Welcome to the official Fly Times Boutique Blog. Located in Mobile, AL, we offer exclusive gear that can only be found here. No one can make you Fly. You have to be born with it. Fly Times can be the outlet to your inner Flyness. We offer an exclusive blend of clothes and accessories, producing one unique individual. Come Fly with us!!!! Fly Times Boutique
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Daily Devotional - Tests and Trials
For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] . . . [has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.
—1 Corinthians 10:13
—1 Corinthians 10:13
Hard times can bring the temptation to give up and become negative, depressed, and angry with God. Life can be difficult, but God will always intervene and His help will always arrive on time. Tonight, purpose in your heart to keep pressing on and rest in His presence. God has promised to deliver you before it is too late!
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Daily Devotional - Speak God’s Mind
Hear, for I will speak excellent and princely things; and the opening of my lips shall be for right things.
—Proverbs 8:6
—Proverbs 8:6
One of our biggest mistakes we make is that we sometimes answer people too quickly, just giving them something off the top of our head. Only a fool utters his whole mind (See Proverbs 29:11 KJV). Those who speak frequently and hastily are always in trouble, as the Bible says, “There are those who speak rashly, like the piercing of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” (Proverbs 12:18).
Jesus operated in wisdom. He always knew just the right thing to say, at just the right moment, to astound everybody. If we don’t spend enough time with God, we will say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Decide to wait on God before speaking your mind today.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Daily Devotional - How to Win the Battle
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
—Ephesians 6:14–15 NIV
—Ephesians 6:14–15 NIV
The Bible says that if we meet our battles with peace and respond to the upsets in life with peace, we will experience victory. It’s a paradox; it doesn’t make any sense. How can we win if we stop fighting?
My husband used to make me mad because he would not fight with me. I was upset and angry, and I wanted him to say just one thing so I could rail on and on. But when Dave saw that I was just looking for an argument, he would be quiet and tell me, “I am not going to fight with you.” Sometimes he would even get in the car and leave for a while, infuriating me even more, but I could not fight with someone who would not fight back.
Moses told the Israelites not to fight when they found the Red Sea facing them on one side and the Egyptian army chasing them on the other. They became frightened, and he told them, “Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest” (Exod. 14:13–14).
Notice that Moses told the Israelites to “hold [their] peace and remain at rest.” Why? They were at war, and it was necessary for them to respond with peace in order to win the battle. God would fight for them if they would show their confidence in Him by being peaceful. If you hold on to your peace, He will do the same for you.
Trust in Him Are you fighting a battle when you should be holding your peace? Choose to stop fighting and trust God to fight for you. That is how to win a battle.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Daily Devotional - Our Words are Seeds
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
—Hebrews 4:13 NLT
—Hebrews 4:13 NLT
Every action is a seed we sow, and we will reap a harvest from our seeds. Our words, thoughts, attitudes, and actions are all seeds that we sow, and seeds produce harvest. Sow mercy; reap mercy. Sow judgment; reap judgment. Sow kindness; reap kindness. If you don’t like how your life is right now, I have good news for you. You can change your life by sowing right seeds.
If you’re not in a good place in life, you didn’t make one wrong choice to end up where you are, and you can’t make one right choice to get yourself out of it. Change won’t happen overnight. But if you invest your life in learning what is the right thing to do and then do it with God’s help, you will reap the harvest.
Power Thought: With God’s help, I’m sowing good seeds every day of my life.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Daily Devotional - Sit Down
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us set together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
—Ephesians 2:4-6, NKJV
—Ephesians 2:4-6, NKJV
Today’s scripture says that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. I read past that passage one day, and the Holy Spirit stopped me. I just felt that I had missed something so I went back and read it again: “God . . . seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” I still didn’t get it. So I went back and read it once more, and finally, I got it! We are seated. We are seated.
Then I started thinking of how Jesus is depicted in the Bible after His resurrection and ascension. As in this passage, He is often depicted as being seated at the right hand of the Father.
Do you know what people do when they sit? They rest. To be seated in heavenly places with Jesus is to enter an “inner rest.”
