Gospel Spice | Awaken Delight in God through faith in Jesus Christ

Stephanie is delighted to welcome Richard Foster, the author of one of the most influential books in her life, Celebration of Discipline. Today, Richard, with Brenda Quinn, talk about the power of learning humility. He tells Stephanie, “The practice of humility has made me playful and free.” In our culture of raging narcissism, Richard calls humility the "vanishing virtue." He says that practicing humility has been "playful, freeing, fun, and freedom from [his] need to feel important." How wonderful!When Stephanie asks about how to learn humility, Richard answers, “We learn humility by taking up other tasks, like serving others.”Richard explains that humility is a secret gift that keeps on giving. He says, “one of the things we need to learn is to embrace and enjoy anonymity.”Richard encourages us to develop a passion for culture, encouraging each one if us to keep on living at the intersection of culture and Scripture here at Gospel Spice. He says, “look for the finger of God at work through every culture.” He adds, “in every culture there are things that are consonant with Scripture, and some that are dissonant. Our task is to discern among them.”In a society where raging narcissism dominates the moral landscape, the virtue of humility is often dismissed as irrelevant. Not only is humility vanishing from contemporary culture, but we are also witnessing how destructive a lack of humility has become among our churches and ministry leaders. And yet, Richard Foster, the founder of Renovare, insists that humility is central to the journey toward character formation and spiritual transformation. For this reason he decided to spend a year studying the virtue of humility.Using the Lakota calendar as a framework, Foster provides us with a look into the insights he gathered from sources ranging from Native American culture to Julian of Norwich to Scripture to personal friends. By engaging with both the spiritual classics and Foster's own experiences, Learning Humility provides profound insight into what humility can look like in our current cultural climate.Join Richard Foster on Gospel Spice today, and embrace the journey toward a life of humility, which he says leads us into "freedom, joy, and holy hilarity."MEET RICHARD FOSTERRichard Foster is founder, past pres­i­dent and cur­rent team mem­ber of Ren­o­varé. Hav­ing stud­ied at George Fox and Fuller The­o­log­i­cal Sem­i­nary, Fos­ter has served as a pas­tor and taught world­wide on spir­i­tu­al for­ma­tion. Author of dozens of arti­cles and six books, includ­ing Cel­e­bra­tion of Dis­ci­pline, Richard con­tin­ues to write on the spir­i­tu­al life. He and his wife, Car­olynn, have two grown chil­dren, Joel and Nathan, nine grand­chil­dren, and live near Den­ver, Colorado.Discover more at https://renovare.org/MEET BRENDA QUINNBrenda Quinn is a pastor of spiritual formation in the Foursquare church and a writer of many years. She is also the author of the character profiles in the Life with God Bible. Brenda Quinn, former staff editor for Serendipity House and editorial coordinator for MOPS International, Inc., is cowriter of study guides for both "The Jesus I Never Knew" and "What’s So Amazing About Grace?" She coauthored the devotional "Meet the Bible" with Philip Yancey. Brenda lives with her husband and son in Colorado.We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Stephanie welcomes fellow Gospel Spice team member Ros Evans for an in-depth conversation about taking Easter throughout the whole year. Easter is the most significant event of the Christian calendar--indeed of the world! How do we carry the meaning of Easter into all the other seasons of life? Why do we need the transformational power of Easter for 365 days a year, not just in March or April each year? How can we keep Easter fresh and new, and prevent the old stale flavors of Easters past to creep up in our passion for Christ?Ros has become an "everyday theologian," someone who is passionate to discover who God is and to enter ever more into deeper relationship with Him. But she was not always so. She shares her story of faith, from liturgical South African roots to vibrant American faith. She inspires us to never stop learning and growing, and role-models humble teachability. She explains how she used to think her faith was whole and full, only to discover there is so much more to fullness of life with Christ than she had ever dreamed to imagine. She chose to embrace the fullness of relationship with God over the last six years of her life, after a lifetime of real but lukewarm faith. She tells us how God met her, and how He is still today transforming her, by the power of His Spirit, into the person He created her to become. Ros invites us all to embrace our inner theologian and to dare to become more than we can imagine.In the course of the conversation, Stephanie shares a couple of illustrations to help us understand what it means to have the fullness of the infinite Spirit of Christ in us. Join us today!We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/The perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life!https://www.gospelspice.com/merchGo to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Welcome to our final and deepest Easter episode. Today, we are going deep! This episode is released on Good Friday and so its theme bridges history from Eden to Easter. You can also view the video of this episode on YouTube at https://youtu.be/AN0Vkhnms_Q You know the story. God created the world and everything in it. Including a man, for whom God created a beautiful garden. The man was to tend the garden and enjoy its luscious produce, amidst unbroken fellowship with God and with all the animals. But something was missing… This is not a story primarily about genders or human relationships. This is the Easter story. It is the origins story of our identity, and it is completely wrapped up in the identity of our King.You have heard it said that Jesus is the second Adam. It is straight from several passages of the New Testament. And