Never Underestimate The Power of Tomorrow

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Proverbs 4:25(NIV)

Has there ever been a  time in your life when you just simply were overwhelmed? I know there have been many times for me. A project is due and you may feel there is just no way you can have it done. Often times in college I felt that way especially if I had waited until the very last moment to do a paper. This  feeling can overcome housewives, Fortune 500 executives, students, ministers, and everyone in between. Our enemy,satan, likes to take advantage of moments like this when we allow circumstances or others opinions to get us fixated on defeat or failure. We must not allow him to get our thoughts captivated on the past or things that are in the future.

A simple message on a church sign gave me today's title. It makes a lot of sense. Tomorrow there is always a new start. Old stuff has passed away and we are to leave it alone. Continuing to worry and allowing pressure to come in on us robs us of trusting in Jesus to see us through.

PRAYER: Today let me concentrate on today. I know with your help I can do all things as it says that in your word. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPARKLE FOR JESUS

Is 2014 the year you will do things differently? Maybe you have found yourself in some sort of rut. Your joy has been lost. A major pity party is being thrown with only you in attendance. You feel like giving up on something or quitting a project you know is important. 

This is where I found myself on 29 December 2013 in church in Madison, Alabama. I was having a major pity party. When you allow your mind to not be focused on God the enemy can really come in and try to defeat you. Wouldn't he love to defeat a devotion writer or a prayer group leader? It happens, but we can not let it happen. I looked down at the cushioned chair in front of me and there was a single sparkle. This "sparkle",  combined with a great message which spoke to my heart, snapped me right out of whatever it was I was going through. I was so grateful. I just raised my hands to Jesus and said "thank you"! 

Have you found yourself defeated or in some sort of slump? The enemy loves to take advantage of us when our thoughts are not focused on Jesus. When we are not saturated in God's word and allow "stinking thinking" as Bible teacher Joyce Meyer calls it, to get into our thinking then we an disable the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

If you get like this just get the Bible and start reading Psalms and praising God. Before you know it you will be on track with God again and out of your pit. 

Jeremiah 29:11(NIV) reminds us 'For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' Why not trust God today? 

PRAYER:Lord I thank you for your word which keeps me from being in a slump. I thank you for the answer to prayers and the promises in your word. Forgive me for allowing the enemy to get me unmotivated. In Jesus' name. Amen.

A NEW YEAR...A CLEAN SLATE!

Arizona friend Bettie Birch wrote a few days ago about a clean slate in the New Year. For those younger readers you may have no clue what a slate even is or a chalkboard. Every thing today is probably dry erase boards. Oh the days of beating erasers on the side of the school to get the chalk residue out. Todays' youth are missing an experience. 

On a slate or chalkboard, if you make a mistake you simply erase it and start over. Just like an Etch A Sketch, when done with your creation, you simply shake the screen to reveal a clean board with no squiggly marks.  A fresh start!

Every year at midnight on New Year's Eve we are given a new chance, or a "clean slate" to do things differently. This is a chance to roll back errors in your life and see what to do differently to change what needs to be changed. I love it when calendar switches over because it is a fresh beginning. 

Isaiah 43:19(KJV) says ' Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.' Another chance. A time to look forward and not back. What will you do differently in 2014? 

PRAYER: Today is part of a new week. I know aI need to change certain things in my life. Perhaps a bad attitude. A complaining spirit. A heart without love for others. Lord Jesus  show me what I need to change. In Jesus' name. Amen.

HIP HIP HOORAY!

 I do not know about you, but I love the New Year. It is a chance to start all over. New Year's helps us turn the clock on bad things and make up our mind that now is the time to let things go and start new good habits. Similar to how I feel in spring when plants and flowers are budding is the same way I feel in early January. It is a time on the calendar when fresh things can "bloom" in our lives.

I say "hip, hip, hooray" to 2014! Forget what things bothered you and "purpose" in your heart to do something new. Phillipians 3:13(NIV) says 'Brothers and sisters I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do, Forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead.'

