Tag Archives: Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Stay Safe in the Word

Leave a comment

 

Test and prove all things [until you can recognize] what is good; [to that] hold fast. – 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Hearing from God clearly and avoiding the possibility of deception comes only from spending regular time with Him, learning His Word. Listening for God’s voice without having knowledge of His Word is a mistake. Knowing God’s written Word protects us from deception.

Trying to hear from God without knowing His Word is irresponsible and even dangerous. People who want to be led by the Spirit but are too lazy to spend time in the Word and in prayer set themselves up for deception because evil spirits are eager to whisper to listening ears. The devil tried to say things to Jesus and He always replied, “It is written,” and then quoted Scripture to refute the lies of the enemy (see Luke 4).

Some people seek God only when they are in trouble and need help. But if they are not used to hearing from God, they will find recognizing His voice difficult when they really need Him.

We need to compare any idea, prompting, or thought that comes to us with God’s Word. If we don’t know the Word, we won’t have anything against which to measure theories and arguments that rise up in our thoughts. The enemy can present wild ideas that make sense to us. The fact that thoughts are logical doesn’t mean they are from God. We may like what we hear, but the fact that something appeals to us doesn’t mean it is from God. We may hear something that feels good to our emotions, but if it fails to give us peace it is not from God. God’s advice to us is to always follow peace and let it be an umpire in our lives (see Colossians 3:15).

God’s word for you today: Test everything you hear against the Word of God, because that is the only standard of truth that exists.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Are You Not Worth Much More Than They?

Leave a comment

 

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?- Matthew 6:26

It might do all of us good to spend some time watching birds. That’s what our Lord told us to do. If not every day, then at least every now and then we need to take the time to observe and remind ourselves how well our feathered friends are cared for.

They literally do not know where their next meal is coming from, yet, I have personally never seen a bird sitting on a tree branch having a nervous breakdown due to worry. The Master’s point here is really very simple: “Are you not worth more than a bird?” Even though you may be wrestling with a poor self-image, surely you can believe that you are more valuable than a bird, and look how well your heavenly Father takes care of them.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – A New Level of Commitment

Leave a comment

 

Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass.- Psalm 37:5

God wants to take us to a new level of commitment. This is something to be excited about and grateful for because with commitment comes blessing. It’s not always easy, but it is worth all it requires. We all fight battles and face the temptation to stop fighting and just give up, but commitment is the thing that enables us to resist that temptation.

When you are fiercely committed to God’s purpose for your life, you will begin to experience all that He has for you. God loves you and He wants you to be in a committed relationship with Him— for life. I can’t imagine anything more satisfying, more rewarding, or more adventurous. He has more in store for you than you have ever asked or imagined, but in order to see His plans become a reality in your life you will need to be 100 percent committed to Him and His will.

Prayer of Thanks

Father, I choose to commit my life fully to You. I thank You that You are leading me into the destiny You have for me. With Your help, I will focus on You and commit every part of my life to Your plan and purpose for me.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Pleasant Words, Healing Words

Leave a comment

 

The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips. Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.- Proverbs 16:23-24

Our thoughts can either get us into trouble or elevate us above our problems. Too often, however, we allow our minds to linger over and ponder the wrong kind of thoughts. In the verse above, it says the mind (or the heart) of the wise teaches his mouth. This proverb means that the thoughts on which we dwell will eventually come out in our words. If our words are good and uplifting, they encourage others and us.

Those thoughts aren’t just about others; they are also about how we reflect on ourselves, as well. One of the smartest friends I had in school confessed one day that she felt intellectually inferior. Her words shocked me, and I told her so. I learned that her father used to call her stupid when she didn’t grasp something the first time he explained it to her. Eventually, her own thoughts said to her, You aren’t intelligent enough to understand this.

That’s a good example of how our words can tear down others. But we can also uplift others with our words. When we focus on the good we see in people and tell them, we may well be God’s messenger to them.

For example, I’ve stood in front of a crowd and spoken many times. Because I have victory, they assume I’m always in victory, and that I never have to struggle the way they do. Sometimes a person will come to me and say, “God really used you tonight. I came here discouraged and kept asking God what I should do. Right in the middle of your teaching, I heard God speak through you.”

Those are pleasant words, as sweet as a honeycomb. Those people who speak to me are often unaware of how hard I’ve fought the enemy and struggled to free my mind from his influence. When they tell me what a blessing I’ve been to them, they often don’t sense how much their words mean to me.