when we see the birth and core identity of Adam and Eve, we behold Jesus’ death. God caused Jesus to die. God created a bride for the man – God created a bride for Jesus. We are Eve. We are the bride. We have been taken from the heart of the Son of God. And, when Adam is brought to sleep to birth Eve, this is God drawing a stick figure to announce to us what He has already decided in the heavenly places before time was. He is announcing what will take place in future time but has been decided before Genesis 1:1. We have been taken out of the beating heart of Christ, our eternal Adam. The decision was made before the foundation of time. The stick figures were drawn by the Father in the garden, with Adam and Eve as the actors playing for us the scene that would truly take place later. And later came on the cross. It is the Easter story.It means that our deepest identity is that we are Eve. We are the beating heart of Christ, the rib that was taken from Him through death. His beloved whom He calls bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.  There is nothing you can do to lose your identity in Christ, because you did nothing to earn it. It is the Easter story.All the Pauline passages about the roles of Adam and Eve suddenly shine with new depth when you consider this. Indeed, Christ is the head of the church, and that is symbolized in the way Adam was first and gave life to Eve. Christ preexisted the church – He preexisted humanity as a whole. Easter is the actual event to which this passage points. On the cross Jesus was put to sleep, so that the church could be born.  On the cross His side was pierced. That is where the bride came from.The church has one name that echoes through the centuries as its most compelling identity. We are the body of Christ and the bride of Christ. Just like Eve is, literally, the body of Adam and the bride of Adam. When Jesus sees you, He sees the bone of his bones and the flesh of His flesh. He sees His bride, his beloved. Just like Adam knew that Eve had come from him, yet was different.It took the death of the Son to birth the fullness of the new creation, the fullness of what it means to be Imago Dei. This indeed is the Easter story.THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogThe perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life!https://www.gospelspice.com/merchGo to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSHADES OF RED is a new original series by GospelSpice Ministries. We ponder humanity as loved, created, fallen and, in Christ, redeemed.SHADES OF RED brings you a simple theological perspective to understand the consequences of the curse of sin on humanity, followed by a practical approach to step up against the evils of our day, rooted in unity between man and woman. Weaving real-life Bible stories, this series will help you get informed, keep interceding, get involved, and keep influencing our generation. We will also occasionally welcome special guests who share our passion to fight against oppression in all its forms, for example through the fight against human trafficking, or through racial reconciliation, and more.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogDo you enjoy Gospel Spice? Then let's deepen our relationship! There are 4 very simple ways to do that, and it would truly mean the world to us. 1- If you’ve enjoyed this episode, you will love receiving our newsletter. It contains value-packed free gifts and rich content each month. It’s at gospelspice.com/signup. There is always something new and exciting happening around here, and I don’t want you to miss out! Sign up at Gospelspice.com/signup2- Did you know Gospel Spice has a YouTube Channel? There’s exclusive content there too. So, join Gospel Spice on YouTube! It's at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice 3- Also please give us a star rating and a comment on your podcast listening app. Your reviews actually really do make a difference to help others discover and experience Gospel Spice. You would be surprised how helpful these are! So please leave a star rating and a review of a sentence or two. Thank you!4- As always, we are praying for you! You can confidentially email us your prayer requests and praise items at the email address contact@gospelspice.com. It is our privilege to pray for you!So, would you please invest 3 to 5 minutes of your time, maybe even right now, to do one (or more!) of the following suggestions:1-      signup on our website for our newsletter to receive gifts you’re going to love - at Gospelspice.com/signup 2-      find us on YouTube, and see what content we’ve put together to help you grow closer to Jesus - at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice3-      rate Gospel Spice on your listening app – it’s one of the easiest ways to share the gospel!4-      and finally, tell us how we can pray for you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Nicky and Pippa Gumbel are among the most influential leaders of the church today, on a global scale. They have a unique vantage point on the state of the world, and the challenges facing our generation as believers. At the same time, they are humble and unassuming, so approachable and genuinely kind, that they would love to share a cup of tea with you if they met you. This rare balance is deeply attractive, and the fruit of a lifetime of dependence on the Holy Spirit. Stephanie and her husband Jonah have the deepest respect for them, and find themselves blessed to get to learn from them. When they lived in the UK with their pre-teen kids, they attended the church where the Gumbels were pastoring, Holy Trinity Brompton in South Kensington, London. One of the fastest growing churches in the UK, HTB is a multi-site church that the Gumbels only recently retired from.Stephanie welcomes them on the show today, and she is ready with a lot of questions! They talk about the state of the universal church of Christ today in the world, from their perspective –  including a word of encouragement for the new generation and the red flags they are noticing in the culture. They share where