God’s Righteous Friend

By Joyce Meyer - Posted June 30, 2017

For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by his goodness].
—2 Corinthians 5:21

I cannot think of anything more awesome than being a friend of God. There is nothing I would rather hear God say than, "Joyce Meyer is My friend." I do not want Him to say, "Joyce Meyer—knows all the prayer principles; she can quote dozens of Bible verses; she sounds very eloquent when she prays; but she really doesn't know Me at all and we are not really friends." I want to know that God thinks of me as His friend, and I believe you long for Him to think of you that way, too. Through Jesus Christ, we have a right to be comfortable with God, to hear His voice, and to go boldly to the throne of grace to get the help we need in plenty of time to meet our needs and the needs of others (see Hebrews 4:16).

One of the best things you can ever do is to develop your friendship with God. Jesus has made you righteous through the blood He shed at the cross, so there is no reason you cannot approach God as boldly and as naturally as you would your best friend on Earth. Remember, friendship with God takes an investment of time and energy to develop. But also remember that as your friendship deepens, your ability to hear God's voice increases. A growing, vibrant, increasingly intimate friendship with God will naturally lead to increasingly effective communication with Him.

Mind Tricks

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted June 30, 2017

For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:20

Recommended Reading: Philippians 4:8-9

We have a lot on our minds. Our sphere of concern stretches from the people we love to the state of the world and everything in between. Mix this with all the chatter in the media and it’s easy to become confused about what is important. As our mind is filled with cynicism and fear, God’s truth is marginalized and pushed out. When our fear begins to define us, we cannot help but pass it on to those around us. Instead of living confident and free, we are caged and held back by the lies our mind is hoarding.

Consistently meditating on God’s redemption and our secure future in heaven has the power to set us free. We are His children and we will live forever in His presence, healed of our brokenness: physical, mental, and emotional. When we view today through the grid of eternity, our fears are extinguished by His power and love. We are no longer lost orphans, but adopted sons and daughters. We belong to Him, and He delights in using us for His glory.

Let heaven fill your thoughts instead. Because when you do, everything on earth gets placed in its proper perspective.
Greg Laurie

REST AND FIND GOD’S GRACE

By Joseph Prince – Posted June 30, 2017

Luke 2:40

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

The verse says that the grace of God was upon Jesus. The Bible also says that where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. (Romans 5:20) And when you put the two together, you may find yourself asking, “If the grace of God was upon Jesus, does it mean that He sinned?”

No, Jesus did not sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21) So there must be another explanation as to why God’s grace was upon Jesus. There must be another explanation as to why someone can abound in God’s grace even when he has not sinned.

Let’s look at the word “grace” when it is first mentioned in the Bible. Genesis 6:8 says that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord”. Noah’s name means “rest”. So the verse is telling us that rest found grace. In other words, when you rest, you find grace!

So grace was upon Jesus because His life was a life of rest and trust in His Father. He said, “The Son can do nothing of Himself. He can do only what He sees His Father doing.” (John 5:19)

Likewise, grace comes upon you when you rest and trust God. If you have a wayward child, stop nagging at him and trust God to handle the problem. Say, “Jesus, I commit this boy into Your hands. I cannot control him. You can.” If you have a persistent pain in your body, bring it to the Lord. Say, “Jesus, I hand all my worries about this pain to You. You work on the pain.”

“Pastor Prince, what if nothing happens?”

Honestly, if after you have given the matter to Jesus and nothing happens, what can you do? If Jesus Himself can’t do anything about it, do you think you can? But praise God, once the problem is handed over to Jesus, He can and will do a perfect work of taking care of it for you!

So live a life of rest. Have this attitude and tell the Lord, “I can do nothing of myself. I just rest in You Lord and I trust You.” Beloved, what you will see is the grace of God upon you in every situation of your life!

Thought For The Day

God’s grace comes upon you when you rest and trust Him.

