MIGHTY POWER

Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power.

The amount of work that a computer can complete in just a few seconds can really surprise you at times, yet it’s been found that to match the computing capabilities of the human brain, a computer would have to be the size of the Empire State Building. The Bible tells us that as, “a man thinks, so is he.” This Biblical truth teaches us that discouragement or negative thinking is one of man's biggest enemies. The architect of the Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland drafted and submitted sixty plans, one after another, all of which were rejected. Just as he was about to give up, his wife told him, “Create a sixty-first one, John.” It was the sixty-first plan that was accepted and built. Keep on keeping on because the Word of God says in Romans 8:37, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” The mighty power is ours, don’t let anybody tell you differently.

WHEN GOD IS REFUSED

Romans 1:28
When they refused to acknowledge God,
he abandoned them to their evil minds and
let them do things that should never be done.

According to Romans 1:29-32, when people didn't acknowledge God, “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.” If you find that you fall any of the categories listed, humble yourself before God and acknowledge Him as your Savior. Don’t refuse God, the result isn’t ever worth it.

STOP THE BRIBERY

Job 15:34
For the company of the godless will be barren,
and fire will consume the tents
of those who love bribes.

During World War II, French industrial multi-millionaire Joseph Joanovici helped the invading German Nazis by selling precious metals to Hitler's forces. When the Nazis occupied Paris, Joanovici used his wealth and influence to bribe several German officers for his personal safety, which resulted in him later being implicated in the deaths of many French resistors. Eventually, the law caught up with Joanovici and bribery was the root cause of his downfall. So what’s the moral of this story? Well, it's simply that one can disregard the principles of the Bible, but you can’t disregard the aftermath of that decision. Face it, you can't buy, bribe or excuse your way out of the trials of your path. Give yourself over to Lord and you'll find your barren life filled with joy.

I WILL SPIT YOU OUT

Revelations 3:16
But since you are like lukewarm water,
I will spit you out of my mouth!

Author Andrew Carnegie once said that, "The average person puts only 25 percent of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50 percent of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100 percent.” The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “For God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” And in 1 Corinthians 7:23, “God purchased you at a high price. Don't be enslaved by the world.” It would only be proper for us to give 100 percent to the One who owns us, anything less really ought to be unacceptable to Him. Serve God with hotness and He won’t reject and spit you out.

DETERMINATION

Jeremiah 14:21
For the sake of your own name,
LORD, do not abandon us.
Do not disgrace yourself and the throne of your glory.
Do not break your covenant with us. Please don't forget us!

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.” (Luke 21:33) All of His promises are true because they’re all anchored upon His name. Dwight L. Moody, an American evangelist and publisher, had a favorite verse which he always called upon during emergencies which says “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be dismayed. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will triumph.” (Isaiah 50:7) And triumph he did. If you set your face like stone, and you display the determination to do his will you’ll triumph, too.

ETERNAL KING, FOREVER GOD

1 Timothy 1:17
Glory and honor to God forever and ever.
He is the eternal King, the unseen one
who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

Let’s wake up to the reality that God is real, and He will remain our Eternal King forever. According to psychiatrist and author, Dr. Leonard Zunin, mankind’s biggest problem is loneliness. It believed that King Charles II of Spain could not sleep unless a priest and two monks were in his bedroom. God made us to be social beings created to be in fellowship with Him. From the beginning, our allegiance was to Him and Him alone until Satan cheated man into believing the lie that we could be like gods and stand independent - which is exactly how people live today. What we need to do is return allegiance to the Eternal King and gain eternal life. Give glory and honor to Him and you’ll have eternal glory with God in Heaven forever.

CONQUERED BY CHRIST

1 Corinthians 15:28
Then, when he has conquered all things,
the Son will present himself to God, so that God,
who gave his Son authority over all things,
will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

Ephesians 4:8 tells us why Jesus came to earth: “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people." Also, Jesus came to conquer death, the greatest enemy of man, because as declared by Paul in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Alexander the Great ruled over Macedonia at the age of sixteen, became a victorious general at eighteen, and ascended to become king at twenty, but ultimately he died a drunkard before he was thirty-three. He had conquered the known world of his time, but was captured by the world’s vices. When you surrender to Jesus, you’re surrendering to the Conqueror that has set you free from death.

