Keep the Weeds Out

By Kenneth Copeland

So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground. - Mark 4:26

Jesus compared the kingdom of God with the planting of seed and reaping the harvest. It's a simple concept. One all of us understand. Why, then, aren't all of us producing bumper crops every season? Because we're sitting around waiting for God to do all the work.

He doesn't operate that way. He'll work with you, but He won't do it all. There are some essential things you must do by faith if you want to have a crop to reap at harvest time.

First, you must sow the seed of the Word in faith, expecting it to grow. You must find precious promises from God in His Word, plant them in your heart and in your life.

Next, you must water the seed. Water it every day with praise. Water it with the spiritual water of the Word. That Word contains life and those seed promises can't grow without it.

And finally, you have to keep the weeds out! When the weeds of unforgiveness, doubt, fear, discouragement (and all the other junk the devil tries to sow into your crop) try to enter in, get rid of them. They'll choke the Word.

That's going to take some diligence on your part. No one else will do it for you. You're going to have to weed your own crop. So get tough about it. When a little weed pops up, kill it! Don't hang on to it for even a moment. Pull it up by its roots. Spray it with the Word. Don't be tempted to keep a wildflower when you can have the best—God's best.

Don't sit around waiting for God to produce your harvest. Start planting. Start watching over your land (your heart and your mind) to keep it moist, watered with the Word and free from weeds.

Commit to do your part and trust God to do His. You will have a bumper crop this season!

Develop the Love

By Kenneth Copeland

And what this love consists in is this: that we live and walk in accordance with and guided by His commandments (His orders, ordinances, precepts, teaching). This is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that you continue to walk in love [guided by it and following it]. - 2 John 1:6, The Amplified Bible

Quite simply, God says love is keeping His commandments. That brings love out of the indefinite into something explicit. But God has done more than define love for you. He’s given you instructions so that you can know how to love as He loves. By giving you His Word, God has given you His love manual in black and white. All you have to do is follow it and you’ll be walking in love.

If you’ve made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you’ve already taken the first step of obedience. The love of God has been born within you. But, unless you take steps to develop it, that love will remain hidden within you. Love works in much the same way as the force of faith. Like faith, love becomes active through knowledge of the Word.

Become love conscious by confessing and acting on God’s Word today. As you meditate these scriptures, see yourself living the love life. See yourself walking in accordance with and guided by the commandments of Jesus. Develop the love He has hidden in you.

Keep the Weeds Out

By Kenneth Copeland

So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground. - Mark 4:26

Jesus compared the kingdom of God with the planting of seed and reaping the harvest. It's a simple concept. One all of us understand. Why, then, aren't all of us producing bumper crops every season? Because we're sitting around waiting for God to do all the work.

He doesn't operate that way. He'll work with you, but He won't do it all. There are some essential things you must do by faith if you want to have a crop to reap at harvest time.

First, you must sow the seed of the Word in faith, expecting it to grow. You must find precious promises from God in His Word, plant them in your heart and in your life.

Next, you must water the seed. Water it every day with praise. Water it with the spiritual water of the Word. That Word contains life and those seed promises can't grow without it.

And finally, you have to keep the weeds out! When the weeds of unforgiveness, doubt, fear, discouragement (and all the other junk the devil tries to sow into your crop) try to enter in, get rid of them. They'll choke the Word.

That's going to take some diligence on your part. No one else will do it for you. You're going to have to weed your own crop. So get tough about it. When a little weed pops up, kill it! Don't hang on to it for even a moment. Pull it up by its roots. Spray it with the Word. Don't be tempted to keep a wildflower when you can have the best—God's best.

Don't sit around waiting for God to produce your harvest. Start planting. Start watching over your land (your heart and your mind) to keep it moist, watered with the Word and free from weeds.

Commit to do your part and trust God to do His. You will have a bumper crop this season!

Turn Up Your Hope

By Kenneth Copeland

May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope. - Romans 15:13, The Amplified Bible

You know, that's what I want to be...running over with hope! I want to dare to throw my whole life and everything I have into building a dream that comes from the heart of God. I want to get out there so far that without God's help, I can't get back.

Many people don't think that way though because they're afraid to fail. Fear of failure is dangerous. If you let it dominate you, it will cause you to do the one thing that inevitably guarantees failure and that's not attempting at all.

How do you counteract the fear of failure?

