When fear knocks at the door, let faith answer

...The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].
—James 5:16


Fear attacks everyone. It is Satan's way of tormenting us and preventing us from going forward so we cannot enjoy the life Jesus died to give us.

Fears are not realities, they are False Evidence Appearing Real. But if we accept the fears that Satan offers and give voice to them, we open the door for the enemy and close the door to God.

Faith is released through prayer, which makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working.

Satan seeks to weaken us through fear, but God strengthens us as we fellowship with Him in prayer. The Bible teaches us to watch and pray. (Matthew 26:41.) I believe the major reference in this passage is to watching ourselves and the attacks that the enemy launches against our minds and emotions. When these attacks are detected, we should pray immediately. We may think the attack will go away but we must remember that it is when we pray that power is released against the enemy—not when we think about praying later.

Pray about everything and fear nothing. I believe you will find this decision to be one that will produce more joy and peace for your everyday living.

When fear knocks at the door, let faith answer.

Do This:

Remember that fear is just False Evidence Appearing Real. When fear knocks on your door, let faith answer.


Have a Thankful Thursday

A SERVANT of God

His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys. (MATTHEW 25:21)

AS A SERVANT of God, you have been given gifts and talents from Him to use for His kingdom and glory.While others may have far greater talents than yours, you have at least one gift for which you are responsible to give an account to God. It is a principle within God's kingdom that as you are faithful and responsible to what God has given you He will advance you to a higher service. Being faithful where you are and with what God has given you to do now has nothing to do with whether you are particularly fond of what that responsibility entails.

Two aspects of your responsibility stand out in Matthew 25. First, there is a day coming when you shall give an account for your faithfulness to what God gave you to do. And, second, if you are faithful your divine Master offers that you may enter His joy is beyond description."Enter in," Jesus says, "and share the joy!"

Have a Magnificient Monday

A patient man is a powerful man

For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised.
—Hebrews 10:36

The Word of God promises that the patient man will be perfect and entire, lacking nothing. (James 1:4 KJV.) A patient man is a powerful man. He can remain calm in the storm. He has control over his mouth. His thoughts remain loving in times when people's behavior becomes challenging. Without patience we cannot endure to see the fulfillment of our faith. Everything does not come to us immediately upon believing. There is a waiting period involved in receiving from God. It is during that period that our faith is tested and purified. Only if we endure and wait patiently will we experience the joy of seeing what we have believed for. Patience is not only the ability to wait, but also the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. Waiting is a part of life that cannot be avoided. We will spend a great deal of our lives waiting; if we don't learn to do it well (patiently), we will be quite miserable. God is so patient with us. And we are to imitate Him. Be encouraged to actively pursue patience it will lead you into God's power Pray This: "Lord, help me to exercise every kind of endurance and patience, perseverance, and forbearance with joy (Colossians 1:11). In Jesus' name, amen."

Have a Fabulous Friday

He Restores Your Soul

Today's Scripture

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul…” (Psalm 23:1-3).

Today's Word
God wants to restore your soul! Your soul is your mind, your will, and your emotions. You are a three-part being: you have a spirit—that’s the part of you that lives for eternity, you have a soul, and you have your body while you’re here on earth. Your soul is where the enemy tries to wound you and hold you back. Your soul is where you may have brokenness from the past, or hurts and disappointments. When God restores your soul, He brings His healing power to those broken places. He makes you whole again. And when God restores you, He makes you better off than you were before! I love the picture painted in this verse. Notice that He leads us beside quiet waters. He makes us lie down in green pastures. This is a picture of rest. When we are resting in Him, He is able to do a work in our lives. He is able to bring that restoration. Don’t let the busyness of life keep you going so fast that you don’t stop and rest. Take time to be still before the Lord and meditate on His Word. As you do, He will restore and heal your soul, and you will live the life of victory God has planned for you!

A Prayer for Today
Father God, thank You for another day to praise You. Thank You for Your plan to lead me into rest so that You can restore my soul. I surrender my brokenness to You and open my heart to receive Your healing in every area of my life today. In Jesus’ Name.

Amen.

Have a Magnificient Monday

The Morning

Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
Seek the Lord and His strength; yearn for and seek His face and to be in His presence continually!
[Earnestly] remember the marvelous deeds which He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He uttered.
—1 Chronicles 16:10–12

Many people don’t realize how important the morning is, especially those first moments of time that we are awake. God calls the sun to rise for us. He is eager for us to wake up and talk to Him again.

David the psalmist talked a lot about mornings, saying “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it” (see Psalm 118:24). David didn’t always feel like rejoicing, but he decided to rejoice in God’s new day.

