“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Cor 16:13-14 (NIV) Living the Christian life in a fallen world mandates readiness in spiritual warfare. The battle rages as God combats the demonic forces of evil in heavenly realms. The devil cannot attack God, […]
Category: Discipline
Intentionality
“Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Cor 9:26-27 (NIV) How do you live […]
Purity
“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” 1 Cor 5:6-7 (NIV) God pursued you with His redeeming […]
Continue in Him
“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” 1 John 3:9 (NIV) Continue to live in Him so that you will not live in sin. As a child of God, when you choose to […]
Releasing the Past
“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:13-14 (NIV) Don’t allow your past […]
Obey What You Know
“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:17 (NIV) What would God have you do today? Did you know that God has a “to-do” list for you for today? God wants you to be saved! God wants you to grow spiritually! God wants you to share […]
Make Room for Priorities
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.” Luke 4:16 (NIV) You make room for what you value. When you value participating in the ministry of your local church, you will make room […]
Do Not Worry
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matt 6:34 (NIV) Instead of worrying about tomorrow, focus on today. To worry is to be drawn in multiple directions. Worry causes you to feel fragmented and overwhelmed. Someone has said, “Today is the tomorrow […]
Advise Your Eyes
“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Prov 4:25 (NIV) Eyesight is an amazing feature of the human body. God’s creation throughout the earth is awesome to behold whether taking in the sight of the blue sky in the day or the star filled sky at night or observing a […]
Guard Your Heart
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Prov 4:23 (NIV) God loves you and has a plan for your life. Satan hates you and also has a plan for your life. God’s plan is for you to stay close and clean. Satan’s plan is for you to stay distant […]
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 (NIV) Your priorities will determine how you invest your time and energy. If you value what God values then His priorities will be reflected in your schedule. […]
Exalt Christ in Your Body
“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Philippians 1:20 (NIV) Last week I made a commitment to intentionally move for thirty minutes each day. My life […]
Accept His Acceptance
“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.” Acts 15:8 (NIV) Have you accepted God’s acceptance of you? That’s step number two in order to PACE yourself for the day. Remember, you start your day off by lifting your hands toward […]
PACE Yourself
“I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.” Psalm 9:1 (NIV) How do you begin each day of your life? Do you jump right out of bed and hit the floor running or do you slowly drag yourself from beneath the sheets and gradually wake up to […]
Shaped by the Potter
“But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands…” Jer 18:4 (NIV) Whenever you purchase an item that has an “as is” tag on it, you accept the fact that it may be flawed. In other words, the item may not be perfect. The beauty of salvation is that God […]
Choose to Serve
“’The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.’“ John 12:25-26 (NIV) Why did you […]
“We 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.” 2 Cor 10:5 (NIV) What’s going on in your mind? How’s your thought-life? What have you been thinking about lately? God has given you the ability to think, […]
Spiritual Passion
“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11 (NIV) What are you passionate about? What are you giving your time, energy, and resources to? What gets the best of you? You answer unveils your zeal. God placed zeal in you. Your passion is an expression of your spiritual […]
Ordering Your Life
“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 1 Thess 4:11-12 (NIV) Strive earnestly to live a […]
Focusing Your Life
“‘I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.’” John 12:24 (NIV) Are you dying to live? God has placed within you unlimited potential. God created you to share His love and to shine […]
Practicing Bouncing Eyes
“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Prov 4:25 (NIV) Eyesight is an amazing feature of the human body. God’s creation throughout the earth is awesome to behold whether taking in the sight of the blue sky in the day or the star filled sky at night or observing a […]
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining […]
Priorities
“‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’” Matt 6:33 (NIV) What is competing for “first” in your life? What gets the majority of your time, energy, and attention? Maybe you feel like you have too many plates spinning and several wobbling. Maybe you […]
Training Yourself to be Godly
“Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Tim 4:7-8 (NIV) Godliness involves a lifestyle oriented around living to […]
The Power of Daily
“Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” Luke 9:23 (NIV) Every day is a new beginning. Each day provides you with new opportunities to experience God’s presence and to join Him in His activity. The new day […]
Leaving Your Boat
“So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” Luke 5:11 (NIV) Salvation is an event followed by a process of maturation. Once you become a follower of Christ, your eternal destiny is radically altered and your daily activity should be intentionally allocated. The daily spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible intake, […]
First Love (3)
“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Rev 2:5 (NIV) Jesus exposed the true spiritual condition of the church in Ephesus. He graciously gave them the opportunity to […]
Real Trials (7)
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!’” Luke 15:17 (NIV) Do you have someone in your life who is currently suffering the consequences of their poor choices? Everything within you wants to shift into rescue mode. […]
The Comfortable Life (4)
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining […]
The Comfortable Life (3)
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get […]