Wayfarer

I'm slowly dying. I'm not sure I could begin my week with a more sobering observation, but it is true. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 9. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

There's always tension. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 8. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com . 

As a child, I became quite adept at getting away with all sorts of things as I stealthily discovered a parallel dimension of gray that existed (at least in my perception) around the black-and-white rules. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 7. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

When I surrendered my life to Christ and became a follower of Jesus, I remember realizing that all of my religious motions had simply that - motions. They didn't really have any effect on the person I was. The religious rituals had no soul penetration, no life penetration. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 6. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwe...

Allowing the persecuted Jesus movement to take over the most powerful Empire on earth was, I believe, one of the most strategically shrewd moves the Prince of this World has ever made this side of the Garden of Eden. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 5. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I've observed along my life journey that human traditions die hard. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 4. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Most of us know how it feels when our familiar old, foundational, software we use every day gets upgraded and suddenly everything is different. That's what the original audience of "Hebrews" was feeling. That, on steroids. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 3. The text of every chapter-a-day post can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

If I truly believe what I say I believe then my perception of, and attitude toward, death is forever altered. A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 2. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

At this point, I believe I have blogged through every chapter of the Great Story at least twice, with many having been revisited four or five times. So why keep going? A chapter-a-day podcast from Hebrews 1. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Some of the more fascinating discoveries in the excavation of my family history have been the bad blood that exists between individuals and family units. A chapter-a-day podcast from Obadiah. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Perhaps the most radical paradigm shift Jesus unleashed was that the "temple" was no longer bricks-and-mortar but flesh-and-blood. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 28. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Not only do we "see only what the camera wants us to see" but increasingly I realize that algorithms ensure "I only see what I want to see." A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 27. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In the quiet this morning, I can't help but ponder the difference I see between Jesus and the religious system that killed Him and ponder Jesus' words: "My Kingdom is not of this world." A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 26. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Good questions on which to reflect in the quiet this morning as I prepare to launch into another work week. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 25. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Am I just being a grumpy old man? It's entirely possible. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 24. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Some mornings as I read the chapter, I'll have a thought that pops into my head and I can't let it go. Something resonates and I'm not sure exactly why. When this happens, I'll often sit with it to see where it leads me. A chapter-a-day journey from Matthew 23. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Whenever personal faith intertwines with human institutions and systems, it's hard for it not to get sucked into the same trap that the Hebrews fell into. And that's as true for me as it is for anyone else. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 22. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Classic fundamentalism: "If it doesn't exist within our established authoritative system and according to our strict, literal dogmas then it must be rejected, tossed out, and crushed as a threat." A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 21. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

As I mull over the story of the old couple who lived up on the hill, I find myself asking about the motives of my own heart. Why have I followed Jesus these forty years? A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 20. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

If there's one thing that I've learned in my 40 years of following Jesus, it's that the very heart of His entire mission was to take broken things and to redeem them, to make them new. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 19. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Along my spiritual journey, I've both experienced and observed that there are three common circumstances in individuals who struggle to actually "forgive those who sin against us."  A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 18. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

The further I get in my spiritual journey, the more convinced I am that every time Jesus tells His followers to expand their faith, He's encouraging me to open my mind and spirit to see what is beyond my human senses yet just as real as physical matter. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 17. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

On this chapter-a-day journey through Matthew I've been struck by Jesus' intention to keep His mission on the down-low. As I thought about it, I imagined how a marketing guy would pitch Jesus on a PR makeover. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 16. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Over the years, I've increasingly prayed for greater wisdom and discernment to know when to speak, and when to be silent. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 15. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Caught between the quiet and the noise of life. Now there's a metaphor that resonates with me. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 14. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .