Blog Archives
Little Things Lead To Big Things
Posted by Victoria Osteen on 9/18/2012
Sometimes opportunities cross our paths that seem small or insignificant. Perhaps you don’t quite see how a seemingly little thing can fit into the big picture of your life. However, if you know in your heart that God is presenting you with an opportunity, He has a purpose for it. He can use that opportunity to increase you and promote you beyond your wildest dreams.
Long before Joel and I became Pastors of Lakewood Church, I spent many years helping his father get ready for the weekly services and television program. Now, it wasn’t something I had planned on doing, but it all came about when his hair stylist announced her resignation. I happened to be standing there when she did, and Joel’s father immediately turned to me and asked if I would take her place. I wasn’t a hairdresser. I didn’t go to cosmetology school. My first thought was, “If you’re bold enough to trust me, I’m bold enough to do it. It’s your hair!” And the rest is history.
Joel’s father used to tell us that he was going to preach into his nineties, and we had no reason to believe differently. I just figured I would be right there helping him. I remember one day, I was calculating how old I would be when he was ninety; and I can tell you, I would have been doing his hair for a long time! Nevertheless, I was committed. I said to God, “If this is what You have for me to do, I am going to be the most faithful person You can find.” And I was faithful even when there were many other things I would have rather done, given the choice. At the time, it was difficult to see how this fit into the “big picture” of my life or where this could possibly take me. But I just kept meditating on that scripture, “If you will be faithful in the little, God will trust you with much more.” (See Matthew 25)
What I didn’t know at the time is that God was preparing me for ministry through that experience. As I look back over my time with Daddy Osteen, I wouldn’t trade it for the world! He loved me and I loved him. Learning from him about ministry prepared me for where I am today. I believe if it were not for those years we spent together, I would not have the same opportunities.
Always remember, when you are faithful with what God has called you to do, no matter how big or small, you are planting seeds for your future. If you want to grow and increase in any area of your life, you have to use what you have been given, and then God will multiply it. Stay faithful. Give your best to whatever you do because you never know what door God will open when you are faithful in the little things.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24, NIV)
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Our Daily Bread – Standing In The Fire
Read: Daniel 3:10-25
Wrapped in blankets in my grandparents’ pickup, I watched as fire consumed our home. My father says I slept soundly as he carried my brother and me and our puppies out to safety. When I woke up and saw the huge blaze, I was already safe. I was too curious and too young to be scared.
I remember several things from that night. Even inside the truck, the heat was intense and the fire was mesmerizing. I remember too the fear on the faces of everyone else, checking and re-checking to see if loved ones were safe. Later I learned that in the chaos my father raced into the fire to look for my grandfather, which prompted my grandfather (who was not inside the house) to race in to get my father. Their courage affected all who saw it that night.
I’m reminded of that fire every time I read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. When challenged with the decree to bow to the king or face execution (Dan. 3:10-12), these three bravely faced the fire for the One they loved (vv.16-18). And the Lord stood with them in the flames (v.25).
When life’s “flames” test us, may those who observe our choices recognize our love for each other and for our God.
Read more of Daniel and his friends in Daniel 1–3.
How do their lives encourage you to stand firm for God?
Ask the Lord to help you make courageous choices today.
Our Daily Bread – The Lure Of A Message
Read: 1 Samuel 3:1-10
You’re sitting in a darkened theater enjoying a concert, a play, or a film, when suddenly a smartphone screen lights up as a person reads an incoming text and perhaps takes time to reply. In his book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains,Nicholas Carr says that in our connected world, “The sense that there might be a message out there for us” is increasingly difficult to resist.
Samuel was a young boy when he heard a voice call his name and thought it was Eli the priest in the tabernacle where he served the Lord (1 Sam. 3:1-7). When Eli realized that God was calling Samuel, he told the boy how to respond. When God called his name a fourth time, “Samuel answered, ‘Speak, for Your servant hears’” (v.10). This attentiveness to God’s voice became the pattern of Samuel’s life as “the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord” (v.21).
