THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU HAVE TO STAND OUT IN THE CROWD

How badly do you want that PROMOTION at work? Badly enough to get to work EARLY, to do MORE than what’s REQUIRED, to take that extra COURSE online to sharpen your SKILLS? If NOT, you don’t want it BADLY enough. You have to stand out in the CROWD. Today’s Scripture says that Daniel “DISTINGUISHED himself.” He was so EXCELLENT in his work, so SKILLED, so SHARP, and had such a great ATTITUDE that he stood OUT among ALL the other young men. The king gave him a position of great LEADERSHIP. It doesn’t say, “GOD distinguished Daniel, made him stand out, made him excel.” It says that Daniel distinguished HIMSELF. He was willing to do what the other young men WOULDN’T do. It wasn’t so much that he was more TALENTED or more GIFTED; it was the fact that he WANTED it more than they did. The QUESTION is, how big is YOUR want-to?

Today’s Scripture:

Daniel 6:3, NIV

Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF YOU’LL USE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU, HE’LL MULTIPLY IT

When David went out to face Goliath, all he had was a slingshot and five smooth stones. It looked INSIGNIFICANT, ordinary, and certainly nothing SPECIAL. But God BREATHED on him, and he DEFEATED Goliath and became the king of Israel. All Moses had was an ordinary STICK, something he found on the ground, yet when he picked up that rod and held it in the air, the Red Sea SUPERNATURALLY parted. Samson was SURROUNDED by a huge army. All he had was the jawbone of a donkey. But he picked UP that jawbone, God BREATHED on him, and he defeated a THOUSAND men. Do NOT despise the day of small BEGINNINGS. Don’t look at what you have and say, “I can’t do anything GREAT. I don’t have a lot of TALENT.” If you’ll use what GOD has GIVEN you, He will MULTIPLY it. He will not only bring your DREAMS to pass, but He will do MORE than you can ASK or THINK.

Today’s Scripture:

Zechariah 4:10, NLT

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD IS YOUR VINDICATOR

With social media, so many people can hide behind being anonymous and say hurtful, critical things to try to make you FEEL small, unattractive, and not GOOD enough. At times it may seem as though there’s a CAMPAIGN against someone, but it’s USUALLY just a handful of bullies, haters, and envious people. You can’t STOP that from coming, but you CAN ignore it. Let it bounce right OFF you. The trick of the enemy is to try to deceive you into THINKING about it all the time, and then it contaminates your LIFE. Don’t let the poison IN. Don’t even bother to READ it when it gets negative. Don’t call a friend and ask them what someone might be saying about you. Don’t let your heart be troubled; let GOD take care of it. You don’t HAVE to defend yourself. GOD is your VINDICATOR. Just run YOUR race. Stay FOCUSED on moving FORWARD, and HE will take care of the REST.

Today’s Scripture

John 14:1, NKJV

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU HAVE AN EXTRAORDINARY DESTINY

In Exodus 1, Moses was born into trouble. God used Pharaoh’s dark decree that the midwives should kill all the male Hebrew babies and threatened the life of the baby Moses to get Moses to where HE wanted him to be. Hidden in a basket among the reeds along the riverbank, Moses was discovered by Pharaoh’s daughter and taken and raised in the palace. The TROUBLE was a part of God’s PLAN. In the palace, Moses learned the BEST of Egyptian civilization and was prepared by ROYALTY to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. God KNOWS what He’s doing. You may not LIKE it when trouble comes your way. It may not be FAIR, you’re uncomfortable, but that trouble is taking you to the next level of your DESTINY. Don’t be surprised if you face extraordinary CHALLANGES. It’s because you have an EXTRAORDINARY destiny. As He did with Moses, God is getting you PREPARED for GREATER blessings than you can IMAGINE.

Today’s Scripture

Isaiah 8:10, NIV

“Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

YOU’RE NOT ON YOUR OWN. THE GOD WHO CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR ENEMIES…..

God was about to take the Israelites into the PROMISED Land, but there were seven nations in their path that were bigger, stronger, and more POWERFUL than the Israelites. Moses didn’t know what they were going to do. In the NATURAL they could NEVER defeat them. But God told them, “You don’t have to fight this in your OWN strength. I’M going to go BEFORE you and clear the PATH. I’m going to DEFEAT your enemies so all you have to do is WALK in and TAKE the land.”

We all face situations where the odds are against us. It’s easy to think, This sickness…this debt…this addiction…these people coming against me are much more POWERFUL. Don’t worry. God is going before you right now CLEARING the path. He’s making things happen that you COULDN’T make happen. On your own you may be OUTNUMBERED, but you’re NOT on your own. The God who controls the universe says HE will take care of your enemies.

