Do It Yourself- My Utmost for His Highest Devotional

". . . bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ . . . —2 Corinthians 10:5


Determinedly Discipline Other Things. This is another difficult aspect of the strenuous nature of sainthood. Paul said, according to the Moffatt translation of this verse, “. . . I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ . . . .” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will— “the Son can do nothing of Himself . . . ” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do— we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.






Practical work for Christians is greatly overemphasized today, and the saints who are “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity” are criticized and told that they are not determined, and that they lack zeal for God or zeal for the souls of others. But true determination and zeal are found in obeying God, not in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature. It is inconceivable, but true nevertheless, that saints are not “bringing every thought [and project] into captivity,” but are simply doing work for God that has been instigated by their own human nature, and has not been made spiritual through determined discipline.






We have a tendency to forget that a person is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation, but is also committed, responsible, and accountable to Jesus Christ’s view of God, the world, and of sin and the devil. This means that each person must recognize the responsibility to “be transformed by the renewing of [his] mind. . . .” (Romans 12:2)."


I have to say that this was an amazing read this morning for my daily devotional. I hope that you guys are blessed as well.

source



A New Normal- Our Daily Bread

Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. —Romans 6:4


"After my doctor announced that I had cancer, I tried to listen to what he said, but I couldn’t. I went home, pulled a blanket over my head, and fell asleep on the couch, as if sleeping could change the diagnosis.

When I finally gained enough strength to tell my loved ones, my friend Judy Schreur said something especially memorable. After expressing her sympathy, she said, “This is what will happen. You will feel really bad for 3 days. Then you will get up, figure out what you have to do, and get on with your life.” Then she added, “I think it has to do with death, burial, and resurrection.”



At the time, I didn’t believe it. I was sure that life as I knew it was over. Nothing would ever be the same. I couldn’t imagine feeling normal again. But she was right. Three days later I woke up and realized I didn’t feel quite so bad. And little by little, despite the physical misery of chemotherapy treatments, my emotional and spiritual condition improved significantly. I “died” to my old reality and was “raised” to a new normal.



Thankfully, God is in the business of resurrection. For those who have died in Christ, the death of one reality means resurrection to a new, glorious normal so that we can “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4)."
 — Julie Ackerman



"Jesus redeemed us and died in our stead;

In Him we died and rose from the dead.

No longer is death a thing that we dread;

The old is behind us, the new is ahead." —D. De Haan



"To be “in Christ” is to share in His life, in His death, and in His resurrection."





*Changes your perspective on the death, burial and resurrection; doesn't it? Lol, be blessed and remember Jesus died so we may live.

Joyce Meyer- Daily Devotionals: A Wounded Heart

From Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional- March 19

"For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded and stricken within me. - Psalm 109:22



Is it wrong to have a wounded heart? No, a wounded heart is not wrong, but you need to get it healed and go on. In Old Testament days, if a priest had a wound or a bleeding sore, he could not minister. I think today we have a lot of wounded healers. By that I mean that there are a lot of people in the body of Christ today who are trying to minister to other

people but who themselves still have unhealed wounds from the past. These people are still bleeding and hurting themselves.



Am I saying that such people cannot minister? No, but I am saying that they need to get healed. Jesus said that the blind cannot lead the blind; because if they do, they will both fall into a ditch. There is a message in that statement. What is the use of my trying to minister victory to others if I have no victory in my own life? How can I minister emotional healing to others if I still have unresolved emotional problems from my past?



In order to minister properly, we need to go to God and let Him heal us first. I think we need to wake up and realize that God is not looking for wounded healers. He wants people with wounds that He can heal who will then go and bring healing to others. God loves to use people who have been hurt and wounded because nobody can minister to someone else better than one who has had the same problem or been in the same situation as that person."



I am not saying that we have to have everybody's problem in order to minister to them. My point is that if we are still bleeding and hurting from our own wounds, we are not going to be able to come against other people's problems with the same kind of aggressive faith we would have if we had already worked through that problem ourselves. The bottom line is that we need to let God heal us so He can use us to bring healing to other people.



-I Can't begin to explain the way this Woman of God blesses me when she shares what God has revealed to her.

Joyce Meyer- Daily Devotionals: Continue Taking Steps of Obedience

I have to laugh at how God works. This weekend I was thuinking about certain situations in my life and I was about to give up and just forget the situation forever.  I haven't read Joyce Meyer in awhile and I was determined to read it today. I just wanted to share it because I know a lot of people can relate:



"Whatever He says to you, do it.

—John 2:5



Jesus' first recorded miracle took place while He was attending a wedding celebration. When the marriage couple ran out of wine to serve their guests, Mary asked her Son to do something about the situation, telling the servants, "Whatever He tells you to do, do it." Jesus ordered them to fill up several huge water pots. When they had done so, He directed them to draw out of the vessels the water which by then had been miraculously changed into wine (See John 2:1-11). Because of their obedience to Him, the physical needs of many were met that day.



If you are looking for a miracle in your life, make sure you are sowing seeds of obedience, because the Lord has promised us that if we do so in patient confidence and trust in Him, we will eventually reap: "And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint." (Galatians 6:9).



Sometimes when things are not working out the way we think they should or we are not receiving the answers to our prayers as quickly as we would like, we get the idea, "Well, since God's not doing anything, why should I? Why should I be obedient if it isn't producing results?" In such times we must realize that God is always working. We just may not be able to see it, because He usually works in secret. "



I pray that God continues to bless the Meyer family and use them to bring honour and glory unto His name. They always bless me.

Just Do What He Says and Don’t Go Beyond That

From Joyce Meyer’s Daily Devotional:


We're in a Hurry, but God's Not

November 16
To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven.— Ecclesiastes 3:1 We never learn patience without something to be patient about. Patience is something that has to be worked in us — it doesn't just appear. The fruit of patience is in our spirits, because as children of God, the Holy Spirit is resident within us. But for patience to be expressed through our souls (our mind, will, and emotions), a work must be done in us. Once the prescribed time of waiting for the birth of each of my children had passed, I tried everything imaginable to bring on labor. I walked, took castor oil, worked harder than usual, hoping it would help "speed things up." With one of them, I even went into the hospital so the doctor would induce labor. It didn't work; I was sent home. The doctor basically said, "Go home and let nature take its course."
My advice to you from the Word of God and from my experience in life is, "Don't be in such a big hurry." You may be full of dreams for your life, but you may also be trying to achieve your dreams out of season. We can make huge messes in our lives, and sometimes get upset with God because things didn't work out the way we thought the Lord said they would. Things will happen as God said if we wait on His timing. We are the ones in a hurry. God is not in a hurry! Stay busy delighting yourself in the Lord, and let Him give you what He wants you to have. If God has placed the desire in you, you can be assured that He will bring it to birth in the right season. Wait on God for direction and instruction on how to proceed, do what He tells you or shows you, but don't go beyond that.

Wow. I actually have nothing to say. I went to Joyce Meyer’s Daily Devotional page and was hit with this revelation. I can’t add to it or break it down any further. Wait on God, everything in its season, etc. She is an awesome vessel of God. Be blessed.