How to Take Courage

As night fell, the boat was in the middle of the lake and Jesus was alone on land. The wind was against the disciples and He could see that they were straining at the oars, trying to make headway. When it was almost morning, Jesus came to them . . . He said to them at once, “Don’t yield to fear. Have courage. It’s really me—I Am!” Mark 6:47-50 TPT

1. RECHARGE your spirit. Jesus’ words are spirit and life (John 6:63). We know that when life gets dry, the living waters of God can turn things around. Jesus often drew away to pray and get with God. Take time to wait upon the Lord. Spend time with Him and watch yourself gain new strength!

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The Availability of God’s Abundance

Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 2 Kings 4:2

1. GOD USES WHAT YOU HAVE. In the Bible, a woman approached the prophet Elisha for help because a creditor was coming to take her children. God asks that we bring what we have: our only jar of oil, our empty containers, and ourselves, and then watch the miracles God will do just with what we have.

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Let God Be Your Security

The Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him. Psalm 32:10b NET

1. BE HONEST. Church is an atmosphere where it’s okay to have a problem but not okay to stay stuck. God wants us to look Him in the eye and deal with things honestly. He has complete sufficiency to deal with sin, guilt, and shame—His mercy triumphs over judgment (1 John 1:9).

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How to Get Fortified

Then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. Moreover David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. 1 Samuel 30:4, 6

1. STRENGTHEN YOURSELF IN THE LORD. Sometimes, like King David, we find ourselves facing off with challenges alone with no one around to encourage us. But at that moment of depletion, we can find encouragement and fortification by seeking God. As we fellowship with Him, strength rises up on the inside of us and we are able to fight and not let up.

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How to Be Ready in Every Season

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season. 2 Timothy 4:2a

1. PREPARE. God uses people who get ready. Preparation is a statement to your future that you are available. It’s a statement that you trust God with your future. We are called to be poised – not wound up or nervous, but ready. And preparation will set you up to be at peace and available for opportunity.

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Rest for Your Soul

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29

1. COME TO HIM. Jesus is the answer for every person – from the most sophisticated to the most down-and-out. If you are fatigued, Jesus is asking you to come to Him, learn from Him, and find rest.

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How to Live Ready for Jesus

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

1. HONOR JESUS. Jesus is the Messiah and He fulfilled every prophecy about Himself, and some day soon Jesus is going to come back. In the meantime, we are to exalt and acknowledge Him. And just like the crowds cried out “Hosanna!” (“Save us!”) when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, we are also coming into a time when our city, our nation, and our world will be stirred to ask for God’s salvation.

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How to Be More Effective

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”—which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. 1 Timothy 6:20-21

1. CHECK YOUR HEART. God wants us to keep our hearts receptive. The Apostle Paul was urging Timothy to be aware of and guard the gifts God entrusted to him. It’s important to look at what is in your heart and create an atmosphere for the gifts to flourish so that you can bear good fruit.

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LIFE!

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6

LIFE IS FOUND IN JESUS. Jesus is the greatest friend we will ever have—we can run to Him in time of need. He is not just part of a myriad of religious concepts in a pluralistic, relativistic world. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and He loves us so much that He took our sin upon Him when He died on the Cross.

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Pray for Easter!

Easter is the New Year’s Day of the Church! It’s a weekend when we have an opportunity to reach many people and tell them about Jesus – on Good Friday, at the Saturday Egg Hunt, and on Easter Morning. Use the points below to pray over the church this next week as we believe God for a great harvest!

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How to Be Used by God

The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” Luke 1:35a

1. COMMIT BY FAITH. When Mary was told she was going to supernaturally give birth to the Son of God, she asked “How can these things be?” The angel replied, “By the power of the Holy Spirit.” You and I are called to put our hands to building and to trust God for fruitfulness throughout our lives. But when you commit to anything big, you recognize your own inadequacy and inexperience. That’s why God reminds us that it’s not by our might or power but by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

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How to Get Rid of Anxiety

The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us. Psalm 115:12a

1. CAST YOUR CARES ON HIM. God cares about you. He formed you in the womb and He knows everything about you (Jeremiah 1:5). Everything that is worrying and troubling you—give it over completely to the Lord. You are not forgotten: God has plans to give you a future and hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

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How to Resist Identity Crisis

1. MAKE UP YOUR MIND. When King Nebuchadnezzar took Daniel and his friends away from Jerusalem, he ordered them to learn the literature and language of the Chaldeans for three years—essentially trying to brainwash them with the Babylonian system. He even gave them new names (Daniel 1:1-7). This was pure identity disruption. But “Daniel made up his mind.” He drew a line and asked permission from the king’s commander to eat a different way (Daniel 1:8).

