Believe It

1 Chronicles 29:11, 12: Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.  Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

Live It

We can learn three lessons from today’s text.

1. Open your mind. One of the first things you need to understand is that God is the owner of all things. We are just administrators of His possessions. What a blessing to understand who the source of all is! God is behind every job, opportunity, or sum of money. The first step to real prosperity is to understand the concept that He is in charge, not you.

1. Open your heart. A familiar bible text that speaks clearly about the heart’s attitude towards finances is: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Who has your heart? For whom do you work? Why do you save? Like a noted author on finances has said, sometimes we work to buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t even like. Once God has won our hearts, our priorities change. May God help us change our heart to be more like His.

1. Open your hand. Two things happen when we open our hands. Those who open their hands, receive. But those who open their hands also give. The person God blesses keeps its hands open. Open your hand and receive blessings, but don’t close it; leave it open so the blessings can reach others.

Share It

Pray that God will show you a person with whom you can share something tangible, a person that has a need, and do it.

My Prayer Today: For the evangelism budget.

– Pray that God will help us avoid unexpected expenses.

– Pray that the resources match the needs.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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Believe It

2 Corinthians 5:17-19: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Live It

We can learn three lessons today.

1. God is not angry with you. One of the first things we should take into account as we talk about reconciliation is that God is not angry with us, He loves you. He’s not waiting for us with arms crossed, to see if we’re good enough to have an opportunity in His kingdom. He is working actively to restore his relationship with you, which sin had destroyed. God is good.

1. Reconciliation is a divine act. In a certain way, reconciliation goes hand in hand with forgiveness. They have similar characteristics. First, one cannot exist without the other. Second, both are the result of God’s work in the human being. The bible shows a picture of God searching for his lost children, trying to restore His relationship with them. He is sometimes ignored, sometimes forgotten, but that doesn’t stop his love towards us. If you have disconnected from Him, Isn’t it time to surrender and stop running away from Him?

1. You and I are agents of reconciliation. In this world, so many people are angry with one another. We are angry at the mother-in-law, the spouse, the parents, the neighbor, and even at God. When God reconciles you to Him, we become an agent (but not a secret one) for reconciliation in your world. Choose to become one today.

Share It

Ask God to show you today people who need reconciliation. As you interact with conflict this week, be the glue, not the knife.

My Prayer Today: For the bible instructors.

– Pray that they may find people at home, when they visit this community.

– Pray that they may be God’s instruments and that many may make decisions for Jesus.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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Believe It

Colossians 3:12-13 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Live It

We can learn three things from today’s text.

1. Forgiving is a decision. Forgiveness is not a feeling. If you wait to feel like forgiving, you probably will never do it. First you must forgive with your mind, then with your heart. This does not mean it will be easy, especially if you have been deeply wounded. Forgiveness doesn’t depend on whether or not the other person deserves it. Decide to forgive today.

1. You must treat the person who has hurt you as if he or she is forgiven. You may have asked yourself, “How does a person forgive?” The answer is simple. Treat the other person as if you have forgiven him or her. Acts that reflect forgiveness can eventually produce feelings of forgiveness. You may feel strange as you treat with kindness one that has injured you. Don’t let it bother you. Those awkward initial feelings will be replaced later by something much more beautiful.

1. A forgiven person forgives. The main reason we forgive others is that God has forgiven us. Think for a moment how He has treated you. He’s patient. He holds no resentment. He gives you another chance. You can say, “That’s God.” But God is in you, though his Holy Spirit, to help you forgive. Call on that power in your life, and forgive the one who has offended you.

Share It

• Pray and ask God to show you someone you need to forgive.

• Make the decision to forgive that person, and try to connect with them soon.

My Prayer Today: For the person in charge of the music.

– Pray for their health, their family, and for their spiritual life.

– Pray that God, through their music ministry can heal, encourage, and bring unity.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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Believe It

Isaiah 55:6-8 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.  ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.”

Live It

We can learn three lessons from today’s text.

1. Mercy is when God does not give us what we deserve.  Grace is when God gives you what you don’t deserve. Mercy is when God doesn’t give you what you deserve. Just like the new birth, grace, the Holy Spirit and mercy, they are all God’s gifts. The truth is, we are all born bad, and get worse with age. We deserve nothing less than eternal death. Even so, God show us his goodness, and his mercies are new every morning.

1. It’s hard to be lost. If you want to be saved, God can do it. Notice all the words that describe God’s attitude in the verse above: “Near,” “generous,” “forgiver,” “merciful.” John the Revelator tells us of a vision he had, where he saw an open door to heaven. God has no interest anyone being lost. He is not interested in seeing how many people he can keep out of heaven, but how many he can have join him there.

1. I should make good use of this time of mercy to share the Good News with others. I have good and bad news for you. The good is that God is full of mercy. The bad is that someday that opportunity for mercy will end. The Bible is clear that a time will come when there will be no more opportunity. That’s why it’s important to get the Word out now, for a time is coming when this opportunity will no longer be available.

Share It

Think of someone at work who needs God’s mercy and love. Share some positive words of encouragement today with that person.

My Prayer Today: For people who live their lives very far from God

– Pray that God will allow them to realize how merciful God is.

– Pray that God will give you an opportunity to invite them to the week of changed lives.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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Believe It

Galatians 5:22-25: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Live It

We can learn three lessons from today’s text.

