FCA Northern Colorado Blog

Living Intentionally from John 3:16

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 16:30:07 GMT

Living Intentionally from John 3:16

Scripted with Bailey Lucero's support

Often, we say John 3:16 as the verse we memorized in children’s church. Shane has been learning how to share "The Four" which is a way to share the gospel with others in his life. Shane has been given multiple opportunities to share the gospel at middle schools, high schools and college huddles. The way he shares his love for Jesus and wanting others to know Jesus is such a gift from the Lord. He can't wait to share with you too! Shane will also get to share the gospel at the Special Olympics summer games in Minnesota. The Lord is using Shane and our athletes to share within their platforms who Jesus is! It's so powerful!

Here is the Four broken down from the framework of John 3:16

The Heart- Gods Love Us

The Divide- Sin Separates Us

The Cross- Jesus Saves Us

The Question Mark- Will you choose to follow Jesus?

Shane has taken this and shared the gospel based off of John 3:16. Most of us share this verse casually, but Shane shares it with passion and a deep understanding of who God is. With that I am going to share about John 3:16 as Shane and I have talked through this.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son Jesus that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that…

What God means to me is that God is our creator and He is powerful and faithful. We can see this when God created the world in Genesis 1. In this He also created all of us. When God loves us He loves us unconditionally which means that no matter what we do he still loves us and loves everyone in the world. Because of this it leads to the next part of the verse. He loves us so much that..

He gave His one and only son Jesus to die so…

When it says He gave that was a gift that He gave out of love. He gave His only son Jesus. Jesus was perfect and didn't do anything that was wrong. Jesus cares and loves us deeply. He doesn’t give up on us, he never gives up . So, he went to the cross to die for our sins. Because of his sacrificial gift to us we get to have the rest of the verse.

That whoever believes in Him…

Whoever means that anyone can believe in Jesus and that He died on the cross for our sins. I ask people when I share the four if they want to believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Hebrews 11:1 gives us a further understanding saying, “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” It takes faith to be a believer and have eternal life.

Shall not perish but have eternal life.

Because of our faith and what Jesus did we have a guaranteed outcome that gives us purpose and a known ending. We will not end in hell but instead get to celebrate forever in heaven with our Lord and Savior. This gives us a future we know for sure to happen, and a purpose for now on as we are on the earth.

Take the joy of John 3:16 and be intentional about how you live your life and sharing your faith with others in your life. Bringing daily meaning to John 3:16.

"I am going to break down each part of this verse and what it means to me" Shane Sorrentino

The gospel message to me is

"The way I do things, do you know how we all do different ways to show how God loves us. For my personal way and sharing God's love and the way I do things, my role being an ambassador, do you know how we all have different roles in sharing the gospel, my ambassador role is this means to me that get to do serving and discipleship. The way I do things with John 3:16 is how do I put God's love in how I serve people. I know God loves me so much that I get to love other people and tell them about how God loves each person. I love to speak life over people that shows God's love. I get to share Bible verses when I write to people that shows God loves them and has a Bible verse for them.

As an ambassador role, I want to share God's love and that when people believe in God they will wait to see Jesus some day and have eternal life.

This life that Shane lives is on purpose. Shane has been transformed by this verse on a daily basis and lives his life for God. He is walking out Psalm 139, He is fearfully and wonderfully made He knows God's works are wonderful and knows that full well!

Thank you for supporting FCA as Shane gets to be on staff and shares his faith in every department on some level weekly.

A Unified Church is not optional, it's missional

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 22:34:32 GMT

I work with several churches and pastors in Northern Colorado. Individual conversations that reflect passion, purpose and vision to see the gospel come alive in our community. I always walk away from these conversations with pastors encouraged and inspired because the theme is often very similar. Although most of the conversations echo similar passions, I wonder what does it look like for “The Bride” of Jesus Christ to be intentional about unity between churches, not just within churches?

John 17:21 On the night before the cross, Jesus did not pray for comfort, safety, or success. He prayed for unity —that His followers would be one, just as He and the Father are one, so that the world might believe.

A unified church is not optional; it is missional.

Unity flows from shared life in Christ, not shared preferences.
Henri Nouwen reminds us that Christian unity is forged in love, not likeness:
“Community is not an emotional feeling, but a decision to love one another.”
True unity is not the absence of tension, but the presence of grace. The church becomes one body when we choose to bear with one another in humility and forgiveness, rooted in our common identity in Christ.
Unity is visible when the gospel is bigger than our labels.
Francis Chan challenges the church to reflect the prayer of Jesus:
“Our unity should be so radical that it makes the world question why we are different.”
When churches prioritize the fame of Jesus over their own platforms, unity becomes a compelling witness. The watching world should see cooperation, not competition.
Unity is something we protect, not something we manufacture.
Timothy Keller wisely notes:
“Christians are one in Christ; unity is not something we create but something we recognize and live out.” (paraphrased)
The gospel already unites believers across denominations, cultures, and generations. Our calling is to live consistently with that reality through love, patience, and shared mission.
Unity is strengthened through shared mission in the community.
In many towns, unity becomes tangible when churches work together—joint youth outreaches, shared benevolence ministries, community prayer gatherings, disaster relief efforts, FCA partnerships with schools, or pastors praying together across denominational lines. When churches lock arms to serve the poor, reach students, and proclaim Christ, the body moves as one.

Application: Answering the Prayer of Jesus

Examine your heart: Are there prejudices, preferences, or past wounds that hinder unity? Confess them to Christ.
Pray intentionally for other churches and leaders in your community by name.
Look for ways to serve alongside believers outside your own congregation.
Speak well of Christ’s church—even when it’s imperfect—remembering she is His bride.
Ask this simple question: “How can I make unity easier, not harder, in the body of Christ?”

Jesus prayed for unity on His way to the cross.

May we honor that prayer—not just with our words, but with our lives—so that the world may know that the Father sent the Son.

Who Should Disciple You?

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:19:57 GMT

Scripture:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19–20)
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
“…what you have heard from me… entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)

Jesus didn’t merely invite people to believe; He invited them to follow. Discipleship is the slow, ordinary, beautiful work of learning Jesus—His words, His ways, and His heart—through Scripture, the Spirit, and relationships. The early church grew not just through preaching, but through people who patterned their lives after Christ and then invited others to do the same.

When Paul says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ,” he’s not claiming perfection. He’s pointing to direction. A discipler is a fellow traveler who is a step or two ahead on the same road, helping you keep your eyes on Jesus when the way feels foggy.

So, what should you look for in someone to disciple you?

1) Christlike Character Before Charisma

Gifts can impress, but fruit reassures (Galatians 5:22–23). Look for someone whose life shows love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Do they apologize when they’re wrong? Do they speak truth without harshness and show conviction without self-righteousness?

2) Biblical Conviction, Not Just Opinions

A discipler should open the Bible more than they offer hot takes. Do they submit their life to Scripture, let it correct them, and help you read it in context? Healthy disciplers help you love God’s Word and handle it accurately (2 Timothy 2:15).

3) A Teachable Spirit and Humble Posture

Iron sharpens iron both ways. Look for someone who listens, asks good questions, and is willing to say, “I don’t know—let’s study that.” Humility keeps the focus on Jesus, not the mentor’s platform or preferences (James 4:6).

4) Observable Faithfulness in Ordinary Places

Watch their everyday life: how they treat their family, handle money, respond to stress, serve the church, and love neighbors. Discipleship is often caught more than taught. If their private life matches their public talk, you’ll learn integrity by proximity.

5) Accountability with Grace

A good discipler can speak hard truths with soft tones. They’ll celebrate progress and also ask you about the areas you tend to hide. Grace without truth leaves you stuck; truth without grace leaves you crushed. Healthy mentors carry both like Jesus (John 1:14).

6) Missional Intent

Discipleship doesn’t end with you. Look for someone who expects multiplication—who invests in you so that you will invest in others (2 Timothy 2:2). They’ll help you identify where God has placed you to witness, serve, and send.

7) Prayerfulness and Dependence on the Spirit

Technique helps, but transformation is the Spirit’s work. Choose someone who prays with you and for you, who invites the Spirit into the room and relies on God’s power more than their own planning (Ephesians 6:18).

How to Begin

Pray first. Ask God to highlight someone already near—perhaps a small-group leader, older church member, or faithful friend.
Observe before you ask. Spend a few weeks watching their life and fruit.
Make a simple ask. “Could we meet for 6–8 weeks to study ___ and pray? I want to grow in following Jesus.” Time-bound commitments honor both schedules.
Show up hungry. Come with Scripture read, questions ready, and a willingness to apply.

5. Expect to pass it on. From the start, plan to share what you’re learning with someone else. Discipleship grows when it flows.

A Short Prayer

“Lord Jesus, You are the true Teacher. Lead me to someone who reflects Your heart and helps me follow You. Make me faithful, humble, and ready to learn—and then to disciple others. Amen.”

Three Takeaway Questions

Whose everyday life makes me want to love Jesus more—and what step will I take this week to invite their input?
Where do I most need gentle accountability right now, and am I ready to receive it with humility?
Who could I begin praying for now so that, as I’m discipled, I can also invest in them?

Loving Like Jesus

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:53:23 GMT

I recently spoke at a few high schools about Loving Like Jesus. This devotional is a moderately condensed version of the talk I gave, but wanted to share with you all!

The Bible speaks extensively about love—over 500 times in the NIV translation. After much prayer and study, I realized that if I could create a simple, 10-step guide to loving like Jesus, I’d be the richest and most famous person in the world. There would be world peace, no hunger, no poverty, and no hatred. But the reality is, we will never be able to love perfectly like Jesus. We will fail repeatedly. Here’s the good news: We get to spend our lives becoming more like Jesus, learning to love as He does, and then we will spend eternity experiencing the fullness of God’s love! Even though we can’t love perfectly, we can learn from how Jesus demonstrated His love.

A Moment to Reflect

In one sentence, what would you say the Bible is about?

Here’s mine: The Bible is the story of Jesus, who is God’s enduring love for us. I believe this love is revealed in three key ways:

1. A Love That Pursues

- From the very beginning, after the fall, God calls out to Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9), seeking him even in the aftermath of sin. Throughout the Old Testament, God places kings, judges, and prophets to lead His people back to Himself. Then, in the New Testament, we see Jesus actively pursuing broken, sinful people with love.

- In Luke 15:1-7 (also in Matthew 18:6-9), Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ judgment of Him for eating with sinners by teaching the parable of the Lost Sheep. He describes how the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to seek out the one lost sheep and bring it home and there is much rejoicing.

- In John 4, He goes to a well at noon—when no one else would be there—because He knows a Samaritan woman, rejected by her community, will be. This woman, who had many husbands and was considered an outcast, was one of the first people to whom Jesus revealed His full identity: the Son of Man and the Son of God.

- God the Father, through Jesus and with the Holy Spirit, is relentlessly pursuing each of us in love.