they think the power of influence is shifting, and how we can depend on Christ to guide us in the challenges ahead. Their passion for defining the line between Scripture and culture leads to some great advice on what it looks like for our generation. Nicky shares one thing he regrets, and Pippa shares about the power of revival and trusting God’s sovereignty through life.Having been married 45 years, Pippa and Nicky share wisdom and insights into the makings of a marriage that holds the distance to the glory of God. Their dependence on the Holy Spirit is palpable, and deeply attractive.They tell us about the Alpha Course, the global phenomenon that invites spiritual seekers to embrace faith through conversations and personal connections. If you do not know the Alpha Course, Stephanie warmly invites you to discover it and to try it out. In this Easter season, it is the perfect time to invite your seeking friends to attend. Join them for a life-changing experience of faith!Pippa and Nicky share with us how they are running their race with perseverance, through the hardships and the good times, and pray for us at the end of our time together. You WANT to receive this prayer for yourself, so make sure to tune in!DISCOVER THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR APP: https://bibleinoneyear.org/en/The Bible in One Year is a daily Bible reading plan which takes you through the whole Bible in 365 days.  It is ideal for anyone who is looking for an easy and accessible way to read and understand the Bible.Each day includes passages from a Psalm or Proverb, the New Testament and the Old Testament along with a daily commentary from Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, leaders of Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) Church in London and pioneers of Alpha. The Bible in One Year will encourage you to engage more closely with the Bible, to apply its teachings to everyday life and to grow in your relationship with Jesus.You can follow along by reading the text or listening to the audio commentary and you can choose the version that best suits your lifestyle; the Classic version (25 minutes), or a shorter Express or Youth version (both around 15 minutes).Over 4.5 million people from 160 countries have experienced Bible in One Year. Why not join them, find your own rhythm and draw closer to God.Nicky Gumbel is the pioneer of Alpha and Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton in London, which he leads with his wife Pippa. Together, they introduced the Bible in One Year commentary in 2009 as a daily email for their congregation. Since then, it has become a successful app, book, podcast and website with a global following. Join them today as they take you through every chapter and verse of the Bible, sharing their reflections and prayers along the way. Nicky says, “Join us as we read the Bible each day. It’s a practice that we have been doing for over 30 years and we hope it will benefit your life as much as it has ours.”DISCOVER THE ALPHA COURSE: https://alpha.org/Alpha is a series of conversations about things we all question in life: Why do bad things happen to good people? What's the purpose of life? What's next?If you're looking for a judgment-free space to ask hard questions and share your own opinion, there's a place for you.Connection | Connecting with others is what we were made for. All sessions start with a time to connect and build friendships, eliminating awkwardness and creating space for important conversations.Content | Alpha’s content explores the big questions we all ask, and guests from any background can unpack the basics of Christian faith. Bring your questions, you’ll find you’re not alone.Conversation | Those who attend Alpha share that their small group discussions are hands-down the best part of the experience. No questions are off limits and there’s nothing you can’t say (really).DISCOVER THE MARRIAGE COURSE: https://themarriagecourse.org/try/the-marriage-course/The Marriage Course is a series of seven sessions, designed to help couples invest in their relationship and build a strong marriage.Nicky and Sila Lee, authors of The Marriage Book, developed The Marriage Course for couples looking for practical support to strengthen their relationship. The course is designed to help couples build strong foundations, learn to communicate more effectively and resolve differences well.Courses are run in various locations, including churches, homes and cafés, all around the globe.Extra resources: CT article: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2022/july-web-only/nicky-gumbel-alpha-course-htb-church-retirement-sermon.htmlWe invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

 Stephanie invites us to enter the last week of Jesus' earthly life. We will take a long, slow look at the events that precede the Cross and the Resurrection. On the menu here at Gospel Spice today, the first-century Jewish custom of betrothal! And, more specifically, how Jesus shouted loud and clear that He is the Bridegroom come the fetch His bride, the church... Matthew makes abundant use of non-spoken cultural clues to deliver this message clearly to his audience. But wait, we don't even really know what betrothal is anymore. And who knows what the ceremony entailed in first-century Israel? Well, you might actually know more than you think! It will remind you of many familiar passages taught by Jesus... who knew we knew so much!?! 🙂Stephanie opens the first-century Jewish custom of betrothal to our 21st century western minds. We focus on the betrothal ceremony's elements--the proposal, the bride-price, and the drinking of the cup as covenantal agreement. We follow the bride-to-be as she took up to twelve months to prepare and adorn herself in every way--physical, and spiritual. We follow the groom-to-be in his various endeavors to prepare their future life together. And then, the big day finally came--the wedding celebration could start! Jesus drew one parallel after another to help us understand He is the Groom come for His bride, the church universal. Find out what 2,000 years of western history made us forget!This episode is a bonus episode to accompany Episode 195 which aired jsut previously. Make sure to listen! If you enjoyed this episode, you may appreciate Season 1 of Gospel Spice which aired in 2019 and 2020. Check out episodes 1 to 50!THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogThe perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life!https://www.gospelspice.com/merchGo to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