Are you able to forgive someone who has hurt you? Are you able to stop holding grudges? Can you let bitterness go? What a fantastic opportunity we have been given simply by a new year rolling around to get off to a right start. Change attitudes if necessary and commit to putting God first in 2014!

PRAYER: You have given me another day and another year to do things differently. Help me not look to the past but to look ahead. Guide me Lord to where you would have me be. In Jesus' name. Amen.

STARTING OVER

Happy New Year! A chance to start new things and make resolutions. A time of new beginnings often brings hope for things you wanted to accomplish but did not. At the end of the old year and ringing in the New Year it is nice to have that chance to say "this is what I plan to do" and why not add "with God's help". 

Have you added any spiritual things to your resolution list? Often a big one might be read through the entire Bible. If that is your goal make sure you pray and ask God to reveal himself to you as you read and do not do it to simply check a block. As you go along make it into a study. Perhaps ask God to fill you with a desire and hunger for the things of the Lord. 

Another spiritual goal could be something like go on a mission trip if you have never done that. It does not have to be overseas but can be right in your own back yard so to speak.  

Do you find yourself complaining or judging others wrongly or being unkind to people? Then a super resolution is to ask God to give you His love for all people. 

The most popular resolution is usually dieting. If this is yours and has been over and over and over again why not put God in the equation and ask Him to make you see your body as His Holy temple and to treat it properly. Pray for discipline and self control and the ability to make this area a true priority this time. 

A good verse to memorize this year is Philippians 4:13( NIV) 'I can do all this through him who gives me strength.'

PRAYER: I thank you Lord that through you I have the power to do all things. I do not have to let the enemy drag me down and cause me to give up. Guide me as I seek to be faithful to the resolutions I have made. In Jesus' name. Amen.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Happy New Year! Well another year is coming to a close. A time to turn from bad things and start turns toward new things. New hopes, dreams, possibilities. A time to let go of hurt, pain and anger and embrace good. 

I always love making a list of new years resolutions and do my best to keep them. This past year, out of ten, about five were kept. It is a good time to purpose in your heart to try something new or change something bad. 

Isaiah 43:19( NIV) says 'See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up. Do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and springs in the wasteland.' 

Are you ready to let the Lord have your past and do something new?

PRAYER: Today is the end of a year or successes and failures of joys and sorrows but also a chance to start new and make right the wrongs and focus on you Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.

THE TRANSFORMER

There is a child's toy called "transformers" that can be switched around to make it look like a weapon of sorts. Movies have been made depicting these too.

As I type this devotion a few days early before the day it goes out I am at the airport and a sign right smack dab in front of me is an advertisement for a local Christ based college and it says "Transforming Lives". Indeed the presence of Christ does indeed help transform a person.

In the Bible the transformation is being referred to is how we change from the inside out when Christ comes into our lives. Romans 12:2(KJV) says 'And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.'
How about you? Are you more conformed to this world and it's culture and ways or are you transformed into the likeness and actions of Christ? Maybe it is hard for people to even know by your actions and speech that you identify with Christ. Perhaps it is time for your own spiritual transformation.

2 Corinthians 5:17(KJV) 'Behold if anyone is in Christ he has become a new creature: old things are passed away and behold all things become new.'

PRAYER: I want to be conformed to your image and be an example for you Lord. Forgive me when I have allowed the world to try to mold me into an image not fit for the kingdom of God. I want to live for you Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Postscript note: As I get ready to post this devotion I was shocked to learn that yesterday in Lynchburg, VA at the largest Christian University, Liberty University, a student was shot and killed in an off campus female dorm by a security officer. Things like this do not happen at schools like this or they shouldn't. It goes to show you that evil is everywhere and problems exist even in the minds of those supposedly transformed. That is why it is ever so important to study the word of God and live for Him. In Memory of Joshua Hathaway of Lubbock, Texas.

