Devotions - Prayer
Setting Goals:
*A goal is looking into the future and aiming in a certain direction. Attack it with your faith and submit it all to God.
A goal gives us direction–Goal gives you purpose–With goals you must have a plan–Set dates–keeps us realistic— Identify’s our enemies/strongholds– a goal makes us have Commitment.
In Habakkuk 2:2 God requested His plans and goals be written down CLEARLY and with a TIMESCALE!
*A Vision/Goal without Action is a Delusion!
*Where their is no Goal their is no order.
*Faith is believing with out seeing. Don’t just have hope. Have faith.
*Even when you know your God given Goals their will be trials, and things that come against you, to keep you from your Goals.
Proverbs 29:18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.
Setting Goals:
*How you begin something will determine how you finish.
*Unless we give “serious thought” to our goals and how to reach them, our time, money, and priorities will usually be “Determined by Others”. You have the word of God. You have Jesus. You have the Holy Spirit. You have God. Get scriptures to stand on to help get past all the blocks and distractions. Even when your ready to quit, read them.
*Identifying some life objectives can lead us into deeper intimacy with the Lord.
* It can also result in healthier relationships with family and friends, and the peace of mind that comes from a well-planned strategy.
As Proverbs says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage”
(Prov. 21:5).
Goals and Motivation:
To begin, I encourage you to write down each of your goals. Let me remind you to keep your mind and heart open to God’s desires for you.
Proverbs 16:9 reminds us, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”
*That doesn’t mean you are not supposed to make plans and set priorities.
*BUT it does mean that on occasion, you will need to adjust your focus as God reveals His purposes for your life.
Once your objectives are listed, write
WHY fulfilling them is important.
That way, you’ll know your Motivation for each goal you set.
*The “why” WILL Motivate YOU to “Continue Moving Forward” in your efforts when other things come up that could be a temptation to abandon that goal.
Some Goal Killers:
– Your Circumstances: easier to quit then stick it out (look at peoples New Years Resolutions- how many succeed?)
– Continual losers/track record of only failures.( We want to grow in the Lord and learn that we are NOT failures).
– Failure forecasters/never believe in the Goal to start with.
– Self-seekers/people looking for whats in it for themselves only.
-Don’t like Transparency, Accountability or Responsibility with self and/or others. -lack of Motivation/laziness.
What’s more, in order to achieve your ambitions, it’s important to have an IDEA of what your objectives are and WHY they are worth attaining.
John 15:16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.
Types of goals:
I’d like to suggest a couple of areas to consider when setting goals:
1. Your “spiritual goals” are of utmost importance.
*Perhaps you need to re-examine your “quiet time”—or start one if you don’t already spend time alone with God.
* Plan when and where you will meet with the Lord during the week.
*Don’t leave it to chance.
*Unless you set aside time, other things will fill your schedule.
Another spiritual goal would be to join a “small group”. If there aren’t any small groups you like or interest you— YOU might offer your time and energy to facilitate one.
“Serving” is another spiritual goal to consider.
2. “Character goals” are vital to your growth as a spouse, parent, child, friend, pastor, boss, or employee. Try asking these questions:
• What would I like to become?
• What one thing would I like to see God change in me?
• What character quality—if developed—would make me a better parent, sibling, friend, etc.?
*Personality is what you’re born with; Character is what you develop to deal with your personality. Character is who you are— when no one is looking.
An Example of how a “character goal” may look like from a married man’s perspective. It may have three parts something like this: His Goals are to be:
1. A husband worth respecting
2. A father worth imitating
3. A leader worth following
Then Ask yourself: Why do I feel those objectives are important?
Answer. “That is what God has called me to be”.
*To “Move” in this direction will lead to a deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
* To “Become” these things will make time on earth worth having been here. . . .”
*It will set a “pace and direction” for children that, if followed, will ensure for them the best quality of life they can experience as well.
*Then Ask:” Why do I want to achieve this goal?”
That Motivation will help in the choices made and will guard us when temptation comes.
Get started
Determine the areas of your life that need specific goals, and go to work. *Whether objectives involve finances, relationships, or health, Don’t waste time feeling sorry that you didn’t take action sooner.
* Instead, begin to establish where you want to be six months or a year from now, and ask God to give you the strength to stay on track.
*ASK a friend to hold you accountable and periodically check up on your progress.
To ensure that you use your time well, sit down and make a schedule for the coming days.
When the year ends, you will be among the minority who ended the year with more accomplished and less left undone with our values in life strengthen.
*Values are what we are prepared to live for and die for and are tested in diversity (Mat 16:25)
We can drift from our values but we can (and must) realign.
