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Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Humility Before God

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Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:14

In Luke 18:10–11, we read about two men who went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other one was a tax collector. Jesus said, 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. Then he went on to list of all of his good works.

What I like about this passage is that the Bible does not say the Pharisee was praying to God. It says he went into the temple to pray, but he prayed “thus before and with himself.” Here we read about a man who appeared to be praying, and yet the Bible says he was not even talking to God; he was talking to himself! I think sometimes we also pray to impress people, maybe even to impress ourselves. Let’s be honest: we can be impressed with our own eloquence. When we are talking to God and trying to hear from Him in agreement with someone else or with a group of people, we have to be very careful that we are not preaching to the other people and that we are not simply trying to sound super spiritual, but that we are really sharing our hearts with God. Agreement is incredibly powerful, but it has to be pure, and it has to come from a place of humility.

 

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Where’s My Pony?

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My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.   —Proverbs 4:20-22

In these verses, the writer used the words, attend to my words, which is another way of exhorting us to meditate. I love the fact that God not only frequently tells us to meditate—to ponder seriously—His Word, but He frequently promises results. It’s as if God says, “Okay, Joyce, if you meditate, here’s what I’m going to do for you.”

In this passage, the promise is life and health. Isn’t that amazing? It’s even a promise that when you contemplate and brood over the Bible, it will affect your physical body.

We’ve known for a long time that when we fill our minds with healthy, positive thoughts, it affects our body and improves our health. This is just another way of repeating this truth. Or take the opposite viewpoint: Suppose we fill our minds with negative thoughts and remind ourselves how frail we are or how sick we were the day before. We soon become so filled with self-pity and self-defeating thoughts that we get even sicker.

In the previous pages, I’ve already mentioned the idea of prosperity (see Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8). I believe that by “prosperity,” God means that we’ll be enriched and prosper in every part of our lives. It’s not a promise of more material wealth, but an assurance of being able to enjoy all the wonderful blessings we have.

Recently when I meditated on several passages in the Bible, I realized God was showing me that the Word has hidden treasures in it—powerful, life-giving secrets—which God wants to reveal to us. They are there for those who muse, ponder, and contemplate the Word of God.

What we often forget is that God wants our fellowship, our company, and our time with Him. If we want a deep relationship with our heavenly Father, we have to make quality time for God. I recently heard someone say, “Quality time comes out of quantity times.” In other words, it’s only as we spend time with God on a regular, daily basis that we have those special, life-changing moments. We can’t program them to happen, but if we’re there on a daily basis, God will cause some of those times to be quality times of special blessing.

  1. L. Moody once said that the Bible would keep us from sin, or sin would keep us from the Bible. That’s the principle here. As we concentrate on God’s Word and allow it to fill our thoughts, we will push away all desire to sin or to displease God in any way. We become more deeply rooted in Him. Again, think of it in the negative. When our mind remains focused on our problems all the time, we become consumed with them. If we meditate on what’s wrong with others, we see even more flaws and faults. But when we concentrate on God’s Word, light comes into our souls.

I want to go back one more time to that powerful statement in Philippians 4:8. No matter which translation or paraphrase we read it in, the message is powerful and exactly what we need to do to condition our minds for victory.

Here’s Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase in The Message: “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

Dear Father in heaven, teach me the blessings of pondering Your Word, of filling my heart and mind with Your spiritual manna. May I grow into maturity and become more and more like Your Son, Jesus. It’s in His name that I pray. Amen.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Mud Puddle

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Read: Psalm 119:1-8
Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 13-14; Luke 10:1-24

 

Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! —Psalm 119:2

My friend Ed was telling me a story about his little son. He was standing in a mud puddle, so Ed told him to get out. But instead, his son began running through the puddle. “No running through it either,” he said. So the boy began walking through the water. When Ed told him, “No walking!” the boy stood with just his toes in the water, looking defiantly at his dad. The child knew what his father wanted, but he didn’t want to do it.

Sometimes I’m like that stubborn little boy. I know that what I’m doing isn’t pleasing to the Lord, but I do it anyway. God told the children of Israel to “fully obey the Lord your God” (Deut. 28:1 niv), but they failed repeatedly. The psalmist acknowledged his struggle in Psalm 119, “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!” (v.5 niv).

