Blog Archives
One More Night With The Frogs
Today’s Scripture:
Moses said to Pharaoh, ‘I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.’ ‘Tomorrow,’ Pharaoh said. – Exodus 8:9-10, NIV.
Today’s Word:
When the people of Israel were in slavery to Pharaoh, God sent different plagues to try to convince him to let them go. One of the plagues was a plague of frogs! The people were so miserable that Pharaoh finally said, “Moses, we’ve learned our lesson. The Israelites may go. Please ask your God to take away these frogs.” Moses said, “I’ll do it, Pharaoh. When do you want it to happen?” You would think Pharaoh would say, “Right now!” But no, Pharaoh said, “Take them away tomorrow.” He was saying, “We can put up with these frogs just one more night.”
How many times do we do the same thing? “Joel, I’m going to forgive, but I’m going to do it tomorrow. I’m going to have a better attitude. I’m going to quit worrying…tomorrow.” We’re saying like Pharaoh, “I can put up with this addiction, this mediocrity one more day.” No, our attitude should be, “I’m not going to spend one more night with the frogs, putting up with things that are not God’s best.”
Why don’t you start today? Today, make the change. Today, choose to forgive. Today, stop worrying. Today, get in shape. Today, take a step of faith. Shake off passivity and procrastination and get rid of anything that would hold you back!
Prayer for Today:
Father in heaven, today I choose to release everything that has tried to hold me back. I release the past; I release bitterness; I release failures and missed opportunities. Instead, I embrace Your grace and power to boldly move forward into the blessing You have for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
High Time
Today’s Scripture:
…It is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. – Romans 13:11, NKJV.
Today’s Word:
So many people today are living overwhelmed, exhausted and overburdened by the pressures of life. They’ve allowed themselves to live on autopilot, day in and day out, passive toward the things God has place in their hearts.
If that’s you, now is the time to get your fire back! Let me encourage you to press past the things that would try to hold you back. God is saying, “It’s high time to wake up.” Notice that phrasing. Not just time but high time. That means it’s incredibly important because you are coming into a destiny moment! You are sitting on the launching pad. God is about to thrust you to a new level! Now is not the time to be passive, sloppy or undisciplined. Now more than ever, it’s time to get focused and start moving forward!
Why is this so important? Just like the verse says, your salvation is nearer than it’s ever been. That means you are closer to seeing that dream come to pass than you’ve ever been. You are closer to meeting the right person, closer to that healing, closer to that breakthrough, promotion and provision. You may not be able to see it, but it can see you! Your victory is right around the corner. It’s high time to do what God is asking you to do so you can embrace the blessing He has for you!
Prayer for Today:
Father God, thank You for Your hand of blessing and mercy upon my life. Today I choose to rise up. I choose to shake off mediocrity so I can move forward into the blessing You have in store for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Press Past The Small Things
Today’s Scripture:
…One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. – Philippians 3:13, NIV.
Today’s Word:
Are you allowing the small things in life to keep you from God’s best? Today is the day to press past the small things and run toward your destiny! Unforgiveness is a small thing. Forgive and move on to the greater thing. Fear is small. It’s not from God. Don’t let it hold you back. An addiction is small. You have the power to overcome anything through Christ Jesus. Being undisciplined is small. If you are a believer today, you have the seed of Almighty God inside of you. There is no challenge that’s too difficult for you!
I think about Joshua and Caleb. When they came back from spying out the Promised Land they said, “Moses, we are well able to take the land. Let us go in at once.” Not next week. Not next year. They were “now” people. But if you over-analyze your situation and think about all the “what if’s” and try to get approval from all your family and friends, you’ll never move off of dead center. You’ll be stuck in the small things.
Today, make the decision to press forward. Be like Joshua and Caleb. Don’t look at your circumstances; look at your God because He is the one who is empowering you to take hold of the good things He has for your future!
Prayer for Today:
Father, today I make the decision to press past small things. I let go of small thinking and small doing and choose to open my heart and mind to You. Lead me in the way I should go. Thank You for Your everlasting love in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Our Daily Bread – Always
Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
I love the words always and never. They hold so much hope! I would like to think that I could always be happy and that life would never fail me. But reality says that I won’t always be happy and that the things I hope would never happen just might. So, as good as these words sound, they struggle to live up to their potential—unless you are thinking about the promise of Jesus’ presence.
To a group of troubled disciples who feared facing life on their own Jesus said, “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus said, “‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’” (Heb. 13:5-6). And the apostle Paul assures believers that after death, “We shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17). How encouraging!
No matter how scary our journey may feel today or how hopeless our future may look, the assurance of His never-failing presence can provide us with the courage and comfort to make it through. And best of all, when this short life is over, we will always be with Him. No wonder Paul encourages us to “comfort one another with these words” (v.18).
