Search My Heart...BEFORE

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“Search My Heart…..BEFORE”

Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

 

From the time we wake up each day to the moment we go to bed, we are all preparing in some way throughout the day.  Many of us wake up early and head in to work.  Kids have to wake up and get ready for the school day.  When we are applying for a job, we have to fill out an application and go through an interview, possibly multiple.  When we graduate high school, we have to prepare for our college experience or what the next step is if we choose not to go to college.

 

We spend a lot of time preparing for things in our lives.  Why is that?  Why do we put so much effort into preparing for things each day?  Because we want to be sure we are prepared for the day to the best of our ability.  Most of my, if not all, do not like surprises that come up and throw our day off.  All of us have experienced this in one way or another.  We’ve all been caught off guard with unexpected schedule changes. 

 

I like to prepare for things in my life.  When I don’t feel prepared, it bothers me a lot.  I don’t always like sudden changes.  I do my best to deal with them and adjust, but I’m not always great at that. 

 

With us preparing every single day for so many different things, why do we not put more attention into how we prepare to respond to other people?  It’s easy when others are nice to us, but when they are not, it’s definitely challenging. 

 

This passage popped up in my morning reading time and it hit me again.  I need to ask God to search my heart fully and bring up anything that is not clean and anything offensive and ask Him to lead me.  In all my interactions with people each day, I need to pray “Search my heart….BEFORE”.  Before I react to something that may come off negative, I need God to search me.  I need to pause and think for a moment if this will encourage others or discourage them.

 

Sometimes, we feel like we need to get the “last word” in to a conversation.  We have all been there!  However, we need to ask God to search our heart BEFORE responding.  We always, always, always need to do a self-check and see what gremlins are hiding deep in our heart.  We always need to point inward and check our attitude before assuming others are wrong.  We need to approach everything in love to the best of our ability.

 

My encouragement to us all is to ask God to search our heart…BEFORE we react or respond to anything.  

They Think We Are Crazy

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https://youtu.be/LauFlzYdeMs?si=Y-d3gmNPRAU-hj8w

“They Think We Are Crazy”

1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

 

As I’ve shared much in the past months, I started running April 2024 again.  I am now preparing for a half marathon in October.  It’s been a long process of continued training getting my pace down and preparing my body for the endurance.  There’s a lot of work going into this process and figuring out what I can handle.  But also, it’s been a very rewarding experience as I go on my long runs.  Just being out in nature has been really great.  There’s a nice long trail that runs 40 miles west of where I live, so it’s been my go-to for most of my long runs. 

 

I have to laugh and shake my head as I come home from each run.  My wife and daughter think I’m crazy every time I run.  They don’t understand why I like it so much.  A few weeks ago, my wife made a comment that totally cracked me up.  After she asked me about a long run, I said it was fun.  She then said, “I wouldn’t put fun and run in the same sentence!”  That was funny! 

 

The thing I’ve discovered in the past months and year is that many people just don’t get the fun of running and I get it.  Not everyone likes it, of course.  You either like it or you don’t.  I often joke around with other running buddies and tell them my family thinks I’m crazy for liking it and wanting to run more. 

 

I guess I’ll just be crazy!  I can’t expect my family or others who don’t get into it to understand.  It’s just something that runners get and it’s a rush to get better and better and chat about it.

 

As I think about these experiences of people not getting it and thinking I’m crazy, I can’t help but to think that’s exactly how some unbelievers look at us with our faith.  We talk about our experiences with God and how He has worked in our lives and many people just don’t get it.  They consider us wacko or crazy.  It makes no sense to them why we live the way we live.  They don’t see the fun of why we live for Christ.  They don’t understand why we give up certain ways of the world to be faithful to God.  It makes no sense to them.

 

Even though they don’t understand, it’s still up to us to continue living this way and showing the light to the lost.  Some will never get it or want to live that way.  Hopefully, they will respect us, but some just won’t.

 

God calls us to continue to live faithfully and that’s what we are called to do to the best of our ability.  The world is still going to call us crazy and we most likely will hear that from people for the rest of our lives.  All we can do is be proud of the “crazy life” we live for Christ and be a light to them. 

 

They think we are crazy and it’s our job to continue to show them why we live a crazy life. 

I Have All That I Need

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“I Have All That I Need”

Psalm 23:1 NLT

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

 

Philippians 4:11-12 NIV

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 

 

For the past month, these two passages have been on my mind constantly.  Mostly because I have really struggled with being content in life.  I have to admit that I so often find myself comparing our lives to other people and my life to others and wanting more.  There are a couple of immediate problems this presents for me.  First, always wanting more. Second, not being grateful for what God has already given to me. 

