THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IT IS NOT GOD’S WILL FOR US TO LIVE IN ANXIETY AND FRUSTRATION

So many people today are living uptight, worried and anxious about the future, filled with frustration and concern. In the natural there may be good reason, but understand, that is NOT God’s BEST. God doesn’t WANT us to live in anxiety and frustration; He wants us to live in PEACE. You can find rest in Him knowing that no matter what is happening AROUND you, GOD ALMIGHTY has His HAND on you.

The next time you’re tempted to worry or be anxious about something, remember this verse. God invites us to COME to Him. In fact, the Bible says He is a REWARDER of those who diligently SEEK Him. But notice, we can’t just come to Him any old way. He wants us to come to Him with a heart of GRATITUDE and THANKSGIVING. Begin by simply saying, “Father in heaven, thank You for the PRIVILEGE to come before You. Thank You for HEARING my prayers.” As you come to Him with an OPEN and HUMBLE heart, He will hear you and fill you with His peace and joy ALL the days of your life.

Today’s Scripture:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
(Philippians 4:6, NASB)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

ENJOY TODAY AND EVERY DAY AS A GIFT FROM GOD

A seventeenth-century monk named Brother Lawrence found the answer to enjoying the nitty-gritty of everyday life. He was a humble cook in a French monastery, but he authored a book entitled, “Practicing the Presence of God.” In it he explained how he was able to turn even the most commonplace and menial tasks, such as preparing meals and washing dishes, into acts of PRAISE and COMMUNION with God. The key, he wrote, was NOT to change what you do, but to change your ATTITUDE toward what you do. When you begin doing these tasks, realize that you are doing them for GOD. Use it as an OPPORTUNITY to WORSHIP Him through acts of SERVICE. When you do, you will discover PLEASURE even in taking out the trash. So don’t let the enemy deceive you into thinking that you must get away from your daily routine in order to truly enjoy life. Don’t wait for your next vacation—enjoy TODAY and EVERY day as a gift from God. Enjoy getting up and eating breakfast. Enjoy going to work. Enjoy mowing the lawn. Enjoy going to the grocery store. Enjoy washing the dishes. You have to do these things ANYWAY—why not CHOOSE to ENJOY them? When you do, you will go through life with a SMILE on your face, a spring in your step, and ENJOY the ABUNDANT, OVERFLOWING life of VICTORY that God has in store for you.

Today’s Scripture

John 10:10 AMP
“…I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHERE YOU ARE TODAY, IS NOT WHERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO STAY

Oftentimes, people set their focus on what God has done in the past—how He parted the Red Sea or stopped the sun for Joshua or fed thousands of people with just a little boy’s small lunch. Yes, God has performed many AMAZING miracles throughout history. And it’s important that we give Him PRAISE, but at the same time, we also have to look forward to what God wants to do in our lives TODAY.

In today’s verse, Paul says that “in the ages to come” God would do things that EXCEED anything He’s ever done before. I believe that the “ages to come” is this day and time we’re living in RIGHT NOW. God wants to outdo Himself in OUR generation!

Remember, God is a God of INCREASE. Where you are today is NOT where you are supposed to STAY. He has GREATER levels of His favor and blessing in store for your FUTURE. Dare to dream BIG! Dare to keep a God-sized VISION in front of you! Dare to take hold of EVERY spiritual blessing He has in store for you!

Today’s Scripture:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
(Ephesians 2:4-7, NKJV)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T JUST LIVE LIFE ON THE SURFACE, DIG DEEP

Did you know that right now you are EQUIPPED with everything you need to fulfill your PASSION and PURPOSE in this life? Everything you NEED is on the inside of you—like deep waters. God leads you and draws those things OUT of you when you stay OPEN and HUMBLE before Him. You draw those things out when you are submitted to His WORD. You draw them out by declaring His TRUTH over your life. That’s what makes you a person of UNDERSTANDING—because you understand and APPLY God’s PRINCIPLES!
Proverbs also tells us that a person of understanding DELIGHTS in wisdom. A person of understanding is EVEN-tempered. A person of understanding is not EASILY led astray and maintains PEACE and ORDER. (Prov. 10:23; 15:21; 17:27; 28:2)

Don’t just live on the SURFACE of life today. Be a person of understanding and draw from the RESOURCES that God has placed on the INSIDE of you. As you keep your heart open by obeying the Word of God, HIS purposes will become CLEARER, and you will live in the abundant life GOD has in store for you!

Today’s Scripture:

“The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.”
(Proverbs 20:5, NIV)

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

TRUST GOD, BECAUSE HE IS DIRECTING YOUR STEPS

We all have times when our plans don’t work out. We get delayed, interrupted and inconvenienced. It’s easy to get frustrated and fight against everything that doesn’t go our way. But, not every interruption is bad. Every closed door doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Every delay doesn’t mean you’re not where you’re supposed to be. There is something I call a DIVINE interruption where God, on purpose, will delay us to protect us from an accident. On purpose, He will close a door because it’s not His BEST. Sometimes, God will allow us to be inconvenienced so we can help someone else in need. We have to be willing to press through difficulty so we can be at the right PLACE at the right TIME.

The next time you’re interrupted, delayed or inconvenienced, don’t start thinking, “This is a pain. This is getting me off schedule.” No, get a new PERSPECTIVE. Look for what GOD wants to do because it could be divine INTERRUPTION or divine PROTECTION. Trust Him today because He IS directing your steps!