Sometimes when you start to get nervous and upset, anxious or worried, you just need to tell yourself, “Sit down.” That does not mean just your physical body; it also means your soul—your mind, will and emotions. It is important to let your entire being rest and just wait on God. Wait expectantly for God to do what you cannot do.
Don’t worry, get frustrated or fearful while you are waiting on God. Be at peace and rest! Sometimes allowing ourselves to rest is challenging because we seem to feel that we should always be ‘doing’ something. . So, if you are struggling, take a seat and rest. The promise of God’s peace is not made to those who work, struggle and strive in their own strength, but to those enter God’s rest.
Love Yourself Today: Lord, teach me how to enter your holy rest while I wait on you to work in my life.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Daily Devotional - God’s Guarantee
Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
—Joshua 1:9
—Joshua 1:9
Notice the emphasis that God places on Himself. Joshua was to keep his eyes on God and His command. He was not to get entangled in other things that might frighten him; he was to stay focused on his goal. If he obeyed God, he would not only help himself, he would also have the privilege of leading multitudes of people into a better life.
And just in case he needed one last encouragement, God basically repeats Himself in saying He would be with Joshua. I believe His discourse to Joshua is evidence that there would be reasons in the natural for him to fear and become dismayed and want to turn back. When we take steps of faith to make progress in life, there is no guarantee that we will not experience opposition. But we do have God’s guarantee that He will always be with us, and that is truly all we need. We don’t need to know what God is going to do, how He is going to do it, or when He is going to do it. We only need to know that He is with us.
Lord, of all the blessings in life, the greatest one I ask You for is that You will be with me as You were with Joshua. I can do without a lot of things, but not without You. Amen.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Daily Devotional - Your True Value
Now therefore, if you will obey My voice in truth and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own peculiar possession and treasure from among and above all peoples; for all the earth is Mine.
—Exodus 19:5
—Exodus 19:5
In Exodus 19:5, the Lord tells His people that they are His own "peculiar possession and treasure." That word applies to us today as much as it did to the children of Israel. In John 3:18, Jesus told Nicodemus that no one who believes in Him will ever be condemned (rejected). You may not feel treasured, or even acceptable, but you are. In Ephesians 1:6 (KJV), Paul says that all of us who believe in Christ have been "accepted in the beloved." That should give us a sense of personal value and worth.
I remember standing in a prayer line where I overheard a woman next to me telling the pastor who was ministering to her how much she hated and despised herself. The pastor became very firm with her and in a strong manner rebuked her, saying, "Who do you think you are? You have no right to hate yourself. God paid a high price for you and your freedom. He loved you so much that He sent His only Son to die for you, to suffer in your place. You have no right to hate or reject yourself. Your part is to receive what Jesus died to give you!"
The woman was shocked. I was shocked too, just listening. Yet sometimes it takes a strong word to get us to realize the trap that Satan has set for us. Do you lack appreciation for your own value and worth? Surely, you are valuable; otherwise your heavenly Father would not have paid such a heavy price for your redemption.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Daily Devotional - A Confused Mind
f any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, [for being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].
—James 1:5–8
—James 1:5–8
My friend Eva received a summons for jury duty in a robbery trial. For two days, twelve citizens listened to the prosecuting attorney as he presented evidence to indicate that the accused had broken into a home and stolen many items. Eva was ready to convict him.
On the third day, the defense attorney presented the other side of the picture. The more Eva listened, the more confused she became. What had seemed very obvious at first now seemed ambiguous and contradictory.
Although the jury did convict the man, Eva said she struggled over making the right decision. Each attorney, when he was speaking, had seemed to be the most convincing.
Many Christians live much the same way day to day. They have become what James calls double-minded. They’re sure of one thing until something else happens, and then they flip-flop to the opposite opinion.
In their double-mindedness, they flit from one opinion to the other. They’re sure they know what to do, and then they switch again. The moment they feel sure they have made the decision they plan to stick with, they begin to wonder if it was the correct one. They continually doubt and question their reasoning.
This kind of behavior is not the same as being open-minded. To be open-minded means we’re willing to hear all sides of an issue—like jurors should be at a trial. But eventually we have to sort through the evidence or the circumstances in life and say, “This is what I’m going to do.”
