Lack Nothing

 

“Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:3-4, NKJV)   Lacking Nothing God wants you to be perfect and complete, living in His abundance, and lacking nothing on this earth. That may seem like a stretch from where you are today. It may seem far off; but in an instant, things can turn around. God has set up a system of blessing for you, and it starts with His Word. The Bible says that God has given each of us a measure of faith. We all have faith, and it’s up to us to develop it. Romans 10:17 says that faith grows as we read and study His Word. Faith, in turn, produces patience, and when we allow patience to have its perfect work in us, we will lack no good thing. Today, no matter where you are in the process, the key is to keep moving forward by reading and hearing His Word. His Word is alive. His Word will heal your heart and restore your soul. His Word will produce patience in your life so that you can move forward, being complete and lacking nothing all the days of your life! A Prayer for Today “Father God, thank You for Your Word which lights my path and directs my way. I choose to put You first place. I choose to meditate on Your Word, knowing that You are leading me in Your paths of life in Jesus’ name. Amen!”

Joyful purpose

You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.

-Pearl S. Buck

Monday, July 31, 2017

Joyful purpose 

Discard the doubts.  Focus on the work.

Ignore the distractions.  Glide right on past the interruptions.

You have good, meaningful, significant work to do. Don’t let shallow, trivial things get in your way.

Expel all the negativity, worries, excuses form your awareness.  Breathe in fresh new energy, enthusiasm, vision, and put it all to use.

Feel the joy, the rightness of making good things happen.  Remind yourself how silly it is to let anything get you down.

Look forward, and see all the great value there is to create.  With joyful purpose, keep bringing that value to life.

-Ralph Marston

Retrain Your Brain

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2, NKJV)   Retrain Your Brain Living in victory means that sometimes you have to develop new habits. If you’ve been negative for a long time, you’ve got to retrain your thinking from “I can’t” to “I can;” from “It won’t happen” to “It will happen;” from “I’ll never get well” to “God is restoring health unto me;” from “I never get any good breaks” to “God’s favor surrounds me like a shield;” from “I’ve made too many mistakes. I’m all washed up” to “I’m redeemed and forgiven. My best days are still out in front of me.” It’s like reprogramming a computer. Sometimes you have to wipe off the old, outdated, dysfunctional software and load in something new. If you’ve spent your days focused on how things won’t work, it’s time to focus on how things will work out! It doesn’t matter how bad it looks, how many people have told you no, or how long it’s been that way, God has the final say. It’s not over till God says it’s over. Shake off the self-pity. Shake off the disappointment. Let go of the old and choose to believe Him. Declare His promises over your life and see His blessing and victory as you align yourself with Him! A Prayer for Today “Father God, thank You for the transformation power in Your Word! Thank You for giving me hope for my future. I choose to trust You, I choose to believe Your Word, and I choose to declare Your truth and watch victory unfold in Jesus’ name! Amen.”

Opportunity in misfortune

Never tell your problems to anyone … 20 percent don’t care and the other 80 percent are glad you have them.
– Lou Holtz

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Opportunity in misfortune

Something negative, disruptive, disappointing has happened in your life. Use it to your advantage.

Opportunity comes dressed in many forms. Great opportunity often comes dressed as misfortune.

Don’t waste that opportunity mired in feeling sorry for yourself. Jump into it with all you have, and discover how strong, resilient, capable, effective you can be.

When things look hopeless is when positive, aggressive action makes the biggest difference. Instead of shrinking from the moment, seize it and run with it.

Decide to redirect the energy of whatever is pushing against you. Take it and make it propel you ahead.

Embrace the situation, knowing you can make it work for you. Success is there, ready for you to step boldly forward and claim it.

— Ralph Marston

If Only

“The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit…” (Proverbs 27:18, NIV ) If Only It’s easy to get stuck in the trap of thinking that if only your circumstances would just change, then life would be better. You might think, “If I got a new job, or a new house or had better friends, then I would really be happy.” But I’ve learned that oftentimes, God changes us before He changes our circumstances. We are thinking, “If only my circumstances would change,” when God may be thinking, “If only your attitude would change!” Today, if you’ve been thinking, “If only,” it’s time to turn your thoughts around. Don’t allow negative thinking to direct your attitude or affect how you treat others. Instead, begin to thank God for what He has planned for you. Bloom where you are planted. Tend to what God has placed in your hand. If you will focus on what you have instead of focusing on what you don’t have, then God can bless you, multiply you and lead you forward into the destiny He has in store for you! A Prayer for Today “Father in heaven, thank You for Your goodness and grace upon my life. Today I choose to turn my thoughts around and focus on what You have placed in my hands. I will be faithful, knowing that You are faithful, and that You have a good plan in store for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.”

