Quote Of The Day - Addicted

Truth!

God Bless. 

Quote of the Day -Joyce Meyer

“We become addicted to approval when we base our self-worth on how people treat us or on what we believe they think about us.” 

-Joyce Meyer, The Approval Fix: How to Break Free from People Pleasing

To Defend

This...

God Bless. 

Today's Quotation:

You don't have to defend or explain your decisions to anyone. It's your life. Live it without apologies.

Mandy Hale

Today's Meditation:

Have you ever felt that you had to explain or defend a decision you made that you knew in your heart to be the right choice? Have you ever felt bad or guilty for having to turn down an invitation from someone? We often feel as though we have to explain, justify, and defend our decisions to others, and that we cannot act unless their approval has been granted. However, when we give up that level of freedom in our lives, we relinquish control and lose our authenticity--we deny ourselves the very uniqueness we possess as a one-of-a-kind person, created by the hands of a God who loves us dearly. But at the same time, it is important that we understand that if our decisions affect the lives of others, we must exhibit caution and prudence so that we do not harm them with our actions. You can embrace your freedom... as long as your choices do not diminish the freedom of others.

Social norms often dictate that we should not inconvenience others, or that we should design our lives around the plans and commitments of others. But what if we are not feeling up to the weather, or if we prefer to spend some time relaxing and recharging our batteries? I feel that what Mandy is saying here, is that if I feel that I need a quiet evening at home, instead of spending the night with the same group of friends that I typically do, then I should not feel the need to explain myself to anyone else. Of course, I should be considerate of others and try to provide some explanation or notice, but I should not let myself feel obligated to live up to the demands or standards of others as those feelings can be unhealthy.

And perhaps our choices would seem much easier if our decisions did not offend people so easily. Nevertheless, they are our decisions, and we are the ones who have to face the consequences of them... good or bad. Therefore, based on what we know is best for us, it is very important that we are able to make the decisions we need to, with a reasonable amount of comfort.

You are the captain of your vessel, and if you fail to define your desired course in life, or act in ways that will bring you closer to your desired destination, well then you are not really acting as the captain of your ship, are you?

Today's Challenge: Find strength within your ability to make the choices that are important in your life today.

Questions to consider:

How often do you find yourself defending or explaining your choices to others?

Why is it so important to defend or explain ourselves to others?

How does our ability to "live our life without apology," contribute to our level of freedom?

For further thought:

At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.

Steve Maraboli

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Inspire Me Books (Amazon)

Inspire Me: Currents...

Inspire Me: The Swells...

https://amazon.com/author/clstarling

Series of daily inspirations revisited and revised for publication. Thank you for all the interest and support through the years.

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Quote Of The Day - Your Worst Day

Love this!

Be encouraged. 

God Bless.

Quote of the Day -Joyce Meyer

“ Your worst day with God will be better than your best day without Him. The Holy Spirit is here to speak to you and help you in every way you need help today.”

-Joyce Meyer, Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions

Jesus Saw People

Something to think about. 

God Bless.

Jesus Saw People as God Does

He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. - Mark 6:34, NIV

Jesus looked out at the approaching crowds and saw people who were seeking God but instead had received hundreds of manmade legal burdens.

He saw people who wanted truth but had received political posturing and religious platitudes from the Pharisees.

He saw people as more important than His own plans and need for rest.

He saw people not as an interruption, but as an opportunity to reveal His loving care and His Father’s compassionate power to meet their deepest needs.

He saw people as sheep who needed a shepherd. He saw people as God saw them.

From Just Give Me Jesus

   

AnGeL Ministries

5115 Hollyridge Drive, Raleigh, NC 27612

Phone 919-787-6606

© 2024 Anne Graham Lotz/AnGeL Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

The Only Way

Just something to think on.

God Bless. 

The only way to be truly happy is to get your mind off yourself and help somebody else. 

#JoyceQuote

Our Love

This...

God Bless.

Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.

Author: Andrew Murray

Trust In The Power Of Hope

Wisdom

God Bless 

DAILY DEVO

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.

— Proverbs 13:12 (AMPC)

Trust in the Power of Hope

Adapted from the resource Ending Your Day Right - by Joyce Meyer

I define hope as "the happy anticipation of good things." You can hope for something good to happen to you by learning how to celebrate and enjoy life.

Everything in life is a process in motion. Without movement and progression there is no life. As long as you live you are always heading somewhere, and you should enjoy yourself on the way. God created you to be a goal-oriented visionary. Without a vision you become bored and hopeless.

But there's something about hope that makes people lighthearted and happy. Hope is a powerful spiritual force that is activated through your positive attitude. God is positive and He wants positive things to happen to you, but that probably won't happen unless you have hope and faith.