Everyone needs to hear pleasant and healing words. It’s too easy to assume certain people don’t have the same struggles or severe battles that we experience. All of us struggle, and for some, it’s worse than for others. I believe that the more God wants to use us, the more forcefully Satan exerts his power against us.

We can help each other. When we sincerely speak pleasant words, healing words, we are not only diffusing our enemy’s power, but we are building up one another. We need to build up others as much as we need others to encourage us.

I can remember times when I’ve wanted to say a kind word to someone, and I would think, Oh, she knows that. She’s heard that before. Then I would say to myself, Yes, maybe she knows, and perhaps she’s heard it before, but she hasn’t heard it from me. It’s not that my words are better than anyone else’s, but it is the Holy Spirit who takes our words, anoints them, and brings healing and help to others.

What if each of us decided, I am God’s servant to bring healing words to wounded and hurting hearts? What if God chose us to strengthen and build up people by speaking soothing, kind, and thoughtful words to them? Not only do we put the devil to flight, but our friends’ joy soars, and ours does, too because we’ve been used as God’s instruments of healing. I learned long ago that it takes so little to do so much good. Often it’s only a word of encouragement, a hug, or just saying the words, “I care.”

Holy Spirit of God, please remind me of the words that dwell inside me. Remind me to hold on to the good, the kind, and the uplifting thoughts, and empower me to push away those that can hurt and tear down others and myself. I ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Paraclete

Leave a comment

 

But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. – John 16:13

God knew you would need help in understanding His plan for you, so He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside you. He is your Guide, your Teacher of truth, your Comfort, and your Helper. He is also the Parakletos (Paraclete), which means counselor, advocate, and intercessor.

Jesus was confined to a body and could be only one place at a time. But He knew the Holy Spirit would be with you everywhere you go, all the time, leading and guiding you. Embrace the Holy Spirit in you, resting in the knowledge that in Him you are becoming everything God planned for you to be.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Make Adjustments

Leave a comment

 

Adding your diligence [to the divine promises], employ every effort in exercising your faith to develop virtue (excellence, resolution, Christian energy), and in [exercising] virtue [develop] knowledge (intelligence). – 2 Peter 1:5

Sometimes we have to make a few adjustments in our lifestyle to follow wisdom. We may have to say no to too much activity. He¬brews 11:1 teaches that faith is the assurance of things we do not see now. But, like God, we can call “those things that be not, as though they are” (see Romans 4:17). This spiritual principle applies in the negative realm as well as in the positive realm. So we may need to make some adjustments to the things we say.

If you feel that it is hard to get up in the morning, don’t say, “I am too tired.” Get all of that weak, tired, wimpy, quitter, give-up talk out of your vocabulary. Instead, say, “Because the Lord is my strength, I can do whatever I need to do today.”

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Can Trust God’s Timing

Leave a comment

 

My times are in Your hands . . . Psalm 31:15

One of the biggest mistakes we make as believers is failing to remember that God’s timing rarely matches our timing. We think and plan in temporal terms, and God thinks and plans in eternal terms. What this means is we want what feels good right now, what produces immediate results, but God is willing to be patient and deliberate as He invests in us over a period of time to produce results far better and longer lasting than we can imagine.

Just as our children try to talk us into giving them what they want right away, we often try to talk God into immediately giving us what we want. He loves us even more than we love our children, and He loves us too much to give in to our pleadings. He knows something born prematurely might struggle to survive, so He waits until He knows everything is properly prepared for the arrival of our dreams.

God sees and understands what we do not see and understand. He asks us to put aside our natural tendencies to want to figure out what should happen in our lives and when it should happen. He also desires us to stop being frustrated because things do not go according to our plan, and instead to relax, enjoy the ride, and trust He is working everything out according to His timing and the wisdom of His plan.

Without trusting God, we will never experience satisfaction and enjoyment in life; we will always be striving to “make things happen” within our time line. We must remember God not only has plans for our lives, He also knows the perfect timing for each aspect of those plans. Fighting and resisting the timing of God is equivalent to fighting and resisting His will for our lives. God is working, often in ways we cannot see, to bring His plans to pass in our lives in the best possible ways. We simply need to trust Him as we wait for the arrival of our dreams.

Trust in Him You can trust that God is working on His plan for your life; He is preparing it for you and you for it. His plan may not come on your timetable, but the arrival of your dream is coming. Just have a seat (trust in Him, enter His rest), and when the time is precisely right, He’ll call your name.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Accountability

Leave a comment

 

Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the murmurs and excuses of] every mouth may be hushed and all the world may be held accountable to God.- Romans 3:19

Do you ever say, “I know I shouldn’t do this, but . . .”; “I know I shouldn’t say this, but . . .”; “I know I shouldn’t act like this, but . . .”; “I know I should forgive her, but . . .”? What we’re really saying is, “I know I’m making a wrong choice, but I hope I can get by with it.”

