Blog Archives
New Thinking, New Living
Today’s Scripture:
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins. – Mark 2:22, NKJV.
Today’s Word:
Are you ready for increase? Are you ready to go to the next level, spiritually, physically and emotionally? Many times, people hear the truth that God has more in store, and something resonates on the inside. Their spirit comes into agreement with God; but often times, their natural mind will try to talk them out it. Thoughts will come like, “It’s not going to happen for you. You’re not going to have a great year. You know what the economy is like.” Or, “You’re never going to get well. You saw what the medical report said.” “You’re never going to get married. You’ve been single so long.”
Friend, those are the old wineskins or the old way of thinking that you have to get rid of. This is a new season. What’s happened in the past is over and done. You may have been through some disappointments, you may have tried and failed, or things didn’t work out. That’s okay. God is still in control. It’s time to get a new vision for your life. It’s time to open yourself to a new way of thinking so that you can receive all the blessings God has in store for you!
Prayer for Today:
Father in heaven, today I choose to get rid of old wineskins. I choose to release old thinking, old habits, and anything that would keep me from Your best. Strengthen me by Your Spirit so that I can live my life in a way that pleases You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Soaring Above The Critics
Posted by Joel Osteen on 10/12/2012
I believe God has new levels of freedom for you today. One of the ways you can see yourself go to a higher level is by learning to choose your battles and refusing to fight battles that don’t matter. Friend, you don’t have to fight every battle. You don’t have to respond to every critic. You don’t have to be offended because of what someone said. You’re not a crow; you’re an eagle. You can rise above it. You can soar at new heights.
This is what Nehemiah did. God called him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He and his men got started, but he had two main critics: Sanballat and Tobias. They were constantly criticizing him, spreading rumors, and trying to make him look bad. They said, “Nehemiah is not a builder. He doesn’t know what he is doing. If a fox runs on this wall, it’s going to fall down.”
The whole time, Nehemiah and his men had to listen to these two men belittle them, ridicule them, and make fun of them. What did Nehemiah do? He simply ignored them. He let it go in one ear and out the other. When that didn’t work, they went to the city leaders and started spreading lies. They said, “Nehemiah is not building this wall for our good. He’s just building a kingdom unto himself.” They started questioning his motives. Don’t you know that Nehemiah was tempted to come down off that wall and say, “Guys, I’m going to shut you up? I’m going to show you who I am.” No, he was smart enough to realize they were a distraction. He chose to ignore them and went on to build that wall in record time.
Anytime God puts a dream in your heart and you start pursuing your goals, you can be sure that the “Sanballats” and the “Tobiases” will show up. The mark of a true champion is knowing which battles to fight. As in this case, many battles should be ignored. Nehemiah knew if he came down off the wall and spent his time and energy, sure, he could have defeated those two men. Sure, that would have made him feel good. But, it would not have advanced him toward his destiny. It would not have helped the wall get built any faster. Bottom line: he chose to be an eagle. He chose to rise above it.
I’m asking us to do the same thing. Be selective as to what you give your attention to. Don’t get caught up in battles that don’t matter. Let’s learn to do like Nehemiah and ignore the Sanballats and Tobiases. Friend, if you will get good at knowing what to ignore and not get distracted by things that don’t matter, God will fight your battles. He will promote you, and you will overcome every obstacle and become everything God has created you to be!
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Change Your Environment
Today’s Scripture:
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. – Mark 1:35, NIV.
Today’s Word:
Are you facing challenges today or feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances? Perhaps what you see on the outside doesn’t match what God has placed on the inside of you. The key is: don’t sit around in self-pity, depressed or discouraged. Go out and find someplace you can dream and connect with Almighty God. Go to the park and watch the sunset. Look up at the stars and think about His goodness. Take a break from the environment that seems to be holding you back. Find a place that inspires you, a place where you can meditate on His Word and let your faith be elevated. Stay in a good, Bible-based church where people are going to build you up and not tear you down; a place where people are going to challenge you to rise higher and become all that God has created you to be.
I know people who get home from work every night and watch the same depressing TV shows week after week. Don’t let that be you! If you’re going to enlarge your vision, you’ve got to get out of a limited environment. Put yourself in an atmosphere of victory and success and move forward in the good things God has prepared for you!
Prayer for Today:
Father, today I choose to separate myself from my circumstances and from my environment so I can set my heart and mind on You. Show me Your ways. Reveal Your love to me. Give me Your vision of victory for my future in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
You’re In The Driver’s Seat!
Posted by Victoria Osteen on 10/9/2012
I can remember being a teenage girl and finally getting the keys to the family car. When my father handed me those keys for the first time, I felt so important. I knew I had earned my father’s trust. Those keys, though very small, represented power and new found freedom. Those keys gave me options that I didn’t have previously. Those little keys literally put me in the driver’s seat of life!
