Get Back In The Game!

Is there a desire that you placed on the shelf, so to speak? Have you been sitting on the sidelines of your dream, celebrating everybody else’s victories, watching the promises come to pass in their lives?

The bible says. “We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.”

It’s good to celebrate with others but God wants to do something amazing in your life, too. He wants you to be celebrated. You don’t have to sit on the sidelines watching everyone else. You have treasure inside of you!

Think about the promises that God has spoken over you. It’s not too late. You’re not too old. It may look impossible but our God can do the impossible. When you believe, favor is released. Don’t waste another day sitting on the sidelines of life. It’s time to get back in the game! It’s time to run your race. It’s time to press forward into the promises that God has in store for you!

Getting You Where You Need To Be

Have you ever felt overwhelmed or even afraid of what God has called you to do or where He’s called you to go? Maybe you were pursuing a dream or goal and things didn’t turn out the way you thought they would/should.

The bible records such a situation for Joseph, “...an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. ‘Joseph, son of David,’ the angel said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.’ ”

Joseph had planned to take Mary as his wife but when he found out she was pregnant he didn’t know what to think. He was afraid that he might be making a mistake because things didn’t turn out the way he thought. But, God sent a messenger in a dream to reassure Joseph that he was indeed on the right path.

Today, let me reassure you that God knows right where you are and He knows how to get you to where you need to be. Even when things don’t go the way you planned, don’t be afraid. Trust that God is still working behind the scenes on your behalf, and that He will get you to that place you know He’s calling you to.

Beauty For Ashes

Everyone has experienced hurt and disappointment in life, but God doesn’t want us to sit in the ashes of the past. The bible says, “He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair.”

Your loving, heavenly Parent wants to trade your brokenness for healing. The key is that we have to be willing to give up the “ashes” in order to receive the “beauty.” You can’t have both because the old has to go before the new can come.

Friend, ask yourself if you’re really trusting God with your past hurts and mistakes. Are you willing to make the choice to let go of the pain, to forgive others (and yourself) so you can move forward into real peace, victory and freedom?

I want to encourage you not to waste another moment sitting in the ashes. The past is over but your future remains, and if you’ll trust God, He said it will be more amazing than what you could’ve hoped or dreamed of yourself. Choose to let Him give you joy instead of mourning; let Him begin to make something beautiful out of the ashes!

It’s A GIFT

We serve a loving, gracious, generous God. He loves you so much that there isn’t anything He wouldn’t do in order to have a relationship with you. The bible tells us that sin separated us from God, but God doesn’t want to be separated from us. That’s why He sent His Son into the world – to pay the penalty for sin so that you and I could have a relationship with Him.

So many people today think they have to earn their way to heaven. They think they have to be “good enough” or “always do the right thing” in order to be accepted by God. They want to “clean up” before they come to Him. But the bible says, “You have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.”

Understand, though you may feel compelled to try and earn gifts from people, you can’t earn this gift from God. You don’t pay for His love; you can only receive it by faith. If you’ve never made Jesus the Lord of your life, I encourage you to receive this free gift.

All you need to do is sincerely say this simple prayer, “Father in heaven, I come to You today giving You all that I am. Thank You for the gift of salvation through Your Son, Jesus. I believe He died and rose for me, and I invite You to be Lord in every area of my life.”

Whether you’re already saved or you just now declared that prayer I urge you to choose today to let Him fill you with His eternal peace and joy so that you can start living the abundant life He’s carefully designed just for you.

Say Continually

In Psalm 35:27, God’s people were commanded to “say continually, ‘Let God be magnified. He takes pleasure in prospering me.’” I believe one reason they were supposed to say it all the time is so it would get down on the inside of their hearts.

See, when we hear something long enough, we start to believe it. It starts to affect the way we see things. I want to encourage you today to stop dwelling on negative, defeated thoughts and start dwelling on thoughts like, “God takes pleasure in prospering me. Good breaks are in my future. Explosive blessings are coming my way!”

Starting right now, let the truth of God’s promises sink down into your heart. All throughout each day, declare His goodness; declare His faithfulness; declare His blessings because He delights in seeing you prosper. When you surrender your will to Him and let Him direct your steps you will begin seeing His amazing plan come together in your life.

Are You Ready For Increase?

Are you ready to go to the next level, spiritually, physically and emotionally? Many times, people hear the truth that God has more in store for them, and something resonates on the inside. Their spirit comes into agreement with God.

Then there are times when a person’s natural mind will try to talk them out it. Thoughts will come like, “Good things come to everyone but me. My situation is hopeless. I have too much debt. I’ve gone as far as possible at this job. I’ll never find anyone to be happy with again.”

Friend, you have to get rid of those negative thoughts! This is a new season! What’s happened in the past is over and done. You may have been through disappointments, you may have tried and failed, or things didn’t work out. But that’s okay – God is still in control.

Your loving Creator said, “I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” It’s time to get in agreement with God and embrace a new vision for your life. It’s time to open yourself to a new way of thinking and speaking so that you can receive all the blessings God has lined up for you!

You Have Something To Offer That No One Else Can

The bible says, “Love is kind.” One translation says that, “love looks for a way to be constructive.” In other words, love looks for ways to improve someone else’s life. Love brings out the best in other people.

I want to challenge you (and myself) to not just get up in the morning thinking about yourself or how you can make your own life better, but to think about how you can make someone else’s life better. Ask yourself, “Who can I encourage today?” 

You have something to offer those around you that no one else can give. Someone in your life needs your encouragement. Someone in your life needs to know that you value them. I believe God is counting on us to bring out the best in the people He brings across our path.

Ask yourself today, are you improving the lives of those around you? Are you pouring confidence into them? Seek God for more creative ways to bring out the best in others. As you sow into the lives of others, He will send people across your path to build you up and help you embrace every blessing He has planned for you, too.