Devotions - Prayer
Salvation is our greatest need:
*Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
*Romans 5:11 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Peace can only come when we relate to God on the basis of faith in what He did for us, instead of what we do for Him.
A person who is thinking that he must perform up to some standard to be accepted by God will have no peace.
That puts the burden of salvation on our shoulders, and we can’t bear that load.
*We were incapable of living holy enough to please God before we were saved, and we are incapable of living holy enough to please God now that we are saved (Heb. 11:6).
We were saved by faith, and we have to continue to walk with God by faith (Col. 2:6).
It’s traditionally acceptable to think about baby Jesus in the manger. And, of course, it’s all part of the beautiful Christmas story. But also, let’s remember that Jesus came with a purpose, to destroy the works of the enemy. Friend, whatever it is that you are going through; know this…Jesus came to empower you to be an overcomer!
Yes, it’s true that He came to provide salvation. But, it’s so much more! Salvation is derived from the Greek word sozo, which means more than being “saved”; salvation is a word that fully translates as protection, prosperity, healing, and (I like to say) everything that Heaven has to offer! When Jesus died on the Cross, we reaped the full benefits of sozo!
Jesus came as a Champion over every stronghold, every setback, and every mountain that attempts to stand before you! You have been promised victory according to the “counsel” of your Mighty God! The enemy will attempt to speak lies that will bind you to the shame of your past. See 1 John 4:4
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 1:27a
Lord, thank You for picking me up when I fall down. I know that my struggles mean that You are helping me overcome my negative mindsets and bringing me more and more in line with Your way of thinking. The Peace of God Transcends all obstacles. I love you Lord! Amen.
Read MoreMatthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”
Jesus makes it very clear that we must have faith and doubt not.
Every believer has faith, but most believers also have an abundance of doubt that negates their faith.
*It is when we purify our faith and only believe, that victory comes.
How you View God and how you view yourself will determine your success.
Every Christian is at war. There is a perpetual struggle against Satan.
*Our enemy goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8).
*Those who resist the devil will see him flee (Jas. 4:7).
The only ones whom he devours are those who don’t actively fight against him.
The mind is the battlefield where thoughts and reasoning’s that are contrary to God’s Word, need to be captured and submitted to Christ, our Commander.
*Our battle against the devil takes place right between our ears.
The spiritual weapons given to us are designed for the express purpose of taking EVERY thought captive and making them obedient to Christ.
Keeping our minds completely stayed upon the Lord is an obtainable goal.
These weapons of ours are for the casting down of two things:
1. Imaginations
2. Every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.
**Both of these areas are dealing with the mind.
Focus on the good in every area of your life.
Failure to recognize God’s blessings in every day living will cause fear and anxiety.
Recognizing God’s hand in even the smallest thing will cause peace and keep our hearts and minds following hard after the Lord.
Instead of talking to God about how big your problems are, talk to your problems about how big your God is!
Don’t let the devil steal anymore of your joy.
*Block your ears to his deceits!
*No one but the Lord knows your future.
***And as a loving Father HE only has good plans for you!
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Father, thank You for Your Word which is life to my spirit. I receive Your strength today and choose to speak to the mountain before me. Thank You for victory on the cross and for Your Resurrection so I can move forward in the good plan You have for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.
Read: 1 John 4:4 and see we fight FROM Victory—not For Victory!
Read MoreWe live in the world, but Christ has overcome the world. While we’re here, we have to deal with some stuff of the world.
Very often we struggle with what goes on in our own minds. We emphasize spiritual warfare, but many of our battles are internal.
If we can win the battle between our ears, the rest of it will be easy.
In spiritual warfare of the mind is the literally the battle ground.
The mind is the control center that establish the direction of our lives. What goes on in our mind determines the course of every other part of our lives.
It effects the decision we make.
Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
* Focus on God; His will to understand the true purpose one has when placed here.
We have weapons to fight the good fight.
The first weapon available to us is truth. The Christian is given an insight into life and reality that others do not have. We know what is behind the forces at work in our society today, and we ought to know how to go about overcoming them.
