The Journey Toward Unselfishness

By Joyce Meyer - Posted March 27, 2017

. . . I die daily [I face death every day and die to self]. 
—1 Corinthians 15:31

Selfishness is not learned behavior; we are born with it. The Bible refers to it as "sin nature." Adam and Eve sinned against God by doing what He told them not to do, and the sin principle they established was forever passed to every person who would ever be born. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and to deliver us from them. He came to undo what Adam did. 

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He comes to live in our spirit, and if we allow that renewed part of us to rule our decisions, we can overcome the sin nature in our flesh. It doesn't go away, but the greater One Who lives in us helps us overcome it daily (see Galatians 5:16). That does not mean that we never sin, but we can improve and make progress throughout our lives.

I certainly cannot say I have overcome selfishness entirely—none of us can on this side of eternity. But that doesn't mean we don't do everything we can to grow closer to God and die to our selfishness. We can have hope of improving daily. I am on a journey and, although I may not arrive, I have determined that when Jesus comes to take me home He will find me pressing toward this goal (see Philippians 3:12-13).

The apostle Paul made the following statement: . . . It is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me (Galatians 2:20). Paul meant that he was no longer living for himself and his own will, but for God and His will. I was greatly encouraged when I discovered through study that Paul made this statement approximately twenty years after his conversion. Learning to live unselfishly was a journey for him, just as it is for everyone else. 

Paul also said, . . . I die daily . . . (1 Corinthians 15:31). In other words, putting others first was a daily battle and required daily decisions. Each of us must decide how we will live and what we will live for; and there is no better time to do so than right now.

Trust in Him: Are you pressing toward the goal of living for God rather than yourself? Dying to yourself is a process that you can improve daily. Trust God to give you the strength to die to yourself daily.

You Were Not an Accident

By Joel Osteen – Posted March 27, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb...
Jeremiah 1:5, NLT

TODAY'S WORD:

God knew you before you were even born. What an amazing thought! He saw your unformed substance and said, “I have a purpose for this life. I have good plans for them!” Then He breathed His life into you and sent you through your mother and father. They may have had issues, but that doesn’t have to stop you from becoming all that God intended for you to be. You have been handpicked by Almighty God to be here at this time in history! 

Sometimes we hear parents say, “We weren’t expecting this child. They were a surprise. They were an accident.” No, that child may have been a surprise to the parents, but they weren’t a surprise to Almighty God. No child can be born without God breathing His life into them. You may think, “Well, I was unwanted. I was an unplanned pregnancy.” No, you wouldn’t be here if God didn’t give life to your seed. 

In God’s eyes, there is no such thing as being illegitimate. Remember, He knew you before you were ever born! Find confidence in His love knowing that you are a person of destiny, and you are part of His mighty plan!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father, thank You for choosing me before I was ever born. Thank You for knowing me and revealing Yourself to me. I trust that You are working in my life today, even when I can't see it. I stand in faith knowing that You have a mighty plan for me in Jesus' name. Amen.

YOUR SINS ARE NOT BEING RECORDED

By Joseph Prince – Posted March 27, 2017

Hebrew 8:12

For I will merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deed I will remember no more.”

I once read a comic book which showed how a man lusted after a woman, then died of a heart attack and went to heaven. In heaven, he saw a big screen showing everyone present a recording of all the sins which he had committed while on earth, including the last one. How embarrassing!

Don’t worry, that is not going to happen to you in heaven. There is no big screen with front-row and circle seats for everyone to sit and watch your past sins. There is no video recorder in heaven recording your sins right now. Because your lifetime of sins has already been punished in the body of Jesus, God declares to you, “Your sins and lawless deeds, I will by no means ever remember!”

This is true even for the Old Testament heroes of faith such as Abraham, Moses and David. If you read Hebrews 11, which was written after the cross of Jesus, you will notice that there is no record of their sins or failures. Yet, their life stories tell us that they were far from perfect.

Abraham lied twice about his wife Sarah. He told Pharaoh, and later, King Abimelech, that she was his sister to protect his own life. Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, and hid the body in the sand. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and later arranged for her husband to be killed in battle. Yet, their sins were not recorded in Hebrews 11, only their deeds done in faith!

God is showing you that He does not record your sins or failures today. Instead, He records your faith confessions and deeds done in response to what His Son has done for you. Every time you sin, every time you waver in your faith, God does not record it. But every time you believe Him and respond in faith, He records it! That should not make you want to sin more. It should free you to love God more!

So don’t be conscious of your failures. If God Himself does not remember them, who are you to remember them? Be conscious instead of your righteousness in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), and you will reign in life! (Romans 5:17)

Thought For The Day

Don’t be conscious of your failures because God Himself does not remember them.

“Thy Sweetness, Lord”

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted March 27, 2017

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10

Recommended Reading: Matthew 6:8-13

Missionary Amy Carmichael once crossed paths with Bible teacher F. B. Meyer, who told her he frequently had trouble with his temper when he was younger. But a wise man gave Meyer some practical advice. The man suggested that Meyer pray, “Thy sweetness, Lord” when he felt irritated. Dr. Meyer turned the suggestion into a lifelong habit.

Amy Carmichael took the advice to heart and built upon it, saying, “I have found it a certain and a quick way of escape. Take the opposite of your temptation and look up inwardly, naming that opposite: Untruth—Thy truth, Lord; unkindness—Thy kindness, Lord; impatience—Thy patience, Lord; selfishness—Thy unselfishness, Lord; roughness—Thy gentleness, Lord; discourtesy—Thy courtesy, Lord; resentment, inward heat, fuss—Thy sweetness, Lord, Thy calmness, Thy peacefulness.”

Remember, our prayers do not need to be long. Sometimes only a word or two will suffice. Sometimes just a whispered word can change the atmosphere in a room or in a relationship. The next time you’re tempted to react with irritation, try saying, “Your gentleness, Lord”—and see what happens.

I think that no one who tries this very simple plan will ever give it up.
Amy Carmichael