God's Compassion

2 Peter 3:9

Common English Bible (CEB)

⁹ The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise, as some think of slowness, but he is patient toward you, not wanting anyone to perish but all to change their hearts and lives.

I walked outside today without shoes on my feet and instantly my feet began to burn from the heat of the concrete. Today, it is 113 degrees in Arizona.  That is HOT, ya'll!!  But it made me think about God's long suffering, compassion and patience.  God continuously delays Christ's return because He wants more children in His family.  The heat searing though my feet was a reminder that God had a redemptive plan in place before the beginning of time.

He not only spared us from death and Hell, but He provided supernatural provision and abundance in this life.  God shared His bounty with us.  Shouldn't we share that news with others?  Choose to share the mercy of God's love with someone today.  It literally means the difference between life and death.

Gentle Reminder

Matthew 10:30 (CEV)

"Even the hairs on your head are counted. "

A few days ago, I was fighting a bout of loneliness. As I near the end of my doctoral studies, I realized that I do not have anyone with whom I will share the accomplishment. Yes, I have my parents and my children but I do not have a spouse. I had to cast down imaginations (2 Cor 10:5) of loneliness and focus on God’s love. 

I went into a furniture store looking for an item for my daughter. As I walked to the counter to purchase her bedroom set. I noticed an entertainment center. I have wanted an entertainment center for my family room for about a year. However, the one I really wanted was almost $1200 and nothing in me wanted to pay that price. I walked over to the item and looked at the tag that read, “$398.” Yes, you read correctly. The brand new unit normally priced at $1150 was marked down to $398. This was not a clearance item. It was brand new on the sales floor. The cashier and the sales person were amazed at the price. The sales representative verified the price with the manager who promptly removed the tag. (I bought the unit for $398.) The cashier later confirmed the item should have been $898. 

Initially, I was just excited to get the item. I return the tithe and sow into God’s kingdom; therefore, I expect favor to reign in my life. Later that day, I stopped and really thought about the situation. God cared enough to give me the exact entertainment center I wanted for my family room. The item is insignificant in the wide-scheme of things. However, God’s attention to detail gives us the most intimate desires of our hearts. If God cares enough to give me an entertainment center, does He not care enough to present me to the man who will care for me and treat me like the precious gem that I am? The entire scenario makes Jesus’ affirmation in Matthew 6:25-33 very real. 

Choose to believe God’s love and word. Turn that belief in to faith with corresponding actions. God loves you.  Pass the word.

Play to Win By Kenneth Copeland

Who is he that over cometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 5:5

I've often heard people say, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game." That's nonsense. If you play the game right, you'll win!

Any coach will tell you that part of playing the game right is having a winning attitude. That's what God wants us, as believers, to have. He wants us to have so much faith in Him that we expect to whip any obstacle the devil brings our way. He wants us to expect to win at the game of life.

We don't always come by that attitude easily. We're so accustomed to losing that we have to totally change our way of thinking if we want to have a winning mind-set. In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul told the Church to renew their minds. They needed to change their attitudes, to renew their minds to the fact that Jesus has overcome the world.

If you haven't already, you need to do that too! You need to develop a glorious sense of confidence that says, "Hey, devil, I'm going to be victorious and there's not a thing you can do to stop me!"

"But, Brother Copeland, you don't know the kinds of problems I'm facing."

I know I don't, but Jesus does and He said you should "cheer up" because He can give you peace in the midst of tribulation. He said that when Satan comes against you with everything he has, you should take heart because He's already beaten it-- Jesus has already overcome it and so can you!

First John 5:5 puts it this way, "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

Do you know what that scripture means? It means that if you are a born-again believer, you have an absolute right to be a winner, to overcome every aspect of this evil world. Think about that. Meditate on it. Start developing a winning attitude today

Live in Power - Gloria Copeland

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

As a believer, you actually have residing in you the same new life God gave Jesus when He raised Him from the dead. The old sinner you once were has died. You've become a new creation on the inside. You are full of the resurrection life of God! But sin, disobedience and living a selfish, carnal life will keep that resurrection life from flowing out. Sin will separate you from the power of God, even though you're born again. Resurrection life will lay dormant in you if you walk in sin. You can't overcome sin by trying to stop sinning, however. You overcome it by walking after the new life God has put within you; by spending time in the Word and in prayer. As you do that, the Spirit of God will strengthen you and enable you to put that sin under your feet. Remember, though, the Holy Spirit will not subdue those old fleshly habits of yours on His own. He'll wait on you to take the initiative. Then He will strengthen you to follow through with your decision. He will teach you how to walk in the new life that is in you. Take the first step today by asking for His help. Say, "Lord, I desire to experience the power to live by this new life every day. By a decision of my heart, I put down the dictates of sin. I declare myself dead to it. In Jesus' Name, I will spend time in prayer and in the Word today. As I do, I believe I'll receive a Holy Ghost refreshing in my life. I believe I'll begin to live out the resurrection power that You've placed in me!

