God’s way...!

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.

1 Corinthians 1:26–27

God’s ways are often opposite from the world’s ways. According to 1 Corinthians 1:26, “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” Isn’t it fascinating to discover that while the world looks favorably upon the wise, mighty and noble, God does not? Let’s see in the next verse what God chooses instead: “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.”

Isn’t it amazing? God has chosen the foolish and weak things to qualify for His abundant blessings. But the verse does not say that the foolish and weak things will remain foolish and weak. Instead, by God’s unmerited favor, they will put to shame the so-called wise and mighty things in this world. In His hands of grace, the foolish and weak things become even wiser and mightier than the wise and mighty things of the world.

My friend, God is interested in your success. Even if you are not the swiftest, strongest, wisest, most knowledgeable and most skillful in the natural, God can still bless you with good success when you depend on His grace. You can rise above the system of meritocracy and survival of the fittest through His undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor!

Choose Blessings for Your Future

Choose Blessings for Your Future

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”
(Deuteronomy 30:19)

Your words have creative power. With your words, you can either bless your future or curse your future. If you want to know what your life is going to be like five years from now, just listen to what you’re saying about yourself today. Too many people go around saying, “I’ll never get well. I’ll never get out of debt.” “It’s flu season. I’ll probably get it.” “This marriage is never going to last.” Then they wonder why they don’t see things turn around. It’s because they’re calling defeat into their future. They’re calling in mediocrity. Don’t let that be you!

When you wake up in the morning, no matter how you feel or what things look like, instead of using your words to describe your situation, use your words to change your situation. Make a declaration of faith by saying, “This is going to be a great day. I have God’s favor. He’s directing my steps.” When you do that, you are choosing to bless your future. You are calling in favor, increase and opportunities. You are opening the door for God to move on your behalf so you can live the abundant life He has for you!

Prayer

“Father, thank You for the blessings You have prepared for my future. I submit my ways and my words to You. Help me to speak what You speak and keep me close to You. I give You the glory in all things in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

The Overflow of Your Heart.

The Overflow of Your Heart.

“...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
(Matthew 12:34, NKJV)

Have you said something recently that you wish you hadn’t? The Bible says that your words reveal what’s going on inside of you. If you go around speaking negative words of defeat, putting others down and complaining all the time, it’s a sign that you need to refocus your heart and mind. It’s a sign that your “overflow” is polluted.

Our bodies work a lot like a computer. What you put on the hard drive of your heart will show up on the monitor of your mouth. The good news is that you can reprogram your mind the same way you can reprogram a computer. The Bible says that our minds are renewed—or reprogrammed—by the Word of God. The more you read and study His Word, the more it will transform you from the inside out. Start today by asking the Lord to reveal anything in your heart that needs changing. Make Him first place in your life. Fill your heart with the good treasure of God’s Word so that blessings come out of your mouth. Let the overflow of your heart be filled with faith and expectancy, and you’ll see God’s hand of blessing in every area of your life.

A Prayer for Today
“Father in heaven, I humbly come before You and ask that You cleanse my heart and mind of anything that isn’t pleasing to You. Fill me with Your faith, peace, joy and love so that I can overflow with Your goodness today in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

DOING THE BEST I CAN

"DOING THE BEST I CAN"

1 Peter 4:10. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Every now and then we meet someone who believes that they have been called to do something special - something that no one else can do. It makes their lives different, unique.
Charles Schultz created the world-famous comic strip, Peanuts. It grew from the pages of a newspaper to television specials and ultimately a movie. But success came slowly to him. When he was in art school he barely earned a "C+" in a course entitled "The Drawing of Children."
While serving in the armed forces Schultz designed cartoons on the letters his friends sent home to their loved ones to make the letters special. After he returned to civilian life, he submitted a few of them to the Saturday Evening Post and were eventually published. This eventually turned into the comic strip, Peanuts.
Once during an interview he said, "I don't think I am a true artist. But I do think I am doing the best I can with whatever abilities I have been given."
"God has given gifts to each of you...manage them well...so His generosity can flow through you." All of us have been given gifts from God and He expects us to use them in serving others. "Manage them well!"

Prayer: We thank You, Father, for the gifts You have given us to use to honor You by serving others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Separate Yourself

"Separate Yourself"

2 Timothy 2:21 (AMP)
“So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself...] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes...”

Are there people or activities in your life that you know you need to separate yourself from? The Bible says that bad company will corrupt good morals. God wants you to constantly be growing and rising higher in life. That’s why this verse encourages us to separate ourselves from corrupting influences. Bad influences are more than just the people in your life—it can be anything that wrongly influences your thinking.

Be careful about what you are allowing into your mind. Be careful about what you read and what you watch on TV or the internet. Don’t give your attention to things that are going to drag you down. Choose to separate yourself today. Remember, God wants you to live an abundant life. He wants you be separate so that He can work through you and fulfill His purposes in your life!

PRAYER
Loving Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word which is the truth that sets me free. Give me strength to separate myself from anything that does not honor You in Jesus’ name. Amen.