Say So

By Joel Osteen – Posted June 30, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has delivered from the hand of the adversary."
(Psalm 107:2, AMPC) 

TODAY'S WORD:

Notice that today’s scripture doesn’t say, “Let the redeemed of the Lord think so.” Or, “Let the redeemed believe so.” Of course, it’s important to think right and believe right, but something supernatural happens when we open our mouths and declare a thing. You don’t even have to say it to anyone else. You can just say it to yourself—driving to work or in the shower— say, “The economy may be low, but I am blessed. I am prosperous. I will lend and not borrow.” “I may have had some setbacks, but I know those setbacks are a setup for a comeback! This is still going to be my best year so far. The favor of God is turning things around.” You are prophesying your future. 

Remember, when you say what the Lord has done for you, when you declare that you are redeemed, you are opening the door for God to move on your behalf. The scripture tells us that He watches over His Word to perform it. When you declare His Word, when you speak His promises, He is faithful to fulfill them and lead you into victory all the days of your life!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father in heaven, thank You for delivering me and setting me free. I will declare Your goodness. I will declare Your promises. I will declare Your favor so that I can live the good life You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

By Joseph Prince – Posted June 29, 2017

Ecclesiastes 9:11

…the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill, but time and chance happen to them all.

God’s Word tells us that being faster, stronger and wiser does not automatically make you a winner in life. No, it is actually being at the right place at the right time that causes you to receive blessings. And God, who holds time and chance in His hands, is the only one who can put you at the right place at the right time.

He did this for Ruth. She trusted God for favor when she went looking for a field in which to glean. (Ruth 2:2) Then, the Bible tells us that “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech”. (Ruth 2:3) Of all the fields in Bethlehem, she happened to end up in Boaz’s field, and he was a close relative of Elimelech, her father-in-law. This meant that Boaz was her potential kinsman redeemer, someone who could redeem her from her plight as a young, childless widow in a foreign land.

Boaz also happened to be “a man of great wealth” (Ruth 2:1), and as it turned out, he was willing to redeem Ruth. (Ruth 4:9–10) All these right happenings could only mean that God had placed Ruth in the right place at the right time.

I believe that the very day Ruth told her mother-in-law that the God of Israel would be her God (Ruth 1:16), God took note of it and made everything happen right for her.

Today, God also wants you to know that because you have said, “God, You are My God,” He will be your God of divine happenings. He will place you at the right place at the right time, where you will meet the right people, do the right things and even escape danger!

You may not know where all the great opportunities are, but God does. He was the one who put in you the skills, talents and gifts that you have, and He knows where you need to be, when you should be there and what you need to be doing to be truly fulfilled!

Thought For The Day

God, who holds time and chance in His hands, is the only one who can put you at the right place at the right time.

Same Spirit, Same Power

By Joel Osteen – Posted June 29, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you."

(Romans 8:11, NIV)

TODAY'S WORD:

When you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit makes His home inside of you. That’s God Himself, the same Spirit with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! His resurrection power can bring back health, strength and life to your physical body. He can restore hope and breathe life into your dreams. In fact, He can resurrect any area that may seem dormant on the inside of you! 

The next time you feel overwhelmed by sickness, challenges or despair, remember, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you through Christ Jesus. You may have been burdened by an addiction, fear or worry, but there’s nothing that can stand against the power of God. Rise up and declare by faith, “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed. I am restored and healed in the name of Jesus! No weapon formed against me can prosper!” Receive His truth, declare the Word, and activate His power within you!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father in heaven, thank You for filling me with Your power by the Holy Spirit. I choose to feed my faith by declaring Your Word. I choose to walk in Your ways and honor You in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen.

GO FORTH NEITHER POOR NOR FEEBLE!

By Joseph Prince – Posted June 28, 2017

Psalm 105:37

He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among His tribes.

When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, they lived in poverty and faced daily hardships from their cruel taskmasters. Scars and fresh lashes from their masters’ whips covered their bodies. The blistering heat of Egypt caused excruciating sores to fester. Many of them were bent over because of the long hours spent carrying tons of bricks and mortar. Slaving away for long hours under harsh conditions added years to them. And with no proper nourishment, many of them were feeble and emaciated.

But something happened to them on the night of the Passover. (Exodus 12) With the blood of the lamb applied on their doorposts, they came under God’s protection. And inside their homes, as instructed by God, they ate the lamb roasted in fire.

