Letters of Peter - Do We Hear the Real Peter in His Letters?

Letters of Peter - Do We Hear the Real Peter in His Letters?

I’ve been spending a lot of time in 1 Peter lately, and before we dive into the chapters, I wanted to take a step back and ask a question that kept nagging at me: can you actually hear Peter’s voice in these letters? Not just a theological voice, but the Peter — the impulsive, passionate, foot-in-mouth fisherman who denied Jesus three times and then preached at Pentecost. That’s what this episode is about. We’re doing a full overview of both letters before we move into the text itself. Who Was Peter by the Time He Wrote This? By the time Peter picks up his pen — or more likely, dictates to his companion Silvanus — he has lived an entire life inside the story of Jesus. He was there for the transfiguration, Gethsemane, the denial, the restoration on the beach at Galilee. He preached at Pentecost, was imprisoned and released, and now he is aging and writing from Rome while Nero is actively targeting Christians. He knows his end is coming. The weight of all of that is underneath every sentence. The Historical Setting: Nero’s Rome and the Churches of Asia Minor Peter writes sometime between 63–67 AD, just years before the Jerusalem temple falls. The church in Rome had survived Nero’s brutal scapegoating after the great fire of 64 AD — and the believers scattered across modern-day Turkey (Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor, Bithynia) were facing their own version of social hostility and persecution. These were largely Gentile converts who had walked away from the religious and social world of Rome — and paid a steep price for it. The exile language Peter uses throughout the letters is not a metaphor for them. It is their daily reality. Why the Greek Is So Polished (and What That Tells Us) One of the things that has puzzled readers is the elegantly polished Greek of 1 Peter — high literary quality that doesn’t quite match what you’d expect from a Galilean fisherman. The most straightforward explanation is Silvanus (also known as Silas), the same traveling companion who served Paul, likely took down Peter’s dictation and gave it its refined form. 2 Peter reads noticeably rougher, which may suggest a different secretary — or Peter writing more directly himself near the end of his life. Chosen and Exiled: The Letter’s Central Tension Peter calls his readers two things at once: chosen and exiles. That paradox is the heartbeat of both letters. They have been selected by God, brought into covenant relationship through the blood of Jesus — and yet they are strangers in the world they live in. Peter’s whole purpose is to help them hold both truths at the same time without collapsing into despair on one side or triumphalism on the other. Do We Hear the Real Peter? This was the question that got me most. And yes — I think we do, if you know what to look for. The pastoral depth of his comfort to suffering believers doesn’t read like academic theology. It reads like someone who has been to the bottom and knows the way back. The repeated emphasis on the resurrection, the stone imagery, the focus on suffering as a refining rather than a destroying force — all of it sounds like a man who failed catastrophically, was restored, and now writes with the authority of someone who has lived through what he’s teaching. When you’re reading 1 Peter, you’re not reading a theological treatise. You’re reading a letter from a shepherd who knows exactly what the wolves look like — because he’s faced them himself. Download blank templates, schedules here: https://schmern2.notion.site/Downloads-Template-Word-and-Excel-Schedule-67439d14449d4c20bfe00efe069f78b8 [https://schmern2.notion.site/schmern2/The-Bible-in-Small-Steps-b99ab90118b3433bab73c488ef44d4d1] Logos RAMPS Workflow - RAMPS Bible Study - The Bible in Small Steps in Logos Workflows Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ [https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod [https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod] https://twitter.com/schmern [https://twitter.com/schmern] Email the podcast at [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] jill@startwithsmallsteps.com [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com [http://netbible.com/] copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ [https://www.bible.ca/maps/] or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ [https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/] Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com [permissions@faithlife.com]. Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal study, faith perspective, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, seminary-trained theologian, or biblical scholar. Any scriptural interpretation, commentary, or reflections offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, church body, or faith community. Theological understanding is a lifelong journey — I encourage you to study alongside your own tradition and trusted spiritual leaders. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