Jealousy, hatred, rebellion—they occur all too often. But God provided for our redemption through the sacrifice of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit helps us when we are tempted (1 Cor. 10:13); and when we confess our wrongdoing, God promises to forgive us (1 John 1:9).

If you are like me and keep running back into the mud puddles of life, don’t give up. God will help you to resist temptation, and He will never stop loving you! —Dave Egner

Dear Lord, help me when I’m tempted. Bring the promises of the Bible to mind and strengthen me by Your Holy Spirit to say no to temptation. Let all my words and deeds bring honor to Your name.

To master temptation, let Christ master you.

INSIGHT: Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. The entire psalm celebrates God’s Word and speaks of its priority and sufficiency in the daily life of the believer. The psalmist uses different words to describe God’s Word: the law of the Lord (v. 1), testimonies (v. 2), ways (v. 3), precepts (v. 4), statutes (v. 5), commandments (v. 6), righteous judgments (v. 7), and word (v. 9). Through the Bible, God communicates His standards for our lives, His guidance, and His ways.
Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Positive Belief

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[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, so [numberless] shall your descendants be. He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah [deadened] womb. No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised. Romans 4:18-21

The story of Abraham amazes me no matter how many times I read it. It’s not just the birth of a son when he was a hundred years old. That’s a miracle. But just as amazing is the information that he waited twenty-five years for the fulfillment of the promise. He was seventy-five when God promised him a son.

I wonder how many of us would believe God and live in expectation for twenty-five years. Most of us probably would have said, “I didn’t really hear from God.” “Oh, I guess maybe God didn’t really mean that.” Or, “I need to go somewhere else to get a fresh word from the Lord.”

Sarah and Abraham did have problems holding on to that promise. As a means of attempting to get what they wanted, they had Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar, bear him a son, but God let him know that wasn’t the way it was going to be. I believe their actions delayed the arrival of God’s promised child.

In our impatience, we often take matters into our own hands. I say we get “bright ideas” plans of our own, which we hope God will bless. These plans open the door for confusion and chaos. Then their results must be dealt with, which often delays our miracle.

When Moses came down from Sinai after having received the Ten Commandments from God, He saw the wickedness of the Israelites who had become impatient in waiting. In anger, he broke the tablets on which God had written the commands. Although we can understand Moses’ anger, we must remember that it was not initiated by God. Therefore, Moses had to ascend Mount Sinai again and once more go through the process of obtaining the Ten Commandments. Moses may have enjoyed a momentary emotional release, but it cost him a lot of extra work. This is a good lesson for all of us. We must pray first and agree with God’s plan, not plan and pray that our plan will work.

It’s often difficult to believe God and hold on year after year after year. Sometimes after my meetings, people come to me and tell me many sad stories. I encourage them to become positive and upbeat. Some people will listen to every word I say; nod, maybe even smile, and then they say the most negative word of all: “But …” With that single word, they are negating everything I’ve said. That’s not the spirit of Abraham.

The Bible gives us promises, hope, and encouragement. God promises good to those ofus who serve Him. Despite the adversity of our circumstances and some people have absolutely terrible situations God still promises good. Our sense of goodness, however, may not be the same as God’s. Getting what we want immediately may not be best for us. Sometimes waiting is the best thing because it helps develop the character of God in us.

The Lord chooses to do good to us and to make us happy; the devil chooses to do wrong and to make us miserable. We can remain patient and keep believing God’s promises, or we can allow the evil one’s whisper to fill our ears and lead us astray.

Too many of us have ignored the fact that God is the originator of miracles. He specializes in doing the impossible: He provided a son to barren Sarah; He opened the Red Sea for the Israelites to walk across on dry land; He destroyed Goliath with a single stone from a slingshot. Those are miracles. That’s the Holy Spirit at work, defying the laws of nature (He made the laws, so He can break them).

Hebrews 11 is a chapter about faith and the people of God who dared to believe the promises. But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out] (v. 6).

As I consider that verse, I can see how the devil creeps in. He says to us, “Yes, that’s true. Those were special people. You are nobody. God won’t do anything special for you. Why should He?”

That is a satanic lie and one that too many easily accept. God loves each of us, and the Bible says Hes our Father. Any good father loves to do good things for his children. God wants to do good things for you and for me. Expect a miracle in your life. Expect many miracles.

Positive belief in God’s promises yields good results because the Good One sends them to us. Refuse to give up, and you will see the result of your positive belief.

