“And that is what some of you were. But
you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
~ 1 Corinthians 6:11
Some people will try to hold on to the past, and they will try to use it to define you. But that was who you were, not who you are now! You are not that person anymore. You are a new creation. So hold your head high, rejoice in the LORD for He is good. No weapon formed against you will prosper. And those words of condemnation…you will be able to refute every one, no one will be able to stand against you if the LORD is your shield.
My Heavenly Father, please restore a sense of pride in Your people who have been trampled down. Confirm Your grace to those who are constantly reminded of their past, and to those who are told lies that they are worthless, let them feel Your love and fill them with self-worth because of Your grace. Bless Your people today, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” ~ Psalms 30:5
Needless to say, heartache is a part of life. It is inevitable, and especially when you have loved ones, because life does not last forever. Someone today may have their heartbroken for whatever reason. Maybe it’s the death of a loved one or the death of your innocence. Maybe it’s words that have cut through your very soul. I’m here today to let you know it’s not the end of the world. It is not the end of your dreams.
I know it hurts now, but God has promised: “Joy will come in the morning.” So hold on, hold tight, don’t lose sight of where you’re going. The LORD is your very great reward. Begin to put this into practice bit by bit daily, and you will receive the joy of the LORD, which will be your strength. Be encouraged today for the pain you feel now won’t last forever, for you have been promised the joy of the LORD.
Heavenly Father, please bring Your peace to troubled lives, bring comfort to the brokenhearted. And as hard as it seems to us, help us to forgive others who have hurt us needlessly. Restore relationships, put the broken pieces of shattered lives back together, and bring Your overwhelming peace into our fragile lives. I ask this all in Jesus’ name, amen.
“31He then began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders,
chief priests and teachers of the law and that he must be killed and after
three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But when Jesus turned and
looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ He said. ‘You
do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’” ~
Mark 8:31-33
Jesus was on a mission, and when He shared His mission, it was different than what Peter had in mind. So what does Peter do? Peter rebukes Jesus in an attempt to discourage Him from His God-given purpose. Now, what does Jesus do? Let’s look at verse 33, Jesus turns and looks at His disciples. He was refocusing, reevaluating His mission, and when He saw His disciples, He was reminded why He had come. He had come to die for these lost souls and, indeed, all the lost souls of the world. If you are ever discouraged, turn, look, reevaluate your mission, and never ever let anyone, no matter how close, talk you out of your God-given purpose, for it is for the Glory of God.
Heavenly Father, we know the enemy is stomping around like a roaring lion seeking someone or some ministry to destroy. We realize he will use anyone or any situation to achieve this. LORD our God, we ask you to rebuke the devourer today on our behalf and to deliver us from discouragement. Send someone along today to encourage your people because You love us and care so much for us that You shed Your blood to redeem us. Thank You, Father, in Jesus name I pray, amen.
“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered.
‘May it be to me as you have said.’ Then the angel left her.”
~ Luke 1:38
Mary knew fully well what the consequences could and would be. She knew that it would not be an easy task to tell Joseph that she was six weeks pregnant but look, Joseph, “I’m still a virgin, it wasn’t me, it was the Holy Spirit!” She knew she could be stoned to death for adultery. She knew she would be an outcast at the very least. She knew that there would be finger-pointing and whispering behind her back. She knew it was a huge responsibility that could, in fact, cost her her life.
But she didn’t consider all the hardships or consequences. She focused on one thing: “I am the LORD’s servant…” and that is all that counts, no matter what the consequences. Come storm or calm, rain or sunshine, I am the LORD’s servant, and I will take my responsibility. God has called each one for a specific task, to travel a specific road, to complete a specific work. The question is: are we willing to count the cost and say, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as You have said.”?
Heavenly Father, remember that we are but dust. Give us the strength and determination to do the job that You have called us to do. Help us to take our responsibility and to remember, “I am the LORD’s servant…” Nothing more or nothing less, we are Your servants, called to a specific task, and You will take care of us and see it through. Thank You, Father, in Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
“Your words have supported those who
stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees.” ~
Job 4:4
The saying, ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,’ has been around for a long time and has been the response of countless kids. But oh wait, words do hurt, and words do encourage. You may never know the joy or the encouragement your words can bring to someone’s life; someone who just needs to hear a kind word.
Proverbs 25:11 says, “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Look for someone you can encourage today, even if you think they are your encourager. And together, we can begin to make the world a brighter place. Remember, we are the light because Jesus shines through us.
Thank You, Father, for all the Barnabas’ out there. Help us to encourage each other, and look for opportunities to say and do nice things for someone else. No man is an island, and no woman stands alone, but You have created us as social creatures, living together, and strengthening each other. Now LORD, lay your hand of mercy on the downtrodden and lift up those that are beaten down, liberate the ones who are being unjustly oppressed.
