Mustard Seed Obedience

Mustard Seed Obedience

You’ve probably heard someone say, “You just need more faith.” We push back on that idea by taking Jesus at His own words: mustard seed faith can move what looks immovable, and the real question is not whether we can manufacture belief but whether we will obey when He invites us. We start with Matthew 4 and the foundation of Jesus’ public message: repent, because the kingdom of God is at hand. That repentance is metanoia, a change of mind, and it sets up everything that follows. Then we sit in Luke 17 where the apostles ask for increased faith and Jesus answers in a way that feels almost disruptive. He links miracle-level faith with the posture of a servant who simply does their duty, and that shift levels the playing field. It makes the kingdom accessible to the lowly while removing any excuse to stay passive. From there we get practical. We walk through “impossible commands” Jesus gives, like stretching a withered hand or standing upright after years of infirmity, and we name the trap of false humility that sounds spiritual but actually blocks courage. Finally, we go to Luke 11 and talk about what to do when delay hits and the mulberry tree does not move. The answer is shameless persistence rooted in the Father’s character, steadying our hearts with the history we already have with Him. If you want a clearer, steadier way to think about faith, obedience, prayer, and the kingdom of God, listen through to the end, then share it with a friend and leave a review so more people can find the show. -------------------- As always, we hope this message stirs and encourages you! If you were blessed by this message and feel led to sow financial resources into The Resting Place, you can do so at the link below. Thank you! If you would like to give to The Resting Place click here: https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give? [https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give?] You can now support The Resting Place podcast by joining our subscription! Click the link below to join: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support [ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support] If you would like more information about The Resting Place or to subscribe to our email list, contact us here: https://therestingplaceia.com [https://therestingplaceia.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support]

Guarding The Seed When Life Gets Loud

The hardest spiritual moments are usually the quiet ones: delays you can’t explain, prayers that feel unanswered, and the creeping sense that you’re stuck. We sit with that tension and talk about patient endurance, not as grim survival, but as the way God turns truth into something real in us. Starting in Luke 8, we walk through the parable of the sower and ask the uncomfortable question: what actually happens to the Word of God after we hear it?  We dig into how the “cares of this life” can crowd out spiritual growth even when those cares are legitimate responsibilities. We talk about guarding the seed, protecting tenderness, and learning to judge our experiences in the light of revelation instead of letting our past write the final script. Then we move to James 1 and the shocking invitation to “count it joy” when faith is tested, because endurance grows maturity, and maturity looks like Christ-likeness, not just productivity.  Along the way we share stories of breakthrough and healing that happened when we felt nothing, and we explore why faith is required for endurance but joy is tied to cultivating relationship with the Holy Spirit. If you’ve been trying to stay faithful without becoming miserable, this one gives you a language and a practice for the long road.  If this episode blessed you, subscribe, share, and leave a comment! -------------------- As always, we hope this message stirs and encourages you! If you were blessed by this message and feel led to sow financial resources into The Resting Place, you can do so at the link below. Thank you! If you would like to give to The Resting Place click here: https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give? [https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give?] You can now support The Resting Place podcast by joining our subscription! Click the link below to join: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support] If you would like more information about The Resting Place or to subscribe to our email list, contact us here: https://therestingplaceia.com [https://therestingplaceia.com] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support]

Faith That Follows

Two blind men trail Jesus through a crowd, shout for mercy the whole way, and then walk straight into a house where they were never invited. That one scene in Matthew 9 exposes a question that still messes with us today: how can someone with “less” status, less certainty, and less welcome sometimes recognize Jesus more clearly than the people who think they have it all together? We start by pulling wisdom from Brother Lawrence and The Practice of the Presence of God, where prayer stops being a scheduled activity and becomes a steady, honest conversation with God in the middle of normal work. From there we read the healing story of the blind men and connect it to Isaiah 11, Jesus’ compassion, and the way the Messiah judges differently than human systems do. Along the way we talk about Jairus, the woman who touches the hem of Jesus’ garment, and how Jesus keeps stopping for the people who “should not” be there. Finally, we draw a line between believing in God’s power and trusting God’s compassion, because faith that moves toward Jesus is often rooted in believing He is willing. If this challenged you, share the episode, subscribe, and leave a review. -------------------- As always, we hope this message stirs and encourages you! If you were blessed by this message and feel led to sow financial resources into The Resting Place, you can do so at the link below. Thank you! If you would like to give to The Resting Place click here: https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give? [https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give?] You can now support The Resting Place podcast by joining our subscription! Click the link below to join: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support] If you would like more information about The Resting Place or to subscribe to our email list, contact us here: https://therestingplaceia.com [https://therestingplaceia.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support]

