Befriending The Exact Thing I'm Trying To Avoid

On today's episode I talk about something that has been weighing pretty heavily on my heart lately, and that is the growing popularity of New Age spirituality, witchcraft, and occult practices, especially among people who are also claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ.I discuss the difference between people who are searching for something to believe in through spirituality and those who say they are Christians but are actively participating in things like tarot card readings, astrology, angel numbers, spiritual guides, and cleansing rituals. I think a lot of people genuinely don't understand what they're getting involved in, and I understand that many are just searching for purpose, peace, healing, community, and something that makes them feel loved and known. But what has really been grieving me is seeing people who know the scriptures and claim to follow Jesus promoting these practices as though they can coexist with the Christian faith.We also talk about spiritual warfare, the importance of discernment, and why we have to be willing to call things out in truth and love, even when those conversations are uncomfortable. I discuss what scripture says about having no other gods before the Lord, serving two masters, and why I believe we are opening spiritual doors that we may not fully understand when we participate in these practices.One of the biggest things I want people to understand is that the gospel really is simple. We don't need all of these other practices to find purpose, to be loved, or to know who we are. Jesus has already made a way for us to be in relationship with God, and we don't have to earn our salvation or look elsewhere for something that only He can give us. I know this conversation may be difficult for some people to hear, but my heart behind it is not to condemn anyone. It's to point people back to the truth of who Jesus is and the life that He freely offers us.Use Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first merch order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

This week we are back with Part 2 of my conversation with Pastor Eric Thiede, associate pastor at Motor City Church in Detroit, Michigan. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, make sure you go back and start there because this conversation picks up right where we left off and gets even more personal.On this episode, Eric shares more about his journey through ministry, the importance of having people in your life who will hold you accountable with the kindness and grace of God, and what it means to find contentment in Christ regardless of our circumstances. We talk about how easy it is to base our faith on what God is doing for us rather than who He is, and how we have to learn to be content as much in the valleys as on the mountaintops.Eric also shares the incredibly difficult story of losing his son Pearson just four days after he was born, the complications his wife experienced during childbirth, and the grief and anger that followed. He talks about the moment the Lord showed him that He knew his son by name, and how he and his wife were able to worship in the middle of something no parent should ever have to experience. I think one of the most powerful things about this conversation is Eric's honesty about the fact that knowing Jesus didn't mean he wasn't angry, confused, or grieving. It meant that even in the middle of all of that, he had someone to hold onto.We also discuss what it looks like to walk through doubt without walking away from God, how the Lord uses change and conflict to produce growth, and why having a genuine encounter with Christ changes everything. Eric shares how the Lord eventually led him back to Detroit to help plant Motor City Church, and how he can look back now and see that God was working through circumstances he never would have chosen for himself. As Eric says, we have to learn the secret of being content in Christ and Christ alone.You Can Find Eric Here:Motor City Church: https://www.motorcitychurch.com/Use Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first merch order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

This week I am so excited to have Pastor Eric Thiede on the podcast! Eric is an associate pastor at Motor City Church in Detroit, Michigan, a husband, and a father of three boys. We made the trip out to Detroit to sit down with him, and I am so grateful for this conversation and the wisdom he brings from his years in ministry.On this episode, we discuss what it actually means to be called by God, the difference between our identity and our gifting, the importance of discipleship and having older generations pour into younger believers, and how we can sometimes confuse success in ministry with being in alignment with the will of God. Eric shares his call to ministry at just 14 years old, his journey from leading worship to becoming a pastor, and why all of our callings are first and foremost to be a child of God.We also talk about the story of Joseph, how God uses seasons of waiting and brokenness to prepare us, and what it looks like to trust Him when absolutely nothing around us seems to line up with what He has promised. Eric shares some incredibly difficult moments from his own life, including almost losing his wife during childbirth, and how that experience challenged his understanding of who God is. We discuss the connection between Joseph and his brothers, Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, and how often we find ourselves asking God where He was instead of remembering that He is the resurrection and the life.One of the biggest things I took away from this conversation is that our calling is not our identity, and our gifts are not necessarily evidence that we are walking in obedience to the Lord. We can spend so much time trying to build something for God that we forget to surrender ourselves to Him in the process. Eric talks about the importance of understanding both the holiness and the love of God, and how true repentance comes from His kindness, not from us trying to earn His love.This conversation was too good to fit into one episode, so make sure you come back next week for Part 2!You Can Follow Eric Here:Motor City Church: https://www.motorcitychurch.com/Use Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first merch order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

On today's episode I talk about learning to take my hands off of things and let the Lord work, preparing to teach at a church for the first time in years, and wrestling with the question of when God is going to restore the years that the locusts have eaten.I explore that question under the scripture found in Joel chapter 2 and God's promise of restoration. I've been struggling to understand why it sometimes feels like the locusts just keep devouring and destroying, not only in my own life but in the lives of people I love. We talk about the difference between spiritual attacks, the consequences of our own decisions, and the Lord pruning things out of our lives. I think sometimes we can be so focused on what hasn't been restored that we completely overlook the ways God has already been working. As I look back on the last ten years of my own life, I'm starting to realize that some of the things I thought were pointless or wasted were actually preparing me for things I couldn't see at the time.I dive into the even deeper importance of Colossians 3:1-4 and what it means to set our minds on heavenly things instead of being consumed by everything happening around us. I think one of the biggest things I'm learning is that I can be frustrated, grieved, and confused about what God is allowing while still trusting that He is good. We don't have to come to Him with everything polished and put together. We can be honest about our disappointment, our questions, and even our frustrations with Him. And sometimes, when we look back, we might realize that the restoration we've been asking for has already started to take place, just not in the way or timing we expected.SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK: JOEL 2 & COLOSSIANS 3 Use Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first merch order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