That sounds good, but too many people have trouble being decisive. “What if I make a mistake?” they ask. “What If I choose the wrong thing?” Those are legitimate ques¬tions, but they are not meant to paralyze God’s people and prevent them from acting. Too often, these are tools that Satan uses to distract and prevent Christians from taking action. I’m an expert on this. For many years, I was that double-minded person James wrote about. I didn’t like being that way. It took so much energy to keep rethinking the same problems. But I was so afraid of making a mistake that I didn’t know how to make good decisions. It took a long time before I realized that the devil had declared war against me, and that my mind was his personal battlefield. At that moment of awareness, I felt totally confused about everything, and I didn’t understand why.
So many of God’s people are living exactly where I was then. They’re reasonable people. That is, they have the ability to figure out causes and relationships and reasons. They sincerely try to understand all the implications of a situation and then find the most sensible or logical solution by putting their reasoning ability to work. Too often, this is where Satan sneaks in and steals the will of God from them. God may speak to them about doing a certain thing, and it may not always seem to be the most sensible course of action. This presents an opportunity for the devil to cause them to question—to become double-minded.
For example, sometimes I sense that God wants me to bless people by giving to them—often an item of jewelry or clothing. On occasion, God wants me to give away a new and fairly expensive dress that I’ve never worn. It doesn’t make sense when I go through the natural reasoning process, but when I open myself to the Spirit of God, I have the assurance that it is the right thing to do.
God’s Spirit is always available to free you from natural reasoning that leaves you confused. Ask of the One who gives wisdom liberally, and He will free you of being indecisive and double-minded.
Dear Father, in the past, I’ve been double-minded and confused, giving Satan an advantage over me. Please forgive me. I ask You now, in faith, to give me the necessary wisdom to overcome all of Satan’s confusion. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Daily Devotional - Sanctification of the Soul
So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.
—James 1:21
—James 1:21
Once you are born again, your spirit has been reborn and you will go to heaven when you die. But God is not finished—He is just beginning. You need to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 KJV). In other words, your soul needs to be saved. The soul is often defined as the mind, the will, and the emotions. Each of these areas needs salvation.
The Holy Spirit works relentlessly to transform the whole man into God’s perfect will. This process is called sanctification. When your soul is renewed with His Word, you think His thoughts and not your own. Submit yourself to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to change every thought and motive.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Daily Devotional - Receive God’s Gifts
If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
—Isaiah 1:19
—Isaiah 1:19
What good is it to have a glass of water, if we won’t drink it? Our thirst will not be quenched until we do. Jesus said, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink!” (John 7:32). He said that if we have any kind of need, we are to ask Him for what we want, and then receive it. The good things of God are available to those who simply surrender themselves to Him and accept His blessings and mercy.
People beg God for forgiveness but forget to say, “I receive that forgiveness right now; I believe I am forgiven.” Mercy is a free gift. You can’t earn it, you can’t deserve it, and you can’t buy it. The only thing you can do is receive it. Just humble yourself, and accept God’s forgiveness.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Daily Devotional - Confidence Brings Comfort
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy . . .
—Psalm 16:11
—Psalm 16:11
Being confident in God’s love enables us to be comfortable in His presence. It is important to be able to relax and be comfortable at all times, yet many people are tense and uptight most of the time. They are nervous and sometimes even afraid to meet new people, begin tasks or have to make decisions. Some people are often tense or anxious when they attempt to meet with God in prayer and fellowship. They are afraid they won’t pray properly, long enough, with the right posture or with enough eloquence. God loves us at all times and is always glad to spend time with us; He’s happy when we want to be with Him and He delights in hearing our prayers and answering them. He doesn't expect us to be perfect or our prayers to be perfect, . So we need to accept our imperfections and work on our weaknesses while allowing God to love us as we are. If any one of us could be perfect in our behavior we would not need Jesus and His death would have been in vain. He paid for all our imperfections and makes a way for us to be comfortable in God’s presence. Because of what Jesus did, we can relax in God and be confident in His love.
