THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THERE’S ONLY ROOM FOR ONE. KEEP GOD ON THE THRONE

When David faced Goliath, he NEVER called him a giant. He called Goliath “an uncircumcised Philistine.” David DOWNPLAYED his size because he refused to put Goliath on the THRONE. He kept GOD on the throne. He said to Goliath, “You come against me with a sword and spear, but I come against YOU in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.” YOU may be facing a giant of a PROBLEM. If you’re not careful, you’ll let that problem consume you with WORRY. The whole time God is in control and already has the solution, but you’ve taken God OFF the throne and put your problem ON the throne. Here’s the key: if God is not on the throne, you’re not giving Him PERMISSION. God works where there’s an attitude of FAITH. You can’t have God AND the problem on the throne at the same time. There’s just room for ONE. Keep GOD on the throne.

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 45:6, NLT

Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. You rule with a scepter of justice.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

GOD’S GOING TO TAKE YOU TO A HIGHER PLACE OF BLESSING

We all get dropped in life—dropped by an illness, by a divorce, by a friend who turns on you. It’s easy to feel alone and forgotten, as though you don’t matter. But don’t believe those lies and get stuck in that dark place. Every time God opens His hands, He sees your name. He’s reminded of you. You may have had some bad breaks, some closed doors, some people who didn’t do you right, but God hasn’t forgotten about your dreams or the promises He’s given you. He hasn’t forgotten about that baby you’ve been longing to have, that healing, that wholeness, that freedom you need. Stay in faith. Life happens to all of us, and you may get dropped, but remember that it’s only temporary. God sees it. He’s not only going to lift you back up, but He’s going to take you to a higher place of blessing. You’re going to come out better than you were before.

Today’s Scripture

Isaiah 49:16, NIV

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD CAN TAKE WHAT LOOKS LIKE LITTLE, AND TURN IT INTO MUCH

The Scripture tells the story of how Jesus surprised a Samaritan woman at a well when He offered to give her “living water,” meaning eternal life. She immediately began to view the circumstances from a human perspective and said, “But You don’t have anything to draw water with from the well. How can You give me living water?” How many times do we do the same thing? God tells us He is going to do something great in our life, but we start looking at what we don’t have, the obstacles in our path. Before long, we talk ourselves out of it. But we serve a supernatural God. He can take something that is ordinary, breathe on it, and turn it into something extraordinary. All the odds may look against you, but you and God are a majority. If you will be confident in what God has given you, He can take what looks like little and turn it into much.

Today’s Scripture

John 4:10, NIV

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T SETTLE FOR LESS THAN WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED AND PLACED IN YOUR HEART

Caleb and Joshua were two of the twelve men whom Moses sent in to spy out the Promised Land. They came back and said, “We are well able to take the land; let us go in at once.” They knew the promise was in them, but the other ten spies’ negative report convinced the entire nation of Israel that they could not defeat their enemies, and they never entered the Promised Land. Forty years later, when Caleb was eighty-five years old, he knew the promise was still in him. He went back to the place he’d been forty years earlier and declared, “Give me this mountain.” He drove out the three giants from the mountain and saw the dream come to pass. Get your fire back; get your dreams back. Have the same attitude as Caleb: “God, this is what You promised me, and I’m not going to settle for less than everything that You placed in my heart!”

Today’s Scripture

Numbers 14:9, NLT

“…don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IT PLEASES GOD WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE DEARLY LOVED BY HIM

It’s interesting that when Mary and Martha sent a message to Jesus asking Him to come and pray for Lazarus, they didn’t say, “Jesus, please come. You know how much Lazarus loves You.” Instead, the message was, “Jesus, the one whom You love is sick.” They didn’t tell Jesus how much Lazarus loved Him. They thought it would be more persuasive to remind Jesus about how much He loved Lazarus.

Sometimes we’re trying to convince God that we love Him. “God, I attended church last week. Would You please help me now?” Why don’t you do as Mary and Martha did and say, “Lord, the one whom You love needs healing. The one whom You love is hurting.” What moves God is not just your love for Him but recognizing His love for you. It pleases God when you know you are dearly loved. That’s why the Scripture says, “Come boldly to the throne.” Don’t go to Him feeling unworthy.

Today’s Scripture

John 11:3, NKJV

Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE OF YOUR PRAISE, SO TURN IT UP!

