Isaiah 62:2

Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the LORD’s mouth will announce.

You were never created to live in isolation, hidden from the world and excluded from relationship. You were created to shine among nations, depicting the glory of Jesus Christ in full relationship with Him.  God will bring forth what He has been investing in you for years and launch you into action. To hide in the comfort of your obscurity will be to deny your purpose. Get ready to spring forth!

Others may try to define you, but God will call you by a new name He has chosen just for you. You cannot model or judge your calling by that of another because what He has designed for you is specific to you. When He brings you forth, you will be fashioned as one of a kind and able to do exactly what He has called you to do. You are not a cookie-cutter, production line manufactured item. You are uniquely and wonderfully made by your Creator, and you will shine among the nations in the name and calling He will announce for you.

Your new identity in Christ is something that will minister to kings. Never underestimate what God can do with a life fully committed to Him. He may mold you and shape you in a dark, hidden, and confining place, but He will release you to the nations to display the glory of Christ. Get excited and get ready! Your moment to shine is coming!

Have a blessed day!

Matthew 5:45b

For He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.

Any true blessing we have comes from God. As James 1:17 explains, “Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” God chooses to bless both the evil and the good so that they may know He is a good God. In fact, goodness is His nature, and we can expect His plans for us to be good. We will all face good times in this life because of the Father, and we should thank Him for every one of them.

Our bad days, too, are in His hands. We live in a fallen world, and bad things will happen. We just can’t escape some things, regardless of how clever our strategies may be or how hard we may work. If I have to face bad days, I want to know that the God who loved me so much He gave His One and Only Son to die for me so that I might have a relationship with Him is right there with me, helping me to overcome those bad days so that I might see good ones again. I want to know that the God who created me and knows every fiber of my being has a beautiful plan and purpose for my life. I want to know that the God who has the power to forgive sins and raise Jesus from the dead has the power to resurrect my dead situations and breathe new life into me so that I might enjoy good days again. I can know these things because of Christ.

1 John 5:4

…because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.

There you have it – plain and simple. What will help you conquer the world and overcome every bad thing the Devil throws at you is your faith. Faith is not some vague wish that things will get better. Faith must be grounded in something firm and solid in order to have effect. Our faith is in a Person – Jesus Christ – and the finished work of the cross. His sacrifice for us was complete, and God accepted it. He raised Jesus from the dead as a sign of His forgiveness, and we can trust in that perfect sacrifice to work all things together for our good because God has called us according to His purpose in Christ (Romans 8:28). You can experience good things through your bad days because of Jesus Christ. That, my friend, is a perfect gift and reason to praise Him today!

Have a blessed day!

Romans 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

The gospel message that Jesus died for us as a sacrifice for our sins, was buried, and rose again victoriously to new life is the power of salvation to everyone who believes it. He took the full punishment of God’s wrath for us. His righteousness is given to us when we believe in Him. We cannot gain our own right standing with God. We become right with Him only through faith that the sacrifice Jesus made was for us, and God has accepted that sacrifice and granted forgiveness. We must live by faith that this sacrifice is all that is needed for our salvation. In fact, the righteous in Christ must live by faith that God will provide everything needed for us to walk this Christian life and to fulfill our purpose in Him. We need faith to believe for salvation and faith to walk it out.

Within the gospel message of the cross, we find God’s righteousness revealed. We are His creation, incapable of atoning for our own sins in front of a righteous and holy God. Knowing our inability, our Great Creator chose to come to earth in the form of a man like ourselves to make the ultimate sacrifice. In this, we see God’s righteousness at work. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. As our faith grows, we become more increasingly aware of His presence and work in our daily lives. Thus, we learn to walk in faith as His righteousness is revealed to us from one faith event to the next.

Have you failed miserably at something? You have an opportunity for a faith event. Stop trying to atone for it yourself, and turn to Jesus. He’s already paid for it, so keep walking in faith. Have you lost hope of a dream ever being fulfilled? This, too, is the opportunity for a faith event. Turn it over to Jesus, and begin walking in faith that all things will work together for your good. Are you at a standstill in some area? Here is another faith event in the works. Surrender the matter to Jesus, and expect God to clear the way or point you in a new direction. Your journey as a Christian is meant to be lived from faith to faith, and everything God does in your life will require a greater measure of faith than the previous encounter. Through each faith opportunity, God reveals a little more of Himself to you. Knowing Him more intimately is worth every risk faith requires of us.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 4:3

Know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for Himself; the LORD will hear when I call to Him.

To be holy is to be set apart. Notice that the LORD sets apart the faithful for Himself. We do not make ourselves holy. God makes us holy because of our faithfulness to Him.

