Slowing Down For The Long Run

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/kOou4ouMeok?si=3Erh6ZiT0kz2CfJ4

“Slowing Down For The Long Run”

Psalm 46:10 NIV

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

I know that I have shared in the past year that I got back into running April 2024.  It’s been a great experience as I’ve learned more about running than I ever have before.  For about the first year, I was focused a lot on shorter distances and increasing my speed so that I could improve my 5K time and 1 mile time.  After a while, a running friend of mine recommended that I try slowing down my pace and try running more. 

 

It took a while to adjust, but I found that as I started slowing my pace and increasing my distance more and more, I started enjoying my longer runs even more.  I’ve also learned that depending on the distance I run, I either go faster for shorter distances and slower for longer.  When I practice my 1 mile, I’m usually running very fast so that I can improve my time. When I run the 5K, I have to pace myself a little more, but still decent speed.  When I ran the half marathon in October of this year, I had to really train to pace myself at a specific speed.

 

If I started my half marathon at the speed I run my 1 mile, but mile 2, I would be done and have no steam left to finish.  That would be crazy!  I’d have to take a while to rest before starting up again.  When I started my half marathon, I had to look at my watch a lot to make sure I was keeping a good pace, but also I was running with a pacer, so that helped.

 

So many of us are living our daily lives running at break-neck speeds!  We live in a culture of go, go go!  It feels wrong to slow down because we don’t feel productive.  What if we applied the long race pacing mindset to our daily routines?  Instead of rushing from one thing to the next, what if we were more intentional about slowing down and enjoying life more? 

 

We were never meant to live life as fast as we are living in our modern age.  So many of us are going so fast and then we burn out and wonder why.  We rely on drinks and meds to give us energy and don’t think twice about the possibility of slowing down to a slower pace.  You might say, “Zach, I get what you’re saying, but I just can’t slow my pace down.”  Well, that’s a choice you have to make.  It’s going to take adjusting and some routine adjustments to make this happen.

 

As we close out another year of life, let us begin the new year with a mindset that we are going to do better about slowing down the pace of our lives.  Instead of full-blast mode from the time we wake up till the time we go to bed, let us be very intentional about slowing down and taking the time to really enjoy the moments God gives us each day.  This is the mindset I have on my long runs now.  I just enjoy being out in nature and taking in the beauty of the long time I’m on my run. 

 

Let us make it a goal in the New Year to slow down our daily pace for the long run!

Choosing Gratitude

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/NquqBb34Zoo?si=cg9z5T1varI1V30b

“Choosing Gratitude”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 

The past couple of weeks, I’ve had the phrase “choosing gratitude” on my mind and heart.  Recently, after some conversation with others, it really occurred to me and stuck out that I literally have the choice, not only each and every day, but also each and every moment to choose gratitude or to be negative. 

 

For the past week, it’s been heavy on my heart and mind because I’m just naturally a cynical person.  It’s not my desire to wake up each day and be this way, but I’m just more of a serious person by nature.  My wife, on the other hand, is a very positive and encouraging person and I am forever grateful for her patience and love to me for the past almost 22 years of living life together! 

 

There’s two things I want to point out regarding this phrase of “choosing gratitude”.  First, it is way easier to be negative and see negative things around us and to point them out and complain.  Second, it’s often harder for us to focus on the positive and all the wonderful blessings God has already given to us. 

 

If we let ourselves focus on the negative and let those thoughts and feelings dwell day after day, bad things happen with our attitude.  I’m finding myself dumbfounded lately at discovering how a negative attitude can really affect your personal life and those around you. 

 

As we close out this year and look to a new year, whatever your possible New Year’s resolutions may be, I pray that each of us would make it a point to choose gratitude every moment of every day.  I know that this is a challenge for many of us, myself included, but it is possible.  When we choose gratitude, we are focusing on the amazing blessings we already have been given by God.  We choose NOT to focus on what we don’t have or wish we had, but instead focus on the great things we’ve been blessed with. 

 

My prayer for all of us is that we wake up each day and do something to start our day that helps us focus on being grateful instead of letting ourselves go into a negative mindset spiral.  Those spirals are very dangerous and I have a known history for allowing myself to experience those.  They are not fun and give no quality of life. 

 

Let us all strive to choose gratitude!

It's Okay To Ask For Help

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/L6Euvcwo9ks?si=QJSZ0k30Dsg8nPNF

“It’s Okay To Ask For Help”

 

For the past several weeks, I’ve had something on my heart that I wanted to share with you all as kind of a different devotional.  I know that I have shared with you all in the past months about my journey the last couple of years with going to therapy and I wanted to share something on my heart about my experience.  Before I started going to therapy, my wife had recommended it to me and I hesitated a lot.  I was scared of what I might face or have to bring up from my past.  We were also having a lot of challenges in our marriage and I just needed some guidance with things I struggled with in my past.

