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Daily Vitamin: Forgiven and forgotten are not the same as felt.

Inspirational Story: The thing you keep pulling back out of the water.

Verse of the Day: Micah 7:19

Forgiven and forgotten are not the same as felt.

You confessed it. You believe you were forgiven. And you still run the tape at midnight, which means somewhere you are paying an installment on a debt that is already closed.

• Name it once today, out loud, in past tense.

• Tell one safe person and let it stop being secret.

• When it comes back tonight, refuse to rehearse it.

Stop Digging It Back Up

Picture it’s Christmas. You’re watching your child, a nephew, or a friend unwrap a present from you. You couldn’t wait to give it to them, and now the time has finally come!

They unwrap it, their eyes widen with excitement, and then… they sigh… and hand you back the gift.

“I don’t deserve this,” they say. “Remember when I was mean to you yesterday over dinner? I don’t deserve this gift.”

You would feel a certain feeling of rejection, wouldn’t you? Because denying the gift is denying the giver.

And that’s what we do to God when we deny His grace.

Some people carry the shame of their sins for years. They beat themselves up over it, long after it happened. It keeps them distant, ashamed, and depressed.

If that’s you, listen closely to me saying this: Receive the gift of grace.

Micah, a prophet with almost no sentimentality in him, writes one of the most physical promises in the Bible. “God will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”

God has forgiven you. Now, receive the gift of grace and live your life with Him.

Here’s your focus for today:

• Name It Once: Say the thing out loud today in past tense, then stop.

• Tell One Person: Break the secrecy with someone safe so shame loses its hiding place.

• Refuse the Rehearsal: When the tape starts tonight, say out loud that it is already dealt with.

• Anchor your day in this truth: “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19)

It is at the bottom of the ocean.
Nobody asked you to go get it.
Leave it there.

Fruit of the Spirit Action: Resist the urge to check your phone first thing in the morning.

Download September's Calendar: Open calendar

You’re a pastor who wants to fully immerse people in the Bible

Hey pastor!

There’s a way for you to get creative with your storytelling. When you preach on David vs. Goliath, how about actually taking people to the Valley of Elah? When you teach about the faith of Joshua, how about show them the toppling walls of Jericho?

Anything is possible with Pray Production Studio. See for yourself!

Hit the image or the link below to watch now! 👇🏽

WATCH HERE

This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Daily Vitamin: Silence from God is not absence from God.

Inspirational Story: The season nobody has a bow for.

Verse of the Day: Isaiah 55:8

Silence from God is not absence from God.

You asked. Nothing came back. The temptation is to explain it away or to quit, when the honest thing is to stay in the room and keep talking.

• Tell God the truth about the silence today.

• Keep one practice you can still keep.

• Let one person sit in it with you.

When Heaven Does Not Answer

Some prayers don’t get answered…

I don’t mean some prayers get delayed or that God answers them sideways in a way you will appreciate later.

Sometimes, God just says, "No," without explanation attached.

Anybody who tells you otherwise has not lived long enough or is selling something.

Job lost ten children in an afternoon. He spent thirty-eight chapters asking why. God finally speaks and never once tells him why. Job dies without the answer. I want you to sit uncomfortably with that before you rush past it.

Paul prayed three times for a certain thorn to be removed from his side. God never removed it. Instead, He told Paul that his strength was sufficient in Paul’s weakness.

There is a whole industry built on selling you answered prayers. We come up with pithy sayings like, “God never gives you more than you can handle,” or “God gives his greatest battles for his fiercest warriors.”

None of these sayings can be found in Scripture, which reveals our discomfort with silence and pain.

Here’s the hopeful message… When hanging on a cross, Jesus cries out, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”

While God may not always remove our suffering, He does promise to be present with us in it. Even when He is silent, He is still near.

Here’s your focus for today:

• Tell the Truth: Say to God exactly how the silence feels, without softening it.

• Keep One Practice: Hold onto the smallest habit you can still manage right now.

• Let Someone In: Ask one person to sit with you without offering a fix.

• Anchor your day in this truth: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8)

You are not being ignored.
You are being accompanied.
Stay in the room.

Fruit of the Spirit Action: Decline participating in a conversation that tears someone down.

Download September's Calendar: Open calendar

Do you know why I love this video so much?

God is pure, holy, and terrifying… Isaiah realizes this right away. In fact, Isaiah wants to leave because the presence of God is too amazing. But God purifies Isaiah so he could remain there.

That’s what Jesus does. Purifies us so we can experience intimacy with God.

Hit the image or the link below to watch now! 👇🏽

Watch Here

This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Daily Vitamin: God's most common volume is low.

Inspirational Story: Elijah wanted fire and…

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This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Daily Vitamin: You can bring your questions in the front door.

Inspirational Story: …

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This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Daily Vitamin: Faithfulness gets measured in small rooms.

Inspirational Story: Nobody in Scripture knew they were in a Bible story.

Ver…

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Daily Vitamin: God is not running your life against anyone else's clock.

Inspirational Story: The guy in your group who reads Hebrew.

…

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Daily Vitamin: You do not have to clean up before you come home.

Inspirational Story: The waiting room nobody put you in.

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This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Daily Vitamin: What you touch first tells you what you trust most.

Inspirational Sto…

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This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Daily Vitami…

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Daily Vitamin: Showing up empty is still showing up.

Inspirational Story: Your wo…

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Watch "ANGEL'S FALL" Now

This video began with a question between two buddies: “Why are angels always in white rob…

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There’s a character in the Bible who rode a chariot, impaled two kings, toppled a witch, and then slaughtered an entire cult of priests in their own temple.

You’ll find his story in 2 Kings… His name is Jehu.

His story is too gory for Sunday school. Jehu takes his chariot to destroy the evil Kings of Israel and Judah. He then rides into Jezreel and finds…

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The gap between you and your creative potential has never been smaller.

I mean that. For most of history, the stories in your head stayed there, locked behind budgets, crews, and gear you’d never have. Bringing a vision to life took a studio. Now it takes an idea.

That’s what Pray Production Studio changes. The wall between your audience and a captivating…

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Saturday, May 16, 2026

MONDAY: Do good when no one is keeping score.

True greatness moves quietly, sees people fully, and acts generously without needing an audience or a record to make i…

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Daily Vitamin: Naming what actually matters before the day decides f…

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Daily Vitamin: Roots hold when the wind hits.

Ins…

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