HOW TO WIN THE BATTLE

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
- Ephesians 6:14–15 NIV

The Bible says that if we meet our battles with peace and respond to the upsets in life with peace, we will experience victory. It's a paradox; it doesn't make any sense. How can we win if we stop fighting?

My husband used to make me mad because he would not fight with me. I was upset and angry, and I wanted him to say just one thing so I could rail on and on. But when Dave saw that I was just looking for an argument, he would be quiet and tell me, "I am not going to fight with you." Sometimes he would even get in the car and leave for a while, infuriating me even more, but I could not fight with someone who would not fight back.

Moses told the Israelites not to fight when they found the Red Sea facing them on one side and the Egyptian army chasing them on the other. They became frightened, and he told them, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest(Exodus 14:13–14).

Notice that Moses told the Israelites to "hold [their] peace and remain at rest." Why? They were at war, and it was necessary for them to respond with peace in order to win the battle. God would fight for them if they would show their confidence in Him by being peaceful. If you hold on to your peace, He will do the same for you.

Trust in Him Are you fighting a battle when you should be holding your peace? Choose to stop fighting and trust God to fight for you. That is how to win a battle.

Sit Down

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), and raised us up together, and made us set together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 
—Ephesians 2:4-6, NKJV

Today’s scripture says that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. I read past that passage one day, and the Holy Spirit stopped me. I just felt that I had missed something so I went back and read it again: “God . . . seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” I still didn’t get it. So I went back and read it once more, and finally, I got it! We are seated. We are seated.

Then I started thinking of how Jesus is depicted in the Bible after His resurrection and ascension. As in this passage, He is often depicted as being seated at the right hand of the Father.

Do you know what people do when they sit? They rest. To be seated in heavenly places with Jesus is to enter an “inner rest.”

Sometimes when you start to get nervous and upset, anxious or worried, you just need to tell yourself, “Sit down.” That does not mean just your physical body; it also means your soul—your mind, will and emotions. It is important to let your entire being rest and just wait on God. Wait expectantly for God to do what you cannot do.

Don’t worry, get frustrated or fearful while you are waiting on God. Be at peace and rest! Sometimes allowing ourselves to rest is challenging because we seem to feel that we should always be ‘doing’ something. . So, if you are struggling, take a seat and rest. The promise of God’s peace is not made to those who work, struggle and strive in their own strength, but to those enter God’s rest.

Love Yourself Today: Lord, teach me how to enter your holy rest while I wait on you to work in my life.

God’s Guarantee


Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
—Joshua 1:9 

Notice the emphasis that God places on Himself. Joshua was to keep his eyes on God and His command. He was not to get entangled in other things that might frighten him; he was to stay focused on his goal. If he obeyed God, he would not only help himself, he would also have the privilege of leading multitudes of people into a better life. 
And just in case he needed one last encouragement, God basically repeats Himself in saying He would be with Joshua. I believe His discourse to Joshua is evidence that there would be reasons in the natural for him to fear and become dismayed and want to turn back. When we take steps of faith to make progress in life, there is no guarantee that we will not experience opposition. But we do have God’s guarantee that He will always be with us, and that is truly all we need. We don’t need to know what God is going to do, how He is going to do it, or when He is going to do it. We only need to know that He is with us. 
Lord, of all the blessings in life, the greatest one I ask You for is that You will be with me as You were with Joshua. I can do without a lot of things, but not without You. Amen.

Your True Value 
 

Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.
—Exodus 19:5 

In Exodus 19:5, the Lord tells His people that they are His own "peculiar possession and treasure." That word applies to us today as much as it did to the children of Israel. In John 3:18, Jesus told Nicodemus that no one who believes in Him will ever be condemned (rejected). You may not feel treasured, or even acceptable, but you are. In Ephesians 1:6 (KJV), Paul says that all of us who believe in Christ have been "accepted in the beloved." That should give us a sense of personal value and worth. 
I remember standing in a prayer line where I overheard a woman next to me telling the pastor who was ministering to her how much she hated and despised herself. The pastor became very firm with her and in a strong manner rebuked her, saying, "Who do you think you are? You have no right to hate yourself. God paid a high price for you and your freedom. He loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you, to suffer in your place. You have no right to hate or reject yourself. Your part is to receive what Jesus died to give you!" 
The woman was shocked. I was shocked too, just listening. Yet sometimes it takes a strong word to get us to realize the trap that Satan has set for us. Do you lack appreciation for your own value and worth? Surely, you are valuable; otherwise your heavenly Father would not have paid such a heavy price for your redemption.

A Confused Mind


If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, [for being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]. 
—James 1:5–8 

My friend Eva received a summons for jury duty in a robbery trial. For two days, twelve citizens listened to the prosecuting attorney as he presented evidence to indicate that the accused had broken into a home and stolen many items. Eva was ready to convict him. 
On the third day, the defense attorney presented the other side of the picture. The more Eva listened, the more confused she became. What had seemed very obvious at first now seemed ambiguous and contradictory. 
Although the jury did convict the man, Eva said she struggled over making the right decision. Each attorney, when he was speaking, had seemed to be the most convincing. 
Many Christians live much the same way day to day. They have become what James calls double-minded. They’re sure of one thing until something else happens, and then they flip-flop to the opposite opinion. 
In their double-mindedness, they flit from one opinion to the other. They’re sure they know what to do, and then they switch again. The moment they feel sure they have made the decision they plan to stick with, they begin to wonder if it was the correct one. They continually doubt and question their reasoning. 
This kind of behavior is not the same as being open-minded. To be open-minded means we’re willing to hear all sides of an issue—like jurors should be at a trial. But eventually we have to sort through the evidence or the circumstances in life and say, “This is what I’m going to do.” 
That sounds good, but too many people have trouble being decisive. “What if I make a mistake?” they ask. “What If I choose the wrong thing?” Those are legitimate ques¬tions, but they are not meant to paralyze God’s people and prevent them from acting. Too often, these are tools that Satan uses to distract and prevent Christians from taking action. I’m an expert on this. For many years, I was that double-minded person James wrote about. I didn’t like being that way. It took so much energy to keep rethinking the same problems. But I was so afraid of making a mistake that I didn’t know how to make good decisions. It took a long time before I realized that the devil had declared war against me, and that my mind was his personal battlefield. At that moment of awareness, I felt totally confused about everything, and I didn’t understand why. 
So many of God’s people are living exactly where I was then. They’re reasonable people. That is, they have the ability to figure out causes and relationships and reasons. They sincerely try to understand all the implications of a situation and then find the most sensible or logical solution by putting their reasoning ability to work. Too often, this is where Satan sneaks in and steals the will of God from them. God may speak to them about doing a certain thing, and it may not always seem to be the most sensible course of action. This presents an opportunity for the devil to cause them to question—to become double-minded. 
For example, sometimes I sense that God wants me to bless people by giving to them—often an item of jewelry or clothing. On occasion, God wants me to give away a new and fairly expensive dress that I’ve never worn. It doesn’t make sense when I go through the natural reasoning process, but when I open myself to the Spirit of God, I have the assurance that it is the right thing to do. 
God’s Spirit is always available to free you from natural reasoning that leaves you confused. Ask of the One who gives wisdom liberally, and He will free you of being indecisive and double-minded. 
Dear Father, in the past, I’ve been double-minded and confused, giving Satan an advantage over me. Please forgive me. I ask You now, in faith, to give me the necessary wisdom to overcome all of Satan’s confusion. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

SANCTIFICATION OF THE SOUL


So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.
—James 1:21 

Once you are born again, your spirit has been reborn and you will go to heaven when you die. But God is not finished—He is just beginning. You need to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 KJV). In other words, your soul needs to be saved. The soul is often defined as the mind, the will, and the emotions. Each of these areas needs salvation. 
The Holy Spirit works relentlessly to transform the whole man into God’s perfect will. This process is called sanctification. When your soul is renewed with His Word, you think His thoughts and not your own. Submit yourself to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to change every thought and motive.

Four Principles for Successful Daily Living 


For let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days [good—whether apparent or not] keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile (treachery, deceit). Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace . . . and seek it eagerly. . . . 
—1 Peter 3:10–11 

I enjoy just reading over this passage and soaking up the power from its principles for successful daily living. It gives four specific principles for those who want to enjoy life:
1. Keep your tongue free from evil. God’s Word states clearly, the power of life and death is in the mouth. We can bring blessing or misery into our lives with our words. When we speak rashly we often get into arguments, so choose your words carefully.
2. Turn away from wickedness. We must take action to remove ourselves from wickedness or from a wicked environment. The action we must take could mean altering our friendships; it could even mean loneliness for a period of time. But you can always trust God to be with you.
3. Do right. The decision to do right must follow the decision to stop doing wrong. Both are definite choices. Repentance is twofold; it requires turning away from sin and turning to righteousness.
4. Search for peace. Notice that we must search for it, pursue it, and go after it. We cannot merely desire peace without any accompanying action, but we must desire peace with action. We need to search for peace in our relationship with God and with others.
When I started living by these principles, not only did my relationships improve, but so did my health, my attitude, and all areas of my life. The same will be true for you.
Trust in Him Which of these four principles do you need to work on the most? Focus on one area at a time, and trust God to give you the power for a breakthrough so that you can enjoy your everyday life.

Begin Again

They set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the Israelites went out [of Egypt] with a high hand and triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had struck down among them
—Numbers 33:3–4

Are you doing what you really believe you should be doing at this stage in your life, or have you allowed fear and a lack of confidence to prevent you from stepping out into new things—or higher levels of old things? If you don’t like your answer, then let me give you some good news: It is never too late to begin again! Don’t spend one more day living a narrow life that has room for only you and your fears. Make a decision right now that you will learn to live boldly, aggressively, and confidently. Don’t let fear rule you any longer.
It’s important to note that you can’t just sit around and wait for fear to go away. You will have to feel the fear and take action anyway. Or, as John Wayne put it, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” In other words, courage is not the absence of fear; it is action in the presence of fear. Bold people do what they know they should do—not what they feel like doing.
Lord, show me any narrowness in my life and help me to take the steps of faith that break the rule of fear over my life. Amen.

