The parable of the ten virgins ends with a scary verse, one my wife and I have talked about a lot.

The wedding banquet door is closed, and some late, unprepared attendants are outside knocking, trying to get in. From behind the closed door, the groom says, “I don’t know you,” and doesn’t let them in.

That’s pretty scary, especially when you realize the groom is Jesus and the parable is about the end times.

As I studied and grappled with what Jesus meant by “unknown” in this context, I must admit that something odd happened. The ten virgins morphed in my mind into ten FLASKS. They became living vessels that could hold the required oil, similar to how the Holy Spirit lives inside us.

In this episode, I cover the beginning of the parable of the Ten FLASKS and introduce their homeland, Planet Flask.

Topics:

• The scary ending: “I don’t know you”
• Why ten flasks?
• The parable starts at verse zero
• They said yes without knowing when

This episode is part of the “Scary Verses or Grace?” discussion of passages that sound scary at first, but surprisingly lead us toward grace as we grapple with them and seek the heart of Christ.

My morning walk was supposed to be simple.

No side recordings. No Shorts work. Just some time with God.

But along the way, God interrupted my routine with a question I hadn't considered.

Not a heavy, condemning one...

A shocking, positive one:

“God, what am I doing right?”

Topics:

• My morning routine
• The question I hadn’t considered
• Why are we so negative?
• Is this even biblical?
• A practical example
• Why do we reject encouragement?

Matthew 7:23 used to scare me.

In it, Jesus says, “I NEVER knew you,” and I always heard that as a scary warning.

Like... Christians could be surprised to find out in the end that Jesus didn’t know us well enough, and we wouldn’t get into heaven.

But what if “NEVER” is a clue?

If Jesus knows me, even once, even briefly, he can’t lie and say, “NEVER.”

So, what is this scripture actually trying to tell me?

Topics:

• Buckle up, here we go
• The words that fooled me
• The twist
• Will Christians hear “I never knew you”?

This episode is part of the “Scary Verses or Grace?” discussion of passages that sound scary at first, but surprisingly lead us toward grace as we grapple with them and seek the heart of Christ.