Marilyn Hickey

“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:11-14 NKJV)

I’m persuaded that the birth of every child sets off a chorus of praise in heaven.  It is a happy moment, filled with promise for a new life led in glory to God.

God does not ask you to entrust your children to Him without giving you the all-encompassing hope that He will fulfill your children’s lives in ways that will bring Him the greatest glory and give you and your children the greatest joy.

Take some time to reflect on that truth.  To entrust your child fully to the Lord is to claim, by your faith, that:

• God loves your child with an everlasting love.
• God’s purposes for creating your child are going to be fulfilled.
• Your child’s life is going to count for eternity.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22, 23 NKJV)

The fruit of the Spirit is to be very evident in our lives.  When we are born again, we receive the fruits of LOVE, JOY, and PEACE.  These are for our personal enjoyment.  We experience love, joy, and peace.

In addition to these three fruits, there are three more that relate to others:  We need LONGSUFFERING in dealing with other people.  We also need GENTLENESS and GOODNESS.  Thus, not only do we enjoy personal fruit for ourselves, but we can extend His fruit to others.

Lastly, three final fruits deal with our relationship with our heavenly Father.  We give FAITH back to Him, along with MEEKNESS and TEMPERANCE.

Here is a beautiful picture of FRUIT THAT WE OURSELVES CAN ENJOY, FRUIT THAT WE GIVE TO OTHERS, and FRUIT THAT WE MANIFEST TO THE FATHER.  How complete God has made us in Jesus!  If you have Jesus, you have the seed of all nine of these fruits.  Partake of them all.

Dear Heavenly Father,

No law can win against love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance—the supernatural traits of Jesus Christ.  Thank You, Father, that these abide in us in our new birth.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.

(Psalm 119:74 NIV)

When a man of God receives grace for himself, he becomes a blessing to others.  Hopeful people bring gladness wherever they go.

What do you bring to your friends and family?  Do you remind them of all the bad things that have happened or might happen?  Do you give them a catalog of your aches and pains?  If your conversations are full of complaints, worries, and problems, then you are not testifying for God; you are testifying for the devil.

Your attitude alone can be a testimony to the gifts of God.  You have been forgiven!  You are assured of eternal life!  Considering the magnitude of these gifts, what do you have to complain about?

Reflect your joy and gratitude in every situation — you will be a blessing to your friends and family and, most of all, to God.

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”- (Acts 3:19 NKJV)

Repentance brings refreshing.  I was 19 years old when my mother received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I was very “turned off” with both her experience and her Spirit-filled friends.  For four years she prayed for me and witnessed to me about the Holy Spirit baptism.  Finally, I met my husband-to-be, who was Spirit-filled.  God had begun to work on my heart.

I spent one entire night in repentance for rejecting such a wonderful gift of God, and I promised that I would participate in the next all-night prayer meeting that our church held.  Within four days I had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  After my repentance came one of the greatest refreshings I had experienced.

The major things that we need in our lives often come only after we have truly repented.  Then God can send a refreshing peace to us that truly “passes all understanding.”

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today let us repent of those areas where we have blocked Your flow of refreshing to our lives.  Help us not to examine others, but to examine ourselves.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4 NKJV)

God has often dealt with me about the act of thanksgiving.  There is power in the giving of thanks.  In the Old Testament there was a special offering just for thanksgiving.  The New Testament says that when we pray, we are to do so with thanksgiving.  We are to thank God for our food.  Then our blessings will be sanctified and set apart for us.

Thanksgiving is like yeast:  Thanksgiving causes your requests to rise with faith into the presence of God, just as yeast causes bread to rise.  The Word teaches that if you are not thankful for the things that God does, He will take away what He has given you.

Of the ten lepers, nine never gave thanks to Jesus.  Only one returned to thank Him.  I believe that because that one leper gave thanks, he received SPIRITUAL wholeness, as well as PHYSICAL wholeness.  Thanksgiving also will help you to be whole—physical, emotionally, and spiritually.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us to live in an attitude of thanksgiving.  When we give You our praise and thanks, we know that You will bless us in body, soul and Spirit.  Thank You for all the good things that You do. 

