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Send us Fan Mail Vella Karman joins me on this special Friday With Friends edition of More Than a Song to talk about her debut novel Beyond the Mirage, her faith and writing journey, and the Bible tool that keeps her time in God’s Word fresh. Vella is a Christian novelist who draws on her southern roots to write stories splashed with color and emotion. Her writing has been read in more than forty countries. She developed the Fantastical Summer anthology, leading a team of fifteen writers, and she was one of the copy editors on my own debut novel, A Seat at the Table, so I can vouch for the care she brings to a manuscript. In this conversation, Vella shares: Why she reads the Bible, and how she can feel the difference when she hasn’tHer favorite verse, Isaiah 41:13, and what it reveals about God’s heartThe spiritual battle and the New Year’s Eve moment that inspired Beyond the MirageThe truth at the core of her novel: “I can trust myself when I trust God”Why Christians should be the most fun people on earthHer favorite Bible Interaction Tool: the Blue Letter Bible app (free on Apple and Android)A song that’s meaningful to her right now: “Scared” by Claire LeslieFind all the links to connect with Vella at michellenezat.com/vella Want to watch the full interview? Watch it on YouTube Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail Grab your free Episode Guide to take these BITEs with me this week: https://michellenezat.com/547download Have you ever noticed that worry never travels alone? It drags tomorrow into today and brings a whole list of what-ifs along for the ride. Matt Maher's "Gonna Be Alright" opens with words almost straight from the mouth of Jesus. But read in context, Jesus wasn't just telling us to stop worrying. He was talking about something underneath the worry: a divided heart. In this episode: Reading the envelope on the Gospel of Matthew and its five blocks of teachingFour pairs in Matthew 6 that come before "do not be anxious": two audiences, two storehouses, two perspectives, and two mastersWhy "therefore" in Matthew 6:25 changes how we read Jesus' words on worryA financial planner's conversation that reveals what we really expect money to give usA word study on merimnaō (anxious), from Martha's kitchen to Paul's call to undivided devotionWhy the answer to a divided heart starts with the Father who already knows what you need Key verse: "Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name." Psalm 86:11 Scriptures referenced: Matthew 6:1–34; Matthew 7:28; Matthew 10:19; Luke 10:41; 1 Corinthians 7:32–35; Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 86:11 Resources: Logos Bible Software: https://logos.sjv.io/Wqx6JG BibleProject Podcast, "What Does Jesus Say About Anxiety?": https://bibleproject.com/podcasts/what-does-jesus-say-about-anxiety/ BibleProject Matthew 1–13 overview video: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/matthew-1-13/ Listen and share: https://michellenezat.com/547 Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail 📥 Grab the free Episode Guide for this episode at https://michellenezat.com/546download — one page to walk you through the Scripture and the Bible Interaction Tool Exercises from today's show. Already a subscriber? It's in your inbox. "What is my calling?" It might be the most-asked question in Christian circles. But what if it's the wrong question? Joe L. Barnes and Seph Schlueter's "Road Less Traveled" sent me to the two times Jesus told Peter, "Follow me" — once at the nets, and once by that same sea after the resurrection. Same Lord, same two words, a very different man answering them. In this episode: Why Jesus' verbs lead in Mark 1:16–20, and the disciples respond with just two: left and followedJesus does the making, the disciples do the following, and the becoming happens on the wayWhat following a teacher meant in the first century, and why being with Jesus comes before being sent by HimWhy following Jesus didn't look the same for everyone, including the man Jesus sent homeHow Peter's assignment changed in John 21, but his calling never didWhat the New Testament really says about being "called"Your calling isn't a destination or a job title. It's a Person. 🎧 Listen: https://michellenezat.com/546 📥 Free Episode Guide: https://michellenezat.com/546downloadPurchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail 📥 Grab the free Episode Guide for this episode at michellenezat.com/545download — one page to walk you through the Scripture and the Bible Interaction Tool Exercises from today's show. Already a subscriber? It's in your inbox. Somebody asks you what grace means. You know the answer. And then you open your mouth… and nothing comes out. Cochren & Co.'s "What Grace Can Do" sent me on a journey to define grace biblically — and I came away convinced the danger isn't just that we've lost our wonder over grace. It's that we may never have understood it in the first place. In this episode: The definition worth memorizing: grace is the unmerited favor of GodWhy a "grace period" isn't really grace at all — the debt still comes dueFour crucial truths from J.I. Packer's Knowing God that have to be in place before grace makes sense: we're not as good as we think, God is perfectly just, we can't fix this ourselves, and God owes us nothingWhy your best day can't earn grace and your worst day can't cancel itEphesians 2 — good works are the fruit, not the rootPsalm 86 — a working pattern for relying on God's grace, responding to it, and appealing to it 🎧 Listen: michellenezat.com/545 📥 Free Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/545downloadPurchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail 📥 Grab the free Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/544download  Where does your help come from? And maybe the more honest question — where do you actually go for it? Jon Reddick's "Holding On (Praise God)" declares, "I know where my help comes from," and that line sent me straight to Psalm 121. But the Psalm raised a harder question than the one it answers. Not just where help comes from, but where I actually turn first when I need it. For me, the honest list starts with myself, then my husband, then a handful of trusted mentors and friends. None of those are bad. But there's a drift that happens, and it has a name: the slide from trusting someone to trusting IN them. In this episode, we draw that line carefully, then head to John 6, where Jesus corrects a crowd that had quietly given Moses the credit for the manna. "It wasn't Moses who gave you the bread from heaven," He says. "My Father did." We follow the cross-references back to Exodus 16 and Psalm 78, and we find the mirror image waiting there — the people aimed their grumbling at Moses, and God said that grumbling was aimed at Him. Moses was the conduit in both directions, and the destination in neither. Your pastor, your mentor, your spouse — help really can come through them. But may you acknowledge the true SOURCE...the Lord who made heaven and earth. BITEs in this episode: review the section titles, read in context, follow the cross-reference, read the entire psalm, compare and contrast, consult an outside resource. Scriptures: Psalm 121:1–2, Psalm 78:18–24, Psalm 78:68–69, Ezekiel 34:4, John 6:28–32, Exodus 16:3–4, Exodus 16:8 📥 Grab the free Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/544download  🔗 Full show notes and sharing links: michellenezat.com/544 Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail Get your free Episode Guide! Request the one-page guide—complete with Bible Interaction Tool Exercises to walk you through Acts 16 on your own—at michellenezat.com/543download. Already a subscriber? Check your inbox; it's already there. What does surrender actually look like when life falls apart? This week we let Katy Nichole's "Have Your Way" lead us into Acts 16, where two very different people end up praying the same prayer: "Lord, have Your way in me." From Lydia—a successful businesswoman whose heart the Lord opened—to a jailer at the edge of despair, we watch God move first and hearts respond. In this episode, you'll: Read Acts 16 in context (Acts 15–17) and follow Luke's timelineStep into the world of first-century Philippi—a Roman colony with a riverside place of prayerSee worship become a witness as Paul and Silas sing hymns with untended woundsLearn to turn your observations into prayer over the people you loveWhether your story looks like Lydia's or the jailer's, the same gospel saves—and the Lord is still opening hearts. 📥 Download the free Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/543download 💬 Say hello or ask a question: [email protected] Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail 📥 Grab the free Episode Guide for this episode: michellenezat.com/542download — it'll walk you through everything below. "Who am I to question the pen in the hands of The Author?" Brandon Lake and Nick Jonas' song "The Author" pictures God as the writer of our lives — and that's our doorway into one of the most comforting truths in all of Scripture: the doctrine of divine providence. In this episode, we'll: Unpack the difference between God's sovereignty (who He is) and His providence (what He does)Trace providence back to its very first appearance in Genesis 22 — "The Lord will provide"Follow it forward to the ultimate provision: JesusWrestle with free will and God's sovereignty (and why God says "both/and" where we see "either/or")Discover why providence often only makes sense when you "read it backward"Land on the truth that changes everything: God is for youBecause if the Father holds the Author's pen over your life, there's one thing you need to know above all else — He is for you. 