Monthly Archives: December 2013
December 12, 2013
Have Courage
A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage.
In life, many of the challenges we face are simply distractions from the enemy to keep us from pursuing our destiny. Maybe someone in the office isn’t as friendly to you as you’d like. Maybe you have a neighbor who always parks in front of your house and blocks your mailbox. Those things may be frustrating, but they have little significance when you look at the big picture of eternity. You can’t allow the little things to cause strife in your life. In scripture, just before David fought the giant Goliath, his brother Iliab tried to confront him. But David knew that arguing with Iliab wasn’t even worth his time and strength. He knew his real battle was with Goliath, and he didn’t want to be distracted. He simply “turned away” from Iliab and kept his focus on what he was called to do.Let’s follow the example of David and keep our eyes on what’s most important in life. Instead of being led away by frustrations, let’s focus on the big picture. Know when to turn away from strife and receive the mark of honor the Lord has for you. Are you focusing on the important stuff?
December 11, 2013
You’re Not Average
If you don’t feel good about yourself, you tend not to perform well. Those who have a negative self-image find ways to self-destruct.
You are not ordinary. You didn’t come off an assembly line. You weren’t mass-produced. You are an original design. Nobody else in this world has your fingerprints. You are a masterpiece! It is so important to get this down in your spirit. When you do — and when you begin to see yourself as God created you — you will start to understand your real purpose and your God-given destiny. You will be able to reach your highest potential! Right now, you may not like who you are. You might wish you were taller, had a better personality or that your metabolism worked a little faster. Maybe you’re self-conscious about a physical attribute or perceived imperfection or you just don’t think that you are lovable. I want to encourage you. Right now, begin to change any negative opinions you have of yourself. Stop focusing on your flaws and comparing yourself to someone else. God has made you unique and special just the way you are. When you understand this, it brings new opportunities, new relationships and new levels of God’s blessing! Your value doesn’t come from what you look like, or what you do or who you know. Every morning, remind yourself that you are God’s creation. Declare, “I am not average. I am not ordinary. I have the fingerprints of God all over me. I am a masterpiece.” God created everything about you on purpose…your looks, your skin color, your height, your personality, your talents and gifts. If you see yourself as strong, talented and valuable, then that’s the way other people will see you. But if you see yourself as “less than,” not talented and not valuable, then that’s the way others will see you. Choose to start loving yourself in a healthy way, being proud of the person God made you to be. It’s up to you to get in agreement with God and realize how much He loves you and how special He made you. What is your self-image?
December 10, 2013
Your Words
Your future and success depend on many things, but mostly they depend on you. You have the responsibility to shape your life.
Our words have creative power. Whenever we speak something out, either good or bad, we are giving life to what we are saying. Too many people go around saying negative things about themselves, their family, and their future. Things like, “I’ll never be successful. This sickness is going to get the best of me. Business is so slow I don’t think I’m going to make it. Flu season is coming. I’ll probably get it.” They don’t realize they are speaking life to their future. The Bible says, “We will eat the fruit of our words.” That means we’re going to get exactly what we’ve been saying. Here is the key: you’ve got to send your words out in the direction you want your life to go. You cannot talk defeat and expect to have victory. You can’t talk lack and expect to have abundance. You will produce what you’ve been saying. With your words you can either bless or curse your future. Make sure your words are what God says about you so you can move forward in the life of blessing He has in store for you. Are you speaking life or death to your life today?
December 9, 2013
In Control
You can’t control your performance until you are in control of yourself.
We all have opportunities to get upset and live stressed out. The storms of life come to every person. No matter how good a person you are, you’re going to have some “rain” in your life. When these storms come, a lot people use their faith to try to control their circumstances. But I’ve found it’s better to use my faith to control myself in the midst of my circumstances. I know that if I can just remain stable in the storms of life and stay in peace, that’s what allows God to act on my behalf. God never said that we wouldn’t have difficulties, but He did promise we could have peace in the midst of the storms. When you face adversities, one of the most powerful things you can do is simply stay calm. When you are at peace, you are displaying your faith in God. By your actions you’re saying, “God, I know You’re still in charge. I know You’re bigger than this problem.” So keep peace in the middle of your storms today. Trust that He is working behind the scenes. Keep your heart open to Him because soon He will deliver you. Are you in control of yourself?
December 8, 2013
Bad Breaks
Winners take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves that much harder. Quitters take bad breaks and make excuses to give up.