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise.  Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalm 100:1-4 NKJV)

Within two stanzas of this psalm, we are admonished to praise and worship the Lord, and we are given good reasons for doing so!  We are told to make a joyful shout and to be thankful.  Why?  Because, It is He who has made us.

God is your heavenly Father, and He delights in providing for your every need.

Exercise “childlike” faith in God’s goodness; you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to praise and thank Him!

But a midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.  (Acts 16:25 NKJV)

You’ve heard the expression “misery loves company.”  When Paul and Silas found themselves unfairly imprisoned in a Philippian jail, they didn’t spend their jail time coming up with a defense or complaining about being falsely accused.  Their instinct was to pray and sing hymns to God.

The other prisoners were listening to them.

In this verse, the Greek word for “listening” includes the idea of listening “with pleasure.”

Everyone jailed with Paul and Silas benefited from their response to a terrible circumstance.

When we find ourselves in miserable situations, let’s use the time to glorify God and edify those around us.

Take a look at Acts 16:26 (the very next verse), and see what happens when we do.

“For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” (Isaiah 41:13 NKJV)

The right hand has always been the hand that denoted power.  When Jesus sat down, He sat down at the right hand of God.  Jesus held the sevens stars in His right hand.  He held the book in Revelation in His right hand.  The antichrist said that he would put a mark in the right hand of those who belonged to him.  When Jacob put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, this indicated that Ephraim would have more power than Manasseh.

Proverbs speaks of wisdom’s qualities: “Length of days is in her right hand, in her left-hand riches and honor” (Proverbs 3:16).  If we seek wisdom, we’ll have length of days for enjoying the riches and honor.

The Lord promises that He will hold your right hand so you can be empowered for action.  At His right hand are pleasures forevermore.  We believers shall lay hands on the sick because our hands are to be full of God’s healing power.  Everything our hands touch will prosper because of His power flowing through us.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us today to know Your power, experience Your strength, and receive Your help as it flows through us to others that they might be healed.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

Save me, O God!  For the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.  I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God.

O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You.  (Psalm 69:1-3, 5 NKJV)

Do you really understand what Jesus did for you on the Cross?

Not only did He die for you, He bore your sin so that you would be free to accept His sacrifice and receive eternal life.

As you read Psalm 69, thoughtfully consider this awesome sacrifice by the Son of God.  Sincerely thank God for His plan of redemption because it has allowed you to escape the sure judgment of the King of kings.

Praise Him continually for His tender mercies, which will be extended to you throughout the ages to come.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” -(Romans 12:2 NKJV)

When we act like people in the world, we CONFORM to their standard.  But the Word of God TRANSFORMS us:  It renews our minds and causes us to think like Him.  The word for TRANSFORM is the same word as “transfigure.”  When Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, He was transfigured.  There was a glow from within.

When your mind is renewed with God’s Word, your mind also begins to glow from within from God’s Word.  Then, because of the renewing of your mind, you will know what is good, you will know what is acceptable, and you will know the perfect will of God.

It is very important to have a continual process of renewing our mind.  Renewal can be achieved by reading, meditating, and “chewing” on God’s Word in a daily way.  Then we make right decisions.  Because we live in and associate with the world, our thoughts can, at any moment, conform to the world.  That’s why it is so important to meditate on God’s Word daily.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us today to meditate on Your Word and to keep our minds renewed with a daily reading of Your Word.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.  (John 16:33 NIV)

Because of the peril of today, sometimes, if Christians are not careful, we can become adversely affected by what we see instead of what we know by faith.  Jesus tells us to be cheerful in the midst of troubled relationships, finances, or health.  And though you should be concerned, don’t let the condition of the world get you down.  Remember that we know how the story ends…and it is a happy, happy ending!

