Give Careful Thought To Your Ways

Main Scripture: Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. Haggai 1:5

When was the last time you gave thought to your ways? Are you really please with yourself? Are you satisfied with your day to day actions? Would your mother be pleased? Would God be pleased with everything you’re doing?

In today’s scripture the Lord Almighty was imploring the Jews to consider their ways because they were so concerned about building their own houses and neglected the work of God.

Fast forward to now, this scripture can be made relevant to our lives. In our pursuit of worldly possessions and happiness we often forget what God created us to be, we often put the work of God on the back burner. Not only that we often neglect the Godly values that was instilled in us by our parents and God himself. Other things that get neglected are our families. During this pursuit for success and happiness we also become selfish always looking to please ourselves even if it means compromising.

Psalms 135:15-18 says “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them and so will all who trust in them.“ David is saying is that whatever we seek after, whatever we give value is what we become. Therefore even if someone tries to steer us in the right direction we don’t hear because our idols are our goals, we must achieve them by whatever means necessary.

So ladies, my encouragement to you today is to carefully give thought to your ways. See if you have compromised your values, see if you have neglected your family and friends. See if you have neglected God. It is never too late to give up those idols and give God a chance to lead. Here are two scriptures that will keep you on the right path and will prevent self from taking over:  

•  Proverbs 3:6 (KJV) – “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

• Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) – “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

Let’s Pray,

Father help us to consider our ways, show us everything that is within us that is not of you and remove them. Lord we commit our ways, our thoughts and our plans to you.

In Jesus Name

Amen

Are You Different?

Main Scripture: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

Song to Mediate On: "Dare to Be Different" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ntfU8iBvo8)

Are you different? Do you find that you are uncomfortable conforming to the standards and norm of your environment? Have you ever been called mad or crazy because you do things a little different from everyone else?

It was Aristotle that said “no great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” It is also said that “success is for people who dare to be different.”  So today I want to encourage you to embrace being different.

In today’s scripture Paul encouraged the Romans to be different by not copying the behavior and customs of this world instead they should allow God to transform them into new people by changing the way they think.

You see ladies’ being different is not a bad thing, Jesus Christ himself was considered different because His teachings and customs were different from the Jews. However, if He was not different from the Jews many of us would have been lost and doomed for eternal damnation today. Ladies so too, as Christians we need to be different from this world by focusing on God so that He can transform our mind and our thinking.

Also, successful people did not become successful because they conformed to the norms of this world instead they dared to be different. They dared to be different despite the name calling, the smirks and the laughs.  So today if you are different, whether physically or in the way you do things or even in how you dress, embrace it. Dare to be different. You were given your unique characteristics and traits for a purpose, you are special just the way you are.

Let’s Pray,

Father thanks for making each of us different. We embrace our difference and pray that you will help us to use them to bring you glory.

In Jesus Name

Amen

No Fear Zone

Main Scripture: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

Song To Meditate On: Whom Shall I Fear [God of Angel Armies] – Chris Tomlin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg)

Today’s scripture is well known and is used quite often by a lot of us. It tells us that God did not give us a spirit of fear, however, how many of us actually sees the manifestation of this scripture in our lives? How many of us can say we fear nothing?

As women we have so many fears, we fear that we won’t get married, we fear that we will not have children, we fear that something will happen to the children while they are away from home, we fear that we may not live long enough to see our children become adults and there are a myriad of fears that we have.

Today I want to remind us that we do not have to fear as it was not given to us by God. However, if it was not given to us by God then where did it come from? Will Smith in his movie “After Earth”, said “Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist…. danger is very real” he said ,” but fear is a choice.”

I must say I agree with Will Smith as we often think a lot about “what if” and then become fearful because of what we think the answers are. Another thought is that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real.

Ladies, whatever fear is and wherever it came from, I encourage you to banish it from your lives. Enter the No Fear Zone, do not make irrational or hasty decisions because of fear, do give up on your dreams because of fear, do not settle for less than your worth because of fear. Instead, allow what God gave us to be manifested in our lives. He gave us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. The amplified version says “… [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”

Have A God Filled Day Ladies

Let’s Pray,

Mighty God, our Sword and our Shield, our Rod and our Staff we come to you today and declare that the spirit of fear will not be of us as nothing that is not of you shall abide within us. Instead Lord we receive the spirit of love, power, calm and a well-balanced mind.

In Jesus Name

Amen