Blog Archives - COACH Toby Schwarz

COACH Toby Schwarz

Wasting Time!

7/31/2018

You don't even know what tomorrow will bring-what your life will be! For you are a bit of smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes. James 4:14

Standing in line at the grocery store. Stuck in traffic on the freeway. Sitting in a meeting that could easily have been covered via email. We consider many events in our life as "wasted time". One of the largest time wasters in our life is when we worry too much about the future (or the past) and fail to live in the present. The longer we live, the easier it is to see that we wasted too much time worrying about what will happen instead of taking care of things at the present time or more importantly, enjoying the moment, wherever we may be.

Lord, thank you for forgiving my past and taking care of the future so I can enjoy the present.

Plan Ahead!

7/30/2018

"Many plans are in a man's heart, but the LORD's decree will prevail." Proverbs 29:11

"Failing to plan is planning to fail" or "A critical element in any plan is flexibility" are two common philosophies on planning. There are many more. However, God sees planning in a more simplistic yet comprehensive manner ... "Plan to follow Me'.

Lord, thank you for knowing the plans for me and thank you for allowing me to be a part of them.

No Comparison!

7/19/2018

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." 1 Corinthians 1:25

Why don't we ask for God's wisdom and strength more often when we know for a fact that He is much stronger and wiser than we are?

Lord, help me to trust you more.

Work Stoppage!

7/17/2018

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Work and working hard is valued in society. In contrast, sitting around and being lazy is not something to brag about. That is why gifts are a difficult concept for many. A large group of society has a hard time accepting gifts without expecting strings attached. And that is why grace is so difficult to understand and even harder to accept sometimes. Grace requires nothing of us but our acceptance as it is.

Lord, help me to accept grace and not ruin it by attempting to earn it.

Focus!

7/13/2018

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Colossians 3:1

I have been riding my bike a lot with my two little daughters. It is interesting that when I see something dangerous (a curb, a tree, a rock, a daughter) and I realize that I should avoid the danger, the longer I look at it, the harder it is to turn my handlebars away. It is as if my eyes draw my body and mind (and bike) to the danger.

Lord, help me to focus on YOU so that I move closer to You and further away from danger.

What is Humility!

7/12/2018

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." Matthew 6:1

This is humility.

Lord, help me to realize that doing the right thing is more important than being known for doing the right thing.

First Place!

7/11/2018

"Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

Imagine a world where everyone put others first. Impossible. However, we all can create a world where we put others first. It may be a small world but big things often start off small.

Lord, help me to put others first in my world.

All or Nothing!

7/10/2018

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

"Some", maybe "most" but definitely not "all". All is a lot. There must be exceptions to the rule. All gives no wiggle room for the countless variables and uncertainties. God can't truly mean "all". Or does He because he knows that we will always find exceptions and reasons and excuses and justifications to do things our own way and He knows that it is those exact moments we must trust Him the most.

Lord, thank you for making life extremely clear and that any grey area is due to my own misunderstanding.

Shaming!

7/5/2018

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16

"Shaming" is a very popular term and trend in social media. I personally don't get it but I typically don't get anything pertaining to social media and that is why I don't engage in it (besides posting these devotions on Twitter). Being ashamed is all about our self worth and when that self worth is rooted in superficial and worldly areas and things, then shame will easily occur. Being shamed is more about our insecurity and lack of self worth which is built on the wrong things than it is about the person throwing barbs at us. When we are rooted in Christ, there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Lord, thank you that you have value and that the things that I often value, truly are irrelevant and should not be my focus.

Why Do We Hate So Much?!

7/3/2018

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Do we hate because others are wrong and we are right? Do we hate because we are so smart and others are so dumb? Do we hate because someone wronged us, cheated us, abused us, took advantage of us or hurt us? Or is the truth that we hate because we are selfish and self-centered and value our own feelings and emotions more than anyone else. We will hate less and love more when we look at ways to encourage others instead of tearing them down.

Lord, help me to love and encourage more.