A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear excellent fruit [worthy of admiration].

Matthew 7:18 (AMPC)

During my first few years of ministry, I spent a lot of my prayer time asking God for powerful and dynamic gifts that would help me be an effective minister. I focused on the gifts I needed, but I didn’t give much thought to the fruit of the Spirit. I must admit I was more concerned about power than godly character.

Then one day the Lord impressed upon me, “Joyce, if you would have put even half as much energy and time into praying about and trying to develop the fruit of the Spirit as you have the gifts, you’d already have both.”

As Christians, many of us pray that God will give us great spiritual power, but our first priority really should be developing the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The closer we get to God, the more fruit we will naturally produce.

We are known by our fruit, not by our gifts. When people see the fruit of God’s Spirit in your life, they can see what God is doing in your heart. I encourage you today to ask God to cultivate the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life on a daily basis. If you’ll focus on the fruit, the power will follow.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit in my life on a regular basis, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

…The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

2 Chronicles 20:15 (AMPC)

God wants us to lean entirely on Him; that is what faith really is. It is too complicated to try to stay in His will under our own power. Which one of us can even say that we know 100 percent, for sure, what we’re supposed to do every single day?

You can do everything that you know to do to make a right decision. You may be right, but there is a possibility you could be wrong. How can you know if you’re right or not? You can’t. You have to trust God to keep you in His will, straighten out any crooked paths in front of you, keep you on the narrow path that leads to life, and off the broad path that leads to destruction (see Matt. 7:13 KJV).

I know some things about God’s will for my life, but I don’t know everything, so I have learned to stay in rest and peace by leaning on God, praying for His will to be done, and trusting Him to keep me. I learned this when God was dealing with me to make a certain decision. I agonized, “But, oh, God, what if I’m wrong? What if I make a mistake? What if I miss You, God!”

He said, “Joyce, if you miss Me, I’ll find you.”

Leaning is a good thing, as long as we are leaning on something or someone that won’t cave in when we least expect it! God is a good choice to lean on. He has a proven record of faithfulness to those who commit their lives to Him.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me to lean completely on You, and help me to trust You to guide and keep me in Your will, especially when I’m unsure of the path, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

From His dwelling place He looks [intently] upon all the inhabitants of the earth—He Who fashions the hearts of them all, Who considers all their doings.

Psalm 33:14-15 (AMPC)

Because God has fashioned our hearts individually, our prayers can flow naturally out of our hearts and be consistent with the way He has designed us. As we develop our individual styles of communication with God, we can learn from people who may be more experienced than we are, but we need to be careful not to make what others do our standard. Thankfully, Jesus is our standard, and He is the only standard we need.

Enjoy your time with the Lord. Don’t try to force yourself to do what others do if you are not comfortable with that in your spirit. You don’t have to keep up with others or copy their prayer styles. You can go before God with thanksgiving in your heart, knowing that He hears you and loves you just the way you are. You can pray as the “original” He has made you to be.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I thank You that everything about me is unique—even the way I pray. Help me to shake off comparisons and just come to You with confidence as Your child. I love You, Father, and I love spending time with You.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Open rebuke is better than love that is hidden.

Proverbs 27:5 (AMPC)

Hiding your true feelings, like resentment or unforgiveness, keeps you in bondage to them.

It is impossible to get your day started right if you keep waking up with pain from yesterday’s wounds. If you carry around this kind of “emotional baggage,” it will poison your day.

Sometimes you have to confront things to make them better. But use wisdom. While it is good to talk about things, don’t dump all your thoughts and emotions on every person who comes along today.

Talk to God about your situation before you meet anyone. He may lead you to speak with someone you trust. But if He doesn’t, learn to trust it completely to Him, and let it go.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I need Your help to let go of unforgiveness and the things that have hurt me in the past, and instead trust You to heal my heart and guide my words, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

And the Lord your God will clear out those nations before you, little by little; you may not consume them quickly, lest the beasts of the field increase among you.

Deuteronomy 7:22 (AMPC)

Recently I thought about my life from the time I seriously began to follow Jesus Christ to the present. Had I known then—at the beginning of the journey—all the things God would take me through, I would probably have been afraid to sign up for the trip.

