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Shouts of Praise!

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  “But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’” Jonah 2:9 Shouts of Praise Today’s Scripture was spoken by the prophet Jonah while he was inside the huge fish that God sent to spare his life after he had disobeyed God’s command. You can imagine how it reeked almost unbearably inside the fish’s digestive system. For eight verses, Jonah had talked about how bad his life was, how he was in the depths of despair, how he didn’t see a way out. All that was true, but it didn’t change his situation. Then in the midst of the stink and difficulties, he suddenly offered up a sacrifice of praise and surrender. That’s what caused God to go to work and have the fish put Jonah back on dry ground to fulfill his destiny. You may be in a stinky situation today. You could describe what you’ve done wrong, how you aren’t treated right, or how you’re not getting well. But that creates an atmosphere of doubt, d
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Keep Moving!

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  Keep Moving! The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. ” (Exodus14:15) A paper weight on my desk has the inscription, “Don’t wait for your ship to come in. Swim out to it!” In practicing  Kingdom of God , we aggressively look for ways to invest our talents for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. People often make the mistake of waiting for their ship to come in, hoping for something to come their way. Good intentions alone are not enough to accomplish any worthwhile objective. We often need to take a step in the direction of our goals. Perhaps the Lord is saying, “Stop waiting for your ship; start swimming!” Someone once said it is a lot easier to steer a moving car than one that is standing still. As we participate in worthwhile kingdom efforts, we can more easily see how the Lord is guiding us to the places where we can be the most productive when we are actively engaged in the process. We need to be alert to areas in which the Holy
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Freedom!

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  “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 Freedom Abraham left his home at the call of God, with the promise of His great blessing. But in his journeys in Genesis 12 and 20, he lied to Pharaoh and later to King Abimelek that his beautiful wife, Sarah, was his sister, because he feared they would kill him so they could have her. When the truth came out, Abraham was shamed by them. In Genesis 26, many years later, Abraham’s son Isaac committed the same cowardly act with his wife, Rebekah. Notice how that same negative trait was being passed down. It’s the same way today. It can be a spirit of low self-esteem. Everyone in your family feels unworthy, not good enough, inferior. Or maybe it’s a spirit of mediocrity. No one in your family thinks they can get ahead. Do yourself a favor and get rid of that spirit. You’re made in the image of God. You have royal blood flowing through your veins. Start expecting to rise higher. Start declaring God’s promises ove
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Countering a Culture of Instant Gratification!

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   Countering a Culture of Instant Gratification Jacob cooked some stew, and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me some of the red stuff—yes, this red stuff—because I’m starving!” … But Jacob replied, “Firstsell me your birthright.” “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” So Esauswore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out. So Esau despised his birthright.  (Genesis 25:29–34) In this passage of Scripture, we see a man foolishly give up his birthright; he exchanges all the benefits and the favor of his father for a pot of stew just because he is hungry at the moment. His temporary hunger causes him to mistakenly give up a permanent blessing for something transient. How foolish! Esau did not take time to think of the devastating consequences of his careless act
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Spoken Faith!

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  For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. Psalm 66:10 Spoken Faith Before you see the promises of God fulfilled in your life, there will always be tests. Before you go into your promised land, there will be giants and fortified cities, things that look impossible. One way your faith is released is through what you’re saying in times of testing. Your mind will tell you all the reasons it’s not going to happen, and the temptation is to start speaking negatively. That gives life to the doubts and limits what God will do. Don’t let that happen. Speak what God says in His Word about you. Let your words of faith override the doubts. Speak faith when every thought is telling you, “It’s never going to work out. I don’t have what it takes.” You can talk about how bad it’s been, or you can say, “Father, thank You that You have beauty for these ashes. What was meant for harm, You’re turning to my advantage. I’m excited about my future.” That’s what causes God to go to work. That’s wh
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The World Is Passing Away!

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  The World Is Passing Away The world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remainsforever.   ( 1 John 2:17) This verse reminds us that the world we live in is passing away, but the person who does the will of God will live forever. These words hit me like a bullet between the eyes. In my own life, many of things I considered important over the years are now gone! The company I worked for is now gone. Boards of companies I served on are now gone. Some of my friends are now gone.  Our bodies are temporary. Let’s face it: we are only leasing them, having to turn them in at the end of the lease term. The Bible has many references regarding the brevity of life. Psalm 144:4 tells us, “[People] are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.” Our life is like a breath that passes by and does not return. That is really brief! However, all of us who have accepted Christ into our life now have a relationship with a heavenly father. And we are go
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Be Patient in Trouble!

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  Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. Romans 12:12 Be Patient in Trouble it’s no coincidence that the apostle Paul connected “be glad for all God is planning for you” with “be patient in trouble.” That’s because in trouble, in difficulties, and in delays, you’ll be tempted to get discouraged and think, “The medical report is too bad. I had this setback in my career. It’s never going to work out.” None of that is a surprise to God. You don’t know the solution God has already planned. You don’t know where He’s taking you. Be patient in trouble. Be prayerful in trouble. The trouble is not permanent. The trouble is not how your story ends. God wouldn’t allow the difficulty if He wasn’t going to bring you out better. The Scripture says, “God makes everything beautiful in its time.” Give God the time to work it out. Just because you don’t see anything happening doesn’t mean God is not working. Behind the scenes right now, He’s lining up every
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