New Thinking, New Living

New Thinking, New Living TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22, NKJV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Are you ready for increase? Are you ready to go to the next level, spiritually, physically and emotionally? Many times, people hear that God has more in store and something resonates on the inside. Their spirit comes into agreement with God, but oftentimes, their natural mind will be bombarded with doubt. Thoughts will come like, “It’s not going to happen for you. You’re not going to have a great year. You know what the economy is like.” Or, “You’re never going to get well. You saw what the medical report said.” “You’re never going to get married. You’ve been single so long.” Those are old wineskins; the old way of thinking that you have to get rid of. This is a new season. What’s happened in the past is over and done. You may have been through some disappointments; you may have tried and failed, or things didn’t work out. That’s okay. God is still on the throne. It’s time to get a new vision for your life. It’s time for new thinking. You can’t move forward with old mindsets. Let go of the old and embrace the new so you can receive all of the blessings God has in store for you! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, today I choose to release old thinking, old habits and anything that would keep me from Your best. Strengthen me by Your Spirit so that I can live in faith and embrace the new life You have in store for me in Jesus’ name. Amen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uc1smOOs7A Let Go of Your Hurt BY RICK WARREN — AUGUST 14, 2014 “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”(Colossians 3:13 NLT) Many of us have someone in our lives who has done some crazy, hurtful thing to us or, maybe even more importantly, to somebody that we love. In our minds we think, “I know the Christian thing to do is to forgive, so I will. I will forgive him as soon as he gives me an apology.” The problem with that is, you’re still holding on to the hurt. Truth is, that person may never ask you for forgiveness. He may never say he’s sorry, because he doesn’t get it, or she may not even realize what she’s done. So you end up stewing over something that the other person has long ago forgotten. And it’s eating you up inside! Never hold on to a hurt, because resentment tears you up. Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it’s going to kill someone else. It doesn’t work. You have to decide that, before anything else happens, you are going to forgive that person. Jesus said this even in the most extreme of circumstances, as he’s hanging on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34a NIV). So what do you do? When you struggle with forgiving, remember the great gift of God’s forgiveness. Remember a verse like Colossians 3:13: “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (NLT). It’s not a bad one to memorize and carry with you throughout the day, because you’re going to have plenty of chances to use it. That phrase “make allowance” is the Greek word that means “to bear with, to endure, to be tolerant.” Basically it means to cut people some slack. Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7 NIV). I want God’s blessing in my life and your life. One of the ways you receive that is by being merciful. Talk About It What hurt are you still holding onto? What do you need to do today so that your hurt does not turn into resentment?