| Thursday, March 04, 2010 |
| You can’t decide without a guide by Rick Warren |
| “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” Psalm 25:9 (NIV)
The Bible says there are several things we need to do to receive guidance from God, but the very first thing is this: I need to admit I need a guide! Sheep, by nature, tend to wander off the path. The Prophet Isaiah says, “All of us like sheep have strayed away! We have left God’s paths to follow our own.” (Isaiah 53:6 NLT) This is why we often don’t know God’s will. The truth is most of the time we don’t want to follow God or anybody else. We want to go our own way. We don’t want to admit we need direction or that we need a guide. Another thing about sheep is that they have poor vision. They can’t see very far ahead. That’s why, on a path, they don’t know if it is heading toward a cliff, and that’s why they need a shepherd. We can’t see the future. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, much less next year or ten years from now. We don’t even know what’s going to happen this afternoon. God made you so that you would not be able to see into the future no matter how much you try. Even with all the gimmicks to predict the future, you don’t really know what’s going to happen. Why did God do this? He did it so you would depend on Him. Because we can’t see into the future, we often stumble. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (NIV). We’ve all made decisions that at the time seemed right but later on turned out to be wrong. Some paths lead to dead ends and we end up off track. That’s why we need to admit, “God, I need help.” |
Posts Tagged ‘Encourgment’
You can’t decide without a guide
Posted: March 4, 2010 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Job Opportunity, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Complimenting, Daily Motivation, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Memorization, Mind, Money Problems, Motivation, power
Complimenting
Posted: March 4, 2010 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Complimenting, Daily Motivation, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Mind, Motivation, power
NUMBERS: 10: 29-32
Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law,
“We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, ‘ I will give it to you. Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.” He answered, “No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my on people.” But Moes said, “Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes. If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the Lord give us.”
By complimenting Hobab’s desert skills, Moses let him know he was needed. People cannot know you appreciate them if you do not tell them they are important to you. Complimenting those who deserve it builds lasting relationships and helps people know they are valued. Think about those who have helped you this month. What can you do to let them know how much you need and appreciate them?
Do What Matters
Posted: March 4, 2010 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Job Opportunity, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Daily Motivation, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Mind, Money Problems, Motivation, power
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”- Joshua 1:9
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Do what matters
Do what matters, not just what is convenient. Do what is fulfilling, not just what is easy.
Just being busy will not lead you to anything of value. Instead, challenge yourself to be effective in the service of a meaningful purpose.
Any particular stretch of your time can be infinitely valuable or it can be hopelessly worthless. Which will it be right now, on this very day?
See that every moment has the potential for soaring greatness. Let your words and actions, your thoughts and deeds express that potential in your own special way.
There are many skills that must be studied and developed, and you can choose the ones you wish to acquire. The skill of living, however, need only be allowed, for it is already within you.
Live with richness, with great fulfillment and joy and substance. Do what matters, what really matters, and delight in being the unique, beautiful person you are.
— Ralph Marston
Avoid Quarrels
Posted: February 20, 2010 in Acceptance, Encourgement, Scripture MemoryTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Memorization, Money Problems, Motivation, power
Proverbs 20:3
23: It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
A person who is truly confident of his or her strength does not need to parade it. A truly brave person does not look for chances to prove it. A resourceful woman can find a way out of a fight. A man of endurance will avoid retaliating. Foolish people find it impossible to avoid strife. Men and women of character can. What kind of person are you?
