our goal is to please him

"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down, we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not be human hands." (2 Corinthians 5:1)

The first part of 2 Corinthians Chapter 5 is about awaiting a new body from Christ because our earthly body will one day be destroyed. Paul said that we will one day have a heavenly home that is unlike anything on this earth. 

Paul also writes about how God is rebuilding a house of eternity in Heaven which He is preparing for us. He said that when we are in our earthly bodies, we are burdened by things of this world. That, according to Paul, is why people crave for their new heavenly dwelling. 

When people are with their earthly body, they are away from the Lord. That is why people who are in Christ would prefer to be with the Lord and away from their mortal bodies. They are the ones who live through faith rather than only by what they can see.

These are the true believers who have accepted Christ. When the Day of Judgement comes, Paul wrote that each person must come before Christ and receive what is due to them. 

"For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body." (2 Corinthians 5:10)

Our ultimate goal is to please him.

All the things we do are going to be judged so let's please God while we are in this temporary body while we await eternal glory. 

slow down and look up

I believe that one of the best ways to give God glory is to take a pause, and be thankful for all that he has created. This morning was the perfect example of it for me..

I am fairly sure I have a type A personality. I'm not a perfectionist, but I am go-go-go. I can hardly sit still. I am really bad a watching TV shows because I can't pay attention. In all areas of my life I am that way. No matter how much time I have in the day, I am always filling it up with things to do. I don't think it's bad, but I don't give myself a chance to slow down and appreciate God's goodness and creation.

The past few nights, it seems like serious thunderstorms just keep ripping through Northern Indiana. I run really early in the mornings and I don't usually let anything stop me from running unless there is a very serious storm..I really don't want to get struck by lighting or have a huge tree get blown down on me. But today was a little different. There was a storm coming but I had time to get my run in before it hit. This mornings storm had me in awe. The sky was filled with beautiful lightning. For about 45 minutes lightning  would flash through the sky has the storm approached. It was breathtaking.I wanted to stare at the sky the entire time. 

It was the perfect morning run. Except for one thing, the storm was behind me as I began my run. So the only way I could watch the lighting was to keep turning around every couple minutes. I didn't have any problem doing that, but I was highly motivated to get to the halfway point so I could run into the storm on the way back. 

As I turned around and finished my last couple miles towards the storm I was in awe. I still don't know how safe I was, but I didn't care because it was the most beautiful lightning I think I had ever seen. After a few minutes, it started to rain and the wind started to pick up. I don't mind running in the rain, but it was raining so hard that I could hardly keep my eyes open and could barely see the lighting anymore. 

So quickly, everything changed. If I wouldn't have taken the five minutes before my run to take everything in, I would've been disappointed in myself.

How much is our relationship with God like that? All we need to do sometimes is slow down and take the time to get into the word, pray, be thankful, and give all the glory to him! But life throws distractions and things that get into our way all the time. My encouragement for you is to slow down...I have talked about Jesus pace before, but I mean it so much. Even if you just give yourself 5-10 minutes before you leave for work or get your day started, your day will start and go so much better. 

Slow down for what matters most...and that's a relationship with Christ Jesus. 

like a sweet perfume

One of the most flattering things my wife does is wear her nice wedding perfume on all date nights and special occasions. Leading up to our wedding we wanted to get each other a gift that was going to be really meaningful, and for us that was expensive cologne for me and expensive perfume for her. Our sense of smell is one of our most powerful senses, and every time we smell the cologne and perfume we are brought back to our wedding day. 

Her perfume is the greatest smell in the world and it's so powerful when she wears it...

Did you know Christ wants to use us to spread the knowledge of Christ like a sweet perfume?

"But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God." (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

I'll be the first to admit, I don't do a good job at spreading the knowledge of Christ like a sweet perfume. It's almost the opposite. Whenever I put on my expensive cologne, I know Rachel loves it but it also gives me this weird amount of confidence because I know I smell really good. I where it for Rach, but at the same people, I want other people to be able to smell it as well. I am sure we have all been in the situation where someone gets on an elevator or walks past you and they smell so good. That feeling gets us excited! That's how we should be with the knowledge of Christ. 