Jesus Asks For A Drink

Jesus doesn’t just give promises, He gives invitations and they often cost us our blueprint. We sit with a prophetic word spoken over Iowa that it will become a citadel of revival, then challenge the reflex to build an “infrastructure” that tries to control how God must fulfill it. What if the real goal isn’t getting the promise to happen faster, but becoming like Jesus while we wait? We also confront a grim idea we’ve heard in church culture: that the enemy is God’s primary tool to bring people to repentance. We push back with a better story rooted in Scripture, the goodness of God, and the steady work of the Holy Spirit. From there, John 4 becomes our map. Jesus sits at an existing well, asks a Samaritan woman for a drink, and turns a small offering into an encounter with living water. That exchange reframes worship, prayer, and spiritual renewal: bring Him your real life, even the parts you feel unworthy to offer. Along the way we talk Tozer, prevenient grace, and Romans 8:29, where “conformed” means sharing the same form and standard as Christ. The presence of Jesus isn’t a side topic, it’s the gateway. If you’re hungry for revival in Des Moines, Iowa, or anywhere that feels forgotten, start here: make space for Him to rest, and let His presence do what nothing else can. If this stirred something in you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs a drink, and leave a review so more people can find the conversation. -------------------- As always, we hope this message stirs and encourages you! If you were blessed by this message and feel led to sow financial resources into The Resting Place, you can do so at the link below. Thank you! If you would like to give to The Resting Place click here: https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give? [https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give?frequency=once&next_process_date=04/20/2026&fund_id=04ddbd9c-a576-4027-884c-43e2c4fd0d50] You can now support The Resting Place podcast by joining our subscription! Click the link below to join: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support] If you would like more information about The Resting Place or to subscribe to our email list, contact us here: https://therestingplaceia.com [https://therestingplaceia.com] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support]

Adversity Reveals Real Hope

Adversity has a way of stripping everything down to what’s real. When the wind is loud, the stress is constant, and your emotions feel one step from spiraling, you find out fast what you’ve actually built your inner life on. We go after a hard but necessary question: how do we grow in hope while we’re living through things that feel hopeless? We define hope as the joyful expectation of good, and we talk about why that kind of hope can’t be borrowed from better circumstances. It has to be formed in you.    We connect Jesus’ picture of building on rock versus sand to everyday pressure like financial turmoil, sickness, anxiety, depression, and prolonged hardship. If “I’m beloved” and “I’m in union with God” stay as mental agreement instead of practiced reality, adversity will expose the gap, and your interior world can crumble even while your theology sounds right. We also name the accusations that hit during suffering: “Why is God letting this happen?” and “If He’s good, why didn’t He stop it?” Then we offer a grounding filter that helps you refuse blame-shifting and stay rooted in the Father’s goodness.    Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians and Romans 8 bring it home: weakness can become the place where grace and resurrection power show up most clearly. The practical takeaway is simple but deep: cultivate relationship with the Holy Spirit. We close with specific practices you can start today, especially silence and listening, along with worship, Scripture, and praying in the Spirit. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s under pressure, and leave a review. What’s one practice that helps you stay hopeful when life gets hard? -------------------- As always, we hope this message stirs and encourages you! If you were blessed by this message and feel led to sow financial resources into The Resting Place, you can do so at the link below. Thank you! If you would like to give to The Resting Place click here: https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give [https://subsplash.com/u/therestingplace/give?frequency=once&next_process_date=02/17/2026&fund_id=04ddbd9c-a576-4027-884c-43e2c4fd0d50] You can now support The Resting Place podcast by joining our subscription! Click the link below to join: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support] If you would like more information about The Resting Place or to subscribe to our email list, contact us here: https://therestingplaceia.com [https://therestingplaceia.com] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2129391/support]