JULY 7, 2026

  “My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible.

All are of no value unless they are followed by action.” 
― Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

JOB 35-37

11If they obey and serve him,

they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity

and their years in contentment.

12But if they do not listen,

they will perish by the sword^a

and die without knowledge.(36:11-12)

ACTS 14

8In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

19Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

JOURNAL 

Avoidance is deceptive because in the moment it can feel like safety. It can feel like wisdom, like patience, like waiting for the right time, or like protecting myself from something that feels too big to face. But the truth is that avoidance rarely removes the problem. Most of the time, it only moves the problem into the future and allows it to grow. That is where procrastination becomes so dangerous. It offers temporary relief, but it often creates greater pressure later. What I avoid today can become overwhelming tomorrow. What feels manageable now can become massive when I refuse to engage it. In that way, avoidance is not really peace. It is borrowed comfort that eventually demands repayment with interest.

This connects deeply to the way fear works in me. When I feel out of control, when I face authority, when I face uncertainty, when I feel the possibility of failure or exposure, something in me wants to check out. I do not always run in obvious ways. Sometimes I delay. Sometimes I distract myself. Sometimes I convince myself I will deal with it later. But underneath, there is often a deeper fear that facing the problem will threaten my identity, my security, or my sense of peace. But action is where faith becomes real. Dreams, plans, intentions, and goals have no weight unless they are followed by obedience. It is easy to think about the person I want to become. It is easy to write about courage, discipline, and surrender. But the truth is revealed in the next step. The truth is revealed when I engage the thing I would rather avoid.

In Job, Elihu presents a view of life that sounds simple. If someone obeys and serves God, they will prosper and live in contentment. If they do not listen, they will perish without knowledge. There is truth in the call to obedience, but the danger is turning obedience into a transaction. Job’s life does not fit that formula. Paul’s life does not fit that formula either. Faithful action does not always lead to ease. Sometimes obedience leads straight into resistance, misunderstanding, pain, and suffering.

Paul shows this clearly in Acts 14. He speaks boldly in Lystra, and a man who had never walked is healed. The crowd is amazed, but they misunderstand the miracle and try to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods. Paul immediately redirects the glory back to the living God. He does not exploit the moment. He does not hide from the confusion. He steps into it and tells the truth. Then the crowd turns. The same people who wanted to worship him are persuaded against him. They stone Paul and drag him outside the city, thinking he is dead. That kind of rejection and suffering would be enough to make most people retreat permanently. But Paul gets up. He rises. Then he goes back into the city.

That is the opposite of avoidance. Paul does not go back because it is comfortable. He does not go back because the outcome is guaranteed. He goes back because his life is anchored in something deeper than self-protection. He is not living to avoid pain. He is living to obey God. He is living as a conduit of God’s power, love, and discipline.

That challenges me because I can see how often I want faith without engagement. I want peace without facing the thing that is stealing it. I want growth without discomfort. I want breakthrough without the first step. But that is not how perseverance is formed. James says to consider it joy when we face trials because the testing of faith produces perseverance, and perseverance must finish its work so that we may be mature and complete.

Avoidance interrupts that work. It keeps me immature. It keeps me circling the same fears. It allows small problems to become large ones. It allows fear to sit on the throne while I wait for a perfect moment that may never come. I do not need to solve everything at once. I do not need to control the outcome. I do not need to command success. But I do need to take the next honest step. I need to open the bill, make the call, have the conversation, start the work, tell the truth, ask the question, or face the thing I have been delaying.

That is where freedom begins. Not in dramatic gestures, but in faithful movement. One honest step breaks the loop. One act of obedience interrupts avoidance. One moment of engagement proves that fear does not get to rule me. I want to live that way. I want to stop mistaking avoidance for safety. I want to stop allowing temporary relief to create future chaos. I want to become the kind of man who can feel anxiety and still act with power, love, and discipline. I want to rise when I am knocked down, return when obedience calls me back, and trust God with the outcome.

Because avoiding the hard thing does not create peace. Surrendering to God and taking the next faithful step does.

