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This month our focus has been on recording our journey and the goal is to develop a system for recording our journey that helps us stay on track consistently while also documenting the process. As I was thinking about this the word "simplify," kept coming to mind and while discussing this with some of our partners this week, the one thing that came up was seeking after God... or delighting in the Lord.
Psalm 37:4 says that if we delight ourselves in the Lord he will give us the desires of our heart.
In today's communion we are asking him to help us keep things simple, and to teach us to delight ourselves in Him.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
Physical exercise should be a delight. It should be something we look forward to every day rather than something we dread.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
Lately I have been thinking about the authority of Jesus. He was gentle and gracious but in Matthew 7:28-29 it also says that the people were astonished at His teaching because he taught with authority. He wasn't timid because he taught with authority.
Recently my daughter had a soccer game and the referee for the game was a young kid who didn't have much experience as a ref and he wasn't using his authority. Because he was very timid and quiet the kids often didn't know what has happening.
In today's communion we are asking God to help us become more like Jesus by growing gentler and functioning in the authority we have in him.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
Authority and confidence are very closely related. And when we are confident in our workouts it often leads to a surge in progress. We must grow from a place of being timid in our workouts to a place of confidence to really see progress.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
The concept of "Calling to God," kept standing out to me in Psalm 86 the other night.
In today's communion we are asking God to teach us about calling on him.
Here is Psalm 86 - A Prayer of David:
1 Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard my life, for I am faithful to you; save your servant who trusts in you. You are my God;
3 have mercy on me, Lord, for I call to you all day long.
4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you.
5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.
6 Hear my prayer, Lord; listen to my cry for mercy.
7 When I am in distress, I call to you, because you answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.
9 All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
10 For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, Lord, that I may r...
A phrase that is all throughout scripture is, "Calling on the name of the Lord."
In the Psalms God tells us to call upon him in the day of trouble and he will deliver us and strengthen us. And God has a lot of names... Healer provider, savior, God almighty, more than enough, God of all peace, God of all hope, God of all comfort. our righteousness, our sanctification, our banner, and much more.
When we have problems, we can call upon his name and he will answer our call.
Today's communion is a time of gratitude for who God is, and we are asking him to teach us about the importance of calling on his name and to walk in this consistently.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
For our health let's start consistently calling on God our healer and our peace. Proverbs 14:30 says a heart at peace gives life to the body.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
An important part of our walk of faith is staying in rhythm with God. There is a balance in the course of the year with some periods of time when things move fast and others when things slow down. During this time of year, I have found that things tend to slow down a little, and there may be unexpected delays. During these times it's important to keep making adjustments to stay in rhythm with God.
In today's communion we are asking God to help us be people who consistently stay in rhythm with him. Matthew 11:30 MSG says there is an unforced rhythm of grace.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
Through the years of helping people with their health and fitness I have seen many people miss a workout or get slightly off track with their nutrition and very quickly they are completely out of rhythm. Making quick adjustments to get back in rhythm is an important part of making progress over time.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
November is a time when God often initiates transitions in our lives to move us to the next level. As we transition there will often be important decisions to make and we should follow what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:21 when he says he is, " taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.
In today's communion we are asking God to help us understand and know how to make decisions that are right in His eyes but also in the eyes of man.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
It's important to walk in love in the area of nutrition. Sometimes when we are trying to eat well we can become too strict and step out of love when someone graciously makes food for us. In these times I have learned to eat what is set before me, and then get back on track with the next meal.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
Here is this week's Yearly Cycle Update.
We are moving into the wintertime, a season of the year when many transitions happen. Don’t be surprised if God starts shifting things around. If you are in a leadership position, there will often be some shifts in people during this time. During transitions, be patient, God transitions things slowly so that nothing tears or breaks.
We just finished going through the heat of the year, and now we are moving into the colder season. We can’t just move from hot to cold. Imagine putting hot glass in a freezer. It would break. In this season, God will often slow things down and cause some unexpected delays.
This is a time when things just seem to sit on the shelf and cool for a while. If you have been through the fire this year, don’t be surprised if it seems like you are just waiting for a season. If this happens, be of good cheer—because it means that God is actually lining things up perfectly. These delays and slowdowns ma...
November is a time when God often initiates transitions in our lives to move us to the next level. As we transition there will often be important decisions to make. And when we make those decisions it's important to pay attention to our conscience, because decisions that override our conscience can shipwreck our faith.
1 Timothy 1:18-19 says, "Timothy, my child, I entrust you with this command in keeping with the previous prophecies about you, so that by them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith.
When we override our conscience I think it shipwrecks our faith because we lose confidence in our relationship with God.
In today's communion we are asking God to teach us about the importance of our conscience and to help us walk follow the leading of our conscience as we make decisions.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
The conscience is not often talked about when it ...
November is a time when God often initiates transitions in our lives to move us to the next level. As we transition to new levels there is often some unlearning that we have to do. The world has taught us a lot of stuff that isn't true, and as we walk with God there will be some unlearning that must happen along the path, where we let go of some beliefs that we really thought were true.
In today's communion we are asking God to reveal any areas where we need to do some unlearning and to help us replace those old beliefs with his truth.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
Our bodies are amazing, and they have a memory. If someone has taken a break from training for a while their body will still have a memory of how to train and will usually respond to training much faster than someone who has never trained. This is good, but it can also mean at times that we need to do some unlearning. Sometimes we get movement patterns that are not good. In today's communion medi...
November is a time when God often initiates transitions in our lives to move us to the next level. These transitions can be scary and overwhelming because things are changing, but it's a reminder to trust him in the transitions.
As we go through transitions, we can trust that God is working all things together for our good.
Today's communion is a time of gratitude that God keeps moving us to new levels. And we are asking him to help us stay in faith and love as we keep trusting him in the transitions.
Today's Health and Fitness Tip
In our workouts as we transition to new levels there may times when it seems like we are going backwards. During these times keep showing up and executing, because it's only a matter of time until you are at a new level.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
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