THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

GOD DID NOT CREATE YOU TO BE OVERCOME…..

When WE’RE in difficult times, it’s easy to feel like the prophet Micah. He gave a LIST of negative things that happened to him–bad BREAKS, LACK, INJUSTICE, BETRAYAL. It was VERY depressing. But in today’s Scripture, he went on to say that he wasn’t giving UP. He may have been knocked DOWN, but in the middle of the difficulty, HE was speaking VICTORY. HE was saying, “This problem didn’t COME to stay; it came to PASS. God being FOR me is more than the WORLD being AGAINST me. I WILL arise.”

Things may be coming against YOU, but know this: God didn’t create you to be OVERCOME; He created you to be an OVERCOMER. Down is NOT your destiny, and defeat is not how your story ENDS. If you’re going to come OUT of that challenge, you have to stop talking DEFEAT. Quit giving it the power to keep you DOWN. When you declare, “I WILL arise,” forces of darkness TREMBLE and ANGELS go to work. Get ready to RISE!

Today’s Scripture:

Micah 7:7–8, TLB

As for me, I look to the Lord for his help; I wait for God to save me; he will hear me. Do not rejoice against me, O my enemy, for though I fall, I will rise again!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

SUDDENLY, INCREASE THAT GOES BEYOND YOUR CALCULATIONS….

In another translation of today’s Scripture, the apostle Paul said that we would see “the IMMEASURABLE (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free GRACE (His unmerited favor).” That’s FAVOR as we’ve never SEEN before. That’s how the word “EXPLOSION”; is defined. It means a “sudden, widespread INCREASE.” That’s what God wants to do for US. SUDDNELUY. You won’t EXPECT it. It’s out of the ORDINARY, and it’s NOT small. It’s so AMAZING you know it had to be the hand of GOD.

You may THINK your situation is permanent. You don’t see how you can EVER rise ANY higher and accomplish your dreams. All the calculations are telling you that you’ll NEVER get out of debt, but GOD is saying, “You need to get READY. You haven’t SEEN My explosive blessings. You haven’t seen the IMMEASURABLE, LIMITLESS, SURPASSING greatness of My FAVOR. I will bless you BEYOND your normal income. I have blessings that will catapult you YEARS ahead. I have increase that goes BEYOND your calculations.”

Today’s Scripture:

Ephesians 2:7, ESV 7

…so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

HE’S THE GOD OF JACOB AND HE’S YOUR GOD TOO…..

In the Scripture, it talks about the God of ABRAHAM, the God of ISAAC, and the God of JACOB. I can understand how He is the God of Abraham, the FATHER of our faith. I can understand how He is the God of ISAAC, who was the MIRACLE child of God’s promise and extremely OBEDIENT. But when it says He is the God of JACOB, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Jacob was a CHEATER. He went around DECEIVING people. He stole his brother’s BIRTHRIGHT. Jacob was known for making POOR choices.

What was God SAYING? “I’m NOT just the God of PERFECT people. I’m not just the God of people who never make a MISTAKE. I’M the God of people who have FFAILED. I’m the God of people who have BLOWN it.” YOU may have made mistakes, but be ENCOURAGED. You may have lost your TEMPER, struggled with an ADDICTION, or compromised your INTEGRITY. Don’t beat yourself UP. He is the God of JACOB. He is YOUR God, TOO.

Today’s Scripture:

Exodus 3:6, NIV

Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WE ARE NOT AT THE MERCY OF FEAR, GUILT OR DEPRESSION, WE HAVE THE ANTIDOTE

One of the CHALLENGES we faced with the coronavirus was that our bodies had no antibodies to FIGHT it. Without a CURE, without a VACCINE, we were at its MERCY. Once you have the CURE, the vaccine, you don’t have to FEAR the disease. But what about VIRUS-LIKE poisons you can’t TREAT with a vaccine–guilt, fear, depression, addictions. These can infect our THINKING, poison our self-ESTEEM, and make us sick with REGRETS, hurts, and DISAPPOINTMENTS.

