THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD IS ON YOUR SIDE, AND WANTS THE BEST FOR YOU

There are many misconceptions about God in the world today. Some people think He’s mad at them, and other’s think He’s keeping a list of all their wrongs. But that isn’t what SCRIPTURE tells us. Scripture tells us that God is GRACIOUS, PATIENT and LOVING; that He is FORGIVING and doesn’t treat us as our sins DESERVE. Scripture tells us that God is FOR us, and if God is for us, who can be AGAINST us?

Think about THAT for a moment. The same God who created the heavens and earth, the one who spoke the universe into existence and knows everything about you, He is on YOUR side and wants the BEST for YOU. Today’s verse is a great reminder that when God is FOR you, NO one can win AGAINST you. Not the pain of your past. Not any mistake you’ve made. Not the forces of hell, your worst enemy, a bad economy, a difficult housing market or ANYTHING else on this earth.

Today, instead of dwelling on what you’re NOT, dwell on what HE is—He is FAITHFUL, He is LOVING, He is WITH you, and He is FOR you! And with God on your side, you are headed for victory ALL the days of your life!

Today’s Scripture:

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Romans 8:31, NLT

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

FOCUS ON THE GIFTS OF LOVE, KINDNESS AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Can you imagine how the wise men felt as they first looked upon our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! As part of their WORSHIP, they wanted to give Him gifts. They gave valuable PRESENTS to symbolize the LOVE, HONOR and APPRECIATION in their hearts. In the same way, you show your love and appreciation to God with gifts of WORSHIP, and you can show your love and appreciate to OTHERS by the gifts you bring.

As you celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during this holiday season, don’t just focus on the gifts you bring in the NATURAL; focus on gifts of LOVE, KINDNESS and ENCOURAGEMENT. Go out of your way to show HONOR to others just like the wise men went out of their way to show honor to JESUS. When you walk in LOVE and PEACE, that is the place of BLESSING.

Today’s Scripture:

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him gifts…”

Matthew 2:11, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

PEACE ON EARTH—EVERY DAY, IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE

What a wonderful GIFT the Father has given us by sending His Son, JESUS, the Prince of Peace, into the earth! Because of HIM, all those who BELIEVE can have PEACE with God and make heaven their home. But not only did the Prince of Peace open the way to go to heaven, He made it possible to have peace on EARTH—every day in EVERY circumstance.

Today, we declare peace over YOU and YOUR home. We celebrate with you the greatest gift of all—Jesus Christ! If YOU don’t know this peace that the Father so freely gives, open your heart and invite Jesus to make YOUR heart His home. He is the ULTIMATE gift!

From our home to yours, we wish you a VERY Merry Christmas!

Today’s Scripture:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6, KJV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

TODAY AND EVERYDAY, YOU ARE HIGHLY FAVORED AND THE LORD IS WITH YOU

Did you know that as a child of God, you are highly FAVORED? No matter what you may have done in the PAST, as soon as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, you have favor with GOD!

Mary didn’t understand how or why she had God’s FAVOR, or what that favor was FOR. At that MOMENT, she didn’t know that she was CHOSEN as a pure and holy vessel to bring Christ to the world. Friend, you have God’s favor for the very SAME reason as Mary – because God chose YOU and made you a pure and holy vessel to bring Christ to your HOME, WORKPLACE, and even the WORLD.

Stay focused on SHARRING the message of God’s love with ALL those you come in contact with. And remember that TODAY, and EVERYDAY, you are highly FAVORED and the Lord is with you!

Today’s Scripture:

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Luke 1:28, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THIS CHRISTMAS, TAKE TIME TO FOCUS ON THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL, ETERNAL LIFE

Have you ever thought about how LOVE affects your GIVING? I’ve heard it said that you can give without loving, but you can’t love without GIVING. LOVE, God’s love IN us, prompts us to give of OURSELVES—our TIME, ABILITIES and RESOURCES. In fact, God IS love, and the scripture tells us that the world IDENTIFIES Christians by their LOVE. That means the world will identify us as Christians by our generous, giving HEARTS.

During this Christmas holiday, the season of GIVING, remember to take time to focus on the greatest gift of ALL, the gift of eternal LIFE through JESUS. If you’ve never RECEIVED this gift, I invite you to open your heart and pray this simple prayer: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today, giving You all that I am. I repent of my sins, and confess that I need You. I believe You died and rose for me. Be my Lord and Savior and make me new today. I receive Your love and Your gift of eternal life, in Jesus’ name I pray…Amen!”

My Friend, If you prayed that simple prayer and MEANT it, I believe you just got born again! Now, enjoy your NEW life and go out and tell EVERYONE who will listen, about the GOODNESS of God and all He’s done for YOU this Christmas Season!

