Jesus Provides Freedom

 

 The apostle Paul once wrote,
 

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free... Do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. — Galatians 5:1


He was specifically writing about those who would impose all sorts of religious rules and human traditions on believers. But these words could also apply to personal habits and attitudes that we allow to enslave us, weigh us down, and steal our joy. If Jesus intended to set us free by His sacrifice for us on Calvary, what are those things that tie us up, that trip our feet and weigh on our hearts? Is it a habit? An addiction? A cynical heart? A hardened attitude? An unwillingness to forgive? An old prejudice? Jesus died for our freedom. If we allow anything to restrict us or shackle us to a sad, mediocre life, then we are missing His great gift, paid for at such a high price. 

 

~From Seeing God in America, by Larry Libby

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

Condemnation Vs. Conviction

 

 

 

 

~From "Breaking Free From Guilt And Shame," by David Diga Hernandez, Youtube.com

 

 

Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
John 16:7-11 NKJV 

 

 

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Know That God Loves You

 

 

 

When God created the heavens and the earth, He wasn’t just trying to keep busy or do something constructive with His time. He created everything we see for you and me. All of creation is an expression of His true love for us.

One time, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, “Joyce, I do so many things for people every day because I love them, and they don’t even see it.” Then He gave me this example: “Every day, when I speak to the sun and say ‘Rise.’ I do it for you.” (see Matthew 5:45-47).

Stop and think about that. The sun rises in the sky every day for you. When the rain comes and waters the crops. It rains for you. When the grass grows and the flowers bloom, it’s for you!

Wherever you are in your relationship with God, I want you to know today that God loves you. He wants to meet all of your needs, walk with you through your troubles, and bless you above and beyond all that you can ask or think (see Ephesians 3:20).

Take time to receive His love. Read and ponder what His Word says and ask the Lord to give you a revelation of His personal love for you. As you do, the amazing truth of His love will move from your head to your heart . . . and you’ll begin to view everything a whole new way.

 

~From "Do You Believe God Loves You?," Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine, by Joyce Meyer, joycemeyer.org

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

 

God's Ways Are Not The World's Ways

 

 

 

Any financial planner would tell you that if you want to be successful, you need to maximize the return on your investment, meaning it’s best to invest in something that will appreciate or gain value. They would tell you to sacrifice now to reap huge benefits later, which is basic economics.

Jesus here is giving the disciples a lesson in the economy of the kingdom of God. Anyone who gives up their prized possessions—their home, family, and loved ones—for the sake of the gospel will receive a blessing a hundredfold. A financial planner would very likely be supportive of anything you invest in that is returned to you a hundredfold.

Now, scholars say that a “hundredfold” is a figurative expression because, for instance, no one can have 100 biological mothers or fathers. It’s a description of the abundance you’ll receive when you forsake all to follow Jesus. It’s an enormous return on your investment!

Usually, you have to wait until way later to receive your return on investments, but Jesus promises it now AND later, which is the miracle of the kingdom economy. He also promises eternal life in heaven–the world to come. No one knows quite what the world to come will look like, but we can get glimpses of it in Revelation, and we can trust that it will be good because God is there and He is good.

Jesus is also giving the disciples a lesson in the hierarchy of the kingdom of God. He says those who are the greatest now will be least important and vice versa. Imagine C-suite executives lower than the interns and entry-level employees. Picture the marginalized, the ignored, and the overlooked elevated to the status of kings and queens. However, the goal would not be for the disciples or us to gain status, importance, fame, or power in this life but to serve as Jesus did.

One final point we should not skip over is that with the promise of blessings comes persecution. As Christians, Jesus didn’t promise us a perfect life. Instead, He warned us of just the opposite by saying, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV).

But, despite those persecutions, nothing will be able to separate us from the furious love of God (Romans 8:38-39)! And, the pattern we see over and over again in the Bible is that suffering always turns to glory. 