PROSPERITY

Psalm 1:1-3
Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners, or join in with scoffers.
But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants;
day and night they think about his law.
They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season without fail.
Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.

Patrick Henry once said, “I have now disposed of all my property to my family. There is one thing more I wish I could give them and that is faith in Jesus Christ. If they had that and I had not given them a single shilling, they would have been rich; and if they had not that, and I had given them the entire world, they would be poor indeed." The promise of prosperity is there for everybody. The only challenge is to obey the will of the Word of God. If you're obedient in all that you do, it is certain that you will find prosperity.

WARN THEM

1 Thessalonians 5:14

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those
who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid.
Take tender care of those who are weak.
Be patient with everyone.

As Christians we tend to get comfortable with the blessings of God and with His promises. We forget that we are soldiers for Christ with marching orders to advance His kingdom. Paul reminded Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18, “Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they give you the confidence to fight well in the Lord's battles.” In giving his testimony to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:7, he wrote, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.” Be warned – while success is at hand – you don’t want to adopt a nature of laziness or timidity.

THE LORD IS BY YOUR SIDE

Psalm 16:8-9
I know the LORD is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is filled with joy,
and my mouth shouts his praises!
My body rests in safety.

A student once asked a teacher, “Instead of giving the Israelites manna everyday, why didn’t the Lord provide a years worth of manna to His people all at one time?” The wise teacher responded, “I’ll answer you with a parable. Once there was a king who had a son to whom he gave a yearly allowance, paying him the entire sum on a fixed date. It soon happened that the day on which the allowance was due was the only day in the year when the son would take time to see his father. So the king changed the plan and began issuing a daily allowance that was sufficient for that entire day. After that, the prince visited his father every morning. He didn’t just receive the daily allowance; he received his father’s much needed unbroken love, companionship, wisdom and giving! Thus God dealt with Israel and deals with us.” This is likely to be the reason why Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. He knew that our hearts would be filled with Joy when we are in His presence. The Lord doesn’t want to see us once a year or every so often, He wants us to be by His side everyday.

FEARLESS

Psalm 34:4
I prayed to the LORD,
and he answered me,
freeing me from all my fears.

Fear is what paralyzes a person. Faith and fear are proportionally correlative meaning, when your fear is high, your faith is low. The way to decrease fear, however, isn't to increase your faith, but rather to increase love. 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” I remember once seeing an illustration about mothers where suddenly a snake appeared and everybody ran off except for the mothers, who instead of showing fear stayed put because of love to make sure the babies were safe. Their love for their children outweighed their fear of a deadly snake. The love in our hearts for God increases our faith in Him and makes us fearless to do seemingly impossible things.

INCREDIBLE WEALTH

Ephesians 2:7
And so God can always point to us as examples
of the incredible wealth of his favor and
kindness toward us, as shown in all he has
done for us through Christ Jesus.

During the reign of King Henry VIII, it was customary for each of the bishops to bring gifts to the monarch on New Year’s Day. Bishop Latimer went with the rest of his brethren to make the usual offering, but instead of a purse of gold he presented King Henry with a New Testament Bible. The greatest gift that we could ever give someone is the knowledge of Jesus because in Him is abundant life and incredible wealth. John 1:1-3 and 14 tells us all about Jesus: “In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make.” If the Creator of everything is sincerely in your heart, you can be certain that you're an heir to his vast kingdom and incredible wealth.

MEEKNESS IS THE KEY

Psalm 37:11
Those who are gentle and lowly will
possess the land; they will
live in prosperous security.

Psalm 37:11 is true not only for Old Testament times, but also for the modern generations. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:5), Jesus says, “God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them.” You also may have heard of the saying, "The horse that wins the race is the meekest on the track.” The meekest horse is the one with the most control; the horse that responds most quickly and obediently to the jockey’s guidance and command. Conversely, the self-willed horse might run faster than many others at the beginning of a race, but often will not finish the race and lose. Meekness is the proper recognition of who we are and who is in control. God is the Potter and we are the clay. We are clay.

GOOD WORK WILL BE REWARDED

Psalm 18:20
The LORD rewarded me for doing right;
he compensated me because of my innocence.

Apostle Paul said in Galatians 6:9, “So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” In 1971, boxers Joe Frazier and Muhammed Ali each received $2.5 million to fight each other – irregardless of anyone actually watching the match or not. As Life magazine had parlayed, it was “the most money ever paid to any man for a maximum 45 minutes work.” That statement, however, was inaccurate because both boxers worked hard throughout their careers to prepare for those forty five minutes. Work hard towards your goals because the rewards for your good work will be waiting for you.

FACING THE WORST

1 Peter 4:7
The end of the world is coming soon.
Therefore, be earnest and
disciplined in your prayers.

The end of the world is something that is surely coming. As for when the end will occur – no man knows that information. The end is described in the book of Matthew 24:21-22 with, “For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones.” When disaster would strike a ship of the British Navy, a bugler would play “The Still” to alert the men on board to stop, collect their senses and prepare for emergency action. That said, our bugle call has been sounded in the Word and we need to be disciplined in our prayers to God because an emergency is upon us and the worst is yet to come.

CHOOSE YOUR CIRCLE

2 Corinthians 6:17
Therefore, come out from them and separate
yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don't touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.

As a child of God you are commanded by Him to separate yourself from people that make a practice of doing the wrong things. Matthew 7:21-23 says, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” What does this mean? It means that not all people what say they are Christian actually are Christians, so choose your circle of friends with great care. A poor decision could cost you.

BITTER VENGEANCE

Romans 12:17
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.
Do things in such a way that
everyone can see you are honorable.

A philosopher once said, “He who injured you was either stronger or weaker. If he was weaker, spare him; if he was stronger, spare yourself.” There is an even better way to handle this kind of situation from the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5:39: “Don't resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too.” This doesn’t mean that you will allow yourself to be mistreated, but rather you get to show the world what kind of character you have. God’s part in this is clearly stated in Romans 12:19, “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ‘I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord.” Let the Lord take vengeance for you. He does a better job than us at that, too.

PEACE

Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you
were called to peace. And be thankful.

I once saw a painting where the artist depicted perfect peace as a bird's nest overhanging through a raging waterfall with the winds whipping about. That bird sat peacefully over her unhatched eggs, safe from predatory enemies, shielded and protected by the roaring falls. Peace doesn't mean that there's an absence of problems, but rather it means that you feel safe in the midst of those very problems. Find your peace today in the arms of God, through Christ the Savior and the in encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

TIMELESS GOD

Psalm 90:2
Before the mountains were created,
before you made the earth and the world,
you are God, without beginning or end.

God is omnipresent. He is in the eternity past and in the eternity future. He was there when you were born and is even now in the future on the day of your physical death waiting to start an eternal life with you. Herbert Fisher said in A History of Europe that, “Men wiser and more learned than I have discovered in history a plot, a rhythm, a predetermined pattern. But these harmonies are concealed from me. I can see only one emergency following another, as wave follows upon wave – there can be no generalization. There is only one safe rule for the historian – that he should recognize in the development of human destiny the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.” We are limited, but our timeless God knows the paths that we’ll take. Let Him hold your hand and make His Word a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. You can start it off simply by making Him your Lord and Savior.

BEYOND CONTROL

John 14:1
Let not your heart be troubled:
ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Are there situations in life that are beyond your control? I have been through so many of those situations and today as I write this I’m in one of those situations again. As I started this day with the Word of God, the first words that He showed me were, “Let not you heart be troubled.” Even before I made a decision for myself, He already gave comfort to my heart and reminded me that He is in control. An extraordinary nurse that served patients for more than twenty years, but wasn’t well compensated, was asked by one of the doctors she worked with, “Why don’t you make them pay you more?" He added, "You ought to have at least a little more. God knows you’re worth it.” There was a short pause and the nurse smiled and responded, “Doctor, if God knows I’m worth it, that’s all that matters!” The Bible says promotion comes from the Lord. Just be patient, because some situations are beyond your control. God knows what you are going through. Remember, He is a just God.