Dear Father in heaven, forgive my lack of belief. Forgive me for allowing Satan to deceive me or make me think I’m worthless or unworthy of Your miracles. I am worthy because You made me worthy. You are the God of the impossible, and I ask You to help me wait on You and never give up. In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord, I pray. Amen.

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – You Are Being Watched

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They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.—Acts 2:46–47

There is a direct connection between a Christian’s worship and a Christian’s witness. Believers are being watched both inside and outside of the church.

When you go to church every week and things are going your way, when you have the perfect little family, a great job, a nice home, and your health is good, people will look at you and say, “Well yeah, you are not living in reality. Of course you are happy.”

But then one day maybe tragedy befalls you. You lose that job or one of your children or your health. When something difficult happens and you are still praising God, that is a testimony to a lost and watching world.

Your worship is a witness to people at church as well. When nonbelievers go to church, they are checking everything out. They are taking it all in. What kind of witness are you to the people sitting near you? They may be Christians, or they may not be. They may be there for the first time—and maybe for the last time. They will form an evaluation on what they believe about God and Christianity largely based on what they see.

You might say, “Well, that is a lot of pressure, Greg.” All I am saying is that you are being watched. And I think it’s a powerful testimony when you are worshiping the Lord and a nonbeliever is standing there next to you thinking, What is this all about?

It was watching Christians worship the Lord on my high school campus that opened my heart to listen to the gospel. And then when someone shared from God’s Word, I wanted to hear it, and I ended up believing that day. My heart was opened by watching Christians worship with sincerity.

Worship is a witness.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Why Worry?

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Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself—it tends only to evildoing. Psalm 37:8

Anxiety and worry are both attacks on the mind intended to keep you from serving the Lord. The enemy uses these weapons to press your faith down so you cannot live in victory. Many people are worriers but don’t even realize it. They may call it something else—but it is still worry. In addition to telling you to “fret not,” other passages warn you to “take no thought,” (Matthew 6:25), “be careful for nothing” (Philippians 4:6), and “cast . . . all your care” (1 Peter 5:7).

Matthew 6:27 says, And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life? The obvious point is that worry is useless. It does not accomplish any good thing. In that case, why worry and why be so anxious?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Faith Connection

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. . . As [Jesus] was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]! Mark 10:46-47

The Word of God tells us that our faith—our positive, hopeful expectation—pleases God (see Hebrews 11:6), and several times in the Gospels, we see that Jesus was moved to act because of the faith—the expectations—of those He encountered (see Matthew 9:29, Mark 5:34, Luke 7:50, and Luke 17:19). One such miracle is found in Mark chapter 10. I love this story, and I think it has great relevance for you and me today because it’s all about the importance of expectation.

If you think about it, Bartimaeus had every reason to expect the worst. He was a blind beggar who sat by the roadside every day, trying to survive on spare change. He was living a very difficult life, and if anybody was going to tone down his level of expectation, you would think it would be Bartimaeus. He could have thought This is useless. It won’t work. Nothing’s going to change. Jesus probably won’t even notice me. Why get my hopes up? No one would have blamed him.

But Bartimaeus dared to hope for something greater in life. He started to think about what might happen instead of what might not happen. There was nothing “toned down” about his level of expectation as he began to shout with all of his might, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!” Can you hear the insistence in his voice? It’s as if Bartimaeus had decided there was absolutely no way he was going to miss this chance. Even though many in the crowd “censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still” (see Mark 10:48), Bartimaeus would not be quieted. He shouted louder and louder until Jesus stopped and called for him.

Here is one of the most amazing parts of this story: When Bartimaeus was brought to Jesus, the Lord asked him an almost unthinkable question. In verse 51, Jesus said to this blind beggar, What do you want Me to do for you?

That seems like a strange question, doesn’t it? The disciples may have been thinking What do you want me to do for you? Lord, isn’t it obvious? The man is blind. How can You ask him that? But Jesus was asking something deeper—He was asking Bartimaeus: What are you expecting? Are you only expecting a meal? Are you wanting someone to lead you around by the hand? Are you merely expecting a handout?All of those things were certainly things Bartimaeus needed, and if he was living with little faith, he may have settled for one of those things.