📥 Download the free Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/542download Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail Grab this week's free Episode Guide at michellenezat.com/541download — a one-page PDF that walks you through the Scriptures and Bible Interaction Tool Exercises from this episode so you can engage with God's Word for yourself. Josiah Queen's "demons" says darkness has to leave and fear doesn't get a home in your mind. But what happens if we don't tell those demons to run and hide? In this episode, we take the BITE of considering the opposite and let King Saul's story in 1 Samuel show us what it looks like to refuse to resist: Why reading in context (all the way back to 1 Samuel 8) reveals why the Spirit of the Lord departed from SaulHow Saul treated his calling as if it outranked his obedience—and why that's a warning for usWhy disobedience is still rebellion, even when we call it worshipHow the New Covenant doesn't soften the warning—but gives us what Saul never hadCome discover that resisting the devil isn't white-knuckled willpower. It's obedience—done in the power of everything Christ has already accomplished for you. Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail 📥 Download the free Episode Guide: 👉 michellenezat.com/540download One line from We The Kingdom's "Rescue Me" — "I've been climbing the branches, but I still can't see" — sends us straight to Luke 19 and the story of Zacchaeus. But this isn't the children's song version. In this episode, we dig into Zacchaeus's story the way an author would dig into a short story: character, setting, conflict, and arc. And we ask the question every "rescue me" prayer eventually has to answer — rescued from what, and rescued to what? In this episode, you'll discover: Why the real conflict in Luke 19 isn't bloodline vs. faith, but a question of who holds the authority to grant or revoke sonshipWhat Zacchaeus's offer in verse 8 reveals about the internal battle he was really fightingWhy his pursuit of Jesus was vertical, not horizontal — and why that distinction mattersHow rescue is never just "from" something — it's always from something to somethingPractical Bible Interaction Tool Exercises (BITEs) you can use to study this story for yourself, including storying, word study, and imaginationScriptures referenced: Luke 19:1–10, Luke 18:35–43, Galatians 3:7–9 Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail What do you do when it isn't well with your soul — and you don't know if it ever will be? MercyMe's "Make It Well" leads us to one of the most honest, desperate prayers in all of Scripture — Hannah's cry to God in 1 Samuel 1 and 2. Year after year of distinct suffering. Year after year of silence. And somewhere in the middle of it all, a woman who kept returning to God with her whole, honest heart. In this episode, you'll discover: The Hebrew word for Hannah's suffering that appears nowhere else in Scripture — and why God gave it to us (and what it means for yours)Why Peninnah wasn't just being mean — and what that changes about the storyThe surprising connection between Hannah's suffering and her worship in 1 Samuel 2Resources mentioned in this episode: Free Episode Guide — https://michellenezat.com/539downloadOur Jerusalem by Bertha Spafford Vester — https://amzn.to/4vwBqtbEpisode 530 — https://michellenezat.com/530Free list of 15 BITEs — https://michellenezat.com/453downloadLogos Bible Software — https://logos.sjv.io/Wqx6JGPurchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail Where would you be if you didn't have Jesus? Peter Burton's chart-topping song asks a question that Paul's letter to Titus answers in vivid detail. In this episode, we explore what life looks like without Jesus, what it looks like with Him, and how to study Scripture through the lens of created, fallen, and redeemed. 📥 Download your free Episode Guide at michellenezat.com/538download (Pairs with the Episode 537 guide — use them together for a complete walk-through of Titus!) This episode introduces a powerful new Bible Interaction Tool Exercise — learning about people the way the Bible does: created, fallen, and redeemed. We also practice starting with God, considering the opposite, and making a list as we work through Titus 1 together. If this is who God is, and in Christ we are to reflect Him — consider the opposite. That's exactly what we do in this episode, and it just might change the way you read your Bible. Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail What is your testimony? 👉 Don’t forget to download your free Episode Guide at michellenezat.com/537download If someone asked you to share your “Jesus story,” would you know where to begin? In this episode of More Than a Song, we explore what it really means to be a living, breathing, walking testimony—inspired by the song “Testimony” by Terrian. Together, we’ll dive into Titus 3:3–7 and uncover a simple but powerful framework for understanding our shared story in Christ: I once was… But God… I am now… and my hope for the future is… Whether you have a dramatic story or a quiet, steady faith journey, your testimony matters—because it’s ultimately the story of what Jesus has done. In this episode, you’ll learn: What Scripture says a true testimony isWhy every believer shares the same core “Jesus story”How God’s mercy, grace, and renewal shape your identityPractical ways to build a routine of engaging with God’s WordHow your testimony leads to a life of purpose and good worksYou’ll also be encouraged to start (or restart!) a simple rhythm of Bible reading—with grace for the days when life gets in the way. So press play, reflect on your own story, and discover how God is still writing it. 👉 Don’t forget to download your free Episode Guide at michellenezat.com/537download Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail Free Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/536download When life feels heavy and hope feels distant, what do you do with your questions, your pain, and your doubt? In this episode of More Than a Song, Michelle Nezat uses “There’s a God” by Mary‑Clair as a doorway into Psalm 22 and Jesus’ darkest day on the cross. Together, we explore how Scripture invites us to bring honest lament to God while anchoring ourselves in unshakable truth. You’ll discover how Jesus’ cry of “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” points us to a psalm that holds both suffering and hope—and how our feelings can be real without being the full story. This episode will encourage you to look to Jesus, interrupt destructive thought loops, and engage Scripture personally when hope feels hard to find. 🎁 Free Episode Guide: Apply the Care Cycle and dig deeper into Psalm 22 at 👉 michellenezat.com/536download Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail 👉 Grab your free one‑page Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/535download What if the question “Am I worthy?” isn’t the right question at all? Inspired by Matthew West’s song “Good,” this episode of More Than a Song takes us back (again!) to the book of Romans—and this time, we lean into the power of repetition. In Romans 5:1–11, we uncover a truth that changes everything: we are not loved because we’re worthy, but because God is good. In this episode, you’ll: Discover why repetition is a powerful way to interact with ScriptureLearn how to Start With God by focusing on His character, conduct, and concernsExplore how hope rooted in God does not lead to shameBe reminded that your standing with God rests on Christ’s work, not your performanceIf you’ve ever struggled with measuring your worth—or wondered why grace feels hard to believe—this episode is an invitation to return to Scripture and let God’s goodness wreck you with mercy. 🎧 Song: “Good” by Matthew West 📖 Scripture Focus: Romans 5:1–11 👉 Episode Guide: michellenezat.com/535download Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!

Send us Fan Mail Easter isn’t just a season — it’s the heart of the gospel. In this episode of More Than a Song, Michelle uses “Remembrance” by Hillsong Worship to explore what Jesus is talking about when He says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” 📥 Download the free Episode Guide to follow along in Scripture: michellenezat.com/534download As we read the accounts of the Last Supper in the gospels in context, we discover something surprising — only one Gospel records Jesus’ exact words. From there, we follow the cross‑references back to the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, uncovering how Jesus fulfills God’s original memorial and institutes the Lord’s Supper as an ongoing proclamation of His sacrifice. This episode will deepen your understanding of communion and invite you to approach the Lord’s Table with greater clarity, gratitude, and remembrance. Purchase your copy of A Seat at the Table today!