2. A Love That Forgives

- Jesus calls us to forgive one another. When Peter asks how many times he should forgive someone, Jesus answers, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22). Of course, Jesus doesn’t mean we should stop at 490 times—He’s teaching that forgiveness should be endless, just as it is for us when we seek it (1 John 1:9)

- Jesus displays ultimate forgiveness through His death on the cross. Even as He is being crucified, He pleads, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

- After His resurrection, Jesus asks Simon Peter three times, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” (John 21:15-17). This beautiful moment redeems Peter’s three denials of Jesus, demonstrating the depths of Christ’s forgiveness.

3. A Love That Sacrifices

- Right now, we are in the season of Lent—the 40 days leading up to Easter. It’s a time to meditate on the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice: His death on the cross.

- I encourage you to read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion in Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, and John 18-19. The goal is not to make us feel guilty or ashamed but to stand in awe of the extravagant love, boundless grace, and generous mercy poured out for us by Jesus. This is the pinnacle of love—God’s love pursuing us, forgiving us, and sacrificing for us. Wow .

- There is so much more to be read about God’s pursuit of us, Jesus’ sacrifice for us, and His forgiveness. Yet, if the Bible is so clear about love, why do we struggle so much with it?

The truth is, we can read the Bible over and over. We can memorize it and become experts. But unless we have a personal relationship with Jesus and allow Him to transform us, we will never truly act out of love or love others the way we’ve been commanded. Please do not hear me saying that you shouldn’t read the Bible. Reading the Bible is essential, but it’s how we read it. The Bible isn’t a rulebook for behavior change; it’s the story of God’s enduring love, calling us to move not from bad to good, but from dead to alive. We cannot love like Jesus apart from Jesus. He isn’t just a role model to admire—He is the Son of God who loves us and longs for us to know Him personally. When that is the lens in which we read, it leads to transformation by Jesus so that we can reflect His pursuing, forgiving, and sacrificial love to others.

Clarity & Platform

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 15:46:53 GMT

For the last several weeks I have been in Galatians and Romans. I’ve been considering the life of the apostle Paul. Two primary components have surfaced for me and have been filling my quiet spaces with questions and conviction. Paul not only had a reputation, but he seemed to have a platform in every city. This platform seemed to be a result of his teaching as well as his redeemed demeanor. Every single day that Paul lived, after coming face to face with Jesus, was approached with expectation and urgency. Paul did not have a transactional experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus, he had a transformation that utterly and completely altered the trajectory of his life. Lives that are changed by transaction look more like moral reformation. Paul’s life was absolutely transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. A life that is transformed transcends our own ability to reform our behavior. Our lives transformed by the love of Jesus results in a response that alters our behavior. Paul was so keenly aware that his redemption had absolutely nothing to do with his abilities, and his life’s pursuit to be righteous. Jesus paid the debt not even Paul could pay, and the response was a captivated heart with the beauty of his savior.

Paul also had significant clarity around “his sermon”. An old friend of mine wants told me that pastors sometimes take a bit to “find their sermon”. That one quintessential conviction that finds its way into every sermon they preach. For Paul, it was an amazing clarity around the gospel and the urgency to abstain, absolve and flea from false gospels. Paul was a dog with a bone regarding the gospel and how he traveled from location to location and nothing else in his life mattered much outside the gospel and the proclamation of the gospel every chance he got. The platforms that Paul had were ordained and prepared by the Holy Spirit. The gospel of Jesus Christ is what was amplified and proclaimed by Paul. I am compelled and filled with affection for the gospel, and the older I get it is quickly becoming the single thing in my life that addresses every aspect of a life long sanctification process.

Recalibration

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:47:56 GMT

In our first sermon at church this year, our Pastor mentioned the word “recalibration” and ever since, I haven’t stopped pondering upon the word. It means resetting or adjusting settings to help stay on course. Many may understand recalibration when flying a plane since pilots are consistently gauging the course to ensure they are not veering off trajectory. At home, many of us may readjust or recalibrate settings on the thermostat in our home… especially those in Colorado as we experienced a magnificent cold front across the Front Range.

How does this apply to faith? That's where it stuck out to me. Our pastor shared about recalibrating to stay on course with the Lord’s plan and using references to Jeremiah 29. The Israelites were held in captivity, yet the Lord speaks in verse 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons & daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too many have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek peace and prosperity in the city which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper (Jeremiah 29:5-7).”

Amid exile, the Lord is speaking of building houses & settling down, getting married & multiplying. Can you imagine? In the thick of surviving exile, the encouragement is to dig into it & thrive in exile. And our pastor brought up the fact that we may not be in similar exile in Jeremiah 29, however, Peter reminds us that we are “aliens and strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable desires] that wage war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11). In this world, we are captives, heaven is our home. Our world is not.

So how does that reconnect to recalibration? Sometimes our situations, scenarios, and circumstances can veer us off track. And we may even be doing all the right things in the church, ministry, home, and all our relationships. But being 1-degree off course can eventually lead to miles off course. To pilots, being 1 degree off course is detrimental enough to completely change coordinate points. Similarly in walking with the Lord, being 1 degree off course is detrimental enough to cause a mission drift. A mission drift is where we get off course of what the Lord has called us to do. Recalibration is a key to helping us realign with what God has for our lives. Even if our current condition feels like exile where we can’t get out or it is harder than we called for, we must trust in the Lord because he knows the plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11). When we recalibrate to reset our settings to the Lord’s direction, we can continue to build & thrive & plant and multiply no matter what climate we are facing.

You Are What You Love

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 18:21:46 GMT

I’ve been wrestling probably for a good portion of my life without really even knowing it. What do I love? Seems pretty easy right? Even where I spend my time and energy, does not really reflect what I love? Some of you will read this and others will not, but I would love to interact with you in this short writing if you would.

“You are what you love” St. Augustine

“Augustine's profound insights into the nature of human desires, the transformative power of habits, the significance of worship, and the practice of virtue offer timeless wisdom that continues to resonate with profound relevance in our lives. Augustine's proclamation, "You are what you love," encapsulates the profound truth that our deepest desires and loves shape our character, influence our actions, and ultimately define our spiritual journey.” https://christian.net/theology-and-spirituality/augustine-you-are-what-you-love/

Read more like the above, it’s so interesting.

I’ve been wrestling probably for a good portion of my life without really even knowing it. What do I love? Seems pretty easy right? Even where I spend my time and energy, does not really reflect what I love? Some of you will read this and others will not, but I would love to interact with you in this short writing if you would.

What do you love? Take a minute and think about it or even write some down. Some of your loves go to Jesus, to your spouse, to your family, to those special friends in your life, to your favorite hobby or past time and even to some of the foods you love. But, really what are you made to love? We are fashioned, created to love our creator God. But what are the rival gods in our life that steal our love and affection? That wastes time, that longs for fulfillment without any.

Hang in here with me. It’s super interesting that the Lord brought to me a passage in 1 and 2 Chronicles most recently through a dear friend and prayer partner. I was captivated by the heart posture and the resolve of Asa in 2 Chronicles 15. Read it. Here is the section that truly got my attention and made me wholeheartedly desire the same passion and force towards loving and worshiping God above everything else. Love creates action!

2 Chronicles 15:8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of[ a ] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

2 Chronicles 15:12 And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, t he God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul.

NOT ONLY DID ASA GET RID OF IDOLS, BUT HE MADE A COVENANT WITH HIS PEOPLE TO SEEK THE LORD WITH THEIR HEART AND WITH THEIR SOUL.

14 They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns . 15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

Ok, so that’s where I am at right now. I want my affections, my energy and time, my devotion, and the deepest part of my heart to love God. It is what I’m fashioned and created for. That’s why all the other loves of my life are so temporary and leave us so empty and wanting. I’m praying for you and I’m praying for me. May we get rid of our rival gods and enter into our love relationship with the Lord. How do we start? Getting to know our Father. Getting to know his pursuit of us through Jesus! Getting to rest in the Holy Spirit as our comforter and teacher to lead us every single day. I’m praying that Augustine’s words come true for us all,

You are what you love! May that love be for our one and only creator God! In Him and Him alone!

“Through his introspective exploration, Augustine unveils the profound truth that human desires are ultimately restless until they find their ultimate fulfillment in the divine.” Augustine.

What Am I A Slave To?

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 19:39:04 GMT

Romans 2:4 says, “it’s His kindness that leads us to repentance”. Lately, the Lord has given me a phrase to be that I have found myself asking often (and over and over), “What am I a slave to?”

Sometimes, sanctification is a little “ouchy”. Maybe you know what I mean. For me, its when the Holy Spirit produces conviction in my own heart about often sneaky ways of interrupted fellowship with the Father. But, I am also so grateful that like Romans 2:4 says, “it’s His kindness that leads us to repentance”. Lately, the Lord has given me a phrase to be that I have found myself asking often (and over and over), “What am I a slave to?” It has helped to reveal areas where I try to be in control, or I am frustrated because I need to shift my expectations, or am most confident in my abilities and strategies to solve a problem. One instance in which this came up was as I had been training for a race. There was a day that the workout I had planned got squeezed out when a number of other, more important things were placed in front of me. When my first response was immediate frustration or even worry, I practiced reminding myself that I am not a slave to this race or my training for this race.

* 1 Corinthians 7:23 reminds us that “You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men”

* Paul, James, and Jude all introduce letters in Scripture by calling themselves servants of Christ

Instead of being discouraged by the number of times I find I am misplacing my servanthood to things instead of Jesus, I have found myself (with the help of the Holy Spirit and practice choosing this response) grateful to be able to remind my mind and heart that the best and most sure place to live is in servitude to Christ and Christ alone. Maybe you will be encouraged that the peace, security, and freedom that comes as a bondservant to the Lord.

“O God you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips., when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me” (Psalm 63: 1-9)

God's Pottery Shop

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 14:08:07 GMT

My church recently went through a series on the Holy Spirit and a key point that was made during one of the sermons was “ What God forms, He fills . ” I’ve been spending a lot of my quiet time meditating and reflecting on my relationship with each part of the Trinity and on the aforementioned point.

’ve been asking the Holy Spirit to come and fill me, to form me, and that I would increasingly become more open to what He has to offer. I’d like to share some of my thoughts in the hope that they would be an encouragement to us all to let God form and fill us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.” The treasure that Paul is referring to in this verse is our faith in Jesus and the eternal hope we find in Him. The all surpassing power belongs to and is God, not fragile clay jars. Later in verse 16, Paul writes, “ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” It is our internal renewal through our faith in Jesus and our perpetual willingness to receive and encounter more of the Holy Spirit that is our treasure.

I want to be very clear that I am not an expert in ceramics, but I’ve seen movies and I know how to use Google. From limited research, pottery pieces all start as wet formless lump of clay. The potter “throws” it on their wheel, molding it, stretching, and pressing the clay until it takes shape. Then the piece is cooked in a kiln that is very very hot so that the clay is strengthened. I’ve often heard this compared to how God forms us and how our trials strengthen us like how the kiln hardens the clay. I think the risk in this analogy is that it can lead us to hardened hearts and a fixed structure.

