Meditate On This

	Meditate On You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You. Psalm 118:28 Forgo Flattery, Exalt Jesus When the apostle Paul and Silas were in Philippi, a certain slave girl possessed with a demonic spirit of divination met them. She was a fortune-teller who brought good profits to her masters. This girl followed Paul and Silas wherever they went, crying out, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). And she did this for many days. Now, let me ask you, was there anything wrong with what she said? She was telling the truth, wasn’t she? Paul and Silas were indeed servants of the Most High God, and they were proclaiming the way of salvation. But I want you to see this: For many days, the girl kept saying, “These men are…These men are…These men are…” And this greatly annoyed Paul, so much so that he cast the demon out of her (Acts 16:18). Why was Paul so annoyed? Because the girl was constantly putting the spotlight on him and Silas. The devil always wants us to put our attention on man, instead of God! My friend, if you are the sort who gets flattered easily, people can control you. All they have to do is say some nice things about you and you are influenced into doing whatever they want you to do. But when you are passionate for the glory of Jesus, you can’t be swayed by the praises of man. You want only Jesus to get all the glory. So always point people to Jesus. He alone deserves all the glory. You’ll never be shortchanged, my friend, when you do this—God will take care of those who exalt His Son!

Enjoy Your Life Now

Enjoy Your Life Now

by Joyce Meyer - posted September 05, 2015

I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
- John 10:10
Life is a journey—a process of advancement and progression. And as you move toward the future, you must be careful not to lose sight of the now and the enjoyment it can bring you.
For many years I was a Christian but not enjoying life. Then God taught me that enjoying life is not based on enjoyable circumstances. It is an attitude of the heart. When I decided to change my approach to some of the circumstances I faced in life, it made a remarkable difference!
As a believer you have available to you the abundant quality of life that comes from God. Don't get so caught up in your busyness that you fail to enjoy the pleasures God provides every day. He has given you abundant life and your goal should be to enjoy it to the fullest.

Today's Word

Today’s Scripture

“And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted, (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 AMP)

Forgive Others

As followers of Christ, our character should mirror His character. We should be helpful, kind and tender, understanding and loving to one another. Most of all, we should be extending forgiveness in the same way that Christ extends forgiveness toward us. In other words, we need to forgive unconditionally. But many times, people say they won’t forgive until the other person says they are sorry. Or, they won’t forgive because they think somehow they are getting that person back. But the only person who is hurt by your unforgiveness is you! When you hold unforgiveness, it blocks God’s forgiveness and keeps you locked up in the hurt and pain. Choose to forgive today! Forgiveness simply begins with a choice to obey God’s command. When you open your heart to forgiveness, you open your heart to God’s healing and restoration in your life. Make the choice today to forgive others—readily and freely—as Christ forgave you!

A Prayer for Today

“Father, thank You for shaping my character and making me more like You. I invite You to work in every area of my life. I choose to forgive just as You have forgiven me. Heal my heart and help me to walk in love in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Tell It Like It Could Be

Tell It Like It Could Be By Rick Warren — Sep 5, 2015 “[God] speaks of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past.” (Romans 4:17 TLB) There is enormous power in your words. If you’re going to become a woman or man of faith, you have to change the way you talk. You have to announce it in order to experience it. Sometimes speaking in faith appears totally foolish, arrogant, and totally out of touch with reality to people who don’t understand faith. Abraham knew about this. God came to Abram one day and said, “Abram, I’m going to change your name from Abram to Abraham.” Abraham means “the father of a great nation.” There was only one problem: Abraham was 99 years old, and he had no kids. He was probably ruthlessly ridiculed for his name. But God says that we don’t live in the world of human reality. We live in the world of spiritual reality, and we see it not as it is but as it can be, as it should be, as God wants it to be. Romans 4:17 says that God “speaks of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past” (TLB). That’s called speaking in faith — you announce it in order to experience it. My primary spiritual gift is the gift of faith. I don’t tell it like it is. I tell it like it could be, like it ought to be, like God wants it to be. There are teachers out there, some of them well known, whose ministry is actually just telling it like it is about the world. And there are a lot of things in the world that are pretty bad. So they criticize this and put that down, and they tend to be fairly negative, because there are a lot of reasons to be negative. They say, “I just tell it like it is.” That’s one way to do it. But there’s a better way. Don’t tell it like it is. Tell it like it could be! Telling it like it is has never changed anybody. It only makes people defensive. For example, you could say to someone, “You’re a lousy father. You don’t spend any time with your kids because your career is more important.” But when you label somebody, you reinforce it. Instead, you can say, “I see in you the potential for greatness. If you would let Jesus Christ take control of your life, you won’t be perfect, but you can become a godly man of character that your kids admire.” That’s the kind of talk that motivates change! You don’t have to tell it like it is. Tell it like it could be, like it should be, like God wants it to be. Speak it in advance and in faith. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over Can people tell by your everyday language that you are a person of faith? Who in your life needs you to speak into his or her life with faith and say what could be? What will you do today to motivate change in that person’s life through your words?

