Pursuing God with Gene Appel

Today Gene retells the parable Jesus told about a landowner who paid the same wage to those who had worked a full day and those who only worked an hour. Like the landowner in Jesus’ story, our gracious God lavishly pours amazing grace and eternal life onto people who don’t deserve it. That’s how much God loves us! Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, an...

In today’s episode, Gene talks about the free gift of God’s grace and how some people have trouble believing that it’s real. If you’ve struggled to understand how grace works, today’s episode and the rest of this week’s podcasts talk about the God Gene wants  you to know. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture...

In today’s episode, Gene reminds us we can turn to God to meet our emotional and relational needs. Our Good Father knows when we need a friend… a listening ear…and an arm around our shoulders. God knows when we need an extra touch of His presence and His encouragement.  God knows when we’re emotionally worn out and can’t go another step. He meets ALL our needs. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is desi...

The God who created us hardwired us with an inner desire to know Him. Within all of us, there’s a hunger and longing that there’s got to be something more. Simply put, God loves you so much that He is working behind the scenes to orchestrate and deploy His infinite resources to be brought into play at just the right time to rescue us or to answer the prayers about our needs that have been lifted u...

Life is more than food and clothes. Proverbs 15:16 from the Message paraphrase says, “A simple life in the Fear-of-God is better than a rich life with a ton of headaches.” Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you purs...

Gene reminds us today of the connection between the love of the good heavenly Father and His provision. God wants us to know how much he loves us and desires to provide for our needs. God sees us as a person who is highly valued and radically loved. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside...

In today’s episode, Gene challenges us to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” God wants to reach out to us and have a relationship. He is waiting. Will you respond? Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you...

At the heart of a flourishing relationship is unconditional love and unconditional respect. Today Gene gives husbands 3 ways they can demonstrate unconditional love. First, by getting to know her. Second, by accepting her. Third, by making her your priority. Gene reminds us today that in order to pull any of this off, we need to be filled with the Spirit of God. Pray and ask Him to help you fulfil...

In today’s episode, Gene challenges women to respect their husbands. Deep down inside every man is a little boy trying to prove he’s a man. You might think your husband or boyfriend is cocky and arrogant—and he may be—but it’s just because he’s making up for a deep need for acceptance. If you want to get off the crazy-making cycle and get on the crazy good cycle, follow the instruction manual…in E...

In Ephesians 5:21 the Apostle Paul says, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”  That verse is the key to all great relationships. The Bible says, “Husbands love your wives. Wives respect your husbands.” Why would God say that? Because He made us and He knows that the primary need of a woman is to be loved, and the primary need of a man is not love, but respect. Pursuing God with Gen...

In today’s episode, Gene challenges us with this:  If you are not a happy, content person in a soul-satisfying relationship with Jesus, no relationship, no man, no woman will ever make you happy. No human is capable of being the secret to your happiness. You can only ultimately find true happiness and contentment through a relationship with God. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you...

To experience God’s best in any of our relationships, we need the guiding presence of God’s Spirit and the wisdom of God’s word. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “…a chord of three strands is not quickly broken.” The presence of God’s Spirit within us is the 3rd strand. When God is part of the relationship, we are stronger, better, and able to overcome life’s storms. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designe...

Gene reminds us today that we need both truth and grace in our relationships. Truth without grace is mean. Grace without truth is meaningless. We need both. Imagine how much our relationships would improve if we were to aspire to be like Jesus in this regard—a perfect balance of grace and truth.   Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compass...

In today’s episode, Gene challenges us to speak the truth in love, but to be gentle. We need to turn down the heat, lower our voices, and speak the truth in the most loving way possible. We need to learn to be the master of the gentle answer.  Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s con...

Our words of blessing have the power to shape and mold people and mark their lives for a lifetime. The truth is we all need to hear we’re believed in, appreciated, and valued. Pray that God will give you the eyes to see “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable and anything that is excellent or praiseworthy.”  Pursuing God...

Without God in the equation, our relationships may not stand the test of time or the test of selfishness for that matter. But, with God, they become a very real possibility. Today Gene reminds us that prayer is one of the building blocks for bringing the kind of change within us that will lead to better relationships. You’ve prayed, “Lord change me.” Now, pray the prayer the Psalmist prayed in Psa...

Good relationships are possible but they are not probable. In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that when we face difficulty in our relationships, we need to pray, “God, change ME,” not “God change THEM.” If you come to God humbly and in genuine submission to do His will, then this is a prayer Gene guarantees God will answer because He specializes in changing lives! Pursuing God with Gene Appel is...

To be the radically inclusive church that Jesus died on a blood-stained cross for us to become, we must make the effort and take the initiative to build bridges of fellowship and brotherly love with ALL PEOPLE. Gene reminds us today that Revelation 5:9-10 describes a scene of people worshiping the Lamb of God around His throne in heaven singing from “every tribe and language and people and nation....

Gene reminds us today that words that tear down bring death. Words that build up and affirm, bring life. These are the words Jesus wants to hear us speaking to one another in the church. That’s why 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Encourage one another and build each other up.” Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scriptur...

In today’s episode, Gene takes us to the book of James. James 2:8 says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ you are doing right.” That’s God’s dream for His church, where you love your neighbor--whether they’re rich or poor, black or white, Asian or Hispanic, Republican or Democrat, blue collar or white collar, young or old. You love them all as y...

Most of us, if the truth were known, have a secret list of prejudices that we carry, but would never admit to. Gene reminds us in today’s episode that racism is not a skin issue, it’s a sin issue. Jesus said, by this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love  one another.” The church should be one place where we can truly say there is no favoritism and no racism. Pursuing God with...

In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that racism, classism, and sexism were crucified on the bloody cross of Jesus Christ. The human tendency is to divide people based on barriers of race, class, and gender. In sharp contrast, Jesus came to destroy division. He challenges us with the question, what can you do to make the church of Jesus Christ a community of radical inclusivity? Pursuing God with G...

The enemy uses temptation to drag us away from the Lord, so we need to fight back with Scripture. Jesus modeled how to use this weapon when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Identify where Satan is attacking you, then immerse yourself in the Scriptures that focus on that area. Gene reminds us that the Bible has specific scriptures for every area of temptation. Let the word of God wash ove...

The enemy’s goal is to do as much destruction as he can. We must take a ‘team approach’ to resist his schemes. Gene reminds us today that we need to have others help us resist temptation. Whether it’s a small group or a friend you can call any time, you must have others to pray, listen, and encourage. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash com...

Satan matches his temptation to our vulnerabilities. Where we’re weak, he attacks. He knows where to subtly get us to turn our attention away from the Lord. One way to resist the devil: Fight with joy. Joy gives you the strength to fight back. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s con...