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” ~ Ephesians 6:10-18
Since the war we are fighting is a spiritual one, let us get
spiritually ready with our spiritual armor on and march boldly into the enemy’s
camp and take back that which he has stolen from us. Let’s take back our
families, our children, our peace, our joy, and our happiness. Let’s take back
our finances, our health, our creativity. We are children of the Most High God.
Therefore we are more than conquerors! We are mighty upon the earth! We are
victorious!
Our Heavenly Father, I come to you this morning on behalf of the saints, which are Your people. I pray for spiritual and financial breakthroughs today, for victories, and for the unity of families. Give back to Your people what the devil has stolen from them, O’ our God, and place them in positions of authority that they may take their rightful stand and bring You glory.
“3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites,
‘If you are returning to the Lord with
all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and
commit yourselves to the Lord and
serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.’4 So the Israelites put
away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only.”
~ 1 Samuel 7:3-4
If we continue reading, we’ll find that the Israelites assembled at Mizpah. There they gave an offering, fasted, and confessed their sin. They then denounced all foreign gods and served the LORD only. When the Philistines heard about it, they marched out against Israel to fight them. This is a good example of what happens in the spiritual.
As long as we’re not serving God, we are alright, but as soon as the enemy hears we have assembled ourselves in order to serve God only, he goes on the offense. He will assemble all the forces of darkness to war against us, and there is where we become overwhelmed and lose heart. We begin to believe that the struggle is not worth it.
But my friends, I’m here to let you know it will be worth it. Be encouraged because if we continue reading, we’ll see God came to their aid and delivered them out of the hands of the enemy, and He will do it for us also. So don’t give up, but instead fight harder.
O LORD our God, protector of all that is true and right, defender of the weak and the lifter of heavy burdens. We cry out to You today for mercy. O LORD that You would look and see, that You would listen and hear, that You would ride on the wings of the dawn in pursuit of our enemy. As we seek You today, bring about a great deliverance on our behalf.
So Jacob was left alone, and a man
wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower
him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he
wrestled with the man. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is
daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless
me.” ~ Genesis 32:24-26
The struggle may be long, it might be hard, but don’t let go. God does not show favoritism; if He blessed Jacob because he would not let go, then God will bless you as well if you don’t let go. So hold on, don’t let your struggle end in defeat, but rather, let it end with a blessing from God. Wrestle with God. Hold on to Him. God will not disappoint you. He will never let you down.
Heavenly Father from whom all blessings flow, let today be the day for a blessing for Your people. Let the long hard struggle of Your people end in blessings. Let them taste and see that the LORD is good, that they may know You care about and love them very much. Gather them around You as a mother hen gathers her chicks. Give them spiritual protection and strength to continue in the spiritual war before us. In Jesus name, I pray, amen.
The LORD turned to him and said. “Go
in the strength you have and save Israel out of Median’s hand. Am I not sending
you?” “But LORD, Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan
is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The LORD answered,
“I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites
together” ~ Judges 6:14-16
God told Gideon, “Go in the strength you have.” In other words, you have all you need to achieve greatness. God has created you to be a success. Stop looking at who you think you are. Stop believing what others say you are and start living who God created you to be. Do not let anyone or any circumstance dictate the end product of who you will be.
All you need to know is God is for you, so who can be against you? For Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Sometimes it’s our own family who keeps us down because we don’t fit the mold in the beginning, but remember it’s not the starters that win the race it’s the finishers. Therefore, it is not how well or how bad you start, but how well you finish.
Father God, would You please rebuke the vicious lie from everyone who believed that they are weak, worthless, and no good. Let them see and realize they are worth the shed blood of the very Son of Almighty God. Let them see that You loved them so much that while they were still Your enemies, you chose to die for them. Help them to recognize the strength You have endowed them with and enable them to achieve great accomplishments today because that is the inheritance of the Christian believer. We are not poor losers, we are sons and daughters of the Most High God.
He says, “It is too small a thing for you
to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel
I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring
my salvation to the ends of the earth.” ~ Isaiah 49:6
Look at what the LORD says. He tells Isaiah that it is too small a thing just to be a servant; He will make him more than just that. If we continue reading just a couple of more verses, we will find what else the LORD sees fit to add. He causes high ranking people such as kings to pay homage, honor, and respect to Isaiah. Why? Because the LORD is faithful and kind.
Are you feeling like a despised servant without respect or honor? Be faithful to your calling no matter what, and God will eventually promote you and make you more than a conqueror. But you have to remain a faithful servant of God without wavering. Things may not come when they seem, but keep your faith for God has great things in store for you.
Dear Heavenly Father, please look and see the faithfulness of Your servants. Take note of the plight that they are in. Notice their lowly state and come to the rescue of Your people. Promote the faithful, those who have honored You; please lift them up and promote them now.