You turn up your hope. You get alone with God and listen to Him. You meditate on His promises until the picture is so clear on the inside of you that nothing can jar it out of you.

If you're lying on a sickbed and the doctor has told you you'll never walk again, instead of wallowing around in that bad report, you start dreaming. You start building a dream of climbing mountains and witnessing to people in the backwoods. Go to the Word that promises that those who wait upon the Lord shall run and walk and not faint or be weary. Look at it until you see nothing else. Picture yourself walking for miles and running from one place to the next, telling everyone that Jesus has raised you up and made you whole.

That's what hope is all about. It's a divine dream. It's an inner image that's bigger than you are because it's built on the promises of God.

If you're a Christian, you ought to be a dreamer. Take the Word of God and build some dreams today.

Protected by Love

By Kenneth Copeland

Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. - Matthew 5:44-45

Love your enemies...turn the other cheek...to most people that sounds like a pretty weak way to handle someone who's causing them trouble. But, the truth is, it's the most powerful way there is. It's the way Jesus did it—and His way never fails.

Do you remember when Jesus went back to Nazareth and the religious folks were angry with Him and wanted to push Him off a cliff? What happened? He just walked right past them, and no one could lay a finger on Him. Another time they decided to stone Him, and He didn't retaliate that time either. He just walked off. No one could touch Him.

When Jesus walked through that crowd, He wasn't afraid. He knew they couldn't hurt Him because He was walking in the love of God.

When Jesus said to turn the other cheek, He didn't mean for you to stand there and have your brains beaten out. He meant for you to stand there in love and in faith believing that the protecting power of God that accompanies that love would keep you safe. He meant for a man to swing at you and not be able to hit you!

The story of Nicky Cruz as recorded in David Wilkerson's book, The Cross and the Switchblade, is a perfect example of that. Nicky was reputed to be the most ruthless gang leader of his time. Yet, when David Wilkerson stood in front of him, telling him about Jesus, Nicky was totally unable to hurt him. He thrust his knife at David several times. But every time he did, David just said, "Nicky, you can cut me into a thousand pieces and every piece will still say, 'I love you and God loves you.'" Because of love, Nicky couldn't get his knife close enough to David to hurt him. A supernatural force always stopped it short.

"But I don't have that kind of love!"

Yes, you do. Romans 5:5 tells us that the love of God is shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is make the decision to be motivated by that love rather than your own human feelings.

My friend, love never fails! You don't have to be afraid of failure anymore. In fact, you don't have to be afraid of anything. If you're walking in the love of God, you're living the most powerful kind of life there is.

Free From Debt!

By Kenneth Copeland

The borrower is servant to the lender. - Proverbs 22:7

If you're up to your neck in debt today, I have good news for you. God wants to set you free from those debts and He has the power to do it.

I know. He did it for me.

I'll never forget it. I had $22,000 worth of bad debts at the time. I'd committed to God to pay them off and never borrow another dime—but it looked to me like I'd never be able to do it.

We didn't see how, but we believed that "God is able." Day by day we looked to God for our deliverance from debt. Not asking Him every day, but thanking Him because we believed we received when we prayed. Eleven months later, we were out of debt. As we looked back, nothing spectacular had happened, but God worked in our finances continuously. As we were faithful, He was faithful.

God can do the same thing for you if you'll dare to believe His Word. If you'll make a commitment before Him to get out from under those debts and then obey Him every step of the way.

As you look at your situation right now, you may not be able to see how you could ever get out of debt, much less stay that way. I felt that way too, at first. I just didn't see how I'd ever be able to do much of anything without borrowing money.

But He showed me how—and He'll do the same thing for you.

There's no debt too big and no business too complicated for Him to handle. If you'll trust Him to manage yours, He will bring you out on top...and you'll never have to be a slave to debt again.

Grace is Enough

By Gloria Copeland

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. - 2 Corinthians 12:7

The devil has used the traditional teaching of Paul’s thorn in the flesh to talk believers out of the blessings of God for years, to try to convince us to settle for everything from sickness to sin—and to do it of our own free will.

It is perhaps the most destructive and the most widely accepted misinterpretation of Scripture that exists in the Body of Christ today. I’ve gone into countries to preach to people who hardly had any knowledge of the Word at all and still I have found that somehow they’d been taught about Paul’s thorn.

And most of them have been taught wrongly.