Gods Provides
Posted: February 20, 2010 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Job Opportunity, Money, Money Issue, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Money Problems, Motivation, power
| Saturday, February 20, 2010 |
| Harvest Principle: God alone supplies by Rick Warren |
| Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10 (NIV)Â
You must decide you will look to GOD ONLY as your source of supply. You need to tell God that you’re going to look to Him alone to provide for your needs and that you won’t look anywhere else. We get ourselves in trouble when we confuse the channel with the source. God may use your paycheck from work as the channel to supply your needs, but your employer is just the channel for God’s provision – and he can shift to another channel anytime he wants. When you start to look to something or someone else to meet you needs, when you begin to confuse the channel with the source, there is a clear warning sign: Worry! Say you’ve started looking to your job as the source, instead of the channel. You may start worrying, “What if I loose my job?” You knoiw what – the channel may have closewd, but the source of your every need is still active and providing for you. When God turns off one channel, He can turn on another one. Once you know what you’re lacking, you need to give God the right to choose whatever channel He chooses to fulfill the need. It may be a channel different than you choose; in fact, God may delieberatly choose a different channel in order to teach you to keep looking to him for all your needs. I have learned – as a Christian for nearly forty years – that it’s exciting to just to let God be God. It’s exciting to watch God meet a need in a way that you never thought possible or could have never thought up on your own. God alone is the source of your supply. |
Jesus Loves You
Posted: February 7, 2010 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Memorization, Mind, Money Problems, Motivation, power
Jesus Loves You
Rhonda Dent
God loving us first was the beginning of our relationship with him. We must develop a love for God in order to complete the relationship. No matter how much He loved us there could not be a relationship until we loved him in return. Relationships are not one sided. It is not just God loving us but us loving God that completes and defines that relationship.
To have a healthy relationship and to reap the benefits of that relationship there must be a mutual love for one another. If our relationship with God is not what it should be then we have to look within ourselves to cultivate and deepen that relationship. There are many one sided relationships with God and one sided relationships in the world. In our relationship with God it is not Him that is lacking in the relationship. It is us.
I have always had a love for God. Even as a teenager I knew that there was a God and I knew that He loved me. I knew that from a simple song that goes like this….
Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so….what a wonderful song. I am sure most children heard the song while growing up. It is a simple song but a powerful song.
The song is so powerful that it is known all over the world. Back then I had no idea how much God loved me or how much He sacrificed for me. All I knew was that He loved me because the song said that he did. Even as baby Christians that is all we need to know, at first. But, as we get older and mature in the things of God we have to grow in the understanding that we must reciprocate that love.
If we never develop a love for God we can never understand what He did for us and how much He loves us. We will never understand love in any of our earthly relationships either. We will never understand unconditional love. Not understanding can prevent us from totally submitting to God and His ways. It will interfere with the desire to build a strong relationship with God and to walk in obedience. It will keep us from finding our purpose and from living a life sold out for God.
God’s love is not conditional and He will never stop loving us no matter what. God does not have human characteristics. His love endures forever. When we grasp the concept of unconditional love we are able to establish a right relationship with God and with our families, friends and neighbors. We then will realize what God did for us. I can think of no better scripture than this:
For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
Until we understand the dynamics of such a love we will never quite understand why it is so important for us to have a love for God and not just a love for God, but the same type of sacrificial love that He had, has and will always have for us. Sacrificial love for God will lead us to lay down that bad habit and/or that relationship that we know is not right. It will lead us to sacrifice our time, our money and give up that ungodly behavior and much more.
When we really get to know God, we will develop such a deep love for Him that we will want to please Him.
God is working, regardless of how you feel
Posted: February 6, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Daily Motivation, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Mind, Motivation, power
| God is working, regardless of how you feel by Rick Warren |
| That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away. (Hebrews 2:1 TEV)
As you grow to spiritual maturity, there are several ways to cooperate with God in the process – Believe God is working in your life even when you don’t feel it. Spiritual growth is sometimes tedious work, one small step at a time. Expect gradual improvement. The Bible says, “Everything on earth has its own time and its own season.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 CEV) There are seasons in your spiritual life, too. Sometimes you will have a short, intense burst of growth (springtime) followed by a period of stabilizing and testing (fall and winter). What about those problems, habits, and hurts you would like miraculously removed? It’s fine to pray for a miracle, but don’t be disappointed if the answer comes through a gradual change. Over time, a slow, steady stream of water will erode the hardest rock and turn giant boulders into pebbles. Over time, a little sprout can turn into a giant redwood tree towering 350 feet tall. Keep a notebook or journal of lessons learned. This is not a diary of events, but a record of what you are learning. Write down the insights and life lessons God teaches you about him, about yourself, about life, relationships, and everything else. Record these so you can review and remember them and pass them on to the next generation (Psalm 102:18; 2 Timothy 3:14) The reason we must relearn lessons is that we forget them. Reviewing your spiritual journal regularly can spare you a lot of unnecessary pain and heartache. The Bible says, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off.” (Hebrews 2:1 Msg) *** *** *** *** Rick Warren is the author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” now available in paperback from Saddleback Resources. |
We are not perfect, but God is
Posted: February 1, 2010 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Job Opportunity, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Job Opportunity, Memorization, Money Problems, Motivation, power
| Monday, February 01, 2010 |
| We are not perfect, but God is by Jon Walker |
| (This guest devotional is an excerpt from, Growing with Purpose, available from Saddleback Resources.)