Truth is realism. That is why it is so important that we understand the Scriptures, that we refresh our minds with them all the time, for we are constantly bombarded with illusion and error every day, and it is easy to drift back into thinking the way everybody around us thinks.
Love is also a powerful weapon, and in Scripture, the Word of God links truth with love.
Along with truth and love in Scripture is Faith.
Faith is the recognition that God is present in history.
God has not left us alone to stumble on our own way. The Lord Jesus sits in control of all the nations of earth.
Another powerful weapon for the Christian, proceeding from faith, is prayer.
The power of prayer is held before us throughout Scripture.
Lord, help me from here on to begin to use the weapons of truth, love, faith, and prayer for Your Glory. Amen
“Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” – Exodus 14:15
Moses had brought the whole nation of Israel, approximately 600,000, to a dead end in the desert.
The only thing between Israel and Pharaoh’s pursuing army was the Red Sea.
Panic set in. The defenseless Israelites cried out,
“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?…It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Ex. 14:11b-12)
God sometimes brings each of us to a “Red Sea” in our life.
*It may be a work problem that can’t be solved.
*It may be a marriage that seems to be failing.
*It may be a debilitating disease.
**Whatever your Red Sea, God tells us one thing: Keep moving forward.
The Red Sea was before them, yet God was angered at Moses and told him to “Keep moving.”
“But Lord, the Red Sea is before me.” “Keep moving.”
When we live by sight, we act on what we see. God sets this stage in dramatic fashion. God is into the dramatic. There is no way out without God here. That is just the way He wants it. No one will get glory except God.
There is great healing when we look past our own problems and seek to invest ourselves in others for the sake of Christ.
This is when our own Red Seas become parted.
*We begin to walk to freedom. But we will never experience the miracle of the Red Sea in our lives if we don’t first “Keep moving forward.
There is an issue that you must settle in your own mind and heart. There are just some things that you cannot fix or make different. You can only make decisions about the things that are yours to deal with, and that does not include other people and their choices.
Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Amen
Matthew 17:20 “You do not have enough faith, Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as a small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
If we are facing a problem that seems as big and immovable as a mountain, turn our eyes from the mountain and look to Christ for more faith.
Only then will we be able to overcome the obstacles that may stand in our way.
- There is great potential in even a little faith when we trust in God’s power to act.
- We need to trust in God’s power not our own ability to produce results.
Acts 1:8 But you(apostles) will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
We can always look around and find plenty of Christians who are not using this power, but 2 Corinthians 10:12 says that comparing ourselves among ourselves is not wise.
Most Christians are living so far below what God intended for them that when someone begins to live a normal Christian life (according to God’s standard), then everyone thinks he’s abnormal.
We will be successful when we not only build our faith but destroy our doubts.
One reason we are so prone to doubt is that we fail to see God at work in our circumstances.
- We asked, and nothing happened.
- But the Lord is not some cosmic bellhop who jumps in response to our requests.
- He sees past, present, and future and knows the right time for every answer.
- His invisible hand is already at work on our behalf—arranging situations to accomplish His will, opening hearts, and preparing us to receive what He wants to give.
If we don’t know God’s ways, we will be disappointed in His response. (see Hosea 4:6)
All too often our prayers are accompanied by expectations of how He will work. When He fails to intervene according to our timetable or anticipated method, we start to doubt.
But placing our faith in the Lord and trusting in His good and perfect ways gives us stability as we wait for His answer.
To overcome doubts, spend time in the Word to learn God’s principles and ways. Then you’ll begin to grasp what He wants to achieve in your life and how He goes about it.
Thank You Jesus for all the answered prayers of the past that I just took for granted. Amen
Read MoreHave you been set free?
You probably think, “Of course! I’ve been washed, redeemed, made holy by Jesus, and I live for Him. ”
Now here’s a follow-up question: Does your everyday life reflect the glorious freedom you have just described?
*Would your friends, your spouse, your children say you’ve been set free?
**Or are you like multitudes of Christians who feel they are on a spiritual seesaw?
Is your walk with Christ continually up and down, seemingly spiritual one moment and carnal the next?
We accept by faith the great truths about Jesus’ work for us—salvation, redemption, sanctification, deliverance. Yet for many of us, these are“spiritual truths” that exist in another world.
We sing and rejoice at church each week over what Jesus has done for us—but is His gift of freedom a reality in our daily lives?
At times we all struggle to remain pure in thoughts and actions. Maybe this week you said something unkind to your spouse and you have been stewing, “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I be a blessing in my marriage?”
Whenever we fail in our walk with God, we wonder, “Has God really set me free?”
Perhaps at times you even question your salvation.
Now that isn’t freedom. I have been there way to often.
So what does it mean to really be set free in Christ?
The first evidence of this comes from Jesus, who says, “Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? . . . Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:27, 33,).
Christ offers the same words to all of us who fret about our spiritual lives:
Do not be anxious! It does not matter how broken down you feel about your walk with Him. He declares, “You are a new creation” (see 2 Corinthians 5:17).
The moment you chose to follow Jesus, He made you new—and that never changes. (Read Eph. 2:1-10)
Thank You Jesus for the personal relationship we have and may we become more and more as ONE each passing day for Your Glory and my Joy! Thank You Jesus for the Freedom I know I have in Knowing You! Amen
Read MorePaul testified, “It pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb,and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him” (Galatians 1:15-16).
Paul was saying, “I have within me much more than some doctrine somebody thought up, more than just a head knowledge of Christ.
*I have a revelation of who Christ is—
*A revelation of His grace, mercy and love.
**And this revelation has become the very source of all I am and do.
**It’s the very essence of my life!”
The revelation of God’s glory is indeed wondrous. Yet many have turned that very revelation into a license to sin.
Jude describes people “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
According to Paul, such people sin “that grace may abound” (Romans 6:1).
*They are saying, in essence, “If God loves to express Himself through mercy and forgiveness, then I’m going to give Him every opportunity. I’m going to sin and let Him keep loving me, so that grace will flow.
What a testimony to the world that will be. I Will(see the I) be an object of all that love coming down from heaven.”
Such people are easy to spot. Their expression gives them away.
*Whatever is in your heart is going to reveal itself in your countenance.”
Proverbs 19:22a, says, “What a person desires is unfailing love.”
*Unfailing love is mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, and not once is it attributed to a person. It is only attributed to God.
God gave us a desire for unfailing love because He knew it would lead us back to Him.
His love draws us to Him. Only we can stop God from reaching the deep and hidden parts within us that need Him most.
Thank You Jesus!!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!
*My Testimony is that I’m already paid for by the blood of Jesus!
Freedom in Christ!
1. “ANY trial is just a test for my promotion. After my manifestation of the “win” I’m STRONGER!!!”
2. God’s financial plan is the only plan that won’t fail!
3. STOP pushing the panic button! The panic button takes God out of the equation.
4. *A lie can stop my freedom
5. The Truth is not a saying, but Truth is a person– John 14:6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Amen
We can lack faith because we don’t understand what it is sometimes.
Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.
I read this someplace and it really hit home for me about Faith.
A drowning boy struggled desperately in the water. His mother, on shore, cried out for a strong young man swimming near her son to save him.
But the young man remained several feet away from the boy.
Strength failing, the boy’s struggles ceased and he began to sink.
With two deft strokes, the young man was at the boy’s side.
After both were on the shore, the mother asked the young man, “Why didn’t you save my boy sooner?”
The young man replied, “I could not save your boy until he gave up his own struggling. He would have pulled us both down.”
Just as the drowning boy found his best efforts of no avail, and just as the Lord’s disciples found their best efforts insufficient, we often come face-to-face with a problem only to find our best efforts not enough.
What a happy discovery this can be!
Now we call out to God for help.
*Nothing is impossible with God.
*His efforts are always sufficient to satisfy the need.
Instead of struggling along, let us seek the help of our heavenly Father Who is ever by our side to work on our behalf.