You are going have bad breaks in life. Your bad break could even because you had bad breaks. Rather than focusing, complaining and making excuses about what happened, turn it around to be driver. Use the situation to push you toward your goal, toward your destiny. There are far too many people that have quit because they focused on what happened instead of how to use it. Take control of your response and let it push you up instead of holding you down. Once you quit it will get easier to quit from then on. However, when you work through tough times and difficult situations it gets harder and harder to quit. I have found it is very difficult to defeat someone that just won’t quit. You’re a winner, don’t ever give up. Are you using bad breaks to drive yourself upward today?
December 7, 2013
Overcoming Challenges
A person who is mentally tough looks at a challenge as on opportunity to rise up to rather than a threat to back down from.
Life is full of things that try to push us down. We all face disappointments and setbacks. Maybe you received some bad news about your health or perhaps a relationship didn’t work out. That was a setback. It’s easy to get discouraged or lose your enthusiasm or even be tempted to just settle where you are. But if we’re going to see your best days, we have to have a “bounce-back” mentality. That means when you get knocked down, you don’t stay down. You get back up again. You have to know that every time adversity comes against you, it’s a setup for a comeback!There is no challenge too difficult, no obstacle too high, no sickness, no disappointment, no person, nothing that can keep you from your God-given destiny. If you stay in faith, then God will turn what was meant to be a stumbling block into a stepping stone, and you’ll move forward in strength, full of faith and victory. Are you ready to face your challenges today and overcome them?
December 6, 2013
He Loves You
The Bible tells us that God is love.
He is perfect, and His love is perfect. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and nothing you can do to make Him love you any less. His love toward you is constant; it’s unchanging. His arms are always stretched out toward you, and He is always ready for you to come to Him. Sometimes people aren’t sure how God feels about them. They think He might be mad at them, but scripture tells us just the opposite. God’s not mad at you; He’s madly in love with you! It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or where you’ve come from, God’s arms are open to you. He always wants to show you His goodness and grace. Let His love drive fear out of your life and make you new. Let His love wash over you and build confidence in you. Because of His great love, we can boldly come to Him and receive the mercy and blessings He has in store. Do you really know that God loves you?
December 5, 2013
You’re Blessed
Today, I want to speak words of blessing over you.
I want to speak to your inner greatness. Someone may have told you what you can’t become, but I’m here to tell you what you can become. You are a person of destiny. You are equipped. You are talented. You are creative. You were designed for a purpose. You are loved, chosen and accepted by God. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you more and nothing you can do to make Him love you less. His grace is sufficient for you. His angels have charge over you. You are blessed coming in and blessed going out. You have uncommon wisdom. You have uncommon joy. You have uncommon peace. He is your vindicator, and He will fight for you! No weapon formed against you shall prosper as you serve Him all the days of your life. Are you believing that you are blessed?
December 4, 2013
What Others Think
If you lack self-discipline or humility, you will struggle to persevere because you will constantly be worried about yourself and what others think.
So many people today spend valuable time and energy trying to make everyone around them happy. They want to be approved, accepted and affirmed. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you can’t let the opinions of others become your focus or distract you from what God has called you to. In the natural, when an athlete performs, you don’t see them looking around at the other athletes, wondering how they are doing. No, they have their mind focused on one thing: their process. They don’t waste valuable energy comparing themselves or wondering what’s going on around them. Instead, they focus on doing their absolute best. This is how we should be in life — focused on executing our process the best we can. My challenge to you today is: work your process. Don’t let people squeeze you into their mold. Remember, you don’t have to try to play up to people. You don’t have to worry about what everyone else thinks. As long as you’re being true to what God has put in your heart, don’t look to the left or to the right. Stay focused on your goals. Run your race to win and honor God in everything that you do. Are you focused on your process today?
December 3, 2013
A Right Perspective
The key is to do whatever it takes to gain proper perspective.
Are you going through a tough time today? Are you sitting on the sidelines of life? God is saying, “Get back in the game.” If a friend betrayed you, don’t go through life lonely. Go out and find some new friends. The right people are in your future. If you lost your job, don’t sit around complaining. Go out and find another job. When one door closes, God will always open another door. If you’re facing a health issue, fighting that sickness, don’t give up on life and start planning your funeral. Move away from that discouragement! When God sees you do your part, He will do His part. He will give you a new life. That means He will restore your health, give you new opportunities, new relationships. He will give you a new perspective. You will see that even though it’s painful, it is not the end. Even though it was unfair, it is not over. There is still life after the sickness, life after the divorce, life after the bad break. A full life is still in front of you. Do you have the right perspective today?