THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

LEARN TO RELEASE THE IMPURITIES OF LIFE…..

When Jesus said “pure in heart,” the word PURE in the original language is where we get our word catharsis, which means “cleansing, releasing, purifying.” After a surgery, the doctor may put in a catheter, which is from the same root word. It’s a tube that drains out the IMPURITIES in the body—the infection, the toxins, the waste. The doctor knows that these contaminates will come NATURALLY. He’s not alarmed unless they’re not released and flushed out.

God is saying that you’re going to be BLESSED when you learn to release the impurities of LIFE, emptying out all the things that will infect you. Bitterness, guilt, worry, doubt, and self-pity are impurities that WILL come, but you have to let them GO and flush them out or they will contaminate your spirit and POISON you. But they can NOT hurt you if they just pass through. If you let them GO, God will fill your life with GOOD things.

Today’s Scripture

Matthew 5:8, NIV

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

TURN IT AROUND, AND TALK ABOUT THE PROMISE

To be snared means “to be trapped.” Your words can trap you. What you say can cause you to stumble and keep you from your potential. You’re not snared by what you think. Negative thoughts come to us all. But when you speak them out, you give them life. If you say, “I’ll never get back in shape,” it becomes more difficult. If you say, “I’m not that talented. I don’t have a good personality,” that is calling in mediocrity. It’s setting the limits for your life. When negative thoughts come, the key is to never verbalize them. That thought will die stillborn if you don’t speak it.

In the tough times, it’s very tempting to vent your frustrations. When you continually talk about the problem, you’re making it bigger. Turn it around and talk about the promise. Let your report be: “God is supplying all my needs. It may look impossible on paper, but with God, all things are possible.”

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 6:2, NKJV

You are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD WILL GET YOU TO WHERE YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE 

Today’s Scripture tells us to rule our own spirit. It doesn’t say to rule somebody else’s spirit or to rule your circumstances. You can’t control what other people think or say about you or the negative circumstances around you. If you’re dealing with a sickness or your finances are low, your attempts to control it will only lead to frustration, worry, and discouragement. Part of ruling your spirit is to not let that poison get in you. Ships don’t sink because there’s water around them; they sink if they let the water get in them.

Another part of ruling your spirit is to not believe the enemy’s constant whispers, “You blew it. God’s never going to bless you.” God’s mercy is bigger than any mistake. Your mistakes didn’t cancel God’s plan, and He’s not finished with you. You may have fallen down, but your attitude should be, “I’m not staying down. God will get me to where I’m supposed to be.”

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 16:32, ESV

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHEN YOU PRAY, PRAY LIKE IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY…..

Did you notice in today’s Scripture how big God thinks? Sometimes we’re praying for a dollar-an-hour raise; God’s talking about giving you nations. We’re praying to pay our bills; God’s planning on blessing you so you can also pay other people’s bills. We’re looking at the five loaves and two fish; God’s thinking about the twelve basketfuls of leftovers.

What does that mean, “Today is your birthday”? On your birthday, more than at any other time, you feel entitled to ask for something special. When you were a child, you knew that was your special day. You had the boldness to ask for what you really wanted. God is saying, “When you pray, act as though it’s your birthday and I am your heavenly Father. Come to Me with boldness. Ask Me for what you really want. Don’t hold back. Tell Me what you’re believing for. Ask for the secret things I placed in your heart.” Dare to ask big.

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 2:7–8, MSG

“You’re my son, and today is your birthday. What do you want? Name it: Nations as a present? continents as a prize?”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

LET IT GO AND TRUST GOD TO BE YOUR VINDICATOR

Bitterness is always knocking at the door—people do you wrong, you didn’t get the promotion, you came down with an illness. You can’t stop difficult things from happening to you, but you can choose how you respond to them. If you hold on to the hurt and dwell on the offense, you open the door to bitterness, which poisons your attitude to the point where you see everything in a negative light. It will steal your dreams and rob you of your joy.

When something unfair happens that you don’t understand and the question, “Why did this happen?” comes up, let go of it quickly. God sees what’s happening to you. He knows what wasn’t fair. He knows how to bring you out better. Trust Him to be your VINDICATOR. The longer you dwell on it, the more you let it bother you, the deeper it gets rooted in you. The key is to forgive quickly and let it go.

