Dream Boldly

Dream Boldly Today's Scripture: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go Joshua 1:9, NIV. Today's Word: When you look out into your future, what do you see? What are the dreams and desires that you hold close to your heart? So many people start with bold dreams, but then opposition comes. Life doesn’t turn out the way they planned. They lose a loved one or encounter difficulty they didn’t anticipate. Today, if that’s you, I want to remind you that the Creator of the universe designed you with specific gifts and talents that no one else has. He has you on this planet for a specific purpose. When you commit your life to Him, He promises to be with you wherever you go. Even though some things in life may have caught you by surprise, they didn’t catch God by surprise. His good plan for your life remains. You can trust Him because He loves you with an everlasting love, and He doesn’t want to see you settling for anything less than His very best. I want to encourage you to be bold, be strong and be courageous. Put aside the past and lift up your eyes to Jesus. He is the Author and Finisher of your faith. Live boldly and dream boldly so you can embrace the good things He has in store for you! Prayer for Today: Father God, today I come boldly to You. I open my heart and mind to Your Word. Fill me with Your strength today; fill me with Your hope, and keep me close to You always as I put You first in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen.

PS...

To Bear Fruit, Get Connected by Rick Warren “Live in me and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me." (John 15:4 GW) Right before Jesus goes to the cross, he gives his last minute instructions to his followers: “Live in me and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me" (John 15:4 GW). Jesus says that being spiritually connected is like being attached to a vine. You’re not going to have any fruitfulness or productivity in your life if you’re out there on your own. You’ve got to stay connected. In plants, a disconnected branch can’t bear fruit. You not only don’t have the support, you not only start to whither and die, but you don’t have any productivity in your life if you’re not spiritually connected. I grow a lot of vegetables and fruit every spring. If I cut off a branch, those branches aren’t going to produce any tomatoes or anything else. They’ve got to be connected in order to produce fruit. What kind of fruit should you produce when you are connected to the Body of Christ? “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control” (Galatians 5:22-23a NIV). I don’t know about you, but I’d like to be more loving. I’d like to be more joyful. I’d like to be more at peace, no matter what happens to the economy. I’d like to be more kind to people who are mean to me. I’d like to be a good person. I want to be faithful, not unfaithful. I want to keep my promises. I’d like to be gentle with people who are not very gentle. And I’d like to have more self-control. That’s called the fruit of the Spirit, and it's the evidence that you are spiritually connected. If you are not seeing yourself grow in all these things, guess what? It means you’re not spiritually connected. He’s saying this is so important, not only do you need the support like in a building, and not only do you need the life blood like being in a body, he’s saying you’re not going to have any fruitfulness or any productivity in your life if you’re out there on your own. You’ve got to stay connected. Talk It Over What is the evidence in your life that you are bearing fruit? In what "fruits" do you need to grow? How are you going to do that? What benefits have you witnessed in your life from being connected to the Body of Christ?