Aug. 04, 2014–Delegating Joab to do David’s Job

August 7, 2014 By

002I don’t know about you, but whenever I’ve heard anyone re-tell the story of David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba, the narrative usually begins with the second verse of 2 Samuel 11: Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.

His curiosity is aroused, he is overcome with lust, he sends for Bathsheba, the deed is done…and the rest is history.

But there is a telling detail in the first verse that is not always highlighted by most story-tellers. Here is how it reads:

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1)

Had David done what he ought to have done—which is to lead the army into battle—he would not have stayed behind in the palace, gone for a walk on the roof, taken out the binoculars…well, you get the idea!

On the surface, it looks as though there was nothing wrong with David deputizing Joab to lead the army. After all, under Joab’s leadership, they accomplished their mission successfully.

But the fact of the matter is that David should’ve been where the action was—on the battlefront. That is what the commander of the Army does. By choosing not to exercise the leadership that was rightfully his, he sets the stage for the big mess that follows. You cannot delegate Joab to do David’s job.

Are there times when we too are tempted to stay back in Jerusalem when we ought to be front and centre in Rabbah? After all, Jerusalem is a safe place to be, with no additional responsibility.

You may be familiar with the saying: “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what a ship is built for…” Since you are part of a “royal priesthood” (I Peter 2:8), we could say that “A royal soldier is safest in the palace, but that is not what a soldier is meant to do!”

You are meant to be on the frontlines of battle, in hostile territory occupied by unbelievers and controlled by the demonic forces of hell. It is there that you show up wearing the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-17) ready to handle everything the enemy throws at you.

Staying in the safety of your home base (e.g. church building or small group) could potentially lead to problems. You could give in to temptations of the flesh. They may not necessarily have to do with lust or other sexual sin (although that is a distinct possibility). At the very least, you could end up satisfying the carnal desire to play it safe when it comes to living out the Christian faith—to keep it all to yourself without sharing with others, thus fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)

We could end up being behind closed doors all the time, debating the merits and demerits of evangelising a certain way vs another. Or we could get focused on simply getting our needs met with a particular style of worship, a certain version of the Bible, etc. No matter what we do, we could end up ignoring those who are caught in the clutches of the evil one.

Dear DWOD friend, let it never be said of you that you delegated Joab to do David’s job. Whenever you are tempted to stay back in Jerusalem, may you rise up and head on to Rabbah or wherever the battle may be raging that particular day. The price you pay for playing it safe could very well exceed the cost of waging war.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Aug. 03, 2014–My God Shall Provide

August 4, 2014 By

(Be blessed by this DWOD for August 03, 2014 by guest contributor Os Hillman)

Os Hillman 2014“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

Have you ever gone through a time of complete dependence on God for your material needs? Perhaps you lost a job and could not generate income on your own. Perhaps you got sick and could not work. There are circumstances in our lives that can put us in this place.

When God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt through the desolate desert, they had no ability to provide for themselves. God met their needs supernaturally each day by providing manna from Heaven. Each day they would awake to one day’s portion of what they needed. This was a season in their lives to learn dependence and the faithfulness of God as provider.

By and by, they entered the Promised Land. When they did, God’s “supernatural provision” was no longer required. “The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan” (Joshua 5:12). In both cases God was the provider of the need.

For most of us, we derive our necessities of life through our work. Like the birds of the fields we are commanded to go out and gather what God has already provided. It is a process of participation in what God has already provided.

Sometimes it appears it is all up to us; sometimes it appears it is all up to God. In either case we must realize that the Lord is our provider; the job is only an instrument of His provision. He requires our involvement in either case.

“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

Acknowledge the Lord as the provider of every need you have today. He is a faithful provider.

(Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of 15 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

Aug. 02, 2014–Do Not be Deterred by Detours

August 3, 2014 By

QEW CrashAnd having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2:12)

Our Canadian subscribers may have heard about an unexpected event that happened on one of the busiest stretches of the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) that connects Toronto to Niagara Falls on Thursday, July 31.

A dump truck driven by an impaired young man tried to speed through the Burlington Skyway with its bucket raised. Needless to say he was not successful in his attempt. The bridge’s overhead trusses impeded his progress. Unfortunately, due to the structural damage caused, the bridge was closed indefinitely to Toronto-bound traffic.