God Speaks So He Can Help Us

The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
—Isaiah 10:27 KJV

When God speaks to you about an issue that needs to be dealt with in your life, you should not put it off. You can trust that the anointing, which is the power and ability of the Holy Spirit, is present to break its grip on you. If you put off confronting the problem until you want to deal with it, you may have to face trying to change without God’s power or anointing.
We often want to do things in our own timing, and we struggle and struggle because it is not anointed by God at the time we are trying to deal with it. For example, there are times when I feel like I want to confront an issue with an employee, but I know that it would be wiser for me to pray about it for a while and let God prepare that person’s heart. When I follow God’s timetable, I always have His anointing to get it done. I have learned to deal with issues when God wants to deal with them and leave them alone when He wants me to wait. I have also had the frustrating experience of trying over and over to change myself without waiting on God’s help and timing. God’s anointing must be present for anything to work right in our lives.
When God convicts us of something that needs to change in our lives that means He has prepared us to face it. We may not feel that we are ready, but we can trust that His timing is perfect and His anointing is present to break the yoke that is hindering our full freedom. I have learned to say, “Lord, I may not feel ready, but if You say the time is now then I trust that Your power is with me and I am willing to be obedient to You.” As you step out in faith to deal with issues you will find that the wisdom, grace, power, and ability that you need are present.
God’s word for you today: Don’t put off until another day what He wants you to deal with today.

Learn to Wait on God

Therefore return to your God! Holdfast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait [expectantly] for your God continually!
—Hosea 12:6

When Judas betrayed Jesus, He had insight to know what Judas was doing, but He just stood there and let him continue with his greeting, his embrace, and his kiss. Then in Matthew 26:50, Jesus said to him, Friend . . . (You ought to circle the word friend in your Bible.) Knowing that Judas was betraying Him, He still called him, Friend, for what are you here? Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him. Peter, ready to defend Jesus drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Whack! Old lion-like Peter was full of fleshly zeal. He whipped out that sword and chopped off his ear. You know what Peter was thinking? "Bless God, we don't have to put up with this! Whack! You're messing with God's anointed!"

But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him (Luke 22:51 NIV). Peter was always talking when he didn't need to be talking, doing things when he didn't need to be doing them. Peter needed to learn how to wait on God and he needed to learn humility and meekness. God wanted to use Peter in a mighty way, but if Peter wanted to preach the Good News of the Gospel, he couldn't do it by taking his sword out and chopping off ears when he felt angry.

Our abrasive words can cut off hearing, just as Peter's sword cut off the servant's ear. We just can't come at people whenever we feel like justice is needed. We must be submissive to God; and if He says, "Say nothing," we are to stand there and just let them think they are right even though we know they're not. We have to say, "Yes, Lord," and accept that He doesn't even owe us an explanation. How many times do we prevent somebody's spiritual growth or how many times do we prevent the blessings of God from coming on our own life simply because we don't have control of the words that come out of our mouths?

None of us would have our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life if Jesus hadn't been submissive or if He had opened His mouth when He shouldn't have. And He is our example. Jesus asks us to trust Him and wait on Him because He loves us.

 Think About What You Are Thinking About


Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
—Philippians 4:8b

Some people are very unhappy, and they have been that way so long that they no longer realize there is another option. I can well remember being like that. I blamed my unhappiness on the way others behaved. I thought my husband and children caused me the most unhappiness. If they would change and just be a little more sensitive to my needs, I knew I’d feel better. If they would help around the house more, volunteer to run errands, or just ask how I was doing, I knew I’d be happy. Of course, I never said anything to them. If they were sensitive and caring, I thought, they would be able to see how they could help me and make my life easier. I did pray about it, and I often told God how much happier I would be if they cooperated more, but they didn’t change. 
One day, God spoke to me—but not with the words I wanted to hear. He said, “Think about what you are thinking about. “ I had no idea what God meant. In fact, the words didn’t make sense. How could I think about what I was thinking about?
Then I realized the truth. My mind raced from one thought to another. That was bad enough, but worse, my thoughts centered around myself and my needs. I had thought that if they—the other people in my life—changed, I would be happy. I finally reluctantly admitted that even if they changed, I’d find something else to be unhappy about. I was just unhappy and didn’t need any particular reason. It was first one thing and then another.
As I pondered my condition, I thought of Philippians 4:8, where Paul presented a list of the kind of things we need to focus on. If God did not want me to think about the things I was thinking about, I first needed to know what I should think about. I soon realized I had a lot to learn. Although I had been attending church for years, I could not remember anyone ever telling me how important my thoughts were to God and to my quality of life.
If we concentrate our thoughts on good things—the kind of things Paul mentioned in that verse—we will be built up. We will grow spiritually and become strong in the Lord.
As I continued to meditate on God’s message, I realized how my thoughts affected my attitude—and this is true of all of us. God tells us to do things that are for our good. He wants us to be happy and fulfilled. If we want happiness and fulfillment, we must find it God’s way. If we’re full of wrong thoughts, we’re miserable. That’s not a theory—that’s spoken from my own experience and is found in God’s Word. I’ve also learned that when we’re miserable, we usually end up making others around us miserable, too.
Since those days, I’ve made it a practice to take a regular inventory of my thoughts. I review the way I think. What have I been thinking about? I ask myself.
I stress this because—as I learned from my own experience—¬Satan deceives us into thinking that the source of our misery or pain is other people or sometimes our situations. He tries not to let us face the fact that our own thoughts are the source of our unhappiness. I would venture to say that it is practically impossible to be happy while maintaining negative, critical, depressing thoughts.
We need to overcome Satan in this area of the battle for our thoughts, and God will help us if we ask Him to.
Dear Lord Jesus, I have determined to think about the things I have been thinking about. I admit that my thoughts are the source of any unhappiness that I experience and not other people. I also know that the source of my victory is in You, and in Your name, I ask You to give me greater victory as I monitor my thoughts through the help of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Real Thing

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltiness be restored? . . . You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 
—Matthew 5:13-14 

When people learn you’re a Christian, they want to know if you are “for real.” Many people have tried “religion” and had a bad experience. God uses us to reach the world. If you are to be effective salt, you must allow Jesus to shine through your life. 
You probably know someone who just lights up a room. In the same way, Christians who let the light of Jesus shine can change the whole atmosphere around them. Unbelievers ought to feel as though the power has suddenly come on—even if they don’t understand why. When you arrive at your job in the morning, be salt and light so those around you know that your relationship with Jesus is the real thing.

Offer Yourself Freely 

We are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God. 
—2 Corinthians 2:15
The Bible says that every morning God’s people brought freewill offerings to Him. They all had various sacrifices such as animals, grains, and cereals (See Exodus 35). God wants us to offer our lives in dedicated service to him. 
The Bible says that God is pleased with our sacrifice of praise (See Hebrews 13:15), and that our prayers go up before God as a sweet-smelling sacrifice. He wants us to bring ourselves to Him every morning and say, “God, here I am; I want to be a living sacrifice.”

Let Go and Let God Work

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. 
—Romans 8:28
My husband is a very happy man; he is consistently joyful and peaceful. Over the years we have been married, he has enjoyed his life much more than I have enjoyed mine, and he has not spent (wasted) nearly as much time as I have being angry, upset, and frustrated. 
When certain problems arise, Dave says, “If you can do something about this, do it. If you can’t, go on about your business, trust God, and let Him take care of it.” That always sounded good to me, but it used to take me longer to “let go and let God work” than it did him, but now I am catching up.
Recently, we were riding in the car together and Dave received a phone call about a change in one of our television air times. This happened to be on one of our best stations, and he did not like the change.
He started getting upset, and I heard myself say, “Don’t let it bug you. God will make it work out for the best if we pray.” I didn’t even have to try to be positive; it was my first response. I am continually amazed at how much God can change us if we continue praying and letting Him work in our lives. Here I was actually encouraging Mr. Positive, when most of my life it had been the other way around. That felt good!
If we really love God and want to do His will, then we must believe—no matter what happens in our lives—that God is in control and He will take everything that happens and make it work out for our good. Certain circumstances may not always feel good or appear to be good, but God will cause them to work together with other things in your life to bring about good. God is a good God, and He can take even the worst situations and bring something positive out of them.
Trust in Him:Think about a situation in your life you can’t do anything about. Say from your heart, “I trust God and believe this will work out for my good.” Now let it go and let God work.

Never Say “No Way”

Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me. 
—John 14:6

Have you ever faced a situation and said, “There is no way”? Maybe some of these thoughts weigh on your mind:
There is no way I can handle the pressure at work.
There is no way I can pay my bills at the end of the month. There is no way I can save my marriage.
There is no way I can keep my house clean and straight. There is no way I can lose the weight I need to lose.
There is always a way. It may not be easy, it may not be convenient, it may not come quickly; but if you will simply keep on keeping on and refuse to give up, you will find a way. Jesus is the Way, and He will help you find a way where there doesn’t seem to be one.
Power Thought: I refuse to say “no way”; Jesus is the Way.

What’s in a Name? Everything!

. . . Jesus is the Christ, . . . you may have life through (in) His name [through Who He is].
— John 20:31

The name of Jesus represents everything that He is—all of His righteousness, all of His perfection, all of His grace and love—that name is powerful. There is no power in your name or my name, but there is awesome power in the name of Jesus His name represents everything about who He is.