But Bartimaeus had a greater level of expectation. When Jesus asked, What do you want Me to do for you? Bartimaeus didn’t hesitate, he didn’t have to think about it, he didn’t wonder if he was asking for too much. Bartimaeus boldly said, Master, let me receive my sight. You probably know the rest of the story. Jesus was greatly moved by Bartimaeus’ faith. Verse 52 says: And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road.

Because Bartimaeus was bold enough to believe for God’s best, that is exactly what he received from the Lord. The same is true in your life, and this is why the level of your expectation is so important to the kind of life you’re going to live. If you don’t expect God to do anything great in your life, He won’t. But if you dare to raise your level of expectation and begin anticipating that God wants to do something great in your life, you’ll begin to dream, believe, ask, and act with a confident boldness, knowing God is for you and has a great plan for your life.

From the book Get Your Hopes Up by Joyce Meyer.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Raise Your Level of Expectation

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Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. Psalm 27:14

We’ve all found ourselves dealing with pessimistic attitudes and low expectations-describing the weather as “partly cloudy” rather than “partly sunny,” seeing the glass as “half empty” instead of “half full.”

For many people, low expectations keep them from enjoying their lives. They go through each day with negative, faultfinding, critical attitudes, rarely hoping for the best because they’re too busy expecting the worst. When things are going poorly they think I had a feeling today was going to be a bad day, and when things are going well they think This probably won’t last long. Good days or bad, on the mountaintop or in the valley, they’re not enjoying their lives . . . because they’ve never expected they could.

Low expectations are more than a few grumpy complaints on a longer-than-usual Monday or a feeling that maybe you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Low expectations are symptoms of a deeper problem, a spiritual problem. A person may have a history of disappointments that caused him to form a habit of expecting more of the same. Some people have such low self-esteem that they assume they are not worth anything nice, so they never expect it. And then there are those who don’t know that God is good and wants to do good things for His children.

What are your symptoms? If you were to conduct an honest evaluation of your heart, what would you find there?

Are you excited about the future, expecting today to be better than yesterday and tomorrow to be even better than today? Do you wake up each morning with a happy anticipation that God is going to do something amazing in your life?

Or do you find yourself bracing for the worst? Do you worry about bad things happening before they actually happen? Do you use phrases like here we go again, this will never work out, I should’ve known things would go sour, and I’ve got a bad feeling about this

The level of your expectation is the level of your faith. Show me a person with low expectations, and I’ll show you a person using very little faith. But show me a person with big expectations, and I’ll show you a person acting with bold faith. Just remember that we are talking about having our expectation in God. It is more than a mere positive attitude; it is trusting God to take care of you and everything that concerns you.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Patience Grows Under Trial

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In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] John 16:33

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit we desperately need in our lives. But when we pray for patience, we often experience challenges that give us opportunity to develop patience. We may not like it, but God has something good in mind—He is actually answering our prayers and we just don’t realize it.

God wants us to bless Him at all times, not just when things are going our way. When challenges arrive in your life, remember you can be peaceful, enjoy the journey, have faith, and learn patience because Jesus is with you at every moment. And He will bring you through to the other side.

Power Thought: I keep an attitude of good cheer in all circumstances because God is with me.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Getting Off to a Good Start

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Then the Lord said to me, “Arise, begin your journey…” Deuteronomy 10:11 NKJV

One way to love yourself is to keep your physical body in shape, and one of the best ways to do that is to be committed to some kind of exer¬cise. I often say the toughest part of a new exercise program is getting started. Following are some extremely simple ways to begin exercise programs that stick.

  1. A Daily Walk. Something as simple as walking thirty minutes every day is very beneficial for your health. Do what’s manage¬able, not what leaves you gasping!
  2. Indoor Exercise. You can exercise in the privacy of your own home using a video, or you can take an exercise class.
  3. Strength Training. Strengthening your muscles can be done quickly and at home, without any special machines. Sit-ups, push-ups, or lifting simple weights doesn’t take long or cost much, but these things are good for you!
  4. Running or Biking. Running and biking are good options, but riding a bicycle is easier on your joints than running.
  5. Swimming. Swimming provides a good, gentle cardiovascular workout and works many muscle groups at once.

Start slowly, do your best, and keep it up. Soon you’ll find yourself in better shape!

