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

Do you often feel stuck battling the same fears, temptations, lies, and doubts, wondering if you’ll ever overcome them? Does it seem as if you’re in that battle alone? Stephanie welcomes Judy Dunagan to discuss Christ-centered solutions to these problems that plague most of us. How do we live in the victory that Christ has purchased for us? How does it become our reality TODAY? Judy has traversed many valleys of anxiety, burnout, relational conflicts, and more. She is well-equipped from the trenches to give us insights on how to walk the pathways to God’s presence that Jesus opened for us. In this conversation, Judy focuses on the nature and power of prayer, as well as the essential foundation of a high Christology. You are invited to experience Jesus as the mighty Lion of Judah today!Judy says, “Take heart. The enemy’s roar is but a whisper in the presence of our mighty God.”In The Loudest Roar, you’ll marvel at the power, majesty, and authority of our Lord Jesus and learn how to stand in the unshakable victory He’s already won for you. In that victory, you will:- Discern God’s voice over the lies of the enemy- Stand firm in faith rather than give way to fear- Dwell in the cover of God’s armor over you and your loved ones- Keep your thoughts captive to truthFind victory over cycles of sin in your life God’s roar over you will become your roar, diminishing the lies of the enemy . . . to a whisper.You are invited to watch Judy and Stephanie on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/MEmLfVLN4DA?feature=oembed MEET JUDY DUNAGANJUDY DUNAGAN is an acquisitions editor for the women’s Bible studies and books at Moody Publishers. A wonder seeker of God and His Word, Judy is passionate about discipleship and making God’s Word and prayer come alive in everyday life. She is a speaker and Bible teacher and serves on the Board of Deeper Walk International, the ministry her father Mark I. Bubeck founded. Judy and her husband Rick live in Colorado.Connect with Judy at: www.JudyDunagan.comEndorsements for The Loudest Roar“The Loudest Roar is a much-needed book for today, filled with truth and wisdom. Judy writes with clarity, strength, and warmth, inviting the reader to take hold of everything that Christ has taken hold of for us. Reading it will empower you to understand your position of authority in Christ and how to live in the victory that Jesus has won for us. Read it. Underline it. Marinate in it. Take it to heart. Make it your own.” —Stasi Eldredge, New York Times bestselling author, Captivating“If you want to rise up and make a difference for yourself, those you love, and your community, read this book. To be victorious, which God wants for you, you must appropriate God’s strengths and weap[1]ons. I benefited from so many of Judy’s explanations, stories, and challenges, and you will, too. I need[1]ed her insights and refreshing, vulnerable, and accurate explanations of relevant Scripture. Passages came alive! And her prayers! They’ll mature me and give me hope. I’ll be reading them often. Truths here will allow you to become who you know you want to be—an equipped and powerful warrior in God’s army!” —Kathy Koch, founder of Celebrate Kids, Inc., and author of Five to Thrive, 8 Great Smarts, and other titles“If you long for courageous faith, authentic truth, righteous living, and a prayer life that faces fear and uncertainty head-on, look no further. In The Loudest Roar author Judy Dunagan teaches us to defeat the enemy and stand firm in the mighty strength of our powerful Lion of Judah! This book gave me tools to develop my ‘roar’ in the face of disappointment, discouragement, temptation, and unfulfilled expectations. Read this treasure on your own, or better yet, with a group of friends who will explore the ‘Going Deeper’ section together. The prayers in the back of the book give you everything needed to roar like our Lion, and to send the enemy whimpering away.” —Carol Kent, Executive Director of Speak Up Ministries, speaker, and author, When I Lay My Isaac Down“ This book on spiritual warfare is optimistic, realistic, and personally applicable. I appreciated Judy’s candor in sharing her personal struggles and even those within her own marriage. This is a book that can be given to any Christian, knowing that all of us need to be reminded that we are in a winnable battle with our unseen enemy, whose roar is drowned out by the louder roar of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The book is a wonderful reminder that we are serving a King who has already won!” —Erwin W. Lutzer, Pastor Emeritus, The Moody Church, ChicagoWe 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!

