Late Winter, 2011
In the late winter of 2011, I experienced something that changed the direction of my life.
I prayed for a young woman, and she was dramatically healed. She burst into tears, praising God, and I stood there feeling as if the ordinary laws of nature had been suspended. It was as though I had stepped into a bubble where heaven touched earth.
A confession
In that moment I realized something unsettling. I had written three books based on the ministry of Jesus and written commentary for three study Bibles. But I didn’t truly know Jesus. At least, not the Jesus who healed that young woman.
It felt like I had been following Clark Kent up ten flights of stairs, and when he leaped off the building and flew away, I stayed safely on the roof.
March 2012
The following year, in March of 2012, I told the Lord I would read the Gospels monthly for the rest of that year. When the year ended, I committed to read them monthly for the rest of my life. Only then did I see how upside‑down my approach had been. Before I started reading the Gospels, I had read more books about Jesus and the Gospels than I had read the Gospels themselves. Yet the Gospels are the source material for every book written about Jesus.
I had no vision of writing a book, leading a Bible study, or posting fresh insights about Jesus online. I wasn’t trying to build anything. I simply wanted to know Jesus. Amazingly, every time I read the Gospels, I see something fresh. Without fail, God shows me something new about Jesus and myself.
Where the songs come from
Every insight on this site flows from walking a few pages with Jesus daily. Each time I write a post, I encounter the Lord in a fresh way.
The songs come from that same place. When I write a devotional, something happens in me. The lyrics and melodies are my way of letting you experience through music what I experience when I write. After several people asked, I added chords and lyrics so you can play the songs with an instrument as you sing or lead others in worship.
On the music
While the lyrics are Bill’s, the songs were rendered with the help of AI instruments — the vocals, instrumentation, and arrangements — each crafted to give Bill’s lyrics their first air.
But AI isn’t a magic wand. Genre, mood, tempo, instruments, vocals — assembled in pieces by Bill within the AI platform, with each song taking many takes across several genres before it becomes itself. The devotionals and scripture behind every song come from Bill’s own monthly reading of all four gospels for fifteen years and daily recitation of the Sermon on the Mount from memory.
The devotional studies
The devotional studies were originally prepared for the men’s ministry at Horizon Community Church in Tualatin, Oregon.
My prayer is simple. As you read these insights and listen to the songs, you will encounter the Lord in a fresh way. I pray you’ll discover truths about Jesus you may not have seen before.
Thanks for joining me on this journey with Jesus.
Walking a few pages a day.
— Bill Perkins
