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  Personal growth...‘LET THE WISE LISTEN AND ADD TO THEIR LEARNING…’ PROVERBS 1:5 NIV. Here are three reasons why personal growth should matter to you: 1) Talent without personal growth limits your future! Albert Schweitzer said, ‘The secret of success is to go through life as someone who never gets used up.’ But how do you do that? The answer lies in how you approach talent. If you draw on your talent but never sharpen it you won’t get very far, because nobody’s that talented. But when you take the time to sharpen your skills and develop your character, God can call on you at a moment’s notice. 2) Personal growth prevents stagnation. Do you feel stuck spiritually, relationally, career-wise or at home? You won’t get unstuck by making external changes: looking for a different job, leaving your marriage partner and family, or changing churches. The truth is nobody’s keeping you down but yourself. The lid on your life – is you! In order to accomplish more you’ve ...

Here are five keys to recovering from loss: 1) Process your grief. Emotions like fear, anger, worry depression, resentment, helplessness and grief are normal. It’s no good to suppress them or deny they exist. God created us to feel; He doesn’t expect us to act happy when we’re grieving. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Mathew 5:4NIV). Be honest with God. ‘Pour out your heart before Him. (Psalm 62:8 NIV) and He will comfort you. 2) Accept help. It’s a mistake to isolate yourself in the aftermath of a tragedy. We all need the encouragement and support of others. We’re called to carry one another’s burdens’ and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2NKJV). 3) Choose the right response. When you choose bitterness, you hurt yourselves and shut the door on happiness because you can’t be happy and bitter at the same time. During some recent California welfares there were victims who said, ‘We’ve lost everything and we’re sad, but we’ll work together as a family a...

We rarely discern others accurately. Almost every conclusion we have about them is flawed and based on limited knowledge. We give up too soon because we can’t see what God is looking at. Someone close to you right now has a great future – God has already determined it. In fact, if you knew their potential you would withhold your words of criticism and invest more time and energy into them. Remember Joseph? Don’t make the mistake his brothers made. The person who aggravates the living daylights out of you today, could be the one you turn to for help tomorrow. So keep that in mind and treat them graciously! Look beneath the surface. Appearances can be deceptive. Remember Ruth, the migrant laborer working in the fields for less than minimum wage? She’ll become the wife of Boaz – who owns the fields! In the future she might be signing your paycheck. So when you meet her be sure to leave ‘handfuls [on] purpose’ to bless her (See Ruth 2:16). Take another look at the situation you don’t und...

Chuck Swindoll writes, ‘The most significant decision I make each day is my choice of an attitude. When my attitudes are right there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.’ If you believe that you will take charge of your emotions, begin to focus on what’s good, and reject anything that makes you a petty, bitter person. And your face will say ‘Yes.’ One day President Thomas Jefferson and a group of companions were travelling across the country on horseback. They came to a river that had overflowed its banks because of a recent downpour. The river had washed away the bridge so each rider was forced to cross it on horseback, fighting for his life against the currents. This caused a traveller who was not part of the group to step aside and watch. After several riders had plunged in and made it to the other side, the stranger asked if President Jefferson would carry him across. The President agreed without hesitation. So the man cl...

Any pilot will tell you that there’s a point of no return. The runway has all been used up. It’s fly or die! In Hebrews 11 you discover a list of ordinary people who did extraordinary things because they never lost their vision; who in the worst of times refused to turn back: ‘If they had been thinking about the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country.’ But when you decide to follow God not everybody will be happy about it. Your vision could be their nightmare. Your success could prove their predictions wrong, or remind them of dreams they didn’t follow or abandoned. Often the first place you’ll feel this is at home. Joseph did. So did Jesus. That’s a price you must pay. If failure is not a possibility then success doesn’t mean much. When Abraham decided to leave home and follow God he had no idea where the journey would take him or what it would involve. Neither will you. Divine guidance usually...

‘HE WHO WALKS WITH WISE MEN WILL BE WISE.’ PROVERBS 13:20 NKJV Certain people stoke the fires within you to be all you can be. When you find them, feed off them! When you have little or no water in your own well, be willing to draw it from theirs. Elisha spent many years living in Elijah’s shadow. But he saw it as a privilege, not a put-down. He was willing to set up tents, cook meals, wash clothes and run errands because it meant he would experience first-hand some of the greatest miracles in history. As a result Elisha said to Elijah, ‘I want a double portion of the spirit that’s at work in you’ (See 2 Kings 2:9). And before his life was over Elisha worked twice as many miracles as Elijah. Understand this: you must have a foundation – and you can’t build it without help! Seeing God bless someone else should challenge you to reach higher. This is not envy – just a strong desire to receive more. Look at Hannah, Elkanah’s wife. She wanted a child. In order to stir her up God used Peni...