Love God Today: I thank You Lord that I can relax in life, living free from the tyranny of anxiety, nervousness or fear. I am confident in You and comfortable in Your presence!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Daily Devotional - Begin Again
They set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the Israelites went out [of Egypt] with a high hand and triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians, while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had struck down among them
—Numbers 33:3–4
—Numbers 33:3–4
Are you doing what you really believe you should be doing at this stage in your life, or have you allowed fear and a lack of confidence to prevent you from stepping out into new things—or higher levels of old things? If you don’t like your answer, then let me give you some good news: It is never too late to begin again! Don’t spend one more day living a narrow life that has room for only you and your fears. Make a decision right now that you will learn to live boldly, aggressively, and confidently. Don’t let fear rule you any longer.
It’s important to note that you can’t just sit around and wait for fear to go away. You will have to feel the fear and take action anyway. Or, as John Wayne put it, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” In other words, courage is not the absence of fear; it is action in the presence of fear. Bold people do what they know they should do—not what they feel like doing.
Lord, show me any narrowness in my life and help me to take the steps of faith that break the rule of fear over my life. Amen.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Daily Devotional - God Speaks So He Can Help Us
The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
—Isaiah 10:27 KJV
—Isaiah 10:27 KJV
When God speaks to you about an issue that needs to be dealt with in your life, you should not put it off. You can trust that the anointing, which is the power and ability of the Holy Spirit, is present to break its grip on you. If you put off confronting the problem until you want to deal with it, you may have to face trying to change without God’s power or anointing.
We often want to do things in our own timing, and we struggle and struggle because it is not anointed by God at the time we are trying to deal with it. For example, there are times when I feel like I want to confront an issue with an employee, but I know that it would be wiser for me to pray about it for a while and let God prepare that person’s heart. When I follow God’s timetable, I always have His anointing to get it done. I have learned to deal with issues when God wants to deal with them and leave them alone when He wants me to wait. I have also had the frustrating experience of trying over and over to change myself without waiting on God’s help and timing. God’s anointing must be present for anything to work right in our lives.
When God convicts us of something that needs to change in our lives that means He has prepared us to face it. We may not feel that we are ready, but we can trust that His timing is perfect and His anointing is present to break the yoke that is hindering our full freedom. I have learned to say, “Lord, I may not feel ready, but if You say the time is now then I trust that Your power is with me and I am willing to be obedient to You.” As you step out in faith to deal with issues you will find that the wisdom, grace, power, and ability that you need are present.
God’s word for you today: Don’t put off until another day what He wants you to deal with today.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Daily Devotional - Learn to Wait on God
Therefore return to your God! Holdfast to love and mercy, to righteousness and justice, and wait [expectantly] for your God continually!
—Hosea 12:6
—Hosea 12:6
When Judas betrayed Jesus, He had insight to know what Judas was doing, but He just stood there and let him continue with his greeting, his embrace, and his kiss. Then in Matthew 26:50, Jesus said to him, Friend . . . (You ought to circle the word friend in your Bible.) Knowing that Judas was betraying Him, He still called him, Friend, for what are you here? Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and arrested Him. Peter, ready to defend Jesus drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Whack! Old lion-like Peter was full of fleshly zeal. He whipped out that sword and chopped off his ear. You know what Peter was thinking? "Bless God, we don't have to put up with this! Whack! You're messing with God's anointed!"
But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him (Luke 22:51 NIV). Peter was always talking when he didn't need to be talking, doing things when he didn't need to be doing them. Peter needed to learn how to wait on God and he needed to learn humility and meekness. God wanted to use Peter in a mighty way, but if Peter wanted to preach the Good News of the Gospel, he couldn't do it by taking his sword out and chopping off ears when he felt angry.
Our abrasive words can cut off hearing, just as Peter's sword cut off the servant's ear. We just can't come at people whenever we feel like justice is needed. We must be submissive to God; and if He says, "Say nothing," we are to stand there and just let them think they are right even though we know they're not. We have to say, "Yes, Lord," and accept that He doesn't even owe us an explanation. How many times do we prevent somebody's spiritual growth or how many times do we prevent the blessings of God from coming on our own life simply because we don't have control of the words that come out of our mouths?