He will never leave our side;
Someday we’ll be in His presence
Where forever we’ll abide. —Sper
Our Daily Bread – Totally Clean
Read: 1 John 1:1-10
A friend was updating me on his past year—a year in which he had been receiving ongoing medical treatment for cancer. The smile on his face was a powerful testimony to the good news he had just received. He said that at his one-year checkup the doctor announced that the test results all pointed to one thing: “You are totally clean!” What a difference two words can make! To my friend, totally clean meant every trace of the disease that had threatened his life only months before had been wiped from his body. We rejoiced to hear that he was totally clean!
King David, after his moral failure with Bathsheba, longed for a similar thing to happen in his heart. Hoping for the stains of his sin to be washed away, he cried out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). The good news for him and for us is that our sins can be taken care of. When we need cleansing, John’s familiar words bring hope: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
We can’t cleanse our own hearts; only God can do that. If we confess our sins to Him, He promises to make us totally clean!
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin and set me free. —Orr
Our Daily Bread – Life-Changing Choices
Read: Isaiah 41:8-14
Champion athlete Eric Liddell’s decision not to run on Sunday in the 1924 Olympic Games was not difficult because of his deep belief that the Lord’s Day was for worship and rest.
A more agonizing dilemma had come a year earlier when Eric was asked to speak about his faith in Christ to a group of coal miners. Liddell said of his struggle: “My whole life had been one of keeping out of public duties but the leading of Christ seemed now to be in the opposite direction, and I shrank from going forward. At this time I finally decided to put it all on Christ—after all if He called me to do it, then He would have to supply the necessary power. In going forward the power was given me.”
The day after agreeing to publicly share his faith, Eric received a letter from his sister, Jenny, in China. Written weeks before, it ended with this verse of Scripture: “Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God; I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10).
Every call from God is an opportunity for us to say “Yes,” trusting His strength and not our own.
to do something out of my comfort zone.
Help me to remember that as I step out in faith,
You will provide the power to obey.
Foxes In Your Finances
Today’s Scripture:
Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom. – Song of Solomon 2:15, ESV
Today’s Word:
Oftentimes, it’s not big things that hold us back; it’s small things — especially in your finances. A few dollars a day on coffee quickly turns into hundreds. Too many credit cards become overwhelming to keep up with. That person who hasn’t balanced their checkbook in two years probably hears a little voice every time they go to write a check, “Get your finances in order.” We have to realize that if we’re not faithful with what we have, God won’t entrust us with more. One lady told me how she hadn’t balanced her checkbook in so long she just closed the account and opened up a brand new one. At least she took action!
I have people tell me all the time, “Joel, I’m going to start giving. I’m going to start tithing my income as soon as I make more money.” No, don’t wait until you have $1,000. Tithe on the $10 you have right now. Don’t let the little foxes spoil your finances. Don’t let another day go by without obeying God. When you set your finances in order, when you put God first in all you do, you are opening the door for His blessing. He says when we are faithful with the little, God will make us ruler over much!
Prayer for Today:
Father God, today I choose to be obedient. I don’t want to let little foxes affect my finances. I dedicate my resources to You. Speak to my heart and show me where to give. I choose to be a faithful sower and expect to reap an abundant harvest by Your Word in Jesus’ name! Amen.
– Joel and Victoria Osteen
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Power of the Spirit
by Joyce Meyer – posted August 02, 2012
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit . . . says the Lord of hosts. — Zechariah 4:6B (NKJV)
“I’m a nobody,” my friend Gary said, “and besides, God has so many millions of people to look out for, and in comparison with some of them, my problems seem so petty.” His words shocked me. Of course, God has millions to care for—but He can care for all of them at the same time.
Gary missed something very important. God wants us to ask for help—and to ask often. Look at it this way: If Satan constantly attacks our minds, how else can we fortify ourselves? We fight back—but our major weapon is to cry out to the Lord asking for His strength to become ours.
Too many times, we think we can do it ourselves. In some instances, that may be true, but if we’re going to win continually over the attacks against our minds, we must realize that willpower alone won’t work. What we need is the humility to turn to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to strengthen us.
I realize that many people do not grasp how the Lord lovingly operates in their lives. Not only does God love us like a father, but He also has caring concern for every part of our lives. Our heavenly Father wants to intervene and help us, but He waits for an invitation to get involved. We issue that invitation and open the door for God’s help through prayer. God’s Word says, “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2 NKJV).
Perhaps we can think of it this way. God is watching us all the time, and He is aware of the temptations, struggles, and hardships we face—and we all face them. If we think we can do it by ourselves, God takes no action. But He remains ready to jump in and rescue us as soon as we cry out, asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to operate in our lives.
Our victory begins with right thinking. We have to be convinced that God cares, wants to act, and waits for us to cry out. When we cry out, we understand the words quoted previously, that it’s not by force or power, but by God’s Holy Spirit that victory comes. For example, take the matter of personal fellowship—daily time spent in prayer and reading the Word. As Christians, we know this is what God wants and what we need if we’re going to mature spiritually.
At one time in my life, I tried to maintain spiritual self-discipline. I determined that I would pray and read my Bible every single day. I would do well for two or three days, and then something would interfere—sometimes my family or something at our church, but mostly little things that took my attention away from daily fellowship with my Lord.
