Kelvin's Faith Unfiltered

They say my Gospel reads like a Passion narrative with a long introduction. If that’s true—then I agree with them. I’ve heard readers say it: that everything in my writing has been moving toward this final week. The healings, the parables, the authority, the tension—all of it presses forward until it breaks open in these last seven days. This is not just the end of the story. It is the story’s turning point. The decisive pivot in the unfolding drama of the Kingdom breaking in—a kingdom that continues to advance even now, unfinished and still surprising us. So let me take you back there just as others have taken me. The Beginning of the End It was nearing Passover. The city was swelling with well over a hundred thousand Jews—some estimates say as many as 150,000 to 250,000—who had arrived for the festival. It was a time to remember their deliverance from Egypt and to offer sacrifices at the temple, as the Law commanded. For many, it was the most important journey of the year—a...

  I was thinking about the story of Daniel today. It’s a story we often tell to kids, full of lions and courage and angelic deliverance—but underneath it all, it’s a story about conviction, anxiety, and follow-through. I started thinking about Daniel’s mindset. I imagine he began with confidence when the edict was issued—the law that said no one could pray to any god but the king. And in those first moments, maybe adrenaline was high, but so was clarity. His decision was swift: Forget that. I’m doing what’s right. At first, maybe the consequences didn’t feel real. The human mind can segment things—we can obey conviction while holding fear at bay. Maybe no one will notice, he could’ve thought. Maybe God will cover this quietly. I’ll pray as I always have—windows open, no performance, no shame. But then someone did notice. And when they dragged him in, I wonder if Daniel thought, Surely this is where it stops. Surely God won’t let it go any further. But it did go further....

  The Words That Disrupted Everything Next, I will share with you my thoughts on the teachings and parables of Jesus. While his words were clever and coy, he often sounded as harmless as a dove. For a man of such power, this was astonishing. They were not abstract philosophies or moral soundbites. They were the voice of the kingdom of God breaking in —disrupting the familiar, challenging assumptions, and calling people to repentance and transformation . I preserved them with care, especially the ones I heard from Peter. These stories peeled back layers of tradition to reveal the heart of God's desire: compassion over ritual, faithfulness over status, and the nearness of God to the least expected . Jesus didn’t speak in bullet points or commandments. His parables were everyday images—seeds and soil, lamps and baskets, servants and masters—but within them were eternal truths . To many, they sounded like riddles. But to those with ears to hear, they were revelations—windows into...

  Hello friends— I wanted to let you know what I’ve been working on. It’s called Kelvin’s Faith Unfiltered. This isn’t a place where I claim to give you all the answers. I’m working my ideas out right alongside you. I’m writing, reflecting, and sharing what’s stood out to me—what’s challenged me, shaped me, or just wouldn’t let me go. I want to explore faith honestly, and talk about Scripture in a way that’s open, grounded, and unfiltered. 📝 The Blog At the center is my blog—a creative series written in the first-person voice of Mark , the Gospel writer. This isn’t historical fiction or fan fiction. It’s my attempt to reflect on what Mark might have wanted us to understand if he could speak directly today. So far, I’ve released: An overview of the Gospel of Mark A look at the opening of the book A reflection on the miracles of Jesus And coming Saturday, May 17: a new post on the teachings and parables of Jesus These are all building toward a four-part series on the final week of ...

How I Came To See The Kingdom In Every Miracle These Weren’t Just Miracles-They Were Glimpses of a World Made New. Let me now tell you the stories that were told to me—the miracles of Jesus, as I came to understand them... The miracles of Jesus, as I came to know them, were not mere displays of power to impress the crowds. They were signs and lessons—outbreaks of God's kingdom in a broken world, moments when heaven touched earth through the Son of Man. One of the first signs came in Capernaum, where Jesus cast out an unclean spirit in the synagogue (Mark 1:21–28). The people were astonished. He did not teach like the scribes, who leaned on tradition; he taught with authority, and that authority extended even over demons. When I heard this story, I notices that evil recognized him even when people did not. And the evil spirits cried out, calling him "the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24), naming what others could not yet see. Immediately after, he healed Simon’s mother-in-law o...

  When I first put pen to parchment, I knew: this was not just a story, but a heralding—not a mere recounting, but the declaration of something that demanded to be told. This was the beginning of the good news— the euangelion —of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.   This news would change the world. The whole story bears the weight of that confession, whether spoken at the start or revealed through the unfolding of his life, death, and resurrection. I did not speak of where he was born. I gave no account of his childhood. The prophets were enough for me. Isaiah had spoken long ago of a messenger crying out in the wilderness and that is where I began. We believed this voice was John the Baptizer the one who would “Prepare the way of the Lord.” It was no accident that John appeared in the wilderness, away from the temple courts, wearing garments rough and wild. His baptism was not a hollow ritual but a summons to repentance, to ready oneself for a kingdom about to break in. [1] ...

This reflection represents what I believe John Mark might have said if he were to introduce his Gospel. I do not present it as infallible, but as an attempt to capture the heart of his message. In seeking to remain faithful to Mark’s perspective, I have drawn solely from his Gospel, without incorporating material from the others, in order to reflect more accurately where Mark was at the time of his writing. I am Mark—John Mark, as some knew me. I did not walk the dusty roads of Galilee with Jesus, but I feel like I know him as if I did. This came about through the faithful testimony of those who had. Chief among them was Peter, who stood close to Jesus through his ministry. What I have written reflects the Jesus that was instilled in me and proclaimed to me and to the believers around me—the Jesus we came to follow, love, and recognize as the Messiah, the Son of God (Mark 1:1). From the very first line, I wanted readers to understand the entire story through this lens: that Jes...

  How to Read the Bible (Even When It Feels Complicated) Reading the Bible is not a one-size-fits-all experience. People come to it from every walk of life—with different cultures, histories, traumas, joys, and spiritual journeys. And each of us brings along a worldview, often shaped long before we even realized we had one. That worldview frames how we read the Bible—sometimes enriching our understanding, but other times clouding it. Think about it: when the Bible speaks of “Father,” what comes to your mind? That image is likely colored by your own experiences with authority, parenting, or even pain. Or take the word “sin.” For some, that word brings shame or fear; for others, confusion, defiance, or a deep hunger for grace. We all come with preconceived ideas about what sin is, what counts as worse, and how it should be handled. Memory plays a role, too. Many of us first encountered the Bible as children—through colorful storybooks, flannelgraph figures, or songs about animals ...

  Meet Kelvin – A Trusted Voice in Theological and Biblical Book Recommendations “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” —Albert Einstein I’m not comparing myself to Einstein, but I’ve always resonated deeply with that quote. I haven’t earned advanced theological degrees, and I didn’t attend an Ivy League school. In fact, I never went to college at all. My wife and I have built our life through hard work—me in banking operations, her in supply chain. And yet, despite all of that, I have become an unconventional, deeply curious student of theology , and someone people turn to for trusted, thoughtful book recommendations. I was born in Akron, Ohio in 1985 and raised in a Christian home where faith was part of the fabric of daily life. I attended a private Christian school, memorized Scripture, went to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and watched my father sing in a gospel band. That foundation was strong—but not without its challenges. A confusing church sp...