Wayfarer

I find it meaningful that the first thing we find God doing at the beginning of the Story is turning chaos to order. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 2. The text version can always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

We are wandering through a fallen world filled with evil, sin, and tragedy. Jesus guaranteed His followers that we would face many kinds of troubles. He said that the world would hate us the way it hated Him. I can bank on that. Which leads me to ask: How prepared am I? A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I have so many young people in my life, my family, and my circles of influence whom I love deeply. My desire for them is not to be mired in anxiety, but to experience the “peace of God, which transcends all understanding." A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Over the past few years, Wendy and I have discovered a difference in the way we perceive and approach life. As we have dug into it, it's allowed us to learn about ourselves and to better understand one another. It has to do with our orientation to time. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

One of the things that I've experienced on this chapter-a-day journey, and through my perpetual meditations on the Great Story, is that I have come to realize that entire sections of the Story that I once dismissed or largely ignored are essential to understanding the entirety of the Story itself, as well as the story God is authoring in me. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

There has been a trend of late on social media. Generation Z has been “trauma bragging.” A chapter-a-day podcast from Philippians 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In today's chapter, Paul reminds me that it is The Influencer, and the kingdoms of the world over which he currently has dominion, that I struggle with daily. A chapter-a-day podcast from Ephesians 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The message from Paul's perpetual crossing at Conjunction Junction is simple, yet profound. A chapter-a-day podcast from Ephesians 5. The text version may always be found at tomvanderwell.com.

It's summer, and here at Vander Well Manor my annual pursuit to develop a green thumb is in full swing! A chapter-a-day podcast from Ephesians 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

It's one thing to know Jesus as in having a basic understanding of who Jesus is, His teachings, and what is believed about Him. It is another thing to know the love of Jesus intimately like the intimacy that happens when you have sex with your spouse. A chapter-a-day podcast from Ephesians 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.Tom's interview with Dr. Bob Laurent.

Paul tells the believers in Ephesus that they are part of a much larger Story than they ever realized. Just like Lucy hiding in an old wardrobe and suddenly finding herself standing by a lamppost in the snow. A chapter-a-day podcast from Ephesians 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

There is always an opportunity to know one another better. A chapter-a-day podcast from Ephesians 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.Click here for the message Tom references in today's podcast.

One of the things I've observed along my journey is that many people are wholly dismissive of the Great Story because its contents contain bits that are uncomfortable and politically incorrect to modern sensibilities and ideologies. I consider this tragic and it makes me sad. A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As Wendy and I have rediscovered the joy of truly dwelling at home, it provided a really powerful metaphor in the quiet this morning for what Paul is getting at as he uses this particular phrase. A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As a disciple of Jesus, I believe that if I diminish Jesus the Christ in any way, I've lost connection to the head and have become decapitated from the Truth. A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As I meditated on four things Paul mentions in today's chapter, I thought to myself what a simple checklist they were to do my own spiritual health assessment. A chapter-a-day podcast from Colossians 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The thing that I love about the story of Philemon is that it perfectly illustrates the way of Jesus. A chapter-a-day podcast from Philemon 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Did you know...?” The voice asked on the other end of the phone. Then spewed a long litany of salacious and slanderous allegations regarding someone on my team. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 13. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my life journey I have observed that we humans beings are given to a desire for everything to be easy and pain-free. We want to be healthy and wealthy our entire lives. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 12. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

If I ever lose sight of this simple reality, then I've completely lost the thread of what it means to be His disciple. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 11. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Occasionally, I have found myself in old-fashioned pissing contests prompted by individuals who have questioned my motives, credentials, authority, and sincerity. The Apostle Paul was constantly experiencing identical struggles. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 10. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I have a tat on my right bicep referencing Psalm 112 because the right arm is a metaphor of blessing, and the bicep is a metaphor of strength. It reminds me daily that my strength is in being a man blessed by God, which requires me to be generous. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 9. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I confess that I was not a generous person as a young man. Generosity has been something that has grown within me as I have grown and matured in God's Spirit. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 8. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The world could use some sorrow that leads to positive change. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 7. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