I was invited to speak at Penfield Church and taught on the story of Job- how it presents a tension and a wrestling with a question at one point or another we all have- is God good?I dive into the root of why we ask if God is good, the difference between God and Satan and what feels good to us versus what is good for us. I also discuss the great need we have for humility in order to help shift our perspective out of our present circumstances and towards the realities of heaven- how magnificent and wise God is. In all things he is working for our good, not to prioritize our comfort, but to make us look more like him. SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK: Psalm 27:13 "I will see the goodness of God in the land of the living."Use Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first merch order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

On today's episode I talk about the conversation I had with Devin Wilbourn, the heaviest and most emotionally charged episode we have done on this podcast so far, and the things that have been sitting with me ever since. If you haven't listened to both parts of that interview yet, go back and start there, because today is kind of an addendum to it.I talk about what it was like to sit across from someone who was essentially a stranger to me and hear his story for the first time right alongside you, how hearing someone else give language to the things I have been wrestling with made me feel less crazy, and where the line is between validation that helps and validation that keeps us stuck in the pit. I also admit that neither of us did the best job of ending that interview in hope and I think that's okay. That's what I touch on today in Hebrews 6, which I stumbled into earlier in the week and realized it was the ending I couldn't find in that interview. Our hope comes from the promise that God the faithful one is not unfair. He is not cruel. I talk about why a warning about apostasy sits right before this promise, why I would rather be soft clay in his hands than hardened and fired in the kiln, and the fact that Abraham, of all people, is cited as the example of strong faith and patient endurance. Because that's the whole thing. It was never Abraham's faith. It was God giving Abraham his faith. We hide ourselves in HIS faithfulness, not our own. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat, and the mercy seat is Jesus. So the most honest prayer you can pray is one of humility - I don't have what I need to get through this situation and God, you are the only one who can give me the faith, hope and peace to make it through.Devin's episodes, "When God Seems Cruel," Parts 1 and 2, are up now. Go support his ministry, The Quiet Church: https://www.thequietchurch.org/Use Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first merch order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

This week we are back with Part 2 of my conversation with Devin Wilbourn, husband, father, entrepreneur and founder of The Quiet Church. If you have not listened to Part 1 yet, go back and start there, because this one picks up right where we left off and goes even deeper.On this episode, Devin shares about the season when the Lord told him he couldn't work for money, what that obedience cost him, and the unexpected loss of his parents. He tells us what the Lord said to him in the middle of that grief and how a relationship with grief will sacrifice your future to your past while a relationship with Jesus will tell you the hard thing that hurts. Devin also opens up about the moment he was ready to give up his calling, being told by the Lord that he was ungrateful, and the revelation that the standard was never just forgiveness, but love.If there is one thing to take from this conversation, it's that you keep showing up and you get ruthlessly honest with God. He will never turn you away.You Can Find Devin and The Quiet Church Here:https://www.thequietchurch.org/https://www.tiktok.com/@quiet_churchhttps://www.youtube.com/@Quietchurchhttps://www.devinwilbourn.comUse Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first merch order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

This week I am so excited to have my very first out-of-town guest on the podcast! Devin flew in from San Antonio, Texas to sit on the couch with me for one of the most cathartic conversations yet. Devin is a husband, father, entrepreneur and the founder of The Quiet Church, a ministry that started almost by accident on TikTok and YouTube. He brings so much honesty and a testimony that had both of us reaching for the tissues.On this episode, we discuss how the Lord told Devin to start preaching on his 40th birthday while his business was falling apart, the day he sat in his driveway watching his car get repossessed and wondering if God was even real, why it took him two years to open his Bible again, and the difference between pride and ego. Devin also opens up about his struggle with addiction and the revelation that resistance requires energy. We aren't meant to hold the weight of saying no all day, every day. Sometimes the most freeing thing we can do is put boundaries in place and remember that even the faith we have in God comes from Him.This conversation was too good to fit into one episode, so make sure you come back next week for Part 2!You Can Find Devin and The Quiet Church Here:FOLLOW DEVIN @Quietchurch https://www.youtube.com/@Quietchurchtiktok.com/@quiet_churchhttps://www.instagram.com/quietchurch/Use Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

On today's episode I talk about shifting my perspective to have more gratitude for the podcast, the vulnerable space that's been created, friendships and the work of the Holy Spirit happening in subtle ways. I also discuss the book I began reading, Hinds Feet on High Places, and specifically the two companions God appoints as guides to the main character. The companions, sorrow and suffering are the things I (and most of us) try to actively avoid, but in relationship with Jesus they are the two things we almost need to embrace the most. To be more like Him and to go where He has asked of us we cannot avoid sorrow and suffering but must walk hand in hand with them- befriending our once perceived enemies in order to protect us from our actual enemies.HINDS' FEET ON HIGH PLACES: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0842314296?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallbackUse Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!

On today's episode I discuss why this season is especially hard and emotional. God is saying that we can't take our metaphorical Egypt and the ways we coped and survived there with us where we're going. We feel exhausted and restless within ourselves becuase the versions made out of survival have now become a part of us and attached themselves to our identity. Decoupling the version of you that exists from the version of you that God created is painful work. I also discuss how there should never be shame in seeking or asking for clinical help to build a better and more healed version of yourself and your relationship and intimacy with God. Comparisons of traumas and thoughts of "am I really bad enough to warrant needing counseling?" can creep in, however, someone else's hardship or your lack of doesn't justify you not needing outside help. Therapy can be an extremely pivotal and vital part of our journeys navigating an imperfect world.PROJECT MADE NEW: https://www.instagram.com/projectmadenew/?hl=enUse Code "SHEEP10" For 10% OFF Your first order!Support the showPodcast Merch!Join the Patreon!Follow on IG!Subscribe on YouTube!