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^a whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

JAMES 1:2-4

JULY 6, 2026

    “What is success? It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace” 

― Paulo Coelho

JOB 33-34

7Is there anyone like Job,

who drinks scorn like water?

8He keeps company with evildoers;

he associates with the wicked.

9For he says, ‘There is no profit

in trying to please God.’(34:7-9)

ACTS 13:24-52

38“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

49The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

JOURNAL 

Watching Young Washington and the documentary on Thomas Jefferson reminded me that history has a tendency to expose the contradictions of every person. Washington wrestled with fear, Jefferson lived with contradictions that continue to be debated centuries later, Paul was persecuted, Job questioned everything, and yet God's purposes continued. None of their failures or imperfections diminished who God was. If anything, they revealed that God's faithfulness has never depended on human perfection.

I realized that much of my own fear of failure has been rooted in something that sounds spiritual but actually isn't. Somewhere deep inside I have believed that if I fail, then I somehow misrepresent God, as though His reputation depends upon my performance. But that gives me far too much importance. God's identity is not fragile. His goodness does not rise and fall with my successes or failures. He was God before me, He will be God after me, and His love remains constant regardless of whether I reflect it well today.

A light bulb does not create electricity. It simply receives it and turns it into light. When the room is dark because the bulb has burned out, no one concludes that electricity has ceased to exist. The problem is not the source but the connection. In the same way, I do not generate God's love, wisdom, power, or goodness. I receive them. My calling is simply to remain connected so that His life shines through mine.

That realization takes an enormous burden off my shoulders. Failure is no longer evidence that God has abandoned me or that His work has ended. Sometimes failure simply reveals that something in me needs repair. Maybe fear has interrupted the connection. Maybe pride has clouded the lens. Maybe exhaustion has weakened the reflection. The answer is not to manufacture more light through greater effort but to reconnect to the Source.

This is exactly what Acts proclaims. Forgiveness and justification are gifts received, not achievements earned. Through Jesus I am set free from the impossible burden of proving myself worthy. That freedom allows me to stop protecting my image and start pursuing faithfulness. Paul and Barnabas could be rejected, persecuted, and driven from a city, yet still leave filled with joy and the Holy Spirit because their identity was never anchored to public approval. Their peace came from remaining connected to God, not from controlling the outcome.

Even Job, in all of his confusion, ultimately reminds me that understanding is not the goal. Trust is. I will never see the entire picture. I cannot measure God's faithfulness by today's circumstances any more than a broken light bulb can measure the power station supplying it. My responsibility is not to defend God's reputation through flawless performance. My responsibility is to surrender, receive His love, and faithfully reflect whatever He gives me today.

Perhaps success really is what Paulo Coelho described. It is not going to bed having accomplished everything I planned. It is laying my head down with my soul at peace because I remained connected to the One who never changes. I trusted Him instead of myself. I received instead of manufactured. I reflected instead of performed.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." That is the invitation every morning. Stay connected to the Source. The light will take care of itself.

5Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.^a

PROVERBS 3:5-6

JULY 5, 2026

   “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” 

― Theodore Roosevelt

JOB 31-32

16“If I have denied the desires of the poor

or let the eyes of the widow grow weary,

17if I have kept my bread to myself,

not sharing it with the fatherless—

18but from my youth I reared them as a father would,

and from my birth I guided the widow—

19if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,

or the needy without garments,

20and their hearts did not bless me

for warming them with the fleece from my sheep,

21if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,

knowing that I had influence in court,

22then let my arm fall from the shoulder,

let it be broken off at the joint.

23For I dreaded destruction from God,

and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.(31:16-23)

ACTS 13:1-23

9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

JOURNAL 

Taking personal inventory is a good and necessary step in the journey of following Christ. To go through my actions and see if I have hurt anyone or done something that would have wronged another is good and healthy and keeps me humble. It also has a way of helping me to not take on things that are not my responsibility. 

To see Job go through his inventory of actions...weighing each as he searches for possible reasons for his current circumstances is both encouraging and discouraging. For Job never knew the reasons behind his fall and suffering. We as the reader, know it had nothing to do with the wrongs and actually was about all the good he did. We get to see behind the scenes but Job never does. Yet in the end it draws him closer to God.

