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Make Every Step Count - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - November 21, 2019

Make Every Step Count
By Rick Warren

“All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing” (1 Corinthians 9:25-26 NLT).

Spiritual growth must be purposeful.

We don’t know how many days we have left. Our next breath may be our last. So every step in our journey with Jesus should be taken on purpose.

We must be disciplined.

To become the person God wants you to be, you must deny yourself. I’ll be honest with you: You won’t get to do everything that other people do. You can’t follow everyone else’s plan and follow God’s plan at the same time. Being a disciplined disciple of Jesus means sometimes taking the more difficult path.

Olympic runners must give up all kinds of stuff that other people do in order to go for the gold. They must go to bed at a certain time. They must eat a certain way. They must train in a certain setting. They must deny themselves. They must count the cost.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:25-26, “All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing” (NLT).

Every step, Paul says, must be purposeful. That’s how you finish the race God has marked out for you.

Don’t be tempted by shortcuts. Stay on the straight and narrow path, and keep pressing forward toward your goal. Remember the purpose God has called you to. Remember the example of Jesus, who used his time on earth for God’s glory and was not distracted by the things of this world.

Make every step count.

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Discover God's purpose for every season in life! 

We all experience different seasons in life. Some are mountaintop experiences, and others are deep valleys.
 
Though God never promises you a life without troubles, he promises that every season will fit within his plan.
 
And we want to help you see God’s purpose for every phase of life by sending you Pastor Rick’s complete 7-message audio series, Growing in the Seasons of Life.
 
This wonderful resource is offered on CD, MP3, and USB, and includes encouraging messages such as . . .
• The Season of Loneliness
• The Season of Loss
• The Season of Parenting
 
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.