My experiences and observations along this life journey are that there are sheep and goats in every denomination and every local church. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I think it might be very possible that as my physical hearing dulls my spiritual hearing becomes more sharpened. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Outwardly, it would appear that the emerging generation are outwardly blessed with affluence, education, technology, safety, security, and health in ways and in levels that no generation before them has ever experienced. Nevertheless, they are inwardly wasting away.A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 4. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In today's chapter, Paul uses a simple but beautiful metaphor as he tells the believers in Corinth that they themselves are Paul's “letter of recommendation.” A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As I read today's chapter, I thought about my mother's letters. It's amazing to me that people forget that the “book” that we know as 2 Corinthians is not a book at all. It's a letter.A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As I experience God's grace, comfort, peace, joy, and faithfulness through difficult seasons, I am equipped and called to help others do the same. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Corinthians 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I can't help but to consider that Jesus told me that I have the same choice that He was given. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 28. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In my thoughts, words, actions, and relationships, I don't want to mindlessly be just another example of how the world works. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 27. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I think of Jesus' death and resurrection much like graduation in our culture. It is a rite of passage out of childhood and into spiritual adulthood. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 26. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In each of the three parables of today's chapter, there is a final reckoning. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 25. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Just last week I celebrated my 59th birthday. That mean's I've entered my 60th lap around the sun. And, that has me thinking about what's out there on the horizon. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 24. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I don't control large, complex human systems of government and religion, though I have tremendous influence on the small human systems of family, business, and local community. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 23. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

For me, the most powerful spiritual lesson in today's chapter is not under the microscope but in the wide-angle lens. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 22. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In today's chapter, the crowd plays a significant role. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 21. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Today, I complete my 59th lap around the sun. In the quiet I hear God's Spirit whisper to my spirit the same question He asked of the wife of Zebedee. The same question He asked the two blind men.“Happy birthday, Tom. What do you want me to do for you?"A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 20. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

History has dubbed the young man in today's chapter as the “rich young ruler,” but I think “eagle scout” is a more apt moniker. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 19. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Sometimes the traditional, yet out-of-date, wording of famous passages like The Lord's Prayer are like a comfy old sweatshirt that wraps you in the warmth and comfort of something familiar which has been with you and seen you through long stretches of life's journey. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 18. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Mountains are yet another metaphorical theme that runs throughout the Great Story in ways I've never seen or understood until now. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 17. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my chapter-a-day journey over the years, I've learned that spiritual lessons are found in Jesus' actions as well as His words. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 16. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I love the fact that Jesus poked the big dogs from Jerusalem regarding their rabid hypocrisy when it came to their traditions. Less than a week after Good Friday, I'm equally reminded that these same rabid, big dogs will quite literally kill Him for it.A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 15. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

It was a simple enough question. There are so many things in life that we do because they are habitual or traditional. We rarely stop to ask “Why?"A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 14. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The difference between the 25% of seeds that became productive and fruitful plants in Jesus' parable and the 75% of seeds who didn't make it was the quality of the soil. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 13. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

My heart is heavy and sad this morning. I have recently found myself in the midst of many conflicts. I don't like conflict. I confess that I don't do it particularly well. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 12. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about the spiritual posture that Jesus is asking of John. It is a kneeling, open, and surrendered posture. It is the same that He has demanded of His disciples and anyone else who would follow, including me. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 11. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I've learned along my life journey that sometimes one has to do something novel in order to “cut in” during a deep-seated cultural dance. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 10. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I long ago took off my Junior Holy Spirit badge pretending that I had exclusive rights, insight, or editorial control of the Story God is authoring in me or anyone else. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 9. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

While I was in high school, a spiritual revival broke out. I and my friends in our holy huddle had nothing to do with it. Zero, zip, zilch, nada. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 8. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.