Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith

This week, we hear from bestselling author Francine Rivers, who has been married to her husband, Rick, for fifty-six years. She shares how a home Bible study helped carry them from the edge of divorce, what caring for Rick—a Vietnam Marine with Parkinson’s—looks like now, and why she sees death as a beginning. Next, Bible teacher and speaker Whitney Capps offers profound insight into the process of dying and holding fast to faith in the midst of questions, pain, and suffering. Her story touches on confronting her mortality daily, finding comfort in a supportive community, and experiencing deep peace through uncertainty.    Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Esther Fleece Allen Upcoming interview: Jaccob and Josiah Slavin Jesus Calling: Harvest of Blessings   Francine Rivers PTSD from the Vietnam War Parkinson’s Disease www.francinerivers.com The Woman Between   Whitney Capps small bowel adenocarcinoma 2 Corinthians Romans 8 The Melody of Grace Bible Study   Interview Quotes: “I think you start out with this passionate love for each other, it doesn’t die away, but your love grows and changes and matures.” - Francine Rivers  “You’re growing all the time. Things are changing, your life is changing, and you have a lot of different phases. And it’s worth the work. The love deepens, I think, as time goes by.” - Francine Rivers  “I’m in the Word every morning, and I think that’s really important to set the course for the day. I notice that when I don’t do that, for whatever reason, something happens and my day doesn’t go nearly as well. It’s a way to make sure God is in control of your day.” - Francine Rivers  “The way I look at death, you don’t really know what it’s going to be like, but you know what’s on the other side is joy that God’s promised us. So we kind of focus on that more than anything—what’s beyond, not necessarily the difficulties right now.” - Francine Rivers  “We have an embarrassment of riches in terms of community. The Lord’s kindness is not lost on me.” - Whitney Capps “I’m really grateful that [God] was kind enough to superintend and go, ‘No, you don’t have to wait for a story to make a difference in ministry. Just being in the Word is enough.’” - Whitney Capps “I think we should show up with our pain because whatever story we’ve been asked to steward can be heavy, it can be hard, and it shouldn’t be compared to somebody else’s hard. Whatever we’ve been asked to steward, those are stories that are worth talking about in the church.” - Whitney Capps  “I’ve followed the doctor’s protocols and we really have followed every avenue that the Lord gave us as an option. But the thing that I’ve discovered, more than any of those gifts of grace, is that He is the chief gift of grace. His presence is the thing that I want more than anything else, and His presence is the only thing that gives me any sense of control.” - Whitney Capps  “The reality is, when I see Jesus face-to-face, it’ll be the most alive I’ve ever been. Cancer cannot steal one day from me. We rest in the sovereign plan of God. He knows my final day before I was born, and cancer doesn’t have the authority to change God’s plan.” - Whitney Capps “I know that [God] can heal me, and yet He chooses not to. I don’t think we talk about that enough—the spiritual kind of barrenness of going, I have not doubted for one day that God could miraculously heal me. And we pray for miraculous healing, but there is a wrestling that happens when His answer is no.” - Whitney Capps  “I have had to shift what the goodness of God looks like to me. I can’t think about it as ease or comfort. The goodness of God is being with me in the days of suffering. He is with me in the messy middle.” - Whitney Capps “This has been a hard story, and there’ve been lots of tears shed as I think about the possibility of not being here for my boys, not being there for my husband. Those are some of the things I wrestle with. Ultimately, our family has chosen to just say, ‘Why not us? We have been incredibly blessed. So why not us? Why not a hard story, and what can we do with this story that makes much of Jesus?’” - Whitney Capps “I think it’s so kind of our God to allow us lament, that He doesn’t expect us to hide our pain from Him. I find great comfort in that, that He’s not offended by our sorrow or our pain—that He entered into it, in the person of Jesus Christ, but even before the incarnate Christ, He allowed His people the space for our souls to cry out.” - Whitney Capps ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Interviews: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7  Video Interviews: https://bit.ly/4f79RAW  Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/4q5iTCx  Scripture Series: https://bit.ly/4wAVGKU  Celebrity Readings: https://bit.ly/4bIS5BJ  Video Devotionals: https://bit.ly/4fG1kFb  Sleep Meditations: https://bit.ly/4w0xu37 Shorts: https://bit.ly/3RHFubh  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week, we’ll hear from writer and producer Brian Bird, whose decades-long career in film and television includes When Calls the Heart and Touched by an Angel. Brian shares how he discovered his gift for writing through others who championed for him and how he uses his ability for storytelling to bring positive change to the world. Next, we’ll hear from Alister McGrath, a former atheist who became an Oxford trained scientist and theologian, who tries to bridge the divide between faith and science and desires to show the world that belief in God is more than just a set of ideas; it’s about a relationship.   Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Josh McDowell Upcoming interview: Josiah and Jaccob Slavin Jesus Calling: Harvest of Blessings   Brian Bird When Calls the Heart  Touched by an Angel The Story of Everything www.thestoryofeverything.film   Alister McGrath Atheism Christianity C.S. Lewis Matthew 7  Rethinking Christianity   Interview Quotes: “When I mentor young people, one of the things that I tell them is that they have to identify the one thing that God made them to do. Find three people like me to identify what you’re good at. Get into the symphony, don’t just be in a garage band.” - Brian Bird “I found that just by being a friend maker as a Christian—and not trying to preach at people, but just loving people—they want to know why I am the way I am. They want to know why I have peace in my life, why I am content. You have to earn the right to share your faith with people. It’s not handing them a tract, it’s handing them a life, it’s handing them a relationship.” - Brian Bird “I think in the world today, there’s so much cynical content out there that people are starved to death for content that is not cynical; content that is even idealistic, that inspires them to reach for their higher selves, that helps them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves.” - Brian Bird “I found myself at a turning point in my life where I loved science and still believed my future might lie in science, but at the same time, I was having this real longing to immerse myself deeply in Christian thinking, deeply in the Bible, in really understanding what this was all about.” - Alister McGrath  “I loved studying Christianity and I wanted to make connections with science, but I also began to realize there was a need to be able to connect up with people beyond the church, to be able to deal with the questions that they had about faith, as indeed I had as an atheist.” - Alister McGrath  “What I’m finding in my many conversations with people is this growing realization that Christianity has this ability to really set out a worldview that is not going to disappear tomorrow. And it also seems to have this deep ability to make sense of life and give us a sense of personal identity and personal stability.” - Alister McGrath  “Apologetics, I think, is moving in a new direction. We need to be able to reassure people Christianity is true, but we also need to show them it really transforms life. It’s a trustworthy truth that transforms us.” - Alister McGrath “I think one of the things I didn’t really fully appreciate was that Christianity was giving me more than just a kind of intellectual framework. It was strongly relational. This is about a friendship, a relationship with a living God who journeys with you as your Shepherd through life wherever you are going.” - Alister McGrath ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Interviews: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7  Video Interviews: https://bit.ly/4f79RAW  Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/4q5iTCx  Scripture Series: https://bit.ly/4wAVGKU  Celebrity Readings: https://bit.ly/4bIS5BJ  Video Devotionals: https://bit.ly/4fG1kFb  Sleep Meditations: https://bit.ly/4w0xu37 Shorts: https://bit.ly/3RHFubh  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

This week, we hear from legendary husband and wife songwriting team Bill and Gloria Gaither, who went from teaching school in a small Indiana town to writing some of the most sung hymns and songs in the modern church, including “Because He Lives” and “He Touched Me.” They’ll talk about the lessons they’ve learned about failure, success, and how one of their most famous songs came from a time when the world around them felt anything but stable. Next, we’ll hear from The Voice season twelve winner Chris Blue, who initially turned down multiple opportunities to audition for The Voice. He’ll share how he eventually returned to his family’s gospel music roots after years of pursuing a different path.   Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Jordan Smith Upcoming interview: Kelly Rizzo   Bill and Gloria Gaither Dottie Rambo  www.gaither.com   Chris Blue The Voice season twelve The Jackson 5 Foundations: The Hymns of My Heart   Interview Quotes: “Jesus Himself was born into the most unstable of worlds. And so we go on with our life because the resurrection is true. It’s not just a one-time shot in history. The resurrection is built into every fiber of creation. It’s everywhere around us, and we can believe that because He lives, we can face tomorrow.” - Gloria Gaither  “Be good to that gift that God has given you.” - Bill Gaither “We’re constantly teaching, and one of the best teachers is failure. If you learn from failure, it makes you wise.” - Gloria Gaither “If you get up in the morning with expectations, you are bound to be disappointed. But if you get up in the morning with expectancy, saying, ‘What is God going to do today?’ then you’re never disappointed, and you’re always in awe of what God does.” - Gloria Gaither “The pines are green. The sky is blue. It’s a riotous circus of color. Now I can either just go about my business and not notice that, or I can take that in and realize that God is sending us love letters from His heart every minute of every day. It’s up to us whether we read them or not.” - Gloria Gaither  “We have this moment to hold in our hands and to touch as it slips through our fingers like sand. Yesterday’s gone, and tomorrow may never come, but at least we have this moment today. And Jesus said, ‘I’ve come to bring you life more abundantly.’ And that is the abundant life—when you can use the God-given resources that He’s given to your mind and make the right choices on how you spend your time.” - Bill Gaither  “I think it’s a wonderful gift that prayer is portable.” - Gloria Gaither “When it came down to being selected [for The Voice] and being the last one, I thought, Man, I’m wasting my time. Jesus never called me to this. Maybe I heard wrong. But I didn’t. He was saving the first to be last and the last to be first.” - Chris Blue “After you win, you get money, you get the accolades, you get the deal, you get different opportunities. But then it goes away. That was hard at first because my expectation was you win and you just keep climbing. But that wasn’t the reality for me. You have to really work. You have to continue grinding. You have to continue pushing as if you never won.” - Chris Blue  “When Jesus called me to sing Christian music again, I knew that I needed to let the world know that sometimes you can stray away from your path, but like GPS, it’ll always recalculate and get you back on track.” - Chris Blue  ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Interviews: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7  Video Interviews: https://bit.ly/4f79RAW  Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/4q5iTCx  Scripture Series: https://bit.ly/4wAVGKU  Celebrity Readings: https://bit.ly/4bIS5BJ  Video Devotionals: https://bit.ly/4fG1kFb  Sleep Meditations: https://bit.ly/4w0xu37 Shorts: https://bit.ly/3RHFubh  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Best known for his role as Brick Heck on the hit NBC show The Middle, actor and YouTuber Atticus Shaffer shares the profound lessons learned from living with the chronic pain and the medical challenges of osteogenesis imperfecta. He also reflects on his moving caretaking journey, discussing the role reversal of supporting his mother through her own health struggles and how their shared hardships deepened his capacity for compassion. Later, we speak with content creator Ariel Fitz-Patrick. Raised in a strict, rule-bound home, Ariel grew up hiding her mistakes out of shame. As an adult, she learned to run toward God instead of away, transforming her perspective on grace. Today, she leverages her social media platform to promote a healthy lifestyle for Gen Z.   Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always Jesus Listens Past interview: Lisa Harper Upcoming interview: Bill and Gloria Gaither Jesus Listens: Prayers for Every Season   Atticus Shaffer  osteogenesis imperfecta The Class The Middle AtticusShafferVlog   Ariel Fitz-Patrick Imma See for Myself   Interview Quotes: “There are many times in this life where God does not give a direct answer immediately. Sometimes He doesn’t give a direct answer at all. But we as Christ followers are in need of still pursuing the upward call of Christ, despite what we may or may not understand, because we need to remember who God is and who His character is.” - Atticus Shaffer “My respect for [my mom] as a nurturer, as a caretaker, and quite frankly, that of those who truly and genuinely are caretakers and have a nurturing spirit within them, has only quadrupled because of the work and the care and the dedication and the love that is truly had.” - Atticus Shaffer  “I’m very grateful for all of the different things that I have been able to do in my life thus far, namely The Middle, and being able to be one of the leads on a now going-down-in-history family sitcom.” - Atticus Shaffer  “I’m realizing every step of the way is important in developing who I am, my strength, and how I will be able to deal with the opportunities coming my way—making sure I don’t compromise, making sure that I know who I was before I even got on social media. It was all so necessary.” - Ariel Fitz-Patrick  “It’s always been important to me, especially when I became a young adult, to