Love, Period

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted March 29, 2017

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”
Jeremiah 31:3

Recommended Reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-11

How many times have you heard someone say (or perhaps said it yourself): “I love you if . . .”; “I love you because . . .”; “I love you when . . .  ?” Compare those phrases with these: “I love you even though . . .”; “I love you in spite of . . .”; “I love you, period.” The truth is we don’t hear people say those words verbally as much as we see them act out the words non-verbally. The first set of words are examples of conditional love; the second set are examples of unconditional love. God loves the second way: “I love you, period.”

God has always loved that way. In fact, He told His Chosen People, Israel, that He did not choose them because they were a large and impressive people (Deuteronomy 7:7). In truth, He didn’t choose them at all. He chose Abraham, their forefather. And because of His love for Abraham, Israel enjoyed His love as well. Even when Israel was at her worst, God said through Jeremiah, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

Don’t ever mistake the world’s love (if, because, when) for God’s love (no conditions). God’s love for you never changes (2 Timothy 2:13).

God doesn’t owe us anything—yet in His grace, He still gives us good things.
Billy Graham

In All Your Ways

By Joel Osteen – Posted March 29, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:6, NKJV

TODAY'S WORD:

Do you need direction in your life? The first question we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I acknowledging God in all my ways?” In other words, is He first place in your life? 

All throughout the day, we should be acknowledging God, asking for His help, seeking His wisdom, following His commands and thanking Him for His goodness. In the morning, we should wake up and say, “Father, thank You for another beautiful day. I commit this day, my plans and my future into Your hands.” When you start the day like this, you are acknowledging God. He promises to crown your day with success. When you are driving on the freeway say, “Father, thank You for keeping me safe.” At the office say, “Lord, help me to be focused and productive today.” At home, “Father, bless my children.” Before you go to bed, “Lord, thank You for a good night’s rest.” When you’re acknowledging Him in all your ways, He promises to direct your paths. He promises to lead and guide you into paths of peace, joy and everlasting life! 

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Father, I acknowledge You in everything I do. I invite You to direct my steps and search my heart. I surrender every area of my life to You. Keep me close to You always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

GOD SAYS ‘I WILL’ IN THE NEW COVENANT

By Joseph Prince – Posted March 29, 2017

Hebrews 8:10, 12

…I will put My laws in their mind…I will be their God…I will be merciful to their unrighteousness…their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

You may be feeling stressed at work today because your boss just gave you a list of things to do. Maybe he told you, “You have to type this letter. You have to meet this client. You have to write this report. You have to…” Wouldn’t it be nice if your boss had, instead, said, “I will type this letter for you. I will meet this client for you. I will write this report for you. I will…”

Well, your boss may not be that gracious, but your Father in heaven is! When He found fault with the old covenant and established the new covenant (Hebrews 8:7–8) in His Son’s blood, His “Thou shalls” became “I wills”.

You see, under the old covenant, the focus is on you—Thou shall not…Thou shall not…Thou shall not…It is all about your performance, your obedience, your works. But under the new covenant, God says, “I will put My laws in their mind…I will be their God…I will be merciful to their unrighteousness…their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” It is no longer you working for God, but God working for you, in you, through you!

“Isn’t there something for me to do?” you may ask.

My friend, the only thing for you to do is to believe God’s “I wills”. The more you believe His “I wills” or promises, the more you will see His heart for you and the more your faith will grow.

It is foolish for me to just tell you, “Come on, man, have faith!” You will still find it hard to have faith because I am not giving you anything to build faith in you. But if I were to tell you all about what God says He will do for you, faith will arise in your heart. Faith is a response to knowing what God says He will do for you.

So the best thing you can “do” under the new covenant is to not focus on what you must do for God, but what God says He will do for you!

Thought For The Day

The more you know what God will do for you, the more faith will arise in your heart.

 

 

 

Enjoy the Pursuit

By Joyce Meyer - Posted March 29, 2017

Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is he who considers the weak and the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the time of evil and trouble. 
—Psalm 41:1 

Do you ever feel that no matter where you go, somebody pursues you and hunts you down? Does someone seem to need something every time you start doing what you set out to do? Someone needs a ride to school, or somebody forgets their lunch, and before you know it, half your day is wasted. 

Jesus knows what it is like to be pursued, but He was never upset by it. As soon as He ministered to everyone in one place, He went to the next town to find more people who needed Him. He never said, "Leave Me alone." Ask God to show you the needs of people through the eyes of Jesus today, and your days will never be wasted.

JESUS DELIGHTS IN YOU DRAWING FROM HIM

By Joseph Prince – Posted March 28, 2017

John 4:32

But He said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

When people make demands on you or keep depending on you, you may end up stressed, tired and irritable. But this is not the case with Jesus. When people draw from Him, He is strengthened and refreshed!

