JULY 30, 2013. THE WAY OUT

WEDNESDAY JULY 31

“He will show you a way out.”          1Co 10:13 NLT

THE WAY OUT

The Bible says, “When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”  Maybe you are in a situation - a relationship or a financial condition - that’s not what you wanted.  You can lie down and die.  But when you don’t - when you show up, when you offer the best you have - something good is happening inside you that far outweighs whatever is happening outside you.  Jesus was facing adversity when He told His followers that if they had faith, they could command a mountain and it would be cast into the sea.  Now, when your focus is on the mountain, you are driven by your fear.  But when your focus is on God, you are made alive by faith.  But if you didn’t face the mountain you’d never know that faith was in you, or to what extent.  Adversity has a way of changing your values and priorities for the better.  When you’re on the treadmill of money, security, or success, and adversity knocks you off, you start seeing the folly of chasing temporal things.  And if you’re wise you resolve not to return to your old way of life when things normalize.  But the key to accomplishing this is taking action before normal life takes over again.  You have a finite window of time to make changes; otherwise you’ll drift back into your old patterns.  While the memory of your adversity is still fresh, pray and ask God what changes He wants to make in your attitudes, your relationships, your habits and your lifestyle, and “He will show you a way out.”

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

JULY 30, 2013. KEEP GROWING (3)

TUESDAY JULY 30

“The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be.”  2Pe 1:8 NLT

KEEP GROWING (3)

Let’s look at two more things you need to grow: (1) Don’t just grow in knowledge, grow in character.  The truth is, God is more interested in your character than He is in your career.  Why?  Because success without character has the potential to hurt you, and those around you.  The Bible says: “Make every effort to respond to God’s promises.  Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.  The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be” (vv. 5-8 NLT).  Note the words “make every effort.”  You’ve got to work at it!  (2) Always stay fresh.  Did you hear the old story about the country pastor who was preaching when his notes flew out the church window and a cow grazing nearby ate them?  Three days later the cow went dry.  Hello!  Stay thirsty.  Stay hungry.  Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Mt 5:6 NIV).  Ultimately it’s not your talents, but your desire that determines your destiny.  One of Paul’s highest compliments was given to the believers in the Thessalonian church: “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing” (2Th 1:3 NIV).  Let that be said of you.

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

JULY 29, 2013. KEEP GROWING (2)

MONDAY JULY 29

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning.”     Pr 1:5 NIV

KEEP GROWING (2)

When it comes to growth, Christ is our example.  The Bible says that He “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Lk 2:52 NIV).  To enjoy favor with God and others you must keep growing spiritually, mentally and emotionally.  That requires you to do two things: (1) Never stop learning.  Every experience in life, including the ones you don’t enjoy, yields knowledge that can make your future better than your present.  But you have to look for it.  The downside to the Internet and the iPhone is that you get endless “hits” of information you don’t process or glean anything from.  Instead of letting life just “happen” to you, you need to stop and ask yourself, “What’s really happening here?  I’m hearing it, but what does it mean?”  You are body, soul, and spirit, so you need to ask, “Am I healthy physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually?”  No one can answer that question but you.  (2) Never stop developing your talents.  When one of the world’s greatest violinists was an old man, he was asked why he still practiced six to eight hours every day.  He replied, “Because I think I’m getting better.”  What a great attitude!  It’s not enough just to live longer, you’re supposed to live better!  Paul told Timothy, “Stir up the gift...which is within you” (2Ti 1:6 NIV).  Wesley Trace said, “Some people have the notion that following your spiritual gift is spending the days and years of your life doing only those things which come naturally, easily, with no effort, discipline or practice.  No, your gift can either be mediocre or excellent; it’s up to you.”

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

JULY 28, 2013. KEEP GROWING (1)

SUNDAY JULY 28

“When you come, bring...my scrolls.”  2Ti 4:13 NIV

KEEP GROWING (1)

In prison with no possibility of release, and facing the certainty of death on the chopping block, Paul asked Timothy to bring his books.  Why?  Because he wanted to keep growing.  The truth is: (1) When you finish growing, you’re finished.  When the poet Longfellow was old an admirer asked him how he was able to keep writing so beautifully.  Pointing to a nearby apple tree he replied, “That tree is very old, but I never saw prettier blossoms.  The tree grows a little new wood every year, and out of that new wood those blossoms come.  So I try to grow a little each year.”  (2) Growth doesn’t come easy.  It will stretch you.  It will challenge you to rethink assumptions you’ve always believed to be right.  Indeed, it can cost you friends and money.  But when you’re committed to growth you cannot settle for ignorance.  (3) Growth is your responsibility.  When you were a child your parents were responsible for your growth, but now you are.  The poet Robert Browning wrote, “Why stay we on earth except to grow?”  Yet few dedicate themselves to the process.  That’s because growth requires change, and we’re uncomfortable with the things change brings.  Gail Sheehy said, “If we don’t change we won’t grow, and if we don’t grow we’re not really living.  Growth demands the temporary surrender of security.  It means giving up familiar but limiting patterns, safe but unrewarding work, values no longer believed in, relationships that have lost their meaning.  Taking a new step is what we fear most, yet our real fear should be the opposite.”  Can you think of anything worse that a life devoid of growth?