humanize the Christian walk. Because the way I grew up, there’s this disconnect with reality.” - Ariel Fitz-Patrick “Most of us know the message of forgiveness—you go to God, you confess your sins, He forgives you. But then we end up in this loop sometimes of being repeat offenders. And it’s kind of like, Well, if I’m a repeat offender, I can’t just keep going back to God because now He’s mad at me. And I think that’s what’s missing in so many of our walks. There’s nothing perfect about humans. The only thing that makes us perfect is when we are fully in Christ.” - Ariel Fitz-Patrick  “I think it’s important for me, and creatives like me, to use our imaginations to paint the picture that the Bible is singing, because not everybody’s going to pick up [the Bible]. So I think that’s the importance of using social media and imagination and creativity to reach the generation that’s here now.” - Ariel Fitz-Patrick ________________________ Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel! Audio Interviews: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7  Video Interviews: https://bit.ly/4f79RAW  Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/4q5iTCx  Scripture Series: https://bit.ly/4wAVGKU  Celebrity Readings: https://bit.ly/4bIS5BJ  Video Devotionals: https://bit.ly/4fG1kFb  Sleep Meditations: https://bit.ly/4w0xu37 Shorts: https://bit.ly/3RHFubh  ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Welcome to a special scripture-focused bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast, where pastor Matt Whitman helps us explore the book of Matthew, spanning its genealogy, the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. By examining Jesus’ ministry and life as a fulfilled prophecy, the episode reveals the foundations of Christianity and the hope found in realizing our place in the narrative.   Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned: Jesus Calling Podcast Jesus Calling Jesus Always  Jesus Listens   Matt Whitman The book of Matthew The Lightning-Fast Field Guide to the Bible   Interview Quotes: “At the end of the Old Testament, you’ve got these promises hanging out there that God’s going to redeem everything, but there isn’t a clear timeline on it. And then you turn the page over to Matthew, and the hope starts, and the clarification on the whole arc of history starts, and this is where the Bible really begins to come into focus.” - Matt Whitman “You meet Jesus, and you start to realize this is for me. I am part of this story. I am invited into this thing and I’m getting a sense of where I fit.” - Matt Whitman “Right there at the front end of Matthew, we’re being told that Jesus is not a new thing. This was always the plan, this is more than just the next step in the plan, this is the culminating event in the plans.” - Matt Whitman  “We can’t solve the problem. We need God to step into the muck and into the mess. If there is any solution to the curse from all the way back in the garden, it’s going to have to come from God. And Matthew is saying, ‘Open your eyes. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for.’” - Matt Whitman  “How many of us have prayed that God would show us what is true, show us what is real? In Matthew 3, God shows up and affirms that He sent Jesus, that He is the Son of God, and that He is pleased with Jesus and what He’s about to do. It sets the stage for everything.” - Matt Whitman  “The first stuff that Jesus teaches publicly is the beloved beatitudes. He throws down this gauntlet and is saying right out of the gate, “I’m a King, there is a kingdom, and the rules of my kingdom are different than the world’s kingdoms.’” - Matt Whitman “One of the very first things that Jesus clarifies is that this isn’t a new religion. This was always the plan. Redemption would always come through Christ. God would always be with us. Jesus is the completion and fulfillment of all of it, not something new.” - Matt Whitman “Jesus has demonstrated power over life, death, distance. It seems like He should be so completely ‘other’ that He would be detached from humanity. But instead, he says ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I’ll give you rest.’” - Matt Whitman  “Jesus is not coming to heap more things upon people. The load of sin, the load of human frailty, is very heavy. And the answer to this is Christ. That is where hope can be found.” - Matt Whitman  “Death is defeated, the story finds its symmetry, and we feel great about it, but we feel even better when we realize we are in this story. You are heirs and agents of this kingdom. You are an honored son or daughter of the King.” - Matt Whitman “Our hope was always in the main character of this book, who is Crhist, and who is present and who has changed our identity and invited us to participate in building His kingdom.” - Matt Whitman ________________________  Connect with Jesus Calling Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Website TikTok   *Episode produced by Four Eyes Media* Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.