Wayfarer

As I embark on a new work week, I'm quietly grateful for my Senior Director of All the Things. Order is a good thing. Order is holy. A chapter-a-day podcast from Nehemiah 7. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Faithfulness isn't measured by enthusiasm at the beginning but by integrity at the end. A chapter-a-day podcast from Nehemiah 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Yesterday's chapter was about external opposition from neighboring enemies. Today's chapter is about the enemy within. A chapter-a-day podcast from Nehemiah 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

If I were standing in Nehemiah's sandals, I would be descending into. a brooding puddle of pessimism. But Nehemiah was the right man for the job. A chapter-a-day podcast from Nehemiah 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The Kingdom of God begins with every believer, no matter who they are, no matter what they've done, no matter how they are gifted, no matter what they do for a living, no matter their present circumstances. A chapter-a-day podcast from Nehemiah 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I'm reminded that on this journey I never stop praying, never stop planning, and never stop paying attention. The hardest part is often waiting for God's providence. A chapter-a-day podcast from Nehemiah 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Sometimes the best seasons begin with the greatest challenges. A chapter-a-day podcast from Nehemiah 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Paul's desire to have Mark by his side at the end of his earthly journey is a reminder to never give up trying to make things right in relationship. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Timothy 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

It's one thing to learn interesting facts but another thing to absorb and embrace the truth that's sitting there in plain sight. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Timothy 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The further I progress on this earthly journey the more I find myself discerning what I really care about, what I find worthwhile, and those things that are worth the investment of my time, energy, and resources. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Timothy 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Sometimes our prayers don't yield the results we desire, even for Paul. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Timothy 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

What we actively pursue in life isn't a trivial matter. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Timothy 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

No one who knew my Grandpa Spec would call him a particularly spiritual man. His faith, however, was genuine. It was proved genuine in the way he put his religion into practice. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Timothy 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I'm reminded in the quiet this morning that God continually calls me to wholeness in body, mind, and spirit. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Timothy 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Shouldn't my family and my closest friends get the best of me? Why would I ever conclude that I'm excused from rude, discourteous, disrespectful, and mean behavior at home simply because it's family? A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Timothy 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

When there is no other appeal to be made on earth, there is still an appeal to heaven. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Timothy 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The further I get in my spiritual journey, the more I've come to embrace the preeminence of love as the goal in all things. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Timothy 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the long arc of the Great Story I see the Kingdom of God perpetually pushing against the curse of sin and the patriarchal nature of humanity that flows from that curse. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 36. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

This life journey contains moments where guilt—intentional or accidental—feels like a crushing weight. In today's chapter God whispers: "There is a place to run, and a God who receives you.” A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 35. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

When you go through a divorce life can seem like boundaries are erased. Everything moves and shifts, what was once established is now contested and negotiated. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 34. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning I'm staring down a rather boring and mundane Monday. How about you? A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 33. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

One of the quirky things I love about this chapter-a-day trek is that I'm constantly reminded of the source of what has become commonly known sayings and idioms. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 32. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

"Momento Mori" is Latin and it translates “Remember your death” or more aptly “Remember you're going to die.” A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 31. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I commonly hear people use the phrase, “I swear to God.” It's casually thrown out in our culture, but the concept of a divine oath is as old as humanity itself and throughout history oaths have carried very serious cultural and societal weight in ways we can't imagine today. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 30. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I'm reminded that God's ultimate plan for humanity in the Great Story is rooted in the individual. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 29. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Just this past week as Wendy and I enjoyed a little vacation we took time to talk about and review our rhythms. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 28. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

On the edge of the fulfilled promise of a land to call one's own, one of the most amazing stories in the entirety of the Great Story takes place. Most people have never heard it. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 27. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Chapters like today's are easy to ignore or overlook. What spiritual lesson can an ancient census possibly have? Yet there are spiritual lessons lurking beneath the numbering. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 26. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

