FIVE THINGS YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE TODAY
“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Five things you do not have to be:
1. Afraid … your ever-present God is with you.
2. Dismayed … the all-powerful God is your God.
3. Weak … your all-powerful and ever-present God strengthens you.
4. Helpless … your all-powerful and ever-present God helps you.
5. Downfallen … your all-powerful and ever-present God upholds you.
The 50th anniversary celebration of D-Day featured many former soldiers (in their seventies and eighties) who took part in the invasion. Some wore their half-century old uniforms. One telecast ran two back to back interviews on the beaches of Normandy. The first was with a soldier who fought the battle on the ground. “I was convinced there was no way we could possibly win,” he reported. The next interview was with a pilot, who saw a much wider view of the conflict. “I was convinced,” he said, “there was no way we could possibly lose.”
When we are caught in life’s crises and are told there’s no way we can possibly win…we need God’s aerial perspective and His voice that says, “There is no way you can possibly lose.” ❤️ —Michael Sprague
You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me.”
Psalms 56:8-9
In Psalm 56:8-9, we find solace in the comforting words of the Psalmist. In these verses, we are reminded of God’s tender care and compassion towards us, as He collects our tears in His bottle and records each one in His book. What a beautiful reminder that even in our moments of deepest sorrow or pain…God is intimately aware of our struggles…and is near to comfort and console us.
As we reflect on Psalm 56:8-9, let’s find reassurance in the knowledge that our tears are not unnoticed or forgotten by God. He collects them as precious treasures…cherishing each one as a testament to the depth of His love and concern for us. In times of adversity or uncertainty, may we take comfort in knowing that we serve a God who is intimately acquainted with our sorrows…and is ever-present to offer His unfailing love and support.
Let’s entrust our tears and burdens to the Lord, confident that He hears our cries and is faithful to bring comfort and healing to our wounded hearts. As we begin our day, may we draw strength from the assurance that our Heavenly Father is with us every step of the way, collecting our tears and working all things together for our good.
Let us rest in His loving embrace…and allow His peace to flood our souls…knowing that we are held securely in His unfailing love. ❤️❤️
—Cathy C. Charles
Time for a Thursday-afternoon Tune-Up!! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15 The battle is not yours…it belongs to God. The battle belongs to God. The battle between your mind and your mantle belongs to God. The battle between your flesh and your spirit belongs to God. The battle between your past and your future belongs to God. The battle between the prophetic and the pathetic belongs to God. The battle between generational bondage and supernatural freedom belongs to God. The battle between your drama and your destiny belongs to God. STOP SAYING IT’S YOURS! Stop texting it’s yours. Stop posting it’s yours. Stop thinking it’s yours. It’s not yours. Stop claiming ownership of something that God never meant for you to own. You need to open up your mouth and say: If it is not holy….I do not want it. If it is not blessed….I do not need it. If it is not going to give God all of the glory….I don’t desire any part of it. Do not claim ownership over the curse….claim ownership over the blessings. Do not claim ownership of the problem….claim ownership of the promises. AMEN and HALLELUJAH ❤️
“God’s behavior towards you is based on who He is for you….never on who you are not.”
–God’s Empowering Presence
You have the freedom to flourish in your identity as His beloved child.
You have the freedom to receive His gift of Grace – by Grace you were saved, not by your own efforts. It was a gift.
Receive that gift.
Open that gift.
Enjoy that gift.
Thank Him for that gift.
Share that gift!! ❤️
ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
John 8:36
The doors of the school burst open on the last day of school, and kids come pouring out, laughing with joy that school is out for three whole months. Freedom! Summer certainly represents a measure of freedom for everyone. Because school is out, families are free from carpools, homework, and other activities that regulate the school year calendar.
As glorious as the freedom of summer is, there is a greater freedom that lasts all year long and which is only found in the Son of God…the freedom from bondage to sin and the guilt of the law.
Just as children are freed from the regulations and policies of school for three months, Christians are freed from the regulations of the law forever. But liberty is not license. Being free from the law doesn’t mean we are free to indulge our sinful nature. Rather, we are free—by the power of the indwelling Spirit—to please God because we want to…not because we have to.
The Spirit writes God’s law on our heart, giving us a newfound freedom to please Him (Jeremiah 31:33). Enjoy the freedom of the summer! Even more, enjoy the freedom granted by the Son of God by which you are “free indeed.” ❤️
—David Jeremiah
”The Christian is not free to please himself but to please God.” –John Blanchard
TO SEE THE GLORY OF GOD’S PURPOSES
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might”
Ephesians 1:18-19
The light of Christ provides hope, love, and power to overcome any darkness.
Even perfect vision is useless without light. But flip a switch, and everything suddenly becomes much clearer.
That’s what Paul’s getting at when he prays “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Eph. 1:18). It’s not a prayer for some kind of spiritual X-ray vision; rather, he’s asking that God enable the Ephesians to view everything they experience in the best light of all—His light.
What did they need to see? The scope and richness of salvation in Christ. First, it’s grounded in hope…something the Ephesians didn’t have before their encounter with Jesus. They’d been outside God’s kingdom…but as a result of His calling…they became His people. That reality transformed not only their future…but also their present.
