Tag Archives: christian living

June 30, 2026 · 5:51 AM

Sharpening Your Axe

I heard the story of two lumberjacks who decided to have a competition of who could cut down the most trees in a day. One went one way and the other a different way. After about an hour the first lumberjack noticed the other had quit chopping. He worked even harder and thought the second one was taking a break. About every hour the second one would stop chopping for about ten minutes throughout the day. At the end of the day the first one was excited to show off how much he had done. When they went to look at the second one’s trees, he had cut nearly double. The first one exclaimed, “How? You took a break every hour!” The second one replied, “I wasn’t taking a break each hour. I was sharpening my axe.”

Paul was Timothy’s mentor in the faith and ministry. We get some insight into that relationship in the two books written to encourage Timothy. Paul was teaching him how to sharpen his axe as a believer. In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul encourages him to study the Word to show himself approved by God and so he could correctly explain the truth. In 2 Timothy 2:3 he’s encouraged to endure hardship and to not avoid it so that he can please the lord. Then in 2 Timothy 1:6 he’s encouraged to fan into flame his gifts. Paul understood that living in this world will dull our axe blade and that to be an effective Christian, we must constantly be sharpening ourselves.

Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed” (NLT). A dull blade still cuts, but it requires more strength and effort. Implementing daily spiritual disciplines will help keep you sharp and effective. To do that you need to study in the Bible, examine your heart, renew your mind, put God’s Word into practice and pray. Jesus provided examples of this by withdrawing from the crowd to be alone with God. When is the last time you stepped away to purposefully sharpen your axe? We must take time each day to sharpen our axe so we can be more effective for the Kingdom in a world that tries to dull it every day.

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June 25, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Open The Flow

During a drought one summer, my yard started to die. I began using the sprinkler in the evenings, and I moved it around every so often. Wherever I placed it, I would turn the water faucet on full blast in order to cover the most ground possible. Little by little, the grass began to turn green again. When I looked at my neighbor’s yards, many of them had started doing the same thing. I can honestly say that I didn’t see anyone watering their yards with the water barely turned on. Can you imagine how ineffective that would be? Yet some of us only open the flow of Jesus into our lives a little, and we wonder why we’re not growing.

When you accept Jesus as your savior, you are saved and begin your relationship with Him. However, you and I control the valve on how much we allow Him to influence our life. If we restrict the flow of Him into our life, not much is going to change in how we talk, act or live. We will remain in spiritual immaturity. Those who open the flow, will grow and be changed. The more of our life that we give Him access to, the more we become like Him. The more we move toward spiritual maturity. Our lives will bear the fruits of the Spirit as well. There are clear differences between those who restrict Jesus in their lives and those who don’t. Your spiritual life will always grow in proportion to the amount of influence you allow Jesus to have in it.

Colossians 1:10 says, “We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness!” (TPT) God desires that each of us would yield all of our life to Him. When we do, we open ourselves up to His fullness. How much of your life have you yielded to Him? If you’re not bearing much fruit in your life or are not experiencing all He offers, surrender everything to Him. You’ve trusted Him with your eternity. Why wouldn’t you trust Him with this life? How He sees you has to become more important than how others see you. Open up the flow of His presence in your life and watch the growth take place.

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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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June 24, 2026 · 5:49 AM

Retrain Your Identity

I’ve had several friends and family members who have gone through the adoption process. One of the things I’ve noticed, especially when older kids were adopted, is that some assimilate into the family and others struggle with it. The ones who struggle have accepted that they’re legally sons and daughters of the couple, but emotionally they’re still in the environment where they came from. They tend to hoard food, expect disappointment and sabotage the relationship because they have the expectation of being on their own again. They may be in a new home and family, but they struggle with their identity and mindset. It’s heartbreaking to see. It’s a long process to help them retrain their identity.

In Exodus 16, Israel had been freed from Egypt after having been slaves for 400 years. They had left Egypt quickly, but they were struggling to get Egypt out of them. They complained about their conditions constantly on their way to the Promised Land and often said they had wished they were still in Egypt. One of the ways God was trying to help reshape their identity was to give them manna from heaven each day. They could get as much as they needed for the day, but not more. They had come from scarcity and God was leading them to abundance, but their mindset needed to change. God was telling them He would meet them daily and supply their needs. They only needed to carry what was necessary because they didn’t need to fear an unknown future. They were sons and daughters now and no longer slaves. The first generation struggled with that concept and wouldn’t assimilate. They died in the wilderness rather than in a place of abundance.