~From The Gospel of Mark Devotional, Part Five on YouVersion

 

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True Peace Comes From The Prince Of Peace

 

 

We often think of peace as the absence of external conflict. But true peace is the absence of internal conflict. Scripture tells us in Isaiah 26:3, “You [God] will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” In Psalm 4:8, David writes, “I will both lie down in peace and sleep for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” And Jesus says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” In closing his second letter to the Thessalonian church, Paul refers to Jesus as the “Lord of peace.” And this is consistent with Isaiah’s foretelling in Isaiah 9:6 of the birth of the Messiah: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” 

The world offers forgeries of peace. From deep breathing exercises and positive thinking to feng shui furniture design—you name it, it’s been tried. These may provide a temporary degree of external calmness, but they can never give us lasting unshakeable internal peace in the deepest recesses of our soul. This kind of peace—true peace—can come only through Jesus—the Author of Peace, the Prince of Peace, the One who IS our peace: Jehovah Shalom.  

~From 40 Days of the Names, Titles, and Attributes of God, by Gina L. Diorio

 

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Living By The Holy Spirit

 

 

One of the first things that comes to mind when Christians think about Jesus is His morally perfect character. When Jesus overcame the devil’s temptation, He entered the wilderness “full of the Holy Spirit” (Luke 4:1), and forty days later he emerged from the wilderness “in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14). As a result, Jesus “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22). Likewise, the Spirit helps us today to overcome temptation and sin in our own lives.

We can choose to give in to temptation and engage in “sexual immorality... hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition... envy, drunkenness... and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).

But the Spirit works to instill...

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. — Galatians 5:22–23 NLT


When we exhibit self-control and are kind to someone who stabbed us in the back, we are following the lead of the Spirit. When we are patient with our spouse, even though they are driving us crazy, we show signs of being Spirit-filled. And when we are gentle with those who sin against us, we exhibit the fruit of the Spirit and holiness in our character.

Whenever I talk about character, holiness, and avoiding sin, some people automatically get concerned that I’m being legalistic. Legalism usually refers to rules people, rather than God, set in order to gain God’s approval, as though we are saved by our actions rather than grace. While God certainly does have ethical expectations for us, legalism is problematic because it promotes slavery to law rather than freedom from sin. Another problem with legalism is that rules don’t change us — the Spirit does.

When we are shaped by the Spirit, we don’t do what is right only because those who live according to their sinful nature “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). Instead, as the Spirit is poured out upon us like water to cleanse our hearts, the Spirit moves us from having a sense of duty to do what is right, to having delight in obeying God (Psalm 119). Overall, when we exhibit holiness, or the character of Christ, and avoid sin, we are the kind of person that the Bible calls spiritual (Galatians 6:1 NASB).

 

~From Simply Spirit-Filled by Andrew Gabriel

 

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Know Your Triggers

 

 

Anger isn’t a sin, it’s just a sign. And when you see a sign, you need to pay attention. The sign is trying to tell you something important.

God created us to need security, connection, and a sense of control (free will). But he wanted us to get those needs met directly from him. Sin messed that up, but Jesus reconnected us to God through his sacrifice and forgiveness. With the relationship restored, we have access to all we need in God. So, when we start getting angry about not getting our need met from someone or something around us, it’s a sign pointing us to an area we need to surrender to God, the only one who can really meet that need.

Because of our past experiences and upbringing, we usually have one area of security, connection, or control that makes us super sensitive. When we don’t have it, or it seems like we are being threatened in that area, we just react.

We need to know ourselves and what makes us angry. Thomas à Kempis said, “A humble knowledge of thyself is a surer way to God than a deep search after learning.”  

That’s what King David was talking about in today’s verse when he says: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. (Psalm 139:23, NIV)

Keep a piece of paper handy today and whenever you feel yourself getting angry,  after you calm down, write down what was happening when you started getting angry. See if you can connect it to feeling threatened in security, connection, or control. Keep track of your angry moments and you’ll start to see a pattern.

When you know patterns of what makes you angry, you can either avoid those kinds of situations, or, if you can’t avoid the situation, you can go in mentally prepared. (I always have to give myself a pep talk before driving in rush hour traffic.)

Know your triggers and you’ll soon find your angry episodes will become fewer and fewer. And, in the process, you’ll be looking to God more, the true source of your security, connection, and control.  