With the overwhelming pace of life, many of us struggle to stop long enough to be present. Too often we live our lives more at the pace of the culture in self-interest, drivenness, empty excitement and anxiety. Alan Fadling has spent years coaching leaders and communities how to live an unhurried life, teaching that productivity and success are not our chief end, but rather living at the pace that our true self longs to live. So, he and Stephanie discuss how to follow the pace of Jesus Christ. Jesus never hurried, yet He accomplished everything He needed. How can we run counterculture and embrace rest as part of our spiritual roots? Alan invites us to ponder the essential nature of slowing down in a culture that tells us that productivity is the measure of our worth.Brew yourself a cup of your favorite hot drink, curl up with a blanket and join this slow, purposeful conversation about worshipping Jesus Christ through rest. As part of our “Pathways to God’s presence” series, Stephanie and Alan invite you to slow down enough to hear the whisper of God’s presence in your day.You are invited to watch Alan and Stephanie on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/2-byU4PN32s?feature=oembedMEET ALAN FADLINGAlan Fadling is president and founder of Unhurried Living, Inc. in California. He speaks and consults internationally with organizations such as Saddleback Church, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Cru, Halftime Institute, Apprentice Institute, and Open Doors International.He is the award-winning author of An Unhurried Leader and An Unhurried Life, which was honored with a Christianity Today Award of Merit in spirituality. He is also coauthor (with Gem Fadling) of What Does Your Soul Love? Alan speaks from his award-winning book, An Unhurried Life, about unhurried life with God, in community, in leadership development, in solitude, silence and prayer, and in doing the hard work of continued growth. From his book, An Unhurried Leader, he speaks on leading from overflow, working and leading with God, grace-empowered leadership, and leadership vision. He addresses the intersection between personal spiritual formation and fruitful leadership engagement. People leave these gatherings inspired, encouraged and energized for their life and work with God.Alan consults with groups of leaders to provide training in a way of planning, strategizing and leading that is well-rooted in deep intimacy with God. Incorporate a “seek the kingdom first” approach to leadership. Learn to plan events from a center of listening to God and seeing people through His eyes. Learning these patterns contributes to the sustainability of your leadership, and can produce “much fruit that lasts (Jn 15:16).”Alan offers coaching to focus individual attention on issues of personal spiritual and leadership formation. He has served as a sabbatical coach to many. He brings decades of leadership experience to those he coaches. His coaching combines the essence of a spiritual director and the practicality of a leadership formation coach. Alan can help you get unstuck and find your unhurried and fruitful way forward in leadership and ministry.GO TO https://www.unhurriedliving.com/ for more. Buy Alan’s new book at https://www.unhurriedliving.com/ayearofslowingdown Alan says, “These devotionals had their beginnings in my personal journal. I began to practice the regular discipline of spiritual journaling in my twenties. Since then, I’ve journaled thousands of pages and millions of words. My journal is a place where I wrestle, meditate, reflect, create, and, in it all, pray. It’s a place where I acknowledge the presence of God with me. I trust that the Spirit of God with me along the way will be with you as you read.”Endorsements for “A year of slowing down”:"The brilliance in this book cannot be overstated. Resting takes time. Lord knows, it takes great grace as well. When Israel came out of Egypt, it took a long time to learn the new rhythms of God under the lordship of Yahweh. This book invites us to a conversion of rhythm. And if you are like any of us, it may take a whole year. Highly recommended." - A. J. Swoboda, assistant professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University, author of After Doubt"I can't think of anyone better than Alan Fadling to lead us on these five-minute daily retreats that he has provided. Far from being escape moments, these times will help us sink more deeply into reality." - Jan Johnson, president of Dallas Willard Ministries and author of Abundant Simplicity"Don't be fooled by the title of this book into thinking it's about slowing down the pace of your life so you can 'smell the flowers' or somehow break away from the world. It's about adopting a pace of life that allows you to listen to the Scripture more fully, with your mind as well as your heart. That is what Alan has done in the writing of this book. He models it for us on every page. If this is the result of a deliberately unhurried pace, then I'm in!" - Michael Card, musician and author of Scribbling in the Sand.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!

