Blessed [with wisdom and prosperity] is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and whom You teach from Your law, that You may grant him [power to calm himself and find] peace in the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked and ungodly.

Psalm 94:12–13 (AMP)

We sometimes reach a tipping point in our lives when we recognize we are under so much pressure that we are on the verge of losing our peace and are about to start behaving badly. In today’s scriptures, the psalmist writes of the Lord granting a person [power to calm himself and find] peace in the days of adversity (Ps. 94:13 AMP).

Here are some steps that will hopefully help the process:

• Step 1: Slow down (or stop), take a deep breath, and regroup.
• Step 2: Regain your perspective. Be realistic about what is really happening.
• Step 3: Resist the devil at his onset, when you first realize he is pressuring you.
• Step 4: Cast your care on God and let Him show you what He can do. Keep saying, “God, I let this go. I trust You!” until you feel yourself calming down.
• Step 5: Think about what you are thinking about concerning the things that frustrate you and stop thinking about it. Instead, think about something good and positive.
• Step 6: Exercise self-control and manage your emotions instead of letting them control you.
• Step 7: Ask yourself if you can delay or delegate any of the things that are causing you stress, and make a plan to do so.

Prayer of the Day: I thank You, God, for the peace You give and for granting me the ability to calm myself and find peace in the midst of troubling situations.

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Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV)

It is amazing to think that God makes His home in His children. When we receive Christ as our Savior, He comes to live in us, and our bodies become His temple. It is therefore prudent and wise for each of us to take good care of our bodies.

I am sorry to say that I spent many years pushing myself too hard and not taking care of my body, a temple of God, before I realized how important it is.

I hope to spare you the same mistakes I made. I urge you to respect your body and give it proper rest, sleep, hydration, and nutrition. God wants to not only live in you, but also to work through you. However, if you feel bad all the time because you don’t take care of yourself, He won’t be able to do that.

I encourage you to meditate on how amazing it is that God lives in you. You are the home of God. Prayerfully, this will urge you to keep the house of God—your body— in good condition. We are representatives of God, and He makes His appeal to the world through us (2 Corinthians 5:20). Let’s commit to representing Him well.

Prayer of the Day: Father, forgive me for not taking better care of myself. I want to represent You well, and I ask You to help me work with You to repair any damage done to my body. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Every place upon which the sole of your foot shall tread, that have I given to you, as I promised Moses.

Joshua 1:3 (AMPC)

The Bible teaches us that God has provided everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). He has promised, but we need to take action as the Holy Spirit leads us. It says in 2 Peter 1:5 that we must add our diligence to the promises and exercise our faith. God told Joshua that the land was his, but he needed to step out and take it. If you are expecting the promises of God to manifest in your life while you do absolutely nothing, you are mistaken.

Pray and release your faith to see God’s promises come to pass, and then do anything God shows you that you need to do.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, please help me step out in faith and possess all that You have for me. Give me diligence to act as Your Spirit leads, trusting Your promises will come to pass, amen.

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He who watches the wind [waiting for all conditions to be perfect] will not sow [seed], and he who looks at the clouds will not reap [a harvest].

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (AMP)

Aren’t you thankful that you and I don’t have to be led by our emotions? We can be led by God’s Spirit. All we need to do is be obedient to Him. When the Lord asks us to do something, any of us can be tempted to wait for a convenient season, a time when all conditions are perfect, as today’s scripture mentions. Human nature causes us to hold back sometimes as we walk with God, wanting to wait until following Him won’t be so difficult. Our emotions find all kinds of ways to delay doing what we know we should do.

I encourage you to be unafraid of facing challenges or taking on responsibilities, so that you won’t procrastinate when God speaks. If you only do what is easy and what your emotions want to do, you will remain weak and shallow as a Christian. But as you meet resistance and overcome it, you will build your strength and grow in your faith.

God expects us to be responsible and take care of what He gives us. He wants us to use all He’s given us to bear good fruit (John 15:16). If we do not use the gifts and talents He has given us when He directs us to, then we are not being responsible over what He has entrusted to us.

If you are a procrastinator, I urge you to heed the instruction of Ecclesiastes 11:4. You don’t have to wait until everything seems perfect and your emotions are excited to obey God. Do what He says to do when He says to do it, and you will reap the blessings of obedience.

Prayer of the Day: Help me, Lord, to follow You immediately instead waiting for more convenient timing. Help me to obey You promptly when You lead me to do something.

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Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

Proverbs 16:3 (AMPC)

If we want to be in intimate relationship with God and live lives that are truly committed to Him, we have to take everything about ourselves and say to Him: “God, I give this to You. I give You this problem. I give You this situation. I give You this relationship. I completely release it and let it go. It is too much for me. I am going to stop worrying and trying to figure everything out—and I am going to let You take care of it. God, I also give myself to You because I can’t do anything about myself, either. I give it all to you.” I give you my strengths and weaknesses. I want to change, but You have to change me. It was a great day for me when I finally learned that it was God’s job to change me and my job to believe!

Psalm 37:5 says, Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass (NKJV). What does it mean to commit our ways to God? It means to “roll” them off of ourselves and onto Him. When we roll our problems and human reasonings on God, which means to trust them completely to Him, then He changes our thoughts and makes them agree with His will. In other words, His thoughts become our thoughts so that we want what He wants.

When that happens, our plans will succeed because they are in complete agreement with God’s plans. Release yourself and all your cares today and relax so you can hear God speak to you.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I release my worries, my problems, and myself entirely into Your hands. In the name of Jesus, I ask You to change my thoughts so they align with Yours in order that I can trust You completely, amen.

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Two men went up into the temple [enclosure] to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee took his stand ostentatiously and began to pray thus before and with himself: God, I thank You that I am not like the rest of men—extortioners (robbers), swindlers [unrighteous in heart and life], adulterers—or even like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I gain. But the tax collector, [merely] standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his breast, saying, O God, be favorable (be gracious, be merciful) to me, the especially wicked sinner that I am!

Luke 18:10-13 (AMPC)

God doesn’t answer our prayers because we are good, but because He is good. Be like the tax collector mentioned in today’s scripture and ask God to have mercy on you because of your sin. Be thankful for all the grace God gives you, and don’t keep a record of your good works. Remember every good thing anyone does for you but quickly forget the good you do for others.

Don’t compare yourself with other people, especially not in a way that makes you feel you are better than they are. Paul teaches that we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, but to think according to the degree of faith that is given to us (Romans 12:3). If we are good at anything, it is because God has given us a gift. We should be humbly grateful, not proud, which always causes us to think more highly of ourselves than we should.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for answering my prayers, not because of my goodness, but because of Your goodness and mercy. Keep me humble, grateful, and mindful of Your grace in everything I do, amen.

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Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.

1 Peter 5:9 (AMPC)

All of us will deal with disappointments from time to time—that’s part of life. However, if we let it, our disappointment can lead to discouragement, and discouragement can lead to despair and depression.

I’ve said this for years: If you don’t let the devil impress you with what he does, then he can’t oppress you, and if he can’t oppress you, then he can’t depress you. When depression attacks, we usually feel like giving up, but how we respond to it makes all the difference.

One of the most important things we can do is resist the devil at his onset (1 Peter 5:9 AMPC). It’s so important to resist the feeling of depression immediately, because the longer we allow it to remain, the harder it is to resist.

While we can’t control all of our circumstances and won’t be completely free of pain or disappointment, we don’t have to let today’s struggles ruin our hope for tomorrow.

Prayer of the Day: God, there are times when I feel like giving up, like I can’t do it anymore, like things will never be good again. The next time that happens, help me rebuke the devil at his onset. Remind me not to be impressed by him, because the battle is Yours and You’ve already won, amen.

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By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

John 15:8 (ESV)

The apostle Paul writes that he prays for the Colossians to walk in a manner worthy of the LORD, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Col. 1:10 AMPC, emphasis mine). As our souls are healed and we become stronger, we are better able to bear the fruit He wants us to produce.

Galatians 5:22–23 lists the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Recently, we looked at the first four, and today we will look at the remaining five of these and consider how God has put them in us and now wants us to bear their fruit.

