Blog Archives - COACH Toby Schwarz

COACH Toby Schwarz

Final Exam!

9/30/2019

For the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul. You must follow the LORD your God and fear Him. You must keep His commands and listen to His voice; you must worship Him and remain faithful to Him." Deuteronomy 13:3b-4

Life is a test. As with any exam, we can either study and actually know the information and then be able to apply the information in our life. This is actually the purpose of school and exams. However, there are those that prefer to cram for the exam and although they may pass the test, the information quickly fades and they never benefit from retaining the knowledge.

Lord, help me to study and apply so that I may benefit from what You have taught me.

Hide and Seek!

9/26/2019

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." - Psalm 119:11

Some have followed Jesus for a long time and have the knowledge of what is right and wrong embedded deep inside them. Unfortunately, sometimes it is so deep, that we can't find it sometimes. It is one thing to have knowledge and then there is the next step ... to use it.

Lord, help me to know and to apply what You have taught me.

Plan A, then Plan B!

9/25/2019

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1 John 2:1

It is always a good policy to have a "Plan B", just in case "Plan A" doesn't work. However, Plan A is Plan A for a reason. It is the preferred plan. However, a Plan B is always wise to have in place.

Lord, thank You for providing a Plan B, when my Plan A fails more than I would prefer.

Breathing!

9/24/2019

"Pray continually." 1 Thessalonians 5:17

When Paul says "Pray continually" or in other translations "Pray without ceasing", he is referring to being in a constant communal relationship with God. It is more of an attitude than an action. Paul sees prayer as he sees breathing. We don't stop breathing because if we do, we die. However, breathing for the most part is subconscious. We don't put a lot of thought into each breath, unless we find our self in trouble breathing. The same should be true for our connection and awareness of God in our lives. It should never stop and our attitude should be constant to a point of subconscious. We should merely come to God when we are struggling to breath.

Lord, help me to see my relationship to You as important as every breath I must take.

I Don't Feel Like It!

9/23/2019

"Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men." Colossians 3:23

Feel really has nothing to do with how we should live life. Living "by feel" is dangerous. Living "by feel" is not very productive, nor will it bring us much. How we feel means a lot less than how God feels about us and how we go about what we do.

Lord, help me be less in tune with my feelings and more in tune with your desires for my life.

Wise Words about No Words!

9/19/2019

"The one who guards his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin." Proverbs 13:3

Amen!

Planning Ahead!

9/18/2019

"When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have marched out ahead of you. ..." 2 Samuel 5:24

Planning is helpful. Planning requires time and intentional behavior on the front end, but it will often save a lot of time and misfortune. For those who plan, there are often various steps involved in the plan in order for it to be successful. Do we allow one of those steps to be "ask God for help"? If not, we are missing out on a big part of a successful plan.

Lord, thank you for the abilities that You have given be but help me to not rely solely on my ability when I can ask for Your involvement and Your abilities.

More Than Me!

9/17/2019

"Before Abraham was, I am." John 8:58

We unfortunately find ourselves at times in a mindset that all that exists is us and all that will ever or has ever existed is NOW. the facts are that the world has been spinning for centuries. And it will continue to spin long after we are gone. Today is simply one day of many and we are simply one person of countless. God has always been and He will always be and our problems today, no matter how insurmountable and overwhelming they may appear to be to us, that are very small in comparison to God and His ability to help us through whatever we may face.

Lord, my pain is real but so are You and although I may feel that my world is smothering me, there is a lot more space for others and for God to help me.

Eating Isn't a Sin!

9/16/2019

"While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat with Jesus and His disciples." Matthew 9:10

Jesus ate with sinners. He wasn't one.

Lord, as I hang out with those who don't know You, help me to behave the way You would want me to.

Stop The Cycle!

9/13/2019

"Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8-9

If all we do is to seek revenge or respond negatively when others treat us poorly, the cycle will never end and evil will persist. But if we choose to choose good when encountering evil, then we can break the cycle and hopefully more good will be the result.

Lord, help me to respond with love and compassion and acceptance, especially when my instinct is to retaliate and respond in kind when I am treated poorly.