THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD WHO IS RICH IN MERCY NEVER TURNED HIS BACK ON YOU

The wife of the prophet Hosea had abandoned him and their children and had been living with many men. Finally, her circumstances got SO bad that she was about to be sold as a SLAVE. Despite all the pain and humiliation she’d caused, after all the REJECTION and UNFAITHFULNESS, Hosea STILL had an undying LOVE for her when God spoke today’s Scripture to him. He went and found her beaten DOWN, dirty, and CLOTHES torn, and bought her BACK.

We’ve ALL been unfaithful and gone our own WAY, but God who is rich in MERCY didn’t turn His BACK on us. He came down to the MESSY places, to where we FAILED, and BOUGHT us back with the price of His own Son’s LIFE. Since God rescued YOU, will you be a Hosea and rescue somebody ELSE? There are HURTING people in messy PLACES all AROUND you, BROKEN people who think no one CARES. They’re NOT in your path by ACCIDENT. You can help LOVE them back into WHOLENESS with MERCY and GRACE.

Today’s Scripture:

Hosea 3:1, NLT

Then the LORD said to me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the LORD still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

GET UP EVERY MORNING EXPECTING GOD TO SURPRISE YOU…..

David said he pitched HIS tent in the land of HOPE. Where have you pitched YOUR tent? “Well, I’ve had a LOT of disappointments.” “I’ll NEVER get well.” “I CAN’T accomplish my dreams.” The PROBLEM is where you’ve pitched your TENT. As long as you’re thinking of all the reasons why it’s NOT going to happen, that’s going to LIMIT you. Why don’t you pick UP your tent and move OUT of the land of doubt, negativity, and self-pity? Move out of the land of “It CAN’T happen. I’m TOO old. I NEVER get any good breaks.” Pitch your tent in the land of “With GOD all things are POSSIBLE,” the land of “GOODNESS and MERCY are chasing me down,” the land of “What was MEANT for my harm, God is turning to my ADVANTAGE.” You are just one good break away from God CATAPULTING you to a new LEVEL. Just one touch of God’s GOODNESS and you’ll BEAT the cancer or the addiction. Get up every morning EXPECTING God to SURPRISE you.

Today’s Scripture:

Acts 2:25–26, MSG

David said it all: I saw God before me for all time. Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side. I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic; I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF YOU STAY IN FAITH, EVERTHING WILL COME TOGETHER FOR YOUR GOOD…..

When you isolate a negative experience and FOCUS on it, it may not make sense. It’s like when you have a piece to a jigsaw puzzle that doesn’t LOOK like it fits anywhere. You’re SURE the manufacturer made a mistake. It’s an odd SHAPE, not the right COLOR, too BLURRY. It looks RANDOM, like it’s UNNECESSARY. But when the OTHER pieces come together, it makes SENSE. There will be a PERFECT fit where the colors match and the edges line up. Without IT, the puzzle wouldn’t be COMPLETE.

You may have a piece to your LIFE puzzle that doesn’t make sense. You COULD think, “GOD didn’t ordain this setback or LOSS. This piece doesn’t FIT.” But God isn’t FINISHED. NOTHING is random. That piece is INSTRUMENTAL in getting you to your DESTINY. If you stay in FAITH, all the pieces will come together for your GOOD–NOT just the good breaks and INCREASES, but even the LOSSES and DISAPPOINTMENTS. It will be a PERFECT fit when God brings it all together.

Today’s Scripture:

Proverbs 4:25, MSG

Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

EVERY TIME YOU DO THE RIGHT THING, IT MAKES IT A LITTLE EASIER THE NEXT TIME

Jesus chose Peter to be one of His disciples even though he KNEW he was hot tempered, impatient, and would FAIL many times. He didn’t choose him because he was PERFECT; He chose him because He had the blueprint for Peter’s LIFE. The messes didn’t DISQUALIFY Peter; the messes simply meant he was still under CONSTRUCTION. He KNEW that Peter would become one of the most RESPECTED, INFLUENTIAL leaders.

We ALL have some messy areas we need to IMPROVE in. The POINT is to let God MAKE you and MOLD you. Stay PLIABLE. We should be better THIS year than we were LAST year. We should be making PROGRESS. Don’t let the mess become NORMAL. The hot temper, the addiction, the negative attitude–that’s NOT who you A.RE Keep GROWING, keep resisting that TEMPTATION, keep saying NO to those carnal desires. Every time you do the right THING, it makes it a little EASIER the NEXT time. There’s nothing wrong with being under CONSTRUCTION; there IS something wrong with not making any PROGRESS.

Today’s Scripture:

Ephesians 2:10, NKJV

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE CHAIN BREAKER, THE MOST HIGH GOD, IS WORKING IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW…..

Imagine what you could BECOME without the chains that are LIMITING you. What could you ACCOMPLISH without that chain of FEAR and INSECURITY? What kind of RELATIONSHIP could you have without that chain of GUILT, SHAME, and feeling WRONG about yourself? How HIGH could you go without that chain of negative WORDS that were spoken over you, telling you how you don’t measure UP and can never be SUCCESSFUL? It’s time to be FREED from those chains. Your DESTINY is too GREAT, your ASSIGNMENT too IMPORTANT to go around BOUND.

Quit telling yourself you’re stuck, you’ll ALWAYS struggle, you’ll always be LONELY, you’ll always fight DEPRESSION. The chain BREAKER, the Most High GOD, is working in your life right NOW. When you LEAST expect it, things are going to shift in your FAVOR. You are NOT going to be a slave to DEBT, FEAR, or an ADDICTION. He is releasing you into INCREASE, into FAVOR, and into NEW levels. Ask Him to set you FREE, and start living from a FREEDOM mind-set.

