Strength in Weakness

"Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding." (Proverbs 3:5 AMP)

God wants us to grow strong in our weakness. We are weak, but He is strong... We need to learn to rely on and trust God. Pray before you plan. Don't tell God what you're going to do, ask Him to guide you to what you should do!! Don't rely on your own understanding - you are only looking at a small corner... God is looking at the big picture!! You can grow strong in your weakness by learning to constantly live in complete trust in God!!

NEVER Alone

"The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur."(Genesis 16:7 NIV) There is NO place you can go where God is not there. Even if you think you are in a place in your life where you are extremely lonely, no one to share your heart with, no one to hold you, you are wrong. God is there. He is holding you everyday of your life. When Hagar ran into the wilderness away from everyone, God found her. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE!!! Don't ever let the lie enter your mind that you are alone... Because more important than any other human being, the King of all Creation is right here - in your room, at work, in your house, at school, EVERYWHERE. God is with you always! Don't forget that today!!!

Wait Before You Work

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans." (Proverbs 16:3 NIV) Wait before you work.... This is an act of faith. When you wake up, instead of running right into work, work, work, spend some alone time with God. When you stay close to God, He will guide you when you need to take action. In this over stimulating world, it is easy to lose your sense of direction and forget what's important. God will help you take out unnecessary activities that only use up your energy... He will fix your sense of direction. Look to God for guidance before you work - he can equip you to do less but accomplish so much more.. Wait before you work... It will be worth it!

The Light of Heaven

"The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp." (Revelation 21:23 NIV) Just like plants need the sun to grow and strengthen, we need the light of God's presence to help us grow in grace an strengthen our souls!! When we spend time with Jesus, face to Face, we see tiny glimpses of what will be in heaven... Like the verse said: there won't need to be a sun or moon in heaven!! The light from the Glory of God will be so strong that we won't need any other light!! Here on earth we have barriers between us and His Glory - in heaven, we won't have any barriers!!! Grow strong in the light of God's presence here and now... And be filled with the hope of heaven!!

Brighten It Up

"Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings." (Psalm 63:7 NLT) God can brighten up the dullest, most boring days, and He can add sparkle to your daily routine!! When you do some of the same things every single day, it can dull your thinking until your mind goes into neutral. A mind in neutral is a mind open to Satan and the world. Keep your mind focused on God!! Spend time with your Heavenly Father and talk to him while you do boring everyday stuff! Let God jazz up your everyday life, so that your mind does not slip into neutral!!!

Out of Control

"Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always." (Psalm 105:4 NIV) When you are stressed and your life seems out of control, look to the Lord and His strength. Your innermost being in totally rooted in eternity - don't be afraid to unhook yourself from the disturbances in this world. Jesus' peace is sufficient for you and your crazy circumstances! Seek His face and He will show you things in His perspective!

UNSTOPPABLE

"Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." (Acts 5:38, 39 NIV) Don't be afraid of other humans shutting down what God sent you to do. If what you are doing is for your own good, it will fail eventually. But if you are truly doing God's work, nobody can stop you!!! People would be silly to try to fight against God!!! Has God sent you to do something? GO FOR IT!!!

Our Problems

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1 NIV) An easy life doesn't mean a perfect life. We live in an extremely fallen world and the problems in our lives bring us to God. Anyone can live a perfect life in a perfect world, but as you have probably figured out, us humans are not capable of living with difficulties from this fallen world on our own. Don't run from your circumstances - learn to live in the shelter of the Most High so you can rest in the shadow of the Almighty knowing that he's got it all under control!! Your problems bring you to God!!

Whirlwind

"But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1 NIV)

When you are stuck in the whirlwind of life, whisper God's name. "YOU ARE MINE".. He says to us. The One who created the universe has called you by name - there is no reason to be afraid!! Life is hard, but instead of spending your time wishing you had a different life, just accept each day. Walk through holding our Father's hand! You can't change the circumstances, but you can change your approach!

Does God Want Me To Have Fun?

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Philippians 4:8 NIV)

"Does God want me to have fun and enjoy life?" ... The answer to this question is YES. He delights in your enjoyment of things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. When you are about to do something or go somewhere "fun," make sure it falls into this category. Be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear, be careful little feet where you go... When you only entertain yourself with things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, the Jesus light in you will begin to shine brighter everyday!!! God wants you do fun things and enjoy life!!

Rock-Solid Foundation

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8 NIV. He never changes. Jesus is the perfect foundation for your life... He is firm and stable and will always stay the same. When the world is the foundation for your life, it's like living on an escalator. Things change so fast, your emotions are always going up and down, and there are always people trying to get ahead of you. Jesus is a rock-solid foundation!! The more you grow closer to Him, you will start to realize how amazing His stability is! God is the only friend you could ever have that won't move on from you, won't break His promises, and will never leave you!! He is AMAZING!! Live your life on a foundation that doesn't move or change!!!

Living Life To The Full!!

