Lifebit

The Lord is my Shepherd…

that’s all I want.
Psalm 42:1-2a

Think on these…

If you are a stranger to prayer ~ you are a stranger to power.

To hold unforgiveness in your heart is like being stung
to death by one bee.

Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.

Your reputation is built on follow through…not on intend to do.

Be careful what you set your heart upon…it will surely be yours.

How’s Your Prayer Life?

Bishop Donald Hilliard

“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Prayer is not a monologue where one person does all the talking, or a ritual where we must say things in the right order, or a chore to get out of the way like brushing our teeth before going to bed.

Jesus rejects this performance-based understanding of prayer:

“Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace” (Mt 6:6 TM).

For many, prayer has little to do with the realities of life. They think of it like the National Anthem at a game: a nice opening, but nothing to do with what happens on the field afterwards. Other people treat prayer like a rabbit’s foot you pull out and rub when things are tough: “A prayer a day keeps the devil away.” Paul writes, “Pray without ceasing.” That doesn’t sound like something you do once in a while, or a flare you shoot up during a crisis.

Try substituting the word breathe for the word pray: “breathe without ceasing” – doesn’t that sound like a good idea to you? We don’t breathe only when we feel like it. Or decide, “I’m not into oxygen today,” and stop breathing. Or get frustrated and say, “This isn’t getting me anywhere. I’m not going to do it any more.” No, we cling to the breath in our bodies like it’s life. So, just as breathing is an indispensable part of your natural life, prayer is an indispensable part of spiritual life. Without it you die spiritually. So, how’s your prayer life?

Be Skillful

Kenneth Copeland

"The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." (Psalm 34:10)

Did you know that, according to the Word of God, there is no lack in the Body of Christ? Everything we could ever need, every problem we could ever face has been covered by the blood of Jesus. His exceeding great and precious promises have supplied it all.

Why then do many of us keep on suffering lack? Because we haven't, as Hebrews 5:13 says, become skillful in the Word of righteousness.

It takes skill to apply the Word of God. Sometimes we just sling the Word around and try to use it any old way. We pray some ignorant prayer and then say, "Oh well, God knows what I mean" and expect it to be answered.

It's funny though. We'd never stand for that kind of carelessness in the natural realm. If our doctor came in and just threw a bottle of pills at us and said, "Here, take that," without even trying to find out what's wrong with us, we'd leave his office and never come back. Yet, we're shocked when that same careless attitude in the spiritual realm keeps our prayers from being effective.

We live in an "instant" society where everything is quick and easy. And too many of us are letting that instant mentality leak over into our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. When someone needs healing, we bust through the hospital door, dab a little oil between their eyes and say, "Glory to God!" and out the door we go. Sometimes it doesn't take any longer than "In the Name of Jesus be healed!" But sometimes there is something else that must be done.

The time has come for us to shake off that "instant" mentality and realize that there are situations where we're going to have to take some time and pray in the Holy Ghost. Times when we're going to have to sit there and listen for God's instructions.

If you've come up short in any area of life--whether it be healing or finances or anything else--determine to develop your Word skills where that area is concerned. Get out your Bible. Read through all the healing scriptures. Read through all the miracle scriptures. Read through all the promises of God. Read through all the blessings of Abraham.

Meditate on them. Ask God to speak to you through them and to enlighten you about the situation you're facing. Don't just sling the Word around. Dig into it. Fellowship with your Father over it. Let Him show you how to apply it skillfully, and eventually, you'll lack no good thing.

Scripture Study: Psalm 23

Expect Results

Kenneth Copeland

"Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss." (James 4:2-3)

Are all your needs met today? If not, why not?

According to the Word of God, it's either because you're not praying about them at all or because when you do pray, you're praying wrong.

What does it mean to pray wrong? In many cases it simply means to pray without expecting results. Many believers do that, you know. They use prayer as a kind of spiritual wishbone. They just play around with it. "This probably won't do much good," they think, "but who knows? It won't hurt to give it a try."

If that's been your attitude, then change it! Start getting serious about prayer. Stop praying just because it's proper. Stop praying just because you always pray at this point in the church service. And start praying to get results.