God desires a people who will seek Him, commune with Him, love Him, and have close relationship with Him. He considers faithful those who have a heart for Him and follow Him.  Faithful are the ones who put aside their own agendas to take on His. Faithful are the ones who honor Him and serve Him in the good times and the bad. Faithful are those who will not abandon Him for their own earthly gain. Faithful are the ones who have time for Him. He sets the faithful apart as His very own, not allowing the schemes of the devil nor this world to corrupt them. He listens to the faithful because He wants to hear what they have to say.  He will surely protect them and bless them.

To be set apart is to be different from the world. You will not fit in with the crowd. You will not be popular among many. The world will not honor you. In fact, they may actually reject you. To be set apart is to be subjected to discipline. Satan feeds on the flesh and will tempt you with desire. God may not allow the fleshly desires to be fulfilled for those He has set apart. To give you those things would endear you to the world. He desires to satisfy you with good things from His hand. Whatever comes from His hand is certainly worth the wait and the self-control you will have to exert. God hears you when you call, so pour out your desire to Him.

Do you feel like you have been denied in some area? Perhaps, you have been set apart for God, Himself. Have you watched wicked people scheme to get that which is an aching void in your own life? Know that God sees your faithfulness. He has set you apart for Himself. He has made you holy so you can be a light to others. You are His, and He will hear you when you call. He will bless that which is holy and that which He has ordained. You are not denied. You are set apart. You are not rejected. You are set apart. God hears you when you pray, so make your requests known to Him. You have God’s full attention, and His favor rests upon you.  There is no better place to be than to be set apart for Him!

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 62:3

You will be a glorious crown in the LORD’s hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God.

A crown is a symbol of authority. God intends to make us a symbol of authority to the nations. He has given all authority to His Son, Jesus Christ, and Christ gave authority to us to make disciples of all nations. God dwells in us through the presence of His Holy Spirit, and when we walk in the Spirit, we walk in His authority.

A diadem is a jeweled headband of sovereignty. God will not only give us authority among the nations, but He will adorn us with beauty. He is fashioning us into rare jewels that carry His authority to accomplish His purpose.

We must remember that while God grants us His authority, we are not God. We are still in the palm of His hand to use as He sees fit. Whatever He has called us to do, we can do with His full authority, and He will stand behind us.

The Devil will try to rule over you with fear, intimidation, manipulation, and even domination. You, however, are a glorious crown in the LORD’s hand and a royal diadem in His palm. You need not surrender to the demands of the Devil. You have authority over any temptation the enemy brings your way, so use it. Resist the Devil, and he will flee. You will be amazed at how much you can take charge of your own life when you use your God-given authority to rule. Be a glorious crown and not a slave to bondage. You were created for royalty!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 105:37

Then He brought Israel out with silver and gold, and no one among His tribes stumbled.

When God brought the children of Israel out of bondage from Egypt, He brought them out with silver and gold. They had something valuable from their experience to sustain them in their freedom. They were not yet in their promised land, but they were on their way. No one stumbled. The KJV states this as “there was none feeble among His tribes.”  Everyone that God brought out of bondage was healthy enough to make the journey.

For those of us who have ever felt “between” two places, this verse brings encouragement.  God does not want us enslaved by the devil’s schemes, and He has sent His Son to pay the price for our freedom. While we embark upon our journey to our own “Promised Lands,” we can be assured that God has given us something of value to sustain us until we reach our destination. While we may feel like we can’t take another day or make one more step, we will not stumble on this journey. 

What have you gained from your experience in bondage? At least, you have a testimony worth sharing. That testimony has the power to increase God’s kingdom. Never take it for granted. Anything God gave you on your way out of bondage has the power to increase. How you use it will depend upon what it increases. The children of Israel used it to create a golden calf. Will you use your spoils of bondage to increase God’s kingdom or to increase the influence of other “gods?”

The place between bondage and our Promised Land may be wilderness terrain, but God assures us the ability to make the journey. Will we grumble and complain or believe that if He brought us out, He will surely take us in? Only a few entered the Promised Land, along with those who were born in the wilderness. The memory of Egypt hindered them from fully believing. 

Today, God has given you something of value, and you are able to make the journey to which He has called you. You have a choice to increase His kingdom or to increase the influence of lesser kingdoms in your life. If you increase lesser kingdoms, it will hinder your faith to believe for His. Don’t die in the wilderness before you reach the Promised Land. Use whatever He has given you of value for His glory, and believe that He who has called you is faithful. Without Him you can do nothing but with Him, you can do all things! Believe, and be willing to fight the enemy to take hold of what God has for you.

Have a blessed day!

Hosea 4:8

They feed on the sin of My people; they have an appetite for their transgressions.

Have you ever wondered why people return to the same sin over and over again, knowing full well it is wrong? The drunkard returns to the bottle, and the cheater commits adultery again. The thief finds a new place to steal, and the gambler loses all his money for a second or third time. In fact, most people fall into sin with their eyes wide open, knowing full well what they are doing is wrong.  Why is this so?