 

After much resistance and hesitation, I agreed to go and I am SO VERY thankful that she encouraged me to go.  I am nowhere close to where I need to be, but I have come a long way since I began my journey with therapy.  It’s been a big God send.  The guy I go to is a Christian and it’s so great that we each share our faith journey and our experiences with the Christian walk. 

 

I wanted to encourage all of you, that if you are going through some hard times and you need to get some stuff figured out, please don’t hesitate and seek out a therapist if you are really struggling.  I would highly recommend a Christian therapist.  If you can’t find a place that practices Christian therapy, then look up someone with a bio that is a Christian and take a crack at it. 

 

Going to a regular therapist isn’t wrong by any means, but I personally believe in having a Christ-centered therapy session.  I know some of you out there are really struggling with things in life and there comes a point when you sometimes just need to talk to someone and get things sorted out mentally.

 

So I’m taking this opportunity this week to encourage you to seriously and prayerfully consider therapy if that’s something you feel you need.  Don’t be afraid and give it a try.  A lot of people hesitate about going and I did for a long time.  But I am so thankful I did and it helps to just talk through things and be encouraged that I’m not crazy. 

 

If you are struggling in life, pray about it and ask God to lead you to someone you can go talk to.  It’s ok to ask for help.  Yes, even us guys need help sometimes!  We all need guidance, whether that’s just a mentor we spend time with or a professional therapist.  I just felt like sharing this with you all and my experience and how God has used this to help me with my issues and my faith. 

He Did What?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/DmIDSwDCB5g?si=gt2CtnexfOtqma-Q

“He Did What?

Philippians 2:8 NLT

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

 

We have all had many times in our lives when we are surprised, whether in a good way or bad way, at something someone else does that we would never expect.  We’ve often said, “She really did that?”, or maybe, “ He really said that?”  When someone does something that is totally unexpected, it really leaves us in complete shock and we don’t know what to say or how to react.  The situation can often leave us dumbfounded and with no words. 

 

We all have often put so much energy and emotion into how we react and respond to these times in our lives.  We have easily turned these times into gossip with others.  We can’t believe what we’ve heard or seen and we want to tell others.  It can become the talk of the group or the town.  This could be very good or very bad.

 

This past Sunday, our pastor had a sermon talking about this chapter of Philippians and how Jesus came to do what He did and how unbelievable and amazing it actually was.  What struck me was how our pastor said that we often do routine things at Christmas as we talk about how Jesus came into the world.  And, in general, it’s often easy for us to become desensitized to all the emotion we should have at what Jesus did for us.  It becomes commonplace and we totally miss the real emotion and meaning it should still hold for us. 

 

I pulled up the NLT version and the phrase, “died a criminal’s death” completely captured my attention.  Jesus did not belong on that Cross, we did.  He went up there and died to save us all.  He willingly gave it all to give us a future with Him.  Nothing about what He did makes any sense.  We deserved what He got.  I don’t think I’ll ever read this passage the same again.  He became nothing and died a criminal’s death for us.  He wasn’t a criminal, but He definitely went through all the torture a criminal would experience. 

 

I sure hope that we all experience the real emotion of what Jesus did for us.  It should daily grip us in our hearts and we should take time to remember and be truly thankful.  We should be in awe and be dumbfounded and say, “He did what?”  Yes, He did that for you and for me?  It should leave us speechless every single day.  We should be filled with great emotion and awe for what He did for us.  The world needs to see that raw emotion and gratefulness in our lives each day.

 

What Jesus did should leave us in complete awe every single day and we should be deeply thankful for the life He gives us. 

The Time Will Eventually Come

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/XNPBXVoumxo?si=VTKsYAGjygzsNrnr

“The Time Will Eventually Come”

Proverbs 4:20-22 NIV

My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words.  Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.

 

At my job, we often have computer updates pop up with a message that a restart is needed for updates to take effect.  There is usually an option to either restart immediately or to select a later time in the day instead.  The times that these notices pop up are usually when I’m in the middle of my day and I have multiple programs open, so it’s not very convenient timing for me to close out of everything, restart and then have to open everything back up after the restart.  So, every time the pop up comes up, I keep selecting the longest time I can wait to put off the restart.