 

~From Calming Anger A Devotional Based on the Book Love Slows Down on YouVersion 

 

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Give Your Life To Jesus

 

 

Accomplishments and success on earth do not bring you closer to salvation. You see, people who “have it all” on their own will not need God. Their trust is in their stuff rather than in Jesus. When you have little or nothing, it’s easy to give it all up to follow Jesus. What do you have to lose?

Let’s look at Jesus, the Son of God, and consider how He was willing to put on flesh and walk among the disciples—and ultimately give up His life for us! He was obedient to give it all, and His resurrection offers us the promise of eternal life. This is the good news! The wonderful thing about the gospel is that by yielding everything, we gain everything in this life and in the life to come. It is better to follow Jesus than anything this world has to offer. I’m not telling you to sell everything to follow Jesus, and this isn’t a call to extremism, but to place our trust in Jesus above all else, making it easier to follow Him!  

 

~From The Gospel of Mark Devotional, Part 5 on YouVersion

 

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The Word Of God Is Your Guidebook

 

 

Our Founding Fathers created a governing framework based upon biblical principles. Slowly, we have changed from “one nation under God” to a group of people who no longer want Him to be involved.

Tragically, we’ve become, in numerous ways, an ungodly nation: many are driven by materialism and power; immorality and rebellion are prevalent; empty philosophy and false doctrine are widely acceptable. Underlying it all is a vocal decision to take God out of the nation’s “official business.”

Yet even in an unbelieving society, people can, as individuals, follow Jesus. But the world will continually disseminate faulty teachings, so believers must be discerning. Otherwise, erroneous messages can lead Christians to compromise their convictions. Then affections and priorities may change. Don’t let the world’s clamor make the Spirit’s voice less audible. Without His guidance, our minds become vulnerable to lies.

The Word of God is a compass that keeps us headed in the right direction—even in the midst of confusing messages all around. We need to be consistently filled with truth by reading, believing, meditating upon, and applying Scripture. God also tells us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). If our minds are focused upon Him, unholy beliefs will not be able to take root.

The Word is our guidebook. We will still face difficulty as we live in this imperfect world—it is a confusing, dark place that entices us but never fulfills our true longings. Yet God’s truth will bring confidence and boldness, and His Spirit will direct and strengthen, enabling us to live victoriously. 

~From Pastor Charles Stanley, Intouch Ministries, intouch.org

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Be The Light

 

 

Every day, there are people crossing our paths who need to hear a word of hope, feel a touch of compassion, see the possibility of a different future. We need not look far to find people who need the light of Christ. We need only to be available, looking, willing and obedient to go where they are.

The light overtakes the darkness and the fear. It makes it all disappear. It eradicates its power. It eliminates its strength. Just as sure as morning follows night, the light of Christ is always coming — through us. As His hands and feet, we are the force that conquers the darkness. We. The undaunted ones.

God’s glory is upon us, and His light can break through the darkest night. That’s why He wants us to partner with Him in bringing light into the dark places where oppressors try their best to shut people away.

We do justly and love mercy and walk humbly with our God when we rise ready (Micah 6:8), when we get up and go out with God to partner with Him in his purposes on the earth. Some days, that may mean nothing more than doing a dozen little things throughout your waking hours to love well your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and those whose path you cross: listening, running an errand, praying, opening your home, preparing a meal.

Whatever God has called you to do where you are, in your realm of influence, you cannot deny that the darkness that surrounds us is growing. Remember, you are the light called to combat that darkness. Together, with God’s help, let’s defeat the darkness, if even for just one life. And then let’s do it for one more, and one more. 

~From Undaunted by Christine Caine

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Think About What You Think About

 

You didn’t select your birthplace or birth date. You didn’t choose your parents or siblings. You don’t determine the weather or the amount of salt in the ocean. There are many things in life over which you have no choice. But the greatest activity of life is well within your dominion.

You can choose what you think about.

For that reason the wise man urges, Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life. — Proverbs 4:23 NCV Do you want to be happy tomorrow? Then sow seeds of happiness today. (Count blessings. Memorize Bible verses. Pray. Sing hymns. Spend time with encouraging people.) Do you want to guarantee tomorrow’s misery? Then wallow in a mental mud pit of self-pity or guilt or anxiety today. (Assume the worst. Beat yourself up. Rehearse your regrets. Complain to complainers.) Thoughts have consequences.

