Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead.— Philippians 3:13

The longer a person lives, the more likely they are to wonder “what if…?” and feel the regret or sadness it often causes. The good news is that for any follower of Jesus, “what if?” doesn’t have to be a regret over the past, but an exciting challenge to see the future God has for them.

I know of a congregation that was challenged by their pastor to do four simple things (for only a month) to consecrate themselves for the coming year. He asked them to pray every day, fast one day a week, tithe, and bring one unsaved person a week to church.

The result was an unprecedented breakthrough in the life of this church. God’s presence became stronger in the services. Financial breakthroughs came for ministry projects and proposed buildings. And most exciting of all, church members entered a phenomenal season of bringing lost souls into God’s kingdom.

I want to challenge you: What if you pursued God today, just like that church? What if you dedicated your life entirely to Him? What if you pushed forward, ready to see what God can do? What might happen?

Prayer Starter: Lord, I don’t want to spend my life asking “what if?” and never seeing any breakthroughs in my life. I make a fresh commitment to pursue You today, excited to see the amazing things You will do in my life.

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A man’s mind plans his way [as he journeys through life], But the LORD directs his steps and establishes them.— Proverbs 16:9

People often ask me how they can find out what God’s will is for their lives. Some spend many years waiting to hear a voice or to receive supernatural direction. But hearing God’s voice in your heart is usually more practical than that. I tell them to step out and find out.

Early in my journey with God, I wanted to serve Him. I felt He had placed a call on my life, but I didn’t know exactly what to do, so I tried different opportunities that were available.

A lot of them didn’t work out for me, but I kept trying different ones until I found an area that fit me. I finally came alive inside when I had an opportunity to share the Word with people. I found joy in teaching, and it was obvious God had given me the ability to do it. I knew then that I had found my place in ministry.

Sometimes the only way to discover God’s will is to practice what I call “stepping out and finding out.” If you have prayed about a situation and don’t seem to know what you should do, take a step of faith. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake. Step out and God will guide you.

Prayer Starter: God, I trust You and I know You will direct my steps, so I’m not afraid to step out and find what You have for me.

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I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.— Galatians 2:20

Paul said that he had been crucified with Christ. In other words, he had to stop thinking about himself in order to live for God. And we are encouraged to do the same.

At this point you may be thinking, What about me? Who is going to take care of me? This is usually what prevents us from living the way God wants us to live.

It’s easy to just think about what we want, think and feel, but living for yourself is actually a frustrating, empty way to live. It’s amazing how focusing on God and what we can do for others brings freedom from fear about having what we need or want.

The secret to having joy is giving your life away rather than trying to keep it. When you get the focus off of you and onto God, God can show you how to live a truly meaningful life.

I encourage you to start your days by dedicating yourself to God. When you do, He will faithfully help you live a godly life.

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If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.— Isaiah 58:10 (NKJV)

God is passionate about helping people who are hurting and in need. Throughout the years, as I have become closer to Him and my love for Him has grown, I have become more determined to live each day in a way that will make someone else’s life better. God’s passion has become my passion.

Reaching out to others isn’t something we should pay lip service to. It should be a top priority of living the Christian life.

It takes determination and commitment to stretch ourselves to help others, but that’s how God wants us to live. God says that when you truly give and pour yourself out for others, He will use you. And when He uses you, your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday (Isaiah 58:10 NKJV).

If you reach beyond your own situation and bring Christ’s love to others, your peace and joy will increase, making the struggles you face seem to fade away. And you’ll experience the amazing satisfaction of making a difference where it counts.

So consider this: Do you need to rearrange your priorities to make God’s passion your passion? Ask Him to show you how you can reach out to others and bring His light and love to those who need it most.

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I assure you, believers, by the pride which I have in you in [your union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily [I face death and die to self].— 1 Corinthians 15:31

Selfishness is not learned behavior—we are born with it. But when we accept Jesus as our Savior, He comes to live in our spirit, and as we learn how to “die to self” and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, then we can overcome selfishness. It may never go away completely, but the Greater One who lives in us helps us overcome it daily (see Galatians 5:16).

Now, I haven’t overcome selfishness entirely, and I doubt anyone else has either. Even the apostle Paul, one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, had trouble overcoming selfishness. Learning to live unselfishly was a journey for him, just like everybody else. He said he had to “die to self” every single day.