Are we listening for God’s voice in our lives today? Are we more drawn by the vibration of a smartphone than the still, small voice of the Lord through His Word and His Spirit?
May we, like Samuel, learn to discern God’s voice and say, “Speak, Lord. I’m listening.”
As You speak to us today
Through Your Spirit and Your Word—
Help us follow and obey. —Sper
Find Truth
by Joyce Meyer – posted September 18, 2012
And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. —John 8:32
If you lose your temper easily, you will never enjoy your day as God meant for it to be. Seek God with your whole heart and find out what is wrong. The way to get free from things that upset you is to find truth—the truth will always set you free.
We don’t always want to face truth because sometimes it is painful. Sometimes it shows us that we need to change. If we are behaving badly, we make excuses for our wrong behavior. But excuses will never make us free.
Let God get involved with your day; when you feel your temper flare, ask Him to reveal the truth of that situation. The truth will always set you free to enjoy the rest of your day.
From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2003 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
Push People Up
Today’s Scripture:
Two are better than one…if either of them falls down, one can help the other up… – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NIV.
Today’s Word:
We all need somebody to believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. We all need people who will push us up, so to speak. After all, there are enough people trying to push us down in life. There are enough people telling us what we can’t become and how we don’t have what it takes.
I know in my own life, I wouldn’t be half of who I am if it were not for Victoria. She has spoken so much faith into me. She has called out the potential on the inside.
I believe we all have the responsibility to do this for others. Let’s push people up. Let’s look with our eyes of faith and see their potential and tell them what they can become. If you will be that person for somebody else, God will make sure somebody will be that person for you.
Friend, every person has seeds of greatness inside. You can cause your children to rise to a new level. You can be the catalyst for your family to do things they never thought possible. Your words have creative power. When you speak vision, that can be the seed God uses to thrust them to a new level.
Prayer for Today:
Father, today I commit to push people up. I choose to speak life and call forth the seeds of greatness within. Thank You for using me to help others fulfill their destiny in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Our Daily Bread – From Duty To Delight
Read: Psalm 119:41-48
Because of my wife’s busy schedule, sometimes she can commit only a limited amount of time every week to each of our grandchildren. When possible, however, she will rearrange her schedule to spend more time with them—not out of duty, but because she loves them. When I see her with them, I understand what the word delight means.
In Psalm 119, David tells of his “delight” in God’s Word. He uses the word delight eight times (vv.16,24, 35,47,70,77,92,174). He says: “I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word. . . . I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love” (vv.16,47). The psalmist’s words, “I will delight,” indicate that it is a deliberate act of his will. However, it is not a burden for him to delight in God’s Word because he loves it. David’s close relationship with God created in him a desire to know what his Beloved had to say.
In the same way, for us to move from duty to delight in God’s Word, we need to strengthen our relationship with Him. When we remember how much He loves and cherishes us, we will respond with love and we will delight to spend time with Him. “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (v.97).
And take a fresh delight
By day to read these wonders o’er
And meditate by night. —Watts
Our Daily Bread – Correct Them
Read: 1 Samuel 2:12,27-36
Therapist and mother Lori Gottlieb says that parents who are obsessed with their children’s happiness may actually contribute to their becoming unhappy adults. These parents coddle their children, do not equip them to deal with the real world, look the other way when their children do wrong, and neglect disciplining them.
In 1 Samuel, we read that the high priest Eli sometimes looked the other way. We don’t know what he was like as a father when his boys were young. But he failed to properly deal with their behavior as grown men serving in God’s temple. They were selfish, lustful, and rebellious, putting their own needs ahead of God’s Word and the needs of the people. At first, Eli rebuked them but they would not listen. Instead of removing them from service, he looked the other way and let them continue in their sin. As a result of his sons’ sins and because Eli honored his sons above the Lord (1 Sam. 2:29), the Lord warned Eli that his family would suffer judgment (v.34; 4:17-18).
