Monday, June 30, 2025

JUNE 30, 2025

 “No man needs sympathy because he has to work, because he has a burden to carry. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” 

 Theodore Roosevelt


JOB 19-20

13“He has alienated my family from me;
my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.
14My relatives have gone away;
my closest friends have forgotten me.
15My guests and my female servants count me a foreigner;
they look on me as on a stranger.
16I summon my servant, but he does not answer,
though I beg him with my own mouth.
17My breath is offensive to my wife;
I am loathsome to my own family.
18Even the little boys scorn me;
when I appear, they ridicule me.
19All my intimate friends detest me;
those I love have turned against me.
20I am nothing but skin and bones;
I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.a(19:13-20)

ACTS 9:23-43

23After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,a but they tried to kill him. 30When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

JOURNAL 

Job continues to debate with his friends and languishes in his circumstance. He has experienced loss in every capacity except his life. Paul now embraces this new path without hesitation or reservation. He plunges right in and doesn't bother with public opinion and what people would think. He has made a 180-degree shift to the point that people are having a difficult time with the shift. The Jews begin to conspire to kill him and the disciples begin to help him avoid their traps.

I can only imagine the confusion as Paul has gone from passionate oppressor to ardent defender. Paul has one purpose and one purpose only. He appears to have no backup plan and is intent on preaching the gospel without reservation wherever God sends him. In the same way, I can empathize with Job's friends who are confounded as to why God would punish Job without a reason.  

In reading the two texts it sometimes is hard to reconcile God's purpose. In Job, God allows torment and suffering on one of his most devoted followers and with Paul, God converts one of the enemies to the faith. What I take from both is that there is not a clear formula for God and life. Life can seem unfair and pointless, but it clearly has meaning. God does not operate in a predictable manner, that's why I must seek and trust him in every circumstance in every moment. I don't know when the winds will shift and circumstances change. The only thing that is a constant is God's love and his ultimate purpose which is to redeem man. 

That can look different in every single person. Just as we all are unique, so is God's plan and purpose for each of us. The one constant is that our destiny is with God, and that God has work for each of us to do and accomplish. No matter where we live, no matter what our situation, we are to love God, love others and work our heart out in following him. 

1The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,a
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

PSALM 23

Sunday, June 29, 2025

JUNE 29, 2025

  “The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure.

If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones.” 
― Roy T. BennettThe Light in the Heart


JOB 16-18

1My spirit is broken,
my days are cut short,
the grave awaits me.
2Surely mockers surround me;
my eyes must dwell on their hostility.(17:1-2)

ACTS 9:1-22

11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

JOURNAL 

Paul is stricken with blindness, his whole world is turned upside down. As a result Paul will be transformed, yet his transformation comes through his suffering...16I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Job is in the place where the only thing that looks appealing is an end to his suffering. His heart is broken, he feels betrayed, he is all alone, no one understands and things seem to just keep getting worse. So what's the answer? Escape, manipulation, capitulation...? Nope, the answer is to keep suffering, the answer is to keep wading through. This seems crazy, yet it is the path of God, it is the path of Christ and it is the path of the Kingdom.

The way out is through...most of scripture is counter intuitive...the reality is that most things in life are that way as well. This often goes against our culture and some would say our nature. I know I initially look for the easiest and quickest way out of a painful circumstance or experience.  Sometimes the easy way is the best way, yet most of the time, it isn't.  The way out of suffering most often is to suffer. 

What's interesting is that it is also the path of true lasting success. Because it usually requires difficult work, sacrifice, frustration and some type of opposition. It requires persisting in the midst of doubt and adversity. It also usually requires persisting when many bystanders would say it's time to quit. Essentially every story in the Bible somewhat follows this path...guess that's why it's called the "narrow path", and why "many are called but few are chosen". 

Yet suffering absolutely can be joyful, when you know that the suffering is for a purpose. The purpose of my life is to be and to create outposts of God's Kingdom. To do so requires that I persevere, work hard, take chances and always love. It requires that I see each day as a miraculous opportunity to do good work, love others and build outposts.