None of us would have our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life if Jesus hadn't been submissive or if He had opened His mouth when He shouldn't have. And He is our example. Jesus asks us to trust Him and wait on Him because He loves us.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Daily Devotional - Think About What You Are Thinking About
Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
—Philippians 4:8b
One day, God spoke to me—but not with the words I wanted to hear. He said, “Think about what you are thinking about. “ I had no idea what God meant. In fact, the words didn’t make sense. How could I think about what I was thinking about?
Then I realized the truth. My mind raced from one thought to another. That was bad enough, but worse, my thoughts centered around myself and my needs. I had thought that if they—the other people in my life—changed, I would be happy. I finally reluctantly admitted that even if they changed, I’d find something else to be unhappy about. I was just unhappy and didn’t need any particular reason. It was first one thing and then another.
As I pondered my condition, I thought of Philippians 4:8, where Paul presented a list of the kind of things we need to focus on. If God did not want me to think about the things I was thinking about, I first needed to know what I should think about. I soon realized I had a lot to learn. Although I had been attending church for years, I could not remember anyone ever telling me how important my thoughts were to God and to my quality of life.
If we concentrate our thoughts on good things—the kind of things Paul mentioned in that verse—we will be built up. We will grow spiritually and become strong in the Lord.
As I continued to meditate on God’s message, I realized how my thoughts affected my attitude—and this is true of all of us. God tells us to do things that are for our good. He wants us to be happy and fulfilled. If we want happiness and fulfillment, we must find it God’s way. If we’re full of wrong thoughts, we’re miserable. That’s not a theory—that’s spoken from my own experience and is found in God’s Word. I’ve also learned that when we’re miserable, we usually end up making others around us miserable, too.
Since those days, I’ve made it a practice to take a regular inventory of my thoughts. I review the way I think. What have I been thinking about? I ask myself.
I stress this because—as I learned from my own experience—¬Satan deceives us into thinking that the source of our misery or pain is other people or sometimes our situations. He tries not to let us face the fact that our own thoughts are the source of our unhappiness. I would venture to say that it is practically impossible to be happy while maintaining negative, critical, depressing thoughts.
We need to overcome Satan in this area of the battle for our thoughts, and God will help us if we ask Him to.
Dear Lord Jesus, I have determined to think about the things I have been thinking about. I admit that my thoughts are the source of any unhappiness that I experience and not other people. I also know that the source of my victory is in You, and in Your name, I ask You to give me greater victory as I monitor my thoughts through the help of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Daily Devotional - Offer Yourself Freely
We are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God.
—2 Corinthians 2:15
—2 Corinthians 2:15
The Bible says that every morning God’s people brought freewill offerings to Him. They all had various sacrifices such as animals, grains, and cereals (See Exodus 35). God wants us to offer our lives in dedicated service to him.
The Bible says that God is pleased with our sacrifice of praise (See Hebrews 13:15), and that our prayers go up before God as a sweet-smelling sacrifice. He wants us to bring ourselves to Him every morning and say, “God, here I am; I want to be a living sacrifice.”
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Secret Scientist Presents… The SS Joggers
Secret Scientist introduces its 1st ever jogger release. These have drawstrings. Embroidery above the back pocket which has a zipper. Embroidery also on the front pocket. Pieces come in red and grey. They will retail at $45.
Daily Devotional - Never Say “No Way”
Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.
—John 14:6
—John 14:6
Have you ever faced a situation and said, “There is no way”? Maybe some of these thoughts weigh on your mind:
There is no way I can handle the pressure at work.
There is no way I can pay my bills at the end of the month. There is no way I can save my marriage.
There is no way I can keep my house clean and straight. There is no way I can lose the weight I need to lose.
There is always a way. It may not be easy, it may not be convenient, it may not come quickly; but if you will simply keep on keeping on and refuse to give up, you will find a way. Jesus is the Way, and He will help you find a way where there doesn’t seem to be one.
Power Thought: I refuse to say “no way”; Jesus is the Way.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Daily Devotional - What’s in a Name? Everything!
. . . Jesus is the Christ, . . . you may have life through (in) His name [through Who He is].
— John 20:31
— John 20:31
The name of Jesus represents everything that He is—all of His righteousness, all of His perfection, all of His grace and love—that name is powerful. There is no power in your name or my name, but there is awesome power in the name of Jesus His name represents everything about who He is.