The GOOD news is that the SCRIPTURE says by the stripes JESUS received before He went to the CROSS, He took our guilt, our shame, and our failures upon HIMSELF, and “we are HEALED.” We are NOT at the mercy of fear, depression, or addictions. We have the CURE. The Most High God’s being FOR you is MORE than the world being against you. Don’t let the fear, the guilt, or the depression hold YOU down. Take the ANTIDOTE. “Father, thank You that I am FORGIVEN, I am REDEEMED, I am FREE, and I am HEALTHY and WHOLE.”

Today’s Scripture:

Isaiah 53:5, NIV

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IT’S NOT COMPLICATED. START REMEMBERING WHAT GOD HAS SPOKEN OVER YOU

The three women who went to the tomb on Sunday morning to care for Jesus’ BODY were met by the angel’s QUESTION, “Don’t you REMEMBER what HE told you?” They came to the tomb discouraged, depressed, and defeated, and they left EXCITED, PASSIONATE, full of FAITH and HOPE. They couldn’t WAIT to tell the disciples. Remembering what GOD says will change your PERSPECTIVE.

When YOU’RE under pressure, under stress, overwhelmed by a situation, too often we forget what GOD has said, and we go by what we SEE. We let negative THOUGHTS drown out what God has PROMISED. Recognize that’s a TEST. The enemy would LOVE for you to get so caught up in your CIRCUMSTANCES that you forget what GOD told you. Are you remembering that HE says He’ll supply all your NEEDS according to HIS riches? Are you remembering that He says greater is He who is IN you than what’s trying to STOP you? It’s NOT complicated. Start REMEMBERING what HE has spoken over you.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 24:6–7, NIV

“Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHEN YOU MAKE THE CHOICE TO PUT AN END TO WORRY, GOD WILL GIVE YOU HIS PEACE

God doesn’t want you to live worried and anxious about ANYTHING. He knows that worry is counterproductive. It steals your PEACE and JOY and affects EVERY area of your life, even your SLEEP! Have you heard the saying, “Don’t worry yourself sick?” Yes, worrying will actually make you physically ILL. You won’t ever gain ANYTHING by worrying, in fact it causes you to lose precious moments that you can never live again. The GOOD news is, God has promised to bring you VICTORY over worry. When you make the choice to put an END to worry, God will give you HIS peace. Decide today to put an END to worry in your life. Don’t feed worry by focusing on BAD news all the time. Sure, we should be informed, but we should be MOST informed of the truth of the Word of GOD. Choose TODAY to feed your faith and fill your heart and mind with God’s PROMISES. Declare EVERY day, “My God shall supply ALL my needs. He makes a way out of NO way. He is a RESTORER and REDEEMER.” As you focus on God’s Word, you’ll drive OUT worry and fill your heart with FAITH and EXPECTANCY. You’ll be filled with HOPE and JOY and move forward into the blessings GOD has in store for you!

Decide TODAY to put an END to worry in your life. Choose to feed your FAITH and fill your mind with God’s PROMISES. As you focus on God’s Word, you’ll drive OUT worry and fill your heart with faith and expectancy; and you’ll be EMPOWERED to move FORWARD into the life of BLESSING He has in store for you!

Today’s Scripture:

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

(Matthew 6:27, NIV)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

LIFT UP YOUR EYES, BECAUSE WE SERVE ALMIGHTY GOD

Are you facing a challenge today that seems overwhelming? Through FAITH and PATIENCE, you will see God’s promises come to pass in your life. Understand that the enemy ALWAYS fights the hardest when he knows you are closest to your BREAKTHROUGH. He’d leave you alone if he thought you were going to live in mediocrity. If you keep pressing on toward your promise, through FAITH and PATIENCE, you WILL get there. Don’t be like the Israelites in the Old Testament who were right next to the Promised Land when they talked themselves out of it. They said, “There are giants in the land. It’s too difficult.” No, don’t look at the obstacles in your life today; lift UP your eyes because you serve Almighty God. Follow the example of Caleb who kept his focus on GOD and said, “Moses, we are WELL ABLE to defeat these people. Let us go up at once and take the land!” Stand in FAITH and keep BELIEVING because God WILL take you places that you never dreamed. As you press toward the promise, you will see God’s hand of BLESSING in your life and He will lead you into YOUR promised land!