As I think about entering another day of the journey in this fallen world, the sage voice of Obi-wan Kenobi just flit into my mind. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 25. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Our tent is full of abundance of the things that matter most in life: Shalom. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 24. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I want to be a part of God's irrevocable blessing and promise that even Balaam acknowledged in his oracle "cannot be changed." A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 23. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

The world has always had spiritual gurus willing to take your money in exchange for blessing you with their presence and insight as they bask in the wealth and fame of their personal spiritual empires. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 22. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Wendy and finally returned last night from what was supposed to have been a six-day trip that began with a client event and ended with a visit to see our kids and granddaughter in South Carolina. What it became is eight days of the worst air travel I've experienced in over 30 years of regular business travel. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 21. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I have been raised and rooted among strong, soulful women, and so I have an appreciation for what Miriam brought. I feel it in my bones. I've heard her song in lullabies, in choir lofts, at kitchen tables over coffee. Miriam isn't just a character in the Great Story—she's in the women who shaped me, the women who continue shaping the man I am today.A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 20. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Today on my chapter-a-day journey I come upon one of the most paradoxical and profound mysteries in the entire Great Story: the mystery of the red heifer. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 19. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Salt was a prescribed by God as part of every sacrifice and offering. It was used in the making of the incense used at part of the rituals in the traveling tent Temple. Salt was also used as a binding agent when making covenants. God is making salt an important metaphor regarding preservation, holiness, seasoning, covenant, and sacrifice. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 18. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvandewell.com.

When God began talking to the Hebrews about His dwelling among them, He boiled things down into very simple terms: life and death. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 17. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I can't help but think about the businesses, organizations, and churches in which I've encountered the very same dysfunctions, envies, jealousies, critical spirits, and self-seeking demands that Moses and Aaron encountered in today's chapter. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 16. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

There is something telling about the way individuals respond to their circumstances in light of the words, actions, and/or behavior of others. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 15. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the quiet this morning, I find God's Spirit reminding me of all the ways that Jesus called me to live by faith, not fear. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 14. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In The Godfather it was an Irish orphan named Tom Hagen. In Yellowstone, it's an orphan named Rip who becomes the right-hand man that John Dutton can depend on to fix things. The theme of "the adopted one" is much older. It's ancient, and it has a deep spiritual context throughout the Great Story.A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 13. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

At the heart of the story in today's chapter is the fact that we human beings can be envious, jealous, catty, and downright mean to one another. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 12. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along my life journey, I've come to observe that adults have similar emotional meltdowns as toddlers, we're just more sophisticated at it. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 11. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

There's just something about the sound of a trumpet. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 10. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

I've discovered across my entire life journey that being a disciple of Jesus means learning to perceive, discern, and follow God's flow. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 9. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

In the tradition I was raised, the Reverend of our church was treated as a special class of spiritual person. Everything in the pomp and pageantry of the “high church” tradition wordlessly affirmed that he was spiritually upper-class compared to us every day working class sinners in the pews. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 8. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

It's chapters like today's where many a New Year's resolution to read the entire Bible hit the wall. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 7. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Along this life journey I've learned that there are times to dedicate myself to taking things to another level. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

Milo is seven and is an explosive bundle of unbridled, kinetic, little-boy energy. Underneath the exterior of all that normal physical energy lies one of the softest, most genuinely open hearts I've ever experienced in a boy his age. He is a boy. He is maturing. It takes time. A chapter-day podcast from Numbers 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.

What struck me as I read is that God designated different colors of cloth for different items of the Tabernacle. Why? Because colors have meaning. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 4. The text version (and the portraits Tom talks about in today's podcast) can be found at tomvanderwell.com.

Despite the Hebrews of “Numbers" being a people and a time that is strange to me, I see echoes of my own stories and experiences on this life journey. That is where I typically find applicable lessons. A chapter-a-day podcast from Numbers 3. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.