EXPECT BLESSINGS NOW :
Today is a new day — and a new day is a new opportunity for God to do something amazing in your life.
You don’t have to wait for tomorrow, for next week, for next month or for next year...
Favor, blessings, healing, breakthrough, increase — they’re all available to you today.
Many times we only have future faith. We believe one day in the future we’ll get a good break. One day in the future we’ll start to feel better. One day in the future the problem will turn around.
It’s good to have faith for the future, but you can become so future-minded you lose sight of the fact that God wants to do something great in your life today.
Today, God wants to show you His favor. Today, God wants to amaze you with His goodness. Today, God wants to provide for your every need.
In the scriptures God is called “The Great I Am,” not “The Great I Was” or “The Great I Will Be.” God is with you in the present...right now.
2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV) says, “Now is the time of God’s favor.”
Notice it doesn’t say next week, next month or 20 years from now. No, now is the time God wants to amaze you with His goodness. I like to call it “now faith.”
“Now faith” creates expectancy in your heart. It causes you to go out each day thinking, I can’t wait to see what God is going to do today! Today could be the day for my breakthrough!
Expectancy is powerful in the life of the believer because:
God meets you at the level of your expectation.
When you have this now faith and you go through your day with expectancy, you will see God show up in amazing ways.
The key is this: while you’re waiting, wait with expectancy — believe in your heart that God can make it happen today!
The scripture says that faith pleases God (see Hebrews 11:6). When you begin to have a mindset of now faith, the Most High God takes notice. He will pour out blessings in your life in amazing and unprecedented ways.
God wants to do something amazing in your life today. You don’t have to wait for some time in the future. God is with you right now — now is the time of His favor.
Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
SONSHIP OR SLAVERY :
John 8:34 "Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin."
The devil has been deceiving the world about sin since the Garden of Eden when he told Eve that through sin she could be like God. Time has proven, not only to Eve, but to each one of us, that this is not true. Sin brings death and not life. Jesus is making it clear that sin enslaves. We become slaves not only to the sin itself, but also to the author of sin, the devil. We are either servants of God through obedience or servants of the devil through sin.
Jesus is likening the bondage that sin produces to slavery, while comparing the freedom that comes through serving God to being a beloved son. No one would doubt that being a son is better than being a slave. Likewise, obeying God is better than yielding to sin. True freedom is found only in serving God. There is a false freedom that Satan has been promoting since the Garden of Eden. He has deceived all of us at one time or another into thinking that God is a tyrant who really doesn't want us to enjoy life and consequently has told us not to do certain things. Because we believe this lie, we disobey God (or sin) in the name of freedom.
However, the Word of God and personal experience conclusively prove that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Jesus is stripping sin of any glamour with which the devil may disguise it. Sin brings bondage. The only true freedom is found in Jesus. Jesus not only dealt with the original sin that contaminated the human race, but He also dealt with each individual act of sin. Even if an individual could stop all sinning, he could not change his sin nature with which he was born. That's the reason we must be born again.
THE THREE THORNS (2) :
It will produce thorns...for you.' Genesis 3:18 NIV
Heaven's answer to a thorn-cursed creation was a thorn-crowned Saviour. But notice something important. God didn't remove the thorns; He decided to use them for His redemptive purposes. That's why we each get (3) A custom-designed thorn. Here's how Paul describes his thorn: '...Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me... Concerning this thing I pleaded the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly will I boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.' (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV) The word 'buffet' means 'to render blow, after blow, after blow'. Does that describe your life at the moment? If
Paul's experience is anything to go by, the Christian life is a series of blessings and buffetings. And the God Who promises the first, permits the second. Why? To make sure we live our lives dependent on Him. Look what God used to make sure Paul relied totally on Him: 'infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, distresses.' Where do you find strength to handle such a catalogue of complaints? From God - and God alone. You say, 'I want to be more fruitful in the service of the Lord.' That happens when the thorny situations in life drive us closer to God!
DISCOVER WHAT GRACE CAN DO :
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. – Acts 4:33
Most of us don't have any idea what grace really is. Oh, we know some basic facts about it. We know we were saved by it (Eph. 2:8). But we don't even begin to understand the real power it can release in our lives now, today!
If you want to get a picture of what grace can really do, look at what happened to the early Christians in Acts 4. They'd been threatened by the religious leaders of Jerusalem and commanded not to speak or teach any more in Jesus' Name. So, they were praying about the situation.
Roughly, what they said was this, "Now Lord, we've been threatened, but we aren't about to quit preaching and go hide under some religious rug. Just turn the power up, give us boldness, and we'll go on."
Do you know what happened as a result of that prayer? Verse 33 tells us, "Great grace was upon them all."
Great grace. Grace so powerful that when those believers received it, the whole building shook. Grace so great it enabled the apostles to work "many signs and wonders... among the people" (Acts 5:12).
That one story alone should be enough to convince you that grace is not just some abstract spiritual state of mind. Grace is real. It's powerful. It provides the supernatural power to make things happen!
Now, do you want to know something really exciting? The Bible says that same grace that was available to the early Church in Jerusalem is available to anybody who's ever sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Thank God, that means you and I qualify!
If the devil's been threatening you lately, follow the example of those early Christians. Get in prayer and say, "Lord, I don't care what the devil and his bunch say, I'm not going to back down. I'm going to keep on talking and living by faith--and I'm going to do it boldly. So just turn up the power!"
I guarantee you, if you're sincere about it, He'll do it; and you'll begin to discover what grace is really all about.
PRAYER TO START THE DAY :
“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13: 5-6)
Dear Lord God, I praise You. I honor You. Your smiling face emerges at every sunrise. Your light brightens up the world. The earth is shrouded in holiness. My heart leaps for joy and my soul shouts for praise at the holy feet of the Most High. Loving God, let me see Your wondrous and receive Your answers to my prayers day by day for I am Your chosen servant and fearfully made child.
Gratefully, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen !!!
Today is a new day — and a new day is a new opportunity for God to do something amazing in your life.
You don’t have to wait for tomorrow, for next week, for next month or for next year...
Favor, blessings, healing, breakthrough, increase — they’re all available to you today.
Many times we only have future faith. We believe one day in the future we’ll get a good break. One day in the future we’ll start to feel better. One day in the future the problem will turn around.
It’s good to have faith for the future, but you can become so future-minded you lose sight of the fact that God wants to do something great in your life today.
Today, God wants to show you His favor. Today, God wants to amaze you with His goodness. Today, God wants to provide for your every need.
In the scriptures God is called “The Great I Am,” not “The Great I Was” or “The Great I Will Be.” God is with you in the present...right now.
2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV) says, “Now is the time of God’s favor.”
Notice it doesn’t say next week, next month or 20 years from now. No, now is the time God wants to amaze you with His goodness. I like to call it “now faith.”
“Now faith” creates expectancy in your heart. It causes you to go out each day thinking, I can’t wait to see what God is going to do today! Today could be the day for my breakthrough!
Expectancy is powerful in the life of the believer because:
God meets you at the level of your expectation.
When you have this now faith and you go through your day with expectancy, you will see God show up in amazing ways.
The key is this: while you’re waiting, wait with expectancy — believe in your heart that God can make it happen today!
The scripture says that faith pleases God (see Hebrews 11:6). When you begin to have a mindset of now faith, the Most High God takes notice. He will pour out blessings in your life in amazing and unprecedented ways.
God wants to do something amazing in your life today. You don’t have to wait for some time in the future. God is with you right now — now is the time of His favor.
Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
SONSHIP OR SLAVERY :
John 8:34 "Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin."
The devil has been deceiving the world about sin since the Garden of Eden when he told Eve that through sin she could be like God. Time has proven, not only to Eve, but to each one of us, that this is not true. Sin brings death and not life. Jesus is making it clear that sin enslaves. We become slaves not only to the sin itself, but also to the author of sin, the devil. We are either servants of God through obedience or servants of the devil through sin.
