Blog Archives
Our Daily Bread – The New Normal
Read: Hebrews 4:9-16
A pastor, who was trained in trauma and grief counseling, commented that the greatest challenge for people who are hurting is often not the immediate heartache of the loss. Instead, the biggest problem is adjusting to the different kind of life that follows. What once was normal may never be normal again. So the challenge for those offering help is to assist the sufferers as they establish the “new normal.” It may be a new normal that no longer includes robust health, a treasured relationship, or a satisfying job. Or it may be living without a loved one who has been taken in death. The gravity of such losses forces us to live a different kind of life—no matter how unwelcome it may be.
When our “new normal” comes, it’s easy to think no one understands how we feel. But that isn’t true. Part of the reason Jesus came was to experience life among us, resulting in His present ministry: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
Our Savior lived a perfect life, yet He also knew the pains of a broken world. He endured sorrow; He suffered agony. And He stands ready to encourage us when the dark moments of life force us to embrace a new normal.
will never abandon us. Guide us with Your never-failing
presence through both the welcome and unwelcome changes
of life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Our Daily Bread – Risky Business
Read: Luke 9:18-27
As the worldwide financial crisis deepened in 2010, executives of a global banking firm were investigated for deceiving their customers about the risk involved in certain investments they were selling. While promising a high rate of return, the banking firm knew that the investments were destined to fail, leaving those who purchased them with nothing.
Deception is nothing new. Jesus described Satan as one who “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him . . . for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). The enemy of our souls tells us, “Live only for the present,” when he knows it will result in our eternal loss.
Jesus, on the other hand, did not offer His disciples a life of prosperity and ease but called them to self-sacrifice and identification with Him. After telling them that He would be killed and raised from the dead, Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24).
There are two voices telling us where to invest our lives. It’s risky business to follow the wrong one.
As He calls you, “Come to Me,”
In your life make Him your choice
And His faithful follower be. —Hess
Stand and See
Today’s Scripture:
…stand and see the salvation of the Lord…- 2 Chronicles 20:17, NASB.
Today’s Word:
So many people today run from anything that’s hard. They run from their problems. They run from responsibility. They run from people they don’t like. They run from the past. They run from anything that makes them uncomfortable. Instead of facing the issues and dealing with them, they just take the easy way out and go down the path of least resistance. But if you’re going to live in victory the way God intends, you have to learn how to face your challenges head on.
Notice today’s verse doesn’t say, “Keep running until you see the salvation of the Lord.” It doesn’t say, “Bury your head in the sand until God delivers you.” No, God wants us to stand strong, set our faces like a flint, and fight the good fight of faith. And the good news is that you don’t have to do it in your own strength! He’s equipped you with His supernatural power to overcome every obstacle.
Make the decision today to stand strong and face the challenges in your life. Be bold and dare to conquer! As you stand in faith, you will see the salvation, the deliverance of Almighty God in every area of your life!
Prayer for Today:
Father in heaven, search my heart. Show me any area in my life where I may be hiding. I choose today to stand in faith and invite You to move mightily on my behalf in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Success
Today’s Scripture:
Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.- Ecclesiastes 11:1, NLT.
Today’s Word:
God has a system that is based on the principle of sowing and reaping. In other words, what you pour out to others will come back to you in increased measure. When you give generously, a generous harvest will return to you. When you help others succeed, you will find abundant success on your path, too.
Are you helping others succeed? Are you helping others get ahead? There are some people in your life who hold the keys for you to reach your full potential. These are people that God has placed in your life for you to help along. The higher they rise up, the higher you will rise up, too. When you give generously of your time, talents and resources, you are setting yourself up for greater success. People will come across your path that will help you grow and reach your full potential.
Do your part to step out and sow the seed. Be on the lookout for ways you can help others. As you give of yourself to help others grow, you’ll see increase in return. You’ll see success and live the abundant life He has prepared for you.
Prayer for Today:
Father in heaven, I open my whole heart You. I invite You to use me to be a blessing in the lives of others. Show me where to invest my time, talents and resources for Your glory. Thank You for the harvest that is coming back to me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Stretch and Increase!