Galatians 4:7 says, “Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir” (NLT). When you accepted Jesus, you were adopted by God. You are no longer a slave to sin. However, many of us fall into the same category as those above. Were legally His children, but emotionally we struggle to assimilate. God wants to lead us to a place of abundance, but He can’t if we’re stuck in our old mindset. We must retrain our identity. Find one area of your life where you’re struggling to let go of because of where you’ve come from and ask our Heavenly Father to help you trust Him in that area. While your legal status with God changed in an instant, the process of becoming like Christ takes time and is retrained a little at a time. Let God help you retrain your identity so you can live like a son or daughter of His. You are His own child.

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June 22, 2026 · 5:40 AM

Pruned For Greatness

I’ve been leading a group of men through “Good To Great In God’s Eyes” by Chip Ingram. The first line of the book is the same as it is in its counterpart by Jim Collins. It says, “Good is the enemy of great.” That line hits me hard every time I read it. I think of how many times I settle for good enough. I think of all the ways I’ve been okay with average instead of greatness. The book goes through ten things we can do to adopt great habits in our life that draw us closer to God. One of the things I’m learning through the process of this book is that I have to learn to say no to good things in order to say yes to great things. I also have to let go of some good things so I can make room for the great things.

In Matthew 19:16 a young man asks Jesus what good thing does he need to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus then tells him to keep the commandments, but this guy wants to know which ones specifically. Jesus names several and the guy gets excited. “‘I’ve obeyed all these commandments,’ the young man replied. ‘What else must I do?’” (NLT) Jesus then tells him to go and sell everything he has, to give the money to the poor and then to follow Him. That young man went away sad that day. He couldn’t let go of the good things in his life to embrace the great Jesus was offering him. We look down on this person every time we read this story, but he’s more often a mirror into our lives than not.

In John 15:2 Jesus said, “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” Jesus is willing to cut off branches in our life that are bearing good fruit so He can produce great fruit. Pruning isn’t punishment. It’s designed to perfect us. It’s God cutting back something healthy for something holy. What good, healthy things are you holding onto that God wants to prune? Have you been settling for good when God wants to produce something great? Remember that good is the enemy of great. Don’t be like the young man and walk away satisfied with the fruit you’re bearing now when Jesus is asking you to let go and to trust and follow Him more closely.

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June 18, 2026 · 5:30 AM

An “I Will” Attitude

One of my favorite shows is Alone. They take ten people, put them in a hostile environment with ten items and have them survive until everyone taps out. It appeals to me for many reasons, but one of my favorite parts is when the contestants have been alone and hungry for about 30 days. There is a huge psychological battle every contestant faces as they document themselves on this journey. Some grow to hate the location, the hunger, the isolation and the constant struggle for food and water. Then there are others who are in a similar location a few miles away that get ahold of the negative thoughts and begin speaking positive words instead. In every case, the ones who continue to speak negatively tap out of the contest. The one who can continue to find positive things through the struggle is the one who wins.

I’m not sure there’s another person in the Bible besides Jesus who suffered more than Paul. He was imprisoned multiple times in jails that were dark, nasty and had no humanitarian standards for prisoners. He was shipwrecked, beaten to a pulp many times, dragged out of cities, lied about, stoned, robbed, left for dead and abandoned. The things he went through, many of us couldn’t survive. However, Paul kept preaching the Gospel, writing letters and encouraging others through it all. My favorite story is when he was in the dungeon of a prison, bleeding and hungry, and he started singing praises to God for all to hear. No matter how bad things were, he found a way to praise and refocus his attention on God instead of his circumstances.

David was a lot like him too. In Psalm 34:1-2 David penned, “I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart” (NLT). He didn’t say, “I want to praise the Lord at all times.” He was saying, “I will,” as in he’s not going to give his mind the choice to do anything else. Do you have have an “I will praise the Lord at all times” attitude? You need to decide that attitude ahead of your circumstances, but even if you’re in the middle of hard times now, you can still choose it now. Praising God doesn’t change your circumstances, it changes you in the middle of them. It strengthens you and puts your focus on the One who is greater than what you’re facing. If you haven’t chosen to praise the Lord at all times, do it today and put it into practice. He deserves to be praised in the good times and the bad.

