A Giving Heart

 A Giving Heart

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“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV).

How do you give in your life today? There are so many different ways we can show care through giving. It does not have to be a gift of monetary compensation (although often it is). We can donate time to a worthy cause, or our expertise to a group in need. When you do these things, how do you feel?

It is important that we give with an open heart. A heart that does not have other motives outside of spreading joy and happiness. We need to be sure that our own hearts are willing as well. We shouldn’t feel the need to give more than we can be reasonably expected to!

If our hearts are not fully in our gift others are likely to see it. Even if they don’t we could ultimately do more harm than good for our own sake. Give not out of impulse or you may find regret later. But what other traps can we fall in to?

We must not give with the expectation of receiving something in return. Have you ever been gifted something and then immediately asked to return a favor? How did that feel? We don’t want to feel pressured to even scores or settle debts, so don’t look to put someone else in that position! While we likely returned the favor (and others would too) we don’t want to set that sort of standard.

Prayer:

“Lord, help me to be a more giving person. When I do give, Lord, please help me to be sure that the gifts I am giving are proper and fitting. Help me not to be reluctant in my choices, and help me not to impulsively give. Help me to give with a cheerful heart that expects nothing in return”.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

AMEN!

 

Final Thoughts:

There are so many ways in which we can positively impact others with gifts. Work to ensure your heart is in the right place and joy is sure to follow. If there are programs or people you support now, think. Are you supporting them from a cheerful heart? Are there any changes you see fit?

Be Greatly Blessed!

'I shall Never Forshake You"

 “I’ll Never Forsake You”

…for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

Sometimes, when we’re facing difficult circumstances in our lives, it can feel as if God is really distant. Maybe you’ve tried praying till your face is blue, and yet you’re not even sure whether God really hears you.

Well beloved, I have good news for you. God has promised to be your ever present help. Your refuge and strength in times of trouble. He’s promised that nothing in Heaven or Earth will ever be able to separate you from His love.

The Truth is, God is always with us, even at times when we’re not conscious of it. In fact, do you know that you are the temple of God? This means that God’s very spirit is dwelling in you – at this very moment. He’s closer to you than your own breath!

He’s eveready to bless you, protect you, guide you, and prosper you.

So take a moment. Close your eyes. Breathe. Think of the Presence of God in you, through you, and around you. Feel His love enveloping you. His strength guarding you. His blessings pouring over you.

Imagine what it’d be like to live in His wonderful Presence 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

For it is true! His presence is always with you. While the Israelites had a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire to guide them, you have something even better! Through Jesus’ work, you are now the very tabernacle of God.

So go about the rest of your day in the knowledge that your almighty God is leading you, helping you, protecting you, and loving you, every step of the way.

Be Greatly Blessed!

References:

Hebrews 13:5-6

…for he has said, “I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” So that with good courage we say, “The Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Deuteronomy 31:6-8

Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”

Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which Yahweh has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”

God keep all His promises

 God Keeps All His Promises

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“What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:15)

Beloved, what a blessing it is to have God as our personal guardian!

He’s promised to protect us wherever we go and give us all the good things He’s promised in His Word.

He goes before us to prepare the path and clear off our enemies.

He protects us from the back to prevent any unforeseen attacks.

Whatever the enemy has planned, He is always many steps ahead.

Even when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, God used it to raise him to the highest office in Egypt.

Even when the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus to the Cross, God used it to redeem us.

For truly nothing can disrupt God’s plan for you. His plan to prosper you will continue to be in motion until He’s finished giving you everything He has promised you.

You no longer need to worry about anything, for God Has promised to supply everything you need according to His riches in Glory.

And unlike some people on earth who break their promises, God is incapable of lying and His Word never returns to Him void.

So rest in His protection and supply today.

Be comforted by the many promises and blessings of God.

He’ll lead you out of captivity, into a land flowing with milk and honey.

Go ahead! Drink from wells you did not dig. Eat from vineyards you did not build.

For God has given you rest, abundance, health, peace, and every other good thing – exceeding abundantly, above and beyond anything you can ever ask or think.

All because of what Jesus has done.

Be Greatly Blessed!

Action Steps:

Remember God’s promises today. Whatever you need, whatever you seek, God has already provided them for you through Christ Jesus.

Trust in God’s Word. Do not be deceived by the illusions of the world.

For faith is the substance of things hoped for. Believe in God’s promises, and you shall see them come to pass in your life.

Let’s pray…

Prayer:

Father, thank you for all the promises you’ve given me.

What an assurance it is to know that you’re always with me.

No matter what I do, no matter where I go, you’ll never leave me nor forsake me.

For, you always keep your promises.

You Word never returns to you void.

May your favour be upon me wherever my foot treads.

May all that I do greatly glorify your Name.

For truly, you’re worthy of the praise of a thousand tribes.

So bless me and keep me today Lord, as I keep your promises in my heart.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

AMEN!

To Be Healed?

 To Be Healed

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“Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.  Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.” John 5:2-3

There were many sick people there. One version says “multitudes.” They were all lying around on their mats waiting for an angel to come and stir the waters so that if they were in the right place at the right time, they might be healed. Jesus goes on to tell of a man who had been there for thirty-eight years! Jesus saw him lying there on his mat and asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). Check this out: He answered,

“I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” (John 5:7)

Why didn’t the sick guy just say, “Yes?” I think he didn’t want to be healed right then because he did not want the responsibility that would come with it. It is easier to be affirmed, established, and pitied rather than to change. However, Jesus calls us to change. The guy on the mat had been there for so long that it had become his identity. He had other friends on mats, and they would talk about their issues together. They had become a culture. If he were healed, he would have to give up his identity and change his way of life. What about us? Could it be that some of us have had an issue for so long that we really don’t want to be healed? We want Jesus to love us and comfort us in our affliction.

