Wayfarer

Whenever something comes along with the transformative power to change “normal” life as we know it, it stirs within human minds doubts, fears, and anxieties. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 21. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

If you read this chapter closely, it's dripping with the tension of a political thriller! A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 20. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Today's chapter is about recognition… and the tragedy of missing it. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 19. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

What struck me as I meditated on these things this morning was that I was observing a pattern in the parables and stories that have been lifting off the page for me. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 18. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” For most of my life, I confess that I muttered these words without truly even thinking about what they meant. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 17. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I wonder how often we are drawn to moments…but resist what they're actually calling us into. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 16. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Heaven celebrates recovery more than consistency. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 15. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Jesus is invited to a dinner party. This isn't a casual dinner. This is a set-up. The table is dripping with intrigue and tension. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 14. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Hidden in plain sight, Luke foreshadows this trinity of kingdoms of this world under the dominion of the Prince of this World. They desperately hate one another - but they will form an unholy alliance to put the Son of God to death. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 13. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

This month brings a harmonic convergence of three important milestones in my life journey. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 12. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Heaven's door doesn't open for the well-mannered. It opens for the ones who won't stop knocking. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 11. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Today's chapter contains four episodes. Each episode has its own lesson, but together they have a cohesive thought to send me into another work week. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 10. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In case you didn't know it, mountains are a whole theme across the Great Story, and in today's chapter we encounter one of the most crucial examples. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 9. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my journey I've continued to observe individuals who still see the Kingdom of God through the binary lens of professional ministry and everyone else. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 8. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Faith is not about shaping Jesus into who I expect Him to be—but allowing Him to shape me into who I am meant to become. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 7. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com

It turns out mountainsides aren't just for Jesus. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

When I'm asked to deliver a message, I often take a few moments before I speak to survey the room. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, Jesus example, in contrast to what the world has to offer, has me asking myself “What kind of Messiah do I want?" A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

It's one thing for my company to have a mission statement. It's another thing for me to actually do business like I believe it. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 3. The text version can always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

It's no accident that Luke's version of Jesus' story begins with a baby laid in a feeding trough and ends with bread broken at a table. From the beginning, God was inviting us not to a spectacle, but to a meal. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Luke begins his version of Jesus' story by telling us that God's glory no longer lives in a golden box inside a temple. God has moved out of the temple and into the neighborhood. A chapter-a-day podcast from Luke 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

God's hand is often most present not in spectacle but in faithful people who quietly use whatever influence they have for the good of others. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 10. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Esther isn't just a story of survival. It's a story of reversal. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 9. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Both Mordecai and Esther have no control over the culture of the foreign Persian Empire in which they live. In this game of thrones, they found themselves having to shift, adapt, and learn to live under very different cultures and realities. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 8. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Evil eventually implodes—and when it does, it often finds its own unforeseen justice. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 7. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The machinery of heaven is astonishingly quiet. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Esther reminds me that when it comes to dealing with enemies and those who wish me ill will, I don't need to force the outcome. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

One of the lessons I've have learned along this life journey is that it's best to choose to get real about what's real. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

What would it take to make me bow? A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Esther isn't Jasmine on a magic carpet singing A Whole New World. Esther is more Destiny's Child roaring out a gritty I'm a Survivor. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

A poster in my high school classroom caught my eye. It changed my life. A chapter-a-day podcast from Esther 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Intellectual pride and control of others is as destructive an appetite as pleasures of the flesh. A chapter-a-day podcast from Jude. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

No matter how far I get in the journey, it's always a good day to grow. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Peter 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my spiritual journey, Jesus has continuously asked me to set fire to my personal ladders. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Peter 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

God has His own Quality Assessment process — not one of condemnation, but of cultivation. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Peter 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

If I'm going to trust the Story. I have to trust His timing. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Peter 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

What I am observing — and at times personally experiencing — in our current social landscape is a return of social ostracism as a form of punishment. None of this is new. It is as old as human empire itself. If Peter were to pay us a visit, he would say, “Welcome to the club."A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Peter 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In my upcoming book I share the story of how as a young man I believed with certainty that I was supposed to become a pastor, and how God made clear that He had purposed for me a quirky career analyzing business phone calls (a la “This Call May Be Monitored”). My mother was greatly disappointed by the abrupt change in my vocational trajectory.A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Peter 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I have for many years had a recurring brainstorm that returns every four years or so like the spring rains on the fields of Iowa. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Peter 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Peter urges his fellow believers to embrace the very words Jesus spoke to him: Consider your investment strategy. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Peter 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

James' final pleas feel far more poignant when I place my feet in the sandals of one of the letters' original recipients. A chapter-a-day podcast from James 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As I did some spiritual cardio evaluation yesterday, I had to come clean with the fact that I sometimes allow my self-righteous desires and pride free rein when it comes to my attitudes towards certain individuals. A chapter-a-day podcast from James 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As I meditated on the tongue this morning I likened it to a living cardiogram — my words revealing symptoms of heart trouble. A chapter-a-day podcast from James 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Monday was one of my favorite days. Wendy made fresh, homemade Italian bread. A chapter-a-day podcast from James 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As I read through the chapter in the quiet this morning, I couldn't help but pick up on a strong undercurrent in James' encouragement: His ways are not our ways. A chapter-a-day podcast from James 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on what I can learn from Moses in the end. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 34. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I find the chapter inviting me to do something wildly countercultural: Receive blessing without scrambling to deserve it. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 33. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.comMessage referenced in today's podcast:https://youtu.be/JSbSbJMNHX0?si=Btvfw90BjlvhTUiJ

The prophesied rebellion of God's people does not happen out of suffering, trial, or condemnation. It happens when things go well. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 32. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In all of creation, God infused music with a secret super power. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 31. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

When it comes to what my young adult children do, the only thing I really control is my response. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 30. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Mystery stays veiled. Responsibility does not. A chapter-a-day podcast from Deuteronomy 29. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.