If you do become depressed or anxious about situations surrounding you, begin to praise God.  Turn to Psalm 67; it’s bursting with praise and promise!  Memorize the words so they will be hidden in your heart, then begin to speak or even sing them!  Praise your way through this life, knowing that the conditions we face are not permanent.  One glorious day we will live in a righteous world under the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let’s live this life in an overabundance of praise to God for His supernatural intervention even before we see His miracles manifested!

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:  Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2, 3 NKJV)

The word BLESS is a very powerful word.  However, if we do not mix blessings with faith, then we lose the benefits promised to us.  Basically, the Bible tells us that we are to bless three things:  1) We are to bless our circumstances.  Never murmur against them.  What we bless will bless us.

2) We are to bless our enemies.  Never talk against them or criticize them.  Never do evil to them.  When we bless them, then, in turn, they will bless us.  When a man’s ways please the Lord, He will make his enemies to be at peace with us.  3) We are to bless the Lord.  You might say, “The Lord doesn’t need to be blessed.  He is already blessed.”  But when we bless the Lord, He blesses us back.

Remember, when we bless the Lord, He forgives all of our sins and heals all of our diseases.  Spend time blessing the Lord today!  If you sow blessings, you will reap them.  He will bless you back!

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us today not to murmur and complain against our circumstances, but to bless them.  Help us to not murmur against our enemies, but to bless them.  Above all, help us to bless You.  Throughout the day we will take time to bless You, Father, with our hearts.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” – (Galatians 3:29 NIV)

The rewards promised to Abraham are the same rewards God holds out to you as you live a righteous, faith-filled life of obedience to the Lord:

Fruitfulness — a life and legacy of increase, influence, and effectiveness on the earth, for you and your heirs.

A heritage of natural and spiritual heirs — your physical children (adopted and biological) and your spiritual children, entrusted to you by God, to spread your legacy of fruitfulness over space and time.

A supernatural place of provision and protection — the place or places to which God will lead you to establish and benefit you and your family, the place where He will cause you to influence others for His glory.

“He who is of a proud heart stir up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered.” – (Proverbs 28:25 NKJV)

Strife always brings problems.  Out of it comes every evil work.  Sometimes it is very difficult not to respond to people who speak against us.  One time I was very upset because a woman had told some terrible lies about me.  I wanted to respond by telling her off, but the Lord said, “Vengeance is mine.”

The Lord told me that He would fight for me and that I should bless my enemies.  I made the decision not to enter into the strife.  If was the Lord’s problem, not mine.  If any fighting were to be done, the Lord would have to do it for me.

God prospered me in that situation.  I will never forget it, and I remind myself of it when I have new opportunities for strife.  Strife is a luxury you cannot afford; it is too expensive.  Strife will cost you time, energy, and your mental peace and well-being.  If you want to be a victorious Christian, stay out of strife.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us today to see the pitfalls of strife.  Help us to rebuke and resist strife with all of our hearts.  You said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”  Help us to see that we cannot be a part of strife.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…- (I Peter 2:9 NKJV)

It is a challenge to keep our true identity in Christ fixed in our minds.  When we are fighting traffic, stressing over finances, walking the dog, we can easily forget that we are children of the King of kings.

And we have been honored still further; we are all priests, our lives given over in service and praise to our God, the Father of light, who never changes.  Like the rest of creation, we exist to glorify our Father, the King.

One day, everyone will know God’s true identity.

Come soon, Lord Jesus.

“And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends”- (Job 42:10a NKJV)

Many people feel that Job’s trial was a blessing in disguise from God.  I do not believe that.  According to the Word, it was the devil who took from Job.  His affliction was called a “captivity,” not a “blessing.”  In the hedge of Job’s life, there existed a gap that made him susceptible to Satan’s attack.

When you read the book of Job, you find that Satan, not God, robs Job.  And in the end, we find that God gives much to Job.  Satan is always a thief; he takes away.  But God is a giver.

If there if an area of fear in your life, Satan can use this as an opportunity to rob from you, just as he robbed from Job.

