Reflective Bible Study

At the end of John’s gospel, we find an amazing event that echoes one of the first events that many of the disciples’ experience with Jesus. Following the resurrection, perhaps days or even a week or two later, John shares about an event that a little over half of Jesus’ remaining disciples were included in, and it happened back where Jesus found many of His first disciples.

From looking at the details John describes, both what is said and what is implied, following the crucifixion and resurrection weekend, the disciples all may have stayed in Jerusalem for a week or so. But then after an entire week had passed, we get the impression that some, if not all, of them may have slowly drifted back towards their previous lives and occupations. The previous three years they had spent with Jesus was amazing, but with their hopes of power and fame in an overthrown Roman empire gone with Jesus’ crucifixion, they weren’t sure really what to do. So it appears, according to John, that many of them return home to Galilee, with no clear mission for moving forward.

John’s last chapter, number 21, is entirely devoted to Jesus appearing again to these disciples and renewing their mission and faith in Him. Reading from the New International Version and starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

¹ Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: ² Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ³ “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. ⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. ¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. ¹³ Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. ¹⁴ This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Let’s stop reading here because I want to draw out an interesting statement John includes in his description of this event. In verse 12, John says that “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”

It would seem odd for John to include this phrase because everything up to this point had already suggested, both subtly and obviously, that the stranger in front of them was Jesus. I wonder if Jesus’ physical appearance was noticeably different, but still similar enough with certain defining characteristics, like scars where He was nailed to the cross, and perhaps a similar impression when looking into His eyes. Part of me wonders if all the disciples who missed recognizing Jesus up to this point had simply failed to catch the small hints at who He was, and only after looking Jesus in the eye do they recognize that it is really Him.

This event echoes how Luke’s gospel describes Jesus inviting several of His first disciples after a unique daytime fishing trip that was surprisingly successful. In a similar, but different way, John ends His gospel describing another fishing miracle, but this time, it set the stage for a second invitation to follow Jesus.

On the night Jesus was arrested, all of His followers abandoned Him, and this was likely weighing on each of their minds. Each of Jesus’ disciples had failed Jesus when He would have needed them the most. When the fishermen disciples decide it is time to go fishing again, Jesus sees the opportunity to repeat His earlier miracle to get their attention. While it wasn’t done in exactly the same way, it was similar enough that none of the disciples missed the connection or significance.

Jesus’ repeat miracle is important for us to pay attention to as well. While I am not a fisherman, and most likely you aren’t either, what we see take place in this event is Jesus visibly forgiving many of His closest followers who feel as though they had failed Him. It is like Jesus says through the entire event in John chapter 21 that it is time for a fresh “restart” with Jesus. This restart is significant because it is built on the foundation that had been laid from the disciples earlier time with Jesus, but also it included the history of their failures.

This restart invitation told each of these fishermen that Jesus was willing to have them back if they were willing to come back, and it tells each of us living today that even though we mess up and make mistakes, God is always willing to take us back if/when we are willing to return to Him.

As we come to the end of another year of podcasting through the gospels, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Be sure to continue seeking God first, and treat each day as a new day with God. Know that days in our past have included mistakes and failures, but also know that God is happy to work with us to build a new relationship even when we have failures checkered throughout our past. Past failures do not disqualify us from living for God moving forward. Jesus’ second fishing miracle helps show this truth to each of us.

As we treat each day as a new day with God, be sure to prayerfully study the Bible for yourself to intentionally grow your relationship with Him each day. If each day is treated as a new day, then each day should include time spent with God, and the best way to do this is in prayer and reading from the Bible. God desires a relationship with each of us and while a pastor or podcaster can inspire you with insights from his or her own experience, only by personally having a relationship with God can you grow into the life He created you to live.

And that brings us to the challenge that I always include in one way or another at the end of every set of challenges: Be sure to never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we come to the last episode in our first chronological year podcasting through events within Jesus’ life, we come to a relatively well-known event that, on the surface, paints one of Jesus’ remaining disciples in a less-than-positive light. While many Christians today might look down on this disciple for what he says or how he responded to learning about Jesus’ resurrection, what ultimately happened paints a powerful picture for all of Jesus’ followers about how trustworthy the gospel record is.