This would have been simply filed under the category of “just another news item” in my cranial cabinet…except for the fact that I had to take that route twice over the weekend—once on Friday and again on Saturday. The Friday trip would see me in the vicinity of the Skyway around 9 a.m., which would be shortly after rush hour. On Saturday I would have to contend with heavy traffic as many motorists headed to cottage country or other destinations on this “long weekend”.

Traffic reports on the radio were not very encouraging when I headed out Friday morning. The most logical alternative routes were simply jammed with the unexpected increase in volume. One was moving along at the pace of a parking lot. The other was infinitely faster, at snail’s pace.

The announcer very calmly suggested that all motorists should allow themselves an extra hour at least to make it through the gridlock.

How was I going to make it even remotely close to the scheduled time of my meeting? Should I cancel or at least postpone it to a later date?

Detours. No one likes them at the best of times. You simply detest them when they crop up unexpectedly. Yet, they cannot be avoided, whether you are travelling on the Queen Elizabeth Way en route to cottage country or the King’s Highway on the road to your destiny.

Just as an impaired driver was responsible for this particular detour, so also it is in life. It is the stupidity, cruelty, frailty or naiveté of others that can delay your progress. You end up paying the price for their mistakes.

Sadly, such unplanned detours often deter travellers from pursuing their destiny. Unable to handle the prospect of a seemingly infinite delay, discouraged by the need to take a previously untraversed route, many simply do not make the decision to keep moving, detour and all.

So, what do I do? Pray, of course and seek Holy Spirit direction.

Enter thought into conscience. Thought entertained and enacted. Use Google Maps to chart a route that avoided highways. Exit 1 km ahead of everyone else. Follow directions closely, driving where one had never driven before on roads one did not know even existed hitherto. Get back on the QEW. Voila! Destination reached despite detour with only a 15 minute delay.

Oh yeah, the extra time in the Buick provided me with the opportunity to listen to recordings of prophetic words spoken over me and Sulojana several years back. I thanked God for those that had already been fulfilled and those that were on their way to being fulfilled after unanticipated detours and the resulting delays. (Hint, hint!)

Dear DWOD friend, are you on a detour right now on the road to your destiny? Do not despair. Do not be deterred by the prospect of taking an alternate route.

In the verse quoted at the top of this post, it was the evil intentions of King Herod that forced the Magi to take the long way home. Yet, the detour was absolutely essential in the grand scheme of things for the purposes of God to be fulfilled.

Make good use of the additional time. Fill it up with praise and prayer and prophecies (did you get the hint…lol!) And you too will reach your destiny in good time. In God’s time.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

Aug. 01–Rejoicing…UP!

August 1, 2014 By

LOOK UP(Be blessed by this DWOD for Aug. 01, 2014 by guest contributor Peggy Kennedy)

“And, because of this I rejoice, Yes, I will continue to rejoice…I eagerly expect and hope…” (From Philippians 1:18, 20)

Nearly everything I write I sign the same way:  “With rejoicing…”  When that began several years ago I had no idea just how intentional that would be…and how prophetic, too!  For about the last 14 days the Lord has been speaking loudly about the inseparable “twins” of perseverance and promises.

Once again it is to the Apostle Paul’s testimony of triumph that I’ve been drawn.  That testimony of triumph definitely includes Philippians chapter 1.  The physical context is a Roman prison (not the normal place to be triumphant!)  However, that may be the “easy part” for what Paul is experiencing.

While he’s been there some very unscrupulous voices have been “preaching Christ” out of jealousy and rivalry. Their aim is to discredit Paul!  Ouch!  Yet, the apostle responds with that landmark declaration:  “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.”

But, it doesn’t stop there!  Paul declares that he is thus rejoicing and will continue to rejoice!  What a generous attitude!  He moves past personal vindication and chooses instead the exaltation of Christ as His central goal!  He clearly (and purely!!) states that he will also maintain “eager expectation and hope”. (vs. 20)  The Message Version renders this:  “I am going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out.”

I was in a service recently when a very young prophetic voice shared what I would paraphrase as “I see a picture of mailboxes…we are the mailboxes and He is able to deliver what He has promised.”  That prophetic word picture is powerful!

So is the Greek word picture in that word “expect”.  It has a literal dynamic of “the head”…and the sense of watching!  The words which flow out of this word “eagerly expect” combined with “hope” is “to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation or confidence.” (Strongs, G603,G1380)

So, as His mailboxes, whether in a Roman prison or in any context of the contrary motives of others (or even of the failure of any natural system), we can still have a confident expectation of “receiving”.   A vital requirement will be to set the direction of our heads and our hearts.

In a similar conversation about difficulty and resistance, Paul tells the believers in Corinth to “fix their eyes”. (II Corinthians 4:18 NIV)  That position of our heads and our hearts will mean we are still on location to receive!

The common popular phrase is to “change UP”.  As prophetic people, let’s adapt that and resolve to set an atmosphere conducive to receiving:  rejoice UP!

That’s a good word for us “mailboxes” in whatever moment we are in!  When others come near, let them see our heads bent upward with our eyes fixed on Him, and hear our hearts rejoicing…rejoicing UP! “I am going to keep that celebration going because I know how it’s going to turn out.”

(Peggy Kennedy is a respected member of the Canadian Prophetic Council. According to her pastor Matt Tapley: “Peggy Kennedy carries a powerful anointing to consistently bring the Word of the Lord in a way that is both powerful and timely…mantled to walk in a heavenly grace that brings people of diverse backgrounds together in unity.”)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

July 31, 2014–More Than Sunday School Faith

July 31, 2014 By

copelands(Be blessed by this DWOD for July 31, 2014 by guest contributor Kenneth Copeland)

Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. (2 Peter 1:10)

You shall never fall. When you think about it, that’s a startling statement, isn’t it? Most of us have been tripped up by the devil so many times we don’t like to think about it.

But the Word of God says it doesn’t have to be that way. He says there’s something that can keep us on our feet. What is it? Diligence.

If you haven’t already, you need to realize how important diligence is. You need to face the fact that you simply can’t live a life of victory without it.

You can’t stand strong on the Word of God and not pick your Bible up during the week. Sunday morning alone isn’t going to get the job done. Yet most believers try to get by on that. That’s precisely why we have thousands of churches all over the world filled with born-again people who don’t have enough faith to blow their hats off. No diligence.

I remember several years ago when I ministered to a lady who was healed of cancer. She’d gotten into the Word, taken a stand of faith, and had been delivered. But several years later she called me and said, “Brother Copeland, I wish you’d pray for me. This cancer has come back on me again.”

Right away I recalled the scripture the Lord had given us to stand on those years before: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” So I said, “Get your Bible and let’s go back to Isaiah 54:17.”

In the background I could hear her whispering to someone else in the room, “Where’s my Bible?” When I heard that, I almost cried out. I knew she wasn’t going to make it. Why? No diligence.

Listen, this is a daily thing. The devil’s out there 24 hours a day devising ways to make us fall. Jesus is on the throne 24 hours a day giving us power to resist him, and we need to be exercising our faith all the time.

If you’re going to stand in the days ahead, you’re going to need a lot more than Sunday school faith. You’re going to need some full-grown, mountain-moving faith, and there’s only one way to get that: By giving yourself to the Word more diligently than you ever have before.

Give diligence to make your calling and election sure; and no matter how slippery the situation gets, you won’t have to fall!

(This post appeared first in “From Faith to Faith”, a daily guide to Victory. To subscribe to this daily devotional and access other great resources, please go to www.kcm.org)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

July 28, 2014–Six Secrets to Overcome Sin–Part 2

July 28, 2014 By

ShyjuMathew2(Be blessed by this DWOD for July 28, 2014 by guest contributor Shyju Matthew)

We trust you were blessed by yesterday’s post. We continue with Secrets 4, 5 & 6…

4. What You Feed Everyday is What Will Rule Over You Everyday!

No matter how incredibly anointed you are, if you feed your flesh, you will fall into sin.

Solomon is the best example of such folly. He knew everything, he even had an encounter with God, twice!! And, we all know the end of his story.

Ever wondered why you are too tired to pray? Distracted to read the Bible? Struggling to hear from God? Your flesh is too strong over your spirit.

You cannot feed your flesh with the things of the world and not expect your flesh to subdue your desires of the spirit.

What must you do?

–Consistently resist every infiltration of satan that tries to subdue the work of the Spirit of God.

–Draw lines with friends that feed your heart with sin and the thoughts and imaginations of sin. Be humble and loving but make it clear that your heart and mind is not the garbage of this world.

