Smells Like Smoke

What do you do when someone you love makes choices that lead them straight toward the fire? In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Trevor DeVage looks at Abraham’s rescue of Lot in Genesis 14 and what it teaches us about loving people when they don’t seem to deserve it. Rescue isn’t a reward for good judgment. It’s a response to love. Discover what it means to build your “318,” drop the lecture, a...

God is able, and because He’s able, we live differently. In this episode of Smells Like Smoke, Pastor Trevor DeVage challenges us to move beyond consuming content and start living on mission. Rescue doesn’t require perfection, it requires willingness. Discover what it means to step out of comfort, embrace courage, and trust God to use ordinary people for extraordinary things. It’s time to stop spe...

What if the person you’re avoiding is actually the person God is asking you to reach? In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Pastor Trevor DeVage challenges us to identify our “one” and take a step toward them with prayer, humility, and love. This isn’t about fixing people or removing healthy boundaries. It’s about being faithful to the people God places in our lives and trusting Him with the outc...

Most rescue work doesn’t happen on Sundays. It happens in offices, break rooms, job sites, meetings, and everywhere else we spend our week. In this episode, Pastor Trevor DeVage talks about what it means to live on mission at work without being loud, preachy, or forcing conversations. Discover how integrity, presence, humility, and excellence can help you build trust and create opportunities to sh...

What if following Jesus means going where others won’t? In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Pastor Trevor DeVage challenges us to step beyond comfort and into the places where the gospel is needed most. From prisons and hard neighborhoods to messy relationships and overlooked people, rescue work happens on the edges. Discover how to identify your “edge of the fire,” overcome the fear that holds...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Pastor Trevor DeVage explores the difference between panic and holy urgency, and why love sometimes requires us to act before the window closes. Discover how to recognize urgent moments, speak truth with compassion, and step toward others with courage. Because urgency is love expressed in time.

What if doubt isn’t the enemy of faith, but a doorway to deeper faith? In the first episode of Season 2 of Smells Like Smoke , Pastor Trevor DeVage dives into what it means to walk with people through doubt without shame, fear, or the pressure to have all the answers. Jesus never pushed doubters away. He invited them closer. If we’re serious about being on a rescue mission and helping people move...

As Trevor wraps up Season One of Smells Like Smoke, he unpacks the hidden danger of letting the fire harden your heart. Rescue work, suffering, and carrying the pain of others can either refine us or slowly make us numb. Through personal stories, biblical truth, and practical wisdom, Trevor talks about compassion fatigue, emotional shutdown, Sabbath rest, lament, and what it looks like to stay ten...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Trevor talks about the reality that following Jesus will cost you something. From time and comfort to relationships and energy, obedience always carries a price tag. Trevor shares honest insight on sacrifice, burnout, boundaries, and how to stay faithful without becoming bitter. If you’ve ever wondered why obedience feels heavy, this episode is a reminder tha...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke, Trevor talks about staying rooted when faith feels quiet. While we want quick answers and visible growth, God often does His deepest work in the waiting. If you’ve been discouraged by silence, slow progress, or unanswered prayers, this episode is a reminder that faith grows deep before it grows wide.

Burnout isn’t a badge of honor and exhaustion isn’t faithfulness. In this episode, Trevor challenges the lie that constant grind equals devotion and unpacks why you can’t rescue others if your own soul is depleted. Jesus modeled a different rhythm by stepping away to be filled before pouring out. If you’ve been running on fumes, it’s time to rebuild what matters. Because soul work fuels rescue wor...

What happens when clarity turns into cynicism? In this episode, Trevor DeVage unpacks the tension between discernment and pride, and how easily the desire to spot what’s wrong can harden the heart. Learn how to recognize “wolves” without becoming one yourself, and why true spiritual maturity requires both wisdom and humility. Stay sharp, stay humble, and lead in a way that protects without woundin...