With our current series, we hope we can learn to do community together as the body of Christ because we share the same experiences of these pathways we travel on together. So, this series is less of an in-depth approach to Scripture, and more a simple framework for deeper intimacy with God through the pathways He has ordained.Today we are talking about discouragement and how God stewards our times of dryness for His glory, our transformation, and the growth of the fruit of the spirit in our lives.Discouragement can take many forms. Did you know that courage comes from the French for heart? Coeur is the heart of the word courage. So to be encouraged is to have an increase of heart – and discouragement is the opposite. It’s when you lose heart. You lose perspective. Discouragement can feel like darkness, or confusion, or chaos, or loneliness. Or all the above. Or so many more things. Discouragement breeds anxiety, depression, fear, shame, guilt – especially in us Christians.As Christians we should be the most joyful people on earth – so encouraged, in fast, that we are a constant source of encouragement for others. That is true. But it is not our experience every day. So how can we remedy that, but in a way that brings consistent victory over discouragement?When we are in a season of discouragement, and its manifestations of anxiety, depression, fear, shame, guilt – that is when we need to travel the pathways to God’s presence more faithfully and consistently than ever.We cannot learn to walk when there is an earthquake. We cannot learn to swim in the stormy ocean. We need to practice the pathways to God’s presence in peaceful circumstances, so that when the earthquakes and the storms hit, we can recall what has become second nature.Discouragement can come when you feel you have been in this same storm before. It’s not your first trip to the darkness of depression or the pit of anxiety. You are all too familiar with the taste of fear or the burden of guilt. The cloak of shame fits just too well around your shoulders because it’s been there before. Why are we going through this again, God? haven’t I learned the lesson last time?Learn to walk the pathways before the crisis hit, so that you will have created pathways within your brain, actual physical pathways of neurons that will help you in your body, soul and spirit when storms hit. You will have created habits of intimacy with God that will become your lifeline.Discouragement is rooted in many trials of many colors and shapes.You are not alone.Stephanie shares her heart, “I shared in the first episode of the series that I have been going through a tough patch in 2022, and I have heard from several of you that it was encouraging for you to hear because you can relate. Thanks for reaching out and letting me know. Hearing from you is super encouraging. And hearing that our times together are helpful to you – well, that’s the best thing you can tell me, because if it doesn’t serve you, then what is the point of all this?”Thanksgiving is the most potent antidote to discouragement. It might feel like a cliché, but it is a truth bomb. We have heard it so many times we are numb to it.But try it one more time. because it does transform us. It really has that much power. No wonder the enemy of our soul wants to portray thanksgiving and gratitude as blasé cliches. Don’t fall for it.Gratitude is not a spiritual gift because it is not given to a few. It is for all. It takes many forms. In essence, it is remembering all the good things in our lives. That is the easy part.And then, the hard part. Try thanking God for the hard things. For the discouraging things. For the darkness. because winter is a blessing too. darkness prunes our hearts from the shallow delights to remind us where our true desire for delight lays – in God Himself. When God strips your life, be grateful. It is an invitation into deeper intimacy, growing Christlikeness.One practical way to battle discouragement, anxiety and depression, to name a few, is to intentionally stop lingering there as soon as you become aware that you have entered their territory. It is a difficult discipline to exercise but it is the difference between life and death.God does care about the heart I bring into my worship. It can be discouraged. He will encourage it. it can be broken. He will restore it. it can be shriveled in pain and selfishness. He will enlarge it to life and fruitfulness.My heart can come into worship from any one of many states. But in his presence it will leave swollen with love, tender with attention, and at rest from the father’s presence.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!

