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When I was a little girl, I loved the old hymn “Count Your Blessings.” The song encourages those who are “tempest-tossed” and “thinking all is lost” to “count your blessings, name them one by one.” Years later when my husband, Alan, was discouraged, he would often ask me to sing that simple song to him. Then I would help him to enumerate his blessings. Doing so took Alan’s focus off his struggles and self-doubt and centered his thoughts on God and his reasons for thankfulness.

The book of Ezra describes God’s people facing overwhelming challenges through focusing on God’s power and provision. After they’d endured decades of captivity in Babylon, King Cyrus allowed the Jewish exiles to return to Israel to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1-2). Only a fraction returned (2:64). Despite their “fear of the peoples around them” and the great task before them, they rebuilt the altar and laid the temple’s foundation (3:3, 10). Then “with praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.’ And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord” (3:11).

If you’re discouraged or facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles, turn your thoughts toward God. “Count your blessings . . . and it will surprise you what the Lord has done,” and continues to do, for those who love Him.

In this episode, I talk with Brian Recker about his new book Hell Bent and the ways fear-based theology has shaped so many of our spiritual imaginations. Brian grew up learning about hell and God in the same breath, and he unpacks how that fusion created a system built on binary thinking, punishment, and spiritual insecurity. We explore his journey from fundamentalism to evangelical ministry to a reimagined faith centered on love, liberation, and a vision Jesus preached. We get into Gehenna, apocalyptic language, why evangelicals cling to certainty, how fear distorts our understanding of God, and what it means to live as people who bring heaven to earth rather than create hell on it. This is a conversation about reclaiming our belovedness, deconstructing fear, and rediscovering a spirituality that looks like compassion, justice, and the radical welcome of Jesus.

Brian Recker, M.Div, is a public theologian, speaker, and writer on Christian spirituality without exclusionary dogma. The son of a Baptist preacher and an alum of the fundamentalist Bob Jones University, he spent eight years as an evangelical pastor before deconstructing his faith to find a more inclusive spirituality. He now speaks about following Jesus without fear of hell on his popular Instagram account and his Substack, Beloved. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, and has four children and a rescue pup named Maev.

Brian's Book:

Hell Bent

Brian's Recommendations:

Reason, Faith, and Revolution

Acts

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Dr. Caroline Leaf explains her philosophy on the distinction between the mind and the brain, and how to utilize your mind to combat stress, anxiety, and burnout. She also weighs in on AI and its...

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This Christmas, you can shine the light of Christ into places of darkness and pain with a purchase from the Joni and Friends Christmas catalog. You are sending hope and practical care to people with disabilities, all in the name of Jesus!

Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

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I’ve never been surprised by God’s judgment, but I’m still stunned by his grace. God’s judgment has never been a problem for me. In fact, it always seems right. Lightning bolts on Sodom. Fire on Gomorrah. Good job, God! Egyptians swallowed in the Red Sea. They had it coming. Discipline is easy for me to swallow, logical to assimilate. But God’s grace? Anything but.

Examples? How much time do you have? Peter denied Christ before he preached Christ. Zacchaeus, the crook. The cleanest part of his life was the money he’d laundered, but Jesus still had time for him. The thief on the cross – hung-out to die one minute, heaven-bound and smiling the next.

Story after story. Surprise after surprise! Search the pages, read the stories. Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture. Search. You won’t find it. 

Read more When God Whispers Your Name

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

In today's episode of The Emotionally Healthy Leader Podcast, I'm joined by my longtime friend and the new President of Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, Drew Hyun, for a conversation unlike any we've ever released.

This is a new season for EHD—one marked by fresh leadership, expanding vision, and a renewed commitment to forming leaders around the world in a deep, beneath-the-surface discipleship. Drew and I look back on our 24-year history, the shaping influence of New Life Fellowship, and the surprising road that led him to carry this movement forward. You'll also hear how church planting, crisis, and personal formation prepared him for this moment.

In part two, we go deeper into succession—what it demanded of both of us, the internal work required, and the lessons every pastor or leader needs when stepping into (or stepping out of) significant responsibility.

Whether you're navigating leadership transition, rebuilding your soul, or discerning your next step with EHD, this episode offers a hopeful and honest invitation to join what God is doing in this new season.

When I was younger, I thought it improper to ask God to help me meet writing deadlines. Other people have greater needs, I told myself. Family problems. Health crises. Job letdowns. Financial needs. I’ve faced all those things, too. But meeting a writing deadline seemed too small to take to God. I changed my view, however, after finding multiple examples in the Bible of God helping people regardless of the challenge they faced.

In one story, the Israelites were dismayed because they faced an attack at Mizpah by their enemies, the Philistines. “[The Israelites] said to Samuel, ‘Do not stop crying out to the Lord our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines’ ” (1 Samuel 7:8). In response, Samuel sacrificed a lamb to God, crying out to Him on Israel’s behalf, “and the Lord answered him” (v. 9).

“While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites” (v. 10).

Later, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’ ” (v. 12). Samuel placed the stone to commemorate God helping His people. Ebenezer means “stone of help.”

Asking God for help is always proper. Let’s call out to Him today.

In this episode, we take a deep look at the Pilgrims’ perilous journey to the New World, the brutal first year marked by starvation and loss, and the surprising events that shaped the very first Thanksgiving. John Felkins and Stephen Mansfield unpack the leadership, faith and resilience behind the story.

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Leadership success often hinges on a trait many people misunderstand: self-awareness. In today's fast-paced world, leaders are surrounded by noise: social media flattery, AI-generated validation, and constant feedback loops that create more confusion than clarity. And while confidence is essential, when it crosses into narcissism, the fallout can be devastating. Think Enron, Lehman Brothers, or any organization led by someone blind to their own flaws. Narcissistic leaders may get results, but the cost is often burnout, chaos, and shattered trust. So how do you know if you're headed down that path? And what does true, effective leadership actually look like in a world addicted to ego boosting?

This week, Don and Kyle sit down with leadership advisor and former White House speechwriter Les Corba to unpack the nuances between healthy confidence and dangerous self-absorption. You'll learn how to spot narcissistic messaging, build trust, foster honest feedback, and create a culture of self-awareness, starting with yourself. Listen in to discover how to lead with the kind of self-awareness that earns real trust and has a lasting impact.

Click HERE to get in-person help creating your marketing at the next available StoryBrand Your Business LIVE event.

Buy Les' book "Aware: The Power of Seeing Yourself Clearly" on Amazon HERE.

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Learn how to make your marketing and messaging work using a proven framework in the updated book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0. Order it now on Amazon  or wherever you buy books!

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This Christmas, you can shine the light of Christ into places of darkness and pain with a purchase from the Joni and Friends Christmas catalog. You are sending hope and practical care to people with disabilities, all in the name of Jesus!

Thank you for listening! Your support of Joni and Friends helps make this show possible. Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

Find more encouragement on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube.