Wayfarer

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 .

I have a confession to make. The first time that I saw the movie "Forrest Gump" I balled like a baby on the way home. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 13. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In the quiet this morning, I didn't have to search for, or think hard about, what God had for me and my day from today's chapter. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 12. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

In today's chapter, I found it fascinating that even John the Baptist questioned whether Jesus was the Messiah. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 11. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

As I read through Jesus' instructions to His disciples, I was struck, once again, by the humility and austerity that He expected of them. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 10. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

This Wayfarer Weekend (WW) podcast is my interview with Mark Scandrette, author of The Ninefold Path of Jesus. Find out more about Mark at http://markscandrette.com and http://ninefoldpath.org. 

As fundamentalist systems perpetuate, only those who maintain "in-group" status are truly "good" in that system's eyes. That "goodness" requires that an individual toe the line of the system's prescribed thoughts and behaviors. Jesus repeatedly refuses to do so. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 9. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

The elements of toxic fundamentalism can really be found in almost any human system including political, institutional, corporate, or even in families. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 8. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Jesus wraps up his message on the hill by creating a contrast between those who are true followers and those who are false followers. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 7. 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, and especially in the past two years of Covid, I've observed how myopically focused one can be on this earthly life. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 6. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

Wendy and I spent last week trying to get our "being" centered and aligned so that the onslaught of "doing" that faced us upon our return might look more like "the nine-fold path of Jesus" and less like the vain pursuit for what the kingdoms of this world describe as the "good life." A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 5. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at...

Along my spiritual journey, I've observed that people easily forget that the Great Story told from Genesis to Revelation is a story of good versus evil. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 4. The text version may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

I am reminded that in each of Paul's letters to Timothy he referred to himself as a "herald" even before claiming to be an apostle and/or teacher. As a follower of Jesus, I'm charged with being an ambassador of Christ's kingdom on earth. I guess that makes me a herald, as well. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 3. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found at tomvanderwell.com...

In the quiet this morning, I am struck by the fact that Matthew chooses to record that those who were looking for the Messiah, those who came to seek Him, were not Hebrew priests and scholars but those considered foreigners, aliens, and enemies. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 2. 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 I've discovered that math is a core way God reveals and expresses Himself in Creation. This came to mind in the quiet this morning as I begin a journey through Matthew's biography of Jesus. A chapter-a-day podcast from Matthew 1. The text version of every chapter-a-day podcast can be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com .

We end 2021 and begin 2022 with a countdown of the top 15 chapter-a-day posts since Tom Vander Well began blogging a chapter-a-day back in March of 2006. We finish today with Top Post #1. The text version of every chapter-a-day post may be found and shared at tomvanderwell.com.