People have often emphasized Job’s trials, rather than the story’s ending.  But the book of James tells us, “seen the end intended by the Lord” (James 5:11).  Job’s trials lasted only about nine months, but he lived for 140 years.  Let’s “major” on his blessings and “minor” on his trials.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You that whatever the trial or affliction we may face, You have a supernatural way for us to be victorious.  We give You praise and glory for what You are doing in our lives.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

There is no situation too big for God where His children are concerned.  When the children of Israel reached the Red Sea, Moses parted the water and led the Israelites across a dry sea floor—just ahead of the pursuing Egyptians who drowned when the waters closed back over them.  God’s people should have seen that the Lord was bigger than any problem.  Nevertheless, in just a few days the Israelites were murmuring and complaining because they had no water except the bitter water of Marah, which they were unable to drink.  (I sometimes wonder if the bitter water reflected the bitterness in their own hearts.)

Here were 2 million people in a desert without water fit to drink, but who did they have with them?  Yes!  They had the Lord!  He instructed Moses to cut down a tree and throw it in the water; then the water was “healed.”  People speculate about what kind of tree would have neutralized the bitter water, but I know it was a miracle tree.  Just as the Passover lamb typified Jesus, so the tree typified the cross of Calvary.  Because of that tree, the bitter waters of sin have been neutralized and we can drink freely of the waters of salvation.  God can heal our bodies, and He can heal our circumstances.

It was here at Marah that the Lord gave to Israel, and to us as children of faith, one of the greatest promises of healing found in the Scriptures.  When God made the water of Marah “sweet,” He said to the people, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you” –(Exodus 15:26 NIV).

Let’s praise God that through Him, we can be healed!

“Create from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm” –(Psalm 37:8 NKJV)

A young man shared a marvelous testimony with me.  He had purchased an expensive bicycle that he absolutely loved and rode to work whenever possible.  But one night someone broke into his house and stole his bike.  He was very angry because he had saved for the bike, and now it was gone.

The Lord really dealt with him to cease from anger, forsake wrath, and trust God.  The man called the police, filed a report of the theft, and said, “Father, I trust You.”

One year later a bicycle repair shop employee called this young man and said, “I remember selling you a bicycle.  Today someone came into my shop with the same bike.  The numbers even match!  I suspected that the bike was stolen, so I called the police, who still had the theft record.”  The man’s bicycle was returned to him one year later—in perfect shape!

God will fight for us.  We need to seek His wisdom in trials and then expect a miracle!

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today we thank You that You are a God of the miraculous.  Anger only harms us and causes us to miss Your supernatural.  Help us to forsake wrath and walk in Your wisdom.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  –(Isaiah 55:12 NIV)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.  –(Psalm 19:1 NIV)

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet the stones will cry out.”  –(Luke 19:39-40 NIV)

On those beautiful days when the air is clear, the sun shining brightly, the flowers calling out with their colors for all to see—we are experiencing creation’s praise to God.

Let’s join in!

“I will go in the strength of the Lord God” -(Psalm 71:16a (NKJV)

This scripture has been the spiritual theme of my life.  Many times, I have felt weak before speaking at a crusade or convention.  But God tells us that when we are weak, we should confess His strength.

I have experienced tremendous anointings when I confess the Lord’s strength.  Samson received the same anointing of strength.  God’s anointing would break in upon Samson, and he would experience strength beyond that of any man!  He then could perform supernatural feats of might.

God not only can strengthen our inner man, but He can impart strength to our physical being.

The Bible shows us many instances of supernatural strength and endurance being given to a mortal man when he was at work for God’s Kingdom.  Even Jesus had a man’s body—but God’s supernatural strength.  Let’s claim our physical heritage in Jesus.

When we are weak, let’s say, “I am strong.”  We will receive our supply of supernatural strength.  It works…I know it!