Let’s think about this in practical, terms. My name has not always been Joyce Meyer. I did not take Dave’s last name until I married him. Nothing of his belonged to me until we entered into the legal covenant of marriage. When we married, I did not have a car, but Dave did. When I got his name, I suddenly got a car too. I did not have much money; in fact, I was in debt. Dave did have money, so when I married him, I had money too and was able to pay off my bills. I did not have access to anything of Dave’s until I married him and took his name. When I became Mrs. Dave Meyer, everything he had became mine. While we were dating, I still had my maiden name, I still had my debt and I still had no car.

We cannot “date” Jesus and expect to enjoy the privileges that come with true commitment. By that, I mean that we cannot just spend time with Him occasionally and try to keep up a relationship only because of the blessings He offers us. We can only enjoy the full privileges of a relationship with Him when our hearts are truly committed. God knows what kind of relationship we have with Him, whether we are “dating” or whether we have given ourselves to Him in total commitment. When we are joined to Him in committed relationship, we can be confident that He will give to us everything His name affords—and we can enjoy it.

Love God Today: Are you in committed relationship with Jesus? Then everything His name represents belongs to you.

Study God’s Word; Hear God’s Voice 

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
—(2 Timothy 2:15) 

Anyone who wants to hear God’s voice must be a student of the Word. Of all the other ways God may choose to speak to us, He will never contradict the written Word, which was originally referred to by the Greek word logos. His spoken word in the Greek language is referred to as rhema. God specifically brings to our remembrance His logos for every situation. His rhema (spoken word to us) may not be found word for word on the pages of the Bible, but its principles will always be supported by the written Word. In this way, the Bible confirms whether or not what we are hearing is from God. —(2 Timothy 2:15) 
For example, the logos, the written Word, doesn’t tell us when to buy a new car or what kind to buy. We need the rhema word for that. Even though the Word doesn’t give specific instructions on buying a car, it does say a lot about wisdom. If we think we have “heard” that we are supposed to buy a certain kind of car and then realize such a large purchase would put us into deep debt for several years, we can easily see that buying that car would not be wise and the voice we thought we heard was not God’s. —(2 Timothy 2:15) 
God’s word for you today:> Logos + rhema = wisdom.

RECEIVING FORGIVENESS

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].

—1 John 1:9

Many years ago when I was first developing my relationship with the Lord, each night I would beg His forgiveness for my past sins. One evening as I knelt beside my bed, I heard the Lord say to me, "Joyce, I forgave you the first time you asked, but you have not received My gift of forgiveness because you have not forgiven yourself."

Have you received God's gift of forgiveness? If you have not, and you are ready to do so, ask the Lord to forgive you for all your sins right now. Then pray this aloud:

Lord, I receive forgiveness for (name the sin), in Christ Jesus. I forgive myself and accept your gift of forgiveness as my own. I believe that you remove the sin from me completely, putting it at a distance where it can never be found again—as far as the east is from the west. And I believe. Lord, that you remember it no more.

You will find that speaking aloud is often helpful to you because by doing so you are declaring your stand upon God's Word. The devil cannot read your mind but he does understand your words. Declare before all the principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12) that Christ has set you free and that you intend to walk in that freedom.

When you speak, sound as though you mean it! If the devil tries to bring that sin to your mind again in the form of guilt and condemnation, repeat your declaration, telling him: "I was forgiven for that sin! It has been taken care of—therefore, I take no care for it."

Remember, "There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

THE WAITING GOD


And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for his victory].
—Isaiah 30:18

This verse has become one of my favorites, and it has often been a source of encouragement to me when I’ve had hard times. The Living Bible paraphrases the verse like this: “Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him, so he can show you his love; he will conquer you to bless you, just as he said. For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.” Let’s think of the implication of the promise. God waits for us. As I think of that promise, it staggers my mind. The Creator of the universe and the Giver of all life has chosen to wait for us—waits for us to come to our senses, waits for us to respond to His love, waits for us to turn to Him for help.
That’s a staggering thought. God wants to show us love.
Perhaps as much as anywhere else, Satan attempts to build a mental stronghold right there. When we contemplate God’s love for us, many of us can’t take it in. We can only think of our failures, our shortcomings, and dozens of other reasons why God shouldn’t love us.
That reminds me of a kind man I’ve known for many years. One day he took care of a situation for me that he didn’t have to. I was surprised and deeply touched. “You are probably the kindest man I know,” I told him.
He stared at me in shock. “Me? Kind? Oh, I can be mean-spirited and cruel,” he said. For several minutes, he explained to me that he couldn’t possibly be a kind man. “I live with myself all the time, and I see all my defects.”
“Maybe that’s the trouble,” I told him. “You see your defects so clearly, you don’t see your caring, compassionate qualities. You discount all those things.”
He never could accept that he was kind. I also used the word gentle and that surprised him, too.
Perhaps that’s how it is with many of God’s people. We are so absorbed by our failures and all the wrong things we see about ourselves, it’s hard to believe that God wants to bless us. If we read, “God wants to punish you,” we wouldn’t have trouble, saying, “Yes, that’s what I deserve.”
But how would we answer if someone said, “God wants to bless you”? We probably would say, “I don’t deserve that.”
How many of us believe we are entitled to God’s blessings? We want the good things. We want God to love us, encourage us, bless us, and give us victory, but to say we deserve the blessings may be more than we are willing to accept.
Why do we struggle over the concept of deserving? Our tendency is to think that we have to do something to earn the blessings . . . that we have to be good enough or faithful enough. We miss the point of God’s powerful, gracious love. Our blessings from God are not a result of our goodness. They are the result of God’s goodness.
We are entitled to God’s blessings for only one reason: because we are His children. It’s just that simple. Those of us who are parents grasp that concept with regard to our children. We brought them into the world, and they deserve our love. We freely give them our love before they do anything good or bad. They deserve our protection and all the good things we choose to give them. They don’t deserve those things because they’ve done something to earn them, but simply because they are our children.
Satan loves to trip us up on this one. As soon as we think it is right for us to be blessed, he points to our weaknesses or our failures. God points to our relationship. That’s the difference.

CHOOSE TO PLEASE GOD

Now am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ (the Messiah)..
—Galatians 1:10 

The apostle Paul said that in his ministry he had to choose between pleasing men and pleasing God. That is a choice you also must make. 
If your goal is to build a name for yourself and win favor with people, it will cause you to live in fear of man rather than in fear of God. 
For years I tried to build my own reputation among believers by striving to win the favor of men. But through bitter experience I learned I was submitting to a sort of slavery to people. God helped me realize I could only be truly free in Him. 
If you are trying to build your reputation with people, it’s time to give up all your own human efforts and simply trust God. He will give you supernatural favor with the people that are right for you.

Prepare to Love Others

The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [ full] armor of light.
—Romans 13:12

Before your feet touch the floor in the morning, put on the full armor of God with which you can quench all the fiery darts of the enemy (See Ephesians 6:13–17). Put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the readiness of the gospel of peace.

Don’t let the devil steal your peace in the morning. Start talking to God before you even get out of bed. Tell Him, “I love You, Lord, and I need Your help today. Please strengthen me to walk in the fruit of the Spirit. Help me walk in love all day long. Help me to keep my thoughts on You, Lord.”

And God Said . . . And It Was So

And God said, Let us make man in our image. . . . So God created man in his own image. 
—Genesis1:26 –27 KJV

According to Genesis, God created everything we see with words! He called them into being: 
“And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. . . . 
“And God said, Let there be a firmament [the expanse of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below] from the waters [above]. . . . 
“And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be collected into one place [of standing], and let the dry land appear. And it was so” (Genesis 1:3, 6, 9). 
Everything God said came to pass, and you are created in God’s image, and your words also have power. Your words can call things into being, so use them wisely! Speak in agreement with and believe in God’s plan for your life, and you will see it come to pass. 
Power Thought: My words have the power to create my reality.

Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, Nobody

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. 
—James 4:17, NIV
Years ago I heard a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. In the end, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. 
I once read about a shocking incident that shows the principles of this story at work—tragically—in real life. In 1964 Catherine Genovese was stabbed to death over a period of 35 minutes while 38 neighbors watched. Their reaction was described as cold and uncaring, a result of urban apathy and alienation. Later, research by Latane and Darley revealed that no one had helped simply because there were so many observers. The observers looked to one another for guidance on what to do. Since no one was doing anything, they determined that no one should be doing anything. 
People are less likely to receive help in time of need as the number of by-standers increases. A student appearing to have an epileptic seizure was helped 85 percent of the time when only one bystander was present, but when several people were standing by and watching he received help only 31 percent of the time. 
This study proves that the more people do nothing, the more people will do nothing, but if even a small group of committed people will begin to reach out to others with care and love, smiles and compliments, appreciation and respect, the movement can and will grow. 
We are affected by the actions of people around us. We look to one another for direction, often without even knowing it. Most people will agree with the majority even if they really don’t agree. 
If, as Christians, we want to demonstrate love to the world around us, we must become examples to others instead of merely following the crowd. 
Love OthersToday: When you have the ability to help someone, don’t assume somebody else will do it. Do it yourself.

A Winning Combination

 Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who finds skillful and godly Wisdom, and the man who gets understanding [drawing it forth from God’s Word and life’s experiences]. 

—Proverbs 3:13

One of my favorite ways to hear from God is through conventional wisdom and common sense. Wisdom discerns truth in a situation, while common sense provides good judgment regarding what to do with the truth. I consider wisdom supernatural because it isn’t taught by men; it is a gift from God. 
Many sophisticated, intelligent people lack wisdom and common sense. God’s Word says, “If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). 
I am amazed how many people think they must stop using common sense in order to be “spiritual.” Spiritual people don’t float around all day on clouds of glory; they live in the real world and deal with real issues in real ways. They need real answers, just like everyone else—and those answers are found in God’s Word and revealed to us by His Spirit. 
We do the seeking, and God does the speaking, but He is the Spirit of Wisdom and will not tell us to do anything that is unwise. Many times we ask God to speak to us and lead us, but if He does not give us a specific word from Scripture or speak a word in our hearts, we still have to live our daily lives and make decisions. God is not going to dictate every little choice we make, but He does give us wisdom and common sense—and those two make a winning combination. 
God's word for you today: If you do the seeking, God will do the speaking.

