THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

BE ENCOURAGED AND DON’T GIVE UP ON YOUR TOMORROWS…

No matter what may be happening TODAY, God has good things in store for your FUTURE! It may not be easy to see now, but God has ALREADY lined up a new beginning, new FRIENDSHIPS and new OPPORTUNITIES for you.

Maybe you’ve experienced some setbacks, but don’t make the mistake of expecting the same for your future. Instead, accept God’s GOOD PLAN for your life by declaring His TRUTH. As believers, our attitude should be, “Even though the economy is down, I’m not worried. I know God is going before me, and He has PROMISED He will make rivers in the desert.” Or, “The medical report may not look good, but I have another report that says God IS restoring HEALTH unto me. I believe God has already released HEALING, HEALTH and VICTORY in my future.” Or, you may have a child who is not on the right course. In the natural, it seems impossible. But our report should be, “I KNOW God CAN DO the impossible!”

Today, be ENCOURAGED and don’t give up on your tomorrows. Accept the GOOD PLAN God has for you—a plan filled with HOPE, PURPOSE, BLESSING and INCREASE in EVERY area of your life!

Today’s Scripture:

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

STAY IN PEACE, TAKE THE HIGH ROAD AND IT WILL ALWAYS COME BACK TO YOU

In life, we’re always going to have critics. We’ll always have difficult people who try to upset us and steal OUR peace and joy. But, you don’t have to respond to every critic. YOU can decide to take the high road and let GOD fight your battles for you.

Sometimes, no matter what you say or do, there are people who aren’t going to accept you. They just don’t WANT to be at peace with you. In fact, when Jesus sent out His disciples to certain homes, He told them to always SPEAK PEACE over those homes. And then He said in effect, “If they don’t receive the peace that you’re offering, then it will come back to YOU.” That tells me that if you will do your best to be at peace with people, even if they won’t TAKE your peace, the GOOD NEWS is THAT peace will just come back to YOU. You’ll not only get YOUR peace, but you’ll get THEIR share as WELL! That’s double for your trouble! When you do the RIGHT thing no matter what is happening, God sees it and REWARDS it.

Today, STAY IN PEACE, CEASE from strife, and take the high road. Sow good seeds into others and watch the harvest of blessing come to your OWN life in RETURN.

Today’s Scripture:

“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.”

(Exodus 14:14, AMPC)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF GOD ALLOWED IT, HE KNOWS HOW TO BRING GOOD OUT OF IT

We’d love to NOT have any pain, suffering, bad breaks, betrayals, or loss, but that’s not REALITY. Difficulties WILL come, and pain is a part of LIFE, so keep the right PERSPECTIVE: there is PORPOSE in your pain. If everything were ALWAYS easy, we wouldn’t be prepared for our DESTINY. In the tough, dark times, God is getting you PREPARED. He knows exactly what you NEED and WHEN you need it. Every struggle is making you STRONGER. Every difficulty is growing you UP. You may not like it, but every painful SEASON is developing something in you that can be developed ONLY in the tough times. That difficulty is an OPPORTUNITY to develop CHARACTER, to gain a greater TRUST in God. If God ALLOWED it, He knows how to bring good OUT of it. Don’t just GO through it; GROW through it and keep a good ATTITUDE. Count it all JOY, knowing that this pain is going to LEAD to your GAIN.

Today’s Scripture

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

James 1:2–3, NKJV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T LET THE ENEMY STEAL YOUR JOY…

It’s easy to look around at what’s happening in the earth today and be tempted to feel afraid or dismayed. Circumstances may seem overwhelming. Maybe your business is struggling, maybe you lost your job, maybe you’re struggling in a relationship or concerned about the economy. During times like these, it’s important to remember that God has promised that He will NEVER leave us nor FORSAKE us. In fact, not only is He WITH us, He has promised to STRENGTHEN us and HARDEN us to difficulties. That means, when tough times come, they just bounce right off of you. You don’t allow your circumstances to steal your PEACE and JOY. You have the attitude that says, “This may be a big problem, but my God is BIGGER!”

Keep in mind that the enemy isn’t after your checkbook; he’s ultimately after your PEACE and JOY. He knows that if he can get your JOY then he can get your STRENGTH. But when you stay connected to the Father through PRAYER and studying the WORD and declare His PROMISES over your life, you’ll be HARDENED to difficulties and STAY SAFE in the palm of God’s hand!

Today’s Scripture:

Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you; I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].

Isaiah 41:10, AMP

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

FAITH ACTIVATES GOD’S POWER, KEEP PRESSING THROUGH

In Mark chapter five, there was a woman who had been sick for twelve years. The doctors gave her NO hope. But, she heard that Jesus was passing through her town. Something deep down on the inside was saying, “This is YOUR season. This is your TIME to get well.” In the natural, when she saw all the people around Jesus, she might have thought, “I’ll NEVER get to Him. It’s so crowded and I’m weak.” She could have missed her season. But instead of dwelling on those negative thoughts, instead of looking at her situation, she started reminding herself, “If I can JUST get to Jesus, I WILL be whole.” SHE made the choice to turn her thoughts in the RIGHT direction and was EMPOWERED to take a leap of FAITH. She pressed through the crowd until she got JUST close enough to touch the EDGE of Jesus’ robe. INSTANTLY, she was made whole.

