Always Available

By Joyce Meyer - Posted May 17, 2017

…The upright shall dwell in Your presence (before Your very face). 
—Psalm 140:13 

The fact that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us proves His willingness to always be available to speak to us and help us when we need Him. As we continue to grow spiritually, we will experience temptation, but God has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to resist it and make right choices instead of wrong ones. 

Nevertheless, no human being is perfect and we will make mistakes. But God's forgiveness is always available to us through Jesus Christ. Receiving this forgiveness strengthens us and enables us to keep moving forward with God. It also puts our hearts at peace, sets us free, and helps us hear God's voice clearly. 

Feeling defeated and condemned by every mistake we make weakens us. Instead of using our energy to feel bad about ourselves, we should use it to make sure ours hearts are tuned to God's voice as He leads us into greater strength and deeper relationship with Himself. His forgiveness and His Presence are always available to us through the Holy Spirit. As you seek God today, I encourage you to receive His love and mercy. His arms are open and He is waiting to spend time with you.

God’s word for you today: Remember that the Holy Spirit is always available to you.

 READ THE GOOD NEWS TODAY?

By Joseph Prince – Posted May 17, 2017

Matthew 6:33

…seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God doesn’t want you grabbing the newspaper first thing in the morning and reading all the bad news in the world. He knows that if you do that, your heart will be full of cares, anxieties and even fears.

This happened to a mother who read in the newspaper that children from China studying in our local schools were becoming top students. She wrote to the press, voicing her concerns about the stiff competition her child would face from these students, even for the top jobs in Singapore in the future.

When you are reading the newspapers, magazines, medical journals, economic reports, watching movies or surfing the Internet all the time, then you are getting your “nourishment” from these sources instead of God’s Word. Now, I am not against these things. But if you constantly feed only on earthly things which cannot satisfy, you will fill your heart and mind with cares and worries.

Jesus doesn’t want you to end up worrying about your life—what you will eat, drink or wear—as these are the things that the Gentiles (people of the world) seek. He says that your heavenly Father knows very well that you need these things. (Matthew 6:31–32)

That is why He promises you that if you would seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things that the world seeks after will be added to you. It will not just be given but added, which means greater in quantity and quality!

If you are faced with lack, don’t pursue material goods. Pursue God your provider. If you are sick, don’t pursue the “cure”. Pursue God your healer.

My friend, don’t grab the newspaper or call your friend first thing in the morning to talk about the latest bad news. Instead, grab your Bible and read all the good news God has for you for the day. And as you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all the things that the world is running after will be added to you!

Thought For The Day

Pursue God and His righteousness, and all the things that the world seeks after will be added to you.

Rest for Your Soul

By Joel Osteen – Posted May 17, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

“Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'”
(Matthew 11:28, NLT) 

TODAY'S WORD:

God wants to give you rest. He wants to refresh and restore your soul—your mind, will and emotions. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “busyness” of life, and before long, your mind, will and emotions are so “spun up” that you can barely think straight! But even in the hustle of life, you can find rest, ease and relaxation. God wants you to enjoy your life. That’s why He tells us to come to Him. God wants to take care of everything that concerns you so that you can find rest in your innermost being. 

Imagine how you would feel if someone came up to you today and said, “Give me all of your monthly bills; I’m going to pay them.” You’d get pretty excited, wouldn’t you? But it wouldn’t happen until you did your part to actually hand that person your bills. They can’t pay them for you if you never release them. In the same way, when we release our cares and concerns to God, He promises to take care of them. 

Today, choose to release your cares to the Lord. Let Him fill you with His peace and joy. Receive the rest that He promises and enjoy the fulfillment and blessing He has for you! 

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father in heaven, today I humbly come to You. I choose to cast my cares on You so that I can live in Your rest. Thank You for Your goodness to me. Help me find ways to share Your goodness with those around me today in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Express Help

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted May 17, 2017

…the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations.
2 Peter 2:9

Recommended Reading: Daniel 1:18

In the American youth classic Jack of the Pony Express, Jennie was minding her business as postmistress when a group of ruffians burst in to terrorize her. Jack, a pony express rider, arrived to save the day. Afterward Jennie told him, “I was beginning to get frightened, but I made up my mind I wouldn’t give in to them. And then—well, you came along, and I guess I never was so glad to see you, Jack!"¹

There’s a lesson there for us. When temptations barge in and threaten us, we may feel frightened but we must make up our minds we’ll not give in to them. As we hold our ground, our Hero comes along—and are we ever glad to see Him!

Temptation is a negative force, but it can have positive outcomes in our lives when we resist it. When the patriarch Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife, “he refused … he did not heed her” (Genesis 39:8, 10). Likewise, Daniel “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8).

Resist the devil, and he will flee you. Make up your mind to defy temptation, and the Lord will help you. He knows how to crush Satan under your feet.

Temptation provokes me to look upward to God.
John Bunyan