Welcome back! We cover much in our Pathways to God’s presence series today. We invite you to grow into the moment by moment surrender to God’s will and whisper as, together, we practice the presence of God today.Stephanie says, “There is a virtuous cycle between what we believe and who we become. We develop this strategy of turning belief into identity through habits of spiritual disciplines.”You are invited to watch Stephanie teach this lesson live on YouTube at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/HJpqEyLh7O4?feature=oembed After establishing the dangers we face as we walk the pathways towards God – namely, the flesh, the world and the devil –, Stephanie takes us on a trip through the French language to experience spiritual disciplines as holy clothing to be worn daily. Then, we dive into the three aspects of prayer, Bible intake and worship we will cover today. They include,CONFESSION AS PRAYER: Confession is the path to freedom. Confession is not groveling before an angry God. It focuses on removing sin from self. It is an essential pathway to humility, self-knowledge. Honestly assess your heart before the Lord, daily, or more. Whenever you feel that little twinge of the heart, this little prick from the Holy Spirit who kindly informs you that you have need for forgiveness. He knows, and he lets you know. not to condemn you, but to bring you to freedom through releasing the burden for Him to carry and cancel. The habit of confession is powerful. It is the gateway to true, lasting freedom.MEDITATION AS BIBLE INTAKE: When we meditate upon Scripture, we practice the presence of God. We enter His presence, we remain and dwell there. It is a good foundation for a good day, and little by little the daily puzzle pieces of Christ-centered meditation color our lives with freedom, gratitude and no small measure of humility and patience.EVANGELISM AS WORSHIP: Pondering Scripture is a form of worship, too, in the sense that we are preaching the Word of Truth to our own hearts. It is a form of evangelism! And evangelism, which is the sharing of the truth of Scripture, is a powerful and effective form of worship.Confession in prayer. Meditation of Scripture. Evangelization as worship. They are all encapsulated in the dedication of the temple by Solomon, and they are rooted in the presence of God whose glory has come to dwell in our hearts and lives through the HS.Jesus has clothed you with garments of salvation, and equipped you with everything you need to walk the pathways to His presence. You are dedicated for holy use, set apart as a vessel created to honor your Lord and King.We are all priests and priestesses to God, in Christ. He has dressed you with the habit befitting your priestly set-apart position: “the victor will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:5, HCSB). You are dressed in Christ with white robes of purity, victory, and eternal life. Your robe is your habit.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!

Stephanie invites you into her conversation with beloved friend Jennifer Hand to discuss how to approach 2023 and most importantly, how to keep God at the very center of our lives, our hearts, our passions and, yes, our fears and anxiety. They have an honest, raw conversation about our fears, our God-sized challenges, and what can hold us back from the fullness of God’s good will for us. Jenn is a seasoned warrior in the Kingdom of God, and Stephanie holds the high honor of calling her friend. Together, they invite you to say YES to all that God has for you in 2023.What's holding you back as you envision 2023? The risk? The unknown? The unwillingness to shake up the comfortable status quo? Whatever it is, if you're not in God's best place, you're missing out on something great. The Lord is calling you into a Promised Land. But it's going to take some faith steps to get there.Jenn Hand wants you to be able to say to God, "My yes is on the table." Not halfheartedly. Not half the time. Not halfway there. Jenn wants you to go all in with God—because God is all in for you. You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/SQMyyDPlYYU?feature=oembedMORE ABOUT “MY YES IS ON THE TABLE”My Yes Is on the Table takes you into the story of the Israelites as they journeyed out of the wilderness and into the Holy Land that God had granted them. Each chapter will challenge you to move from a fear stop to a faith step. And once you've started taking those steps with God, there's no telling where you'll end up.For too long, you've been paralyzed by fear of the future. You feel God calling. You want to go forward with His plans. Yet fear has stopped you from taking the leap. No more! Instead of letting fear stop you short, let faith call you forward with newfound confidence and holy boldness. Put your "yes" on the table and watch God do more in your life than you could have ever imagined. MEET JENNIFER HANDJENNIFER HAND, Executive Director of Coming Alive Ministries, founded the ministry in 2012 and loves the honor of traveling nationally and internationally, inviting people to come alive in Christ through conferences, retreats, written resources, and counseling. She has had the joy of serving in over thirty countries. With a Master's degree in trauma counseling, God has opened a unique door for her to respond after natural disasters around the world, providing trauma counseling and the hope of Christ on the holy ground of suffering. She would love to keep up with you in her cozy internet corner of the world at www.comingaliveministries.com or on social media @comingalivejenn or Jenn@comingaliveministries on Facebook.https://www.comingaliveministries.com/https://www.moodypublishers.com/authors/h/jennifer-hand/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!

