Lone Ranger or Team Player? | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Are you a lone ranger or team player?  That’s a crucial question in life.  Watch this session and see why.

Game Plan:

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 9:2, ESV

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!  Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?  And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, ESV

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” Proverbs 18:1, ESV

Time Out:

Do you live your life as a solo act? Does it embarrass you to ask for help? Do you hate to show need because you think people will think you are weak? You may be great at helping others, but did you know that at the root of not wanting to ask for or need the help of others is a form of arrogance? It’s a self-handicapping attitude when you can’t admit your imperfections and need. We’re all imperfect. We all need others. We were made to bear each other’s burdens.

Go Deep:

Ask yourself what is really at the root of why you hesitate to share your challenges or ask for help?  I bet you feel ok about helping someone else when they share their difficulty or need.  Decide to be a team player. 

Choose one person that you can open up to and share with.  Give them a call, or better yet, set up a meeting.  Ask someone for advice or prayer today, and during this week.  Offer your support and prayers to someone else, this week, and for the rest of your life.  Share a burden.  Bear a burden.  Don’t isolate.  Build a team of friends in your life.

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Whose Lenses Are You Wearing | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Does life get a bit blurry when you are looking at it? Do you find yourself in some messy predicaments? Watch and consider whose lenses you’re looking through

Game Plan:

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Isaiah 55:8, NLT

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:5-7, NLT

Time Out:

Whose lenses are you looking through? God’s or your own? Consider your vision, perspective and attitude on life. Is it short term, self-anchored, performance-driven, and conditional? Does it focus on possessions, circumstances, ego, pride, insecurity and fears? Whose vision and desires for your life are ultimately better…yours or God’s? God so wants what is best for us that He even coaches us not to trust or depend on our own thinking, our own understanding and our own ways. Our ways may seem good at the time, but they lead us into some dumb mistakes and messy places.

Go Deep:

Where are you depending on your own vision? Where are you leaning on your own understanding and trusting your own path in life? Ask God to shine the light on where you need to turn your life and attitude over to the Lord. Start each day this week with this prayer: “God, give me your vision. Help me trust you and release my control to You. Help me remember that You love me and guide me to live better than I love and guide myself. Lead me. I trust you.”

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Encourage When Discouraged | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Do your problems tend to shrink your awareness to only your situation? There’s a way to get out of that cycle of discouragement. Check out the value of focusing on others when we’re feeling down.

Game Plan:

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11, NLT

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT

Time Out:

Here’s some advice that sounds backwards, “When you are discouraged or struggling, encourage someone else.” God’s ways are often upside down from the ways of society. Scripture frequently encourages us to encourage others…and that advice is not dependent upon us feeling good about what’s going on with us at the time. We are taught to follow Jesus’ example of loving people unconditionally. We’re also to encourage others no matter how we are feeling. The practical paradox is that encouraging others actually does positive things for our attitude. It gives us greater bandwidth to face whatever difficulty we are facing.

Here’s some advice that sounds backwards, when you are discouraged or struggling, encourage someone else.

Go Deep:

Do a quick assessment. How many times this week did I encourage people? How much am I encouraging my family members? People at work? Friends? I’m sure you like to be encouraged. Choose to give others the very thing that you enjoy. And remember…showing concern and encouragement for others when they are struggling is one of the ways that we can better rise above the times when we are struggling and discouraged. Let your hard times be a trigger for you to look around to encourage someone else.

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Courage to Change | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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This story is a radical case of self-examination and courage to change. I hope it empowers you to shift from victim to change agent.

Game Plan:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any grievous way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:23-24, ESV

Time Out:

Facing blitzes well begins with a long-term perspective, but you must get “nitty-gritty” personal with a willingness to examine yourself and change.

Trials, failures and losses are all opportunities to ask yourself these questions:

  • “How do I need to change?”
  • “How can I adapt?”
  • “How can I improve or mature as a person?”
  • “How can I approach and behave better in relationships?”

 

The husband in this story would seem to have been justified to blame and condemn his unfaithful wife. Yet, their reconciled and improved marriage offers some validation of his gutsy and humble approach. Humble yourself. Examine yourself. Take your responsibility. Be the first to change. You can’t change other people anyway.

Facing blitzes in life requires you to get “nitty-gritty” with yourself and be willing to change.

Go Deep:

If this message rubs you the wrong way or makes you squirm a bit…it’s a signal that humility might be your deficit. God loves to respond supportively to people, but He is looking for a broken and contrite spirit. Broken and contrite means we have humbled ourselves and are truly sorry to God for our flaws of character and offenses toward Him and others. If you want to demonstrate courage and learn what needs to change in your life, start by asking God to search, examine and guide you to change.

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Think and Act Long Term | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Need some help and inspiration to keep the long run in view? Check out this single mom’s example and some eternal perspective that impacts the here and now.

Game Plan:

So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” I Peter 1:13-16, NLT

Time Out:

Are you ruled by your feelings? Do circumstances swing your moods and reactions? If so, you are going to have a hard time behaving in a way that improves relationships and leads to good outcomes. A long-term view is such a huge help in the face of trials and disappointments. Eternity is the longest time horizon, but it’s much easier to grasp if you dwell on the person who defines eternity and personally came to offer our salvation.

Start with the end in mind. When you die, will you be with God forever or not? Think…and act long-term.