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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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June 17, 2026 · 5:45 AM

Meaningful Work

I’ve worked at enough jobs to know when I’m being handed busy work. I absolutely hate busy work with a passion. When there’s not enough real work to go around, they put you on fake projects that they will never use. It takes time, effort and energy to put something together that was never intended to be implemented. On the other hand, I love when my work is meaningful. I’ve worked for free at places when I knew the things I was working on were going to make a difference in the lives of others. It’s easy to have enthusiasm, to give it your all and to make it better when it’s meaningful.

Nehemiah was living in Babylon with the other Jews who had been exiled there. His job was to be a cupbearer to the king until he heard from those who had been to Jerusalem that its walls were still broken down. In that moment, he got clarity on what he needed to do. He went back to Jerusalem and rallied the people to rebuild the walls. When people tried to intimidate him to stop, he dug in and kept going. It wasn’t just a construction project to him. It was restoring their identity, creating a safe place for families to worship God and renewing their dignity. It looked like a construction project to others, but he was working for the Lord. He remained steadfast and persevered until the wall was built in record time.

1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (NLT). Everything you do for the Lord is meaningful work. Whether it’s construction, teaching, cleaning or whatever. God calls us to impact people where he plants us. He doesn’t give us busy work. Are you being strong, immovable and enthusiastic in that work? Are you doing it for His glory? When we reframe what we do as kingdom work, it gives it purpose. I go in looking for divine connections, life changing conversations and for relationships that need to be built. God will use anyone at anytime in any place when we do our work for Him.

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June 11, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Fully Surrendered

One of the books I’ve just read is about discipleship and how churches can create them. The first section of the book helps to define the four areas where people get stuck in the spiritual continuum. Many people never move past exploring Christ. They stand at the edge of receiving Him, but aren’t willing to give their heart to Him. Others who have accepted Jesus struggle to reconcile their private faith with their public life. They have a hard time growing in Christ. Once people become a new creation and develop spiritual disciplines, their life transforms and they move close to Christ. However, the next move is the hardest. It’s one thing to live for Christ, but it’s a totally different thing to completely surrender to Him living a Christ centered life. It’s where we quit asking God for direction and give Him control.

Think of the story of the rich, young ruler who came to visit Jesus in Matthew 19. He asks Jesus what he needs to do to have eternal life. Jesus tells him to keep the commandments. The guy then wants to know which ones. Jesus rattled off several of the 10 commandments. The ruler got excited and let Jesus know he’s been following the rules his whole life and feels like there’s more, so he asks what else. Jesus then tells him to sell everything he has, give the money to the poor and then follow Him. The young man went away sad because he was willing to follow the rules of Christianity, but he wasn’t willing to surrender his life completely to Jesus. He wanted Christianity and eternal life without fully surrendering his life.

Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you” (NLT) We usually look down on the rich young ruler for not giving up his possessions, but you and I hold things back from Jesus all the time. We seek Him for guidance, but are we giving Him the right to direct our life? It’s like my driving navigation app. When it tells me to turn, sometimes I go straight because I think I know better. I’m driving and it’s guiding. When we approach Jesus that way, we may be living a life that is close to Christ, but it’s not fully surrendered to Him. God is calling you and I into a deeper relationship with Him that requires more surrender the closer we get. To fully surrender to Him is to fully trust Him.

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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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May 28, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Lessons From Zacchaeus

If you grew up in church, you know and sang about Zacchaeus. In Luke 19, Jesus was entering Jericho. The crowds had gathered around Him as He was walking through town. They wanted to see a miracle, hear a sermon and to see what important religious person He would visit with. Some even thought He was going to start a revolution with Rome that very moment. The crowd was so big, and Zacchaeus was not very tall. He saw where Jesus was headed and ran up ahead in front of the crowd. He found a sycamore tree to climb in so that he could just see Jesus. When Jesus arrived to that spot, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus. He told him to come down so He could stay at his house. The people were mad because Zacchaeus wasn’t a religious person at all. In fact he was despised by people because he worked for Rome and stole money from his own people as the chief tax collector. When he saw Jesus, and Jesus saw him, everything changed including his heart.

