Some decisions, like who to marry, are big and will affect the rest of your life. Other decisions aren't as momentous, but they feel just as big.

On this episode of Let's Talk, Melissa Kruger, Jackie Hill Perry, and Jasmine Holmes talk about some of the big decisions they have made in life. They recognize that wise decisions come from seeking godly counsel, praying, meditating on God's Word. But even when a person does these things, the right decision isn't always abundantly clear.

Jasmine points out that we treat some decisions as if we are going to be bound by them forever. In the case of marriage, we are, but when it comes to other things we agonize over (such as school choice or the purchase of a home), we can make the best choice based on our current knowledge, and recalibrate sometime in the future if we need to. Wrestling through decisions isn't easy, but seeking God's guidance increases our reliance upon him.

In this episode, our hosts cover:

• Cutting with the sharp end of the ax—making tough decisions with surety (1:44)
• Inviting others into your decision-making (4:40)
• How to discern between God leading you, your feelings, and your friends (9:21)
• Living free of comparison in decision-making (13:26)
• A process for healthy decision-making (19:09)
• When God redeems a decision (25:34)
• One of their favorite things (28:55)

Related content:

• 12 Steps to Making Better Decisions
• Don't Trust the Peace in Your Heart
• What Is Discernment and How Do I Get Some? (audio)

Today’s episode of Let’s Talk is brought to you in part by International Justice Mission. IJM is a global nonprofit working to end slavery and violence around the world. They take on the difficult, complex work of helping governments protect their own citizens from brutal systems of oppression that have, in some cases, flourished for centuries. With your support, children, women, and men trapped in cycles of awful violence, abuse, and slavery can be found. They can be rescued and they can be restored to health and wholeness. By becoming a freedom partner, you can make this transformation possible. Freedom partners give monthly so IJM teams can show up month after month to rescue people from slavery and walk with survivors as they heal. Visit IJM.org/LetsTalk to join today. Your consistent support will impact the lives of individuals all over the world who are waiting to be free.

Please note that this conversation on hospitality was pre-recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope this conversation encourages you to show hospitality once it is safe to gather again.

On today's episode of Let's Talk, Jasmine Holmes, Jackie Hill Perry, and Melissa Kruger talk about welcoming friends and strangers into their homes. Hospitality comes naturally to some, but to others it feels intimidating, intrusive, or just optional. But more than once, the Bible commands Christians to show hospitality ("Show hospitality to one another without grumbling" 1 Peter 4:9).

Inviting others into your home can feel like a lot of work. Melissa says that nearly every time she has guests over, she says to her husband, "Now why are we doing this?" That feeling is normal. "... The good that the Lord wants us to do, we're always going to be tempted not to do," Melissa says. "And I feel that almost every time. And I think knowing that you're going to feel it has helped me push through it." By the time her guests leave, she's usually really glad they came.

For more on how to practice hospitality, check out the links below. You can subscribe to Let's Talk on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Next week's episode will be a conversation on how to make good decisions.

Our hosts address:

• Defining hospitality (4:05)
• Stories of good hospitality (5:20)
• Why hospitality is important (10:47)
• How to display a spirit of hospitality (15:31)
• Being hospitable in and out of church (18:00)
• Being hospitable during busy seasons (22:08)
• Facing fears that keep people from practicing hospitality (26:29)
• A growing need for hospitality as culture grows more progressive (30:56)
• One of their favorite things (33:02)

Related content:

• Why Hospitality Beats Entertaining
• Hospitality Is Not Just for Home
• Is Hospitality More than Entertaining? Yes, But . . .
• How to Be Hospitable in a Post-Christian World (audio)

Today’s episode of Let’s Talk is brought to you in part by International Justice Mission. IJM is a global nonprofit working to end slavery and violence around the world. They take on the difficult, complex work of helping governments protect their own citizens from brutal systems of oppression that have, in some cases, flourished for centuries. With your support, children, women, and men trapped in cycles of awful violence, abuse, and slavery can be found. They can be rescued and they can be restored to health and wholeness. By becoming a freedom partner, you can make this transformation possible. Freedom partners give monthly so IJM teams can show up month after month to rescue people from slavery and walk with survivors as they heal. Visit IJM.org/LetsTalk to join today. Your consistent support will impact the lives of individuals all over the world who are waiting to be free.

