Author: JJ Puccio

It amazes me how many men who claim to follow Christ don’t read their Bible daily. We can give our time to work, hobbies, sports, or whatever else grabs our attention, yet the most important thing in our lives often gets pushed aside. Time in the Word is meant to shape everything we do, but it is usually the first thing we let slip. I don’t say this with any judgment because I struggle with it too. I know the feeling of letting my Bible sit unopened while I tell myself that I am too busy or too tired.

Over time I have learned that when I neglect Scripture I am not just busy, I am empty. I am trying to live on my own strength, and that never lasts. If a man is not grounded in the Word of God, then what exactly is he grounded in? His own opinions? His emotions? The culture of the world around him? None of those foundations can carry the weight of a godly life.

God has called men to be the spiritual leaders of their households, yet more often than not it is the women who take on that role. Thank God for faithful women, but that is not the way He designed it. A man who is not rooted in Scripture cannot lead his home with clarity or conviction. Leadership in the family begins with leadership in the heart, and that only comes from time in the Word.

The Bible is how God speaks to us. It is where we find wisdom, direction, conviction, and strength. Without it, we cannot win this spiritual battle that is real and happening every day.

I have been trying my best to commit myself to reading at least one chapter of Scripture every day. It may not sound like much, but consistency matters more than anything else. Before I read, I pray and ask the Holy Spirit to teach me from what I am about to read and to help me apply it throughout the day. That simple step changes the way I approach the Word. It reminds me that Scripture is alive and that I need God to open my eyes to it.

When I am consistent I notice the difference. My mind is clearer, my patience is steadier, and my heart is more sensitive to what God is doing around me. The Word shapes me, corrects me, and strengthens me in ways nothing else can.

Every man needs this daily discipline. Not as a chore and not as a religious checklist, but as a lifeline. A man who reads Scripture every day becomes a man who listens to God, who walks in obedience, and who leads his family and his community with humility and confidence.

If I want to be the man God created me to be, I have to begin by being a man of the Word.

“Then he said to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 NIV

Following Jesus is not something I can decide once and then move on from. It is a choice that I have to make every morning when I wake up. I have to decide daily whether I will follow Him or try to go my own way. I would love to say I always chose well, but the truth is that some days I simply do not feel like following. My own plans feel easier, my own understanding feels more comfortable, and going through the day without any real spiritual focus seems simpler.

Whenever I lean on myself, things never happen the way I hope. My strength runs out, my patience wears thin, and my peace disappears quickly. That usually sends me running back to Jesus by the end of the day as I remember again that His way is better than mine, even when His way may seem harder.

When Jesus calls me to take up my cross daily, He is inviting me into a life that cannot be reduced to a task on a list. It is a steady, moment by moment surrender. Each day He asks me to choose His will over my own, to trust His timing instead of mine, and to value His heart above my own desire for comfort.

Some days that choice feels natural. Other days, it feels like a quiet battle inside my soul. Either way, it’s necessary choice every single day.

The truth is that following Jesus rarely lines up with what I feel like doing. It often means forgiving when I want to stay angry, serving when I would rather rest, speaking truth when silence feels safer, and trusting Him when nothing makes sense. Even though it stretches me, I have never regretted choosing His way. I only regret the moments when I chose my own.

Today I am seeing again that faithfulness is not dramatic. It grows in the steady rhythm of choosing Jesus again and again, even on the days when my heart resists, and maybe even more on those days.

Scriptures for Reflection

“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 ESV

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33 ESV

Prayer

Jesus, I confess that there are days when I drift my own way because it feels easy and familiar. I know that without You I can do nothing of eternal value, so I ask You to help me choose You each day. Shape my heart to seek Your will, walk in Your ways, and release my plans into Your hands. Strengthen me on the days when I do not feel like following, and remind me that faithfulness grows in each small daily yes. Thank You for the grace You renew every morning and for the love that never lets go. Amen.

“Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.” Luke 22:54 ESV

I have been thinking a lot lately about what it really means to follow Jesus, and I have become increasingly aware of how often I try to do it from a distance. It is easy to say that I follow Him. I attend church, I read Scripture, I serve, I pray…sometimes. Yet, when I slow down long enough to take an honest look at my life, I can see that I am not always walking beside Him. Many times I am several steps behind, staying far enough away to feel comfortable while still claiming to be close.

There are moments when I want the identity of being His disciple but still want to blend into the world around me. Following Him from a distance gives me a place to hide when things become uncomfortable. It allows me to avoid full surrender. It gives me the feeling of being spiritual without the actual transformation that comes from walking closely with Him. But that is not the kind of following Jesus ever intended for me.

Jesus never called me to admire Him from afar or to stay close enough only when it feels safe. He called me to follow Him. That means walking beside Him and learning to live and love the way He did. It means giving up my own way every single day. He never promised that this kind of life would be easy, but He did promise that it would be worth it.