I’ve heard some people living today who wished they could live back in the first century so that they could have seen Jesus firsthand. At some points in my past, I have thought this too, or at the very least, thought it would be neat to take a time machine back to be able to witness firsthand what had happened. I believe that seeing a resurrected Jesus was incredibly important for those in the first century, and at times, at least in my mind, I feel at a disadvantage because I am living over 2,000 years after the events that are recorded.

We don’t have to go far in what the gospels tell us happened following Jesus’ resurrection to discover a disciple who had a similar feeling. We don’t know where He was, but when Jesus first appeared to the remaining disciples as a group, Thomas was not present. When Thomas learned he missed out, he makes a very bold statement.

Let’s read what happens. Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 20, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version. Starting in verse 24, John tells us that:

²⁴ Although Thomas the Twin was one of the twelve disciples, he wasn’t with the others when Jesus appeared to them. ²⁵ So they told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But Thomas said, “First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this!”

²⁶ A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples ²⁷ and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!”

²⁸ Thomas replied, “You are my Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Jesus said, “Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!”

In this passage, the detail that probably amazes me the most is Jesus’ response to Thomas when Jesus appeared to the disciples again.

In Thomas’ earlier declaration, he wanted to see and touch Jesus to believe Jesus had really returned to life. However, when we look closely at what John describes, Thomas never touches Jesus. Perhaps we can assume this happened, but it isn’t recorded in scripture. Instead, Jesus responds to Thomas’ doubt by appearing to him, speaking directly to him about what he had said, and Jesus’ message to Thomas prompts him to believe.

Thomas asked to see and touch Jesus, and Jesus responded by showing Himself to Thomas, speaking to him, and inviting him to touch the scars that the crucifixion left. However, while the invitation is present, John does not record that Thomas actually touched Jesus.

While we might think this detail is powerful in itself, what Jesus tells Thomas next is even more significant, especially to us living over 2,000 years later. After Thomas responded that he believed without actually touching Jesus, Jesus responds to Thomas in verse 29, “Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!”

While Thomas is the disciple who gets looked down on for being the one who won’t believe unless he has seen, in Thomas’ declaration and decision, we get to see and understand more about Jesus’ character.

Firstly, Jesus answers Thomas’ request by appearing the following week. While it could have happened earlier, I suspect this time gap was present to build anticipation for what might come. Ultimately, Jesus returning to appear to the group of disciples tells me that Jesus does care about our wants and our relationship with Him. Sometimes we might see evidence of Jesus’ presence in the moment, but more often, we will have to exercise faith without direct sight.

However, the greatest promise Jesus gives in this passage is not to Thomas, who ultimately got to see Jesus. Jesus’ greatest blessing in this passage is for those who believe without having seen. Thomas could have been one of the first people to be gathered under this banner of “really blessed individuals”, but he stands as an example of many of us who are skeptical first, and only believe after we have been given proof.

Instead, from Jesus’ promise in this passage, all of Jesus’ followers living since this first generation of disciples are blessed because they believe without having seen Him. This includes us living today, as well as everyone who believed from the disciples’ teaching forward through time.

Jesus’ promise in this passage prompts me to wonder what blessing God has for those who have believed without having seen Jesus. Looking at the first century spread of the Christian movement, the disciples seemed to have the full force of the Holy Spirit behind them. However, according to Jesus’ words, those who saw a resurrected Jesus are at a blessing disadvantage because they did see, while those who believed without seeing are truly blessed.

Part of me wonders if we take this blessing for granted, or if we miss out on this blessing entirely because our faith is weak. In my own journey, too often, I will first try to solve my own problems, and only if I cannot come to a good solution do I bring God in with prayer. It’s like I trust myself, but if I fail then I lean on God.