1. The work of the Holy Spirit is to transform us. Some people believe the Holy Spirit is just a force, and that its primary work is to help us speak in other languages. From this text we can see that its first assignment is to make us like Jesus. It is not through emotional events, but by day-by-day contact with God that we are transformed.

1. Don’t try to do the Holy Spirit’s work. We waste a lot of time and energy trying to change ourselves, and worse yet, to change others. Psychologists tell us, “Only you can change and control yourself.” This saying contains some truth, but if we carry it further, we must say, “Only you can permit the Holy Spirit to control and change you.” Decide today to let Him do His work.

1. It’s your job to create an environment where this change can occur. There’s a part we can play in this process. Our key text for today encourages us to crucify our sinful nature. This is done personal bible study, taking time to pray, attending church regularly, and sharing Jesus with others.

Share It

If you have already started trying to change someone, turn the work over to God.

• Ask your family: If you can change one thing about me, what would it be?

• Do you feel that God is calling you to be an intercessor? Contact your pastor or prayer coordinator. Special things happen when we pray.

My Prayer Today: The intercessory prayer group.

– Pray for God to send us intercessors.

– Pray that God will protect the intercessors from the devil’s attacks.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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Believe It

John 3:3-5: “Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.4 How can someone be born when they are old?’ Nicodemus asked. ‘Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!’ 5 Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.’”

Live It

We can learn several lessons from today’s text.

1. The new birth is an act of God. Being born again is an act of God he operates in us as we submit ourselves to His will, power, and love. The greatest struggle for each of us is to reach the point where we admit that we cannot change, and we allow God to control our life.

2. The new birth brings positive results. Today’s text mentions two of those positive results. It says that we “can see” and “can enter,” both are realities you begin to experience the moment you say yes to Jesus. The Kingdom of God is not a reference only to heaven, but to a change in our lives here on earth. Our values change, as do our attitudes and desires.  But nothing good happens until a person is born again. That’s why the new birth is so important.

3. The new birth cannot be faked. A woman cannot be “half pregnant” or “almost pregnant.” You either are or you are not. So it is with the new birth—you can’t have it half-way. Either God is in control, or He has no control. I once heard a pastor say, “If God is your copilot, you’re in the wrong seat.” When God does His transforming work, it’s permanent and visible to others, especially those close to you.

Share It

• Turn your life over to God and give Him complete control.

• Make a special effort today to treat your family well.

My Prayer Today: My spiritual life.

– Ask God to help you pray every day, study His Word, and share it with others.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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Believe It

Ephesians 2:8: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—”

Live It

We can learn three lessons from today’s text.

1. Grace is a marvelous gift. We don’t deserve it, we can’t earn it, and God gives it to us for free. Grace is the greatest difference between Christianity and other religions. Something for nothing? Hard to believe, but true!

2. Good gifts are appreciated. Anyone who has ever received a gift knows that the more valuable the gift, usually the more we appreciate it. One of the ways we show our appreciation for God’s grace is through our faithfulness to Him. Our obedience does not make us worthy of grace, but it does show the value we place on the grace of Jesus.

3. Good gifts are shared. Following the same line of thinking, it’s almost impossible to get a person to stop talking about a valuable gift he or she has received. You don’t have to coax, bribe, or pressure that person to share the experience with others. Likewise, all who have experienced the grace of Jesus will share the good news often and enthusiastically.

Share It

Your assignment is to pray for the same three people you listed yesterday. Then select one of the three and reach out to them in some way, for example:

• Call or text them and pray with them.

• Write them a note, through email, Facebook, regular mail.

• Take them a CD or a magazine with positive messages.

My Prayer Today: For those who are already studying the Bible.

– Pray that they will attend the series when invited to do so.

– Pray that they will continue to study, and finish the lessons.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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Believe It

Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Live It

We can learn three lessons from today’s text.

1. The Holy Spirit gives us power. Would you like to experience God’s power? Do you crave it? Desire it? Then seek an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. Why not take some time to pray right now for the God to fill you with His Spirit?

2. His power helps us be effective witnesses. A person that has the Holy Spirit cannot remain silent. As the purpose of a car is to transport, of the hammer to pound nails, and of a cup of water to sate a person’s thirst, the Holy Spirit’s purpose in your life is to help you share Jesus with others. Who can you think of, right now, who needs Jesus?

3. Witnessing should have both local and global purposes. Jesus sent His disciples to share the good news in three regions:

• In Jerusalem – Jerusalem symbolizes those closest to you, geographically, culturally, and linguistically.

• In Judea – Judea symbolizes your acquaintances — your casual friends.

• In Samaria – Samaria symbolizes those hostile to the gospel.

Share It

Today begins the 40 Days of Prayer and Witnessing. Your first assignment is to identify three persons in your city you will reach out to for the next 40 days. These persons should be:

• One in Jerusalem – someone very close to you (a friend or relative).

• One in Judea – someone like yourself (an acquaintance).

• One in Samaria –someone radically different from you (a stranger).

Write their names here: _______________________________________________________________

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During these 40 days, we’ll pray for our local evangelism, for specific aspect of it.

My Prayer Today: For the evangelist.

– Pray for his messages, health, and for clarity of mind as he prepares the messages.

My Thoughts: ________________________________________________________________________

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