Each and every step

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.
– Hugh Downs

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Each and every step

Pay no attention to how difficult it has been, or will be. Focus only on what you can do right now.

Put the whole of your attention and energy into what you can do now, into what you are doing now. Give your best to it, learn from it, pull more and more excellence out of it.

In the small moments, big achievements are built. Success is a matter of fully utilizing enough small moments.

It’s great to have big ambitions and high expectations, and to let them drive you forward. For today though, focus intently on what you can do today, and on getting it done to the best of your ability.

The task at hand may seem minor. Yet this is the task that matters the most now, because this is the task you are doing.

Give all your respect and focus to each and every step along the way. By so doing, you’ll reach the most spectacular destination you can imagine.

— Ralph Marston

Summon the power of motivation

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

– Thomas A. Edison

Monday, July 24, 2017

Summon the power of motivation

Are you not motivated to take action? Then take action to get motivated.

Do some little something. That will make you feel like doing something more.

Motivation is not some esoteric power possessed only by elite achievers. Motivation happens when you mix desire or fear with some common sense, and add a touch of momentum.

To summon the power of motivation, first understand what you truly want. Next, remind yourself that you’ll have to take some action to fulfill that desire.

Finally, go ahead and give yourself a taste of that action, even if it’s just a small one. Once you feel yourself acting to reach a goal you really, truly desire, you’ll want a lot more of that great feeling.

At that point, guess what? You’re motivated, and you can ride that motivation wherever you intend to go.

— Ralph Marston

Hiding in the Right Place

Today’s Scripture “In the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5, NIV)     Hiding in the Right Place Have you ever watched children play hide and seek? They look for the best place to hide in the house or yard and wait quietly for their friend to try to find them. It’s a fun game for kids, but even as adults, we need a good place to hide from time to time. Sometimes we need a place of refuge, we need a place of safety, and we need a place to rest when we feel overwhelmed by the circumstances of life—a place where the enemy of our soul can never find us. The good news is that God has the perfect hiding place for you! You don’t have to hide in your job. You don’t have to hide in relationships. You don’t have to hide in food or addictions because God Himself promises to hide you! He freely offers you shelter from the storms of life any time you call upon His name. Remember, there’s only one place the enemy cannot find you. There’s only one place where opposition cannot steal from you. There’s only one true place of safety and rest for your soul, and that is in the arms of Jesus. Know that He loves you, and He is ready to receive you when you call upon His name! A Prayer for Today “Father, today I come humbly before You giving You all that I am. Thank You for hiding me in Your shelter and keeping me safe from the storms of life. My soul finds rest in You as I seek You and praise Your holy name in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

How Will You Accomplish Your Dreams?

“…’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
(Zechariah 4:6, NASB)

 

How Will You Accomplish Your Dreams?

Are you facing a situation that seems impossible? Have you been fighting a battle for a long time? The key is: don’t go around talking about how big the problem is. Don’t go around confessing that you’re never going to make it. No, start declaring, “The gracious hand of God is upon my life!” When you realize God’s hand of favor is upon you, you will accomplish your dreams faster than you thought! When those thoughts of doubt come, declare the truth of God’s Word! “How are you going to get out of debt?” “The gracious hand of God is upon my life.” “How are you going to get well?” “The gracious hand of God is upon my life.” “How are you going to break that addiction?” “The gracious hand of God.” “How are you going to accomplish your dreams?” “The gracious hand of God!” The more you brag on God’s favor, the more you declare and believe His promises, the more you’ll see His favor. As you keep standing in faith, as You keep hoping in Him, you’ll see His promises manifest in your life. You’ll experience His favor and victory and see every dream and desire come to pass!

A Prayer for Today

“Father God, thank You for placing Your dreams and desires within me and for creating a plan to bring them to pass. Even when I can’t see a way, I trust that You are making a way. You are good, and today I declare that Your gracious hand is upon every area of my life in Jesus’ name! Amen.”

Missed opportunities

Being your own man does not mean taking advantage of anyone else.
– Flip Wilson

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Missed opportunities

Let go of your regret about missing that opportunity. Clamp your focus now onto seizing this opportunity.

In wistful hindsight, missed opportunities can look like they would have turned out well. Yet obsessing over them will do precisely nothing good for you.

You have the chance now for something even better. You have the chance now to act on opportunity and to eliminate future regret.

Learn a valuable lesson from your own experience. Apply that lesson, put it into action, now.

Stop the empty wishing that you had done something about it then. Put your time, focus, energy into doing great things with the opportunity of now.

Decide that this is an opportunity you will not miss. And it will be the best one yet.

— Ralph Marston