Healing from anxiety requires healthy thinking. Your challenge is not your challenge. Your challenge is the way you think about your challenge. Your problem is not your problem; it is the way you look at it.

Satan knows this. The devil is always messing with our minds. He comes as a thief with the sole intention of stealing and killing and destroying. — John 10:10 He brings only gloom and doom. By the time he was finished with Job, the man was sick and alone. By the time he had done his work in Judas, the disciple had given up on life. The devil is to hope what termites are to an oak; he’ll chew you up from the inside.

He will lead you to a sunless place and leave you there. He seeks to convince you this world has no window, no possibility of light. Exaggerated, overstated, inflated, irrational thoughts are the devil’s specialty.

No one will ever love me. It’s all over for me. Everyone is against me. I’ll never lose weight, get out of debt, or have friends.

What lugubrious, monstrous lies!

No problem is unsolvable. No life is irredeemable. No one’s fate is sealed. No one is unloved or unlovable.

Your challenge is the way you think about your challenge.

But Satan wants us to think we are. He wants to leave us in a swarm of anxious, negative thoughts.

Satan is the master of deceit. But he is not the master of your mind. You have a power he cannot defeat. You have God on your side.

So fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. — Philippians 4:8 NLT

The transliteration of the Greek word, here rendered as fix, is logizomai. Do you see the root of an English word in the Greek one? Yes, logic. Paul’s point is simple: anxiety is best faced with clearheaded, logical thinking.

Turns out that our most valuable weapon against anxiety weighs less than three pounds and sits between our ears. Think about what you think about!

Here is how it works. You receive a call from the doctor’s office. The message is simple and unwelcome. “The doctor has reviewed your tests and would like you to come into the office for a consultation.”

As quickly as you can say “uh-oh,” you have a choice: anxiety or trust.

Anxiety says…

“I’m in trouble. Why does God let bad things happen to me? Am I being punished? I must have done something wrong.”

“These things never turn out right. My family has a history of tragedy. It’s my turn. I probably have cancer, arthritis, jaundice. Am I going blind? My eyes have been blurry lately. Is this a brain tumor?”

“Who will raise the kids? Who will pay the medical bills? I’m going to die broke and lonely. I’m too young for this tragedy! No one can understand me or help me.”

If you aren’t already sick, you will be by the time you go to the doctor’s office. Anxiety weighs down the human heart. — Proverbs 12:25 NRSV

But there is a better way.

Before you call your mom, spouse, neighbor, or friend, call on God. Invite him to speak to the problem. Capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. — 2 Corinthians 10:5 NCV

Slap handcuffs on the culprit, and march it before the One who has all authority: Jesus Christ.

Jesus, this anxious, negative thought just wormed its way into my mind. Is it from You?

Jesus, who speaks nothing but the truth, says, “No, get away from here, Satan.” And as the discerning, sober-minded air traffic controller of your mind, you refuse to let the thought have the time of day.

Lay claim to every biblical promise you can remember, and set out to learn a few more. Grip them for the life preservers they are. Give Satan no quarter. Give his lies no welcome.

Fasten the belt of truth around your waist. — Ephesians 6:14 NRSV

Resist the urge to exaggerate, overstate, or amplify. Focus on the facts, nothing more. The fact is, the doctor has called. The fact is, his news will be good or bad. For all you know, he may want you to be a poster child of good health. All you can do is pray and trust.

So you do. You enter the doctor’s office, not heavied by worry, but buoyed by faith.

Which do you prefer?

 

~From Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado 

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Jesus Is The Truth

 

 

After claiming His lordship was rooted in a kingdom that was not of this world, [Jesus] said, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Jesus was not merely establishing the existence of truth; He was affirming His pristine embodiment of it. He was and is identical with the truth. This means that everything He said and did, and the life He lived in the flesh, represented that which was in keeping with ultimate reality. And therefore to reject Him is to choose to govern oneself with a lie. God’s answers to life’s questions are not just proven by the process of abstract reasoning; they are also sustained by the rigors of experience. And in the reality of history, God has demonstrated empirically the living out of truth in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son.

