“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 Before the crowds.Before the pressure.Before the responsibilities.Jesus met with the Father. The morning sets the trajectory for the day. Wake up dark and early. Move your body. Hydrate. Get alone with God. Read Scripture. Pray. Reflect. Listen. Journal Remember who you are before the world tells you who you need to be. Train your body. Sharpen your mind. Prepare your spirit. Lead yourself before you attempt to lead anyone else. Then step into the day. Pursue the 5 F’s: Faith, Family, Fitness, Finance, Fun Not for perfection. For awareness. At the end of the day, check your aim. Where were you aligned? Where did you drift? What needs to be re-aimed tomorrow? Presence before performance.

I use this prompt every time I read a chapter from the Bible: A hermeneutic study simply means learning what the author intended to communicate before jumping to what it means for us today. When studying a chapter, we walk through five simple steps: 1. Observation What does the text actually say? Who is writing? Who are they writing to? What is happening? What themes, commands, warnings, or promises appear repeatedly? Observation is about seeing before interpreting. 2. Context What is happening historically and culturally? Where is this taking place? What circumstances prompted the writing? What would the original audience have understood that we might miss? Context prevents us from reading our modern assumptions into the text. 3. Interpretation What did the author intend to communicate? What is the central message? What truth is being taught? What is God revealing about Himself, humanity, faith, obedience, suffering, leadership, or redemption? Interpretation seeks the author’s meaning, not our opinion. 4. Biblical Connection How does this chapter connect to the rest of Scripture? Does Jesus reference it? Do other biblical authors teach the same principle? How does it fit into God’s larger story? Scripture interprets Scripture. 5. Application What should change because of what I learned? Where am I aligned? Where am I drifting? What action, repentance, obedience, or growth is God calling me toward? Application is where knowledge becomes transformation. The Bagged & Tagged Question Every chapter ultimately leads us back to one question: “What kind of man is this passage forming me into?” Scripture is not merely information. It is formation. The goal is not to know more. The goal is to become more aligned with Christ. Cut and paste this into your AI app. It’ll help walk you through some of the more difficult chapters to understand. See what it does for you. Let me know your thoughts.

Flex Friday. let’s go!

4:41am wake up Coffee MTNTOUGH Pre-Season Prep, week 1 day 5. STAY DANGEROUS

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