SEPTEMBER 5, 2025

 “God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that he really is. This is what it means to be created in the image of God.” 

― John Piper

PROVERBS 7-8

32“Now then, my children, listen to me;

blessed are those who keep my ways.

33Listen to my instruction and be wise;

do not disregard it.

34Blessed are those who listen to me,

watching daily at my doors,

waiting at my doorway.

35For those who find me find life

and receive favor from the Lord.

36But those who fail to find me harm themselves;

all who hate me love death.” (8:32-36)

1 CORINTHIANS 14:21-40

 24But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”

JOURNAL 

This life is really short. Whether it is ten years or a hundred, life here always ends, and in the scope of eternity it is only a breath. James reminds us, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Even knowing this reality, I still hate endings—the end of vacations, the end of seasons, and especially the end of life. Endings are painful, yet they make space for beginnings. Jesus Himself said, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). What seems like an end often holds the possibility of new life.

The point of faith is not about manipulating God to make life easier, but about walking in relationship with Him. Proverbs declares, “Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord” (Proverbs 8:34-35). My calling is to engage with the Creator of the universe so that my brief time here is fully lived and lived in ways that glorify Him.

Paul reminds us that this is the very reason for prophecy and for the gathering of the church: to strengthen one another, to build up the body, and to shine as a witness so that unbelievers will say, “God is really among you” (1 Corinthians 14:25). Faith is not about my comfort but about reflecting His presence.

There are times I find myself dreaming about an easier life, usually filled with more money, success, or recognition. Yet Jesus makes it plain: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). My worry about tomorrow only robs me of today. He calls me to gratitude, to simplicity, to trust.

When I step back, I see how often I complicate it. I let doubts and circumstances consume me and miss the chance to love, to encourage, to guide, and to walk with others in their own battles. Still, I am thankful that God has given me today. Today I can choose to live in His love, to lead my family, and to lift others.

At the core, it comes down to living in truth, sacrificing in love, and surrendering to God’s will. Scripture declares, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). This is the foundation I want to stand on—not fear, not striving, but a life anchored in His truth, His love, and His discipline.

31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

MATTHEW 6:31-34

SEPTEMBER 4, 2025

  “Lord, when I feel that what I'm doing is insignificant and unimportant, help me to remember that everything I do is significant and important in your eyes, because you love me and you put me here, and no one else can do what I am doing in exactly the way I do it.” 

― Brennan Manning, Souvenirs of Solitude: Finding Rest in Abba's Embrace

PROVERBS 5-6

20My son, keep your father’s command

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

21Bind them always on your heart;

fasten them around your neck.

22When you walk, they will guide you;

when you sleep, they will watch over you;

when you awake, they will speak to you.

23For this command is a lamp,

this teaching is a light,

and correction and instruction

are the way to life (6:20-23)

1 CORINTHIANS 14:1-20

1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit...

JOURNAL 

This truth pierces through the fog of comparison and self-doubt. In a world where we are constantly tempted to measure our value by productivity, approval, or possessions, Manning reminds us that our significance flows from God’s love and His deliberate design of our lives.

Paul puts it simply in 1 Corinthians 14:1: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit…” To follow love is to follow God Himself, and to desire the gifts of His Spirit is to acknowledge that He has already woven something unique and irreplaceable into who we are.

Solomon echoes this in Proverbs 6:20–23, urging us to bind the teachings of our parents and the ways of wisdom around our hearts. They guide, watch, and instruct us because God designed life to be lived with purpose, every small act shining as a lamp along our path.

And Jesus, when asked about the greatest commandment, left no ambiguity: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength… and love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29–31). These aren’t just lofty ideals; they are the framework through which our daily choices, whether seen or unseen, take on eternal weight.

When I choose God, I choose life. I choose to direct my gifts, however great or small they may appear, toward Him. If I fail to choose Him, I will inevitably choose something else—status, security, pleasure and those false gods will only poison my soul and ripple harm into the lives of those around me. But in choosing Him, I find my mission, my power, and my passion.

And here’s the staggering truth: I was created to be an agent of God in a way no one else can. Science itself confirms this. no one else on earth shares my exact DNA. Out of billions of people, my genetic code is singular. That uniqueness is not an accident; it is a divine fingerprint. The very strands of my being testify to the fact that no one else can love, serve, or walk with God in the exact way I can.