Tradition says that God gave Paul the thorn in the flesh. What’s more, tradition makes the “thorn” into some great mystery. But the Scripture doesn’t say that at all!

It says that the thorn in the flesh was a messenger of Satan. Not God—Satan! The thorn was quite literally just what Paul says it was—a “messenger sent from Satan.”

You see, everywhere Paul went, he preached the gospel and every time he preached, he destroyed a little more of Satan’s kingdom. So, Satan sent a messenger, an evil spirit, to stop him.

When Paul sought the Lord concerning this thorn (look at 2 Corinthians 12:8-10), God didn’t answer Paul in the negative. God said, “My grace (or, My favor) is enough. It is sufficient for you. For My strength is made perfect in your weakness (inability to produce results)” (W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words).

In other words, when Paul didn’t have enough human strength to overcome, God’s miracle-working power was sufficient for him. It enabled him to be an overcomer in spite of his weakness.

Don’t allow the devil to talk you out of your victory. Throw tradition aside and dare to believe the Word of God. Fight the fight of faith, and just like the Apostle Paul, you will see the salvation of the Lord!

Free From Fear

By Kenneth Copeland

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

What would you think if I told you that you could live without fear? Would you believe me if I said that despite what you saw on the news tonight, you could be perfectly at peace? Impossible? Unrealistic? No!

You see, fear isn’t just a reaction to external circumstances. It’s a spiritual force. It begins inside of you. And it is totally destructive. In fact, fear is Satan’s primary weapon. He moves in response to fear, the way God moves in response to faith. He challenges the promises of God with it.

An excellent example of this is found in Matthew 14 when Jesus invited Peter to come to Him on the water. “But when he [Peter] saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me” (verse 30).

What enabled Peter to walk on the water? His faith in the Word of Jesus. What caused Peter to sink? He saw the wind boisterous and he was afraid. It wasn’t the wind that defeated him, it was his fear of it! He looked at his circumstances, gave in to the fear, and the result was defeat. If Peter had kept his focus on Jesus, his faith would never have wavered. All the blustering and blowing in the world couldn’t have drawn him off course.

Faith is developed by meditating on God’s Word. Fear is developed by meditating on Satan’s lies. Such fearful meditation is called “worrying.” Don’t do it!

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit. Use it to fight Satan every time he comes against you. Hold up your shield of faith and quench all of his fiery darts. Speak words of faith and fear will depart.

Source kcm.org.

Begin to Praise

By Gloria Copeland

Rejoice in the Lord, O you [uncompromisingly] righteous [you upright, in right standing with God]; for praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart]. - Psalm 33:1

Praise. According to the Word of God, that’s the most appropriate, becoming thing that you as a believer can do.

Let me warn you though, God’s idea of “appropriate” praise and your idea of appropriate praise may well be two very different things. The praise He calls for is joyous and uninhibited. And, at times, it’s just plain loud!

If you don’t believe it, look in the Bible and see the kind of praise that goes on in heaven. Read Isaiah 6 and find out how they act in the throne room. The seraphim shout in there until the doorposts shake! And when they do, the glory of the Lord fills the house.

When you get to heaven, you’re going to be praising like that too. You’re going to be leaping and praising God with every part of your being. But don’t wait until then to start. Begin now.

Decide today that instead of praising God the way you like, you are going to start doing it the way He likes. Begin to release those praises joyously, uninhibitedly. Don’t wait until you get to heaven to praise God with all your being. Do it now. He deserves it!

God Wants You Well

By Kenneth Copeland

If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. - Exodus 15:26

Has the devil ever tried to put you under condemnation by telling you that it's contrary to the principles of faith to use doctors and medicine when you need healing? If so, here are some encouraging words that I believe will help you put your heart at rest.

It is God's will to heal you. That's the first and most important thing for you to understand. If your faith is strong and you can believe the Word without wavering (regardless of what circumstances or symptoms come against you), then you'll be able to receive that healing by faith alone.

But that kind of faith takes more than just hearing a few sermons about healing. It takes a deep personal revelation of God's healing power. So, if you haven't yet developed that kind of faith, the doctor is your best friend.

If you're not certain whether your faith is strong enough or whether you need a doctor's help, follow the instructions of the Apostle Paul (Col. 3:15) and let peace be your umpire.