One day when he was skiing in Colorado, Peter Lord said he saw some people wearing red vests with the words BLIND SKIER. He thought, ‘I have a hard enough time skiing with two good eyes, how can they ski successfully with none?’ The answer was – they had a guide whose instructions they totally trusted and followed! As the guide skied beside them, he’d tap his ski poles together and assure them he was there. Then he’d say, ‘Go right! Turn left! Stop! Slow! Skier coming up on your right!’ What a picture. Life is like skiing downhill blind. We can’t see even 5 seconds into the future. We can’t see the struggles to come or all the other skiers who might run into us, or over us. And those fears are heightened when we recall how often we’ve been blindsided by people we trusted and circumstances we didn’t see coming. Humanly speaking it leaves the strongest of us feeling vulnerable. And that’s when we must place our confidence in the God who never changes and never fails. Here’s what He has...

Respect your temple (1) At the resurrection, ‘Our earthly bodies…will be raised to live forever’ (1Corinthians 15:42 NLT), but in the meantime you must ‘honour God with your body’ by observing a few basic principles like: 1) Exercising regularly: Half of us who start exercise programmes abandon them within six months. The secret is to start slowly. Take the stairs instead of the elevator , park the car and walk, play ball with the kids instead of watching TV. God designed your body to move, and strolling from the car to your desk every morning doesn’t cut it! Exercising thirty minutes 3-4 times a week reduces blood pressure and stress , and boosts your sense of well-being. 2) Eating right : Many of us eat for the wrong reasons, like fatigue, anger, and low self-esteem. Eat to live, don’t live to eat. Insufficient fruit, vegetables and fibre and too much fast food can wreak havoc with your health. Practice self-control. Remember, ‘Those who belong to Christ…have give...

‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.’ Psalm 66:18 The third hindrance to answered prayer is sin! Lillian Pearsall says: ‘When I was a telephone operator, a customer talked overtime on a long-distance call from a pay phone. Even with my friendly reminders, he refused to deposit his overtime coins. Instead he slammed down the phone, irate and verbally abusive. A few seconds later he was back on the line somewhat calmer. ‘Operator, please let me out of the phone booth; I’ll pay, just let me out!’ Apparently he had locked himself in and mistakenly thought that I had control over the phone booth’s doors. He gladly paid the overtime charge, and with my advice, gave the door a hefty kick and set himself free.’ Unconfessed sin locks us in and shuts God out. If we have hidden sin in our hearts, we cannot pray with confidence that God will answer. However, if we ask Him to reveal our sin, He will. When He does, we must deal with it if we want to keep the lines of commu...

‘Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence.’ Hebrews 4:16 NIV The second hindrance to answered prayer is lack of confidence! When we understand that as God’s redeemed children we have the right to approach Him at any time, we are able to overcome the enemy’s attempts to make us feel condemned. As a result we become confident in approaching Him. We no longer say to ourselves, ‘I know God can do it, but I find it hard to believe He will do it for me.’ We think such thoughts because we don’t think we’re worthy. Jesus has made us worthy! When we come to God, we can count on Him to be merciful to us. ‘Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ Grace means God will give us what we don’t deserve if we’re confident enough to ask for it. We ask in Jesus’ name, not in our own name. We’re presenting to the Father all that Jesus is, not all that we are. We’re nothing without Jesus! God is w...

‘He shall call upon Me, and I will answer.’ Psalm 91:15 NKJV When a nightclub opened on Main Street, a church which was only a hundren yards away organised a 24-hour prayer vigil. They asked God to burn the club down. Within a week lightning struck and it burned to the ground. The owner sued the church, which denied responsibility. After hearing arguments from both sides the judge said, ‘It seems that wherever the guilt may lie, the nightclub owner believes in prayer, while the church doesn’t.’ The first hindrance to answered prayer is prayerlessness. Sounds simple, but our prayers are not answered when we don’t pray. Saying we believe in prayer is not the same as praying. James writes: ‘You do not have because you do not ask’ (James 4:3 NKJV). We must take the time to ask God for what we want and need. Sometimes we process situations in our minds, or talk about them with our friends, or wish, or hope, but we don’t pray. Thinking, wishing, hoping, and talking with others is not praye...