Think about it:
How many in Christ’s body sit up half the night trying to figure out
their problems?
We think, “Maybe this will work. No, no…. Maybe that will solve it. No….”
There is a problem, but Jesus
knows your whole situation. And he comes to you, asking, “What are we going to do about this?”
The correct answer from us should be, “Jesus, you are God. Nothing
is impossible with you. So, I’m giving this problem over to you. It’s no
longer mine, but yours.”
That’s just what we need to say to our Lord today, in the midst of our
crisis:
Dear Lord, You are the miracle worker and I’m going to surrender all my
doubts and fears to You. I entrust this entire situation, my whole life, into
Your care. I know you won’t allow me to faint. In fact, you already know what
you’re going to do about my problem. I trust in your power, I’m Ready to follow your Leading and my additional Goals you are about to give me for Your glory and my Joy. Heavenly Father~ Please remain in me so that You can constantly remind me of your love and my weakness so that I may love your children as you have loved me. Amen
Ps. Nothing can be done over night. You have to work on it. Be disciplined.
Read MorePeople will always let you down, but don’t put your faith in people, put your faith in Christ, He will never leave or forsake you.
The Presence and Joy of the Lord within your life is revealed from your private worship and quiet time with Him.
“The Lord sustains all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.”
Psalm 145:14
*God treats us with LOVING KINDNESS by meeting ALL our NEEDS.
Psalm 145:14-21
-Meet our emotional needs (v. 14)
-Meets our physical needs (v. 15,16)
-Meet our spiritual needs (v.17,18)
Philippians 2:1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
God created Jesus as man, who humbled himself, and being obedient to death by dying on the cross when he did no crime at all.
In our relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human being,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Love people like God loves you!
God gives us two commands or better yet the two L’s..
* L1: Love God
*L2: Love others, even your enemies or the worst people.. there are no exceptions unless you wanna judge like God!
Pray for more and more of our Heavenly Father’s love today!
It is only through God’s grace that we can be faithful to our calling.
* Each of us is capable of falling away from God.
*Pray that God will keep us ALL faithful to the purposes He has for our life.
* He strengthens those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.
God accepted Christ’s sacrifice, he now sees only one corporate man: Christ, and those who are bound to him by faith.
The GOOD NEWS Our flesh has died in God’s eyes.
How? Jesus did away with our old nature at the Cross. So now, when God
looks at us, he sees only Christ.
In turn, we need to learn to see ourselves as God does.
That means not focusing solely on our sins and weaknesses, but on the
victory that Christ won for us at the Cross.
Thank You Jesus for Loving us FIRST!
Help me Lord to focus on you more, not worldly things, be selfless & love everyone equally for Your Glory and our Joy.
Amen
Our testimony, our declaration of who we are in Christ, is a further weapon that fends off the lies of the accuser.
Colassians 2: 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that NO one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
Selfless, Christ-honoring, living is the ultimate weapon. The battle now truly becomes the Lord’s.
No longer me living, but Christ living in me.
Thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in Christ!
Revelation 12:11 – “And they (the saints of God) overcame him (satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
When we stand before God on that Day, our testimony WILL be that we overcame the devil.
1 John 2 is an awesome exhortation to stand firm and fight!! We cannot testify that we have overcome with our testimony if we’ve had nothing to overcome.
Paul said God was glorified through the chains that “momentarily” held him. So don’t get discouraged on your current state or condition…just PRESS through to Jesus. Fast, pray, repent, worship… CHASE HIM. Cry out to Jesus! Anything to overcome!!! (Romans 6—died to sin)
Galations 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
To God be the Glory! As He strengthens me through His Word,
I learn to trust Him more and not allow defeat feelings from the enemy!
Being able to live a life of joy with full confidence in our High Priest who made atonement for our sins, enables us to enjoy even the journey on this side!
God is so awesome – He provided us with a Savior – a High Priest who knows our challenges and covers them in LOVE!
We do NOT have to FEAR anything – even death- Jesus died and was resurrected in order for US to experience life now, and life to come!!!! Thank you Lord! What a testimony we have to share!
“I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.” – John 3:11
Over the years I have seen two distinct types of Christian believers. I have been both in and out of my different seasons.
*One type enthusiastically teaches their Bible knowledge to others.
These people, though they may be genuine in their motive, lack one essential ingredient to being effectively used by God – a testimony.
*The second type of people I have encountered has a genuine testimony of what God IS doing and Continues to do in their lives.
This was the case in the early Church. **Men and women were able to give Powerful Testimony of Events and Experiences that could only be explained as a work of God.