One day, in desperation, I cried out, “Without Your help, I’ll never be faithful in doing this.” That’s when the Holy Spirit came to me and gave me the self-discipline I needed. It was almost as if God watched me struggle and allowed me to become frustrated and angry with myself. But as soon as I sincerely asked for help, the Spirit came to my rescue. We are too independent, and we experience a lot of unnecessary frustration simply because we try to do things without God’s help.
With the Spirit’s help, I am learning—yes, still learning—that I can choose what I want to think about. I can choose my thoughts, and I need to do that carefully. Unless I’m in regular fellowship with Him, I won’t know the difference between healthy thoughts and unhealthy ones. And if I don’t know the difference, I provide the opportunity for Satan to sneak into my mind and torment me. Spend plenty of time studying God’s Word, and you will quickly recognize each lie that Satan tries to plant in your mind.
Dear loving God, I want to think thoughts that honor You. I want to have a mind that’s fully centered on You, and I know that can’t happen unless I spend daily time with You. Help me, Holy Spirit; help me to be obedient and eager to be in constant fellowship with You. Amen.
From the book Battlefield of the Mind Devotional by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2006 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
Our Daily Bread – Faith With Works
Read: James 2:14-26
Because of his arthritis, Roger could no longer handle the winters of Illinois, so he moved to tropical Bangkok, Thailand. One day he remembered his grandmother’s favorite song, “What You Are”: What you are speaks so loud that the world can’t hear what you say; they’re looking at your walk, not listening to your talk; they’re judging from your actions every day.
This song prompted Roger to feed the homeless who stayed along a half-mile stretch of road. Every morning, he served hot food to more than 45 families. Years later, one of the homeless women came to know Jesus as Savior and sought out Roger to thank him for introducing her to the love of Christ.
In James, we are clearly told that faith without works is dead (2:17). It does not mean that works will result in faith, but that good works will affirm that our faith is real. It is easy to say we believe in God, but only our works can prove the truthfulness of our words. Abraham was an example of this. He didn’t just talk about his faith; he demonstrated it by his willingness to give up his only son in obedience to God (James 2:21-24; see Gen. 22:1-18). And Isaac was spared.
Today, how can we actively demonstrate our love for God and trust in Him?
And give to the hungering, bread—
Faith means much more than a doctrine or two,
For faith without works is dead. —Woodrum
When You’re Torn Between Your Marriage, Your Kids And Yourself
By Ruth Purple
Perhaps every woman dreams of having a wonderful husband, adorable children, and white picket fence house in the suburbs. A life so ideal and simple, but is it really that simple?
When a woman marries, and decides to have children, it is anything but simple. Marriage is far from easy. It is a constant struggle of give and take, of compromising. Likewise, in having children, you need to be brave and wise enough to guide your children, because their life and their future depends on your sanity. So, where do you put yourself?
It has been commonly said, that when a woman made a decision to give herself in marriage and have children, she put herself last.
I am sorry, but I have to disagree with this one. When it comes to prioritizing between marriage, children, and yourself, I strongly believe that you should prioritize yourself first, then your marriage and then your kids. This may sound selfish, but it is not. Hear me out.
Half of your union depends on you. In the first place, your husband decided to be with you for the rest of his life and made you the mother of your kids, because of “you!” So, why would you put yourself the least? You are important. Knowing this fact, you should take time to heed your needs and prioritize your growth.
Give time to nurture your soul and your spirit. Also, keep the balance within you. Your kid’s welfare depends on your emotional and mental stability. You need to have a sound mind and spirit to make wise decisions. You are their nurturer. How can you nurture, if you yourself needs nurturing? Therefore, if you love your husband, respect your union, and adore your kids, prioritize yourself.
Now you know why you need to keep yourself a top priority, what about when you are torn between your marriage and children? Who should come first? Experts have agreed that if you put your precious little ones first over your union, you are hurting them more than your union. Look at it this way, let the house be the metaphor of your kids and the foundation of that house is your marriage. If the foundation is weak, and breaks into pieces, the whole house will crumble into pieces, too. Therefore, it is safe to say that if there is instability in the foundation, there is turbulence in the house. Keeping the foundation strong, stable, and peaceful secures your children’s long-term well-being. It is unquestionable of how great the impact of divorce is to a child. Its memories always leave a lasting, and sometimes permanent fracture in the kid’s well-being. A strong marriage protects your kid’s well-being during their development into adulthood and helps them prepare for an equallystrong and stable relationship.
Let us be clear though, children’s basic and essential needs should come first. Nobody here is advocating neglecting children’s physical or emotional needs. That being said, the marriage should be prioritized over the kids. Parents sometimes go way overboard in meeting their kid’s needs. They should keep in mind that a child can thrive without piano lessons three or four times a week, but they cannot fully thrive when the family is shaky.
Ruth Purple, is a Relationship and Dating Expert. Conquer Infidelity and Experience a Happier Love Life through her New eBook. Visit her website atRelazine.com.
Source: Black Love & Marriage
I Am Lady Fab 