Let’s think about this in practical, terms. My name has not always been Joyce Meyer. I did not take Dave’s last name until I married him. Nothing of his belonged to me until we entered into the legal covenant of marriage. When we married, I did not have a car, but Dave did. When I got his name, I suddenly got a car too. I did not have much money; in fact, I was in debt. Dave did have money, so when I married him, I had money too and was able to pay off my bills. I did not have access to anything of Dave’s until I married him and took his name. When I became Mrs. Dave Meyer, everything he had became mine. While we were dating, I still had my maiden name, I still had my debt and I still had no car.
We cannot “date” Jesus and expect to enjoy the privileges that come with true commitment. By that, I mean that we cannot just spend time with Him occasionally and try to keep up a relationship only because of the blessings He offers us. We can only enjoy the full privileges of a relationship with Him when our hearts are truly committed. God knows what kind of relationship we have with Him, whether we are “dating” or whether we have given ourselves to Him in total commitment. When we are joined to Him in committed relationship, we can be confident that He will give to us everything His name affords—and we can enjoy it.
Love God Today: Are you in committed relationship with Jesus? Then everything His name represents belongs to you.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Black History Fact - Oscar Micheaux
Daily Devotional - Launch Out
When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
-Luke 5:4 NKJV
-Luke 5:4 NKJV
The only way we ever reach our final destination and succeed at being our true selves is to take many, many steps of faith. Stepping out into the unknown—into something we have never done before—can leave us shaking in our boots. Because of feelings of fear, many people never “step out,” therefore they never “find out” what they are capable of.
I believe we are very close to the time when Jesus will return for His Church, and I don’t think He has time to spend months and months convincing each of us to obey when He wants us to step out into something. I believe the more we progress into what we call “the last days,” the more God is going to require radical steps of obedience.
Many people are missing the will of God for their lives because they are “playing it safe.” I don’t want to come to the end of my life and say, “I was safe, but I’m sorry.” The world has a little saying: “Better safe than sorry.” I am not sure that always works in God’s economy. If I had tried to be safe all the time, I am sure I would not be where I am today.
Lord, there truly is no safe place apart from being with You, walking in Your will for my life. I refuse to play it safe as long as I know what You want. Amen.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Black History Fact - Jackie Robinson
Jackie married Rachel Isum, a nursing student he met at UCLA, in 1946. As an African-American baseball player, Jackie was on display for the whole country to judge. Rachel and their three children, Jackie Jr., Sharon and David, provided Jackie with the emotional support and sense of purpose essential for bearing the pressure during the early years of baseball. Jackie Robinson's life and legacy will be remembered as one of the most important in American history. In 1997, the world celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Jackie's breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier. In doing so, we honored the man who stood defiantly against those who would work against racial equality and acknowledged the profound influence of one man's life on the American culture. On the date of Robinson's historic debut, all Major League teams across the nation celebrated this milestone. Also that year, The United States Post Office honored Robinson by making him the subject of a commemorative postage stamp. On Tuesday, April 15 President Bill Clinton paid tribute to Jackie at Shea Stadium in New York in a special ceremony.
Daily Devotionl - Study God’s Word; Hear God’s Voice
Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.
—(2 Timothy 2:15)
—(2 Timothy 2:15)
Anyone who wants to hear God’s voice must be a student of the Word. Of all the other ways God may choose to speak to us, He will never contradict the written Word, which was originally referred to by the Greek word logos. His spoken word in the Greek language is referred to as rhema. God specifically brings to our remembrance His logos for every situation. His rhema (spoken word to us) may not be found word for word on the pages of the Bible, but its principles will always be supported by the written Word. In this way, the Bible confirms whether or not what we are hearing is from God. —(2 Timothy 2:15)
For example, the logos, the written Word, doesn’t tell us when to buy a new car or what kind to buy. We need the rhema word for that. Even though the Word doesn’t give specific instructions on buying a car, it does say a lot about wisdom. If we think we have “heard” that we are supposed to buy a certain kind of car and then realize such a large purchase would put us into deep debt for several years, we can easily see that buying that car would not be wise and the voice we thought we heard was not God’s. —(2 Timothy 2:15)
God’s word for you today:> Logos + rhema = wisdom.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Black History Fact - James Meredith
Daily Devotional - Receiving Forgiveness
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
—1 John 1:9
—1 John 1:9
Many years ago when I was first developing my relationship with the Lord, each night I would beg His forgiveness for my past sins. One evening as I knelt beside my bed, I heard the Lord say to me, "Joyce, I forgave you the first time you asked, but you have not received My gift of forgiveness because you have not forgiven yourself."