As I look back, however, I realize that God held my hand and let me advance in small steps. I had times of great discouragement—as we all do. I remember times of bitter tears over my personal failures. But God kept nudging me forward.

That’s the secret of living the victorious Christian life—we move ahead little by little. It’s an inching forward over months and years. Most of us can understand that. The same is true in the battle for the mind. We don’t roust Satan in one big blow and then live in victory forever after. We win one small battle, and then we’re ready to move on to the next one. We may have a few major victories that come suddenly, but not many of them. The fight to destroy Satan’s strongholds comes mostly by daily, doggedly, moving ahead.

The first time I thought of that fact, it was discouraging, until I realized the wisdom of God. After the Jews left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness, God spoke to them before they went into the Promised Land. It was a special land—fertile, beautiful, and promised to them. But in the more than 400 years since Jacob and his sons had left the land, others had moved in and occupied land that didn’t belong to them.

For the children of Israel, it wasn’t merely a matter of going in and settling down. They had to fight for every foot of ground—even though it was their inheritance.

That’s how the spiritual principle works on every level. God has the blessings out there waiting for us, but it’s up to us to go in and take the land. Just as it was for the Jews of old, it is a battle.

In the verse at the beginning of this chapter, God spoke of the beasts of the field. There were many wild animals in the land , and it could have been dangerous. But what if we thought of the beasts as pride? What if God suddenly gave us full, complete victory, and we never struggled again; how would that affect us? Surely pride would creep in.

Our attitude then would be to look down on others who have not been as victorious as we have been. We may not express our condescension in words, but won’t those we disdain sense that we think we’re superior? And, truthfully, wouldn’t we feel superior. We’ve made it; those poor souls are still struggling.

God has a wonderful plan for each of us, but it never comes with just one major victory, so that we never struggle again. Instead, it’s an ongoing warfare, and we must remain vigilant and be aware of the attacks of the enemy.

Another aspect is that because we move ahead little by little, it makes us savor every victory. Each time we overcome or destroy one of Satan’s strongholds, we rejoice. We can remain in a constant state of thanksgiving. If we’ve had only one victory, and that was 30 years ago, how dull our lives would be. Or worse yet, how easy it would be for us to take God for granted. Isn’t it better to serve a God who takes us slowly forward, always showing us the way, always encouraging us? We always have new horizons to reach for, and that makes our journey with God exciting!

Prayer of the Day: God, please forgive me for wanting all the victory right now. Help me realize that as I struggle and call on You, I see Your wonderful, loving, and caring hand taking me forward—little by little. For that, I’m so grateful, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Psalm 121:3-4 (NIV)

Realizing that God watches over us at all times is very comforting. There is never one moment when He doesn’t have His loving eye on us. God doesn’t sleep, so even when we are asleep, He is watching us.

God is our protector and our hiding place. He is the place we run to when we are hurting, in trouble, or in any kind of danger. I encourage you to think several times a day, God is watching me right now. Remembering His watchful eye over me comforts me. It helps me to realize that nothing is hidden from God, and it increases my desire to live a life that pleases Him.

Are you afraid of anything right now? If so, just remember that God is watching over you. He is with you. If you are hurting physically or emotionally, He is with you to comfort you. All you need to do is ask Him for what you need. God loves you very much, and He delights in meeting your needs and giving you the desires of your heart.

Prayer of the Day: Father, it is wonderful to know that You are always watching over me and that You will protect me. Help me remember that You see me at all times.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

When you enter a house, first say, “Peace to this house.” If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

Luke 10:5-7 (NIV)

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He sent some of His followers out two by two to do His kingdom work.

He said to them, basically, “Go and find a house and say, “Peace be unto you.” And if your peace settles on that house, then you can stay there. If it doesn’t, shake the dust off your feet and go on” (Matthew 10:12–14; Luke 10:5–11).

At one time in my life, I felt repeatedly drawn to these scriptures, and I didn’t know why. I finally realized that God was trying to help me understand what Jesus was saying to His disciples in today’s scripture. I needed to learn that in order to minister with His anointing (the grace and power of the Holy Spirit in me), I needed to live in peace.

