July 15, 2026 · 5:55 AM

When Willpower Fails

There’s a lot of things I try to do in life with willpower. I’ve tried eating healthy, going to the gym, saving money, and trying to stay consistent in disciplines. Willpower works for a little bit, but then some kind of trigger happens and I’m eating the wrong food, making an excuse why I need to do something and then breaking the habit I’m trying to build. I’ve tried reminders, delayed messages and calendar invites. When willpower fails, I feel like I’ve failed. I get down on myself and promise to do better tomorrow. After losing so many times, I finally give up trying and just decide that’s who I am. It makes me feel incapable of change.

In Romans 7, Paul talks about how we try to use willpower to fight temptation. It’s a losing battle too. In verse 15 he writes, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate” (NLT). It’s like when Peter told Jesus he would never betray Him or abandon him. He even said he would die for Him. It wasn’t but a few hours later when a little girl accused Peter of being a disciple. Peter cursed and made a big scene denying Jesus. Luke 22:61 says that when Peter denied Jesus the third time, Jesus turned to look at him. Peter then remembered what Jesus said and left weeping bitterly. Peter found out willpower couldn’t help and beat himself up. However, instead of condemning him, Jesus found him and restored him.

Romans 7 ends with Paul saying he feels miserable trying to fight temptation with willpower and failing. Then in Romans 8:1 he reminds us, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Condemnation says, “You’re bad. You’re a failure.” The conviction of the Holy Spirit says, “You failed, but there’s forgiveness available.” Paul encourages us to not try to live by willpower, but by the Spirit. Verse 13 says, “But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.” The Holy Spirit helps us resist temptation and reminds us we are God’s children. Don’t try to fight sin and temptation with willpower alone. Ask the Holy Spirit to help. He will provide a way of escape from temptation. Follow His leading and quit relying on willpower alone.

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July 14, 2026 · 5:49 AM

Cultivation Is Key

My mother in law is one of those people with a green thumb. There is something in her that drives her to care for plants. She has them all over her yard and you can find her out there watering them. From time to time she will bring me plants. What thrives in her yard dies in mine. When she visits, she goes out there and waters them. Sometimes she even brings a bag of soil knowing that it will help make a difference. She is constantly doing things to cultivate growth and life in the plants. What I do is let nature take care of them or try to put water on them Every once in a while. The same plants can have very different lives depending on whether they’re at a cultivator’s house or someone’s who lets them be.

Jesus told the story of a man who planted a fig tree. He was like me and decided to let nature do its thing. Year after year he would wait for fruit, but he was always disappointed. Finally he told his gardener after a few years to chop it down because it hadn’t produced fruit and it’s just taking up space. The gardener pleaded with him not to cut it down. He offered to cultivate it and give it the care it needed to produce fruit. He said he only needed a year of cultivating it and fertilizing it to get it to bear figs. Then he said, “If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down” (NLT). He knew that the tree was capable of producing fruit, but it just needed to be fertilized and cultivated to induce it.

Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” In order to produce these fruits in our lives, we must cultivate the soil of our heart. Verse 16 tells us if we let the Holy Spirit guide our lives, we won’t produce the fruit of the flesh. We all have the daily choice of whether we will be led by the Spirit or the flesh. We can’t be passive and led by our flesh and expect the Fruit of the Spirit to be produced in our life. We must cultivate our lives so that He can produce these godly qualities that others can see and experience. Cultivation is key.

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July 13, 2026 · 5:54 AM

Stand Your Ground

To “stand your ground” means that you don’t back down and you maintain your boundaries. To do that you have to take action and be prepared to defend what is yours. You need to have a plan as to what you will do when those boundaries are tested. We’re encouraged to stand our ground emotionally and even physically, but what about spiritually? Have you thought about how to stand your ground when the enemy tries to take what God has given you? Sometimes we forget that we are in a spiritual battle that has physical ramifications. When the enemy comes in like a flood, we need to be prepared to stand our ground instead of cowering in fear or simply giving up what is rightfully ours.