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

Saturday, June 28, 2025

JUNE 28, 2024

   “Lack of confidence, sometimes alternating with unrealistic dreams of heroic success, often leads to procrastination, and many studies suggest that procrastinators are self-handicappers: rather than risk failure, they prefer to create conditions that make success impossible, a reflex that of course creates a vicious cycle.” 

― James Surowiecki


JOB 13-15

1“Mortals, born of woman,
are of few days and full of trouble.
2They spring up like flowers and wither away;
like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.(14:1-2)

ACTS 8:26-40

26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopiana eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

JOURNAL 

In Job 14:1–2, we hear the aching honesty of a man crushed by life: “Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.” Job isn’t being dramatic, he’s being real. Life is short. Life is hard. And sometimes, as Job experiences, even the righteous are brought low.

What makes his pain sharper is the misunderstanding of his friends. They’ve reduced God to a vending machine: sin equals suffering, righteousness equals reward. But Job’s story dismantles that formula. He’s not suffering because he did something wrong, he’s suffering precisely because he is living rightly. And that confuses the religious mind that always demands visible reward for invisible faith.

It’s easy, then, to fall into despair or, perhaps even more commonly—procrastination. Not just putting off tasks, but putting off purpose. As James Surowiecki notes, procrastinators often suffer from a mix of low confidence and unrealistically heroic fantasies. That’s me sometimes. I wait. I hesitate. I want the big, bold, cinematic moment of calling without the risk of actually stepping onto the battlefield. I fear failing, so I stall. And in that stall, purpose fades.

But contrast that with Philip in Acts 8:26–40. There’s no clarity, no map, no guarantee, just a simple command: “Go south to the road...the desert road.” And Philip goes. No hesitation. No excuse. Because obedience isn’t about certainty, it’s about trust.

And in that act of faithful obedience, Philip is led to one man, the Ethiopian eunuch, whose heart is ready. One quiet moment of obedience becomes a world-changing encounter. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asks. “How can I,” the eunuch replies, “unless someone explains it to me?” What if Philip had procrastinated? What if he waited until conditions were perfect?

Obedience rarely feels heroic in the moment. It often feels like desert roads, interruptions, and awkward conversations. But it is there, right there, that God moves.

So what is my path forward? Not one paved by formulas or outcomes. Not one dictated by success or suffering. My calling is clear: to live in daily obedience to the Spirit of God, just as Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:9–13. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Not my comfort. Not my timeline. His will. His kingdom. His name hallowed through my simple, faithful, daily yes.

There will be days where I feel like Job, confused, discouraged, watching life wither like a flower. But there are also days where I can choose the way of Philip, quietly stepping onto a desert road, trusting that God will meet me there. I don’t have to be heroic, I just have to be obedient. And in that obedience, joy will find me. Not because the journey is easy, but because God is in it.



9“This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,a
but deliver us from the evil one.b ’

MATTHEW 6:9-13

Friday, June 27, 2025

JUNE 27, 2025

 “Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” 

― Denis Waitley


JOB 10-12

13“To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.
14What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
those he imprisons cannot be released.
15If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.
16To him belong strength and insight;
both deceived and deceiver are his.
17He leads rulers away stripped
and makes fools of judges.
18He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loinclothb around their waist.
19He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows officials long established.
20He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.
21He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.
22He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings utter darkness into the light.
23He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.
24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he makes them wander in a trackless waste.
25They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.(12:13-25)

ACTS 8:1-25

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

JOURNAL 

How does Saul become Paul? How does a man breathing murderous threats against the church (Acts 8:3) become the greatest missionary and author of much of the New Testament? It defies logic. It doesn’t follow a clean arc of redemption. But that’s the point, God does not work by our formulas.

As Job declares in Job 12:13–25, “To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.” He tears down what no man can rebuild. He binds and releases. He elevates nations and disperses them. He exposes darkness and brings it into light. Job understood what we so often forget: God alone authors both the rise and the fall. And within that, He is still good.