As I continued to study and meditate on these verses, I realized that in order to serve Him most effectively, all of us need a peaceful base of operations, a place from which we can go out and to which we can go back. For most of us, this place is our home. If our homes aren’t peaceful, we need to do whatever we can to gain and maintain a calm, peaceful atmosphere, because strife and confusion adversely affect the anointing of God that rests on our lives. Even if you can’t have peace in your home because the other people refuse to be peaceful, you can remain peaceful in your heart.

Let me encourage you to do all you can do to ensure peace in your “home base.” That way, everyone who lives and works from that place will do so with God’s grace and peace—and they will have success.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, show me anything I need to do to establish and maintain peace in my home, and help me create a peaceful atmosphere for all who live there, including myself.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]….

Ephesians 4:15 (AMPC)

You and I live in a world filled with people who are living false lives, wearing masks of pretense, and hiding things they don’t want others to know. That is wrong. But the reason it happens is that people have not been taught to walk in truth. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us; He is the Spirit of Truth, and He speaks the truth to us.

Sometimes Satan deceives us, but at other times we deceive ourselves. In other words, we fabricate lives we are comfortable with instead of facing life as it really is and dealing with issues with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit speaks to me and confronts me with issues in my life frequently, and He has also taught me to be a confronter, not a coward. Cowards hide from the truth; they are afraid of it. You don’t have to be afraid of the truth. Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would lead them into truth, but He also told them they were not ready to hear certain things (see John 16:12), so He did not reveal those things at that time. The Holy Spirit will always speak truth to you, but He won’t speak certain truths to you until He knows you are ready to hear them.

If you are brave enough to welcome the Spirit of Truth into every area of your life and let Him speak to you about issues in your life, you are in for an unforgettable journey of freedom and power.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me to walk in Your truth and be guided solely by Your Spirit. Help me confront the areas in my life that need Your healing touch, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

Ephesians 3:19 (AMPC)

Today’s scripture challenges us to “become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.” This is my goal, and I pray it is yours, too. But I have found that I must decrease so He can increase (John 3:30). Too often I am full of myself, working hard to get what I want. We may blame every kind of problem on the devil, but self is our biggest problem. God’s Word teaches us to die to self, and this is not a quick or easy process.

If we will forget about ourselves and what we want and live for God and His will, He will give us more than we could ever get for ourselves. I urge you to pray regularly about decreasing while God increases. Pray to be full of God’s thoughts, His will, His attitudes, and His desires, and be empty of yourself.

This doesn’t mean you never want anything for yourself, but instead of trying to get it for yourself, ask God for it. Psalm 37:4 says to delight ourselves in God, and He will give us the desires of our heart.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, please help me to decrease, so that You might increase in my life. I definitely need more of You. Fill me with thoughts that are pleasing to You, as well as the desire to do Your will, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].

Proverbs 18:21 (AMPC)

According to the Bible, the power of life and death is in the tongue, and we often have to eat our words.

I wonder how many times in our lives we say, “I’m afraid…” “I’m afraid I’ll get that flu that is going around.” “I’m afraid my kids will get in trouble.” “I’m afraid it’s going to snow, and I’m afraid to drive in it, if it does.” “With the way prices are going up, I’m afraid I won’t have enough money.” “I’m afraid if I don’t go to that party, people will think badly of me.” “I’m afraid we won’t get a good seat at the theater.” “I’m afraid someone will break into my house while I’m out of town.” If we heard a recording of every time in our life we have said “I’m afraid,” we would probably be amazed that our lives are going as well as they are.

If we really understood the power of words, I think we would change the way we talk. Our talk should be confident and bold, not fearful. Fearful talk not only affects us in an adverse way, but it affects those around us.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, show me the ways I need to change how I talk. Help me to break the bad habits I’ve adopted and the negative words I repeat over and over, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Do not fear [anything], for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you….

Isaiah 41:10 (AMP)

Fear is an enemy that torments the soul and seeks to steal our peace and joy. Totally conquering fear is not something that we do in one day, or even a thousand days. It is something we conquer one day at a time with God’s help.

Fear can show up quite unexpectedly in many ways. One of our goals should be to recognize it so we can deal with it promptly. You can’t defeat an enemy you don’t know is there.