Dear Heavenly Father,

Today we grasp the physical strength that You have for our day.  As our day is mighty in You, so is our strength.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.-(Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV)                                                     

There was a time when the apostle Paul murdered some Christians and threw others in prison.  There were many things in his past that he regretted, but Paul learned the secret to freeing himself from past sin and present guilt:  forget it and move on.  If you don’t, you can become a prisoner.

Hatred and bitterness can be very real prisons.  Have you ever known someone who was so obsessed with ill feelings toward an individual that they put themselves in bondage?  So many people are enduring the equivalent of a life-sentence because they are holding fast to the past.

Thanks be to God, we have a Savior who sets us free from sin and death, who makes it possible to forget our mistakes and live a life of praise.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”– (John 10:27 – 28 NKJV)

God does not “hide and seek” with us.  He wants us to know His voice.  Some people make understanding God’s Word sound so difficult.  They think that it takes years of fasting and prayer to make the smallest Word-directed decision.  But Jesus promises us that, as His sheep, we will hear His voice and not follow the voice of a stranger.  When we see Jesus calling men by name before they know Him, we realize how well the Good Shepherd knows each one of His sheep.  He calls them by name, and they follow.

How can we hear Christ’s call?  Many of us often hear Him through an inner voice.  God’s inner voice came to Elijah when he got in trouble and ran from Jezebel.  God took Elijah to a cave and let him hear the thunder and the shaking of the earth.  Then Elijah heard and heeded—not the outward, tremendous manifestations—but a small, quiet inner voice.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us to listen to Your voice, and to learn and know You so intimately and so well that we can recognize Your divine intentions.  Help us to live not in the reasoning of our head, but in the perception of our spirit.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says…the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”- (James 1:22, 25 NIV)

Approach every day as though it were the only day you have to achieve your goals and be a winner.  In reality, that is true.  Yesterday is gone forever, and tomorrow isn’t here yet.  Nevertheless, yesterday is the foundation you’re building today on, and today is the foundation for tomorrow.  Too soon, today will be gone and you will be faced with tomorrow.  What you do right now sets the stage for your future, for achievement or failure.  Choose to be a winner.

We hear a great deal today about stress and how to handle it.  Our society seems to be plagued with stress, which manifests in confusion, frustration, anxiety, fear, etc.  Let me give you valuable keys to stress management.  Put God first, plan each day wisely, schedule your time, write things down, stick to your goals, and avoid delay.  This will enable you to eliminate a great amount of stress.

God wants His saints to reflect joy and walk in victory.  He doesn’t want them stressed out under their circumstances.  Remember, others are watching you.  The world needs to see a different kind of person—an optimist instead of a pessimist, a winner not a loser, an overcomer rather than an underachiever.  That kind of person just might have the opportunity to lead others to Christ.  Will you be that person?

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”– (James 3:17 NKJV)

James 3 shows the difference between godly wisdom and natural, earthly wisdom.  I have used this distinction to determine whether I am hearing from the Lord or from my own personal soul.  Is it a decision full of mercy?  Will it bring forth good fruit, or will it bring confusion to the body?  If it will bring confusion or if it’s not merciful, then it must not be God’s wisdom.  If it’s not gentle or open to reason, it must not be God’s wisdom.

My number-one daily prayer is that I would be saturated with the wisdom of God because of the man decisions our ministry faces.  Years ago, God dealt with me about doing a Bible reading plan.  At that time the ministry was very small, and we didn’t have the money for startup costs.  Yet I felt a gentle “tugging” of the Holy Spirit.  Getting people involved in the Word was certainly God’s mercy.  Certainly, it would bring forth good fruit.  I made the decision, and God paid the bills.  Cry out for wisdom.  He will give it to you.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We ask to be full of Your wisdom for this day.  Let us recognize that which is pure, peaceable, and gentle—that which is full of mercy and good fruits.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness .-(1 John 1:9 NKJV)

Sin brings death, and sickness is death attaching itself to us.