 

The options I’m given are usually 4 hours, then 1 hour, then 10 minute segments until finally I am given the notice that I cannot wait any longer and the pop up will NOT go away until I restart.  In the past I’ve tried to work around that pop up and it’s very annoying.  Basically, there comes a point where I can’t put it off any longer and I have to restart my computer.  I’m actually just putting off the inevitable.  I’m trying to wait for a more “convenient” time for me to restart so that it’s not a time that disrupts my agenda. 

 

This reminds me so much of our walk with God.  There are changes that God wants to make in our lives and He wants to improve how we go about our daily lives.  However, so often, we are content with what we are doing and we just want to put things off until we feel like changing.  Or, we keep saying, “just a little longer and I’ll do it”.  Yeah, how’s that working for us???

 

We are all so guilty of putting off the inevitable.  We procrastinate, make excuses and keep going until we absolutely are forced to make a change.  Man, we are stubborn, aren’t we??  We sure are!  Friends, we need to understand that the time will eventually come to make changes in our lives that God needs to make.  These changes are vital for us to live better lives.  We get convicted by a message at church or a song we hear on the radio or by something someone else says to us and we know we need to make the change.  However, so often we just keep going and say we’ll do it later. 

 

Often, later never comes.  And, just like the computer pop up, eventually something will come up in our lives to remind us that we cannot avoid the inevitable.  It would really be better if I just closed out of all the programs, restarted my computer, and went with the changes to avoid future program issues.  Just like life, we need to heed when God says we need a different route or we need to make changes.  Putting it off usually won’t help us at all and can even hurt our relationship with Him and others in our lives. 

 

The time will eventually come, so why not just stop putting it off and make the change? 

Do We Give Our All?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/-wCfAPMGp1s?si=OkPrwR_9fiKluXtg

“Do We Give Our All?

Mark 12:41-44 NIV

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.  Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

 

Recently, for our family devotion time, we read this passage about the widow giving all that she had.  I have read this story numerous times in the past and am reminded of how powerful of a message it is showing us that giving our all in life is so important.  I’m reminded of how crucial it is for us to truly give our all in every single thing we do in life.  So often it’s easy for us to just give minimal in our efforts to various commitments. 

 

I think about the religious leaders and other rich people who felt a sense of pride for throwing large amounts into the offering.  I’m sure they had a puffed up ego feeling all good about their so-called generosity.  However, the widow is amazing not only because she gave the least amount, but also that she gave everything she had and ended up giving more than them! 

 

This makes me consider how often I honestly put in 100% effort into the things I do each day and how much I commit to my relationship with God, my family, church and friendships that I have.  When I consider the widow, I often wonder how God wants me to give more in certain situations. 

 

Guess who else gave their all?  There’s many other examples in Scripture, but the best example every is Jesus Christ Himself.  He literally gave it all.  Just like the hymn, “Jesus Paid It All”.  No one in history could ever give what Jesus did.  Jesus gave His life to give us life. 

 

I think we all need to start asking ourselves each day, “Do we give our all in our relationship with God, in our family, in our church, and other relationships?”  In our commitments, where are we failing to give our all?  Others are busting their tails often to help us and to provide for their families, so we definitely need to make sure we are giving our best effort in everything we do. 

 

Like the widow, do we find ourselves giving our all and being as humble as possible or do we just give a little and feel prideful for at least giving something?  We need to ditch the pride and take a good lesson from not only the widow, but Jesus Himself.

He Wants Unlimited Access

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/Nsd4Nm6Fpa4?si=p4a1uxXd0KR5Icu5

“He Wants Unlimited Access”

Acts 1:8 NIV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

 

In this day and age, we have so many different subscription plans offering us unlimited access.  When we sign up for a membership, I think most often we are looking for the most perks we can get for our money.  Most phone plans nowadays all include unlimited talk, text and data.  I remember back when you had to pay extra for going over certain amount of calling minutes, texts and data caps.  That’s becoming a thing of the past.

 

So much of what we pay for these days usually provides unlimited access.  We like paying a price and getting unlimited access to the plan we’ve paid for.  We don’t want any hindrances to what we can do.  We don’t want to be restricted.  And, if there’s ever an issue, we are sure to contact customer service to get things straightened because we are a paying customer.

 

At church Sunday, this passage was used and talked about how Jesus charged His men to take His message to everywhere in the world.  He wasn’t just sending them through their town, but to other countries and all over the world.  He didn’t want them limiting themselves.  He wants full and complete access to their lives and to send them wherever he needed them to go. 

 

God wants unlimited access to our lives.  His desire is to send us wherever He leads.  However, so often, we limit Him and give excuses because we don’t feel like doing what He wants us to do or going where He wants us to go.  We always seem to have an excuse to not go certain places where He leads.  We get selfish and don’t want to leave our comfort zones.  But it doesn’t work that way if we are committed to the Great Commission.  Jesus told His men and tells us to go and make disciples of ALL nations.  There’s very inclusive! 

