THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

DO LIKE JESUS AND TRUST GOD TO WORK IT OUT

The Scripture tells us to be IMITATORS of Christ. His life should be our EXAMPLE. If we’re going to be like Jesus, this means that we’re going to be misunderstood and criticized and have SOME people come against us. And we’re going to have a Judas, someone who betrays us, turns their back on us, and walks away. This is why many people get bitter.

It’s interesting that when Judas came to betray Jesus, He still called him “FRIEND.” HIS attitude was, “Judas, your poor choice is NOT going to steal my JOY. My FATHER has the final say. In the end, I’m going to come out wearing the VICTOR’S crown.” When WE go through times that seem unfair, if we’ll do like Jesus and trust GOD to work it out for our good, it WON’T get the BEST of us. At some point, we TOO will be wearing the victor’s crown and move into a NEW level of our DESTINY.

Today’s Scripture

Ephesians 5:1, NLT

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

YOU ARE ROYALTY, KEEP YOUR CROWN ON

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were living confident and secure with God. They knew they had His blessing and favor. But one day the enemy deceived them into eating the forbidden fruit, and immediately they were afraid. They ran and hid. When God called out to Adam, “Where are you?” Adam said, “We’re hiding because we’re naked.” God asked, “Who told you that you were naked?”

God is asking us today, “Who told you that you’re not good enough? That you’re just average? That you can’t accomplish your dreams?” Those negative thoughts didn’t come from our God. Those lies open the door to fear, insecurity, and shame. They focus on what we’re not, on the mistakes we’ve made, on what other people have said about us. Don’t let the enemy deceive you. You are a child of the Most High God. You are not average or mediocre; you are royalty. Keep your crown on.

Today’s Scripture

2 Corinthians 11:3, NIV

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

 

WE CREATE ‘OUR’ WORLD, WITH OUR WORDS

Scripture tells us that there is creative POWER in the words we DECLARE. In the same way that God created the world with HIS words in Genesis 1, WE “create” our own world with OUR words. We can create an atmosphere of PEACE, JOY, POWER and LOVE with our words, or we can create an atmosphere of strife, confusion and defeat.

Today, I encourage YOU to use your words to open the door for God to MOVE by declaring His Word over YOUR life. Declare that His strength IS at work in you. Declare that NO weapon formed against you is going to prosper. As you declare God’s WORD over your life, you’ll see it come to pass. You’ll feel His STRENGTH, JOY and VICTORY rising up inside of you so that you can embrace the life of BLESSING He has prepared for you.

Today’s Scripture:

“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as You have declared”

(Numbers 14:17, NIV)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU WOULD NOT BE WHERE YOU ARE IF NOT FOR THE GRACIOUS HAND OF GOD ON YOUR LIFE…..

Have you ever thought about the fact that the victories you saw in your past weren’t just your own doing? When you made it through a difficult time, when you received an unexpected break, when things turned around for no reason, it was because God FAVORED you. You wouldn’t be where you are if the gracious hand of God was not on your life!

It doesn’t matter if you don’t have as much EDUCATION as someone else. It doesn’t matter how influential your FAMILY is. It doesn’t matter what your BACKGROUND is. God’s FAVOR can take you where you could not go on your own. When you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He places something UNDENIABLE on the inside of you. Something that cannot be measured, can’t be put on paper, and can’t be explained—it is His Holy Spirit and His FAVOR shining down on you! Other people may not be able to figure it out. All they know is that you’ve got SOMETHING—that’s the gracious hand of God.

Today let this truth sink down deeply into your heart. Don’t be discouraged by what you can see, be ENCOURAGED by what you CAN’T see! Put your shoulders back and go out with FAITH and CONFIDENCE knowing that His gracious HAND is upon you!

Today’s Scripture:

For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword, nor did their own arm save them; but it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance, because You favored them.

Psalm 44:3, NKJV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

QUIT REMEMBERING WHAT GOD HAS FORGOTTEN

Too often we get our performance mixed up with our identity. You ask somebody, “Who are you?” and they answer, “I’m a nurse.” But the truth is, that’s what they do, not who they are. You are a child of the Most High God. That’s where your value, your worth comes from—your who, not your do. You may do some wrong things, but that is not who you are. Nothing that you do changes your value because your value comes from your Creator. So feel good about who you are. When you’re positive toward yourself, you’re in agreement with God. If you make a mistake, the moment you ask God to forgive you, He not only forgives you but He forgets it.

Quit remembering what God has forgotten. Quit listening to all the accusing voices telling you what you’re not. Your performance isn’t perfect, but you are accepted and approved through your faith. That’s what matters to God.