My pastor likes to say that delayed obedience is simply disobedience. I believe the same thing can be said about following from a distance. It is not really following Him at all. True discipleship is close and immediate, it is not partial or casual. It is not something done when it is convenient, it costs something. It costs EVERYTHING.

So today I am choosing to acknowledge the many times I have held back. I am admitting the times when fear, comfort, or pride shaped the pace of my walk. I do not want to blend in anymore. I want to walk closely with Jesus even when it stretches me. Even when it affects my reputation or my comfort or my plans. Over the next few weeks I will be journaling my thoughts, prayers, and reflections as I ask God to show me what it really means to follow Him fully.

Scriptures for Reflection

Matthew 16:24 ESV

“Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

First John 2:6 ESV

“Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

John 10:27 ESV

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Prayer

Jesus, I confess that I have followed You from a distance. I have chosen safety over surrender and comfort over closeness. I have tried to hold on to enough of You to feel secure without stepping into the kind of life that sets me apart. I ask for Your forgiveness for that. Teach me to walk closely with You one moment at a time. Give me courage to step away from the crowd and into full obedience. Help me recognize Your voice and follow You with my whole heart. I do not want to trail behind anymore. I want to walk with You. Amen.

Recently, My pastor asked me to share a short testimony during a night of prayer at our church. I honestly got a little nervous about this. I was afraid he was going to ask me to talk about how strong my prayer life is and how I could encourage everyone with it. But instead I shared that I have been struggling with my personal prayer life. And when I say struggling, what I really mean is that I have not been praying regularly or consistently. I believe I can safely say that I am not the only one.

We know prayer matters and we know it is powerful. We know Jesus prayed, and we know Paul said to pray without ceasing. But what do we do when we are not praying at all? How do we climb out of the rut?

For me, it’s not usually doubt that hinders my prayer life. I truly believe that God is all powerful and can do anything. It’s not even that I don’t want to pray. It is that I let everything else push prayer out of the way. My schedule, my distractions, my routines. And honestly, more than anything, my lack of discipline.

We make time for what we value . We find time to eat. We find time to exercise. We find time to scroll on our phones or binge a television series or run errands. We feed our bodies every single day and usually more than once, but we let our souls go hungry. We do not feed our spirit through prayer and then we wonder why we feel empty or anxious or distant from God.

I see it in myself. And deep down I know my soul needs God more than my body needs food.

Sometimes we think prayer has to sound poetic or deep or impressive. But Scripture does not show us that at all.

In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story about two people who prayed. One was a religious leader who basically said “God thank you that I am not like other people”. The other was a tax collector who would not even lift his eyes. He simply said “God have mercy on me, a sinner”.

Jesus said the one with the simple honest messy prayer was the one who went home right with God.

That gives me hope, because it reminds me that prayer is not about getting the words right. Prayer is about showing up.

Romans 8:26 says “we do not know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words”. That is comforting. Even when I cannot get the words out the Spirit prays for me.

And here is something else God has been showing me: He wants a relationship with us. Not just our requests. Not just our emergencies. He wants closeness. He wants conversation.

Think about it like this. If I went a whole month without talking to my wife but still expected her to take care of everything for me, it probably wouldn’t go well. I cannot expect the benefits of a relationship if I am not showing up for the relationship.

And yet, sometimes I do that with God. I want his blessings. I want his help. But I have not spoken to him in days or even weeks. That is not a relationship. That is selfishness.

God does not just want us to come to him for what he can do. He wants us to come to him because of WHO HE IS. Prayer is not a religious task, it is how we stay close to the one who made us and loves us.

I may not be strong in prayer right now, but I do know this: When I bring even my weak and distracted heart to God he meets me with grace every single time.

So if you feel like your prayer life is not where it should be, or if you have not been making time or you have drifted, you are not alone and you are not disqualified.

Prayer is not a performance, it is a relationship. It is not about perfect words, it is about turning your heart toward God.

So let us be honest with him and with ourselves. Let us set the pressures aside and just come to him. He is not looking for polished prayers, He is looking for open hearts.

Let us pray.

This space will be a place where I share how the word of God continues to shape who I am. I am learning every day that real growth happens when I am immersed in Scripture and when I surrender control of my life to the Holy Spirit. I cannot be changed by the word if I only glance at it. I must sit with it read it and allow it to work on my heart.

My writing will not always look the same. Some days I will share a journal entry. Other days I will share a short devotion. Sometimes I will simply write out a few thoughts from my daily reading. I may not post every day but I will post regularly and I will always write from a place of honesty and humility.

My goal is not to pretend that I have everything figured out. My goal is to show how God is teaching me growing me and shaping me as I walk with Him. What you read here will reflect both my victories and my failures because both are part of the journey of faith.

I hope that as you read you will be encouraged and blessed. If my thoughts help you draw closer to Jesus even in a small way then this page will have served its purpose.

Thank you for beginning this journey with me.