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
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summary
In this conversation, Austin and Robert discuss the significance of daily devotion and the importance of remembering one's past in relation to faith. They explore the themes of identity in Christ, the transformative power of Jesus' sacrifice, and the assurance of God's presence and love in our lives. The discussion emphasizes the need for gratitude and recognition of God's work in our lives, especially during challenging times.
takeaways
- Spend time daily in the Bible for spiritual growth.
- There are no strict rules for devotion; it's about relationship.
- Remembering our past helps us appreciate our identity in Christ.
- We were once separated from God, but now we are close through Christ.
- Jesus' blood is what brings us near to God.
- Understanding our identity in Christ is crucial for our faith.
- Jesus is our peace, not our works or church attendance.
- God's presence is with us, providing comfort and hope.
- During difficult times, remember God's love and promises.
- Gratitude for God's love can transform our perspective.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
We've spent a couple of days looking at things that Robert picked up in his devotions that have been a great blessing to all of us. And I hope they've helped you and encouraged you. And so I think that it's important that you spend a little bit of time every day just getting in the Bible and seeing what God's got to say that He could speak to your heart about. And we discussed that with you the other day. Take the time to let the Holy Spirit guide you through the Word of God. Have a time of meditation every day. And we also discussed that there's no rules. There's no, well, God's upset with you if you don't spend a certain amount of time. There's none of that going on. It's just about spending time. It's like with your wife or your husband or with your children. It's not so much about what you do, but about the time you spend. But you want to spend some time in the scripture. And so Robert and I have discussed the various things about that with you. And so today we want to go ahead and take you to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2. We've been working our way slowly through the Bible, through the book of Ephesians, and we're in Ephesians 2. Robert, you want to crack up by saying something and kind of giving a word before we go out as we get started?
Robert Canfield:No, I'm excited about going through Ephesians. We just got done speaking about something that we got out of our my devotions, about the blood of Christ. And it's kind of interesting where that we're landed right here on Ephesians chapter 2, verse 13. So I'm excited to discuss it and talk it over with you. So that's all we can learn.
Austin Gardner:In Ephesians chapter 2, we are we are we're looking at these verses right here. Ephesians chapter 2. And so in the Bible, we've kind of gotten down this far. It says, you know, before, and and maybe I'd like to start up in 11. Remember, that's the key word for Ephesians 1 and 2. Remember your past. Remember your past. Remember that you were a pagan. You were without God in the flesh. And uh the the we were uncircumcised and the Jews were circumcised. Robert, would you like to kind of explain what that what that means?
Robert Canfield:Well, the circumcision that God gave, he gave back to Abraham, it was to show them that he was, he'd given them a promise and they were his people. And so when they people uh the Jewish of Israel descent, they would get circumcised, they were showing and they were declaring that they were they were of the people of God. It was a marking that that that showed that they are there was a flesh that was removed, but it was a promise that it was almost like a promise. It was like a symbol, you know what I mean, almost like a ring, to show them that they were, they were set apart for for the God of the Creator, God, the God of the universe. And so what Paul was saying to this church there, he said, you guys were part of the uncircumcision, you guys weren't God's people, but now, but now what Christ has done, we've had a circumcision that was done without the hands. And so we've had that old man removed, that flesh removed.
Austin Gardner:So what we're looking at here is if you remember as a Gentile, and I'm a Gentile, I am not of Jewish descent, neither is Robert. We were not among the people who knew God. We were not among the people. Like when you're in the Old Testament, there's one group of people that know God, and that's where we were. And it says in that scripture, it says, You were the uncircumcision, you were the ones that were pagans. Our people worshiped other gods. I know that's hard for you to conceive right now. We were like the Indians worshiping the elements east, north, south, west, water, fire, or whatever. We worshiped that. And that's what it says in verse 12. We were without Christ. We were aliens from the Commonwealth. We were not a part of Israel. We were not a part of Israel. And we had no hope, and we were without God. So it all starts with remembering, you know, if you don't see how much you needed Jesus. And before we go any further, remember in Ephesians 2, you are dead. That means all communication was cut off. It means you were separated from God. Means you had no way to God because you were cut off. And so you are to remember that. And what made us nigh? That's verse 13. Robert, read them verse 13 again.
Robert Canfield:But now, in Christ Jesus, ye, y'all, all you guys who were sometimes were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ. It's the blood of Christ.
Austin Gardner:In Christ Jesus, we are made nigh by the blood of Christ. We're in Christ Jesus. Maybe real quickly, let's discuss with so everybody watching can understand what that amounts to. In Christ Jesus is a reference to where we were before Christ. There are only two groups you can be in, in Adam or in Christ. In Adam, that is, you receive all the inheritance, Ephesians 1, all the inheritance of Adam, which means death and sin and alienated from God, without hope. That's where we were. In Christ, you receive the inheritance of Christ, all that's his life, perfection, sanctification, all these beautiful things that God gives us because we are in Christ. And now we're in Christ. Now, what made us move out of Adam and into Christ? What brought us nigh? What brought us close?
