Blog Archives - COACH Toby Schwarz

COACH Toby Schwarz

Value Something Else!

11/29/2018

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." Philippians 2:3

Valuing others over ourselves requires us first to value something more than our own needs. To simply value others is arguably impossible due to our selfish nature. To value others requires us to value something more than ourselves. Valuing God and what God wants is a great place to start. Valuing the idea of being contrary to what feels good to us or what is natural to us is another option. Valuing what is right over what is comfortable also work.

Lord, help me to value something other than my own selfishness so I can value others.

Suffering = Hope!

11/28/2018

"Not only so but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4

If your car is in neutral, it won't go anywhere, unless you are parked on a hill or unless you get out and push it. Neutral generally gets us nowhere. Suffering is not something we seek out but we must realize that suffering is not something that brings us nothing. Suffering does bring pain. But perseverance through the suffering can turn that pain into character and then into hope.

Lord, help me to see suffering for what it can be and not for merely what it is at the current moment.

Easiest Hard Thing To do!

11/27/2018

"Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." Mark 1:35

Praying takes little, to no effort. Praying is a choice but not an effort. Jesus may have got up early and left to find a place to pray but these are not requirements. All we need to do is stop. Stop what we are doing and pray. We don't even need to close our eyes. Praying is the easiest hard thing to do in life.

Lord, help me to pray more.

Give Up!

11/26/2018

"No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

If you aren't giving something up, you aren't loving.

Lord, help me to be strong enough and selfless enough to give up.

Nothing!

11/21/2018

"What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself?"
Luke 9:25

Most people don't start off the day with the goal of accomplishing nothing. Sure, some days are more productive than others but most people desire to get something done. The goal of accomplishing nothing is usually left to the losers. So what does it say of us when we gain a lot in terms of worldly treasures but sell our soul to do it.

Lord, help me to remember the main goal and not the worldly lies.

Fortaken!

11/20/2018

"For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. But if you don't forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing."
Matthew 6:14-15

Fortaken is not a word that gets much play in our day to day conversation. We seldom ask for "fortakeness" and we rarely take pride in "fortaking" others. Although we may not use the word, we unfortunately do "fortake" more than we forgive. When we don't forgive, we end up taking. Our lack of forgiveness is not a victim-less action.

Lord, help me to forgive more and fortake less.

Faithful!

11/19/2018

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Mark 8:38

Being faithful requires selfless acts. Faithfulness requires trust. Faithfulness is not convenient. Faithfulness is consistent actions. Faithfulness is not always easy.

Lord, help me to be faithful and thank You for always being faithful to me.

We Don't Always prefer Change!

11/15/2018

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Change is good! Change is bad! Change is dangerous! Change is refreshing! Change is inevitable! Change requires intention! Change happens! Some things never change! When we refer to things as being "new" or "old", an assumption is often made that "new is better". The problem is that we often fail to recognize that to go from the old to the new requires an awareness and acceptance of change. If we replace "old" with "new", the old is now gone and we don't always want the old to be gone. The inability to allow change to happen or the comfort that we think the old provides us often prevents us from moving to the new.

Lord, help me to realize that the "new creation" is vastly superior than anything that the "old creation" provided me.

Choosing Teams!

11/14/2018

But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

There are times in our lives when we have no choice. We are placed in a group or team or community without given an opportunity to choose. Then there are times when we have choice but then again, that choice isn't fully under our control. We can choose a house but we can't choose the neighbors. We can choose a class to take in college or a company to work for but we can't choose our classmates or coworkers. We can even choose a spouse but we can't choose our in-laws. There is one time in life where we have choice and we have full control and knowledge of what we will be receiving. We can choose God and God is who we get.

Lord, thank You for allowing me the opportunity to choose and help me to choose You every time.

Freedom Is Not ...

11/13/2018

For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; 1 Peter 2:15-16

Freedom is not "doing what you want with no consequences". Being free does not give you the "green light" to do whatever you want, with no ramifications. Our actions matter. Our words matter. What we say and do brings consequences when done or said incorrectly. We have been given the OPPORTUNITY to make our own choices. Now it is our RESPONSIBILITY to make good choices that benefit others and glorify God.

Lord, help me to use the position You have given me to benefit others and to please You.