What if we were meant to stay wet and moldable? What if we let God continue to form us in every season?

If we agree with Paul that we’re being renewed day by day, then our formation comes from the molding of the clay by our Father, and the filling of the internal space by the Holy Spirit. When we invite the Holy Spirit into our lives, it’s not a measuring contest of how much Holy Spirit you have, It’s a reflective question of how are you and where are you inviting the Holy Spirit to fill your life?

The image that has been dwelling in my mind is that of a loving Father shaping the clay on the throwing wheel while the Holy Spirit fills the jar forming the inside space. The end result is a clay jar that when gazed upon, looks increasingly more like Jesus.

My prayer for all of us is that we become more aware of the Great Potter and the ways he is uniquely forming us. And with that formation, we allow and invite the Holy Spirit to come and fill the internal space so that when we encounter others, they may encounter Christ in us and that He would be glorified.

Hope is Not an Accident

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 14:06:28 GMT

“I hope we get to go swimming today.” “I hope the Avalanche win the Stanley cup.” I have said phrases like this all my life. I began to wonder about where does this hope come from? Hope is not an accident. Hope is an indicator, it is a bi-product of something going on within. When we refer to hope based on a circumstance or a specific context it reveals our affection, our hearts attention. It is normal and good to look forward and to anticipate things in our life that we enjoy. However most of those things are temporary. Hope that is robust, sturdy and eternal is something a bit different. Developing a hope that you can build a framework to live by is a process that takes time and begins with suffering.

Romans 5: 3-4

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.”

Discipline is the path that leads us to hope. Another word for discipline is routine. I am a creature of routine. I love it. It brings order to my life that seems to be teetering on the edge of chaos all the time. Routine helps me prioritize my values and make sure the “easy path” does not become my default. My routine involves consistently doing things that are initially hard and cause suffering. As time goes by, and the routine becomes ingrained, the suffering turns into anticipation and even joy. Endurance and me do not get along. The longer I am in ministry the more I understand that endurance is an emotionless essential in the journey to hope. I’ve heard so many quotes on character and so much of my world is built around developing character in others. I’m thinking that character is revealed. Who you are, your character is revealed in tough circumstances, in mundane and easy seasons of life. Your character is who you are. Something goes wrong, do you look to blame or take responsibility? When facing a conflict, do you avoid it or move towards it? When facing an obstacle do you quit and give up, or do you try and find a way around it? Do you give excuses or find solutions? I believe it is in the little things day after day that reveal our character. These daily opportunities can help us discover where we have placed our hope. Hope is not an accident. It is the bi-product of a process that reveals either a reliance on self or Jesus Christ.

My Highest Calling

Fri, 31 May 2024 01:42:25 GMT

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3: 7-8

My highest calling

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the father through him.” Colossians 3:17

It is so good to be back from maternity leave, I have really missed having conversations with adults! Back in February we welcomed our second daughter Palmer, she is such a sweet baby and we praise God for her life and entrusting us with her.

I absolutely love being a mom, not that it’s not the hardest thing I have ever done but I love getting to witness Laine and Palmer grow and learn. Going from 1-2 children has been so much easier this time around just having more confidence as Mom and learning to trust God with their lives. I have also learned to enjoy everyday moments although extremely mundane because I know that God is always near to me even in the mundane.

As much as I delight in being a mom, I am so thankful my hope is not in motherhood. My hope is in Christ. Motherhood is not my highest calling, it is a very high calling but my highest calling is a follower of Christ. Finding our identity in Christ isn’t just a one time thing we figure out but something we need to be intentional about daily, there are so many things that surround us that we could so easily place our identity in from sports, work, financial stability and even our kids. Although all of these things are good things they are temporary and when we place our identity in anything worldly it leaves us feeling empty. Wherever you are today I pray that you can also put your hope in Christ and seek him in all that you do.

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the su rpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3: 7-8

The Power Of People

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 16:05:01 GMT

I have been reminded this last week the power of people in your life.

As we go through seasons of life- hard, joyful, encouraging or exhausting—it is always a blessing, and biblical for that matter, to walk alongside people and allow peopl e to know you.

This is much like in our personal relationships with Jesus, He wants to know us and us to know Him. I have been praying a lot about letting the Lord lead all aspects of my life, big and small. When we go through seasons where we feel stuck and unseen by so much of the world and our day to day lives, it is easy to forget that Jesus sees it all, he already knows it all and continually invites us into an intimate relationship with himself, no matter how many times we try to do it in our flesh.

Psalm 42 has been the cry of my heart for months now. It’s a passage I read, write, sing and meditate on. It challenges me in how do I long for the Lord? How do I really view my relationship with the Lord in this season of life? How do I praise the Lord? What is my heart posture?

It is easy to fall back on relationships with people and what they were, not what they currently are. Even our relationship with Jesus when it was brand new and the grace, peace, joy and love was all encompassing. We grow and change and become sanctified to be more and more like Christ. It’s a constant and evolving relationship that requires time and intentionality.

My cliché encouragement is to invite all the people in, to become more and more like Jesus together. To cry out to the Lord, and again praise Him.

Psalm 42

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, form Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Coaching & Discipline is Life Giving

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 21:04:59 GMT

It is such a joy to be called to shepherd the FCA Coaches’ Ministry in Northern Colorado! We are fortunate to have so many amazing coaches in this region and many of them are making an impact for JESUS . One of my favorite things is getting to share a weekly devotion with them. I affectionately call this MMM (Monday Morning Minute) and is intended to be an encouragement as they begin their week. I am including my most recent devotion and I hope it will encourage you as well!

Good Morning! Would you describe yourself as a COACH or as a referee? It is not unusual in the sport world to try to be both at the same time. If you look at synonyms for these 2, it is difficult to be both simultaneously:

COACH – GUIDE, MENTOR, TEACHER, DISCIPLER
REFEREE – OFFICIAL, UMPIRE, JUDGE

Although both of these roles are critical in the world of athletics – they serve very different purposes. A COACH is responsible for leading, directing, mentoring, and thus DISCIPLING! An official (thankless job) serves the purpose of protecting the integrity of the rules, making JUDGEMENT calls, thus protecting the participants.

In the “game of life” we also have COACHES and JUDGES, but the difference is man/woman are only called to fulfill one of them – DISCIPLER (COACH)! Clearly in Matthew JESUS identifies our role in this world:

“ Therefore go and MAKING DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and TEACHING them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

“And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19

The bible also tells us what our role is NOT:

 “Do not JUDGE, and you will not be JUDGED. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:37-38

As CHRIST followers we need to be mindful that our role as COACH is to care for others by leading with LOVE NOT JUDGEMENT ! We are called to DISCIPLE (COACH ) and allow ALMIGHTY GOD to do the rest!!! To paraphrase the words of JESUS when teaching his disciples in Matthew 22:36-40 – the 2 greatest commandments are:

LOVE GOD!
LOVE OTHERS!

The good news: COACHING and DISCIPLING is “ LIFE GIVING”, whereas judgment is “life draining” - and we can choose the first! There is no better day than today to get started! DISCIPLESHIP (COACHING) is an act of LOVE and MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

Blessings!

Coach Bradley

Shema

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 04:17:07 GMT

Hear O’ Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead, inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

I know we all have our daily routines, comforts and schedules. The Shema could be included in your daily routine. It comes from the books of, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21 and Numbers 15:37-4. The reason the Jewish families pray the Shema morning and evening is from Deuteronomy 11:13-21 when the Lord tells us to recite His truths when you lie down and when you wake up. What a beautiful discipline to settle our hearts and minds on our Father God when we wake up and when we lie down to sleep.

It has been my prayer, truly, that the Lord our God is the only God I serve. The one true God. So much fights to be our gods.I have so many constantly fighting for my attention. I am sure we can all count what gets our attention every single moment of every single day. How does the Lord get our affections, our time, our talents, our everything? How do we submit ourselves to the one true God, our Lord and Savior? By consistently showing up to be with Him. Reading His Word to know Him. Thanking Him for all the blessings we have all throughout the day. Consulting him in all of our affairs. Surrendering our ways for His!

I’m praying for however you spend your day, that you would consider, praying a morning and evening prayer from the word to center everything on the Lord! He is so worthy of our praises! It is my prayer that Jesus gets my first every single day! Praying for you as you head into 2024, how will you come to know Jesus more and more this year? You are loved!

A Shift from Normal

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 03:39:26 GMT

Gratitude seems to come easy when things are going exactly the way you want them to. At certain times of the year, in certain seasons of life it really is the easiest th ing in the world to thank God for everything that is going well.

But what about when it isn’t? What about when we’re in seasons of transition? When our landscape is changing and doesn’t seem like it will slow down any time soon?

I’ve recently decided to retire from a 12 year running career. One that took me to college, allowed me to check the professional athlete box, brought me to so many amazing places, and led to lifelong friendships and mentors.

While I am wildly proud of the career that I’ve had, I can’t help but think about what could’ve been. What would’ve happened if I didn’t get injured? What if I stuck it out and kept going? But biggest of all, who am I without the sport?

A passage that has been very encouraging to me as I make this transition has been Philippians 4:11-13. With verse 13 being possibly the most popular verse in athletics ministry, the lead up often gets forgotten about. But, I find a lot of encouragement in Paul’s contentment and trust in the Lord.

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

The Lord is constant and faithful. Continually just and fair. Loving and kind. And a provider in our time of need. I find myself thankful for the career that was and incredibly excited for what is to come. Knowing all the while that if the Lord was faithful then, he’ll be faithful now and again.

Thank you Jesus for who you are.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at FCA, we are praying for a wonderful and blessed time with family. And yes, there is a correct time to put up a Christmas tree and lights.

There is a Hole in my Bucket

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 17:18:02 GMT

One of the nursery songs I would listen to as a young girl was “There’s a Hole in my Bucket” and in case you’re unfamiliar with this song or are dredging it up from the recesses of your mind, here are some of the lyrics:

There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza,
There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza,
There's a hole.

Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it.

With what should I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza,
With what should I fix it, dear Liza, with what?

With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a straw.

But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long.

Then cut it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
Then cut it dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it!

With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza,
With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what?

With an ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry,
With an ax, dear Henry, an ax.

But the ax is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza,
The ax is too dull, dear Liza, too dull.

The song continues on with Henry then needing a whetstone to sharpen the ax, but his stone is dry so needs water to wet the stone but can’t get the water because he has a hole in his bucket. I always thought this was a very silly song and always wondered why Henry didn’t go and get a new bucket, or use a bowl, or at least use duct tape! Now, after completing my first 9 months in vocational ministry, I’ve realized there’s a hole in my bucket and I’m wondering, Do you have a hole in your bucket?

Recently, pastor Rich Villodas, from Queens, New York visited my church and led a leadership training. There were many great pieces of wisdom gleaned from the hour, but what I’ve been chewing on for the last week is this:

“Our doing for Jesus must be sustained by being with Jesus and the greatest gift we give to others is our ongoing transformation in Christ.”

