“It has been a wonderful experience to compete in the Olympic Games and to bring home a gold medal. But since I have been a young lad, I have had my eyes on a different prize. You see, each one of us is in a greater race than any I have run in Paris, and this race ends when God gives out the medals.”

God’s will is that we would rely on Him, walk with Him, and understand how He has uniquely called us to something! This requires the daily renewing of our minds. As we renew our minds regularly, we slowly begin to understand HOW faith in Jesus works, rather than only knowing WHAT faith in Jesus looks like. Let’s commit to knowing the HOW.

We may hate working out in the moment, but it’s “good pain,” which makes us stronger after weeks and months of consistency. Here’s to another year of increasing our capacity to love, and embracing the strain.

When we “prune” our lives, choosing to drop hobbies, bad habits, or stresses that distance us from God, we will see rewards in the form of larger fruit for His kingdom and more energy to pursue the true passions that He has given us.

Not only does “pride come before a fall,” but if you think you’re invincible to something – a certain sin, pitfall, or situation – you’re truly not. We’re all human, and we all have the same problems. Thankfully, as we read in Romans 3:23-24, we also all have the same solutions.

Patience is not just a virtue; it is a powerful tool in decision-making. It allows us to respond thoughtfully, aligning our actions with our intentions and values. Instead of reacting in anger or frustration, we can take a moment to breathe and consider the best course of action that fosters understanding and love.

Resentment leads you to self-destructive choices, causing you to suffer far more than those you resent. It breeds misery and rarely brings about the resolution you seek. So why cling to resentment any longer? Let go today. Choose forgiveness, and embrace the freedom that comes with it. Release the burden of grudges and experience the peace that forgiveness can bring into your life.

All our time, money, actual “talents,” and other resources belong to God. I need to ask myself, am I squandering these? Or am I investing them in a way that will grow glory to God and love for him around my family, community and the world? This will look different for each unique individual. However, I’d encourage us all to pray and ponder this about our own lives so we can be called, “good and faithful servant."

Healing begins when we bring our brokenness to God and cry out for His mercy. James 5:16 encourages us: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” God yearns to forgive and make us whole again. Are there burdens you need to lay down? Consider writing a prayer, pouring out your heart to God, expressing your regrets and asking for His mercy.

Life presents us with comforts and challenges, often leading us into complacency. I recall a time, not long ago, when I eagerly embraced new challenges and stepped out in faith. Now, I find myself tethered to my comfort zone, cocooned in familiar routines. It’s in these moments of stagnation that we must evaluate our growth trajectory.

The truth that I often need to be reminded of is that there are rules worth aligning myself with – God’s rule. It's only with His rule and reign in my life that I can grow and mature. This is true freedom: growing into what God has intended you to be for His glory and our good!

The Lord is slowly working in my heart to change my need to be recognized, rewarded and repaid, and replacing it with a desire to fellowship more deeply with Christ and experience gratitude in all circumstances. I pray you find encouragement today in the all encompassing lifelong journey of following Jesus.

God intends for us to be sharp and fit for use as well. In fact, God’s purpose for His people is to make us useful for His Kingdom, according to His own good will and pleasure. One of the primary ways that God accomplishes this is through personal discipleship.

When we disregard God’s commands and give into our sinful desires, it’s like staring into the headlights of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler and hoping not to crash. Whenever we allow our eyes to look upon the things that God clearly commands us not to look upon, this leads to patterns of unrighteous living, which eventually leads to death.

As soon as you commit your life to Christ, you are not alone. Immediately, you are mortared onto the strongest, most unbreakable structure that ever was, a building that will only grow taller throughout eternity. It's easy to get bogged down in personal conflicts, the state of the modern church, or pain we've experienced from Christians in the past. But through all of that, do not forget - if we belong to Christ, we belong to the His building, along with all the prophets and apostles of old! We are unbreakable.

I believe God, in his grace, allows us to fall so that we are reminded that we don't have it all together and we still need His grace, forgiveness, healing, and instruction. This reminder makes me thankful for Jesus, who took the fall for me when he was beaten, mocked, and scorned while he hung on a cross for my sins.

God does not call us to be perfect, He calls us to surrender. When we surrender and give Him our hearts, He will do the work in us to help us overcome our sin. But we are human, so we will always fall short therefore let us always remember that His mercies are new every morning.

Like any restoration, our spiritual renewal can be slow and arduous and it can uncover things that we wish we didn't have to deal with. But I’ve also found, as God restores me into the person he’s created me to be, I feel the weight of my own brokenness being lifted off of me and I can honestly say, “Thank you Jesus, you are worth it”.

No matter how "good" or "necessary" the task, if it is not done from a heart of worship and thanksgiving to God, it becomes idolatrous very quickly. It becomes worship of productivity or self or others - the list goes on.

As you seek to bear the image of your Creator, I pray that His love for you in Jesus is your greatest inspiration. Remember, you can't reflect him adequately on your own, and he doesn't ask you to! He gives us his Spirit to bear witness to his glory, to lead us into all truth and to transform us into the image of His Son.