I Choose Today...

I Choose Today to Live in the Kingdom

The Ordinary Series – Part 2 The kingdom of heaven wasn’t meant to stay behind stained glass windows. It was meant to walk into living rooms. To show up in office break rooms. To interrupt grocery store runs. To bring light into dark places and hope into broken hearts. And the ones who carry it? They look a lot like you and me. Carpenters. Fishermen. Business owners. Moms. Students. Retirees. Ordinary people who listened for the Spirit’s nudge—and obeyed. That’s how the early church turned the world upside down. And that’s how the kingdom still comes—when we choose to live it out in the ordinary. When Jesus declared, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17), He was announcing something radical. Heaven wasn’t far off—it was near. Not just a someday promise, but a present reality. He didn’t just talk about it—He embodied it. Through healing the sick, forgiving sins, casting out demons, and teaching truth with authority, Jesus brought the reality of heaven to earth. The King had come. And where the King is, the kingdom reigns. But He didn’t stop there. Jesus commissioned His followers to bring that kingdom to others. “All authority in heaven and on earth has

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I Choose Today to Wait on His Presence

There’s a lot I could chase right now—momentum, strategy, visibility. The podcast is almost ready, and everything’s in motion. But there’s this moment from Scripture I can’t stop thinking about. It’s when God tells Moses, “Go on up to the land I promised you. I’ll even send an angel ahead to clear the way… but I’m not going with you, because you are a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 33:3) And Moses, in all his boldness and intimacy with God, basically says, “Then don’t send us. We’re not going anywhere without You.” (Exodus 33:15) He knew the Promised Land meant nothing without the Presence of God. That’s exactly where I’m at right now. I don’t want to launch a podcast, write another word, or take another step—unless the Lord is in it. His Presence is the promise. Without Him, it’s just noise. This calling has always been about obedience, not production. About God’s heart, not my platform. So I’ve found myself praying something that’s become almost a whisper I repeat throughout the day: “Don’t let me get ahead of You, Lord.” Because I’ve seen what happens when I rush, when I strive, when I try to manufacture something that only the Spirit

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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 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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