Start praying in the Name of Jesus, according to the Word of God, and expecting to receive what you ask for every single time. Isn't that a little presumptuous? No, but it is bold, and you have a scriptural right to be bold.

According to the Word of God, you have a standing invitation from your heavenly Father to

"come boldly unto the throne of grace, that [you] may obtain" (Heb. 4:16).

That word obtain is a word of certainty. The dictionary says it means "to get possession of."

So pray, expecting to get possession of what you need, not just once in a while, but every time! When prayers do go unanswered, don't just wander away saying, "I guess you never know what God's going to do." Tackle the problem with both hands! Go to God in prayer and in the Word and find out where you missed it and get the problem corrected.

When you go to God in accurate, Word of God based, Spirit inspired prayer, you do know what He's going to do. He's going to answer you. He's going to meet your need exactly as you asked Him. Start expecting Him to do it today.

Scripture Study: 1 John 5:4-15

James 4:2-3

²You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Lifebit

If God brought you to it…

He will bring you through it.
I Thess. 5:24

Meditate on these…

Hope in God. For I shall yet praise Him,
the help of my countenance and my God.
Psalm 43:5

My soul faints for your salvation but I
hope in your word.
Psalm 119:81

Blessed is the man who hopes in the Lord,
whose trust is in the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:7

Return to the stronghold you prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.
Zechariah 9:12

For the law made nothing perfect, on the other
hand, there is the brining in of a better hope,
through which we draw near to God.
Hebrews 7:19

Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

An Audience of One

Romans 12:2 - Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.

What audience do you play to? Each day you are seen by many who will make a judgment about the way you handle yourself among different audiences. Politicians have learned to play to their audiences, customizing messages for the needs of their particular groups. Musicians have learned to play to their audiences. Pastors play to their congregations each Sunday morning. Businesspeople play to the audiences who will buy their product.

Christ has called us to play to one audience-the audience of Himself. When you seek to please any other audience in your life, you become susceptible to situational ethics and motivations based on the need for the moment. Your audience becomes a pawn in your hands because you know what they want. Is that wrong? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

Pure obedience to pleasing God in our lives will often meet the needs of those around us. It is God's will that you and I love our spouses, provide good services to our customers, and look to the interests of others before ourselves. This will result in meeting many needs of the audiences in our lives.

However, there are other times when our audiences are asking for something contrary to God's will. Politicians are often forced to appease their audiences, even though it may go against God's laws. When we are asked to go with the flow, we discover which audience is most important in our lives. Is it the audience of One, or the audience of many?

Today, be aware of which audience you are playing to. Ask yourself why you are taking a particular action. Is it to please the audience of One? Or is it to please the audience of others who might negatively impact you should you not play to their tune?

Get Up So God Can Get You Out

Joel Osteen

LISTEN HERE | WATCH HERE

We all go through disappointments and setbacks. Sometimes relationships do not work out, a friend betrays you or you do not receive a promotion you deserve. When this happens, it can be easy to get discouraged, lose your joy and enthusiasm. But, even though life is not always fair, our God always is! He is a God of justice. He sees every wrong that's ever been done to you, every person that's ever hurt you and every unfair situation. The good news is as you stay faithful and not become bitter, God promises He will pay you back for every injustice. He will take what was meant for your harm and He'll turn it around and use it to your advantage. Let me encourage you today, that as you choose the right attitude and give God the glory through every circumstance, He will not only bring you out, He'll bring you out better than you were before.

The Place of Obedience

Acts 9:8 - Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing.

There is a place of obedience for all of us. For Paul, it was being struck blind on the Damascus road. God literally knocked him off his horse with a blinding light. A voice from Heaven asked Paul why he was persecuting Him (Jesus). When Paul arose, he could not see. Jesus told him to go to Damascus and meet a man named Ananias. There, Jesus restored Paul's sight through Ananias.

Each of us has a place of obedience. For some, it requires only a nudge of pressure to gently lead us toward God. For others of us, a lightning bolt is necessary to get our undivided attention. Many who are hard-hearted rebel against the living God. Yet God's love for these individuals is so great that He takes extreme measures to gain their attention-and their hearts. When you come in contact with people like this, do not fear their arrogance. Instead, see them as God sees them-as people who need the Savior and who could be a powerful force in the Kingdom if God saved them. It is a sign to begin praying for them.

