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Two people. One warning. One opportunity to escape. Two very different choices.

In Genesis 19, God sends angels to warn Lot and his family of the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are given a chance to escape, but with one instruction: do not look back.

Lot continues forward. His wife looks back.

Why did Lot’s wife turn around? What happened to her when she did? And what can their different choices teach us about faith, obedience, temptation, and the difficulty of leaving our past behind?

In Episode 10 of Christian Junkie, “The Two Roads Out of Sodom,” we explore the biblical account of Lot and his wife, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the consequences of the choices we make when we’re given an opportunity to change our lives.

This isn’t simply a story about a woman who became a pillar of salt. It’s a story about two people facing the same moment and choosing different paths.

Sometimes the hardest part of moving forward is refusing to look backward.

Scripture: Genesis 19:1–29

Sources and Research

All source material used in researching this episode is available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VySvy_RVBAsKeZE3m_IW4d7eYceEBueOfz53VJS2LGs/edit?usp=sharing

#SodomAndGomorrah #LotsWife #BibleStudy #ChristianJunkie #DWEllis #ChristianPodcast

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What happens when four friends refuse to give up on someone they love?

In Mark 2, four men carry their paralyzed friend to Jesus, hoping for a miracle. But when they arrive, the house is so crowded that they cannot get through the door.

Instead of turning around, they climb onto the roof, open it, and lower their friend down to Jesus.

And then something extraordinary happens. Scripture tells us that Jesus saw their faith.

In Episode 9 of Christian Junkie, “The Faith of the Four,” we explore the biblical story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man and the remarkable determination of four friends who refused to let obstacles stand between someone they loved and the help he needed.

What does this story teach us about friendship, compassion, perseverance, and faith? Can our faith make a difference in someone else’s life when they are struggling to find their own?

Sometimes faith means carrying someone who cannot carry themselves.

Scripture: Mark 2:1–12; Luke 5:17–26

Sources and Research

All source material used in researching this episode is available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CkS5rjKofNK8uaZ_V6wczXVvhEo1cpHFJbWGRiteQol/edit?usp=sharing

#FaithOfTheFour #JesusHeals #BibleStudy #ChristianJunkie #DWEllis #ChristianPodcast

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How much would you be willing to sacrifice for your faith? And what happens when God asks for the very thing you love most?

In Genesis 22, Abraham faces one of the most difficult tests of faith recorded in the Bible. God commands him to take his beloved son Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice.

Abraham had waited years for the son God promised him. Now he faces the possibility of losing that very promise.

In Episode 8 of Christian Junkie, “What Faith Actually Costs,” we explore the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, the meaning of sacrifice, and the extraordinary tension between faith, love, trust, and obedience.

Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? What was Abraham thinking as he made the journey? And what can this ancient story teach us about the things we hold most precious?

This episode isn’t about pretending faith is easy. It’s about confronting how difficult faith can become when belief demands something of us.

Ultimately, the story of Abraham and Isaac raises a question worth examining in our own lives: What are we willing to surrender for our relationship with God?

Scripture: Genesis 22:1–19

Sources and Research

All source material used in researching this episode is available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/139CgMCb9g2Krl9Y8KZBjTK5n7glq8V2EzNfgBazPRJg/edit?usp=sharing

#AbrahamAndIsaac #Genesis22 #BibleStudy #ChristianJunkie #DWEllis #ChristianPodcast

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Psalm 23: Why Does David Say “I Walk” Instead of “I Walked”?

One word can change the way we understand an entire passage of Scripture.

In Psalm 23, David writes, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

Notice what he doesn’t say.

He doesn’t say, “Though I walked.”

He says, “I walk.”

In Episode 7 of Christian Junkie, The Armor You Have to Earn, we explore the significance of that present-tense declaration and what it reveals about faith, fear, suffering, and trusting God.

David isn’t merely looking back on a difficult experience. His words describe confidence in God’s presence while walking through the darkness.

What if faith isn’t something we discover only after surviving the valley? What if faith is what carries us through it?

Join DW Ellis as we study Psalm 23, examine its language, and explore what David’s words might teach us about the challenges we face today.

Scripture: Psalm 23:4 (King James Version)

Sources and Research

All source material used in researching this episode is available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZJ2zzARyl_42kKFGXzH262DDnTSV2SDyDI124clu3MA/edit?usp=sharing

#Psalm23 #BibleStudy #ChristianJunkie #FaithThroughTheValley #TheLordIsMyShepherd

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Can you run away from your mistakes, or do the consequences eventually catch up with you?

In Genesis, Jacob deceives his father Isaac and takes the blessing intended for his brother Esau. What follows is a story of betrayal, family division, fear, and a man forced to confront the consequences of his own choices.

Jacob runs from his brother, but distance doesn’t erase what happened.

In Episode 6 of Christian Junkie, You Cannot Outrun Consequence, DW Ellis explores the biblical story of Jacob and Esau and the uncomfortable truth that avoiding responsibility doesn’t make our actions disappear.

What happens when the person you’ve wronged is someone you love? Can forgiveness repair the damage? And what can Jacob’s journey teach us about accountability, faith, and facing our past?

This isn’t simply a story about two brothers. It’s a story about choices, consequences, and the possibility of reconciliation.

Scripture: Genesis 25–33

Sources and Research

All documented source material for this episode is available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lp7by-cOcXM9Zc3uYzc4sX4AkaSO_sMFmwnc79CFMsU/edit?usp=drivesdk

#JacobAndEsau #BibleStudy #ChristianJunkie #BiblicalStories #FaithAndForgiveness

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How can a man blessed with extraordinary strength lose everything and still find his way back to God?