To understand and know the depth of human darkness is to understand that there are those that will oppose God and anything good. Yet in all honesty it also reveals that I am no innocent bystander.  I have erred again and again, yet I am forgiven, redeemed and given all the joys of life. This is God's gift and too often I take it for granted. Too often I see life through the lens of what I don't have, didn't get, or how difficult my circumstance is rather than all the ways I have actually been blessed. It's mostly subtle but if I am really honest...it's always there.

However, seeing my life in terms of the blessings flips that switch in my brain and fuels me to want to make the most of this gift, make the most of this day. .

23Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 

 2 CORINTHIANS 6:3-10

JULY 4, 2026

"Tis not in mortals to command success, but we'll do more, Sempronius, we'll deserve it." 

― JOSEPH ADDISON

JOB 29-30

 26Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;

when I looked for light, then came darkness.

27The churning inside me never stops;

days of suffering confront me.

28I go about blackened, but not by the sun;

I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.

29I have become a brother of jackals,

a companion of owls.

30My skin grows black and peels;

my body burns with fever.

31My lyre is tuned to mourning,

and my pipe to the sound of wailing.(30:26-31)

ACTS 12

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

24But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.

JOURNAL 

As our nation celebrates 250 years of independence, I find myself returning again to a single sentence that helped shape the hearts of many of America's founders. It comes from Joseph Addison's play Cato, George Washington's favorite play, and one he often quoted. John Adams echoed it in a letter to Abigail in February of 1776 as the colonies stood on the edge of an uncertain future.

"The Events of War are uncertain: We cannot insure Success, but We can deserve it." - John Adams

That single sentence captures so much of what I believe God has been teaching me. The founders could not ensure that America would exist a year later. Washington could not guarantee that his army would survive another winter. Adams could not know whether signing the Declaration would lead to liberty or the gallows. 

Nearly two centuries later, those same words found new life during the darkest days of the World War II. "Deserve Victory" became a rallying cry that appeared on British wartime posters alongside images of Winston Churchill. Britain could not command victory over tyranny. Churchill could not promise his people success. He could only call them to courage, sacrifice, perseverance, and steadfast faithfulness. The outcome remained uncertain, but their duty did not. They would do all that was within their power and leave the final result to God and providence.

Job understood the other side of this truth. He did everything right and still confessed, "When I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness." His suffering reminds me that faithfulness does not purchase favorable circumstances. God never promised that obedience would eliminate pain. He promised His presence through it.

Acts 12 offers the opposite picture. Herod possessed everything the world celebrates. Power. Recognition. Wealth. Applause. Yet in the moment he accepted glory that belonged to God alone, his kingdom ended. The applause of men vanished in an instant, but "the word of God continued to spread and flourish."

One man suffered while remaining faithful. Another prospered while becoming prideful. Neither circumstance determined what was true. God did.

That is why comparison is so dangerous. Success and failure are often poor judges of a person's life. The only measure that ultimately matters is whether I have surrendered today's opportunities to the Lord. Have I loved well? Have I served well? Have I acted with courage, integrity, humility, and discipline? Have I been a faithful conduit of God's power, love, and discipline?

This is the heart of Deserve Victory.

It is not about earning God's favor or controlling the future. It is about living today with such faithfulness that whatever tomorrow holds, I know I honored Him with what He placed in my hands. Providence belongs to God. Obedience belongs to me.

Perhaps that is the greatest lesson of America's founding as we celebrate 250 years. The founders did not possess certainty. They possessed conviction. They acted because it was right, not because success was guaranteed. They trusted that God governs history while men remain responsible for their choices.

The same is true for me today. I cannot command the future of my family. I cannot command the success of my work. I cannot command the outcome of my book, my coaching, my teaching, or the lives of my sons. But I can deserve victory. I can choose faithfulness over fear. I can choose obedience over control. I can choose today's assignment and leave tomorrow in the hands of God.

Proverbs reminds me that "though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again." The promise is not that I will never fall. The promise is that God is still writing the story. My responsibility is simply to rise again and continue walking with Him.