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 116:16, NLT

O LORD, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

YOUR GIFTS AND TALENTS DON’T DO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE ANY GOOD IF YOU KEEP THEM TO YOURSELF….. COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL

God has ENTRUSTED us with gifts and talents, but too often we let FEAR hold us back. We’re hiding our GIFTS, hiding our TALENTS, hiding our PERSONALITY. We’re afraid to come out of our SHELL, afraid we may not be ACCEPTED. It’s time to QUIT hiding. If God has given you the gift to sing, start SINGING. If you can write, start WRITING. If you can lead, start LEADING. If you can build, start BUILDING. If you can teach, start TEACHING. That gift doesn’t do you or anyone else any GOOD if you keep it to yourself. It has to be RELEASED.

Your gift may SEEM small, but when you DEVELOP it, big DOORS will open. You don’t have to have a GREAT gift for God to use you in a great WAY. Today’s Scripture doesn’t say you have to have a big gift, an important gift, an impressive gift. WHATEVER you have, if you develop it and keep getting BETTER, it will open doors of OPPORTUNITY, doors of PROMOTION, and doors of INFLUENCE.

Today’s Scripture:

Proverbs 18:16, NKJV

A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOUR FAITH IS GOING TO BRING UNEXPECTED FAVOR

There are times when we’re waiting on GOD to do something, but God is waiting on US. Think of all the people in the Scripture who DIDN’T wait for Jesus to come to THEM, but sought HIM out PASSIONATELY for their needs, even pushing through CROWDS to touch the hem of His garment for HEALING. God has a perfect time for EACH of us, but today’s Scripture says, “Faith IS…” FAITH is always in the NOW. It may not bring the change OVERNIGHT, for we ALL have waiting periods. But our FAITH should stay ACTIVE. This should be our normal way of LIFE: “Lord, thank You that the secret petition of my heart is on the way. I’m looking for Your goodness and favor TODAY, not next week, not next MONTH, not next YEAR.” Stay in the NOW. Your FAITH is going to turn things AROUND. Your FAITH is going to open the right DOORS. Your FAITH is going to bring unexpected FAVOR. Live with the ANTICIPATION that it could happen TODAY.

Today’s Scripture:

Hebrews 11:1, TLB

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

JUST KEEP LOVING AND BEING GOOD TO THEM

It’s easy to write off someone because they don’t BELIEVE as we do, they’re making poor DECISIONS, or they’re AGAINST what we stand for. Too often we try to MAKE them believe, but SOME things don’t HAPPEN overnight. Their heart may not be OPEN yet, but at the right time God will SOFTEN their heart. Will you keep sowing seeds of LOVE in that friend who shows no sign of CHANGING? Will you keep loving that FAMILY member who says they don’t BELIEVE. Will you keep PRAYING for that coworker who RIDICULES believers?

Jesus said your LOVE for one another will prove you are His FOLLOWER. It’s not by your DOCTRINE, not by how many SCRIPTURES you can quote, not by how RIGHT you are, but by how much you LOVE them. You don’t JUDGE them. You don’t look DOWN because they don’t BELIEVE as you do. You just keep LOVING and being GOOD to them. They’re in your LIFE because God is counting on YOU to help them CHANGE.

Today’s Scripture:

John 13:35, NKJV

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THERE ARE SOME ‘RUNNING-OVER’ BLESSINGS IN YOUR FUTURE

GOD’S dream for you is that His blessings will be SO amazing and ABUNDANT on your life that you have to pass them down to your CHILDREN. You can’t CONTAIN it all. He says that generational blessings are coming that you won’t have room enough to RECEIVE. Increase that goes to your CHILDREN, your grandchildren, your GREAT grandchildren. Property, businesses, and contacts that continue blessing people after you’re GONE.

You need to get RID of a barely-get-by MENTALITY. Quit telling yourself all the reasons why it’s NOT going to happen, how you’ve had too many bad BREAKS, how your OBSTACLES are too big, how your dream SEEMS impossible. That is NOT your destiny. Start EXPECTING God’s favor, start BELIEVING that new levels are COMING, start talking like it’s GOING to happen. The blessing on your life is going to cause you to LEND and NOT borrow, to have MORE than enough. You’re going to say as David said, “My cup runs OVER.” There are some running-over BLESSINGS in your future. Blessings that you cannot CONTAIN.

Today’s Scripture:

Proverbs 13:22, NIV

A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IT MAY NOT HAVE HAPPENED YET, BUT IT’S NOT OVER…..

You may have shed some tears of sadness over what HASN’T worked out, over dreams that haven’t come to PASS, over DISAPPOINTMENTS, over the loss of a LOVED one. The Scripture says that God is going to turn your mourning into DANCING and those tears of SORROW into tears of JOY. It may not have happened YET, but it’s NOT over. What God PROMISED you doesn’t HAVE an expiration date. It’s STILL on the way. Your morning is COMING. Your BABY is coming, your HEALING is coming, your RESTORATION is coming, your breakthrough is COMING. When it HAPPENS, it’s going to be MORE rewarding, more FULFILLING than you EVER IMAGINED.

Too OFTEN we disqualify OURSELVES. We think it would have happened if we had more FAITH, or hadn’t made so MANY mistakes, or we were just good enough to DESERVE it. But God is FULL of mercy and doesn’t BLESS us based on our PERFORMANCE. What He promised is STILL going to come to PASS. What He started, He’s going to FINISH. JOY is on the way!

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 30:5, NKJV

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.