Blog Archives
The Best Things In Life
READ: Proverbs 23:1-18
Do not overwork to be rich. —Proverbs 23:4
An old adage says, “The best things in life are free.” There’s a lot of truth in that. Some people, however, believe that the best things in life are expensive or perhaps elusive. Recently I saw a sign that made me smile and think. It said, “The best things in life are not things.” What a great way to say it! The value of family, friends, and faith points us to the realization that what matters most in life is all wrapped up in people and the Lord.
Solomon was well qualified to speak about material things because he “surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom” (1 Kings 10:23). His advice? “Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven” (Prov. 23:4-5). His recommended course of action was, “Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge. . . . For surely there is a hereafter, and your hope will not be cut off” (vv.12,18).
The best things in life are the eternal riches that come from God’s goodness and grace in Jesus Christ. We do not hold them in our hands, but in our hearts. —David McCasland
The treasures of earth are not mine,
I hold not its silver and gold;
But a treasure far greater is mine;
I have riches of value untold. —Hartzler
Our greatest riches are the riches we have in Christ.
Copyright © 2012, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA.
Receive Power
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…” (Acts 1:8, NKJV)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Osteen
God wants to empower you. He wants to strengthen you and equip you to rise higher in every area of your life. He wants to see you become all that He has created you to be and walk in victory each and every day.
Scripture tells us that when Jesus left the earth, He told the disciples that He was sending a comforter. He was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not only our comforter, He’s our counselor, teacher and stand by. He searches our hearts and helps us understand scripture.
Today, if you desire to be filled with God’s power, invite the Holy Spirit of God to do a work in you. When you read the Bible, pray and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and reveal God’s plan to you. As you invite the Holy Spirit to operate in your life, as today’s scripture says, you’ll receive God’s power! You will be strengthened and equipped for everything God has in store for you!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, thank You for the Holy Spirit who is my helper in this life. I choose to open my heart to Your Word to receive power so that I can walk and live in the victory You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
— Joel & Victoria Osteen
© 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Keep Good Company
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:33, NKJV)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Osteen Sometimes, in order to embrace the destiny God has in store, you have to be willing to make some changes in your life. You have to be willing to examine where you are and what you need to move forward. This may mean that you need to change some friends that you’re spending time with. Maybe they were fine for a season in your life, but now you’ve outgrown them. This is a new season, and in order for you to rise higher, you have to break away from relationships that are limiting you. You have to develop some new relationships with people who are going to pull you up and inspire you to rise higher. And this doesn’t just mean separating yourself from people who are holding you back spiritually. I’ve found that if you’re the smartest one in your group, your group is too small. Find people who are smarter than you are, people who will challenge you to stretch to the next level and become everything God’s created you to be. Remember, he who walks with the wise becomes wise. Choose your friends wisely and don’t be deceived. Choose your friends wisely so you can walk and live in the destiny God has in store for you!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father God, thank You for Your grace and mercy. Thank You for the good plan You have for my life. Help me choose my friends and companions wisely so that I can continue to move forward in the destiny You have for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.
— Joel & Victoria Osteen © 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
© 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Get A Little Closer
by Joyce Meyer
Do you ever just spend time with God because of who He is, not for what He can do for you? Have you spent time with Him to tell Him how much you appreciate Him and to thank Him for all that He’s done for you—not just to give Him a whole list of everything you need to be happy?
It’s easy to be busy all the time with an endless to-do list instead of stopping to spend time alone with God.
Whatever you’re doing—or not doing—the truth is, at this moment, each one of us is as close to God as we choose to be.
The Choice of Busyness
In Luke 10:38, there was a woman named Martha who made a choice. She kept herself so busy while Jesus was visiting her and her sister. Jesus took notice.
“…Jesus entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha received and welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was listening to His teaching. But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone?”
Martha was distracted and kept herself busy. She was distracted from Jesus by work! Do you ever find yourself saying, “I do all the work around here. Everybody else is always having a good time while I just work, work, work, work!”
Martha may have thought the same thing, because she pleaded with Jesus for Mary to help her. “But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; There is need of only ONE thing and Mary has chosen the good part…” (verses 41 & 42).
What’s Really Important
Work is definitely important, but it wasn’t the most important thing for Martha to be doing at that particular time. You know, learning what to do and when to do it is a very key issue because when we do the right thing at the wrong time it becomes the wrong thing to do.
This was not the time for Martha to be working because Jesus was passing by. There was an opportunity for her to spend time with Him that she might not ever get again. What Martha needed was to make a better choice. She needed to make a wiser choice, and that choice was to spend time with Jesus.
Paul prayed that the Phillipian church would be able to make wise choices so that they would “surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences].” (Philippians 1:10)
We need to begin to discern the better choices in our lives, and we need to make those choices. And time is the number one thing we need to choose to invest for intimacy in any relationship, not just a relationship with God.
What Kind of Relationship Do You Want?
God loves you so much and He wants to have a personal, intimate relationship with you. If you want to have a closer walk with Him, you’ll need to make some changes and some of them will be challenging.
To make more time with God a priority, you may have to say “no” to some people that don’t want to hear “no,” and you may have to cut off some things that really aren’t bearing fruit in your life anymore. But the reward of growing closer to God will always be greater than the difficulties you experience to get there.
Make a determined decision today to get as close to God as you can be.
This article is taken from Joyce’s audio series, Be Still and Know That I Am God.
What’s The Trouble?
READ: Joshua 7:1-13
Be sure your sin will find you out. — Numbers 32:23
There was something wrong with my lawn. I couldn’t see what the trouble was, but I knew something was causing damage.