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10 NIV) Live life to the FULL!! Don't walk around with a sour face and a doggy downer attitude all the time... enjoy life!! The more you focus on God and His presence, the more you can just enjoy life! Relax a little! God's got it under control! Remember when you were a kid and you got excited about every little blessing in your life? When you didn't care what people thought? Live in that childlike delight today!! God loves that!!

Human Weakness

Romans 8:26a "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness...." Our human weakness is not a curse. It actually brings us closer to God, because our weakness stirs up God's compassion... His wanting to help. Don't try to hide your weakness from your heavenly Father - He knows what you've been through and how hard life can be! Accept your weakness and let God bless you abundantly through it!!

Come To The Father Of Love

"All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away." (John 6:37 NIV) God wants us to come to Him. This doesn't even take much effort on our part.. Just quiet your heart and mind and open yourself up to Him so that He can fill you with His fullness!!! God wants us to truly experience how wide, how long, and how deep His love for us is. His ocean of love can't be measured, explained, or even understood - but it can be experienced!!!

What is Important?

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15, 16 NIV) Time and energy are precious, but very limited. Knowing this, we need to make sure that we only spend time doing what is truly important. As you walk down the path of life with God's word as your light, He will show you how to spend your time and energy. If you don't know what exactly you should spend your time on, start with God first! Spend time with Him everyday and soon it will become obvious to you what is important!!!

Your Robe of Righteousness

"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10 NIV)

He has clothed us in His robe of righteousness... God's righteousness is a huge gift, bought with the blood of Christ. I know it's extremely hard to think of yourself as "righteous," but in God's eyes, if you are His child, you are righteous. When your behavior doesn't match up to your privileged kingdom position, instead of trying to throw off the robe of righteousness, throw off the wrong behavior. Keep your eyes on God as you learn to walk in righteousness!! It won't be easy, but it will be worth it!!

House On A Rock

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matthew 7:24 NIV) When you put His words into practice, you are building your firm foundation... When the storms in life come, you can be confident that you will make it through just fine. Nothing can shake you. Things like being thankful, humble, loving, etc. are things that add strong bricks to your house on a rock!! Don't put your trust in something that will sink in the storms... God is the only one that won't fail you!! Be like the wise man who built his house on a rock!!

Not My Own Understanding...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;" (Proverbs 3:5 NIV.) Your own understanding WILL NOT BRING YOU PEACE. That's why God says "Trust in me." Don't let your mind get addicted to understanding - The satisfaction you find when you figure things out is short. And as soon as you understand one thing, your mind will begin to gear up to figure out the next thing. Although you might think that through understanding every situation in your life, you will have more control over the circumstances, this is not the case. Are you in need of some peace in your life right now? Don't rely on your own understanding, but trust in Jesus Christ, the prince of peace, to take care of you and bring you the peace you need!!

Feet Like a Deer

"He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights." (Psalm 18:33 NIV) Even though there are many mountains in life, God will make your feet like a deer, so that you can stand and not fall on the mountain!! When things seem to be going wrong, stop and trust - leave your problems at the feet of Jesus, and then don't think about it again. Rest in His sovereign control. It's so easy to let your mind wander and over think hard situations. THIS DOESN'T HELP! It will make it worse!! Trust God to give you feet like a deer.. He's got it all under control!

Quietly, Patiently

"Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes." (Psalm 37:7 NIV)

Sit quietly in His presence. Let God direct your thoughts for a while. Keep looking at God today while you walk through the day with Him. Don't wear yourself out trying to do it all on your own!! We were made to rely on God! Take time to rest today - God's not in a hurry!! Don't fret when evil things happen in this world - God's got it under control! He will bless you when you sit quietly in His presence. Be patient.

The Hard Road

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Colossians 4:2 NIV) Devote yourself to prayer as you walk through today - constantly watching for the blessings God has put in your path... And be thankful for those blessings!!! Jesus is the right path - focus on Him and He will lead you day by day, through blessings and trials, joy and heartache. Stay close to Jesus - this is a hard road that we can't travel on our own!!!

Reckless Talker

"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (Proverbs 12:18 NIV) Your words have the power of life or death, healing or hurting, building up or breaking down. Be SLOW to speak - if there's silence, before you say a word, pray "Help me, Holy Spirit." and if someone is talking to you, pray the same thing before responding. Your positive speech will bring joy to you and the people around you!! Don't be a reckless talker today - let your words be meaningful and wise!! Use them to bring healing and LIFE!

The Sacrifice of Time

"Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence." (Psalm 21:6 NIV) The sacrifice of your time and delighting in God make blessings flow in your life like streams of living water. Not only does this bless you, but God is blessed by this too - we are His children and He loves us! He wants to spend time with us! He is blessed when we spend time in His presence!! Time - its all we've got. Sacrifice some of it to God today. He wants to spend time with you!!!

On Our Team

"No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:5 NIV) Nothing can ever separate us from His love. When you feel ashamed and fearful, remember His promise to us. He is on our team! God is not out to get us or find wrong things that we do - He loves us so much more than we deserve! And NEVER be afraid to stand alone. When you stand for what is right, God will stand with you. If God is for us, who can be against us?!?