Are we seeing and telling others daily the Events and Experiences that could only be explained as a work of God?
God desires to build a testimony in each of us. Each of us is one of God’s chosen vessels to reflect HIS Power IN and Through us. Testimonies of Jesus!
*When others see this power reflected, they are impacted because they cannot explain that power.
* God desires to frame your life with experiences designed(good times as well as bad times) to reflect the character and nature of Christ.
Sometimes these events can be very devastating, but they are designed to Reveal His Power in and through us.
Every one of us has a testimony. What would others say your testimony is today? Can others see God’s work in your life?
*Is your testimony one of Bible knowledge only?
*Are things happening in your life that can only be explained as God?
These can be problematic questions for each of us. Ask God to build a testimony of His life in and through you today.
Luke 21:13 And so you will bear testimony to me.
*We forget that God can use our trials, even involving those who would be our enemies, as an opportunity to witness.
If we would see our circumstances in this manner, as an opportunity to make a bigger impact in eternity, then maybe we would bear them more easily than if we did not view them in such a way.
John 5:31 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true.
*Even Jesus talked about having a “witness” to prove his divinity. This got me thinking… in the end, who’s going to witness for me?
**Will Christ himself stand for me and give out grace and mercy from the judgment seat?
*** For all Christians, our faith is to Believe just this!!!!!
**So the question stands… in the end, WHO’S GOING TO WITNESS FOR YOU?
*We must learn that we can do nothing by ourselves. We need the strength of our God.
*We even need God to lead us to what to think or we will go astray in our idea of things.
*We must believe the testimony of the Father about Jesus so that we can See HIS form and Hear HIS voice and have HIS Word, HIS life giving word, dwelling in us.
***We come to Jesus to have life!!!!
*It is then that we have the love of God in our heart.
* It gives us a right perspective about ourselves, about others and about God.
This belief is dependent on our ability to do something, to accept glory from God and not from people, as if they could actually give it anyway.
John 5: 44 is so plain, if we accept glory from one another we can’t believe. We will have to want what God gives, or want God whether he gives anything or not, before we are ready for the relationship of trust with God that we call believing.
Jesus got it right and so can we. We can depend (without him we can do nothing), think his thoughts (our judgement is not our own), come to him and have life (where we know him and are loved by him), and seek the pleasure and delight of God (we believe when we want God and the glory he would give).
Isn’t it interesting how getting it right isn’t so much about rule keeping but about Death to Self and Total Submission to God. That’s what has been right all along.
Hebrews 2: 18 Since he himself(Jesus) has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
Be the answer to somebody else’s prayer. You could be the answer to someone’s prayer by sharing Jesus with someone. They could have friends and family praying for them and their hearts may be ready. All they may need is someone to introduce the concept.
Luke 21:13 And so you will bear testimony to me.
We as people love to make our faith as difficult as possible sometimes, the TRUTH is if we find JESUS, we find everything!!!!!
Come Lord Jesus Come. Amen
Finding Jesus removes the veil over our eyes and now we’re not only free to see God’s glory but to reflect it!!!
We don’t fully understand that God uses our failures and our mistakes as a means of drawing us closer to Him.
“Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.”Hosea 6:1
Disobedience Rooted in Fear
“Then Moses said to them, ‘No one is to keep any of it until morning.'” – Exodus 16:19
Have you ever seen God do something really good in your life only to find that you have Abused the Blessing He gave you? Family, Friends, Children, resources, Peace, Saftey, Purpose, Freedom. I have!
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit.
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me.” (John 16:7-8)
Ever Thought:Why is it better for us that Jesus is now with the Father and the Holy Spirit is with us?
I see at least two reasons.
1. In John 16:12 we see Jesus say there were things He still wanted to share with them but they weren’t ready.
The Holy Spirit would not just Teach them but actually Guide them into TRUTH.
Jesus was teaching them in this chapter but they were clueless as to what He meant.
*Clearly we need to be guided into understanding the Lord. Thank you Holy Spirit for not just telling us the way but for also being a guide to take us there.
2. As wonderful as walking with Jesus in the flesh would be, even in his spiritual, after resurrection, body, Jesus could only be one place at one time. We would have very limited access to Him and would usually find ourselves on our own trying to live for God and represent Him in this world.
*** The Holy Spirit IS always with ALL believers. Thank you Jesus!
It is sometimes hard for us to grasp the fact that the Holy Spirit is a Him, not an it.
After all, the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as a mighty rushing wind.
* We read of His coming upon the disciples in a divided flame of fire.
*We also read about His descending as a dove.