Sometimes, it surprises new Christians to find that they still struggle with sin. Although we have been united to Christ and justified by his righteousness, as long as we are on this earth, we still have a sinful nature and must daily resist temptation.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger talk about the ongoing struggle against sin in the Christian life. They each talk about personal struggles with temptation and what strategies help them resist it. In order to be motivated to fight sin, we have to believe what God says about it. Melissa reflects,

I think fighting sin is an act of belief. It says, you know what? I am limited. I don't understand how this world works, but God does. He's the creator. He made me. He actually knows how I work best. So all of scripture is actually, all the law is saying this is how you work best. . . . What I think I want isn't actually what's good for me.

Listen in on their conversation and be renewed in your own determination to fight for holiness as they discuss:

• Recognizing sin doesn’t go away when you come to faith—you have to fight it (1:52)
• The fight against sin as a war—being battle-ready (6:25)
• How Reformed theology may affect the fight against sin (8:45)
• Understanding the enemy (13:52)
• How friends help us fight the battle (16:27)
• Knowing your sins and staying soft-hearted toward them (19:48)
• The effect of covenant love on repentance (24:15)
• When fighting sin feels like death (27:28)
• What to say to people who don’t think they have sins to fight (28:55)
• Measuring against the correct standard (33:22)
• Scripture that encourages people to endure in the fight against sin (34:07)
• One of their favorite things (37:17)

Related content:

• Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices (book)
• I’m a Bad Mom, and It’s Not Okay
• The Pattern Among Fallen Pastors
• Love Your Neighbor Enough to Speak Truth

Today’s episode of Let’s Talk is brought to you in part by International Justice Mission. IJM is a global nonprofit working to end slavery and violence around the world. They take on the difficult, complex work of helping governments protect their own citizens from brutal systems of oppression that have, in some cases, flourished for centuries. With your support, children, women, and men trapped in cycles of awful violence, abuse, and slavery can be found. They can be rescued and they can be restored to health and wholeness. By becoming a freedom partner, you can make this transformation possible. Freedom partners give monthly so IJM teams can show up month after month to rescue people from slavery and walk with survivors as they heal. Visit IJM.org/LetsTalk to join today. Your consistent support will impact the lives of individuals all over the world who are waiting to be free.

Wounds inflicted within the church surprise us because we expect other Christians to act in godly ways. When they don't, it might make us question not only their faith, but our own. In this episode of Let’s Talk, Jasmine Holmes, Melissa Kruger, and Jackie Hill Perry talk about their own experiences in working through church hurt. Whether it's the pressure put on a pastor's kid to be perfect or the moral failure of a church leader, church hurt may follow us for the rest of our lives. But that doesn't mean God can't use it for good. It also doesn't mean we should stay away from church. As Jackie says in this discussion, "What healed me from church hurt was the church."

Our hosts discuss:

• Church hurt is a thing (1:44)
• Experiences with church hurt (3:31)
• How church hurt impacts peoples’ lives (7:03)
• The weight of relationships within the church (9:50)
• How to deal with church hurt (14:10)
• Spotting abuse and other signs of an unhealthy church (23:25)
• Dealing with an unrepentant person in your church (27:31)
• The church as a blessing (32:40)
• One of their favorite things (36:48)

We hope you are enjoying these conversations on applying biblical wisdom to every day life. If so, please tell your friends about it and invite them to listen!

Related content:

• Should We Stop Saying, “The Church Hurt Me”?
• Loving the Church When It Hurts (audio)
• How to Respond When Church Leaders Fall
• When #ChurchToo Hits Close to Home

This episode of Let’s Talk is brought to you in part by International Justice Mission. IJM is a global nonprofit working to end slavery and violence around the world. Across Southern Asia, IJM works to rescue people out of slavery and trafficking. In Latin America, they help children and women who have survived all kinds of violence and abuse. In short, IJM is a community of Christ followers fighting for the freedom and protection of the most vulnerable in our world. Over the last two decades, more than 50,000 individuals have been set free, thanks to people like you who sent IJM to rescue them. But there are thousands more—children, men and women—who are still waiting for rescue. You can make a difference in their lives by becoming a Freedom Partner. Visit IJM.org/LetsTalk to join today. Your consistent support will impact the lives of individuals all over the world.

