserve His love; He loved us first while we were still sinners. The challenge then becomes clear: having received such undeserved, sacrificial love, we are called to extend that same love to others. Not because they've earned it, but because that's how God loved us. The story of Zacchaeus beautifully illustrates this—Jesus didn't demand change before offering relationship; His love prompted transformation. This is the love we're invited to radiate in a world desperately needing to experience the genuine article.

Join host Meg Grier on "God and Our Dogs" as she welcomes Joe Carroll, co-founder and International Training Director of Biblical Leadership for Excellence (BLE). In this episode, Joe shares heartfelt and humorous stories about his beagle, Chiefy, and the lessons learned about boundaries, responsibility, forgiveness, and trust—both in family life and the workplace. Discover how our relationships with dogs can reflect our relationship with God, and learn practical insights for living out your faith at work. Plus, hear about BLE’s upcoming conference and resources for integrating faith and leadership. 00:00 - Introduction to "God and Our Dogs" with Meg Grier 00:40 - The power of dog stories: transformation, trust, and faith 01:01 - Meet guest Joe Carroll and his background 01:27 - Joe’s special beagle, Chiefy: family stories and mischief 02:05 - Chiefy’s dog training adventures (and failures) 03:20 - Lessons in boundaries and persistence from Chiefy 05:45 - Teaching responsibility and boundaries to kids through dogs 07:00 - The importance of boundaries in life and faith 09:00 - Consequences and forgiveness: stories from Chiefy and parallels to faith 12:00 - Trust, forgiveness, and re-earning privileges 14:00 - Setting boundaries and accountability in relationships and work 16:00 - Clear communication and boundaries in the workplace 18:00 - Helping people find the right fit and reestablish trust 19:00 - Introduction to Biblical Leadership for Excellence (BLE) 20:00 - BLE’s mission: helping Christians honor God at work 21:00 - BLE’s upcoming conference and resources 22:00 - Free materials and international reach of BLE 23:00 - Joe’s book: "Experiencing God in Your Work" 24:00 - Closing thoughts and where to find more episodes 25:00 - Outro and next episode preview Host: Meg Grier - Stories@GodAndOurDogs.com Website: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072683640098 God and Our Dogs airs every Saturday at 11:15am on Boerne Radio 103.9FM - www.boerneradio.com. Air Date: 7/4/26See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam continues in Summer at Embrace with a message on obedience.#iamembraceEmbrace is one church, made up of multiple campuses and network churches. We exist to relentlessly reach the next person for Jesus.Give Herehttps://www.iamembrace.com/giveStay ConnectedWebsite: iamembrace.comEmbrace Church Facebook: facebook.com/iamembraceEmbrace Church Instagram: instagram.com/iamembraceAdam Weber YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamaweberAdam Weber Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adamaweberAdam Weber Instagram: instagram.com/adamaweber

This year commemorates 800 years since the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, and Father Dave welcomes Jon Sweeney to discuss this saint's lessons for the modern world. Jon is Religion Editor and Associate Publisher at Monkfish Publishing, as well as the author of many books on Franciscan spirituality including his latest, "Experiencing God: 36 Ways According to Saint Francis of Assisi."  

We live in an outrage culture. Social media thrives on anger, and people are more divided than ever. Anger feels justified, but it's exhausting, isolating, and ultimately destructive. Brant Hansen shares from his book, "Living Unoffended: The Joy of Simple Peace in An Angry, Anxious World." Check out Susie's podcast God Impressions on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: click here

Alex's New Book: https://a.co/d/0bwJzJNFGo Deeper on Topics From the Showhttp://www.novosnetwork.com/kairosDeep End Websitehttps://deependtv.com/Get Weekly UpdatesText "TAW" to 615-845-5977Taylor's Websitehttps://taylorawelch.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/taylorawelchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/@taylorawelchFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/taylorawelchprofileTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorawelch

In a sense, you could say that the entire Bible is about God's desire to dwell with his people. Immanuel—God with us. Experiencing God's presence is what we were created for. And we are promised in Scripture that if we seek God, we will find Him. But how do we experience the presence of God when we don't see Him or feel like He's with us? Well, in this series of conversations with Dr. David Mathewson, the Discover the Word group explores how experiencing God's presence can be a regular practice and experience of God's people. And time In His Presence can transform, heal, and empower us. WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE: