A Mafia Godfather finds out that his bookkeeper, Guido, has cheated him out of $10,000,000. His bookkeeper is deaf. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing so he would never have to testify in court. When the Godfather goes to confront Guido about his missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer who knows sign language. The Godfather tells the lawyer, "Ask him where's the money?" The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido: "Where's the money?". Guido signs back: "I don't know what you are talking about." The lawyer tells the Godfather: "He says he doesn't know what you're talking about." The Godfather pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's temple and says: "Ask him again!" The lawyer signs to Guido: "He'll kill you if you don't tell him.." Guido signs back: "OK.!!!! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed at my cousin Bruno's house." The Godfather asks the lawyer, "What did he say?" The lawyer replies, " He says you don't have the balls to pull the trigger." Don't you just love lawyers ... “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”(Hebrews 11:1, NLT) So many people today are depressed and discouraged simply because they only focus on their present circumstances. They’re constantly dwelling on their problems, what they don’t have, and what’s wrong with them. They don’t realize it, but they’re allowing the enemy to steal their hope. This negative frame of mind is what keeps people from moving forward in life. Understand today that faith is confidence and assurance about the things we hope for according to the promises of God. Like an arrow, your faith points to the target of hope. If you don’t have hope, that arrow of faith will just drop to the ground. It won’t accomplish anything. But when you keep your hopes up, when you keep expecting and believing, it’s as if that target gets larger and larger — easier to hit! Choose today to live with an attitude of expectancy. Get your hopes up! Start by taking captive any negative thoughts you may have one at a time. As you focus on God’s goodness and faithfulness, you’ll feel that hope inside you growing. You’ll give your faith a target, and you’ll move confidently into the blessings and peace the Lord has in store for you! A PRAYER FOR TODAYFather, today I surrender every thought to You. I choose to release my cares and concerns so I can focus on Your goodness in my life. Thank You for the gift of faith to see the impossible become possible as I continue to place my hope and confidence in You in Jesus’ name, Amen. Warnings. Red lights in life that signal us of impending danger. They exist in all parts of life. Sirens scream as a marriage starts to sour; alarms blare when a faith weakens.
We usually know when trouble is just around the corner. Christians who’ve fallen away felt the fire waning long before it went out. Unwanted pregnancies or explosions of anger are usually the result of a history of ignoring warnings about an impending fire. Are your senses numb? Are your eyes trained to turn and roll when they should pause and observe? One-night stands. Dust-covered Bibles. Careless choice of companions. Denial of Christ. Proverbs 19:27 says, “Cease listening to [My] instruction and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” Divine warnings. Inspired by God; tested by time. Heed them and safety is yours to enjoy! GENESIS 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
When God made man, He gave man dominion over everything on earth. To have an idea of the kind of dominion that man would have had had he not sinned, let’s look at the perfect Man, Jesus Christ. When Jesus wanted to pay the temple tax, He only needed to command a fish to bring the money to Him. (Matthew 17:24–27) When He wanted to feed a multitude, He only needed to multiply five loaves and two fish in His hands. (Mark 6:34–44) When a storm threatened the lives of His disciples, He only had to speak to the storm and there was perfect calm. (Mark 4:35–41) And every sick person who was brought to Him went away healed. He even brought the dead back to life because He had dominion over death! Today, you have the same dominion that Jesus exercised because Christ is in you. (Colossians 1:27) “Pastor Prince, forget about having dominion over the sea, air or earth. I want dominion over my backache which has robbed me of my time with my children. I want dominion over my financial situation.” My friend, because God’s purpose for you is to have dominion on earth, He will keep you healthy. After all, it is hard to rule the earth when you are sick and lying on your bed. And God will prosper you because it is hard to want to do things when you are in lack. We need to understand that since God’s greater purpose is for man to have dominion on earth, it would include the lesser blessings such as health and provision. Then, we will see ourselves as God sees us, walking in dominion, and we will walk in victory over our negative circumstances in the natural realm. Beloved, you have been born again of the Spirit, born to rule and have dominion over everything on earth! PHILIPPIANS 2:10 …at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Whatever is troubling you, if it has a name, it must bow to the name of Jesus! Cancer must bow to the name of Jesus. Poverty must bow. Shame must bow. The Bible tells us that God has highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow! That