| — | William Penn |
| — | Bono |
” Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8, NIV).
God wants you to be blessed in every area of your life. The Bible says that Jesus came so that you and I could have life more abundantly, but it all starts in your thinking. That’s why the scripture tells us very clearly what we should be thinking about—things that are noble, right, lovely, pure and praiseworthy. In other words, when a thought comes to your mind that you’re never going to be successful, replace it by saying, “Father, You said in Proverbs that if I would put You first, You would crown my efforts with success. You said in the Psalms that You surround me with favor like a shield. You said in Deuteronomy that Your blessings would chase me down and overtake me!” That’s how you take every thought captive, one thought at a time!Today, refuse to allow any negative thoughts to take up space in your mind. Stay on the offensive and choose to think on the right things. Fill your heart and mind with the Word of God and open the door for His hand of blessing in every area of your life!
The world is jaded, numb and apathetic. It’s too easy to just mope and be depressed, to bicker and be negative. We can be hurtful with our words. We can be judgemental. We can perpetuate the negativity that doesn’t only exist in the eyes of skeptic non-believers, but also within the walls of the church. OR….
We can be excited about the Gospel.
We can have purpose in everything we do.
We can recognize the fact that we’re blessed.
WE can be the blessing in someone else’s life.
We can tell the world, EMPHATICALLY, about the GOOD NEWS.
And maybe, just maybe, we can give the people HOPE.
| — | Ron Castor |
| — | Mac Powell |
| — | Yahoo user “Atthis” on the Hebrew to Enlish translation of the bridge in “When You Believe” |
Mid-week refocus.
In Your Hands
You know, it’s so easy for us to get caught up nowadays. In the midst work, school, or anything in between, it’s so easy to lose our way in terms our faith. Sometimes it even feels like Jesus is far away, even when we’re on the verge of breaking down. But you know, Jesus never backed away from us. He loves us and invites us into his loving embrace each and every day. And as long as we choose to stay, he’ll never let us go or fade away.
Dear Lord, bless the living daylights outta me today, like; foreal. Just let’em rip. I don’t give a damn. Whatever you want me to have, give it. Love. Pain. Joy. Heartache. Build ups. Breakdowns. You’re the only one who can quench my thirst, so fill ‘er up, Lord. I’m ready.
Amen.
It’s not that I love the world enough to bleed for it or to die for it, it’s that I hate the brokenness of our world enough to live for it… to call it into question… to stand on the corners of life and say to this world, ‘You are not as you are called and created to be!’ so don’t call me brave. Don’t you dare call me stupid…. I know who I am, I know where I’ve been, and I’m pretty sure I know where I’m goin’.
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And that word was spoken just for you.
| — | Rev. Andy Mattick |