So when I am tempted to believe my life is small, I remember: nothing done in love is ever insignificant. Each act of obedience, each unseen prayer, each sacrifice of service, carries weight in eternity because it was mine to give. God designed me with a mission stitched into the very double helix of my DNA.

To live out that mission, choosing God, owning my gifts, and walking in my calling, is to live fully alive.

28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^e 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’^f 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^g There is no commandment greater than these.”

MARK 12:28-31

SEPTEMBER 3, 2025

 “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

PROVERBS 3-4

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. (3:5-6)

1 CORINTHIANS 13

1If I speak in the tongues^a of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^b but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

JOURNAL 

Love is the one test as to whether I serve God or serve myself. If I do "good" things but have not love then it is all for nothing and my life and efforts are meaningless. I am to trust God above everything. God is to be my God and if so then everything I do will be colored with his love.

This seems so simple yet my normal habit is to think of myself first. While that is normal, it can certainly put me at odds with God and other people. I don't think it's possible to not think of myself first. But maybe it is the way I think of myself. Do I think my needs are more important than others? Do I see God as a means to an end? Do I fear and worry about my fate more than I seek to serve God?

These are the questions that can reveal my heart and whether or not I am truly accepting God's love and then returning it in loving others. As long as I am alive, I will think of myself first but if in doing so I think of how I can love others and obey God, then I'm definitely closer to living a life that fulfills God's purpose for my life.

3Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart.

4Then you will win favor and a good name

in the sight of God and man.

- Proverbs 3:3-4

SEPTEMBER 2, 2025

   “At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.” 

― Friedrich Nietzsche

PROVERBS 1-2

8Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction

and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

9They are a garland to grace your head

and a chain to adorn your neck. (1:8-9)

1 CORINTHIANS 12

12Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by^c one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

JOURNAL 

It has been fascinating to teach science these past few years. Each year I begin with the fascinating fat of how a human being is composed of an average of 50 trillion cells and that each one of those cells are separate living things that work together to make a human being exist.  Then to juxtapose that to the world that we live in...we see that humanity gets it so wrong. Our selfishness and insistence of getting our way at the consequence of others actually goes directly against our cellular makeup.

That is why I love these verses in 1 Corinthians. They affirm our differences while also calling us to be the best version of ourselves. To be grateful in our personalities and gifts and see them as part of what make the body of the church. In this way differences are beautiful. We don't need to look to each other in view of our weaknesses but rather in view of our talents and strengths. Therefore I also don't need to focus on my failures and weaknesses but rather on my gifts and all the ways God has gifted me to contribute and find my place in his Kingdom.

But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:24-27

SEPTEMBER 1, 2025

  “Ted Engstrom insightfully writes: “Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he'll never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham -- who set the world's one mile record in 1934. Deafen him and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver. Call him a slow learner, "retarded," and write him off as uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.” 

― Charles R. Swindoll, The Quest for Character/Improving Your serve/Strengthening Your Grip

PSALM 148-150

4For the Lord takes delight in his people;

he crowns the humble with victory.

5Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor

and sing for joy on their beds. (149:4-5 )

1 CORINTHIANS 11:16-34

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 

JOURNAL 

Ted Engstrom insightfully observed that history’s greatest figures were often forged in trial: The truth in these words is hard to ignore, suffering can either defeat us or shape us. But staying in the present moment, instead of wishing away pain or overplanning the future, is where the battle is fought. Scripture reminds us that God does not abandon us in weakness but actually delights in crowning the humble with victory: “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds” (Psalm 149:4-5).

Yet discipline is required to keep faith alive. My natural tendency is to lean on myself, my plans, or the people around me, especially under stress. But if my habits are rooted in God, my instinct will be to turn to Him. It’s not a “grit and bear it” religion, it is the joy of knowing that Christ Himself set the pattern for us. At the table with His disciples, even on the night He was betrayed, He broke bread and said: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me… This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:23–25).

Faith, then, is not a fleeting feeling. It is a discipline and a trust that runs deeper than circumstances. It is joy in sorrow, hope in loss, and humility in triumph. Jesus declared blessings over the broken, the hungry, the meek, and the persecuted (Matthew 5:3–10). These words remind me that living in the now, no matter how fragile or difficult, is not wasted, it is where the Kingdom of God breaks in.

So today, Faith in the moment is the challenge. Not because it is easy, but because in every trial and every blessing, God is present, and that constant presence is enough.

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

MATTHEW 5:3-10