Motive (Galatians 2:11-21)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “motive.” Being a Christian is not always the easy thing to do. In the NT, Paul had to confront Peter about some stuff that he knew should be changed. Imagine standing up to the guy that JC said, “Hey brutha, I’m gonna build my church through you – The Rock!” Well, it was something like that. Paul knew he had to choose his words carefully, knowing that all the peeps would be there. He chose to enter the situation with the right motive…

“When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”

~Gal. 2:14

Can you imagine how tense that confrontation was? My question is: When living among other believers, what are you motives? As believers we are called to help in every situation… and never to humiliate. My prayer for you is that God would give you pure motives in your life with one another as teammates as well as your relationships outside of the pool deck. It’s gonna be a great week!

Praying for you,

mo

Search (Romans 8:26)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “search.” After telling us that the law of God’s spirit has set us free from a life of sin, Paul then explains what that kind of life we should live. Paul was intent on helping people understand that God has cool stuff in store for those who believe. The Creator searches our hearts to help us realize the love we are given…

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings."

~Rom. 8:26

Sometimes we do not know what we want. Actually, sometimes we think we know what we want and then God helps us see something completely different. My question is: do you allow the Spirit to search your heart? When we open our lives to God we are freed from all other distractions. My prayer is that the Spirit fills your heart with a yearning for God. The more we let God in, the less of the old self dictates our actions.

Praying for you,

mo

Deliberate (Acts 9:1-20)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “deliberate.” Saul never made it to Tarsus with the same name. God knew what he was doing in the life of that man who would eventually be known as the Apostle Paul. This transition was a pretty big deal because this guy was a Hebrew… and a Pharisee! He studied under a prominent Jewish leader of the day, and had mad Scripture skills. He was a Roman citizen, dope communicator, and leader. He was prime for God’s divine intervention.

So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! But stand up and enter the city and you will be told what you must do.”

~Acts 9:5-6

God is always deliberate with his plans for us. We just have to be intentional about listening and watching for those plans. Question: how has God been deliberate in your life with the stuff you could do for the kingdom? Being a student-athlete gives you a platform to accomplish a ton for the Lord’s purpose. My prayer for you is that God would reveal the plans he has for you in your life. Be deliberate in all aspects of life, knowing that God has a favorable hand on you.

Praying for you,

mo

Altar (Exodus 30:10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “altar.” Back in the day this was a pretty big deal for God’s peeps. Once a year the high priest would go to the most high place and sprinkle some blood for the sin offering to God for atonement. Everyone was counting on this so that they could be made righteous again in the eyes of the Lord…

“Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD.”

~Ex. 30:10

How awesome is our God. My question is: when is the last time you went to the altar of the Lord and took care of business? The coolest part about believing in God and his son, JC is that we have direct access. My prayer is that each of you take time to sit with God and allow him to speak into your life. Allow God to change you and he will. The Creator is continually shaping you into incredible young women. Have a great day!

Praying for you,

mo

Shadow (Psalm 57:1-11)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “shadow.” Today it seems this word is associated with more negative stuff than positive. In the old days though it was something that comforted God’s peeps. The psalmist in this passage is reminded of God’s trustworthiness in this life…

“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.”

Psalm 57:1

What a great reminder that God is always here for us. My question is: when is the last time you found real refuge in the Lord? Life can get pretty crazy and messed up at times. We deal with school, family, relationships, and a bunch of other stuff we do not always understand. My prayer for today is that when each of you ladies face these times you would rest in God until the calamities pass; sometimes that is easier said than done... but it is possible. The psalmist did… cry out for God and you will be answered.

Praying for you,

mo

Cultivate (Psalm 37:3-4)

Good morning ladies,

The word of day is “cultivate.” I found myself the other day rushing from one thing to the other. I seem to do that a lot these days. God speaks to that in his word. The Psalms are a great reminder that keeping our attention on his word is always the better choice. Our Father wants us to dwell in his goodness and share in his blessings…

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord; And He shall give you the desires of your heart."

~Psalm 37:3-4

Our Savior would like us to slow down and cultivate faithfulness first in our lives. My question today is: What parts of life do you rush; how can you slow down? I know that college adds a ton of pressure, especially with all that is expected of you as student-athletes. My God is bigger than the challenges we face. My prayer for you is that the Lord would cultivate your heart and grow you into young women of faithfulness. Do his work, but don’t forget to slow down every now and again.

