In this episode of 10:10 Thrive, we explore the beloved hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus” to deepen our understanding of Jesus’ character, ministry, and purpose through song. We trace the hymn’s origins to 17th-century Germany, noting how its sacred text and its Silesian folk melody merged to create a timeless worship piece cherished across generations and cultures. The hymn’s history reminds us how worship can grow from simple, local expressions of faith to a song that blesses the global church, inviting hearts everywhere to adore Jesus.

We then examine how the hymn uses vivid comparisons with creation to elevate Jesus’ beauty above the most glorious elements of the natural world. By contrasting Jesus with meadows, woodlands, the sun, moon, stars, and even angels, the hymn moves us to recognize Jesus is not only fair in appearance but radiates a beauty that surpasses all creation. This beauty is not superficial but reflects his divine glory, holiness, and sovereignty, reminding us that all the beauty we see around us is but a shadow of the beauty we find in Him.

Beyond proclaiming Jesus’ surpassing beauty, the hymn reveals profound theological truths: Jesus is the Sovereign Creator, the Divine-Human Mediator, the source of ultimate joy, and the One who outshines the angels in holiness and glory. In declaring these truths, “Fairest Lord Jesus” invites us into worship, reminding us Jesus is worthy of praise not just for what He has done but for who He is. It pushes us beyond surface appreciation into a posture of deep, reverent adoration and trust in Him as our beautiful Savior and eternal King.

In this episode, the 10:10 Thrive Podcast explores Jesus’ final conversations with His disciples before His ascension. On a mountain in Galilee, the disciples gather, some filled with reverence, others still wrestling with doubt—even after witnessing the resurrected Christ. Jesus appears and declares that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. He commissions them to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey His commandments. Despite their imperfections, Jesus entrusts them with the mission to spread His message and reminds them that He will be with them always.

The narrative then shifts to another gathering on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. There, Jesus reiterates the importance of waiting for the promised Holy Spirit. Though the disciples still don’t fully understand—asking about the restoration of Israel—Jesus redirects their focus toward receiving divine power and bearing witness to Him in ever-widening circles: from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. His final words are followed by His ascension into the clouds, leaving the disciples awestruck and pondering their next steps.

The “Let’s Get Deep” section draws key insights from Jesus' commissioning. It highlights how Jesus calls and uses even those with doubts, emphasizes His supreme authority, and frames disciple-making as both outward evangelism and inward spiritual formation. The episode also explores the necessity of Spirit-empowered mission, the global scope of the gospel, and the redirection from speculation to action. With reflection questions and a closing prayer, listeners are invited to consider how Jesus’ words apply to their own lives and how they too are called to trust, wait, and go.

In Episode 1189 of the 10:10 Thrive Podcast, the focus is on one of the most intimate post-resurrection encounters between Jesus and His disciples. After a period of silence and uncertainty, Peter decides to return to fishing—perhaps seeking solace in the familiar—but he and six other disciples catch nothing. At dawn, a mysterious voice from the shore instructs them to cast their net on the other side. They obey, and their net overflows with fish. John recognizes the voice as Jesus, prompting Peter to leap into the water in his eagerness to reach Him. When they all arrive onshore, they find Jesus waiting with a charcoal fire, bread, and fish—offering them breakfast with quiet authority and tender familiarity.

The scene is deeply symbolic. The charcoal fire echoes Peter’s earlier failure—the night he denied Jesus three times while warming himself by another fire. But this time, there is no denial, only invitation. Jesus does not bring shame or lecture Peter; He brings nourishment. This moment is not about performance or penance, but presence and grace. Jesus doesn’t immediately confront Peter’s betrayal—He first feeds him. This order is important: before restoration comes relationship. The One who defeated death now serves a simple meal to weary fishermen, reminding them that His majesty includes tenderness, His power includes presence.

This encounter reveals profound truths about Jesus. He comes to us in the ordinary and meets us in the places of our failure to transform them into places of renewal. He does not shame us but gently reclaims us. Jesus feeds us before He corrects us and loves us before He sends us. In doing so, He reminds us that our worst moments don’t disqualify us—they are invitations to deeper grace. Peter’s story wasn’t over at the courtyard fire—it was rekindled by the fire of forgiveness on the shore. The episode ends with a reflection: Jesus still calls us today, not to strive first, but to sit, receive, and be restored by His love.

