Pursuing God with Dave and Gene

Don’t believe the lie that your success defines your identity. In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that our identity is not defined by what we do, but rather that we matter to God. Making more money and having more to prove to others that we’re successful is meaningless. As Solomon says in the book of Ecclesiastes, it is chasing after the wind.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Sometimes a good thing can make you drift from the best thing. Success can cause you to drift away from the things that matter—your marriage, your kids, your soul. Life can get busy and you can stop taking the time you need to be spending in prayer and fellowship. This is what happened to Solomon. Gene shows us the parallels between Solomon’s life and what can happen to us when we look to our success as the primary source of our happiness.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

It’s difficult to imagine that having great success can ruin your life. In today’s episode, Gene talks about Solomon, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes. It isn’t bad to have desires and dreams and to work hard to make them happen. But success and ambition with the aim of seeking to please people instead of God will take us down a dark path.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

We should never regret the sorrow that comes our way if it causes us to find God. We don’t always know why God allows certain things, but we know He can always use them. In today’s episode, Gene reminds us that suffering doesn’t last forever. While it is intense for a few years here on Earth, it pales in comparison to the time we’ll spend in eternity if we have trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

When we go through suffering, Gene reminds us that we aren’t alone. We can find strength when we need it by turning to God. In today’s episode, Gene points us to several Scriptures that show that the Lord is with us all the time, especially in suffering. When we hurt, God hurts.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Because we’re given free will and free choice, sometimes we choose poorly. The problem of suffering goes back to Genesis where Adam and Eve were given free will. They chose to disobey God, and thus brought sin into the world, which is why we suffer today. Gene says that sometimes we cannot answer the question of why we suffer. But we don’t have to do through suffering alone - God is always with us.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

If God wants only good for us, why do we suffer? Sometimes it’s a result of our own sin such as overeating or drinking too much. Other times it’s the result of others’ sin. It can also be caused by the attacks of Satan. Most suffering comes because we live in a fallen world. Today Gene encourages us with this quote from Philip Yancey: “Don’t confuse life with God.”

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

Everyone has personally experienced pain and suffering. In today’s episode, Gene says it is okay to ask God why. He can handle our big questions.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

God is more powerful than our circumstances. He is greater and bigger than anything we’re going through. Gene tells the story of the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament who proclaims that nothing is impossible with God. Gene talks about how God gives us power along the way, moment by moment, as we walk through difficult seasons. Our part is to trust that God is present and more powerful than anything we are facing.

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.

God is always present in our circumstances. It is impossible to understand how every one of us has God’s presence all the time, everywhere. Yet in today’s episode, Gene comforts us with the assurance that God is our constant companion because He is omnipresent. 

Pursuing God with Gene Appel is designed to help you pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by Eastside’s conviction that God’s grace is for everyone, each episode invites you to discover God’s presence and activity in your life.