Our goal is to enter and remain in the presence of God through the pathways He has ordained for this purpose. The presence of God is our path and our destination. In Hebrew, the word Presence and the word Face are the same. In the ancient world without zoom and facetime, you could only be in the presence of someone when you were face to face with them. There was no remote presence.Each week we are going to approach the pathways to God’s presence, or the spiritual disciplines, by linking one element of prayer with one aspect of Bible intake and one facet of worship.You are invited to watch today's episode on video on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ti3IKJtTIRQ?feature=oembed This is our second episode in our Pathways to God’s presence series. If you missed our intro, please make sure to listen to last week’s episode, episode 185. We spent time laying out the land of what this series is about –the spiritual disciplines with a twist. We established that Jesus is the only pathway to God’s presence, and that He offers to teach us, through the Holy Spirit, how to nurture intimacy with God through the practice of timeless biblical principles that He himself role-modeled. If Jesus catered to His relationship with His Father through prayer, Scripture intake, and worship in various forms, then we too will benefit from the same.We are seeing today that prayer, in its essential form, is adoration. All the other elements of confession, thanksgiving and intercession are rooted in adoration. God is not safe confessing to, if he is not the utterly majestic Being we adore; God is not worthy of our thanks if He is not the resplendent glorious Being who gives us all things and works all things for our good; God is not safe coming to when we have needs, if He is not the perfectly omnipotent and otherworldly generous and gentle Sovereign who has chosen to be introduced to us with the meek and loving title of Father.About prayer, Stephanie says, “you are never more Christlike than when you adore God lavishly.”We consider the study of Scripture as the essential element to know God. We adore God most when we are most aware of His perfection, beauty, loveliness and holiness. In other words, when we are saturated with the knowledge of Him. And we can only know God from the place where He has specifically revealed Himself – Scripture.It means, we need to spend time in Scripture. We need to read it widely, and deeply both. We need to rake for leaves and dig for diamonds, as countless Bible teachers have described over many centuries.We interact with Scripture first and foremost to know God. Yes, the Bible gives us much about our relationships with one another, and about ourselves too. We will discuss these elements in the weeks to come. But the main, primary, most essential purpose of the Bible is to draw us into the presence of God. When the Holy Spirit who lives within our hearts opens the words of the Scriptures to us, we are allowed into the presence of God. We get a glimpse of His face and behold His presence. It transforms us forever because, like the light that shone on Moses face when he came down the mountain after having spent time with God, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is found in the radiant face of Christ Jesus our Lord (2Cor 4:6).So, we read and study Scripture to know who God is.The essence of this approach is actually worship. My primary goal is to meet God through the pages that He wrote. I want to know Him more. If I can discern a new glimpse into His face, if I can learn something new about the depths of His love and kindness and majesty and power, then I am a happy camper. A happy worshiper. Bible intake should always stem from adoration and lead to worship, which are essentially the same thing.So today we looked at the element of adoration in prayer, and we have seen how intricately connected it is to the element of public worship. We have looked at a fresh way to study Scripture, all with the primary goal to KNOW GOD MORE because it’s a virtuous cycle: the more you know God, the more you are going to desire to adore Him, and the more you adore Him, the purer your heart gets, and this allow you in turn to experience deeper intimacy with Him, which is the ultimate form of knowledge. Which leads to more adoration, etc. I think this is the ultimate virtuous cycle, spiritually speaking, this side of heaven. I believe it is the essence of what our experience in heaven will be: utter delight in His presence, a heart growing fuller each moment because of an ever-deeper awareness and experience of His presence, beauty and loveliness. I think we have utterly no idea of how enjoyable heaven will be. We have no frame of reference, no clue for the ecstasy that awaits. This holy cycle of adoration and intimacy with God is its closest equivalent here on earth.We have the fullness of the Spirit of Christ within us, because that same spirit had been living in the incarnated Christ. Jesus is the pathway to the presence of God, and more than that. He is God Himself. Jesus is the pathway and the destination. He is the way and the goal.The Holy Spirit is your teacher and guide into the pathways to the presence of God through Jesus Christ our matchless Lord. Adore, behold, worship Him who was, and is and is to come.Do 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!