*But let’s remember that Jesus is called the Bread of Life, and the Father is described as a refuge, hiding us under the shadow of His wings.
Does that mean that Jesus is a loaf of bread—or that the Father is a giant bird in heaven?
Of course not. These are simply metaphors to help US understand our GREAT and PERFECT GOD.
The Holy Spirit is a Him, and He has specific work that He wants to do.
*This includes convicting us of our sin—not necessarily sin in general, but to Show us that we are sinners.
**The Holy Spirit takes the message of the Death and Resurrection of JESUS, Shows us it is True, and Shows us that we need to Turn to God.
Without the convicting power of the Spirit, we would never have come to Jesus.
That is why, when I am praying for an unbeliever, I pray that God would convict him or her by His Holy Spirit.
*The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict us of our sin to drive us to despair, BUT to send us into the open arms of JESUS.
Works of the Spirit;
* The Holy Spirit Abides in us. (John 14:16)
*The Spirit Convicts of sin (John 16:7-8)
*The Holy Spirit Testifies concerning Christ (Romans 15:16/ Galatians 5:22-25)
*The Spirit Teaches and brings to our remembrance (John 14:26)
*The Spirit Reveals the TRUTH (John 16:12-13)
*The Spirit Gives gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7)
***The Holy Spirit is to show US our need for JESUS!!!!!!.
Holy Spirit. “My Personal Assistant”
John16:7; 14:16
This is Jesus talking to the Disciples.
•Jesus is telling his disciples in the text that although he is leaving, don’t be troubled or nervous about anything because he is sending a companion.
•Whenever you accepted Christ as your savior, you accepted the Holy Spirit who lives on the inside of you.
•The Holy Spirit walks with us and talks with us; he is a personal assistant that resides with you forever.
•You can’t shake the Holy Spirit; wherever you go the Holy Spirit will be there.
•No one can teach you how to “get the Holy Ghost” because he already dwells within you.
• You accepted the Holy Spirit when you accepted Christ. (Acts 2:37-38)
•The Holy Spirit is there to help you in any way possible.
•One of his jobs is to comfort you in uncomfortable situations.
•You just have to learn how to tap into the spirit that’s already there.
•The problem with many of us is that we don’t spend enough time with him.
•We sometimes want to reduce the Holy Spirit to just certin giftings,but he’s so so much MORE than that. (Read 1 Corinthians 12).
•He’s a guide, comforter, motivator, and is there to help you in any way possible.
•If you spend time talking with the Holy Spirit, he will order your steps. He wants to lead you to your destiny.
•The Holy Spirit helps you to discern who you should be around and what situations you should be in.
•The Holy Spirit reminds you of everything you’ve been taught.
•The depth of your relationship with the Holy Spirit is directly related to the depth of your commitment to the word.
•Some of us are getting our butts kicked and is going through so much turmoil because we don’t have anything on the inside of us (no word) for the Holy Spirit to pull from; we don’t have enough word in us for the Holy Spirit to help us out.
•We’re talking to everybody but the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit Filled:
1. Must be a believer. Acts 2:37-38
2. Must come humbly. Acts 7:51
3. Must ask in faith. Mark 11:24
4. Must receive by faith. 1 John 5:14-15
5. Must be Jesus focused.
Acts 19: 2 and Paul said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”….
Recieving the holy spirit is the journey from our mind to heart….allowing God to penetrate the essence of our being; When we allow GOD to penetrate the Core of who we are we have received the Holy Spirit.
Fruits of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.
I say let’s ALL rise up to the new level and more profound way of victory that is being revealed to us at this time through the Holy Spirit. Allow our faith to arise to receive all that the Lord is releasing, and our spiritual growth will take an exponential leap. Refuse to settle for religious dogma when you can move with the flow of the Holy Spirit to greater revelation of the Lord’s kingdom. But, you must also keep His Word as the Standard by which you measure TRUTH. Do not be afraid to move forward!!!!
Thank you Holy Spirit for continually being with us guiding us, guarding us, consoling and counseling us. Lord help us Embrace all that Holy Spirit has for us and the body of Christ. We ALL with our gifts are meant to be used for God’s glory. Help us be a brighter light, which means that we are to proclaim the gospel and do good works. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Yes—We are called to be salt and light—to live a godly life.
Amen
The reason I am writing this is to remind Us the battle we are facing is not
ours, but God’s.
If you are a child of his, you can be certain that Satan will “rage against you.”
In 2 Chronicles 20, a great multitude came against God’s people. King
Jehoshaphat and his people set their hearts to seek the Lord and to fast.
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