Well today, your heavenly Father has given you some keys, too. Scripture tells us that He has given us the keys to the kingdom. That means He’s given us access to His principles. He’s given us authority; He’s given us permission. He’s placed His trust in us. The problem is that many people have those keys in their hand. They say, “Yes, I have the keys! God is good; He wants to bless me. He is faithful. He loves me!” However, they haven’t started the engine yet. They haven’t activated His power. They haven’t put the car in gear by faith, and then they wonder why they aren’t going anywhere in life.
Today, if that’s you, take those keys and turn on the power of God by declaring His Word over your life. Put gas in your car, so to speak, by praising and thanking Him all throughout the day. Put your car in gear and steer clear of strife and division. Stay on the path He’s laid out before you by following His commands. Remember, you have the keys, you have the authority, and you are in the driver’s seat. So keep moving forward on the road of blessing and victory He has for you today!
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” (Matthew 16:19, NIV)
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Our Daily Bread – Panic Or Pray?
Read: 2 Chronicles 14:1-11
An 85-year-old woman, all alone in a convent, got trapped inside an elevator for 4 nights and 3 days. Fortunately, she had a jar of water, some celery sticks, and a few cough drops. After she tried unsuccessfully to open the elevator doors and get a cell phone signal, she decided to turn to God in prayer. “It was either panic or pray,” she later told CNN. In her distress, she relied on God and waited till she was rescued.
Asa was also faced with the options of panic or pray (2 Chron. 14). He was attacked by an Ethiopian army of a million men. But as he faced this huge fighting force, instead of relying on military strategy or cowering in dread, he turned to the Lord in urgent prayer. In a powerful and humble prayer, Asa confessed his total dependence on Him, asked for help, and appealed to the Lord to protect His own name: “Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude” (v.11). The Lord responded to Asa’s prayer, and he won the victory over the Ethiopian army.
When we are faced with tight spots, meager resources, a vast army of problems, or seemingly dead-end solutions, let’s not panic but instead turn to God who fights for His people and gives them victory.
me to rely on You and draw close to You. Then I
know I’ll be able to stand strong in Your power
and won’t be dependent on my own strength.
Suspicious of Suspicion
by Joyce Meyer – posted October 11, 2012
These words about love are familiar to most of us, but I can honestly say that living them has not always been easy for me. As a child, I was not exposed to this kind of love—in fact, I was taught to be suspicious of everyone. I was told that the motives of other people were not to be trusted.
As I got older, I encountered people whose actions confirmed in my mind that my suspicions were justified. Even as a young Christian, I experienced disappointment because of the obvious motives of some people in the church. While it is wise to be aware of people’s motives, we must be careful that we don’t allow our suspicious nature to negatively affect our feelings about everyone.
An overly suspicious nature can poison your mind and affect your ability to love and accept other people. Consider this example.
Suppose a friend approaches you after a church service, and says, “Do you know what Doris thinks about you?” Then this friend tells you every detail of the things Doris said. The first problem is that a true friend wouldn’t share such information. And the second problem is that with an already suspicious mind, you now believe secondhand information.
Once your mind has been poisoned against someone, suspicion grows. That’s when Satan gains a stronghold in your mind. Every time Doris says something to you, you are automatically suspicious, thinking, What does she really mean? Or if she’s nice to you, you think, I wonder what she wants from me.
That’s how Satan works. If he can make you suspicious of others, it isn’t long before you don’t trust anything they say. And if you’ve been hurt like this several times, the devil can poison your thinking to the point that you start wondering who else may be talking about you behind your back.
Let’s continue the example. Suppose that one day in church, Doris is sitting just a few rows in front of you, clapping her hands and praising the Lord. Immediately you think, She’s such a hypocrite.
Then the Holy Spirit directs your thoughts to your own condition, and the fact that you were clapping and praising the Lord while harboring bad feelings toward Doris. Didn’t Jesus tell us to make peace with others before we present our gifts to Him? (see Matthew 5:24).
Convicted by these words of Jesus, suppose you step forward and apologize to Doris for the bad feelings you have toward her . . . and she stares at you in absolute shock. Then you realize your mistake. You misinterpreted the information your friend had shared with you about Doris, allowing the devil to turn you against a wonderful, godly woman.
This is a good example of how suspicion can cripple relationships and destroy our joy while it leads us astray. This is why learning to develop a 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love is so important.
It took me a while to overcome a lifetime of suspicions, but I finally learned that when we love God’s way, we have no place for suspicion of others.
Lord, I thank You for showing me how to overcome my suspicious nature by teaching me how to love others with Your kind of love. Thank You, Jesus, for being patient with me and for being my great example. Amen.
From the book Battlefield of the Mind Devotional by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2006 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
Dream Beyond
Today’s Scripture:
I lift up my eyes to the hills… ~ Psalm 121:1, NIV
Today’s Word:
So many people today are stuck in a rut. It’s not because they aren’t talented; it’s not because they don’t have God’s favor, but it’s because their vision is limited. They can’t see beyond their circumstances. They don’t see themselves accomplishing their dreams, being promoted or living healthier. They just see more of the same because it’s what they are focused on. What you see is what you’re going to move toward.