I believe that those who were blind ate the eyes of the lamb, believing that the perfect eyes of the lamb would give them perfect vision. If they had heart conditions, they ate the heart of the lamb, believing that their hearts would beat strong again. And if they were lame, they ate the legs of the lamb, believing that they would be frisking like lambs.

And when morning came, something new and miraculous happened to them. They went forth with God no longer as slaves but free people. They were no longer poor and needy, but possessed silver and gold given to them by the Egyptians. And none of them—there were about 2.5 million of them—were feeble or sickly!

If this was what the children of Israel experienced after partaking of the Passover lamb, which was only a shadow or type of Christ, how much more will we who have come under the covering of the holy blood of Jesus, the true Lamb of God, experience such blessings?

When you put your trust in the Lamb of God who was burnt by God’s fiery judgment meant for us, you will go forth daily, neither poor nor feeble, but abundantly supplied and divinely strengthened in Christ!

Thought For The Day

Put your trust in Jesus and go forth daily abundantly supplied and divinely strengthened!

What is Grace?

By Joyce Meyer - Posted June 28, 2017

. . . The [Holy] Spirit [Who imparts] grace (the unmerited favor and blessing of God).
—Hebrews 10:29 

Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit available to you to do with ease what you cannot do by striving in your own strength. Grace is God’s power coming into our lives, freely enabling us to do whatever we need to do. God’s grace is always available, but we do need to receive it by faith and refuse to try to do things in our own strength without God. 

The Holy Spirit ministers grace to us from God the Father. Grace is actually the Holy Spirit’s power flowing out from the throne of God toward people to save them and enable them to live holy lives and accomplish the will of God. 

We can rejoice and be full of peace, joy, and contentment each day because of God’s grace in our lives. It is His grace that allows us to live in close fellowship with Him. With the grace of God, life can be enjoyed with an ease that produces rest and contentment. 

We are saved by grace through faith, and we should learn to live the same way!

It is Finished

By Joel Osteen – Posted June 28, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." 
(Philippians 1:6, NLT)

TODAY'S WORD:

The last thing Jesus said on the cross was, “It is finished.” At that moment, it certainly looked like the end. It looked like it was over. But I believe that wasn’t just a statement of fact, it was a statement of faith. He was saying to Father God, “I’ve done My part. I’ve fulfilled My destiny. Now, I’ve got total trust and confidence in You that You are going to finish what You started through Me.” Even though it looked like the end, in reality, it was only the beginning. 

Remember, when things look dark in your own life, dare to make a declaration of faith and say, “It is finished.” What you’re really saying is, “God, I know You are going to finish what You’ve begun in my life. You are going to turn things around. 

I know that You are giving me the breaks that I need. Let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” Keep looking with your eyes of faith knowing that He is faithful, and He will finish what He’s started in you!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father in heaven, thank You for Your faithfulness in my life. I thank You that You will complete what You’ve started in my life. Today I choose to put my trust and hope in You knowing that You are working behind the scenes to bring victory to every area of my life in Jesus’ name. Amen!

For Ages and Ages

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted June 28, 2017

“Is it well with the child?” And she answered, “It is well.”
2 Kings 4:26

Recommended Reading: 2 Kings 4:18-37

While ministering in Colorado Springs, evangelist D. L. Moody received a message that his little grandson and namesake had died. From his grieving heart, Moody wrote home, saying, “I know Dwight is having a good time, and we should rejoice with him. What would the mansions be without children? And he has gone to help get things ready for his parents. You know the Master said: ‘The last shall be first.’ He was the last to come into our circle, and he is the first to go up there! So safe, so free from all the sorrow that we are passing through! I do thank God for such a life. It was nearly all smiles and sunshine. What a glorified body he will have, and with what joy he will await your coming! ... You will have the dear little man with you for ages and ages.... The word that keeps coming to my mind is this: ‘It is well with the child.’”¹

When a child goes to heaven, it grieves us to the depths, but what a comfort to know that one day we will be reunited and that, in Christ, all is well.

We can say, “It is well with my soul.”

And then the thought that the Savior will take such good care of him! No going astray; no sickness; no death. Dear, dear little fellow!….
D. L. Moody