Welcome to our winter 2023 series, "Pathways to God's presence." How do we keep our relationship with God fresh and not stale? How do we avoid being disappointed or dissatisfied with our relationship with God? How do we explore fresh avenues to meet with Him especially when it’s dry or painful? How do we keep vibrant faith in the valley, in the pit, in the darkness, and also in the high places – how do we make God the center of our lives?Jesus walked with God perfectly at all times – in perfect harmony and communion. He tells us to imitate Him. How can we do that? how do we grow spiritually so that we experience the freshness and vibrancy that Jesus had with His Father? His connection to His Father was so obvious, especially when He prayed, that the disciples begged Him to show them how to pray. His connection to His Father was so deep, there was no disconnect ever. He always knew the Father’s will for all situations at all times. He could orchestrate healings and miracles at will, because He was so finely tuned in to His Father. We will never experience this measure of connection to the Father this side of heaven – because of sin – but Jesus still promised much intimacy with the Father through Him was possible, and even the normal life for the believer. In my experience and in talking with hundreds of people, I don’t think most of us live in the fullness of this promise of unbroken connection to our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. Many times we live the low Christian life. Nothing wrong with that – but there is so much more that is possible, attainable for us. We are called to a high Christian life, one that is characterized by love, humility, victory, and much fruit.You are welcome to watch Stephanie teach this lesson on video at https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ti3IKJtTIRQ?feature=oembedOur series is called, “Pathways to God’s presence.” Let me be clear: Jesus is the way to the Father. The only way to the Father. Apart from Him we have no access. He is also our Advocate, interceding for us even now, and we know that His prayers are always welcomed and answered from the fullness of the Father’s abundance. So, when we are going to be pondering pathways to God’s presence, we must always remember – Jesus is the One who makes these pathways possible. That is why he is our role model, our guide. He is the way. He is also the destination. We are doing all that we do to cultivate intimacy with God, ONLY From Christ and in Christ and for Christ and through Christ. I think we underestimate this dimension of our spiritual life when we don’t place front and center the model that Jesus has given us. Jesus, before time began and before the incarnation, was perfectly intimate and one and united with the Father. That is the Trinity. We cant understand it, but we can apprehend just enough of it to see its matchless harmony and radiance. Then at the incarnation, and for the thirty-some years that followed, Jesus who was God and had been with God since before time was (see John 1:1), this Jesus took on fullness of humanity. And he walked among us, not lessening in any way the depth of intimacy He had always enjoyed with His Father. Only at the cross, and momentarily though thoroughly, was it severed—for our sake. So, yes, Jesus is indeed the only Pathway to God’s presence. But He also gave us means to grow in intimacy with God, just like He did as a human – He prayed and fasted and studied Scripture and had fellowship with others and served and loved and discipled and evangelized and role-modeled all the things He is inviting us to develop in our own lives as pathways to His presence. He is the way and He is the destination.The secret to the high Christian life, a life of satisfaction in God regardless of circumstances – good or bad, internal or external – the secret to the high Christian life is to practice the presence of God. What does it look like? Why is it even the key to our problem of stale, boring faith? We will explore this together over the course of this series. We will look at the theology and the practice of it. Actually, it will be the bulk of our episode today.What are the spiritual disciplines and what do they have to do with pathways to God’s presence? Nowhere does the Bible give us a definitive list of the spiritual disciplines, and depending on how you read some passages, you can discern more or less some aspects of them. In other words, we can all have different lists and all be okay. Some spiritual disciplines have everyone’s vote: we all see prayer, or Bible study, or worship as essential components of our faith, major thoroughfares to experience the presence of God. I would suggest they are the main three pathways to the presence of God, and then there are countless ways to define them. Prayer has many elements to it, as does worship and the intake of Scripture. We will ponder one element of each one of these three each week together. There are many more spiritual disciplines, and I can guarantee you that we will not cover them extensively throughout this series! We will mention them, practice them, and hopefully they will come together like so many ingredients of a recipe, so that you will indeed taste and see that the Lord is good. Through the prism of worship, Bible intake and prayer we will look at sabbath, service, stewardship of talent, resources and time, as well as fasting, evangelism and discipleship, fellowship and community, even silence and solitude as essential pathways to God’s presence. If you practice particular disciplines for your benefit, I would love to hear from you. We need to learn from one another! Please comment on social media or send us an email. I mean that. we want to hear how you walk the pathways to God’s presence!Some spiritual disciplines are personal, others are corporate, or communal. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that each discipline has a personal component and a public component – there are different ways to practice them. For example there is private and public prayer; there is personal worship, and then there is worship on Sundays at church. There is private Bible study, reading and memorizing, and there is the public teaching of the Word at church or in small groups or through one-on-one discipleship, and then there is the public sharing of the Word through evangelism.Join us this season on the pathways to God's presence!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/Do 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!