Today’s Scripture:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

NEW BEGINNINGS START WITH OPENING YOUR HEART TO JESUS

Have you thought much about what you’re WEARING today? You probably took time this morning to select the right clothes and shoes for the day, but have you thought about what you are wearing SPIRITUALLY and EMOTIONALLY? Similar to taking off a coat, we can take off wrong ATTITUDES, emotional HEAVINESS, GUILT and SHAME. We can exchange our garments of sin and failure for HIS garments of SALVATION and RIGHTEOUSNESS. Notice that this verse doesn’t say you have to MAKE the robe of righteousness before you put it on. It doesn’t say you have to WORK really hard in order to earn RIGHTEOUSNESS. No, it’s GOD’S righteousness that He gives as a GIFT to us when we accept what JESUS did for us.

If you are wearing heaviness, guilt, condemnation or shame today, receive His gift of FORGIVENESS and allow Him to cleanse you and clothe you with His garments of SALVATION and His robe of RIGHTEOUSNESS. Today is a NEW day, and you can have a new BEGINNING by simply opening your HEART to Him.

Today’s Scripture

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul will exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…

Isaiah 61:10, ESV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T SETTLE WHERE YOU ARE, IT’S ONLY TEMPORARY

Notice in today’s verse that God did NOT say He would bring His people into a small land; a little place, tight or crowded. No, receive THIS into your spirit: Just as God brought the children of Israel into a GOOD and SPACIOUS land, so He will do the same for YOU! He wants to take you to the land of “MORE than enough,” a land of PLENTY of room flowing with INCREASE, GOOD breaks and OPPORTUNITY. He wants you to live in a land where you not only have enough for yourself, but you’re SO blessed that you can be a blessing to OTHER people.

If you’re not in a good and spacious place today, the challenge is: DON’T SETTLE where you are. This is NOT your permanent address! It’s only TEMPORARY. Keep STANDING, keep BELIEVING, keep pressing FORWARD and walk into the GOOD and SPACIOUS land God has in store for YOU!

Todays Scripture

 “so I have come down to rescue them;…and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land…”

Exodus 3:8

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHEN GOD BREATHES IN YOUR DIRECTION, THINGS BEGIN TO CHANGE…..

In the original Hebrew, the word “SPIRIT” in today’s verse literally means “BREATH.” This scripture is saying that the BREAKTHROUGHS that are coming in our lives are not going to happen just by our TALENT, our CONNECTIONS or WHO we know. It’s going to happen because God BREATHES in our direction. God will shift the winds that blow HEALING, PROMOTION and RESTORATION our way.

How are you going to get WELL? The medical report may SAY it’s impossible. But when GOD breathes on you, HEALTH, WHOLENESS and RESTORATION are headed toward you. How are you going to accomplish your DREAMS? You may not know the right PEOPLE or have enough MONEY or feel like you have the TALENT. No, GOD is BREATHING and sending IDEAS, RESOURCES and the right CONNECTIONS your direction. If you will stay FAITHFUL and keep HONORING and OBEYING God, then SUDDENLY things WILL change. SUDDENLY, you WILL come into abundance. SUDDENLY, your child WILL turn around. SUDDENLY, you WILL get well. SUDDENLY, the breath of GOD will shift things in EVERY area of your life!

Today’s Scripture:

“…Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”
(Zechariah 4:6, NIV)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

STUDY THE PEOPLE GOD HAS PLACED IN YOUR LIFE, THEY’RE NOT THERE BY ACCIDENT

Very often, we see POTENTIAL in other people that they can’t see in themselves. When you speak VISION into them, when you tell them what they CAN become, you can help set the direction for their life. Your words have the POWER to push people into their divine DESTINY. I believe that the reason some people are not living at their full POTENTIAL is because no one has ever spoken FAITH into them. No one has taken the time to say, “Hey, you’re GREAT at this. You’ve got a GIFT here. You’re going to do something AMAZING.”

I believe that one of our assignments in life is to call out the seeds of GREATNESS in other people. Look around at who God has placed in your life. They’re not there by accident. Take time to STUDY them. See what they’re good at. What are their GIFTS? What do they EXCEL at? Don’t just THINK about it, speak VISION into them. Tell them what they can become. Let your ENCOURAGEMENT ignite the GREATNESS on the inside. Help them rise up in CONFIDENCE so they can be all God has called them to be!

Today’s Scripture:

“…God…calls those things which do not exist as though they did.”
(Romans 4:17, NKJV)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DELETE THE NEGATIVITY AND EMBRACE GOD’S TRUTH

Scripture tells us that there is a battle going on in our MINDS. Our THOUGHTS dictate our ACTIONS. That’s why the enemy will do everything he can to get you thinking in the wrong direction. Sometimes it’s not our own thoughts that are holding us back; sometimes it’s that we’ve BELIEVED the negative things that OTHER people have spoken over us. Those words are like SEEDS. If you dwell on them long enough, they’ll take root and become a REALITY. In life, there will always be people telling you what cannot be done, speaking negative things. Too often we latch on to those negative words and develop what the Scripture calls a “STRONGHOLD.” It’s a wrong thinking pattern that keeps us imprisoned in defeat and keeps us from God’s BEST. The way you break those negative strongholds is by REJECTING the lie and EMBRACING the truth of God’s Word. In other words, you have to CHOOSE to DELETE that negative file in your mind.

Today, why don’t you take inventory of your THOUGHT life? Ask yourself, “Where did these thoughts come from? Do they line up with what GOD says about me?” Break the negative strongholds and EMBRACE God’s TRUTH so you can be all that GOD has called you to be!

Today’s Scripture

2 Corinthians 10:4, NKJV
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.