MY FEELINGS
 

Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.
—Romans 10:9–10
“But I can’t help the way I feel,” Angie moaned. 
Most of us hear this statement often. It means that the way the person feels is settled, and they believe they have to go with those feelings. It’s like an unchallenged fact of life. 
We have feelings, and sometimes they are strong, but we get confused. We allow our feelings to determine our decisions and, ultimately, our destiny. With that type of mindset, it means that if we feel discouraged, we are discouraged; if we feel victorious, we are victorious. It means that if we feel depressed, we must be depressed. 
Someone once said, “My feelings are emotions; they are not reality.” In other words, just because we feel a certain way doesn’t make that feeling a fact. It only means that we feel that way. We must learn to press past our feelings. 
Perhaps an example will help. Janet sells real estate, and when she makes a sale, she feels wonderful and successful. Last month she sold five upscale homes and made an excellent commission. This month she has sold only one, and she feels as if she’s a failure. Is Janet a failure? No. It’s just that on dark days, she feels that way; but that doesn’t mean it’s true. 
Today I may not feel God at work in my life. But is that true, or is that the way I feel? I know many people who don’t feel loved by God—that’s how they feel, but it isn’t the truth. 
The devil gains a stronghold in this area. If he can convince us that our feelings are reality, he has made great progress, and we are easily defeated. 
Years ago, I spoke in a church, and many people came up to me to tell me how my message had encouraged them. I beamed because I was still new in the ministry, and I really needed lots of compliments in order to feel successful. One man said, “I didn’t agree with anything you said. You need to get your theology straight.” And he walked away. 
Immediately discouragement overwhelmed me. I had tried hard to be God’s instrument to the people, and I had failed. As I left the church, I thought about what had happened. At least fifty people had told me how my words blessed them. One man came to me with a negative message. How did I react? I believed the negative. I allowed his words to shift my thinking, and I convinced myself I had failed. 
I hadn’t failed. I had listened to the wrong voice and allowed it to control my feelings. I determined that never again would I allow one negative voice to discourage me and make me
feel that I had failed. Perhaps I had failed to help that man—and I couldn’t do anything about it—but my teaching had touched many others. One woman had tears in her eyes when she told me that I had given her exactly the right word she needed to hear. 
I did something else that night. I reminded myself that what I experienced had been a negative feeling, but it had not been reality. I began to quote Bible verses, reminding myself that Satan attacks us where we’re weak and vulnerable. I was new to public speaking, and the man with the negative word knew that. 
I thought of Romans 10:9–10. We often quote these two verses when we speak to people about their salvation; however, the principle is there no matter what the subject. Paul says that we need to believe in our heart and confess with our lips. I stopped and said aloud, “God, I believe I am in Your service. I believe I did my best for You. I believe You used my words to bless many people. I do not have to listen to that one negative voice.” 
Within minutes, I felt better. (See how quickly our feelings can change?) Reality hadn’t changed, but I had. I refused to allow negative, wrong thinking to turn me from reality. 
Loving and caring God, forgive me for thinking wrong thoughts and for allowing wrong feelings to determine my attitude. I ask You, in the name of Jesus, to help me believe Your Word and to entertain positive thoughts. Amen.

IT'S YOUR FUTURE

Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men. 
—Acts 24:16

The Roman poet Horace wrote: “Rule your mind or it will rule you.” The enemy wants your mind; he wants to control or influence as much of your thinking as possible, but you do not have to let him. The key to overcoming him is learning to discipline your thinking, and disciplining yourself to believe you are disciplined is the beginning. As my son once said, “Discipline is a discipline!” 
Most people don’t get excited when the subject of discipline comes up. However, if you learn to understand the power, the liberty, the joy, and the victory discipline brings to your life, you will embrace it eagerly.

CONFRONTING FEAR

Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught.
—Proverbs 3:25–26 NKJV

I once heard a story of a village where the children were told, “Whatever you do, don’t go near the top of the mountain. It’s where the monster lives.” One day, some brave young men decided they wanted to see the monster and defeat it. Halfway up the mountain, they encountered a huge roar and a terrible stench. Half the men ran down the mountain, screaming. The other half of the group got farther up the mountain and noticed the monster was smaller than they had expected—but it continued to roar and emit such a stench that all but one man ran away.

As he took another step forward, the monster shrank to the size of a man. Another step, and it shrank again. It was still hideously ugly and stank, but the man could actually pick it up and hold it in the palm of his hand. He said to the monster, “Who are you?” In a tiny, high-pitched voice, the monster squeaked, “My name is Fear.”

If you follow God’s plan for conquering fear, you will find one day that the things that frightened you the most were really nothing at all.

Lord, help me to begin to confront the fears I’ve been running away from. I want to silence the roars that keep me from moving ahead with my life. Amen.

A SIMPLE PRIVILEGE

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the [whole] person; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
—Psalm 19:7

I cannot imagine a higher honor than being able to talk to and hear from God, and I believe prayer is the greatest privilege of our lives. It’s not something we have to do; it’s something we get to do. Prayer is the way we partner with God to see His plans and purposes come to pass in our lives and in the lives of those we love. It is the means by which we human beings on Earth can actually enter into the awesome presence of God. It allows us to share our hearts with Him, to listen for His voice, and to know how to discover and enjoy all the great things He has for us.

Communicating with God is indeed the greatest privilege I can think of, but this high and holy work is also the simplest privilege I know.

I do not believe talking to God or hearing His voice was ever meant to be complicated and that, from the very beginning, He intended it to be an easy, natural way of life by which we are connected with Him all day, every day.

Accidental Sin

No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.
—1 John 3:9

I like to put it this way: I used to be a full-time sinner, and once in a while I accidentally slipped up and did something right. But now that I have spent many years developing a deep, personal relationship with God and His Word, I concentrate on being a full-time obedient child of God. I still make mistakes, but not nearly as many as I once did. I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be. 
There are times when I accidentally make mistakes, but it is not the desire of my heart to do wrong. I do not deliberately or knowingly commit sin. I do not habitually sin. So I don't allow those occasions to make me feel insecure. I don't do everything right, but I do know that the attitude of my heart is right. 
I can be having an absolutely wonderful day, feeling very close to the Lord and quite spiritual. Then my husband, Dave, comes home and says he does not care for the outfit I am wearing, and I suddenly become angry and defensive, telling him everything I don't like about him either. I don't intend for that to happen; in fact, I plan to be very sweet and submissive when he comes home. 
But, as Paul said in Romans 7, the things I want to do, I don't do, and the things I don't want to do, I end up doing. We plan for right behavior because our hearts are right, but like Paul our plans don't always work. Thank God for His mercy that is new every day (Lamentations 3:22-23).

THE BLESSINGS OF MEDITATION

My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.
—Proverbs 4:20-22

In these verses, the writer used the words, attend to my words, which is another way of exhorting us to meditate. I love the fact that God not only frequently tells us to meditate—to ponder seriously—His Word, but He frequently promises results. It’s as if God says, “Okay, Joyce, if you meditate, here’s what I’m going to do for you.” In this passage, the promise is life and health. Isn’t that amazing? It’s even a promise that when you contemplate and brood over the Bible, it will affect your physical body.

We’ve known for a long time that when we fill our minds with healthy, positive thoughts, it affects our body and improves our health. This is just another way of repeating this truth. Or take the opposite viewpoint: Suppose we fill our minds with negative thoughts and remind ourselves how frail we are or how sick we were the day before. We soon become so filled with self-pity and self-defeating thoughts that we get even sicker.

I talk a lot about prosperity, and we really need to understand what it really means. (see Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8). I believe that by “prosperity,” God means that we’ll be enriched and prosper in every part of our lives. It’s not a promise of more material wealth, but an assurance of being able to enjoy all the wonderful blessings we have.

Recently when I meditated on several passages in the Bible, I realized God was showing me that the Word has hidden treasures in it—powerful, life-giving secrets—which God wants to reveal to us. They are there for those who muse, ponder, and contemplate the Word of God.

What we often forget is that God wants our fellowship, our company, and our time with Him. If we want a deep relationship with our heavenly Father, we have to make quality time for God. I recently heard someone say, “Quality time comes out of quantity times.” In other words, it’s only as we spend time with God on a regular, daily basis that we have those special, life-changing moments. We can’t program them to happen, but if we’re there on a daily basis, God will cause some of those times to be quality times of special blessing.

D. L. Moody once said that the Bible would keep us from sin, or sin would keep us from the Bible. That’s the principle here. As we concentrate on God’s Word and allow it to fill our thoughts, we will push away all desire to sin or to displease God in any way. We become more deeply rooted in Him.

Again, think of it in the negative. When our mind remains ¬focused on our problems all the time, we become consumed with them. If we meditate on what’s wrong with others, we see even more flaws and faults. But when we concentrate on God’s Word, light comes into our souls.

I want to go back one more time to that powerful statement in Philippians 4:8. No matter which translation or paraphrase we read it in, the message is powerful and exactly what we need to do to condition our minds for victory.

Here’s Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase in The Message: “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

Dear Father in heaven, teach me the blessings of pondering Your Word, of filling my heart and mind with Your spiritual manna. May I grow into maturity and become more and more like Your Son, Jesus. It’s in His name that I pray. Amen.

