"The joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

Joy. It's not a warm, happy feeling you're supposed to have now and then when things are going well. It's much more than that. Joy is one of the most powerful spiritual forces in the world.

Look again at Nehemiah 8:10 and I'll show you why. If you were to diagram that scripture and remove the phrase, "of the Lord," you would find what it's truly saying is this: Joy is strength. The two are interchangeable. That's what makes joy so crucial. You can't live a life of faith without being strong in the Lord--and when God wants to make you strong, joy is what He uses to do the job!

Whatever circumstances you are facing today, you can be full of joy. You can be strong in the Lord. You can draw on the supply of the Holy Spirit within you and come out on top.

Rejoice!

READ: Psalm 18:28-50

"And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2

Inside, you're perfect--born again in the image of Jesus Himself. But outwardly do you find yourself falling frustratingly short of that perfection? Is there a solution?

Yes! The secret lies in "the renewing of your mind."
Take time to get away from the world and study God's Word. Meditate on it and let it change you from the inside out. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind and release the beautiful spiritual butterfly that's living in you!

READ: 2 Corinthians 3:6-18

"I am the Lord, I change not." Malachi 3:6

The world's order of things is unsure and indefinite. Desperate words of uncertainty are crying out daily from radio, television, and newspapers. Everything around us seems to be in turmoil.

But, praise God, if you're a believer you have something you can depend on: the unchanging Word of God!

God has no double standard. He doesn't say one thing today and something else tomorrow. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

READ: Psalm 9:1-10

"If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with every one." Romans 12:18

When I was a new Christian, it was almost impossible for me to live at peace with anyone! Almost every time I opened my mouth, I said something ugly. I was constantly hurting the people I was close to. In fact, I spoke more harshly to them than to anyone else.

If you've developed the habit of speaking harshly, start changing that habit today. When someone crosses you on the job, at school, or wherever, and you're tempted to tear into them with cruel words, stop!

Then take a few moments to give thanks and praise to God. Once you begin thinking about how good God is, more often than not, those harsh, angry words will just slip away unspoken.

Instead of using your tongue to tear people down, train it to lift God's praises up. Then living at peace with others will come easily to you!

READ: Ephesians 4:26-32

"But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Philippians 3:13

Failures and disappointments. Aches and pains from the past that just won't seem to go away. Most of us know what it's like to suffer from them but too few of us know just what to do about them. So we limp along, hoping somehow they'll magically stop
hurting.

If depression has driven you into a spiritual nosedive, break out of it by getting your eyes off the past and onto your future,a future that's been guaranteed by Christ Jesus through the great and precious promises in His Word.

Forget about those failures in the past! That's what God has done (Heb. 8:12). And if He doesn't remember them any more, why should you?

READ: Philippians 3:1-14

"Attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes." 4:20-21

Once you've made the Word of God final authority in your life, your first step to victory over the attacks of the enemy is to go to the Word and lay hold of God's promises concerning your situation.

Notice I said, "Go to the Word." So don't just think about the Word today, read it. Go to the promises that cover your situation.

Feed on those promises and grow strong!

READ: Deuteronomy 6:1-9

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." Matthew 5:4

Do you know what Jesus was really talking about when He said those words? He was talking about the mourning of the intercessor. He was teaching about the comfort that comes to the intercessor when he is assured by the Holy Spirit that he has prayed through.

To pray through means "to break through the barriers that have stopped the work of God in the lives of others." It means using your spiritual armor to push back the forces of darkness that surround them.Somewhere in the world, someone needs you to pray them through.

Spend some time on your knees today.

READ: Luke 2:1-38

"Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock,and it shall be opened unto you." Matthew 7:7

Deep within our hearts, each of us knows there must be an answer to the problems we face. But often it seems to be out of reach,hidden behind a door that's locked tightly against us.

What I want you to know today, however, is this: WE CAN OPEN THAT DOOR! Jesus Himself has given us the keys.

READ: Psalm 63

"The sower sowed the word." Mark 4:14

Right now, at this very moment, you have hidden within you a treasure that can change the world. A treasure that can change a man's eternal destiny, that can take him to heaven and save him from hell. A treasure that can turn a person's poverty into prosperity, his sickness into health, his sorrow into joy.

You have within you the all-powerful Word of God. Don't keep it to yourself. Plant it wherever you go! Sow it into the hearts of those you meet. Share it at every opportunity.

READ: 2 Corinthians 4:1-7

"The sheep listen to [the Shepherd's] voice and heed it, and he callshis own sheep by name and brings (leads) them out." John 10:3

Don't ever be so afraid of making a mistake you miss out on the joy of acting on the voice of the Lord. Instead, trust the leadership of the Holy Spirit and let Him show you how. He'll begin by speaking to you about the little things in your life, and as you grow accustomed to hearing and obeying, He'll speak to you about weightier things.

