Working With God

Post by Victoria Osteen on February 3, 2017

Today and every day, God has a plan for your success! He tells us in His Word that His plans are for good—to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) As we move forward in life we can't just ask, "God, what are You going to do for me?" Instead, we have to ask, "God, what are we going to do together?"

Yes, God is at work in our lives, but we have to do our part to work with Him if we are going to see the blessings He has for us. Scripture calls it "working out" our salvation. God sets up the plan, but we have to walk it out. He gives us the tools, but we have to use them. The good news is that He isn't going to just hand us the plan and walk away to let us figure it all out on our own. No, He's walking with us every step of the way and empowering us by His love.

Scripture says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In other words, His plan is easier and lighter than trying to figure things out on your own! You don't have to worry about how the whole year is going to unfold, you don't even have to worry about how this week is going to unfold; you just have to obey His Word and keep moving forward in peace, joy and love.

Maybe you're facing some difficulties or obstacles today. Maybe this year doesn't feel like a new beginning just yet. Instead of saying, "Lord, why am I in this situation?" say, "Lord, how can I bring You glory in this situation?" When we begin to change our focus and get our eyes off of ourselves and onto to Him, that's when we'll begin to see solutions. That's when we'll begin to see breakthroughs. That's how we work out what He is working in us—by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith!

"Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13, NIV)

THE SURE SYMBOL OF GOD’S LOVE

By Joseph Prince

Posted February 03, 2017

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrate His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.  

Imagine this scenario: Your car tire blows and you are late for work. At the office, you find out that someone else got the promotion you had been hoping for. Then, you receive a call from home informing you that your kitchen pipes are leaking again. Before long, you hear a voice telling you, “If God loves you so much, how come all these things are happening to you?”

Perhaps you are asking the same question today and wondering if God really loves you. Well, I want you to know that you must never judge God’s love for you based on your circumstances. No, look at the cross instead! The cross is the sure symbol of God’s love for you. It is at the cross that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”.

A teenager learnt that the cross indeed spoke of how much God loves her. At one point in her life, she was contemplating suicide as the only way out of her health problems. She had intended to take some Panadol tablets with a bottle of vodka. She was all ready to die when she started clicking aimlessly on some MP3 songs in her computer. And of all the songs that were on her screen, she picked a beautiful song written by one of our church musicians.

The lyrics of the song, sung by one of our church vocalists, spoke of being held by God’s love and being treasured in His sight. They touched this teenager. Sensing that an awesome God with His amazing love was reaching out to her, she abandoned her plan to kill herself. Not long after that, she wrote to our church and even met the worship leader who had sung the song. The worship leader counseled her and she came to know how much God loves her and how He has demonstrated His love for her through the cross.

Beloved, when you look at your life and find yourself wondering if God really loves you, look to the cross and see God’s outstretched arms. It will remind and reassure you of how much He loves you!

Thought For The Day

Look to the cross and see God’s outstretched arms—that is how much He loves you!

 For Your Good

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted February 3, 2017

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God…. and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 10:12-22

The Ebers Papyrus is one of the oldest medical books in the world, dating from about 1500 B.C., but you wouldn’t want to try most of the prescriptions found on its pages. To cure baldness, for example, the physicians of Egypt applied a mixture of six fats, from the horse, the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the cat, the goat, and the snake. To remove splinters, the doctors used worm blood and donkey dung.

Now consider this: Moses lived in Egypt while the Egyptian doctors were developing these prescriptions, yet the medical treatments in his books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy were centuries ahead of their time. Moses taught the Israelites about sanitation, quarantines, dietary restrictions, sexual behavior, childbirth, and lifestyle choices. His advice kept the Israelites from the kind of diseases that plagued the Egyptians (see Exodus 15:26).

The same principle is true of all the commands of God, including the Ten Commandments. God knows what is best for us, and His commands aren’t intended to punish us but to prosper us. The healthiest life is a biblical life.

God’s commands are such as in their own nature they tend to our good… Keeping these commands tends, on their own nature, to prevent the soul’s misery and renders it happy.
Jonathan Edwards

 Read-Thru-the-Bible: Leviticus 19 - 21

Let God Strengthen You 

by Joyce Meyer - posted February 03, 2017

My life dissolves and weeps itself away for heaviness; raise me up and strengthen me according to [the promises of] Your word. Remove from me the way of falsehood and unfaithfulness [to You], and graciously impart Your law to me.
—Psalm 119:28-29 

We need to be strengthened and renewed on a daily basis. We need to be strengthened physically, mentally, and emotionally. We need to be strong so we do not fall apart every time we have to face some situation we had not planned on. 

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He expects us to develop stability in our lives. We can be strengthened and renewed by drawing strength from God, by exercising our faith, and by doing what He tells us to do.

PROVERBS 27:1

Source John Hagee's Devotionals

Posted February 3, 2017

Proverbs 27:1—Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou know not what a day may bring forth.

Happiness is not found in tomorrow!

Much happiness is assassinated by “waiting for tomorrow.”  How many times have I heard people postpone the joy of life by saying things like:

“I’ll be happy when I get older.”  Then when they do get older everything hurts—and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work!

“I’ll be happy when I get married.”  Then they get married and discover that, although everyone gets married for better or worse, not everyone has a happy marriage.  
“I’ll be happy when I have children.”  Then they have children and discover there are three ways to get something done:  do it yourself, hire someone to do it or forbid your kids to do it.

“I’ll be happy when I retire.”  Then they find out that the only bad thing about doing nothing is that you never get a day off.

When we put off being happy until tomorrow, we are procrastinating.  Procrastination masquerades as the solution to every problem.  When used, however, it produces only grief and despair.

As a pastor for many years, it has often been my duty to stand by the bedside of people who were dying.  In those final moments of life, I have heard some of the sweetest expressions of love and devotion that could be uttered by human lips.

I have never heard anyone say, “How I wish I had spent more time at the office.”  I have, however, heard many people say things like, “I wish we had taken that vacation together,” or, “I wish we had taken time to smell the roses as we raced through life.”

What happened?  They kept putting off being happy until tomorrow.  And tomorrow never came.

Source:  Being Happy in an Unhappy World