I don't know about the rest of you but whenever I have lessons that involve reading through PDF documents, I run into a wall with retention. I’m naturally a slower reader, and when distractions hit, I often find myself re-reading the same paragraph multiple times just to make sure it actually sticks. To fix that, I had to get creative—which led me to Speechify. The real game-changer for me is reading and listening at the exact same time. You upload the PDF, and it reads aloud in a natural voice. Because you can dial up the playback speed without the audio getting distorted or pitchy, you can consume the material much faster while keeping your focus razor-sharp. Engaging both sight and hearing simultaneously drastically cuts down on distractions, saves study time, and boosts retention. I pay for an annual subscription because of the reading demands with my SLT studies, which unlocks custom voices (including voice cloning, though I'm not sure I want to listen to myself!) and built-in AI summaries for a quick review. If you find yourself losing focus or re-reading the same lines over and over, I highly recommend giving this dual-input approach a shot. If you'd like to try it out, send me a DM and I can share a referral link that takes around $60 off an annual subscription to make it cheaper.

From time to time I will post here from some of the devotional commentaries I have written. I pray they encourage your faith! 1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, Peter is unashamed about his calling. In the opening line of his letter to the Body of Christ, he boldly declares himself an apostle. An apostle instigates cultural change by bringing the culture of heaven to earth. An apostle initiates and fosters the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven in an area—over and above the kingdom of this world in that same area—by using his gifting and calling to destroy the works of the devil and make Christ’s enemies Christ’s footstool. (Hebrews 10:13) He does so by partnering with a prophet to establish the Word of God in a region and raising up or empowering other apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. He helps them fulfill their role of equipping the Body of Christ for ministry until unity and maturity are reached (Ephesians 4:11–13; 2:20; Acts 15:32, 40). Peter declares his anointed apostleship in the first line not because he is trying to prove himself (he has already been anointed as an apostle to the Church by Jesus and has been recognized by the Church as such). Instead, Peter simply stands in the office where he has been rightly appointed so that he can appropriately fulfill his role as an apostle to the church. (Matthew 10:2; Acts 6:1–6; 15:6) Question: Are you boldly standing in the place God has appointed you, fully embracing the mission to bring the culture of Heaven into the world around you? If no, what is the next step God is asking you to take to live this kind of life?

Link to Kick Off Call The School of Ministry launches on September 3, 2026! Join us for an orientation call to meet Dr. David John Philips and Alex David, learn more about the School of Ministry, and ask any questions you may have as we prepare to begin this journey together!

“For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his past sins.” This is a powerful, powerful verse that I use all the time when ministering to people who gave their lives to Jesus a long time ago but are not following Him right now. The previous verses, 2 Peter 1:5-8, are Peter's version of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. When someone was genuinely born again years ago, but has been out of church, is not reading their Bible, is not spending daily time in prayer and praise, and is not teaching others in their life to do the same, they are what the church I grew up in would call backslidden. They have slid back from walking with Christ into a lifestyle that doesn't look as much like Christ as it once did. In every instance, the person who has backslidden is living a life that has dwindled in faith, in virtue, in their daily personal knowing of Jesus, in self-control, in steadfastness, in godliness, in brotherly affection, and even in love. This verse not only diagnoses the problem, it also prescribes the solution. The symptoms are the slipping away of the characteristics just mentioned. The cause of the symptoms is being nearsighted even to the point of blindness. A nearsighted person can only see clearly what is right in front of them. This signifies that the person is overly self-focused. They are concerned with what happened to them or what didn’t happen to them. They are concerned with what they did or what they didn't do, and what that means for what others negatively think about them or what God negatively thinks about them. This shame and guilt continue to magnify, sabotaging their faith even unto spiritual blindness. And... what is the root cause of the nearsightedness even to the point of blindness? It is the fact that they have forgotten that they have been forgiven! In the case of the backslidden born-again Christian, they need to be reminded of Romans 4:8. Romans 4:8 says, "Blessed is the man whose sin is NEVER counted against them." Who is that man? Who is the man whose sin is NEVER counted against them? It is YOU! It is anyone who has put their faith in Jesus and has been born again. Your past, present, and future sin was counted against Jesus so it can NEVER be counted against you.

Don't put God in a box