1 Timothy 6:17

Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.

There is nothing wrong with having wealth. In fact, this verse indicates that God is the giver of wealth. He wants us to enjoy the things of this earth. He just doesn’t want us putting our hope in wealth or in things. We are to put our hope in Him.

Neither does God want us seeking wealth. We are to seek Him and His kingdom first, and all of these things will be added unto us, according to Matthew 6:33. The gift without the Giver will soon fade, leaving us hungry for more of the gift. If, however, we have a close relationship with the Giver, any gifts we receive are a mere by-product of the richness of His presence in our lives. He first fills our longing with Himself, then His gifts follow. Our dependence must be on Him and not the gifts, or we will remain empty.

What has God shown you in your private time with Him? How has He gifted you? The answers to these questions hold the key to success in life. By seeking God’s kingdom first and developing a relationship with Him, we learn how He created us and what He can use in us to create wealth. How can we effectively work the gift He has placed in us? We find this answer one day at a time as we seek Him. Then, He adds all the other things to our lives for us to enjoy. He is not withholding any good thing from us. We simply have to find it in Him along the path He has planned for us.

Seek God and the richness of His kingdom today. Determine to work the gift He has placed in you, and use it for His glory. Become satisfied with His presence in your life, placing all hope in Him for whatever your future may hold. You will find yourself richly enjoying all things.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 65:17

For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.

This verse reveals one of the reasons there will be no tears in heaven. There will be no memory of past pain. What has happened in the past can certainly be a deterrent to our future when the memories of what happened keep re-surfacing. God will create a new heaven and a new earth, and the past will truly be the past.

We all have a past, and there are things we regret. If we learn from our mistakes and move forward, we have grown and gained in the process. If, however, we continue in the same destructive patterns, we will find ourselves going in circles in the wilderness and never reaching our promised destination. We are to let go of the past, but if your past is still operating in your present, it is not your past. It is your pattern. We must deal with our destructive patterns. 

The children of Israel remembered how they were fed in slavery when they had to encounter faith in the wilderness. They forgot the injustice and back-breaking labor of slavery when they were hungry and having to depend upon God for their next meal. They remembered the wrong things about slavery and even wanted to return. Don’t let your current pain or lack cause you to forget the fact that God has freed you from bondage! Remember that the devil comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy, and returning to a state of bondage is never the answer. Be willing to exercise some faith and depend upon God to feed you where you can’t feed yourself. Your wilderness is there to strengthen you and to lead you to a better place.  Regardless of what the devil may try to tell you, it is not permanent unless you choose for it to be. There really is a promised land on the other side!

We have all heard the advice to learn to forgive and forget. No matter how hard we may try, however, there are just some things we cannot forget. We cannot always turn our memory on or off like a switch. We were created to remember, and remembering what happened in the past is a good thing if it prevents us from making the same mistakes again. There are times when the pain from our past must be healed. Our memories must be programmed to remember the good things that came from the bad and to concentrate on where God is taking us, rather than to focus on all the hurt and loss we have suffered. We cannot change what happened in the past or the pain it caused, but we can choose our focus.

As Philippians 4:8 instructs, “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise – dwell on these things.” Allow God to do something new in your life. He can erase the bad memories of pain we can’t forget when He does a new work in our lives. Ask Him to heal your pain and your memory. Remember the good, and learn from your mistakes. What God has planned is worth it!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 66:12

You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but You brought us out to abundance.

We’ve often heard the saying, “God will not give you more than you can handle,” and we think it is Scriptural. In fact, you won’t find that saying anywhere in the Bible. This saying is a paraphrase from 1 Corinthians 10:13, where Paul instructs us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. This verse has nothing to do with pain, hardship, difficulty, or trials. The truth is that God may very well give you more than you can handle because then you must depend upon Him. If you could handle it all on your own, you wouldn’t need Him, and He may give you much more than you can handle just so you can realize your dependence upon His grace.

God may allow pain, difficulty, testing, hardship, or suffering times into our lives, but He always has a provision and a purpose behind it. If He doesn’t spare us from it, He will certainly take us through it. Any time we find ourselves facing such difficult times, we can know for certain that God will bring us out of it in abundance! If it is patience we need that sends us into a difficult time, we will come out of it with an abundance of patience. If our faith is weak, our struggle will produce an abundance of faith in us. Whatever our need may be in going through the suffering, we can expect our experience to produce an abundance for us.

