2020-12-17
John 11:41 AMPC
Before raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus prayed, “Father, I thank You that You have heard me.” When you know your prayer is in harmony with God’s will, you can wrap it up with the same words: “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.”
Understand this: After you’ve prayed, the Devil wants you to go away and wonder whether or not God actually heard you, or if He’s willing to grant your request. But when you know God has heard your prayer, you have confidence. You think, act, and speak differently. Anxiety is replaced with peace.
Here are a few Scriptures for you to meditate on: “When you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7 NIV). “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15 NIV). “If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them…whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:23-24 NIV).
Today begin to thank God that He has heard your prayer, and that He will answer it in the way that’s best for you.
Soul food: Neh 11-13; John 20:10-18; Ps 57; Prov 30:24-28
2020-12-16
Ephesians 4:31 NLT
The words “get rid of all bitterness” paint a picture of a surgeon cutting out a malignant growth in order to save the patient’s life. Another translation, “Looking carefully…lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble” (Hebrews 12:15 NKJV), commands us to be vigilant lest a tiny seed of bitterness becomes a root that springs up and causes problems.
Bitterness has many sources: an absentee or abusive parent we can’t forgive; a nasty divorce we keep reliving; the careless words of a friend who’s not even aware of their effect; a boss who passed us up for a promotion. What’s the answer? Forgive, before the problem becomes embedded in your emotions and starts feeding off your memories.
Paul writes: “Make a clean break…Forgive one another as quickly…as…Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32 TM). And the sooner you do it, the better! Harboring bitterness won’t change the other person, but it will change you – and not for the better.
The heaviest thing you’ll ever carry is a grudge. It will make you a misery to be around because your driving desire will be to see the guilty party punished, especially when you or someone you love is the perceived victim.
What happens is this: Satan enters the picture and convinces you it’s okay to harbor resentment. After all, you’re just protecting yourself from getting hurt again, right? When that happens, you dig in, justify your position, and get comfortable living with resentment. That is, until it destroys you.
But that doesn’t have to happen to you, because there’s no emotion so deeply rooted that God’s grace can’t reach down and remove it. So the word for you today is – “Get rid of all bitterness.”
Soul food: Neh 8-10; John 20:1-9; Ps 105:37-45; Prov 30:20-23
2020-12-15
Psalm 119:104 KJV
True understanding comes from God – it’s a gift only He can give. That’s why Solomon asked God for understanding instead of relying on his own. And God will bestow understanding on you through His Word. “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6 KJV). David said, “Through thy precepts I get understanding.”
The Bible was written that we might have understanding and be able to interpret life the way God does. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, told Timothy, “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7).
As you immerse yourself in Scripture, God speaks to you. In essence He says, “This is how I see it, and this is how I want you to see it.” In other words, He gives you His insight into the situation. In the Bible you will discover how to become truly successful. You will find the answer to your financial troubles, how to cure worry, and how to solve relationship problems. It will direct you in your family relationships – the chain of authority in the home, including the position of the husband, the wife, and the children. It contains the cure for nervousness and depression. It’s even a purging tool for removing sin from your mind and life. “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).
In short, your Bible is the greatest success manual in the world! The psalmist said, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (v. 130). So if you want true understanding, meditate on the Scriptures today.
Soul food: Neh 5-7; John 19:31-42; Ps 105:23-36; Prov 30:15-19
2020-12-14
Proverbs 1:5 NIV
To succeed in life you must make personal growth one of your highest priorities. The fact is, you never stand still. You’re either going forward or backward, stretching or stagnating. Let’s take a moment and think about what happens when you allow yourself to stagnate.
You lose your influence. Do your friends seek your advice and then act on it? Do your coworkers value your opinion? If you’re not bringing new ideas and information to the table on a regular basis, people will start looking elsewhere and you’ll end up becoming marginalized.
Today’s businesses move at the speed of light. New ideas, technology, leadership techniques, financial models, sales principles, and ways to communicate are constantly being scrutinized, discussed, evaluated, and tested. Company leadership is looking for men and women who aren’t automatons. They’re looking for original thinkers, people who can look beyond normal everyday workplace interactions and find new solutions.
Become the “go-to person” when it comes to answers and ideas. Be the one who knows how to find new information, and who can provide innovative insights and perspectives. If you keep your eyes and ears open, your mind alert, and listen carefully, you’ll discover that great ideas are all around you. You’ll find a hundred people who can manage a good idea, for every one person who can come up with that good idea.
If you’re not influencing decisions, directions, or people, you need to implement a plan for personal growth – immediately! Solomon, who is often referred to as the wisest man who ever lived, apart from Christ, said, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”
Soul food: Neh 1-4; John 19:17-30; Ps 105:16-22; Prov 30:10-14
2020-12-13
Proverbs 4:18 MSG
Phil Cooke writes: “Growth is what we do with knowledge. Growth is where we take our knowledge, how we apply it, and how we use it in our everyday lives. Leadership expert John Maxwell taught me long ago to change my orientation from goals to growth. When he said those words, it was a revelation. I’d always learned that goals were important, and I tried and tried to use a system of reaching goals, but I’d always struggled with it. I could see that goals motivated lots of people…but reaching goals always left me empty and unsatisfied. But when John showed me how to focus my attention on growth, everything suddenly fell into place. The process taught me that goals are great, but when we reach a goal, we’re finished. But with growth, it’s a never-ending process – always learning, always moving forward, always achieving. I hope when I reach the end of my life, there will be a couple of good books on my nightstand. I want to learn and grow until my last breath…Look at the people in your circle of friends. Why do some succeed and others seem to stagnate? Why do some move to higher levels of achievement while others stay at the same place for years at a time? Many people blame the system, the company, or their boss. They blame society, their upbringing, or their past. But a lifetime plan for growth can break through barriers and overcome nearly any obstacle.”
The Bible puts it like this: “The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.” And the more they grow!
Soul food: Eze 37:1-14; Matt 27:50-53; 1 Thes 4:13-18
2020-12-12
Philippians 2:13 NIV
When it comes to doing what pleases God, there are two major hurdles you need to overcome – the “want to” and the “able to.” Relinquishing your own plans and embracing God’s will doesn’t come easily. Your old fleshly nature wants what it wants, not what God wants. And even when God’s will is clear, and you want what He wants, you lack the necessary ability to do it. Fortunately, that’s where God steps into your dilemma by working in you to give you the “want to” and the “ability to.” But the willingness and the capability both come from Him, not you.
You ask, “Since God is working in me, why is there such a struggle to know and to do His will?” The problem is, your natural mind is self-centered and tends to resist God’s will. So what’s the answer?
(1) Surrender your body and its appetites to God. “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1 NIV).
(2) Renew your mind. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2 NIV).
In the original Greek, “renewal” means to be “inwardly renovated” by aligning your thoughts with God’s – to intentionally think like He thinks. In other words, God initiates the “want to” and the “ability to,” and you cooperate by aligning your mind with His. When that happens, you can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).
Soul food: Col 3-4; Philemon; John 19:1-16; Ps 105:8-15; Prov 30:5-9