• Kindness: The psalmist says that God’s “lovingkindness is better than life” (Ps. 63:3 NKJV), and it is His kindness that leads people to repentance (Rom. 2:4). The Bible teaches us to “be kind to one another” (Eph. 4:32) and to “put on kindness” (Col. 3:12). Because Jesus lives in you, the ability to be kind is in you also.
• Goodness: The Lord is good! This is repeated often throughout the Bible (Exod. 33:19; 1 Chron. 16:34; Pss. 106:1, 107:1, 119:68). The psalmist encourages us to “taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Ps. 34:8). He also praises God by saying, “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you” (Ps. 31:19). The apostle Paul urges us: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9). The best way I know to enjoy each day is to commit to being good to all people everywhere you go.
• Gentleness: The Scriptures compare Jesus to a lamb, which is a very gentle animal. In 2 Corinthians 10:1, Paul appeals to the Corinthians “by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” He also writes: “So, as God’s own chosen people, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” (Col. 3:12 AMP), and “Let your gentleness be known to all” (Phil. 4:5 NKJV).
• Faithfulness: He who calls you is faithful. When God’s presence passed before Moses, God said this about Himself, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exod. 34:6 ESV). Scripture teaches us: “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you” (Prov. 3:3 ESV), and “Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart” (1 Sam. 12:24 ESV).
• Self-Control: Throughout God’s Word, God withholds anger. Proverbs 16:32 says that a patient person is better than a strong warrior, and that someone with self-control is better “than one who takes a city” (NIV). Some people say, “I just don’t have any self-control,” but if they have received Jesus into their heart, that statement is inaccurate. They do have self-control and simply need to keep exercising it and watch it get stronger and stronger.

As a believer in Christ, you can be confident that everything that is in Him is in you. Believing this truth is the beginning of a new way of living. We don’t have to struggle as we try in the flesh to produce these things, but we believe we have them and let each one flow as needed.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me bear the fruit of Your Spirit in every area of my life. Let kindness, goodness, and self-control flow naturally through me as I walk with You, amen.

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Adapted from Battlefield of the Mind

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.

1 Peter 5:8-9 (AMPC)

Sometimes we unintentionally give the wrong impression about spiritual warfare. We know that our enemy is the devil and that we must fight daily to win, but that’s not everything. If the Christian life were nothing but battles, it would be discouraging to fight every hour of every day.

I would feel that I could never relax because as soon as I did, Satan would sneak back again. That’s not the picture I want to present. The Christian life is one of joy and peace. God gives us a great sense of fulfillment, and we’re at rest because we know we honor Him by the way we live.

Peter wrote to Christians about their enemy—warning them and urging them to be vigilant, which is where we often put the emphasis. Just before he wrote those words, however, he said, Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). As we read that verse, it tells us that we must remind ourselves of God’s love for us—God cares. Because God cares, we can trust Him to take care of us.

We need that as part of our foundation. It’s not that we don’t have faith; it’s that Satan tries to destroy our faith with lies like: “If God really cared about you, would He make you go through this trial?” “If God truly loved you, would He treat you this way?”

Those questions that the devil throws at you are full of lies. If he can make you think you’re not loved or that God doesn’t have your best interests at heart, he can plant tiny seeds of unbelief. God wants you to remain strong and true like Abraham and other believers in the Bible.

One of the things I’ve learned from ministering to thousands of people is that the terrible and negative problems striking our lives are not what cause us to turn away from God. No, it’s our reaction to those situations that makes the difference. Think of Abraham again. When God promised to give him a son, he was an old man. He could have said, “How could that possibly be? I’m old and long past being able to father a child.” Instead, he said, “That’s wonderful! I believe.”

When struggles, trials, and hardships come your way—and they always do—you have a choice. You can heed Peter’s words and give God your cares, worries, and concerns. No matter how dark the night or how evil the situation, you must remind yourself that God is not only present with you in those situations, but He also loves you and will provide for you.

Your job is to be vigilant during those difficult times. You can rejoice in God’s love and blessings when all is going well—and that’s what God wants you to do. But in the dark moments, you need to remind yourself that the devil stalks you and wants to defeat you.

One more thing. Sometimes you may wonder why you have so many trials and problems. Is it possible that the devil may have singled you out because of God’s great plan for your life? The more faithful you are, the more you have to resist him and his lies of unbelief.

Prayer of the Day: Dear heavenly Father, the enemy often tries to fill me with unbelief and make me deny Your powerful love for me. But like Abraham, I stand firm on Your promises. Thank You for the comfort I find in Your assurance that You’re always with me, amen.

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And [so], the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and this was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God’s will in thought and deed), and he was called God’s friend.

James 2:23 (AMPC)

It’s obvious some people are closer to God than others. These “close friends” of God speak of talking to Him as if they know Him personally. Their faces shine with enthusiasm as they testify, “And God told me…” while skeptical acquaintances grumble to themselves, “Well, God doesn’t talk to me like that!”

Why is that? Does God have favorites? No, Scripture teaches that each person determines his or her own level of intimacy with God, depending on their willingness to seek Him and put time into developing a relationship with Him. Everyone has been extended the same open invitation to …fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace… (Hebrews 4:16 AMPC). At this moment, you are as close to God as you choose to be.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I want to know You more deeply—more intimately. I want that close personal relationship I hear so much about. Give me the desire and discipline to seek You daily, draw near to Your throne, and grow in true intimacy with You, amen.