POWER FROM ON HIGH

But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.
—Acts 1:8

When the 120 people gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, the count included women (Acts 1:14–15). If women did not need power to spread the Gospel, why were they included in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

When Joel prophesied about the future outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he said that God would pour His Spirit out upon all flesh. Upon his menservants and his maidservants He would pour His Spirit out (Joel 2:28–29). He said that “they” would prophesy. He did not say that just men would prophesy. To prophesy can mean the same thing as teaching and preaching. It means to speak forth the inspired Word of God.

Of the thirty-nine co-workers that Paul mentions throughout his writings, at least one-fourth are women. In Philippians 4, Paul encourages Euodia and Syntyche to keep cooperating and states that they had toiled along with him in spreading the good news of the Gospel. Beyond that, I could create a very long list of women who have been successfully used throughout church history to do major things in God’s kingdom.

Lord, I ask You to send the Holy Spirit with power to make me a witness for Your name. Help me to spread Your name throughout the world. Amen.

REST IN THE GIFT

While the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered [today], let us be afraid [to distrust it], lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of [reaching] it. 
—Hebrews 4:1

When I teach on righteousness, I like to use the following illustration, and I ask you to give it a try. Sit in a chair, then try to sit in the chair. I know that sounds silly, because you are already sitting in the chair. Once you are in the chair, you cannot get into it any more than you already are.

The same idea applies to righteousness. Jesus has made us right with God through His sacrifice and we cannot do anything to make ourselves more righteous than He has made us. Our behavior can improve, but not until we fully accept our righteousness through Jesus. Jesus puts us in the seat of righteousness and we need to learn to relax and stop trying to be what we already are. No amount of right actions can ever make us right with God apart from Christ.

Affirming this, the apostle Paul prayed that he would be found and known as being in Christ, having no righteousness of his own, but only that right standing that comes through faith in Christ (see Philippians 3:9).

When we truly understand that we cannot do anything to make ourselves righteous and that we do not have to prove anything to God, we are able to rest in the gift of righteousness Jesus gives to us—and that will make us bold in our petitions and confident in God’s desire to answer us. I know that God does not hear or answer my prayers because I am good; He hears and answers because He is good!

God’s word for you today: Love who you are because God created you with His own hand.

TAKE ACTION

Be strong, courageous, and firm; fear not nor be in terror before them, for it is the Lord your God Who goes with you; He will not fail you or forsake you. 
—Deuteronomy 31:6

I have heard that there are two types of people in the world: the ones who wait for something to happen and the ones who make something happen. One of the few mistakes we cannot recover from is the mistake of never being willing to make one in the first place! God works through our faith, not our fear. Don’t sit on the sidelines of life wishing you were doing the things you see other people doing. Take action and enjoy life!

If a person is naturally introverted or extroverted, they will always have greater tendencies toward that natural trait—and that is not wrong. However, we can have the life we desire and still not deny who we are. So search your heart and ask yourself what you believe God wants you to do—and then do it. Where He guides, He always provides.

If God is asking you to step out into something that is uncomfortable for you, I can assure you that when you take the step of faith, you will find Him walking right beside you.

When you want to do something, don’t let yourself think about all the things that could go wrong. Be positive and think about the exciting things that can happen. Your attitude makes all the difference in your life. Have a positive, aggressive, take-action attitude, and you will enjoy your life more. It may be difficult at first, but it will be worth it in the end.

Trust in Him: What sideline have you been sitting on, just wishing and waiting? What’s keeping you from trusting God? Take action! You can do something today with the courage God gives you.

TRUTH IN THE INNER BEING

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin! For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful]. Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.
—Psalm 51:1–6

The heading under this psalm reads: “A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba.” David cried out for mercy because he had sinned with Bathsheba, and when he learned she was pregnant, he had had her husband murdered in battle.

After David confessed his sin, Nathan said to him, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord and given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child that is born to you shall surely die” (2 Samuel 12:13–14).

That’s the first lesson I want you to grasp from this incident. When you fail God, you harm yourself, but you also bring dishonor to His name. Whenever you take a false step, there are those who watch and gleefully point their fingers. The two always go together. Not only do you bring disgrace on the name of the Lord, but you fail yourself. You knew the right but chose the wrong.

As if that were not enough, the evil one also whispers, “See how bad you are. God won’t forgive you. It’s too awful.” Of course, he’s lying, because that’s what he does best. Don’t listen to those words, because there is no sin you’ve committed that God won’t forgive. You may have to carry scars or pay the penalty, but God wipes away the sin.

There’s something else to learn from this: You need to face reality. You sinned. You disobeyed God. What will you do about your sin? You can plead excuses (and most of us are good at that), or you can follow David’s example. When the prophet said, “You are the man . . .” (2 Samuel 12:7), the king did not deny his wrongdoing or try to justify his actions. David admitted he had sinned and confessed.

He wrote in the psalm quoted earlier: “For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment” (vs. 3–4).

If you follow Jesus Christ, not only are you declaring to yourself, to your family, and to the world your trust in the Savior, but you are also declaring your stand for truth. It’s easy for us to deceive ourselves, but God has called us to be totally, completely, and scrupulously honest in our inner being. Don’t look at what others may get away with or how they justify their behavior. We can’t blame others, the devil, or circumstances.

When you fail, remind yourself that the greatest king of ¬Israel cried out to God and said, “My sin is ever before me” (v. 3). Those sins, failures, or shortcomings (or whatever you may choose to call them) will always be there until you admit them and confess them to the Lord; only then can you know the joy of living with integrity and in truth.

Strive to live with truth in your inner being. You—you and God—are the only ones who know what’s in your heart. Live in honesty and truth.

Holy God, David prayed, “You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.” Through Jesus Christ, I plead with You to help me desire truth in my inner being, to live in such a way that I’m as honest and as open with You as I can become. I know that the life You honor is the life You bless. Amen.

TALK YOURSELF A GOOD MOOD

A good man eats good from the fruit of his mouth. 
—Proverbs 13:2

We talk a lot, and quite often pay no attention to what we are saying, let alone think seriously about the impact of our words. But if we are honest with ourselves, we may find some of our moods— good and bad—are directly linked to our conversations.

Anytime you become aware of your mood, whether you are feeling a bit gloomy or feeling cheerful and blessed, you should ask yourself: What have I been talking about? Soon you will begin to see how your words connect to your moods and attitudes.

Why not decide each day before you even get out of bed to ask God to help you talk about only things that benefit you and every- one who hears you? Since we have the power to make our days better, we would be foolish indeed if we didn’t do it.

Power Thought: By God’s grace, I think and speak positive words, reaping the benefits in my moods and attitudes.

GROWING INTO MATURITY

We consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and -everlasting.
—2 Corinthians 4:18

Even though Paul went through tremendous trials and tribulations, he did not become discouraged because he looked not to what was seen, but to what was unseen. We need to follow his example. Instead of looking at what we see around us, we need to look at what the Holy Spirit is doing. He will lead us to focus on God’s answers instead of our problems.

Two people can read the Word and the person with carnal, fleshly ears will hear it differently than a person with spiritual ears. For example, 3 John 1-2 says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.”

Less mature, carnal Christians (still lured by physical pleasures and appetites) may get excited about the promise of prosperity and healing, because that is all they hear in this verse. They think, Wow! Praise God! He wants us to prosper and be in health! But mature believers who are sensitive to God’s holy intent for their lives will also hear the part of the verse that says, “even as … your soul keeps well and prospers.” They hear with understanding that God is going to give them prosperity and healing in correlation with how their souls are prospering.

Pray that you will have ears to truly hear what God is saying and that you will grow progressively into maturity as you continue to walk with God.

God’s word for you today: Ask God to open your spiritual ears so you will hear the full meaning of what He wants to say to you in His Word.

STEPPING INTO THE UNKNOWN

And I said to you, You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God gives us. Behold, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you. Fear not, neither be dismayed.
—Deuteronomy 1:20–21

Parents, teachers, and other role models can teach children how to fear or they can teach them to be bold. A mother who is fearful herself will transmit that fear to her children. She will be overly cautious about many things, and a silent fear sinks into the heart of her children. We should not teach our children to live recklessly, but we should teach them to be bold, take action, and to never be so afraid of making mistakes that they won’t try things. I believe we should teach our children and those under our authority to take chances in life. If we never take a chance, we will never make progress. Progress always requires stepping into the unknown. Experience gives us confidence, but we never get experience unless we step out and try things we have not tried before.

I encourage you to teach others by word and example how to be bold and courageous. Tell people to try things, reminding them that making a mistake is not the worst thing that can happen.

Lord, help me both in word and deed to show others to be bold and courageous. I will gladly follow You into the unknown. Amen.

BE”GOD LOVES ME” MINDED

God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him. 
—1 John 4:16

I remember when I began my ministry. When I was preparing for my first meeting, I asked the Lord what He wanted me to teach, and what came to my heart was, Tell My people I love them.

“They know that,” I said. “I want to teach them something really powerful, not a Sunday school lesson out of John 3:16.”

The Lord reminded me that if people really knew how much He loved them, they would act differently than they do.

As I began to study the subject of receiving God’s love, I realized I was in desperate need of the message myself. I had a sub- conscious, vague sort of understanding that God loved me, but I needed deeper revelation. The love of God is meant to be a powerful force in our lives, one that will take us through even the most difficult trials without our ever doubting God’s love.

Power Thought: I am actively aware of God’s love for me.

POSITIVE MINDS

Jesus said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed. 
—Matthew 8:13

Sometimes when I stand behind the pulpit, and before I speak, I pause and my gaze sweeps across the audience. I look at the faces of the people. I love to see the bright smiles and expressions of anticipation, but there are always a few who look downtrodden and discouraged. I don't know anything about them and I don't want to judge them, but their faces look sad. They look as if they have lost hope and expect nothing positive to happen and too often, they get exactly what they expect. I understand those discouraged people; I was once one of them.