Two things stand out to me in this familiar story. The first is that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus and was willing to do anything to see Him. How hungry and determined are you to see Jesus? Like so many before him, he wanted to get a glimpse of God. Moses was that way too. In Exodus 33:18-19 Moses said, “‘Please, show me your glory!’ And God said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name of the Lord before you; for I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion (lovingkindness) on whom I will show compassion’” (AMP) When we are determined to see God, He will show up with His glory and presence. He wants to be found, and will reveal Himself to those who seek Him.

The second thing I noticed in this story is that Zacchaeus was proactive and anticipated where Jesus was headed. Many of us try to go where He has been, but Zacchaeus ran ahead and waited on the Lord. In Jeremiah 29:13, God said, “Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” When we anticipate and seek God’s presence, we will see Him and He will see us. What is God wanting to do around you today? Where is He headed? Go and start being the hands and feet of Him there. Remember the laborers are few. There’s a lot God wants to do, but He needs us to know His heart, anticipate where He wants to reveal Himself and start there. When you start loving people there, God will show up and you will see Him.

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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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May 21, 2026 · 5:30 AM

Rivers Of Living Water

When I was 18, I was blessed with a camping trip to the Canadian Rockies with my brother and some friends. We stopped along the way to see the sights. One of them was the Continental Divide. There was a river that broke into two parts. For the first time in our lives, we saw a clear water river. We were more amazed by that than the divide. We all ran down to the water, cupped our hands and started drinking it. Our chaperones tried to stop us, but we couldn’t help ourselves. The water was cold and refreshing, and of course clear and moving, which meant clean in our minds. I’ll never forget that experience.

In John 7, Jesus was in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast Of Tabernacles. On the last day of the feast, which was the most important one, He began to shout into the crowd. Verses 37-38 say, “All you thirsty ones, come to me! Come to me and drink! Believe in me so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you, flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says!” TPT They must have been physically thirsty from all the feasting, but Jesus was referring to their spiritual thirst. He not only wanted to satisfy that thirst, but to also produce in them, and us, rivers of spiritual water to quench the thirst of people around us.

We all have rivers of water flowing from us. Is yours crisp, clean and refreshing or is it polluted? Does your river make people want to come and drink? Most of us live such busy lives that we forget to check the quality of the water that’s flowing out of us. We must make sure that the source is the Holy Spirit rather than ourselves. He gives fresh water that’s full of revelation, healing and restoration. When those flow from our lives, people want to be around us. They want to drink deeply from that river because it satisfies something deep in their spirit. It will then lead them to the source of that river and then they too will have a river bursting forth from their inner most being satisfying the thirst of people around them.

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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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May 19, 2026 · 5:44 AM

Kingdom Over Calling

History is littered with people who have been given great dreams to accomplish. Some become so obsessed with their dream that it consumes them. They get so focused on their dream dream that it becomes the source of their identity. When that happens, the dream giver becomes optional. Think of Samson whom God called from birth to rescue Israel with his strength. As he grew up, he began to love his strength more than the one who empowered him. That pride became his downfall. I could listen to modern people who fell into the same trap that he did. We all must be careful not to let our gift become our god or our calling to become an idol that we chase.

David was a young man when Samuel anointed him to be the next king of Israel. It wasn’t long before he defeated Goliath and was a regular in the king’s home. David must have thought it was happening then, but God saw fit to send him through adversity to prepare him for his calling. David lived in hiding, moving from cave to cave instead of palaces. He commanded a rebel army of outcasts and rejects before he commanded the national force. In the process of adversity, he learned to quit chasing the dream and to start chasing the dream giver. Twice he had the opportunity to kill King Saul and ascend to the throne, but he did not touch God’s anointed. David had a heart after God rather than the throne. When he was ready, God gave it to him. Throughout his life, he showed he was owned by God and not the throne.

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also” (AMP). Have you found yourself chasing your dream or calling more than the One who planted that in you? God’s order is to seek Him first, then all these other things will be given to you. There’s a process that we go through that reveals and prepares our heart. When we bypass the process, we become like Samson rather than David. We find ourselves seeking the calling rather than the creator. God gives dreams and callings for the Kingdom. If you’re in a season of preparation or waiting for the calling to come to pass, seek God and His kingdom. When the time is right, God will give it to you and cause it to come to pass.

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