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For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness — in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God].

Hebrews 12:11 (AMPC)

An undisciplined person looks for ways to avoid hard work. Passivity prevails in our culture; everything is geared toward making life easier: ride the escalator, take the elevator, get fast food carryout. But the easy way is not always the best way.

Just as we need to exercise our bodies, so we also need to exercise our faith by facing difficult challenges. Use faith to forgive those who offend you and to trust God when you can’t see how problems will be solved. Soon you will enjoy a harvest of righteousness from the discipline you endure today.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me resist the pull of passivity. I don’t want to always take what seems like the easy way out. Please strengthen my faith to face hard things, forgive freely, and trust You even when I can’t see the way forward.

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Therefore I tell you, her sins, many [as they are], are forgiven her—because she has loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little. And He said to her, Your sins are forgiven!

Luke 7:47–48 (AMPC)

Mary Magdalene was a woman with a past. She had sold her love by the hour; she was a prostitute. She was called “an especially wicked sinner” by the Pharisees (Luke 7:37). At one time Jesus cast seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2).

In Luke 7:36–50, we see the account of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with a bottle of very expensive perfume, washing them with her tears, and drying them with her hair. Her act of love was seen by other people as being erotic because of her past, but Jesus knew it was an act of pure love.

When we have an unpleasant past, people often misjudge our actions, and we find ourselves trying to convince others that we are acceptable. People don’t forget our past as easily as God does. The Pharisees could not understand Jesus’ allowing Mary to even touch Him. Jesus said that those who have been forgiven much will love much. Mary loved Jesus greatly because He had forgiven her for her great sins. She wanted to give Him the most expensive thing she owned; she wanted to serve Him. He saw her heart, not her past.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I want to love You in the way that Mary loved You. Thank You for Your forgiveness and cleansing my heart and soul from sin. I will give You my best, amen.

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…God, your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of jubilation.

Psalm 45:7 (AMP)

It’s one thing to have a goal, but in order to see that goal become a reality, there are accompanying action steps you have to take. And one of those steps is having the right attitude. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression Your attitude determines your altitude. Well, this expression is popular for a reason—it’s absolutely 100 percent right! You’ll never be a confident, successful, happy person with a doubtful, defeated, sour attitude.

The first step to take in order to realize any goal is to adjust your attitude. Instead of thinking, I can’t, choose to think, I can do all things through Christ! (Philippians 4:13).

Prayer of the Day: God, help me choose a positive, faith-filled attitude each day. Strengthen me to believe I can do what You have called me to do, amen.

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This is what the LORD says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.”

Isaiah 48:17 (NIV)

God wants to give us direction, but we need to learn to listen in order for that to happen. God leads us in many different ways. Some of the most frequent are His Word, peace, and wisdom. But God cannot lead us at all if we are not willing to do whatever He shows us to do, even if it is not what we would prefer.

Are you ready and willing to say, “Lord, if You lead me, I will follow”? If you make that commitment and truly mean it, then you can expect God’s guidance in your life. It may not always come immediately when you ask for it, but it will come. While you are waiting, just continue to thank Him that He has a plan and will reveal it to you at the right time.

Prayer of the Day: God, help me listen for Your direction and trust Your guidance. Give me peace, wisdom, and a willing heart to follow wherever You lead, amen.

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But if anyone has this world’s goods (resources for sustaining life) and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him?

1 John 3:17 (AMPC)

We are all different, and we each have different needs. I urge you to go the extra mile and begin to truly listen to what people tell you about their needs, being ready to help them. Because sometimes we give people what is easy for us to give, but we are still not meeting their need.

Perhaps you can easily give people words of encouragement, so you tend to encourage everyone. This is good because everyone needs some words of encouragement, but you might be giving those words to people who really need you to see that, more than words of encouragement, they need practical help in some way.

They may be three months behind on the rent and instead of simply encouraging them to believe God will provide, they need you to help them pay the rent. If you are not able to help financially, that is understandable, but it is good to at least consider doing something extra to go along with your words when the situation calls for more action.

Prayer of the Day: God, help me truly see the needs of others. Teach me to love people through both encouraging words and meaningful action, amen.

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..How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthew 12:34 (AMPC)

The Bible says that out of the heart the mouth speaks. We can learn a lot about ourselves by listening to ourselves. Do your thoughts and words reflect your complete dependence on God, realizing that His abilities (not your own) empower you to do anything you need to do in life?

