The Pruning Process

From: Joel Osteen Ministries

 

John 15:2 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

In life, we all go through a pruning process. God will prune our lives so that we can bear much fruit. To "prune" means something is cut away, something is removed. In other words, maybe a good friend that you counted on moved to another city. Maybe a business shut down that you were connected to, or a relationship went in a different direction.

God knows what you need in your life in order to grow and flourish. Sometimes when things happen that we don’t understand, we have to just trust that He is working behind the scenes preparing you to go to another level.

When you’re going through transition, don’t get down, become discouraged and think that you’re a failure. If you will accept the change and stay in faith, God will open new doors. He will bring new opportunities, new friendships, and take you to another level of His glory!

Our Daily Bread

From: Daily Disciples Ministries

Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread."

Today’s verse is taken from the Lord’s Prayer. Like many people, I learned the Lord’s Prayer as a child and I have prayed it thousands of times. But how many of us really think about what we are praying when we recite this prayer?

What exactly is “our daily bread?” Certainly our daily bread consists of those things that we need to survive, to live on...food, water, clothing, shelter and financial resources.

There is another type of “daily bread” that applies here as well – our spiritual bread. Learning to feed on His Word will give us the spiritual nourishment we need to live a victorious Christian life, a transforming life, a life pleasing to God.

From: Ambassadors For Christ International - John North

 

Proverbs 4:20-21 "To My words be attentive, to My sayings incline your ear; let them not slip out of your sight, keep them within your heart."

 

Because we love Jesus, we love the Bible. We want to get to know Jesus more, and so we soak our lives in the Word of God.

If you have a relationship with another person, and you want to get to know them better, you have a conversation with them. You listen carefully to what they share with you about themselves. You focus on them.

It is the same with your walk with God. God is speaking to you; but as long as your Bible is closed, you miss out on so much of what God wants to say and do in your life. The Bible can be dry if you approach it academically. But if you approach it with an open heart, listening for the voice of God in your heart, it will be "a lamp for your feet and a light for your path." (Psalm 119:105)

The Word

From: Ambassadors For Christ International - John North

 

John 1:1,14 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory."

Why was Jesus referred to as "the Word"? Because He is God speaking to us—God wants you to know Him! The whole Bible is about God revealing Himself to people. Even in your own life, God is constantly reaching out to you, inviting you every day to live your life in close relationship with Him.

That's why He has given us the Bible, which is also called "the Word". God wants to be totally involved in your life today. He doesn’t just want you to be a "committed Christian"; He wants to walk with you through your day on a relational level.

I encourage you to make your life a pursuit of God! When the Bible talks about "seeking God", this is what it means. It means that you look for any way, any opportunity to get to know God better on a personal level.

Encourage One Another

From: Ambassadors For Christ International - John North

 

Hebrews 3:13 "But encourage one another daily as long as it is still called 'Today.'"

 

Fellowship is one of the tools God has given us to transform our lives! Get close to other people who have a real love for God.

Share with each other what is happening in your spiritual lives. Talk about what God is teaching you. Pray together. Study the Bible together.

If you can’t find a group like that, then start one, even if you are not a leader or a strong Christian. Find someone else and just start making your spiritual lives the center of your conversation. At the end of your time together, suggest that you each pray together for each other’s spiritual life. You will be growing spiritually as you "encourage one another."

Everything Good Is God-Given

Wisdom From The Psalms

Psalm 18:34 "He made my feet as swift as those of hinds and set me on the heights."

God has equipped His creation with many wonderful and amazing qualities. The doe who can climb steep mountains with nary a misstep, the jaguar that can outrun any prey and turn sharply at its fastest pace, the eagle who can span vast distances in a matter of hours; all these creatures are strong because they use their God-given talents as they were intended to.

There is a lesson to learn from such creatures. We, too, have been given many wonderful gifts and talents. When we affirm the talents we have been given, then God will surely bless us, and we will be a sign to others of His goodness.

Prayer: Teach me to use the gifts I have been given. Aid me as I test my wings and struggle to get my footing. Be patient with me, Lord, and touch me with Your touch of peace and grace. Amen.

From: Ambassadors For Christ International

 

Psalm 119:15-16 "Your Word I have treasured in my heart… I will meditate on Your precepts, and regard Your ways. I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your Word."