The persecution in Acts 8 seems like a moment of defeat. Stephen is buried. Saul is dragging believers into prison. But look closer: it is through this persecution that the church is scattered, and the gospel begins to move outward. What looked like loss was actually divine multiplication. Failure is not the end, it is often the beginning.

God does not avoid the mess. He enters it. And He allows us to walk through it—not around it. The only way through is through.

There’s a temptation in me and in all of us, to avoid the hard parts of life, the confusing chapters of Scripture, the painful trials of the present moment. But as Job models, and as Isaiah affirms, these very hardships are where God reveals His strength. “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isaiah 40:29). Not by removing the hardship, but by renewing the heart within it.

Sometimes I want a life that’s simple, predictable, fair. But what God offers me is far greater: a life that is purposeful, sanctifying, and eternally significant. He doesn't promise that I won't grow tired or fall—He promises to lift me when I do.

And so I return to Denis Waitley’s wisdom: “Failure is delay, not defeat.” Yes, the path is often detoured. Yes, the story includes pain. But every setback is an invitation, to deeper trust, to greater intimacy with God, to a more resilient and refined self.

So today, I receive this life as a gift. It will hold conflict. It will test me. But it will also shape me into who I was meant to become.  For it is there, when I am at my weakest, that He makes me soar.

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

ISAIAH 40:28-31

Thursday, June 26, 2025

JUNE 26, 2024

   ...This story shall the good man teach his son;

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be rememberèd-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

~ Shakespeare, Henry V


JOB 7-9

32“He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him,
that we might confront each other in court.
33If only there were someone to mediate between us,
someone to bring us together,
34someone to remove God’s rod from me,
so that his terror would frighten me no more.
35Then I would speak up without fear of him,
but as it now stands with me, I cannot.(9:32-35)

ACTS 7:44-60

54When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

JOURNAL 

"This story shall the good man teach his son..." Shakespeare’s words echo not just as poetry but as a rally cry for those of us called into struggle. Not senseless suffering, but sacred battle—waged not only on battlefields, but in hearts, homes, classrooms, and quiet moments of despair.

In Job 9:32-35, we find a man stripped of everything yet still grasping for a mediator—someone who could reach between heaven and earth and make sense of his agony. “If only there were someone to mediate between us,” Job cries. In Job’s words, I see the mirror of all humanity crying out for someone who understands both divinity and dust.

Centuries later, in Acts 7:54-60, that Mediator stands—literally. Stephen, filled with the Spirit, looks up and sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Not sitting. Standing. As if to receive his brother. As if to honor his courage. As if to say, You are not alone. You didn’t flinch. You spoke the truth. And I see you.

Stephen's death wasn't a tragedy—it was a catalyst. A seed planted. And Saul, standing there holding coats, would one day become Paul—an apostle of unstoppable grace. Sometimes the greatest victory is hidden inside the bloodiest moment. Conflict, it seems, is the crucible of transformation.

But somewhere along the way—especially in the last hundred years—we've begun to believe the lie that happiness is our birthright, that ease is the goal, that life is supposed to be smooth, curated, and soft. We've traded the battlefield for the marketplace. The soul for the illusion of control. And like me, so many have fallen into the subtle trap: If I’m not happy, something must be wrong.

Well—something is wrong. Eden was lost. And we’ve been aching ever since. But the ache is not pointless. It’s the echo of paradise. And in the ache, God implanted purpose. Not to escape conflict, but to redeem it. Not to fear the fire, but to be forged in it.

Sports teach us this. Brotherhood is formed through pain. Meaning is discovered in shared adversity. You don’t bond with teammates over sunshine and smoothies—you bond in the trenches, on fourth and long, when you’re sore and tired and still choose to show up. Even the one who wins the championship knows heartbreak—he knows the journey, the price, the scars.

So why are we surprised by suffering? Why am I still so shocked when peace doesn’t come wrapped in comfort?