–Ignore sinful media. “Which celebrity is going out with whom?” “Who slept with whom in Hollywood?” “Who did what and how in your church!” How are those details going to help your heart be tuned with God? Quit now. Don’t feed your flesh. Get off those TV channels.

–Feed your spirit. Read things that fuel you for God. Watch videos that restore your love for Jesus. Read your Bible like it was your only meal. Pray without ceasing.

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” (Mark 14:38)

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18)

“I pray that He would give you inner strength and power through His Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16)

“… But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit, … Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 1:20)

Those are just a few tips, I’m sure you get the idea!

5. Understand Grace Wholeheartedly

The idea of grace is not only one of the most powerful life-changing revelations to a believer, but also one of the most abused because of certain wrong teachings. Grace is not an excuse to sin, it’s an empowerment to get you back up to the throne.

Understand that it’s all by His mercy and allow the understanding of grace to empower you to get back on your feet and not lie in sin. Get it?

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1)

Please hear me: “Falling in sin is human. Living in sin is abuse of grace. Rising up from sin is understanding Sonship. And living in pursuit of God is legacy.”

6. Finally, last but not the least, simple to understand, yet somehow not practised: Confess Your Sins and Turn Away From It.

Sin multiplies in the dark. To disentangle from sin, expose it to the Light of God. Don’t wait for a week to confess your sins to Jesus. Confess your sins right then and there. Expose your sins to your accountability partner. Expose it to your mentor. Expose it to your spouse. Pray together for restoration. At the feet of Jesus there is mercy and grace.

I conclude with reminding ourselves once more that our Commander waits for us. To send us out to the Nations for His glory!

Therefore: “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” (2Timothy 2:4)

Are you pleasing Jesus today? Start now!

(Born in India and presently living in Montreal, Canada, Revivalist Shyju Matthew continues to demonstrate God’s mighty Word through the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in crusades and conferences all over the world. This post first appeared on his blog Guarding The Heart)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

July 27–Six Secrets to Overcoming Sin–Part 1

July 28, 2014 By

pizza fast(Be blessed by this DWOD for July 27, 2014 by guest contributor Shyju Matthew)

The issue of sin is something that a Jesus lover cannot afford to ignore. That’s because our Master said, “If you love Me, you will obey My commandments.”

Becoming sin-conscious certainly does not help anyone overcome sin. But what does help is becoming aware of how our flesh reacts and responds. Knowledge in itself does not set us free, but it shows us clear paths to eliminate distractions.

I want to share with you 6 secrets to overcome sin, obviously not as one who is perfect, but as someone learning to love Jesus one day at a time.

1. Don’t Blame Someone Else for Your Sin

The Blame Game started in the garden of Eden with the fall of man. The more we shift blame, the less we take responsibility and the harder it becomes to overcome sin.

Adam blamed God for giving him a woman who would make him sin. Eve then blamed the serpent for all the evil (Gen 3:12).  This blame game continues today as an easy response to the carnal nature in us.

Wholehearted repentance starts when you take full responsibility for your shortcomings. So take responsibility for life and get things straight, the best is ahead of you!

2. Don’t Blame the Devil Either!

Like Eve, most Christians love blaming the devil.

Now it is true that the enemy does bring temptations to destroy a child of God. However let us not forget the foundational truth that the enemy is under our feet through Christ!

I was struck by this paragraph from Gill’s exposition of the Bible:

“…the woman’s seed, ‘shall bruise thy head’ (Genesis 3:15); and which has had its accomplishment in Christ, who has not only destroyed the works of the devil, but the devil himself, and spoiled the principalities and powers, and bruised him and them under His feet, when he led captivity captive; and though, for the trial of the graces of his people, Satan is permitted to attack them in various shapes, yet in a short time he will be bruised under their feet, as he is already under their Lord and Master’s.”

The knowledge of how the enemy is powerless does nothing to you. But when that knowledge becomes a revelation in your spirit through pursuit of God, then there will be a massive empowerment from God that will release the grace of God on you to overcome all the wiles of the enemy.

It’s time we quit making the devil more powerful than he actually is.  Resist the devil & he must flee! Time to resist! Are you on it now?

3. Don’t Reason or Argue With Sin

This is one area where I have failed a million times. So often we think we are good enough to out-smart sin. However God is clear about the power of sin over the fallen nature of man. You can never overcome sin in your own strength, that’s why the Bible is clear—FLEE ! (2Timothy 2:22) Therefore it is not wise for a child of God to go for a fist fight with sin as it will cause you to fall. The solution is simple, flee! Flee sin and then resist the devil.