As Christian parents, we have the awesome responsibility to lovingly discipline our children (Prov. 13:24; 29:17; Heb. 12:9-11). As we impart God’s wisdom to them, we have the blessing of helping them develop into responsible, God-fearing adults.
Possessed by Him whose name is Love;
Lent us here to train and nourish
For a better life above. —Crosby
Call Out Seeds of Greatness
Today’s Scripture:
…God…calls those things which do not exist as though they did. – Romans 4:17, NKJV.
Today’s Word:
Very often, we see potential in other people that they can’t see in themselves. When you speak vision into them, when you tell them what they can become, you can help set the direction for their life. Your words have the power to push people into their divine destiny. I believe that the reason some people are not living at their full potential is because no one has ever spoken faith into them. No one has taken the time to say, “Hey, you’re great at this. You’ve got a gift here. You’re going to do something amazing.”
I believe that one of our assignments in life is to call out the seeds of greatness in other people. Look around at who God has placed in your life. They’re not there by accident. Take time to study them. See what they’re good at. What are their gifts? What do they excel at? Don’t just think about it, speak vision into them. Tell them what they can become. Let your encouragement ignite the greatness on the inside. Help them rise up in confidence so they can be all God has called them to be!
Prayer for Today:
Father, thank You for the people You’ve placed in my life. I choose to be faithful, to speak life and call forth the greatness in them. Thank You for bringing me to new levels as I help others rise higher, too, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
#WhoDoesThat #SideEye #GimmeABreak
But you suppose to be a church huh? … Suppose to be teaching God’s people on how to love one another as God loves the church. And this is what you put on your message board outside … #WhoDoesThat #SideEye #GimmeABreak
I Declare
Posted by Joel Osteen on 9/14/2012
Our words have creative power. Any time you speak something, either good or bad; you give life to what you are saying. Scripture says, “We will eat the fruit of our words.” That means you will get exactly what you’ve been saying. You are prophesying your own future. That’s why it’s so important to send your words out in the direction you want your life to go. You can’t talk defeat and expect to have victory. You can’t talk lack and expect to have abundance. You will produce whatever you say.
Are you declaring the blessing of God over your life? Are you speaking His promises? Have you ever noticed that many of His promises are in the past tense? For example, in Ephesians God says, “I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing.” In Colossians He says, “I have made you worthy.” In Psalms He says, “I have surrounded you with favor as a shield.” These are all past tense, like it’s already happened. In order to activate His blessing, you have to come into agreement with what God has already declared about you. That’s faith!
Maybe you don’t necessarily feel blessed today. A lot of things may be coming against you in your family, finances or health. But that doesn’t change the Word of God. Circumstances don’t change what God says about you. However, what God says about you can change your circumstances. You are the deciding factor. Instead of talking about your circumstances, be bold and say, “God, if You say I’m blessed, then I believe I’m blessed! My checkbook may not say I’m blessed. The economy may not say I’m blessed. The medical report may not say I’m blessed. But God, I know You are the ultimate authority, and if You say I’m blessed, then I declare that I am blessed!”
When you get into agreement with God like that in your thoughts, words and actions, it opens supernatural doors and sets the blessing in motion. It allows Him to release the promises that already have your name on them! You can pull it out of the unseen spiritual realm over into the physical, seen realm. That’s what the Bible means when it says, “God speaks of nonexistent things as if they already existed.”
I want you to live the abundant, blessed, joy-filled life that Jesus came to give you and understand that the power of your words is a major key. That’s why I’ve written my new book, I Declare – 31 Promises to Speak Over Your Life. I want you to bless your future one day at a time, one month at a time. My hope is that you’ll pick up a copy and take just a moment each day to bless your future with one of the faith-filled declarations. I Declare will be available this week—September 18. So order your copy today and begin to declare God’s blessing in every area of your life!
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
I Am Lady Fab 