AUGUST 7, 2026

     “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” 

― Timothy J. Keller, The Meaning of Marriage

PSALM 79-81

11“But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not submit to me.

12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices.(81:11-14)

ROMANS 8:1-18

 15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^f 

JOURNAL 

In the scope of eternity, my life is barely a whisper, a blink, a moment that appears and disappears. The world existed long before me and, unless Christ returns, will continue long after me. Yet somehow, in this tiny moment I have been given, God calls me His child and an heir with Christ. That is almost impossible to comprehend.

I am flawed, inconsistent and temporary, yet the eternal God knows me, loves me and has adopted me as His own. My value does not come from how long I am here, what I accomplish or how well I perform. It comes from whose I am. I may be a wisp in eternity, but I am not insignificant. I am a son. I am an heir. And that is truly amazing.

Maybe embracing that reality is what changes everything. I do not have to spend this brief life desperately trying to prove that I matter. I already matter to God. My response is simply to trust Him, surrender to Him and live this small but incredibly meaningful moment I have been given as His child.

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

AUGUST 6, 2026

   “When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.” 

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

PSALM 78

32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;

in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.

33So he ended their days in futility

and their years in terror.

34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;

they eagerly turned to him again.

35They remembered that God was their Rock,

that God Most High was their Redeemer.

36But then they would flatter him with their mouths,

lying to him with their tongues;

37their hearts were not loyal to him,

they were not faithful to his covenant.(78:32-37)

ROMANS 7

21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

JOURNAL 

The reality of being human is that I am going to be a slave to something, and perhaps the easiest thing to become enslaved to is the thing closest to me: myself. My body wants comfort, my emotions want satisfaction, my fears want security, my pride wants recognition, and my mind wants control. None of these things are necessarily evil, but when they become the authority directing my life, they become my master.

That is why following God cannot be a casual decision. It requires the daily surrender of my body, emotions, desires, fears, plans and understanding. And even with that commitment, I will struggle. Paul struggled. Israel struggled. Everyone who has seriously pursued God has struggled. The struggle does not mean God has abandoned me. It means there is something worth fighting for.

But I do not struggle without hope. Romans 7 ends not in despair but with, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Every time I surrender fear, desire, comfort or control, I make more room for God. I will serve something today. Something will capture my heart and direct my steps. So today I choose again to surrender myself to God, knowing that the struggle is real, but so is the joy that waits within and beyond it.

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

AUGUST 5, 2026

  “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” 

― John Wooden

PSALM 75-77

1I cried out to God for help;

I cried out to God to hear me.

2When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;

at night I stretched out untiring hands,

and I would not be comforted.

3I remembered you, God, and I groaned;

I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.^b

4You kept my eyes from closing;

I was too troubled to speak.

5I thought about the former days,

the years of long ago;

6I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

7“Will the Lord reject forever?

Will he never show his favor again?

8Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

Has his promise failed for all time?

9Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”

10Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:

the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.

11I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

12I will consider all your works

and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”

13Your ways, God, are holy.

What god is as great as our God?

14You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the peoples.

15With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.(77:1-15)

ROMANS 6

19I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

20For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness. 21What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

JOURNAL 

Every heart will serve something. There is no neutral ground. My mind, my desires, my ambitions, my fears, my need for approval, my pursuit of comfort, success, control, or security will all eventually master me if they become the center of my life. I was created to worship, and if I do not willingly surrender myself to God, something else will gladly take His place. Whatever captures my heart ultimately shapes my life, and if that master is anything other than God, it always leads toward destruction, no matter how attractive it first appears.

That is why surrender is not a one-time decision but a daily one. Every morning I have the opportunity to decide who will rule my heart. Will I become a slave to fear, pride, comfort, achievement, or the opinions of others? Or will I willingly become a servant of the God who alone leads to life? Romans reminds me that slavery to sin always produces death, while slavery to God produces holiness, freedom, and life. What feels like surrender is actually the doorway to true freedom because I am placing myself under the only Master who loves me perfectly.

Looking back over my life, I see countless moments where God's grace carried me when my own choices deserved something very different. Had circumstances unfolded another way, I might not even be here today. Yet by His mercy I have breath in my lungs, a wonderful family, faithful friends, meaningful work, and another day to know Him. These blessings remind me that His grace has always been greater than my failures.

So today I choose again. I surrender my plans, my desires, my fears, and my outcomes to You, Father. Capture my heart before anything else does. Let my thoughts, words, and actions be shaped by Your Spirit rather than by the endless voices competing for my attention. Thank You for the priceless gifts of family, friendship, community, and above all, Your unfailing love. May I live today as Your servant, trusting that the path of surrender is not the loss of life, but the only path that truly leads to it.

