Wayfarer

The politics of the Kingdoms of this World thrive on chaos, scandal, personal attacks, sensationalism, and lies. As it always has been here on earth, and always shall be in this fallen world. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 15. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

There's something profoundly beautiful about a God whose compassion isn't dependent on the spiritual performance of the people who need it. Judgment is not God's only response to human failure. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 14. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

When I'm disappointed in myself (and that happens a lot), I assume God must be disappointed enough to turn away. When I've repeated an old failure, I assume God's patience must finally be exhausted. When I've wandered, I assume the distance between God and me is equal to the distance God has moved away from me. But today's chapter tells me something different. A chapter-a-day p...

Somewhere along the way, Joash appears to confuse maintaining the institution with having and maintaining his own personal relationship with God. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 12. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

The events of today's chapter do challenge my assumption that God's apparent silence means His absence. The delay did not mean the promise had died. It meant the story wasn't finished. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 11. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

Sometimes the hardest act of obedience isn't the spectacular sacrifice everyone can see. It's the quiet surrender nobody notices. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 10. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

Busyness -- even doing God's work -- can come from very different heart motivations. Jehu was absolutely convinced that he was doing God's work. And, in a very real sense, he was. But doing God's work is not necessarily the same thing as having God's heart . That's a sobering distinction. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 9. The text version may always be found and shared at...

In the quiet this morning, a question rises in my heart as the centerpiece of today's chapter-a-day reflections: "What am I becoming while I'm waiting for what comes next?" A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 8. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com. Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

I love that the first people to discover what God has done in today's chapter aren't the king, the powerful, or the spiritually impressive. It's four poor, desperate lepers who basically say: “Well, we're screwed either way. Might as well start walking.” A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 7. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, sub...

Spiritual disciplines don't magically erase what's outside my window, but train the eyes of my heart to perceive realities that fear makes me forget. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 6. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

Sometimes my disappointment with God isn't actually because God has abandoned me. It's because God didn't follow the script I wrote for Him. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 5. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

Emptiness isn't always the obstacle to God's work. Sometimes emptiness is the capacity for it . A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 4. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

There will be no rain, but water is coming. Wait for it. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 3. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

At some point along the journey inheritance must become ownership . At some waypoint somebody else's faith must become my own. Following in a mentor's footsteps becomes the forging of my own personal path in the larger mission. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 2. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share...

How many times a day do you open the refrigerator? It's one of the reasons that the fridge makes a great place for reminders. When Wendy puts something on the refrigerator, I've learned to pay attention. A chapter-a-day podcast from 2 Kings 1. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

Ahab's problem is that he wants reality to conform to his desires rather than conforming his desires to reality. And that's where today's chapter wanders straight into my Monday morning. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 22. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com. Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

Ahab possesses enormous wealth, authority, land, servants, palaces, and military power—yet one man's vineyard sparks an overflow of envy . Naboth's vineyard becomes the thing he cannot stop wanting, and that's spiritual disease that goes all the way back to Eden. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 21. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follo...

Ahab has more evidence than most people could ever ask for. Yet somehow he walks away from all of it essentially unchanged. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 20. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

I have always had a strong soul connection with the Prophet Elijah. Whenever I read his story, I see all the tell-tale signs of a fellow Enneagram Type Four, often known as The Individualist . A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 19. The text version can always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

When I add " and "s to my faith, I'll eventually find myself limping back and forth. And my friend Eric can tell you from experience that it will ruin your chances of making it to the mountaintop. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 18. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . The Thin Line Podcast Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share....

I've learned along my journey that sometimes the drying brook isn't evidence that God has abandoned me. It is evidence that yesterday's provision has finished its work — and God is about to teach me His faithfulness in a way I couldn't have learned beside a full stream. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 17. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . P...

Every ordinary decision is adding something to the world our children, grandchildren, employees, friends, churches, and communities will inherit. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 16. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

Kings and kingdoms come and go. Dynasties rise and fall. The author of Kings keeps asking: "What happened to the heart?" A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 15. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comments welcome.

The God who saw through the disguise of Jeroboam at Shiloh and knew the difference between Solomon's gold and Rehoboam's bronze is still less interested in the shine of my life than in what my life is genuinely made of. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 14. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "like," and share. Comme...

The enemy who announces himself may be easier to resist than the voice that sounds almost exactly like wisdom. And in an age where there are so many voices saying so many things readily available to everyone everywhere - that's increasingly relevant. A chapter-a-day podcast from 1 Kings 13. The text version may always be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . Please follow, subscribe, "l...