Samson was one of the most powerful figures in the Old Testament. Set apart before his birth, he was given extraordinary strength and a purpose. Yet his life became a story of temptation, betrayal, pride, and devastating consequences.

His relationship with Delilah led to his capture by the Philistines. Blinded, imprisoned, and stripped of the strength he had once taken for granted, Samson found himself at the lowest point of his life.

But was his story truly over?

In Episode 5 of Christian Junkie, The Fall and Grace of Samson, DW Ellis explores the biblical account of Samson, his downfall, and his final prayer to God.

We examine what Samson’s life teaches us about human weakness, the consequences of our decisions, and the possibility of finding our way back to God’s grace.

Because the greatest lesson in Samson’s story may not be how strong he was.

It may be what happened when he had no strength left.

Even you can find your way back to God’s grace.

Scripture: Judges 13–16

Sources and Research

All documented source material used in researching this episode is available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KfPMebwyGhzFi4d2EbT9_srtoJgGVZp2QZUmDLUvvfE/edit?usp=sharing

#Samson #SamsonAndDelilah #BibleStudy #ChristianJunkie #GodsGrace

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What if we’ve been focusing on the wrong part of Peter walking on water?

Growing up, I was taught that Peter began to sink because he doubted God. The lesson was simple: doubt your faith, and you’ll drown.

But when I returned to Matthew 14:22–33, I began seeing something different.

Twelve disciples were in that boat. Eleven stayed there. Peter stepped out.

His faith wasn’t perfect. He became afraid. He doubted. He began to sink.

And Jesus reached out His hand.

In Episode 4 of Christian Junkie, The Man Who Stepped Out of the Boat, we explore a different perspective on one of the Bible’s most familiar stories.

What if the most important part isn’t that Peter sank, but that he had the faith to step out in the first place?

What if faith isn’t always clean, confident, and unwavering? What if faith is sometimes frightening, uncertain, and messy?

And what if stepping out, even with imperfect faith, is how we come to experience God’s grace?

Peter didn’t experience that moment of Jesus reaching out to catch him while sitting safely in the boat.

If you never have the faith to step out of the boat, you may never experience the grace waiting for you outside it.

This is Christian Junkie: exploring Scripture, questioning what we’ve always been taught, and discovering what faith means in our own lives.

Scripture: Matthew 14:22–33

Sources and Research

All documented source material used in researching this episode is available here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xWoB8J9m62j7BW58yFZiHzhxBwZdtbSjgX4dB2BdlbE/edit?usp=sharing

#PeterWalksOnWater #StepOutInFaith #GodsGrace #ChristianJunkie #BibleStudy

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What did Jesus really mean when He told us to have faith like a child?

Does childlike faith mean never questioning God, never being afraid, or never struggling with what life puts in front of us?

In Episode 3 of Christian Junkie, I explore a different understanding of childlike faith: unconditional trust in God, even when life is painful, confusing, and frightening.

Think about a child reaching for a parent’s hand while crying at the doctor’s office. The pain hasn’t disappeared. The fear is still there. But the child trusts the person holding their hand.

Through the stories of Hannah, David, Job, Mary, and even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, we examine how grief, uncertainty, fear, and difficult questions can exist alongside extraordinary faith.

Hannah wept. David cried out. Job demanded answers. Mary accepted a calling she couldn’t fully understand. And Jesus Himself asked whether there was another way.

None of them were spared the struggle.

This episode explores my belief that faith like a child doesn’t mean living a life without suffering. It means trusting that God will walk beside you through it.

Faith like a child does not mean life like a child.

Welcome to Christian Junkie, where faith is messy, and that’s okay.


#ChristianJunkie #FaithLikeAChild #ChildlikeFaith #BibleStudy #ChristianFaith

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Who is D.W. Ellis, and why did it take 24 years to launch Christian Junkie?

In the first episode of Christian Junkie, I share my personal journey through faith, disappointment, illness, and the struggle to find my place in a church.

From growing up in a military family and discovering Christianity as a teenager to experiencing rejection from church leaders, my relationship with organized religion has not always been easy.

I’ve faced serious health challenges, questioned why God allowed certain storms into my life, and spent years trying to understand what faith actually means.

But I’ve come to believe something important: God never promised to stop every storm. Sometimes we still have to walk through them. The question is whether we walk through them alone or with grace.

This is my introduction, my testimony, and the beginning of a journey I’ve felt called to share for more than two decades.

Welcome to Christian Junkie. Faith is messy, and that’s okay.


#ChristianJunkie #DWEllis #ChristianTestimony #FaithJourney #ChristianPodcast

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What does it really mean to have faith when life doesn’t get easier?

In Episode 2 of Christian Junkie, I invite you to sit with me on an imaginary beach as the sun sets and we explore what 30 years of struggling with faith have taught me.

I believe faith is messy. It doesn’t protect us from loss, eliminate temptation, or guarantee that life will be comfortable.

I also believe God gave us free will because He wanted a relationship with us, not blind obedience. And like any meaningful relationship, faith requires effort, trust, and a willingness to keep showing up.

In this episode, I explain why I believe God’s love remains present even when we struggle, why imperfection doesn’t mean abandonment, and why the people in the Bible who wrestled with their faith have so much to teach us.

I’m not here to tell you that my interpretations are the only correct ones. I’m here to share what I’ve discovered and invite you to examine these stories alongside me.

Faith isn’t always clean, simple, or comfortable. But I believe it’s worth fighting for.

#ChristianJunkie #DWEllis #ChristianFaith #RelationshipWithGod #FaithJourney

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