Naomi Zacharias joins Stephanie again on Gospel Spice to provide insights on the global fight against human trafficking and towards the restoration of dignity—one life at a time. She also shares how her faith has allowed her to make it through the last couple of years.Make sure to watch the live recording of this conversation and to subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yuSfxAnzoUw?feature=oembed Naomi starts by sharing the stories of her ministry, Third Ladder, to serve the abandoned, the unloved, the forgotten of this world. In her incomparably gentle way, Naomi also draws our attention to the importance of little acts of kindness as we share the light of Christ with a world in need, one person at a time, one next-door neighbor at a time. Gospel Spice is proud to partner with Third Ladder financially.In the second half of the conversation, Naomi transparently shares how her family is doing after a couple of years of unparalleled struggles. She shares her perspective on living in the deserted valley, remembering what really matters. She shares how hard this has been, and how the Lord has been holding on to her. Naomi says, “I believe He is real, and He is who He says He is. I do believe He is faithful and good and true. When you are in the middle of the valley, you have to come back to what you know to be true.”Naomi says, “it is not faith if it all makes sense. Real is not always smooth and easy, but it’s deep and it’s got roots.” This deeply inspiring, raw conversation will draw you in, to give you hope in darkness, hopelessness, and loneliness. Naomi reminds us that the things that flatten us, break us, shred us are the perfect setting for God to use us. “This life will break us, and we will not have all the answers we long for. But He actually told us that, He gave us that foresight. He is faithful, and He doesn’t leave. He will sit with us through it, and this is not the end of the story.” Naomi reminds us that our stories matter especially when they are not (yet) tied up with a pretty bow and ending. We live most of our lives in the middle of the unresolved stories. And the places that don’t make sense force us to believe that faith matters in the middle of the darkness, the desert, the valley. Naomi reminds us of the importance of the body of Christ, and also that church hurt is real. We need community, and we have a deep desire to right the wrongs of this world. We also have so much at our fingertips to bring healing to the ones right around us.MORE ABOUT NAOMI ZACHARIASNaomi Zacharias received a BA in Business/Economics from Wheaton College. Her first job out of college was in Brand Development for Chick Fil A and she soon transitioned to Sales for The Coca-Cola Company to accept what was her perceived dream job. It was fantastic training under a superb manager, but a restlessness remained. She moved into the non-profit sector, seeking to apply herself to a cause she believed in. Following an internship in the Office of Public Liaison at the White House where she helped to organize presidential briefings for constituency groups, Naomi considered staying in Washington DC to focus on international justice issues. Instead, in a decision that surprised herself, she declined an opportunity at the US Department of Justice to return to Atlanta in 2004 to develop and launch a humanitarian initiative with a robust application process to evaluate international grant requests and distribute approximately 16M USD in grant funding over 16 years for rehabilitation for victims of human trafficking, healthcare, education, poverty-related issues, war-related issues, support for victims of domestic violence and gender-based violence, refugee aid and issues related to child welfare and orphan care in approximately 17 countries. This work led her into refugee and displacement camps in Africa and the Middle East, brothels in Southeast Asia and Europe, women’s prisons in Africa, medical clinics for HIV care, hospitals for patients with leprosy in Asia, and children’s homes around the world to witness significant realities of human tragedy as well as resources, programs, and people affecting redemptive and restorative change. In 2021, together with her team, Naomi launched a new grant making entity, Third Ladder, where she now serves as Executive Director.Naomi has loved seeing parts of the world, savoring cultures, foods, and human connection. She is an introvert who loves being with her family and small circle of close friends. Her primary purpose is to love her children and niece fiercely with a desire to help them uncover beauty in a complicated world and discover who they were intended to be. Through her company, The Anonymous Society Fine Storytellers, she provides editing services for authors looking to find their voice and tell their stories, loves eating out, watching movies, listening to music, a beautiful view, and creating a safe haven at home with her four children.MORE ABOUT THIRD LADDERhttps://thirdladder.org/Third Ladder provides a modern approach to charitable giving. Grounded in the belief that every life holds intrinsic value and that responsible investment can change the world around us, we facilitate a process that enables donors to be involved and intentional in their giving to create maximum impact for a wide reach of human need. At full operational capacity, we intend to provide optional online portfolio access to help donors reach their personalized goals.With inspired donors, we equip our network of vetted grassroots humanitarian efforts with financial grants. Support services enable programs to reach the standard of excellence they have for their mission by implementing processes and reporting that serve to provide measurable impact for donors and assist each program in achieving their goals.