Robert Canfield:What brought us in was the blood of Christ. I think for like a normal person, I don't know if we really get all what Paul is trying to say right now. Because like we read it and it's like concepts like we when when you hear that you were aliens, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. In the Old Testament, when God chose Israel to be his people, he was with them. He was with them. When they were walking around in the wilderness, he was leading them. Even when they were in the slavery, he went down with he had to tell Jacob, it's okay to go down. You know what I mean? He had to tell Israel, it's okay to do this. I'm gonna be with you. And he heard their cries. And so when God chose out this nation of Israel, he says, I'm gonna choose one place and I'm gonna use Jerusalem. Or he didn't say Jerusalem, he said, I'm gonna use a place where I'm gonna I'm gonna dwell with you and I'm gonna put my name. And it was it was Jerusalem. They had this temple, and that's why Solomon's temple was something so huge, because the Ark of the Covenant and the temple, it just showed that the God's presence was with them. We don't realize, we don't, I don't think we think about that. We go through and we think like, yeah, we know there's a God out there. We know that there's a God up in heaven, we know that there's a God that He said they loved the world and he sent Jesus, but we don't think of him as a God that's with us. And what Paul's trying to tell him, tell us right now is that you need to remember that we were estranged, we were aliens, we were, we were cut off from God. We had no hope, we had no God in this world. He says that, and without God in the world, verse 12. But then he says, but in conjunction with that, now those who are in Christ Jesus, those who are in Christ Jesus, those who have left, like what you said, Adam's race, now we're in Christ's race, ye who sometimes were afar off, now we're right up close. We're with God. God is with us, Christ in you, the hope of glory. So God is in us. We were made nigh, and it was all brought about because of Jesus' sacrifice. And I don't think, I don't think I I ponder on that. I don't think I think about the all the ramifications, all that comes with knowing that God is with me right now. The Lord is my shepherd, right? And how he's with you, how he even through even was it how's it go? Even though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art with me. Yep. Thy rod and thy cap comfort me. The no to know that God's presence, that God is literally with you. I mean, that that does something to a person, to know that God is with us, and that's what Paul's trying to bring out. He was trying to say, hey, the God that sometimes, the God that was cut off from you is now brought nigh to you, and it was all because of his sacrifice.
Austin Gardner:I want you to look at verse 14. It is Jesus who is our peace. He is our peace. Now you look at that verse right quick with me. Let me see if I can pull that up for you real quickly. Look at that verse and realize that he is our peace. And so if you read that verse right there, it says, For he is our peace. You see that where my mouth is moving. Jesus is our peace, not the church, not what you do, not your works. It is Jesus who is our peace. We are made now by the blood of Christ right there, and he is our peace. And it's he who has made both one. So we were separated from uh God, and we were in our we were in our own, and uh we were doing our own thing, and we were on our own, but Jesus has now made peace. So it says he is our peace. He brought us together, he broke down the there was a wall between Jews and regular people. God was there with Israel, but he wasn't with regular people. And uh Jews were to be the witnesses and to get the gospel out. They weren't doing a very good job of it. But now it's all brought together. We are all brought together. I want to talk to you about how he abolished the enemy. He abolished the enemy. But maybe that could be the next time. But before we go there, you need to know who made peace, who brought us close. And that's what we talked about in our last session. It's the blood of Christ. Uh, it's all God doing a work in us. It is God who's doing a work in us. It's God who's bringing us nigh. And we were aliens and we were separate. And don't forget that. He wants you to remember. He wants you to remember how sick you were before he healed you. He wants to remember how lost you were before he found you. He wants you to realize how dead you were before he raised you. Because uh we ought to live in gratitude. He changed my life, Robert.
Robert Canfield:This this is the the holiday season, and for some it's great, you know what I mean, with family and people getting together and and being able to spend time with one another. And but for some other people, it's it's quite a lonely time. My buddy, good friend of mine, Matthew Blackstock, said that that during the holiday times, he's a police officer, that there's a rise in in suicide rates because there's a lot of people that that are just get so discouraged and they get so downhearted right now. And I can't help but think that, you know, sometimes being alone can can be a hard thing to do. It's a hard thing to go through. Feeling like there's nobody there with me, there's nobody there that cares about me. And and if we're left to our own thoughts and just following down that that that that terrible rabbit hole, it robs us of our peace. But in knowing this, and knowing this, that that times before, the time before, before Jesus, that we were alienated from a God, but now we've been brought nigh to God. We have access. We can stand in the grace that He's given us. We can we can come boldly before the throne of grace and get help and and and whatever it is that we need in time of trouble. We can cry Abba. We can we have been brought nigh to Jesus. We've been brought nigh to the God of heaven who wants to He loves you so much that He came down to this earth and He suffered and He He took His Son's precious blood and they He died on a cross. He became sin for us who knew no sin. And he did that to bring about a peace in our life, so that we don't have to wonder, is there somebody up there that really cares about us? Yeah, he does. He cares so much about you that he gave his only begotten son. And you don't have to wonder, is like, is there anybody that there that is there anybody there? Or I'm at this life all by myself? Yeah, he is there. He's never gonna leave you nor forsake you. So you can be content with that. And you don't have to wonder, like, is there promises out there that that he's got for me? Yeah, he's got promises. He's got hope for you, and uh, he's gonna be with you. And so it's just a wonderful, wonderful truth to go through and think about, especially during this time of the year.
Austin Gardner:I think that it this is a good takeaway for today to know that you were loved and to know that he did it all, you're to remember that. Remember how much God loves you. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He loved you, he loved me, he paid the price for our salvation, he changed us, he gave us life. And that is really the truth of today. Remember that and be thankful. Be grateful that it when you couldn't get to God, God came to you. When you couldn't be good enough, God was good enough to you. And I want to challenge you to remember that. And if you will remember that, it will make a difference in your life. Now, I can't wait. Right now, I really want to go ahead and start on the next one, but we'll save it for tomorrow. But you listen to this. Remember how good God is. Robert, you want to close out?
Robert Canfield:No, I don't. I want to let that be the last thing people hear and think about. Remember how good God is.
Austin Gardner:So you spend all day thinking about this. God loves you. He loves you before the foundation of the earth. He paid your sin, Daddy, He brought you nigh, He's done all that work in you. We'll talk to you tomorrow.