ALL ACCESS PASS

Romans 5:2
Through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand. And we
rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Grace is the undeserved blessing of God. He has given us an all access pass to enjoy this grace, even though we’re unworthy, because of our Savior Jesus Christ. It’s believed that when John Newton, composer of the hymn Amazing Grace, was asked his opinion regarding grace he said, “When I was young I was sure of many things; there are only two things of which I am sure now: one is, that I am a miserable sinner; and the second is that Jesus Christ is an all-sufficient Savior.” You might know all the right people and you might even have access to high places, but only Jesus can give you that all access pass to the amazing grace that leads to the heavenly places.

PRECIOUS SON

2 Peter 1:1
I am writing to all of you who share
the same precious faith we have,
faith given to us by Jesus Christ,
our God and Savior,
who makes us right with God.

An heirloom is precious because of its value and because it's usually from a person near and dear to you. Something precious is typically priceless and indeed Peter was writing about a precious and priceless faith. Faith is something given to us by Jesus and if any person receives that faith, their lives are guaranteed to change. I read a story about a wealthy old man who died and willed everything from his estate to be auctioned off. The first item to be auctioned was a crayoned childlike drawing of the old man’s son. The people attending the auction came only for the well known pieces of art and they certainly weren’t going to waste time bidding on a scribbled drawing of a person they'd never seen before. Silence came across the room as no bids were made on the drawing until a weak old voice emerged from the rear of the room. It was the old nanny of the rich man's son, and she knew exactly who the person was in the portrait and how much the old man loved and valued his precious son. She said, “I’ll bid for that drawing,” and easily won the bid without competition. The auctioneer handed the silly looking drawing over to the nanny and then heavily pounded the gavel announcing, "The auction has ended." The other attendees shouted, screamed and complained about the auction ending early and yelled that they wanted to bid on the other treasured pieces in the rich man's catalog. The auctioneer told the angry crowd, “The deceased’s will was that whoever bid and won the drawing of his son would get all the paintings.” What's the moral of the story? Simple. If you want the beauty and treasures of life, you first have to claim the precious Son as the foundation of your life.

YOUR BUSINESS

Proverbs 24:27
Develop your business first before building your house.

The big part of this verse's challenge can be traced back to the smaller problems with families. Modern families are just set up all the wrong priorities. Kids blame their parents and the parents blame the grandparents and so on and so on; it’s just a vicious cycle. King Solomon said that there’s nothing new under the sun and I've even heard other preachers say, “It’s just the same old stuff happening to new people.” A preacher who was solemnizing a wedding asked the bride, “Do you take this man for better or worse?” The bride responded, “He can’t get no worse, and there's no hopes of his gettin’ any better, so I'll take him ‘as is.’” It’s a real problem when someone enters into a marriage unprepared, or just prepared for the status quo. King Solomon said that a person's business should be developed first and this means that you should fix yourself first before you start building a house, a home or a family. So, how do you fix you? Easy, just seek God and His righteousness first.

EQUALITY

Genesis 5:2
He created them male and female and blessed them.
And when they were created, he called them "man".

Isn’t this verse interesting? Contrary to what most of the world grew up thinking, this verse shows the equality of man and woman as God’s creations. The only differences are the roles and the birth rights, which is why a male's role is to be a father and a female's role is to be a mother. The male is the root of the word therefore the provider, and the female via birth is the life giver. Author, poet and artist, John Ruskin said, “All that I have ever taught of art, everything that I have written, whatever greatness there has been in any thought of mine, whatever I have done in my life, has simply been due to the fact that, when I was a child, my mother daily read with me a part of the Bible, and daily made me learn a part of it by heart.” Men should respect women as equals. After all, that’s how God intended it to be.

DON’T BE FOOLED

Romans 1:22
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.