Don’t try to master sin in the name of resisting the devil. These are two different things. Fleeing sin is the tangible part of the obedience to Jesus, resisting the devil is the warfare in the invisible realm. So you flee in obedience first and then when you are far from it, then you try to overcome it.

To put it in one line: You cannot hold yummy pizza in your hands and expect God to give you grace to fast! Flee first!

Show no mercy to sin! Enough said.

Don’t miss secrets 4-6 in tomorrow’s DWOD!

(Born in India and presently living in Montreal, Canada, Revivalist Shyju Matthew continues to demonstrate God’s mighty Word through the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in crusades and conferences all over the world. This post first appeared on his blog Guarding The Heart)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

July 26, 2014–Follow-Through Prevents Falling Through

July 28, 2014 By

baseball swing follow-throughIn the summer of 1981, the United Church of Canada sent me on a four month internship to two churches in Northern New Brunswick.

My living quarters during this stint was a cute little one-bedroom house located right on the premises of Upsalquitch United Church. It was also a gathering place for the children of the village who would come every day after school looking for the student minister.

Of course, they were not content to simply sit and chat. They were used to being active. One day they suggested that we could have a game of softball soon. So I went to Campbellton and picked up a glove. (Did I tell you that I did not tell them that I’d never played softball before in my life?)

The next day came…everyone showed up with their gloves. Play Ball! Soon it was my time to bat. The pitcher lobbed the softball in my direction. It looked about the size of a Florida grapefruit. I swung the bat as best as I could and made contact. The ball was in play heading toward third base.

So far so good, right? I started running toward first base. (Did I tell you that I’d never played softball before in my life?) All I could hear was the sound of laughter as they watched me run for my life with the bat tucked under my arm. My cover was blown.

The interesting sidebar is that they were too busy laughing at my faux pas, that I made it safely to first base. My first ever hit. Wow!

Once their bellies had ached enough, one of the boys was kind enough to teach me what to do with the bat after one hits the ball…and a few other elementary principles of hitting.

The main thing I learned from this quickie lesson was the emphasis on the Follow-Through of the swing. He demonstrated how when you follow through properly, the ball travels farther. Otherwise, I would continue to hit little nubbers with a poor excuse of a swing that stopped once contact was made between the bat head and the ball.

Those of you who are golfers understand what the follow-through is all about too, don’t you? Making contact with the ball is great. But the ball is not likely to go too far unless you follow through with your swing!

One of the greatest joys of serving Jesus is helping those who do not know Him as Lord and Saviour to make a personal commitment to follow Him. But, we need to realize that this is simply the point at which the bat head makes contact with the softball.

It is our responsibility as those who “make disciples of the nations” to carry on with the Follow-Through process. This may entail several visits over a cup of coffee or a meal where you answer questions and teach basic things such as how to read the Bible and how to pray. It could mean that you take them with you wherever you go and show by example how to live as Jesus did. You may need to keep in touch with them over the phone or social media every day, sometimes several times every day.

All this Follow-Through will prevent that newly minted believer from falling through the cracks. And your impact upon their lives will be way more than you could ever ask or imagine. Some of the people you mentor/parent will exceed your expectations and make you go “Wow!” Who knows what would’ve happened had you not taken the time and the effort for the Follow-Through?

Dear DWOD friend, please make sure that whenever God gives you the opportunity to make contact with someone that you also Follow-Through. It is a surefire way of preventing newbies from falling through the cracks.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

July 25, 2014–Asking for Help activates Hope

July 26, 2014 By

helpPlans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)

(Thanks to DWOD subscriber Jewelcy Jawahar for forwarding this story in an e-mail. FYI, Jewelcy and I were classmates from Grades 1-5 at Morton English Primary School in Nagercoil, India.)

A farmer died leaving his 17 horses to his three sons. When his sons opened up the will, it read:

My eldest son should get 1/2 (half) of the total number of horses, my middle son should be given 1/3 of the total horses and my youngest son should receive 1/9 (one-ninth) of the total.

Since 17 is indivisible by 2, 3 or 9, the three sons started to fight with each other. With such a mathematical impossibility staring them in the face, they gave up hope of ever honouring their father’s will on their own.

