A New Chapter: Partnering with YouVersion
Several months ago, I officially became one of the Content Partners with the YouVersion Bible App. I knew that this would be a challenging task simply because I do not write bite-size and short-form theological content such as devotionals.
This challenge brought with it growth and new opportunities to steward the gifts that God has given me for the good of his church and the glory of Christ. And that’s the greatest honor of my life to serve Christ in every square inch of my life, regardless of the platform.
Therefore, I am grateful for the privilege to contribute to a platform that serves hundreds of millions of people around the world by making God’s Word accessible in countless languages and cultures.
For years, my desire has been to help Christians think Christianly, love God with faithful clarity, and engage the world with the joyful confidence of biblical wisdom. And I believe that this partnership opens up new horizons and possibilities for the expansion of God’s kingdom, edification of the church, and the exaltation of Christ in the discipleship of the nations.
And for that reason, I’m also humbled to share with you my first YouVersion Bible Plan:
The Good Portion: Encountering Jesus in Luke 10:38-42
A lot has happened over the last few months—loss and grief, stress and anxiety, conflict and changes. As the school year was coming to an end, lesson plans still needed to be done, final exams and grades needed to be turned it. Close friends lost their loved ones. We also lost loved ones. I felt like I was drowning like Peter.
As we welcomed our precious baby girl into the world our mid-sized SUV broke down. Yet Christ graciously made his presence more real than ever before. God provided us with community and we experienced the joys of answered prayers and timely encouragements. We bought a car, and we moved into our new home. But none of these things were earned by our own good performance nor are they are our good portion. Only Jesus is.
It was in the midst of this wild and beautiful chaos that Christ relentlessly pursued me even when I was too busy to read my Bible or too prideful to pray. In the short story of Martha and Mary neatly tucked away in the gospel of Luke 10:38-42 is where the all-powerful whisper of Christ cut through the noise of the world. And bid me, “Rest!”
As I joined Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, it dawned on me that I was less like Mary but more like Martha. The more I read those five verses the more my world became undone. The more I read the story the more compelling it became—I was confronted by the reality that the illusion of self-reliance finds solace and security in one’s good performance but not in the sufficiency of the person and work of Christ as our good portion.
This was a reality-check for me. Self-reliance breeds self-righteousness. That’s legalism in the nutshell. The real tragedy is that legalism deprives us of our greatest need, and in the end leads to despair. It is a lie that not only binds but also blinds. The more I tried to do better the more wretched I felt. The more I tried to work hard the more weak I felt. And I am convinced of this that we are all recovering legalists by nature simply because we are far too easily pleased with ourselves and too full of ourselves to even admit it.
I learned that good performance untethered from Jesus the good portion is spiritual suicide, a rat-race to earn what we cannot earn and chasing after the wind. The story of Martha and Mary is less about Martha and Mary, but it is about Jesus. He comes into our lives as a servant-savior—to save us by serving us. Salvation is the call to rest in the soul-saving and life-transforming sufficiency of the service of Christ through joyful surrender by faith in Christ.
My prayer is that you will find yourself neither in Martha nor Mary but in Jesus. This Bible plan, The Good Portion: Encounter Jesus in Luke 10:38-42, is carefully designed with that in mind. It may sound repetitive, and that is precisely meant to slow you down so that you can dig deep into the word of God, and perhaps cultivate the habit of attentiveness. May the presence of Christ become more preeminent in your life.
This is simply the beginning. Lord willing, more Bible plans, devotionals, and resources will follow in the months ahead as I continue to write and teach.
I would like to thank everyone who has supported me through reading my work, sharing it with others, praying for me, and encouraging me along the way. Your thoughtful support has made opportunities like this deeply meaningful.
And I would like to give a special thank-you to the most beautiful, ever-gorgeous, God-fearing wife—a woman who is not too easily pleased by “good performance” and a good wife who loves truth, and makes war for beauty and goodness. The world will never see half of the work you do but the Lord sees, and I do too. You are my relentless editor-in-chief. Your God-given intuition has been incredibly insightful and has shaped how I write and love others. Thank you for all the late nights and early mornings—your prayers, encouragement, and unwavering God-centered support. You are, indeed, a helper suitable for me. Praise God!
Most importantly, glory to the eternal and exalted King of kings—Lord Jesus Christ—who rules the world with the power of his Word and whose grace makes every good work possible.
Soli Deo Gloria.