– Scripture:

My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he’s listening. And if we’re confident that he’s listening, we know that what we’ve asked for is as good as ours.

                                  1 John 5:13–15 MSG

– Reflection:

                  The Reality, Not the Illusion

When you pray, you can know that you have your requests. When you believe and receive your healing, promotion, or freedom, things begin to happen in the unseen realm. But if the answer is always in your future, you haven’t received it in your spirit.

Where do we go from here?

What God is going to bring to pass is not what you ask for but what you believe you receive when you pray. Are you receiving when you’re believing? Do you know that you have your request? It’s not just, “God, I’m asking You to help me break this addiction.” That’s good, but by itself, it’s not enough. Follow it up with: “Lord, I receive my freedom. Thank You that I am free from this addiction now—not that I’m going to be free one day. No, I have my request now.” When you prayed, you not only believed it, but you received it. Now change your report from “I’m hoping to” to “It’s already done.” It’s just a matter of time before what happened in the unseen realm shows up in the natural realm.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, thank You for the privilege of being able to come to You, the Creator of the universe, and knowing that I have the requests I have asked of You. Thank You that I can believe and receive now. I believe and declare that the answer is on the way. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant’s life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

                              Luke 6:27–30 MSG

– Reflection:

                   Who Are Your Enemies?

Who are your enemies? Do you have any? Who hates you? Anyone? Most of us would probably answer no. We might even conclude that these words, spoken so long ago, have become a little irrelevant in our everyday lives. And we might try to just move on to the next set of instructions. But should we? Can we? The answer is absolutely not. These particular instructions are as relevant to us right now as they are challenging and as they are important. Our King, Jesus Christ, is calling on us to love even those hardest to love. And we know people like that.

Where do we go from here?

Who’s mistreated you? Who’s let you down? Who’s taken advantage of you? Maybe someone at work? A family member? A friend? A neighbor? Someone you barely know? “Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.” We must treat those who’ve treated us badly well. We must help those who will never help us back. We must be generous to those who are anything but. And we must be merciful to them all. But not only that, we must be merciful again and again and again. You see, what Jesus is teaching us is that we must grasp and embrace that we don’t fight evil with yet more evil; we fight evil with good.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, today we are going to pray for the hardest person for us to pray for. We have that person in mind. Let God the Holy Spirit lead you in how to pray for them. Honor the negative thoughts that can arise surrounding this person during prayer, throw those away, and begin to build a successful prayer life for these people. Thanks, Father, for giving us the strength to honor you in all we do. Amen.

 – Scripture:

  God told Moses, “Look at me. I’ll make you a god to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron will tell it to Pharaoh. Then, he will release the Israelites from his land. At the same time, I will put Pharaoh’s back up and follow it up by filling Egypt with signs and wonders. Pharaoh is not going to listen to you, but I will have my way against Egypt and bring out my soldiers, my people, the Israelites, from Egypt by mighty acts of judgment. The Egyptians will realize that I am God when I step in and take the Israelites out of their country.” Moses and Aaron did exactly what God commanded. Moses was eighty and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

                               Exodus 7:1–7 MSG

– Reflection:

                Right Desires

When God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelite slaves go free, He also caused Pharoah to harden his heart to say no. God put the desire in him to be stubborn. Why? So that He would receive great glory at Pharaoh’s expense. God went on to perform great miracles so the Egyptian people knew He was the true God. It was a part of His plan so the Israelites could fulfill their purpose.

Where do we go from here?

You don’t have to fear the future or worry about whether you will be making the right choices. Just keep honoring God. Your part is to commit your ways to Him every morning and say, “Lord, let Your will be done and not mine. I put You first place.” God’s part is to give you the right desires that are strong enough to allow you to step into His will. This is how He will lead you to the best plan.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, thank You for being the Almighty God working for my good. Thank You. As I put You first, You put desires in my heart that will lead me to fulfill my purpose. I will walk in peace, knowing You are taking me down the best path for my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 – Scripture:

 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, which always drags you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you and develops a well-formed maturity in you.

                            Romans 12:1–2 (MSG)

 – Reflection:

                 Staying Energized & OnFire

What a great challenge for us men today. It dares us to engage our God-given capacities for imagining and inventing. But, it also dares to direct these capacities toward good purposes, toward God’s purposes. Too often, we use our imaginations to envision prosperous futures for ourselves, futures of comfort, materialism, and separation. We use them to envision worrisome futures where our worst fears come to pass. And too often, we use our inventiveness to build our prosperity or barricades around our lives to protect ourselves from our fears.

 Where do we go from here?

What if we stopped doing that so much? What if, in faith, we were to refocus these imaginative and inventive capacities? What if we put them toward keeping ourselves and those around us “energized and burning”? What if we dedicated a few moments every week, every month to look at ourselves, our families, our friends, and our communities and allowed ourselves to dream and create? We wouldn’t be alone. God, the Holy Spirit, would be right there in those moments, guiding and inspiring us.

 Our Prayer for Today

Father, it’s not easy to change how we think and how we act. We need your help. Allow us a few minutes to pray and listen for the Holy Spirit. Let us be still. As we consider how you might encourage “love and good deeds” in our family, friends, and community. Whatever comes, if it fits within the principles of Scripture, we trust it and know you will make it happen. Amen.

– Scripture: 

 Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.

                         Proverbs 15:4 MSG

– Reflection:

                            God Doesn’t Miss A Thing

You have something that will cause your spouse to blossom, your children to bloom, your loved ones to feel more secure. It’s not your money, your hard work, or your accomplishments; it’s your kind words. They need to hear how much you love them, how much you believe in them, how great you think they are. Today there are so many voices saying harsh things, being rude and demeaning, trying to push people down. We need to be just as bold and speak our mind in a positive way. God is counting on us to be healers, to be lifters, to be encouragers.

Where do we go from here?

Don’t let a day go by when you don’t say something kind to the people God put in your life. It’s not enough to just think it; your thoughts don’t nourish anyone. A blessing is not a blessing until it’s spoken. They need to hear, “I love you. I’m proud of you. You’re beautiful. You’re going to do great things.” Make it your business to nourish people’s souls, to bring healing and wholeness.

Our Prayer for Today

Father, thank You for the people You have placed in our lives and the special role You have given us in their lives. Thank You that You can take our words of encouragement and bring healing and wholeness to them. Help us to see who we can bless and lift up today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.