In this episode of Let’s Talk, Melissa Kruger, Jackie Hill Perry, and Jasmine Holmes talk about how they fight against discontentment and envy. Because we live in a fallen world, we have to face the fact that life often won't be what we expect or desire. 

Our hosts discuss:

• Discontentment (1:58)
• The difference between accepting that the world is broken and discontentment (3:46)
• The root issues of trust and disbelief (9:59)
• Community and honesty as tools for overcoming discontentment (10:58)
• The complexity of Scripture on the matter (12:50)
• The effect of age and wisdom on discontentment (16:18)
• The effect of envy on our discontentment (21:30)
• Refocusing our minds to choose contentment (27:55)
• One of their favorite things (30:25)

But it takes discernment to know the difference between just dealing with life's imperfections and sinful discontentment. Melissa shares a change in her own thinking that transformed this battle: "What shifted is I recognized I have a heart problem, not a circumstance problem. So, that changes how I fight the battle. I realize, I'm going to be fighting this battle with discontentment my whole life, but I fight it differently."

During this season, Jackie, Melissa, and Jasmine will be doing a lot of talking as they seek to apply biblical wisdom to every day life. On each episode, they’ll discuss a topic like how to be godly on social media, how to make decisions, and how to build healthy friendships. 

Related content:

• The Ancient Problem of Discontentment
• Is My Desire Sour? 4 Questions To Consider
• The Envy of Eve (book)
• Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams are Delayed (book)

This episode of Let’s Talk is brought to you in part by International Justice Mission. IJM is a global nonprofit working to end slavery and violence around the world. Across Southern Asia, IJM works to rescue people out of slavery and trafficking. In Latin America, they help children and women who have survived all kinds of violence and abuse. In short, IJM is a community of Christ followers fighting for the freedom and protection of the most vulnerable in our world. Over the last two decades, more than 50,000 individuals have been set free, thanks to people like you who sent IJM to rescue them. But there are thousands more—children, men and women—who are still waiting for rescue. You can make a difference in their lives by becoming a Freedom Partner.

Visit IJM.org/LetsTalkto join today. Your consistent support will impact the lives of individuals all over the world.

In this first episode of Let’s Talk, a brand-new podcast for women from The Gospel Coalition podcast network, hosts Jackie Hill Perry, Melissa Kruger, and Jasmine Holmes tell their own stories of coming to faith in Christ. Each woman comes from a very different background, but all three recognize that the grace of God led them to repentance and faith. They branch out from their own stories to talk more generally about how we should think about, pray about, and go about sharing our faith with those who don't know Christ.

Our hosts discuss:

• An introduction to the podcast and our hosts (1:07)
• Melissa’s story of coming to faith (3:41)
• Jasmine’s story of coming to faith (5:14)
• Jackie’s story of coming to faith (7:22)
• The cumulative effect of sharing the gospel over time (8:44)
• Sharing the gospel with people who’ve grown up in Christian home (9:56)
• Growing in our ability to share our faith with different types of people (14:20)
• A recipe for gospel presentation (20:13)
• Moving easily into conversations about the gospel (24:33)
• Takeaways for everyday application (30:59)
• One of their favorite things (32:43)

Over the next nine weeks, Jackie, Melissa, and Jasmine will be doing a lot of talking as they seek to apply biblical wisdom to every day life. On each episode they’ll discuss a topic like fighting sin, overcoming church hurt, making decisions, and acting in a godly way on social media. We hope you'll subscribe today so that you can join them each week!

Related Content:

• Gay Girl, Good God (audio)
• We Talk About What We Love (article)
• 3 Overlooked Ways to Do Pre-Evangelism
• Jackie Hill Perry on the Gospel for Sinners (audio)

This episode of Let’s Talk is brought to you in part by International Justice Mission. IJM is a global nonprofit working to end slavery and violence around the world. Across Southern Asia, IJM works to rescue people out of slavery and trafficking. In Latin America, they help children and women who have survived all kinds of violence and abuse. In short, IJM is a community of Christ followers fighting for the freedom and protection of the most vulnerable in our world. Over the last two decades, more than 50,000 individuals have been set free, thanks to people like you who sent IJM to rescue them. But there are thousands more—children, men and women—who are still waiting for rescue. You can make a difference in their lives by becoming a Freedom Partner. Visit IJM.org/LetsTalk to join today. Your consistent support will impact the lives of individuals all over the world.