We invite you to consider Easter under a fresh light, a slightly different angle, maybe with a sprinkle of unexpected spices. Our goal today is to know Jesus more – because that is the essence of Easter. One of the best ways to experience Scripture afresh is to connect the Old and the New testaments, so today is about creating a sense of wonder and astonishment at the very event of Easter. We are entering the banquet that Joseph gave his brothers in Genesis 42-45 as the gateway to experience the Last Supper in the Upper Room – Jesus’ last meal with His disciples, and the instruction of the Communion. We will also study another key event that links the two and is linked to each of them, namely  PASSOVER – that will be instituted by God through Moses as they leave Egypt.You can also view the video of this lesson on YouTube at https://youtu.be/94zE3huzJiw SUPER SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! WE WOULD LOVE TO FEATURE YOU ON GOSPEL SPICE! For our 200th episode, Stephanie will compile a handful of stories from our beloved listeners. How has the Lord met you recently, and has Gospel Spice played a role? Email us at contact@gospelspice.com today to apply! Deadline is March 25, 2023. Thank you!About our episode today... Joseph’s banquet represents the entry to Egypt, the escape from famine and death. It is a family reunion and a hopeful new start for the young Jewish nation that is summed up in the 70 family members.The last supper, taking place in the upper room on the night that Jesus was betrayed, the last night before he was killed, is a symbol of spiritual freedom. Just like Moses liberated the Jews from the physical oppression of the Egyptians, Jesus will liberate all who believe in Him from the spiritual oppression of sin and death. So Jesus is like Joseph in the sense that he provides escape from famine and death, and like Moses in the sense that he provides liberation from sin and death.The last supper is a mix of two primary events, and it is also where Jesus gives us the sacrament of communion, or the Lord’s supper. Every Jew would celebrate Passover on that night, ever since they entered the Promised Land 1500 years earlier. This particular last supper is the last Passover, really, because the true Lamb of God has finally come to do what the Passover has been pointing to all these years. So today we are connecting Joseph’s banquet to the last supper with occasional connections with Passover because Passover and last supper are intricately linked in places. We will look at the central role of Egypt, the freedom from slavery, the preparations being made around these two feasts, the guests who attend, the atmosphere around the events, the revelations made, the restoration of relationships, and the entry into a glorious future, and even the promise of hardships. We will ponder the role of cups and promises, access to Kingdoms, and the reversals of true intimacy. We will end with the glorious feast of the Lamb that awaits every one of us as followers of Christ. Happy Easter!Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

We wrap our series, Pathways to God’s Presence, with an invitation to practice heaven and the presence of God in our lives today. Stephanie beckons us to ponder the seasons and moments of our lives as cycles of growth towards deeper intimacy with God. She opens for us the joy and privileges of godly stewardship of our resources – time, talent and money – as so many opportunities to implement small, incremental God-ward changes in our daily rhythms. She asks, how do we spend our time? How do we invest our God-sourced resources? Do we truly aim to live each moment in awareness of God’s presence? He is the source of all things good and beautiful and perfect and joyful. Do we live in accordance with that truth? And, since none of us fully do, how can we make growth an abiding reality?You can watch this episode on video on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/MMPHvXFGAUoYou are invited to enjoy a BONUS episode where Stephanie shares her favorite books as the resources she has used for this series. It is available on video only on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/W6G8rvgviSY - Enjoy!Stephanie invites us into the Lord’s prayer to taste fresh flavors of humility and practical tips on how to experience the presence of God. She invites us to make our lives a continual practice for heaven as the convergence of all that we have seen through our series—all the pathways to the Presence of God converge in the place of intimacy with Him through Jesus Christ our Lord and King.Finally, we take our place around the table of the Lord’s Supper, our final moments together in the series, to embrace our life as an other-centered witness for the glory of God. Stephanie says, “I hope our times together have help you find answers to become the person God has crafted you to become, the person you know you want to be when you meet Jesus on that glorious day at the end of the path, only to discover that the path will have only just begun and that, in the words of CS Lewis I already quoted in an earlier episode: “Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogThe perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life!https://www.gospelspice.com/merchGo to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