Technological advances have made the world smaller. Centuries ago, nobody would've thought that man would one day venture into outer space, that man would be able to see every part of the world via satellite, or that man would communicate faster and clearer without wires by cellular phones. Through new technology, these types of things became possible and it makes us feel quite intelligent. Interestingly, I’d read this joke about a foolish woman who met the angel of death after being killed in a car accident. She said to the angel, “I’m still young and have plans for my life, so please give me more time to live." The angel granted her wish and revived her. As soon as she regained consciousness in the hospital, she asked the attending doctors if she could have plastic surgery performed to make her look like Marilyn Monroe. The doctor complied with her request, but as she was released from the hospital and crossing the street, she was tragically hit by a car and killed again. Meeting the angel of death again she asked, “Did you make a mistake because you just gave me a life extension?” The angel replied, “Marilyn Monroe?!? I thought I took you already.” It’s a silly story, but the reality of it is that we just can’t play around with our lives and still find success. The world might seem smaller, and we may be more technologically advanced, and we may certainly feel more intelligent at times, but we still need God's wisdom to prevent us from making silly and frivolous decisions. Let God guide you with His wisdom so you won’t be fooled.

TREMENDOUS ABILITIES

Philippians 4:13
For I can do everything with the help of
Christ who gives me the strength I need.

I’m sure you’ve got a story just like these:

• I remember a mentor telling me that his elderly sister (barely five feet two inches) was able to lift a five foot tall refrigerator when her house caught fire in an effort to save her valuables.
• When I was in third grade, I lived near a ranch with several fruit trees. I was so enticed by the fruit that I went onto the ranch not knowing that there were grazing bulls on the ranch. Well, they saw me before I saw them and they began charging at me. I ran for my life reaching and jumping a six foot tall barbed wire fence, amazingly escaping the chasing bulls.

We have tremendous God-given abilities. The missing catalyst that people are searching for to trigger these abilities in life is God. Paul said I can do everything through Jesus Christ. In Christ you have the ability to do everything. Everything. Just use your imagination.

GOD, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Romans 1:25-27
Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God,
they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the
things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised
forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful
desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have
sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men,
instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned
with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men and,
as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved.

I read about a small weekly newspaper that was having a tough time filling one of their weekly columns. The senior editor had his compositor set up the Ten Commandments, and the newspaper ran them without making any editorial comments. Three days after that paper was released, the senior editor received a letter saying, “Please cancel my subscription. Your newspaper is getting too personal.” When the Word of God is no longer accepted as the very voice of God that corrects man, we come to believe that we can run our own affairs without God’s divine guidance. We say to God, “Mind your own business.” George Washington wrote, “It is impossible to rightly govern without God and the Bible.” Telling God to mind His own business is a really bad idea. Instead, acknowledge that He is in control of your life and accept that He can bless your life.

SLAVERY

John 8:34
I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin.

On June 22, 1772, Lord Mansfield, the chief justice of the King’s Bench, handed down the famous decision that effectively abolished slavery from the soil of the British Isles. The decision, however, did not impact slavery conducted in Britain’s colonies. It wasn’t until 1833 when William Wilberforce (who had been deeply influenced by John Newton, the composer of the famed hymn Amazing Grace) succeeded in getting Parliament to ban the slave trade and abolish slavery throughout the entire British Empire. It’s only through the amazing grace of God that we can be free because true slavery is not physical, but spiritual. When a wretch can be lost, but then found and freed from slavery of sin, it's truly supernatural. That freedom is yours is to be had, but you’ll have to accept the gift of Christ to gain it.

ACCEPTED

Ephesians 1:6
To the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

One of the greatest challenges facing a young person is acceptance. It’s the reason why people choose to be part of organizations, brotherhoods, fraternities, etc. People always long in our hearts to be a part of something because we were designed by God to desire being a part of something bigger. We were created to be a part of Him and His body of believers. The enemy tricked Adam and Eve and successfully separated man from God. That’s why the beloved Son came to earth to reconcile us with God. Romans 5:10 says, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Come to God, you’ll always find acceptance in Him.

SERVANTS CHANGING THE WORLD

Luke 22:26
Those who are the greatest should take the lowest rank,
and the leader should be like a servant.