This verse sheds some light into this dark question. Notice two words – “feed” and “appetite.” Long before we start to feed on something, we feel a craving in our stomachs. This craving stems from a lack or void, and we eat to fill the void. That craving is often called an appetite. Sooner or later, our cravings demand more attention than other things, and we must attend to them. The same is true in our spiritual lives. When we experience an inner craving, we can ignore it for only so long before we begin to feed on something. Our appetites may become so large that we lose all common sense or logic, and we begin to feed on the very things we know are wrong simply because the hunger is so great.

This is exactly what Satan did to Jesus in the wilderness. He tempted Jesus at an hour when he knew He was hungry. Jesus had been fasting for 40 days, and his cravings were at an all-time high. This was Satan’s best opportunity to convince Him to sin, and he took full advantage of it. Jesus, however, resisted Satan with the word of God. He fed on the knowledge of the Scripture and did not give into His appetite.

Satan still plays the same old dirty game with us. He knows where we are hungry, and that is exactly where he will strike. His food – sin – will fill a longing in us to a degree, but we are destined to hunger again when we feed on it. Therefore, we go back to it because it provides a temporary satisfaction in the place we are experiencing a void. As long as we are feeding on sin, the Devil has control of us. We are, in fact, worshipping Him and serving his evil purpose. By returning to that sin over and over again, we will not only damage ourselves but others in the process. That is Satan’s will for your life and for mine.

Today we call this return to sin “addiction.” While there may be some physical components to addiction, the root of it all is spiritual void. Until you address the spiritual need, you will continue to crave something to fill it. We must come to the point where we will fill that void with the word of God and stand on it. His word is knowledge to us, and to reject it is rebellion. Do you believe God’s word is true or not? That is the question you must ask when you are faced with sin. The Devil is a liar, and he will try to convince you that Scripture doesn’t apply to you or that what you are doing is not wrong. He may even tell you that you deserve to be happy, and this is what will make you happy. The best way to combat him is to feed on God’s word daily and apply it to your life. The more you know God’s word, the more you’ll be able to resist him when he tries to give you a whole plate full of temporary satisfaction that will ultimately destroy you.

Feed on God’s word today and every day. Ask God to give you an appetite for His word. The more you fill yourself with His word, the stronger you will become and the more you will be able to resist the Devil. We all have weaknesses, and we all have voids in our lives, but God has given us His word for a reason. This is why Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life in John 6:35. Satan always tempts the strongest just before a major breakthrough or blessing in an attempt to stop it. Stand strong in God’s word, and partake in the Bread of Life that can truly satisfy.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 58:6-7

Isn’t the fast I choose:  To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and to not ignore your own flesh and blood?

God was not happy with the fasts from His people and refused to answer their prayers. They were fasting in strife and trying to use Him to accomplish their own agendas, which were wicked. God responds to earnest prayer that is focused upon His purpose, and He clearly states His will in these verses.

To be in God’s will, we must be willing to break the chains of wickedness and to untie the ropes of the yoke, allowing the oppressed to go free. In other words, we must be willing to forgive those who have hurt us and stop making them pay for what they did to us. We cannot hold them in bondage and expect God to bless us. Setting the oppressed free also means that we cease taking advantage of others and using them in some way for our own selfish gain, including making them the target of our criticism. If we want to truly live freely, we must set others free from our ridicule, as well.

God responds to a heart that is willing to give to meet the needs of others. He does not respond to those who seek their own selfish gain. The very reason He blesses us is so we can be a blessing to others, and when we fail to do that, we forfeit further blessings because He can’t trust us to accomplish His purpose. We especially need to help meet the needs of those who are in our own family. While I don’t believe God wants family members taking advantage of us, He does expect us to be available to them.

If you want God to hear your prayers, take an inventory of your actions. Are you fully committed to His purpose or to your own? Are you trying to prove your own righteousness or depending upon the righteousness of Christ? Are you living in strife, or are you being a blessing to others? God promises to answer us when we get rid of the yoke from those around us by forgiving those who have hurt us, according to verse 9 of this chapter. If we will rid ourselves of finger pointing and malicious speaking and offer ourselves to those in need, God will richly bless us and guide our way. Make today a pivotal turning point in your path, and turn fully to Him. You have nothing to lose but shame and everything glorious to gain!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 25:16-18

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am alone and afflicted. The distresses of my heart increase; bring me out of my sufferings. Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins.

David wrote this Psalm out of much anguish. You can feel his heart ache in these words. You can sense the loneliness and desperation he felt as he poured his heart out to God for relief. While David struggled with depression, anxiety, loneliness, and guilt, he knew where to turn for help.

David had a heart that wanted to be in a right standing with God. He asked God for three things in this passage – to be gracious toward him, to deliver him from suffering, and to take away all his sins. These were all things he could not do for himself, and he needed God’s divine intervention. In our times of distress, we need God to intervene with these three things, as well.