Expect God to bring good out of every circumstance in your life. Whatever happens, trust in the Lord…and trust in the power of hope!

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for hope. Please show me how to celebrate and enjoy my life and help me to keep a positive attitude as I move forward.

What Should I Do

Some food for thought and encouragement. 

God Bless 

What Should I Do?

Today : What Should I Do?

TODAY’S VERSE

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT

Sometimes you hit a wall. Something comes along and has you completely baffled. You have no answers. Nothing makes sense. There doesn’t seem to be any reason to what is happening. What can you do? James offers a solution. He says, “Ask God for wisdom.” So, when your are perplexed, upset and worried, stop, wait on God and cry out to Him. God cares and He promises that He will generously give you wisdom. 

TODAY’S PRAYER

Dear Father, I need wisdom. I need Your guidance and understanding. You have promised that You will give wisdom to me generously. I come to You in faith asking You to give me that wisdom today. In Jesus’ name.

AMEN

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION & MEDITATION

When I ask, God will give me wisdom

Visualize yourself in a perplexing situation. You feel the pressure. Stress is building up and no matter what you do, there doesn’t seem to be an answer to your dilemma. See yourself asking God for wisdom. Feel His joy as you come to Him. Sense His presence and full attention toward your situation. He nudges you, gives you a sense of direction, inspires you and you begin to move with faith toward a solution. Affirm, “When I ask, God will give me wisdom.”

-Author Unknown 

Blessed Is Who We Are

Just something to think about.

God Bless.

“Blessed is who you are!

 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Proverbs 10:6, NKJV

Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah. Psalm 3:8, NKJV

 Yes, you may have had some bumps and bruises along the way. Yes, you may have made some mistakes that you would like to take back. Yet, God hasn’t changed His mind about you or the outcome of your moment and your life. He still calls you blessed. He has given you an identity of being blessed. It’s who you are.

 Take those experiences as only lessons to get wiser and better. Those experiences aren’t to define you. You are blessed. Your home is blessed. Your ability to bounce back and walk out God’s will is blessed. It’s who you are in Christ. The road ahead will only have blessings at the end, and the Lord says to see them before you today. Jesus is your greatest blessing, and as long as you have Him, He will order your steps into what God has abundantly ordained for your life.

 Prayer: Father, I praise you for blessing me. According to your word, blessings are on my head. It will work out because I’m blessed for it to work out. I am worthy because of Christ. You have favored me and will be good to me. Help me to count it all joy and see great lessons from my experiences. They will not define me. I am healed. I am whole. I am blessed. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

 Scriptures: Galatians 3:13-15; Ephesians 1:3; Psalm 21:3; Psalm 65:11; Romans 8:28-30

 By Pastor Bernard Trippett

 Daughters of the King Daily Devotionals

For A Single Offering

Something to think about.

God Bless.

JMM LogoJoyce Meyer Ministries 

DAILY DEVO

For by a single offering, He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy...He then goes on to say, and their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more.

Forgiveness Is Forever

Adapted from the resource Power Thoughts Devo - by Joyce Meyer

God's forgiveness is forever and ongoing for the duration of our lives; it is for every day. When Jesus died on the cross, He not only forgave everything we had done in our pasts, but He also committed Himself to forgive and forget every sin we would commit in the future.

He knows our thoughts before we think them; He knows our words before they come out of our mouths; He knows every wrong decision we will ever make—and they're all covered. All we have to do is stay in a relationship with Him. After all, what He wants from us more than anything else is not perfect performance, perfect behavior, or perfect attitudes, but hearts that really love Him.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for me and because of that tremendous sacrifice, covering every sin I will ever commit.

There Are Times

Something to think about.

God Bless.

Today's Quotation:

If not us, then who?

If not now, then when?

John E. Lewis

Today's Meditation:

There are times in our lives in which we are faced with the difficult decision of standing up for what is right; and usually it is not an easy choice to make. Often times, doing the right thing can bring about a significant amount of hostility or negativity from others, and as a result, it is generally preferred to take the easier way out and not say or do anything, or even worse, agree with something that we know is wrong. But it imperitive that we stand for what we know deep within our hearts to be good and right--for the lives of those we intersect, for the lives of those we love, and most importantly, for ourselves and the eternal being within.

Evil prevails in this world when good people do nothing. And as John aptly points out, "If it is not us, then who?" If we all take the attitude that we are not the person to stand up for what is right, or bring about positive change, then evil will prevail. Similarly, if we take the attitude that it is not the right time in our lives or an ideal moment to stand up for what is right, then when will good ever stand a fighting chance?

