Thank You Abba Father...

SEE THE MIRACULOUS WHEN YOU GIVE THANKS

By Joseph Prince – Posted June 19, 2017

John 11:41

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

Jesus lived a life of thanksgiving. He always thanked His Father for what He had and for always hearing Him when He prayed. That was how He released miracles in His life.

In the story of the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1–13), Jesus’ attitude was one of thankfulness. He took a little boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish, gave thanks and had them distributed. He gave thanks for the little that was there and the little multiplied. Not only did the people eat as much as they wanted, there were 12 baskets full of leftovers!

So when you see the meager balance in your bank account, thank the Lord for what you have. That’s your “five loaves and two fish”. When you give Him thanks that He is your provider and the source of your supply, in spite of the little you have, your little will become much, with leftovers!

Even when faced with the impossible, the solution was still, “Father, I thank You…” When Jesus stood outside Lazarus’ tomb, and the people took away the stone that was covering the tomb, He did not see the situation as hopeless and impossible. He simply lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” Then, He proceeded to call forth Lazarus, and the man came forth alive once more!

The raising of Lazarus, who had been dead for more than four days, was one of Jesus’ greatest miracles. And He accomplished this by saying, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.” He thanked His way to an awesome miracle.

My friend, the next time you find yourself praying, “God, please do this for me! Please give me...” stop! Instead, say, “Thank You God, for hearing me. And because You have heard me, I thank You that I have what I asked for.” And when you thank God, the little that you have will multiply. Your impossible situations will turn around to reflect God’s provision. And resurrection life will hit you!

Thought For The Day

When you give Him thanks for the little you have, your little will become much, with leftovers!

Choose to Surrender

by Joyce Meyer - posted June 19, 2017

For those whom He foreknew . . . He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of his Son . . . 
—Romans 8:29

According to the verse for today, one of God's goals in our lives is to make us become like Jesus. He wants us to continue to become more like Jesus in our thoughts, in our words, in the way we treat other people, in our personal lives, and in our actions. Becoming like Jesus does not happen overnight; it's a process we have to choose to embrace.

Romans 12:1 says I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication… This means we have to make a deliberate decision to give ourselves to God. God has given us a free will, and the only way we will ever belong to Him completely is to give ourselves freely to Him. He will never force us to love Him or serve Him. He will speak to us, lead us, guide us, and prompt us, but He will always leave the decision to surrender up to us.

God created human beings, not robots, and He will not try to program us to behave a certain way because He has given us the freedom to make our own choices—and He wants us to choose Him. He wants us to willingly put our lives before Him every day and say, "God, Your will be done, not mine." That short, simple prayer is extremely powerful when we really mean it, and it represents the kind of full surrender God requires.

If God has been speaking to you or dealing with you about anything, I encourage you not to put off surrendering it any longer. Choose to obey His voice and surrender today. Ask Him to be your Strength and remember that through Him you can do all things.

No More Limits

By Joel Osteen – Posted June 19, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

"They turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel."
(Psalm 78:41, KJV)

TODAY'S WORD:

God is a god of increase. He wants to take you to new levels and higher heights. But sometimes, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and just settle for status quo. Sometimes we think, “Well, I’ve reached my limits. I’ve gone as far as I can go. This is as happy as I’ll ever be.” But if we’re going to continue to increase and really experience God’s best, we have to align our thinking with God’s thinking. 

It’s interesting that in this scripture, the people limited the Holy One of Israel. Think about that. You and I can actually limit the all-powerful, Creator of the universe. How? By our thinking. What we believe either opens the door for God to move or it closes the door. God is limited in our lives by what we believe. So many people don’t even realize that it’s their own wrong thinking that keeps them in mediocrity. 

Today, why don’t you take the limits off by choosing to believe God?! Feed your faith by studying His Word. Keep an open heart and mind before Him. Allow Him to work in your life and watch Him open up doors of blessing that you’ve never seen before!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father God, today I choose to believe You. I take the limits off by trusting that You have good plans for my future. I invite You to search my heart and remove anything that isn’t pleasing to You. I bless You today and always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now as Then

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted June 19, 2017

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”
Revelation 19:4

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 6:1-4

In talking about heaven, theologian N. T. Wright has written, “You must therefore live, in the present, as far as possible like you will live in the future.”¹ If we are going to be holy in heaven, we should be holy now. If we are going to be loving in heaven, we should be loving now. And, if we are going to worship God in heaven, we should worship God now.

There is no doubt that worship is the central theme of life in God’s presence. In a vision, Isaiah saw “the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.” And the seraphim cried, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:1-4). And the apostle John saw worship in heaven numerous times in his vision: Revelation 4:8-11; 5:8-14; 7:11-12; 11:15-18; 15:1-4; 16:5-7; 19:1-8. So if worship is going to be the theme of all eternity, it behooves us to worship now as we will worship then.

Think about the ways you can incorporate worship into your eternal life in Christ: personally, as a family, in your small group or church. Worship today as you will worship forever.

Nobody can call himself a Christian who does not worship Jesus. 
John R. W. Stott