“It is an equalizer among us that each one of us can be a ladder as much as each one of us needs one at times to lift us out of the broken into the beautiful.”Traditionally, a repetition of three invites one into something significant.It is used for emphasis to describe the intensity of something. It symbolizes harmony, new life, and completeness.Third Ladder invites you into practical and purposeful opportunity to participate in a community that actively restores – infrastructure, opportunity, justice, and living. What it means to be human is to know pain. But it also offers the opportunity to be a part of a redemptive call to action. It is an equalizer among us that each one of us can be a ladder as much as each one of us needs one at times to lift us out of the broken into the beautiful.We are here to serve you with an experienced team dedicated to help you maximize positive impact and inspiring legacy.Simply make your donations or choose to develop a personalized plan for your charitable contributions with our team committed to helping you maximize your giving to the causes you choose. Inspired by basic principles commonly applied to financial investment, our mission empowers you to direct the impact of your investments in humanity. We are available to serve you today with planning and reporting even as we continue to grow our website with interactive client tools for your convenience and an enhanced donor experience.Find out more at https://thirdladder.org/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 Vivian Mabuni for a heart-to-heart conversation about God, passion for Jesus, and an all-out life of surrender to His plan and goodness. As He invites us into a new year, how would He have us depend on Him this year? What does it mean to have “open hands and a willing heart” (the title of her book)? Vivian is an Asian American Christian woman, wife, mom, and cancer survivor. Just like Stephanie, her different worlds influence who she is, how she leads, and the way she connects with God and others.We know that the center of God's will is the best place to be, but surrender is easier said than done. A host of hurdles, from busyness and bitterness to complacency and control, can prevent us from moving where He directs. As we cross over to 2023, Vivian Mabuni provides an authentic look at what it means to willingly risk saying yes to whatever God asks--and highlights a practical path to the deeper joy of a yielded life.Vivian and Stephanie also discuss living at the intersection of Scripture and culture, and how our culture influences our experience of Scripture, as well as how discovering cultures outside the European/Western circle will open up your eyes to the culture of Scripture and of Jesus Himself! You can also watch the live video of the conversation on our YouTube channel, and make sure to subscribe: https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fWpXuLymFlQ?feature=oembedMORE ABOUT VIVIAN MABUNIVivian Mabuni is a national speaker, author, bible teacher and podcast host. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, SheReadsTruth, Our Daily Bread, Propel Sophia and her teachings have been featured on the YouVersion Bible App’s “Verse of the Day”. With over 30 years on staff with Cru, Viv loves teaching about the Bible and its practical application to ministry and life. She has been a keynote speaker at IF:Gathering, QCommons, Cru Winter Conferences, Family Life’s “Weekend To Remember”, and Biola University. Author of "Open Hands, Willing Heart”, she also serves on the Board of Trustees for Denver Seminary and is the founder & host of “Someday Is Here” a podcast for AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islanders) leaders. Viv loves drinking coffee with her husband of 30 years, Darrin, and marveling at their three young adult kids.Connect with her on Instagram/Twitter @vivmabuni or on her website www.vivianmabuni.comWe 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/blogSupport us on Gospel Spice, PayPal and Venmo!

Stephanie reads her favorite passages about Jesus, both in the Old and in the New Testaments. Her goal is to magnify Him in your heart and life, to make this your most Christ-centered Christmas yet. We at Gospel Spice hold to a very high-christology, which is a fancy way of saying that we worship Jesus as our King, Lord, Savior, and Friend.Jesus is the most beautiful gift we can give one another, so here is your King.Suggestion: consider playing this episode as a family on Christmas day or any time this week! These Scripture passages will generate wonderful conversations about the meaning of the Incarnation, and will lead you to worship and adoration. We are praying for you, and are so grateful for the privilege to serve you this year!Also, check out our Gospel Spice Christmas playlist exclusively on Spotify for free here, or by searching "Gospel Spice Christmas playlsit" in your Spotify app.https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0S4BcfaOfjg2CGH7VBa8mm 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!