BELIEVE AND ACT ON THE NEW COVENANT





By Joseph Prince – Posted February 7, 2017

1 Samuel 17:45

Then David said to the Philistine, “…I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

Ever wonder why two people can hear the same thing and yet have very different responses? For one, what is said makes him afraid and discouraged. For the other, his heart is so filled with faith that he dares to come against the devil and what he is doing.

In the Valley of Elah, Goliath the Philistine giant taunted the armies of Israel for 40 days. When David came on the scene, he heard the same mockings of Goliath that the rest of the Israelites heard. But somehow, those same words which caused fear in the soldiers angered David. What did David know or see that the others failed to see?

David knew that he had a covenant with God. Now, King Saul and all the soldiers with him that day also had the same covenant with God, but only David believed the covenant. And he acted on his belief. So God caused his giant to come tumbling down.

If David had such a great victory even though he was under the old covenant, how much more you and I who are under the new covenant! Today, God is asking, “Where are my Davids who will believe the new covenant?”

What is the new covenant? It is the covenant of grace. And grace means unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor. God wants us to know that He has cut this covenant with us through Christ our representative. And according to the covenant, we have His undeserved favor. We are blessed because Jesus took our beating. Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, we have victory over every giant.

Isn’t that good news? Today, God wants you to stand before your “giant” and declare that in spite of what you are going through, in spite of what is happening, you believe that God is for you because of what Jesus has done for you. And then, before your very eyes, you will see the giants of accusation, intimidation, condemnation, disease and debt fall flat before you!

Thought For The Day

Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, we have victory over every giant.

Speaking the Blessing

By Joel Osteen – Posted February 7, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"The tongue has the power of life and death..."
Proverbs 18:21, NIV

TODAY'S WORD:

Have you thought about how the people in your life need your blessing? They need your approval. They need to hear you say, “I’m proud of you. You’re going to do great things.” That’s speaking the blessing. When you say to the people you love, “I’m so glad you’re in my life. You mean the world to me,” you just gave them the blessing. When you tell one of your employees, coworkers or a student, “You amaze me with your ability. You have such a bright future,” those are not just nice compliments. When you speak the blessing, you’re releasing God’s wisdom, protection, favor and abundance into their hearts. You can literally help shape their destiny. One word of encouragement, one word of approval can be what helps someone step up to who God created them to be. 

Today, choose to speak the blessing. Sow good seeds into the lives of the people you love. Remember, what you make happen for others, God will make happen for you. Sow blessing and reap blessing and experience His favor all the days of your life!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

"Jesus, thank You for empowering me with Your love, grace and favor today. Show me ways that I can be a blessing and speak the blessing over the people I encounter today. Use me for Your glory in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen."

The Paraclete

by Joyce Meyer - posted February 07, 2017

But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].
—John 16:13

God knew you would need help in understanding His plan for you, so He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside you. He is your Guide, your Teacher of truth, your Comfort, and your Helper. He is also the Parakletos (Paraclete), which means counselor, advocate, and intercessor.

Jesus was confined to a body and could be only one place at a time. But He knew the Holy Spirit would be with you everywhere you go, all the time, leading and guiding you. Embrace the Holy Spirit in you, resting in the knowledge that in Him you are becoming everything God planned for you to be.

God of Unchanging Love

By DR. David Jeremiah - February 7, 2017

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:16

Recommended Reading: 1 John 5:1-3

When we are surprised by a person’s behavior, we find ourselves thinking, “That is so unlike him. I’ve never seen him act that way before.” We are surprised because we know the person well. Sometimes people do uncharacteristic things. But humanly speaking, our surprise indicates such actions are the exception, not the rule.

The same thing is true when it comes to knowing God. Once when Jesus said something that shocked His listeners, many turned away from Him. He asked His disciples if they were going to abandon Him, too. Peter answered and said, “We know You are Christ, so what You said must be right. So we will remain with You” (John 6:68-69, paraphrased). The disciples submitted what they didn’t understand about Jesus’ words to what they understood about His identity and character. The Bible says God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and that He doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). This we know. So if we are confused about God’s actions or words, we must trust in who He is.

Don’t lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). Instead, trust in the God of love who never changes.

On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. 
C. S. Lewis

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Numbers 1 – 2