Love Yourself Today: Take care of your physical body through regular exercise, and do something to get yourself off to a good start today.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Don’t Be Hasty

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The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want. Proverbs 21:5

By not moving emotionally in her decisions about life, the Bible says the Proverbs 31 woman saves time and strength, which she then uses to plant fruitful vines in her vineyard (v. 16). Everything that looks good is not good, and a wise person will take time to examine things thoroughly. If you think about it, what looks good is sometimes the enemy of what is best. There may be lots of good opportunities for you to minister in your church, but that doesn’t mean that each opportunity is the best choice for you.

We should choose the more excellent things and not merely settle for another good thing. I receive many good opportunities almost daily, and I have to decline most of them. I know what I am called by God to do, and I stick with my call. I encourage you to take time to think about things. Remember that “a calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body” (Proverbs 14:30), and to be hasty in making decisions is just the exact opposite. She who is hasty almost always ends up unhappy.

Lord, I realize that not everything that glitters is gold. Give me a calm mind that refuses to be hasty when opportunities come my way. I want to be doing the best I can do. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Sincere Faith

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Whereas the object and purpose of our instruction and charge is love, which springs from pure heart and a gold (clear) conscience and sincere (unfeigned) faith. 1 Timothy 1:5

We do not want to be childish in our faith or in our praying; we want to be childlike. The Lord does not want us to complicate our relationship with Him. He searches for sincere hearts, because He is a God of hearts. He wants us to pray in faith, which is not an emotion, but a spiritual force that impacts the unseen realm. God is a god of order, but not a God of rules and regulations and laws; and He does not want us to wear ourselves out trying to pray long, drawn-out prayers that are not Spirit-led or that follow a formula and require a certain posture. That would be legalistic and it always takes the life of our relationship with God. The Spirit makes alive, but the law kills (see 2 Corinthians 3:6).

When we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, our communication with God will be filled with life. We will have no need to watch the clock making sure we put the right amount of time in, as many people do. When we approach talking and listening to God as an obligation and a work of our own flesh, five minutes can seem live an hour, but when our prayer is energized by the Holy Spirit, an hour can seem like five minutes. I like to pray and fellowship with God until I feel full and content. Try to relax and enjoy your time with God and it will be very rewarding.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Preparing for the Valley

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Read | 1 Peter 4:12-19

The primary purpose of a mountaintop experience is to prepare us for the valley. That’s why we can’t stay up there. When Peter, James, and John came down from the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9), they encountered many difficulties that eventually led to their witnessing Jesus on the cruel Roman cross.

As much as we might long to remain on the summit, God doesn’t keep us floating around in some ethereal counterfeit spiritual experience; eventually we must return to the dusty, empty plains of life. His intention is that we be strengthened by worship and His Word—and then go about our Monday routine, prepared to make an impression upon others. If Jesus walked among us today, He’d spend His time in alleyways, on street corners, and in places where few of us in our dignity would want to be caught.

The three disciples no doubt would have wanted to stay with the Lord on the mountain, but that’s not the purpose of a spiritual high. The point is that God may reveal Himself to us in a fresh way. Then He readies us through that inspiration to go back to the common places where we have to face tasks we might prefer to avoid. Life’s realities aren’t to be escaped. God wants believers to learn to live every day in reliance on His indwelling Spirit.

The Lord was using the time on the summit to prepare Peter, James, and John for their true purpose. When God lifts us up, He doesn’t intend for us to stay there. He gives exceptional spiritual experiences to strengthen us and make us more effective when we engage in everyday life.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Entering the Rest of God

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Behold, I long for Your precepts; in Your righteousness give me renewed life…I will keep Your law continually, forever and ever [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying it].And I will walk at liberty and at ease, for I have sought and inquired for [and desperately required] Your precepts. Psalm 119:40, 44-45

If you truly love the Word of God—if you hear it, receive it, and obey it—you will have freedom and live “at ease.” In other words, life will not be hard, frustrating, or difficult. Your joy is full when you believe God’s promises for your life and obey His commands.

The Bible teaches that those who disobey God’s instructions, who don’t listen to His Word, do not enter into the place of rest He offers to them. So when you feel frustrated or upset or if you have lost your peace and your joy, ask yourself, Am I believing God’s Word?

The only way we will ever be free from struggling is to believe the Word and obey whatever Jesus puts in our hearts to do. Believing God’s Word delivers us from struggling so that we rest in the promises of God. The Word says, For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest (Hebrews 4:3).