We are called to the same life because we cannot live selfish lives and expect to make a difference. We must die to self every single day. It usually isn’t easy to do, but God will always give us His grace to do what’s right when we lean on Him. And the truth is, living an unselfish life is the best way to have more righteousness, peace and joy every day!

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And to the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Philadelphia write: “These are the words of the Holy One, the True One, He who has the key [to the house] of David, He who opens and no one will [be able to] shut, and He who shuts and no one opens.— Revelation 3:7

There are critical times in our lives when we especially need to know we are hearing clearly from God. It isn’t always easy to know His voice from that of our own emotional reasoning. But I know from experience that God can open doors of opportunity that no one can close, and He can also close doors that we cannot open.

I spent many years trying to make things happen that I wanted to do in life. The result was frustration and disappointment. But I found that when we depend on God, He will give us favor and make things easy for us as we seek Him and His perfect timing. He leads us one step at a time. If you take one step forward in the wrong direction, He will let you know before you go too far.

Be aware that His thoughts are above your thoughts. He sees the end from the beginning. All His ways are right and sure. He knows what makes sense for your life and He can make it happen. Listen to His voice, and you will not be deceived.

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Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]?— 1 Corinthians 6:19

Until I turned sixty-four, I’d never exercised consistently or took it seriously. I had walked and done a few things to stay in decent shape, but I was not dedicated to exercise. I had reached into my excuse bag many times over the years and come up with all kinds of “reasons” I could not exercise. But the Lord spoke to my heart, encouraging me to begin a serious workout program so I could be strong for the last third of my journey through life.

I already had good eating habits, and when I obeyed the Lord and started going to the gym several times a week, I stepped into a new season of life. I looked better, felt better, and most importantly, I was honoring God by taking good care of the body He gave me.

If you have room for improvement in this area, pray and ask God what you should do to start living a healthier lifestyle. The Word says that our bodies are temples of God. And I want to make sure that God likes His temple! Today, make the choice to keep your temple in excellent shape for God.

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Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified or dismayed (intimidated), for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”— Joshua 1:9

I strongly urge you to face your challenges one day at a time. Looking too far down the road only tends to overwhelm us. Trusting God requires that we believe He gives us our “daily bread”; that is, we receive what we need as we need it and usually not before.

Sometimes challenges can seem impossible and overwhelming, but God is always with us. We just need to be courageous and receive the strength He gives us. Remember that God will give you the grace to do what you need to do today, so it’s important to focus on living in the moment, rather than worrying about tomorrow.

This principle applies to many other areas of life—getting out of debt, cleaning and organizing your house, solving marriage problems, disciplining your children, being on time for work or completing a project. Whatever you need to do in life, you can do it.

Philippians 4:13 says you are ready for anything and equal to anything because God gives you strength. Nothing is too much for you when He is on your side.

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Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.— Daniel 6:3 (AMPC)

Daniel is a man in the Bible who is described as having an “excellent spirit.” He lived to glorify God with his life, no matter what it cost him.

Daniel loved God and was unwavering in his commitment to serve Him. As a result, God gave him favor with the king, which led to his promotion over the other leaders in the land. But his commitment to God was tested.

The leaders didn’t like that the king favored Daniel. So they manipulated the king to sign a decree that prohibited anyone from praying to any god other than the king for thirty days. Violating the decree meant being thrown into a den of lions.

Daniel didn’t cave in to this decree—he was more concerned about keeping his commitment to God. If you know the story, you know God protected him and was glorified in the end.

I want to encourage you to live with that same excellent spirit. Be determined to live for God in every area of your life. As you do, you’ll fulfill your true purpose and glorify God in everything you do, just like Daniel.

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Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts;— Psalm 139:23

Years ago, when we were struggling financially, I grew tired of believing for a breakthrough and broke down before the Lord. I cried about it for a while and then, by the grace of God, I made a decision and declared: “God, I am going to tithe and give offerings until the day I die, whether I ever see anything come from it or not!”

I believe with all my heart this was a test for me to see why I was really giving. The Lord wanted to reveal whether I had the right, godly motives. If I was just “giving to get,” I may have only selfishly given to get something from God.

There’s been a lot of teaching and preaching that says, “Do this and you’ll get that.” But what about having a pure heart that says, “I want to do the right thing just because it’s right and it glorifies God”?