In this episode of the 10:10 Thrive Podcast, listeners are drawn into a dramatic retelling of Thomas's encounter with the risen Jesus. The narrative begins in an upper room in Jerusalem, where the disciples are gathered, still reeling from the resurrection reports. Thomas, however, remains skeptical. He listens to accounts from Peter, Mary Magdalene, and the Emmaus travelers, but remains unconvinced—demanding not only to see but to touch the wounds of the crucified Christ before he can believe. Then, suddenly, Jesus appears in the locked room and directly addresses Thomas, inviting him to inspect the wounds. This gentle confrontation transforms Thomas’s doubt into a bold confession: “My Lord and my God!”

The devotional reflection that follows highlights the compassion of Jesus in meeting Thomas right where he is—without shame or rebuke. Jesus does not condemn doubt that is honest and searching; rather, He honors it by showing up and offering Himself. This interaction reveals not only Jesus’ patience and mercy, but also His willingness to bear His scars so that faith might be born and strengthened. Thomas, though remembered as the doubter, becomes the disciple who makes the most profound declaration of Jesus’ divinity in the Gospels. His journey from skepticism to worship invites believers today to see doubt not as a dead end, but as a possible doorway to deeper intimacy with Christ.

Finally, the “Let’s Get Deep” section presses into what this story reveals about Jesus. He is not afraid of our locked rooms or wounded hearts. He desires more than mental assent—He wants our full devotion. Thomas’s story assures us that Jesus will meet us in our uncertainty and that His peace can enter even the most closed places in our lives. For modern believers who follow without having seen, this episode is an encouragement: our faith is not secondhand or lesser. It is part of the blessed community Jesus envisioned—those who believe without seeing, yet experience the living Christ in Scripture, Spirit, and sacred community.

In this episode of the 10:10 Thrive Podcast, we are drawn into the moving and mysterious story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. As they walk, disheartened and confused, the risen Jesus joins them—unrecognized—and gently invites them to share their sorrow. Their conversation reveals the pain of shattered expectations and the struggle to understand the reports of Jesus’ resurrection. In their grief, they cannot yet see the truth standing beside them. This tender approach by Jesus shows His willingness to meet us in confusion, to patiently listen, and to walk alongside us even when we cannot perceive His presence.

As the dialogue continues, Jesus begins to explain the Scriptures to them, showing how the entire biblical story had pointed to the necessity of His suffering and resurrection. He walks them through the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, demonstrating that the Messiah’s path of pain was always part of God’s redemptive plan. This moment highlights Jesus not only as the fulfillment of Scripture but also as its true interpreter—bringing clarity and hope to those whose hearts have grown cold. Still, it is not in theological explanation but in the humble act of breaking bread that their eyes are finally opened. Recognition comes in relationship, in shared life, in an echo of the Last Supper, and Jesus vanishes the moment they know who He is.

This Emmaus encounter teaches us that Jesus often comes to us in ordinary moments and hidden ways. He is the ever-present companion on our road of sorrow, doubt, and transition. He meets us in our questions, reveals Himself through the Word, and shows up at our tables. Most profoundly, this story reminds us that once we encounter the risen Christ, we are changed. Cleopas and his companion turn back toward Jerusalem—the place of their shattered hopes—because now, those hopes are resurrected. Jesus’ presence calls us to return, to share, and to live renewed. The Emmaus road is not just their story—it is ours.

In this episode of the 10:10 Thrive Podcast, the focus shifts to the intimate and deeply emotional encounter between Mary Magdalene and the risen Jesus in the garden outside the empty tomb. The scene opens with Mary overwhelmed by grief and confusion, still reeling from the trauma of the crucifixion and now distraught over the disappearance of Jesus’ body. She remains behind even after Peter and John leave, unable to walk away from the place where her last hopes seemed to rest. Her pain is personal—Jesus had delivered her from torment, and now she mourns the loss of the One who gave her life new meaning. In her despair, she sees angels and then a man she mistakes for the gardener—until He speaks her name: “Mary.”

