If God promised blessing through Jesus, why give the Law 430 years later? Drawing from Galatians 3:19-20, Dr. John explains that the Law wasn't given to save us—it was given to diagnose our condition. Like a physician's diagnostic tool, the Law reveals our transgressions and strips away our illusions of self-righteousness, ultimately driving us from Mount Sinai to Mount Calvary where we find our Saviour.

Christmas From Galatians: This Christmas, Dr. John takes an unprecedented approach to the season by exploring why Jesus' coming was absolutely necessary. Through the book of Galatians, this series traces God's plan from Abraham's promise through the giving of the Law to the arrival of Christ. Discover why the Law was never meant to save us but to diagnose our condition, how Jesus fulfilled what we could never accomplish, and how Christmas opened the door for all people to become sons and daughters of God.

Leading parenting expert and pediatrician Dr. Meg Meeker shares about the masculinity crisis in today’s culture and encourages you as a parent to take an active role in guiding and shaping your son’s character. She says the foundation of any boy’s life is built on three things: his relationship with God, his parents, and his siblings and friends. Dr. Meeker takes a positive view of masculinity as she offers seven secrets to raising healthy sons.

Conflict will occur in the church today, in the same way it did during Paul’s ministry. Dig deeply into Romans 16 with Pastor Chuck Swindoll to better navigate dissension and difficulties.

From the Series: Romans: The Christian’s Constitution

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A sheltering tree is a great description of a friend. We all need friends who will stand by us, in good times and bad. Going it alone is not how we’re wired.

When life feels unsettled, peace can feel impossible to find. In this Advent episode, Ellen Adkins joins Kaley Olson and Wendy Blight to unpack the deeper meaning of “shalom” — not just the absence of conflict but the presence of wholeness. Together, they trace the story of peace from the garden of Genesis to the birth of Jesus, revealing why Christ alone brings calm to the chaos within us and around us.

A hope-filled conversation for anyone longing for a steady, soul-deep peace this Christmas.

You’ll learn:

• The deeper meaning of “shalom” and why biblical peace offers wholeness, not just relief.
• How Jesus’ birth fulfills God’s long-awaited promise to push back the chaos of sin.
• Why our instinct to control often amplifies inner turmoil — and the freeing alternative Scripture gives us.
• How to identify places of unrest in your life and step into them with Christ-shaped peace.
• The powerful hope of a future where God fully silences chaos and makes all things whole again.

Resources From This Episode:

• Join us for Advent in the First 5 app!
  Download the free app, and spend five minutes each day studying God’s Word with women around the world.
• Go deeper with our brand-new Advent study guide, More Than a Manger.
  Experience the Christmas story with fresh eyes through rich biblical teaching and meaningful daily reflections.
• Help more women access biblical Truth this season.
  Your generosity fuels everything we do — from free podcasts to devotions to study resources.
   [Give to Proverbs 31 Ministries today.]
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode

Want More on This Topic? 

• Check out this episode of The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast with Lysa TerKeurst and Dr. Joel Muddamalle on finding inner peace. 
• Watch this episode of Therapy & Theology if you’re struggling with letting go of control. 

When life feels bigger than your strength, God’s provision becomes your power. Ezra 5:5 reminds us that when God gives an assignment—whether rebuilding a life, leading a family, launching a ministry, or facing opposition—His hand stays on His people until the work is complete. The returning exiles discovered that divine calling comes with divine supply, even when challenges rise and fear tries to stall our obedience.

Highlights

• God equips us fully for every assignment He places in our hands—strength, resources, and support.

• The exiles returned to devastation, yet God’s favor and miraculous provision met them on arrival.

• Opposition, intimidation, and discouragement threatened to halt their progress, but God’s presence stayed constant.

• His faithfulness guaranteed the completion of the rebuilding—He finishes what He begins.

• Following Jesus includes hardship, but we “take heart” because He has already overcome the world.

• Romans 8 reminds believers that nothing can separate us from Christ or stop His purposes.

• Through Him, we live not as survivors but as “more than conquerors,” empowered to persevere.

Gift Inspiration: Crosswalk's Holiday Gift Guide

Looking for a meaningful way to celebrate the season? Check out our Holiday Gift Guide—from beautifully illustrated Bibles and devotionals to novels, greeting cards, and picture books, there’s something for everyone on your list. Wrap up stories for loved ones, tuck a book into your own nightstand, and join us in celebrating the wonder of giving this Christmas!

Full Transcript Below:

Divinely Empowered for Our Greatest Challenges
Jennifer Slattery (host of Faith Over Fear)

Bible Reading:
But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not make them cease till the matter should come to Darius, and then answer should be returned by letter concerning it. (Ezra 5:5, ESV)

Today’s verse and the historical context surrounding it assure us that when God assigns us a task, be that to raise children, complete a work project, lead a team, launch a ministry, or pursue a dream, He gives us everything we need to do all that He asks. And while we will likely always experience opposition, whenever we seek to live for Jesus, the events recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah also assure us that He is greater than any opposition we’ll face. In short, He finishes what He begins. The question is, how will we respond when difficulties come? Will we cower in fear, falter in fatigue, or trust in His provision, protection, and care?

Presumably, this was a question with which Ezra, the religious leader introduced in the Bible book bearing his name, and the returning exiles wrestled as they labored, for decades, to rebuild what the Assyrians destroyed seventy years prior. 

Here’s the backstory. Despit