There’s a story about translator Doug Meland and his wife working with a village of Brazil’s Fulnio Indians. Sadly, the Fulnio initially received the Melands negatively and insultingly called Doug, “The White Man” because other white men had come before to burn their homes and steal their land. Nevertheless, the Melands stayed focused, learned the Fulnio language and began to help the villagers with medicines and with new ways of doing things. When the Fulnio began to see that the Melands had only good intentions, they began calling Doug, “The Respectable White Man.” The Melands even began adapting to the local customs of the people, and when that happened Doug became “The White Indian.” One day Doug was spotted washing the dirty, blood caked foot of an injured Fulnio boy and the villagers said, “Whoever heard of a white man washing an Indian’s foot?” From that day on, whenever Doug would go into a Fulnio home, he would be announced with, “Here comes the man God sent us.” Because of the Melands efforts to serve their mission field first, the people of a remote part of the world were changed. Servants really can change the world. If you serve with a true servants heart, you too can change the world.

EYES ON THE PRIZE

Joshua 14:14
Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb
son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly
followed the LORD, the God of Israel.

Of the 12 spies sent by Moses, it was only Caleb and Joshua that believed the Promised Land could be taken. The remaining ten were pessimistic because of the “giants” already living there. Because of his faith, Moses promised Caleb a mountain as an inheritance. When Caleb was eighty five years old, he told Joshua, "Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise – even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. So I'm asking you to give me the hill country that the Lord promised me.” (Joshua 14:10-12) Caleb's eyes were always focused on his prize, the promise of God. What's God’s promise to you? Have you set your eyes on your prize? It may take some faith, and others may not see what you see, but God's promise and prize are completely worth it.

ESTABLISH A VALUE SYSTEM

Philippians 3:8
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with
the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I have discarded everything else, counting it
all as garbage, so that I may have Christ.

What’s important to you? What keeps you going everyday? Is it money, power, maybe popularity? You'll have to settle the issue of "what’s really important" and it’s not something you should decide upon haphazardly. You’ve got to give it some serious thought. Moses, who led a nation out of bondage, who already had everything as a prince, chose a value system clearly stated in Hebrews 11:26: “He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him.” He established his value system to be something that was priceless and would last forever. You can make that same decision for yourself and guarantee your own great reward for your entire life.

BE YOURSELF

Hebrews 11:24
It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up,
refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

You shouldn't try to be someone that you’re not because God created your life for a specific purpose and He's made a plan just for you. Despite being a prince of Egypt, Moses knew who he was and He even "refused" to be called "Prince." Moses cut himself off from the promise of being the next Pharaoh because he refused to live a lie and wanted to do what God had purposed him to be. The world can offer you fame and fortune, but you'll likely never be satisfied with what the world can give you. You’ve got to be yourself to find fulfillment. You belong to God and His purpose. Outside of Him, you won’t find fulfillment in your endeavors.

CHILDLIKE

Psalm 116:6
The Lord protects those of childlike faith.

Children are very trusting and in their innocence, they don't worry much about the ramifications of life. When they find themselves in need, the first people they run to are their parents. This is the type of behavior that our Father in heaven wants from us – to totally rely on Him and to run to Him with our needs. Matthew 18:4 says, “Therefore, anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” There's really a lot to learn from kids. Author Robert Fulghum once said that, "Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Like: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together." These are such simple rules for living, right? Do the right thing and be childlike in your faith in Christ.

DOING THE RIGHT THING THE WRONG WAY

Proverbs 16:25
There is a path before each person that
seems right, but it ends in death.

Have you ever tried to do the right thing the wrong way? How would you know if your choice were the right one? The best of intentions is usually at the heart of our decisions, but even with the best of intentions the results could still be wrong. In 1912, one of the builders of the Titanic said, “God Himself could not sink this ship.” Naively, the shipbuilders and public all believed that the ship was unsinkable and as fate would have it, while on its first journey the captain gave the order to abandon ship. 1,515 men, women, and children died that day on a ship deemed unsinkable by man. Ultimately, we just can’t boast of the things we do and we’ve really got to acknowledge that our minds are limited. Do you want to try to do the right thing the right way? A really good start would be to ask our all-knowing God what to do and then to read the Word for guidance.