We live in a society where many people do not want to be accountable. A lot of people want to be able to make wrong choices and not have wrong results. But it doesn’t work that way. Accountable means “answerable.” Sooner or later we will have to answer for our choices. If we don’t choose to be accountable, eventually our circumstances will force us to be accountable.

Power Thought: I make right choices so I will have a right result.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Best Time to Give

Leave a comment

 

And the Lord said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live. —Numbers 21:8

At one point in Israel’s history, Israelites were dying in large numbers because a plague of snakes came upon them and were biting them as a result of their sin (see Numbers 21:6). What did their leader, Moses, do? He prayed. To solve the problem, Moses turned his attention immediately to God, not to himself or anyone else.

I have found that victorious people in the Bible faced their problems with prayer. They did not worry; they prayed. I ask you today: Do you worry or do you take your needs to God in prayer? Moses sought God about how to handle the snakes. He did not make his own plan and ask God to bless it; he did not try to figure out an answer in his mind, nor did he worry. He prayed, and his action brought a response from God. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent, set it on a pole and put it in front of the people. Every snake-bitten person who looked at it would live. The New Testament tells us this action represented the cross and Jesus’ taking our sin upon Himself: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must . . . the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], in order that everyone who believes in Him . . . may not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14, 15).

You and I still sin today, but the message of the bronze serpent still applies: “Look and live.” Look at Jesus and at what He has done, not at yourself and what you have done or can do. Hebrews 12:2 has great advice: “Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith . . .” The answer to your problem, whatever it may be, is not worry, but praying and trusting that Jesus is leading you.

Love God Today: Look to Jesus for the answer to every problem that you have! He loves it when you lean on Him.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – In the “Deep End”

Leave a comment

 

Now to Him Who is able to keep you without stumbling or slipping or falling, and to present [you] unblemished (blameless and faultless) before the presence of His glory in triumphant joy and exultation [with unspeakable, ecstatic delight]—to the one only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory (splendor), majesty, might and dominion, and power and authority, before all time and now and forever (unto all the ages of eternity).- Jude 24–25

Just as a little three-year-old girl in the middle of a swimming pool can feel in over her head, at various points in our lives, all of us feel we’re getting “out of our depth” or “in over our heads.” But the reality is that without God we’re always in over our heads.

There are problems all around in this life: a job is lost, someone dies, there is strife in the family, or a bad report comes from the doctor. When these things happen, our temptation is to panic, because we feel we’ve lost control. But think about it—just like the child in the pool, the truth is we’ve never been in control when it comes to life’s most crucial elements. We’ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, and that won’t change. God is never out of His depth, and therefore we’re as safe when we’re in life’s “deep end” as we were in the kiddie pool.

Lord, I’m glad that I am safe in Your arms, even when I feel I’m in over my head. Hold me by Your grace. Amen. .

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – He Will Tell You What’s Ahead

Leave a comment

 

He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. – John 16:13

One of the many benefits of hearing from God is that listening to His voice helps us prepare for the future. The Holy Spirit gives to us the messages the Father gives to Him, and He often tells us things that will happen in the future.

We find many instances in the Bible in which God spoke to people and gave them information about the future. He told Noah to prepare for a flood that would come to destroy the people of the earth (see Genesis 6:13–17). He told Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask for the release of the Israelites and that Pharaoh would not grant this request (see Exodus 7). Obviously, God does not tell us everything that will happen in the future, but His Word promises He will tell us some things.

There are times when I sense that something good, or perhaps something challenging, is going to happen. When a challenge awaits me and I have some prior knowledge of it, that knowledge helps to cushion the blow when the difficult situation comes. If an automobile with good shock absorbers hits a pothole, those absorbers protect passengers in the car from the jarring impact that would result and no one gets hurt. God’s giving us information ahead of time works the same way.

Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to tell us things to come. He knows the mind of God and He knows God’s individual plans for our lives. He will reveal what we need to know when we need to know it in order to fulfill the good plans God has for us.

