THE JOY OF THE LORD

Nehemiah 8:10 (NKJV) Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.

The joy of our Father is our strength.  God wants us to be strong in Him.  True strength is not just muscle, or outward ability, but it is strength within us.  When we look at Samson, he had great strength on the outside, but inwardly he was very weak.

As we look to the Word of God, we see that we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us.  I want my life to be in His strength.

Now, this is not to say that taking care of our physical man is not important; it is!  But what we do on the inside, what we do with our character, our true lives, is what is going to last.  So today, make a decision to put together a plan of action for what you can do every day to strengthen your inner man. 

It might be to start each day with a devotional like this.  It might be to read a portion of the Bible every day.  It might be to have a quiet time with your Heavenly Father.  When you make a plan and set a goal to achieve spiritual strength, you will see such a change in your life that, after a while, you will look in the mirror and say, “Is this really me?”

So today, let the joy of the Lord be your strength!

Confession:  Today, I make a quality decision to let God, my Father, be my strength.  I make a decision to let His joy be what gets me over the trials, and even the mountains, of life.  I am more than a conqueror, through Him who loves me.

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

Job 1 - 3
1 Corinthians 14:1-17
Psalms 37:12-29
Proverbs 21:25-26 

NO LONGER SERVANTS

John 15:15 (NKJV) No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

We used to sing a song that said, “I am a friend of God.”  A person who invited a friend to one of our services asked her friend how she liked the service.  She responded by saying that she had a problem with that song.  She did not think we could be friends with God.

Now to me, that is what religion has done to us.  It says that we are so unworthy, and that there is no way that a holy God could be a friend with “worms” like us.  What I see is people who believe their feelings over what God has stated as fact in the Word.

I can say over and over that I do not believe in gravity because I do not feel like it is true, but if I jump off a cliff I will see its effect.  The same way we believe in gravity and its effects on us, we believe that we are friends of God.  Believing that has a great effect on our lives!

So today, do not go by your feelings.  Go by the true Word of Almighty God, and see the great effect that it will have on your life.

Confession:  According to the Word of God, Jesus has stated that I am not a servant; I am His friend!  I believe what Jesus has said over how I feel.  I declare today that I am a friend of God!

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

Esther 8 - 10
1 Corinthians 12:27 - 1 Corinthians 13
Psalms 37:1-11
Proverbs 21:23-24

TODAY IS A NEW DAY

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV) Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Today is a new day!  God, our Heavenly Father, has given us this day to be victorious through His Son, Jesus Christ.  We can look back at our yesterdays and say, “I made so many mistakes,” but this verse tells us that His mercies start new in the morning!

So let your mistakes of yesterday be gone, and start a fresh new day!  God has given you this new day, so receive it as a gift from Him.  He wants the best for you, because He loves you and only has your best in mind.

In this life, we are going to make mistakes.  We all do!  God, your Father, knows that.  That is the reason that He is giving you a fresh start each day.  Too many people hold onto the hang-ups of their yesterdays, and it keeps them in bondage today.  But that is not how God wants us to live.  He wants us to ask for His forgiveness, and then live in His mercies in this new day.

How would we be as parents if we just kept telling our children about their shortcomings?  Yes, they have shortcomings, but, like good parents, we forgive our kids and encourage them.  That is what God does with us.  So let it go today!  It is a new day!  Thank Him for his mercies being new today!

Confession:  Today is a new day, and I am going to live in it.  My Heavenly Father has given me this day to live and to enjoy.  He has given me the beauty and the victory over the challenges that will come today.  Today, I will be victorious through Him Who loves me!

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

Esther 4 - 7
1 Corinthians 12:1-26
Psalms 36
Proverbs 21:21-22

  

CAST YOUR CARES ON GOD

1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV) Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 (AMP) Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.

When we look at this verse from these two different translations, we get a bigger view of what God, our Heavenly Father, wants us to do with our anxieties, worries, cares, and concerns.  Here it is in one big sentence: Give them all to Him!

Why is that?  Because He has much bigger shoulders than all of us put together.  Our bodies and minds were not made for the stress and anxieties of this world, and the Bible says that we are not of this world.  So let us do what the Word says: Cast all of our cares on Him, for He cares for us.

What an amazing Father we have, Who loves us so much that He wants to take all of this, cast it away from us, and take care of it for us.  This is the life of faith; not that we hide from our troubles, or run from them, but that we stand and run at them, as David ran towards Goliath.