This statement was followed up by the encouragement to be “mindful of using God-activity to run from yourself or intimacy with God.”

Alas, therein lies the hole in my bucket. Somehow in the last nine months, I’ve been using all the good God-activity, my doing for Jesus to become a to-do item rather than an opportunity to allow Christ to transform me. Somehow, in all the Bible Study preparations, the service activities, the prayer and worship times, I’ve missed out on the opportunity to grow in deeper intimacy with God.

The bucket that I use to water others has a hole in it, but I’ve been moving so quickly to pour it out on others that I’ve failed to notice that I’m ineffectively serving others. Over the course of the last week, I’ve slowed down and realized that my bucket is draining out the bottom and it needs repairing. Unlike the nursery song which ends in deadlock, our buckets can in fact be mended.

First, I think it’s important to regularly stop and evaluate our spiritual health. For weeks I’ve been pretending and ignoring that my spiritual life is the way that it is. It looks good on the outside, but internally not so much. Rather like taking a bite of a sour grape. Maybe you don’t have a hole in your bucket, but are there weak spots? Are there areas in your life that you’re missing out on intimacy with Christ because you’re too busy doing things for Him or in His name?

Second, let us confess the truth of what we find in our bucket. Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” I am so grateful for a God who is merciful and full of grace. That God desires to be in relationship with each of us. This last week, I found that confessing the state of my spiritual health to God, even though he already knows, brought such relief and freedom. I did not encounter a God full of hate, but full of love, mercy and grace. I encountered an invitation to put my bucket down and let the finished work of the cross wash me once again.

In this nursery song, Henry keeps asking Liza what to do and Liza offers solutions to Henry on how to fix his bucket which all requires more doing by Henry. How often do you look to other people, other activities, or just keep on going in hope that our bucket will get fixed? Our invitation from God is that when we find a hole in our bucket, we put the bucket down and sit at the foot of the cross and let Christ’s finished work wash us and transform us.

Fall

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 21:58:12 GMT

“All the trees are losing their leaves, and not one of them is worried about it.”

Donald Miller

I love fall for so many reasons. Yes, it is football season, and pre-season hockey has begun. The summer heat is starting to give way to some cooler days, and my buckeye tree is just now showing signs of color change. What I love most is the opportunity for routine to re-emerge in my life. After a long, discombobulated, chaotic summer calendar that truly became the lord over my life, I have spent the month of September re-centering my calendar around the idea of stewardship. Stewarding gifts. Stewarding relationships. Stewarding time. Time is the challenge for me.

“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24

The Lord has given us this day, and entrusted us to steward the time that He has allocated for us. How will I steward this great gift of time? The Holy Spirit had me start with pruning. I’ve always jumped to the idea that pruning is all about cutting away the dead branches. Yet the Lord made it clear in August that pruning is also about cutting away branches that are producing fruit in order that more fruit, bigger fruit will develop. August pruning session turned into a month like I have not had for a very long time. As the Holy Spirit graciously walks me through this season of stewarding time, I am reminded that He is the author and the loss of certain leaves in my life are not given a second thought.

Season of Newness

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 18:17:31 GMT

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gal! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. BUT this I call to mind, and therefore I have HOPE. The steadfast love of the Lord NEVER ceases, his mercies are NEW every morning. Great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, therefore I WILL hope in him.

Lamentations 3: 19-24

In the last 9 months I have found myself in a season of complete newness as a new mom. I love being a Mom to my daughter Laine but it is also one of the hardest things I have ever done. Almost everything in my life now looks different. As soon as I feel like I have this whole thing of being a Mom figured out Laine learns a new skill or two in just a day's time and leaves me feeling like I am back to square one and I really do have NO IDEA what I am doing. But I also know that God has fully equipped me to be Laine’s Mom even when I struggle to trust him. God is so near to me in the sweet moments of giggles and hugs and the really hard moments of teething, middle of the night wake ups and fear.

With a new season I have found myself in a season of lamenting, lamenting and grieving what life as I knew it looked like and the easy comfort I found while also having so much joy. What I have found to be true is God’s deep desire for his children to draw near to him in those moments of doubt, fear and confusion.

We serve a God who is always near and full of grace, but in those moments we have a choice to make, will we trust him and draw near or will we attempt to “fix it” all on our own? I am thankful we serve a God who is in the hard, messy moments of life with us in our broken world and that we can have hope in Jesus! I pray that we would remember the Gospel of Jesus Christ daily and that it would change the way we live!

Saying 'Yes' to God

Wed, 31 May 2023 23:07:32 GMT

Saying yes to God isn't about perfect performance, but rather perfect surrender to the Lord day by day.

Recently, I have been asking myself, How would my life look different if I said Yes to God every single day? Would it look different? This question came to mind when I was reading this book. The author shared all the open doors the Lord opened up for her to say yes to Him and how much of an impact it had in their life. I feel like that is pretty common in most people, they read or hear something inspiring and they change their life and create new habits for a little bit and then most likely they go back to their normal life. So how do you really change your whole mentality and create this shift to make that change and keep it. Saying yes to God sounds like such a simple task, but if you really look inward, saying yes to God means giving up control in your life.

Now, if you are anything like me, control is not something I like to give up easily. It is quite difficult for me to know I have a hand in control for every aspect of my life. Knowing that about myself I started to reflect. Why can’t I give up control over things easily or at all. Does it mean that I have a hard time trusting the Lord? Sometimes reflecting on patterns in your life is the best thing you can do for yourself, but it can also be really hard to come face to face with your struggles and especially hard when you do not know how to fix them. That is where the Lord comes in. I realize that part of my control is trying to fix my own struggles and I lack dependency on the Lord.

This author shared a story about how she listened to the Holy Spirit about giving her Bible away to a stranger and through it came an abundance of Grace and Love and sharing the Gospel to someone who came to know the Lord themselves. That was just one example she used in what it can look like to say yes to God. She then goes on to share that Jesus has such a wonderful and grand life that He has written out for us and when we refuse to listen or be obedient, it is like we are missing out on that great life that Jesus has planned for us. God reveals Himself and His activity to all of us, but very few really want an encounter with Him. Encounters cause extreme changes in OUR plans, OUR perspectives, and OUR personhood and most of us hate change.In reality, though, the very act of trying to protect ourselves from change is the very thing that makes our life the boring mess that it sometimes is. Christians often want to have this kind of relationship with God where they recognize His voice, live in expectation of His activity and embrace a life totally sold out for Him. That is the desire of my heart in this season. I have discovered that the key to having this kind of incredible adventure is radical obedience.

I think that we cannot fully experience the radical blessings God has in store for us without radical obedience. It is the road that leads to blessing. It is what happens when we say yes to God. And you won’t find the full blessing until you give walking in obedience your full attention. Obedience, however, is more than just “not sinning”. It is having the overwhelming desire to walk in the center of God’s will at every moment. Don’t stumble over fearing you won’t be perfect or that you are sure to mess up. Saying yes to God isn’t about perfect performance, but rather perfect surrender to the Lord day by day. Your obedience becomes radical the minute this desire turns into real action. Radical obedience is hearing God, feeling His nudges, participating in His activity, and experiencing His blessings in ways few people ever do.

A Whisper: The Love Language of God

Wed, 03 May 2023 20:39:08 GMT

In our walks with the Lord, I find that there isn’t such a thing as luck or coincidence, but rather it’s God’s divine fingerprints all around us. Recently this month, I felt it in my heart to open my Bible to 1 Kings, and dive deep into the life of Elijah. Amid my early morning studies of Elijah, I happened to grab a book called Whisper by Mark Batterson while at a regular discount store. I merely picked it because I love Mark Batterson, and his writing language & saw it hanging on the edge of the bookshelf before checking out.

Both the stories of Elijah and Mark Batterson’s book graciously talk about hearing the whisper of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is such an awesome teacher, and coaches us in different avenues to try to perk our attention. Clearly, I picked up that He wanted me to better understand the whispers of the Lord & I would love to pass it along to you all for encouragement!

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11-13, NIV).”

Of all possibilities, the Lord chooses a gentle whisper to Elijah to present Himself. Not a great fire, wind, or earthquake, which He has the absolute power to do. But a gentle whisper. As Mark Batterson explains in his book Whisper, when someone speaks to us in a whisper, we must stand very close to understand. Mark’s point is that God whispers, so we purposefully have a deep intimacy to stand close to hear the voice of the Lord. The Lord is the Lord of all, and He is omnipresent and omniscient, however He chooses to whisper. So that we must draw near and sit still to hear the frequency of our Father. It requires us to act in obedience of stillness & void of daily distractions and busy to-do lists.

As I was studying Elijah, the Holy Spirit illuminated this phrase “and the word of the Lord came to him” that is repeatedly found in Elijah's journey as a prophet. We see it when the Lord instructs Elijah to leave & go to the brook (1 Kings 17:2, NIV), when the Lord directs him to go to a widow for food (1 Kings 17:8, NIV), when Lord orders him to tell Ahab what he has done to Naboth (1 Kings 21:17, NIV).

“The word of the Lord came to him.”

Do you believe you have the Word of the Lord? The answer is a mere yes. The Bible is His Word. We may not always audibly hear the voice of the Lord, but in the power of His Word, we will recognize the gentle voice of our Shepard. His Word is already written out for us; poured out onto paper and the Holy Spirit will help bring it to life.

Through our willingness to sit close with Him & know His Word intimately, we will be able to fine-tune to hear the whispering voice of the Lord amid the static of our lives.

Walking With Jesus

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 23:10:27 GMT

Walking with Jesus on the daily can be such a sweet thing and at other times challenging and even discouraging. My prayer for us as believers is to find our team Jesus around us, to encourage us, hold us accountable, fight with us in prayer and rejoice with us. All for the sake of growing in an intimate relationship with our Savior! I’m praying for you to find your team! ! I hope this model from FCA is an encouragement in your life to get others around you to love and support your walk with Jesus and then in sharing that intimate and powerful walk with others.

Proverbs 3:21

"My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound

judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck.

Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down,

you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

WALKER

This is you. This is your personal relationship with Jesus. You are the only one who determines whether you move closer to or farther away from Jesus. Pursue Him with everything you have.

WATCHMAN

This is a mentor, like Paul to Timothy. This is someone who is a season or two ahead of you. They love you but aren’t impressed with you. They call you to be faithful to your gifting and speak wisdom into your life.

WORKMAN

This is a disciple, like Timothy to Paul. You simply pour into your Workman what God has poured into you. You don’t necessarily need to make more time for your Workman; you bring them with you in what you’re already doing.

WARRIOR

This is a peer, like Barnabas. This is a friend or two who you will do life with, shoulder to shoulder. These are people who love you enough to hold your feet to the fire and help you pursue your purpose. They encourage you on both hard days and great days. They also remind you that God is the one doing the work and that He desires for you to be a part of it.

