Be a Believing Believer

By Joyce Meyer - Posted May 26, 2017

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as [happened] in the rebellion [of Israel] and their provocation and embitterment [of Me] in the day of testing in the wilderness. 
—Hebrews 3:7-8

In Hebrews 3 we see two wrong conditions of the heart—a hard heart and an unbelieving heart. In the wilderness, a hard heart caused the Israelites to rebel. A person with a hard heart cannot believe God easily, which is a major problem because everything we receive from God comes through believing. To receive from Him, all we have to do is come to Him in simple, childlike faith and just believe. 

We call ourselves believers, but the truth is, there are a lot of “unbelieving believers.” For a long time, I was one of them. I had been hurt so much during my childhood, I developed a hardness of heart that God had to break through in my life. 

Even Moses got to the place in the wilderness where he was slow of heart to believe God. That’s why it’s important for us to stay sharp spiritually so we can be quick to believe and to walk in faith day by day. We can choose to be careful to go from faith to faith and not begin to mix in any doubt and unbelief. A believing heart is essential if we want to live in close relationship with God. 

Jesus wants to restore your soul, including your emotions. Let Jesus into those areas of your life that no one else could ever reach. Ask Him to change you into a person who has the same kind of heart that He has.

Really Alive

By Joel Osteen – Posted May 26, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"The thief comes only to steal and Kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
(John 10:10, NIV)

TODAY'S WORD:

A couple of years ago, I was watching the news when Captain Sullenberger successfully landed a jet airplane in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers survived. It’s known as “The Miracle on the Hudson.” A reporter asked one passenger what he thought about it all. He was soaking wet, freezing cold, a little bit frazzled, but he had this incredible glow about him, an excitement in his voice. I’ll never forget what he told the reporter, “I was alive before, but now I’m really alive.” 

My question today is, “Are you really alive?” Are you passionate about the life God has given you? Do you get up every morning with enthusiasm, pursuing your dreams? God doesn’t want you to just “be alive” or just exist or endure. He wants you to be really alive! You have seeds of greatness on the inside. There is something more for you to accomplish. Get excited about what God is doing! Lift up your eyes of faith to Him. Keep hoping, keep believing, keep trusting and keep living because God has a wonderful plan in store for you!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father, thank You for making me alive in Christ! I declare that Jesus is my Lord and Savior, and because He died for me, I can live the abundant life here on earth. Help me stay focused on You this day and live with the enthusiasm that comes from knowing You in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Show and Tell

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted May 26, 2017

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.”
John 17:1

Recommended Reading: Mark 14:36

Every day, Christian parents pray with their children: at mealtimes, as they tuck little ones in for the night, and for guidance with their teenagers. It’s one thing for parents to tell their children to pray; it’s another thing for parents to actually pray with their children.

There are very few instances of Jesus’ prayers recorded in Scripture—about a half-dozen. Only one prayer was offered by Jesus while in a time of intimate fellowship with His disciples—the prayer in John 17, often called Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer,” on the night of His arrest. But that prayer bears the hallmarks of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Six times in John 17 Jesus referred to God as “Father,” the very form of address He taught the disciples to use in the Lord’s Prayer. Like the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer in John 17 was simple, easy to understand, and plain spoken. The disciples were with Jesus, listening to it all—and learning to pray by His example.

Jesus explained how to pray and showed how to pray—show and tell in a spiritual sense. We should do the same with those we are mentoring in the faith.

In His life Christ is an example, showing us how to live. 
Martin Luther

GETTING FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD

By Joseph Prince – Posted May 26, 2017

Ephesians 3:19

To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

We would all like to experience more health, abundance and success in our lives. God, being God, has all of these things, won’t you agree? So to be full of God is to be full of health, abundance and success. But how does one become full of God?

In the past, I was told that to be “filled with all the fullness of God”, I had to fast a certain number of days, pray a certain number of hours and speak in tongues incessantly! I am not belittling fasting, praying or speaking in tongues, but to be filled with all the fullness of God is not about what you do. It is not even about your love for Christ. It is actually about knowing the love of Christ! No one ever told me that if I knew how much God loves me and focused on His love for me, I would be full of Him.

When God made you, He designed you to run at optimal level when you are filled with His love, like a car that runs at its best when it is filled with the right kind of petrol or gasoline. When you realize how much God loves you and you feed on His love for you, you will be supernaturally filled with the fullness of God.

And to be full of God is to be full of everything God is to you and has for you. To be full of God is to come to a place of life, health, peace, abundance—total wellness.

Also, when you are conscious of how much God loves you and you become filled with the fullness of God, what follows is the next verse—God doing exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think, according to the power that works in you. (Ephesians 3:20) You will experience the tremendous blessings of God exploding in your life! You will become a blessing magnet!

So as God’s beloved, continue to be nourished by His love for you, and experience more health, abundance and success in your life!

Thought For The Day

Being filled with the fullness of God is not about what you do, but about knowing how much God loves you.