 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in^b Christ Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS 6:22-23

AUGUST 4, 2026

  “ We have lost many things as we've passed through the battlefields of this war-torn world ... One of our greatest losses is the gift of wonder, the doorway into the kingdom heart.” 

― John Eldredge

PSALM 73-74

 23Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.24You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.25Whom have I in heaven but you?And earth has nothing I desire besides you.26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (73:23-26)

ROMANS 5

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^b boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we^c also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

JOURNAL 

Today I cannot help but think of Frosty the Snowman. Every time he comes to life his first words are, "Happy Birthday!" He awakens as though every day is a gift, every breath is a miracle, every moment is something to celebrate. Maybe that is how God intended us to wake each morning. Not burdened by yesterday, not consumed by tomorrow, but opening our eyes with childlike wonder to the incredible gift of another day.

With Marcella's birthday today, I am reminded that one of God's greatest gifts is not simply life itself, but the privilege of sharing it with people we love. Birthdays are more than markers of another year. They are invitations to pause and marvel that this person exists, that our stories have been woven together, and that we have been given another year of shared moments, conversations, laughter, hardships, and memories. It is easy to become so focused on goals, problems, and outcomes that we lose sight of the miracle unfolding all around us.

The battle Scripture describes is, in many ways, a battle for wonder. My darker nature wants to reduce life to transactions, control, fear, self-protection, and getting what I want. It pulls my eyes away from God's presence and toward my own agenda. But God's Spirit continually invites me back to awe. To see that He is holding my right hand, guiding me with His counsel, pouring His love into my heart, and surrounding me with countless evidences of His goodness. Wonder is not childish. It is the doorway to gratitude, worship, humility, and love.

Perhaps taking up my cross daily is also choosing to wake each morning saying, "Happy Birthday." Today is a new creation. Today is another undeserved gift from God. Today is another opportunity to love well, to serve others, to notice beauty, to embrace suffering with hope, and to become more fully the person God is shaping me to be. When I live this way, I stop merely existing and begin experiencing the Kingdom that has been available all along. Every sunrise becomes an invitation to wonder, every relationship becomes sacred, and every ordinary moment becomes another chance to celebrate the miracle of simply being alive in God's presence.

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Psalm 118:24

AUGUST 3, 2026

 “And once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time.”

― Donald Miller

PSALM 70-72

5For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since the youth6From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you. (71:5-6)

ROMANS 4

1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness'^a

JOURNAL 

Paul (Saul) spent the first part of his life imprisoned by the perspective of a bad story. His identity, his theology, and even his certainty were shaped by fear, pride, and a belief that righteousness could be earned. Then everything changed on the road to Damascus. God did not simply change Paul's direction. He gave him new eyes. The world, God, and even Paul himself were no longer seen through the lens of fear and self-righteousness, but through faith. His name changed because his story changed.

The same invitation is before me every day. So much of life is about perspective, and perspective is only found when I am fully present in today's moment. If my mind is consumed by yesterday's disappointments, tomorrow's fears, or the opinions I have already formed, I become blind to the countless ways God is speaking, leading, and revealing Himself today. My own assumptions become the greatest obstacle to seeing what God wants me to see. That is why I need to release my perspectives every morning and ask God for clear eyes, an open heart, and the humility to be changed.

Faith is not simply believing that God exists. It is trusting that He is a good Father who is writing a story far greater than the one I could write for myself. Abraham was declared righteous not because he achieved perfection, but because he trusted God. Righteousness is not something I accomplish. It is the fruit of surrendering my life to the One who sees the entire story while I only see the page I am living today.

When I approach each day this way, uncertainty is no longer something to fear. It becomes the setting where God most often surprises me. Every challenge, every interruption, every unexpected conversation becomes another opportunity to discover His wisdom, love someone well, and participate in the story He is writing. My responsibility is not to control the plot or determine the ending. It is simply to remain faithful in today's chapter.

That also frees me from carrying the impossible weight of the entire world. I do not have to solve the problems of billions of people or orchestrate the future. My calling is much simpler, though no less significant: deny myself, follow Christ today, seek His voice in this moment, and faithfully love the people He places in front of me. My family, my friends, my neighbors, my students, my players, and even strangers are all part of today's story.

Great stories are never written by characters who cling to comfort or refuse to change. They are written by those willing to step into uncertainty, trust the Author, and embrace whatever comes next. God is writing a new story in my life every single day. My prayer is that I never become so attached to my own perspective that I miss the beauty of His.

23Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 

LUKE 9:23-25