(Be blessed by this DWOD for Aug. 14, 2014 by guest contributor Sandi Krakowski)

When Jesus spoke to the winds and the waves, He said, “Peace, be still.” The transliteration of the word “still” means to be MUZZLED.

When we look at the word “muzzled” in its most natural expression, it means to be prevented from expressing opinions freely. The storm was forbidden to express its opinion.

When the enemy comes to taunt you and harass you, never forget that, he is expressing his opinion!

When a critic comes and seeks to suck the wind out of your sails, remember this—they are entitled to their own opinion and you are well able to IGNORE their opinion.

We can’t keep bad things from happening, or challenges from occurring. We can’t make everyone be quiet. We live in a free will society and God made us to have a free will.

HOWEVER, we do not need to agree with the opinion of the storm or the waves, or anyone standing by the shores screaming, “You will drown!”

Choose to listen to God’s opinion of the storm.

He said YOU are more than a conqueror! (Romans 8:37)

He said you are well able to handle anything that comes your way. (Philippians 4:13, I Corinthians 10:13)

He said that when we are weak, He can and will make us strong, if we trust Him. (Isaiah 40:29)

He said when we don’t know what to do, He will give us wisdom, if we ask. (James 1:5)

He said that when we make big mistakes, if we confess our sin, He will be FAITHFUL, every single time, to not condemn us, but to forgive us. EVERY time. (I John 1:9)

Be very careful whose opinion you are listening to today. Let’s choose to agree with God! Amen?

(Sandi Krakowski, the founder of A Real Change, is a social media marketing expert who serves over 1.5 million clients worldwide. Sandi’s passion and purpose is to ignite people and cause them to burn with the fire that God put in their hearts, to cause them to live in freedom and to be capable of causing them to burn on their own in their respective calling).

(Be blessed by this DWOD for Aug. 11, 2014 by guest contributor Doug Addison)

There are a lot of people telling you that you need to transform your mind or your thinking but few people actually give you some practical steps to do it. Let me share with you some things I have learned on how to practically renew your mind!

Did you know that it’s harder to keep asking yourself to not think a thought, but it is easier to give yourself something good to think about instead? It is actually hard to focus on not doing something, but easier to focus on taking a positive action. When we grasp this, we are no longer struggling and beating ourselves up for thinking and doing things that are not good for us.

Renewing your mind and developing godly character involves more than trying to avoid sin or bad habits. If you continually focus on what you are not supposed to do, or on the negative thoughts and behaviours, then that is all you will be thinking about all the time. Eventually you will feel guilty for not being able to change.

In the New Testament, Peter instructs us to set the focus of our minds on the positive things that are coming as opposed to negative thoughts: Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13)

Most people are not aware of the fact that our brain is not able to deal with the words like “no” or “do not.” When we are told to not think about something, we cannot help thinking about it. If I tell you right now, “Don’t think of a purple giraffe —don’t do it!” you can’t help thinking of it, because in order to understand what I just said, your brain had to process the command and think of the very thing I told you not to think of.

How about a father saying to his daughter who is wearing a new white blouse, “Whatever you do, don’t spill your chocolate milk.” You guessed it. She spilled the milk. She was not even thinking of spilling it until the idea of spilling it was introduced into her mind as a possibility. It would have made more sense for this father to say, “You are doing a great job drinking your milk.” This would encourage her to not spill it.

This could be why in the Bible you will read more about what you should do, as opposed to what you should not. Yes, there are some don’ts in there, but you will find more do’s than don’ts.

If we are focusing on the negative, we will continually have to deal with negative things. Continual focus on resisting only causes the negative thoughts to persist. Instead, redirect your thoughts to something good, like Peter said, “Think about the grace that will be given to you.” I find this to be much more productive. I get better results in my own life if I focus more on what I should do as opposed to what I should not.

It takes practice to renew your mind and begin to change your character to be more like God’s. Notice that in Galatians 5:22-23 Paul refers to the “fruit of the Spirit” which implies that it does not happen overnight, but there is a growth process involved.

This is not positive thinking but instead, it is thinking positively about yourself. So start to notice how you tend to think. What are your thoughts saying to you? Are they negative or positive? Find ways to turn around your thought life and you will indeed transform your mind.

(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)

(Be blessed by this DWOD for Aug. 09, 2014 by guest contributor Lance Wallnau)

Paul calls it “the hidden wisdom” (I Corinthians 2:6-8). What is it? By itself, wisdom is the ability to see and perceive from God’s perspective, for “the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (I Samuel 16:7b).