Free from the Curse - Kenneth Copeland

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.

Galatians 3:13

You know the story. Satan came to Adam's wife in the form of a serpent and deceived her into disobeying God. Adam, although he was not deceived, followed suit.

When Satan came into the Garden that day, he didn't have any power at all. He had to come in like a sneak, not even talking to Adam directly but talking to his wife.

Now Adam was standing there, and he should have kicked him out right then. But he didn't. Instead, he set aside the command God had given him and did what Satan told him to do instead...and when he did that, he made Satan his lord.

In bowing his knee to Satan, Adam gave Satan the authority that God had given man. He made Satan the illegitimate ruler of the earth. Immediately things changed. Through one man's trespass, death passed to all men (Rom. 5:12).

The earth and everything in it was suddenly cursed.

"Okay," you say, "are we to live under this curse for the rest of our lives? Wasn't there anything God could do?"

He could and He did! He sent Jesus. Through Jesus, He set us free from the curse (Gal. 3:13).

The moment you made Jesus Christ Lord of your life, you were delivered from the lordship of Satan. You were redeemed from the curse. I didn't say the curse wasn't out there anymore. It is! You can see it all around you. But now you have a choice. You have authority over it in the Name of Jesus, so you can stand against it.

God's done everything that love can do. He sent Jesus to redeem you from the curse. The rest is up to you. Now you must appropriate what has already been done for you

Never Fall By Kenneth Copeland

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.

2 Timothy 2:15

A lot of people have been playing games when it comes to the Word. They claim to be faith people in public. But, in private, they never open the Bible at all. Then, when a time of trouble comes and they try to stand on the Word, they fall flat on their spiritual faces.

Well, the time for playing games is over. It's time for us to realize that real faith involves action. James 2:20 says faith without works [or corresponding action] is dead.

If you want the kind of faith that will keep you on your feet when others are falling around you, you need to take some action where the Word is concerned.

First, you need to study. You can study the Word in many ways. You can not only read it, you can dig deeply into it with concordances, Greek/Hebrew dictionaries and other study guides. What's more, if you have a cassette player, you can walk around half the day listening to teaching tapes. It's only one way of study, but it is a powerful one.

The second thing you need to do is go where the Word is being preached. When Romans 10:17 says "faith comes by hearing," it's talking about the preached Word.

Whenever I start feeling surrounded by problems and I'm having trouble hearing from God, I drop everything and find some place where I can hear the Word preached. I've received more answers from God that way than I can count. Even though the preacher may not have been preaching about anything even remotely connected with the issue I was struggling with, some Word of Scripture would suddenly start my thoughts in a certain direction. I'd realize, "That's the answer to that problem I've been dealing with for the past six weeks!"

Third, you need to start confessing the Word you've heard. Find the promise of God that covers your situation and then declare it out loud as if it had already come to pass in your life.

Get serious about the Word of God. Study it. Go hear it preached. Confess it. Become such a diligent workman that the devil himself will look at you with fear and say, "There's one believer who's not playing games anymore.

Seek Wisdom

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 1:5

Take Time to Listen
by Kenneth Copeland

When you're facing a problem, the very first thing you should ask God for is wisdom. Not money. Not power. Not even healing. But wisdom.

God's wisdom is the key that will unlock every door in your life. It will turn your every failure into success. So, stop wasting your prayer power begging God for things you think you need and spend some time instead listening to what He has to say about your situation.

If you've never tried that before, practically speaking, here's what you need to do.

First: Lay out the entire problem before the Lord, not because He doesn't know what you're going through, but because laying it out helps you. It helps you see things from a more objective point of view.

I remember when I used to take my problems to my father, A. W. Copeland. Somehow, when I was explaining them to him, they began to look different to me. I'd get a new perspective, and as I talked, he'd point out areas I hadn't considered yet. Explaining your problems to God, point by point, will help you accomplish the same thing.

Second: Listen for the Spirit of God to advise you. Pay particular attention to what He says through the written Word. Most likely, the care of your problem has choked the Word of God right out of your heart (Mark 4:18-19). If so, you need to get the Bible and begin to put that Word back in again. Then the Holy Spirit will begin to speak to you through it.

As you're listening, be sure to remain teachable. Be ready to accept rebuke if necessary. Be very honest with God. Look for ways in which you've been wrong and confess them to Him. It's all right. Those sins won't come as any surprise to Him. He already knows about them. Confession just gives you the opportunity to get rid of them.

Third: Act on the wisdom God gives you. Let go of your own methods and put His methods into operation. Be obedient. If you don't, that wonderful wisdom won't do you any good at all.

As you pray today, set aside your own ideas and start seeking the wisdom of God. It's the only thing that can permanently solve the problems you've been facing. It's truly the most precious gift God has to give.

Seek wisdom