I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Practice

The other day I was watching the show Amazing Race. The participants were challenged to learn a dance from another culture and then perform it in front of judges who would determine whether or not they got all the steps and nuances correct. They would pick an instructor to teach them what they needed to know. But it wasn’t until they went out to preform the dance, did they understand where they needed to practice some more. Watching their instructors was not enough, they needed to practice and refine their skills to succeed. This reminds me of what Paul says in Philippians 4:9, where he encourages us to put into practice what we’ve learned in our faith. “Keep putting into practice all you have learned and received from me-everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” Just like the contestants on The Amazing Race, we can’t just watch others live out their faith—we have to step out and do it ourselves. We can read the Bible, listen to sermons, and learn from great teachers, but at some point, we have to apply what we’ve learned. And just like those contestants,

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I Choose Today to Refuel

Anyone who has ever driven a car knows the tension of watching the fuel gauge dip lower and wondering, Do I have enough to make it? Maybe you’ve even miscalculated, convinced you could push just a little farther—only to end up stranded, waiting for help. Looking back, the reason for not stopping to refuel often boils down to I didn’t have time. But that logic quickly falls apart when we realize that running out of fuel actually cost us more time, energy, and stress than simply stopping would have. The same is true in our spiritual lives. If we don’t take time to refuel, we risk running on empty—pushing ourselves until we are drained, anxious, or worse, unable to move forward in what God has for us. Even though I study God’s Word, listen to sermons, podcasts, and teachings to equip me for writing and speaking, I can’t rely on those things alone. If I don’t take intentional time to personally refuel with God—to be filled with His Spirit, wisdom, and power—I’ll find myself depleted, running on fumes, and unable to fully step into what He’s calling me to. Even Jesus, while fully God, operated in complete dependence on the

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I Choose Today to Build in Faith

A little while back, a pastor friend of mine wrote a sermon about the faith of Noah. He pointed out that Noah is listed in the “Hall of Fame” of Faith: “It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before.” — Hebrews 11:7a (NLT) Noah had great faith because he obeyed God—building something that had never been seen, built, or even imagined—simply because God said to. Noah obeyed and built the ark. What’s remarkable is that the ark’s design stood out from every other ancient boat. Unlike boats meant for navigation, the ark was built for survival, not direction—it had no rudder, no sails, no way to steer. It didn’t need them, because God was in control of its course. We don’t need to steer when God is leading. At that time, rain had never even fallen (Genesis 2:5-6 suggests the earth was watered by mist). Yet, Noah obeyed. He built a massive ship for a phenomenon he had never seen, purely on faith in what God spoke to him. Even when we don’t understand, obedience is our part—God

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I Choose Today to Walk in the Spirit’s Power

What if I told you that the same Spirit who hovered over the waters at creation, the same Spirit who empowered Jesus, and the same Spirit who moved through the early church is the very Spirit who dwells in you today? It’s an incredible truth, yet it’s exactly what God has given us through Christ. As we have been learning and studying about the seven attributes of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11:2, we see them fully manifested in life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Just as Jesus, the “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (vs. 1), bore fruit through the power of the Holy Spirit, we too have the capacity to flourish as He produces fruit in us by that same Spirit. Let us briefly recap the Seven Attributes of the Holy Spirit:    1. The Spirit of the Lord – Jesus was filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and did nothing apart from the Father’s will. We are now called to live Spirit-led lives, walking in His presence and power.  2. The Spirit of Wisdom – Jesus taught and lived with divine wisdom, showing us how to make decisions aligned with God’s will. The Spirit of

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