Part of the problem is that we usually see no immediate positive result of our standing up for what is right, though we often see very negative results. It is easy to hold back from protesting a wrong or praising an unpopular right action when we know that the immediate result for ourselves can be ridicule, anger, or other very negative responses.

The truth, unfortunately, is that injustice is all around us. And standing up against it is not always easy. But if we are not the voice of truth--or examples of moral character and integrity--our hearts will have become surrounded by the darkness that we chose to accept.

Today's Challenge: Take some time to discover and maintain your moral courage today.

Questions to consider:

How do we define right and wrong? Is our perspective necessarily the best one for everyone on any issue?

Why is it hard to stand up for the right and the just? Is it necessary to do so if we want to live full lives?

How can we deal with people who do not seem to want to hear what is right?

For further thought:

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master;

If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling, If: A Father's Advice to His Son

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Inspire Me Books (Amazon)

Inspire Me: Currents...

Inspire Me: The Swells...

https://amazon.com/author/clstarling

Conscious Of God’s Love

It pays to be conscious and encouraged.

God Bless.

Conscious Of God’s Love

Today : Conscious Of God’s Love

TODAY’S VERSE

“If God is for us, who can be against us? -Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:31, 35, 38 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT

This is one of the greatest promises in the Bible. It is true for every child of God. Nothing – nothing – nothing can separate you from the love of God! You may feel like His love is distant, you may have doubts, you may be in circumstances where it seems like God is nowhere near, but the truth remains. His love is with you and He is conscious of you right now, this very moment! Stop and recognize His presence. Be still and know that He is your God.

TODAY’S PRAYER

Almighty God, my Heavenly Father. I renounce all negative beliefs that lead me to think that You do not care or have abandoned me. I pray that You will, this very moment, make me conscious of Your presence. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to really understand that nothing has or ever will separate me from Your love. Thank You for Your great love for me.

AMEN

TODAY’S AFFIRMATION & MEDITATION

Nothing can separate me from the love of God

See yourself walking against a strong wind. Dark clouds are coming in, a frigid temperature accompanies the strong wind. An ominous feeling comes over you and then you remember, “Nothing can separate me from the love of God!” Feel the peace of God come over you. Sense a deep faith welling up inside of you as it begins to give you joy. See God watching and sense His presence protecting you. Affirm deep in your heart, “Nothing can separate me from the love of God!”

-Author Unknown 

The Tongue

Thought provoking. 

God Bless. 

In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.  But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. (NLT)

What a powerful tool each of us is blessed with: communication! Depending upon its delivery and timing, something as simple as a laugh has the power to make a jovial comedian radiate or cut a person to their core. Use your tongue for God's purposes by building up loved ones, teaching others about Jesus' love, or praying in difficult situations.

-Author Unknown 

I Prayed

I deal with anxiety so when I read this little devotional, it struck a cord.

God Bless.

"I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4)

The exhaustive list of recognized anxiety disorders is a poignant expression of how many different ways people try to cope with fear, and fail miserably at it. Anxiety is caused when people try to cope with the lack of control over circumstances which stems from sins inflicted by others, by their own doing, and or as a result of medical issues. God expects us to surrender all of our fears to Him and trust Him to work for our good in every situation. This requires living a life of total surrender obedience to His Word and making lifestyle changes in order to become healthy in body and mind.

-Author Unknown 

For In Him

Leaving it right here...

God Bless.

For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (NLT)

God tenderly reminds us that we are children too! We are His children. There are few things in this life that are more comforting in a season of difficulty than being in the presence of your parents. A mother’s hug can be one of the most restorative actions this world offers and that is exactly what God says He is for us! He’s our Father, our Safe Place, Refuge, Comforter, Wisdom-Giver, and Rest when we hit those moments where we just can’t anymore. 

Author Unknown 

Give All Your Worries

I love this little devotional and how it got me thinking about how I see my life.

God Bless.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (NLT)

Are you allowing lies to define who you are? Do you live each day believing the lie that you are unloved, unworthy or unforgiven? God invites us to cast these lies, cares, weights aside! God desires us to live life carefree. To live our days secure in the knowledge that we are His loved ones. 

-Author Unknown 

They Learn

This....

God Bless.

And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.

Inspiration 

It's easy to become a busybody without realizing it. We have access to the details of a person's life through social media, national news, or small-town gossip. We feel we have valuable information to share when, in reality, we are only causing trouble. We unintentionally spread rumors powerful enough to create division, break a heart, or destroy a friend's reputation. We must remain alert to the power of gossip and focus on the work at hand. God needs us to actively spread the Gospel, not harmful details regarding a person's life.

Prayer

Dear Father, please forgive us for wasting time spreading rumors when we should be actively sharing Your Word. We will keep our work in alignment with Your plan and not gossip of the world. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Psalm 23 Devotional