CONFESS GOD'S TRUTH :
John 11:14 "Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead."
Jesus spoke of Lazarus being asleep instead of dead because that is really a much better description. Death, to their carnal minds, would be final; whereas the word "sleep" would not. When the disciples misunderstood what He was saying, He clarified the situation by saying plainly, "Lazarus is dead."
This looks like a contrary statement to what Jesus was going to do (raise Lazarus from the dead) and indeed it would have been if He had left it at that. But He went on to say in verse 15, "I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe." This was referring to Lazarus being raised from the dead and it turned Jesus' statement of a negative fact into a positive confession of faith.
Many people have been confused over this very issue. Many times people will refuse to speak of or acknowledge any situation that is contrary to a promise that God has given them. It is certainly desirable to avoid talking about our problems and there is scriptural precedent for this (2 Ki. 4:20, 26). In this very instance, Jesus avoided using a word to describe Lazarus' situation that would have instilled fear into His disciples' hearts. But when dealing with people who didn't understand, He didn't deny the natural facts.
A true, positive confession doesn't deny natural truth. It just refuses to stop at the natural realm and speaks forth the greater spiritual truth. This is what Jesus did and we should follow His example. Therefore, it is not wrong to acknowledge a physical problem such as sickness just as long as we acknowledge to an equal or greater degree the spiritual truth, "by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Pet. 2:24). Don't deny that problems exist, just deny those problems the right to continue to exist in your life by confessing your faith in God.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF - GOD DOES!
'God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.' Philippians 2:13 NLT
Owning your dream means having your belief in yourself outweigh your fears. Acclaimed leadership author John Maxwell wrote in his book, Failing Forward: How to Make the Most of Your Mistakes, this inspirational thought: 'If you know who you are, make the changes you must in order to learn and grow, and then give everything you've got to your dreams, you can achieve anything your heart desires.' It's not about the failures you've experienced in the past. As Maxwell says: 'If you tend to focus on the particular events in your life, try to put things into perspective. When you do, you'll be able to share the philosophy of someone such as the apostle Paul, who was able to say, "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content." (Philippians 4:11 NKJV) And that was saying a lot, considering that Paul had been shipwrecked, whipped, beaten, stoned, and imprisoned. Throughout everything, his faith enabled him to maintain perspective. He realised that as long as he was doing what he was supposed to do, his being labelled success or failure by others really didn't matter.'
So which matters more to you? Your past failures or the dreams God has laid on your heart? God gave you these unique abilities because He has plans for you: 'I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
MEDITATE ON THE WORD :
And [God] brought [Abram] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. – Genesis 15:5-6
Do you ever have trouble believing the Word of God? Not just agreeing with it mentally, but really believing that what it says will work for you?
I do. There are times when the promises in the Word stagger my mind. There have been times when I've felt so defeated and the circumstances around me looked so bad that it was tough for me to believe I was "more than a conqueror" even though I knew God said I was.
What do you do when your mind staggers like that at the promise of God? You meditate on that promise.
Scriptural meditation simply means thinking about and reflecting on the Word of God. It means pondering a particular scripture and mentally applying it to your own circumstances again and again until that scripture permanently marks your consciousness.
That kind of meditation can affect your life in a way that almost nothing else can. It can, quite literally, alter your mind. That's what happened to Abram.
When God first told him that he was going to father a nation, he was an old man. His wife, Sara, was also old. What's more, she had been barren all her life. How could an aging, childless couple have even one child--much less a nation full of them? Abram couldn't even imagine such a thing. It contradicted his entire mind-set.
But God knew the mental struggle Abram would have, so He didn't just make him a verbal promise and leave it at that. He gave Abram a picture of that promise to meditate on. He took him out into the starry night, turned his eyes to the sky and said, "So shall thy seed be."
Can't you just see Abram staring out at the stars, trying to count them? Filling the eyes of his heart with the promise of God?
That's what meditation is all about. Taking time to envision the promise of God until it becomes a reality inside you. It's tremendously powerful, and by focusing on the scriptural promises God has given you, you can put it to work in your life just as Abram put it to work in his.
Don't just read the Word. Meditate on it today.
POWER OF SIMPLICITY
Then one of the scribes came, and . . . asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” —Mark 12:28
Few people take time to study the US Internal Revenue Service income tax regulations—and for good reason. According to Forbes magazine, in 2013 tax codes surpassed the four million-word mark. In fact, the tax laws have become so complex that even the experts have a hard time processing all the regulations. It’s burdensome in its complexity.