I had to examine my own thoughts and words and ask myself if I portrayed a person who had faith in God, and I encourage you to do the same. I didn’t like all of my answers, but the exercise in self-examination did open my eyes to understanding that I needed to make some changes. Realizing we are wrong in an area is never a problem. The problem comes when we refuse to face truth and continue making excuses.

Be willing to face anything God wants to show you and ask Him to change you. If you are trusting in your own strength, begin to trust God instead. If you are trying to do things out of your own human abilities and growing frustrated, tell God you want Him to work through you and let His sufficiency be your sufficiency (Phil. 4:13).

When challenges arise, I encourage you to develop a habit of immediately saying, “I can do whatever I need to do through Christ Who is my strength.” Remember that words are containers for power, and when you say the right thing, it will help you do the right thing. Don’t fill your containers, (words) with things that disable you, for truly you are able to do all things through Christ. God will ask you to do things you’d never be able to do in your own strength, but He will give you His strength to do them.

As you meditate over and over on the thought, I can do whatever I need to do in life through Christ, you will find that you are not as easily overwhelmed by situations that arise. Each time you roll that thought over in your mind or speak it, you are developing a healthy mindset that enables you to be victorious.

Prayer of the Day: God, help me trust Your strength instead of my own. Show me areas where I need to grow and teach me to depend fully on You.

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He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?

Romans 8:32 (AMPC)

Some people seem to have the idea that to be a Christian they have to give up everything they enjoy, but that is not true. God is love, He is good, and He wants us to enjoy good things. The Bible says God gives us all things ceaselessly to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). God loves us so much, He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to take our sins and give us life, and life more abundantly (John 3:16; 10:10). That’s something to be forever grateful for! Anything God teaches us not to do is only for our benefit. We obey His commands for our own good according to the Word of God.

When we receive Jesus, we receive the kingdom of God within us, and that kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). We can choose to continue living with misery, depression, discouragement, fear, worry, anxiety, guilt, and condemnation, but Jesus wants us to receive freedom from those things. God doesn’t want us carrying them around any longer. Through Jesus, we can live the joyful, overcoming, abundant life we were meant to live.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me to realize that You have nothing but good things in store for my life. Thank You that even when You correct and instruct me, You are showing me a better way to live. I am grateful for Your goodness and the joyful life I can experience in You.

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Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God! Selah

Psalm 87:3 (NKJV)

Throughout Psalms (and in Habakkuk), in some Bible translations, we see after certain verses the word selah, which means “pause, and calmly think of that.” We see it in today’s scripture and also in Psalm 87:6. This phrase lets us, as readers, know that we have reached a good place to stop, consider, and slowly digest the meaning of what we have just read. We may take time to pray or meditate on the verse or passage we have read, or we may think about how it applies to our lives or a certain situation.

Jeremiah writes about stopping to feed on and digest the words of God. He says, Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart (Jeremiah 15:16 AMP). To use a figure of speech, we need to “chew” on the scriptures, rehearsing specific words or phrases in our minds and taking time to think about and process them.

Sometimes, we read the Bible for quantity, hoping to get through a certain number of chapters or pages, when we should read for quality. Whatever passage you are reading, let me encourage you to read in a manner that allows the Word to go down into your innermost being and feed your spirit.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I honor Your Word, and I ask You to help me take my time as I read it, so it will affect the deepest parts of me.

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I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5 (ESV)

To abide in Christ means to live, dwell, and remain in Him. Abiding with someone is not an occasional get-together, or even a short daily visit, but a continuous dwelling with that person. Dave and I abide (live, dwell, and remain) together and have for nearly 60 years. We know everything about each other, and our lives are intricately intertwined to the point where it would be hard to separate them. This is the kind of relationship that Jesus wants to have with you.

Today’s scripture says that if you abide in Christ, you will bear much fruit. Also, if you abide in Christ, you can ask what you wish, and it will be done for you (John 15:7). As we abide in Christ, we come to know Him more deeply and intimately, and His continual influence changes us into His image.

True change does not come from struggling to modify your behavior, but from abiding so deeply in Christ that you become like Him and begin to bear the same good fruit He bears. Do everything you do with and for Him, and you will be amazed at the positive changes in your life.

Prayer of the Day: Father, teach me to abide in You at all times. I desire You more than any other, and apart from You, I can do nothing. I ask for the gift of Your manifest presence. In Jesus’ name, thank You, amen.

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