Why do so many self-improvement efforts leave us feeling stuck? In this episode, Trevor DeVage unpacks the difference between surface-level improvement and deep, soul-level healing. Discover why habits, discipline, and mindset shifts can’t fix what’s broken inside and how true transformation begins with surrender, honesty, and healing.

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Trevor explores how politics can become a false source of identity, hope, and control. As tensions rise, many people feel exhausted and divided, looking to systems to fix what only Jesus can heal. This episode is not about sides. It is about staying grounded. Trevor shares how to keep your faith from being shaped by political noise, hold conviction with compa...

You got the job. Hit the goal. Made the money. So why does it still feel empty? In this episode of Smells Like Smoke, Trevor unpacks the lie at the center of hustle culture that success can satisfy your soul. He breaks down why achievement delivers a temporary high but never lasting peace and how many men unknowingly turn work into worship. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to keep chasing the next...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke, Trevor unpacks a powerful image from the book of Epistle of Jude, “clouds without rain.” It’s a warning about the things in life that look promising but ultimately leave you empty. Why do we keep chasing success, pleasure, power, or control, only to feel just as thirsty when we get there? This episode dives into the danger of counterfeit hope, things that prom...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke, Trevor tackles a hard truth: while the church isn’t perfect, it was never meant to be. It was meant to be a rescue station. If you’ve ever felt disillusioned, disconnected, or tempted to walk away, this conversation is for you. Trevor unpacks why leaving the church doesn’t stop the “fire,” why mission matters more than comfort, and why real life change happens...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke, Trevor explores the tension between truth and grace and why both are essential if we want to truly help people instead of pushing them away. Too often we swing between two extremes. We either offer brutal honesty that wounds, or soft grace that never challenges anyone to change. But real rescue requires both.

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke, Trevor Devage challenges the idea that safety should be the goal of faith. In a culture obsessed with minimizing risk, emotionally, financially, and relationally, we have learned how to follow Jesus without ever needing courage. We attend when it is convenient. We speak when it costs nothing. We serve when it fits our schedule. And then we wonder why our faith...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Trevor Devage challenges men to ask if they are fighting the wrong fight. Many Christians are exhausted, not from rescuing people, but from battling everyone around them. We win arguments, yet the fire is still burning. Rooted in Jude 23, this episode is a call to remember that people are not the enemy. Strong men fight for others, not against them. When we s...

In the gym, drifting gets you hit. In life, drifting costs you your edge. This week on Smells Like Smoke , Trevor Devage explores why faith requires fight and why men are built to contend, not coast. From the boxing ring to the Winter Olympics, the lesson is clear: nobody drifts into victory. This episode is a call to re-engage, reclaim discipline, and take one intentional step back toward the fir...

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , we explore the balance between judgment and mercy, urgency and compassion. Jude 23 calls us to rescue with mercy, not manipulation. Hell is real. Truth matters. But hope is the point. This week’s challenge: Speak one hard truth with compassion to someone you love. Not to win but to rescue.

We all know good people. Hardworking. Responsible. Moral. But what if goodness is hiding brokenness? This episode explores why Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to rescue the lost. Trevor DeVage unpacks why morality cannot heal the soul and why honesty is the first step toward real rescue. Stop hiding behind “I’m fine” and start living healed.

In this episode of Smells Like Smoke , Pastor Trevor DeVage challenges the way we see people and how that perspective shapes the way we treat them. Drawing from experiences inside Wilmot Prison in Tucson, Pastor Trevor unpacks why judgment fails, why pain drives behavior, and why rescue begins with understanding. Most people already know their lives are not working. Addiction, anger, success, and...

Welcome to Smells Like Smoke , a bold podcast for those who are tired of safe, comfortable faith. Inspired by Jude 23, this show is about getting close enough to the fire to rescue people, not just talk about it. Each episode challenges you to trade comfort for courage and distance for action. This is not about winning arguments or playing church. It is about stepping into messy, real-world situat...