𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀—𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲—𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Daily encouragement from every chapter of the Bible, helping you know God, trust His promises, and live for Him.
Friday, July 24, 2026
July 24 — 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?
Acts 23:18-35
Even in the midst of chaos—when accusations fly and crowds rage—truth has a way of rising. In Acts 23:29, a Roman commander (not exactly a Jesus follower) says of Paul, He has certainly done nothing worthy of imprisonment or death. Now that’s powerful. Despite theThursday, July 23, 2026
July 23 — 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆'𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻?
𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗮 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗱? 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁-𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲—𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁?
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
July 22 — 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴?
In the real world, a "mission from God" isn't about car chases and sunglasses—it's a divine summons, a deep sense of purpose handed down from Heaven itself.
Acts 22
On a Mission from God
In the wildly popular 1980s
film The Blues Brothers, Jake and Elwood Blues memorably declared,
“We’re on a mission from God.” Their cinematic crusade? Rescuing the orphanage
that raised them from foreclosure. But in the real world, a “mission from God”
isn’t about car chases and sunglasses—it's a divine summons, a deep sense of
purpose handed down from heaven itself.
Enter Saul of Tarsus—a
first-century Jewish man who was absolutely convinced he was on such a
mission. Before that blinding light on the Damascus road flipped his world
upside down, Saul believed his God-given assignment was crystal clear: protect
the purity of Judaism at all costs. As a rising star among the Pharisees and a
fiery enforcer of the Law of Moses, Saul saw himself as God’s personal
watchdog. Zealous? Absolutely. Misguided? Totally. He sincerely believed Yahweh
had charged him with this holy task.
But then Acts 22:14–15 drops
the mic. It turns out the very God Saul thought he was serving had a completely
different mission for him. This wasn't just a minor course correction—it was a
full-scale divine makeover. Saul—soon to be Paul—wasn’t redirected; he was
radically reappointed. From persecutor to preacher, God didn’t erase his
passion. He redeemed it, recycled it, and repurposed it
for something far greater.
God’s assignment came in four
powerful parts. First, Paul would “Know His will.” No more guesswork—God had
handpicked Saul to understand His grand design. Second, to “See the Righteous
One.” Paul saw Jesus clearly and gloriously—as the risen Lord, not just a name
on a scroll. Third, “To hear a voice from His mouth.” No secondhand stories
here—God spoke directly to Paul, inviting him into an intimate relationship
with crystal-clear direction. And fourth, “You will be a witness for Him.”
Paul’s new mission? Tell everyone what he had experienced: Jesus is
alive—and He saves!
Like Saul, we can be chasing
dreams that look divine but are tangled in pride, ambition, worldly values, or
religious confusion. And like Saul, God’s call may absolutely wreck our
plans—in the best way possible. He calls us to the same fourfold mission: know
His will, see the Righteous One, hear His voice, and boldly bear witness to
what we’ve seen and heard.
So today, may your spiritual
eyes be wide open to the wonder of your mission from God. May your grip
be strong for the task ahead. And may your heart burst with joy as
heaven disrupts your life with holy purpose!
Monday, July 20, 2026
WHEN CHARLIE MET JESUS — Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
"WHAT JESUS ‘SAID’"
Chapter 3 invites you to listen closely to the words of Jesus. As Charlie reads through the opening chapters of John's Gospel, three simple but life-changing invitations begin to echo in his heart: "Follow Me." "You must be born again." "Whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst." They're more than memorable sayings—they're personal invitations that begin changing the way Charlie sees both Jesus and himself.
↓ Read the Full Chapter Here ↓
— 3 —
"WHAT JESUS ‘SAID’"
When I met Sheldon again, I’d read farther than he
suggested. I couldn’t stop. John’s Gospel kept finding me—at lunch breaks,
before bed, even in my car. Some parts confused me. But again and again Jesus
would say something that made me pause and wonder.
When I walked into the coffee shop that afternoon, Sheldon
was already there.
“You read it,” he said, smiling.
“I made it through chapter four,” I replied.
“More than I expected,” he said.
I opened the booklet and pointed to my notes. “Jesus keeps
saying, ‘Follow Me.’ What does that actually mean?”
Sheldon leaned back. “At first I thought it was an
invitation into a religion. Then I realized it was an invitation into a
relationship.”
“What’s the difference?”
“A religion points to a path and tells you to follow it.
Jesus says, ‘I am the path. Follow Me.’”
