It's for you

• Has God put a dream in your heart? Do you know He has a purpose for your life that has not yet come to pass?
  
  If yes, then stand strong and hold fast to that dream until you see it fulfilled. If God has truly given it to you, then you do not have to let it go for anyone or anything.

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"They have moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. "Here comes that dreamer!" they said to each other. "Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams." (Gen 37:17-20 NIV)

Peace

• It is encouraging to me when I hear from readers who read this message and they are still reading It If you are one of them, please let me know. Thanks!

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Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Cor 1:2-5 NIV)

Check your foundation

• Building on sand does not work because it shifts and changes. Without a firm foundation, any building will eventually lose its structural integrity and fall. It is inevitable.
  
  Life works the same way and what we build our life on matters. Feelings shift and change; God and His unfailing promises do not.
  
  How do you know whether you are building your life on your feelings or God's integrity? Here's a test:
  
  
  When something unexpected happens or something goes wrong, what do you think about first: how you feel or what God said?

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God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Heb 6:18-20 NIV)

Stay Connected

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I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:1-5 NIV)

God has no beginning

• Sometimes we need to be reminded that before the circumstances that trouble us existed, God was.
  
  Where we are now, in that troubling situation, He is.
  
  And in the future, where His solution, resolution, or rescue already exists, He is already there.

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Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating." (Acts 12:7,9,11 NIV)

And Somebody is Wrong!

• God is always right. He is always good. He always does what is best for me. Even when I do not understand. Even when it does not feel like it. Even when it conflicts with what I want or think I need. Even when I question what He is doing. Even when I am upset with Him.
  
  That sounds like so much spiritual rhetoric, doesn't it?
  
  Well, it is not. It is what I learned to be true through precious and costly experience. Because those things were learned through great pain and sacrifice, they are truths I will never forget and never doubt again.
  
  It is something like this: Once you have been burned, you will never again doubt or take for granted that fire is hot. Because you have experienced it, you believe in it and respect it.
  
  Understand now?

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Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph 5:15-20 NIV)

Wrong Focus

• I have known people who aggressively found fault with other people's walk with God; they somehow believed it was their "calling". I have even seen entire organizations with such an attitude (mis)use Scripture to condemn and punish anyone who disagreed with them.
  
  They hurt a lot of people.
  
  We must speak the truth--and sometimes that means exposing error--however, "there is a right way and a wrong way...".
  
  The bottom line: God is the Judge. We are not. His Word is the final Word.

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In a loud voice Jesus said: Everyone who has faith in me also has faith in the one who sent me. And everyone who has seen me has seen the one who sent me. I am the light that has come into the world. No one who has faith in me will stay in the dark. I am not the one who will judge those who refuse to obey my teachings. I came to save the people of this world, not to be their judge. But everyone who rejects me and my teachings will be judged on the last day by what I have said. (Joh 12:44-48 CEV)

Trust

• 
  Trusting in God and His word does not mean that difficult circumstances will become easy, that painful things will no longer hurt, or that everything we do will have apparent success and immediate gratification.
  
  It does mean that through trust in God and His unfailing promises, we can survive difficulties, come out of them wiser, better, stronger, and more mature, and that regardless of how something looks in the short-term, God can turn it to our good in the end.
  
  To me, that is real success. (Don't just take my word for it; it's all there in the book.)

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Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God. Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the LORD, and they study it day and night. They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. (Psa 1:1-3 GNB)

Under Attack

• Ever found yourself in a "situation"--one of those that you were not expecting... and it found you first?
  
  Jeremiah was in one. He trusted God in his. We can trust Him in ours.

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Those who were my enemies without cause hunted me like a bird. They tried to end my life in a pit and threw stones at me; the waters closed over my head, and I thought I was about to be cut off. I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears to my cry for relief." You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear." O Lord, you took up my case; you redeemed my life. (Lam 3:52-58 NIV)

Love

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The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, "He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?" But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (John 10:17-21 NIV)

Try Him!

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. (Psa 34:8-14 NIV)

Communication

• 
  I believe that communication is an absolute necessity in a relationship and that you cannot maintain a relationship with someone without communicating with them.
  
  I also believe that our communication with the Lord is an indicator of the health and maturity of our relationship with Him. It is the "yardstick" by which our relationship with Him is measured.
  
  What does your communication with the Lord (of which prayer is a component) say about your relationship with Him? (Tough question, I know: I ask myself that question constantly.)

But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. (Psa 88:13 NIV)

Faith

• Scripture teaches us that faith in God is a requirement. But have you ever considered that God has faith in you?
  
  He had faith that you would one day choose to love Him (you, personally). And He has faith in you now that you will choose to continue to mature in your relationship with Him.
  
  Though we believe in Him now, He believed in us first.

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By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb 11:3-6 NIV)

Don't Live in Bondage

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Gal 5:13-16NIV)

Change Your Situation

• There is a slang term we sometimes use to describe something bad: "It was the pits!" That is not new: David talked about pits too. His context was different, but close enough to convey the "feeling".
  
  Has your life felt like "the pits"? As one who has "messed up" more than any human should be allowed, I can tell you that I believe God can take your ruin, restore your life, and give you a future and hope you could not possibly imagine while in "the pits".
  
  So, I say from the perspective of my experience: If your life is in "the pits"now, it does not have to remain that way. following David's advice in Psalm 103 is a good way to begin your climb out.

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Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psa 103:2-5 NIV)