Austin Gardner

Performance-driven religion told me I had to be strong to be loved. Life told me that’s a lie. Watching the Canfield family navigate Pompe disease reminded me: His mercy isn't for the together. It's for the tired and the weary. Grace isn't a reward. It's a rescue. Read their story of grit and grace here: waustingardner.com/faith-in-the-f… Have you ever found God’s peace in the middle of a struggle you couldn't control?

Ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. Looking back at 250 episodes and 5 decades, the goal is finishing well, not finishing fast. Grace carries us across the finish line. What does "finishing well" look like for you? waustingardner.com #followedbymercy

Traveling to 50+ countries has taught me: God’s grace speaks every language. Whether in Peru or at home, His mercy is the constant. 250 episodes later, I'm more convinced than ever. Where do you see the need for mercy today? waustingardner.com #followedbymercy

“And where is now my hope?” — Job 17:15 If you’ve ever asked that question in the dark, you’re not alone. There is hope, even here. 👉 alignmentministries.com/hopes-dashed

“When a man looks for meaning in ‘more,’ he slowly loses the ‘one’ that mattered most.” Solomon had everything… and still lost his way. This might hit closer to home than you think. Read it here: waustingardner.substack.com/p/the-wisdom-t…

Not things but Him! Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. This part of Job’s life sums up the attitude we are to have about serving God and material goods. Job had been a very wealthy man in every way that you can describe it. He had had family, friends, position, comfort, wealth, power, prosperity, etc. He knew that what he had came from God. He never questioned that. No doubt he enjoyed all that God had given him. Then God decided to allow Satan to take it all away in a matter of days. Not just his retirement plan, but all that he had. He lost his “stock,” his savings, his children, his health, and all he had left was a wife telling him to curse God and die. Then come some of the deepest yet hardest words found in the Bible. H realized that it was all about God. He knew that what he had had before had come from God. He knew that now that he had lost everything, God had a purpose even in that. Life wasn’t over. There was plenty of reason to live. God obviously had a purpose for what He was doing in Job’s life. He did not get an attitude with God. He did not blame God, and apparently, he did not complain. He just waited to see what God had in mind. There will be lots of lessons from the life of Job, no doubt, over the next few days, but this is a good one. You are not enjoying all the blessings you have been accustomed to today. You are suffering more than you were. What attitude should you take right now? How should you act? Some want to get angry with God and themselves. Some want to walk away from God thinking that somehow God has failed them. Some are dropping out of church. Some are getting involved in affairs and sin as an outlet for their frustration. How about deciding today that God knows what He is doing and deciding to trust Him, draw closer than ever and wait to see what He will do. He is at work. He has done good and today it seems that things aren’t as good but how about trusting God. After all it is not about the things it is about Him!

Stage 4 cancer and COVID taught me that God’s mercy isn't just for the mountaintops. It’s most tangible in the valley. 50 years of ministry has proven: He is enough. When was a time you felt God’s mercy clearly in a difficult season? waustingardner.com

“He thought cancer would take his life. Instead, it shattered the lie that God was disappointed in him.” What if the biggest miracle isn’t healing… but seeing God as He really is? If you’ve ever felt like you had to earn His love, this will hit home. Listen here: buzzsprout.com/2339198/episod…

I just published Stop Trying to Earn What’s Already Yours medium.com/p/stop-trying-…

“Rest doesn’t come after you fix yourself. Rest comes first.” Some of you are carrying the weight of dashed hopes right now. Things didn’t turn out the way you thought they would. Maybe it feels like everything is slipping through your hands. You’re not being graded. You’re being held. I wrote this for you. 👉 alignmentministries.com/hopes-dashed

Victory over our enemies! Psalm 60:12 Through God we shall do valiantly: For he it is that shall tread down our enemies. Victory in Jesus is one of our theme songs. We have victory through what He did on the cross. We win through Him. He is the One who defeated sin, Satan, and hell. It is through the Lord that we have all that we have that is of any value. I can also live a life of victory thanks to what Jesus did on the cross. I can see God do ministry in and through me. I can have victory over temptation. I can see Satan defeated. There is no reason I shouldn’t live in victory because I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It is He and His power that gives me victory.