When we have ceased our struggling with the overwhelming problems facing us, we find God is there to help us.
We can have the resources through Christ to meet every challenge.
Jesus promises: I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard see, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you (Matthew 17:20).
Thank You Lord for giving me Faith in You.
Forgive me for any unbelief in Jesus that I may have, which is a turning away from you in order to seek satisfaction in other things. Thank you Jesus for being the only way, truth and life. Amen
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15 ESV).
The Bible tells us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). Have you noticed that the second part of that sentence is easy, but the first part can be really tough?
When somebody’s having a tough time, it’s easy to be sympathetic. It’s easy to encourage people when they’re down. But sometimes what we can’t stand is when they get a promotion. We’re not very good at handling the success of other people. Rather than rejoicing in it, we resent it. In fact, we wish bad things would happen to people, because somehow we think that if we can blow out somebody else’s candle, ours will shine brighter.
There’s plenty of God’s grace to go around. If God wants to pay other people the same amount, so what? I shouldn’t even worry about what he wants to give other people. I should worry about what I’m doing with what I’ve been given.
Let me explain something about envy to you. Envy happens close to you. It happens in your relationship to your peers. You don’t typically envy people who aren’t your peers. You can have some kind of idol worship that says, “I wish I were like that superstar.” But really it’s not as grating as the people closest to you. Those are the people you have the hardest time seeing success in — your family and friends.
Envy is insidious. It devalues others, it destroys relationships, and it makes you miserable. It’s hidden, but it’s destructive. And it causes you to miss out on so much joy.
You’ll enjoy life a whole lot more if you will learn to be happy over the successes of other people. Speak Blessings over them—Not Curses!
If you’re only happy when things go well for you, you’re going to be miserable most of your life, because things won’t always go well for you or anybody else. But if you learn to be happy at other people’s successes and enjoy other people’s celebrations, you can be happy all the time.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:4, “Love does not envy.” Envy is the most unloving thing you can do to somebody else. Love is not envious.
Love celebrates God’s goodness to others. Read 1 Thess. 5:16-19 for God’s will for you. Amen
Read More...”Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah”… – 1 Samuel 22:5
David and his fighting men had been hiding in the cave of Adullam.
*David was fleeing Saul.
*Many of life’s down-and-out had come and joined David’s army.
*David was content to stay in the stronghold of safety.
Then, God’s prophet came to David and told him that he must leave the stronghold and go into the land of Judah.
When life beats down on us and we get to the place where we want to hide in a cave, God often places people around us who prod us into moving forward in the right direction.
Let us not stay in the stronghold but praise our way out.
*God does not want us to remain in the place of discouragement.
*God wants us to move into the land of “praise.” Judah means “praise.
Eccl. 7:13 Consider the work of God: For who can make straight what he has bent? 14 In times of prosperity be joyful, but in times of adversity consider this: God has made one as well as the other, so that no one can discover what the future holds.
Not only must we keep moving forward, we must move into a new realm.
*Our attitude/mind must move from discouragement to praise.
*It is when we move past discouragement to praise that we begin living above our problems.
1 John 5:3 For our love for God means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us, 4 because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith.
Revelation 21:7 Those who win the victory will receive this from me: I will be their God, and they will be my children.
Revelation 12:11 They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die.
Revelation 3:21 To those who win the victory I will give the right to sit beside me on my throne, just as I have been victorious and now sit by my Father on his throne.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Amen
Read MoreDo not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19 NIV).
- Who has a better arsenal to repay, you or God?
- Who can settle the score better, you or God?
- I think God! If I have to choose whether
- I’m going to get back at someone or let God be the God of justice, I’m going to let God be the God of justice.
- I’m going to choose to leave it to God.
Forgiveness does not mean the instant restoration of trust.
- Forgiveness is instant.
- Trust must be rebuilt over time.
- Forgiveness is based on grace.
- Trust is built on works.
- You earn trust. You don’t earn forgiveness.
A lot of people don’t want to forgive, because they think if they forgive people, then they’ve got to trust them again. No. That’s a whole different issue!