Posted by Victoria Osteen on 8/21/2012
Have you ever thought about the relationship between stretching and increase? Really, they go hand in hand. If you want to see increase in your life, you have to enlarge yourself. You have to stretch yourself so you can be prepared to receive more and give more. If you want to stretch, you have to take a step of faith and be obedient to what God has placed in your heart.
What are you doing to stretch yourself? You can’t just sit back and wait for something to happen. You have so much to offer this world. There’s more inside of you than you think!
There’s a story about a woman who was newly divorced, almost penniless, afraid of public places, and trying to raise two teenage sons. Through several tragedies in her life, she developed severe agoraphobia and was afraid to even leave her house. She had to make a living, so she searched her heart for ways to support herself and her two sons.
She loved to cook, and all she knew to do for income was to make sandwiches and other simple foods. She found a few customers, but because she was so uncomfortable leaving the house, her two sons had to deliver the sandwiches. Her little home business quickly grew beyond the size of her kitchen, and she now faced a decision. Would she stand still and stop growing, or would she confront her fears and step outside her comfort zone and stretch herself? Though fear constantly harassed her, she recognized that cooking was the seed she had in her hand. As she sat in her house, she could imagine her business growing, and she began to see success. She made the decision to step out and learn and grow. First, she decided to confront the agoraphobia that imprisoned her. Reaching deep inside herself, she was able to take a job as a chef at a local hotel.
Her seeds began to spring forth, and once again, she experienced tremendous success. She was learning step by step that the gifts inside of her were seeds of greatness. A few years later, she opened her own restaurant, The Lady and Sons, right in the heart of Savannah, Georgia. The restaurant’s reputation quickly spread and received national recognition.
Paula Deen’s restaurant was such a success that she eventually landed her own television show, published cookbooks, and even had a role on the silver screen. Today she is one of America’s most beloved television chefs, and it all started when she realized that the power that dwelt inside of her was greater than the fear that held her back.
Oftentimes, people stay where they are in life simply because of fear. Don’t let that be you! Be willing to step out of your comfort zone. Be willing to stretch. Prepare yourself for increase because God has so much more in store for you!
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” (Isaiah 54:2, NIV)
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Stronger By Faith
by Joyce Meyer – posted August 22, 2012
The Lord is my Strength and my Song, and He has become my Salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him. —Exodus 15:2
God does not want to just give you strength; He wants to be your strength. In 1 Samuel 15:29 God is referred to as the Strength of Israel. There was a time when Israel knew God was their strength. But when they forgot it, they always started to fail and their lives began to be filled with destruction.
How do you receive strength from God? By faith. Hebrews 11:11 says that by faith Sarah received strength to conceive a child when she was well past childbearing age. By faith you can receive strength to stay in a difficult marriage, raise a difficult child, or prosper in a difficult job. Start receiving God as your strength by faith. It will quicken your body as well as your spirit and soul.
From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2004 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
Our Daily Bread – A Picture Of Him
Read: Hebrews 12:3-11
One day my son uncapped an orange marker and drew a picture of his father. His toddler’s rendering featured eyes, a nose, and a mouth, all inside of a circle on top of two long sticks (he informed me that those were the legs). Although my little boy scored high marks for effort, his picture didn’t quite capture the specifics that would have created a close likeness to my husband: blue eyes, a confident smile, and silver-flecked hair.
As God’s children, we sometimes create images of our heavenly Father that aren’t accurate. We may view God as unloving when He corrects sinful patterns in our lives. And because discipline is painful (Heb. 12:11), we may assume that God’s correction is a form of divine revenge or the result of His anger. In reality, it is proof of His love for us. The Bible says, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens” (v.6). He disciplines us for our benefit, so that we “may be partakers of His holiness” (v.10) and experience the peace that comes from right living (v.11).
Today, if you are facing God’s discipline, remember that He isn’t peering down at you with an angry scowl or shaking a vengeful fist. Picture Him as a concerned Father, lovingly correcting His child in whom He delights (Prov. 3:12).
help me to see it’s Your love in action. May Your loving
discipline mold and shape my character
so that I become more and more like You. Amen.
