I spend a lot of my free time working out and training. Lately, I’ve been putting a lot of energy into training for bouldering (rock climbing without a harness, up boulders). Having strong muscles helps, but the secret to being a good climber is having a strong core. I was trying to climb a competition route when I found this out. After falling from the top several times, and finally giving up, an onlooker suggested I spend some time on specific muscles in my training. The next week I finished the route my first try! When I started focusing on what mattered, I got stronger.

When I trained my core, I got stronger. Your core is mostly identified by your abdomen, but includes your whole torso. A developed core brings unity to the whole body, and allows the muscles in the body to work at their best. Without a core, muscles work individually and rely less on help from other parts of your body. The daily activities we do all include full body strength that rely on our core. Just as I trained my physical core, I need to work on my spiritual core even more because it’s the one that counts.

“For the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). This verse showed me what I have been missing and what’s important. I need to be focusing on the things that really matter—the things that are for the kingdom of God!

The traits of my spiritual core are the same as my physical core. If either is weak, I crumble: if either is strong, everything in me is stronger. I can’t train my spiritual core by doing crunches. To train my spiritual core I must train in godliness. There are problems in my spiritual life that will easily be solved with a stronger core. By focusing on becoming a stronger man of God, I will benefit in this “present life and also for the life to come”!

Father, I pray that my training will show great results, and I will begin to focus more on the things that matter eternally! Amen.

I started running cross-country the spring of my freshman year. By the time summer came around, I was running 50 miles a week! When school started back and our team began running together, I found I was in great shape! Because of the time and effort I had put into training, I was able to run varsity!

Yet, in all my training, I neglected one very important thing: good nutrition. My shins began hurting when I ran, and after many tests and doctor visits, I was told my shins had developed tiny holes throughout them. This was awful news; it meant I had to stop running.

Running 50 miles a week will get you skinny—for me, too skinny. After I was injured, I decided to gain weight. I read that to gain weight you needed to eat more, so I doubled my calorie intake, protein intake, as well as fat intake!

After about three weeks of no change, I started doing research. I came across a line that I’ve heard my entire life, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This simple truth echoed in my head, and I realized what I had done wrong all along. Once I started eating breakfast, my body adjusted to the weight I was seeking!

The same thing happened in my relationship with Christ. I discovered that I can “train” by attending worship services, reading books, and listening to preaching, but until I get the nutrition my soul needs, I’m vulnerable to a weak spot breaking!

In Jeremiah 31:25, God says, “For I satisfy the thirsty person, and feed all those who are weak.” I get thirsty and weak! Everyone gets thirsty and weak! I just had to realize I was weak before I was strengthened. If I don’t realize I am weak, then I think I am strong.

Once I realized I was only “training” but not getting the nutrition my soul needed, I began eating breakfast with God. Just like the holes that developed in my bones healed, my relationship with Christ gained the nutrition it needed and became more and more solid.

There is no reason for me to not stuff my face with God’s Word! I made the choice to starve myself in the past, but no more! I have found a hunger for the Lord and plan on not letting it go.

“God, I thank you that you are the Bread of Life! Increase my hunger for you and your Word!”

Sniffing the air, the sweet aroma gently caressed my nostrils, Aw, if ‘Perfect’ had a scent, surely it would be thee! Few smells can stir such emotion, or command such passion as the glorious fragrance of–a hockey bag. Each piece of equipment uniquely perfuming the air: the odor of sweaty shoulder-pads bringing back my first childhood game, the scent of moldy shin pads rekindling thoughts of glorious goals. The time has come after four-year hibernation from hockey, I would return to the ice–and recapture my former glory.

Having recently migrated from hockey-crazed western Canada to if-its-not-football-its-not-a-sport South Carolina, I vowed to educate these ‘Southerners’ on a thing-or-two about our “Canadian game.” Enrolling myself in a local adult hockey league (aka ‘washed-up-has-been-league’), I arrived at the rink for game one and marched into the dressing room. Today the prodigal son comes home, I thought to myself.