In short, the intimations of truth come in multisensory fashion. God as guardian of reason leads us to check the correspondence of His Word with reality and to ascertain the coherence of the assertions. But our experience in life proves those truths in concrete reality. Our grand privilege is to know God and to bring our lives into conformity with truth, which leads us to that coherence within.

Jesus said, If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. — John 8:31–32

In a world increasingly enslaved by error and addiction and seduced by ideas and images to believe a lie, how wonderful to be freed by the truth of Christ’s peace. The Scriptures tell us that the enemy of our souls is the father of all lies. He will do anything to keep us from coming to the truth, because it is the most valuable thing in the world and leads us to the Source of all truth, to God alone. 

~From  The Logic of God by Ravi Zacharias

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God Is Merciful So Be Merciful

 

 

God Is Merciful

 

The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
Psalm 145:9 NKJV

The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
Psalm 103:8 NKJV

(for the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.
Deuteronomy 4:31 NKJV

With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; With a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless;
Psalm 18:25 NKJV

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,
Exodus 34:6 NKJV

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Ephesians 2:4-5 NKJV

God Expects You To Be Merciful

Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Luke 6:36 NKJV

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 NKJV

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Matthew 5:7 NKJV

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:13 NKJV
 

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Matthew 18:21-35 NKJV

 

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Jesus Values All

 

 

[T]he disciples argue about who will be the greatest. You might expect that Jesus would quell their argument by proclaiming His deity as the Son of God. You could anticipate Jesus summoning an army of angels to prove the point that He is the greatest, but He didn’t. Instead, He brings a little child into the conversation.

He takes the child in his arms. It makes me wonder. What was it like to be in Jesus’ arms? What was it like to be embraced by God? There are certain people you hug, and it brings about this sense of deep comfort and peace, this sense of belonging and security. I imagine the embrace of Jesus, who was fully man and fully God, infinitely magnifies that feeling.  

By bringing a child into the conversation with these Jewish men, Jesus places value on a young life. In that time, children weren’t allowed into circles where adults were. They were shooed and weren’t even regarded as a family but more like property. Instead of following the typical customs of the day, Jesus does the opposite and welcomes the children. And in doing so, He sets the standard for how others should show hospitality.

I love how Jesus intentionally displays how He values every human life. We’ve seen Him care for the ones who have been sick, the women who were considered inferior, the outcasts who lived along the edges of society, and the young ones.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NIV). This reminds us that Jesus values the ones that society and culture deem worthless, and we should, too. Remember, Jesus came not to be served but to be the servant of all. He made Himself low, and He took on flesh to bear our sin and shame to reunite us with the Father. Everyone deserves the gift of salvation!

Whoever welcomes the servant welcomes Jesus and, even more powerfully, welcomes the Father. This is who God is. He is a father who cares for children, outcasts, the sick, widows, orphans, and the lonely. As a child of God, I want to be just like my Father!

Pray: Heavenly Father, I thank You for the gift of salvation. Thank You for showing me what You are like through Your word. You care for every human being. Help me extend the same gift of hospitality and humility to those around me, just like You did, Jesus. Amen. 

 

~From Denise Trio in The Gospel of Mark Devotional on YouVersion 

 

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When God Celebrates

 

 

It may seem like such a small victory, but one person turning their life over to Christ is THE MISSION being fulfilled of reaching the entire world with the gospel. Just like the world celebrated when one small step was taken onto the moon, so God celebrates when a lost person takes a small step of faith and trusts Him with their life. That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

The Bible talks about a celebration that also takes place when someone makes a small step of faith. I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.- Luke 15:10 NIV When our mission is accomplished, even with just one person, God celebrates, and we should celebrate too.
 

~From God is Like a Rocket Launch: 30 Day Devotional For When You Are Looking for Purpose by Chris Stanley 

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Stand Strong

 

 

There are five major ways through which the devil attacks in order to steal God's Word from us. Intense pressure, persecutions, cares and worries, deceitfulness of possessions, and several forms of lust (or strong desires.) If you stand strong through adversity, refusing to yield to these areas of testing, you will be blessed.

 

~From From Devastation to Restoration (30 Day Devotional by Kayode Tadase

 

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Ask God For A Heart of Flesh

 

 

The Lord wants to give each of us a "heart of flesh" so that we will be pliable and responsive to Him. When touched by the finger of God, a tender heart yields to the pressure and assumes the form He desires, much like a lump of clay that allows the potter to determine the shape of the vessel.