At the sound of her name, everything changes. Jesus' voice breaks through her sorrow like morning light through darkness. In that moment of recognition, Mary understands that Jesus is not dead, not stolen, not a vision—but alive. Her grief turns to joy, and her instincts urge her to hold onto Him. But Jesus gives her a new calling instead: to go and proclaim the resurrection to His disciples. She, a woman once bound by demons and marginalized by society, becomes the first messenger of the gospel, entrusted with the greatest news the world has ever known.

The devotional reflection unpacks the significance of this encounter. Jesus meets us in our grief, speaks to us personally, and calls us into a deeper relationship. His words to Mary—“My Father and your Father”—signal a profound shift: we are now children of God, welcomed into intimacy and communion with Him. This moment in the garden reveals not only the tenderness of Christ but the radical grace of the resurrection. Jesus commissions the brokenhearted, reframes our understanding of God, and assures us that His presence now dwells with us through the Spirit. In our own moments of loss or searching, like Mary, we can find hope in the voice that calls us by name and invites us into resurrection life.

At Golgotha, as Jesus hung on the cross, He was flanked by two criminals whose life paths had led them to the same brutal execution. One thief, Gestas, hardened by injustice and rage, mocked Jesus, demanding that He save Himself and them if He were truly the Messiah. The other, Dismas, recognized Jesus' innocence and divinity even amid suffering. In a moment of desperate faith, Dismas asked Jesus to remember him when He entered His kingdom. Jesus’ response was immediate and full of grace: “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.”

This exchange illustrates the core of the gospel: that salvation is offered not based on merit, but on humble faith. Dismas had no chance to earn his place, but Jesus received him because of his belief. In contrast, Gestas clung to cynicism and pride, rejecting the grace extended even in his final hours. Jesus’ promise to Dismas was not just a future hope but an invitation into immediate relationship: not simply “heaven,” but intimate communion with Christ—“you will be with Me.”

Today’s episode highlights that no one is beyond hope, even in life’s final moments. Jesus’ mission of redemption didn’t pause for His own suffering; instead, it was most fully revealed in it. Grace is scandalous, extravagant, and deeply personal. This moment reminds listeners that the door to God’s kingdom is open as long as there is breath in our lungs—and that the presence of Jesus, not performance or perfection, is the true joy of paradise.

In this episode of the 10:10 Thrive Podcast, we enter the pivotal scene where Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate just hours before His crucifixion. Set in the Praetorium, the Roman governor's palace in Jerusalem, the dialogue between Jesus and Pilate unfolds as a clash between earthly authority and divine kingship. Jesus’ calm, truth-filled responses confound Pilate, who is caught between political pressures and moral conviction. While Pilate questions Jesus about His identity as “King of the Jews,” Jesus redefines kingship as a spiritual reality, not a political ambition. “My kingdom is not of this world,” Jesus declares, prompting Pilate’s infamous retort, “What is truth?”—a question that still echoes through the ages.

Jesus’ words are few but powerful, rooted in unwavering commitment to the Father’s will. In contrast, Pilate hesitates, equivocates, and ultimately capitulates to the crowd’s demands, symbolically washing his hands of the decision yet unable to absolve himself of the responsibility. The chief priests, in rejecting Jesus, deny their own Messianic hope by declaring, “We have no king but Caesar.” Meanwhile, Jesus remains composed, declaring that Pilate’s power comes only from above, and quietly accepts the suffering that awaits. In this divine-human encounter, we see a stark juxtaposition between the fear-driven politics of empire and the self-giving love of the suffering Savior.

This episode compels us to examine our own response to Jesus. Pilate’s question—“What shall I do with Jesus?”—is not merely historical but personal. Will we recognize Jesus as the true King whose kingdom is not of this world? Will we speak truth even when it costs us, or shrink back in fear like Pilate? Jesus’ courage, clarity, and compassion in the face of injustice show us the cost—and the call—of living for the Kingdom of God.