156 - MIRRORS: Jonathan — Faithfulness Without the Crown

What do you do when someone else gets what you expected to be yours? Not a stranger — someone you know, maybe someone you love. That's the question Jonathan's life puts in front of us, and it's one of the most searching questions in all of Scripture. Jonathan was Israel's crown prince — a proven warrior, a man of genuine faith and ability — and he watched God choose someone else for the throne he expected to inherit. What he did in response is one of the most remarkable things in the entire Bible. WHO JONATHAN WAS Jonathan is introduced in Scripture as courageous before almost anything else. In 1 Samuel 14, he slipped away from his paralyzed father's army and approached the Philistine garrison with only his armor-bearer, saying: 'Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.' That word 'perhaps' is a window into his soul — not reckless presumption, not paralyzed fear, but faith that moves before certainty arrives. A COVENANT FRIENDSHIP When David arrived at Saul's court, something happened between Jonathan and David that Scripture describes in striking terms: the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. Jonathan chose covenant over competition, and he expressed that choice in a profoundly symbolic act — giving David his own robe, armor, sword, bow, and belt. He was honoring the coming of a king before the kingdom had even changed hands, and he had everything to lose by doing it. FAITHFULNESS AT PERSONAL COST Jonathan defended David against Saul at great personal risk, even after Saul hurled a spear at his own son for it. Later, in a forest while David was fleeing for his life, Jonathan sought him out and 'strengthened his hand in God' — he helped David find his footing in faith when David's own courage was flagging. He then said something remarkable: that David would be king, and that he himself would stand beside him. He surrendered his own claim to the throne in a way that blessed the man who was going to take it. THE PAINFUL MIDDLE Jonathan's story is not without tragedy. He stayed too close to Saul's collapse and died beside his father on Mount Gilboa in a battle that was, by every measure, already lost. Scripture doesn't condemn him for this — some see it as honorable loyalty to his father to the last breath, others see it as an inability to fully step into the new order. Both readings are probably partially right. Jonathan lived in the painful middle: loving David, honoring Saul, never fully resolving the tension between them. THE MIRROR — THREE QUESTIONS FOR US Jonathan's life holds up a mirror. The first question is the hardest: what happens inside you when someone else succeeds where you expected to? The second is about friendship — not networking, but the kind where souls are actually knit together. The third is the most personal: what throne are you holding on to? Most of us have one — a future we imagined, a role we expected, something we've carried for years as if it already belonged to us. Jonathan teaches us that releasing it is not defeat. It's the beginning of freedom. Jonathan didn't have a crown. But David grieved him with some of the most beautiful poetry in all of Scripture, and that lament has been read for over 3,000 years. You don't have to be the center of the story to build something that lasts forever. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ [https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod [https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod] https://twitter.com/schmern [https://twitter.com/schmern] Email the podcast at [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] jill@startwithsmallsteps.com [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com [http://netbible.com/] copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ [https://www.bible.ca/maps/] or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ [https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/] Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com [permissions@faithlife.com]. Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences, faith journey, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, theologian, or counselor. Any spiritual reflections, devotional thoughts, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, faith community, or professional mental health provider. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