Patience

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 23:03:09 GMT

You have probably heard it said that PATIENCE is a virtue. According to Websters – Virtue is defined as “behavior showing high moral standards”. So, by that standard PATIENCE is a pretty important quality that we as followers of Christ should strive to possess. Matter of fact PATIENCE is found 70 times in the bible and is the 4th fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)! Perhaps this is why GOD has given me the word PATIENCE as my “word for the year”. To be completely transparent – I LACK PATIENCE! I want what I want (funding, open doors to coaches, church partnerships, and of course plenty of toys) - right now.

There are 3 specific scriptures that come to mind concerning PATIENCE .

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.” 1 Corinthians 13:4

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Psalm 37:7

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12

So as I ponder the importance of PATIENCE , there are 3 things that become “crystal clear”!

1. GOD must be in front of everything we do, so we must wait on HIM! (Counter intuitive for a coach).

2. I must lead with PATIENCE! (After all it is the first characteristic of love from the scripture above).

3. PATIENCE is way more challenging in times of trouble and adversity, but GOD IS FAITHFUL!

I am reminded everyday that GOD DOES NOT NEED ME to make this ministry with coaches happen, but I sure do need HIM! Thankfully JESUS is PATIENT!

Blessings!

Coach Bradley

Managing & Stewarding Time

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 17:16:47 GMT

If you’re anything like me, it can be hard to manage and steward time, but one of the things lately that has really given me life is prioritizing time to be creative. One of the takeaways, from my Sabbatical last year was that we are all meant to create, but I hadn’t been creating the time for it. Being creative is one of the characteristics I believe that we actually get to share with God. If viewing Him as creative seems strange to you, just take a look around to the natural world. Or take a look at the different faces and people you walk past each and every day. He is so supremely creative- I mean there are over 10,000 different types of grass! I’m pretty sure one would have been sufficient (sorry golfers, maybe 4 would be enough for you)! Being creative or creating is slightly different for us than for God, because we take His creation and then manipulate to make something good, beautiful or new.

There are many ways to do this, but my favorite way is with food. I love everything about food- sure, the eating of it, but the appearance of beautiful food, the variety, learning about people by the way they eat and relate to food, exploring other cultures, and being able to manipulate food with my own hands. I clearly could go on and on, but in realizing the “holiness” of getting to create with food, it has been one way that I feel worshipful in the regular, everyday kind of life. I’m not great at keeping the Sabbath, but one thing for me that is resting in the Lord and delighting in Him is a cooking project. This might involve trying out a new recipe, or preparing something that requires lots of steps or a lot of waiting/chilling, resting time. I even find joy in reading cookbooks I check out from the library because the wonder of other people’s creativity and the beauty they find in food is inspiring to me. Sometimes, just getting my hands busy (kneading dough, whisking cream, stirring a sauce) or the way that different things can perfume the air (citrus zest, simmering garlic, etc.) reconnects me to the created world in a way that just feels good.

Maybe this sounds romanticized or crazy, but maybe I can help encourage you to not see cooking, eating or even the regular preparing of food to be drudgery, but full of life and worship instead. And, if that feels to hard, maybe find a friend who sees cooking the way I do and invite them to teach you how to delight in the creative act of food. Or, find what other creative act draws you closer to the presence of Jesus.

Blessings, Laura

Hope

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 02:31:41 GMT

A few weeks ago I was privileged with the opportunity to speak with the CSU football team on the topic of Hope. The timing couldn’t have been more fitting for me because before prepping for the chapel, I learned that I had hit the redzone funding status in ministry for the first time in my 11 years with FCA. I was doubting that God was going to provide for me and my family and I was doubting my calling because of the lack of current provision. As I began to study the scriptures about Hope I saw four key things that encouraged my soul as well as giving me some nuggets to share with the team. Those 4 principles of hope were:

1. Hope produces Self-Control because when my eyes are set on the hope of Christ and the rewards in heaven that are laid up for me, I can say no to the temporary pleasures of this world. 2. Hope produces obedience to God, this is crucial because when I obey God it is literally the best thing that I can also do for myself and it honors Him at the same time.

3. Hope produces love, I mean who doesn’t want to be loved! When I have hope in Christ it enables me to take the eyes off myself and place them onto others. When we all begin doing this, everyone gets taken care of.

4. Hope gives me the ability to have Joy in all circumstances. I think this is the principle that most affected me as I studied because I had lost my Joy because of the circumstances. I was only focusing on things this side of eternity. What happened after that is God lifted my eyes so that I could see His face and remember what Christ did on the cross for me, and that because of that, I am a child of God and a place where there are no more tears, no more pain, and where perfect fellowship will be had awaits me on the other side. My hope as you read this is that you too will have hope, and through that hope you will see these 4 things stirred up in your lives as well.

Finding Jesus Through Every Season

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 15:36:00 GMT

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12

In my life, I have realized that I go through different seasons. Some seasons I will be going and going and going and some seasons I will have nothing to do. Through each of these seasons I have noticed that I am always stressed out. Through either the chaos or the calm I never root myself in the one thing that never wavers, never leaves, and never moves, Jesus.
This past year, I feel like I am in a constant state of busy. I was working three jobs, then decided to focus on one job and now I am working two jobs. Everything seemed to be going my way. I found joy in chaos because I was too busy to think of what was going wrong. Even though the surface and the outside of my life looked like I had everything going smoothly, stress and loss of control were creeping through the cracks.

I have a habit of making myself busy to distract that I am just not trusting or leaning on the Lord. My biggest weakness is that I never ask myself, "how is my relationship with the Lord doing?". Jesus is funny that way, because sure enough, before I could even ask the question, my "distractions" were not working as distractions anymore.
Sometimes it's hard to find the good in every season of life. Whether that be the chaotic or the still seasons. In the last year, I have lived in a constant busy season of life and The Lord is teaching me to find Him within this season. I took all those distractions and put them to my sole focus that I couldn’t see anything else. I did such a good job with distracting myself that I had no earthly idea what to do when all those distractions stopped working. I questioned everything and truly questioned if I was happy with my life in the way it was going. All the things I was afraid to face and to feel, I felt it like a wave taking out my feet from under me and I am trying to catch a break for air.
That’s the funny thing about distractions. They are meant to be there only temporary. You’d think that I would catch on by now that distractions should not be what I am rooted in because when that temporary fix disappears I am left...trying to catch a break for air. My whole life I let other people write my story for me because I was too fearful to let Jesus lead me. How do you be bold enough to take those leaps and let God be in control when you are not spending time with Jesus.

I know the title of this is finding Jesus in the seasons, but I am still trying to figure out what that looks like for me. This season that Jesus has brought me into is the season of finding Him. How to focus solely on Jesus and not my distractions. This is the season where I learn to depend on the Lord and to rediscover my joy, my happiness, and my light .

I Surrender All

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 16:19:00 GMT

Part of growing in our relationship with the Lord comes moments of recognition. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to various truths as we draw closer in relationship with God. One of the recognitions in this season of my life is who do I know God to be? Is my knowledge and relationship with God something that I have put together from a conglomeration of ideas, feelings, initiatives, other people's experiences, books etc. Or is it based on searching for and finding the Lord in my pursuit of knowing him? Who he is! The presence of God is where we enter into relationship with him.

The Hebrew word for presence is face. God’s Presence – Panah פנה Pei Nun Hei How about meditating on this...when we are in God's presence, we are having a face-to-face conversation with Almighty God. A relationship with God. Powerful is it not? Not through someone else but through Him! I would gather that most of our understanding of God comes from outside influences and little on our own intimacy with Him personally. It is humbling to acknowledge that many of my "understandings" have been from outside influences. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for helping in my pursuit of knowing God intimately and personally. To be seen and known by my creator is the most intimate and fulfilling part of our existence. My desire is to surrender all things for more of just God.

What gets in the way of truly surrendering so that I can enter His presence and have a face-to-face conversation? Let's surrender those things so that we can enter into His presence! This is our hearts' desire: more of Him from my seeking, and meditating, from reading His word and praying, to journaling and fasting. Jeremiah is told that when he seeks God, God will be found if we seek him with our whole hearts.

Jeremiah 29: 11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord."

I want to find the Lord every single day, I want to dwell in His presence, פנה! May we hunger for intimacy with God. May we not settle for other people's stories but desire our own stories with God intimately and personally. I pray that as we seek the Lord and know him, He will transform everything about us. I surrender all! All to Jesus, I surrender I surrender all!

Reunions

Sat, 30 Jul 2022 16:55:00 GMT

It’s been fifteen years since the three of us have been in the same place together. What a gift it was to see Jake (left) and Paul (center) during our recent family trip to Ohio. Whenever I think about Engaging, Equipping and Empowering people for the work of the ministry, whenever I think about the difficult work of discipleship, these are the two guys I think about first! Maybe you’ve read Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” This process requires heat and pressure and that’s what God did in my life with these guys. God turned up the heat on me and applied pressure to me in the best sense of the word. All for the purpose of making me into the man I was created to be. Here’s the quick version of the “long haul” work God began that night.

I had recruited Jake and Paul to be in a discipleship group with me during my first pastoral job. After a few meetings, I was convinced that I needed to cancel our future times together. I didn’t think it was going as prescribed and wanted to salvage our friendship for the future. On the drive there, God impressed on me that I should open up to my friends and be honest about the hurts, hangups and habits in my life. It was an uncomfortable twenty minutes for me, but it was a clear moment of literally feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit in my life. I walked into the room scared to death! What would these guys think about me when I was done? I had never told anyone everything about me. What happened is something that we talked about even after fifteen years of being apart. God began a transformation in each one of us that night! Openness and vulnerability led to openness and vulnerability which led to openness and vulnerability. Stepping into the uncomfortable place God was calling me too, destroyed any and all barriers to our conversations from that day forward. In the freedom of the forgiveness of Christ and empowered by God’s Spirit, we began to hold each other accountable to living out our faith in ways that honored God and blessed others. Fifteen years later, each of us continues to live into that same space with others. Each of us more equipped than we would’ve ever been, had I taken the easy road and simply canceled our time together. Keep pressing on friends!

Don’t be Discouraged by Small Beginnings!

Thu, 30 Jun 2022 20:28:00 GMT

6  Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.  7  Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’[ a ]” 8  Then another message came to me from the Lord:  9  “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me.  10  Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”

Who is Zerubbabel?

He is the grandson of Jehoiachin of Judah, therefore a descendant of David and ancestor of Jesus. He was the governor of Judah after the exile. (Haggai 1:1, Haggai 2:2, 21)

The foundation of the new temple had been laid prior to Zerubbabel and the people could see that it was much smaller than Solomon’s original temple and they were discouraged and saddened. ( 2  But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. Ezra 3:12) But God says in Zech 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” And in Haggai 2:4, “But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord…Be strong all you people of the land, declares the Lord, and work. For I am with you , declares the Lord Almighty.

