Every week on The JDOT Five comes with a challenge — something small, specific, and doable, meant to take the week's arc out of the realm of "nice idea" and into something you actually practice.
This Week: Drop the Scorecard
This week's challenge has three touches. Today, you'll name the rung you've been climbing. On Thursday, you'll tear up the list you keep replaying. And on Saturday, you'll count the chances He's given you that you never earned.
Name it. Tear it up. Count the chances. That's the whole shape of CHANCE AFTER CHANCE in three small steps.
Touch One: Name the Rung
Sometime today, grab a piece of paper and finish this sentence:
"I feel closer to God when I ______, and I avoid Him when I ______."
Be honest and be specific. Maybe the first blank is your quiet time streak, a good week at church, or a stretch without losing your temper. Maybe the second blank is the habit you swore off in January, or the thing you said you'd never do again.
Whatever goes in those blanks is the ladder you've been climbing. It's the place where you've quietly decided God's love goes up when you do better and down when you don't.
Once you've named it, tell Him plainly: "I've been trying to earn what You already gave."
Why Naming It Matters
Today's chapter is about the ladder most of us climb without ever deciding to. The problem with an unnamed ladder is that it feels like normal faith. You can't stop climbing something you haven't admitted you're on.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is the answer you'll hold onto all week: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast."
We'll check back in on Thursday and again on Saturday.
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