Today’s Scripture:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

UNWRAP YOUR GIFTS! JESUS PAID A PRECIOUS PRICE FOR THEM

Imagine waking up on Christmas morning and seeing a pile of presents under the tree but never OPENING them. Imagine that your friends and family spent a lot of MONEY on you, buying you things you NEED and DESIRE but could never AFFORD. Imagine that you even know what was INSIDE those packages, but just DECIDED to let them sit under the tree day in and day out, year after year. After all, now you have what you’ve always dreamed of. You OWN whatever is in those boxes. If anyone asked, you’d say, “Yes, I HAVE that.” But it wouldn’t do you any GOOD because you would never be able to USE those gifts unless you took the time to UNWRAP those packages.

Friend, it’s the same way with God. He wants you to have an ABUNDANT life. HIS gifts are all right there for YOU wrapped up in the Word of God. You “OPEN” His gift by MEDITATING on His Word, OBEYING His commands and DECLARING it out of your mouth.

Today, I ENCOURAGE you to UNWRAP your GIFTS! Don’t let a single present sit “under the tree” ANY LONGER. Jesus paid a PRECIOUS PRICE so you could have both ETERNAL life and ABUNDANT life. UNWRAP your gifts and live in His FULLNESS today!

Today’s Scripture:

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

Romans 8:32, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

JESUS IS THE REMEDY FOR ALL YOUR FEARS

In this day and age, it seems that there are so many things that people are AFRAID of. I’m not just talking about phobias. Many people are afraid of the FUTURE, afraid they won’t get MARRIED, afraid they won’t find a better JOB, afraid of getting SICK. But the scripture gives us a simple REMEDY for all our fears, and that is to SEEK THE LORD. How do you seek the Lord? With a HUMBLE and OPEN heart. By setting aside time each day to COMMUNE with Him. By FOCUSING your thoughts on HIM and His GOODNESS.

Friend, no matter what fears may be plaguing YOUR mind today, God wants to DELIVER you. He PROMISES to keep us in PERFECT PEACE when we keep our minds stayed on HIM. Today, MEDITATE on His GOODNESS. Meditate on His perfect LOVE which casts out ALL fear. As you SEEK the Lord, He WILL ANSWER you. He will DELIVER you and lead you in the path of PEACE and VICTORY all the days of your LIFE!

Today’s Scripture:

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”

Psalm 34:4, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

AFTER AN ENCOUNTER WITH ALMIGHTY GOD, EVERYTHING CHANGES……

One of the most amazing TRANSFORMATIONS in the Bible happened when Saul—former persecutor of Christians—ENCOUNTERED God on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9). After his ENCOUNTER, he was SO radically changed from the inside out that even his NAME was changed to Paul. He began preaching the gospel, and eventually, went on to write much of the New Testament.

When you have a supernatural encounter with Almighty God, SOMETHING is going to happen. Something is going to be transformed INSIDE of you and radiate OUT into EVERY part of your being, affecting every part of your LIFE!

Today, I want to encourage you to PREPARE your heart to expect God’s supernatural touch in your life. Open the eyes of your HEART to Him. I pray that you experience God in SUCH a way that EVERY bondage is broken off of your life, and you are forever CHANGED by a supernatural ENCOUNTER with Him!

Today’s Scripture:

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD KNOWS HOW TO GET YOU TO WHERE YOU NEED TO BE

Have you ever felt overwhelmed or even AFRAID of what God has called you to do? Maybe you were pursuing a dream or goal and things didn’t turn out the way you planned. Joseph had planned to take Mary as his wife, but when he found out she was pregnant, he didn’t know what to THINK. He was AFRAID that he might be making a mistake because things didn’t turn out the way HE planned. But, God sent a messenger in a dream to REASSURE Joseph that he WAS on the right path.

Today let me reassure YOU that God knows right where you ARE, and He knows how to get you to where you NEED to BE. Even when things don’t go the way YOU planned, His hand is on you. Do NOT be afraid, trust that God IS working behind the scenes on your behalf and that He WILL lead you into the life of BLESSING that He has prepared for YOU.

Today’s Scripture:

“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.’”

(Matthew 1:20, NLT)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

AND YOUR HEART WILL OVERFLOW WITH THANKFULNESS…….

When the wise men first saw Jesus, they were completely OVERWHELMED. They fell to their knees and wanted to worship Him with EVERYTHING they had. GIVING was an automatic response. They wanted to lavish Him with their LOVE and GIFTS. They were giving because they were THANKFUL and wanted to HONOR Him.

When you give to GOD, He doesn’t want you to do it just because it’s offering time or because you feel like you HAVE to. In fact, the Bible says, “Do NOT give grudgingly or under compulsion.” God wants you to give because your heart is overflowing with THANKFULNESS. He wants you to be HAPPY and CHEERFUL when you give. He LOVES a cheerful giver!

Meditate on the faithfulness of God today. Think about what He’s done for YOU—that He’s SAVED and REDEEMED You. Dwell on the fact that He is your PROVIDER. As you meditate on His GOODNESS, your heart will OVERFLOW with thankfulness, and just like the wise men, GIVING will be an AUTOMATIC response!

Today’s Scripture:

“And on going into the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then opening their treasure bags, they presented to Him gifts…”

Matthew 2:11, AMP