If your thoughts have become negative and you are full of doubt, it is because you have stopped hearing, receiving, and obeying God’s Word. As soon as you start believing God’s Word, your joy will return and you will be “at ease” again. And that place of rest in Him is where God wants you to be every day of your life.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Join the Party

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A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken. – Proverbs 15:13

When Jesus invited people to become His disciples and follow Him, He asked them if they wanted to join His party. I realize He was talking about His group, but I like to think that traveling with Jesus was probably a lot of fun as well as a lot of hard work.

Repeatedly throughout the gospels, we see Jesus invite people to leave their lifestyles and side with His party, and He is still issuing that invitation today. Yes, there is work to do for the kingdom of God, but thankfully we can have fun while we do it.

When we follow Jesus, we are not going to a solemn assembly or a funeral. We are joining His party that is full of life, peace, and never-ending joy!

Prayer of Thanks Father, help me to lay aside the burdens and cares of this world and receive Your joy today. I thank You that You want me to have fun and enjoy the life You have given me. With Your help, I will celebrate Your goodness in my life today and every day.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – “I Can’t Help It!”

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I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live. 
– 1 Deuteronomy 30:19

When God begins to deal with us about wrong behavior, it’s easy enough to say, “I can’t help it,” but it takes real courage and faith to say, “I’m ready to take responsibility and get my life straightened out.”

Avoidance, which is not facing issues, is a major problem. Wrong things don’t go away just because we refuse to acknowledge them. We often stuff things. We hide from them, and as long as we do, they have power over us. Issues buried alive never die.

For many years, I refused to deal with the sexual abuse in my childhood. My father had abused me, so I left home the week I turned eighteen years old. I thought I was getting away from the problem by leaving, but I didn’t realize I had the problem in my soul. It was in my thoughts, attitudes, and words. It affected my actions and all of my relationships. I had buried my past and stuffed my stuff. We don’t have to live in the past in fact, we are encouraged by God’s Word to forget it and let it go. However, that doesn’t mean that we are free to ignore the results of it and pretend that we are not hurting when we are.

I had merely feeling sorry for myself and saying, “I can’t help it. It’s not my fault I was abused.” And it wasn’t my fault. But it was my responsibility to let God help me overcome all the bandages I was experiencing as a result of that abuse.

God began setting me free by dealing with me about all the wrong thoughts I had accepted and allowed. My mind had to change before my life could change. At first, I didn’t even want to take responsibility for my thoughts. I thought, I can’t help what I think. Things just come into my head! I eventually learned that I could choose my own thoughts, and I could think things on purpose. I learned that we don’t have to accept every thought that falls into our minds. We can cast down wrong ones and replace them with right ones.

I learned that instead of feeling helpless over the thoughts that fill my mind, I can and must do something positive.

Much of our thinking is habitual. If we regularly think about God and good things, godly thoughts become natural. Thousands of thoughts flow through our minds every day. We may feel that we have no control, but we do.

We won’t have to use any effort to think wrong thoughts, but we have to use much effort to think good thoughts. As we begin to make changes, we will have to fight a battle.

Our mind is the battlefield, and Satan’s primary way of initiating his evil plan for us is through our thoughts. If we feel we have no power over our thoughts, Satan will entrap and defeat us. Instead, we can determine to think in godly ways. We constantly make choices. Where do those choices come from? They originate in our thought life. Our thoughts become our words and our actions.

God has given us the power to decide to choose right thinking over wrong. But once we make that choice, we must continue to choose right thoughts. It’s not a once-and-for-all decision, but it does get easier. The more we fill our lives with reading the Bible, prayer, praise, and fellowship with other believers, the easier it is for us to continue choosing right thoughts.

It may sound as if I’m saying that trying to live the Christian life is nothing but one continuous struggle. That’s partly true, but that’s only a piece of the story. Too many people want to live victorious Christian lives, but they don’t want to fight the battles. Victory however, means winning and overcoming obstacles. We must also remember that living a life of disobedience to God is harder than choosing to live in victory. Yes, there are struggles but they are worth it in the end.

To think in the right way takes practice, and it is not always easy, nor does it feel natural for us to focus only on the good. But if we know this is the pathway to life both now and in eternity it’s worth the effort and the struggle to think positive thoughts.

