No Need to Struggle

Hebrews 4:10

No Need to Struggle

When you live trusting God, you really don’t have to struggle. You can be at peace, knowing that at the right time, God will keep his promise – and it’s not going to be one second late. If you’re unmarried and are believing for a spouse, you don’t have to beg God incessantly to send you a mate.  If you are believing for your family members to develop a relationship with God, you don’t have to shove the Bible down their throats. If you have some areas in your life in which you need to improve, you don’t need to beat yourself up because you’re not changing fast enough.

 

When you are truly living by faith, you can relax in the “rest” of God. In total trust, you know He will bring it into being.

At a gathering of women of faith a lady shared that we are fed spiritual food. Like bread dough the Word fills us and helps us to rise and become full.

When the Bottom Drops Out

9/21

Psalm 145:13-14

When the Bottom Drops Out

Life is too short to trudge through it depressed and defeated. No matter what has come against you or what is causing you to slip and fall, no matter who or what is trying to push you down, you need to keep getting up on the inside. We were not created to live in depression and defeat. A negative spirit dries up your energy; it weakens your immune system. Many people are living with physical ailments and emotional bondages because they are not standing up on the inside.

 

If you want to give you enemy a nervous breakdown, learn to keep a good attitude even when things don’t go your way. Stand strong and fight the good fight of faith.

Extol the Lord

Psalm 34:1

Extol the Lord

Life is all about how you choose to see things. You can complain about your boss, or you can thank God for your job. You can complain about mowing the lawn, or you can thank God that you have a yard. You can complain about the price of gas, or you can thank God that you have an automobile.

 

Years ago, I was driving in a pouring rainstorm. I lost control of my car and spun out on the freeway; crashing into the guardrail and almost getting run over by a huge eighteen – wheeler. Amazingly, I came out of that crash without a scratch, but my car was wrecked. A friend thought I’d be upset about my car, but I was just grateful to be alive. I made up my mind to let His praise continually be in my mouth.

 

Keep Getting Up

9/15

Ephesians 6:13

Keep Getting Up

Living your best life now is downright difficult sometimes. Many people give up far too easily when things don’t go their way or they face some kind of adversity. Instead of persevering, they get all bent out of shape. Before long they’re down and discouraged, which is understandable, especially when we’ve struggled with a problem or a weakness for a long time. It’s not unusual to come to a place where we acquiesce.

 

But you have to be more determined than that. The good news is, you don’t have to stay down. Even if you can’t see up on the outside, get up on the inside. Have that victor’s attitude and mentality. Stay with an attitude of faith. Keep on getting up in your heart, mind, and will.

Praise Him for the Great Days-- and remember What Matters Most

Happy MondayJ

 

 

 

9/13

Psalm 100:4

Praise Him

I like to start off my day by thanking God for the basics: “Father, thank You for my health. Thank You for my children. Thank You for my family. Thank You for my home. Father, thank You for all you’ve done for me.” Even when I pray, most of my praying these days is simply giving God thanks.

 

God already knows your needs. He already knows what you’re going to say before you say it. There’s nothing wrong with asking God for things - the Scripture clearly instructs us to look to Him to meet our needs – but we should spend more time praising Him for His goodness than requesting His goodies. We should spend more time giving God thanks for what He’s already done than we do asking Him to do new things.

 

 

9/12

Matthew 6:34

Great days

A young man with whom I used to play basketball started having a problem with his eye. He went to the doctor and was diagnosed as having cancer in the eye. Since it seemed a high probability that he was going to lose his vision, he was devastated. In surgery, the doctors discovered that rather than cancer, the problem was an extremely unusual fungus that they were able to remove and save his vision. When the young man heard the good news, he said, “This is the greatest day of my life.’

 

Think about it. He had simply received the news that he could continue to see. If you can see and hear, if you are healthy, if you have family and friends, if you’ve got a job, food, and a place to live, learn to appreciate those things. Thank God for all you have.

 

 

9/11

Psalm 39:5

What Matters Most

People say to me, I don’t have enough time to get everything done as it is, let alone spend time with my family.” That’s true, but when you come to the end of your life, you’re still going to have things to do. Your schedule will never slow down on its own. You must make time for what matters most. If you don’t schedule time for the people you love, nobody will do it for you.

 

Without fail, people who have gone through life-threatening diseases all talk about the same thing – how much more they appreciate each day. They realize that every new sunrise is a gift from God. We need to realize that in a moment, we could be gone. We need to learn to live each day to the fullest, as though it could be our last.

 

 

 

9/10

Colossians 2:7

Enjoy “Normal” Life

It’s easy to think, I can’t be happy. I don’t have anything exciting going on. But if your loved one got sick, or you lost your job, you would long for the mundane. You would long to get back to where you are right now. Why not make a decision to be grateful for what God has done in your life? Don’t take” normal” life for granted. Don’t wait until something is taken away before you really appreciate what you have.

 

Learn to enjoy what God has given you. Take time for the people you love. Quit working all the time. When you come to the end of your life, you will never regret having spent time with your family. Nobody ever says on their deathbed, “If I had to do it again, I’d spend more time at the office.”