We cannot understand from our viewpoint. We must leave our earthly, human ability and see as He sees. You have this capacity built into you as a believer. God inside you knows what you need to know.

GOOD WISDOM AND BAD WISDOM

Note: There is a wisdom that comes from ABOVE, and there is a wisdom that is earthly and even DEVILISH (James 3:15-17). You need God’s wisdom to rise up and break up the strategy from hell that tears apart your nation. This wisdom comes from your born again spirit man…not your soul. More on that in a moment.

A remarkable insight into HIDDEN WISDOM is found in Luke 10:21: “Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, ‘I thank You Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the wise and prudent while REVEALING them to babies; yes Father, for that is Your good pleasure.”

The Father “reveals”. Hidden wisdom is revealed to those who are childlike and receptive. The childlike are humbly dependent on God’s help. This type of knowledge isn’t gained through mental gymnastics, it is the revelation of the Father. Every child of God has access to hidden wisdom stored up for them on the inside.

A SURPRISING INSIGHT INTO WHERE GOD HIDES YOUR ANSWER

“Behold, Thou desirest truth in the INWARD PARTS; And in the HIDDEN PART Thou wilt make me to know wisdom.” (Psalm 51:6)

Notice man has inward parts or compartments. Man is a triune being. Paul wrote: “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessaloninans 5:23). See that? “Spirit, Soul and Body.”

Now, remember that verse about God desiring truth in the INWARD PARTS? The two inward parts of your inward or inner man are your soul and spirit. The wisdom of God is hidden inside the “hidden part”—IN YOUR SPIRIT!

NOW can you see why “praying in the spirit” amplifies your access to wisdom stored up for you? Likewise do you see why people who meditate on the Word of God have an advantage? The Word of God is spiritual food for your spirit man. God desires “truth in the inward parts”—soul and spirit. Jesus said, “Thy Word is truth.”

We need men and women with hidden wisdom to rise up. Your country, your nation needs leaders with hidden wisdom. In fact God has kept you hidden for such a time as this!

(Dr. Lance Wallnau is a world-class trainer and consultant whose students span the globe. From bestselling authors, pastors, and billion dollar CEO‘s, he has helped to transform the lives of thousands. Please check out his resources at www.lancelearning.com)

(Be blessed by this DWOD for Aug. 08, 2014 by guest contributor Barry Adams)

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  (Matthew 3:16-17) 

(Be blessed by this DWOD for Aug. 05, 2014 by guest contributor Kenneth Copeland)

“Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)

Do you really believe that you need to watch over your mouth? Most believers don’t. You can tell that just by listening to their conversations. They profess, for example, to be trusting God concerning their health. But you’re likely to hear them say something like this: “I’m just sure I’m going to get the flu. I get it every year. I’ll be sicker than a dog too, you’ll see….”

Do people like that have what they say?

Oh yes! Check with them a few weeks later and they’ll be quick to tell you that they got just as sick as they said they’d be. But, odds are, if you try to tell them there’s any connection between the words they spoke and the illness they suffered, they’ll look at you as if you were out of your mind.

Of course, if they’d dig into the Word of God and find out what it has to say about the subject, they’d realize that the words they speak have a tremendous impact on their lives. They’d see that it quite literally determines their future.

If you’re a born-again believer, you’ve already experienced the most powerful example of that. You believed with your heart and confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you changed the eternal course of your life. You know firsthand just how powerful your words can be.

Yet, even so, if you’re like me, you still find that speaking faith-filled words consistently is tough to do. I’ve been at it myself for many years now and, despite all the time I’ve spent on it and all the experiences I’ve had, it’s still something I have to watch all the time.

You see, the world around you is in negative flow. Like a rushing river, it’s always pulling at you, trying to get you to flow with it. Living by faith and speaking words of faith is like trying to paddle upstream. You can do it–but it’s a great deal of work. And there’s never a time you can afford to take a vacation from it. If you relax a little bit you’ll just start drifting right back down the river.

Make the decision right now to set a watch over your lips. Determine to consistently fill your mouth with the Word of God. “Attend to my words; incline your ear unto my sayings” (Prov. 4:20). Let God’s Word be your watch and everything you say will take you a little further upstream!

(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)

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

“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)

(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.”)

(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)

(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)

(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)