Our Daily Bread – Theory Of Everything
Read: John 1:1-13
Scientists have been looking for the “Theory of Everything.” One person who thinks he found it is physicist Brian Greene, who wrote The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory. Greene’s “string theory” is a complicated concept suggesting that at its tiniest level everything consists of combinations of vibrating strands, or strings. He has described his theory as “a framework with the capacity to explain every fundamental feature upon which the world is constructed.”
Over the years, thinkers from Newton to Einstein to Hawking to Greene have spent the greater portion of their lives trying to figure out how the universe works—and they have proposed fascinating theories.
In reality, for any theory to explain everything in the universe adequately it must begin and end with God. “All things . . . visible and invisible” (Col. 1:16) have their origin in Him and exist for His glory (Ps. 72:19). The first few verses of John’s gospel tell us that our Lord created the universe—and that without His hand of creation nothing would exist.
That’s why when we consider the world and everything in it, we can exclaim with Isaiah: “The whole earth is full of His glory!” (6:3). Praise His holy name!
Sun, moon, and stars beyond compare;
His workmanship we can’t deny—
His fingerprints are everywhere. —Seals
Beyond Critical Voices
Today’s Scripture:
Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise… – Micah 7:8, NIV.
Today’s Word:
Anytime you set out to do something great in life, there will be critics. If you’re going to be a great businessperson, coach, student, leader or employee, there will be opposition. The more success you have, the more opportunities there will be for distractions. The higher you go, the more haters will come out. When you start stretching to a new level and pursuing what God has placed in your heart, the jealous people, the critical people, and the small-minded people come out of the woodwork and start making negative comments, but you don’t have to let that distract you.
If you are under pressure today, if the critical voices are coming against you, know that it’s because you are making a difference. Don’t let them throw you off course. Instead, dig your heels in, set your face like a flint, and say, “I will not get distracted. I will not get drawn into battles that don’t matter. It doesn’t matter what others think; it matters what God thinks!”
Today, look beyond the critics. Stand strong in adversity. Press forward to what lies ahead and win the prize of life that He has prepared for you!
Prayer for Today:
Father, today I choose to let go of the negative voices, offenses and hurts from critical voices. I choose to focus on You and the good plan You have for me. Give me Your peace and joy as I move forward in the victory You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
What Do You Want Him to Do?
Posted by Joel Osteen on 8/17/2012
There’s a story in Matthew 20 about a time when Jesus was leaving the city of Jericho. Two blind men were sitting on the side of the road. When they heard all of the commotion of Jesus passing by, they began to holler out, “Jesus! Have mercy on us!” All of the people around them said, “Be quiet! You’re going to disturb Him.” But the blind men shouted even louder, “Jesus! Please! Have mercy on us!”
Jesus walked over to them and said something interesting. He asked, “What is it that you want Me to do for you?” It seemed obvious what they needed. They were blind. Why would Jesus say, “What do you want Me to do for you?” See, Jesus knew what their physical condition was, but He was asking about their heart condition. He wanted to know what they were believing. He wanted to know what their level of faith was. They could have said, “Jesus, we just need somebody to help us. It’s hard being blind. Jesus, we need better shelter. We need a better place to live.” But these men were bold. They knew what they wanted. They said, “Lord, we want our sight.” The scripture says, “When Jesus saw their faith, He touched their eyes, and for the first time, they were able to see.”
Today, imagine that Jesus is standing before you asking the same thing that He asked these blind men. “What do you want Me to do for you?” The way you respond is going to determine what He does. Now don’t say, “God, I just want to get by this year. Times are tough.” “God, my family is so dysfunctional. Just try to help us stay together.” “God, I don’t enjoy my job, but just help me to endure it.” Dare to say, “God, I’m asking for a blessed, prosperous year.” “God, I want to be free from this sickness.” “God, I want to see my whole family serving You.”
It’s not enough to just think about it. It’s not enough to just hope for it. Something supernatural happens when you ask. It puts a demand on your faith. When you ask, God releases His favor. When you ask, the angels go to work. When you ask, supernatural doors will begin to open. Ask in faith knowing that He hears you, and He is faithful. He will complete the good work He started in you!
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7, NIV).
Copyright © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
I Am Lady Fab 