Many years ago, I became very angry over a situation.  A certain person had pulled some bad business deals on people in our church congregation.  Although the matter had been handled, I began to meditate on it, and the more I meditated, the angrier I became.

Shortly after I came down with severe flu symptoms—sore throat, temperature, etc.  Of course, I rebuked the devil and rebuked the devil, but without results.  Imagine how shocked I was when the Lord said, “The devil isn’t the problem; you are.”  The Lord showed me how I had opened the door to sickness by allowing bitterness to lodge in my heart.  What the person had done was wrong, but I needed to leave the matter with God.

Needless to say, I repented of my sin, slammed the door on sickness, and received my healing!

What healing do you need in your life?

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”– (Romans 6:14 NKJV)

The devil will do his best to convince you that sin has dominion over you.  But the Bible says that grace has dominion over you.

A dear pastor friend had been an alcoholic in his past.  Two years after he was born again, he was tempted by Satan to take a drink.  When he did, he became hopelessly drunk and fell into terrible despair.  He felt so condemned that he said, “There is no hope for me.  Sin has totally taken over.”  He decided to take his life because the devil told him that there was no hope.  The devil told him that the sin of alcoholism would always have dominion over him.  But, thank God, another pastor cursed this work of the devil and strengthened our dear friend’s heart in the Word of God.  Our friend was set free.

This happened many years ago.  But even today, when you talk to this man, he will tell you again and again about the power of grace.  We need to know Who Jesus is in us-that He Who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We thank You today that sin does not have dominion over us.  We choose, instead, for Your grace to have dominion over us.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.- (Mark 11:23 NKJV)

 

Sometimes when things are going great, Christians get lazy about the Word and sloppy in their living.  Others give up on the Word when things go particularly bad.  These people are heading for some nasty bumps along the way.

Please don’t think I’m saying that if you live by the Word you’ll never encounter difficulty, but I am saying that you will overcome the difficulty when you confidently and consistently make the Word your rule.

Never say the Word isn’t working!  Always judge your circumstances by God’s infallible Word; do not judge the Word by your circumstances.  There are those who reject God’s promises when they don’t see their situations change.  If your difficult situation looms bigger in your eyes than the Word, you will fail; but if you keep speaking the Word with faith and patience and act as though you believe it, that mountain standing in your path will eventually move.

Let’s praise God that His Word is true and lasting!

“They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel” (Psalm 106:13 NKJV)

Sometimes it takes time to receive the counsel we need.  When we make hasty decisions, we can miss God’s counsel for us.  Then we may do something very carnal that blows our opportunity for a God-given miracle.

I’m reminded of King Saul.  In the early part of his kingship, he had to fight the Philistines.  Saul became impatient as he waited for Samuel to arrive and pray for the battle.  The people began to pressure Saul, so he took the place of the priest and offered the sacrifice himself.  That sin led to other weaknesses in Saul.  Finally, he lost his entire kingdom.  If Saul had only waited a few more hours, Samuel would have arrived and the requirements of the Lord would have been met.  And Saul, instead of being a defeated man, could have been a victoriously king.

There are times of my life when I have run ahead of the Lord—often because people pressured me—and I did not wait for God’s counsel.  Sometimes we think that God is so slow; but really, He is always on time—His time!  Let’s time our timing with His and wait until we get a word from Him before we move.  Then we will have the results that we desire.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Help us to know how to wait on Your counsel.  Give us hearing ears and seeing eyes today for what You have for us.

In Jesus’s Name,

Amen.

How long, O LORD?  Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1 NKJV)

Depression can sometimes sneak up on us over a long period of time.  The devil would like to wear us down through a prolonged sickness or an extended time of debt or unemployment.  After standing in faith for a particular situation month after month (or year after year), we may eventually feel like David and sigh, “How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?”

David started feeling that way in Psalm 13, but in two short verses (5 and 6), he had the perfect antidote for depression:  trust in God’s mercy, rejoice in your salvation, sing to the Lord, and remember all the things God has done for you in the past.

Try it the next time depression hits!

What can you sing about today?