So let us not be discouraged by the small things or small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin! Let us remember that just as He called Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple, He has called us to our work…”For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph 2:10 BUT it is not in our own power, but by submitting ourselves to God and letting His spirit lead us and work in us to accomplish His will, which is always better than our own! ( Zech 4:6, Eph 3:20)

The Power Of Today

Sun, 05 Jun 2022 16:44:00 GMT

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matt 6:34
This verse says it all. We can so easily get caught up in worrying about the future we forget about taking advantage of the day before us! As followers of Christ – every day is an opportunity to make a difference in a world that needs “difference makers”. I feel so blessed to work in a ministry that serves coaches because of the impact they have on their young athletes. Recently one of my closest friends and mentors passed away and it caused me to reflect on the number of young people he touched. It also caused me to think about all the opportunities GOD gives us every single day. Mike Ditka (former NFL coach) once said “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why they call it the present”. Scripture tells us: “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”. Psalm 118:24 Can you imagine the impact we can have if we just share the JOY of knowing JESUS daily? This alone will allow me to slow down and see who GOD puts in front of me right now! None of us are promised tomorrow but WE HAVE TODAY! Blessings to you all! Coach Bradley

Sabbatical

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 13:35:00 GMT

I had the gift of taking a Sabbatical at the end of January. It was such a blessing, but also a great challenge to cease work for 30 days.

I want to share a major revelation during that time for me. What got highlighted by stepping away from my normal rhythms and routines was the crazy and hurried pace of life that had become my norm. Being busy alone is not the danger-work is good and I absolutely adore getting to “work” in vocational ministry.

In our world today, so much is made of what we do, produce and accomplish instead of how we relate to others, who we are or are becoming. The quality of our work is celebrated at the cost of the essence of it. The other major component of that is the urgency with which we lead our lives. This was highlighted so clearly to me one morning as I’m sitting in traffic on the way to a beach in Hawaii and I started getting frustrated at having to wait. The ridiculousness of the whole situation was that I had nowhere to be at a certain time and I was sitting with a clear view of the beach and the crystal blue crashing waves. Could there have been a better time and place to pause and enjoy the present?!?! One small change I have made upon my return is to adjust the way my phone notifies me. I have turned off text message notifications (I’m not a very good millennial since it took me entirely too long to figure out how to do that) so that my attention isn’t led by urgency. I think this became so resonant to my soul because it’s a reminder that God is sovereign and He doesn’t need me to labor for Him ,but that He wants me to work with His Spirit.

I was just so reminded of Paul’s words to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 2:14. “ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” It is Him who has the victory and through us that His presence invades the earth. Today, as a byproduct of changing my pace and by being more selective on where my attention goes, I’m able to see the small ways the Lord is moving in the lives of people around me and in my own life more readily. The good news for all of us is that He is always moving, but I’m now more apt to notice. I pray that you too might be reminded to fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, and to experience that in His presence is the fullness of joy!

A Word from Sierra

Thu, 31 Mar 2022 18:04:00 GMT

I have been reading the book Gentle and Lowly, The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortlund, for what feels like a year now. This book has challenged me in ways I struggle to put into words—and although I am already a slow reader, this is also why it has been so slow going. A brief description is this book depicts who Jesus is, His characteristics broken down chapter by chapter. “Who is he? Who is he really? What is most natural to him? What ignites within him most immediately as he moves towards sinners and sufferers? What flows out most freely, most instinctively? Who is he?”

Ministry within FCA is my life, but it is also a ‘job’. I will hope to make this clear- the best job in the world, my calling, a job for The Kingdom—but my job. Something the Lord has so clearly put on my heart is the importance of the distinction of preparing for work, preparing to disciple young ladies… this has to be second in my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray this wording makes sense to all. This book points directly to scripture and it is imperative to read it alongside the Living Word of God, but I will also say the Lord has used this book specifically to help me focus on Jesus so deeply. How each chapter has a sole focus on Him- (some examples—Able to Sympathize, A Tender Friend, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Rich in Mercy), and has helped me grow in intimacy with the Lord. Through trials I have faced in the last year, I have felt my focus become more narrow—relying on the Lord for comfort, developing deep deep trust and this book has assisted in being gracious reminders of who God is, at all times, He is everything.

I really believe this could be a word for many, not just me. I hope this transparency in my walk with the Lord is a reminder that the word of God is living, a reminder that the creator of the universe knows every part of us and places people and things in our life to point us back to Him. I am gentle and lowly in heart.

Matthew 11:29 And this is the way to have eternal life- to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. John 17:3 We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness. Hebrews 4:15

With love, Sierra Peterson

Every Overview

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 17:25:00 GMT

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." - Ephesians 1:3

When you compete like EVERY game is your last, your purpose for playing changes. EVERY rep adds up. EVERY practice matters. EVERY play counts. You give all your efforts and energies in EVERYthing you have to your sport, team, coach and even fans. Your competitive drive fuels the enthusiasm and passion you have for putting on that uniform.

Jesus Christ sacrificed His life for EVERYone. In EVERY way of your life, on and off your field of play, He is with you. He protects you. He will never leave you. EVERY day, the King of Kings calls you to the highest honor: a relationship with Him. He equips you with EVERY piece of His armor. And He blesses you with EVERY good thing because you are united with Him.

FOUR STUDIES TO HELP YOU PURSUE EVERY

MEETING 1: EVERYTHING

"And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to his plan." - Ephesians 1:10-11

MEETING 2: EVERYONE

"But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's grace that you have been saved!)."

- Ephesians 2:4-5

MEETING 3: EVERY WAY

"Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church." - Ephesians 4:15

MEETING 4: EVERY DAY

"Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm." - Ephesians 6:13

IF YOU HAVE FEWER THEN FOUR MEETINGS

These four topics were designed to fit together for a complete message. It's not recommended to completely skip any of the topics. If you need to cover the contents in fewer than four meeting times, consider these options:

- Depending on your emphasis and group makeup, you may decide to focus a bit more on one or two topics while hitting the highlights in the others.

What Does Abundant Life Look Like?

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 18:05:00 GMT

I was asked this question a few weeks back and I will be completely honest a few things came to mind, things of the world that are “promised” to bring happiness and fulfillment like life without stress, abundant finances, job security, knowing all the things and winning all the games and so on. And other things came to mind maybe more spiritual like having peace, joy, and thankfulness in every season of life no matter the circumstances, which I think are still good things. But I thought back to a conversation I had with an athlete that stuck with me. We were discussing where we had seen God’s faithfulness in our own lives and what we were thankful for and she proceeded to share that she is so thankful to KNOW Jesus. What a simple and profound truth that is still ministering to my heart weeks later. How often do we thank Jesus for his grace and faithfulness in plucking us from our lives of sin and darkness and giving us a new life of abundance in following him and knowing him intimately? When pondering this question more I came to the realization that an abundant life simply looks like knowing Jesus as Lord because for the Christian the best is always yet to come! We can rest and trust that no matter what life brings, knowing Jesus and following Him is enough and He will sustain us in each season. Following Jesus and knowing him promises a life of abundance no matter the circumstance.
“The thief comes to steal kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” John 10:10
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Integrity

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 15:41:00 GMT

After getting back from a training trip in Kansas City, I came away from that trip reflecting on integrity. Integrity is a very important characteristic that I grew up always learning that it is something to value. Why is it so important? Is integrity relative? Was I any different than those I thought did not value integrity?

Needless to say, I had a lot of questions. I did some searching to hopefully break down the concept of integrity and to see if I could answer some of my questions. I found that there are three pillars of integrity that I would like to talk about today; What we do, What we say, What we say we do.

Before I dive in, I encourage you to read this quote and reflect throughout this devotion what it means to you:

“ One of the truest tests of integrity is the blunt refusal to be compromised.” - Chinua Achebe

The first pillar of integrity talks about what we do and ultimately it is asking, what do your actions say about your integrity? Proverbs 4:25-27 says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” This verse can be a response to the quote. “The blunt refusal to be compromised” to not turn to the left or the right, but keeping your gaze directly forward. Naturally I asked myself, how does one do that? So, I reflected back to the times I could pinpoint where I did compromise my own integrity, the values that I had set before me. Some were small things and others were big things. When I was thinking about the question, what do my actions say about my integrity? I thought about what someone else told me a few years ago, where you spend your time will reveal to you what you value. Were my actions saying that I valued integrity or comfort? I know the right answer for my question, but was it the true answer? Sometimes the true answer is harder to come face to face with than just knowing the right answer and fixing it.

The second pillar is what we say. What do your words say about integrity? James 1:26-27 says, “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” In verse 26, James gets specific about what it means to obey this freedom-giving law. James insists that we reveal the character of our religion. Most Christians avoid that word. In the modern world, the word "religion" tends to be associated with keeping rituals or rules in hopes of earning some divine favor. Those who are saved by faith in Christ understand that they have already received God's favor. We seek to use His power in us to live as Jesus would, to make good choices in response to the grace He has already given to us. In other words, while Christians tend to recoil at the modern meaning of the term "religion," we certainly embrace the concept James is speaking of in these verses. In verse 27, I got to be honest, I was lost. I did not know what James was talking about or why he chose orphans and widows. James is describing something for us, and in so doing is not being prescriptive, but descriptive. Orphans and widows—the fatherless and the husbandless—easily represented two of the most marginalized and pushed-aside classes of people in James’ culture. They carried no legacy and contributed nothing to society, so society pushed them away. James is using them as representatives of the most vulnerable groups of people we can come in contact with. In a sense, he’s suggesting that we become the kind of people who move towards, give intense attention to and visit those in our world who have been outcast, marginalized and pushed aside the most. And when we do—when we step towards the hard and broken, and not away—it puts the heart of God demonstrated in the gospel on display with a purity and cleanliness unlike anything else. As Christians, we are held to a higher standard because we know the grace that God has given us and his heart to make disciples to further the Kingdom of God. So why is it important to reflect on what we say? To protect others? To make ourselves look better? What happens when you are alone? What happens when no one can hear your thoughts? These are the questions I find myself asking to practice breaking my habits when I notice myself starting to compromise. It all starts with what I say and then I do.

The last pillar is what we say we do. What do your words about your actions say about your integrity? This pillar is the one that hits closest to home, for me. Matthew 6:16-18 says, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” We live in a culture filled with highlight reels. People turn to their phones to post all their good deeds and good acts or accomplishments for others to see. One thing that I am personally guilty of. It might not always result in a Facebook or Instagram post, but instead the words that I say to those around me. I find myself doing it most when I need the approval of others instead of the Lord’s. I know that sounds backwards, but in all honesty, I do it more than I am proud to admit. Why is it so important to me to tell others all the good things that I am proud of when in my head there are 10 times more things that I am not proud of. The question that I will leave you with here today to reflect on is, What would your life look like if the inside became the outside?

After getting back from a training trip in Kansas City, I came away from that trip reflecting on integrity. Integrity is a very important characteristic that I grew up always learning that it is something to value. Why is it so important? Is integrity relative? Was I any different than those I thought did not value integrity?