Being free from fear doesn’t mean that we will never experience it or be confronted by it. It means that we are committed to not allowing it to rule our lives, and when necessary, we will do what we need to do, even if we have to do it afraid.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, Help me to recognize fear at its onset and keep moving forward in Your strength. Guide me and give me peace, especially in trying times, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].

Proverbs 15:15 (AMPC)

Do you have something in your life that you could be very worried about and very anxious about if you didn’t decide not to be? Most people do, and if you don’t have something today you might have something tomorrow or the next day. That’s not being negative, it’s just saying that life is real and you never know exactly what is going to come your way. But we do know God and we don’t have to live in fear. He is with us and He’s on our side.

I had a lot of bad things happen to me in the early years of my life, and I got to the point where I was afraid that bad things would happen. Proverb 15:15 calls that “evil forebodings,” which means you have this sense that you are waiting for the next disaster. I’ve learned instead of doing that to expect something good to happen in my life and to expect it on purpose.

You can choose your own thoughts. You don’t have to just think whatever falls in your head. You can cast out wrong things and choose right thoughts. Faith starts in our hearts, a gift from God, but it is released through our thinking and speaking right things. When we have a problem, we can either do what the devil wants us to do and worry about it and get anxious and try to figure things out on our own, or we can do what God wants us to do and think about the promises in His Word.

The Bible teaches us to cast all of our care on God because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7).

Throughout our married life, every time we’ve had a problem in our house, Dave has had one answer: “Cast your care.” It’s not wrong to see our problems, but we need to tell them where they stand in relation to God. Worry sees the problem, but faith sees the God Who can handle the problem.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, with Your help, I cast my cares on You. Help me replace worry with faith, and trust in Your promises. Help me to expect only good things to happen in my life, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

…You were washed clean (purified by a complete atonement for sin and made free from the guilt of sin), and you were consecrated (set apart, hallowed), and you were justified [pronounced righteous, by trusting] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:11 (AMPC)

As a believer, you are free to do anything you please: All things are legitimate [permissible—and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome) (1 Corinthians 10:23 AMPC).

God trusts you with liberty because He has also given you a new heart full of desire to please Him. You don’t have to struggle against immorality and sin when you allow Him to fill you with His Spirit each day. As a born-again, Spirit-filled believer, you have been given the liberty to lead a good life.

Choose today what is wholesome, edifying, and constructive.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, thank You for filling me with Your spirit every day. Thank You for the freedom to live a good life, according to Your will, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:20 (NIV)

There is power in the blood of Jesus. Those who believe in Jesus believe that He died for us, shedding His blood and suffering to pay for our sins. It is only through His sacrifice that we are reconciled to God. Through His shed blood, our sins are forgiven. His blood is referred to as “precious,” and indeed it is (1 Peter 1:19).

It is Christ’s blood that removes every guilty stain of sin and allows us to live completely forgiven, free from guilt and condemnation. According to Colossians 1:21–22, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight.” No wonder the gospel is called good news.

I encourage you to thank God regularly for sending Jesus. He has done more for us than we may realize. He freely provides every blessing to those who least deserve it, and all He asks is that we believe in Him and let His light shine through us so that others might come to know and believe in Him also.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I thank You for sending Jesus and for His sacrifice of His blood, which has cleansed me from all sin. Help me always appreciate what You have done for me through Jesus. In His name I pray, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”

Exodus 18:17-18 (NIV)

Moses was a very busy man, to the point of being overwhelmed and stressed. As the leader of the children of Israel, he had many responsibilities and a lot to think about. The people looked to him to settle their disputes, solve their problems, give them advice, and provide help in many other ways. Finally, his father-in-law, Jethro, told him the work was too much for him to handle alone and helped him learn to delegate some of his responsibilities.

As you read about Moses and his father-in-law, maybe you’re thinking, I can relate! Maybe you, too, feel overwhelmed. Perhaps the responsibilities you carry have become too heavy and you don’t feel you can continue to handle them by yourself.

Being too stressed and overwhelmed is something we all face and need to manage at times. We can approach this several different ways. We can take care of ourselves physically, making sure to eat right, exercise, and sleep enough. We can seek support from the people around us. We can learn to set healthy boundaries and say no to certain things. And best of all, we can ask God to help us.