Unfortunately, it seems to be the opposite. In a way, using this example again, it's like me getting out of the shower, leaving the apartment and not wearing any deodorant or cologne. Whenever I do that I feel like I need to stay in this small shell so no-one is near me. That's how I seem to treat God and I just have to be honest! My mindset is so focused on..."If someone asks I will share, or if the conversation comes up I will speak." That's wrong.

I am a sinner and I am not perfect. 

I need to have a Christ-like fragrance that is rising up to God! I need to be excited about what God has done in my life and be willing to share and talk about it. Just like how we all love an expensive fragrance, we need to love the aroma of Christ the same way. 

I hope you find this encouraging and I hope this makes sense to you. I am very self-aware of the things I do wrong and I am committed to being better! It's a relentless consistent approach, and I will never stop working on it. I hope you feel the same way. 

relentless consistency

I listen to a ton of podcasts and all the guys I listen to are typically men of faith who are extremely high performers and great leaders. A common theme that I hear all of them talk about is relentless consistency. Relentless consistency is a huge reason why all those guys have made it to where they are today. 

I strive to be like those dudes. I know that my identity and happiness isn't wrapped up in another person like that, but if I can take away things that they say and ways they live I know I will be a much better person. 

If you know me, I don't know if I would completely call myself a high performer at this stage in my life. But I do know that I am relentlessly consistent. 

All my life, everything that I have ever accomplished has been because of my values and identity. One of those being my relentless consistency. I was never the most skilled basketball player, I was never the most gifted athletically, I was never the best student. But I became a college basketball player, had a successful career on amazing teams and I also graduated with two degrees. Why? 

I knew that in order to accomplish those goals, I had to grind everyday. No matter how sore or tired I was, whether or not we were on vacation, how much I worked etc. I had to get after it daily.

Same goes with my running, I know I talk about it all the time in my posts but running is such a great example of what our lives are like. I have relentless consistency when it comes to running. If I was asked what you need to do in order to become a better runner, I would tell you to be consistent. Do it daily! Listen to your body, but do it daily. I believe our bodies adapt and evolve when the environments that we place them in. 

My body last year at this time was used to 10-15 miles/week of running. Nothing crazy, but about 10-15 miles more than what it was at the beginning of 2020. Now my body is used to 35-40 miles/week. I feel great! I am probably close to being in the best shape of my life. I adapted and evolved because of relentless consistency. In the last 11 months there have been no more than 5 days where I haven't ran my daily goal of 5-6 miles. 2 of those days were due to traveling, and the other three I had hurt my hip and needed to switch to biking. 

I know when September 18th arrives, and I run my marathon, I am going to crush it because of my relentless consistency. 

This doesn't just relate to physical activity. I want to be consistent in who I am at work. I write hand written thank you notes, I send follow up emails to tell people I appreciate how they help me, I am going to do the things that might seem a little boring because I know this consistency will help me grow so much! 

Most importantly, having relentless consistency in what I do daily to grow closer to Jesus is everything. Reading my bible, praying, journaling, etc. I need to be consistent with those things or I will never grow. 

Guys, I am not perfect, I sin, I don't do all these things perfect everyday other than running. There are days where I will send an email rather than writing a hand written card. There are days where I won't pray as much as I should. There are days were I prioritize everything before reading my bible. I need help and I am not perfect. Just like the rest of you! 

If you took away one thing, I hope you were inspired to be consistent in all you do. Keep doing what you do daily in order to accomplish your goals and I promise it'll change your life. Without consistency, I don't even know what type of person I would be. It's kind of funny, about every time I see my sister-in-law, she always asks my wife..."how is he even human?"... and to me that's a greater compliment than anything because it's wrapped up in who I am, not what I do. 

Relentless consistency is everything. 

helping each other

Sometimes I look at other people and the impact they are making on others in the world and I don't feel like I can compete. I know it's not a competition, but sometimes I look up to these people and I just think that I can never be like them.