God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. Daniel 1:17, 20

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The Battle Is the Lord’s

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands . . . that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:45-47

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. When King Saul and his army got preoccupied and burdened by the oppression of Goliath, David arrived with a different perspective, fresh from his time with God while tending the sheep. These Bible verses show us that life is not a flowery bed of ease—there are definite challenges. But we can face off with our giants in the name of Jesus and win the battle.

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How to Fight a Good Fight

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. 2 Timothy 4:7-8a

1. BE FAITHFUL. Don’t underestimate the value of a life of faithfulness by only waiting around for an eventful day. King David as a young man was trustworthy with his daily responsibilities when his dad sent him to take food to his brothers and check up on how they were doing (1 Samuel 17:17-18, 20a). Delivering cheese, bread, and grain doesn’t seem like the beginning of a big destiny. But in the context of obedience, God used David to take down a giant and defeat an army.

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In the Power of the Holy Spirit

    “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My [Jesus] witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

    GO TO THE MOUNTAINTOP. I am calling the church to fasting and prayer this month. In the Bible, leaders would often go to the mountaintop to seek God. Your mountaintop can be anywhere away from distractions – your closet, your car, your backyard. Smith Wigglesworth said that God’s purpose in taking us to the mountaintop is to prepare us for “greater usefulness in the valley.” As you fast and pray and spend time with God, you will grow more sensitive to His voice and more aware of what God wants to do in these upcoming days.

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How to Serve the Purpose of God

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay. Acts 13:36

1. RUN TO GOD. God gives equipment to you to enable you to serve His purpose in your generation. King David’s life was not perfect; it was a mixture of noble deeds stained with terrible sins. But he knew where his help came from and he continually ran back to the Lord (Psalm 121:2).

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How to Accomplish God’s Plan

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6

1. RELY ON THE HOLY SPIRIT. God has called us to things way beyond our human skill. Zerubbabel was called to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem after returning from exile in Babylon, despite great obstacles. God sent an angel to let Zerubbabel know that he would not get it done by his own human strength but by God’s power.

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How to Get Refreshed

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” John 7:37-38

GET FILLED. When you get dehydrated, you drink water. When your gas tank is empty, you fill it up. When you get spiritually drained, tap into God’s living water to drink and be refreshed. Read God’s Word. Pray in the Name of Jesus and connect with God—and you will get results (John 14:14).

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How to Conquer Your Goliath

So David arose early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper and took the supplies and went as Jesse had commanded him. 1 Samuel 17:20

1. STAY FAITHFUL. The story of David and how he conquered Goliath will help you to face off with the giants that are looming before you. Some of the greatest things we achieve never look that great at the start (Zechariah 4:10). David’s victory began with an average chore when his father told him to take bread and cheese to his brothers who were in battle. When we are faithful in the small tasks—like getting up early, leaving our sheep with a keeper, and taking food to our brothers—God will give us responsibility over greater things (Luke 16:10).

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Happy New Year!

I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me. Psalm 57:2

1. GET READY. “Lord, what do You want me to do?” (Acts 9:6 NKJV). We want to find out what God has purposed for this next year, both as a church and as individuals, and then believe Him for the boldness and courage to accomplish it. This is not of human manufacture, but rather complete reliance on the strength and wisdom that God supplies.

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Jesus Is the Light

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. John 1:4-5, 12

1. RECEIVE THE LIGHT. For God so loved the world that He gave Jesus. Two thousand years ago, Mary and Joseph were looking for a place where they could deliver their Baby. Today, Jesus is looking for people who will open their hearts and welcome Him in. That’s when the miracle of salvation takes place.

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Five Reasons to Rejoice This Christmas

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:16-17

1. HE IS HERE. The good news of Jesus can change everything in a moment. When a Pharisee named Nicodemus asked Jesus how to be born again, Jesus replied with words that resound through time: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…”

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How to Overcome

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

1. Hang out with God. Jesus said He only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19). “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). How can you imitate God unless you spend time with Him? This week, instead of constantly watching the news, take in some good news and commune with God. Turn off your radio and phone and then fellowship with Him.

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An Attitude of Gratitude

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

The reason. Because God is worthy of praise, we can daily acknowledge that something wonderful has been done in our lives! We have not one, but 365 days of thanksgiving.

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