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 2 Samuel 22:31 (NIV) We are not perfect; God is perfect We are flawed; God is flawless. God takes his perfection, mixes it with the blood of Jesus Christ, and paints his perfection over our imperfection. God takes his flawlessness, couples it with his strength, and forges it to the flaws that weaken us. What does this mean? If you struggle with perfectionism, then ask God to help you deeply understand that he loves you unconditionally. You can not earn your way into his love because he freely gives it. You not only need not be perfect; there is no way you can be perfect. Praise God for Jesus. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22-24 NIV) If you are frustrated with your flaws, then be honest with God. Ask him to help you see how he works through your flaws and accept your flaws as God’s way of keeping you dependent upon him. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV) *** *** *** *** *** Jon Walker is the managing editor of the Daily Hope devotionals. This devotional is copyrighted 2010 by Jon Walker. Used by permission. |
Financial Needs
Posted: January 29, 2010 in Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, Scripture MemoryTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Money Problems, Motivation, power
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Friday, January 29, 2010
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God’s Provision: Faithful Giving
by Rick Warren |
God promises to meet all your financial needs, if you (1) ask him for help; (2) learn to be content; and (3) practice giving in faith –There is a universal law called the principle of sowing and reaping. If I sow criticism, I’m going to reap criticism. If I sow generosity, it’s going to come back to me, and I’m going to reap generosity. Every farmer knows this. A farmer has four sacks of seed in his barn and he looks at his empty field. He doesn’t complain, “There’s no crop! I wish there was a crop!” He just goes out and starts planting seed. When you have a need, plant a seed. It seems illogical that when I have a need, I should give. That’s why it requires faith. God says, “My ways are not your ways.” Why did God set it up that way? Because God is a giver. He is the most generous giver in the universe, and God wants you to learn to be like him. He wants to build character in you. The Bible says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” (Proverbs 3:9, NLT) This is the principle of tithing. It’s the principle that says every time I make $100 — the first $10 goes back to God. Tithing is an act of worship. We’re giving to God. We’re saying, “All of it came from you anyway.” God says, “Put me first in your life and watch what I do.” You may think you can’t afford to tithe, but the reality is, you can’t afford not to. Tomorrow we’ll look at maintaining integrity, another condition for answered prayer. |
Learn to Be Content
Posted: January 28, 2010 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Happiness, Inspiration, Money, Money Issue, Scripture Memory, UncategorizedTags: Bible Study, Encourgment, Memorization, Mind, Money Problems, Motivation, power
Thursday, January 28, 2010
God’s Provision: Contentment
by Rick Warren
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 1 Timothy 6:6-7 (NIV)
God promises to meet all your financial needs, if you (1) ask him for help and (2) learn to be content —
If you’ve ever seen a baby born, you know they don’t come into the world with a whole lot. They’re not holding onto cigars, cars and a stock portfolio. They don’t come into the world with anything but a little umbilical cord and that quickly gets cut.
And then, at your funeral, you don’t take anything with you. The Bible teaches that we should learn to be content.
What is contentment? Contentment means my happiness is not dependent upon circumstances. Most people get caught into “when” thinking: “When I get a certain job … When I can retire … When I get the house paid off … When I get the bills paid off … then I’ll be happy!”
God says, “No, once you get there, you’ll always want something else.” If you don’t learn contentment, you’ll never be happy. You’ll always want more.
“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-8, NLT)
Tomorrow we’ll look at faithful giving, another condition for answered prayer.
Under Gods command 