myPodQuest is a no-pressure, judgment-free space for the weary soul — skeptics welcome.

Sometimes we spend so much time looking for our purpose that we miss the opportunity standing right in front of us.

A ride. A meal. A phone call. A simple act of help.

In today’s 5x5 devotion, we consider how following Jesus often begins not with doing something enormous, but with learning to notice and respond to the needs already within reach.

What comes out of us when we’re hurt?

While Jesus hung on the cross, experiencing unimaginable suffering, His attention was still turned toward others. He cared for His mother, responded to the thief beside Him, and prayed for the very people who were crucifying Him: “Father, forgive them.”

In this final devotion of the week, we consider a compassion that goes far beyond emotion. In Jesus, compassion is character—even under pressure.

Growth can be awkward.

Whether we’re learning an instrument, developing a skill, or growing spiritually, beginnings are rarely polished.

But God isn’t discouraged by unfinished people.

Today we reflect on what it means to remain teachable, patient, and confident that the One who began a good work in us is still working.

Jesus did more than understand human suffering from a distance. He entered it. He experienced rejection, grief, betrayal, temptation, and pain—and ultimately walked toward the cross knowing exactly what it would cost.

In today’s devotion, we reflect on the heart of the gospel: Jesus willingly stepped into our suffering so suffering and death would not have the final word over us.

Old Covenant. New Covenant. Law. Grace. What actually changed?

It’s easy to reduce the Bible to a simple formula: the Old Testament was about rules, and the New Testament is about grace.

But is that really what Scripture says?

In Episode 55 of myPodQuest, Pastor Kip explores the tension between law and grace, why God rescued Israel before He gave the commandments, what Hebrews means when it says the first covenant had a problem, and why the New Covenant may be less about removing God’s law and more about writing it on the heart.

And yes, Miss Maple has a few observations along the way.

Hard Questions. Honest Answers. No Spin.

In Gethsemane, He openly said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.” He acknowledged the anguish, asked if the cup could pass, and still chose to trust the Father.

In today’s devotion, we reflect on a simple but important truth: faith is not pretending we aren’t hurting. Faith can be honest about the pain and still say, “I’m trusting You with it.”

Matthew 26:38

Pain has a way of turning our attention inward.

But on the cross, Jesus was still looking outward.

He saw His mother.

That kind of compassion isn’t simply an emotion. It reveals His character.

And it raises a difficult question for us:

What comes out of me when I’m hurt?

Why did Jesus weep if He already knew Lazarus was about to live again?

John 11:35 gives us one of the shortest verses in the Bible, but it reveals something powerful about the heart of Jesus. He doesn’t simply observe our pain from a distance. He steps into it with us.

In this episode, we reflect on the difference between sympathy, empathy, and compassion—and what it means to trust that Jesus is present in our pain even before we understand what He is doing.

Paul says we’re justified by faith apart from works. James says we’re justified by works and not by faith alone.

So… which is it?

In Episode 54, Pastor Kip looks at one of the Bible’s most famous apparent contradictions and asks whether Paul and James are actually disagreeing—or simply answering two different questions.

Rather than smoothing over the tension, we let it exist long enough to hear what each apostle is really saying about faith, works, grace, and a life genuinely changed by God.

Hard questions. Honest answers. No spin.

Episode 54 — Let the Tension Exist

Most of us would rather feel strong than weak. Paul understood that. He asked God to remove the thing that was making life difficult, but instead God promised him something different: sufficient grace. Sometimes God changes the circumstance. Sometimes He gives us strength to walk through it. Today we’re talking about weakness, grace, and the exhausting pressure to look like we have everything together. Maybe strength isn’t pretending we don’t need help. Maybe strength begins when we finally admit that we do.