God’s word for you today: Trust the Holy Spirit to tell you what you need to know about the future.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Faith vs. Feelings

Leave a comment

 

How long will you halt and limp between two opinions? —1 Kings 18:21

God has blessings and new opportunities in store for us. To receive them we must take steps of faith. That often means doing things we don’t feel like doing or in our own minds don’t even think will work, but our trust and reverence for God must be greater than what we personally want, think, or feel. We see a perfect example of this in Luke 5. Peter and some of the other disciples of Jesus had been fishing all night; they hadn’t caught anything. They were tired and exhausted, and they needed sleep. I am sure they were hungry. They had just finished washing and storing their nets, which was a big job.

Jesus appeared on the bank of the lake and told them if they wanted to catch a haul of fish, they should cast their nets again, only this time in deeper water. Peter explained to the Lord that they were exhausted. They hadn’t caught anything all night, but he said, On the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again]. (Luke 5:5) This is the kind of attitude the Lord wants us to have. We may not feel like doing something, we may not think it is a good idea, or we may feel fearful that none of it will work, but we should be willing to obey God rather than our fears or feelings.

The devil tries to use fear in its many different forms to keep us in shallow water. But even though we may feel fear, we need to focus our attention on God and at His word we should launch out into the deep to receive the blessings God has for us.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Joyful in Every Circumstance

Leave a comment

 

[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. —Romans 14:17

A wise person does not allow the moods of other people to alter theirs.

There is a story of a Quaker man who was walking down the street with a friend when he stopped at a newsstand to purchase a newspaper. The storekeeper was very rude and unfriendly. The Quaker man responded respectfully and was quite kind in his dealing with him. After paying for his paper and continuing to walk down the street, his friend asked, “How could you be so cordial to that man considering the terrible way he was treating you?” The Quaker man replied, “Oh, he is always that way; why should I let him determine how I am going to act?”

This is one of the amazing traits we see in Jesus—He changed people, they did not change Him. I encourage you to follow the example of Jesus. Do what God expects you to do and don’t live under the tyranny of other people’s moods and attitudes.

Prayer of Thanks Father, I thank You that I can be joyful in every circumstance. Today, I choose not to let other people determine how I am going to live. With Your help, I am going to live in joy regardless of the circumstances around me.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Hold Your Tongue

Leave a comment

 

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it! —Psalm 34:13-14

“You really have the gift of gab,” one man told me many years ago, when I first started in the ministry. He had pointed out something that I already knew: God had given me “a ready tongue,” that is, I speak easily. Words are my tools. The Lord first gave me that gift, and then He called me into the ministry to use that ability to work for Him.

I have no trouble talking. That’s my gift; that’s also been my greatest problem. Because I seem to always have something to say, I have struggled many, many years over the right use of my tongue.

It has not been an easy battle.

Over the years, I heard various people saying things like, “Hold your tongue.” “Do you have to speak every word that comes to your mind?” “Do you always speak first and think later?” “Must you sound so harsh?” Had I truly listened to what people were saying, I might have realized that God was trying to tell me something. But I ignored their comments and continued in my own stubborn ways.

I know I have wounded people with my words in the past, and I am sorry for that. I’m also grateful that God has forgiven me.

Several years ago, I realized that if God was going to use my life, I had to gain control of my tongue not to just stop talking, but to keep my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking deceit, as the psalmist David says.

I had a choice. I could hurt people with my words and I could do that well or I could bring my lips into subjection to God. Obviously, I wanted to be subject to the Lord, but it was still a battle.

Our words are expressions of our hearts of what’s going on inside us. If we want to know who a person really is, all we need to do is listen to their words. If we listen long enough, we learn a lot about them.

As I learned to listen to my own words, I also began to learn a lot about myself. Some of the things I learned did not please me, but they did help me realize that I had a character flaw that needed to be addressed. My words were not pleasing God, and I wanted them to. Once I confessed my failure to God, the victory came, not all at once and not perfectly, but God is patient with me. I’m growing, and part of my growth is keeping my lips from evil.

No matter how negative you are or have been, or how long you’ve been that way, God wants to change you. In the early days after my confession to God, I still failed more often than I succeeded, but every time I did succeed, I knew I was closer to God’s plan for my life. God can do the same for you.

It won’t be easy, but you can win. And the effort will be worth it.

Lord, help me use my mouth for right things. Put a watch over my mouth lest I sin against You with my tongue. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You. I ask it in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Stand Strong Against the Adversary

Leave a comment

 

For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries.—1 Corinthians 16:9

It is true that whenever you do anything for God, the adversary will oppose you. But you must remember that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (see 1 John 4:4).

You should not have to spend your life struggling against the devil in order to serve God. Instead of wearing yourself out trying to fight spiritual enemies, you should learn to stand strong in the authority given to you by Jesus.