Today’s Scripture

Romans 4:23–24, TLB

Now this wonderful statement—that he was accepted and approved through his faith—wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was for us, too, assuring us that God will accept us in the same way he accepted Abraham.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

MAN LOOKS AT YOU ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT TO GOD, IT’S THE HEART THAT MATTERS

When Jesus chose His twelve disciples, He didn’t choose people who had it all together. He didn’t choose the Pharisees, who kept all the religious rules, prayed at the right time, and gave what was required but whose hearts were not right. He chose people who had lots of FLAWS, who came out of DYSFUNCTION and weren’t raised in a religious ENVIRONMENT. Man looks on the OUTSIDE, at the PERFORMANCE, the CREDENTIALS, the BACKGROUND, but God looks BEYOND all that. He knows it’s the HEART that matters. He chose those whose HEARTS were COMMITTED to Him.

God is not looking for people who have a perfect PERFORMANCE. He’s looking for people who desire to PLEASE Him. Your behavior, attitude, and character may need some IMPROVEMENT, but just as with the disciples, God is saying, “I know your HEART is sincere; your heart is set to do the RIGHT thing. So I’m going to show Myself STRONG in your life.”

Today’s Scripture

2 Chronicles 16:9, NLT

“The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

PUT GOD FIRST, AND HE’LL CROWN YOUR EFFORTS WITH SUCCESS

A lot of people are good at taking care of the physical and emotional parts of their lives, but they don’t take care of the SPIRITUAL. There’s no, or minimal, connection to God. Your life will be MUCH more fulfilling when you’re in relationship with your CREATOR. He breathed LIFE into you. He knows what your PURPOSE is. He wants to give you the advantage for SUCCESS. When you make HIM a part of your life, His FAVOR will take you where your talents and abilities can NOT take you.

Make your spiritual life a PRIORITY. When you get up in the morning, take time to THANK God for the day. Don’t run out of the house stressed out, in a hurry. Start the day off with a GRATEFUL attitude. Read the Scripture, meditate on His promises, and fill your mind with thoughts of FAITH, HOPE, and VICTORY. Put God FIRST and He will crown YOUR efforts with SUCCESS.

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 3:6, TLB

In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE TODAY, GOD WANTS TO GIVE YOU A NEW, BETTER FUTURE

Isn’t it interesting that the Bible says we should be PRISONERS of HOPE? Prisoner of hope means that you can’t get away from it. You’re HELD by hope. A prisoner of hope is someone who has an attitude of FAITH and EXPECTANCY even when things are bad because God has promised to RESTORE what was lost . . . and far MORE. That’s a great word of HOPE you can hold ON to! It means your HEALTH, your JOB situation, and your FINANCES may not be what you WANT them to be today, but they are all subject to CHANGE! God wants to RESTORE these things to you—not just the way they were BEFORE—but with MORE so that you are better off than when you began. No matter where you are TODAY or what happened to you YESTERDAY, God wants to give you a NEW future filled with JOY, FULFILLMENT and ABUNDANCE.

Today’s Scripture:

“Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.”

Zechariah 9:12, ESV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

AS A BELIEVER, YOU WON’T BE THE VICTIM, YOU WILL BE THE VICTOR

The Scripture says, “Your Father sends rain on the just AND on the unjust.” Being a person of faith doesn’t EXEMPT you from difficulties. Jesus told a parable about a wise man who built his house on a rock. This man HONORED God. Another man foolishly built his house on the sand. He DIDN’T honor God. Then the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the houses of both the just AND the unjust. But after the storm was OVER, the house built on the ROCK was still STANDING. The house built on the SAND was completely ruined.

You may get knocked down and go through some dark, stormy times, but that’s just a part of LIFE. It rains on EVERYBODY. The DIFFERENCE is that when you honor GOD, when you stay in FAITH, you have God’s PROMISE that when the storm CLEARS, you WON’T be the victim; you’ll be the VICTOR. You’ll still be STANDING.

Today’s Scripture

Matthew 7:24, NIV
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

A SON OF THE MOST HIGH GOD DOESN’T LIVE FEELING GUILTY AND CONDEMNED

It’s easy to have the wrong image of ourselves. The Scripture says, “Now we are the children of God,” but too many times, we live as though we don’t deserve to be blessed because we’ve made too many mistakes and had too many negative things come against us. We live with a slave mentality to mediocrity, to guilt, to lack, to addictions. Stop thinking as a slave and start thinking as a son.

Stop thinking about what you’ve been through and the mistakes you’ve made, and start thinking about who you are. A son of the Most High God doesn’t live feeling guilty and condemned about past mistakes; he receives mercy and moves forward. A son or daughter has a boldness, a confidence. You’ll expect God’s favor. You’ll believe for doors to open for you that you don’t deserve. Why? Because you’re not a slave, or a hired worker, or a friend of the family. You’re a free child of Almighty God!

Today’s Scripture

1 John 3:2, NIV

“Dear friends, now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”