II Timothy 2:15 (KJV) - Study to show yourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
To be successful in life you will often pay a price for your success. The preparation that is required for your success can come with a heavy price tag. This is not to scare you, but to let you know that you have to determine in your heart that you are prepared to go all the way with God so you can succeed.
You must determine that there is nothing too difficult that will prevent you from persevering till you attain your destiny. As I think back over the four years I spent in college, I can truly say that it was a great expense for me. Since I was responsible for the entire bill, I had to work; I found a job in a retail store. I went to class from seven in the morning to twelve noon on Mondays through Thursdays. I then worked from one in the afternoon to nine in the evenings. When I arrived home from work, I studied and prepared for the next day.
During that four-year period, I slept only five hours a night. Many of you can tell the same story. There was a cost, a sacrifice, to attain the things that you have thus far accomplished with your life. You willingly paid the price because you had a goal in mind. There is a cost to prepare yourself for what God has in store for you.
You have to be willing, available and flexible to what God has for you to do. You must be determined that no matter what the obstacles you will persevere because in persevering you will always win.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
What am I willing to do to fulfill my destiny?
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Our Submission
James 4:7 – Therefore, submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.
In order for you to totally submit, you must model yourself after the example of Jesus. You must acknowledge that submission is a part of the will of God for your life. You must first yield your will over to God with the full understanding that He will mold and shape you into the image and likeness of His Son.
As you begin submitting to the preparation process, the Bible encourages you to submit to one another -- to earthly authority, to men, to leaders, and to masters. To willingly submit yourself to these authorities, you should know that there is no loss of dignity; but there will be an increase in the power of God in your life.
Submission is not a subservient word or position. It takes a powerful person to truly submit to another’s authority. Submission requires obedience even when you are not in full agreement. It is the total surrender of what you may think and believe to allow someone else the opportunity to be right. That takes power!
Have you ever been in a heated discussion and you knew without a doubt that you were right, but in order to bring peace to the situation, you backed off? That is submission. Even though you were right, you yielded to another person’s desire to be right in order to bring harmony. You give up your right to be right, and that decision has the power to transform your relationships and change the lives of the people who receive the benefit of your submission.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
How can I experience the power in submission?
In order for you to totally submit, you must model yourself after the example of Jesus. You must acknowledge that submission is a part of the will of God for your life. You must first yield your will over to God with the full understanding that He will mold and shape you into the image and likeness of His Son.
As you begin submitting to the preparation process, the Bible encourages you to submit to one another -- to earthly authority, to men, to leaders, and to masters. To willingly submit yourself to these authorities, you should know that there is no loss of dignity; but there will be an increase in the power of God in your life.
Submission is not a subservient word or position. It takes a powerful person to truly submit to another’s authority. Submission requires obedience even when you are not in full agreement. It is the total surrender of what you may think and believe to allow someone else the opportunity to be right. That takes power!
Have you ever been in a heated discussion and you knew without a doubt that you were right, but in order to bring peace to the situation, you backed off? That is submission. Even though you were right, you yielded to another person’s desire to be right in order to bring harmony. You give up your right to be right, and that decision has the power to transform your relationships and change the lives of the people who receive the benefit of your submission.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
How can I experience the power in submission?
Friday, May 8, 2009
Submission to the Process
I Peter 2:13-14 (NIV) - Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
You serve an omniscient God who promised you eternal life from before time began (Titus 1:2). God knew that Adam would fail and implemented His plan for your redemption before the foundation of the world. I like to think that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit had a meeting in Heaven to determine which of them would redeem mankind.
One of them had to decide to be the perfect substitute for us. He had to yield up His title, be willing to be born as a baby, and suffer the hurt and pain of rejection in order to bring us eternal life.
The decision that Jesus made to be our Savior required the submission of His position, authority, and will to that of the Father. It took love and a willingness to die for others. In His submission, He accepted unjust punishment. When He was wrongfully accused, He did not in turn accuse others; and when He was threatened, He did not respond in kind.
He submitted to the preparation process because He understood what was at stake. We are told, “Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). He willingly gave up His throne, splendor, worship, and adoration to save a people who would mock, ridicule, scorn, and then hang Him on the cross.
He submitted willingly, fully understanding what He would face. Jesus is our perfect example of submission - though right, He gave up His rights and went to the cross to redeem us.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
Will I submit my all just like Jesus?
You serve an omniscient God who promised you eternal life from before time began (Titus 1:2). God knew that Adam would fail and implemented His plan for your redemption before the foundation of the world. I like to think that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit had a meeting in Heaven to determine which of them would redeem mankind.
One of them had to decide to be the perfect substitute for us. He had to yield up His title, be willing to be born as a baby, and suffer the hurt and pain of rejection in order to bring us eternal life.
The decision that Jesus made to be our Savior required the submission of His position, authority, and will to that of the Father. It took love and a willingness to die for others. In His submission, He accepted unjust punishment. When He was wrongfully accused, He did not in turn accuse others; and when He was threatened, He did not respond in kind.