The religious leaders in ancient Israel did the same thing in their relationship with God. They made it too complex with laws. The growing burden of religious regulations had increased to the point where even an expert in Moses’ law struggled to understand its core. When one such leader asked Jesus what mattered most in the Commandments, Jesus responded, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
The law of Moses was burdensome, but faith in Christ is simple and His “burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). It’s light because God was willing to forgive us and love us. Now He enables us to love Him and our neighbor.
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
God’s love in our heart gives us a heart for Him and others.
SEEK THE ANOINTING SO THAT YOU CAN SAY AND DO WHAT PAUL DID
1 Corinthians 2:
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: " Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
GOD HAS TWO WORDS FOR YOU TODAY: FURTHER & FASTER :
Ephesians 3:20 (Amplified Bible) - Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]
Your life can change for the better in a single moment.
You can be going along, doing your best, living a life that honors God, but feel like you’re getting nowhere.
Or you may feel like no one’s noticing. You may be tempted to start giving up on your dreams because at this rate, there’s no way it could come true. That’s where God comes in!
In one moment God can accelerate your life and change everything!
In the Bible in John 2, Jesus is at the wedding celebration of some friends when the party runs out of wine.
Instead of wedding joy and bliss, this setback could have ruined the feast and damaged relationships. And as you know, you can’t make new wine fast. It takes time...a long time.
In fact the process of planting the seed, growing the grapes, harvesting them, producing the wine and then letting it age takes between five and seven years! And for the best wines it can take 30 years.
But in one moment Jesus accelerates this process and does in seconds what normally takes 30 years!
This is not merely a story about what happened a long time ago. It’s a picture of God’s love for you and how He wants to accelerate your life today!
If you’ll step out in faith, if you’ll believe that God can do anything and stay faithful where you’re at, one day you’ll look up amazed and say, “I can’t believe I got here so fast!”
You may be facing disappointment, pain and setbacks today, or even criticism from those you love, but don’t get discouraged. Adversity could be the very thing God uses to take you to new levels.
Remember, God can turn your life around in a moment and move you “further and faster” than you ever dreamed.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY :
“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.” (Psalm 143:8)
Dear Lord God, I praise You. I honor You. I give thanks to God for I had good sleep last night. I woke up in the midst of Your tenderly kisses early this morning. My heart is filled with joy and hope for Your unfailing love is vigorously in my life. I am so blessed. May God grant me good health and bless me every success in all areas of my life from today till eternity!
Gratefully, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen !!!
John 11:14 "Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead."
Jesus spoke of Lazarus being asleep instead of dead because that is really a much better description. Death, to their carnal minds, would be final; whereas the word "sleep" would not. When the disciples misunderstood what He was saying, He clarified the situation by saying plainly, "Lazarus is dead."
This looks like a contrary statement to what Jesus was going to do (raise Lazarus from the dead) and indeed it would have been if He had left it at that. But He went on to say in verse 15, "I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe." This was referring to Lazarus being raised from the dead and it turned Jesus' statement of a negative fact into a positive confession of faith.
Many people have been confused over this very issue. Many times people will refuse to speak of or acknowledge any situation that is contrary to a promise that God has given them. It is certainly desirable to avoid talking about our problems and there is scriptural precedent for this (2 Ki. 4:20, 26). In this very instance, Jesus avoided using a word to describe Lazarus' situation that would have instilled fear into His disciples' hearts. But when dealing with people who didn't understand, He didn't deny the natural facts.
A true, positive confession doesn't deny natural truth. It just refuses to stop at the natural realm and speaks forth the greater spiritual truth. This is what Jesus did and we should follow His example. Therefore, it is not wrong to acknowledge a physical problem such as sickness just as long as we acknowledge to an equal or greater degree the spiritual truth, "by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Pet. 2:24). Don't deny that problems exist, just deny those problems the right to continue to exist in your life by confessing your faith in God.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF - GOD DOES!
'God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.' Philippians 2:13 NLT
Owning your dream means having your belief in yourself outweigh your fears. Acclaimed leadership author John Maxwell wrote in his book, Failing Forward: How to Make the Most of Your Mistakes, this inspirational thought: 'If you know who you are, make the changes you must in order to learn and grow, and then give everything you've got to your dreams, you can achieve anything your heart desires.' It's not about the failures you've experienced in the past. As Maxwell says: 'If you tend to focus on the particular events in your life, try to put things into perspective. When you do, you'll be able to share the philosophy of someone such as the apostle Paul, who was able to say, "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content." (Philippians 4:11 NKJV) And that was saying a lot, considering that Paul had been shipwrecked, whipped, beaten, stoned, and imprisoned. Throughout everything, his faith enabled him to maintain perspective. He realised that as long as he was doing what he was supposed to do, his being labelled success or failure by others really didn't matter.'