We've all heard the saying, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." In many cases this is true. God has called many hard cases into His Kingdom through miraculous circumstances in order to save their lives from the pit of hell and transform them into a sweet-smelling fragrance. Do not let the hard exterior fool you. These are needy people who are crying out for help in their own prideful way.

Whenever God begins this process in the life of a sinner, He has others standing by to assist. Ananias was the person in Paul's life. He found it unbelievable that Paul really could have been saved. An angel had to convince him. Has God placed such an individual in your path? Perhaps God desires to use you to be an "Ananias" in the life of one of His wayward children. To do so requires a willingness to come alongside that one who needs your help. Who knows, that person could be the next apostle Paul.

Keep the Weeds Out

Kenneth Copeland

"So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground." (Mark 4:26)

Jesus compared the kingdom of God with the planting of seed and reaping the harvest. It's a simple concept. One all of us understand. Why, then, aren't all of us producing bumper crops every season? Because we're sitting around waiting for God to do all the work.

He doesn't operate that way. He'll work with you, but He won't do it all. There are some essential things you must do by faith if you want to have a crop to reap at harvest time.

First, you must sow the seed of the Word in faith, expecting it to grow. You must find precious promises from God in His Word, plant them in your heart and in your life.

Next, you must water the seed. Water it every day with praise. Water it with the spiritual water of the Word. That Word contains life and those seed promises can't grow without it.

And finally, you have to keep the weeds out! When the weeds of unforgiveness, doubt, fear, discouragement, (and all the other junk the devil tries to sow into your crop) try to enter in, get rid of them. They'll choke the Word.

That's going to take some diligence on your part. No one else will do it for you. You're going to have to weed your own crop yourself. So get tough about it. When a little weed pops up, kill it! Don't hang on to it for even a moment. Pull it up by its roots. Spray it with the Word. Don't be tempted to keep a wildflower when you can have the best--God's best.

Don't sit around waiting for God to produce your harvest. Start planting. Start watching over your land (your heart and your mind) to keep it moist, watered with the Word, and free from weeds.

Commit to do your part and trust God to do His. You will have a bumper crop this season!

Scripture Study: Ephesians 4:22-32

Matthew 11:11

I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

John 3:27

To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

1 Corinthians 2:12

¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Understanding What God Has Given

1 Corinthians 2:12 - We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

God desires for us to know what He has freely given to us. One of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit is to reveal His plans and purposes to us. They may be hidden for a time, but if we seek Him with our whole heart, we can know what He has given to us.

John the Baptist understood this principle. When asked if he was the Messiah, he replied,

"A man can receive only what is given him from heaven" (Jn. 3:27).

John understood his role in the Kingdom of God. He came to pave the way for the Messiah; he was not the Messiah himself. His ministry on earth was very brief, yet Jesus described his life in this way:

" 'I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he' " (Mt. 11:11).

Once we understand what God has given to us, we can walk freely in our calling. However, if we strive to walk in a role that He never gave us, it will result in frustration and failure. God wants to reveal His plan to us by His Spirit. This requires a willingness to seek and accept what He gives us. It may be different from what we thought. It may require adjustments to follow His path for our lives. As we learn from the life of John the Baptist, obedience requires death to our own wills.

Ask God to reveal what He has freely given to you. Pray that you receive and embrace only those things He has reserved for you to receive and to accomplish in your life. Then you can be assured of a life full of meaning and purpose, and you can look forward to hearing those all-important words someday, "Well done, My good and faithful servant."

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

⁴The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Don't Think Like the World

Kenneth Copeland

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

If you think like the world thinks, eventually you will act like the world acts. Unrestrained thoughts produce unrestrained actions. So control your thoughts by bringing them into obedience to the Scriptures.

Program your mind with the Word of God. The Word is spirit and it is life. When your mind is totally saturated with the Word of God, your will becomes strong to exercise authority to overcome every ungodly thought and evil habit.

Don't let Satan deceive you into sacrificing the glory of God in your life for a few moments of self-indulgence and sin. Restrain your thought life. Meditate the Word instead of selfish, carnal thoughts. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.

Scripture Study: Psalm 119:11-18