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

JULY 27, 2013. THEN JESUS CAME!

SATURDAY JULY 27

“Clothed and in his right mind.”         Mk 5:15 NKJV

THEN JESUS CAME!

One of Christ’s greatest miracles was the healing of a man who was controlled and tortured by evil spirits (See v. 2 NKJV).  The Bible says: “His dwelling [was] among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains...neither could anyone tame him...always, night and day, he was...crying out and cutting himself with stones” (v. 3-5 NKJV).  Notice four things about this man’s condition: (1) He kept hurting himself.  Now, he used stones to do it, but some of us use drugs, food, sex, alcohol, overwork and negativity.  What are you doing today that’s hurting you?  Until you can acknowledge it, you won’t get free of it.  (2) He was preoccupied with death.  Why else would someone choose to live in a graveyard?  Life’s troubles can bring you to the place where you lose your very desire to live.  (3) He had no peace, day or night.  The downside of godless living is restlessness, irritability and discontent.  Nothing satisfies or is ever enough.  (4) He lived in isolation.  Satan’s job is made easier when you don’t have a spiritual support system.  Fellowship wrecks his plans.

Then Jesus came!  He made a boat trip across storm-tossed Galilee to get to this man.  Just one word from Jesus, and we read: “They...saw the one who had been demon-possessed...sitting...clothed and in his right mind.”  Out of gratitude, the man wanted to join Jesus’ disciples.  But Jesus told him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you” (v. 19 NKJV).  When Christ sets you free, your first responsibility is to stay free and help set others free.

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

JULY 26, 2013. WINNING

FRIDAY JULY 26

“Run to win!” 1Co 9:24 NLT

WINNING

In the Roman Empire athletes stripped down to a simple loincloth so that nothing prevented them from running their best race.  Referring to it, Paul writes: “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize?  So run to win!  All athletes are disciplined in their training.  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.  So I run with purpose in every step” (vv. 24-26 NLT).  How about you?  Do you just want the fun of being in the race, or are you running to win?  To succeed at being what God has redeemed and called you to be, you’ll have to stop doing certain things, even enjoyable things, and begin doing other things that support your goals and help you to fulfill your God-ordained purpose.  Sometimes this will mean saying no to well-intentioned people who try to involve you in things that steal your time and produce the wrong results.  It will also mean dealing with “the sin that so easily entangles” (Heb 12:1 NIV).  When God says something is wrong, it’s wrong!  You don’t need to rationalize, make excuses or feel sorry for yourself.  You just need to agree, ask His forgiveness and get it out of your life.  Who gets the prize?  Those who pay the price!  Paul knew he couldn’t win the race without first bringing his body, mind and emotions under the control of God’s Spirit.  The same goes for you.  And you can’t expect somebody else to make you do what’s right; you must listen to what God’s saying to you, and take action.

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)

JULY 25, 2013. CONFIDENCE (2)

THURSDAY JULY 25

“Who told you...you were naked?”           Ge 3:11 NKJV

CONFIDENCE (2)

It’s impossible to feel confident when you’re telling yourself you’re not good enough and that you’ll never amount to anything.  One pastor says: “After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they hid.  God came to them and said, ‘Where are you?’  They said, ‘We’re hiding because we’re naked.’  I love how God answered...’Who told you...you were naked?’  In other words, ‘Who told you there was something wrong with you?’  God immediately knew the Enemy had been talking to them.  And God’s saying to you today, ‘Who told you...you don’t have what it takes to succeed...that the best grades you can make are C’s...that you’re not attractive enough to succeed in your relationships...or talented enough to flourish in your career...or that your marriage isn’t going to last?  Those are lies from the Enemy.  God said, ‘No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly’ (Ps 84:11 NKJV); ‘Delight yourself...in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart’ (Ps 37:4 NKJV).  The potential is inside you...and it doesn’t change because you don’t believe it, or because you’ve been through negative experiences.  ‘The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable’ (Ro 11:29 NKJV).  He’s never going to take back the potential He poured into you...or say, ‘I’m tired of dealing with you...you’ve failed too often and made too many mistakes.  Give Me back My gifts.’  No...His calling on your life will be with you till the day you leave this earth, but it’s up to you to...tap into it.”  When the Enemy starts chipping away at your confidence, take authority over him in Jesus’ Name; resist him and he will flee (See Jas 4:7).

(Taken from The Word for You Today Daily Devotional)