Grace is unmerited favor. Without God’s favor, we can do nothing. With it, however, we can do all things. Without His grace, we are hopeless in a dark world ruled by our adversary – the Devil. The enemy will certainly persecute us and place obstacles in our way, but he cannot contend with the grace of God in our lives. What the Devil gives us for evil, God can use for good and frustrate the wicked plan devised against us.

Jesus promised us we would have suffering in this world. Suffering may come as a result of our own sin or as persecution for doing the will of God. In either case, we are often without means to deliver ourselves and must rely upon God’s greater power and purpose to bring us out of it and place us on a higher plane.  Suffering can produce patience and good character in us, but it can also wear us down in our faith. We must look to God to bring us through times of suffering and lead us to a brighter path.

The Devil uses the weapon of guilt on us to convince us we deserve suffering. He will tempt us to sin, then beat us over the head with it when we do. While we may actually deserve the suffering of our sin, we must remember that God poured all of His wrath upon Jesus at the cross for our sin. That does not give us a license to do anything we want, but it does give us the power to turn to God in repentance and receive forgiveness to continue in this life. God can remove our sin and give us new life in Christ to live righteously and put away the sin that ensnared us to guilt.

Hope for depression, discouragement, loneliness, anxiety, and guilt is found in Jesus Christ. God delivers us from these things. While we may fall into these emotional states by accident, mistake, or outright rebellion, we remain in them by choice. Choose to break free today by turning to God and crying out to Him. He is gracious; He delivers, and He takes away our sin. He is a life-giver, and He has a new life to give you, too.

Have a blessed day!

Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Verse 14

And all these (disciples) were continually united in prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.

The disciples walked with Jesus and heard Him teach daily. They were witnesses to his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven. They knew He was really the Son of God – the promised Messiah – and they were His witnesses. Jesus had told them to remain in Jerusalem and to wait upon the Father’s promise before leaving to take the gospel to other areas. They would not be able to effectively share what they had witnessed until they received power from the Holy Spirit. Until then, they would have to wait and submit themselves to prayer, which they did.

God often gives us a plan or even a glimpse of what He wants to do through us, but we must wait and pray until we receive the power to do it. Many times, we hear the plan and want to run with it. When we fail, we often question whether or not we ever heard from God or that He is at work at all in our lives. Worse yet, we may blame someone else when our plans don’t succeed as we’d hoped. Unless we are moving forth in the power of the Holy Spirit, however, our best devised plans and good intentions will fail.

After the disciples received their final instructions from Jesus, they remained in Jerusalem as He commanded and united themselves in prayer, along with the women. Of all the people who should have been hurt, offended, angry, and even bitter about what had happened, Mary the mother of Jesus was with them. Somehow, she managed to let go of her hurt long enough to forgive and to proceed with the calling to be His witness. His plan was greater than her hurt, and there would be no better way to honor her Son than to unite with the disciples in prayer and proceed to share the gospel. Her hurt was a part of God’s greater plan to save the world, and she had to let it go in order be a witness to the power of the Holy Spirit and His name.

Sometimes, our own hurt holds us back. When we nurse wounds by harboring offense and bitterness, we may have just reason for feeling the way we do, but unless we can let it go and be united in prayer with God’s people, we will not receive the power of the Holy Spirit to move forward. Surrendering that hurt to Christ is the very thing God will use to transform you into the image of His Son and make you a powerful witness.

When someone knows what you have been through and sees that you are unharmed and free of anger or bitterness, your witness speaks to them. They know what you have is real, and they desire it, too. Anyone can have a critical, judgmental, angry, or bitter spirit, but it takes something supernatural to overcome and live above hurt – especially when it was intentional and evil. When you give your hurt to God and choose to forgive, you become His witness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The word, witnesses, in verse 8 is a noun and not a verb. You are a witness to Christ and the work He has done in your life. We often mistake this word for its verb form and think we have to do something to make something happen in order to effectively witness for Christ. Being His witness, however, is about what Jesus has already done and not about what we are to do. In fact, the original Greek word used here is indicative of a martyr. To effectively be His witness, we have to die to ourselves and our own plans and simply become changed into new life as a work of the gospel. We become witnesses to His transforming work, and the power of the Holy Spirit rests upon us as His witness (noun). This requires recognizing sin in our lives, repenting of it, submitting it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and allowing Him to make us a new creation to live free from that hurt and/or sin.

We live in a world that desperately needs to see new life. When people see no difference in us than the rest of the world, they feel no reason to change. In fact, we may only justify their case to remain as they are. To effectively be His witnesses, people must see a change in us. They must know that this Jesus is real, and He has the power to change them, too. When we get real with God, He will get real about blessing us, our ministry, and our calling.

Have a blessed day!