 

Jesus asks us to give Him all access to our lives so that He can send us wherever He chooses.  Are we giving Him all access and saying to Him first, “Yes!  Lord the answer is Yes!  Now, where do You want me to go”?

 

He wants all access of our lives.  He wants to send us wherever He desires for us to go.  Are we willing, ready and available? 

Give Thanks In All Things

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/09QIA5GAN9s?si=Eg_UpIjafWHieYkv

“Give Thanks In All Things”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

 

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to run my first half marathon here in Mankato.  This past week I have been mentally processing what happened and thinking through the whole experience.  I’ve thought about how I prepared for many months to increase my distance and endurance, and then the day came in hopes for all the preparation to pay off. 

 

I did my best to take into account what all issues I could possibly face.  I wasn’t preparing for a bad race by any means, but I just went through several scenarios in my head as I mentally prepared for what might come.  For months, I had been focusing on a certain pace that I wanted to keep, but as the time got closer within a couple of weeks, I finally just came to the mindset of, “I just want to finish and enjoy the experience”.  That’s the attitude I took into it.  I wanted to complete it…..running the whole time.

 

On race day, the hype of everything was amazing.  Being around thousands of runners definitely gave me a “runners high”.  The Saturday before I had run the course by myself to get a feel for it so that I knew what to expect.  As I ran the race, I just enjoyed the experience and asked God to give me the endurance.  After mile 7, I started having a side pain and knee problems.  I decided to slow my pace down to help with making the pain tolerable.  After a few more miles, I felt like I had it managed enough to keep running and finish.  I just kept praying for God to help me finish. 

 

As I think back, I ran into issues and I was prepared to deal with them.  Thankfully, God blessed me to finish while still running.  Every runner in the world would love to run a race with NO issues at all.  However, that’s just not reality.  Almost every runner experiences some setback at some point that is not expected. 

 

This past week I have remembered this is exactly like life.  We simply cannot expect a life that is void of any problems.  That is not reality and not the life God promised us.  However, He did promise to always be present with us, guiding us and helping us through.  Throughout the race, I was doing my best to give God thanks no matter the outcome.  No matter what obstacles I was facing, I wanted to focus on being thankful for the experience.  In life, we all experience setbacks and obstacles and we need to learn to give thanks no matter the circumstances.  God will bring us through.  We need to adjust our attitude and see things in a different light and perspective so that we can focus on Him and trust that He knows what He is doing. 

Trying To Impress Or Being Genuine?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/PZ4gbjq3YBg?si=_3oBNa6BwLjkWUaK

“Trying To Impress Or Being Genuine?”

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

 

A few weeks ago, I had my 6 month dental cleaning checkup.  As I prepared and flossed and brushed my teeth before going in, it brought back some funny memories of when I was a kid and how I prepared for my check ups.  I wasn’t always great at taking care of my teeth as I liked to eat a lot of candy.  I’m sure I didn’t brush twice a day and didn’t brush the best when I did brush.  I also didn’t floss on a regular basis.  The day of my dentist appts, I would usually brush my teeth really good and hoped that the dentist would be impressed.

 

As you can imagine, as they cleaned and examined my teeth, I would usually hear all the reports of what I wasn’t doing and how I needed to do it better.  I thought by just brushing really hard before my dental appt, that would be good enough.  Nope!  Years later now with numerous cavities and crowns, I’ve learned that I really need to take better care of my teeth.  My dental visits now are not as bad as they used to be, yet I often fear they will find something that is bad and needs fixed.

 

I think we treat our spiritual lives a lot like this.  We don’t always take the greatest care of our walk with God.  I think sometimes we feel like if we show up to church and put in some time, we look good to God and to others.  Just like my quick brushing attempts before going to the dentist when I was younger, we often think we can impress God and pretend with Him, but we can’t. 

 

We can sometimes fool other people for a period of time, but we never can fool God.  I think He often shakes His head in sadness and heartbreak seeing what we do to try to make ourselves look good, but what He truly wants is us being honest and doing our best to be genuine. 

 

Is our desire just to try to impress God and others when we show up Sunday for church and maybe for a small group bible study through the week to look good, or are we striving to take the time each day to grow closer to Him in a very intentional and genuine manner?

 

I know that I often fail in my attempts to be genuine with God and in being intentional in my walk with Him.  He desires for all of us to be intentional and to truly desire time with Him.  He wants our all and not just various times where we try to impress Him. 