All eyes turned to me; the aura of my veteran presence reeked with authority. “Boys,” I barked, my teammates snapping to attention. “We’ll play a tight left-wing lock, quick D-to-D up-ice transition, aggressive fore-check…then light-the-lamp!”

Stepping onto the ice I immediately burst off, darting around like “The Flash.” My leg muscles began to tingle as they woke from their prolonged slumber, but understanding that my team relied on me to set the standard, this warrior battled through the pain! “AHHH!”

A burning sensation manifested in my upper thigh, as sweat rained down my brow, flooding the ice. Legs shaking uncontrollably, yet still I torturously pushed my wobbly body across the ice. Puke climbing up my throat and vision going black, I released one final agonizing scream before collapsing in a mangled heap to the ice.

Gasping desperately for breath, I stared up to the ceiling. I could faintly make out Saint Peter waving me towards the pearly gates. Each muscle too devastated by the pain to rise, I smiled as I heard a teammate skating towards me, undoubtedly rushing to aid his motivational leader. In a perfect moment of brotherhood he called my name, inspirational music playing through the loudspeakers, “Daniel…get up…The five minute pre-game warm-up is over; we gotta start the game now!” Lord take me home…

Many times Christians make the same mistake that I foolishly made, relying on previous experience or training to satisfy their current situation–perhaps a mission trip, or a Christian camp where God deeply moved them, or maybe just a period of time where they experienced a solid, and continual devotion or quiet time. It’s easy to simply coast with the knowledge or experiences we’ve had.

This however, is not what God intended. He calls us into an ever-growing relationship with Him; we must be daily obedient and open to His guidance. The experiences we may have had last summer may not be adequate for the trial or task God knows is just around the corner.

Just like our human bodies, our spiritual bodies need to be continually trained and exercised if we wish to maintain a healthy and abundant relationship with God. Have you been training lately? Or have you been merely relying on previous training to sustain you?

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

Blood ran thick with battle lust. The line between friend and foe became blurred. The fierce would defeat the fainthearted in pursuit of the ultimate prize. There would be casualties, but that is the price of war. It was sixth grade class presentations and only one set of parents would be left standing.

My class was studying ancient Greece and every student had to do an oral presentation. My worst nightmare came true when a fellow student made his presentation on the Parthenon—complete with a scale model his architect father ‘helped him’ construct. I was devastated. There was no way I could compete with an architect’s masterpiece! I sullenly informed my parents of my plight and they leapt into action. Because I loved Greek mythology, we decided to build the famous labyrinth. However, as the creative juices started flowing, my elementary grade input quickly diminished. My enthusiastic parents had a single-minded mission—take out the Parthenon! I was soon pushed to the sidelines as my obsessed mom and dad worked through the night. The next morning I saw the final product. My bleary-eyed parents greeted me with a victorious smile. “Isn’t it magnificent!?” they asked. It was! I aced my presentation and my project became the talk of the class. However, it was not my victory; that belonged to my parents. Suddenly, beating the competition didn’t feel so sweet.

I like to dream big. My head soars into the clouds as I consider all the ways I want to serve God. Meanwhile I grow discouraged when I get stuck doing “small” things. I have recently moved from Canada to North Carolina. I was heavily involved in my old church, but now find myself without one. In my search for a new church family I have been learning an important lesson: God entrusts you with what your character can handle. The size of your character determines the size of your divine assignment. Just as my parents worked at a different level on the labyrinth than I did, so I am also on a different level in my walk with God than they are. I admire their faith but I know how they got there—they have been faithful over the years to do whatever God asked them, whether it was small or large.

Jesus told a story (see Matthew 25) about a traveling man who left his servants in charge of his wealth. When he returned, two of the servants had doubled what they started with. Because of their faithfulness with a little, their master entrusted them with much more. I have to ask myself—am I like these servants? Have I been faithful with whatever God asked me to do? Or am I like the third servant who envied the other two while neglecting his own duty? This is a humbling, yet growing time for me. God’s Word promises that the more faithful I am with God’s Will now, the more my character will grow, and the more I will be able to handle tomorrow.

There are just two things about my summer that I didn’t like – the seven-hour flight to Anchorage and the half-hour flight to Kenai.

