Put Your Heart Into It

“I will bless the Lord at all times…” 

PSALMS 34:1 (NKJV)

Put Your Heart into It!

If you shout your lungs out at a ball game on Saturday but sit silent and subdued when it’s time to worship God on Sunday, maybe you’re more excited about sports than spiritual matters. Ouch! A great definition of worship is “worth-ship.”

What worth do you place on God and your relationship with Him? You say, “But sometimes I don’t feel like praising God.” Feelings have little to do with it! A good relationship isn’t based on emotion but on commitment. The Bible says, “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb 13:15 NKJV).

Note the words “continually” and “sacrifice.” With God, the praise that costs is the praise that counts! Imagine someone with a good job, a good family, and good health praising the Lord in church. Now imagine somebody living alone, shut in by sickness, who raises his or her feeble arms and lifts their voice in praise. Which one do you think gets the highest marks? The Psalmist said, “From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised” (Ps 113:3).

This Psalmist scheduled praise-breaks throughout his day: “Seven times a day do I praise thee” (Ps 119:164). We have tea and coffee breaks; he had praise-breaks! If you want to change your environment and your attitude, start praising God throughout the day. Not only will you bless the Lord, He will bless you in a hundred and one different ways. Don’t take anybody else’s word for it—try it and see!

This devotionals has been brought to you by TVT ministries: http://www.TVT.tv       

This Devotional is in line with 6am Prayer today!!

"I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”

JOB 23:12 (NIV – NEW INTERNATIONALS VERSION) 
The Bible Is—God Speaking to You

Psychologists are agreed on this point: people only keep doing what rewards them! So when Bible reading becomes unrewarding, we quit. As a result we feel guilty, and become spiritually weak and discouraged.

Your soul can no more thrive without God’s Word, than your body can thrive without a daily intake of food. The Bible says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Dt 8:3 NIV).

One of the dangers of the iPhone is that you begin to live on “hits” of information and short messages limited to 140 characters or less. This creates spiritual ADD (attention deficit disorder). God cannot be reduced to a limited word count or a few hurried moments in your day. To prosper, you must meditate day and night on the Scriptures (See Ps 1:1-3).

You say, “But I don’t have time to read the Bible.” How much time do you spend each day watching television? Hours? If you find television to be rewarding, but not God’s Word, your soul is in need of intensive care! If you want to change your life, change your habits and start reading the Bible. Job, who had more trouble than any of us will ever see, said, “I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”

This devotionals has been brought to you by TCT ministries: www.tct.tv

National Thank You Month – January

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food, and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself.” Tecumseh, Shawnee Chief

 

 

 

As adults, we sometimes forget to be thankful.  We often focus on the difficulties and on the things that are not going right, and sometimes we lose sight of the things that are going well and the blessings that we have received.

 

 

 

Tips For Celebrating National Thank You Month:

• Make a list of all that you are thankful for in your worklife and personal life.  Be specific.  True blessings are the things in your life that resonate importance and touch your core.
• Look at that list when you are feeling down and use it to pick up your spirits and keep you moving forward

Life is never perfect and there are always more mountains to climb.  But remember what you have achieved and never forget the blessings that you have received along the way.

 
 
If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!

Help for Anxiety and Depression

“My anxious thoughts multiply within me.”

 

PSALM 94:19 (NIV – NEW AMERICAN STANDARD)

 

Help for Anxiety and Depression

 

Your thought-life can be the incubator for anxiety and depression, so understand this:

 

 (1) Your thoughts are yours! “My anxious thoughts multiply within me.” You conceive, interpret, assign meaning to, accept or reject them. So be decisive about which thoughts are, or aren’t helpful.

 

(2) You become what your thought-life makes you (See Pr 23:7 NAS). It’s not your circumstances, it’s your thoughts about your circumstances that produce your emotions. Your thoughts trigger biochemistry that determines your feelings, their duration and their intensity. When you begin to think differently you’ll feel differently.

 

 (3) Your thoughts are prolific. The Psalmist said they “multiply” within you. Random thoughts may be temporarily upsetting, but they don’t produce lasting anxiety or depression. That is the work of persistent thought patterns—negative thoughts that multiply, repeating themselves within you. You must “take them captive” and “bring [them] into obedience” to Christlike thinking in order to control your feelings (See 2Co 10:4-5).

 

(4) You must “Let the Spirit renew your (individual) thoughts and attitudes (habitual mind-set)” (Eph 4:23 NLT). Submit your thoughts to God’s Spirit, allowing Him to approve or renew (replace) them with His thoughts. Anxiety and depression cannot continue to control you when you give God control of your mind.

 

(5) People can contribute to your anxiety and depression. They can make you want to live—or die! (See Pr 18:21). They can reduce or increase your anxiety and depression. Avoid those who speak discouraging words, and hang out with those who speak “a good word [that] makes [your heart] glad” (Pr 12:25 NAS).

Turn your Cares into Prayers by Joseph Prince

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God..." Philippians 4:6

My friend, God doesn’t want you to be fearful, fretful or anxious.
Instead, He wants you to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made
known to God”.

So when you have a care or worry, straightaway, turn that care or worry
into prayer. That is supplication. And when you are troubled by a care
or worry that you don’t know how to pray for, pray in the Spirit or
tongues. And in the midst of that prayer, thank God that He is already
your healing, provision, good success and victory. That, my friend, is
thanksgiving.

“Pastor Prince, if I am worried about something, how long should I
pray?”

Keep on praying. Pray in the Spirit until the worry lifts or
dissipates, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. (Philippians
4:7)

Beloved, I believe that we would all worry a lot less and enjoy our
lives a lot more if only we realized this truth: Our Abba Father is so
strong that there is nothing He cannot do, and He is so loving that
there is nothing He will not do for us!

Thought For The Day

Our Abba Father is so strong that there is nothing He cannot do, and He
is so loving that there is nothing He will not do for us!

The Cost of Anger

The Cost of Anger

By

Rick Warren

“People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.”

 (Proverbs 14:29 NLT)                  

Before you allow yourself to get mad back, calculate what you’re going to lose.  Calculate the cost of anger. You’re less likely to get angry when somebody’s pushing your buttons if you realize there’s always a price or returning anger for anger.  

The Bible is very specific about uncontrolled anger:

Proverbs 29:22: “An angry person causes trouble; a person with a quick temper sins a lot” (NCV).                  
Proverbs 15:18: “Hot tempers cause arguments” (GN).

Proverbs 14:29: “A hot temper shows great foolishness” (NLT).

When you get angry, there is a cost: You’re going to get in trouble. You’re going to sin. You’re going to cause arguments. You’re going to make mistakes.  When you lose your temper, you always lose, whether it’s respect, the love of your family, your health, or even your job.  Maybe you use anger to motivate people to do the right thing. Don’t do it! In the short run, you may get the short-term payoff. But in the long run, anger always produces more anger, more apathy, and more alienation.                  

How many kids have become alienated from their dads or their moms because of out-of-control anger? How many people have been alienated from a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a husband, a wife, or a friend because somebody lost his or her cool? Anger destroys relationships faster than anything else.  So when someone starts pushing your buttons, before you retaliate, just ask yourself, “Do I really want to do this? Do I want to make mistakes? Do I want to sin more? Do I want to cause arguments? Do I want to  act foolish?” 

Proverbs 14:29 says, “People with understanding control their anger; a hot temper shows great foolishness.” There is always a price for anger.  Before you retaliate, calculate the cost. 

Talk About It 

What methods do you use to keep your cool when someone gets angry at you or attacks you?

What has anger cost your relationships?                                     

This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at www.rickwarren.org.

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