Faith isn’t magic. Faith is trust. Faith doesn’t ensure a happy ending. Faith changes our perspective. Faith may not change anything about what is going on around you, but it can change everything about you.

Jesus told a story about two men who built their homes on the coast. One man built his house on the sand believing that the foundations he built upon wouldn’t affect the life he was building. The other man built on a stone foundation believing that even though building on stone was more difficult it would protect the life he was building in the long run. One day a storm came and the man who built his house on the sand lost everything, but the man who built his house on a foundation of stone made it through with his home intact. The point Jesus was making is that what you believe matters. It will impact you today, tomorrow, and forever.

Discouragement! Have you ever felt it? Discouragement is a black fog, and it's universal — eventually everyone gets it. Often we open the door to discouragement when we outpace our life. Fatigue, unmet expectations, and personal disappointment can be the openings that allow discouragement to seep into our lives. But when all is quiet, we can hear the quiet whisper of God that re-centers us in reality. When we hear His whisper, we can refocus on Jesus. When He is not the center, discouragement is sure to follow.

In Genesis 4, things got bad. The first murder was committed. Adam and Eve lost a son. It seemed like the world was falling apart and things couldn’t get worse. That was the point when people began to call on the name of the Lord.

There are countless verses in the Bible telling us to pray. God wants us to call on Him.

People are busier than they’ve ever been. Ask someone how they are doing and they will most likely respond by telling you about everything they’ve crammed into their calendar for that day. In our culture being busy is a virtue. But what if the pace at which we are living our lives is actually rendering us ineffective? What if the pace of our lives is detracting from our purpose? If we want to make our days count we have to stop filtering our lives through the parts and the crazy schedules, and begin filtering our days through our purpose.

Every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day is significant. Significant because it could be your last. When you live with that fact in mind it shapes how you live your life and how you see your days.

Our goal everyday is to live well. But we spend so many days wallowing in pettiness, unforgiveness, and anger. Our goal is to live well, but we waste more days than we live. What if there were a way not only to begin living life, but even to redeem the past? What if the days you’ve wasted could become days you lived well?

936. That’s the number of weeks that families and the local church have to influence the next generation. 936 weeks to model faith and lead well. 936 weeks to fight for their purity. 936 weeks to make generational faith personal faith.

Whether you are a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, teacher, volunteer, or just a member of a small group, we all have a chance to influence kids and students. We have 936 weeks. Let’s make them count!

The message that most people hear and see from the church is about a better life after this life, often to the neglect of our life now. Many of us grew up hearing sermons that preached against fun: good times and good music with good friends.

The only problem with that version of faith is Jesus. Jesus was known as a fun guy to be around. When he showed up to a party it was sure to be a memorable night. Jesus said He came to give us life. Real life. Better life.

The first step to living the life Jesus died to give us is realizing how short this part of eternity is. If you want to make your days count, count your days.

Following Jesus is rarely easy. Rather, it’s often inconvenient and uncomfortable. Jesus would summarize following him with an invitation to “lose your life, pick up your cross, and follow me.” Following Jesus is hard. But we follow Him because it’s best. Not easiest, but best.

Life is hard, but we make it harder. With every choice we make we move down a path towards a future of our own making. More often than not those choices lead us to a life we never intended to live or to a place we never imagined ourselves.

So, how do we flip the script and live the life God designed us for? The answer is closer than you think. But it will cost you.