Today’s Scripture

Ephesians 4:31, NIV

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

PRAISE GOD NO MATTER WHAT…..

When God sees you praising Him in the pit, praising Him in the storm, praising Him in the loss, that’s what He calls “a sacrifice of praise.” He knows it’s not easy and you feel like quitting. When you praise Him in the pit, that moves Him in a greater way. It’s one thing to be grateful when things are going your way, but when you have a song of praise in your heart when every circumstance says you should be depressed, get ready for God to show out in your life. David said in today’s Scripture that praise brings you out of the pit. Praise when it’s sunny, and praise when it’s rainy. Praise when business is up, and praise when it’s down. David said in Psalm 34, “I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my mouth.” God is looking for some pit praisers, people who praise no matter what happens.

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 40:2–3, NIV

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU HAVE A DEVINE EMPOWERMENT, GOD’S ANOINTING IS ON YOU

We don’t have to go through life doing everything on our own, trying to accomplish our dreams in our own ability, trying to overcome challenges in our own strength, our own intellect, and our own hard work. We have an advantage. God has placed His anointing on you. The anointing is a divine empowerment. It enables you to do what you could not do on your own. It will cause you to accomplish dreams even though you don’t have the talent. It will help you overcome obstacles that looked insurmountable.

The anointing is only activated where there is faith. Instead of complaining about how something is not going to work out, turn that around and start declaring, “I am anointed. I am equipped. I am empowered. I am well able.” When you have this attitude of faith and are speaking words of victory, you are stirring up your anointing. That’s when you’ll go places that you couldn’t go on your own.

Today’s Scripture

1 John 2:20, NIV

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

YOU’RE GOING TO COME INTO WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY SET UP

In Luke 22, Jesus told Peter and John to go into Jerusalem and make arrangements for what is now known as the Last Supper. He gave them the exact details—the right person to meet, the right time, the right house—and everything fell precisely into place. They didn’t have to persuade the owner of the house to help. No, he was expecting them. The room was “already set up.”

When God laid out the plan for your life, He set up everything you need to fulfill your destiny—every good break, every person, every solution. Before you had that problem you think will never turn around, He had already set up the answer. You don’t have to try to manipulate people or convince someone to be good to you. The desires that God put in your heart may seem far out, but if you’ll stay in faith and keep honoring God, you’re going to come into what God has already set up.

Today’s Scripture

Luke 22:12, NLT

“He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

IF YOU TOLERATE MEDIOCRITY, IT WILL RUB OFF ON YOU

It’s not only important how we spend our time, but with whom we spend it. The only thing that’s keeping some people from a new level of their destiny is wrong friendships. You may have to prune off some relationships that are not adding value to your life. Don’t hang around people who are not going anywhere, who have no goals or dreams, who compromise and take the easy way out. If you tolerate mediocrity, it will rub off on you. If you hang out with jealous, critical, unhappy people, you will end up jealous, critical, and unhappy. You cannot become who God created you to be hanging out with them.

Take a look at your friends. If your friends are winners, leaders, givers, and successful, if they have integrity and a spirit of excellence and are positive and motivated, those good qualities are going to rub off on you. Invest your time with them. They’re making you better.

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 13:20, MSG

Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

GOD’S MERCY IS BIGGER THAN YOUR MISTAKE

The enemy knows that if we feel wrong on the inside, we’ll never become who we were created to be. He works overtime to try to bring guilt and shame on you, to make you feel as though you don’t deserve to be blessed. You have to turn off the accusing voices.

You may have made mistakes, but the moment you asked God to forgive you, He not only forgave you but He took it one step further and doesn’t even remember it anymore. Those condemning thoughts try to remind you of your past mistakes. You’ve already asked for forgiveness, which means that God doesn’t remember it. That voice is a sure sign the accuser is at work. You can either accept the shame and feel wrong on the inside or you can declare, “No, shame off me! I’ve been forgiven. I know God’s mercy is bigger than this mistake. If God doesn’t remember it, I’m not going to remember it either.”

Today’s Scripture

Isaiah 43:25, NKJV

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”