If you are encountering difficult times right now, know that God is taking you to a better place. While tears may flow freely right now, God is with you and will not allow you to come through this empty handed. There is a prize at the end of every battle that makes the struggle worth the effort. Unless you endure it and depend upon God to see you through, you will miss that prize. If you have to endure the struggle, you might as well gain everything you can from it and continue to press through to the end. Victory and abundance are waiting for you as you learn to depend upon God and His grace.

Have a blessed day!

Job 23:14

He will certainly accomplish what He has decreed for me, and He has many more things like these in mind.

Job’s friend, Eliphaz, accused Job of being worthless to God. He believed Job had sinned and caused God to take his wealth from him. He urged Job to repent so his wealth would be restored. Job, however, knew his difficulties were not the result of sin. For some reason unknown to him, God had allowed tragedy and loss into his life, and he could not change it.  He knew God could not be manipulated. If God had decreed something over his life, it would happen just as God decreed it.

Job chose to trust the God who had once blessed him with health, wealth, and family, regardless of his current circumstances. He believed in the goodness of God, even though his life wasn’t very good at the time. He knew that God would accomplish what he planned, and his life would be better in God’s plan than if he tried to manipulate or demand his own.

We all need to learn this lesson from Job. When we encounter difficult seasons of life, we must trust and rely upon the goodness of God. He has not deemed us worthless. He sent His precious Son to die for us and pay the high price for our sins. Indeed, we are of great value to Him, and we can trust that He will accomplish what He has decreed for us. Jesus came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly, and we can count on God to bring us to a place of abundant life in Christ. His plan is better than our broken dreams!

Today, praise God for His perfect plan for our lives. Rest in knowing that He has decreed good things for us, and we are of great value to Him. He has promised to never leave us, and His greatest blessing is in His presence. 

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 55:6

Seek the LORD while He may be found; call to Him while He is near.

Jesus promised He would always be with us, even to the very end of the age. This verse, however, indicates that there could be a time when God cannot be found. For the wicked, there is certainly coming a day when the time to surrender to Christ will cease, and a relationship with the Father is no longer possible. This verse, however, has an even deeper implication for the Christian. We, too, may experience times when God cannot be found.

Sin dulls our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. We fall into sin because our fleshly nature yearns for it. Sin is always a quick fix to our pain or void, and we seek the temporary relief, rather than the ultimate healing. As long as we cling to what makes us temporarily comfortable, we will never overcome the sin that so easily ensnares us, according to Hebrews 12:1.

When we find ourselves in the entangled web of sin, God may seem far away and hard to find. We’ve listened to the voices that make our flesh feel comfortable, and we can no longer distinguish God’s voice from temptation. We become lost and stuck in its confusing and confining structure, just waiting for the spider to bite and suck the life right out of us. If only we had listened to God’s voice before we became entangled, we could have avoided devastation.

Don’t toy with danger. Know that if you deliberately go where you should not go, you may find yourself caught in a trap. Seek God while He may be found, and run from evil. Webs tend to form in dark, hidden places. If you find yourself trapped in one, there is a spider lurking somewhere who sees you as lunch. If God seems too hard to find, cry out to Him so He may find you. Webs are easily broken from the outside, and God is perfectly capable of stomping the spider on your behalf.

Have a blessed day!

Revelation 3:8-9

I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you and open door that no none is able to close. Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying – note this – I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

Jesus told the angel of the church in Philadelphia to write these words. This church had kept Christ’s command to endure, and He would keep them from the hour of testing that would soon come over the whole earth. He placed a door of opportunity before them that no one could shut. This door gave them authority over those who claimed to belong to God but actually followed Satan. Just as the Father set Jesus apart and bestowed His love upon Him at His baptism, so Jesus displays HIs love to this church who had not denied His name.

In John 10:9, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.” Jesus is the door of authority. Those who try to gain power in any other way will one day bow to the one Jesus loves because He will grant His favor to His beloved. Malachi 3:18 declares, “So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” There is a noticeable difference between those who follow God and those who serve themselves, and God will ultimately expose the difference by displaying His favor upon those who truly belong to Him. Those who belong to Him are those who have entered His kingdom through the door of Jesus Christ.

We all want to be the favored child of the family. To be favored makes us special and grants us certain privileges.  When we don’t sense that favor from a parent, we envy the child who is favored. We feel as if we are slighted or cheated somehow if we don’t receive the greatest favor, and we often misbehave in order to gain attention. I’ve seen this portrayed in my own family, and I’m sure you have yours, as well. Jesus grants us that favor by giving us an open door in front of us, and that door is Himself. When we have Him, we have every open door we need for success and authority over the enemy.