A little boy was telling his grandma how "everything" was going wrong: school, family problems, severe health problem, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma was baking cake. She then asked her grandson if he would like a snack, to which, of course, he said yes."Here, have some cooking oil." "No" said the boy. "How about a couple of raw eggs?" "that's terrible, Grandma!""Would you like some flour then? Or maybe some baking soda?" " Grandman, they all smell bad!" To which Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seemed bad by themselves, but when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderful delicious cake!" God works in the same way! Many times, we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. God knows that when He puts all these things in His order, they always work together for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful" Job sa...

'DON'T GET WORKED UP ABOUT…TOMORROW.' MATTHEW 6:34 TM Max Lucado says, 'Worry is to joy, what a vacuum cleaner is to dirt; you might as well attach your heart to a happiness-sucker and flip the switch.' Jesus said, 'Don't get worked up about…tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.' When it looks like things are falling apart, Paul reminds us, 'Every detail in our lives… is worked into something good' (Romans 8:28 TM). When it seems like the world'gone mad, don't forget God 'existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together' (Colossians 1:17 NLT). When worry whispers, 'God doesn't know what you need,' remember God promised to 'take care of everything you need' (Philippians 4:19 TM). Jesus taught us to pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread.' You won't get the wisdom or resources to handle tomorrow's problems until you need...

We’re too impatient! If God doesn’t speak to us in the first five minutes of our prayer time we get up, shrug it off and decide ‘He isn’t talking today.’ Where’s the tenacity of our spiritual forefathers who would take hold of God in prayer and refuse to let go until they received ‘a sure word’ from Him? (See 2 Peter 1:19). There are two things you can count on as you walk with God: trouble that works for you and grace to stand while you’re going through it. Have you been praying for patience? Get ready for trouble! There’s no other way to get it. Patience grows in the soil of adversity. How do you test the strength of an anchor? Expose it to the fury of a storm. Understand this: some of the people you can’t stand right now are the very ones who’ll mature you! Our problem is – we pray for things but don’t recognise the answer when it comes. God has a purpose in all things, He also has a process. As you get to know Him better you begin to recognise both. Here’s how it works: you ask ...

Realise that it’s not God who’s bringing up your past! His Word says, ‘I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions…and remembers your sins no more’ (Isaiah 43:25 NIV). If satan is dragging up your past – it’s because he has nothing new to attack you with. All he can do is resurrect old memories and rearrange old pictures in an attempt to discourage you. Don’t let him! Focusing on tomorrow will help you move away from today. God’s Word says: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way’ (NIV). God is going to make a way for you! As surely as Pharaoh and Herod tried to wipe out every baby boy in order to get at Moses and Jesus, so satan will do whatever it takes to keep you from reaching your destiny. The battle is always over your future! No matter what your past is like your future is worth fighting for – so rise up and fight! ‘Where do I begin?’ you ask. Talk to God: ask Him to sho...

        BE BORN AGAIN.’ JOHN 3:7 NIV The Bible says 130 years after Adam first sinned, he was still fathering children ‘in his own likeness’ (Genesis 5:3 NIV). And as Adam’s descendants we have all been born with the nature of fallen man. Sometimes people say, ‘He’s just like his old man.’ Or we say, ‘My dad was an angry man, now I’ve got his temper!’ ‘My dad couldn’t stay with my mom, now I’m going through a divorce.’ ‘My dad was an alcoholic, now look at my drinking and drugging!’ ‘My dad was a workaholic, now I put in14 hours a day.’ ‘My dad wasn’t affectionate with us, now I don’t know how to be loving toward my children.’ History repeats itself over and over through our fallen nature. Here’s a fascinating example: ‘Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her’ (Genesis 20:2 NIV). Abraham was willing to sacrifice Sarah to save his own neck. What would you have done? Before you answer, notice that Isaac...

God’s patience is amazing! In one of the most extraordinary examples of it, He gave Jezebel time to repent. When Ahab her wicked husband humbled himself, God healed and restored him. Humbling yourself before God will turn things around in your life when nothing else will work. James writes: ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up’ (James 4:10). Humble yourself – don’t wait for God to do it! The Bible says: ‘Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and punishes everyone he accepts as a son’ (Hebrews 12:5-6 NIV). Notice two important statements in this Scripture: (1) ‘Do not make light of the Lord’s discipline.’ A “nobody’s going to tell me what to do” attitude cost Jezebel dearly, and it will cost you too! (2) “Do not lose heart when He rebukes you.’ Don’t see God’s correction as rejection, see it as proof you’re His child and that He has great plans for you. Paul con...

