July 2018

Have you ever wished that you could have a gift card to your favorite store that has an unlimited supply attached to it?  Do you ever get excited to eat at a place with a buffet because you know there are no limits on the amount you eat.

So many cell phone plans have unlimited minutes, but in the early 2000’s, cell phone plans had major restrictions to them. You bought only what you thought you needed and what ever was left over was lost each month.  If you made calls after 9pm it did not use any of the minutes you purchased.

Life can have restrictions that really make you feel limited in what you can do, what you can say, or what you can buy.  Limits can really hold you down and keep you from accomplishing what God has called you today.

Phil 4:19
And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

His Riches
Today, God wants to meet your needs with His riches.  The creator of everything wants to meet your needs, and guess what, He has the resources to make it happen.  We just have to tap into His resources.  

These resources are meant for you and to bless others with.  These resources are eternal. 

The world is lost and looking for more.  Their resources have ran out and they are desperate for more but don’t know where to find it.

Take Action
Think of some friends that seem to be lost and you know that they are searching for all the wrong things to fix their lives. Take a minute whenever you think about them and pray that they find God, and their needs are met and fulfilled by Gods eternal riches OR pray for opportunities to open up to be able to tell them about God.

There is always going to be mountains in our lives.  Things that appear huge and overwhelming, things that cause us to stumble or quit because of the fear of the unknown, or people that are trying to hold us back or keeping us down.  Often, mountains are times of testing or trials.

John 16:33 NLT
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take
heart (be happy), because I have overcome the world.”
-Jesus

Be Happy
Jesus has overcome the world!! That really is something to be excited about.  

Our confidence is found in passages like this. Jesus has overcome everything that has ever come against Him, not even death could hold Him down!  When you grab a hold of what has happened, you walk with your head held high.

If that’s not enough of a booster here are a few more…

Romans 8:31 NLT
…If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

1 Peter 5:6 NLT
Give all you worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.

Take Action
Any mountains in your life??? Take a few minutes to give them to God. Know that He has overcome everything and that your problems are not TOO big or TOO small for Him to handle.

Returning back to our regularly scheduled lives can be a bit of a culture shock.  From standing at the front of the stage with 300 others, giving all that we have to God, to sitting alone at home with friends calling asking us to do things that we know we shouldn’t do.

The culture shock is only the things around you, on the inside God is still alive and the same.  Too often we focus on our surroundings and forget who is living on the inside.

Romans 12:1-2 Message
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life— your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life— and place it before God as an offering.  Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him.  Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.  Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.  Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. 

Instead
In this passage there is a great action word provided; instead.  The word instead it asking us to make a change, a switch, a substitution from one way of living to another.  We were never called to fit into the world and all it has to offer, instead God wants to brings the best out of you.  If we are not called to fit in then we must be called to stand out.

Matthew 5:14-16 NLT
“You are the light of the world— like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.  Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see,  so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father”  —Jesus

Be a Light
These verses tell us we are a light.  This light is to be used to help the whole house see. We are supposed to have influence over the people and situations around us, driving out darkness.  Don’t hide your light, let it shine, let it impact those around you.  

Remember, sometimes you may be the only light your friends see in their dark world!    

Take Action
Think or even write down a few friends that you believe need more of Jesus in their lives and then begin praying for them, everyday, once a week, etc., just pray for them!

John 10:10 NKJV
“The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” – Jesus

Camp is over, now what?

Now is the time the enemy/thief/devil comes to try and erase everything that has happened this past week. The devil wants to rebuild the walls that have been torn down while at camp. He wants to get you to return to who you were before camp. He wants nothing but to steal your joy, kill your hope, and destroy your life.

How do we win?

James 4:7-8 NKJV
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Resist the devil, do not let him to slip back into your thoughts or actions, doing this will cause him to run from you. Stand strong! Know that Jesus paid it all and because of that we are to live life more abundantly.

Take Action!

Seek Him, find Him!
Spend the next 5-10 minutes in prayer or worship or both seeking Him and all His goodness.