SPRING AHEAD, FALL BACK

 Not only is it that time we Americans in most states change our clocks but also the time we as believers need to remember to "spring ahead" into new opportunities and "fall back" out of the old ones holding you back from having a closer walk with the Lord. Similar to the new year when resolutions are made this could be a time to drop off old bad habits, or fall out of them, and spring into a new you and new promises and hopes.

What in your life do you need to let go of or what new things do you need to embrace? What a perfect opportunity to do this. As you "wind back" your clock "wind back" problems in your life. Give them to God and let them go. What is it you have been meaning to do? Why not spring ahead and go for it?

Isaiah 43:18(ESV) says 'Remember not the former things nor consider the things of old.'

Wouldn't you like a fresh start? Commit starting NOW to repent of sins holding you back and trust God to make new brand new. He restores, forgives, redeems, and sets free so why not let Him?

PRAYER: Wow Lord I get an opportunity to let things go. I can remember as I set my clock back tonight to set forth on a new journey with you allowing you to make all things new. In Jesus' name. Amen.

BURY THE PAST

Do you have a habit of thinking or worrying about the past? The past can not nor should not be resurrected. It is gone. We move on in life and learn from mistakes. If you confessed your sin then why not let it go and keep it buried? God forgets and forgives mess ups and sins so why can't we? It is because Satan is the "accuser of the brethren" ( see Revelation12:10) and tries to put guilt on you. Guilt is not from God. If you confessed it then as The Bible says 'go and sin no more.' ( see John 8:11).

Isaiah 43:18(NIV) tells us 'remember not the former things', so are you able to let the past with all of its' mistakes go and look ahead and know God has redeemed you and set you free? You can learn from your past but you need not dwell on it. Just like in the "love chapter" 1 Corinthians 13 in verse 5 it says 'love does not keep a record of wrongs'. That is great news! Remember it is only Satan who condemns you. If you have those feelings tell Satan to get behind you in Jesus' name.

Psalm 103:12(NIV) says 'As far as the East is from the West so far has He removed our transgressions from us'.

PRAYER: Thank you for forgiving my sins. My desire is to focus on day to day things and let things in the past be "lessons learned". I know I do not need to keep asking you to forgive me because you have. Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

THE PUMPKIN

Recently one of my cousins emailed me this thing about pumpkins and God. Basically it went something like this.

"We are all like pumpkins. God picks us from the patch, brings us in, and washes all the dirt off of us. Then He cuts the top off and scoops out all the yucky stuff in our life. This part can at times be painful as He chisels away using the  trials in life. Next, He removes those seeds of doubt, hate, and greed in our life. Then He carves us a new smiling face and puts His light inside of us to shine for all the world to see." What  a tremendous illustration of a jack o lantern from a Christian perspective!

With this being fall and the season where the leaves are turning gorgeous shades of red and yellow, many minds turn to decorating in a harvest theme. What better time to relay this story of the Pumpkin. I only wish I knew who to credit it to.

How is your life today? Do you feel like their are lots of 'slimy strings and seeds'  inside you that need to get rid of?  Maybe these things are keeping Christian Devotions, Inspirationyou from a closer walk with Jesus. Do you shine for Jesus and does your Christianface reflect joy or sorrow?

God can take all the bad stuff in your life and use it for good. When we are in the midst of a trial we certainly do not think of God's goodness. We just want to have relief from our pain. The enemy, Satan, may try to get you to believe God caused your pain.

James 1:3 says "the testing of your faith produces endurance."  Friend, would you like to get rid of those 'bad seeds' weighing you down that do not produce a good harvest for God? Cry out to Him today. He is waiting to transform you.

2 Corinthians 5:17 reminds us " yet if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. Behold the old has come and the new has come."

PRAYER: Lord Jesus it is my desire to bear good fruit for the kingdom of God. If it is necessary, 'carve out' those yucky things in my life that keep me from reflecting your glory. In Jesus name. Amen.