Maybe it’s because I still forget the truth: that conflict is not the enemy. It’s the path. It’s the battlefield that forges sons and daughters of the King. It’s the moment that offers us the chance to be shaped into who we were always meant to be. It’s the platform upon which grace becomes visible.

In my life, I’ve often avoided conflict—not because I’m weak, but because I misunderstood it. I thought peace meant the absence of pain. But real peace, God’s peace, is forged in the fire—not in its absence.

Just as Stephen’s final breath sparked the transformation of Saul, just as Job’s plea for a mediator found its answer centuries later in Christ, we too are called into the arena—not to escape it. Not to make comfort the goal. But to find joy in obedience, in brotherhood, and in the good work we were created to do.

"For God is able to bless you abundantly," Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:8, "so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." Not comfortable work. Good work. Eternal work. And oftentimes, difficult work.

This is where joy is found—not outside the battle, but within it.

So, Lord, teach me to see conflict not as a curse but as the canvas on which Your glory is painted. Make me brave like Stephen, honest like Job, and resolute like the soldiers of Saint Crispin’s day. Give me a heart that longs not for safety, but for truth—and a soul that rejoices not in comfort, but in calling.

We few. We happy few. We band of brothers.


 8And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:8

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

JUNE 25, 2025

  “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. That's the essence of it.” 

― Vince Lombardi Jr.

JOB 4-6

1Then Job replied:

2“If only my grief could be weighed

and placed with my calamity on the scales.

3For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—

no wonder my words have been rash.

4For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;

my spirit drinks in their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.(6:1-4)

ACTS 7:20-43

20At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God.e For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house. 21When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

JOURNAL 

In Job 6:1–4, Job’s anguish is almost too much to bear. He cries out, “If only my grief could be weighed... it would outweigh the sand of the seas... the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me.” These are the words of a man crushed not by his failures, but by his faithfulness in the face of relentless trial. Job hasn’t sinned, and yet he suffers deeply—proof that righteousness does not insulate us from pain.

Similarly, in Acts 7:20–43, we see Moses, “beautiful in the sight of God,” raised with privilege and education, and yet misunderstood and rejected by his own people. He is prepared by God for a mission that will lead him through rejection, wilderness, and hardship before deliverance is ever seen.

Both men, like Stephen later in this chapter, show that doing what is right in God’s eyes often leads directly into adversity. Stephen, full of wisdom and the Spirit, will be stoned. Job will be stripped of everything. Moses will flee into exile. None of them are in trouble because they disobeyed. Rather, their suffering is the soil from which their testimony grows.

What does this say to me?

It reminds me that trusting and obeying God isn’t a strategy for ease or applause. It’s a path marked by surrender, mystery, and sometimes pain. True success, then, cannot be measured by comfort or status. It is not defined by outcomes, but by obedience. I am called to be an Outpost of the Kingdom - a living, breathing representative of heaven in this broken world.

As Romans 12:1–2 urges, I am to offer my body “as a living sacrifice... holy and pleasing to God,” refusing to conform to the world’s measurements of worth and instead being “transformed by the renewing of my mind.” My worship is not only what I sing but how I live - with courage, with persistence, with purpose.

That means I must let go of the craving for human validation. I must release the need to control outcomes. Glory isn’t found in accolades. It’s found in getting back up when the weight of life has driven me to my knees - still trusting, still loving, still moving forward.

This kind of life, rooted in identity rather than insecurity, is one of joyful action. It stretches me, demands something deeper. It calls forth my gifts and demands my discipline. It’s not passive or self-protective. It’s sacrificial, intentional, and alive.

Even in moments of disappointment, when applause is absent and progress feels hidden, I must remember: I might be exactly where God wants me. My identity is never determined by my circumstances. Instead, my circumstances become the canvas upon which God paints the expression of who I truly am.

So today, I choose again to live as an outpost. To live from my identity, not for it. To honor God not with results, but with surrender. That is where real glory is found.


1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

ROMANS 12:1-2