We are all different. We all have our own unique gifts and talents so how can I let those doubts get in my head? If I had the answer to that, I'd be ecstatic! But for some reason, we all seem to fall into a never-ending comparison trap.  

I believe the best way we can serve others and love the Lord is through our gifts. But what if we don't have gifts and what if you feel like you don't have any? Impossible! We all have a spiritual gift..and some people have more! 

"A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other." (1 Corinthians 12:7)

A spiritual gift is given to each of us! I have one, you have one, we all have one! 

The best way we can ever help each other is by using our spiritual gifts. Imagine all believers using their spiritual gifts to serve...it's beautiful! 

I know a common question might be...well how can I figure out what mine is?

There are spiritual gift tests you can take online. The link below is the same website I have used in the past to see what mine were because I was really curious and just not 100% sure what my gifts were.

(https://gifts.churchgrowth.org/spiritual-gifts-survey/)

I know we are all sinners and we aren't perfect. That's just a fact. One thing that I really do believe is that deep down, people want to help people. We just often get scared, care too much what other people think, and just don't do it. I am encouraging you today that the best way you can help people is by using your spiritual gifts. 

Finding a common ground

"When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessing." (1 Corinthians 9:22-23)

One of my favorite things about Paul was the sacrifices that he was willing to make to spread the Good News. He sacrificed everything, and he found common ground with everyone. Life changed more for everyone in the past 2 years than ever before. To find common ground is extremely difficult. 

Right side, left side, mask, no mask, vaccine, no vaccine...to name a few. These things have caused more division than they ever should have. This post isn't about these things, it's just an example on how truly difficult it is to find common ground and see eye to eye with everyone. 

Paul was willing to do this though. He was willing to do whatever it took. His one mission was to spread the Good News and share in its blessing. His mission wasn't selfishly motivated like most peoples are today. He was focused on one mission.

What sticks out to me the most in these couple verses is that Paul writes that he was willing to do everything he could to save some...to save some...He knew he wasn't going to save everyone but he was willing to do whatever it took to save some. 

For me, I think I often hold back because I want to be able to help everyone and understand that's hard. What I say and what I do isn't going to encourage everyone, but it might encourage some. When I try to find common ground with people, it'll mean a lot to some people, but probably not all. 

My encouragement to you is exactly what Paul is saying. Do everything you can to save some. It doesn't have to be everyone! Just some..

where ya at

I remember when I was really little, my grandma would always tell me that I had ants in my pants. I was a good kid, but couldn't sit still. I would play with one toy, and then I was ready for something else. It was a vicious cycle. Whenever my grandma would tell me about the "ants in my pants" I'd always help me slow down.

I think we all have a lot of that in our systems. The society that we live in causes us to live and feel that way. Nothing ever feels like this is where we are supposed to me. There is always a next step, there is always something new, there is always an upgrade. 

Now I am not saying these things are all bad. It's good and healthy for us to continually adapt and evolve throughout our lives. Where some red flags come up is when we become so fixated on where we think we should be next, we don't enjoy where we are at right now. 

I'll use myself as an example for this. I have been in training with my new job for eight weeks now. That's a long time! If I was just worried about what's next, I wouldn't ever get anything out of training. I would show up to work everyday with just a surface level mentality...A surface level mentality might work for some, but you can't have deep meaningful relationships with people when it's surface level. You also don't have an impact with a surface level mentality. 

"Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you." (1 Corinthians 7:17)

When I read that verse earlier this morning it was the perfect reminder for me and gave me a fresh new perspective on everything. Where you are at right now, is where God wants you. You might be living an amazing life working your dream job. You might have a terrible job where you aren't happy and bad things seem to keep happening. Both places...are where God has you right now. 

This life isn't meant to be sunshine and rainbows all the time. God has an amazing plan for all of us. What gets me through the difficult times is understanding that God is faithful and never fails. Every rough patch I have ever been in, was because I needed to be there and rely on God to get me through it. Over and over again. 

Remain where you are at right now. Take full advantage of every opportunity. Trust in God and have an open heart and mind. Where you are right now probably isn't where you'll be forever. Let's do this together!