Prayer:

“Lord, help us to get off of our mats and be healed. Grant us the boldness to just get up and walk. You are God of the impossible. We believe this!”

In Jesus’ Mighty Name

AMEN!

Final Thoughts:

Today brokenness has become an idol and people defend their right to bow down to it. They want to be like the man on the mat gathering others with like symptoms and talking about their afflictions thus magnifying and further establishing them. They too have a culture. It is the voice of enabling and in order to be healed we have to break it.

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’” He told the sick guy to do something He previously could not do: to get up and walk. He will do the same for us if we will just get off the mat of our issues and walk.

God Has A Plan For You

 God Has A Plan For You

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“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Beloved, awaken today and enter into the path God has prepared before you.

He has laid out plans to prosper you today in all areas of your life.

Know that He has a blueprint for your life. A blueprint that removes strife and struggle.

But you are the one who has to choose to walk down that path.

All that God creates is good and He’ll never make any plans in vain.

Even curses can turn into blessings when you follow His Word.

Sure, storms may come to try and throw you off balance, but when you’re firmly rooted in the Word of God, nothing will be able to move you.

So meditate on His Word today. Find out what plans He has prepared for you.

For when you truly know the depth, width, and abundance of God’s promises, you’ll then be able to consciously claim them for yourself, and see them as they manifest in your life.

Be Greatly Blessed!

Action Steps:

Remeber God’s promises today. His Word clearly shows the plans He has for your life.

He wants you to choose life over death, blessings over curses.

Know that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are higher than our ways.

We can plan and scheme all we want, but it’s only when we trust God and follow the path He’s laid out for us that we’ll be able to experience the fullness of His salvation.

So stop struggling, and follow His lead.

Prayer:

Good morning Heavenly Father. Thank you for another new and beautiful day.

I look at the morning sky and am amazed that the same God who created such wonder is the same God who has made specific plans for me. Me. One out of billions of people. And yet you’ve taken care of every single detail in my life.

I can’t even begin to fathom how deep your love for me must be.

So Lord, today I rest my plans in your hands.

Not by my hands, not by my might, neither by my wit, but in and through Jesus Christ, I’ll win the day.I commit myself to your plans and walk in the path you’ve prepared for me today.

In Jesus’ mighty Name.

AMEN!

Lukewarm ways

 Lukewarm Ways

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‘Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.’ Revelation 3:19 (ESV)

We’re called to be on fire for God, to be passionate followers of Christ, and to intentional in how we live for Him. But it’s not always easy. Our faith can be pushed to the background, we can lose our motivation to seek God and we can become weighted down by things we have to face in life.

Seven churches are mentioned at the beginning of Revelation, the seventh being Laodicea. This church was told, ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other!’ (Revelation 3:15).

God doesn’t us to be lukewarm when it comes to our faith. He wants us to have zeal for Him. Zeal is enthusiasm, dedication or passion for something. In Revelation 3:19 the people were told to be zealous and repent.

And that’s exactly what we need to do too. We need to find our passion for God again. We need to get excited about Him again. God should be our top priority, the first thing we think of in the morning and the last thing before we retire at night. He should be the One we are living for. We need to repent of our lukewarm ways.

Prayers

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‘Lord, increase my passion for you. Forgive me for my lukewarm ways. I want to be found earnestly seeking you with a zeal and passion that keeps me close to you.’

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

AMEN!

Final Thoughts:

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The Bible says to be, ‘never lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord (Romans 12:11). So how do we make sure we’re never lacking in zeal? We need to honestly look at what’s the priority in our lives.

Furthermore, we need to surround ourselves with people who are on fire for God. We need to make time to spend with God and be closer to Him. And ask Him to increase our passion. So today, let’s take the advice given to the church in Laodicea: be zealous and repent.

Be Greatly Blessed!

Be strong and courageous

 Be Strong And Courageous.

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Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

Favored child of God, be of good courage today for the Lord is with you.Do not be afraid of challenges that come your way. Do not be discouraged by obstacles that block your path.As long as God is with you, you can be sure that everything will turn out well.For He has blessed you with a blessing that cannot be reversed.

Do not look to your past failures, disappointments, or limitations. You are destined for greatness and through the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, you have been empowered to become an overflowing blessing for the world.

So boldly stay on the path of faith. Do not let the shadow of death worry you. You have already been freed from death. Let the light of God chase away the darkness.

As you see more and more clearly who God is and how much He loves you, your courage will naturally grow.

Be Greatly Blessed.

Action Steps:

Courage comes from knowing that God is with you, and that He’ll definitely come through for you.When David faced off with Goliath, knew that God will bring him victory.When Daniel was thrown into the den of lions, he knew that God would keep him safe.When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the furnace, they knew that God would deliver them.

They were courageous not because they had faith in their own abilities, but because they knew God intimately.

They knew His power, His love, His trustworthiness, His steadfastness.

Learn more about the attributes of God. Trust Him more and more each day with increasingly important things in your life.

And as you see Him coming through for you, your faith and courage will naturally grow.

Let’s pray…

Prayer:

Father, thank you for always being with me, even when I may not be conscious of it.You are my source of courage Lord. For without you, I’m nothing.But with you by my side, I know that victory will always be mine.Help me to look to you, instead of my own abilities or failures.Help me to see your Hand in my life more and more clearly.Teach me to trust you with the important decisions of my life.I want to have a real, intimate, relationship with you.Not one that’s just theoretical.

I will go boldly into the world in your Name because I know that you’ll always come through for me..

Bless your name Lord. May all the power and glory be to you.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

AMEN!