Jesus is saying, ‘Stay with me. I’ll take you there.’ He
offers to be your Guide and Companion—He doesn’t just point.”
I thought about Philip. Jesus didn’t give him a checklist.
He just said, “Follow Me.” It felt personal in a way rules never had.
“What surprised me,” I admitted, “is that none of them seem
to have everything figured out.”
Sheldon chuckled. “That’s part of the comfort. Most were
confused half the time—real people responding.”
Then I turned to Chapter 3, this Nicodemus guy. “This one
broke my brain: ‘Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’
Born again? Really?”
Sheldon didn’t rush. “When I first read that, I assumed
Jesus meant becoming a better person.”
“And isn’t that what He means?”
“No,” Sheldon said gently. “Nicodemus was already a good
man—moral, religious, respected. If effort could earn acceptance, he’d be the
kind of man who could do it. But Jesus said he needed something entirely
different.”
“What?”
“A new life.”
His words landed like a quiet correction. “Not an upgrade. A
beginning. Something only God can do.”
I stared at the page. “But how does that work?”
“Jesus pointed Nicodemus to the idea of wind—how you can’t
see it directly, but you can see where it moves—the rustling branches, the dust
flying around. You can’t grasp God’s Spirit like an object. But you can see the
results: new desires, new priorities, new peace. An attitude that changes
toward God.”
“So it’s not about trying harder,” I said, almost to
convince myself I’d misunderstood.
“No,” he replied. “Jesus isn’t describing self-improvement.
He’s describing new life. God changes a person from the inside out.”
I tried to argue in my head and couldn’t. The restlessness
inside me didn’t feel like something I could fix with willpower. It felt like
thirst—and only thirst understands the shape of water.
I flipped forward to chapter 4, the woman at the well. “Then
there’s this: ‘Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever
drinks of the water I shall give will never thirst.’”
“That matches what we talked about the other day,” Sheldon
said.
Outside, rain streaked the windows. “When I first read it,”
Sheldon continued, “I felt like Jesus was describing my entire life.”
“How so?”
“I spent years ‘drinking from wells’ that couldn’t satisfy.
Success. Relationships. Money. Experiences. Approval. The next promotion, the
next purchase, the next accomplishment. Always reaching. Never arriving.”
He turned the page with care. “The woman came for ordinary
water. Jesus offered something deeper. He was saying, ‘The thirst underneath
all your other thirsts can only be satisfied by Me.’”
Not a system. Not a philosophy. Not new rules. Not a new
situation.
A Person.
And what affected me most, I realized as Sheldon spoke,
wasn’t only what Jesus taught—it was who He spoke to. Not a polished hero. A
broken woman carrying regret, shame, and disappointment. Jesus drew her near
instead of waiting for her to clean herself up first.
That fact quieted something in me. Maybe our conversations
had felt personal because Jesus wasn’t only speaking to the people on those
pages. Somehow it felt like He was speaking to me too—like He’d been paying
attention before I knew what I was searching for.
We sat in silence for a moment. The statements kept
repeating in my mind:
Follow Me.
You must be born again.
Whoever drinks the water Jesus gives will never thirst.
Eventually I looked up. “I still don’t know what I believe.”
Sheldon nodded. “I know.”
“But I can’t stop thinking about Him.”
A slow smile appeared on his face. “That’s how it started
for me too.”
“Keep reading,” Sheldon said as we stood to leave. “Go a
little farther in John.”
“What happens next?”
He smiled. “Next time we’ll talk about what Jesus did.
Because what He did was just as extraordinary as what He taught.”
I slipped the booklet into my pocket and walked toward the
door, surprised by something simple and new…
I wasn’t reading only to understand.
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life.”
—John 6:68—
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
— 1 — SOMETHING IS MISSING ......Link
— 2 — WHY JESUS?......Link
— 4 — WHAT JESUS ‘DID’
— 5 — THE GREAT QUESTION
— 6 — THE CROSS JESUS CHOSE
— 7 — WHEN JESUS BROKE DEATH
— 8 — WHEN CHARLIE MET JESUS
— 9 — CHARLIE’S PRAYER
Friday, July 17, 2026
New Digital Download — "YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE THAT?"
This new booklet (PDF) tackles ten of the Bible's most astonishing miracles—the very passages that cause many thoughtful people to question whether Christianity can really be true.
