GOD DOESN’T REMEMBER HOW BAD YOU WERE

By Joseph Prince – Posted May 02, 2017

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Perhaps you have heard people say of others: “Oh, if only you had seen my husband in the early years of our marriage. He had such an explosive temper that I used to seek shelter in my mother’s house!”

“No one would have ever guessed that she had such a promiscuous past.”

“As a young boy, he would always lie through his teeth and not even bat an eyelid!”

Man looks at you and remembers what you were like in the past. But when God looks at you through the new covenant, He declares, “I will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

He states it plainly in His Word as if to assure us: “When you come to Me, don’t think that I am thinking about your sins. Don’t think that every time I look at you, I am reminded of your sins. Not only am I not keeping a record, but I am also not mindful of your failures and shortcomings. I am telling you that I will remember your sins no more, never again!”

God can say that all our sins He remembers no more because there was a time when He remembered them and punished every one of them—in the body of His Son at the cross. He punished every single one of them until Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) That is why today, God can justly say, “Your sins I will remember no more.”

We all know that we sin from time to time. But the good news is that all our sins have already been dealt with at the cross. They have been washed away by Jesus’ blood. Now, when we come into God’s presence, He sees us without our sins. So beloved, forget your past failures. Believe that God remembers your sins no more and be the righteous man that you already are in Christ!

Thought For The Day

All our sins have been dealt with at the cross, so we can come boldly into God’s presence.

“I Want a Mind Change”

By Joyce Meyer - Posted May 02, 2017

And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins in which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].
—Ephesians 2:1-2

I find a great deal of comfort in thinking about who I used to be and who I have become. It helps me not to be discouraged when I make mistakes or find that I still struggle over some issues. I’m greatly encouraged when I consider where I started and where I am now.

In Ephesians 2, Paul described those outside of Christ. He wrote that unbelievers follow the prince of the power of the air, who is Satan, and they follow the way their master leads. In verse 1, he pointed out that all were once dead through their sins, but believers are now alive in Jesus Christ. He tells us we’re not governed or led by our lower nature—the impulses of the flesh.

Many Christians have trouble in this area because they haven’t learned to control their thoughts. A lady once told me, “It simply didn’t occur to me that I needed to direct my mind and keep it healthy and positive. If ministers preached or taught about the control of our thoughts, I never heard it. One day, however, I read an article about the power of thoughts, and God convicted me. That’s when I knew I needed to change my thinking.”

This lady said she drove down the street of a busy city and she spotted a sign, a cartoon of a car with big eyes for the front lights and tears flowing, and the words, “Please help me! I need an oil change.”

As she passed by, she thought, I need a mind change. I don’t like being the way I am, letting my mind go wherever it wants. Part of my responsibility as a child of God is to keep my thoughts healthy and strong.

“I want to make it clear that I went to church,” she said, “and I had been active for years. I knew a lot of Scripture, and I even did some volunteer work at the church. But I didn’t control my thoughts. Even when I sang in church, my mind jumped from subject to subject. We’d be singing about joy and grace, and I’d think about the dishes still in the sink, the unfinished laundry, or what I wanted to eat for lunch.

“I attended church and I was faithful, but I was not faithful in attending to the Word. I listened when the preachers quoted Scripture. I usually followed along with my own Bible, but I didn’t really think about what I was hearing or what my eyes were reading. I was doing the right things outwardly, but I wasn’t thinking the right things. My mind was a mess, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”

“I need a mind change,” she suddenly said aloud to herself. Just then, she actually pondered the words she had spoken. She was like the car on the sign—she needed a change—a mind change. She needed to let the Holy Spirit direct her thoughts instead of the devil. As she prayed, she felt confident there would be a positive change.

She thought to herself, Is there anything I am supposed to do? She realized that if she didn’t make lifestyle changes, the devil would soon make the new thinking as muddy and gunky as the old thinking was.

For the next several days, she looked up all the scriptures she could find that used the word study or meditate. She also looked up scriptures that talked about the mind or thoughts. She read those verses, wrote them on slips of paper, and pondered them.

Here are three of them.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he… (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV).

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude](Ephesians 4:23).

My hands also will I lift up [in fervent supplication] to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes (Psalm 119:48).

The more she meditated on the right things, the less trouble she had with Satan trying to control her thoughts. That’s how it works with all of us: The more we focus on God, the less often the devil can defeat us.

Thank You, great God, for giving me a mind change. Help me always to be free to serve You with my heart, my soul, and my mind. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Believe and Declare

By Joel Osteen _ Posted May 02, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak."
(2 Corinthians 4:13, NIV)

TODAY'S WORD:

I know a man who was believing to pay his house off. It was a standard 30-year mortgage, and he had 23 years left. In the natural, there was no way he could do it. But he was bold enough to say, “Father, I want to thank You that You are Jehovah Jireh; the Lord my provider. I know my job is not my source. You are my source. It may look impossible, but I know You can do the impossible.” 

Several years ago, he received an inheritance from a family member that he had never met before. He didn’t even know they were related. He was able to not only pay his house off, but he paid a friend’s house off as well. What was that? Explosive blessings! 

Friend, when you believe God, you position yourself for a miracle. When you obey His commands, you set yourself under the open windows of heaven. When you declare His Word, you open the door for Him to move on your behalf. Keep standing, keep believing, keep speaking and see the victory and blessing He has in store for you! 

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father, thank You for Your Word which is alive and powerful! I set my mind on Your promises and choose to declare what You say about me. Thank You for Your faithfulness as I move forward in the good plan You have for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Patterns for Prayer

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted May 02, 2017

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6

Recommended Reading: Jeremiah 29:12

If someone suggests praying according to ACTS, they may mean to follow this pattern: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Or you could use the PRAISE pattern: Praise, Repentance, Ask, Intercede, Speak the Word, and Enjoy His presence. Those and other acronyms serve as good patterns for prayer—ways to keep prayers purposeful.

The prayer Jesus gave His disciples is also helpful. We know it as the Lord’s Prayer, though it could be called the Disciple’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). It begins with praise (verse 9), a desire for God’s kingdom (verse 10), a petition for provision (verse 11), a desire to be forgiving and forgiven (verse 12), a prayer for spiritual protection (verse 13a), and concludes with a confession of God’s sovereignty (verse 13b). Such an outline has served Christians well for twenty centuries.

First, pray! Second, develop a pattern of prayer that incorporates themes of praise, thanksgiving, confession, meditation, intercession, petition, and more. Such patterns can serve as a guide for the time you spend alone with God.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. 
The traditional “Jesus Prayer”