If fear rises up within you when you think about doing without medical help, then go to a doctor. And go in faith! On the other hand, if you have a sure confidence within you that healing is yours strictly by faith, let your faith do its work and receive your healing directly. Whether or not you go to the doctor is not the issue. It is what you do with your faith.

Either way, you can rejoice knowing God is working with you, meeting you at the level of your faith. Thank God for your healing--however it comes!--and do not let Satan put you under condemnation. It is none of his business!

Source kcm.org

The Choice Is Yours

By Kenneth Copeland

Choose you this day whom ye will serve. - Joshua 24:15

Choosing to side with God's Word is a continual challenge. It's not some- thing you do just once. It's a process of choosing to believe and act upon the Word of God over and over in every circumstance.

That's what everyone has to do. Years ago I decided I was going to choose Jesus. Since then I've had to choose Him again and again in situations every day. I've chosen Him as my Lord and Savior. I've chosen Him as my Healer. I've chosen Him as my Financier. I've chosen Him as head of my household. I've chosen Him as head of my ministry. And I still have to choose Him moment by moment.

Sometimes that choice gets tough, but God has promised it will never get too tough. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, He says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able." What the Lord is saying is that He will not allow you to be subjected to a temptation you're unable to overcome. With every temptation, He'll make a way of escape. He'll ALWAYS make sure you have a choice.

The devil doesn't come tempt you while God is off somewhere else, unaware of what is happening to you. The Spirit of God is constantly there with you, providing you with the way to overcome. In other words, God matches even the toughest temptations with the weapons and power you need to conquer them. He always makes it possible for you to choose life.

So choose to walk in love. Choose to walk by faith. Choose to live by the Word. Jesus is the Way! Choose Him!

Seek God First

By Gloria Copeland


Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. - Matthew 6:33

Whenever Ken and I talk about living by faith, I know there are some people who think, "Oh, that's easy for you. You're preachers. You have it made!" And, in some ways, we do. We have it made because our calling demands that we give God our attention, and giving God your attention always brings success.

But we haven't always lived that way. In fact, the first time I ever saw Kenneth Copeland he was about as far from a preacher as I figured you could get. He flew planes and sang in nightclubs. As for me, I was a college girl who said she would never marry a preacher and who had never even heard about the new birth.

Right after we got married, Ken went into a business enterprise that we thought was going to make us rich. So I quit my job and went to work for this new company. Two weeks later it folded.

We ended up sleeping on a rented roll-away bed that sagged in the middle. We had a wrought-iron coffee table Ken made in high school and a black and white TV. Nothing else. No refrigerator. No stove. I cooked in my coffee pot and an electric skillet and used a cardboard box on the porch to keep our food cold.

We were flat broke. Unemployed. Deeply in debt. I had nowhere to go. No furniture. No nothing.

Then one day I picked up the Bible Ken's mother had given him for his birthday. In the front she'd written this verse, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I turned and read Matthew 6. It said God cared for the birds. For the first time in my life it got into my heart that God cared where I was and what I was doing. I figured if He cared for birds, He cared for me! I knelt in that bare room and told Jesus that if He could do anything with my life, He could certainly have it. That's all I remember saying.

I had no idea I'd just been born again. Two weeks later Ken found a new job. We moved to a new furnished apartment and bought a better car. In the midst of it all, something else happened--Ken got born again.

Don't worry if you don't "have it made." We certainly didn't when all this started. Just stick with God and let Him make you. He is a good God who is good to all (Ps. 145:9).

Make a decision in your heart to seek HIM first. Then all the other things will be added.

Stir Up the Power

By Kenneth Copeland

Greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears....I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you.... For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:4,6-7

There are times when you know what God has called you to do, but you just don't feel you have the inner resources you need to do it. Somehow you've simply run dry. You know the Word says that "out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). But, during those times, you can't even find the creek bank, much less the river.

The Word of God tells us how to handle those situations through a clear command: "Stir up the gift inside you."

YOU stir YOURSELF up! Everything you need is already in you. Jesus put it there. Everything you'll ever need to accomplish what God has called you to do has been placed inside you by God Almighty.

Faith is in there. Power is in there. Love is in there. Believe that. Speak it out. Say it to yourself now, right out loud:

"In the Name of Jesus, I stir up the gift that's within me by faith. I'm stirring up my faith. I'm not going to wait until I feel stirred up. I'm stepping out by faith and expecting my feelings to follow!