Today’s Scripture

:…imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.Hebrews 6:12, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU HAVE THE BLOOD OF A CHAMPION, YOU WERE CREATED TO REIGN IN LIFE

It says here in Romans 5:17, “We are to reign in life as KINGS.” When God looks at us, He doesn’t see us in weak, defeated, leftover positions. Not at all. God sees you and me as RULERS, as ROYALTY. We have HIS royal blood flowing through our veins.

You and I are supposed to REIGN. Do you know what that word “reign” means? It means “your time in POWER.” God said we’re to reign “IN LIFE.” That means as long as you’re alive, that is your time in POWER. You don’t have a two-year term like the Mayor or a four-year term like the President. Your term is to rule and reign EVERY SINGLE DAY, to be VICTORIOUS, to rise to NEW levels, to accomplish GREAT things.

Everyone has days when they don’t FEEL like royalty, they don’t FEEL powerful. On those days, if you can just remember to reach down and CHECK YOUR PULSE, and as long as you feel something beating, you can say, “it’s still my time to REIGN!” Let that be a reminder to put on a new ATTITUDE. Sometimes you have to do this by FAITH. By faith you need to WALK like a king, TALK like a king, THINK like a king, DRESS like a king, SMILE like a king. Don’t go by what you SEE. Go by what you KNOW. There is ROYALTY in your DNA. You have the blood of a CHAMPION, and you were created to REIGN in life!

Today’s Scripture:

“For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

Romans 5:17, AMP

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

KNOW THAT AMAZING THINGS ARE AHEAD IF YOU DON’T GIVE UP IN GETHSEMANE…..

On the night before Jesus went to the cross, He was so deeply TROUBLED in the Garden of Gethsemane that He asked His disciples to STAY there and PRAY for Him. He deserved their SUPPORT, but they couldn’t stay awake. It was disappointing, but He accepted that He wasn’t going to have their encouragement and moved FORWARD toward His RESURRECTION.

In life we ALL have disappointments, some that deeply TROUBLE us. But God gives us GRACE for EVERY Gethsemane, for EVERY person who falls asleep. It’s very FREEING when you can look at the frustration, look at the BUSINESS that slowed down, look at the people who LEFT you, and know that AMAZING things are ahead if you don’t give UP in Gethsemane. Yes, there are CROSSES to bear, BETRAYALS, and SETBACKS, but if you keep moving FORWARD, there will be RESURRECTIONS. There will be NEW beginnings, times when God pays you BACK for what was unfair, times where He catapults you to new LEVELS. You may be in Gethsemane but know that your RESURRECTION is coming.

Today’s Scripture:

Matthew 26:38, NLT

He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

KEEP LOOKING AHEAD, KNOWING THAT GOD ALWAYS CAUSES YOU TO TRIUMPH

When Jesus spoke today’s Scripture, He was referring to His coming DEATH. At the TIME, people thought He was talking about the actual temple BUILDING, but He was TALKING about HIMSELF. He knew that His END had been established. He was saying that His final scene was NOT one of being betrayed and mistreated, hanging on a cross in great pain, OR being buried in a TOMB wrapped up in GRAVE clothes. HE knew that HIS final scene was that of being seated at the right hand of His FATHER, with all POWER, with the keys of death and HELL. That’s why the SCRIPTURE says, “For the joy that was set BEFORE Him He endured the cross, scorning its SHAME.”

Now in the TOUGH times, don’t let the twists, the turns, or the things that don’t make sense cause YOU to get discouraged. The way to keep your JOY is to keep looking AHEAD, KNOWING that you will have a FLOURISHING finish, knowing that God ALWAYS causes you to triumph. GOD has established YOUR end.

Today’s Scripture:

John 2:19, NIV

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”