You are in for a super special treat today as Stephanie welcomes back her all-time favorite guest and friend, Os Guinness, to discuss his latest book, which you do not want to miss, and also to celebrate 50 years since the publication of his first book. The book they are discussing today is going to go down in history as one of the most influential books for our generation, Stephanie is absolutely sure of it. It is simple yet so powerful. You will read it quickly, yet you will find yourself pondering it for months. You will want to gift it to every spiritual seeker you know, as well as every serious believer, because it has something to tell each one of us about the meaning of life. Stephanie read right through it the first time and could not put it down. Then she went back and reread it slowly, savoring its stories and discovering deeper meaning. She is currently enjoying her third read through, and is even more inspired than before. Oh, please make sure to enjoy this absolute treat.Through the course of our conversation, Os gives us his take on what has been happening in Asbury, and what we need from there. Os calls us to pray for a true spiritual awakening and challenges our culture’s understanding of “legacy” and they discuss the meaning of a truly successful life. Os even reveals what he thinks is his favorite book among his many!You can watch the whole conversation on video at youtube.com/gospelspice - make sure to subscribe so you never miss another exciting Gospel Spice episode!SUPER SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! WE WOULD LOVE TO FEATURE YOU ON GOSPEL SPICE! For our 200th episode, Stephanie will compile a handful of stories from our beloved listeners. How has the Lord met you recently, and has Gospel Spice played a role? Email us at contact@gospelspice.com today to apply! Deadline is March 25, 2023. Thank you!EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR ALL GOSPEL SPICE LISTENERS!Go to IVPRESS.COM and enter the coupon code SPICE to receive 30% off all of Os’ books until March 24, 2023!WIN ALL OF OS GUINNESS’ BOOKS WITH IVPRESS THROUGH GOSPELSPICE at gospelspice.com/giveaway Gospel Spice and IVPress are celebrating 50 years of Os’ books by giving away an entire LIBRARY of all of Os Guinness’ books published by IVPress, and a beautiful organic canvas Gospel Spice tote to carry them all! The tote features the Gospel Spice motto that Stephanie and Os discuss in the interview: “God’s glory, our delight.” Go to gospelspice.com/giveaway to enter for a chance to win the bundle. Giveaway is open until March 24, 2023. Winner will be picked among all the valid entries.Let us tell you a bit more…  This year, 2023, marks fifty years since Os Guinness published his first book back in 1973, “The Dust of Death.” It started what has become a prolific writing career for the well-known social critic. Today in our time with Os, we hope to introduce (or reintroduce) you to Os Guinness, and his profound contributions to discussions about freedom, culture, faith, and the quest for meaning and purpose.Stephanie and Os start by discussing Os’ latest book, a truly brilliant, magnificent little gem for all of us to be inspired by, and titled, Signals of Transcendence.The modern world is a place of great distraction, and it can be difficult to make sense of our human existence. But at some point in our lives, we may experience particular moments that prompt us to search for something deeper. Sociologist Peter Berger described these hints and clues as “signals of transcendence” that awaken us to unseen realities. In Signals of Transcendence: Listening to the Promptings of Life, Os Guinness tells stories of people who experienced signals of transcendence and followed them to find new meaning and purpose in life. Notable figures such as Leo Tolstoy and C. S. Lewis as well as lesser-known individuals experienced a variety of promptings that signaled to them that life could not continue as they had thought. Through unsatisfied longings or disillusionments or glimpses of beauty or joy, these moments drew people toward epiphanies of transformation. And the same can be true for us, should we have the courage to follow the signals wherever they may lead.BONUS! READ A SAMPLE OF SIGNALS OF TRANSCENDENCE“I’m at a point in my life where I realize that there has to be more to life. Something must be missing.” This remark, made to me by a business leader in Silicon Valley, expresses what countless people come to see in their own way and say in their own words. Previously, they were mostly contented in some season of life; some were wealthy, successful, and even highly celebrated in one field or another. But they reached a point where they knew in their heart of hearts that none of it quite satisfied as they hoped. Who am I? Why am I here? What is life all about? Life raises such questions to all of us at some point, and certain experiences break into our lives that spur us to question whether our answers are deep enough, prompting a search for what we sense is missing—an unnamable something more. Life itself is extraordinary, and somehow, we all want to know what it is to live a worthy life, one that fulfills the promise of life. Peter Berger, the eminent social scientist, described the experiences that trigger such longings as “signals of transcendence”— arresting and intriguing experiences that both capture our attention and call for further explanation. The thrust of these signals points to some meaning beyond themselves, and they won’t let us off the hook until we stir ourselves to find what it is. Such experiences puncture one’s satisfaction with the status quo and push one to search for something beyond. The signals stir in us a sense that there must be something more to life, but what is that often unnamable something? In stirring us, signals of transcendence are a prompting by life itself, as it were. They trigger both a contradiction and a desire, and call into question the past, the present, and the future. They challenge the present and the past by contradicting the temptation to settle down and be satisfied. They challenge the future by spurring a desire to search for the something that is missing, that toward which the experience is hinting. In so doing, the signals lay bare some aspect of our human existence that we have forgotten or suppressed, at least partially— including things lost and left behind. Such aspects of a fuller and more complete reality must be rediscovered if life is to be lived to the full. Equally, an understanding of those aspects has to be grounded solidly if it is to be truly fulfilling. Hence the quest for faith and meaning triggered by the signals—the quest for meaning that is adequate and faith that is true. Follow the signals and discover more of the reality of who we are and what the universe and life are about; then our lives will be better aligned and more able to be free and fulfilled. Freedom, after all, is simply the ability to be who we are, to think freely, to speak freely, and to act freely. But who in truth are we, why are we here, and what is life about? The signal is power packed with the thrust of such questions.”