After investigating, I discovered the problem: moles. Those voracious little bug-eaters were crawling around just under the surface of my previously well-groomed lawn looking for food and wreaking havoc on my grass.
The children of Israel also had a problem with a hidden cause (Josh. 7). They were experiencing trouble, and they couldn’t figure out why. There was something hidden from their view that was causing serious damage.
The trouble became noticeable when Joshua sent 3,000 troops to attack Ai. Although that should have been a sufficient army to defeat Ai’s small force, the opposite happened. Ai routed the Israelites, killing 36 of them and chasing them back where they came from. Joshua had no idea why this trouble had come. Then God explained the hidden problem: One of his men, Achan, had violated a clear command and had stolen some “accursed things” from Jericho (Josh. 7:11). Only when that hidden sin was discovered and taken care of could Israel have victory.
Hidden sin does great damage. We need to bring it to the surface and deal with it—or face certain defeat. —Dave Branon
Dear Lord, I don’t want anything in my life to
hinder my fellowship with You. You know what’s
in my heart. Reveal any areas of my life that are
not pleasing to You and forgive me. Amen.
Confession to God ensures forgiveness.
Copyright © 2012, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA
Don’t Compromise
by Joyce Meyer – posted July 16, 2012
Oh, how great is Your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men. —Psalm 31:19
God is good to everyone, but I do believe He reserves special rewards for those who are bold and never compromise their faith when they are with unbelievers. Our verse for today says that He has goodness wrought for those who take refuge in Him before the sons of men. We must be sure that we don’t live one way in front of our Christian family and friends and then another way in front of our unbelieving associates.
Our calling as believers is to be lights in dark places. We must maintain our integrity at all times and never compromise our moral standards. However, if we desire the approval of men we often do whatever it takes to feel accepted by them, even at the cost of displeasing God and going against our own conscience.
It is much better to please God than to please men. The apostle Paul stated that if he had wanted to be popular with people he would never have become an apostle (Gal.1:10). He would have missed the privilege of serving God as he did. It is tragic how often people say “no” to God in order to say “yes” to men. We must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).
When we follow God we have peace, and we experience the rewards of God in our life. I encourage you to take a stand for what is right in your life. Don’t let the fear of rejection pressure you to sin against your own conscience.
Love God Today: Do you want God’s goodness stored up for you? Live your Christian faith openly in front of the people around you.
From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
Rest In Hope
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope” (Acts 2:26, NKJV)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Osteen
So many people today live with stress, anxiety, pressure and worry, but that’s not God’s plan for your life. He wants you to live in peace, confidence and rest in hope. Think about that for a moment. How can you rest in hope? It’s sort of like when you’re watching the replay of your favorite ball game. You already know the outcome. You don’t have to worry about what’s happening, you just enjoy the plays. The same is true in life. When we know God’s Word, when we obey His commands, then we know the outcome for life. We know that He is always for our good. We know that He has plans to prosper us, not to harm us!
Today’s scripture tells us what to do while we are waiting to see His promises come to pass — we should let our tongue be glad. In other words, we should be speaking the victory. We should be declaring His goodness. We should be filled with His joy. When your mouth is aligned with God’s Word, when your heart rejoices, then you can rest in hope knowing that victory is on the way!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father God, thank You for victory that overcomes the world. Thank You for giving me hope in my final outcome. I choose to cast my cares on You today, I choose to rejoice, I choose to speak Your Word as I celebrate the good things You have in store for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.
— Joel & Victoria Osteen
© 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Speech Study
READ: Proverbs 18:1-15
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. — Ephesians 4:29
Dr. Deb Roy, a researcher and cognitive scientist with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recorded the first 3 years of his child’s life to learn how humans acquire language. He and his wife rigged their home with recording devices, which they used to collect over 200,000 hours of audio and video footage. Amassing, condensing, and editing the recordings enabled them to hear baby sounds like “gaga” evolve into words like “water.”
If someone wanted to conduct a research project at your home, would you participate if you knew that your every syllable would be recorded and analyzed? What would the study reveal? Proverbs 18 offers insight about some unwise speech patterns. The writer notes that foolish people express their own opinions instead of trying to understand what others have to say (v.2). Does this characterize us? Do we sometimes provoke fights with our words (v.7), or speak impulsively and “answer a matter before [hearing] it”? (v.13).
We need to become students of our speech. With God’s help we can identify and transform destructive dialogue into words of encouragement that are “good for necessary edification” and that “impart grace to the hearers” (Eph. 4:29). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages for Thee. —Havergal
Our words have the power to build up or tear down.
Copyright © 2012, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA
Our Daily Bread – Opening Our Homes
READ: Acts 18:1-4
Because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. — Acts 18:3
In Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado writes: “Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community. It’s no accident that hospitalityand hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: ‘You matter to me and to God.’ You may think you are saying, ‘Come over for a visit.’ But what your guest hears is, ‘I’m worth the effort.’”
This is what the apostle Paul must have heard and felt when Aquila and Priscilla opened the doors of their home to him. When he arrived in Corinth, he was probably exhausted from his journey from Athens. He may also have been discouraged because of his seemingly unsuccessful ministry there (Acts 17:16-34). He later wrote, “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). Aquila and Priscilla probably met Paul in the marketplace of Corinth and opened their home to him. They provided a spiritual oasis through Christian hospitality.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to be hospitable, to be a “hospital” that helps those who are going through life’s storms and need restoration. We can be used by the Lord because He has provided for us. —Marvin Williams
Heavenly Father, make me open to be willing to serve
others through showing hospitality.
May I provide a safe haven for those going through
the storms of life. Amen.
Christian hospitality is an open heart and an open home.
Copyright © 2012, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA
I Am Lady Fab 