So don't be afraid. Take time to listen today. Expect to hear in your spirit. God has something to say to you.

READ: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

Walking in the Spirit. That's the key to overcoming the flesh. If
you follow the promptings of the Spirit of God within you, you
won't be dominated by the pressure your flesh tries to put on you.

READ: 1 Corinthians 10:1-14

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised." Psalm 113:3

Praise God. Praise Him in the morning. Praise Him at noon. Praise Him at night. If you've never praised God in your life, then get started right now. Praise Him for freedom. Praise Him for healing and Calvary. Praise Him for the Name of Jesus.

When Satan starts shaking your mountain, don't retreat and run for cover. Speak to the mountain with the authority you wield in the Name of Jesus Christ. Then, when you're done with that, start to praise and shout the victory.

READ: Psalm 50:1-23

"Consider [Jesus] that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Hebrews 12:3

Look up...because in times like these, your very life may depend on it.Look up! Get your eyes off the circumstances around you and onto your heavenly source. Don't be afraid you're going to lose everything. God is your Source, not the world. He can take care of you regardless of what happens around you.

If you've gotten weary lately, begin to lift your eyes. Raise your head up instead of looking down. God is up. Jesus is up. The devil is down--under your feet. Look up!

READ: Isaiah 40:21-31

"...not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Philippians 3:9

I don't care how badly you may have messed things up yesterday or how many mistakes you have made, I want you to begin this day knowing you are righteous! Not because of anything you've done but because you've received, by faith in Jesus, the very righteousness of God.

Don't let the devil rob you of even one of these blessings by telling you you're unworthy of them. Run him off. Shout out loud, "I am the righteousness of God!" Then step out in faith and enjoy the privileges God has prepared for you!

READ: Romans 3:21-28

"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."

1 Timothy 2:3-4

People go to great lengths trying to wring knowledge from God when all they need to do is go to the Bible. God's not holding Himself back from anybody. It's His will for every man and woman to walk in revelation of Him.

"Well now, Brother," you might say, "God's not going to give all these sinners out here a revelation." Really? Why do you think He sends evangelists to preach to them? Why do you think He sent His Word? To reveal the truth!

READ: John 16:7-15

"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"1 Samuel 17:26

You may be facing a giant today. He may be a giant of sickness or failure, of financial shortage or another kind of trouble. But don't let him scare you. You have a secret weapon. A weapon that once turned a shepherd boy into a bear-busting, lion-killing, giant-slaying champion. That weapon was a blood covenant with Almighty God.

READ: Galatians 3:13-29

"The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice,and I know them and they follow Me." John 10:27

So many believers are unsure of their ability to hear God or know His voice. They're always afraid that they won't be able to tell when the Spirit of God is talking to them. What they don't realize is this: Hearing the voice of the Spirit is a privilege that the Bible says belongs to every believer (Rom. 8:14). All we have to do to exercise that privilege is to receive it by faith and put ourselves in a position to hear.

Next time the devil tries to tell you that you can't hear God's voice,
remember that.

READ: John 10:1-9

"In a multitude of words transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent." Proverbs 10:19

We believers need to start watching our language! We need to quit throwing words around like they weren't important and start using them like our lives depended on it--because, according to the Word of God, they do! (Prov. 18:21).

Too many of us have what Proverbs 19:1 calls a perverted mouth.
Having a perverted mouth means more than lying and using profanity. It means having a disobedient mouth. It means saying things that are out of line with the Word of God. Just use the wisdom God has given you. Train your mouth to be
obedient to His Word. Then, when you need it most, you'll find that Word dwelling richly in you.

READ: Proverbs 10:11-21

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave...and He gave...and He gave.
That is the message the Bible brings us from beginning to end. It sounds simple enough. Yet few of us really comprehend it. We can understand the idea of a God of power. We can understand a God who desires to be served. But an Almighty God who loves us so much that He desires, above all, to give to us? That can be
hard to believe.

For thousands of years, God has been working to drop the revelation of His love into the hearts of men. He's made loving promises of blessing and protection. But He's always faced that same obstacle--human beings who just couldn't bring themselves
to believe those promises were true. Get a revelation of God's love for you by meditating on the covenant He's made with you. Get out the bread and the cup. Go
before the Lord with them and take Communion thinking about the body and blood of Jesus that enables you to be a blood-covenant member of the family of Almighty God.

Let them settle forever the question of God's love for you. You'll never again
have to doubt His promises once you believe in His love.

READ: Genesis 15