In 1 Samuel 17, the Philistines camped on a hill with the valley of Elah below them, while Saul had the army of Israel camped on a hill across the valley. The valley and surrounding land belonged to Israel and was a major transportation route to get supplies to inland cities. While attempting to stand their ground, the Philistines sent out a giant names Goliath to intimidate Israel into giving up the land. For forty days they were afraid to stand their ground and defend the Promised Land God had given them. It wasn’t until a young shepherd boy named David came that the story changed. He knew who he was, but more importantly He had a clear understanding of God and the land they were standing on. Goliath came with a sword and spear, but David won the battle because he trusted in the name of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:14 tells us, “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness” (NLT). We are commanded to stand our ground when we are under spiritual attack or threatened by the enemy. The first thing we need to do is put on the belt of truth. The truth is that greater is He that is in you. The truth is you have God fighting for you. The truth is you are who God says you are. Combat the lies and attack of the enemy with truth first. Then put on the whole armor of God so you can stand against the strategies of the devil. God has equipped you to stand your ground no matter what weapons the enemy uses. No weapon formed against you will prosper when you stand strong and courageous the way David did. Armor up and stand strong in the Lord.

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July 10, 2026 · 5:53 AM

Being Still

One of the things I’ve never been good at is being still. As a child, I was a wiggly worm. As a young adult, I had two jobs to occupy my time. Now, I’m always on the go. When I hear the Bible say, “Be still,” it’s hard for me to do. However, it’s as much a mental and spiritual command as it is a physical one. It’s about pausing to clear the noise in these areas so we can make room for God to speak and move in our life. He’s asking us to hit the pause button so we can recharge, react correctly, recharge and renew ourselves. God telling us to be still isn’t a passive thing. It’s an act of obedience. It’s a physical expression of faith because you’re saying I trust God more than my natural reaction. Today, make room for God to speak or move in your life by being still.

Here are some Bible verses on being still:

He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still and quiet waters. He refreshes and restores my soul (life); He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Psalms 23:2-3 AMP

2. Tremble in awe before the Lord, and do not sin against him. Be still upon your bed and search your heart before him. Pause in his presence

Psalms 4:4 TPT

3. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Psalm 37:7 ESV

4. Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand your ground, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today; you will never see these Egyptians again. The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still.”

Exodus 14:13-14 GNT

5. Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalms 46:10 AMP

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July 9, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Work Hard

One of my favorite lines from Marin Luther’s “I Have A Dream” speech always challenges me. He said, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.’” Each time I hear that or read it, it pushed me to make sure that I’m doing things to the best of my ability or not. A bad boss or a job I don’t like shouldn’t keep me from doing my job well. Whatever God has given me to do at that time is what He needs me to do my best at.

Paul wrote something similar in Romans 12:6. It says, “In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well” (NLT). We each have different gifts and different responsibilities given to us by God. Paul goes on to say that if you have the gift of prophesy, then do it with as much faith as God has given you. If you are called to serve others, then do it well. If you are to encourage others, be encouraging. He lists multiple in this passage and after each one, he encourages us to use it to the best of our ability and to use it in love. We don’t need to compare ourselves to each other because we’ve been given unique gifts to fit our life and the people we’ve been called to serve.

He starts to conclude his thoughts on this in verse 11 by saying, “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.” Whether you like your gifts or where God has placed you right now, you should be working hard and enthusiastically as unto the Lord. When we do our jobs or activities for a person, we can let our attitude towards them affect our performance. When we do it unto the Lord with our whole heart, then excellence becomes a natural byproduct. We must remember that our work ethic represents Him as well. What we do and how well we do it is a reflection of Him because we bear His name. So whatever you’re called to do right now, do it as Michelangelo painted, Beethoven played and Shakespeare wrote. Do it with all your might and enthusiastically unto the Lord.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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July 8, 2026 · 5:52 AM

The Accent Of Heaven

I went to high school with two girls who had British parents. While talking with them and their parents one day I noticed something strange. The girls had an American accent while their parents had a strong British accent. I didn’t understand it back then, but since that time there have been studies on this phenomenon. It turns out that while kids learn their first words and such from their parents, they learn and adopt the accent of the people they’re around the most. All kinds of psychological factors play into it, but what it boils down to is who they are around the most.

