THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

BETTER OFF THAN YOU WERE BEFORE

In the Scripture, Job went through a time of severe TESTING of his faith. When God had said to Satan that there was “none like Job in all the land,” Satan answered, “Yes, but I can’t touch HIM. You’ve put a HEDGE around his life. If You will remove the hedge and let me GET to him, he’ll curse You.” Notice that the enemy can’t just do whatever he wants. He has to ask God for PERMISSION. For HIS part, Job fought the good fight and in the END, not only did he NOT curse God, but he came out with DOUBLE.

When YOU go through tough times, you have a bad break, you’re facing a sickness, do NOT get discouraged. Remember, there are boundaries around your life put in place by the most powerful force in the UNIVERSE. Keep moving FORWARD, and you’ll not only come out as JOB did, but God will bring you out BETTER off than you were BEFORE.

Today’s Scripture:

Job 1:10, NIV

“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IT IS NOT YOUR DESTINY TO GO THROUGH LIFE WITH SOMETHING LIMITING YOU

Jesus saw a lady in the synagogue who had been crippled for eighteen years. She was bent over and unable to stand up. It’s interesting that He described the infirmity as a CHAIN, that she was BOUND by it. He touched her and INSTANTLY she was HEALED.

We all have forces that are trying to hold us back, CHAINS that RESTRICT us. Chains of GUILT—beating yourself up for past MISTAKES. Chains of DEPRESSION—a dark cloud follows you around. Chains of low self-ESTEEM—you never feel GOOD about yourself. But you were NOT created to be BOUND, whether it’s by loneliness, by shame, or by negative words SPOKEN over you. The GOOD news is our God is a chain BREAKER, and He is saying, “This is your time to be FREE. It is NOT your destiny to go through life with something LIMITING you.” If you let this take root, every CHAIN that’s holding you back is being BROKEN.

Today’s Scripture

Luke 13:16, NIV

“Should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOUR PRAYER CAN BRING AN ANGEL

King Herod hated believers SO much that he had the apostle James KILLED, then he had Peter put in PRISON. With chains on both wrists, Peter was guarded by four squads of soldiers to make sure he didn’t escape. Today’s Scripture says the church was in prayer CONSTANTLY for Peter, asking God to SOMEHOW bring him OUT. WHILE they were praying in the middle of the night, an angel showed up in the prison and woke Peter UP. He was sleeping, NOT praying, but he had FRIENDS who were praying. The chains fell OFF Peter’s wrists, and they walked past two guard posts and the prison’s iron gate opened on its own accord. Peter’s LIFE was spared.

Are YOU praying for others? All of your FAMILY members, FRIENDS, and RELATIVES should be like PETERS. COVER them in PRAYER. When you pray, Red Seas PART, hungry lions can’t open their MOUTHS, cancer is OVERCOME, blessings RAIN down. Your PRAYER can bring an ANGEL.

Today’s Scripture:

Acts 12:5, NKJV

Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

RIGHTEOUSNESS COMES TO US AS A GIFT WE RECEIVE

The Scripture speaks of how God has made you RIGHTEOUS. Righteous means “to be HOLY, BLAMELESS, HONORABLE.” It does NOT say you’re going to be righteous ONE day when you’re GOOD enough. You are righteous right NOW—not because of anything you’ve DONE, but because of what CHRIST has done. Righteousness comes to us as a GIFT we receive.

When those voices remind you of everything you’re NOT, of how many times you’ve FAILED, you have to be bold and say, “I AM righteous. I am HOLY. I am BLAMELESS.” Everything in your mind will say, “No, you’re NOT. You keep giving in to temptation. You made those mistakes.” But when you declare, “I am RIGHTEOUS,” you are announcing to the accuser, to the guilt, and to the heaviness, “You do NOT control my life. The Creator of the UNIVERSE made me righteous. He made me HOLY and BLAMELESS. I may not FEEL righteous, but by FAITH I RECEIVE God’s gift of RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 28:1, NIV

The righteous are as bold as a lion.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT YOU THAT MAKES YOU EXTREMELY VALUABLE

Life will try to make you FEEL as though you’re anything BUT amazing. Disappointments, betrayals, and rejection will try to steal your sense of VALUE. You may FEEL ordinary, but because of your MAKER, there’s something about you that makes you EXTREMELY valuable. You’re an ORIGINAL. You can’t GET any more prestigious than that. If you’re going to recognize your VALUE, you have to see yourself as AMAZING, as WONDERFUL. It’s not because of WHO you are, but because of who MADE you. You have the fingerprints of God ALL over you.

All through the day, you need to REMIND yourself, “I am AMAZING. I am a MASTERPIECE. I have been WONDERFULLY made.” Don’t discount what God has CREATED. Don’t go around feeling ordinary when in FACT, you’re EXTRAORDINARY. People may try to make you FEEL average. Are you going to believe what PEOPLE say about you, or believe what GOD says about you and move up to the next LEVEL?