Needless to say, I had a lot of questions. I did some searching to hopefully break down the concept of integrity and to see if I could answer some of my questions. I found that there are three pillars of integrity that I would like to talk about today; What we do, What we say, What we say we do.

Before I dive in, I encourage you to read this quote and reflect throughout this devotion what it means to you:

“ One of the truest tests of integrity is the blunt refusal to be compromised.” - Chinua Achebe

The first pillar of integrity talks about what we do and ultimately it is asking, what do your actions say about your integrity? Proverbs 4:25-27 says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” This verse can be a response to the quote. “The blunt refusal to be compromised” to not turn to the left or the right, but keeping your gaze directly forward. Naturally I asked myself, how does one do that? So, I reflected back to the times I could pinpoint where I did compromise my own integrity, the values that I had set before me. Some were small things and others were big things. When I was thinking about the question, what do my actions say about my integrity? I thought about what someone else told me a few years ago, where you spend your time will reveal to you what you value. Were my actions saying that I valued integrity or comfort? I know the right answer for my question, but was it the true answer? Sometimes the true answer is harder to come face to face with than just knowing the right answer and fixing it.

The second pillar is what we say. What do your words say about integrity? James 1:26-27 says, “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” In verse 26, James gets specific about what it means to obey this freedom-giving law. James insists that we reveal the character of our religion. Most Christians avoid that word. In the modern world, the word "religion" tends to be associated with keeping rituals or rules in hopes of earning some divine favor. Those who are saved by faith in Christ understand that they have already received God's favor. We seek to use His power in us to live as Jesus would, to make good choices in response to the grace He has already given to us. In other words, while Christians tend to recoil at the modern meaning of the term "religion," we certainly embrace the concept James is speaking of in these verses. In verse 27, I got to be honest, I was lost. I did not know what James was talking about or why he chose orphans and widows. James is describing something for us, and in so doing is not being prescriptive, but descriptive. Orphans and widows—the fatherless and the husbandless—easily represented two of the most marginalized and pushed-aside classes of people in James’ culture. They carried no legacy and contributed nothing to society, so society pushed them away. James is using them as representatives of the most vulnerable groups of people we can come in contact with. In a sense, he’s suggesting that we become the kind of people who move towards, give intense attention to and visit those in our world who have been outcast, marginalized and pushed aside the most. And when we do—when we step towards the hard and broken, and not away—it puts the heart of God demonstrated in the gospel on display with a purity and cleanliness unlike anything else. As Christians, we are held to a higher standard because we know the grace that God has given us and his heart to make disciples to further the Kingdom of God. So why is it important to reflect on what we say? To protect others? To make ourselves look better? What happens when you are alone? What happens when no one can hear your thoughts? These are the questions I find myself asking to practice breaking my habits when I notice myself starting to compromise. It all starts with what I say and then I do.

The last pillar is what we say we do. What do your words about your actions say about your integrity? This pillar is the one that hits closest to home, for me. Matthew 6:16-18 says, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” We live in a culture filled with highlight reels. People turn to their phones to post all their good deeds and good acts or accomplishments for others to see. One thing that I am personally guilty of. It might not always result in a Facebook or Instagram post, but instead the words that I say to those around me. I find myself doing it most when I need the approval of others instead of the Lord’s. I know that sounds backwards, but in all honesty, I do it more than I am proud to admit. Why is it so important to me to tell others all the good things that I am proud of when in my head there are 10 times more things that I am not proud of. The question that I will leave you with here today to reflect on is, What would your life look like if the inside became the outside?

Keep Pressing On

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 14:48:00 GMT

As a new school year, Fall Sports schedules and FCA Huddles are in full swing, I can’t help but think of the potential impact we can have in the lives of kids this year. Proverbs 22:6 rushes my mind back to the locker room of a freshman football game.

As a new school year, Fall Sports schedules and FCA Huddles are in full swing, I can’t help but think of the potential impact we can have in the lives of kids this year. Proverbs 22:6 rushes my mind back to the locker room of a freshman football game. The pep talk that day concerned our effort as a team, but the application would have personal implications for me: “Someone younger than you is watching, and you have the opportunity to be a great example to them. Don’t let them down. Be a leader.” That wasn’t the first (or last) time I heard this truth, but it was the first time it started impacting my decisions. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, someone is watching you. The Book of Proverbs says there are only two ways a person can go: The way of wisdom and righteousness or the way of the fool and wickedness. It seems like a sharp divide, with little gray area, though I hope it would cause us to give some thought to how dangerously close we all are to the edge of disaster. One careless word, one foolish action or one vengeful moment and people can be impacted for a lifetime. The same is true about the wisdom of our words, actions and moments. Let’s win this day by setting a good example. Be a leader today. Someone is watching you, and they’re ready to follow in your footsteps. Keep pressing on friends!

There is a Time for Everything

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 04:24:00 GMT

As we approach fall, I am reminded of how all things in life have seasons. Some seasons we enjoy more than others. For example, I love all the seasons but would rather have more of one than the other, like summer so I can enjoy the lake with my family. Or spring so I can watch all the dried-up colorless plants come back to brilliance and life. Or fall so I can cuddle around the fire with my kiddos and watch the leaves turn into magnificent color. My least favorite is winter. Being originally from New Mexico, I don't think I will ever acclimate to the harsh cold winters here in Colorado, although there is something truly breath taking about snow covered mountains.

The ebbs and flows of life are so similar to the ebbs and flows of the seasons. There is a time of planting seeds, watering and nuturing. A time for pruning and harvesting. A time to lay dorment and rest. A time to spring to life and push through. What is key to success in any season is knowing. Knowing when to push through or when to rest. In a society where it is glamorized to never rest and to be as busy as humanly possible and then some, it seems hard to ever see the season of resting, waiting, and blooming. And is the hustle life passes by, and we miss its beauty.

In our own power, we burnout. We push and push until there's nothing left. One of the biggest lessons life has taught me, and the most amazing grace is how sweetly the Lord has taught me to seek him first in all seasons. It is when we seek him first, no matter the season that we can truly rest in knowing we are in His will. Anything outside of that is merely a miss. no matter how pure the intention.

Remember today, that God has already moved mountains for you. He has sent His only son in your place. And he so sweetly has created the seasons, for I like to believe as a beautiful reminder that we too have a time of blooming, resting, starting over, and at times pushing through. Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Preparing For The Storm

Thu, 29 Jul 2021 16:54:00 GMT

It’s starting to look like that time again. The BBQ’s, pool days, and popsicles are wrapping up and the sun is setting on summer vacation. I wanted to talk about being able to thrive amid chaos and how it can reflect us living in the fullness of the Kingdom of God. This month, the parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock, came to mind. Many of us are familiar with the story, but what I learned from this story is that life rooted and grounded in the Lord can withstand any kind of weather. In a nutshell, Jesus is trying to teach us in this story that there are winds and rains coming. And although we can’t know when the storm is coming or how bad it might be, but we can prepare for them. How do we prepare? Build yourself up! When life seems to be in a slow season or not so chaotic, that’s when you start to prepare. Read books, pray, have quit times, study God’s word, be building your house on Jesus’ firm foundation. When you do these things, you will be prepared and ready for the storm. Just like on a roller coaster, life is always going to have its highs and lows through all walks of life. As you train and prepare your heart in the good times, you’re ready to take on the chaos head on.

As school is approaching, faster than we all anticipated, I want to challenge you. Do not let stress, chaos, uncertainty, or doubt shake your foundation. Prepare for the inevitable storm that is coming and be rooted in the word. Build your house on the rock. We can never know what life may throw at us, but one thing we do know for sure is that if we are building our foundation rooted in Jesus, nothing can overcome us.

Today, I encourage you, throughout every season of life, to always be preparing your heart for what the Lord has in store for you. When life is good, build your life and grow in the knowledge of God’s truth. If you seek anything from Him, make it His wisdom; the kind that will enable you to withstand the toughest of storms. As you train yourself to desire the gifts of His Spirit above all else, you will bring the hope of His Kingdom to this crazy world in a powerful way, and outsiders will watch as you weather the deepest waters with peace in your heart.

For more resources, check out https://hourofpower.org/preparing-for-the-storm/

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” – Matthew 7:24-27

Managing the Drift

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 18:42:00 GMT

Scattering of Graduates

Wed, 26 May 2021 16:01:00 GMT

Together Is Better

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 16:38:00 GMT

Becoming a Woman of God

Wed, 31 Mar 2021 19:56:00 GMT

Choosing Risk

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 18:19:00 GMT

Surrender & Deny

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 17:37:00 GMT

God’s GOODNESS from Across the World

Tue, 29 Dec 2020 19:28:00 GMT

Game Time

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 20:28:00 GMT

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

Matthew 28:19

This verse is known as the GREAT COMMISSION and is fundamental to all of those who claim the name of JESUS CHRIST as LORD and SAVIOR! In other words, it is not “Let’s Make a Deal” (thank you Monte Hall). We as followers of JESUS are “called” to disciple and to make disciples, regardless of our gifting or our circumstances. It would be so easy to ignore this call especially in a time of global pandemic while we are being told to isolate. People’s lives are being devastated every day and they are desperately searching for hope! WE HAVE HOPE IN JESUS! Discipleship is defined as mentoring or walking with someone. It can be challenging but a simple phone call, text message, or even an encouraging note can make a huge difference.

Another form of discipleship is living and loving as JESUS did. Just by loving others we will open doors that we never imagined would be open.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

If this sounds like a pre-game pep talk – IT IS!! We all need to step up our game because the enemy is not taking a COVID break! ALMIGHTY GOD IS THE MASTER COACH AND IT IS GAME TIME!! As the body of CHRIST, we are stronger together. Please know as a staff we are praying for each of you and love connecting with you.

Blessings!!

Coach Bradley

Psalm 127

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 22:45:00 GMT

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 17:42:00 GMT

Why God?

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 16:57:00 GMT

This is the question I have found myself asking GOD so many times in the past few months. We have faced by far the most challenging times in my lifetime. Never have I felt so helpless. As a coach I always felt like I had control over my program, my family, and even my life. Sure, there have been challenging times, and yes God was always present, but this COVID pandemic has forced me to seek HIM more than ever! Then when you throw in all of the racial unrest and tension with law enforcement in America it is overwhelming! As I mentioned before, I have been asking GOD over and over - WHY? The most frustrating part is I wasn’t getting an answer. Then I read Romans 8:28 :

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose”

It occurred to me that I had been asking GOD the wrong question. Instead of why, I should be asking what and how. What GOD do you want me to do so that YOU may be glorified? How am I to serve and honor YOU during these challenging times? This verse reminded me that the ALMIGHTY GOD works for good in all things!! I have my opinions about COVID and BLM just like everyone else. Our opinions are valid, but GOD’S plan is sovereign! So now my prayer is how should I respond in a Godly way. The answer is to seek HIM first!! Psalms 121: 1-2 says:

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help

comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

These are challenging times indeed, but our GOD is the true GOAT (Greatest of All Time)! Sorry for the football reference but it is hard to take the coach out of me. GO TEAM!!