To aid in this process, God has sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each believer and awaken responsiveness in him or her. By yielding to the Spirit's promptings with ready obedience, the heart becomes increasingly tender and sensitive to His leading. The Lord is able to impart greater understanding of His Word to a soft heart because it has faithfully accepted and obeyed previous teachings.

Any resistance to God will result in hardening. But those who are accustomed to intimacy with Christ—which is the result of submission to Him—will be quick to deal with sin and return to the place of obedience and blessing.

People with tender hearts stay closely connected to the body of Christ, seeking to build up and encourage others in their walk of faith. Such individuals are not only receptive to what God wants to tell them; they are also teachable, in that they are willing to listen and be corrected by others.

This week when you read your Bible and pray, let your heart be soft toward the words of God. As He pokes His finger into each hard area, listen to His instructions, and rely on the Spirit's power to help you yield and obey. Let Him shape you into a beautiful and useful vessel. 

~From Pastor Charles Stanley, Intouch Ministries, intouch.org

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Let Jesus Reign In Your Life

 

 

We sing songs with lyrics that invoke God’s presence and blessings to rain down on us, but what if we’ve gotten it all wrong this whole time? What if it isn’t “let it rain,” but rather, let it reign. Like, let God’s power reign over you. Let His comfort reign through you. Let His peace reign inside of you. It’s not water falling from the sky. It’s His sovereignty ruling in your life. Reign is what kings do. So if we call Jesus the King of Kings, it’s about time we let Him be King over our situations. If He’s the Lord of Lords, then let’s allow Him to be Lord over our worries, anxieties, and doubts. He says that His thoughts and His ways are higher than ours, and the only way they get on the same wavelength is when we holla at Him first, before we create chaos in our lives.

~From Bamboozled by Jesus: How God Tricked Me Into the Life of My Dreams by Yvonne Orji, Actress and Comedian 

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No Matter The Mess, Go To God

 

 

It’s hard to ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse us, because it means admitting our brokenness. Often, we’d rather hide our mistakes or try to self-help our way to Jesus. But the Gospel isn’t about pulling ourselves up to God’s level. It’s about God sending His Son down to ours.

Your past doesn’t have to paralyze you. Your mistakes do not define you. Your brokenness is not too big for the God who set the stars into motion.

Sometimes, the most faith-filled thing we can do is come to God in the middle of our mess, acknowledging that it’s too big for us to clean up.

The truth is, none of us can deep clean ourselves. Our mess is a reminder that we need a Savior, and His name is Jesus.

Pray: God, I come to You today feeling the weight of my mistakes. Remove my guilt and shame, and remind me of Your love, forgiveness, and mercy. Help me overcome any unbelief in my heart, and strengthen my faith so that I can serve You. In Jesus’ name, amen.  

~From Deep Clean: Getting Rid of Shame, Toxic Influences, and Unforgiveness Devotional on YouVersion 

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

God Is Working On Your Behalf

 

 

When you're in the middle of a painful situation, it can often feel like God isn't doing anything about it. But it's vitally important for you to trust Him during this time, because He is working in your heart to make you more like Christ . . . and He is working behind the scenes to orchestrate your new beginning.

James 1:2-4 says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete.

The truth is, God uses the difficult times in your life to build your faith, develop your character, and make you stronger. In fact, how you respond to life's difficulties has everything to do with the next steps for your life.

So, what should you do when you're stuck in a difficult spot?

 

1. Never give up!

2. Avoid blaming God.

3. Do what's right.

4. Don't isolate yourself.

5. Don't stop believing!

 

~From "What To Do When You're Stuck," Enjoying Everyday Life, Joyce Meyer, joycemeyer.org 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!

We Long For God

 

 

We all struggle with the temptation of idolatry in forms as numerous and diverse as us. But let’s not forget that the “one thing” our soul truly longs for is for God to occupy His rightful place in our lives . . . and as He does, our story will be much different than this man. 

 

~From The Study Of Mark Devotional, Part 5 on YouVersion

 

Stay Encouraged and Be Blessed!