God has given us His Word to help us renew our minds! God did not tell us to change ourselves. He is the one who will change us. He tells us that the part of us that needs to change first of all is our minds. They need to be renewed. When that happens, transformation will follow.

And God went even further: He gave us a number of things that we can put into our lives that are like God’s tools for the renewing of our minds. As you see in today’s reading, God’s Word is one of the most significant. We need to treasure it in our heart.

The world also offers you tools to help you focus your mind on its agenda and its values. When you choose to fill your mind with God’s Word and reject the world’s tools, then you will find God’s Spirit using His Word to totally transform your inner life.

Love Never Fails

From: Daily Disciples Devotionals

1 Corinthians 13:13 "There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love."

Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a day to express love and most notably, romantic love. The history of Valentine's Day, along with the saint for whom it is named, is shrouded in mystery. The exact details of what happened to St. Valentine are uncertain.

The thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians is known as the love chapter of the Bible. The apostle Paul writes about true love, what it is and what it is not. It "suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;" (verse 4). It "does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;" (verse 5). Paul puts it very simply in verse 8, "Love never fails."

Romantic love is a wonderful feeling and being in love is truly a gift from God. But let’s ask the Lord to help us love beyond the feelings of the gifts and the favors. Let’s pray that we can love as Christ loves us and that we can express that love in ways that bless those around us more than anything else we can give.

The Devotion Of Hearing

From: Devotionals By Oswald Chambers

 

1 Samuel 3:9 "If you are called, reply, "Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening.'"

 

The goal of my spiritual life is to have such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will be able to hear God (in my spirit) and know that God always hears me (see John 11:42). If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing.

 

What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other things. It is not that I don’t want to hear God, but I am not devoted in the right areas of my life. I am devoted to things and even to service and my own convictions. God may say whatever He wants, but I just don’t hear Him.

 

The attitude of a child of God should always be, "Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening." If I have not developed and nurtured this devotion of hearing, I can only hear God’s voice at certain times. At other times I become deaf to Him because my attention is to other things— things which I think I must do. This is not living the life of a child of God.

God's Will For Your Life

From: Billy Graham Ministries

 

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect."

 

God has a plan for the life of every Christian. Every circumstance, every turn of destiny, is for your good. It is working together for completeness. His plan for you is being perfected. All things working together for your good and for His glory.

 

As a young Christian, Ruth, my wife, wanted to be a missionary, as were her father and mother. But God had other plans for her life. Changing circumstances revealed God’s will to her, and she was happy where God had placed her.

 

So many of us ask God to change the circumstances to suit our desires, instead of us conforming our wills to His. Don’t let circumstances distress you. Rather, look for the will of God for your life to be revealed in and through those circumstances.

God Is Our GPS

From: Joel Osteen Ministries

Psalm 25:4 "Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths."

Like most cars today, I have a navigation system. I can program it to take me to a certain location. All along the way, the announcer will give me instructions, “Turn left in a quarter of a mile. Take this freeway three miles. Exit in one mile.”

But sometimes I don’t follow the directions. I may miss a turn, stop to get gas or go another way. The announcer doesn’t come on and start yelling at me and say, “What in the world are you doing? I told you to turn left! You ruined my plan.” No, the moment I get off course that GPS system immediately starts recalculating another plan. Within a few seconds, it will give me new directions.

It’s the same way with God. When you have a heart to please Him, you may miss an exit, you may make a wrong turn, but God has already recalculated another route. He’s still going to get you to where you’re supposed to be. He loves you with an everlasting love, and when you seek Him with your whole heart, no matter where you are in life, He’ll get you back on track!

He Never Leaves Us

From: Today God Is First - Os Hillman

 

Job 12:22 "He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings the gloom forth to the light."

 

One of the great mysteries of the Kingdom is how God uses the darkest times in our lives to reveal greater depths of understanding of His ways. During this time, God meets us in the depths of darkness and we discover that He never left us but is in the midst of the darkness. We develop a new relationship with God.

During this season God will make spiritual deposits into your life. God reveals deep things in darkness that will be revealed in the light. It is here that we discover important truths that He plans to use in our lives and the lives of others.

If you find yourself in great distress, know that God will bring your deep shadows into the light. The key to your deliverance is becoming satisfied in God. He becomes your all. He is your life. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength; and see what things He will show you in the deep things of darkness.