THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO CONVINCE THE WRONG PEOPLE

As was true for DANIEL in today’s Scripture, critics are always going to be around YOU. There will ALWAYS be SOMEBODY who doesn’t understand you, doesn’t like what you’re DOING, and who’s NEVER going to be for you. What a shame to waste TIME trying to convince them OTHERWISE when the FACT is that they’re NEVER going to change. I’m asking you to let GOD be your defender. He can make things happen that you can’t MAKE happen. He’s ALREADY lined up the right people to like you, the right people to CELEBRATE you, and the right people to push you into your PURPOSE just as Daniel did. Don’t waste your time trying to convince the wrong PEOPLE. Just keep running YOUR race, honoring God, and being a person of EXCELLENCE. If you DO this, all the forces of darkness cannot hold you back. GOD will settle your cases. He’s preparing a table before you right NOW in the presence of your enemies. He’s going to VINDICATE you, PROMOTE you, and HONOR you.

Today’s Scripture:

Daniel 6:4, NLT

Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU MAY BE HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE, BUT GOD HAS BIGGER PLANS FOR YOU…..

Elisha had faithfully served the prophet Elijah for many years and went everywhere HE went. When Elijah was about to be taken to HEAVEN, he asked Elisha what HE wanted. You would think Elisha would ask for something ordinary, perhaps a monetary gift to provide for his FUTURE. But Elisha had learned how to pray BOLD prayers. He asked for a DOUBLE portion of Elijah’s SPIRIT. He was saying, “I want to have TWICE the anointing, twice the FAVOR, and to do TWICE as many MIRACLES.” Elijah COULD have said, “You have a LOT OF nerve. You better ask for something more REALISTIC.” But Elijah LIKED his boldness. He said in effect, “Stay with ME, and you’ll receive what you ASKED,” and that’s exactly what HAPPENED. Elisha went on to perform TWICE as many miracles as Elijah. That wouldn’t have HAPPENED if he had not been BOLD to see his destiny FULFILLED.

YOU may be happy where YOU are today, but God has BIGGER things, greater OPPORTUNITIES, and more INFLUENCE. Don’t get stuck because you’re not ASKING for all God has for you. Be BOLD.

Today’s Scripture:

2 Kings 2:9, NLT

Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

FAVOR SO HEAVY THAT IT STARTS TO OVERWHELM YOU…..WHEN YOU OBEY GOD’S WORD

After Peter and his companions had fished all night and caught NOTHING, he obeyed Jesus’ instructions to try again and caught SO many fish that his NETS began to break. Peter was a professional fisherman and had NEVER caught so many fish that his nets began to BREAK, and he had to call on ANOTHER boat of companions to HELP him. He was ASTONISHED by it, AWESTRUCK by what followed his OBEDIENCE to Jesus’ word.

YOU may have been working hard, doing the right thing, but you feel like you’ve caught NOTHING. There weren’t any fish out there the LAST time, but God CONTROLS the fish. HE is saying, “Throw that net out ONE MORE TIME.” Start BELIEVING again, start DREAMING again, start taking steps of FAITH. God is going to do things in YOUR life that astonish YOU. It’s not going to be a NORMAL catch, an average CONTRACT, an ordinary PROMOTION. It’s going to be a NET-BREAKING blessing—something UNPRECEDENTED, favor so HEAVY that it starts to sink the BOAT.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 5:9, NIV

For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T MISS YOUR MOMENT…..

God told the prophet Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh that in forty days He was going to their wicked city. God put a TIME period on it. He was SAYING, “You have forty days to get your LIVES right.” He DIDN’T say, “Whenever you FEEL like it is okay, just as long as you DO it.” When Jonah told the people, they and their king IMMDIATELY confessed their sorrow and declared a fast of REPENTANCE. They didn’t wait a week or twenty DAYS, and God SPARED the city.

Is there something YOU could change in the next forty days, and YOU would see God’s favor in a new way? Maybe God is saying, “You have this much time to get your PRIORITIES in order, to FORGIVE that person, or to get serious about your relationship with ME.” I don’t know what it is for YOU, but there’s a window of grace that doesn’t last FOREVER. It comes with a TIME limitation. Don’t miss your moment. Be QUICK to obey.

Today’s Scripture:

Jonah 3:4, NLT

On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

BE AT PEACE WITH YOUR SCARS, THEY’RE PROOF THAT GOD HEALED YOU

While life brings its share of PHYSICAL scars from injuries, there are also INNER scars that come from what somebody said, from a breakup, from a failure we made, or from the loss of a loved one. So often we try to HIDE our scars from those wounds. They remind us of the HURT. But you need to see your scars in a NEW light. God ALLOWED that scar to REMIND you of what He brought you THROUGH. Don’t think of the PAIN, think of the grace of GOD. The scar means the wound has HEALED, the pain is OVER, and you’re moving FORWARD.

YOU can be at PEACE with your scars. Those scars tell your STORY. No one in the Scripture fulfilled their destiny WITHOUT battle scars. We ALL get wounded. The scar is proof that God HEALED you. The SCAR reminds you of the GREATNESS of God. Sure, you have a SCAR, but you’ve come through HEALED, RESTORED, VINDICATED, BLESSED, and fulfilling your PURPOSE.