The truth is, we all have vision. Every one of us has a picture in our mind of our self, our family and our future. The question is: what does your picture look like? Do you see yourself rising higher, overcoming obstacles, living an abundant life? Do you dare to dream beyond your circumstances?
Today, why don’t you change your focus? Lift your eyes beyond your circumstances. Get a higher dream, a greater vision for your life. See yourself the way God sees you and move forward in the abundant life He has prepared for you!
Prayer for Today:
Father, today I choose to lift my eyes off my circumstances and look to You. Show me Your ways that I may walk with You on the path to victory all the days of my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Find Your Passion, Fulfill Your Potential
Posted by Joel Osteen on 10/5/2012
Everywhere I go people ask for prayer for many different reasons, but one of the most common prayer requests come from people dissatisfied with their jobs. They may be paying the bills, but they don’t have any passion for what they do. Consequently, it affects every area of their life and drains them of valuable energy. In his new book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John Maxwell talks about it like this:
“I am amazed by how many people I meet every day who don’t like doing what they do for a living. Why do they do it? I understand the necessity of having to make a living. We’ve all done jobs we didn’t love. I worked in a meat-packing plant when I was in college. I didn’t like that job. But I didn’t stay there my whole life, doing something I found unfulfilling. If I’d loved it and it had fit my passion and purpose, I would have stayed there and tried to build a career. But it wasn’t what I wanted to do.
Philosopher Abraham Kaplan noted, ‘If, as Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth living, so the unlived life is worth examining.’ If you’re not enjoying what you do for a living, you need to take some time to examine why.
Is it a risk making a change from what you’re currently doing to what you want to do? Yes of course. You might fail. You might find out that you don’t like it as much as you expected. You might not make as much money. But isn’t there also great risk in staying where you are? You might fail. You might get fired. You might take a pay cut. Or worst of all, you might come to the end of your life feeling regret for never having reached your potential or doing what you love. Which risk would you rather live with?
There is definitely a direct connection between finding your passion and reaching your potential. TV journalist Maria Bartiromo says, ‘Every successful person I’ve met has a strong sense of his or her unique abilities and aspirations. They’re leaders in their own lives, and they dare to pursue their dreams on their own terms.’
Have you found and harnessed your passion? Do you know what you would like to do? When you do, it makes all the difference. Why? When you tap into your passion, it gives you the E & E factor: Energy and excellence.
You will never fulfill your destiny doing work you despise.
Passion gives you an advantage over others because one person with passion is greater than ninety-nine who have only an interest.”
If this describes you today, first I want to encourage you because God has more in store for you! He put those desires and dreams in you for a purpose, and He will direct your steps toward fulfilling them. I also want to encourage you to pick up a copy of John Maxwell’s new book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth. I believe it will help you on your journey toward finding your passion and fulfilling your purpose. Remember what it says in Philippians 1 that “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” Keep pressing forward, keep believing, and keep an attitude of faith and expectancy because God is doing a work in you!
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Break Your Box
by Joyce Meyer – posted October 08, 2012
I believe that breaking (saying no to) the flesh is what today’s scripture is about. The woman broke that box so the expensive perfume could be poured out. In the same way, we have to “break” our flesh.
We all have sweet perfume in us. But our alabaster box (our flesh) has to be broken so the perfume (the good things of God) can flow out of us. We are “pregnant” with the good things of God. We each have the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, faith, meekness and temperance. But many times our alabaster box (our flesh) keeps them from being poured out.
Oh, but we love our alabaster box. We don’t want to break it because, after all, it is such a pretty box. We spend so much time taking care of it; we don’t want it to be broken. But we must love God more than we love anything else. We need to circumcise our flesh and be willing to let go of the things of the flesh, so God’s blessings can flow to us and through us.
Love God Today: “Lord, I choose to break my alabaster box in order to express my love for You and receive everything You have for me.”
From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
Our Daily Bread – Helping With Hurdles
Read: Acts 15:36-41
When my daughter Debbie was a little girl, she took ballet lessons. One dance exercise involved jumping over a rolled-up gym mat. Debbie’s first attempt resulted in her bouncing off this hurdle. For a moment she sat on the floor stunned, and then she began to cry. Immediately, I darted out to help her up and spoke soothing words to her. Then, holding her hand, I ran with her until she successfully jumped over the rolled-up mat. Debbie needed my encouragement to clear that hurdle.
While working with Paul on his first missionary journey, John Mark faced a major hurdle of his own: Things got tough on the trip, and he quit. When Barnabas tried to re-enlist Mark for Paul’s second journey, it created conflict. Barnabas wanted to give him a second chance, but Paul saw him as a liability. Ultimately, they parted ways, and Barnabas took Mark with him on his journey (Acts 15:36-39).
The Bible is silent about John Mark’s response when Barnabas helped him over his ministry hurdle. However, he must have proven himself, because Paul later wrote that John Mark “is useful to me for ministry” (2 Tim. 4:11).
When we see a believer struggling with an apparent failure, we should provide help. Can you think of someone who needs your help to clear a hurdle?
heart today. Please show me who I can help
and in what way. I want my words and deeds
to convey Your love. Amen.
I Am Lady Fab 