He submitted to the preparation process because He understood what was at stake. We are told, “Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). He willingly gave up His throne, splendor, worship, and adoration to save a people who would mock, ridicule, scorn, and then hang Him on the cross.
He submitted willingly, fully understanding what He would face. Jesus is our perfect example of submission - though right, He gave up His rights and went to the cross to redeem us.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
Will I submit my all just like Jesus?
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Cleansing
(I Peter 5:8) – Be sober, be on the alert! Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
Have you ever been at a place in your life when all seems well? For a change everything was going along peacefully. You found contentment and are happy to finally get there after much struggling. For a season, you continued to enjoy this contentment, then one day something happened that knocked you sideways, and you were plunged into a season of pain, hardship, and in some cases devastation.
The Bible is clear that the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8). It did not say he was a roaring lion but that he is like a roaring lion. I have seen pictures of lions without teeth and that is the picture of what the devil looks like. He seems tough and scary, but when he opens his mouth to roar at you, you realize to your amazement that he is toothless.
When you are plunged into seasons of pain and hurt, the toothless devil is roaring; and his roar can cause you some pain, as well as concern. God knows that the devil will roar into your life from time-to-time. His roar can be painful, but God will use the pain to begin His cleansing work in you. He begins to prune away things that seem perfectly fine and necessary to you.
I remember a time when I was finally in a season when I thought I was going to get some rest from my struggles and valleys. In the midst of this season, a friend decided to share some of my personal struggles with some of her friends. This friend had known me for a long time, and she knew I was a private person, yet she chose to share my personal information. This caused me great pain, and in the midst of my pain, I asked God why? His response was, “I am in the process of pruning unnecessary relationships out of your life so I can draw you closer to Me.” I can truly say though, the pruning was as painful as it was necessary.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
What is God currently pruning in your life?
Have you ever been at a place in your life when all seems well? For a change everything was going along peacefully. You found contentment and are happy to finally get there after much struggling. For a season, you continued to enjoy this contentment, then one day something happened that knocked you sideways, and you were plunged into a season of pain, hardship, and in some cases devastation.
The Bible is clear that the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8). It did not say he was a roaring lion but that he is like a roaring lion. I have seen pictures of lions without teeth and that is the picture of what the devil looks like. He seems tough and scary, but when he opens his mouth to roar at you, you realize to your amazement that he is toothless.
When you are plunged into seasons of pain and hurt, the toothless devil is roaring; and his roar can cause you some pain, as well as concern. God knows that the devil will roar into your life from time-to-time. His roar can be painful, but God will use the pain to begin His cleansing work in you. He begins to prune away things that seem perfectly fine and necessary to you.
I remember a time when I was finally in a season when I thought I was going to get some rest from my struggles and valleys. In the midst of this season, a friend decided to share some of my personal struggles with some of her friends. This friend had known me for a long time, and she knew I was a private person, yet she chose to share my personal information. This caused me great pain, and in the midst of my pain, I asked God why? His response was, “I am in the process of pruning unnecessary relationships out of your life so I can draw you closer to Me.” I can truly say though, the pruning was as painful as it was necessary.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
What is God currently pruning in your life?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
God’s Preparation Process
John 15:1-8 (CSB) - I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples.
It goes without saying that the preparation process of God is entirely different from ours. If you have been in relationship with God for any length of time, you will know that during His preparation He often goes after things in your life that are very deep and painful. He is after that which will cause you to grow and develop into the likeness of Christ.
Jesus makes it clear that He is the True Vine, our life source, and we are the branches who receive our nourishment from Him. He carefully watches over the branches to determine which ones are bearing fruit in His Kingdom. In order for the branch to bear any fruit, it must stay connected and reside within the source of life, the Vine.
As the Vine, Jesus is the stem of the plant, which gives support. He is the only one who can direct you to your destiny and support you in the fulfillment of it. The branch must abide with Jesus and act in accordance with His will to get the power it needs to be effective.
Part of abiding is that you not only agree with what Jesus says, but that you also submit to His plans. You are clearly depicted, as a branch, which means you are a part of the stem of the plant and not the plant itself so you take your nourishment directly from Him.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
Is God currently preparing you for destiny?
It goes without saying that the preparation process of God is entirely different from ours. If you have been in relationship with God for any length of time, you will know that during His preparation He often goes after things in your life that are very deep and painful. He is after that which will cause you to grow and develop into the likeness of Christ.
Jesus makes it clear that He is the True Vine, our life source, and we are the branches who receive our nourishment from Him. He carefully watches over the branches to determine which ones are bearing fruit in His Kingdom. In order for the branch to bear any fruit, it must stay connected and reside within the source of life, the Vine.
As the Vine, Jesus is the stem of the plant, which gives support. He is the only one who can direct you to your destiny and support you in the fulfillment of it. The branch must abide with Jesus and act in accordance with His will to get the power it needs to be effective.
Part of abiding is that you not only agree with what Jesus says, but that you also submit to His plans. You are clearly depicted, as a branch, which means you are a part of the stem of the plant and not the plant itself so you take your nourishment directly from Him.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
Is God currently preparing you for destiny?