However, Jesus has called us to place God first and trust Him first. This means the first place we are challenged to look for a solution from is God. I doubt this needs to be stopping and kneeling down at every challenge we get, but perhaps it is more acknowledging God during the difficulties of our day and silently keeping the lines of communication open in our thoughts. As challenges come, we can then think or whisper a quick prayer to God and then move forward with His guidance.

Perhaps this way of thinking is connected with some of the blessing Jesus promised in this passage for those who believe who have not seen. This second- or third-hand faith gives God the opportunity to show up in amazing ways to help those who don’t have the previous experiences to be able to see God operating in a much broader way.

Or, perhaps the blessing we receive for believing without having seen Jesus directly is a special gift that God is saving for us when we reach heaven. Honestly, I don’t know what it is, but I do know that every blessing from God is given for our benefit. Every blessing is sent to help us learn, grow, and/or help others on life’s path.

As we have come to the end of this first year of podcasting chronologically through events from Jesus’ life as presented in the gospels, here are the challenges I want to leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and lean on Him as your first resort rather than letting Him be your last resort. When God is where we turn first, we will have oriented our lives properly.

Also, as I always challenge you to do in one way or another, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself in order to learn what Jesus and God are like personally. While most people today have ideas and opinions about what God is like, choose to shape your opinion through the lens of the big themes of the Bible, and you’ll only ever truly discover these themes for yourself if you personally study the Bible – for yourself.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or walk away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Following Jesus’ resurrection, the impression I get from the gospels is that things were a little chaotic – at least at first. Out of this confusion over whether Jesus had truly been raised from the dead, we find an amazing event that Luke includes in detail in his gospel record. This event includes two of Jesus’ followers, one who is not named, and another who is only included once in the entire New Testament, at least by this name. Some scholars speculate that the disciple who is named in this event is also the same one that is found in another event that John’s gospel includes, but this is speculation based on the names being very similar.

Our event is found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 24, and we will be reading from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 13, Luke tells us that later on during the day that Jesus was resurrected, two of Jesus’ followers:

¹³ [And behold, two of them] were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” ¹⁹ And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²² But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” ²⁵ And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Let’s pause reading here because I want to point out that I wish Luke could have included the breakdown in detail that Jesus gave to these two followers. While I imagine that most of what Jesus shares is included in the gospels, it would have been incredible to hear Jesus explain His own life and mission using prophecy, first-hand and without holding anything back.

It’s also worth noting that aside from the women who had seen some angels, and Mary Magdalene who John’s gospel tells us stayed behind and thought Jesus was a gardener at first, it seems like these two less famous disciples were the second and third to see a resurrected Jesus. In many ways, the trip these two disciples take with the resurrected Messiah was more profound than Mary’s short conversation.

Continuing our reading in verse 28, Luke tells us that as:

²⁸ [And] they approached the village where they were going, [Jesus] acted as though He were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³² They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” ³³ And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.”

Part of me wondered if the unnamed disciple in this passage was one of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples. However, when we look closely at Luke’s description of what these disciples find after they had raced back to Jerusalem, they find the eleven and a number of other followers with them. This makes it sound like neither one of these two followers was part of Jesus’ eleven remaining closest disciples.

What was a trip that took hours for these men going away from Jerusalem could be measured in minutes as they raced back to the city. But while everything in this event is powerful and profound, one subtle theme stands out in my mind regarding the character of these two followers of Jesus: these two disciples are rewarded the greatest because they displayed hospitality towards a stranger.

If it had not been for Jesus acting like He was going to keep going, and had these disciples not insisted that this stranger come spend the night at their place before continuing on, these two followers would not have known that Jesus was the One who explained the scripture to them. If these two disciples had let Jesus continue on the road without pressing Him to stay with them, they probably would not have made the trip back to Jerusalem that night. Perhaps the next day they would have returned with the good news and explanation that a stranger gave them, but it wouldn’t have been that night.

Also interesting is that these two disciples never once imply or suggest to go back to Jerusalem with their stranger-friend – or at least Luke never implies that this happened. Part of me wonders if these two followers were so amazed at what they were learning from their Companion’s explanation of prophecy,,,,,,, that they simply didn’t think of asking their fellow Traveler to return to Jerusalem,,,,,, and share what He was sharing with them to the other disciples. They may have just thought or concluded that they would bring the news and information to the rest of the disciples on another day.

