Daily Devotional

Deliverance is when God brings you out of a fiery trial that was meant to destroy you. Total deliverance is when, like the three Hebrew children, He brings you out without even the smell of smoke on you.

"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 5:9

Next time Satan accuses you, say, "I'm glad you brought that up." Then tell him what the blood of Jesus has accomplished on your behalf. If you do that he will flee.

Can you imagine a nation without a leader, a workplace without a boss, or an army without a general? It would be chaotic. Structure creates order; without it no progress can be made.

To know the Lord Jesus Christ personally is to love Him, to love Him is to serve Him, and to serve Him is to experience life's highest joy and fulfillment.

Since you'll constantly be called on to make decisions with limited information, your goal should not be to eliminate uncertainty but to develop the ability to trust God and be courageous and clear in spite of it. It's not your job to remove uncertainty; it's your job to inspire clarity, faith and progress in the midst of it.

In an age of pop psychology and eclectic theology, the bedrock of our faith is still Christ's virgin birth, His sinless life, His atoning death, His victorious resurrection, His mediatorial work, and His visible return as King of Kings. Jesus Christ...there's no one like Him!

Following God is like stepping out on tissue paper and discovering solid rock underneath. But you'll never discover the rock unless you're willing to step onto the tissue paper.

When you have repented of your sin and experienced God's forgiveness, you must get up and go on with your life.

Suffering and adversity don't cancel His faithfulness, He's "the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV). He can't love you once, and not love you always.

God didn't assign your creation to His most powerful angels. You're a hands-on, made-to-order, one-of-a-kind product. As a redeemed child of God you are His "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

The world thinks it knows what to do with you, break you off and snuff you out! But not Jesus: "He does not crush the weak, or quench the smallest hope" (Matthew 12:20 TLB). No matter how far gone you may feel today, you're not beyond the reach of God's grace. Come, He will treat you gently. He will make you whole again.

The moment somebody begins to gossip stop them and ask, "Why do I need to know this? Have you talked to the person you're talking about?" Wise up; people who gossip can't be trusted! The Bible says that when you listen to gossip you are a troublemaker!

You'll never know what God can do until God is all you've got. So place your needs into His capable, loving hands, and watch what happens.

In God's Kingdom, center stage is not for those who think they've got their act together and deserve public recognition. Nor is it limited to those in leadership and public ministry. It's a call to action, to you, whoever and wherever you are today.

God designed you with all the built-in qualifications you need, you don't have to compromise your convictions, manipulate, drop names or do special favors. The part is yours!

Someone has said that mediocrity is just the best of the worst and the worst of the best. Is that what you want this year? If not, you must be willing to leave the safety of where you are, and go where God wants to take you.

"You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance." (Psalm 65:11) Happy New Year!

"Forgive whatever grievance you may have" (Colossians 3:13 NIV). To start the New Year right you must let go of any old grudges that are weighing you down.

Stay in church. Stay in God's Word. Stay in the place of prayer. Stay in the company of those who can build you up spiritually. The hour is too late and the attack is too great.