(Taken from the introduction to Signals of Transcendence)MEET OS GUINNESSOS GUINNESS (DPhil, Oxford) has had a lifelong passion to make sense of our extraordinary modern world and to stand between the worlds of scholarship and ordinary life, helping each to understand the other—particularly when advanced modern life touches on the profound issues of faith.As a frequent speaker and prominent social critic Guinness has addressed audiences worldwide, from the British House of Commons to the US Congress to the St. Petersburg Parliament. He is a senior fellow at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and was the founder of the Trinity Forum.Born in China to missionary parents, Guinness is the great-great-great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer. After witnessing the climax of the Chinese revolution in 1949, he was expelled with many other foreigners in 1951 and returned to England where he was educated and served as a freelance reporter with the BBC. Since coming to the United States in 1984, he has been a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Studies and a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. He was the lead drafter of the Williamsburg Charter, celebrating the First Amendment, and has also been senior fellow at the EastWest Institute in New York, where he drafted the Charter for Religious Freedom. He also coauthored the public-school curriculum Living with Our Deepest Differences.Guinness is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including The Call, Time for Truth, Unspeakable, The Magna Carta of Humanity, The Great Quest, Zero Hour America, and others.We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/Support us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Today is the episode where we tackle all sorts of countercultural concepts, like fasting, silence and solitude, and rest as a form of worship. So let’s get to it!First, Stephanie reminds us that fasting is expected – not mandated. She also says that fasting requires a biblical purpose – otherwise it’s just going hungry. Fasting is a fast-track to intimacy with God, for the primary reason that He has declared it so. He has wired us to be body, soul and spirit, and in some mysterious way when we go without food, it nourishes our spirit. So fasting has to be undertaken with a deeply-rooted purpose that has to be biblical, otherwise it doesn’t fall under God’s ordained blessing, and don’t expect anything from it except going hungry and being miserable.You can watch Stephanie give this lesson on video format on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/3qGg1gv7z2o She says, "Fasting is an accelerator of spiritual growth." Stephanie shares that fasting is a joyful privilege. WE GET TO FAST and when we do, as Christians, we access the ear of God in ways that He said work mysteriously. If you want the ear of God attentively tuned to your words, then fast. He always listens and hears you, of course. But He also promises that He bends His ear in undivided attention when we fast. Why would we not enjoy this privilege?Stephanie gives us the details of fasting – what it is and what it is not; the purposes within it; and some tips and best practices for the proper focus and perspective. She says, “Fasting is super-charging God’s answers to our prayers, so fasting is also us inviting God to answer prayers as HE sees fit in even more powerful ways.”She also reminds us that “fasting is an acquired taste” and it will require practice and growth. Fasting is a way to discover easter eggs in God’s plan for you—extra, special blessings that He will reveal only to those who enter into this most intimate privilege. So the question is not, Should we fast? But the question becomes, When do we start?Throughout the rest of the episode, we cover Bible memorization, the disciplines of silence and solitude, and then focus on rest and sabbath. Rest is another countercultural concept, like fasting, silence and solitude. Stephanie focuses on the aspects of rest and the deep-seated freedom it brings. She brings up a few points: First, rest feels like it goes against our nature. Also, rest is countercultural. And finally, rest puts us face to face with our sin. Rest requires perseverance, and promises a plentiful yield of peace and harmony. Rest requires accountability, before God, before one another, as well as before our own souls and hearts.How intentional are we about setting time to rest, and just as importantly, entering true rest in experience?Stephanie says, “Rest is doing something you don’t normally do during the week, something you really enjoy, not to escape your life and empty your mind, but to live life to the fullest and fill your mind and heart with what brings you joy and pleasure.”Let’s then focus on Jesus, who was after all, the Lord of Rest, the Lord of the Sabbath. Rest is a mindset. Just like work is a mindset. The world would have us believe that we should always work. That is bondage and slavery. But rest in Christ is available every day – not just once a week, or whenever you choose to incorporate patterns of rest in your life. A good rule of thumb, like with silence and solitude, is to incorporate daily rest, weekly rest, seasonal rest, and annual rest. Weave rest into your rhythms.As you travel the pathway of rest deeper into God’s presence, you begin to acquire the perspective or worldview of heaven on rest. It is constantly available to the Christ-follower. Follow Christ on this pathway of rest because he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He knows the way. He will show you what it looks like for you specifically in your current season of life.We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with.Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogIdentity in the battle | Ephesianshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/372022/link/Malachi: Messenger to Messiahhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/356130/link/Wisdom from the Book of Proverbshttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/324347/link/Come to the Table | The Feasts Jesus celebratedhttps://www.podcastics.com/episode/309956/link/THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogDo you enjoy Gospel Spice? Then let's deepen our relationship! There are 4 very simple ways to do that, and it would truly mean the world to us. 1- If you’ve enjoyed this episode, you will love receiving our newsletter. It contains value-packed free gifts and rich content each month. It’s at gospelspice.com/signup. There is always something new and exciting happening around here, and I don’t want you to miss out! Sign up at Gospelspice.com/signup2- Did you know Gospel Spice has a YouTube Channel? There’s exclusive content there too. So, join Gospel Spice on YouTube! It's at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice 3- Also please give us a star rating and a comment on your podcast listening app. Your reviews actually really do make a difference to help others discover and experience Gospel Spice. You would be surprised how helpful these are! So please leave a star rating and a review of a sentence or two. Thank you!4- As always, we are praying for you! You can confidentially email us your prayer requests and praise items at the email address contact@gospelspice.com. It is our privilege to pray for you!So, would you please invest 3 to 5 minutes of your time, maybe even right now, to do one (or more!) of the following suggestions:1-      signup on our website for our newsletter to receive gifts you’re going to love - at Gospelspice.com/signup 2-      find us on YouTube, and see what content we’ve put together to help you grow closer to Jesus - at https://www.youtube.com/gospelspice3-      rate Gospel Spice on your listening app – it’s one of the easiest ways to share the gospel!4-      and finally, tell us how we can pray for you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Today we are tackling some big topics in our Pathways to God’s Presence series. Our focus is on what God calls us to do, and specifically how we are called to do it. We are not going to emphasize trying harder or striving deeper or hustling a bit longer. These are not pathways to the presence of God. These are the counterfeit ways of the world to trick you into exhaustion, dryness and uselessness and then defeat when we finally realize it was a dead end.We are free to choose – God’s way of patience, waiting, praying, trusting, or the world’s way of hustling. It is truly our choice. We have that much freedom and power.  And the truly wise will choose the pathways of God. Love and humility and surrender in joyful obedience are the hallmarks of the believer’s fullness of life.  Now, If love requires freewill then humility requires freewill too. Love is a choice, and in the same way humility is a choice. Jesus role-modeled both for us when He left heaven for earth.The last act of the will is surrender to God. Humility is surrender of our will to God. As you have probably heard us say before here on GSP, the voluntary loss of our freewill and our free choice to the will of God is our ultimate act of love and the proof of our growing humility.You can’t measure your growth in humility but you can measure your growth in genuinely other-centered love and it’s connected. Genuine Love is the visible manifestation of authentic humility. We know that Love is one of God’s most essential characteristics, which means God is the most humble Being. We are made in His image and are never happier than when we are behaving from the identity He created us to have. It follows that love and humility go hand in hand in our very being too.We are looking at Prayer in the form of intercession and supplication in this episode. We ponder the prayers of Paul and of Jesus as inspiration to pray for others and for ourselves. That is the power of Scripture at your fingertips to alter eternity and change the course of people’s lives for their good and the glory of God!We ponder Bible intake in the context of community. Finally, we look at service as an act of worship today. Humility and service go hand in hand, and the Apostle Paul role-models these in poignant ways. He is our example today. You are invited to watch Stephanie teach this episode on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/I_xR5YUsBRU?feature=oembed Paul’s prayers have it all. They are intercession and supplication. They show deep intimacy with the Father and exhibit profound Christlikeness. They are rooted in Scripture and have become Scripture – this is Bible intake to the next level. Paul’s prayers are rooted in serving and loving the people he is praying for. Often, the deepest service we can give someone is to pray for them the words of Scripture over them. Paul’s prayers are true, Christ-focused worship of the highest order.This is fellowship. This is community. This is love.This is worship.Paul shows us that service – which in his case was pastoring the churches – that service that feels like sacrifice, because it is sacrifice, is worship. We don’t hear any overtones of bitterness from Paul. He is sacrificing a lot, and he is doing it gladly.We are called to grow IN grace. We are already fully walking the path of grace because we are IN Christ. So we are called to keep taking the next step on our journey in grace and towards deeper experience of grace. Not find another pathway into grace. You cannot