Let me say it again: Forgiving someone does not mean you have to trust that person. It means that person has to earn the trust.
If people are in a relationship and one person is dealing with drugs or alcohol or abuse or whatever, they may ask, “Will you forgive me?” Yes, you will forgive them. “Can we go back to the way it was?” No. That’s not at all what we do. If we did it would be called enabling.
Forgiveness and a restoration of a relationship are two different things.
- Forgiveness is only your part, whether they respond or not, whether they ask for it or not, whether they even recognize they need it or not. You forgive for your sake.
- Restoration of a relationship takes far more than forgiveness.
- It takes repentance.
- It takes restitution and a rebuilding of trust.
- And it often takes much more time.
Many people think they can’t forgive because that would mean going back to the same old way. Not at all. But you do have to leave it to God.
Lord, help us all in this area of relationships. Help us do what You would do. Help us search Scripture to find the answer. Amen
Read More THIS IS THE VICTORY
The true purpose of our Christian walk is to freely lay down our lives so God’s Love can pour through us to others.
“Greater love has no one than this; that one lay down His Life for his friends.” John 15:13
“This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John5:4). (see 1 John 4:4 also)
Have you failed?
*Is there a sin that easily besets you?
*Do you feel like a weakened coward, unable to get the victory over secret sin?
*But with that weakness in you, is there also a consuming hunger for God?
*Do you yearn for Him, reach to Him?
*That hunger and thirst is the key to your victory
That hunger sets you apart. You must keep that hunger alive. Keep thirsting after righteousness (moral orderliness). Never justify your weakness, never give in to it, and never accept it as a part of your life.
Faith is your victory.
Sure, you have failed. Maybe yesterday—or even today! We all have!
*But do you believe Jesus has the power to ultimately free you from sin’s power?
*Do you believe the cross of Jesus means sin’s bondage is broken?
*Do you accept the fact that He has promised to deliver you from the snare of Satan?
Where the victory lies.
***Let your heart accept all the promises of victory in Jesus.
**Then let your faith tell your heart,
* “I may not be what I want to be yet but God is at work in me, and He has the power to loose sin’s hold on me.
* I am not the devil’s puppet and I will not be his victim.
*I am a weak child of God, wanting the strength of Jesus.
*I am going to come forth as pure gold tried in the fire.
*God is for me! I commit it all to Him who is able to keep me from falling and present me faultless before the throne of God—with exceeding great joy.”
This is a universal truth. Wisdom comes from obedience, not knowledge. When we have been tested and proven, the reality of our faith results in possessions from God that we would never receive if we had not gone through those trials.
Christ beside me, Christ before me ,Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.
Dear Lord, thank You for calling us Your children. And for making a home within us, so we may rest secure in You. Because You are our dwelling place, we are never alone. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read More
One of the ways God’s goodness is revealed is through His mercy. We may describe mercy as “the readiness of God to relieve the misery of fallen creatures.”
• Many times, mercy is called compassion or lovingkindness.
• Mercy is expressed toward the sinner because of the misery that sin has brought upon him.
God’s mercy to the believer is revealed by His taking away the misery of sin’s consequences through the New Covenant of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mercy is not something merited or earned, but as the Apostle Paul states, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to HIS MERCY He saved us.”
Our Heavenly Father is the author, originator, and source of all mercy.
Psalm 102:11–13 My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass. But you, O Lord, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come.
There’s a picture of a man in deep loneliness, despair. He feels his life is fading away like the evening shadows and there’s so little time left for him. He says, “I’m withering away like grass.” Have you ever felt like that? And what do you do if you ever feel like that?
Do what that man did. He looked away from himself, his own situation, he lifted up his eyes to the Lord and he saw the Lord by faith, on His throne, and he realized that the Lord doesn’t change with our situations and circumstances.
The Lord is always on His throne. He’s always in total control.
And then he realizes that there’s going to come a time of compassion and mercy. He says, “It’s time to show favor to Zion; the appointed time has come.” I believe we are living in that time when God is determined :
• To show mercy to His people,
• To restore His people.