Jesus is, after all, God. And you honor God when you take your place as man and let God be God by drawing from Him. The One who said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve,” (Matthew 20:28) loves it when you allow Him to minister to you.

The Bible tells us that when Jesus arrived at Sychar, He was wearied from the journey and rested at a well. A sinful Samaritan woman then came to the well to draw water. Jesus ministered to her and she left rejoicing with the promise of living water. The disciples, having returned with food for Jesus, found Him already strengthened and refreshed. When they wondered who had given Him food while they were away, He told them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” (John 4:1–42)

Today, when you draw from Jesus and let Him minister to you, it is “food” for Him that “refreshes” and “strengthens” Him.

But it takes humility for us to allow Jesus to minister to us. We take pride in doing things for the Lord. We want to build our businesses, families and ministries for Him. All that is good, but without Jesus, we are spiritually bankrupt! We really have nothing to give to the Lord and His work. What we need to do first is to receive from Him because when we freely receive from Him, we are able to freely give. (Matthew 10:8)

My friend, Jesus wants to minister to you. Don’t try to minister to yourself. That is pride and self-righteousness. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who felt that they did not need Him and that they could provide for themselves, were the ones who could not receive from Him. So bring to Him your needs and say, “Lord, I need to draw from You. I present my needs to You. Minister to me and meet my needs. I cannot, but You can. Thank you, Lord.”

Thought For The Day

We need to first receive from Jesus before we are able to freely give.

Choosing Your Heavenly Heritage

By Joel Osteen – Posted March 28, 2017

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26, NIV

TODAY'S WORD:

In life, we all have negative things happen to us. We go through situations that are unfair. I know people who were raised in an unhealthy environment. Their parents had issues, and now it's making it much more difficult on them. But here is what I've learned: when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He gives you a new heart. In other words, your bloodline changes. No longer are you subject to your earthly heritage, you become subject to your heavenly heritage! His spiritual blessing always overrides the curse in the natural realm. When you understand who you are and what God has already done, then no matter what someone else has done, no matter how unfair it was, no matter how you were raised, you won't get bitter. You won't live with a chip on your shoulder. You realize that nothing can stop you from fulfilling your God-given destiny! Today, remember you came from Almighty God. He gave you life. When you choose Him, you are choosing your heavenly heritage of blessing and eternal, abundant life!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

God, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, so that I may be saved. Today I surrender every area of my life to You. Have Your way in me; let Your will be done in my life. Thank You for making me new in Jesus' name. Amen

  

I Understand

By Joyce Meyer - Posted March 28, 2017

For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
—Hebrews 4:15

As human beings, we have a deep need to be understood. When we don't receive it, we feel lonely. In listening to people share their hurt and pain, I find that the words "I understand" have a very soothing effect. I have told my husband, "Even if you don't have a clue about what I am talking about, just tell me you understand, and it will make me feel a lot better." 

A man could not possibly understand PMS, but it is better for him if he appears to have understanding of his wife's plight. She needs to be understood. She does not want to feel alone in her pain and struggle. One day my husband came in from trying to play golf. He had not had a good experience because his leg was hurting and swollen. He was not too happy about it. His golf game is really important to him, so I said, "I understand how you feel." I offered him whatever help I could give physically, but my understanding seemed to help more than anything. 

There have been times in the past when my attitude has been, "What's the big deal? It's only one round of golf. After all, you play all the time." That attitude has started arguments and driven a wedge between us. He wants me to understand his needs, and I want him to understand mine.

One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Hebrews 4:15, which teaches that Jesus is a High Priest who understands our weaknesses and infirmities because He has been tempted in every respect just as we have, yet He never sinned. Just knowing that Jesus understands makes me feel closer to Him. It helps me be vulnerable and trust Him. It helps me feel connected rather than lonely.

Supernatural Love

By DR. David Jeremiah – Posted March 28, 2017

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Recommended Reading: Galatians 5:22-23

We hear it said, “You can be whatever you want to be.” That advice should have these two words added: “within reason.” Try as they might, some people will never become Olympic athletes, astronauts, concert violinists, or Arctic explorers. They may be too old or too young, lack the necessary ability, or have started too late in life. No amount of desire or willpower can overcome some obstacles in life.

The same is true when it comes to manifesting love of a supernatural quality. It is not part of man’s natural constitution to love selflessly, sacrificially, or unconditionally. That doesn’t mean it never happens in the natural world. It simply means it is contrary, in the long run, to man’s self-centered motivation. We cannot naturally love like God, but we can supernaturally love like God. Paul writes that, by the indwelling Spirit of God, we can manifest God-like love: “The fruit of the Spirit is love . . ..” (Galatians 5:22). If God is love, and God indwells us by His Spirit, we can love as He loves.

Ask God to empower you with His Spirit daily to display the love of God to everyone you meet.

It is no use to anybody for a tree to bud and blossom if the blossom does not develop into fruit. 
Martin Luther