So which matters more to you? Your past failures or the dreams God has laid on your heart? God gave you these unique abilities because He has plans for you: 'I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
MEDITATE ON THE WORD :
And [God] brought [Abram] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. – Genesis 15:5-6
Do you ever have trouble believing the Word of God? Not just agreeing with it mentally, but really believing that what it says will work for you?
I do. There are times when the promises in the Word stagger my mind. There have been times when I've felt so defeated and the circumstances around me looked so bad that it was tough for me to believe I was "more than a conqueror" even though I knew God said I was.
What do you do when your mind staggers like that at the promise of God? You meditate on that promise.
Scriptural meditation simply means thinking about and reflecting on the Word of God. It means pondering a particular scripture and mentally applying it to your own circumstances again and again until that scripture permanently marks your consciousness.
That kind of meditation can affect your life in a way that almost nothing else can. It can, quite literally, alter your mind. That's what happened to Abram.
When God first told him that he was going to father a nation, he was an old man. His wife, Sara, was also old. What's more, she had been barren all her life. How could an aging, childless couple have even one child--much less a nation full of them? Abram couldn't even imagine such a thing. It contradicted his entire mind-set.
But God knew the mental struggle Abram would have, so He didn't just make him a verbal promise and leave it at that. He gave Abram a picture of that promise to meditate on. He took him out into the starry night, turned his eyes to the sky and said, "So shall thy seed be."
Can't you just see Abram staring out at the stars, trying to count them? Filling the eyes of his heart with the promise of God?
That's what meditation is all about. Taking time to envision the promise of God until it becomes a reality inside you. It's tremendously powerful, and by focusing on the scriptural promises God has given you, you can put it to work in your life just as Abram put it to work in his.
Don't just read the Word. Meditate on it today.
POWER OF SIMPLICITY
Then one of the scribes came, and . . . asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” —Mark 12:28
Few people take time to study the US Internal Revenue Service income tax regulations—and for good reason. According to Forbes magazine, in 2013 tax codes surpassed the four million-word mark. In fact, the tax laws have become so complex that even the experts have a hard time processing all the regulations. It’s burdensome in its complexity.
The religious leaders in ancient Israel did the same thing in their relationship with God. They made it too complex with laws. The growing burden of religious regulations had increased to the point where even an expert in Moses’ law struggled to understand its core. When one such leader asked Jesus what mattered most in the Commandments, Jesus responded, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
The law of Moses was burdensome, but faith in Christ is simple and His “burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). It’s light because God was willing to forgive us and love us. Now He enables us to love Him and our neighbor.
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
God’s love in our heart gives us a heart for Him and others.
SEEK THE ANOINTING SO THAT YOU CAN SAY AND DO WHAT PAUL DID
1 Corinthians 2:
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: " Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
16 For "who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
GOD HAS TWO WORDS FOR YOU TODAY: FURTHER & FASTER :
Ephesians 3:20 (Amplified Bible) - Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]
Your life can change for the better in a single moment.
You can be going along, doing your best, living a life that honors God, but feel like you’re getting nowhere.
Or you may feel like no one’s noticing. You may be tempted to start giving up on your dreams because at this rate, there’s no way it could come true. That’s where God comes in!
In one moment God can accelerate your life and change everything!
In the Bible in John 2, Jesus is at the wedding celebration of some friends when the party runs out of wine.
Instead of wedding joy and bliss, this setback could have ruined the feast and damaged relationships. And as you know, you can’t make new wine fast. It takes time...a long time.
In fact the process of planting the seed, growing the grapes, harvesting them, producing the wine and then letting it age takes between five and seven years! And for the best wines it can take 30 years.
But in one moment Jesus accelerates this process and does in seconds what normally takes 30 years!
This is not merely a story about what happened a long time ago. It’s a picture of God’s love for you and how He wants to accelerate your life today!
If you’ll step out in faith, if you’ll believe that God can do anything and stay faithful where you’re at, one day you’ll look up amazed and say, “I can’t believe I got here so fast!”
You may be facing disappointment, pain and setbacks today, or even criticism from those you love, but don’t get discouraged. Adversity could be the very thing God uses to take you to new levels.
Remember, God can turn your life around in a moment and move you “further and faster” than you ever dreamed.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY :
“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.” (Psalm 143:8)
Dear Lord God, I praise You. I honor You. I give thanks to God for I had good sleep last night. I woke up in the midst of Your tenderly kisses early this morning. My heart is filled with joy and hope for Your unfailing love is vigorously in my life. I am so blessed. May God grant me good health and bless me every success in all areas of my life from today till eternity!
Gratefully, in Jesus’ holy name. Amen !!!
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