There’s a true story of a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained she had the same disease that he’d recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance of recovery was a transfusion from someone who’d conquered it, so the boy was an ideal donor. ‘Would you give your blood to Mary?’ the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated, his lower lip trembled, and then he smiled and said, ‘Sure, for my sister.’ Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room – Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met Johnny grinned. But as the nurse inserted the needle into his arm Johnny’s smile faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube. With the ordeal almost over Johnny’s voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence. ‘Doctor, when do I die?’ Only then did the doctor realise why little Johnny had hesitated, why his lips trembled when he agreed to donate his blood. He thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his lif...

God is a God of order; everything He does is by appointment. An appointment is simply a meeting or event that has already been set up. God has a scheduled time for bringing to pass two things in your life: His promises and His purpose. You can count on that! Whatever you’re going through today, there’s peace in knowing that nothing the enemy does will preempt these two things. The problem arises when we try to rush God’s timing. When the Lord gives you a promise it’s like a seed; it needs time to take root and bear fruit. Every mother knows the order – first the seed, then the pregnancy, then the development within the womb, and finally the day of delivery. And what does she do during this time? Prepare! She gets ready for the joys and responsibilities of parenthood for when her due date arrives that little one announces, ‘Ready or not, here I come!’ The Psalmist writes: ‘Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor y...

Are you afraid your old problems are going to come back again? You told others how God answered your prayer, now the enemy’s trying to get back at you through the ‘spirit of fear’ (2 Timothy 1:7). Satan will try to bring back old issues hoping you’ll rehearse them, begin to worry about them, and end up being ‘trapped by what you said’ (Proverbs 6:2 NIV). Anyone who has been delivered by God has gone through it. Satan has no new tricks. When he counterattacks it often comes through your imagination. Before you know it, what you imagined yesterday you begin to believe today, and become fully convinced of tomorrow. That’s why the Bible instructs us to, ‘Cast down imaginations and take every thought captive’ (See 2 Corinthians 10:5). Take control of your thoughts before they take control of you! Jesus said, ‘According to your faith be it unto you’ (Matthew 9:29). That works negatively as well as positively! You defeat the devil by taking your sword (which is the Word of God) and cutting hi...

‘IN THE TIME OF TROUBLE HE SHALL HIDE ME IN HIS PAVILION.’ PSALM 27:5 When trouble comes, do these three things: (1) Get alone with God! The Psalmist writes, ‘In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion.’ The secret place in a king’s palace was called a ‘pavilion.’ There you were protected from the enemy. All hell could break loose around you but it didn’t matter, in the secret place there was peace. Are you allowing things to overwhelm you that really don’t make a difference? Are you upset over things that should be dismissed as trivialities? Get alone with God! (2) Refuse to live beyond help because you have an image to uphold. The Bible says those of us who are strong ought to bear the burdens of the weak. There are times when we need to do the lifting; and times when we ourselves need to be lifted. Jesus healed a woman who had been bowed down for 18 years and ‘Could in no way raise herself up’ (Luke 13:11 NKJV). Sometimes you need help because you can’t help yourself. D...

‘…[JESUS] HAS BEEN TEMPTED IN ALL THINGS AS WE ARE…’ HEBREWS 4:15 NAS Well-intentioned friends sometimes say, ‘I know how you feel.’ But deep down we think, ‘No, you really don’t.’ But Jesus does! He was ‘…tempted in all things as we are…’ so He can interpret and present our feelings to God. And He does. When you pray in Jesus’ name, pouring out your heart to God, Jesus acts as your attorney and says, ‘Father, I know what this person is feeling. I know what it’s like to be under pressure to sin. I stand with this child of Yours who needs Your help.’ You say, ‘But Jesus was without sin, so can He really feel my sin the way I feel it?’ Yes, He can. In fact, because of His purity He actually feels the pain of sin even more. Perhaps an illustration will help. In our everyday world we live with germs all around us, and even on us. Because we aren’t in a sterile environment we don’t notice these germs and we learn to live with them. But it’s an entirely different story in a hospital operatin...