DEVOTIONALS

Spiritual Essential: Discipline Reading: John 8:31-36   “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32)   Freedom isn’t the first thing most people think of when they hear the word discipline . In fact, it sounds almost contradictory. Discipline sounds like rules, structure, sweat, and sacrifice. Freedom sounds like rest, ease, flexibility, and space. But anyone who’s trained for more than a few weeks knows the truth — discipline leads to freedom

Spiritual Essential: Discipline Reading: Hebrews 12:4-13   Things That Challenge You, Change You According to ChatGPT, the workout “Cindy” is a classic CrossFit benchmark WOD (Workout of the Day) designed to test muscular endurance. It’s a 20-minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, and 15 air squats. Simple on paper. Relentless in practice.   There are more than twenty benchmark CrossFit workouts, and all of them are named after women. CrossFit f

Spiritual Essential: Transformation Reading: Philippians 3:12-21   “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Philippians 3:20)   In the gym, it’s easy to get tunnel vision . You start chasing numbers, comparing times, obsessing over aesthetics. Abs, PRs, and leaderboard spots are all good goals — but if that’s all you’re training for, it won’t last. There’s always someone stronger. Always another race. Always anothe

Spiritual Essential: Transformation Reading: Hebrews 10:19-25   And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together… but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.””   Transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. In the gym, your biggest breakthroughs rarely come when you’re training alone. They happen when someone’s watching your lift and says, “Go heavier.” When a partner next to you push

Spiritual Essential: Transformation Reading: James 1:2-4   “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”   Walk into any gym and you’ll see it — pain.  Not the kind that sends you to the ER, but the kind that signals effort, struggle, growth. Burning lungs, sore muscles,

Spiritual Essential: Transformation Reading: Romans 12:1-8   Renewal is a physical concept. It’s also a spiritual one. I’ve been doing CrossFit for more than five years. I have a local gym where I’ve done much of my training over these 60+ months. I also travel a great deal for work and have visited to at least 40 other CrossFit boxes since my CrossFit journey began. As a result, I have some good insights into what is quality coaching and what isn’t.   The good news for me: t