The best way to overcome the devil and his demons is simply to stay in God’s will by obeying His Word and allowing Him to work things out according to His divine plan and purpose.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Love God First

Leave a comment

 

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! —Psalm 66:5 NIV

We give attention to whatever we love the most. God wants to be first in our life (see Exodus 20:3). Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37–38 NIV).

What might happen in your life if you became so intent on seeking God that you hired a babysitter to watch your children, or used a vacation day, in order to spend time with the Lord? You can’t afford not to spend time with God. Give Him your full attention, and make a point to observe all He is doing for you.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Faith is Trusting God

Leave a comment

 

For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. —Ephesians 2:8

I like to define faith in a very basic, easy-to-understand way: living with a positive attitude that comes from a deep trust in God. Living by faith is looking at everything in a positive way and trusting in the power of God, Who loves us and wants the best for us. When we have faith, we can say with confidence in our hearts:

“I don’t know what to do, but God does.”

“I don’t understand what’s going on in my life, but God will make a way for me.”

“I don’t know how I can pay my bills this month, but God will provide.”

“This trial I have doesn’t feel good; I don’t like it, but I believe God works all things out for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (see Rom. 8:28).

“I don’t like the situation I’m going through, but what Satan means for my harm, God intends for my good” (see Gen. 50:20).

These statements and the attitudes they represent demonstrate faith. Having faith means always trusting in God’s love and looking beyond where you are to see the end result. Having faith means always being hopeful and refusing to accept defeat. People who live by faith can enjoy every day of their lives.

Trust in Him What are you currently facing that is uncomfortable or that you don’t understand? Choose to have a positive attitude about your situation and trust God to work it out for good.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Temptation to Quit

Leave a comment

 

And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation. —Luke 22:40

Jesus told the disciples twice in one day to pray they wouldn’t enter into temptation: And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation. . . . And when He got up from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from grief, and He said to them, Why do you sleep? Get up and pray that you may not enter [at all] into temptation (Luke 22:40, 45–46).

The best way to resist the temptation to give up when times are hard is to pray that you won’t give in to the temptation. It’s wiser and more effective to pray and ask for God’s help as you stand against temptation than to try to exert willpower alone. Work with God, and pray you won’t surrender to the temptation to give up.

Power Thought: I believe God will strengthen me against the temptation to quit.

 

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Stay Calm

Leave a comment

 

Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today . . . The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.—Exodus 14:13-14

When troubled times come our way, one of our biggest challenges is to stay calm. Our natural tendencies are to fear, to worry, and to try to do something to fix the situation or solve the problem. But we must learn to get our emotions under control so we can think clearly, act wisely, and pray in faith.

Moses often had to help the Israelites calm down. When Pharaoh’s army was gaining ground on them, they kept running, but knew they were headed straight into the Red Sea. Death seemed certain! Exodus tells us the people were frightened and angry with Moses, and they decided they would have been better off as slaves to the Egyptians than trying to outrun Pharaoh’s forces.

Moses was saying in today’s scripture, “Stop it! I know the situation looks hopeless, but don’t be afraid. Just be still for a minute and watch what God is going to do for you.”

Before Pharaoh’s army reached the Israelites, God rolled back the waters of the Red Sea so His people could cross over on dry land. When they were all on the other side, the sea closed again and Pharaoh’s fight¬ers drowned. This same miracle-working God is on your side today. He still fights for His people. Your job, if you belong to Him, is simply to “hold your peace and remain at rest.”

Love God Today: “Lord, I will not fear. I will stand still, stay calm, and watch what You will do on my behalf.”

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Give God Everything

Leave a comment

 

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. —1 John 1:9

I don’t know about you, but every day I tell the Lord, “Father, You are looking at a desperate woman. I need You, Lord. Without You I can do nothing.”

The Bible teaches us that if we admit our sins and confess them, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Start by freely admitting all your faults. Hold nothing back. Admit them to God and to people. Don’t make excuses or place blame elsewhere. As you do this, you will experience a new freedom, and your relationship with Jesus and with people will improve greatly. I have found that if I tell people my faults before they find them on their own, neither one of us is as bothered by them. Be open with people. Most people respect and admire honesty and openness. It is what we try to hide that comes back to haunt us.

Invite Jesus into every area of your life. Don’t hide your faults from Him. He knows all about them anyway. Don’t hold anything back; give God everything!

Lord, I ask You to come into every area of my life. I confess my sins and faults to You and ask Your forgiveness. Cleanse me from all unrighteousness and make me whole. Amen.