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Our Acceptance
Luke 1: 38 – I am the Lord’s slave, said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
In order for us to be accepted by the King of Glory, our great God, the requirement is not one year of preparation or purification. We are acceptable just as we are, when we make Jesus our personal Savior and Lord. We find instant acceptance when we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God by believing that He was born of a virgin and willingly gave up His life on a cruel cross for us. When we acknowledge that He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God making intercession for us, we will find no rejection, only acceptance. To gain acceptance we must simply come to Him just as we are.
When the Holy Spirit begins to tug at our hearts, we make a decision to surrender our wills to Him; and He instantly comes in and begins a work of purification.
Jesus our Savior is not looking for outward perfection, but He is looking for hearts that are ripe and open to Him. He is looking for those who will say, “Yes, Lord.” The moment you say “Yes” to Him, He comes in, and the transformation begins. Others can see the transforming work He does on the inside of you.
Like Mary the mother of Jesus who willingly said “Yes” to the plan of God for her life and our redemption, we must also willingly say “Yes” each time we hear the voice of God.
God is looking for a people who will not question Him regarding His plans and destinies for them but those who willingly undertake all that He assigns to their life to do.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
Have you accepted God’s call on you life?
In order for us to be accepted by the King of Glory, our great God, the requirement is not one year of preparation or purification. We are acceptable just as we are, when we make Jesus our personal Savior and Lord. We find instant acceptance when we acknowledge that Jesus is the Son of God by believing that He was born of a virgin and willingly gave up His life on a cruel cross for us. When we acknowledge that He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God making intercession for us, we will find no rejection, only acceptance. To gain acceptance we must simply come to Him just as we are.
When the Holy Spirit begins to tug at our hearts, we make a decision to surrender our wills to Him; and He instantly comes in and begins a work of purification.
Jesus our Savior is not looking for outward perfection, but He is looking for hearts that are ripe and open to Him. He is looking for those who will say, “Yes, Lord.” The moment you say “Yes” to Him, He comes in, and the transformation begins. Others can see the transforming work He does on the inside of you.
Like Mary the mother of Jesus who willingly said “Yes” to the plan of God for her life and our redemption, we must also willingly say “Yes” each time we hear the voice of God.
God is looking for a people who will not question Him regarding His plans and destinies for them but those who willingly undertake all that He assigns to their life to do.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
Have you accepted God’s call on you life?
Friday, May 1, 2009
Preparation for Your Destiny
II Timothy 3:16-17 (CSB) - All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
When most people hear the word “preparation,” immediately a picture comes to mind - a picture of hard work or extra time spent in training. For others, it is a feeling of readiness and anticipation of a coming event.
Preparation is having foresight of a possible outcome. It is laying the groundwork for that which you desire to take place. Still for others it is preparing a solid foundation on which they can build a strong and secure destiny.
In Old Testament times, we find a clear picture of the world’s definition of preparation. In Esther’s time, a woman was presented to the king only after she had spent one year being purified and prepared. For six months, she was bathed in oils and myrrh to soften her skin. The next six months were spent applying all types of aromas and perfumes to her body. All bodily impurities had to be removed before she was presentable. The outer appearance had to be one of total perfection. Once the preparation process was complete, along with a host of other beautiful ladies, she was ready to be presented to the king who then made his choice.
Imagine spending a year being prodded, scrubbed, perfumed, and then finally meeting the king only to learn that he did not choose you. How disappointing that must have been for many of those young ladies and how devastating for others! In your life there is a season of preparation. This process is far different from the world’s preparation process.
God is the one who prepares you for His purposes and plans and He is thorough in the process. The first step in the process is to come into an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The moment you begin the relationship with Jesus, God begins preparing you for your destiny.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
I am currently being prepared for my destiny?
When most people hear the word “preparation,” immediately a picture comes to mind - a picture of hard work or extra time spent in training. For others, it is a feeling of readiness and anticipation of a coming event.
Preparation is having foresight of a possible outcome. It is laying the groundwork for that which you desire to take place. Still for others it is preparing a solid foundation on which they can build a strong and secure destiny.
In Old Testament times, we find a clear picture of the world’s definition of preparation. In Esther’s time, a woman was presented to the king only after she had spent one year being purified and prepared. For six months, she was bathed in oils and myrrh to soften her skin. The next six months were spent applying all types of aromas and perfumes to her body. All bodily impurities had to be removed before she was presentable. The outer appearance had to be one of total perfection. Once the preparation process was complete, along with a host of other beautiful ladies, she was ready to be presented to the king who then made his choice.
Imagine spending a year being prodded, scrubbed, perfumed, and then finally meeting the king only to learn that he did not choose you. How disappointing that must have been for many of those young ladies and how devastating for others! In your life there is a season of preparation. This process is far different from the world’s preparation process.
God is the one who prepares you for His purposes and plans and He is thorough in the process. The first step in the process is to come into an intimate and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The moment you begin the relationship with Jesus, God begins preparing you for your destiny.
Please ponder and meditate on this:
I am currently being prepared for my destiny?
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