Followed By Mercy
The Followed By Mercy Podcast
Real Grace, Honest Hope
You might notice a new name and a fresh look, but the heart behind this podcast is the same. After years as the World Evangelism Podcast, I sensed God leading me to a deeper, more personal path centered on His relentless mercy and the kind of honest hope that can reach into every hurting place. That’s why this show is now called Followed By Mercy Podcast. The format may shift, and the tone may be a bit more personal, but my mission hasn’t changed: I still believe the world desperately needs to hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. You are welcome here if you’ve been with me from the beginning or just found us now.
What if God’s love is more personal, stubborn, and relentless than you ever imagined?
Welcome to The Followed By Mercy Podcast, where we get honest about pain, hope, and the kind of grace that finds you right where you are, five days a week. This isn’t about religious performance or church routines. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt worn out, unseen, or unsure if they belong in the story of God’s love. Every conversation is rooted in this reality: God loves you right now, just as you are, and He isn’t giving up on you.
Here’s what you’ll find in every episode:
Experience God’s Relentless Love
Every show starts by reminding you that the Shepherd knows your name, cares about your story, and isn’t offended by your failures or questions. This is personal—it’s about God’s unwavering affection for you.
Find Your Place in His Heart
Once you grasp how fiercely you’re loved, sharing that love with others doesn’t feel forced. It becomes the most natural thing in the world. Real grace overflows.
Prayer That Changes You
We pray together—not just for the world “out there,” but for the battles and hopes you’re carrying right now. These prayers are honest, rooted in Scripture, and meant for hearts that need a gentle touch from the Shepherd.
Discover Your Unique Role
Whether you’re called to go, give, serve, or show kindness in your corner of the world, God’s mercy meets you where you are. You’re not just a bystander. You are His beloved, invited into the story He’s writing.
When life knocks the wind out of you, this is a place to catch your breath. You’ll hear the encouragement that meets you on your hardest days, and your honest questions will be welcomed. No pretending, no heavy-handed advice—just the reminder that your Shepherd is right there with you, walking every step with you, even when you feel like giving up.
Why does this matter? Because some days, it feels like nobody sees you or cares what you’re going through. But the truth is, you have a Shepherd who never takes His eyes off you, lets you slip through the cracks, and never gives up on you. That kind of love can put you back on your feet, and it might be the hope someone else is waiting to see in you, too.
If you’re longing for more than just religious talk—if you want to know you’re not alone and that God’s mercy is following you all the way home, you’re in the right place. Whether you listen in the car, on a walk, or in a quiet moment, let every episode remind you: God’s mercy is after you right now, ready to bring real grace and honest hope.
Subscribe today and join a community to discover what happens when loved people become loving people. The journey’s just beginning, and there’s a place for you here.
Followed By Mercy
Living From Your Identity, Not For It
Have you ever felt worn out from trying to earn God’s approval? Many of us grew up believing we had to strive harder, clean ourselves up, and prove ourselves worthy before coming to Him. But the opening verses of Ephesians turn that whole idea upside down.
Paul’s words “grace to you and peace” aren’t just a polite greeting. They’re a bold declaration of reality. Grace comes first, not as a reward for good behavior but as God’s gift to us through Christ. And from that grace flows peace, not a fragile feeling but the steady presence of Jesus Himself, who is our peace.
In this episode, we discover that God didn’t wait for us to reach up to Him. He came down to us. Our identity as saints and faithful ones isn’t something we earn through performance but something already secured by His finished work. That truth changes how we face anxiety, shame, and even our relationships with others.
We are no longer striving for acceptance but living from it. We are no longer strangers but family. And as grace and peace shape our lives, they naturally flow through us to those around us.
Grace and peace are not distant goals but present realities, gifts already given in Christ.