When we’re bombarded with doubts and fears, that’s when we need to take our stand. We don’t ever want to say again, “I can’t help it.” We want to believe and say, “God is with me, and He strengthens me. God enables me to win.” The apostle Paul said it this way, But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose] (1 Corinthians 15:57-58).

We can choose. Not only can we choose, but we do choose. By not pushing the bad thoughts from our minds, we’re allowing them to invade us and take us captive. It takes time to learn to choose good and push away evil. It won’t be easy, but we’re moving in the right direction every time we take responsibility and make right choices.

Powerful God, remind me that I can and do make choices every day. Please help me to monitor my thoughts, choosing only those that will help me overcome the devil and win the battle for my mind. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Refuse to Lose

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Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. – Deuteronomy 1:21 KJV

All of us become disappointed when we have plans that fail, hopes that don’t materialize, and goals that are not reached. When this continues for a while, we become discouraged, a condition that can lead to depression if not handled properly.

When you get discouraged, you must make a decision to adapt and adjust, to take a new approach, to just keep going despite your feelings. That’s when you must remember the Greater One resides within you and decide you won’t let discouragement keep you from realizing your dreams and goals.

When you feel discouraged it is sometimes difficult to be positive. That’s when you must rise above the discouragement through He who lives in you. He is always available to help you find renewed direction and hope.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God Will Brighten Your Day

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He set himself to seek God … and as long as he sought (inquired of, yearned for) the Lord, God made him prosper. – 2 Chronicles 26:5

Jesus got up early in the morning, long before daylight, and went out to a de¬serted place, and prayed — He got alone (see Mark 1:35). There were so many people who followed Jesus everywhere He went that He probably wouldn’t have had any time alone if He hadn’t gotten up really early.

If you aren’t a morning person, the thought of getting up early may make you nervous. But you can decipher for yourself what “early” means for you. Nine o’clock is early if you are used to staying in bed until noon. Even if you only get up fifteen minutes earlier than usual to have some time alone with God, you will still honor Him, and that time with Him, will make your whole day brighter.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Journey Toward Unselfishness

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. . . I die daily [I face death every day and die to self]. – 1 Corinthians 15:31

Selfishness is not learned behavior; we are born with it. The Bible refers to it as “sin nature.” Adam and Eve sinned against God by doing what He told them not to do, and the sin principle they established was forever passed to every person who would ever be born. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins, and to deliver us from them. He came to undo what Adam did.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He comes to live in our spirit, and if we allow that renewed part of us to rule our decisions, we can overcome the sin nature in our flesh. It doesn’t go away, but the greater One Who lives in us helps us overcome it daily (see Gal. 5:16). That does not mean that we never sin, but we can improve and make progress throughout our lives.

I certainly cannot say I have overcome selfishness entirely—none of us can on this side of eternity. But that doesn’t mean we don’t do everything we can to grow closer to God and die to our selfishness. We can have hope of improving daily. I am on a journey and, although I may not arrive, I have determined that when Jesus comes to take me home He will find me pressing toward this goal (see Phil. 3:12–13).

The apostle Paul made the following statement: . . . It is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me (Gal. 2:20). Paul meant that he was no longer living for himself and his own will, but for God and His will. I was greatly encouraged when I discovered through study that Paul made this statement approximately twenty years after his conversion. Learning to live unselfishly was a journey for him, just as it is for everyone else. Paul also said, . . . I die daily . . . (1 Cor. 15:31). In other words, putting others first was a daily battle and required daily decisions. Each of us must decide how we will live and what we will live for; and there is no better time to do so than right now.

Trust in Him Are you pressing toward the goal of living for God rather than yourself? Dying to yourself is a process that you can improve daily. Trust God to give you the strength to die to yourself daily.

 

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Read and Reap

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[Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known. – Mark 4:22

The Word has tremendous treasures, powerful life-giving secrets that God wants to reveal to us. They are manifested to those who ponder, study, think about, practice mentally, and meditate on the Word of God.

There is no end to what God can show you out of one verse of Scripture. You can study a scripture one time and get one thing, and another time you’ll see something else you did not even notice before.

The Lord keeps revealing His secrets to those who are diligent about studying the Word. Don’t be the kind of person who always wants to live off of someone else’s revelation. Study the Word yourself, and allow the Holy Spirit to bless your life with truth.

Power Thought: Revelation is available to me when I study God’s Word.