Pursuing God with Gene Appel

Time and again the Israelites missed out on joy in their lives -- no matter how God provided they slipped back into a posture of ungratefulness. Gene reminds us in today’s devotion that the Bible says, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes. 5:18) Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash...

Why do we struggle with change?  Why do we glamorize the past? So often we remember the past as better than it really was. In today's devotion, Gene teaches on three factors that contribute to our resistance to change.  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...

Psychologists say that when we go through too much life change we get on overload, which can lead to all kinds of emotional and physical problems. This week, Gene points us to principles we can learn from the Israelite’s 40-year journey -- to help us navigate change in our lives with a sense of confidence and God’s presence Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build com...

Are you ready to pray one of the most courageous prayers you can ever pray? To conclude this week’s series, Gene shares several pieces of wisdom about “second conversion” experiences including his own personal story of when God used crisis to change his life’s mission. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture an...

Sometimes God rocks your world through a church service. And sometimes He uses crises in our lives, when we are completely broken, to not only heal us but to transform us more than we knew possible. We never know when He is going to move, but when He does we need to be ready. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scrip...

It was like a second conversion for Peter as he follows God’s leading to share the message of Jesus’ love with people he wouldn’t have even eaten with a few days earlier. It’s through this experience that he realizes in Acts 10:34 (GNT) “that God treats everyone on the same basis.”  Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded i...

The Bible indicates that God quite possibly wants to do more in our lives than just our initial conversion. In today’s devotion, Gene shares a story from Acts 10 when God transforms the apostle Peter’s heart for people who are different from him 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 c...

Once we’ve said yes to Jesus, there is an ongoing sanctifying work that He does to keep changing and molding us. This week, Gene teaches that throughout our lives, if we’ll let Him, God will continue to rock our world in some transformative ways -- many times when we least expect it. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded...

When we sing “Holy Spirit, you are welcome here” we are saying “God, you are welcome in me. Come and fill ME.” Gene concludes this week of devotions by encouraging us to ask God to fill us with His Spirit. Because if we’re going to live in HIS strength, we’ve got to be FILLED with His strength Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion....

Are you willing to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit, even if it’s not what you predetermined it should be? Even if it involves risk? In today’s devotion, Gene shares two practical ways to follow the Spirit’s guidance when you sense His leading in your life Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped b...

John 16:13 says “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” In today’s devotion Gene shares, from his personal experiences, that many times the Spirit leads through gentle nudges. And if we’re going to be led by the Spirit, we must be open to His leadings.  Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Gro...

When life isn’t going smoothly, it’s easy to assume that we’ve missed God’s guidance -- that being led by the Spirit is about God leading us to the outcome we desire. Gene focuses his teaching today on “clarifying the goal”, because the Spirit’s guidance is not about personal success, but about personal transformation Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community...

When faced with a big decision to make, how often do you find yourself wishing that God would just send you a sign? This week Gene focuses on how to be led by the Spirit, recognizing that often the Spirit of God will lead us in ways that we wouldn’t have ever anticipated. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture...

We tend to see ourselves the way we think the most important people in our lives see us. In today’s devotion, Gene shares his hope for listeners -- that Jesus becomes the most significant person in your life. Because when you see yourself the way Jesus sees you it changes everything. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded...

You are so valuable and loved by God that He goes on a search for you, even when you are spiritually lost. So valuable that He sent His only son on a search and rescue mission for YOU.  And when you come home to Him, the Bible says there is rejoicing among the angels in heaven! Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scr...

Have you ever questioned how much God really loves YOU? In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories that unmistakably communicate His love for you.  In each scenario, that which is lost is worth looking for -- because you have no choice but to go on a passionate search when something lost has value. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion....

Sometimes we think that in order to be loved by God we need to clean up our act, be better people. In Luke 15, Jesus tells three unforgettable stories that illustrate God’s love for ALL people. No matter what you’ve done, His love is for YOU. 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 conv...

Our culture is “in love with love.” The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, said in Proverbs 19:22,, ”What a person desires is unfailing love.” And when you are loved with an UNFAILING love, it begins to CHANGE you. 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...

 It’s impossible to find purpose without handing over the keys of your life to God. It’s realizing, “I need Jesus Christ in my life not only to save me from my sin, but to live in God’s meaning and purpose for my life, indwelt with God’s Spirit.” 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...

 So where do you discover the purpose of your life? Solomon ends his journal by saying in Eccl. 12:2, “If you really want to find purpose in your life it comes down to 3 words.... “Remember your Creator...” The bottom line, after all this search has been completed, if you want to find your purpose, this is the key.  You must get an “above the sun” kind of perspective.  You must focus on that which...

 Wasn’t Solomon a believer in God?  How could he say that this life is meaningless ? Well it all comes down to the perspective from which he writes this book of Ecclesiastes.  --Solomon’s perspective is purely an earthly perspective.  if learning and knowledge was the path to purpose then the most fulfilled people in the world ought to be the most intelligent people , right? This wealthy, intellig...

 There’s a big difference between finding a path in life and discovering God’s purpose FOR your life. Solomon was a king and the richest person the world has ever known. The Bible says he denied himself nothing, yet he discovered that true fulfillment wasn’t found in the things of this world.  Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion....

Have you ever wondered why you were born? Deep down you sense there's a reason for being alive, but you can’t find it -- you feel stuck. Maybe your life has a path, but you feel like it doesn’t have a purpose. This week, Gene focuses on what we can learn from King Solomon’s quest for purpose. Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compass...

Followers of Jesus who live with boldness persevere -- and they persevere to the end. With still so much uncertainty as we look at the year ahead, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23  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 c...

How are you going to look at the hurdles you have before you right now? In a situation most of us would have thought was hopeless, Paul is thriving. Paul’s limitations were great, but he maximized the opportunities God gave him and persevered.   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 c...