Here's a simple fact I've learned: Positive minds produce positive lives, but negative minds produce negative lives. The New Testament tells the story of a Roman soldier whose servant was sick, and the soldier wanted Jesus to heal him. That wasn't uncommon; many wanted Jesus to heal them or their loved ones in those days. But this soldier, instead of asking Jesus to come to his servant, expressed his belief that if Jesus would just speak the word, his servant would be healed (see Matthew 8:8). Jesus marveled at his faith and sent out His word to heal the servant. The soldier's positive mindset his faith brought positive results. He expected healing, and that's exactly what happened.

Too often, we cry to Jesus to heal us, to take care of our finances, or to deliver us from problems, but we don't fully expect the good things to happen. We allow our minds to focus on the negative aspects. Doubt and unbelief war against our minds and steal our faith if we allow it.

As I wrote in my book Battlefield of the Mind, many years ago I was extremely negative. I used to say that if I had two positive thoughts in a row, my mind would get in a cramp. That’s an exaggeration, of course, but that’s how I saw myself. I lived with the same philosophy that other people have: If we don't expect anything good to happen, we won't be disappointed when it doesn't.

I could have excused my negative attitude by telling everyone about my disappointments in life and I had many. It wasn't just my lack of expectation. It was more than that. Because I thought negatively, I spoke negatively. When people told me of their spiritual victories, I'd think, That wont last. When people spoke of their faith, I'd smile, but inwardly I would think that they were gullible. I could always figure out ways that plans would go wrong or people would disappoint me.

Was I happy? Of course not. Negative thinkers are never happy. It's too long of a story to explain how I came to face that reality, but once I realized what a negative person I was, I cried out to the Lord to help me.

I learned that if I kept studying the Word of God, I could push away negative thoughts. God's Word is positive and up¬lifting. My responsibility was to become the kind of believer who honors God with her thoughts, as well as with her actions and her deeds.

I understood the remorse David must have felt when he wrote Psalm 51: Have mercy upon me, 0 God, according to Your steadfast love ... is the way he starts. I especially meditated on verse 9: Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt and iniquities. I hadn't sinned the same way David did, of course, but my negative thinking and bad attitude was sin. It wasn't just weakness or a bad habit. When I focused on negative thinking, I was rebelling against God.

The Lord had mercy on me. As I continued in His Word and in prayer, He freed me from Satan's stronghold. Freedom is available for all of us.

Gracious God, thank You for every deliverance in my life. Thank You for setting me free from negative and wrong thinking. Thank You for defeating Satan in this area of my life. Amen.

WHEN FEAR COMES

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. 
—Psalm 56:3 NIV

I have heard that there are 365 references in God’s Word to “fear not”—one for every day of the year. Fear not means to resist fear and not let it control your actions.

The only acceptable attitude God’s children can ever have toward fear is, “I will not fear.” If you let fear rule in your life, it will steal your peace and joy and prevent you from fulfilling your destiny.

Are you confident in God? Do you believe right now, no matter what comes against you, victory is yours through Christ? Form a habit of saying out loud several times a day, “I will not fear.” If you do, then it will be one of the first things coming out of your mouth when fear does come.

Power Thought: I will not fear. I trust You, Lord.

KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES

However, when Simon saw that the [Holy] Spirit was imparted through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he brought money and offered it to them, saying, Grant me also this power and authority.
—Acts 8:18–19

Make sure that whatever you are trying to do is something you are really meant to do and not just something you want to do to impress people. How do you know what you can do and what you cannot do? It’s important to understand this if you are to be well prepared. This will prevent you from wasting your time on something you won’t succeed at anyway. I am a good public speaker, but I quickly discovered that I had zero ability as a musician. Had I continued to insist on learning to be a musician, I would have felt like a failure. As hard as you may try, you cannot be properly prepared and feel confident to do something you are not meant to do.

Don’t be afraid to admit what you cannot do. Know your weaknesses and pray for God to send people into your life to do what you cannot do. I cannot play musical instruments, but God has always provided me musicians for my ministry. I am not afraid to say that I’m not good at something, and I don’t waste my time trying to develop my weaknesses.

Lord, it’s easy to be jealous of other people’s gifts. Help me to focus on what I was meant to do and keep me from wasting time on my weaknesses. Amen. 

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CHURCH

But [as for] you, teach what is fitting and becoming to sound (wholesome) doctrine [the character and right living that identify true Christians]. 
—Titus 2:1

I went to church for years and years and never heard a message about the power my words had on my life. I may have heard something about my thoughts; but if so, it wasn't enough to make any impact on my life because it did not change my thinking. I heard about grace and salvation and other good things. But it wasn't everything I needed to know in order to live in the righteousness, peace, and joy God offers to all who believe (See Romans 14:17).

There are many wonderful churches that teach God's Word in its entirety; and I encourage you to make sure that wherever you choose to go to church, it is a place where you are learning and growing spiritually. We should not go to church just to fulfill an obligation we may think we have to God. We should go to church to fellowship with other believers in Jesus Christ, to worship God, and to learn how to live the life Jesus died for us to have and enjoy.

ENJOY WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING

And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you. 
—Deuteronomy 12:7

I used to hate waiting in the airport, but Dave always wanted to arrive early. I finally changed my mind. It is amazing what happens when you decide to enjoy God every day. It is easy to get so caught up in all your responsibilities that you forget to enjoy what you are doing.

You can get so busy raising your children that you forget to enjoy them. You can get so caught up in cleaning your house, trying to pay for it, and remodeling it, that you forget to enjoy it. But you can learn to enjoy God so much that no matter what you do today, you can truly say, “I enjoyed it.“

STAND WITH GOD

And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].
—2 Corinthians 9:8

When Mother Teresa (1910–1997) left for India to begin her mission work there, she was told she could not do it because she had no money and no one to help her. I was told she said she had three pennies and God, and that was all she needed.

All of us are familiar with the amazing work she did to help the poor in India. Her willingness to stand with God alone, having all her confidence in Him, allowed God to work through her in a remarkable way. She was a rare individual who knew how to work with people, but who believed that with or without people, she could do all God was asking her to do.

That is the kind of attitude I want to maintain. We need people, but we know it is God working through people to help us. We look to God to meet our needs, not people. If He decides to change who He works through, that should be no concern of ours. My confidence must be in Him more than it is in anything or anyone else.

Lord, I am not Mother Teresa, but I want to learn to stand with You. I look to You to meet my every need. Amen.

REJOICE ANYWAY

Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! 
—Philippians 4:4

Many times, when people have problems or challenges, they focus so intensely on finding a solution or “surviving” the crisis that do not relax or enjoy life until the problems are solved. I want to encourage not to put off ‘joy’ any longer, because it will strengthen you and help you get through the crisis you are going through.. We can rejoice in spite of and the midst of our problems! God has given us an effective weapon called joy, and most of the time, if we will simply begin to use it, we will find ourselves overcoming the obstacles against us and being better able to handle our difficulties. God’s power is available to enable you to be joyful in the midst of a situation that is not joyful at all. You can rise above your circumstances and not be controlled by them.

The apostle Paul knew that joy gives us strength. He faced many, many hardships and difficulties during his life. He had plenty of reasons to be afraid, discouraged, and depressed! Paul could have decided to live his life in “survival mode,” but he chose to be joyful. We need to make the same choice Paul did—to rejoice always, even in difficult situations. This is one way we demonstrate our trust in God and prove our love for Him.

Jesus said in John 17:13: “. . . I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them [that they may experience My delight fulfilled in them, that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls, that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts].”

What a scripture! Jesus wants His joy to be made full in us; He wants us to experience His delight. That’s what I’m praying for you today—that the joy of the Lord would fill your heart and be your strength. Don’t let circumstances or situations steal your joy, but love God (and do yourself a favor too) by being joyful.

Love God Today: Lord, I pray that no matter what difficulties or problems I face today, I will choose to rejoice anyway!  

PRACTICE THE PRESENCE OF GOD

And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. 
—Exodus 33:14

This was God’s reply to Moses when he asked about the particulars of the mission he had been given and how he could get to know God better. God simply assured Moses that His presence would be with him and give him rest. This was considered by God to be a great privilege. To Him, it was all that Moses needed.

What was true for Moses is true for you. As much as you would like to know God’s plans and ways for you, all you really need to know is that His presence will be with you wherever He sends you and in whatever He gives you to do.

So when you get concerned that things aren’t going the way you think they should, just remember that God’s presence is with you and enjoy the rest He promised to give you.

WHAT’S THAT IN YOUR HAND?

And the Lord said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, a rod.
—Exodus 4:2

In Exodus, God appeared to Moses to tell him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but Moses didn’t believe he could do all God was asking him to do. God responded to Moses’ excuses by asking him, “What is that in your hand?”

God is essentially saying, “Stop telling Me what you don’t have and can’t do, and tell Me what you do have—what is in your hand?” Then God takes what Moses has—a rod (stick)—and fills it with His power.

God can use anything we are willing to offer Him. If He can use a stick, surely He can use you and me! Don’t wait until you can figure out how to do it all on your own—let God infuse His power into you now and do whatever He asks of you through His strength.

Power Thought: When I give God what I do have, He will do great things through me.

STRATEGICALLY PLACED

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you.
- Isaiah 60:2

I believe the lives of God's people are going to get better and better, but the lives of those who are still in bondage to the world will get worse and worse as they sink deeper and deeper into despair and depression. The light of God will intensify in us as we allow Him to work in us and make us the kind of vessels through which His glory can shine.

God is willing to purge us and cleanse us of the things in our lives that are not like Christ, if we will welcome His fire into our lives. Ask Him to work in you and cleanse you of anything that is hindering Him from flowing through you. Like a gardener, God wants to prune off all the dead things in our life so we can bear good fruit for Him.

