Seeking Approval Podcast

Send us Fan Mail A God Who Does Not Change and Cannot Be Shaken God’s Immutability and Impassibility If God could change, His promises could fail. If God could be emotionally wounded, His sovereignty would weaken. In this episode, we examine two often misunderstood attributes of God: His immutability and His impassibility. Scripture reveals a God who does not shift, adjust, or evolve, and who is n...

Send us Fan Mail Peace = Rest...? We talk about rest as if it looks the same for everyone, but Scripture paints a deeper picture. In this episode, we explore what biblical rest really is and what it is not. Drawing from Hebrews 4, this conversation challenges the idea that rest is simply slowing down or doing nothing, and instead points us to a rest rooted in trust rather than striving. This episo...

Send us Fan Mail Knowing God as He Has Revealed Himself A foundational opening to the mini-series that will explore who God is before addressing other doctrines, affirming that God is Spirit and yet still truly revealed in scripture, infinitely greater than human understanding, and worthy of reverent study that bows where Scripture stops and worship begins.

Send us Fan Mail The Danger of Echoes In this episode, we step beyond the usual conversation about social media and explore the deeper, quieter danger of echo chambers in everyday life and spiritual thinking. An echo chamber is not simply a place where negativity lives. It is a place where unchallenged thinking thrives, where repeated agreement can slowly replace discernment and growth. Using Scri...

Send us Fan Mail Optimism vs Pessimism – Part Two  looks to Scripture for real-life examples of how God’s people handled the tension between hope and fear. This episode explores men and women who swung between emotional extremes, such as Elijah, David, and Peter, showing that wavering is part of spiritual growth, not a sign of failure. It also highlights believers like Joseph, Nehemiah, and Hannah...

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Send us Fan Mail In this opening episode, we explore the difference between optimism and pessimism through a biblical and practical lens. Rather than treating these as personality traits alone, this discussion examines how outlook shapes spiritual growth, relationships, decision making, and emotional health. Scripture teaches that our perspective matters because it influences how we respond to tru...

Send us Fan Mail When God Meets at the Altar and the Hindrances to Revival This episode teaches that when God meets a person at the altar, something eternal takes place. The altar is holy not because of where it stands, but because of who meets us there. Throughout Scripture, God has chosen the altar as the place of divine encounter, from Old Testament sacrifices to Christ’s surrender in Gethseman...

Send us Fan Mail Learning to Pray and Rebuilding the Family Altar This episode focuses on the pattern of prayer Jesus taught His disciples and how that pattern restores power to both the church and the home. When the disciples heard Jesus pray, they recognized a depth of intimacy with the Father they had never known, prompting their request, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus responded not with a rit...

Send us Fan Mail This opening episode is a heartfelt call to remember and restore the altar as the sacred meeting place between God and His people. It reflects on a time when the altar was central to worship, not reserved for crisis but embraced by sinners and saints alike as a place of humility, surrender, and holy encounter. Through personal memories and biblical examples, it reminds listeners t...

Send us Fan Mail What the Altar Represents and Where the Fire Falls This episode explains that the altar is not a piece of furniture but the meeting place between God’s holiness and man’s humility. Throughout Scripture, the altar marks moments of surrender, obedience, renewal, and divine intervention. From Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, and David to the cross of Christ itself, God has always...

Send us Fan Mail When Faithfulness Feels Unnoticed speaks to believers who are quietly walking with God without recognition or affirmation. This episode reminds listeners that Scripture is filled with faithful servants who obeyed God in obscurity and trusted Him without immediate results. Drawing from passages such as Galatians 6:9, Matthew 6, and the life of Joseph, the message encourages weary h...

Send us Fan Mail Unanswered Prayers explores one of the quiet struggles many believers face but rarely talk about. This episode looks at how Scripture addresses prayers that seem to go unanswered and why God’s silence is not the same as His absence. Through biblical examples from David, Moses, Paul, and even the Lord Jesus Himself, we are reminded that unanswered prayer is often a tool God uses to...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we reflect on the quiet but persistent “what ifs” that follow us through life. These questions do not always shout, but they slowly press on the heart, pulling us either into a future God has not given us yet or back into a past we cannot change. Left unchecked, both directions can quietly steal the peace God intends for today. This message looks at how fear, regr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we move from understanding the battle for the mind to learning how to win it in daily life. Spiritual victory is not found in emotional moments but in faithful, consistent practices that shape the thought life over time. Scripture gives clear, practical steps for guarding the mind, breaking mental strongholds, and establishing patterns of thinking rooted in truth....

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we examine God’s method for victory through the renewal of the mind. After strongholds are torn down by God’s power, the Lord replaces lies with truth by reshaping the believer’s thinking. Renewal is not a single moment but a daily process of surrender, obedience, and spiritual growth. Drawing from Romans 12:2, this episode shows how true transformation begins in...

Send us Fan Mail Seeking Approval (Episode 8) The Battle for the Mind Part 5 In this episode, we examine the strongholds of the mind and how they quietly form in the life of the believer. Drawing from Second Corinthians 10:4, we learn that strongholds are not passing thoughts or momentary struggles, but deeply rooted patterns of thinking built from lies, fear, wounds, and unchallenged beliefs that...

Send us Fan Mail In Part 4 of The Battle for the Mind , we examine the modern crisis of thought and the quiet ways the world wounds the Christian mind. While the world has always been difficult, today it is relentless, loud, and unceasing. Through constant noise, fear driven media, comparison, impurity, anger, distraction, doubt, and hopelessness, the culture steadily presses the believer into its...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we continue our study on the battle for the mind by examining the tactics used in spiritual warfare. Scripture makes it clear that the Christian life is not lived on neutral ground. The enemy targets the thought life, knowing that beliefs shape actions and actions shape direction. This episode walks through biblical truth that exposes the strategies of deception,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Smelcer continues the conversation by addressing the inner battles believers face as they try to live faithfully in a demanding and often distracting world. Rather than offering quick fixes or surface-level encouragement, this discussion slows the listener down and brings biblical clarity to how the mind, heart, and daily decisions are shaped over time. Drawin...

Send us Fan Mail In this opening episode of the mini-series, The Battle for the Mind, Dr. Smelcer takes time to slow the listener down and address a quiet struggle many believers carry but rarely put into words, the pressure of trying to live the Christian life ahead of where they actually are. Drawing from Scripture and pastoral experience, this conversation centers on what it truly means to walk...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we reflect on a quiet but powerful truth from Scripture about learning to rest the soul before God. Drawing from personal reflection and the Word of God, this episode speaks to the believer who has grown tired of striving, defending, and carrying burdens that were never meant to be held alone. Like a child that has been weaned and brought to rest, the soul finds p...

Send us Fan Mail  In this episode, we explore Isaiah 45:3 and the powerful truth behind the “treasures of darkness.” God speaks to Cyrus by name before he is ever born, reminding us that He prepares purpose before problems and hides blessings in places we would never choose. This episode offers biblical context, pastoral insight, and practical encouragement for anyone walking through a season that...

Send us Fan Mail This episode offers biblical perspective and practical encouragement for believers who want to walk with God faithfully but feel like they are constantly behind due to everyday pressures. Here, we will discuss learning how to take the Christian life one step at a time.