He may lead us to delegate certain tasks, give us insight into ways we can be more efficient, or give us creative ways to manage our stress. According to John 14:26, the Holy Spirit is our Helper, and we can call on Him at any time in any situation. We can be sure that when we ask, He will help us.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me know what to do when I feel overwhelmed, and send me the help I need.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 2:5 (AMPC)

Education is important, but we must always keep in mind that the wisdom of God is better and more valuable than worldly education and human philosophy. The apostle Paul was a highly educated man, but he firmly stated that it was God’s power that made his preaching valuable, not his education. I know lots of people who graduate from college with honors and degrees and have difficulty getting jobs. I also know people who have not had the opportunity to go to college who depend on God to give them favor and they end up with great jobs. Where is your trust? Is it in God or in what you know? No matter what we know, or who we know, our trust should be in Christ alone and in His power.

Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:21 that the world with all of its human wisdom and philosophy failed to know God, but He chose to reveal Himself and save mankind through the foolishness of preaching. Sadly, we often find that the more highly educated some people are, the more difficult it is for them to have simple, childlike faith. Too much head knowledge and reasoning can actually work against us if we are not careful, because we can only know God by the Spirit and heart, not by the brain. Be sure to let your faith rest in the power of God and not in human philosophy to help in all areas of life.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me to trust in Your wisdom and power above all human knowledge. I ask that You cause my faith to rest in You alone, and that it guides my life through Your Holy Spirit, amen.

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But he must ask [for wisdom] in faith, without doubting [God’s willingness to help], for the one who doubts is like a billowing surge of the sea that is blown about and tossed by the wind.

James 1:6 (AMP)

Many times in life, we are opposed by thoughts and emotions that are intended to weaken our relationship with God. Doubt is one such feeling.

Feelings of doubt or uncertainty don’t mean that we don’t have faith and are not relying on God. It simply means that the devil is bringing temptation to stop us from putting our confidence in the Lord. We can consider the source of doubt and realize it is a lie.

We should “watch and pray” as we are instructed in God’s Word (see Matthew 26:40–41). When we are faced with doubt, see it for the deception that it is. Take that doubt to God and ask Him to give you the strength to defeat it. Don’t feed those doubts; feed your faith instead. Remember what God says about your life and your future and choose to stand on those promises.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, strengthen my faith and help me overcome my doubts by trusting in Your promise and the truth of Your Word, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

…it is the same God Who inspires and energizes them all in all.

1 Corinthians 12:6 (AMPC)

All of our thoughts, good or bad, have an effect on our physical being. The mind and body are definitely connected. Positive, hopeful thoughts energize our soul and physical bodies, whereas negative, hopeless thoughts drain our energy.

Physical tiredness is not always a result of wrong thinking. We can certainly have a sickness or disease that leads to a loss of energy, or we may even wake up tired for no known reason. But we do know that science and medical technology verify that the mind and body have a close connection, and that our thinking does have a direct effect on our body.

Our bodies are like automobiles that God provides for us to drive around on earth. If we want them to perform to their maximum ability and be energized, then we need to choose to think in ways that will help fuel them.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, please guide and direct my thoughts to be more positive and energizing, so that my mind and body can serve You well, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Adapted from Starting Your Day Right

But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].

Romans 8:9 (AMPC)

Romans 8:8 (AMPC) declares: Those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

God wants us to enjoy the good life. Here He is saying to us, “If you walk in the Spirit, you will reap blessings from the Spirit-controlled life both now and hereafter.” Be responsible for your choices today. You cannot choose to live in the flesh and still expect everything to work out well. Choose to be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, guide me to walk according to the Holy Spirit, and to make choices that honor You. I love You so much, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

1 Corinthians 1:27 (NIV)

God delights in choosing and using people that the world would ignore and call useless. He does it so nobody can take the glory or the credit for what He does. Those who think they are intelligent and strong are often put in their place when they witness God using someone they would have rejected and assumed was incapable of doing anything noteworthy.

If you have been slighted by the world, don’t discount yourself from being used by God. His strength is made perfect in your weakness!

Prayer of the Day: Father, please help me to trust and believe that You can and will work through me, and that I can do great things for Your glory. I am so grateful that You use what the world sees as worthless, amen.

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