A GOOD AND SPACIOUS LAND :
So I have come down to rescue them...and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land... - Exodus 3:8, NIV
Notice in today’s verse that God did not say He would bring His people into a small land; a little place, tight or crowded. No, receive this into your spirit: Just as God brought the children of Israel into a good and spacious land, so He will do the same for you! He wants to take you to the land of “more than enough,” a land of plenty of room flowing with increase, good breaks and opportunity. He wants you to live in a land where you not only have enough for yourself, but you’re so blessed that you can be a blessing to other people.
If you’re not in a good and spacious place today, the challenge is: don’t settle where you are. This is not your permanent address! It’s only temporary. Keep standing, keep believing, keep pressing forward and walk into the good and spacious land God has in store for you!
A BETTER WORLD
[Keep] your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that . . . they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God. —1 Peter 2:12
In one of my favorite Peanuts cartoons featuring Charlie Brown, the always confident Lucy declares, “How could the world be getting worse with me in it? Ever since I was born the world has shown a distinct improvement!”
Of course, Lucy is displaying an unrealistic and elevated opinion of herself, but she makes an interesting point. What if we were to try to make the world a better place by displaying the love of Christ wherever God has placed us?
When Peter wrote to persecuted believers, he advised them to “[keep] your conduct honorable” (1 Peter 2:12) by doing good deeds that will ultimately bring glory to God. In other words, we can make our world a better place through our actions. Think of the difference that Christlike deeds of love, mercy, forgiveness, justice, and peace would make in our world. I’ve always thought that if we lived out this verse, people might say, “Our office is a better place because ______ works here.” Or, “Our neighborhood is a better neighborhood.” Or, “Our school is a better school.”
We can’t change the entire world singlehandedly, but by God’s grace we can let the difference Christ has made in us make a difference in the world around us.
Love is giving for the world’s needs,
Love is sharing as the Spirit leads,
Love is caring when the world cries,
Love is compassion with Christ like eyes.
Everyone can do something to make the world better—we can let Christ shine through us.
DON'T LET REJECTION STOP YOU :
'...His own received Him not.' John 1:11 KJV
Sometimes the word 'no' simply means 'not now, but ask again.' So don't let rejection stop you. Take a look at your past experiences. You encountered rejection in school and on the playground. Not everybody liked you, but you made it anyway, right? Jesus experienced more rejection than anybody who ever lived. 'He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.' Did He quit? No, He went on to others, to those who discerned His value. 'But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God.' (John 1:12 NKJV)
Someone needs what you have; it is absolutely necessary to their success. Most great salespeople know that 14 out of 15 people will say no. So they hurry and make their presentations to as many as possible, in order to reach that one who will say yes. Jesus said, 'Whoever will not receive you...shake off the dust from your feet.' (Matthew 10:14NKJV) When you encounter rejection, shake it off and move on. Sooner or later you will succeed if you don't quit. Don't personalise it; because someone rejects what you have to offer doesn't mean they're rejecting you. Paul writes: 'For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.' (1 Corinthians 16:9 NKJV)
Opportunity and opposition - they go together like macaroni and cheese. Life is not going to hand you success on a silver platter; you've got to overcome adversity and outlast the opposition in order to walk through the door. And only two things are required: your faith and God's favour.
THAT YOUR PRAYERS MAY NOT BE HINDERED :
But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another. - – 1 John 1:7
One area of our lives we believers need to particularly guard is the area of our relationships. We simply have to heed the Word of God where they're concerned. Let's not fuss with one another and criticize one another so much that we hinder the forces that God has given us to make us successful in this world.
Strife also causes trouble in the spirit realm. It opens the door to the devil. It keeps our prayers from being answered. It even keeps our angels from moving on our behalf!
Peter wrote to husbands in 1 Peter 3:7 to live considerately with their wives. He said, "...bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex, since you are joint-heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered." Husbands and wives. Parents and children. Co-workers. Fellow church members. All of us need to wake up to the danger of strife and start walking in love.
Shed the light of God's Word on your relationships. Dig into and get a revelation of the fact that we are all part of each other. Recognize that, as Ephesians tells us, we are one Body and one Spirit, and be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of that Spirit (Eph. 4:3-4).
Let the power of God flow in all of your relationships. Learn to walk in the light!