Daily Hope

You Have to Believe It Before You Can See It

By Rick Warren — Sep 2, 2015

“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT, second edition) Faith is visualizing the future. It’s believing it before you see it. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (NLT, second edition). A lot of people say, “I’ll believe it when I see it!” God says the exact opposite is true: “You will see it when you first believe it.” There are many things in life that have to be believed before they can be seen. In the 1960s, the Russians sent the first cosmonaut into outer space. He circled the earth, and when he came back down, he did a press conference and said, “I searched the heavens, and I looked for God, and I did not see him anywhere. Therefore, there is no God.” The Communists, which was an atheistic regime, said, “We now have scientific proof that there is no God.” About six months later, John Glenn went into space, circled the earth three times on Gemini, came back down, and held a press conference. He said, “I saw God everywhere! I saw his glory in the galaxy. I saw his splendor in the universe. I saw his majesty in the stars.” Which one was right? They both were. Jesus said, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Before there is spiritual transformation in your life, you’re too narrow-minded to see the possibility of what God wants to do in your life. Wernher von Braun, the father of the nuclear movement, said, “There has never been any great accomplishment in history without faith.” It is faith that causes an architect to design a building because, first, he believes it can be done. It is faith that causes an Olympic athlete to practice and go to the Olympic trials because she believes she can achieve. It is faith that causes a sculptor or an artist to believe that he can paint a picture or attempt the sculpture. It is faith that causes the scientist to believe that we can put a man on the moon. Someone has to believe it before you see it. It is a universal principle of life. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What do you believe God wants you to accomplish in your life? How should faith affect your goal setting? Why do you think God wants us to believe in faith instead of just showing us before we believe?

You are a Person of Influence!

Post by Victoria Osteen on September 1, 2015

 

 

Whether you realize it or not, you are a person of tremendous influence! You are affecting the people around you even in the most subtle ways. You are setting standards and promoting change everywhere you go. Just like a stone tossed into the water creates an automatic ripple, your life ripples out and has increasing influence on those around you.
Influence is simply defined as the power to produce an effect without an apparent exertion. That means that just by living your daily life, you are producing an effect. People who don't understand their full value and live without focus or purpose set an example that allows others to rationalize living the same way. But if you go out determined to live at your best, you are raising the standard. You are being a leader and influencing others in a way that pleases God.
Scripture says that we are the salt of the earth. Salt affects the taste of your food. It doesn't have to try, it just does. It also makes a person thirsty. When you live your life the way God intends, you improve the world around you and make people thirsty for a higher level of living.
Know today that you are never too young or too old to influence and inspire the world around you. Let that truth sink down deeply into your heart. Instill it into your children and the children around you. Let them know they have value and influence. Let them know that they matter to you, to God, and to the world around them. Be a person of influence by instilling value and purpose into the next generation and encourage others to be all that God has called them to be!
"You are the salt of the earth…" (Matthew 5:13, NIV)

Living in Love

Look for the Best in Each Other

I once heard about a husband and wife who were so upset after a big argument that they refused to speak to each other. That night, not wanting to be the first to break the awkward silence, the man left a note on his wife’s side of the bed that read, “wake me up at 6 o’clock in the morning.”
The next morning, by the time the husband woke up, it was already 8 o’clock. Furious, he roared, “Where is she?” and was about to chew out his wife when he found a note on his side of the bed: “It’s six o’clock; wake up.”
If we’re going to live in love, we have to learn to forgive one another. The Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger, but instead, forgive. And above all things, put on love.”1 That means: Above having your own way, above your own agenda, choose to put on love.
The apostle Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:17 that we would be “rooted and established in love so that we would have power together with all the saints.” When we choose to walk in love, we have the power of God in our lives, as well as healthier relationships.

We should always look for the best in each other. That’s one of the things I love about Joel. I used to think that he didn’t see the things that people did wrong. Then I realized: It’s not that he doesn’t see them; he chooses not to focus on them.
That’s what Jesus taught. One day a group of Pharisees brought a woman to Him who had been caught in adultery. The Law said that she should be stoned, but Jesus didn’t condemn her. Instead, He said, “Those of you without sin, go ahead; you through the first stone.”2
The woman’s accusers began to look within themselves. Then, they walked away.
We can all throw rocks and point out each other’s faults, but we need to make allowances for one another. We don’t know what some people have been through. We don’t know the pain and heartache they’ve experienced. When the woman’s accusers had all slipped away, Jesus told her, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way; from now on sin no more.”3
Let’s learn to walk in love and see the best in everyone. A house divided will fall. That’s why it’s so important to keep peace in your home. Be the first to apologize. Be quick to forgive.
Someone once asked me if Joel and I argue. Of course, we disagree, but you can’t argue with someone who won’t argue with you, and Joel won’t argue! He’s made up his mind that we’re going to walk in love, because that is where the power is. At times, Joel and I have said, “All right, we can’t see eye to eye on this, so we’re just going to agree to disagree.”
I can’t help it if he’s wrong sometimes!
When Joel and I got married, I like my own way, and when I didn’t get it, I wasn’t happy. Then God spoke clearly to me: Victoria, if you don’t change the way you’re acting, you’re going to change the man you married.
Well, that got my attention, because I didn’t want to change Joel’s personality. I love Joel. That’s why I married him. I knew that I had to be willing to make some changes.
In many relationships, after time, people neglect to walk in love. One day, they realize that their hearts have changed. You hear it all the time: “We just grew apart.”
Joel and I remind ourselves often that God brought us together. He’s got a good plan for our marriage. You need to remind yourself that God has put that person in your life, and He’s got good things in store. If you will do your part by being kind, respecting one another, treating each other the way you want to be treated, God will do His part, and you can live in love!