CHANGE YOUR COURSE'

'CHANGE YOUR COURSE'

Proverbs 14:12. There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

One night at sea, the captain of a large destroyer saw lights off in a distance. It appeared as though another ship was heading directly toward him. Turning to his signalman, he ordered him to send a warning: "I'm a Captain. I'm on a destroyer. Change your course ten degrees south."
Came the reply, "I'm a Seaman First Class. I'm on a lighthouse that is unmovable. Change your course ten degrees north."
There are many times when it does not matter who you are, but where you are and - even more importantly - where you are going. There is great advice to support this fact in Proverbs: "There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death."
There is a vast difference between the right choice and the choice that "seems" right. Sometimes we make decisions quickly to solve problems without seeking guidance. Decisions or solutions that are often simple, easy, convenient or attractive, may lead us in the wrong direction. This is why we need God's help and guidance to look carefully and cautiously at our options. We need to be certain to choose the ones that honor Him and lead us into the likeness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Help us, Father, to look to You for wisdom, insight and leadership in every choice we make. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Forgive Others

Forgive Others

"And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted, (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you."
Ephesians 4:32 AMP

As followers of Christ, our character should mirror His character. We should be helpful, kind and tender, understanding and loving to one another. Most of all, we should be extending forgiveness in the same way that Christ extends forgiveness toward us. In other words, we need to forgive unconditionally. But many times, people say they won’t forgive until the other person says they are sorry. Or, they won’t forgive because they think somehow they are getting that person back. But the only person who is hurt by your unforgiveness is you! When you hold unforgiveness, it blocks God's forgiveness and keeps you locked up in the hurt and pain.

Choose to forgive today! Forgiveness simply begins with a choice to obey God’s command. When you open your heart to forgiveness, you open your heart to God’s healing and restoration in your life. Make the choice today to forgive others—readily and freely—as Christ forgave you!

PRAYER

"Father, thank You for shaping my character and making me more like You. I invite You to work in every area of my life. I choose to forgive just as You have forgiven me. Heal my heart and help me to walk in love in Jesus’ name. Amen."

A BRIGHT EXAMPLE

A BRIGHT EXAMPLE

1 Timothy 4:12. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

Can you believe that street lighting was first introduced in Antioch, Greece in the fourth century? But it was Benjamin Franklin, the famed inventor, who introduced it to America. Other countries had street lights in their cities as early as the eighth century.
While serving as the postmaster in Philadelphia, Franklin urged the city fathers to install street lights in their city. The city fathers refused because they believed it was too costly.
Franklin refused to give up and hung a beautiful lantern on a bracket in the front of his home. As the people walked by, they realized the difference it made. They no longer stumbled or fell because it provided light for their path. It was not long before his neighbors recognized the value of the light and soon the entire neighborhood, and then the city, had lights in the dark places. Franklin achieved his goal, not by argument, but by example.
People everywhere are looking for ideas that work. If they make sense people will adopt them and apply them to their lives. That’s why Paul encouraged Timothy to “set an example in speech, life, love, faith and purity.”
God’s Word works! When we apply it to our lives people will soon see that the Light of our lives makes a difference and follow our example.

Prayer: Lord, whenever our lives fail to live up to Your standards, give us no peace until we change. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How Does God Respond to Your Generosity?

How Does God Respond to Your Generosity?

I heard a story about a man who took his son to McDonalds and bought him super size French fries. On the way home, those fries smelled so good, so he reached over and took one little French fry out of his son’s carton and ate it. His son got all upset and said, “Dad, you can’t have that one. These are my fries!” The dad immediately had three thoughts:

“First, my child has forgotten that I am the source of all fries. I took him to McDonalds, I made the order, I paid for the order, I handed them to him, and I’m driving him back home. The only reason he got any fries was because of me, the Great Fry Giver!

“Second, my child doesn’t realize I could take the fries away in a second if I wanted to. Or, on the other hand, I could buy him an entire truckload of fries if I wanted to, because I have the power to do either.

“Third, I didn’t need his fries. I could easily get my own. I could buy myself a hundred cartons of them if I wanted to. I just wanted him to learn to be unselfish.”

Those three lessons are the same ones God wants you to learn so that you can be generous with other people. First, God wants you to remember that he is the source of everything you’ve got. You would have nothing — you wouldn’t even be alive! — if it weren’t for God. He chose to create you and give you all the things you’ve got. Second, God can take it all away from you in an instant, or he could double it, because he’s got the power. Third, God doesn’t need your money. He just wants you to learn to be unselfish and generous. He wants to develop your faith.

What happens when you start becoming a more generous person? The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:8, “God is able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more so that there will not only be enough for your own needs but plenty left over to give joyfully to others” (TLB).

God says if you will practice generosity, he will give you everything you need plus more so you’ll have enough to share with other people. He’s looking for a channel like a straw, and when he finds it — someone who’s willing to say, “God, use me to be a blessing to other people” — he just starts pouring blessing straight through it.

If you will learn to be generous, God will bless you more than you can imagine!

2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

WHERE TO FIND HAPPINESS

WHERE TO FIND HAPPINESS

1 Timothy 6:6. Now godliness with contentment is great gain.

A professor was known to ask his students questions to make them think. On one occasion he stood before the class and wrote on the chalkboard, “Who’s more content – the man with six million dollars or the man with six children? Now think!” he challenged them.
After a few moments one of the students raised his hand and answered, “The man with the six children.”
“Oh. Why?” asked the professor.
“Well, the man with the six million dollars would always want more!” came the reply.
True contentment is always independent of “things” – whether possessions or pleasures. It only comes from an inner attitude toward life. That is why Paul said, “True religion, with contentment, is great wealth.”
This does not imply that being a Christian means living in poverty or wanting to be poor. But it does mean that the power of “things” will never bring happiness and that the Christian must always focus on things that are eternal.
In the final analysis, we can only take two things to God: Ourselves and what we have done with our lives.
So, we must live our lives with one goal that we can reach: to present ourselves to God without shame!

Prayer: Help us, Father, to realize that life does not consist in the abundance of things, but in pleasing You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.