Jesus is likening the bondage that sin produces to slavery, while comparing the freedom that comes through serving God to being a beloved son. No one would doubt that being a son is better than being a slave. Likewise, obeying God is better than yielding to sin. True freedom is found only in serving God. There is a false freedom that Satan has been promoting since the Garden of Eden. He has deceived all of us at one time or another into thinking that God is a tyrant who really doesn't want us to enjoy life and consequently has told us not to do certain things. Because we believe this lie, we disobey God (or sin) in the name of freedom.
However, the Word of God and personal experience conclusively prove that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Jesus is stripping sin of any glamour with which the devil may disguise it. Sin brings bondage. The only true freedom is found in Jesus. Jesus not only dealt with the original sin that contaminated the human race, but He also dealt with each individual act of sin. Even if an individual could stop all sinning, he could not change his sin nature with which he was born. That's the reason we must be born again.
THE THREE THORNS (2) :
It will produce thorns...for you.' Genesis 3:18 NIV
Heaven's answer to a thorn-cursed creation was a thorn-crowned Saviour. But notice something important. God didn't remove the thorns; He decided to use them for His redemptive purposes. That's why we each get (3) A custom-designed thorn. Here's how Paul describes his thorn: '...Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me... Concerning this thing I pleaded the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you: for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly will I boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.' (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV) The word 'buffet' means 'to render blow, after blow, after blow'. Does that describe your life at the moment? If
Paul's experience is anything to go by, the Christian life is a series of blessings and buffetings. And the God Who promises the first, permits the second. Why? To make sure we live our lives dependent on Him. Look what God used to make sure Paul relied totally on Him: 'infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, distresses.' Where do you find strength to handle such a catalogue of complaints? From God - and God alone. You say, 'I want to be more fruitful in the service of the Lord.' That happens when the thorny situations in life drive us closer to God!
DISCOVER WHAT GRACE CAN DO :
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. – Acts 4:33
Most of us don't have any idea what grace really is. Oh, we know some basic facts about it. We know we were saved by it (Eph. 2:8). But we don't even begin to understand the real power it can release in our lives now, today!
If you want to get a picture of what grace can really do, look at what happened to the early Christians in Acts 4. They'd been threatened by the religious leaders of Jerusalem and commanded not to speak or teach any more in Jesus' Name. So, they were praying about the situation.
Roughly, what they said was this, "Now Lord, we've been threatened, but we aren't about to quit preaching and go hide under some religious rug. Just turn the power up, give us boldness, and we'll go on."
Do you know what happened as a result of that prayer? Verse 33 tells us, "Great grace was upon them all."
Great grace. Grace so powerful that when those believers received it, the whole building shook. Grace so great it enabled the apostles to work "many signs and wonders... among the people" (Acts 5:12).
That one story alone should be enough to convince you that grace is not just some abstract spiritual state of mind. Grace is real. It's powerful. It provides the supernatural power to make things happen!
Now, do you want to know something really exciting? The Bible says that same grace that was available to the early Church in Jerusalem is available to anybody who's ever sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Thank God, that means you and I qualify!
If the devil's been threatening you lately, follow the example of those early Christians. Get in prayer and say, "Lord, I don't care what the devil and his bunch say, I'm not going to back down. I'm going to keep on talking and living by faith--and I'm going to do it boldly. So just turn up the power!"
I guarantee you, if you're sincere about it, He'll do it; and you'll begin to discover what grace is really all about.
PRAYER TO START THE DAY :
“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13: 5-6)
Dear Lord God, I praise You. I honor You. Your smiling face emerges at every sunrise. Your light brightens up the world. The earth is shrouded in holiness. My heart leaps for joy and my soul shouts for praise at the holy feet of the Most High. Loving God, let me see Your wondrous and receive Your answers to my prayers day by day for I am Your chosen servant and fearfully made child.
Gratefully, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen !!!
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