I urge you to honestly examine your motives today and make sure they’re not self-centered. Make a wholehearted commitment to serve God for the right reasons.

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And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and men.— Luke 2:52

From childhood, Jesus walked in the supernatural favor of God and men. In fact, He was so popular He could hardly find time alone to pray and fellowship with His heavenly Father. Even those who did not believe in Him as the Christ recognized that He walked in the favor of God.

The guards sent by the Pharisees to arrest Jesus returned saying, Never has a man talked as this Man talks! (John 7:46 AMPC). And right up to the end of His life, even while He was on the cross, the people recognized that God was with Him (see Luke 23:47-48).

This same favor is available to us. We must never forget that no matter what happens, we can have favor with God and with other people (see Luke 2:52). But like so many good things in life, we must put our faith in God to receive it.

So today, live by faith, confidently knowing that God will give you the favor Jesus had. Regardless of the circumstances that come into your life, believe God for supernatural favor.

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Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. — Romans 5:5

It’s impossible for human love to be unconditional like God’s love. But as believers in Jesus Christ, we have the love of God in us. We can let that love flow freely, without conditions. Our love fails, but God’s does not. Our love comes to an end, but God’s does not.

Sometimes I find that although I can’t love a person in my own strength, I am able to with God’s love. The true love of God doesn’t depend on feelings—it’s based on a decision. It’s not based on whether or not that person deserves it. And it is absolutely freeing to be able to love people without stopping to ask if they deserve it.

Human love depends on feelings. It loves people because they have been good to us or they loved us first. That kind of love comes and goes.

God’s love is totally different. It isn’t based on anything except God Himself. When we receive Christ as our Savior, the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Pour out God’s love to others today.

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Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous [the upright in heart]. The Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow; But He makes crooked the way of the wicked. — Psalm 146:7-9

God speaks frequently in the Bible of our responsibility to the oppressed, hungry, widows, orphans, fatherless and foreigners. He mentions those who are lonely, neglected, forgotten and devalued. He cares deeply for the oppressed and the hungry.

People can be hungry in many ways. They may have plenty of food to eat but still be starving to feel valuable and loved. God lifts up those who are bowed down with sorrow; He protects the stranger and upholds the fatherless and the widow. How does He do this? He works through people. He needs committed, submitted, dedicated people who live to meet the needs of others.

Mother Teresa once said, “Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.”

I have come to understand that many people we encounter daily are just trying to survive until someone rescues them—and that someone could be you or me. Let’s allow God’s love for the hurting and broken to work through us, meeting the needs of those who are hurting spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Let’s love without getting tired.

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But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David purchased the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.— 2 Samuel 24:24

I believe that in God’s economy, nothing cheap is worth having. God gave His only Son to free us, and while we can never equal that sacrifice, we must give back to Him in a way that means something. King David said he would not give God something that cost him nothing. And I have learned that true giving is not giving until I can feel it.

Giving away the clothes and household items I’m finished with may be a nice gesture, but it doesn’t equal real giving. Real giving occurs when I give somebody something that I want to keep.

I’m sure you’ve had those testing times when God asks you to give away something you like. But when you consider how He gave His only Son for us because of His love for us, doesn’t that make you want to give of yourself too?

The simple truth is this: We must give to be happy, and giving is not true giving if it doesn’t cost us something.

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But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace–His undeserved favor and mercy–you have been saved from God’s judgment).— Ephesians 2:4-5

Sometimes, when life gets discouraging, the best thing we can do is remind ourselves of the nature of God’s love.

One of the most beautiful things the Bible says is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (see Romans 5:8). He did not wait for us to deserve His love. He loves us unconditionally. To be honest, that’s hard for many of us to comprehend because we are so accustomed to having to earn everything in life.

Because of His great, wonderful and intense love for us, God poured His life out for us freely. That is revolutionary love—real, revolutionary love that gives itself away because it can never be satisfied doing anything less.

It is God’s unconditional love that draws us to Him, His amazing grace that erases our sin, and His powerful sacrifice that makes a way for us to enter His presence. His love will never quit, never give up, and never leave you. Whenever you feel down or depressed, remember the great love that God has for you.