walk into something you are already fully immersed in. That’s the thing. Many Christians seem to believe that we have to find this grace. That we have received salvation, but that it is now up to us to grow in sanctification. That we are to grow into the grace we have already received. That sounds exhausting. But that’s the thing about being IN Christ and growing IN grace. You are already in. But many of us forget. We let the toils of this life and the care of this world choke the seed of faith and belief that has been planted. We add works to grace. We know better than to call it that, and yet that is what we do.Stephanie says, “Again, no striving. All abiding. I promise you it is the most practical advice I could tell you. I cannot walk this path for you. I am trying to give you practical tips on where to plant your feet next, but at the end of the day you have to commit to trying. And you will find that the slow process of God transforming you looks a lot more like rest and sabbath than it does striving and hustling.”A good practice is to consider your Spiritual gifts for the sake of others. How can you put your spiritual gifts to work for others, with a goal to sincere love and humility? This is very practical, and it can be a real challenge when we are addicted to striving and performing. Here’s a challenge if you are accustomed to performing and achieving for others – how can you serve out of rest and out of a deep sense of abiding in Christ? Not to perform, not to check something off your life, not to impress anyone (God, others or yourself). But a generous, selfless act of service to another. It is simpler and harder than it sounds.Have you noticed how we tend to become like the people we spend most of our time with? There is the joke that pet owners start looking like their pets. And I have noticed that couples who have been married many decades have the same mannerisms and can finish each other’s sentences. In other words, spend enough time with Jesus and you will not be able to help becoming more and more like him. Christlikeness is the fruit of abiding with Him. So of course Paul tells us that the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness, etc. – because when you abide in Christ, you end up increasingly growing in his likeness.You become the person God created you to be – literally created in his likeness.The secret is to KNOW that you are abiding. Scripture informs you of the reality of the promise of His abiding in you – and then it challenges you to realize that Jesus cannot abide in you without you abiding in Him! If he is living inside your house, then you are living with him! It is inevitable.It means you invite him in – and you invite him to transform you. You don’t do the transforming. You cannot strive to grow. Spend time with Jesus and it will just happen. You will grow to become like him. It is a slow process, and that is a good thing. The spiritual life as a lessening of the striving and a growing of the resting, abiding. Doing less. Accomplishing more.We end this episode with a focus on the role of suffering and pain. There comes a point in our spiritual path where we prefer to have Christ and a taste of his suffering, a splinter from his cross, a thorn in our flesh – rather than to lose him altogether.The splinter from the cross cleanses and purifies us more than any worldly delight ever could. It takes deep intimacy with Christ for his cross to rub against our flesh so closely, that a splinter lodges under our spiritual skin.Love God, love others, love yourself. Delight in obeying the only Will that will always result in your fruitfulness and utmost happiness.THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO PARTNER WITH GOSPEL SPICE TODAY!First, PAY Gospel Spice Forward: Give a tax-deductible gift so others can experience our ministry for free, just like you! You can pay it forward with any debit, credit card, or via PayPal. See below for more details about your impact.Also, PLAY Gospel Spice Forward: SHARE the podcast and the studies with your friends and family. FOLLOW, RATE & REVIEW on your favorite podcast app (leave a comment + a star rating on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Pandora, IHeart, Google Podcast, etc…). It REALLY is the best way to help others find this content-rich podcast. And, last but not least, PRAY Gospel Spice Forward: We pray for you weekly. We covet your prayers for our ministry, the thousands we reach, and our team! Contact us to let us know you are praying for us!NEW!Another way to partner with us is to purchase our workbooks and online Bible studies. We keep them at the lowest possible cost, but they require a lot of work from us! For example, - a complete Bible Study requires an average of 500 man-hours. - a workbook for a series requires almost 100 man-hours.MORE ABOUT PARTNERING WITH US FINANCIALLY:Gospel Spice Ministries is a non-profit organization registered under the tax-exempt 501c3 status.Our goal is to provide in-depth, high-quality, free Bible resources for all. They are free, but expensive to create! We need your financial support to keep producing and distributing them. Please pay Gospel Spice forward today! For example, a podcast episode takes close to 10 hours of work (and we release 2 each week). They come to you completely free, but we would truly love your support.We want the money to go to those who really need it. Once our operating costs are paid, 100% of your donation is redistributed to our partners who fight human trafficking. Each year, we aim to give as much as we can. For example, Stephanie works more than full time for Gospel Spice, entirely for free. All board members and volunteers are donating time. We limit our operational expenses to the bare minimum.Your pay-it-forward donations are tax-deductible under IRS Section 170.We want to be the best possible stewards of your financial support. Thank you!Go to gospelspice.com for more, and go especially to gospelspice.com/podcast to enjoy our guests! Interested in our blog? Click here: gospelspice.com/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!