Clinging to Jesus

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 16:57:00 GMT

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”

Proverbs 15:1

I have been focusing on this verse this month. One of the first indicators of my emotional well being is the words that come out of my mouth, which also reveals the status of my heart. Sometimes, when things get stressful and I feel out of control, my words become critical, harsh, and lacking in love. The past few months have been full of situations that have left me stressed and feeling out of control, but thankfully the Lord is always in control. By focusing on His words and His love I have noticed that my heart has began to change and thus my words have become more compassionate and grace filled. My relationship with those around me has also improved as my words and heart have changed. In the coming months, my family and I are moving into our new home (which God blessed us to be able to purchase) and I know that there will be more stressful situations and moments where I feel out of control. However, I am confident that by clinging to Jesus and rereading this verse, my heart and my words will be transformed, and they will be full of love rather than harshness.

Our Days Are Numbered

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 16:56:00 GMT

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne”

Hebrews 12:1-2

“If it is my time to go, then it is my time to go!” This is a phrase I have heard several times over the last six weeks. As we navigate this brief segment of history I’ve been considering the implications of some of these popular sound bites. The interweaving of God’s sovereignty on a micro and a macro level.

“When God is our Holy Father, sovereignty, holiness, omniscience, and immutability do not terrify us; they leave us full of awe and gratitude. Sovereignty is only tyrannical if it is unbounded by goodness; holiness is only terrifying if it is untempered by grace; omniscience is only taunting if it is unaccompanied by mercy; and immutability is only torturous if there is no guarantee of goodwill.”

- Ravi Zacharias

Being terrified by our circumstances can easily, and unexpectedly creep up on any of us. And yet, as I have spent more time in the word, more time in prayer, more time in meditation (wood working projects) I am filled with this unusual calm, observant awe, and genuine gratitude. As I work on a project for my wife’s birthday I have been thinking about this passage of scripture that I would like to encourage you to consider in your time of quarantine. His throne is eternal.

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:25-33

How Brownfield’s Became Family

Tue, 12 May 2020 22:25:00 GMT

Support in Multiple Areas of Life

A little under a year ago I had plans to move out to Colorado and jump into support-raising for my new ministry job with The Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I knew I had to get a job before being ‘fully-funded’ as you call it in the ministry world, basically just to pay rent. I’m a mountain town girl through and through, but living in Loveland was the most sensible for ministry. After vacationing in Estes my whole life, Brownfield’s had easily become my favorite store growing up, so of course this is the only job possibility that came to mind. My naïve-self thought: “Okay, I will work at Brownfield’s for the summer, then I’ll be fully funded and move on with my life”… The Lord has a sense of humor because (thankfully) just the opposite took place.

"We may make our plans but the Lord determines our steps."

Proverbs 16:9

I remember the first day of work going by in a blur, but after the first week I knew the Lord was already doing something so so sweet in both my sister’s and my life. How did we already feel like ‘family’ with our bosses? How did we already have such kind friends in our co-workers? Then when I found out the whole staff was FULL of believers, it all seemed too good to be true. I was so giddy to drive up to Estes every day and this was just the beginning.

"I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him."

Ephesians 1:19

Support raising is about 100 times harder than I ever expected and I found this out very quick. (For those who don’t know, being on staff with FCA you raise your entire salary, ministry budget, etc.). Sharing the vision of FCA and the burden God has put on my life to share the gospel with high school and middle school students is easy. Finding open-hearts to listen and simply the time last summer was challenging. I count it all as gain though, because relying on the Lord to provide those with faithful hearts is a lesson on patience I had been waiting to walk through. I noticed Don, Jamie and Anne intentionally cared for each of their employees in unique ways from early on and when questions started coming up about my ministry efforts and parts of my personal testimony I was elated to share. I felt at home and cared for in Colorado so much quicker than expected, which was an answer to prayers.

"Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."

Psalm 27:14

I get an email each time someone new joins my ‘Home Team’ or makes a donation to the ministry. The first four emails I got were all from my Brownfield’s family. Speechless would be a great way to describe my reaction—I hadn’t been in town for a month and the Lord was already showing me his sovereign hand through my steps towards ministry. Finances are a vital part to the Lord’s work, but it will never be about the money, in the end it’s ALWAYS about the people. It’s the fact that God had already planned each step of the journey. He hand-picked how I would be working at Brownfield’s in one of the most stretching times in my life and he hand-picked individual people to support me and partner with me in ministry whom I had just met. I believe this is God’s love on display in full force.

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other."

John 13:34

Brownfield’s is the epitome of a partner. I am so grateful that they support me in a financial way but I am more grateful they believe in me and the work I am privileged enough to do for FCA. Ministry is simply not possible without servant leadership from people like Brownfield’s management. By the grace of God I got phase 1 fully funded last month and have been loved and supported by Brownfield’s each month since moving here. I started working at Brownfield’s for a summer job, I was eternally blessed by the unprecedented partnership in life and now I will continue to go back and work every chance I get because Brownfield’s is family.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

Proverbs 27:17

Have Hope

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 19:38:00 GMT

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.” Hebrews 10:23

During this trying time, it is hard to be hopeful. We can turn on our TVs or scroll through our social media feeds and constantly read bad news about what is going on in the world. Events have been canceled, school is being done online, and sports are on a total pause. The things each of us were looking forward to are all in jeopardy, and that disappointment is hard.

But as Christians, we are called to a greater hope. Not a hope in people, in healing, or restoration of this situation we find ourselves in, but of Jesus. We can look to Jesus as our solid foundation as we hope for life to go back to normal. We can have hope because God is faithful, and He can be trusted to keep His promises to us. During these times, we can trust Him because we have seen the character of God in His Word and even in our own lives if we look for it. He loves us, He sees us, He is for us, and He is with us; not even a global pandemic can change that!

Questions to Consider:

What is something in this season you had to let go of? What can you see God doing in you because of the change in your schedule?
What does hope mean to you?
How can we live differently in these circumstances knowing that Jesus is our hope? How can you share that with those around you?

Read More:

Romans 5:2-5

Hebrews 6:19

I Will Not Be Afraid

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 21:36:00 GMT

“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”

Psalms 23:4

Wow, what an interesting time in our world and lives as we know it. Almost everything has changed in our daily lives and schedules, but I hope we can all see the blessing that can come from this time and cling to the eternal hope that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. During this time, we truly see God’s promise in Romans 8:38- 39 that NOTHING can separate us from the LOVE of GOD. We are reminded in scripture that what was meant for harm God used for good, and see this theme continue through out the Bible. As I sit back and find the good things God is doing in this weird time I praise Him for the rest, time spent in His Word and in prayer, time with family, learning to enjoy the little things in life again like taking a long walk, and of course finally being able to read the books I’ve been meaning to read for months. I hope you are all able to sit back and see God’s blessing through this time and feel His sovereign hand working all things together for good.

I am thankful for the ability to gather online with coaches and athletes from across Larimer County every week. It is a truly incredible to see the community come together during this time. This is a crucial time to come alongside coaches and athletes as disappointment and confusion starts to settle in following cancelled seasons, we continue to pray that they too would trust the Lord in this season and that they would find peace knowing their identity is found in Him. God is working in this season and it is such a joy to be apart of it.

Read More:

Psalms 23:4

Romans 8:38-39

Next Level

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 21:30:00 GMT

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.’”

Ephesians 3:20

Listen to athletes and coaches speak and an often repeated phrase you will hear is, “next level.” I want to take my game to the next level… Let’s get our team to the next level… Next level for a high school athlete refers to playing in college, while for a college athlete, it means playing professionally. Having vision, dreams, and goals are essential for individuals and teams to maximize potential.

What if we took the same approach in our walk with Christ? The verse above describes 5 levels and how God is at work to take us to the Next Level:

Status Quo – Things in my life for which I have not asked God’s help
Ask – Getting God involved through prayer
Think – Letting dreams of a stronger walk with God fill my heart and mind
More – God is able and willing to do more than even our thoughts and dreams and imaginations
Infinitely – Not just more, infinitely more!

This verse tells us that His mighty power is at work within us to accomplish Level 5 living! May we experience His power at work in our lives and may it result in Him getting all the glory.

Questions to Consider:

What things are you facing for which you haven’t even prayed (Level 1)?
What does God taking you to Level 5 look like in your daily walk? Your sport?
Who on your team will be impacted by your Level 5 living? How?

Read More:

Jeremiah 32:17

2 Peter 1:3

Philippians 1:6

FCA Northern Colorado Blog

Living Intentionally from John 3:16

A Unified Church is not optional, it's missional

Who Should Disciple You?

1) Christlike Character Before Charisma

2) Biblical Conviction, Not Just Opinions

3) A Teachable Spirit and Humble Posture

4) Observable Faithfulness in Ordinary Places

5) Accountability with Grace

6) Missional Intent

7) Prayerfulness and Dependence on the Spirit

How to Begin

A Short Prayer

Three Takeaway Questions

Loving Like Jesus

I recently spoke at a few high schools about Loving Like Jesus. This devotional is a moderately condensed version of the talk I gave, but wanted to share with you all!

Clarity & Platform

Recalibration

You Are What You Love

What Am I A Slave To?

Romans 2:4 says, “it’s His kindness that leads us to repentance”. Lately, the Lord has given me a phrase to be that I have found myself asking often (and over and over), “What am I a slave to?”

God's Pottery Shop

Hope is Not an Accident

My Highest Calling

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3: 7-8

The Power Of People

Coaching & Discipline is Life Giving

Shema

Hear O’ Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ﻿

A Shift from Normal

There is a Hole in my Bucket

Fall

Season of Newness

Saying 'Yes' to God

Saying yes to God isn't about perfect performance, but rather perfect surrender to the Lord day by day.

A Whisper: The Love Language of God

Walking With Jesus

WALKER

WORKMAN

WARRIOR

Patience

Managing & Stewarding Time

Hope

Finding Jesus Through Every Season

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12

I Surrender All

Reunions

Don’t be Discouraged by Small Beginnings!

The Power Of Today

Sabbatical

I had the gift of taking a Sabbatical at the end of January. It was such a blessing, but also a great challenge to cease work for 30 days.

A Word from Sierra

Every Overview

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ." - Ephesians 1:3

What Does Abundant Life Look Like?

Integrity

Keep Pressing On

As a new school year, Fall Sports schedules and FCA Huddles are in full swing, I can’t help but think of the potential impact we can have in the lives of kids this year. Proverbs 22:6 rushes my mind back to the locker room of a freshman football game.

There is a Time for Everything

Preparing For The Storm

Managing the Drift

Scattering of Graduates

Together Is Better

Becoming a Woman of God

Choosing Risk

Surrender & Deny

God’s GOODNESS from Across the World

Game Time

Psalm 127

Subscribe

Why God?

Clinging to Jesus

Our Days Are Numbered

How Brownfield’s Became Family

Support in Multiple Areas of Life

Have Hope

I Will Not Be Afraid

Next Level

Hear O’ Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.