Psalm 100:4 says to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. While some assert that “gates” refers to the gates of the city, the line pairs “gates” with “his courts.” In the Hebrew Bible “courts” (ḥaṣērôt) is the standard word for the enclosure(s) of the tabernacle/temple complex, not a city square, so the parallelism points to temple gates. 

Classic commentaries read the phrase explicitly as “the gates of His Temple … and the courts of His Temple,” i.e., a liturgical call to enter the sanctuary for worship. 

The same worship-setting appears in related psalms: “Open to me the gates of righteousness …” which commentators identify with the temple entrance. 

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Clearly God wants us to have grateful, thankful hearts. And we benefit by receiving His peace when we pray and do so with thanksgiving.

Mark lays out the path from entering His gates to His glory inside the temple. It’s an awesome path and one that hopefully will encourage you to be thankful.

Please watch/listen and share this episode with friends and/or family members who need encouragement about being thankful. And remember, God loves you!

You can watch on our YouTube channel here:

Or listen to the podcast here or at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Amazon.

The simplicity of Christ  is the foundation of the Gospel. Unfortunately, our tendency as humans to “add to” even the most basic of concepts has led to a division among some leaders regarding the theology and doctrine of the finished work of Christ.

Impacted strongly by the message of the Gospel as presented at this past weekend’s memorial for Charlie Kirk, Mark shares how vital it is for the church to get back to the simplicity of Christ. Also, to embrace the simple truths of God’s love and grace, getting believers off of the “hamster wheel of performance.”

Watch this latest episode on YouTube:

Or listen here. As always Fueled by Grace is available at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon.

Death, sickness, financial loss, and other challenges can be part of life  any of these can make even the strongest believer question, “why,” and “is God really good?“

As promised, my guest on this episode of Fueled by Grace, is Jeff Stockford. Jeff brings needed encouragement and truth to these and other questions and convincingly assures us that God is good!

Watch this episode on the video podcast below, or listen at any of your favorite podcast outlets, or by clicking the audio player below.

Jeff reminds us that Jude exhorts us to “keep yourselves in the love of God.”

Please like and share this episode as Jeff’s message is a real blessing, and can be a real encouragement to many who hear it.

Here are a few dates coming up wherein Jeff will be ministering:

7/6/25       Grandy Assembly of God, Grandy, NC

7/17/25    Burlington Assembly of God, Burlington, NC

9/7-9/25   Burlington Assembly of God, Burlington, NC

Don’t forget to visit www.jeffstockford.com for Jeff’s music, itinerary, and his amazing book, “I’m Taking You Another Way.” It is also available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com

Here is the Fueled by Grace channel on Youtube…watch this awesome episode with Jeff, and please like and share the video:

Here is the podcast player. Remember, you can also listen at Apple Podcasts, Amazon, and Spotify. Like and share it, too!

In this episode we are encouraged that it is the kindness and love of God that makes us new, not our righteous deeds. We cast off the burdens of guilt and shame when we realize that our righteous deeds are not good enough and never will be good enough.

Let’s join Pastor Mark in setting our minds as the Apostle Paul instructed, “on things above,” (Colossians 3:2). One of the “things above” we can set our minds on is the kindness and goodness of our Heavenly Father.

Too often we are told in church or by leaders in books that it is our lives, our works that we need to set our minds on, not the kindness of God. As God moves on the earth during these days, He is purifying the message, restoring the truth of the Gospel to His church and to the world. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance.

We are going to start to feature guests on Fueledby Grace! Our next episode, Lord willing, will feature Pastor and Psalmist, Author Jeff Stockford. Jeff has a heart after God like none other, and we will definitely be encouraged by his insight and passion. Spread the word!

Here is the video broadcast of the latest episode, and the audio player is below. Enjoy!

As most of you know, I have been in a battle with cancer. During this battle I learned a new word. Find out what it is in this episode of Fueled by Grace.

I want to thank God for allowing me to be back sharing the message of His great love!

Watch/listen at our Fueled by Grace YouTube channel or listen to the podcast here or at Apple, Spotify and Amazon. Remember, God loves you!

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 We were crucified with Christ!

The Holy Spirit of God lives in us if we are born again. Our “flesh” the Apostle Paul says is where sin is, and the “new man” is in union with the Holy Spirit. At www.seeinggrace.com, James Barron at says it is an amazing act of spiritual circumcision that Paul talks about where the flesh is cut away from the new man!

Think about it. God could not join Himself to sin. But, as we have been crucified with Christ and it is now Christ living in us, God by the Holy Spirit can abide in us. His nature, His joy and peace and strength are ours!

Today you can take a diffferent path for your life. You can stop walking on the road that focuses on your failures, your mistakes, and your sins. And you can start walking on the road of God’s love and grace, with the words of Jesus, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more,” guiding your steps.

Listen to the latest Fueled by Grace podcast – or watch the video podcast linked below – and be encouraged in your faith!

Jacob woke up after seeing the ladder with angels ascending and descending and said, “God is in this place and I knew it not.” So often we as believers don’t realize or remember that “God is in this place” (in us). Essentially we “know it not.”

Why is this so often the case? It is simply because we have been raised on a mixture of law and grace, and we are taught more frequently to look at our sin and failures instead of the God who is “in this place.”

In this message, Mark will encourage us to remember that God is in us – He is in this place. And, he shows us a wonderful nugget at the end of Jacob’s story at Bethel

Listen and share this powerful podcast, and also be sure to check out Mark’s new book, “Streams of Life” right here at Fueled by Grace, and order your copy today. https://fueledbygrace.com/streams-of-life/

Or, you can watch the video version right here:

You can listen to the podcast using the player here, or at Apple podcasts, Amazon podcasts, or Spotify podcasts.

Or you can watch the video right here:

“Pride goes before a fall.” This is a Scripture found at Proverbs 16:18, tucked in between verse 17 – “The highway of the upright avoids evil; those who guard their ways preserve their lives,” and verse 19 – “Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.”

Like trying to navigate one’s way through a forest without the light of the sun breaking through the trees, having a prideful heart can make us stumble and fall.

The way to humility is found in the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8,9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

In this episode of Fueled by Grace Pastor Mark shares how receiving the love and grace of God is the doorway to a life of humble gratitude, as opposed to living in prideful arrogance. And, he issues a call to pray in humility as individuals, as saints in the body of Christ, and for our nation’s leaders.

There are two ways to enjoy this latest episode of Fueled by Grace. Listen as a podcast using the player on this page, or at Apple, Spotify or Amazon podcasts. Or, watch the video version here:

What a reality…what a truth! I am righteous, you are righteous! If you have accepted God’s gift of salvation you have been made righteous. It’s awesome!

Not only do we receive eternal life, John 3:16, but we are changed here on this earth when we accept the finished work of Christ. We are made righteous. In the NIV, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

I love the way the Passion Translation states 2 Cor 5:21 – “For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.”

Listen as Mark shares this wonderful truth that is guaranteed to change your life as you meditate on it and make it a part of your life.

We celebrate Easter as a way to acknowledge and commemorate the resurrection from the dead of our Lord Jesus. But what does life after Easter look like for the believer? Mark gives great encouragement of God’s love in this latest episode of Fueled by Grace. Watch and share or listen and share. Thank you!