“Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word” (Psalm 119:37, NIV)

You have to be very selective about what you give your time and attention to in order to live the life of victory God has promised. You have to recognize which thoughts to ignore, which comments to ignore, and sometimes, which people to ignore. Every “battle” that comes across your path is not a battle that you’re supposed to fight. Many battles are simply distractions to try to lure you off course. If that battle is not between you and your God-given destiny, it’s a battle you should ignore.

Many people get thrown off course because they are always trying to straighten everyone else out or win their approval. If that’s your focus, you are wasting valuable time and energy that you should be using to pursue your dreams. Turn away from that distraction! You don’t need the approval of everyone around you; you only need God’s approval!

Friend, it’s very freeing when you realize you don’t have to fight every battle. You don’t have to straighten people out. You don’t have to pay somebody back. Instead, focus on what matters; focus on God and His Word so you will live in peace and happiness every day of your life!

The Bible says that fear is a spirit. It plays on our emotions and holds us back. But the good news is that we have power over fear! The Bible says that perfect love casts out all fear. When we receive God’s perfect love, we will have confidence about the future because we know His plans are for our good. I’ve heard it said that fear is an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real. Understand that fear is a lie. Today, choose to believe God’s Word and receive His love so that you can overcome fear and move forward into the good life He has prepared for you!

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NLT).

God has ordained seasons and cycles in our lives. Sometimes, when our dreams aren’t coming to pass on our timetable, we can be tempted to get frustrated. But we have to be careful not to allow our attitude to keep us from moving forward.

Understand that in God’s kingdom, every season is not harvest. There are plowing seasons, planting seasons and watering seasons. Sure, we would love for every season to be a time of increase; but without the other seasons, we wouldn’t be prepared. It’s during the plowing seasons when God’s bringing issues to light that we need to deal with. He’s getting us prepared for promotion. If you’re not making as much progress as you would like, the key is not to lose any ground. Don’t go backwards. Hold your position by keeping an attitude of faith and expectancy, even when it’s hard. Keep plowing by speaking the Word daily. As you do, you’ll pass the test, and God promises your due season is coming!

Know this Today: not only will God rescue you; He will set your feet on a rock and lead you to your final destination in life. Remember, the promise He placed on the inside of you didn’t go away because you had some personal failures. No, that failure is only temporary but His Word remains forever! Keep hoping, keep believing because He will move you into the blessing and victory He has prepared for you!

“You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48, AMP)

One thing I’ve learned is that just because God puts a dream in our hearts doesn’t mean it’s going to come to pass without any opposition. See, God is going to grow us up. He’s going to mature us. He’s going to prepare us to handle the promotion He has in store.

I think about Joseph in the Bible. Starting out, he didn’t have a whole lot of wisdom. He was young and immature, and God had to do a work in his life. Joseph probably shouldn’t have told his brothers about his dream that they would one day serve him! As you can imagine, his brothers were not nearly as excited about that as he was. Long story short, Joseph had to go through some things to grow up and be ready for the promotion God had in store.

Friend, it’s the same way with us today. You may have a dream in your heart that seems a million miles away, but just like Joseph, God can take you from the prison to the palace in one step. During the growing process, keep yourself focused on Him and allow Him to do His work in your life. Keep a humble attitude of faith before Him, and He will lead you and guide you into the destiny He has prepared for you!

COGWC Valentine's Day 2012

One definition of the word “peace” is “to set at one again.” When you are a peacemaker, you are bringing unity into your relationships. And this is so important because we have an enemy who is after this generation. He wants to target our families and relationships and bring division. Notice that when you look at the word “division”, you see “di” which means two and “vision.” Two visions. When two people disagree, it’s because they have two different visions over something. And I know that you aren’t going to agree with everyone all the time, but if you stay focused on your differences, eventually there is going to be division. However, if you change your focus and look for the common ground of peace, you can bring harmony into your relationships again.

Remember, the Bible tells us that blessed are the peacemakers. When we dwell together in unity, we honor God and open the door for His hand of blessing in every area of our lives!