But regardless of what happened, hospitality towards a stranger led to these two disciples’ eyes being opened, and they, similar to Mary who didn’t recognize Jesus at first, experience the amazement of realizing that they had been talking directly to Jesus.

Living over 2000 years later, I find myself being less hospitable than these two disciples are. It is not that I wouldn’t be hospitable if I could, but culture, life, and travel are significantly different now than it was then, and even picking up a hitch-hiker has fallen out of favor with many people. But I also wonder if the way our culture has shifted has led to many of us, myself included, missing out on God directed meetings because we are too busy, too distracted, and/or too narrowly focused in on the demands of the moment to pay attention to what God wants to share with us.

So as we come to the close of another podcast episode, let’s focus our end-of-this-podcast challenges on this theme and topic:

As I always challenge you to do, be sure to seek God first in your life and be open to following His leading. On the topic of being hospitable towards others, look for people who God brings into your life who need help, need encouragement, or perhaps simply need a friend. As we seek God first, let’s be sure to intentionally be open to God redirecting our path and plans to allow for meetings that He wants us to have. This challenge is really aimed at me because is one of those challenges that is harder for me as a shy introverted guy than it is for someone like my wife who can make a friendship out of thin air.

Also, be sure to prayerfully study the Bible for yourself in order to grow closer to God and build a stronger relationship with Him. With a strong, close relationship with God, we will be more likely to recognize the ways He wants to redirect us and we will be more likely to experience the God-inspired conversations and connections that He wants us to have.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

When looking at the details the gospel writers share about the resurrection, Matthew’s gospel includes a phrase that is very powerful, while also being very easy to overlook. The idea implied in Matthew’s gospel is the powerful truth that once a lie has been said or spoken, it is difficult, and sometimes even impossible, to break through that lie with the truth.

Even today, for years, and maybe even decades and/or centuries, myths that have been proven false have kept circulating because some lies are easier to believe than the truth. Some people might say that the Bible is one such myth, but time and time again, even though the ways the Bible has been vindicated are not widely popularized, the Bible contains way more truth than error, even with its flaws.

Within the resurrection account in Matthew’s gospel, we learn that the religious leaders start a lie about Jesus and His disciples, and in the details of this event, we discover how hard it can be to actually change some people’s minds. Our passage for this episode is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 28, and we will read it using the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 11, Matthew tells us that:

¹¹ Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

Did you catch that last part of this passage? “This story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.”

Matthew clearly states that the priests and religious leaders start this lie and in many ways, the lie is more believable than the miraculous resurrection that Jesus’ followers proclaimed.

However, if we look closer at this lie, I am amazed that the details of this lie are incredibly incriminating. In this lie, the religious leaders bribe the soldiers to say that they fell asleep while on the job, which is something you would only do if you wanted to lose your job, or in the case of the military at that time, you might lose more than your job if caught sleeping. The religious leaders bribe the soldiers to say that they “failed at their job”.

While believing in a resurrection is challenging on one hand, the lie these religious leaders bribe into existence is surprisingly ridiculous. It is ridiculous to think that some scared disciples could overpower a group of armed soldiers, and it is equally ridiculous to think that these scared civilian disciples could silently and secretly roll the large boulder away from the entrance of the tomb while every single guard slept. Even if some of the guards had been heavy sleepers, all it would take is one twig to break and one light sleeping soldier to foil a plan.

It is also worth pointing out that if every guard was sleeping, there is a logical challenge that said how the guards would know it was the disciples who stole Jesus’ body. If the guards woke up as the disciples were running away, it wouldn’t have been difficult for a soldier to catch someone carrying a heavy corpse, and there would have been a dead disciple, and multiple corpses placed back in the tomb.

