*This weekly newsletter will share about the Bible Breakdown podcast, things about RLC, and my favorite things from around the web. My prayer is it will help you know God better.
Hello friends. Happy Saturday!
Have you ever felt like you’ve hit rock bottom? That’s exactly where Jonah found himself—literally in the belly of a fish. Yet, it was there that he discovered God’s mercy most clearly. Jonah’s cry of desperation reminds us that no place is too dark for God to hear us. When we feel stuck, hopeless, or lost, God is still present and listening. That truth gives us the courage to pray, even when we don’t know what to say.
🎧 My Favorite BibleBreakdown Episode This Week>>>
📚 Scripture. 💪
(Jonah 2:1-2) “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: ‘In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry.’”
Observation: Jonah’s prayer reveals the depth of God’s mercy even when we are at our lowest point. He had run from God, yet God still heard his desperate cry for help. This shows that no matter how far we fall, God’s ear is never too far away. Jonah recognized that even in what seemed like judgment, God’s grace was still present. The fish was both a place of discipline and salvation. God often uses our lowest moments to draw us back to Him.
Application: When life feels overwhelming, don’t assume you’re too far gone for God to hear you. Even in your darkest places, call on Him—He is listening.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for never turning away when I cry out to You. Help me to remember that no situation is too far gone for Your mercy to reach. Draw me closer to You even in my struggles, and help me trust Your plan more each day. Amen.
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🤔 Question of the Week.
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🖤 My Favorite Links This Week.
📣 Sermon/Testimony. In Defense of Hope (Jackie Hill Perry)
I posted this one recently, but I had to repost it. This message centers on the theme of hope, especially the kind of hope Christians are called to hold onto even when the future feels uncertain. Jackie explains that hope is faith looking forward—expecting God's goodness and promises to be true even when we don’t see them yet. She addresses the struggles people often have with doubt or fear about the future, and how those struggles often come from not fully trusting God in the present. Ultimately, she challenges listeners to anchor hope in the nature of God, not in circumstances.
🤔 Apologetics. On the Hiddenness of God (Link)
This article critically examines J. L. Schellenberg’s “Divine Hiddenness Argument,” which contends that if a perfectly loving God existed, reasonable nonbelief should not persist. Loke analyzes Schellenberg’s burden of proof claims and argues that Schellenberg has not sufficiently ruled out possible reasons God might delay or obscure revelation in particular instances. He suggests that nonbelief, in many cases, may have explanations that are compatible with a loving, infinite God (even if we don’t know all those explanations). The paper pushes back against the view that divine hiddenness definitively counts as evidence against God’s existence, asserting instead that the hiddenness argument fails when held to rigorous standards of proof. It’s an academic piece, but very relevant for apologetic conversations about why God doesn’t always make Himself obvious.
🤓 CS Lewis. What C.S. Lewis Got Wrong about the Gospels (And How We Can Learn from His Mistakes) (Link)
This article critiques Lewis’s approach to the Gospels, suggesting that he sometimes treated them more simplistically than modern biblical scholarship might allow—especially in terms of genre, Christology, and textual criticism. Do you agree or disagree?
✍️ Going Deeper. The Bible Project (Link)
What it offers: Animated overview videos of each Bible book, thematic “guides” that pull together passages around big biblical themes, reading plans, podcasts, and tools for both individuals and groups. Great if you’re a visual or auditory learner, or want structured help to understand how the whole Bible fits together.
✍️ Quote of the Week That Makes You Think
“The New Testament documents are themselves reliable, and the evidence for their trustworthiness is stronger than that for many accepted works of classical antiquity. To be skeptical of the historicity of the New Testament is to allow all of classical antiquity to slip into obscurity, for no documents of the ancient period are as well attested as ours." — F. F. Bruce
🤪 Dad Joke of the week
Why didn’t Jonah trust the ocean?
Because he knew there was something fishy about it. 🐟
God’s love doesn’t abandon us when we make mistakes. Like Jonah, we can always cry out to Him in faith. The good news is that His mercy is bigger than our failures. Keep pressing forward, because God isn’t finished with you yet.
🤪 Meme of the week