Praying for you,

mo

Condition (Proverbs 27:23-24)

The word of day is “condition.” This is one that I hope you hold onto for the duration of our season. God is all about the condition of our hearts and lives. In the OT he reminds Israel of how they should live and what the focus of following God should be. There is some stuff that lasts for eternity and some that will not…

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.”

~Proverbs 27:23-24

We condition you a ton over a period of time, which allows you to compete at intense levels. The hard part though is once we stop conditioning, our strength begins to waver. It is the same in our spiritual lives. My question is: how does your spiritual conditioning fit into your college life? The great news is that we can continually condition our hearts and minds to become closer to the Father – that never has to end! My prayer for you is that God would lay on your conscience the willingness to focus your energy on lasting things that have eternal value. It’s gonna be a great weekend. Rest up and we will see you bright and early.

Praying for you,

mo

Mine (Haggai 2:6-9)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “mine.” This is probably one of the first words that any of us learn as a child. When God’s peeps were thinking selfishly, his prophet Haggai had the big picture. He didn't focus on personal interests – on immediate gratification, on easy results or on pleasing others. Instead, he put first things first…

‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

~Haggai 2:8-9

Haggai spoke for God and gave his peeps the divine perspective on the challenge before them. This year we all have our individual stuff going on. My question for you is: Are you willing to see past your individual vision and to the bigger picture? Give God a chance to be a part of your decisions; let's make decisions that impact the greater good of the Christian community. My prayer for you is that we work together to accomplish goals as a team, both in sports and in God’s work. The Savior is mine and yours… we must remember that we are His.

Praying for you,

mo

Possibility (1 Corinthians 9:22)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “possibility.” With a morning off and all to yourselves… whatever are you going to do??? I hope that most of you are still sleeping. I love thinking about the possibilities that God has put in front of us. I love reading stuff rom the Apostle Paul because he maximized his possibilities with Kingdom work. He was always passionate about God’s ministry, looking to bless others and bring as many as possible to the Lord’s house…

“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”

1 Cor. 9:22

The cool thing about being a Christian is that you are given those possibilities from God to further the kingdom. My question for you is: Are you using the situations and circumstances that God has given you to add value to God’s family? I know that you have tons of stuff that continually pulls at you for you time and energy. I pray today that God directs your energy to align with his will for you. Each of you have the possibilities waiting… you just need to be ready to respond.

Praying for you,

mo

Picture (Micah 4:1-2)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “picture.” God’s prophet had to remind the people of what God was going to do. Sometimes things are not always like we want them to be. The Israelites were constantly in affliction by others as well as doing stuff themselves to make their situation worse. In the old days everything was related to religion. In this case, it was about government and what the prophet was envisioning the Lord to do…

“The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

~Micah 4:2

A lot of you are dealing with stuff that can hinder your relationship with God - busy lives, expectations, sickness and other things that can slow you down or throw your attention elsewhere. My question today is: Do you remember God’s promise in your life? The Lord has so much in store for you. Are you living out God’s purpose right now. Sometimes we can lose sight of what God has for us because of school, work, sickness, and troubles. My prayer for you today is that God would continue to teach his ways so that you can walk the Godly path.

Praying for you,

mo

Build (Isaiah 57:14)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “build.” As we continue into this beginning part of our season we will do more and more. You are now establishing your schedules, and combining them with the rest of your life. Taking the proper steps in any venture is crucial to success. God often told his people through various prophets how to move toward this success…

“And it will be said: Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people."

~Isaiah 57:14

God was not messing around when he told his peeps to get ready. I think we should view our faith in the same light. My question for you today is: What are you doing to build your faith and relationship with God. My prayer for you is that God uses you to build the Kingdom here on earth as we get ready to see him soon. He has cool things in store; and as you build, both in your swim season and in life, God will be faithful to do some amazing stuff through you.