 

What really stands out to me in the Philippians passage is the word “Learned”.  The state of being content for Paul didn’t come naturally.  It was something he had to learn.  We all have things in life that we’ve had to learn and did not come easily or overnight for us.  The experience of life is so much learning and none of us are exempt to this.  As we continue to fail at different things, we learn how to move forward. We learn what to avoid and what to strive for that will help make us stronger. 

 

I really believe what we need to realize more and more and is what Psalm 23 states.  The Lord is our Shepherd, we have ALL that we need.  That sums it all up!  We could be so content if we just stopped comparing with others who have more and realize that Christ is all we need.  He provides and always will.  I’m often wondering why I get so discontent and I realize that I’m focused on the wrong things.  Instead of focusing on what I don’t have(there will always be these things), I need to focus on what I already have(God has definitely blessed me). 

 

I want to wake up each day and be grateful for what I do already have.  I want to focus and remember that if I have Christ, then I have everything.  He is ALL I need. 

 

It’s not easy to be content in this world.  It’s so easy to compare our lives and be discontent and always long for more.  While seeking out new opportunities in life is often an encouraged endeavor, we must check our motives for doing so and keep an attitude of contentment. 

We're All In This Together

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/HPfV5RrDkfU?si=UFytiKBJSIP1li3z

“We’re All In This Together”

1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT

 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

 

Recently, when I was on one of my long runs, I ran past an oncoming young guy who looked up at me and started pumping his fist into the air and clapped and said, “Yeah”.  When he did that, I mimicked what he did, smiled and laughed.  It was one of those “Runners” moments that only runners can really share together.  In only a few moments, I felt the encouragement this guy gave to me and it was a feeling of hearing, “Good job, man!  Keep it going!”  While he said nothing, I just felt a “runners” connection for a brief moment.  It made me feel good inside as I thought about that on my continued run.

 

As I’ve been running again for a little over a year, it’s just been great to keep up the learning experience and connecting with other people who also either have a passion for it or they are just getting going with running.  I am connected with multiple people who encourage me and I encourage them.  Honestly, I could NOT keep this up without them and the encouragement they give me.  There’s just something about connecting with other runners who share the same passion and you encourage one another. 

 

A few months ago, I was running one of my usual courses and another runner met up with me briefly, came up beside me, looked at me and pumped his arm into the air and was like, “Yeah!”.  It was excitement for him and me just having that moment of running together and finding a fellow runner. 

 

As I think about a few months ago and yesterday, I started thinking about how we are all the body of Christ.  Just like us runners share a common passion for what we are doing, we also in the body of Christ are called to come alongside of each other and encourage each other.  Why?  Because we are all in this together.  We all have different life situations, but we are running this race of the Christian life together.  We come alongside of each other and encourage one another.  We celebrate in the good times and comfort each other in the hard times.

 

I am grateful for the reminder these fellow runners gave me of not only a community feeling shared with running, but also the reminder of how vital it is that we stay strong for each other in the body of Christ.  God wants us all to work hard together.  One of the things the past 4 years that we are grateful for is our church community.  We’ve been part of the same church for over 4 years now and it’s amazing the friendships we have built.  We love seeing these people every week and just being the body of Christ. We laugh together, worship together and cry together.  This is doing community with each other. 

 

Let this be a reminder and encouragement that we are all part of the same body and are called to build one another up. 

Trust The Process

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

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“Trust The Process”

Proverbs 3:5 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

 

This past Saturday, I ran a 5K with a friend of mine from church.  We were both really excited to run in the same race again.  Before the race started, we were talking about setting pace and I mentioned how I wanted to get below a certain time.  My friend offered to pace me and get my time lower.  However, he told me to just listen to him, keep up and don’t look at my race watch.  I agreed with the pace he told me and I ran along with him. 

 

Throughout the race, we chatted a lot together and he commented on my breathing as well as asking me how I was feeling.  He also encouraged me to keep up when he went faster and explained when he was going to go faster.  The last mile, I was hurting and I had to mentally push myself to finish.  I was exhausted, but at the end, I sprinted as well as I could.  We crossed the line together and I took a few minutes to catch my breath. 

 

When I looked at my final time, I almost fell down!  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing!  He took me faster than I thought he would.  He was sneaky and pushed me harder than the pace time he had originally said.  Why??  Because he knew I was capable and could do it.  Hearing that blew me away!  I had an idea in mind and he took me beyond that!  I trusted him to take me through the race and coach me to get a better time.  And….he did! 