As soon as you get up, look at yourself in the mirror, smile, and say, “I am going to have a good day because Jesus loves me.”

Magnify the Lord

Today's Scripture
“Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3).

Today's Word
There is power when you magnify the Lord and exalt His name. When you magnify the Lord, you aren’t changing Him, you are changing the way you see Him. You are making Him bigger in your life than your problems and circumstances. So many people today waste time and energy talking about their problems and feeling sorry for themselves. In other words, they are magnifying their circumstances in their own mind and heart. But when you start magnifying the Lord by talking about Him and worshiping Him, you are making Him big in your life. You are opening the door for Him to move on your behalf. Decide today that no matter what’s going on in life around you, you are going to magnify your God. Talk about His goodness. Talk about His faithfulness. Declare that He is working behind the scenes on your behalf. Exalt His name today and lift Him up! As you magnify the Lord above your circumstances, He will become bigger in your life. You will see His hand of blessing and move forward into the life of victory He has in store for you!

A Prayer for Today
Heavenly Father, today I choose to magnify and exalt You. You are faithful and worthy of praise. I declare today that You are for me, so who can be against me! I trust You to work in my life today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Joy in His Presence

Today's Scripture

“You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Psalm 16:11).

Do you need more joy in your life today? God promises that joy is found in His presence, and if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then His presence lives inside of you! That joy manifests when you focus your mind and heart on the Father and begin to praise Him for what He’s done in your life. The Bible says that He inhabits the praises of His people. When you begin to praise and thank Him, you are in His presence where there is fullness of joy. It doesn’t matter where you are or what’s going on around you, you can access the joy that’s inside of you at anytime, day or night. And know this: God wants you to experience His supernatural joy and peace at all times. That’s why He chose to live inside of you and give you an endless supply. Don’t waste another minute feeling overburdened and discouraged. Let the joy of the Lord be your strength, and you will move forward in victory on the path of life He’s prepared for you!

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, thank You for an endless supply of joy. Today, I choose to cast my cares on You and give You the praise, glory, and honor You deserve. Let joy flow through me today so that I can be a witness of Your goodness to those around me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Live the higher life II

..Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink....
—Matthew 20:22


This was Jesus' response to the request of His disciples James and John to sit on His right and left hand.

Many people want God to bless them with a high position, but they are not ready to stop living a self-centered life. God considers selfishness to be a low level of living.

We can choose to spend our lives trying to get what we want when we want it, but it is a lower life. There is a higher life. If we will not give up the lower life, we will never have the higher life. But if we are willing to give up the lower (natural) life, then God will give us the higher (spiritual) life.

Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He had to lay down the lower life first before He got the higher life.

In order to be promoted as Jesus was, we must crucify the flesh. We must forget about ourselves—stop thinking about ourselves, talking about ourselves, and trying to get our own way. We must first make an investment, then God will give us a mighty return.

If you want the higher life, be willing to drink the cup that Jesus drank—the cup of unselfishness.

Pray This:

"Father, in the name of Jesus, I break the bondage of selfishness off my life. Thank You that I am free."

Live the Higher Life

Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.
—Mark 4:19


In order to live the "higher life," we must be willing to die to the "lower life."

One of the major reasons people are not rooted in God's Word is their strong attachment to the world. They want the higher life, but they are not willing to give up the lower life.

There is a life to be lived that is so superior to anything the world has to offer that no comparison can be made, but we must die to self and all its ways and demands in order to attain it. We must die to our own ways of being and doing - the fleshly ways of handling situations. We must also die to our own thoughts and our own idle, willful, and contrary talk. We must learn to live beyond our feelings.

The "bottom line" is that God relentlessly pursues the flesh and is intent on setting us free from its control. We must die to live, but it is a positive thing.

Dare to die in order to live.

Do This:

Choose to die to self and the things of the flesh so that you may live the higher life that God has prepared for you.




Have a Magnificent Monday

Open your heart

Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, 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.
1 PETER 5:6, 7

THERE ARE FEW people who are more miserable than those who have enough Christianity to save them but not enough to transform them. Those who have not received the fullness of the Holy Spirit are missing the joy of the Lord and His strength for daily living. It is like living on crumbs in poverty when the loaf of bread is on the table in front of them.

Paul once asked the Ephesians disciples of John, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [on Jesus as the Christ]?" (Acts 19:2). Humble yourself before the Lord and ask yourself that question. Are you filled with the power of the Holy Spirit? Has He transformed your life by grace and is He ruling in your heart? If He is not, open your heart to Him and receive the Holy Spirit now. He only awaits your prayer.