Praying for you,

mo

Fullness (John 1:16)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “fullness.” At this point in the year you may be feeling mixed emotions about all the stuff going on. On the one hand I am sure that you are swamped with school, work, relationships, and a ton of madness that consumes you. On the other side is the amount of time and energy that you put into time with God. Now, for some of you I bet you are pretty well balanced. But I know that for me a lot of time I get out of sync and forget to continually make my connection with JC stronger. Check it out…

“From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

~Jn. 1:16

The cool thing about being a X-tian is that grace is an ongoing part of your relationship with God. Like the waves that crash on the shore, his love continues to renew and change us. My question for you today is: how do you allow God to renew you daily? God will give you a fullness through the Son. It is our job to live in the grace and receive the Lord’s goodness. My prayer for you today is that you live in the fullness of God.

Praying for you,

mo

Patience (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “patience.” Not really my favrit virtue in the world. In fact, when I was younger one of my mentors told me that it was important for me to have patience, but never to pray for it. Why… ‘cause you might just be put in a situation to have to test it. Instead, I prayed for understanding in all situations and learned to be patient as I was given those hard times in life. Solomon knew a thing or two about patience…

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride."

~Ecc. 7:8

Think about it. Of all the peeps ever to live you would figure that Solomon dealt with the pride issue a ton. Try being the wisest dude ever to live – either before or ever since. Craziness, I know. My question for you today is: How are you when it comes to patience… is it something you are good at or do you need some work? God wants us to rely on his power and love for us, in all situations. My prayer for you today is that you learn to wait on God in all parts of your life.

Praying for you,

mo

Effective (Jeremiah 2:1-16)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “effective.” Doesn't it feel good to have a day off… Talking with each of you about school and commitments and all the stuff that you need to get done, I feel like we need to make sure that you are as effective as possible in the use of your time. College is crazy and there is so much stuff that you can do it is hard to focus and get stuff done. Today is a great day to learn how effective you can be. Jeremiah was one of God’s leaders that knew how to get stuff done.

“Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel…”

~Jeremiah 2:4

What a great way to start out communication with God’s people. Jeremiah knew how to get a crowd’s attention. Moreover, he know how to keep their attention and get a message across. Following saying this he lit into the peeps and let them know wussup. Here is my question for today: How effective are you in your communication, use of time, the resources God has given you? Use this study day to get stuff done. Make a few calls, tie up some loose ends, get some rest. This day is here for you… use it wisely. My prayer is that God would give you a clear mind to accomplish all the stuff you need to get done, and that you would have some time for yourself. Have a great day.

Praying for you,

mo

Control (Lamentations 3:21-36)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “control.” Yeah, this is one that I have to continually pray about. If you are like me, control is something that can be an issue from time to time. I mean think about it… how many times have you taken control of your life instead of waiting on God, trusting that he will be faithful to his promises? Well, you and I are not alone. God’s people have been struggling to relinquish control forever. But God does say that we should believe and trust that he will take care of us…

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

~Lamentations 3:25-26

Isn’t it cool that God wants us to wait on him; to give him control in our lives is crazy hard, but worth it. My question for you today is: what is it in you life that you need to give God the control? We all have something we cling to and think that we can fix it. My prayer for you today is that no matter what it is, that you always give God the control. Wait on him, hope in him… trust that God will be faithful to answer you.

Praying for you,

mo

Real (John 4:24)

Good morning Ladies,

The word of the day is “real.” What a great trip this past weekend. All of you did very well. It’s kind of crazy how we have been working so hard and finally got to see where we are in terms of progress. So, pretty much this season felt real for the first time. The opening swim meet always gave me that feeling. I could practice all I wanted, but it was not until I competed that I felt the realness of the season. I was pondering God as I thought of this word. One verse came to mind in particular…

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

~John 4:24

It’s a cool thing that we get to worship God. Sometimes I would doubt my faith and not really know where God was in my life. The more I spend time with other Christ followers, the more I know my God is real. My question for you today is: Are you worshipping God with your thoughts, life, etc.?” We have the privilege of being in community with a real God. My prayer for you today is that God reveals his realness to you. I am looking forward to this season…

Praying for you,

mo

Voice (Romans 10:17)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “voice.” Sooo, we had our first swim meet day and all you ladies were incredible. The hard work is paying off and we will continue to get stronger and faster. The coolest part of yesterday was the fact that all the teams prayed together right before the meet started. I realized how powerful God’s presence is in our lives, both individually and collectively. God spoke these words through one servant long ago:

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

~Romans 10:17

If faith comes from hearing the message then every time we pray with one another, swim for our school, or go about our daily lives… we are sharing that message. My question for you today is: What message are you sharing with others, both in your words and actions. You see, someone is always watching, listening, and learning from you. JC has called us to a great responsibility. My prayer for you today is that you are God’s voice so that many others will come to share in your faith.