Most flights from Anchorage to Kenai seat less than twenty people. Our plane held ten people, including the pilot. And before we got on, we had to tell them how much we weighed! If you’ve never been on a little plane before, let me inform you of the difference between that and a 747 aircraft. The flight on a 747 is relatively smooth, with bathrooms, air vents, personal lights, jet engines, and several pilots. Smaller planes do not have bathrooms. Neither do they have lights, or even barf bags. They have sharp, fast propellers. We had only one pilot, and my 12-year-old brother was sitting in the co-pilot seat!

When I flew in that tiny plane, the sun was completely hidden by fog. It was very foggy. We were up in the sky for about twenty-five minutes, and about half that time all I could see out my window was whiteness. Not that I looked out often. I spent most my time with my eyes squeezed shut and my hands clutching the seat, reciting in my head every single Bible verse I could think of. When I could work up the courage, I would crack my eyes open a little to look out the window. If it was still white, my eyes would shut quicker than a bug splat. It probably would have been better if I could have sat by my Dad, but since the seats were in two rows of five, and my family was all in my row, I couldn’t see any of them. Not that I could have communicated with them, because the engine was so loud. After about two hours (or twenty minutes), I heard someone talking. I opened my eyes to find that I could see the ground, and the pilot was telling us something. Since the engine was so loud and he didn’t have a loud speaker, I couldn’t hear him, but I assumed correctly that he was telling us we were landing. I’m sure no one has ever been so relieved. Later I told my mom that hell was not dark and blazing…I’m sure it’s white and thrums like a prop engine!

When I was up in the air, scared to death, I found myself only being able to remember the verses I had learned when I was little, like Genesis 1:1 and John 3:16. Right now I can remember more than that, but I’m not in any danger (or imagined danger). My purpose for memorizing verses is so I have them in times of need, like when I’m scared or being tempted. So this paragraph is more of an application than a lesson. I need to memorize more Scripture, and memorize it well.

I am a task-driven person. My brother and cousin are much different. They represent the attitude of “It will get done eventually, so why worry about it now?” When we recently took a forty hour road trip, conflict was inevitable.

I was determined to leave by 9AM on Monday morning unless some sort of natural disaster hit (in which case we would leave at 9:30). But by the time the other two said their good-byes, went out for breakfast, packed their bags, found their passports, and re-packed their bags, it was nearly 10:30! When I finally got them in the car I was determined to put some miles on the speedometer before the entire day was lost! By the time we pulled up to a Motel 6 it was nearly 2 in the morning and I was not a popular leader. I marched in, demanded a room, and dragged my party upstairs. I approached room 209 and stuck my key in the door. Nothing happened. I tried again; still nothing. I was growing impatient, so I did what any intelligent man would do; I tried it again. With the door still locked I turned to my cousin and ordered him to try his spare key. In frustration, he began swiping his card in and out of the door lock as fast as he could. It sounded like a woodpecker was pounding on the lock until it was drowned out by an even louder noise. This noise, however, came from inside the room. I thought we had just awakened The Cave of Wonders when a booming voice rang out: “WRONG ROOM!” My cousin turned white, “Ok,” he squeaked. I sheepishly pulled out the receipt to discover our room was number 219 not 209. My popularity had just taken another dive!

In my Christian life I often find myself rushing to serve God, but failing to check with Him first. When it seems like God is not blessing my efforts, I get confused and angry. I cry out in frustration because I am serving Him with all my heart and He doesn’t even seem to be happy with me! This is when God gently reminds me that He is the Lord of my life. He has a will; I was just too busy to listen. We can get so caught up in serving God that we don’t seek His will first! It’s no use pouring our hearts into serving God if it’s not what He wants us to do. Had I taken the time to listen at the front desk of the hotel I would have known that, no matter how hard I tried, my key would not work because it was the wrong room. The next time we attempt something for God, let’s wait on Him to give His approval first, otherwise we may get stuck at a locked door.

Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

When I was little my favorite game to play was hide and seek. It was my favorite because I was good at it! I could fit in those hiding spots that people wouldn’t even think to look at! In my early days of playing hide and seek, if I wasn’t found I would get tired of waiting and just come on out. Sometimes I would make funny sounds to try and be found after what seemed like an eternity of waiting! As I played more and more though, I developed a love for being unfound, and could stay in my spot all day!

In the game of hide and seek there are two perspectives, the hider and the seeker. I see that we as followers of Christ are supposed to be both. We are supposed to hide away from distractions, to seek God! In Psalm 32, David proclaims the greatness of finding God! David declares that the Lord is his “hiding place” and how God surrounded him with “joyful shouts of deliverance.” What I love most about this is that God has promised us that we can also find Him! In 1 Chronicles 28:9, David tells his son Solomon, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you.”

We have God’s promise for Him to be found! For many followers of Christ, this “hiding and seeking” concept might sound a lot like something they heard of called a “quiet time.” Well if I may refer again to Psalm 32, David proclaimed how God surrounded him with “joyful shouts of deliverance!” That doesn’t sound very quiet to me. Later in verse 11, David even says “shout for joy!” If you remember, I said that I used to only be able to stay in my hiding spot for a few minutes until I would come out, or make funny sounds to be found. Well, my love for hiding and seeking has not stopped growing. The more I hide and seek, the more intimate I get to the Lord, and the more intimate I get with Him the easier it gets to live in Him and not in my flesh!

I encourage you, Hide and Seek! Get away from the world, and seek Him. Then, come back here and share what God did!

I have a wild imagination, so a couple days after seeing The Dark Knight I remained a prime target for a scare. It was about 11:00 p.m. and I was in my apartment when something caught my eye. I dismissed it as a mind trick but the hairs stood a little straighter on the back of my neck. Out of curiosity, I decided to check my window (it is the perfect size for a psycho clown to enter!) when a figure jumped from the shadows and pounded the window, shrieking at the top of its lungs.

Now, every man plans for a situation such as this. They dream of calmly defending the attack with expert karate moves while casually bantering with their foe over the death of their father until defeating the enemy and leaving him tied up and unconscious on the doorstep of the police station. Unfortunately, this is NEVER what happens.

After I pried myself off of the ceiling, collected my wits, and changed my shorts, I walked to the window to find my friends Michelle and Kristen. When they finally stopped laughing at me, we had a great discussion on the new Batman film. While we were talking, Michelle brought up an excellent observation. She pointed out the contrast found in the character of Harvey Dent.

In the beginning of the movie, Dent is a hero who stands for everything right. However, Dent’s life is altered by a series of tragic events, including severe burns to his face, and he becomes evil. Or does he?

Michelle pointed out to me that the evil was there all along; it was only exposed later. Dent had some serious character issues from the beginning, but he hid them well. However, trials have a way of bringing out either our best or our worst qualities.

When do we find out the most about ourselves: during easy times or hard times? I have found that the trials of life always force me to look long and hard into the mirror of my soul. These are also the times I am the most desperate for God. Psalm 66:10 says, “For You, O God have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.” Silver is put in the fire so that everything of no value can be burned off, leaving only the most precious material. God may allow us to go through hard times so that our true character is revealed. Although we may not realize it at the time, He does this out of love. He wants us to become beautiful silver, without all the unattractive rock surrounding it. Trials show what is keeping us from being all that God wants us to be. We are left with the choice of giving in to our dark side or allowing God to burn it away. So the next time God holds up a mirror to your character, don’t be discouraged by what you see; He is showing you a work in progress, and the response is up to you.

The anxious crowd rose to their feet in hushed anticipation. The perfectly spiraled football soared over the field in a majestic arch. A titanic duel between rival teams had come down to an epic finish. Trailing by one, mere seconds to play, our quarterback had heroically marched his soldiers down field with pin-point precision and clutch execution. Staring at the end zone and an improbable win, it was all-or-nothing time…It was Daniel time…

The church college ministries from my city annually rent the professional football stadium and battle for the prestigious spray-painted golden football. The only problem is that, well, I’ll never be mistaken for Tom Brady. Football was not my sport as a child, and my body has failed to maintain its gazelle-like agility since then; having been quickly replaced by twenty “college-pounds.”