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preach the word [as an official messenger]; be ready when the time is right and even when it is not [keep your sense of urgency, whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or unwelcome]; correct [those who err in doctrine or behavior], warn [those who sin], exhort and encourage [those who are growing toward spiritual maturity], with inexhaustible patience and [faithful] teaching. — 2 Timothy 4:2

I frequently stay in hotels when I’m traveling for ministry purposes. When I am in my room, I usually put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door so nobody will bother me. Hanging this sign on my hotel room door is acceptable. But putting it on my life isn’t.

Have you ever noticed that God doesn’t always do things on our timetable or in ways that are convenient for us? Paul told Timothy that as a servant of God and a minister of the Gospel, he needed to fulfill his duties whether it was convenient for him or not.

I doubt Timothy was nearly as addicted to convenience as we are today. But if he needed to hear that, then I’m sure we need to hear it frequently.

It’s so easy to put a “Do Not Disturb” sign over our hearts for fear that God’s call will inconvenience us, but we miss out on so many great opportunities when we do this. We need to remember that whatever God asks us to do, it’s always worth any inconvenience or difficulty we face in the process. And He will always make a way for us to accomplish His will when we are obedient to Him.

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Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].— Romans 8:37

God gives us dreams for the future, but sometimes those dreams can seem impossible. That’s when fear starts to set in.

If you are determined to never give up on your dream, then you have to take chances—you have to be courageous. And you need to understand that courage is not the absence of fear; it is pressing forward when you feel afraid. So when you face situations that threaten or intimidate you, pray for God’s grace to give you boldness and courage so you can move ahead in spite of the feeling of fear.

The spirit of fear will always try to keep you from going forward. The enemy has used fear for centuries to try to stop people, and he is not going to change his strategy now. But you can defeat fear, because you are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves us.

I want to encourage you to be determined to face fear when it comes against you. Stand firm, trusting God and knowing He is always with you.

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And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him–the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord– Isaiah 11:2

Jesus lived His life by discernment. His discernment was not based on the superficial senses of His flesh—it was the result of His intimate communion and relationship with His Father God.

This same gift of discernment is available to you and me through our relationship with God.

So how does it work? Before you do anything, you must quickly check with your spirit to see if the thing you are about to do is okay. If you have peace, then proceed. But if you are uncomfortable, confused or frustrated, remain still.

For instance, at times I’ve been at the mall getting ready to purchase something, but before I reached the checkout counter, I sensed a frustration in my spirit, which was like a nudge from the Holy Spirit not to make the purchase.

The exciting thing about moments like these is every time you and I choose to listen to and follow the Holy Spirit’s promptings, our spirits grow stronger in God, and more and more of God’s power is released in our lives to operate in the fruit of the Spirit.

Yield to the Holy Spirit and follow His promptings and you will grow in the same discernment that Jesus walked in.

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For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.— Hebrews 4:15

It’s important to make the right choices, especially in the middle of hurt, discouragement, frustration and confusion—when the right choice is the tough choice to make. When things are stressful, we naturally like to take the path of least resistance. But those are the very moments when making the right choice can make the greatest difference. Because to reap right results in life, you have to do right when you don’t feel like it.

What’s amazing to me is that Jesus knows what we feel like. When He became a human being, He struggled with all of the frustrations we struggle with. He felt like giving up and taking the easy way, but He overcame and made the tough choices.

When we grow weary and falter in our determination, we can know with confidence that we serve a God who knows what we’re going through. He wants to help us and give us His grace so we don’t have to make tough decisions on our own.

When you find yourself stressed-out or on the verge of giving up, remember that God is with you and He understands. Find the strength to make the tough choices in Him.

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For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.— Jeremiah 29:11

Self-pity is a destructive and negative emotion. It blinds us to our blessings and the possibilities before us and it steals our hope for both today and tomorrow. People who pity themselves often think, Why should I try to do anything? I’ll just fail.

Self-pity is actually idolatry because it is self-focus carried to the extreme. When we allow ourselves to fall into self-pity, we are essentially rejecting God’s love and His ability to change things.

I encourage you not to waste one more day of your life in self-pity. When you lose hope and begin to feel sorry for yourself, stop and say: “I refuse to feel sorry for myself. I may be in a difficult season of life right now, but I will not stop hoping for better things!”

God has thoughts and plans for your good, to give you hope for your future. If you will hold on to your hope by keeping your focus and faith in Jesus, amazing things will happen in your life!

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