 

I hope and pray that our desire each day is to truly be genuine and intentional to grow in our faith.  

What Richness Are We Chasing?

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/Qy1P71pEaCE?si=9_Rf-ICMvxh4OXIX

“What Richness Are We Chasing?”

Colossians 3:16 NLT

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.  Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives.

 

I read this passage recently from the Air1 Radio verse of the day and it really spoke to me.  The phrase “Fill your lives” really stood out.  I got to thinking about all the different things each day that I allow to fill my life.  From the time I get up in the morning till I go to bed, I have choices to decide what fills my day.  Whether I’m at home, at work, at church, shopping with my family or if I’m at different gatherings, I can decide what I allow to fill my mind and my heart. 

 

I admit that I often allow worldly things to fill my mind and heart throughout the day.  When I begin my day, I pray that God will guide me and lead me how He wants me to go, but then it doesn’t take long before selfish desires set in.  I see ads and hear different persuasive things throughout the day that tend to woo my heart and mind to chase after more worldly things. 

 

After 49 years of life, I know full well that chasing after the things of this world will never satisfy or lead me to a fulfilled life.  However, I still choose to chase these temporary pleasures, whatever they may be.  Paul is very clear in this passage to encourage us in that we need to let the richness of Christ fill our lives. 

 

What happens when we let the richness of Christ fill our lives instead of worldly influences?  Lots of great things, of course!  We become filled with eternal satisfaction that the world cannot provide.  We shine the light of Christ to show the lost His love.  We become a light others cannot ignore.  We think of others more before ourselves. 

 

When we let the richness of the world fill our lives, we become influenced in all the wrong ways and we tread down very bad paths.  Everything is temporary and we often wonder why we remain thirsty and longing for more.  When we long for more and more of the world, there is no way we can effectively teach and counsel other people in a Godly manner.  In this times, God’s not filling our lives and the world is! 

 

When we are filled with the richness of Christ, there is no comparing!  The world can never match what we receive through the richness of Christ.  Our hearts are filled and there is so much satisfaction!

 

I challenge all of us to watch closely each day what we are filling our lives with.  What are we allowing into our hearts and minds?  What are we following and chasing after?  Either we chase the richness of Christ or we chase the richness of this world. 

 

Which will it be?

Search My Heart...BEFORE

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/2pYj3fuXB2k?si=PtRQwpN4kfWn1omE

“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

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

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

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/LYLYCvXeb-M?si=Fr8kElb7yH2Z2sbh

“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

https://youtu.be/3Cvo2l63OtI?si=jyexbMc-UHQPDoRU

“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

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/u2K8v_zFCTc?si=H54eYRKzyZOqeRfL

“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? 

We Are Acts 29

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/lE17Ky-0Ojk?si=kRiKsiW6AaR1i6e_

“We Are Acts 29”

Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

I just finished up a devotional in the YouVersion Bible app on the book of Acts.  The last devotional in the study really stuck with me how it ended and I’ll never forget how it was worded.  The devotional talked about how Acts 28 ends and how it doesn’t continue with Acts 29 to tell us more of the story of how the spread of the Gospel continues.  Then these words stuck with me, “But in a very real sense, we are Acts 29!”

 

I thought it was really cool how the devotional ended this way and it really hit me that we are indeed the continuation from Acts 28 to make the story continue of the spread of the Gospel.  We are given a command and a charge to take the Good News everywhere we go, every day of life!  Jesus didn’t only tell His closest men to carry this on, He also instructs us to do the same.

 

Jesus lives in each one of us giving us wisdom as the Holy Spirit guides us to spread His love.  We are called to be Acts 29.  We are called to carry His Gospel in every relationship we have and every conversation that takes place.  Now, I’m not saying you need to shove this down people’s throats and bring God up in every single sentence.  You need to be creative and connect with people in a very genuine way.  Don’t go after them just to “convert” them.  Be genuine and caring, building a relationship.  Show you care as you share your life with each person.

 

I know in my day to day life, I am so guilty of being in my own world and doing my own thing.  I go to work, do my job, come home and be with my family.  I’m also involved in my church every week and I love to mingle with people.  However, God calls me to share with people who don’t know Him and that honestly scares me.  I want to be Acts 29 and continue the story faithfully.  I hope you do as well.

 

I encourage you to take time to read through Acts.  It might take a few days or longer, but read through and be reminded of the great story of the early church and how the power of God burned inside people and how that fire spread. 

 

I also encourage all of us to seriously consider how we continue the story of the spread of the Gospel each and every day in our lives.  What does Acts 29 look like in our lives?  How are we doing?  Is the story full of selfishness or are we thinking more of others and how we can serve?