I believe God has strategically placed His people all over the world, in every company, every marketplace, every hospital, school, and so on. As the darkness in the world becomes darker in these last days, His glory will shine brighter on those who belong to Him. Then we will be able to help the lost find their way.

This is the day for believers to shine and be used by God as never before. The world will not be won through a handful of preachers. We desperately need an army of people available for one-on-one ministry in their neighborhoods, at their work, and in the marketplace. This is why I implore you today to make a deeper commitment to God than ever before. Not only do you need God; He also needs you!

Don't discount yourself by believing that God could not possibly use you. He can; He wants to; and He will!

Love Others Today: God has strategically placed you where you are right now. Be a light that shines in the darkness.

SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to them [continually recognizing their authority over you], for they are constantly keeping watch over your souls and guarding your spiritual welfare, as men who will have to render an account [of their trust]. [Do your part to] let them do this with gladness and not with sighing and groaning, for that would not be profitable to you [either]. 
—Hebrews 13:17

Our modern society is absolutely filled with rebellion, and rebellion keeps us from hearing God. I have observed that many, many people have trouble relating to authority. This is true in marriages, families, schools, businesses, civic activities, and throughout our culture. submission to spiritual authority is practically nonexistent.

Often when a pastor tries to bring some kind of correction, people tend to become upset and want to leave the church—and that is not right. Paul corrected people often; that was part of his job as a spiritual leader and it remains a responsibility for spiritual leaders today. Paul said: “Not that we have dominion [over you] . . . but [rather that we work with you as] fellow laborers [to promote] your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24). If we will understand and believe that spiritual authority exists to promote our joy, we will embrace it and when we do, our joy will increase—and so will our ability to hear God’s voice.

The spirit of rebellion that is at work in the world today is the spirit of the antichrist according to 2 Thessalonians 2:7–8, one that is willing to submit to no one. People today say they are demanding their rights, but in reality they are often only resisting any authority but their own.

God’s word for you today: Be submissive to authority as a service to the Lord, and He will bless and prosper you.

FOLLOW GOD’S PRIORITIES 

The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. 
—John 10:27

Many people try to feel spiritual by obeying religious laws. But they never get around to feeling good, because there is always one more law to follow. That is why God does not define our righteousness by our works, but by our faith in Jesus. We feel inner peace when we obey the voice of the Holy Spirit.

God may tell you that it is more important to give away your favorite personal possession, than to try to please Him by reading the Bible through in a year. He may say that it is more important to just remain silent, if He tells you to, than to volunteer for every activity at church. His ways are not our ways (See Isaiah 55:8–9), so learn to listen for His direction each day.

DECIDE TO BE POSITIVE

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]. 
—Philippians 4:8

Negative people don’t enjoy life. Viewing each day with positive expectations is one of the key principles to godly happiness.

We act on what we believe, so positive thoughts cause positive actions. If you want a positive life, begin thinking positive thoughts. It is easy to do so if you read the Word and meditate on all that God wants to do for you and through you. Get alone today, and think about all the good, positive things God has done for you in the past, and all He has planned for you in the future.

EXCHANGE YOUR “I CAN’T FOR “I CAN”

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 
—1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV

Have you ever walked into a store before with something to exchange? Maybe it was an article of clothing that you decided you didn’t like, a pair of shoes that were uncomfortable, or a gadget that didn’t do what you’d expected. You entered the store with something that didn’t work for you, exchanged it, and left with something that did work for you. You had to trade what was not effective for something that was.

The same principle applies to your thinking. If you exchange your “I can’t” thoughts for “I can” thoughts, you will see remarkable changes begin to happen. If you build into your character the thought that, with God’s help, you can do whatever you need to do in life, you will have more zeal and enthusiasm about facing every day. I have found that I even have more physical energy when I think “I can” thoughts. It helps me to not dread anything, because dread is an energy drainer.

It’s never too late to begin saying, “I can.” Say things like: “My marriage has problems, but it can work”; “My house is a mess, but I can clean it so it will bring me joy and relaxation when I come home from work”; “I can get out of debt”; “I will own a home or have a new car”; or, “I have some problems right now, but I can still enjoy my life.”

Some of the challenges you face may be very difficult ones; however, God never allows more to come on us than we can bear. With every temptation, He always provides a way out. I challenge and encourage you right now to consistently believe you are able to do anything that comes your way, with God’s help.

Trust in Him Which “I can’t” belief in your life do you need to exchange for an “I can”? Trust God to not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability and to always provide a way out.

SATISFY YOUR THIRST

I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to Me will never be hungry, and he who believes in and cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me will never thirst any more (at any time).
- John 6:35

We all thirst for more of God, but if you don’t know He is what you are craving, you can be easily misled. Instead, if you set your mind on seeking God—if you give Him first place in your desires, thoughts, and choices—your thirst will truly be quenched and you will not be led astray.

David spoke of this longing for the Lord in Psalm 42:2, saying, My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. You are to search after God like a thirsty man in the desert. What does a thirsty man think about? Nothing but water! He isn’t concerned about anything else but finding what it takes to quench his thirst. This morning, God is saying to you, “Here I am, seek Me, I have everything you need.”

CALM DOWN AND LIGHTEN UP!

Do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
—Matthew 6:34

My personal definition of anxiety is mentally leaving where you are and getting into an area of the past or the future. One of the things we need to understand is that God wants us to learn to be "now people." Too often we spend our time in the past or the future. We need to learn to live now—mentally as well as physically and spiritually. There is an anointing on today.

In John 8:58, Jesus referred to Himself as I AM. If you and I, as His disciples, try to live in the past or the future, we are going to find life hard for us because Jesus is always in the present. That's what He meant when He told us in Matthew 6:34, Do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

Jesus has plainly told us we don't need to worry about anything. All we need to do is seek the kingdom of God, and He will add to us whatever we need, whether it is food or clothing or shelter or spiritual growth (See Matthew 6:25-33).

We don't need to be concerned about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have problems of its own. We need to concentrate our full attention on today and stop being so intense and stirred up.

Calm down and lighten up! Laugh more and worry less. Stop ruining today worrying about yesterday or tomorrow—neither of which we can do anything about. We need to stop wasting our precious "now," because it will never come again. The next time you are tempted to get anxious or upset about something—especially something in the past or the future—think about what you are doing and turn your mind to what is going on today.

Learn from the past and prepare for the future, but live in the present.

UNDEVELOPED FRUIT

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit.
- John 15:5

Have you ever responded unbecomingly to a situation (with anger or impatience, for example) and thought, Who is this person? I thought I was nice and sweet!

Sometimes we think we already have the fruit of the Spirit fully developed in us simply because we are Christians (see Galatians 5:22–23). But when we are caught off guard, or our fruit is "squeezed," we find out just how undeveloped the fruit in us actually is. These incidents are tests that are actually very good for us because they help us know the areas where we are weak and still need to grow.

The more you practice displaying the fruit of self-control in your thoughts, words, and actions, the riper the fruit will become. I encourage you to depend on God's grace (underserved favor and blessing) to work through you to produce the fruit needed. If we "try" outside of Him, we will fail, but when we partner with Him, we see His will come to pass. Stay attached to the Vine (see John 15), and your fruit will appear at the right time.

Power Thought:I have self-control over my thoughts, words, and actions.

SOMEBODY'S PRAYING FOR YOU

I am praying for them.
- (John 17:9)

We know that Jesus prays for us. In Luke 22:32, He says to Peter, But I have prayed especially for you. In the verse for today, He says, concerning His disciples, I am praying for them. Also in John 17, He continues and says, I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me and that means you and me (v. 20 NKJV).

What does an intercessor do? An intercessor prays for others, standing in the gap that exists between God and an individual. We all have a gap between God and ourselves. In other words, we are not as holy as He is, but Jesus is right there, standing in that gap, bringing God and me—or God and you—together so we can have fellowship with Him and He can answer our prayers.

Isn't it awesome to know that as long as our hearts are right and as long as we believe in Jesus, He will intercept, make right, and take care of every imperfect thing we do? I want you to imagine Jesus standing before the throne of God on your behalf praying for you. As you do, you will be able to trust that your imperfections are taken care of through His intercession for you.

LET JOY INTO YOUR LIFE

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. 
—Psalm 30:5

Part of disciplining ourselves to celebrate life is refusing to live in mourning. There is a time to mourn, but we dare not let it become a way of life. The Bible says that weeping (mourning) endures for a night, but joy comes in the morning. There are things that happen in life that rightfully need to be mourned over, but joy always returns to balance things out. We must let the joy back into our lives after times of sadness and not feel guilty about enjoying life after disappointment or even tragedy has struck. There is a time to mourn and a time to rejoice, but we must not live in the state of mourning. 
Part of life is dealing properly with sadness and disappointment. We cannot avoid them—and we should not deny the emotions that go with loss of any kind—but we can recover! I was saddened when I learned that a trusted employee had been stealing from our ministry, but I rejoiced that God brought the wrongdoing to light and it was discovered. I have a time of mourning when people I love die, but I can also rejoice that they knew Jesus and are spending eternity with Him. 
I am sad when I realize I have let an area of my life get out of balance through lack of discipline, but I can rejoice that I now see the truth and am back on track. For all mourning there is an offsetting reason to celebrate. And although mourning is proper and is even part of our healing, it cannot last forever. 
We cannot live in a state of mourning over things that have happened that we cannot change. In Christ there is always a place of new beginnings, and that is good news worth celebrating. 

Trust in Him: If you are in a time of mourning, allow yourself to feel those feelings. But don’t get stuck there. Trust that God has a plan for you and wants you to have joy in the morning.