God is not saying, “I will take away whatever comes your way.”  No, He's saying, “Whatever you give to me, and whatever you trust me to take care of, I will!”  So today, cast you worries and concerns on Him.  He wants them, and can handle them!

Confession: Today, I make a quality decision to cast this care on God and not to pick it up again.  My Heavenly Father would never tell me to do this unless He wanted me to, so today I do what He says.  Thank you God that I am free today of worry, concern, and anxiety!

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

Esther 1 - 3
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Psalms 35:17-28
Proverbs 21:19-20

HE CALLS US BROTHERS

Hebrews 2:11 (NKJV) For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.

What an amazing fact that we receive from God’s Word, that Jesus would call us brothers!  Here we are talking about the King of the universe, and He calls us His brothers!

They say that Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military persons of all time, would take his mighty soldiers and bring them up on a platform and tell everyone of their feats and then say, “This is the brother of Alexander.”  In everyone's eyes, this soldier was now close to their leader.

Well, I do not know about you, but I am close with Jesus!  God is my Father, Jesus is my Brother, and the Holy Spirit is my Helper.  How can we lose?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  God, our Father, is on our side, and He wants us to win in life.  Do not get discouraged and say, “How am I going to get this done?” or “How am I going to figure this out?”

Lean on the Greater One who lives inside of you, and listen to His voice.  He is the One that calls you brother, so talk to Him today as you would talk to a close brother.  Lean on His strength and His life, and watch and see how He gets you through to victory!

Confession:  Today, I confess that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.  I confess that Jesus is ruler of the universe, and that Jesus is Lord of all.  I confess that Jesus is my brother.  He loves me dearly, and sees me as a blessing.  I am blessed today in this fact from His Word.

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

Nehemiah 12:27 - Nehemiah 13
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
Psalms 35:1-16
Proverbs 21:17-18

GOD’S BLESSING

Proverbs 10:22 (NKJV) The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.

This is such a rich verse, right?  When God blesses, it makes us rich.  So what is rich?  Well, to the world, rich is having lots of money and lots of things.  We know from the scripture that money and things in themselves are not bad, but what they do to us can make them bad.

So when we say, “God’s blessings make us rich,” I think we need to look beyond just earthly wealth and see the spiritual wealth that God, our Father, has for us while we live on this earth, and for all eternity.  To be blessed by God, to me, means having a close and intimate fellowship with Him.  It means to be blessed spiritually, mentally, and physically.

For us to be well in heart, soul, and body is beyond the few things that this world can offer.  When I look at some very rich people, I would not want the life that they have.  Yet I look at others that have earthly wealth and love God, and they are truly blessed!

So today, do not look just for the wealth of this world; look for the wealth through Him.  This will include money, but it will also include so much more!  Beyond anything this world can offer, let your true blessing be to know Him, and to be intimately acquainted with your Heavenly Father.  That is the best we can ever have!

Confession: The wealth of this world cannot compare to what I have in Christ.  To know God intimately is the most valuable possession that I have, and today, I am going to get to know Him more.

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

Nehemiah 11 - 12:26
1 Corinthians 10:14-33
Psalms 34:11-22
Proverbs 21:14-16

GOD WANTS US TO DANCE

Psalms 30:11 (NKJV) You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness...

When we are going through those times that feel like we are in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, God has not left us!  His Word declares that He will never leave us or forsake us.  This verse brings out that God, our Heavenly Father, will turn our mourning into dancing.  Wow!  What a contrast: mourning to dancing.

These two are on separate plains, yet this is what our Father says He will do.  He will take those times in our lives when we hurt and mourn within and give us such joy that we want to dance in His presence, and to enjoy Him and all that He is.  God is so full!  He is so great!  He is the One who will take our sackcloth away, and clothe us with His gladness.

So today, if you are struggling with something and it seems like you cannot get the victory, hold on!  There is a dance coming your way.  It might not be a dance in the physical.  It might be a dance within your heart: a dance of joy, a dance of celebration, or even a dance of faith, knowing that your Father has it all under control.  He has it all in His big hands, and He will make sure you will come out on top.

Confession: My Father has my life in the palm of His hand, therefore I know everything is going to work out for me and mine.  He has said that He will turn my mourning into dancing.  He will clothe me with garments of praise!

Today's Bible Reading
(Click here to read it online)

Nehemiah 9:22 - Nehemiah 10
1 Corinthians 9:19 - 10:13
Psalms 34:1-10
Proverbs 21:13