Have you received God's gift of forgiveness? If you have not, and you are ready to do so, ask the Lord to forgive you for all your sins right now. Then pray this aloud:
Lord, I receive forgiveness for (name the sin), in Christ Jesus. I forgive myself and accept your gift of forgiveness as my own. I believe that you remove the sin from me completely, putting it at a distance where it can never be found again—as far as the east is from the west. And I believe. Lord, that you remember it no more.
You will find that speaking aloud is often helpful to you because by doing so you are declaring your stand upon God's Word. The devil cannot read your mind but he does understand your words. Declare before all the principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12) that Christ has set you free and that you intend to walk in that freedom.
When you speak, sound as though you mean it! If the devil tries to bring that sin to your mind again in the form of guilt and condemnation, repeat your declaration, telling him: "I was forgiven for that sin! It has been taken care of—therefore, I take no care for it."
Remember, "There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Madame C.J. Walker
Daily Devotional - The Waiting God
And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for his victory].
—Isaiah 30:18
—Isaiah 30:18
This verse has become one of my favorites, and it has often been a source of encouragement to me when I’ve had hard times. The Living Bible paraphrases the verse like this: “Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him, so he can show you his love; he will conquer you to bless you, just as he said. For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.” Let’s think of the implication of the promise. God waits for us. As I think of that promise, it staggers my mind. The Creator of the universe and the Giver of all life has chosen to wait for us—waits for us to come to our senses, waits for us to respond to His love, waits for us to turn to Him for help.
That’s a staggering thought. God wants to show us love.
Perhaps as much as anywhere else, Satan attempts to build a mental stronghold right there. When we contemplate God’s love for us, many of us can’t take it in. We can only think of our failures, our shortcomings, and dozens of other reasons why God shouldn’t love us.
That reminds me of a kind man I’ve known for many years. One day he took care of a situation for me that he didn’t have to. I was surprised and deeply touched. “You are probably the kindest man I know,” I told him.
He stared at me in shock. “Me? Kind? Oh, I can be mean-spirited and cruel,” he said. For several minutes, he explained to me that he couldn’t possibly be a kind man. “I live with myself all the time, and I see all my defects.”
“Maybe that’s the trouble,” I told him. “You see your defects so clearly, you don’t see your caring, compassionate qualities. You discount all those things.”
He never could accept that he was kind. I also used the word gentle and that surprised him, too.
Perhaps that’s how it is with many of God’s people. We are so absorbed by our failures and all the wrong things we see about ourselves, it’s hard to believe that God wants to bless us. If we read, “God wants to punish you,” we wouldn’t have trouble, saying, “Yes, that’s what I deserve.”
But how would we answer if someone said, “God wants to bless you”? We probably would say, “I don’t deserve that.”
How many of us believe we are entitled to God’s blessings? We want the good things. We want God to love us, encourage us, bless us, and give us victory, but to say we deserve the blessings may be more than we are willing to accept.
Why do we struggle over the concept of deserving? Our tendency is to think that we have to do something to earn the blessings . . . that we have to be good enough or faithful enough. We miss the point of God’s powerful, gracious love. Our blessings from God are not a result of our goodness. They are the result of God’s goodness.
We are entitled to God’s blessings for only one reason: because we are His children. It’s just that simple. Those of us who are parents grasp that concept with regard to our children. We brought them into the world, and they deserve our love. We freely give them our love before they do anything good or bad. They deserve our protection and all the good things we choose to give them. They don’t deserve those things because they’ve done something to earn them, but simply because they are our children.
Satan loves to trip us up on this one. As soon as we think it is right for us to be blessed, he points to our weaknesses or our failures. God points to our relationship. That’s the difference.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)