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 139:14, NIV

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF NOTHING ELSE, BE THANKFUL THAT GOD WOKE YOU UP TODAY

Jesus came to give us LIFE! Think about that for a minute right now. You used to be DEAD in your sins and trespasses; you used to have NO hope. You used to live in fear. But once you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you weren’t dead in your sin anymore. You now have HOPE for the FUTURE. You are ALIVE in Christ!

God wants you to live life to the FULLEST today. It doesn’t matter how you may feel or what you are facing, start THANKING God for giving you LIFE! Even if He didn’t do another thing for us, giving us ETERNAL LIFE is MORE than enough reason to PRAISE and THANK Him every day. Thank Him for EYES to see and EARS to hear. Thank Him for the AIR that you breathe. Thank Him for LOVING YOU and making you ALIVE today!

Today’s Scripture:

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”

Ephesians 2:1, NKJV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

QUIT THINKING AND TALKING ABOUT NEGATIVE THINGS FROM THE PAST

For all the amazing things the apostle Paul did, he said in effect, “What’s MORE important is letting GO of what lies BEHIND.” Paul had many opponents who tried to discredit his ministry with false ACCUSATIONS. Some of the churches he founded HURT him, and SOME believers turned AGAINST him. He KNEW that if he carried negative baggage from the PAST, he would become bitter and discouraged. He said, “One thing I’m GOOD at is letting go of the PAST.”

How do you drop the negative things that have happened to YOU? Quit THINKING and TALKING about them. The reason SOME people never see “what lies AHEAD” is that they’re always opening up old wounds as though they happened YESTERDAY. If you’re going to get FREE, BURY it. Make a DECISION that you’re NOT going to talk about it ANOTHER time. As with Paul, focus all your ENERGY on moving FORWARD, having DROPPED the offenses, the guilt, the self-pity, and the hurts.

Today’s Scripture

Philippians 3:13, TLB

I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THE KEY TO KEEPING YOUR HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE IS CHOOSING PEACE AND UNITY

As a child of the Most High God, your steps are ordered by Him. He has a SPECIFIC place of BLESSING prepared for you. When you live a life of obedience to the Word of God, He PROMISES to supply every one of your needs. Just as God directed Elijah to HIS place of blessing, God is directing YOU, too. He’s aligning the right OPPORTUNITIES for you and causing the right PEOPLE to come along your path to help you get ahead. He’s constantly working behind the scenes on your behalf. But you have to do YOUR part to keep your heart open by following His Word and keeping an attitude of FAITH and EXPECTANCY. A major key to keeping your HEART in the right place is choosing PEACE and UNITY. The Bible says that when we live in UNITY, there He has commanded the BLESSING. And when your heart is in the place of blessing, the REST of your life will be in the place of blessing, TOO. Today, choose PEACE, choose OBEDIENCE and choose the place of BLESSING.

Today’s Scripture:

“Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: ‘Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.'”

1 Kings 17:2-4, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THIS IS A NEW DAY. FREEDOM AND WHOLENESS ARE COMING TO YOUR HOUSE!

In the Scripture, Rebekah instructed her son Jacob to DECEIVE their father. Jacob turned out to be a deceiver just like HER. Jacob’s Uncle Laban had the SAME problem. He deceived JACOB. There was a spirit of DECEPTION in that family. It looked as though it would continue from generation to GENERATION. But at one point, Jacob admitted he was WRONG, and God CHANGED him (see Genesis 32). That was the TURNING point. The curse was BROKEN.

Some of the things YOU struggle with every day have been passed down to YOU. The dysfunction, the addiction, the low self-esteem didn’t start with YOU, but it can END with you. God is saying, “I’m about to BREAK its power in your family line.” This is a NEW day. FREEDOM and WHOLENESS are coming to your house. Put your faith OUT there and say, “Christ BROKE the power of this when He rose from the DEAD. It is FINISHED in our family. We are FREE INDEED.”

Today’s Scripture

John 8:36, NIV

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

HAVE FAITH AND BE PATIENT BECAUSE YOU’RE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

Today’s Scripture DOESN’T say you have to EARN or MAKE the desires of your heart happen. No, God is going to GIVE them to you. You’ll know it’s the hand of GOD because it’s going to happen WITHOUT a struggle. If you keep delighting in the LORD and meditating on His WORD, filling your mind with thoughts of HOPE and FAITH, then without even TRYING, you’re going to come into your TIME, and God WILL give you the desires of your HEART.

You have to trust GOD’S timing when things aren’t happening as fast as YOU would like. EVERY season is NOT harvest. There are seasons of watering, planting, weeding, and fertilizing the GROUND. These are IMPORTANT seasons. They are times of TESTING when God is seeing what you’re MADE of. Are you going to keep a GOOD attitude when you’re doing the RIGHT thing but NOT receiving the desires of our HEART? Have FAITH and PATIENCE. You’re closer than you THINK.

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 37:4, ESV

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.