In today’s Scripture God was saying to His people, who had been taken into captivity in Babylon, that when you thank Him even though you don’t see anything good happening, when you offer up the sacrifice of praise, God is going to reverse negative situations and restore what’s been stolen. When you don’t see how it can work out, but you go through the day saying, “Father, thank You that the answer is on the way; thank You that this problem is turning around,” get ready because God is going to reverse and restore. He’s going to reverse finances that are down, reverse a bad health report, reverse a legal matter, and He’s even going to restore what should have been yours. He’s going to restore years that you’ve lost because somebody did you wrong. He’s going to restore a relationship that’s on the rocks, restore health back to your body. It’s going to happen because of your praise, so turn it up!

Today’s Scripture

Jeremiah 33:11, NKJV

“…the voice of those…who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,” says the LORD.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

KEEP ABIDING IN HIM AND HE’LL BRING YOU THROUGH AND MAKE YOU STRONG AND STABLE

In life, we all have ups and downs. There are seasons that are more difficult than others, seasons of testing, trials and temptation where our CHARACTER is being developed and our faith in God is being STRENGTHENED. Sometimes it can feel like you are taking two steps forward and then three steps backward. But if we’re not careful, we’ll start thinking that life is ALWAYS going to be this way. Even in the STRONG seasons, you’ll start looking for things to go wrong.

God doesn’t want us to be living life like a roller coaster. He wants to bring us to a place of STABILITY where we remain STRONG in Him. Jesus said, “I am the vine. You are the branches. If you abide in me, you will bear much fruit and your fruit will REMAIN.” The word “REMAIN” means “to be FIXED, IMMOVABLE, not AFFECTED by circumstances.” If you will just keep ABIDING in Him, just keep MEDITATING on His Word, He’ll bring you THROUGH. He’ll make you STRONG, He’ll keep you STABLE, and you’ll keep moving forward into the life of BLESSING He has prepared for you!

Today’s Scripture:

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you.”

(John 15:7, NIV)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHEN YOUR ROOTS ARE HEALTHY, POSITIVE AND HOPEFUL, THEY’LL FEED YOU STRENGTH…..

A small offense from a coworker is just a little seed, not a big deal. If you ignore it, nothing will come of it. But if you dwell on it, resentment sets in. Now that little seed takes root as bitterness. Before long, it will grow and pollute other areas of your life.

Notice that bitterness is described in today’s Scripture as a root that produces bitter fruit. When your roots are healthy, positive, and hopeful, that’s feeding you with strength, encouragement, and hope. If you have bitter roots, they feed you bitterness, self-pity, anger, and drain all the life and joy out of you. The good news is, you don’t have to live with bitter roots. Ask God to show you what’s causing you to be bitter and help you release it. You can’t do it on your own. Ask Him to help you forgive the person who hurt you. That’s the first step to getting rid of a bitter root.

Today’s Scripture

Hebrews 12:15, ESV

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO KEEP YOUR JOY

We all have opportunities to get upset and go around frustrated. Life is full of inconveniences, delays, people that don’t do right. You’re never going to stop these things from happening; the key is how we handle them. Today’s Scripture says no one can take your joy. That means you control your joy. Nothing can take it from you; you have to give it away.

Life is too short to live frustrated, upset about things that many times we have no control over. People have a right to have their opinion, but you have a right to ignore it. People have a right to be rude, but you have a right to stay happy. Quit letting insignificant things—your grouchy boss, the person talking behind your back, your child getting on your nerves—steal your joy. Make this decision every morning, “I will be joyful today.” When you’re tempted to get upset, remind yourself that you have the power to keep your joy.

Today’s Scripture

John 16:22, NLT

So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD HAS SOME “SUDDENLIES” IN YOUR FUTURE…..

In the Scripture when God did something significant, many times it happened suddenly, such as when the angel appeared in Peter’s prison cell. There wasn’t any sign of things changing on that dark night, but suddenly everything changed. God can turn things around without any warning. He can increase you when you don’t see any sign of it happening. It was unexpected, out of the ordinary. You were just doing the right thing, not complaining about the difficulty, and then suddenly, your business took off, suddenly your health turned around. It may not be a gradual process. One touch of God’s favor will thrust you to a new level.

When you understand that God has some “suddenlies,” then even when it’s taking a long time, you’ll still have an expectancy knowing that any minute your suddenly could show up. One phone call, one good break, meeting one right person, and you’ll come out of the waiting period into your season of blessing.

Today’s Scripture

Acts 12:7, NIV

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.