The day before the tournament, my brother offered to toss the old pigskin around for practice. I kindly thanked him but informed him I would prepare mentally instead, then proceeded to plop myself down, jumbo bag of stale Cheetos in hand to play Madden 08 on my Xbox.

The next morning I arrived at the field- my face covered in Akkadian warrior battle paint. The eyes of the opposition went wide. I sniffed the air…it reeked with the stench of fear…

Pre-game warm-ups began, but I elected to stay on the bench and guard the half-time snacks. A friend offered me a water bottle, just as two fan-girls skipped by. With a grunt I snatched it…and chucked it into the bleachers, “water is for the weak…”

We dominated game one. Our quarterback made perfect throws, our receivers made routine catches…I ran around aimlessly spouting off annoying trash-talk…

Game two followed the same game plan, but we fell behind. The opposition had opted to use double coverage elsewhere, foolishly leaving me unchecked, apparently realizing that in two games my quarterback had avoided me like the black plague. But on the last play, game on the line, the unthinkable happened…the ball was thrown to me…

Well actually it was thrown to Rob, but due to a combination of overthrowing and Rob tripping, the ball came sailing towards me. Unsure what to do, I went airborne, extended my hand…and…SNAP!

One sprained finger and fumble later the game was over….there’s always next game right?

Christians sometimes make the same mistake in their walk with God. They let their relationship with Him play second string while things are going well, but attempting to make it right again when a trial hits.

My pastor once said, “Crisis is not the time to be mending a relationship with God, it’s the time to already have one in place.” Unfortunately, I know for me this is not always the case. I am often too busy or preoccupied to say more than a rushed prayer, and I commit to just read ‘twice-as-much’ of my Bible tomorrow morning when I don’t have time today.

A crisis could be just around the corner. It will be game day again soon. Are you adequately prepared? Will your life make a difference? Will you be victorious?

But I discipline my body and bring it under subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 1 Cor. 9:27

Gas prices have now officially gotten too high for me. I am riding my bike around my hometown, and I have to tell you, it isn’t the best way to get around. It is hot outside, and I work up a sweat without the sun burning into the back of my neck giving me a very unusual tan. I have gotten in biker shape though! Now that I think about it, my rides aren’t as bad as they use to be; actually, I love to ride my bike! When I first started out, my thighs and calves felt like they were going to fall off; they were SORE! They don’t hurt though anymore. You know what? I could ride all day and not get sore!

It is funny to think about how I get better at things. I remember the first time I rode up Chickamauga Drive. Geographically, I don’t have to ride up it; but I knew if I rode up this hill, it would benefit me in the long run. The thing that makes this hill different from other hills is that this hill should be considered a small mountain. It is about a fourth of a mile and, not even kidding, just short of being completely vertical. I knew if I could ride up this hill, I could ride up any hill. This would be my benchmark to overcoming any sized hill I would ever encounter. I rode my bike to where the hill began and began to peddle towards certain pain and discomfort. As the front tires of my bike began to rise in elevation, my legs were working to their full potential. After what seemed to be an eternity of enduring pain, I reached the top!!! I looked down and saw the ground I had just ridden up. I had accomplished a hill bigger than any I had ever seen! I was ready to collapse; but I had done it!

I rode up a mountain so that a hill would be seen as just a bump.

In Romans chapter 8, verse 18 Paul writes, “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be reveled to us.” Oh man! Just how I rode up Chickamauga Drive, though it was painful, the result of my “suffering” brought me strength and made all other obstacles look puny! What I have learned is that the times I have difficulties, Christ uses them to bring Him glory! Not only to show His strength in my weakness, but to draw me closer to Him and prepare me for even harder times!!

Just like my mountain, I don’t have to do things that are hard. I don’t have to follow Christ, but I have chosen to. Since I have chosen to, I AM going to do things that will bring glory to God, and I AM going to grow stronger in Christ. I have made that decision; will you make it with me? Will you join me to stop being lazy and begin to do things that require us to grow?