So I have come down to rescue them...and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land... - Exodus 3:8, NIV
Notice in today’s verse that God did not say He would bring His people into a small land; a little place, tight or crowded. No, receive this into your spirit: Just as God brought the children of Israel into a good and spacious land, so He will do the same for you! He wants to take you to the land of “more than enough,” a land of plenty of room flowing with increase, good breaks and opportunity. He wants you to live in a land where you not only have enough for yourself, but you’re so blessed that you can be a blessing to other people.
If you’re not in a good and spacious place today, the challenge is: don’t settle where you are. This is not your permanent address! It’s only temporary. Keep standing, keep believing, keep pressing forward and walk into the good and spacious land God has in store for you!
A BETTER WORLD
[Keep] your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that . . . they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God. —1 Peter 2:12
In one of my favorite Peanuts cartoons featuring Charlie Brown, the always confident Lucy declares, “How could the world be getting worse with me in it? Ever since I was born the world has shown a distinct improvement!”
Of course, Lucy is displaying an unrealistic and elevated opinion of herself, but she makes an interesting point. What if we were to try to make the world a better place by displaying the love of Christ wherever God has placed us?
When Peter wrote to persecuted believers, he advised them to “[keep] your conduct honorable” (1 Peter 2:12) by doing good deeds that will ultimately bring glory to God. In other words, we can make our world a better place through our actions. Think of the difference that Christlike deeds of love, mercy, forgiveness, justice, and peace would make in our world. I’ve always thought that if we lived out this verse, people might say, “Our office is a better place because ______ works here.” Or, “Our neighborhood is a better neighborhood.” Or, “Our school is a better school.”
We can’t change the entire world singlehandedly, but by God’s grace we can let the difference Christ has made in us make a difference in the world around us.
Love is giving for the world’s needs,
Love is sharing as the Spirit leads,
Love is caring when the world cries,
Love is compassion with Christ like eyes.
Everyone can do something to make the world better—we can let Christ shine through us.
DON'T LET REJECTION STOP YOU :
'...His own received Him not.' John 1:11 KJV
Sometimes the word 'no' simply means 'not now, but ask again.' So don't let rejection stop you. Take a look at your past experiences. You encountered rejection in school and on the playground. Not everybody liked you, but you made it anyway, right? Jesus experienced more rejection than anybody who ever lived. 'He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.' Did He quit? No, He went on to others, to those who discerned His value. 'But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God.' (John 1:12 NKJV)
Someone needs what you have; it is absolutely necessary to their success. Most great salespeople know that 14 out of 15 people will say no. So they hurry and make their presentations to as many as possible, in order to reach that one who will say yes. Jesus said, 'Whoever will not receive you...shake off the dust from your feet.' (Matthew 10:14NKJV) When you encounter rejection, shake it off and move on. Sooner or later you will succeed if you don't quit. Don't personalise it; because someone rejects what you have to offer doesn't mean they're rejecting you. Paul writes: 'For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.' (1 Corinthians 16:9 NKJV)
Opportunity and opposition - they go together like macaroni and cheese. Life is not going to hand you success on a silver platter; you've got to overcome adversity and outlast the opposition in order to walk through the door. And only two things are required: your faith and God's favour.
THAT YOUR PRAYERS MAY NOT BE HINDERED :
But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another. - – 1 John 1:7
One area of our lives we believers need to particularly guard is the area of our relationships. We simply have to heed the Word of God where they're concerned. Let's not fuss with one another and criticize one another so much that we hinder the forces that God has given us to make us successful in this world.
Strife also causes trouble in the spirit realm. It opens the door to the devil. It keeps our prayers from being answered. It even keeps our angels from moving on our behalf!
Peter wrote to husbands in 1 Peter 3:7 to live considerately with their wives. He said, "...bestowing honor on the woman as the weaker sex, since you are joint-heirs of the grace of life, in order that your prayers may not be hindered." Husbands and wives. Parents and children. Co-workers. Fellow church members. All of us need to wake up to the danger of strife and start walking in love.
Shed the light of God's Word on your relationships. Dig into and get a revelation of the fact that we are all part of each other. Recognize that, as Ephesians tells us, we are one Body and one Spirit, and be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of that Spirit (Eph. 4:3-4).
Let the power of God flow in all of your relationships. Learn to walk in the light!
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