LUXURY

James 5:5
You have spent your years on earth in luxury,
satisfying your every whim. Now your hearts
are nice and fat, ready for the slaughter.

Luxury sometimes has a negative vibe to it because it gets identified with a lust for material things. It’s rumored that in 1887, the King of Siam spent $500,000 to build a bath at the Golden Temple of the Menam River for his ten-year-old son to take a single ritual bath. The structure was used that one time for the Prince of Siam and was never used again. The Temple of the Bath is surrounded by four smaller Pagodas, all encrusted with heavy plates of gold and gems. In the center is a fabulous marble and gold swimming pool where the solemn bath was taken. This is indeed luxurious living, but isn’t that how a king is supposed to live? The Bible says in John 1:12 that we are children of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords if we receive Jesus. Upon receiving Christ, we become heirs to the luxuries of our Father, but in the meantime as you’re here on earth, share your blessings with your Christian brothers and sisters.

NOTHING’S REAL UNTIL IT GETS PERSONAL

Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength, my shield from every danger.
I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me,
and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

In 1860, a huge crowd gathered to watch the famous tightrope walker, Blondin, walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls. He had performed this stunt numerous times before – a 1,000 foot walk, 160 feet above the raging falls below him. On a lark, he asked the crowd if they believed that he was capable of carrying a person on his back while walking the rope across the falls and the crowd roared their encouragement. Blondin then approached one of the roaring spectators and asked him to get on his back, but the man refused! You see, nothing’s real until it gets personal and the risk becomes real. David, who was called "a man after God's own heart," could have given up on God’s promise that he’d become king because for nearly 20 years he was on the run from authorities. Well, that’s pretty personal now, isn’t it? David just kept on believing that God would be with him through his trials and that he would emerge victorious. Of course, David did eventually emerge victorious. Amazingly, it's pretty personal when your victory becomes realized, too.

CHOSEN DESPITE

John 15:16
You didn't choose me. I chose you.

Was there a time that you were chosen for something, but you weren’t the first choice? My wife once held a children’s Sunday school class activity where the kids would receive pieces of candy as a treat. The way the activity worked was that as the lesson was being taught, she had the kids pass a bag of candy around. Each child picked out one piece of candy without looking in the bag. One got a strawberry flavored candy, another picked out a piece of chocolate, while another selected a lollipop, and so on and so forth. There were some, however, that picked out sour balls and upon tasting the candy they'd quickly spit it out. At the core of the lesson, she asked the children, “If you were a piece of candy, do you think Jesus would think that you tasted sweet?” “Of course!” they all said. One child said, “We’d be too sweet to taste for Jesus!” Well, this is actually true. You see, it doesn’t matter if your life is sour, messed up, dirty or unwanted because Jesus loves you so much and he’s chosen you despite who you are because He wants your life to be renewed and lasting.

THE PROMISED LAND

Hebrews 11:16
But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them.

Where would your dream home be located? Many immigrants excitedly move to the United States to pursue their “American Dream” and sometimes that excitement fades after just a few months because the following thought: “This place is not what I expected it to be like.” God, however, has promised to us a place that He built Himself. It's a place where there’ll be no pain, tears, or problems. The best thing about this Promised Land is that we will be with our Savior forever. Jesus promised us in John 14:1-4, "Don't be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there." While we are happily waiting for that day, be content with what you have because our Promised Land is just going to be heavenly.

COMPETITION AND SERVICE

Matthew 20:26
It’s not going to be that way with you.
Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.
Do you want to be promoted? Are you trying to make your first million? If you’ve ever been to a third world country, you might have noticed that the return policy for purchased items is very different compared to developed countries. Generally speaking, you’re going to be scrutinized before you get your money back. That’s pretty different from the “no questions asked” policy that's typical in developed nations. General Norman Schwarzkopf once said, “When I began as a plebe, ‘Duty, Honor, Country’ was just a motto. In the Army, with its emphasis on rank and medals and efficiency reports, is the easiest institution in the world in which to get consumed with ambition. Some officers spend all their time currying favor and worrying about the next promotion — a miserable way to live. But West Point saved me from that by instilling the ideal of service above self to do my duty for my country even if it brought no gain at all. It gave me far more than a military career — it gave me a calling.” A billionaire was recently asked, “How did you become billionaire?” His reply? "Easy. I made my employees millionaires." If you serve first, you’ll finish first without worrying about the competition.