You have an open door in front of you today in the person of Jesus Christ. You are special to Him, and He grants you the favor you need to be victorious over the enemy. His desire is for your enemy to bow at your feet and to know that He has loved you. Don’t deny His name. Don’t run from Him; run to Him. The enemy is jealous of you because of the favor you have, and he wants to steal it. Jesus knows you have limited strength to endure the Devil’s antics, so trust Him to provide the opportunity you need to be victorious. There is truly a difference between those who belong to God and those who don’t, and He will one day expose those who are His by displaying His favor upon them. Keep calm and endure. Your crown is waiting!

Have a blessed day!

Joel 2:28-29

After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. I will pour out My Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days.

Joel is prophesying about a time just before God brings judgment on this world and the nations who have persecuted Israel. By all accounts, we are living in those days. We should all pay close attention to this prophecy and understand what it is saying.

God’s anointing is for all His people, regardless of age, gender, or social class. God will pour out His Holy Spirit on you! Expect Him to speak to you and through you. Expect Him to use you to advance His kingdom and dispel the darkness. Expect God to give you success. You are included in this prophecy! This word is for you! He leaves none out who are called by His name.

The Devil will try to make you think you have not heard from God. He will try to intimidate you from speaking what you know to be is true. He will make you fearful of what others will think of you. He may even try to convince you that you are crazy. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world! You do hear from God; He is working in you, through you, and for you. If ever there was a time to have faith for the promises of God to be fulfilled in your life, it is now! God is pouring out His Spirit on all people, and this includes you. Receive what He has for you, and go forth with full assurance that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it. God said it, and He will do it!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 118:8-9

I called to the LORD in distress; the LORD answered me and put me in a spacious place.  The LORD is for me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? With the LORD for me as my helper, I will look in triumph on those who hate me.

When we call to the LORD in distress, He often moves us to a spacious place. We all need room to grow and experience His unfailing love for us. If we are stunted by our limitations or a confined environment, God may open doors or relocate us to accommodate growth. If the people with whom we associate are causing us to regress spiritually, He may choose a new set of friends for us. If we have gained all we can from a current position, He may choose to move us. Sometimes, a change of scenery is necessary.

You need not fear if God has decided to move you. If He is for you, no one can stand against you. Others may not approve, but if God is doing the moving, you can’t stop it. He will cause you to triumph in those circumstances. 

Do you need an open, spacious place to grow? Maybe you don’t need to physically move from your home, but you need something new to tackle as a project. Perhaps, you need to expand your education in some area. If you feel isolated and alone, you might need to develop a new set of friends. Be open to new opportunities and environments where God may be leading you. You need not fear the unknown if God is for you. He is your helper, and He will cause you to triumph!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 144:9

God, I will sing a new song to you; I will play on a ten-stringed harp for You–

In this psalm, David is crying out for deliverance from his enemies through praise. He vows to sing a new song to God in response to His deliverance. Apparently, David has learned something through this experience, and he is determined to give God the glory for it. 

Where do you need to be delivered today? Cry out to God in praise. What is He teaching you through this struggle? Where has He been faithful to you already? Determine to respond to His deliverance with a new song, and stop speaking words of doubt over your life. Sing a new song to God by speaking forth faith for that which you want to see happen, and dare to believe God will give you victory over your enemy.

Old songs may be easy to remember, but they become monotonous with repetition. We often forget the meaning of them while reciting their familiar words. We need a new reason to praise God! We need a new victory, a new testimony, a new passion to share! Determine to sing a new song to God in this new year for what you are experiencing right now. He is alive and active in your situation, and He is waiting to reveal Himself in a whole new way. He deserves a new song of praise!

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 26:15

You have added to the nation, LORD. You have added to the nation; You are honored. You have expanded all the borders of the land.

God adds to the nation who honors Him by expanding the borders of the land. If a church or ministry really wants to grow, it should begin by honoring God. He will increase what honors Him.

I often see ministries honoring people. If a ministry is built upon a personality, it will eventually fail. If, however, a ministry is built upon the strong foundation of the word of God and gives all the glory to Him, God will add to the number daily those who are being saved. Honoring God will draw others to us, and that is exactly the kind of growth we desire.

May 2023 be a year in which our primary goal is to honor God in all we do. He will increase what honors Him. May God expand our borders so we may spread the gospel and teach others His word. Real growth begins by honoring God with the little we have right now. When He is glorified, He will find ways for that glory to multiply so those who need Him will be drawn to Him.

Have a blessed day!