All this to say that a guard who failed at his job was liable at the very least to lose his job, if not lose his life. A whole garrison of guards who failed because they fell asleep is the ultimate bad excuse that any sane governor would need to punish. Part of me wonders if word ever did make it to the governor’s ears, and if so, if the governor was actually satisfied with the excuses the priests and leaders gave. Another part of me wonders if the governor discovered the lie and learned that his soldiers actually were overpowered by an angel.

Another detail about this lie doesn’t make sense in my mind. This additional detail is why someone would promote a rumor about themselves failing at a task when their failure could cost them their life. People usually brag about successes, and what the soldiers share is a monumental failure. The soldiers’ failure is such a bad failure that it almost isn’t believable as well.

However, let’s take another step back. In this event, the priests and leaders had already convinced themselves that Jesus was not special or significant, and specifically that Jesus was not from God. The religious leaders repeatedly pushed back at Jesus while He was teaching, healing, and spreading good news about God. These religious leaders built their lie about Jesus long before crucifixion and resurrection weekend.

The lie the religious leaders believed about Jesus not being from God was behind them pushing for Jesus’ execution, and it is what led them to bribe the next lie about a stolen body into existence. In the minds of these religious leaders, Jesus could not have been raised from the dead because Jesus was clearly not from God. Instead, the only explanation left was that His disciples stole the body.

What happened that weekend surrounding the religious leaders bribing a lie into existence is fascinating for another reason. Because soldiers were present guarding the tomb, in an ironic turn of events, the priests and Jewish leaders were the first to learn about the resurrection. While the women were confused at an empty tomb and headed to share their confusion with Jesus’ disciples, the chief priests and religious leaders are receiving a report about the resurrection from the soldiers they posted at the tomb.

In a similar way that many people don’t think of, at the beginning of the gospel of Luke, the priest Zechariah is the first to learn about God paving the way for Jesus through His forerunner John the Baptist. Now at the point Jesus is resurrected following His crucifixion, the priests are again the first people to know about the resurrection – and these priests have enough witnesses among these guards to validate the story in a court.

While the disciples take the testimony of the women who visited the empty tomb as enough evidence to go check it out for themselves, the religious leaders get their testimony from men and dismiss it in favor of their lie. This isn’t meant to be a sexist statement; instead it is a statement focused on the first century culture and time.

Looking again at the lie the religious leaders bribe into existence, we discover that this lie is easily dismissible. The simple event that would need to happen to dismiss this lie is actually seeing the resurrected Jesus and then the lie would be exposed as a lie. Over the forty days between Jesus being resurrected and ascending to heaven, this is what we discover happened. Over that span of time, Jesus appeared to individuals and groups in a variety of ways leading up to His return to heaven.

However, how do we know which story is true? How can we know whether Jesus really was resurrected or whether His disciples stole the body? Only one of these records can be true.

Like we began this episode by saying, a lie is almost impossible to unstick once it has been spoken or written, and even decades after Jesus’ resurrection, when Matthew sat down to write out His gospel letter, he points out that this lie was still circulating. When faced with these two conflicting ideas, how should we judge the validity of each?

In my mind, the first thing to look at is the evidence of those who believed when they died. Hundreds of first century believers were executed for their belief in the resurrection, and they all died believing the resurrection was a historical fact. Every one of Jesus’ remaining eleven disciples was executed for their faith, and each one believed the resurrection was a historical fact.

To counter this narrative, Matthew’s gospel shares a private conversation between the priests and the guards, meaning that either Matthew made up a source for the lie, or one of the guards defected and told Matthew the truth. I suspect that Matthew would have had soldier friends from his time as a tax collector, so Matthew learning and including a detail in his gospel the other gospel writers didn’t is not surprising to me.

In closing, while in most cases, lies are easier to believe than the truth, the simple truth we should remember is that wherever lies are present, the truth will come to light eventually – and when it does, it is up to us to examine the evidence and choose the truth. In this case, our eternity depends on it!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and look for things that reveal His truth. While lies are often easier to believe in the short term than the truth, the truth is the only reality that will ultimately set you free.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself so you can accurately identify truth from error when you see it. The Bible has stood the test of time and has reliably helped people for thousands of years.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!