In Acts 4, Peter and John had just healed the lame man that the gate Beautiful. They had taught about Jesus in the synagogue just after and won over many converts. The local Jewish religious authorities brought them in for questioning. They demanded to know by whose name they had healed the lame man. Peter, with all boldness, reminded them about Jesus and what they had done to Him. He then told them there is salvation in Jesus. Verse 13 says, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” (NLT). The disciples no longer spoke like ordinary men. They had been in proximity to Jesus and that changed how they spoke.

Colossians 3:10 says, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Paul was reminding us that just because we were born into sin, doesn’t mean we should adopt that way of living. Instead we should put on our new nature. That means we should adopt the new way of living that reflects someone who has been around Jesus. The more time we are with Him, the more we know Him and become like Him. Your new nature isn’t put on by trying harder, but instead by your proximity to Jesus. Can people recognize you as someone who has been around Jesus? Your words and life reflect who you’re around. Put on your new nature daily and develop the accent of heaven.

Photo by Luz Mariana Gonzalez from Pexels.

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July 7, 2026 · 5:50 AM

When God Seems Silent

I was talking with someone the other day about ways to help someone who is really going through it. One of the suggestions they had was for the person to help someone else who is going through something worse than they are. That helps give perspective on their situation and gets the focus off of you and onto others. One of my suggestions was to have them try to recount all the prayers God has answered in their life. That helps them to shift focus from their problem to God who is able to take care of the situation. It also reminds them that they’ve been in tight spots before and God showed up. Sometimes in the middle of our problems we forget that God hasn’t abandoned us before and He’s not going to today.

I love Psalm 77 because it’s an honest prayer by Asaph when Jerusalem was under siege. Things were bad with no escape in sight. The report was that no one would survive. He has sleepless nights, fears of what ifs and questions of God’s goodness. He wrote, “Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will he never again be kind to me? Is his unfailing love gone forever? Have his promises permanently failed?” (NLT) These are all real questions we face when going through a hard time. This man led worship on the Temple and was chosen by King David, yet he struggled with questions doubting God’s goodness in the middle of a hard time. However, his psalm doesn’t end there.

In verses 11-12 he changed his perspective. He wrote, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” By doing this, he switched his momentary perspective of God to an eternal one. In the moment, sometimes it doesn’t feel like God is good, but when we look back across a lifetime and history of creation, we can clearly see the track record of His goodness. He also decided to meditate on the things God has done in the past rather than his problems of the present. In doing so, Asaph remembered, “Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters— a pathway no one knew was there!” God’s deliverance comes when no one sees a way out and it’s often a path that unseen in the moment. We must keep trusting God, remember all He’s done and be prepared for Him to make a way where there seems to be no way.

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July 6, 2026 · 5:42 AM

Moving Meadows

I often refer to September 25, 2003 as the day I hit rock bottom in my life. After months of struggling, the straw that broke the camel’s back hit me that night. I had to face about 30 people who worked for me and tell them I didn’t have the money to pay their checks. I was in a construction process and getting money from another business in town to fund everything. When I went to get my final withdrawal, they declined to give it. My source had dried up. They decided to take over my business and fire me. In hindsight, God was moving me to a different place in life, but in the moment I didn’t understand. I’ve seen Him cut off one source in my life to get me to follow Him to my next.

