The Power at Work

The Power at Work TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think… Ephesians 3:20, NKJV. TODAY'S WORD: Today’s verse tells us that God will do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or think. But here’s the key: the next part says that it’s “…according to the power that works in you.” It’s not according to the power that’s in your neighbor, your boss, your pastor, your priest, the bank or the stock market. It’s according to the power that works in you. In other words, it depends on what you’re believing. If you go around telling yourself, “I’m just average. I’m not that talented. I come from the wrong family,” then the exceeding greatness of God’s power is not going to work in you. That treasure is going to stay buried. But when you acknowledge God’s greatness in your life, when you see yourself the way He sees you and live by the Word of God, that’s when His power works in you Remember, you’ve been created in the image of Almighty God. You have treasure on the inside. If that treasure is going to come out, you have to have the attitude, “I’ve got what it takes. I’m not waiting on it. I’m not hoping to get it one day. I’m not begging somebody to give me a break. No, I’m equipped, empowered, talented and creative, and I will fulfill the destiny He has in store for me!” PRAYER FOR TODAY: Father, thank You for Your exceeding, abundant promises. I invite You to have Your way in and through me. Show me Your ways that I may walk with You and honor You all the days of my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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The Power of a Focused Life   by Rick Warren “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 (NLT) If you want God to use you in great ways in 2014, you’ll need focus. The more focused you are in 2014, the more effective you’ll be — and the more God will use you. There’s awesome power in a focused life. Diffused light doesn’t have much of an effect on what it touches. But when you focus light — like the sun’s light through a magnifying glass — you can light a piece of paper or grass on fire. If you can focus it even more, it becomes a laser. A laser can cut through steel and destroy cancer. The same is true with your life. If your 2014 is directionless, you’ll just drift through without impacting much. But if you focus your year on a few key goals, then you can make a powerful impact on the world for God. The Bible says. “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty” Proverbs 21:5 NLT). One of the great examples of focus in the Bible is the story in Genesis 24. Abraham was getting old, and his son still hadn’t married. God had promised Abraham that through his own family he would create a great nation through Abraham, which God did. But Abraham’s son, Isaac, still didn’t have any kids. He wasn’t even married yet. So Abraham gave his servant, Eliazar, a goal of finding a wife for his son. Abraham told his servant, “Don’t get a wife from the Canaanite girls who live around here. Go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and there get a wife for my son Isaac.” Like all good goals, Eliazar’s was clear. He knew he needed to find Isaac a wife, and he knew exactly what kind of wife to look for. He needed to find a wife from Abraham’s homeland. You’ll never reach a vague goal because you’ll never know if you’ve completed it. Eliazar didn’t have that problem. For example, if your goal for 2014 is to be a better parent, that’s vague. Even if you make the goal to spend more time with your children this year, you’ll never really know if you’ve completed the goal. But if you commit to spending an hour every Tuesday evening with your children, that’s specific. You’ll know whether or not you’ve completed it. Those kinds of goals can change your life. So what specific goal will you set for yourself in 2014? Talk It Over How do specific goals empower you to complete them? What specific goals do you want to set for yourself in 2014? With whom can you share your goals in 2014 for encouragement and accountability?