WE DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR OUR MISTAKES

My little children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God’s law and sin. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father—[it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father’s will in every purpose, thought, and action].
- 1 John 2:1

Obviously our goal should be to not sin. But if we do sin, God has already provided Jesus—Who is perfect—to take our place and atone for our sin. We may feel we are earning God’s forgiveness by feeling guilty. But that is our fleshly way of trying to “pay” for our mistakes. Jesus did not die for us so we could feel guilty; He died for us so we could have an intimate relationship with God through Him. He died so our sins could be forgiven and we could have right standing with God. He wants us to come boldly to the throne of grace in prayer and have our needs met.

Power Thought: Jesus died for my sins so I don’t have to pay for them.

WHOM GOD LOVES, HE CHASTENS

For the Lord corrects and disciplines everyone whom He loves, and He punishes, even scourges, every son whom He accepts and welcomes to His heart and cherishes.
- Hebrews 12:6

When we need correction—and there are times when we all need it—I believe it is the Lord's first desire to correct us Himself. Whom the Lord loves, He chastens. God's correction or chastisement is not a bad thing; it is always and ultimately only for our good.

The fact that it works toward our good does not mean it always feels good or that it is something we enjoy immediately: For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God's will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God]. (Hebrews 12:11)

Correction is probably one of the most difficult things for most of us to receive, especially when it comes through another person. Even if we have problems, we don't want others to know we have them. I believe God prefers to correct us privately; but if we won't accept His correction or if we don't know how to allow Him to correct us privately, He will correct us publicly, using whatever source He needs to use. We may not always like the source God chooses to use, but it is wisdom to accept correction in order to avoid "going around the mountain one more time" (see Deuteronomy 2:3).

FOLLOW WISDOM

I, Wisdom [from God], make prudence my dwelling, and I find out knowledge and discretion.
- Proverbs 8:12

There is a lot of powerful information in this small scripture—information you would do well to explore. In the Scriptures being prudent means being good stewards or managers of the gifts that God has given you to use. Those gifts include time, energy, strength, and health, as well as material possessions.

Each of us has been given a different set of gifts, and each of us has different abilities to manage those gifts. It is your individual responsibility to develop knowledge and discretion as to how you can best use your gifts. You do this by listening to the Lord and obeying what He tells you to do.

Following Wisdom is an excellent choice—one that will bring you many blessings!

GO WITH THE FLOW

Brethren, for this reason, in [spite of all] our stress and crushing difficulties we have been filled with comfort and cheer about you [because of] your faith (the leaning of your whole personality on God in complete trust and confidence).
- 1 Thessalonians 3:7

Go with the flow, and stop being anxious about things that may never happen. If you really trust God, you don't need a backup plan. Faith means that you have peace even when you don't have all the answers.

Life will always be stressful if you constantly try to rearrange it. For example, getting upset in a traffic jam doesn't get you out of it any sooner. But planning for obstacles will inspire you to leave a little earlier for your appointments and keep you from hurrying. Grow in wisdom, and place high priority on keeping your peace in spite of any jams you get into today.

GOD HEARS THE CONSISTENTLY RIGHTEOUS

The Lord…hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him).
- Proverbs 15:29

God promises in today’s verse that He will hear our prayers if we seek to be faithful in our walk with Him. What does it mean to be “consistently righteous”? Simply put, I think the best way to be consistently righteous is to refuse to compromise.

A person who compromises is someone who tends to go along with what everybody else wants to do, even though it may not be totally right. A compromiser knows when something is not right, but does it anyway and hopes to get away with it. We compromise when we know in our hearts—and even have the conviction of the Holy Spirit—that we should not say or do a certain thing and then do it anyway. We are saying, “God is showing me what to do, but I’m going to do what I want to.” In that case, we can blame only ourselves if we do not see the results we would like. When we refuse to compromise and devote ourselves to being consistently righteous to the best of our ability, God sees our hearts, hears our prayers, and answers us.

God’s word for you today: If you refuse to compromise, you will put a smile on God’s face.

GOD FORGETS

I, even I, am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance [remind Me of your merits]; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified (proved right).
—Isaiah 43:25–26

God holds nothing against you if you are sincerely sorry for what you have done in the past and are trusting in the blood of Jesus to cleanse you from your former wickedness. The minute you repent, God forgives and forgets, so why not follow His example and receive His forgiveness and forget it yourself?

A confident woman does not live in the past; she lets go of it and looks to the future. It may be that you have a decision to make right now. Maybe you failed someone, or had an abortion, or committed adultery, stole something, lied, or did any number of terrible things. But God’s question to you is, what are you going to do today? Will you live the rest of your life serving God and following His plan for you? If you are ready to make that commitment, there is nothing in your past that has enough power to hold you back.

Lord, help me to forget what You have forgotten regarding my past. I thank You that by Your grace I can let the past go and concentrate on the future. Show me Your plans for the days ahead. Amen.

CHOOSE EXCELLENCE

I am Your servant; give me understanding (discernment and comprehension), that I may know (discern and be familiar with the character of ) Your testimonies. 
—Psalm 119:125

The Word says, “Learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences], and . . . be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless [so that with hearts sincere and certain and unsullied, you may approach] the day of Christ [not stumbling nor causing others to stumble]” (Philippians 1:10).

People make choices and selections all day long. A truly disciplined person has the ability to subordinate the lesser choice to the greater, more excellent choice. Think about that as you choose the way you will go today. Select the greater cause, and subordinate the lesser options to it.

BELIEVE IN PRAYER

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 
—Philippians 4:6 NLT

How many problems have you solved by worrying? How much time have you spent worrying about things that didn't end up happening? Has anything ever gotten better as a result of your worrying about it? Of course not!

The instant you begin to worry or feel anxious, give your concern to God in prayer. Release the weight of it and totally trust Him to either show you what to do or take care of it Himself.

Prayer is the blueprint for a successful life. During His time on Earth, Jesus prayed. He entrusted everything to God—even His reputation and life. We can do the same. Don't complicate your communication with God. Believe in Him and ask Him for what you need through simple, confident prayers.

Power Thought: Worry accomplishes nothing. I trust in the Lord.

JOY UNSPEAKABLE

 Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight].

- Jude 1:24

I used to be so miserable when I went to bed that I wished it was time to get up. And when I got up, I was still so miserable I wanted to go back to bed. I was under the curse of not obeying the voice of the Lord or serving Him with joyfulness (see Deuteronomy 28:15–48).

Obedience to God fills our lives with so much joy that we don't even know how to talk about it. The Bible calls it "joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1:8 KJV). Experience the joy of being in God's awesome presence. Start your day by praising God for your blessings, and worshiping Him with a heart ready to serve Him.

THINGS UNSEEN

Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.
— 2 Corinthians 4:18

As believers, we know the spiritual realm exists and that what happens there affects what happens on earth. We know that there is more to life than meets the eye, and as we grow spiritually, we come to value the things that are invisible more than the things we can see. When we understand that there are invisible, everlasting spiritual realities that affect our earthly lives, we begin to perceive that God is inviting us to interact with Him, to perceive things spiritually, and to partner with Him to accomplish them on earth—and that only happens through prayer.

As we partner with God through prayer, we bring things out of the spiritual realm into our lives. These gifts of God that come from heaven are already stored up for us, but we will never have them unless we pray and ask God for them. He is doing such wonderful things for us, and we receive and enjoy those things through the power and the privilege of prayer.

The Lord's Prayer says, "Your will be done on earth even as it is in heaven." When we pray that way we are partnering with God through prayer so that the purposes and plans He has in the spiritual realm will come to pass on earth—in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Through prayer we have the privilege of bringing heaven to earth!

Loving God Today: Remember that the spiritual realm is real and that what happens there affects your life on earth.

JOYFUL IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE

by Joyce Meyer - posted September 17, 2016

[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 
—Romans 14:17

A wise person does not allow the moods of other people to alter theirs.

There is a story of a Quaker man who was walking down the street with a friend when he stopped at a newsstand to purchase a newspaper. The storekeeper was very rude and unfriendly. The Quaker man responded respectfully and was quite kind in his dealing with him. After paying for his paper and continuing to walk down the street, his friend asked, “How could you be so cordial to that man considering the terrible way he was treating you?” The Quaker man replied, “Oh, he is always that way; why should I let him determine how I am going to act?”

This is one of the amazing traits we see in Jesus—He changed people, they did not change Him. I encourage you to follow the example of Jesus. Do what God expects you to do and don’t live under the tyranny of other people’s moods and attitudes.

Prayer of Thanks Father, I thank You that I can be joyful in every circumstance. Today, I choose not to let other people determine how I am going to live. With Your help, I am going to live in joy regardless of the circumstances around me.

YOU'RE OKAY AND YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY
by Joyce Meyer - posted September 16, 2016

Who will release and deliver me from [the shackles of] this body of death? O thank God! [He will!] through Jesus Christ (the Anointed One) our Lord!
- Romans 7:24-25

There was a time when I felt like the Apostle Paul when he wrote the words of today’s verse. I wondered if I could ever break free from a constant sense of failure and a feeling that I simply didn’t “measure up” to what God wanted from me. I even wondered at times if God was frustrated with me for not making more progress. After struggling with these thoughts for a while, I finally developed a new attitude. Realizing God was happy just to see me making any progress at all, I started saying, “I am not where I want to be, but thank God, I’m not where I used to be. I’m okay and I’m on my way!”

I know now with all my heart that God is not angry with me because I have not arrived. He is pleased that I am pressing on, that I am staying on the path. If you and I will just “keep on keeping on,” God will be pleased with our progress.

God knows our spiritual growth and maturity will take time. He doesn’t expect us to arrive at our destination quickly. We don’t think something is wrong when a one-year-old child cannot walk perfectly. We expect him to fall down frequently; when he does we lovingly pick him up, dust him off, and set him on his feet to try again. Without a doubt, God treats us with just as much affection and grace—always willing to set us on our feet again and encourage us as we keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Love Yourself Today: “Lord, I confess today that I’m okay and I’m on my way!”