Words from the Message (MSG)

• Verse 1 "You'd... Quit!"
• Verse 2 "Keep your eyes on Jesus"

The New Living Translation (NLT)

• Verse 1 "Let's strip... before us"
• Verse 2 "The champion... the cross."
• Verse 3 "give up"
• Verse 4

New International Version (NIV)

• Verse 3 "lose heart"

Italics by author

Eyes on Jesus.

As I look back on the past year, I feel so grateful for so many things, even though it had its fair share of challenges. I’m just starting to recover from all the AI worship madness—who would’ve thought we’d see robot-made worship music? Hello, end times!

And lately, we’ve been blessed with a new wave of religious “fan mail”—quotation marks doing some heavy lifting here. 😉

It’s so easy to get distracted, to let my heart fill with resentment, anger, and discontent.

So how do you navigate an increasingly hardened world? How do you keep your heart tender and responsive, yet at the same time guard it against all the negativity that comes your way?

Looking back, before Project of Love went public, it was just me, Papa, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit making music together—so simple, intimate, and full of joy, and so much Presence I could hardly bear it.

So, to answer these questions, I think it's basically two-fold. We need the focus and eyes of a sharpshooter. Eyes on Jesus. No matter what happens. That should be our motto. Whenever we get distracted, we recognize it, refocus, and move on.

As our dear friend Rabbi Schneider pointed out, keep on doing the little right things every single day. That's how you get a breakthrough.

So, Jan and I committed: no matter what comes our way, we’re dedicated to keeping our hearts tender and responsive. We want to rush back to that first love, when everything was uncomplicated and centered around Jesus.

That’s my wish for you this year: may you have a tender, responsive heart. May you return to your first love, loving God and others in the best way you can, all while keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus! ❤️

He’s the one who starts and perfects our faith.