The Letter of James - James: Faith That Has to Show Up

What if the most spiritual thing you could do today isn't a ritual, a reading plan, or a theological position — but something as ordinary as how you treat the person standing in front of you? That's the provocation that opens the letter of James, and it's what we're starting today. Who Was James? The letter opens simply: "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ." No title, no credentials — just a name and a posture. Most conservative scholars identify him as Jesus' brother: the same James who didn't believe in Jesus during his earthly ministry, who appears in the Gospels with his brothers trying to pull Jesus away from the crowds, and who Paul tells us was visited personally by the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7). That encounter changed everything. James became the leading figure of the Jerusalem church, known in early tradition as "James the Just" — a man whose knees were calloused from prayer. Who Was He Writing To? James addresses "the twelve tribes in the dispersion" — Jewish Christians scattered across the Greco-Roman world, most of them forced out of Jerusalem by the persecution that followed the stoning of Stephen. These were not comfortable, settled believers. They were poor, pressured, displaced, and uncertain. That context explains everything about why this letter sounds the way it does. Why James Sounds the Way It Does James has edges. It uses language that sometimes feels confrontational. That's not accident — it reflects the Jewish wisdom tradition James was steeped in, and the fact that he had watched what happened when faith stayed in people's heads and never reached their hands or their wallets. He had seen wealth distort the church. He had watched speech tear communities apart. He loved these people too much to leave them comfortable. The Major Themes James covers ground that will feel immediately relevant: how to endure trials without losing faith, how to ask God for wisdom without being double-minded, the danger of showing favoritism toward the wealthy, the destructive power of uncontrolled speech, and the relationship between faith and works. Each theme connects to real life — not theology for its own sake, but formation that shows up in actual behavior. Faith and Works: The Most Debated Passage Paul says we're saved by faith, not works. James says faith without works is dead. These aren't contradictions — they're two sides of the same truth. Paul is fighting the idea that people can earn salvation through religious performance. James is fighting the idea that someone can claim faith while showing zero evidence of transformation. Real faith produces movement. This letter is a mirror. It's most useful when you stand in front of it long enough to see what it's actually showing you — and what James is asking you to do about it. TIMESTAMPS * 0:00 Introduction * 1:49 Who was James? Background and conversion * 4:43 The twelve tribes — who he was writing to * 5:55 Why James sounds so urgent and direct * 10:15 The major themes of the letter * 17:13 Faith and works — the most debated passage * 23:13 Closing thoughts Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ [https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod [https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod] https://twitter.com/schmern [https://twitter.com/schmern] Email the podcast at [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] jill@startwithsmallsteps.com [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com [http://netbible.com/] copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ [https://www.bible.ca/maps/] or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ [https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/] Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com [permissions@faithlife.com]. Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences, faith journey, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, theologian, or counselor. Any spiritual reflections, devotional thoughts, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, faith community, or professional mental health provider. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

154 - Did God’s Plan Fail? Walking Through the Covenants of Scripture

If you’ve ever read through the Bible from beginning to end, you’ve probably noticed it: the arrangements keep changing. A garden. A flood. A promise to a wandering man. A law given at a mountain. A shepherd made king. And then a prophet speaking about something entirely new, written not on stone but on the heart. It can look, from the outside, like God is improvising — or worse, like one plan failed and another had to be invented. Today we’re going to walk through the major covenants of Scripture and show why that reading misses everything. What a Covenant Is — and Why They’re Not All Doing the Same Thing Some covenants are unconditional promises from God regardless of human response. Others are designed to expose what’s already in the human heart. Some are given to a nation, others to all humanity. If we assume they’re all trying to accomplish the same thing in the same way, we tie ourselves in knots. When we ask what each one is revealing, the whole story opens up. The Garden and the Flood: The Problem Established The Edenic arrangement shows us what the human condition actually is — not a flaw in God’s design, but a flaw in ours. The prohibition wasn’t arbitrary; it was an invitation to trust. And we chose otherwise. We chose, and still choose, “I know better.” The Noahic covenant follows a flood not with requirements for a reformed humanity, but with an unconditional promise. God says “never again” to a world He knows is still bent the wrong way. God’s faithfulness does not depend on human consistency — and that becomes one of the great recurring themes of the entire Bible. Abraham: The Method Revealed In Genesis 15, God seals a covenant with Abraham using an ancient Near Eastern ritual — animals split in two, parties walking between them. But Abram falls asleep. God alone passes through. The covenant doesn’t rest on Abraham’s performance; it rests entirely on God’s. And Genesis 15:6 gives us one of the most important sentences in all of Scripture: Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Paul returns to this in Romans and Galatians to argue that the method of salvation has never changed. It was always this: trust in God’s promise, received as a gift. Moses: The Law as Diagnostic Tool The law at Sinai wasn’t a replacement for the promise — it serves the promise. Paul explains exactly what it was designed to do: expose the depth of our problem. The law is like a perfectly straight edge held against a crooked wall. It shows you exactly where things are off. But it doesn’t fix the wall. Israel’s repeated failures aren’t evidence that God’s plan went wrong — they’re evidence the law was working as designed. Romans 3:20 says it plainly: through the law comes the knowledge of sin, not relief from it. You can’t seek a cure unless you know you’re sick. David and the New Covenant: The Promise Narrows, Then Arrives The Davidic covenant pointed toward a king unlike any human king — one who would bear the sin the law exposed and establish a kingdom no human ambition could build or destroy. When the kings fail, as they all do, it’s not a collapse. It’s a confirmation that the hope was never in them. Then Jeremiah 31 arrives: a new covenant, not written on stone tablets, but on hearts. Not requiring human compliance to function — requiring a transformation of the person from the inside. Everything the other covenants revealed as broken, the New Covenant promises to restore. Jesus, on the night before His crucifixion, took the cup and said: this is the new covenant in my blood. He knew exactly what He was saying. The Word That Holds It All Together: Hesed There is a Hebrew word that appears over 200 times in the Old Testament, running through the covenant story like a thread: hesed — often translated as steadfast love or covenant faithfulness. It’s not affection. It’s a committed, loyal bond that does not release its hold even when the other party has failed. Jeremiah writes about it in the middle of the rubble of a destroyed Jerusalem: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” Not from a comfortable place. From the ash. Did God’s plan fail? No. The covenants are not a series of escalating attempts with an uncertain outcome. They are the careful, patient unfolding of a story God already knew the ending of — a story that ends not in judgment, but with a man on a cross saying, It is finished. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ [https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod [https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod] https://twitter.com/schmern [https://twitter.com/schmern] Email the podcast at [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] jill@startwithsmallsteps.com [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com [http://netbible.com/] copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ [https://www.bible.ca/maps/] or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ [https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/] Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com [permissions@faithlife.com]. Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences, faith journey, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, theologian, or counselor. Any spiritual reflections, devotional thoughts, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, faith community, or professional mental health provider. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