Today’s Scripture

Deuteronomy 7:1, TLB

“When the Lord brings you into the Promised Land, as he soon will, he will destroy the following seven nations, all greater and mightier than you are.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

GOD HAS GIVEN US SELF CONTROL, USE IT TO TAKE CONTROL OVER YOUR EMOTIONS……

When you let your FEELINGS control you–anger, impatience, lust, a negative attitude–your walls of defense are DOWN. The enemy can come in and run your LIFE. God has given us SELF-CONTROL. Quit saying, “I CAN’T stop it. It’s too HARD.” You HAE the ability, but self-control is like a MUSCLE. If you never DISCIPLINE yourself to walk away when you feel like taking the EASY way out, then your self-control MUSCLE is very WEAK. You have to start EXERCISING it by saying NO to your flesh. You have a DESTINY to fulfill. But as long as you are controlled by these ordinary IMPULSES, God can’t release the AMAZING things He has in store for your FUTURE. SPIRITUAL maturity has NOTHING to do with how many years you’ve been in church or how long you’ve known the Lord. It has EVERYTHING to do with what kind of FRUIT you are displaying. Are YOU ruling over YOUR emotions?

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 25:28, NKJV

Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down, without walls.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

AS A BELIEVER, YOU’RE IN A PLACE OF PROTECTION. NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU WILL PROSPER

In the last plague that God sent on Egypt in order to get the Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go free, God told Moses that the Israelites should mark their doorposts with a lamb’s blood so that the death angel could “PASS OVER” their houses and SPARE them from the death of all the firstborn of Egypt. You can imagine how CAREFUL they were to follow the EXACT instructions. Today, have YOU put the blood of the Lamb of God over YOUR house, so to speak? When you say, “As for me and my house, we WILL serve the Lord,” in effect you’re putting that blood over your doorpost. God says NO harm will come NEAR your dwelling. When you’ve accepted the sacrifice of Christ’s SALVATION, you’re in a place of PROTECTION. No weapon formed against YOU will prosper. Because of the blood of the Son of the living God, there’s a blood line that the enemy CANNOT cross.

Today’s Scripture

Exodus 12:13, NIV

“The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T HIDE YOUR SCARS, SHOW THEM TO INSPIRE SOMEONE ELSE….

After Jesus’ resurrection, Thomas had declared that he wouldn’t believe UNLESS he felt the WOUNDS in Jesus’ hands and side. When Jesus appeared to Thomas, He held out His hands and said, “Touch My SCARS.” Thomas fell down and said, “Lord, I BELIEVE!” Maybe somebody needs to touch YOUR scars to believe. Maybe they need to hear your STORY of how God brought YOU through the sickness, through the divorce, through the mistake or loss. Don’t HIDE your scars; SHOW your scars. Your scars can INSPIRE someone ELSE to believe. There’s HEALING in your scars. When you see other people who are wounded, do like Jesus did and TELL them, “TOUCH my scars.” Let them KNOW that what God did for YOU, He can do for THEM. When they hear how God HEALED you, RESTORED you, and BLESSED you, that will breathe new life into THEIR spirit. God didn’t show you mercy just for YOUR sake; those SCARS are for somebody ELSE.

Today’s Scripture

John 20:27–28, NLT

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU ARE GOING TO SEE WHAT GOD PROMISED. WHAT HAS YOUR NAME ON IT IS ON THE WAY

In the Scripture, Daniel prayed and asked God for something, but NOTHING happened. Day after DAY went by, no sign of it. Three weeks LATER, an angel showed up with the answer and said, “From the moment you PRAYED, God sent me with the ANSWER, but there were forces in my way that STOPPED me.” God had to send ANOTHER angel to fight through the forces of darkness. There are BLESSINGS that have YOUR NAME on them–PROMOTION, BUSINESSES, a HOUSE, HEALING, a SPOUSE, a BABY, RESTORATION–that you’ve been BELIEVING for. There are FORCES trying to hold BACK what you’ve been PRAYING for. God is about to RELEASE what’s been held up. Stay ENCOURAGED; it IS on the way. Just IMAGINE God breaking the way WIDE open through those forces that are holding it back. You ARE going to see what God PROMISED. What has your name on it IS on the way. All the forces of darkness can NOT stop it.

Today’s Scripture

Daniel 10:12–13, NLT

“Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T LET THE CONTRADICITIONS OF LIFE CAUSE YOU TO GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS

ALL of us have secret frustrations–things that we KNOW God could CHANGE. We KNOW He could open the door, or remove the temptation, or give us the HEALING, but it’s not HAPPENING. It’s easy to get stuck with the “why” questions. When you have a secret frustration, don’t FOCUS on it. Rather, you have to REALIZE that God is SOVEREIGN. You’re not going to UNDERSTAND why everything happens or doesn’t happen. God doesn’t REMOVE some things. He waits a long time to change some SITUATIONS. You have to TRUST that He knows what’s BEST for you. His ways are BETTER than our ways. His thoughts are HIGHER than our thoughts. If you keep the right ATTITUDE, all those frustrating SITUATIONS that are not changing won’t work AGAINST you, but INSTEAD will work FOR you. Don’t let the CONTRADICTIONS of life cause you to get sour and give up on your DREAMS.

Today’s Scripture

Isaiah 41:10, NIV

“Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”