TRUTH

Proverbs 12:19
Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed.

Matthew 10:26
For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed;
and hid, that shall not be known.
Do you find it difficult at times to be honest? How can you be sure that someone is telling the truth? European explorers in Africa discovered a strange but effective test for this dilemma. In one village, after a serious crime was committed, all villagers would be questioned by the village witch doctor. If there were no confessors, key suspects would then be gathered and made to watch a metal spear-tip heated until it became white-hot. The suspects would then stick out their tongues to be touched by the glowing spear-tip. The witch doctors believed that only the lying tongue would be burned. Well, here's what would usually happen: the guilty person would bolt and run into the bushes as the molten metal approached their open mouths. Case settled, right? Sure - but what if no one ran? Well for the villagers, the truth test still worked. As the hot spear moved down the line, it would touch innocent tongues without effect and only the guilty would scream in pain. Superstition? Not really. There's a scientific explanation. We now know that a normal tongue has enough moisture to prevent a quick burn. But, someone under intense strain (such as guilt and apprehension) would generally have a dry mouth and tongue. Since everyone trusted the final result of the test, the innocent suspects would be relaxed and their mouths and tongues were wet. The guilty mouth, however, would become dryer as the spear approached - basically having their own tongue physically betray them - the very same tongue used to provide a lie. I guess Proverbs 12:19 was right, "lies are soon exposed."

HAVING BY GIVING

Genesis 22:2
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah;
and offer him there for a burnt offering upon
one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
This is truly one of the most absurd commands that can be read from the Bible. God promised Abraham the greatest blessings and that he would be the father of many nations, but He wanted the only child given to Abraham offered as a sacrifice? Well, doesn’t that sound just outright ridiculous? It was told that Sir Leonard Wood had visited France and when the French King learned that he was in the country he sent an invitation to Sir Leonard Wood to have dinner with him the next day. Sir Leonard went to the palace and the King greeted him in the hall saying, “Sir Leonard, I did not expect to see you because you did not answer my invitation.” Wood then expressed one of the choicest sentences of his life saying, “A king’s invitation is never to be answered, but to be obeyed.” Abraham showed the ultimate obedience to an extremely absurd command and God honored that obedience with the ultimate blessing to Abraham’s family. All you have to do is obey, even if it seems absurd.

MY PLACE IN HEAVEN

John 14:1-3
Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me.
There are many rooms in my Father's home,
and I am going to prepare a place for you.
If this were not so, I would tell you plainly.
When everything is ready, I will come and get you,
so that you will always be with me where I am.

While visiting Prussia, the French philosopher Voltaire ridiculed God by saying, “I’d sell my seat in heaven for a Prussian thaler (dollar).” A Christian responded quickly to the philosopher saying, “My dear sir, you are in Prussia where we have a law which says one who wishes to sell anything must prove ownership. Will you prove you have a seat in Heaven?” Some people just have the sheer audacity to brag what they have and what they can get. Not a single person, however, can buy their place into heaven because it’s not for sale - it’s free. All you've got to do is put your faith in Jesus, do His will and your place in Heaven will be secure.

I’M FORGIVEN

Ephesians 4:32

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, just as God
through Christ has forgiven you.

There’s a grand sense of freedom once you’ve been forgiven about something that's been bothering you. Receiving forgiveness means a you've got a new beginning, a new hope, things of the past are swept away and all things become like new (2 Corinthians 5:17). I'd once read about a cemetery grave with an inscription on its headstone with a single word – “Forgiven”. No name, no date of birth or death. Just one word – “Forgiven”. Possibly the greatest thing that could ever happen to a person's life is to receive forgiveness from God. Everything in the past is lost and dead. You can start out fresh, clean and with a new life and say, "I'm forgiven" without any hesitation.