In desperation, they decided to seek the counsel of a farmer who was considered to be quite smart, to see if he could work it out for them.

The farmer friend read the will patiently. After giving it some thought, he got one of his farm hands to bring over one of his own horses. That increased the total to 18 horses.

Then he began to divide the horses according to their father’s will.

Half of 18 = 9. So he gave the eldest son 9 horses. 1/3 of 18 = 6. So he gave the middle son 6 horses. 1/9 of 18 = 2. So he gave the youngest son 2 horses.

As you can see, 9+6+2 add up to 17. This left one horse, which was the farmer’s to begin with. The farm hand took it back to its stable.

Problem Solved!

One thing I have been stressing to couples who go through the marriage preparation process with me is this: “Do not hesitate to ask for help when you run into trouble.”

The worst thing you can do when you have a problem and cannot figure out a solution is to keep it to yourself. Yes, you need to try on your own first. In a marriage, a husband and wife must do all they can to work things out—individually and collectively.

But when your best efforts do not produce results, you could be tempted to give up hope. You could even come to the conclusion that there is no solution to your problem except to get a divorce.

This is when you need to look beyond yourself to someone else. You are so locked up in your problem and your unsuccessful solutions that you cannot see anything else.

Someone looking at your issues from the outside can see things that you cannot see, simply because you are too close to the problem! The brothers in this story were so caught up in the indivisibility of 17 by 2, 3 and 9 that they could not see a way out.

But when they sought the help of their farmer friend, they opened themselves up to the possibility of a solution. Where there was only despair in the air, now there was hope.

Dear DWOD friend, on the road to your destiny, you too will run into situations where you will find yourself frustrated with your inability to solve a problem. Do not despair. If you look around, you too will discover that God has already placed others around you who can come up with a solution to your problem.

The moment you choose to ask for help, you step out of the solitary cell of despair and into the hallway of hope. Now it is just a matter of knocking on a door and discovering that 17 is not indivisible after all!

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam

July 23, 2014–What You Focus on Matters

July 25, 2014 By

doug addison(Be blessed by this DWOD for July 23, 2014 by guest contributor Doug Addison)

How you view a situation is vital. If you continually focus on what is wrong or the reasons why you can’t do something, you eventually convince yourself that you can’t change the situation, whether it is based on fact or not. There is a spiritual principle that what you focus on continually eventually comes to you.

If you search for good, you will find favour; but if you search for evil, it will find you! (Proverbs 11:27 NLT)

We can create self-fulfilling prophecies about ourselves and our situation based on what we focus on. You may not be seeking evil intent, but this verse in Proverbs shows that you get what you search for or put your energy into. If you continually think that you are a failure, then you probably fail often, at least in your own mind.

We can derail our destiny by focusing on negative things. We also can get weighed down with emotional baggage that we may not know is there. For instance, if you have a large amount of debt and you are continually thinking about how bad being in debt feels, most likely you will carry the stress of the situation with you through your entire life. It is like a weight around your neck and can bring shame and even hopelessness.

A solution is to decide right now that you will put a debt reduction plan in place and get on with life. Place the feelings of failure and shame in God’s hands, and begin to put your thoughts and energy into finding creative ways to earn additional money. Have fun in the process and you will have instant change!

Have you ever thought someone did something wrong to you? Did you get angry and hurt only to find out when you talked to the person that they had no bad intentions at all? What happened to your hurt and anger? It went away immediately because you were no longer focused on it, and you got a new perspective. We can train ourselves to get a new perspective on everything that happens to us.

Learning to change your perspective is a step toward renewing your mind as mentioned in Romans 12:2 (“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind”). We can choose to focus on good things, and if we do this regularly, our outlook on life will change dramatically. We will begin to see the positive in the midst of difficulty.

Where your focus goes, your energy flows.

Decide ahead of time what you are going to focus on. With just a small amount of effort, you can learn to turn bad situations into good ones. You can learn to make the most of every situation. It is not worth getting upset! Some people say life is too short to be upset or angry. I have always thought that life is too long to do it as well.

Enjoy life by focusing on all the good!

(Doug Addison is a prophetic dream and tattoo interpreter, conference speaker, author, life coach and stand-up comedian. He travels worldwide, helping people transform their lives and discover their destiny. Doug specializes in teaching people how to hear God’s voice, understand their dreams and tattoo evangelism)

Filed Under: Guest Authors
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