 

I spent the rest of the day and weekend just blown away at what I had just done.  But, I could NOT have done it if I ran on my own.  He had a strategy in mind and knew what he was doing.  I did not.  I just trusted the process and gave it my all. 

 

Friends, so often in our lives, we have our own ways and try to do so many things on our own.  We want to improve, but we don’t know exactly how aside from what we think might work.  My friend had actually recommended me to set a pace and keep that the entire race, so that was the first 5K race I had done that.  It worked and it was amazing!

 

If we trust God in life and let go of what we think are good ideas and trust His process and timing, amazing things happen!  All weekend, I just kept thanking God for this opportunity and for what my friend had pushed me and encouraged me to do.  I just couldn’t believe I had done that well and didn’t think I was capable of it quite yet. 

 

We have to trust His process.  We have to trust and let Him guide, even when it hurts and we don’t think we can finish.  If I had run the race on my own, this would not have happened.  I am grateful for my friend’s encouragement and I am grateful that God gave me the endurance to finish this well. 

 

When life gets tough, trust in Him and His process.

All That Matters

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/Dw0UDPCE2co?si=BEXHAejqz0sg41b9

“All That Matters”

Revelation 4:8 NIV

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’who was, and is, and is to come.”

 

In church this past Sunday morning, we sang one of my favorite worship songs, “Holy Forever”.  As we were singing, I felt a strong reminder by God saying, “Zach, all that matters in life is that you worship Me and focus on Who I Am.”  As we continued to sing the song, I felt chills from the reminder that God is absolutely beyond amazing. 

 

The past couple of months I’ve been struggling with so many things on my mind and not completely focusing on positive things.  I’ve shared that in the past months, I struggled with some depression and how worship music brought me out of that.  Well, the struggle is off and on and I realize that I have to really be intentional big time all the time to make sure I am focusing on God.  No matter what is going on in my life, nothing changes how amazing and awesome God is. 

 

While singing this song on Sunday, I was reminded that all that ever matters in life is how amazing and wonderful God is.  Nothing in my life compares to that!  Does that mean that my struggles and things that are very concerning are not important?  No, absolutely not!  God certainly cares about all of the things going on.  However, when I get so focused on certain things going on in my life and NOT on God, that’s my problem!  God has reminded me of that.  I need to let go and trust Him 100%.  I haven’t been doing that.

 

All that matters in life is that we focus and worship God.  That is where our total focus needs to be, no matter what is going on.  Today I am reminded that nothing in all of life is more important than God and me worshipping Him daily.  Everything else falls under that, period.  Nothing that I am doing means anything if I am not fully focused on serving Him.  I need to be locked in and focused every day. 

 

These words from the song captured my attention today:

Your Name is the highest
Your Name is the greatest
Your name stands above them all
All thrones and dominions
All powers and positions
Your Name stands above them all

 

This is ALL that matters, period.  There is so much power behind these words and what they mean.  God is above and beyond everything we experience and all we struggle through in life. 

 

If we completely focus on Him, then the rest of life will not overcome us.  God is always with us. 

They Had No Idea What Was Coming

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“They Had No Idea What Was Coming”

Matthew 26:31-35 NIV

Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”  Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”  “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the other disciples said the same.

 

Recently my wife and I have been watching the beginning of Season 5 of “The Chosen”.  The scene of the Last Supper really sticks out in my mind.  Jesus is trying to verbally prepare them for what is to come.  Peter speaks out and so do the others that they would never deny Christ.  They all have a look of shock on their faces when Jesus says this.  Peter especially does and says that even if he would have to die because of Jesus, he would not deny.

 

All these men literally have no idea what is about to happen.  Jesus is trying so hard to prepare them and give them the tools they need to move forward, but they just look at Him and are confused.  They just don’t get it.  No matter how much He tries to explain and prepare them, they are just left in confusion.  It’s been really neat watching this unfold on the screen as I am a very visual learner. 

 

They were all for sure nothing would stand in the way of following Jesus, no matter what.  But again, they had no idea what was coming.  So often in life, we also have no idea what is coming to us.  We are for sure that we will be faithful and stand strong for Jesus no matter the situation.  We “hope” we would be strong enough, but would we really?  Just something for us to consider in situations we find ourselves going through where the tension is high and our reputation is on the line.  Will we be brave enough to stand up and be strong in what we believe?

 

This devotional is an opportunity for us all to take this in and meditate.  Consider your life and opportunities that have come up and may come up.  Whatever situations may arise, will you and I be brave enough to stand up for what we believe in?  Chances are, most of us will never have the experience of our lives being ended because of our faith, but if it does come to that, what will we do?  Will we be faithful in our devotion no matter what?