 

A Habit of Giving Thanks

 

1 Chronicles 29:13

A Habit of Giving Thanks

Some parents perpetually complain about their children. “These children drive me nuts. They make such a mess.” Do you realize that some husbands and wives have spent thousands of dollars and have gone through all kinds of medical procedures, trying to become pregnant and have children? They would give anything to be able to clean up that mess.

 

When you drive to work, when it’s time to go to church, when you get out of bed in the morning, be thankful to God, no matter what you face. If you have fifteen dollars to your name, you are in the top 8 percent of the world’s wealthiest people! We have so much to be grateful for. We should get in the habit of giving God thanks all day long. Start by giving Him thanks for this new morning.

 

Change Your Perspective

9/8

Psalm 107:22

Change Your Perspective

Your life might take a radical turn for the better if you’d just change your perspective and start being more grateful. Remember this: no matter how many negative things you have in your life, somebody would love to trade places with you. You may not have the perfect job, but if you got laid off and couldn’t pay your bills for six months, you’d be thrilled to have your old job.

 

We need to remind ourselves, “I may not like this job, but I am blessed to have it. I may not like this house I’m living in, but what would I do if I didn’t have my home? I may not particularly enjoy the person to whom I’m married, but what would happen if one day that person was gone?” We need to see our circumstances in a different light.

 

In the Potters Hands

 

9/3

Isaiah 64:8

In the Potter’s Hands

Do you get worried and fearful when important things don’t go your way? Have you ever thought that God may be allowing those events to teach you to trust Him and to see if you will stay peaceful and calm in the midst of the storm. He may be trying to toughen you up, to help you develop some backbone and stability in your life.

 

Clay works best when it is pliable, malleable, and moldable. But if you are hard, crusty and set in your ways, God will have to pound away on that old hard clay to get out the lumps. Be willing to deal with any issues that God brings up. Work with Him in the refining process rather that fighting against Him.

 

9/2

Peter 1:6

Let God Change You

Perhaps you are in a trial today, and you are praying for God to deliver you out of that adverse situation. That is a legitimate prayer, but maybe you’re missing the point of why you are being allowed to go through that trying time in the first place.

 

Recognize that God is molding you and refining you. You can pray, you can resist, you can sign and shout, but it’s not going to do any good if God’s purpose is to change you. And the sooner you learn your lesson and start dealing with those bad attitudes and start ruling over your emotions, the quicker you’ll go to the next level in your spiritual journey. We can’t run from everything that’s hard in our lives.

 

{To Cover you over the holiday weekend—enjoy and be blessed!}

 

9/4

Philippians 2:12

Work It Out

Certainly, none of us enjoy going through struggles, but you have to understand that your struggle may be an opportunity for advancement and promotion. The very thing you are fighting against so tenaciously may be the springboard that catapults you to a new level of excellence. Your challenges may become your greatest assets.

 

Without the resistance of air, an eagle can’t soar. Without the resistance of water, ship can’t float. Without the resistance of gravity, you and I can’t even walk. Without opposition or resistance, there is no potential for progress. There are no shortcuts; there’s no easy way to mature physically, emotionally, or spiritually. You must remain determined and work with God. Salvation is more that a onetime prayer. It is constantly cooperating with God, dealing with the issues He brings up, keeping a good attitude and allowing Him to change you as He sees fit.

 

9/5

Psalm 92:1-2

An Attitude of Gratitude

Have you ever considered that perhaps you are not getting your prayers answered because you are not grateful for what God has already done for you? The Scriptures teach us that we should continually give God thanks; we should live with an attitude of gratitude.

 

You may say, “I’ve been through so many disappointments. I lost my business last year. My marriage didn’t work out. I’ve lost so much. How do you expect me to be grateful? But if it had not been for the goodness of God, you could have lost it all. If not for God’s mercy, you might not even be here today. Quit looking at what you have lost and start thanking God for what you have left.

 

RE: YOUR BEST LIFE BEGINS EACH MORNING

 

 

8/31

John 15:2

Keep Changing

I’ve discovered that God is more interested in changing me than He is in changing my circumstances. I’m not saying that God won’t deliver us from our struggles by changing the circumstances. But most of the time, God uses adversities to bring to light impurities in our characters or area in which we need to improve. God deliberately uses some situations as a mirror, so we can recognize the problem ourselves and learn to deal with it. He’s working something out of us so we can be the people He really wants us to be.

 

God may use people, such as your spouse or children, and situations in your life to be the unwitting mirrors that reveal areas where you need to change. Take a good look, and make the necessary changes.

 

8/30

1 Peter 4:12

God’s Refining Fire

When adversity comes knocking on the door, some people immediately think they have done something wrong, that God surely must be punishing them. God will not allow a difficulty to come into your life unless He has a purpose for it. Granted, there are times when we can’t understand what we’re going through or why, but we must learn to believe that God is going to bring good out of it.

 

God says, “Don’t think it’s a big deal when you go through these tough times.” Learn to cooperate with God and be quick to change and correct the areas He brings to light. Then you’ll pass that test and you will be promoted to a new level.