"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prosper." 3 John 1:2

Once you begin to believe it is God's will to prosper you, you can't help but wonder how He is going to do it. Is He going to put a check in the mail? Or start floating $20 bills down from the trees?

No. He's going to do it by prospering your soul. He's going to plant the seeds of prosperity in your mind, will and emotions, and as they grow, they'll produce a great financial harvest. Go to the book of Genesis and read the story of Joseph. It's a perfect demonstration of what I'm talking about.

READ: Genesis 39

"Endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."2 Timothy 2:3

Times of hardness are inevitable. You need to know that. It's true that we've been redeemed from the curse, and there's nothing Satan can do to reverse that, but he is going to challenge you on it.So don't be surprised when things get tough. Times will come when you have to stand strictly by faith, when you'll have to speak and act as though what God says is true even when you can't feel it or see it happening around you. There will be times when everything looks terrible. That's when you must endure hardness as a good soldier.

READ: Numbers 14:1-24

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever." 1 Peter 1:23

You won't really get excited about the Word of God until you realize that it's more than just a collection of divinely-inspired promises. It's a living force that literally carries within it the power to make those promises become a reality in your life.Don't treat the Word of God like a book. It's not! It's spiritual
seed that has the supernatural power within it to produce the harvest of a lifetime. Get excited about it and start planting today!

READ: Mark 4:23-32

"For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looked on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."1 Samuel 16:7

Too often we ask God to fix the problems around us when what He really wants to do is solve the problem within us. I did that myself for years where my weight was concerned. I prayed and prayed for God to help me lose weight. Yet I experienced repeated failure. I lost literally hundreds of pounds, only to gain them right back again.

Finally one day, I made a firm decision. I told God, "I am not going one step further until I find out what to do about this!" Then I went on a fast, shut myself away from everyone, and determined to hear from God. During that fast the Lord revealed the real source of my problem. He showed me that I wanted to lose weight, but I didn't want to permanently change my eating habits. I was like an alcoholic who wants to be able to drink constantly and not be affected by it. I wanted to eat nine times a day and still weigh was very high!

Suddenly I realized God wasn't content simply to rid me of the extra pounds on the outside of me--He wanted to rid me of the sin of gluttony on the inside of me. So I repented of that sin right then and there. (It was then that I realized just how hard it is for a man who drinks to face the fact that he's an alcoholic. It hurts to
admit something like that.) Then, instead of asking God for deliverance from my weight problem, I asked Him for deliverance from my food problem.

Sure enough, He did it.

If your prayers don't seem to be changing the problems around you, maybe it's time to take a look inside. Maybe it's time to ask God to go to work on the heart of the matter.
READ: Psalm 139:1-10, 23-24

"Leave no room or foothold for the devil - give no opportunity to him." Ephesians 4:27

If you give the devil place, he will take it. You have to stay alert and keep your shield of faith high because if you don't, he'll turn around and steal back from you the ground you just took.

Decide today to give the devil no place!

READ: John 15:7-12

"And be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

Most believers don't know anything about true humility. If you tell them they're the righteousness of God, they'll fight to keep from believing it. You can give them scripture references to prove it, and they'll still argue.

"Oh no," they'll say, "I'm not righteous. I'm just an old sinner saved by grace." They're making a sincere attempt to be humble. But they're sincerely wrong. They're so afraid of being exalted by pride that they've let Satan trick them into falling right into it.

Let me show you what I mean. According to 1 Peter 5:5-6, to be truly humble is to submit to God. That means when God says something, you believe it no matter how foreign to your "religious" thinking it may be. When He says you've been made the
righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, you say that too. In fact, you wouldn't dare say anything else because to do so would be to dare to disagree with God. And, when you get right down to it, that's the ultimate form of pride, isn't it?

Don't let Satan keep you groveling in the dust of false humility. Agree with God. Find out what His Word says about you, then be bold enough to say it yourself. Banish pride by submitting to His truth. Cloth yourself in true humility. It's sure to look good on you.

READ: 1 Peter 5:5-11

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Hebrews 1:14

Most of us heard about our guardian angel when we were just children; and, in those days, it was a comforting thought. With monsters lurking behind the closet door and creepy things crawling beneath the bed, it was good to know that someone was there to protect us when the light was out. But angels are not just kid stuff.
They're powerful spirits sent forth to minister for us who are heirs
of salvation.

READ: Psalm 103:17-22

"And these signs shall follow them that believe...they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17-18

If you've laid hands on someone who didn't receive his healing, don't cut off the flow of God's power by withdrawing your faith. Stand fast. Keep believing that "healing always comes" and somewhere down the line that poor sick fellow may just decide to stand up and agree with you!

READ: Mark 10:46-52

"He who being often reproved hardens his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Proverbs 29:1

Some people have the mistaken idea that when the direction of the Holy Spirit comes to them, they can just ignore it for a while if they want to and then obey Him later in their own good time. They think to themselves, "I know what I'm doing is wrong. I know my lifestyle isn't right, but I'm just going to do it a while longer. Then I'll get things straightened out with the Lord."

Let me warn you, that is an extremely dangerous thing to do. Because God says that when you refuse His guidance, your heart grows hard. It's not that God's grace doesn't extend to you any- more. It's not that He wouldn't forgive you if you turned to Him. It's just that sin will callous your heart to the point where you can't hear Him calling.When the Spirit of God comes to correct you, follow His instructionsand follow them quickly. Keep your heart tender.

Obey the Lord!

READ: Nehemiah 9:6-37

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...." 2 Corinthians 5:20

You are an ambassador for Christ! If you have made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you have been sent to act as a representative for Him in this world. Just as nations send ambassadors to represent their interests in other countries, you've been sent here to look after the interests of the kingdom of God.

Think about that. Everywhere you go you are representing the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. That's a very high honor. It may also seem like a rather tall bill to fill. But God has equipped you to do it. He's given you His Name and the power of His Word. He's even put His very own Spirit inside you. And He's given you the ability to hear and obey the directions of that Spirit.

You are an ambassador for Christ. Begin to live like it today.

READ: 2 Corinthians 5:10-21

"But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another."1Jn1:7

One area of our lives we believers need to particularly guard is the area of our relationships. We simply have to heed the Word of God where they're concerned. Let's not fuss with one another and criticize one another so much that we hinder the forces that God has given us to make us successful in this world.

Strife also causes trouble in the spirit realm. It opens the door to the devil. It keeps our prayers from being answered. It even keeps our angels from moving on our behalf! Let the power of God flow in all of your relationships. Learn to walk in the light!

READ: Romans 15:1-7

"The fool had said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt,they have done abominable works, there is none that does good." Psalm 14:1

Most of us would never dream this verse could apply to us. After all,we're believers! We'd never say that there is no God.But maybe we should think again. It's true that with our mouths we would never say something like that...but what about with our actions? Do we say it by sinning just a little here and there and
thinking it won't matter? Do we go to an immoral movie or have a gossip session about the pastor, ignoring God's command to the contrary?

With our actions are we saying, "There is no God?"
Psalm 14:1 connects that kind of thing to corruption. Whether he realizes it or not, the more a person acts that way, the more corrupt he's going to become.Don't make the foolish mistake of publicly proclaiming Jesus as your Lord, and then privately denying Him with one little action at a time. Use wisdom in everything you do so that both your heart and your life shout loudly, "My God reigns!"

READ: Psalm 14:1-7, 15:1-5