In 1 King 17, Elijah told King Ahab there wouldn’t be any rain until he said so. Then God directed him to go live by Kerith Brook during the drought where he would have water and ravens would bring him meat and bread. While he was in the place God had him, and was providing for him, the brook dried up. God was moving him to a new place and a new source. When arrived at the village God sent him to, he saw a widow gathering sticks to make a fire for her last meal. He asked her to give it to him and then use the leftovers to make a meal for herself. When she obeyed, God caused her oil and flour to never run out until the drought was over providing for both of them and her son.

Psalm 23:1-2 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams” (NLT). When the Lord is our shepherd, we have all that we need. He will lead us from place place and from provision to provision. In these stories, the business I was borrowing from wasn’t my source, nor were the brook and ravens Elijah’s source. Provision is found in the place the shepherd leads us to. We need to learn to be attached to the shepherd more than the current location of provision. God is constantly shaping and growing us, and that often requires moving meadows. Instead of guarding and fighting for old provisions, listen to the Shepherd’s voice and follow Him to greener meadows and peaceful streams of provision.

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July 3, 2026 · 5:59 AM

The Fruit Test

In the Garden of Eden, God planted the Tree of Knowledge. He told Adam and Eve that they could eat the fruit of any tree except that one. Eventually they took the fruit and ate it. That fruit exposed their inner desire to no longer have God as their source of knowledge. Today, each of our lives produce fruit. That fruit also exposes what’s in our heart. We can say we believe or live a certain way, but the fruit will always outweighs our words. You cant say you’re an orange tree with apples on your branches. No one would believe you. People see the fruit that our lives produce. We can’t claim one thing while producing another. Fruit is the visible evidence of our internal source. We will always be identified by our fruit.

Here are some Bible verses on

1. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Colossians 1:10 NLT

2. You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed and placed and purposefully planted you, so that you would go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit will remain and be lasting, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name [as My representative] He may give to you.

John 15:16 AMP

3. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 7:17-19 NLT

4. My Father is glorified and honored by this, when you bear much fruit, and prove yourselves to be My [true] disciples.

John 15:8 AMP

5. A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.

Matthew 12:33 NLT

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July 2, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Removing Blind Spots

I remember taking Driver’s Ed. There came a time in the class where we took the instruction and put it into practice by driving around. When it was my turn to log some hours, he had me drive on the freeway for a while. There were times when he had to hit the brakes on his side of the car because I wouldn’t go slower than the speed of traffic. When I went to change lanes, the instructor asked me what I needed to check after I turned on my blinker. I replied, “My rear view and side mirror.” He then asked, “What else?” I shrugged. He told me I needed to look over my shoulder as well to check my blind spot. If I change lanes and hit a car, it’s my fault because I should have checked my blind spots. I’ve never forgotten those instructions.

We all have blind spots in our lives, and we all need instruction and correction too, but not all of us invite it into our lives. In Exodus 18, Moses’ father in law had heard all of the great things Moses had done for his people, so he went to meet him. The next day he saw Moses judging the people and how inefficient it was. After asking a few questions about it, he said, “Moses’ father-in-law said to him in Exodus 18:17-18, “The thing that you are doing is not good. You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you [to bear]; you cannot do it alone” (AMP). He gave Moses a better way to do it. Instead of responding, “I’m in charge here and don’t need your help,” Moses listened to the counsel, received the instructions and accepted the correction. How do you respond when someone does that to you?

Proverbs 19:20 says, “Listen to counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come.” Counsel is an outside perspective that helps guide us so we don’t hit things, or people, in our blind spots. Instruction is someone else telling us how do something we often think we know how to do. Correction is being told we’re in the wrong. All three are often hard to receive because of our pride. If we’re willing to put aside our pride, and invite these three things into our life with an open heart and mind, we will achieve far more than we ever could without it. We will also have better relationships with the people around us because we won’t be bumping into them in our blind spots as much. The key is for us to invite it into our lives or to accept it when someone else, including an in law, is offering it.

Photo by Ani Coloca from Pexels.

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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