The 2nd Mile Podcast

Following behind Jesus is a good path. Walking beside your spouse is a special journey as well. What happens if those two directions are opposing from each other? It is possible to follow Jesus and walk beside your spouse. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in prioritizing a spiritually-enriching marriage.

If each of us is promised to encounter trials in this life, that guarantees that those who are married will experience double the amount. Life will throw certain challenges at each of you, but they don’t have to come in between you. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in having a marriage triumphant through trials.

If you are single, maybe you think about getting married one day. As friends progress through their wedding days, the pressure can mount for you to find someone. While eagerness for marriage is a good trait, you must be careful not to rush into something that’s not ideal. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in your dating preparation.

As you seek to become a better student of the Word, you quickly realize that this process takes work. It doesn’t come naturally, and the Bible is a very big book full of complex details. Good intentions can easily become sidelined. God wouldn’t set you up to fail. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in protecting your Bible reading plan.

Bible reading is one of those tricky habits for a disciple of Jesus Christ. We all know we should be doing it. We assume that everyone else is more consistent than we are, but yet we start numerous plans only to stop along the way. You are not alone. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in finishing a Bible reading plan.

Proverbs 22:1 reads that “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” The reality is that each of us will be remembered for something, but will you be remembered for something good? It’s time to go the 2nd mile in your life’s ambition.

Plenty of people associate with Jesus, but very few keep their steps at a pace where they can truly follow him. He is not someone that you want to follow halfway with mediocre attempts.  If you’ve been following Jesus at a distance, it’s time to go the 2nd mile in your spiritual journey.

The lights are hung, the presents are wrapped, the food is prepared, and the sweaters are laid out. What could be missing? Jesus. Jesus might be missing. If you are worried of missing Christ this Christmas, it is time to go the 2nd mile in your Christmas celebration.

The Great Commission calls us to make disciples – not converts. As he ascended into the skies, Jesus clarified our purpose of discipleship when he delivered the Great Commission. The job is incomplete when someone comes to faith in Christ. Discipleship – and not conversion – is the goal. Evangelism is necessary, but it is not ultimate.

Most Christians can easily communicate the importance of making disciples, but few can articulate how they are personally engaging in the process. Proclaiming the need for discipleship in theory is not the same as prioritizing its implementation in life. Most churches and ministries are very busy with numerous activities, yet many regularly lament the lack of tangible success despite extensive eff...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also be the most frantic. As you prepare for Christmas, you may feel many expectations that can cause you to make some poor financial decisions. You don’t have to go broke during the holidays. It’s time to go the 2nd mile on Black Friday.

While we are much more than what we do, a significant portion of our lives will be spent in the 9-5 realm.  That’s why how we approach work is so vital to our overall outlook in life. Have you ever considered your work as it relates to your walk? It’s time to go the 2nd mile as a kingdom-minded employee.

You know your marriage needs work, and you accept that your spouse isn’t 100% completely to blame for the condition of your marriage. You are ready and committed to do the work, but what if your spouse isn’t putting forth the same type of effort? It’s time to go the 2nd mile in working on your marriage all by yourself.

You’ve already been tempted to sin today numerous times. While everyone is tempted, particular people are more prone to certain temptations than others. While you can’t avoid being tempted, you can fight against its pull. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in overcoming temptation.

It almost seems necessary for young parents to speak as if their children are a hindrance. As parents bemoan their roles as pure drudgery, the culture and the kids get the message: children are unwanted. If you read Scripture, you realize that children aren’t a burden - they are a blessing. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in affirming your children.

If you grew up in church, you probably memorized the Lord’s prayer from Matthew 6. In many services, the entire congregation recites it out loud as a part of the worship. While this is a great implementation, did Jesus mean for us simply to quote it? It’s time to go the 2nd mile with the Lord’s prayer.

Each of us must count the cost to follow Jesus. We need more than motivation to begin; we need preparation to endure. If not careful, we will start with high aspirations yet fail to follow through due to a lack of planning.

For all the progress you have made in your life, have you ever realized how desperately dependent on God you still are? Our cultural mantra wants to espouse independence as if we have it all together, but the longer we walk, the more it seems that we trip up. Do you feel like you don’t have it together? It’s time to go the 2nd mile in your dependence on God.

Have you considered the spiritual giants in your life and why they are that way? They just seem to be in a different category than everyone else. We often categorize them as those who must be more spiritual than the rest of us, but what if that’s not it? What if it is because they are more disciplined than the rest of us? It’s time to go the 2nd mile in spiritual disciplines.

You’ve made some adjustments. You’ve seen some improvement, but you also admit that you’re not there yet. Each of us have many areas in our lives that could benefit from some further growth. In discipleship, you don’t have to be there yet, but you should be getting there. It’s time to go the 2nd mile in admitting your needed development.

Are you confident in the fundamentals of your faith? Maybe the better question is, do you believe what you believe? As a follower of Jesus, you have a set of doctrinal beliefs that come along with the territory, but are they settled in your mind? It’s time to go the 2nd mile in reinforcing the most critical doctrine.

There is a sin or a few sins that easily entangle you. While we all can struggle with every possible sin imaginable, there are certain sins with which we regularly drift. In order for you to make progress in your discipleship, you need to narrow down the list to the sin which is critical for you to address right now.

You don’t have to follow Jesus; you get to follow Jesus. The moment that you can see your walk as an opportunity rather than an obligation is the moment when your growth will progress exponentially. If you have felt like you are following Jesus out of duty, it’s time to go the 2nd mile in rediscovering delight in our discipleship.

We talk about discipleship in churches a lot, but are we really doing it? Jesus’s words are straightforward - make disciples of all nations. Before we attempt to make a bunch of disciples, maybe we just need to learn how to make one. It’s time to go the second mile in developing a discipleship plan.

At some point in our lives, we have all desired to know God’s will in some area. We almost speak of finding God’s will as if it is something he is trying to hide from us. God wants you to do his will even more than you want to do his will. It’s time to go the second mile in finding God’s will.