Praying for you,

mo

Guide (Psalm 32:8)

Good morning ladies,

The word of day is “guide.” As we get ready to embark on this trip to our first swim meet I am reminded of God’s hand in all that we do. The cool thing about our relationship with something greater than us is the help we get in this crazy life journey. Throughout history God has been a guide for his people – from a pillar of fire, to a still small voice of the Spirit. The Lord is always faithful to show the way…

“The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”

~Psalm 32:8

What a sweet reminder! Listening to God’s call on your being is important to you understanding where he might lead next. My question for you is this: Do you yield to the Father’s advice concerning what is best for you? He wants to direct your steps as you face troubles, and rejoice with you as you experience the triumphs. My prayer for you today is that you would allow God to guide you toward his perfect will for you…

Praying for you,

mo

Rest (Matthew 11:28-30)

Good morning ladies,

The word of day is “rest.” Awww, such an unfamiliar one for many of you already this year. With school and swim, jobs, family, friends and the like… well, when do you actually find time to yourself. Did you know that this is the only place in the whole New Testament that JC himself gives this specific invitation? Wow. Can you imagine being there to hear him say that… I’d be like, “Sign me up for some rest, yo!!!” Check it out:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

~Matthew 11:28-30

I mean, if you want it – here it is. God wants you to draw near and rest in his loving arms. God knows when you need rest. And get this; he wants you to take advantage of it. My question is: What are you doing to rest, both from work and to understand God’s promises and love? This is going to be a long weekend. We are going to have fun, yes. However, my prayer for you today is that you take some time to yourself and rest in God’s love. Proud of all you ladies…

Praying for you,

mo

Gratitude (Colossians 3:15-17)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “gratitude.” Yeah, I know this one is a bit self-explanatory. But really, think of how many times we forget to give thanks to god and have heart set on all the cool stuff God does for us. Whether stuff is going well or is totally jacked up in our lives God always seems to be there, you know… the Apostle Paul even had to remind his peeps from time to time that they needed to turn their hearts toward God in thanksgiving.

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

~Colossians 3:16

That is pretty sweet! I guess my question for you today is: What are the things in your life for which you should have gratitude? Take a moment and think about them… then thank God for making you who you are. Gratitude should fill our hearts. My prayer for you today is that God would fill your hearts with singing, praise and wonder at the works of the Lord.

Praying for you,

mo

Clothed (Isaiah 61:10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “clothed.” What a great word that does not get enough attention in our Christian walk. In the OT God had the priests wear certain clothing when they took care of all the offering stuff… and as the offerings got increasingly more important the priests actually had to change clothes (Lev. 6:8-13). What??? That is pretty crazy. But that was how imperative it was for God’s peeps to follow the guidelines. Later on in the Bible though, the book of Isaiah reminds us what we mean in the eyes of God:

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

~Isaiah 61:10

Each of us wears the clothes of salvation and righteousness. God has set you apart and made you holy. My question for you is this: What are you doing to experience a continuing renewal of God’s awesomeness each day? This year you will have many opportunities to experience the Lord’s goodness. From chapel, to D-Groups, accountability partners, and the million activities that APU offers… always remember that you represent God’s promise to all who call on that powerful name. My prayer for you today is that God would continually remind you of the incredible love in which you are wrapped and clothed.

Praying for you,

mo

New (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “new.” I was thinking this morning how each week we get to do a little bit of a reset. Yeah, I know there is stuff that lingers from the weeks before. I also know that our troubles do not miraculously go away (although I do believe my God is big enough to do so). The Apostle Paul’s thought here is that even though the old law was not looking so good with the whole Sin of Adam thing, we need not worry ‘cause Christ reversed the human verdict – from death to life!

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, she is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

~2 Cor. 5:17

I guess my question today is: When is the last time you felt a newness with JC? I mean, really sat back and remembered that God has given you new life… I hope you understand that the old is out and the new is in… your life is a representation of Christ – hallelujah! God has some sweet stuff for each of you to experience in this crazy life. My prayer is that you would marvel this week at the saving grace that God has given you through the Son. You are his perfect and new creation.

Praying for you,

mo