Go Deep:

Start with the end in mind. When you die, will you be with God forever or not? Christ has graciously offered salvation to all who accept and trust in Him alone. That future with God is also our present. It calls us to a new and free way to live…obedience and holiness…no slavery to selfishness and ugly consequences. To put all your hope in Christ for salvation leads to self-control and actions of love, rather than reactions of selfishness or fear. Think…and act long-term.

 

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Preparing for Life…NFL Style | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Does life seem way too complicated to prepare for its many options? If so, check out what NFL teams do and then look at the one person who can simplify it all.

Game Plan:

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8, NLT

Time Out:

Preparing for the myriad twists, turns and blitzes of life can seem a lot more nebulous than what NFL players and coaches prepare for each week. Yet, our lives are way more important than football games. Here’s the only crystal clear approach to the unpredictable array of challenges and circumstances you will face… prepare for life by deepening your faith in the Lord and developing His character in yourself. Trust, hope and confidence in Christ come from examining His life and words, learning about His eternal Kingdom and adopting His character of humility, love and servanthood.

Life will blitz you. How you prepare before the blitz will be the key to how you handle it when it hits.

Go Deep:

Prepare your life strategy:

  • To develop a Long-Term View, aim your life toward Heaven and Christ’s reign in your heart.
  • To Be Willing To Change, make it your daily prayer and goal to “conform to the character of Christ”…humility, submission, love, sacrifice, patience and servanthood.
  • To Focus On Others, ask God to use you to bless, lift and encourage others. Then get ready for the tough battle against your selfishness!

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God is with You in Crisis | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Nothing makes us more vulnerable than tragic and painful stuff that happens to our children. Here’s inspiration from parents who have faced the nightmare of critical injuries to their daughter.

Game Plan:

“When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” John 11:33-37, ESV

“Hear my prayer, LORD, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping.” Psalm 39:12, NIV

Time Out:

When something terrible happens do you sprint to God? Is He your first and only refuge? Consider the way Jesus wept when he experienced the sorrow and loss of two sisters when their brother Lazarus died. Consider the emotions gushing from the Father in Heaven when His son was betrayed, arrested, tortured and crucified. God feels your feelings deeper than you. Faith in Him is the answer to every tragedy and every fear. His love transcends fear.

Go Deep:

Find a quiet spot and have a conversation with God…for at least 15 minutes. Ask Him to help you feel what Jesus felt when Lazarus died and what the Father felt when Jesus died. Thank God that He raised Jesus to eternal life. Thank Him that His love, His presence and His power are available to you. Decide to sprint to Him in any challenge.

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Raising Marriage from the Dead | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Have you had it with your marriage? You’re just so done with trying and hoping? Time to give up and just let it die? Maybe this story and remembering how big God is will be just what you need.

Game Plan:

“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 NLT

Time Out:

When people betray us, the pain is like a fire in our gut. When we are unfaithful in our marriage, the guilt and the consequences are huge mountains. We ask, “Will these painful consequences ever end?” “Will my spouse ever quit throwing this in my face?” “Are trust and love dead forever?”

Are you bitter or hopeless? Does the pain and discouragement still overwhelm or dominate you? If so…maybe your only medicine is God. Only He is bigger than any circumstance, able to forgive any sin, able to raise His Son from the dead.

Go Deep:

Do you believe God is real? Do you believe He created the world? Do you believe He raised Jesus from the dead? So why don’t you believe He can forgive you? Why don’t you believe His love is enough for you to forgive your spouse? Why don’t you believe He can raise your marriage from the dead and heal you both?

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Quarterbacks & Receivers…Investors not Consumers | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Have you been waiting for your spouse to apologize? Have you been hoping he or she would treat you better? Have you been hoping your kids would quit frustrating or disappointing you? You probably need this message.

Game Plan:

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” Philippians 2:3-4, NLT

Time Out:

Have you built up a list of expectations that’s way longer for others than yourself? Do you think you deserve better than this? Are people letting you down? Here’s a wakeup call: ARE YOU LIVING LIKE A CONSUMER? Relationships are to be invested in, not consumed from.

Go Deep:

Ask God to kill your pride and selfishness. Admit. Apologize. Ask forgiveness. Invite God to help you become an investor. Change your mindset. Set some new expectations and high standards. Decide to demonstrate more kindness, more gentleness, more consideration and more honesty wrapped in love. Be an investor, not a consumer. Be first to apologize. First to forgive. First to compliment.

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Throwing the Perfect Pass | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Do you often get disappointed by people? Are you frustrated with certain people? Have you gotten lazy or fallen into some negative habits in how you speak to the people you love, and to people in general? Maybe its time to raise your standards…for yourself, not others.

Game Plan:

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”   Ephesians 4:29 NIV

Time Out:

Are you a person of high standards and high expectations?  OK.  But, are your standards and expectations mostly about how other people treat you?  The key to great relationships and thriving in life is to demonstrate high standards in how you speak to and treat other people.  It’s way more successful, and less frustrating, to build your expectations around what you can control…how you consider, speak to, encourage and build up other people.

Remind yourself every morning to be an investor in relationships, not a consumer.

Go Deep:

Go to the notes section of your phone or laptop, or get a pen and paper out. Write down three standards for how you want to treat and speak to people. Remind yourself every morning to be an investor in relationships, not a consumer. Stop expecting perfection from other people. Expect more from yourself…more kindness, more truth and more encouragement

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