So let’s look away from our problems, our distresses, our anxieties. Let’s look, like the psalmist, up to the throne of God, see God there on His throne and realize He’s ready to show mercy.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1 Peter 1:3 ) Born Again to a Living Hope! Amen
Matthew 24:12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
The only reason that an abundance of iniquity would make anyone’s love for the Lord wax cold, is if he were not separated from that iniquity.
As with Lot, a righteous man can vex his soul from day to day by hearing and seeing the unlawful deeds of the ungodly (2 Pet. 2:8).
We have to deal with the world’s system and those in it, but we need to be careful and maintain proper balance. We should shun relationships with those who influence us negatively more than we influence them positively.
Marriage is one area where this principle is especially true. There is no closer union in life than the marriage relationship. A believer who marries an unbeliever is directly violating this scripture and is toying with disaster.
The Lord should be the most important person in our life.
*How could we possibly become “one” with a person who doesn’t love our Lord?
It is folly to think that after marriage an unbelieving spouse will accept the Lord. Although that does happen, it cannot be guaranteed.
In fact, statistics are overwhelmingly against this happening. Regardless of that possibility, a believer who marries an unbeliever is directly violating God’s instructions here. It is not a good start to any marriage to spurn God’s Word.
Being unequally yoked with unbelievers just doesn’t work. Believers and unbelievers are as different as :
- Righteousness and unrighteousness,
- Light and Darkness
- Jesus and Evil
- One has faith and the other has none.
- One is the temple of God and the other an idol.
- Any Christian who doesn’t see this conflict is deceived.
- Lord, Thank You for your Word and the hard truths that come from it to help us in our journey here on earth. Forgive me for the mistakes I have made and direct my feet onto your path. Give me more wisdom and discernment to do Your will. Amen
Forget Regret
Leave your mistakes and regret in the past. They don’t define your value, then or now.
When you stay in the past you become stuck and unable to move forward.
We all have made mistakes with our job choices, friends and relationships. The consequences can hit us pretty hard.
Give yourself the gift of forgiveness and keep moving forward.
Learn from Failure
Learning from failure and having regret are two separate things. Regret is an emotion; a feeling of disappointment along with a modest amount of shame or guilt.
But to look back at a circumstance and figure out what went wrong gives you some very important information.
This review allows you to evaluate what worked and what didn’t, and more importantly, why.
Ask for Help
You are not alone. It may feel that way sometimes, but there are many people who would extend their hand and lift you up if asked. Often times we are afraid to ask because we don’t believe we are worthy to receive the help.
Believe You are Worthy
Whatever your goal, your dream, or your desire, you are worthy of achieving it.
Take 100% Responsibility
Except in rare and unfortunate circumstances, you are responsible for the quality and condition of your life.
- Sometimes we choose to do nothing when we get hit hard because it’s just easier and less painful that way.
- But the real pain is only deferred.
Know What You Want
This isn’t about the how, only the what. In order to move forward in life, you need a firm foundation to step from. Understanding what and where you want to go in life will provide your vision and spirit – your foundation. The how will figure itself out when you know you want to keep moving forward.
Trust
There are no accidents without value.
When you get hit hard and land on your back, look for the reasons and for the value in this. Open your heart and trust this happened for a reason. Trust the experience is happening for a reason and be open to making adjustments in order to keep moving forward.
Want it More
How badly do you want it?
How badly do you really want to achieve what you are working so hard to accomplish? To walk through the pain; to get up and keep moving forward knowing there may be more pain ahead, is a test of your determination and resolve.
Keep the Faith
Faith: A strong belief in something without proof or evidence
At the end of the day the one thing that tells you to keep going; to get up tomorrow and to keep moving forward, is your faith.
Lord direct my path in 2018-2019. Help me move forward with life giving You all the Glory. Help us each to be your hands and feet for the lost, that just One may come to know you. Amen
TAKEN FROM: Alex Blackwell is the Founder of The BridgeMaker. His book, Saying Yes to Change
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