Now, as God’s treasured people, they were no longer to rely on their own strength. With the King and kingdom resources at hand…believers had “boundless” divine power working for, in, and through them (v. 19).
It’s also a good reminder for us. Despite the world’s apparent darkness…we can live in the light, hope, and power of God’s good news. So let’s confidently join Paul in praying for a perspective illuminated by the gospel! ❤️
—Charles Stanley
In Isaiah 46:9, we are reminded of the incomparable nature of our God. He declares, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.” This profound truth serves as an anchor for our faith, reassuring us that we serve a God who is sovereign and unmatched in His power and authority.
As we confront the challenges and uncertainties of each new day, let us take refuge in the unchanging character of our God…knowing that He is greater than any obstacle we may face.
In times of fear and doubt, it can be easy to lose sight of God’s sovereignty and goodness. However, Isaiah’s words serve as a powerful reminder to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. Instead of allowing fear to dictate our thoughts and actions, let us choose to place our faith in God…who holds the future in His hands. When we surrender our fears to Him and trust in His unfailing love…we can experience a peace that transcends our circumstances.
Today, let us allow our faith to be bigger than our fear. As we meditate on the truth of Isaiah 46:9, may we be filled with confidence in the God who holds all things together.
Let us approach each new day with boldness and assurance, knowing that our God is faithful to His promises and will never leave us nor forsake us.
As we entrust our fears and worries to Him…He will guide us through every trial and lead us into His perfect peace. ❤️
—Cathy C. Charles
STAND ON SOLID GROUND
The gospel message is one of hope which says, God loves us and has an ETERNAL plan for our life through faith in His Son Jesus. Without the hope of the gospel, we would continue to live a life of emptiness and an eternity separated from God.
But as we place our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin, He lifts us up, gives our life new meaning, and transforms us into a new creation through the power of His Spirit.
Psalm 40:1-2
“I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
In our sinful nature, we all “have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Our nature is to follow our own sinful desires and walk down paths which cause us to “fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Each of us have been firmly embedded in the mire of sin and none of us can climb out of the slimy pit with our own strength; we have no ability to build eternal hope!
But praise God that before the creation of the world He loved us and had a plan to bring us back to Himself, a plan to rescue us; “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The death and resurrection of Jesus allows us victory over sin and creates a way out of the mud; “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
If we truly desire to be clean and live with hope and a new view of life, we must call out to Jesus and believe He is who He claimed to be – our Savior and Lord! If we will trust Him and cry out in faith, He has promised to hear our cry and lift us up. He will pour His cleansing love upon us and fill us with purpose! He will set our feet for all eternity upon Himself and we will forever stand on solid ground. ❤️—Steve Troxel
Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” —————————— We cannot lose when our focus is God. Rejoicing and giving of thanks inspires us to stand in the shadow of the Almighty. God has a shelter for His people and it’s under His shadow. When we are in sweet communion with God we enter into this special place where nothing can penetrate. This place has a door in which we enter and the door is a door of trust. We commune with God as we trust in His protection…and as we have fellowship with Him. ❤️
Every little while, I will have some young, discouraged, follower of Jesus get to the end of themselves and admit, “I just cannot live this life. I cannot. It is overwhelming.” They are often shocked by my answer. I will tell them. “You are amazing. You have already picked up the whole secret of our faith. You are 20 years head of me. I wish I had learned this lesson at your age.”
The truth is WE CAN’T. WE CAN’T, HE CAN. It is not possible to live the life of God without the life of God. You can never be the person He wants you to be…until you realize you can never be the person He wants you to be. That is not double talk but reality. Only the Holy Spirit living in us can produce the Life of Christ through us… no matter if you are Billy Graham, Mother Teresa or the Apostle Paul.
Moses had 40 years of thinking he could do anything drilled into him in Egypt. It took 40 years in the wilderness to be broken of his utter self-dependence. Finally, at the burning bush, Moses was terrified and awed…yet commissioned for his real calling. The burning bush was telling the truth that any bush will do…if God is in the bush.
We do not do things for God as much as God is the One doing things through us. Only He can make the good stuff happen. Only He can make it work. I wish I had learned this much earlier…any bush will do…if God is in the bush. He can use bushes, big fish, shepherds, donkeys, fisherman…and even you and me…as long as HE is in it.
This truth is so beautifully put in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Bushes still burn. Are you listening today? ❤️
— Michael Sprague
GOD WORKS IT ALL FOR GOOD
May you rest assured that God has used all of your past experiences to prepare you for this particular moment.
You’re not who you once were. You’re wiser, stronger, and more resilient.
Shake off yesterday’s regrets, fears, and worries…and lay hold of faith, hope, and love.
Jesus won’t fail you now. You’ll have what you need in the days ahead. He has your back…and He’s gone before you.
Refuse to squander this current trial. See this as an opportunity to declutter your soul…renew your mind…and re-engage your faith. God has something for you here. Listen for His voice and mine the treasures He offers you here. ❤️
Isaiah 45:3
I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. –Susie Larson