It's Coming
Today's Scripture:
…Though it tarries, wait
for it; because it will surely come…
Habakkuk 2:3, NKJV.
Habakkuk 2:3, NKJV.
Today's Word:
If you will keep God
first in everything you do, He promises that He is going to crown your efforts
with success. Because you diligently seek Him, a reward is coming. Favor is
coming. Good breaks are coming. Promotion is coming. A shift is coming. Healing
is coming. Restoration is coming. It may seem like it’s taking a long time; you
may feel like you’ve been holding on forever, but keep holding on. The promise
will be fulfilled through faith and patience.
Waiting doesn’t mean do
nothing; it means get prepared. Now is the time to get ready. God doesn’t want
you to live an average, ordinary life. Because you depend on Him, He is going
to increase you. You are going to bear much fruit. He is going to make you more
productive. You’re going to get more done in less time. He is going to make
your life easier and take you where you could not go on your own. It’s going to
be greater than you ever even dreamed of. Get ready because it’s coming—every
promise you’ve stood in faith for, every dream He’s placed in your heart that
you’ve contended for is coming to fruition in Jesus’ Name!
Prayer for Today:
Father, thank You for
Your faithfulness and goodness in my life. I know that through faith and
patience I will receive Your promises. Help me to be ready; show me what to do
so that I am in position to receive everything You have prepared for me in
Jesus’ Name. Amen.
***Knowledge Requires Action
14 hours ago
by Rick Warren
“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24 NIV)
Did you know studying the Bible can be dangerous? In fact, the results of Bible study could be disastrous.Sounds strange, I know. But God intended for us to apply the Bible to our lives, not just read it. The Bible is about transformation, not just information. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24 NIV). Applying God’s Word is vitally important.
So why is it important that we apply God’s Word to our lives?
1. Knowledge produces pride if we don’t apply truth to our lives. 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” We’ve all seen people who know the Bible backward and forward, but they’ve never let it seep into their lives. They use the Bible as a hammer to pound on other people. We can be the most cantankerous, evil, mean-spirited, cranky, critical, judgmental people we’ll ever meet — if we never take the extra step and apply the Bible to our lives.
Knowledge without application produces pride. It’ll “puff” you up without a love-based application. It’ll cause harm, not help.
2. Knowledge requires action. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” What a person knows should find expression in what he or she does. We’re deceiving ourselves if we think we're growing simply by taking notes on a Bible study. God's commands are not optional.
3. Knowledge increases responsibility. James 4:17 says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it” (NLT). With a deeper knowledge of Scripture comes a stronger judgment if we fail to apply what God shows us. When we start studying the Bible, God begins to show us areas of our lives that need to be changed, and he calls us to greater and greater responsibility as he does that.
Talk It Over
- What do you do with your sermon notes once you leave church or with your Bible study notes once your quiet time is finished?
- Think about your words and actions of the last hour. Do they reflect what God has been teaching you lately from his Word?
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