Share this episode with someone who needs to stop striving and start resting in the inheritance that is already theirs in Jesus.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Well, I'm back with you here on, followed by Mercy, and I'm excited to continue in the truths that are being taught in Ephesians, chapter 1. And now I move with you today to verse 2, grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we need to get a hold of it. Remember, we are saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. And now God says to us grace, or Paul says Holy Spirit's saying it, because the Holy Spirit's writing this through the Apostle Paul, and he says grace to you and peace from God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's what the beautiful thing is you don't begin with yourself. The verse starts with grace. Grace is God. You begin with God.
Austin Gardner:Most of us were taught something like get right with God, keep trying harder, strive, clean yourself up, work your way into God's favor. That's not what Paul starts with. Paul is using a greeting here, but in the greeting as a truth you overlook so many times as you go through, you just kind of overlook it, you don't pay attention to it. He is not telling you to get right with God, he's making a declaration. He's saying to you this is not a call to action, I'm making a declaration Grace and peace are already yours, not because of what you've done, but because of what God has done in Christ. Isn't that beautiful? It's not just a greeting, it's a starting point. It's the gospel. Grace and peace are from the Father. They're not something we generate. They come through Jesus Christ, not our effort. Are you getting a hold of these great truths? You don't have to prove yourself to the Father. He already calls you his own. He's the one that named you faithful. He's the one that named you saint. This isn't some kind of motivational psychology. It's biblical truth. God is not waiting for you to climb a ladder to reach him. He came down to you. He swung low to get to us. He came down to us. He stoops down to us and he calls us sons and daughters. Right now. He already calls us his. We belong to him. He made the first move. He doesn't just tolerate you, he delights in you. He's not waiting for you to climb a ladder to reach him. He's not waiting for you to prove yourself.
Austin Gardner:Because you say grace is the atmosphere of the Christian life, for by grace are you saved, through faith. It's the gift of God. Ephesians, chapter 2 and verse 8. God's grace is not just about rescuing you from sin's penalty. It rescues you from the illusion that you can even save yourself. You couldn't save yourself. You didn't go looking for God. God came looking for you. We got to get a hold of that. You got to get a hold of that.
Austin Gardner:The grammar that the Bible uses in Ephesians 2.8 is in what they call the perfect passive participle. It means you have been saved and you remain saved. It's something that's done, it's secure, it's settled. But you know what? You know why? Because grace removes all boasting, but grace removes all fear. Grace removes all performance, and that's what God's done for us. When you sin, you do not instinctively run from God or to him. Which one? Which one do you do? See? Grace means that the arms of the Father are open, even when you fail.
Austin Gardner:What more beautiful picture does Jesus paint of his father than that of the prodigal son? And how the prodigal son comes home with all of this baggage and maybe trying to manipulate his father who knows what was really going on? But as he comes home, the father runs to meet him, hugs and kisses him, prepares a party for him and never listens. But no condemnation. There were no strings attached, no conditions. He just loved him. That's what our Father does. You're not on spiritual probation, you're not on trial, you're under grace.
Austin Gardner:The blood of Christ doesn't leave room for your legal insecurity. It gives, it demands, full assurance. Faith is not trusting your faith, it's not how much faith you have in your faith. It's trusting in Christ's finished work. So many of us fall into that trap. You know we'll say stuff like did I pray enough? Did I believe enough? And we put it all on us. But you see, grace comes from God, not from you. But Jesus then says grace and peace.
Austin Gardner:Paul said and grace comes first. But Jesus doesn't just give peace, he is peace. He doesn't just give peace, he is peace. Ephesians 2.13,. But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace. Peace is not the reward for our spiritual maturity, it's the birthright of those of us that have been born in Christ. Peace is not the absence of the noise in our lives, it's the presence of the person in our lives.
Austin Gardner:It's not a theory, it's practical. If you wake up anxious, he is peace. If shame whispers lies to you, he is peace. If relationships fall apart, he is peace. If relationships fall apart, he is peace.
Austin Gardner:God has torn the veil and made full access for you to come straight into the Father. There is peace between God and us. He has already come down. He has removed the wall that sin built. He tore it down by his blood. We're not climbing towards peace.