Today’s Scripture:

Galatians 6:17, NLT

For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD WON’T STOP UNTIL HE’S GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING HE’S PROMISED

When Jacob was a young man, he was a DECEIVER. You would think that God wouldn’t have anything to DO with him. But God keeps WORKING with us and showing us His MERCY. One night while Jacob was on a long journey through the desert and in a hard place, I’m sure he thought that God had FORGOTTEN about him. While he was sleeping, he had a dream in which he saw the Lord standing at the top of a HUGE staircase and saying, “Jacob, I will protect you WHEREVER you go. I will be WITH you CONTINUALLY until I give you everything that I have PROMISED.” When Jacob woke up, he was in AWE.

God was showing us that He’s the God of DESERT places, of lonely TIMES, of difficult SEASONS. He’s right there with you when you feel ALONE, FORGOTTEN, and DISCOURAGED. Suddenly, the HEAVENS will open up, and God will make things happen that you couldn’t MAKE happen. He’s NOT going to stop until He’s given you everything that He’s PROMISED.

Today’s Scripture:

Genesis 28:16, NIV

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

SOMETIMES DISSAPOINTMENTS ARE SIMPLY A TEST

Abraham was seventy-five years old when God promised him “to become a great nation,” then he believed and stood in faith for twenty-five YEARS before the birth of his son, Isaac. You can imagine how he must have felt many years later when God told him to take Isaac to the top of a mountain and SACRAFICE him on an ALTER. Isaac was the fulfillment of Abraham’s DREAM. He didn’t UNDERSTAND it, but he was OBEDIENT. He passed the TRUST test. And just as Abraham was about to follow THROUGH, God spoke today’s Scripture.

There will be TIMES when God asks US to put OUR dream on the altar. Sometimes the closed doors and the disappointments are simply a TEST. God wants to see if we’ll TRUST Him when life doesn’t make SENSE. Will YOU do the right thing when it’s HARD? When you do as ABRAHAM did and pass the TRUST test, God will not only give you the desires of your HEART, He’ll do MORE than you ask or THINK.

Today’s Scripture:

Genesis 22:12, NKJV

And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God…”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD’S DAY, APPROACH HIM LIKE YOU KNOW HE LOVES YOU…..

In the Bible, the book of John was written by the disciple John. What’s INTERESTING is that within this book he never refers to himself as JOHN. When he talks about HIMSELF, he says, “The disciple whom Jesus LOVED.” When he refers to OTHERS, such as Peter, he uses their name and makes no MENTION of Jesus’ love for them. You could take this as being arrogant and self-centered, but John was showing us the CONFIDENCE he had in how much he knew God LOVED him.

What if WE felt the same WAY about our heavenly Father? If you want to make God’s day, start approaching Him like you KNOW He loves you, like you know He’s FOR you, like you know He’s longing to be GOOD to you. When you can do as John did, you can wake up in the morning and say, “Good morning, Lord. It’s ME, the one whom You LOVE.” All through the day you can say, “Lord, I LOVE You, and I know I’m the one whom YOU love.”

Today’s Scripture:

John 13:23, NIV

One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

TAKE TIME EVERY DAY TO HELP PRAY OTHERS INTO THEIR DESTINY

Today’s Scripture describes a time AFTER God had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, then MIRACULOUSLY parted the Red Sea and gave them food and water in the DESERT. Despite ALL He had DONE for them, they started worshipping a golden calf along with partying and being IMMORAL. God was SO angry that He would have DESTROYED them had not Moses fasted and prayed, asking God to have MERCY on the Israelites. Because one man stood in the BREACH for them, God changed His MIND and spared their LIVES.

Why don’t you do as Moses did and stand in the GAP for FAMILY, FRIENDS, and COWORKERS who are off course and making poor CHOICES. They KNOW better, but they’re doing wrong ANYWAY. It’s easy to stand in judgment against them and write them off. But you can be the one who makes a DIFFERENCE. Live your life as a GAP stander. Be a people LIFTER. Make it your MISSION to take time every day to help PRAY people into their DESTINY.

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 106:23, NIV

So he said he would destroy them–had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF YOU’LL HELP SOMEONE ELSE SOLVE THEIR PROBLEM, GOD WILL SOLVE YOURS….

Today’s Scripture says that when you KNOW you can be a blessing, when you have the RESOURCES to help a person in NEED, or when you can TEACH them the skills YOU’VE learned, don’t put it OFF. You may think, “I can’t help THEM. I have to focus on fixing my OWN problems.” But when you make SACRIFICES to help OTHER people’s dreams come to pass, God will ALWAYS help make YOUR dream come to pass. As you bless OTHERS and show them FAVOR, God is going to bless and favor YOU.

Don’t live FOCUSED only on yourself–YOUR problems, YOUR sickness, YOUR trouble at work. Go and be a BLESSING to someone in NEED. Sow a seed with your FINANCES or a word of ENCOURAGEMENT. Go visit your coworker who’s in the hospital and PRAY for them. Call your friend and speak FAITH into their dreams. Take your elderly neighbor an evening MEAL. When you help solve THEIR problems, you’re setting a MIRACLE in motion for YOURSELF, and GOD is going to solve YOUR problems.

Today’s Scripture:

Proverbs 3:27, NIV

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.