is exactly what happened when a severely demon-possessed man saw Jesus. The demons in him—called Legion for there were many of them—not only begged Jesus not to torment them, but they also fled when Jesus commanded them to go. The man was left whole, healed and in his right mind. (Luke 8:26–35) My late father was similarly delivered from his drinking addiction of many years. I remember how he was in a drunken stupor one day. I prayed over him in Jesus’ name for him to be loosed from his addiction to alcohol. He threw up violently soon after that and from that moment on, he never touched the bottle again! Beloved, if your child is sick, lay hands on him and say, “In Jesus’ name, cough, stop. Fever, go in Jesus’ name. Health flows in your body in Jesus’ name!” If there is strife and confusion at home, deal with it the same way. I have used the name of Jesus as I prayed for a couple who were quarrelling in a food center. It was amazing. All the strife between them seemed to melt away and they started to talk calmly after that. That is the power of the name of Jesus because that is the name of the one who died for you, who rose again and today is at the right hand of God, for you! That is the name which is above every name, and at which every knee must and will bow! “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”(Song of Solomon 2:15, NIV)
Everyone has opportunities to get upset and be frustrated every single day. Sometimes it’s the little things — we can’t find the car keys, traffic is backed up, somebody was rude, or what should have taken an hour ends up taking four hours. Something happened and now you are frustrated and all bent out of shape. There will always be something that can sour your day, but if you are going to live in victory, you have to maintain the right approach. You can’t let the little foxes spoil the vine. In other words, don’t let the little things in life spoil the harvest God has for your future. I’ve heard it said, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond.” Make sure you respond to life with an attitude of faith and expectancy. Sure, things may irritate you, but don’t let that irritation last into the next moment. Let it go. Don’t try to control everything around you. Instead, release it to God knowing that His plans are for your good, and He is leading and guiding you in the path of blessing. Father, today I choose to hold on to peace. I won’t let the little things upset me and steal my joy and peace. I choose to trust You and praise You for what You are doing today and in RUTH 3:18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”
God does not want you to “sweat”. Sweat here does not refer to your body’s perspiration, but your self-reliance or self-effort. God does not want you to believe that if you don’t do anything, nothing will happen. That may be true for someone without God in his life, but it is not true for you because you have God. And when He is in the picture, the God-factor changes everything! When you are resting in God, He works for you. In fact, when He works, you end up with more. He is the one who is giving to you. It is not about you trying to give to yourself. This was what happened to Ruth in the Old Testament. After laboring in the barley fields from morning to evening, she was able to glean one ephah of barley (Ruth 2:17), which was equivalent to a 10-day supply of barley. Certainly, this amount was a blessing to her. But when she rested at the feet of Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer, and did not labor, she received six ephahs of barley (Ruth 3:15), which was equivalent to a 60-day supply! When Ruth sought her own blessing, she obtained only one ephah. But when she sought the blesser, she received much more. Ruth’s blessings did not stop there. While Ruth rested and sat stillas her mother-in-law Naomi had instructed, Boaz, who was the owner of the barley field, went to work, initiating actions, executing them and speaking on Ruth’s behalf. Right through it all, Ruth sat still andrested. Eventually, Boaz, the barley man himself, married Ruth. (Ruth 4) That meant no more measured wealth of six ephahs, but the yield of the whole barley field in total! Boaz is a picture of Jesus, our heavenly kinsman-redeemer. When we rest in the Lord, He will not rest. He will work on our behalf. What do we do then? We just trust in and enjoy His love for us. Beloved, stop striving and be at rest. If salvation, the greatest work, comes to us by resting in Jesus’ finished work, how much more will all the other blessings? Where will God go to touch the world? What a great thought… and an even better question! It’s that time of year when we hear about the virgin birth. And yet it’s more, much more, than a Christmas story. It’s a story of how close Christ will come to you!
The first stop on his itinerary was a womb. Where will God go to touch the world? Look deep within Mary for an answer. Better still—look deep within yourself. “Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:27). Christ grew in Mary until he had to come out. Christ will grow in you until the same occurs. He will come out in your speech, in your actions, in your decisions. Every place you live will be a Bethlehem. And every day you live will be a Christmas. Deliver Christ into the world! |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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