Rather than avoiding difficult questions, these pages face them head-on, examining what the Bible actually says, why each miracle seems scientifically implausible, and why believing it is still entirely reasonable if God truly exists.
More importantly, each miracle reveals something profound about God's character and ultimately points us to Jesus Christ. Whether you're a skeptic, a seeker, or a Christian wrestling with honest questions, my hope is that these pages will strengthen your confidence that Biblical faith is not a leap into the dark, but a thoughtful response to the God who created the universe and has revealed Himself through His Son.
Get your free download HERE
Monday, July 13, 2026
WHEN CHARLIE MET JESUS | Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
"WHY JESUS?"
In Chapter 2, Charlie discovers that the thirst he has been feeling isn't unique to him. Through Sheldon's personal story, he begins to wonder if the answer he's been searching for has been found by someone else.
↓ Read the Full Chapter Here ↓
The deepest thirsts are often
discovered by those who have lived with them the longest.
Over the next few days, I couldn't stop thinking about
Sheldon. It wasn't his answers that stayed with me, but how he talked about
Jesus—not as an idea, but as a real person woven into his life.
When I finally saw him again, I took the seat across from
him. After some small talk, I asked the question that had been nagging me.
"When you said Jesus satisfied your thirst… what did you mean?"
Sheldon paused. "Can I answer that with a story? It's
about me. When I was your age," he said, "I felt exactly the way you
described. Restless. Thirsty. Like something was missing." "You
too?" For the first time, I saw recognition in him. He understood because
he had lived it.
"I thought the right job would fix it. Then more money,
more success, more experiences. I kept assuming the next 'thing' would finally
satisfy me."
"And did it?"
"For a little while. A promotion felt exciting for a
few weeks. A new purchase for a few days. But the feeling always faded, and I
ended up right back where I started. Still thirsty." His words hit closer than I expected.
"So what changed?" "I stopped asking what I
needed," he said, "and started asking why nothing satisfied me.
That's when someone challenged me to read one of the Gospels—the accounts of
Jesus' life. What He did. What He said." He continued, "As I read,
something unexpected happened."
"What?"
"I began to like Jesus."
I laughed. "That's it?"
"That's where it started."
"What struck me most," he said, "was that
Jesus never talked as if people just needed better habits. Or more rules to
follow. He spoke as if they needed Him—a personal relationship with Him. Like
when He said, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.'"
"So what happened?" I asked. "The more I
learned about Him, the more convinced I became that He was exactly who He
claimed to be."
"Which was?"
"The One I'd been looking for my whole life without
realizing it."
"Looking back," he said, "my deepest problem
wasn't a lack of success. My deepest problem was separation from the One who
created me. Everything else was a symptom. Jesus didn't just improve my life—He
restored me to the relationship my heart had been longing for."His voice
wasn't dramatic. Just certain.
As we stood to leave,
Sheldon reached into his bag and pulled out a thin paperback, THE GOSPEL OF
JOHN. "What's this?" "One of the four accounts of Jesus'
life."
"So what am I supposed to do with it?"
"Read it."
"That's it?"
"That's it." He slung his bag over his shoulder.
"Charlie, you've spent a lot of time wondering whether something is
missing. Before our next conversation, spend some time listening to Jesus
Himself. Read the first few chapters."
"What if I don't understand it?"
"You won't understand all of it." He grinned.
"I didn't either."
The rain picked up outside. I slipped the booklet into my
jacket pocket. "I'll read it."
"I know."
There was something reassuring about the certainty in his
voice. As I walked home, my hand kept drifting to the little book in my pocket.
A week earlier, I would've tossed it on a shelf. Now I couldn't wait to open
it. For the first time in my life, I was genuinely curious about Jesus. And
somewhere beneath all my questions, a quiet hope had begun to grow.
Maybe the answer to the thirst I'd carried for so long
wasn't a thing at all. Maybe it was a Person.
“For He satisfies
the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.”
—Psalm 107:9—
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
— 1 — SOMETHING IS MISSING ......Link
— 2 — WHY JESUS?......Link
— 4 — WHAT
JESUS ‘DID’
— 5 — THE GREAT
QUESTION
— 6 — THE CROSS
JESUS CHOSE
— 7 — WHEN
JESUS BROKE DEATH
— 8 — WHEN
CHARLIE MET JESUS
— 9 — CHARLIE’S PRAYER
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July 24 — 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆?
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀—𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗱𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲—𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄...
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