Austin Gardner:We're waking up in peace, because Jesus did all of that for us when he died on the cross for us. Now he was buried and he rose again and he indwells us. He lives in us, and so you need to get a hold of who you are. You see, it's your identity that's going to change your life. When you wake up and realize who you are, you're a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things are becoming new. You are chosen, you are redeemed. You are sealed. You're predestined to be adopted as his son. You're completely and totally forgiven. That's not theory, that's your biography. If somebody does a Google search on you in heaven, that's what they're going to find. None of that's your idea. It's God's plan.
Austin Gardner:He didn't do it because you're a good boy or a good girl. It wasn't triggered by your behavior. It was executed while you were still his enemy. He died while we were still his enemy. He was buried while we were still his enemy. He died while we were still his enemy. He was buried while we were still his enemy. If that doesn't give you peace, you'd have missed the gospel.
Austin Gardner:I am who he says I am. Say that I am who he says I am because of what he's done and not what I do. When you're tempted to base your identity on your behavior, on your failure, on your mistakes and all that whispers to your heart and condemns you, you repeat I am who he says I am. You are now part of the grace and peace people. You are no longer a stranger, no longer an alien. You're no longer outside, you're on the inside. You're no longer a foreigner, you're in the family. You're on the inside. You're no longer a foreigner, you're in the family. There's a whole new kind of humanity and you are part of it. It's not about your human race, about the race you are. It's not about your performance. It's not about your past sins. He didn't just die to forgive you for the past sins. He died to include you. He died to forgive you for the past sins. He died to include you. He died to include you, and that ought to be reflected in who we are.
Austin Gardner:We are people of grace and peace, you know. That's why we forgive, because we've been forgiven. That's why we love, because we've been loved. That's why we pursue peace, because peace and the person of Jesus has pursued us. That's why we are going to show grace to others, because grace has been showed to us. He poured it out on us freely and we'll pour it on other people.
Austin Gardner:The church is not a place where perfect people gather. It's a place where people drenched in grace live together. So what are we gonna do? We're going to forgive quickly. I know someone hurts you and I know nobody's alive on this planet that hasn't been hurt. But we don't live in our hurt. We don't live in our past. We don't live in what happened.
Austin Gardner:Drop the need to be right. You don't have to be right. You don't have to be right. Silence the gossip. Stop it. Create unity and not division. Not about being nice. It's about living out the new reality of who you are in Christ, who God made you through the blood of Jesus Christ. So grace and peace are not your goals. They are already your inheritance. They are who you are. They're not some distant blessing that you're hoping you'll get. You're already fully loved, fully accepted and fully secure. Nothing, absolutely nothing, you do can make you more accepted than you already are. You are not fighting for your identity, you're fighting from your identity. Now remember who are you. It's Ephesians, chapter one. We've only gone two verses and yet they're so full of who you are.
Austin Gardner:You are a saint, you are the faithful in Christ Jesus. He gives you peace, he gives you grace. Grace comes first, because without grace there'd be no peace. But God gives us grace and that's God who will give us peace based on that. So can I sum it up for you? You don't have to keep fighting and striving, just start accepting and receiving. You can live in full assurance. You don't have to live in insecurity. You don't have to wonder does he love me? Does he like me? Do I measure up? You don't have to hang on to Christ, because he's hanging on to you. He is the calm in the storm. Your identity is anchored in eternity. Your identity is anchored in eternity in God's plan. So live like grace and peace are real. Isn't that so sweet? I mean, I don't know if that thrills you, I don't know if that woke you up, but it got me.
Austin Gardner:I am so grateful that I am a saint. I am so grateful that I am faithful. I am so grateful that I have grace and peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. All of it is Him, all of it is God. I didn't go looking for God. God came looking for me, but, thank God, it's been good, hasn't it? So let's trust Him and go with what he's promised us, and it will make an eternal difference in your life. I hope you've enjoyed it, hope you'll share with other people, followed by mercy. I pray that you'll realize how much we are followed by mercy.