On this Independence Day, I am grateful not only for the courage of those who founded this nation, but for the God whose providence has always been greater than human plans. History has never been directed by those who could guarantee success. It has been shaped by ordinary people who faithfully gave themselves to the work before them and trusted God with the ending.

15Do not lurk like a thief near the house of the righteous,

do not plunder their dwelling place;

16for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,

but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.

PROVERBS 24:1

JULY 3, 2026

    “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invicible host against difficulties.” 

― Helen Keller

“Remember, results aren't the criteria for success — it's the effort made for achievement that is most important.” 
― John Wooden, Coach Wooden's Pyramid of Success: Building Blocks for a Better Life

JOB 26-28

20Where then does wisdom come from?

Where does understanding dwell?

21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,

concealed even from the birds in the sky.

22Destruction^b and Death say,

“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”

23God understands the way to it

and he alone knows where it dwells,

24for he views the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

25When he established the force of the wind

and measured out the waters,

26when he made a decree for the rain

and a path for the thunderstorm,

27then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;

he confirmed it and tested it.

28And he said to the human race,

“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,

and to shun evil is understanding.”(26:20-28)

ACTS 11

15“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with^a water, but you will be baptized with^b the Holy Spirit.’ 17So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

18When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

JOURNAL 

Helen Keller's words have always fascinated me. How could someone who could neither see nor hear become such a powerful source of wisdom, hope, and encouragement? The more I think about it, the more I realize that her life exposes a flaw in the way I often think. I naturally define success by outcomes, comfort, accomplishment, and certainty about the future. Yet none of those things were available to her. She simply possessed today.

Maybe that is why Scripture repeatedly warns against placing too much confidence in tomorrow. I can make plans, and I should. Planning is wisdom. But trusting my plans more than I trust God is idolatry. I have absolutely no idea what tomorrow will bring. None of us do. The opportunities I expect may disappear overnight. The hardships I never imagined may suddenly arrive. The people I believe will always be here may not be. God alone sees the end from the beginning.

That is exactly what Job acknowledges. Wisdom is hidden from every living creature because only God sees the whole picture. Job never learned what was happening in the heavenly conversation between God and Satan while he was suffering. He simply kept returning to what he knew to be true about God. He knew God was still sovereign. He knew God was still worthy of reverence. He knew that fearing the Lord was wisdom, even when he could not understand the circumstances surrounding him.

Peter experienced something similar. His plans, assumptions, and traditions were all redirected by the Holy Spirit. He never woke up expecting Gentiles to receive the same gift God had given the Jews. Yet when God moved, Peter did not cling to yesterday's understanding. He surrendered to today's leading. "Who was I to think that I could stand in God's way?" Those words remind me that following God often means releasing my own expectations when His Spirit leads somewhere unexpected.

That is the life I want to live. I want to prepare wisely for tomorrow without becoming captive to tomorrow. I want to work diligently, make good decisions, steward my responsibilities, and pursue excellence, but then release the results into God's hands. My responsibility is not to control the future. My responsibility is to fully possess today.

If I begin today seeking God's Spirit, walking in His power, love, and discipline, then I leave room for Him to redirect my path whenever He chooses. Sometimes that redirection will feel like blessing. Sometimes it will feel like suffering. Sometimes it will make no sense at all. But my calling never changes. It is to obey today.

John Wooden was right that success is measured by the effort made toward achievement rather than the result itself. Scripture goes even further. Success is faithfulness. Success is receiving God's Spirit today and allowing Him to shape my thoughts, words, and actions regardless of what tomorrow holds.

Paul understood this when he accepted the thorn in his flesh. He stopped demanding a different tomorrow and embraced God's sufficient grace for today. His weakness became the place where God's strength was most visible.

I cannot possess tomorrow because it has not yet been given to me. I cannot relive yesterday because it is already gone. But today is in front of me. Today I can love. Today I can build. Today I can restore. Today I can teach, coach, encourage, solve problems, and serve. If tomorrow looks completely different than I imagined, then God will already be there waiting for me.

 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10