“Nick Shirley tells Donald Trump what he’s seen at protests." Same faces—different states. Same signs—different cities. He says he’s watched them show up again and again. Even overseas. That’s not coincidence. That’s coordination.

@MatrixMysteries Very sharp young man

@Milajoy Oh yea. You speak super well. I am so proud of how we finally have a president that will do more than talk

I love this clip. Trump looks so pleased with Pete. What a difference it makes for Trump to have true fighters on his side. Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and JD Vance are the future of the GOP. And thank God for it.

“Character isn’t who you are when life is going well. Character is who you are when the pressure is on.” Joseph did right… and still ended up in prison. If you’ve ever done the right thing and watched life fall apart, this is for you: waustingardner.com/integrity-unde…

@WeinsteinEdu good point and i can't tell you the number of times that i have worried so much about people that i knew were in real problems or just plain lazy

@LysaTerKeurst I so believe you are right. God is working. Our Father is working it all for the best no matter what the world has thrown at us

No matter how impossible that miracle you are praying for seems, please trust that only God knows the full story. He is working. He is hearing and shifting and intervening and convicting and stirring and doing what only He can do.

@davidjeremiah When we understand how much God loves us unconditionally when we are yet sinners then we share what we experience and the love of God can be shed abroad

Shine brighter. Let your life reflect the hope of Christ.

@MichaelARothman He is brillant

𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗠𝗦 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬 𝗔𝗟𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗬 𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗪 John Fetterman just diagnosed his own party on camera — and the diagnosis is brutal. Asked who the leader of the Democratic Party is right now, he didn't say Hakeem Jeffries. He didn't say Chuck Schumer. He didn't name a governor or a rising star. He said: 𝘛𝘋𝘚. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘋𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺. And then he gave the clearest illustration of what that means: Trump could come out in favor of ice cream and lazy Sundays — and Democrats would hate it. They would vote it down. He said "we." That's a senator admitting his own party has completely lost its independent judgment and is now operating purely on the axis of whatever Trump is for, they're against. Voter ID? Against it. Secure border? Against it. Deporting criminals? Against it. Fund the agency that keeps airports safe? Against it — because ICE is in the same department. We've been saying this for months. Now one of their own senators is saying it publicly, with a shrug, like it's just an accepted fact of Democratic political life. The party that used to at least pretend to have principles has reduced itself to a single operating instruction: oppose Trump. Not because his policies are wrong. Not because they have a better idea. Because he's Trump. Fetterman is one of maybe three Democrats in elected office willing to say true things. That's not a healthy party. That's a party that's been hollowed out and replaced with pure reactionary rage. They'd vote down ice cream. Think about that the next time they tell you they're fighting for the American people.

@burtjonesforga @RickJacksonGA Let's make it about issues and not smear and destroy, especially since I will be voting for one of them. you and i hate that the mud flies and i have no idea what the truth is

I don't want your Planned Parenthood money, @RickJacksonGA. This race will be won on the issues — not bought and paid for. Won with boots on the ground, not lawyers in C-suites. While you're busy in your ivory tower, we're working on things Georgians actually care about. That's the difference between a workhorse and a show horse. #gapol

Read the Book I Timothy 4:13 Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Paul writes to Timothy, telling him to put effort and attendance into reading God’s Word. God’s people need to know what God has to say. They need to hear the voice of divine authority. Many would not have had their copy of the Word of God due to the cost and size of scrolls. When they got to church, they could have the Bible read to them. They could hear what God has to say. Remember that in another place Paul said: “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God!” It is the Word. We all now have copies of the Bible. They are everywhere. You can have them on your phone, your computer, any electronic device, plus the leather-bound paper cover. You can read, you should read. You should give attention to reading. One of the reasons I like to read the Scriptures at our church is to have you hear them. I fear that too many people have grown lazy in their reading. One reason we preach the Bible verse by verse is so you can hear all it says. It will build your faith. So he was to give attention to reading. Then he was to exhort, motivate, and challenge God’s people to do what the Scriptures say. Then he was to show them the teachings of the Scriptures, doctrine. Let’s get into the Bible. Let’s learn all we can.