Where Would You Be?

Where Would You Be? Today's Scripture: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction” (Psalm 119:92, NIV). Today's Word: If it had not been for the goodness of God, where would you be? Some wouldn’t be alive today. Some would still be addicted. If it had not been for God’s favor some would still be struggling, barely making it. You may say, “Well Joel, I’ve got a long way to go.” And that may be true, but I want you to take a moment and look back over your life and realize how far you’ve come. The same God that brought you this far, the same God that has kept you alive is going to carry you through any difficulty you may be facing. The key is to just start praising and thanking Him for His goodness. Thank Him for His favor and blessing upon you. Praise precedes the victory. Praise brings the walls of opposition down. Praise is the invitation for God to intervene on your behalf!Today, I declare that the goodness of God is all over you! He is directing your steps, and you are following His leading. I declare that your best days are ahead, and as you praise Him and thank Him, you will move forward into the victory and blessing He has prepared for you! Prayer for Today: Father, thank You so much for Your goodness and faithfulness in my life. I know that Your hand of favor is upon me. I know that You are leading me and guiding me in victory. Keep me close to You as I surrender every area of my heart and mind to You in Jesus’ name. Amen!

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Choose Grace, Not Bitterness by Rick Warren “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Hebrews 12:15 NIV) If you’re still holding on to resentment, then someone is controlling you. Have you ever said, “You make me so mad”? What you’re admitting at that point is, “You are controlling me.” The only way you get this person out of your mind and heart and not controlling you any more is you heal it with grace — God’s grace. Hebrews 12:15 says, “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (NIV). Have you ever known a family where a bitter mom poisoned the whole family? Have you ever known a family where a bitter dad poisoned the whole family? Bitterness is contagious, and it can actually become generational. Somebody has to break the chain, and it better be you. If your parents are bitter because their parents were bitter because their parents were bitter, you’re going to have to break the chain. And there’s only one way to break it: Heal it with grace. Friends, if you don’t get God’s grace in your life, life will make you bitter. Because life isn’t fair. Why? Because sin is in the world. We live on a broken planet. This is not Heaven. Evil people get away with evil things all the time. Life is not fair. And if you don’t get grace in your heart, it’s going to make you bitter. Is forgiveness fair? Absolutely not. But it is not about fairness. It is not about justice. It’s about grace. You don’t forgive a person because it’s the fair thing to do. You forgive a person because it’s the right thing to do, and you don’t want your heart full of poison. You don’t want your heart holding on to the hurt and the hate. Forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. It cost Jesus his life. It cost God his Son. And as Jesus was dying on the cross, with his arms outstretched and the blood dripping down, he said, “Father, forgive them! They don’t know what they’re doing.” He was saying, “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.” He was saying, “They don’t deserve it. They don’t even know what they’re doing. But Father, forgive them.” Leave justice to God. Heal your bitterness with his grace. Talk It Over Have you experienced bitterness toward someone? What has been the result in your life? Why do you think it’s so important to us that everything is fair?