Jesus said in Mark 5:34, “Daughter, your faith has made you well.” Notice it’s our FAITH that activates God’s POWER. We MUST press through our thoughts, PRESS THROUGH our circumstances, and press through the crowd and obstacles until we touch HIM.

Today’s Scripture:

“Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7, AMPC

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

CHOOSE INTEGRITY IN THE LITTLE THINGS, AND GOD WILL MAKE YOU RULER OVER MUCH

INTEGRITY is a powerful ATTRIBUTE in the life of the believer. Integrity means that you are DEPENDABLE. You are a person of your word. You’re CONSISTENT and HONEST.

You might say, “Oh, I’m a pretty good person. I do the right thing most of the time.” But understand, it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine. You can veer off course just a little bit, and before you know it, you’re MILES away from your destination. Don’t allow the little things to keep you from your DESTINY; choose INTEGRITY—even when no one is looking. For instance, you might need some paper at home, but you shouldn’t take supplies from the office. Or, you might be running into a store for just a minute, but don’t park in the handicap parking spot unless you’re supposed to. If the checkout clerk makes a mistake and gives you too much money back, that’s NOT God’s provision, that’s a TEST of integrity!

Remember, if you’ll be FAITHFUL and choose INTEGRITY in the little things, God will make you ruler over MUCH. Be a person of INTEGRITY and open the door for God’s BLESSING and HONOR, ALL the days of your life!

Today’s Scripture:

“The Lord judges the people; judge me, O Lord, and do me justice according to my righteousness [my rightness, justice, and right standing with You] and according to the integrity that is in me.”

Psalm 7:8, AMPC

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHEN WE SEEK GOD AND SERVE HIM, HE WILL HIDE US SAFE IN HIS SHELTER

What an amazing promise we have that when we SEEK God and SERVE Him with our whole hearts, He will hide us in His shelter. That means you can be so CONNECTED to God that you are INVISIBLE to the enemy! You are HIDDEN in Him! No matter what is happening around you, you can have STRENGTH, CONFIDENCE and REST. Challenges may come your way, but you won’t be worried about them. You know that, ULTIMATELY, things are going to work out for your GOOD. You know that no weapon formed against you shall prosper.

People may be talking, trying to make you look bad, but you don’t even give it a second thought. You know that your future is too bright to be distracted. You know they don’t control your DESTINY. You just keep on being your best, walking in INTEGRITY, MEDITATING on the Word and WORSHIPING throughout the day so you can stay hidden in HIM!

Today’s Scripture:

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 27:5, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

BE DELIBERATE ABOUT PLANTING GOOD SEEDS FOR YOUR FUTURE

Whether you realize it or not, EVERYTHING you are experiencing in your life today is a direct RESULT of the seeds you’ve sown in your past. Today, you are planting seeds for the harvest in your FUTURE. Just as the farmer expects a crop from the seeds he sows, we can expect a harvest from the seeds WE’VE sown, good OR bad. That’s why we have to be DELIBERATE about the seeds we are sowing. We have to wake up every day and set our minds on God’s Word and choose to speak His TRUTH over our lives. We have to constantly evaluate our ACTIONS to make sure we are depositing GOOD seeds so we can reap a good HARVEST in the future.

Why don’t you take some time right NOW to ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and mind? See if there are any negative seeds that you’ve sown in the past that need to be UPROOTED. Be DELIBERATE about planting the Word of GOD in the soil of your heart. Sow GOOD seeds into your future so you can reap the harvest of BLESSING God has designed for you!

Today’s Scripture:

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Galatians 6:7-8, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THERE IS NO GREATER LEGACY THAN TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE SUCCEED

In scripture, the apostle Paul would have never had the impact he did without a man named Barnabas. Barnabas was one of the disciples. He was in Jesus’ inner circle. But Paul, at the time, hated believers and was having them thrown in jail. God touched his life, and he wanted to go to Jerusalem and join the other disciples, but they were afraid of him because of his reputation. Barnabas stood up for Paul and used his INFLUENCE to open a door with the other disciples. Paul went on to write over half of the New Testament.

We don’t hear a lot about Barnabas. Paul greatly overshadowed him. But if you were to ask Paul, he would say, “I WON because Barnabas helped me win. I SUCCEEDED because Barnabas took a RISK and opened a door that I could not open on my own. Barnabas BELIEVED in me when nobody else did.”

Friend, there is no greater LEGACY than to help someone else succeed. Today, look for ways to use your INFLUENCE. Help others rise up HIGHER. Sow GOOD seeds because they will come back to you. When you help OTHERS win, God will make sure you are surrounded by people who will help YOU succeed in return.

Today’s Scripture:

“…he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him…But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him…”

Acts 9:26-27, NIV