Water the Right Seeds

Water the Right Seeds TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” (Mark 4:8, NIV) TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria There was a report about children who had been bullied in school. It talked about how years later, those negative words were still having an effect on many of them. They interviewed this one man. He was in his 40’s. He looked to be a bright, intelligent man, but he had not been able to hold down a good job, struggled in his relationships, and couldn’t seem to get on course. He said as a child, he was overweight. He was chubby, and some of the other children made fun of him and called him names like “loser” and “failure.” He made the mistake of letting those words take root. Now they were keeping him in mediocrity. When somebody calls you something, either good or bad, that seed is planted in your soil. Now you get to determine whether or not that seed takes root and grows. When you dwell on what was said, you are watering the seed. You’re giving it a right to become a reality. That’s why it’s so important that we’re disciplined in our thought life. It’s great when people tell you, “You’re blessed. You’re talented. You’re going to do great things.” Meditate on those throughout the day. Water those seeds and watch His truth become your reality! A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for depositing seeds of greatness inside of me. I choose to uproot every negative word spoken over me by accepting Your truth that will set me free! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Will Settle the Score

BY RICK WARREN — AUGUST 8, 2014

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.” (1 Peter 3:9 NLT)

Nothing crushes the spirit more than abuse — to feel devalued, unimportant, and misused. Jesus knows that. And he says, “I will care for you.”

The starting point in your healing is to get to know your Healer. You need to say, “Jesus Christ, I don’t know how you did this, but you took the guilt for every sin in the world — the ones done to me and the ones done by me. You took that abuse on yourself. I want to learn to love you. And I want you to come in and heal my heart and my mind and my body.”

And he will. He will!

When Jesus was abused, did he retaliate? Absolutely not! The Bible says, “Christ never verbally abused those who verbally abused him. When he suffered, he didn’t make any threats but left everything to the one who judges fairly” (1 Peter 2:23 GW).

One day, God is going to balance the books. One day God is going to settle the score. One day God is going to right all the wrongs. You think Hitler is going to get away with it? You think the abusers won’t have to answer for the abuse? You think all the evil that’s happened in the world will go unpunished?

No. One day God is going to settle the score. It is his alone to settle.

God is a truly just God. He can do a whole lot better job at settling the score than you can. He wants you to leave it in his hands, because he’s God, and you’re not.

One of the reasons why we have to deal with abuse is because of this: It is contagious. It gets passed on from generation to generation.

If you saw abuse growing up or experienced it in your family, you learned some patterns. It’s more likely to be passed on. 

This year about 10 million kids in America will watch their parents in a domestic violence situation. Study after study has shown that those kids are twice as likely to abuse their own family once they’re married. Somebody’s got to break the chain

It’s going to be you. Starting today. Starting now. Starting with the power of the Holy Spirit.

God, I pray a blessing of courage on everyone reading this, that many will say, “I’m not keeping it a secret any more. I’m going to name the abuse. I’m not going to minimize it or rationalize it. If I need to get to a safe place for a while, then so be it. Help me to get the courage to talk with other people who can help me make a plan to grow to health and healing. Save my life; save my relationships. Let the healing process begin. And God, I’m going to let you settle the score. In your name I pray. Amen.”

Talk About It

• What will you do today to break the cycle of abuse in your life? There are resources and churches in your city that can help you.
• How can you support a friend or family member who has suffered or is suffering from abuse? How can you encourage those who are still suffering in silence?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEzEbtA9ba8