153 - MIRRORS - Samuel: The Man Who Spoke and Wasn’t Heard

Have you ever said the right thing and watched it go nowhere? Warned someone, told the truth, gave the best counsel you had — and the person nodded and did exactly what they were going to do anyway? That feeling has a name in Scripture, and it belongs to one of the most faithfully obedient people in the entire Old Testament. This episode is about Samuel. The Moment He Lived In Samuel’s life spanned two eras: the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. He served during one of the most turbulent transitions in Israel’s history, as a loosely confederated tribal society insisted on becoming a monarchy like its neighbors. He was a kingmaker who never became king himself, who heard God speak from childhood and carried that voice forward his entire life. Who He Was: Identity Built on Listening Samuel’s identity was formed in the dark of the tabernacle, hearing his name called three times and finally learning to respond: “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” His whole vocation — prophet, judge, anointer of kings — rested on that posture. He was not a strategist or a politician. He was simply someone who heard God and said what God told him to say. What He Got Right: Costly Faithfulness When Israel demanded a king, God told Samuel to warn them what a king would cost. Samuel warned them clearly, completely, and faithfully. They ignored him anyway. And Samuel kept serving. He anointed Saul — a king he disagreed with — and continued his work. He then anointed David, weeping over Saul’s failure, and stepped off the stage when his part was done. Faithfulness when no one is listening. Obedience when the crowd has already made up its mind. This is what costly faithfulness looks like. What He Got Wrong: Grief That Almost Became Paralysis Samuel’s sons were corrupt, taking bribes and perverting justice. The man who listened so carefully to God throughout a nation’s history somehow couldn’t translate that faithfulness into his closest relationships. And when Saul failed, Samuel’s grief tipped toward something God had to interrupt: “How long will you grieve? Get up. There is more work to do.” The Mirror: What Samuel’s Life Says to Us Samuel never saw the fruit of what he planted. He anointed two kings, both failures in different ways, and died before David’s kingdom came together. God never called that a failure. Faithfulness is not measured by outcome. If you have said true things, done right things, and watched them go nowhere — Samuel’s life is permission to grieve that, and then to get up. Your work is not done. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ [https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/] https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod [https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod] https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod] https://twitter.com/schmern [https://twitter.com/schmern] Email the podcast at [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] jill@startwithsmallsteps.com [jill@startwithsmallsteps.com] “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com [http://netbible.com/] copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ [https://www.bible.ca/maps/] or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ [https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/] Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com [permissions@faithlife.com]. Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal experiences, faith journey, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, theologian, or counselor. Any spiritual reflections, devotional thoughts, or suggestions offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, faith community, or professional mental health provider. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.