"I'm stirring up the love of God that's in me. I'm stirring up the power. I'm stirring up myself and running the devil out of my affairs. I'm stirring myself up in the Spirit of the living God! I AM stirred up!"

Source from kcm.org, 

Delight Yourself

By Kenneth Copeland

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. - Psalm 112:1,7

The man who makes a habit of delighting in God's Word will have a heart that's fixed! He can make it through disastrous situations without losing his balance. His mind's made up before he ever gets to the disaster. He's victorious before he ever gets there. A person like that is hard to whip!

The sad thing is that most believers wait until the disaster hits before they start trying to establish themselves on the Word. They wait until their back is against the wall. Then, suddenly, they get real spiritual and start fasting and praying...and all too often they find they've started too late.

That's like a guy who finds out a burglar is in his house and then starts looking for the barbells, so he can build up enough muscle to throw the burglar out. He ain't gonna make it! If he'd been working out instead of watching television every night, he'd have been ready. But as it is, he's headed for a painful defeat.

Be ready before the devil breaks into your house. Get your heart fixed. Turn off the television. Turn off the distractions of the world and turn on the Word. The time to start establishing yourself on it is right now!

Stand Up and Be Counted

By Kenneth Copeland


I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. - 1 Timothy 2:1-2

We are commanded to pray for our country and our leaders. But having prayed, God expects us to act. The elections in the United States are vital to the future of this nation. Our country is in the midst of a spiritual outpouring, and it's vitally important that the right people be elected. We must see to it.
Don't wait until election time is upon us before you start seeking God for whom to vote. Begin to pray now so that the news media and other voices from every corner cannot influence you and cannot draw you in a direction away from the Spirit of God. Pray so that you won't be influenced by natural reactions and natural responses to cleverly designed commercials and ideas.
Start praying now about the coming elections. Whether they are small local elections or major national elections, make them a part of every prayer you pray. Then thank the Spirit of God for His wisdom concerning your vote. Thank Him for giving you His wisdom about what to say and when to say it to others. Thank Him for giving you wisdom to declare the Name of Jesus and declare that this shall be a God indwelt, God-ordained, God-overseen administration.
So register. Pray. Vote. Then stand up and be counted by the power of the living God. Source- kcm.org

Be Courageous

By Gloria Copeland

Be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. - Joshua 1:7

Living a life of faith takes courage. Most people don't realize it, but it does! It takes courage to stand up in the face of sickness and declare you're healed by the stripes of Jesus. It takes courage to believe for prosperity and put your last dime in the offering plate when poverty is staring you in the face. There are going to be some days when you'd rather pull the covers over your head and hide than take another faith stand against the devil. But you can't. Because the battle of faith isn't fought once and then forgotten. If you want to keep living in victory, you have to fight it again and again.

There's no way around it. Of course, some of God's people still try to find one. The Israelites, for example. They thought their battles should be over when they crossed the Red Sea. So when they heard reports of giants living in the Promised Land, they decided they couldn't face the fight. Their courage failed them. So they took a 40-year detour through the wilderness.

But you know what? They still couldn't avoid that fight. When the time came for the next generation to enter the Promised Land, the giants were still there!

This time, however, they found the courage to face them. Where did they find it? In the Word of God.

Their leader, Joshua, had obeyed the instruction of the Lord and kept that Word on his mind and in his heart day and night. He'd meditated on it and let it constantly remind him that God was on their side.

If you're going to fight the good fight of faith to the finish, you'll have to do just like Joshua did. You'll have to continually draw courage from the Word of God. So make up your mind to do it. Get into that Word and let it change you from a coward to an overcomer. Then march into battle and slay the giants in your land. 

No Consolation Prize

By Kenneth Copeland

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye maybe perfect and entire, wanting nothing. - James 1:4

I talk a lot about faith. But there's another force that goes along with it that's just as important. It's patience, the ability to stand fast on the Word of God even when your victory seems slow in coming.

Patience is not automatic. It won't go to work unless you let it go to work. So many people don't understand that. They somehow think faith and patience will go to work for them without their help. They just let the devil tear their lives apart and then they say silly things like, "Well, I guess God sent that trial to strengthen my faith."

Don't you ever get caught saying that!

In the first place, James says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God" (James 1:13). And in the second place, that trial isn't going to make your faith stronger. In fact, it'll destroy it if you'll let it.

If I were to give you a set of weights, would that set of weights make you any stronger? No. As a matter of fact, if you dropped one of them on your foot, you could end up painfully weaker. It's what you do with them that counts, right?

Well, the same thing is true when you run into some kind of trying circumstance the devil's brought your way. If you just lay down and let it run over you, it will damage you. But if you'll let patience have her perfect work, if you'll remain consistently constant, trusting in and relying confidently on the Word of God, you'll end up perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

"Wanting nothing." That phrase alone should convince you that patience is no consolation prize. It's a first-rate power that will put the promises of God within your reach. It's a force that will make a winner out of you.

Get Out From Under

By Gloria Copeland

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. - 1 John 4:4

Under the circumstances... Have you ever caught yourself using that phrase?

"I suppose I'm doing pretty well under the circumstances."

If you've ever said something like that, I want you to kick those words out of your vocabulary right now. Because you, as a victorious child of God, don't have any business living your life "under" your circumstances. You don't have any business letting problems and situations rule over you.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus--the One Who is in you--ransacked Satan's kingdom. Through His death at Calvary, He legally entered the regions of the damned and stripped Satan of everything. He took away all his armor. He took the keys to death and hell. He bound that strong man, looted his kingdom, and Colossians says He spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them.

Then Jesus turned around and gave that victory to you. YOU are of God. Remember that! You have overcome through Jesus because He lives in you. You never have to live "under" the circumstances again!

Leave Behind the Past

By Kenneth Copeland

 But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13-14

Spiritual bumps and bruises. Inner aches and pains that just don't seem to go away. Most all of us know what it's like to suffer from them but too few of us know just what to do about them.

We limp along, hoping somehow those hidden wounds will magically stop hurting, thinking that maybe (with a little extra sleep or an extra helping of dessert) that nagging sense of depression will finally disappear.

But does it ever happen that way? No!

I know. I've been there.

But thank God, I'm not there anymore. You see, over the past few years, I've faced some fierce spiritual battles. And I've found out those battles can leave you bruised and beat up on the inside just as surely as a fistfight can leave you bruised and beat up on the outside.

Before I was born again, I learned just how physically devastating a real slug-it-out kind of brawl could be. Yet as bad as I felt, a few days rest would take care of me.

The healing of a bruised and beaten spirit, however, doesn't come that easily. In fact, the passing of time often worsens this condition.

The reason is this: Instead of putting painful failures behind us, we often dwell on them until those failures become more real to us than the promises of God. We focus on them until we become bogged down in depression, frozen in our tracks by the fear that if we go on, we'll only fail again.

But there is a way out. If depression has put you into a spiritual nosedive, all you have to do to break out of it is to get your eyes off the past and onto your future--a future that's been guaranteed by Christ Jesus through the exceedingly great and precious promises in His Word.

Chances are, that won't come easily to you at first. Your mind has probably had years of practice in focusing on the past. Like an old horse that habitually heads for the barn, your thoughts will probably start galloping that direction every time you give them any slack.

So, don't give them that slack. Keep the reins tight. Purposely meditate on the Word of God. Replace thoughts of the past with scriptural promises about your future and be diligent about it. Then, instead of being a wounded soldier, you'll become the conquering warrior God made you to be.

 Source kcm.org

Nothing to Lose

 By Gloria Copeland

 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. - Isaiah 3:10-11

Have you ever been afraid to give yourself totally to the Lord because you think you might be deprived of some pleasure in this life? Chances are, you have. That's because Satan is working overtime to convince you that he can really make your life worth living. But don't believe him for a minute. The real truth is, yielding completely to the Lord won't cost you anything that's worth having. It will only cause you to live life to its fullest!

Jesus' life on earth was a perfect example of a totally yielded life. He was a walking example of the benefits godly living brings. Everywhere He went, Jesus made the deaf to hear, the blind to see, the lame to walk. He lived in perfect peace and absolute victory.

That all sounds pretty good to me. All He missed out on was the devil getting dominion over Him to kill, steal and destroy. In fact, the devil couldn't do anything to Him until, by the Father's will, He laid down His life. Until that time Jesus walked in total victory over the enemy.

Do you think you would miss out on a lot if you lived that way? Of course not! You can walk in that same anointing and power and glory of God that Jesus did.

Do you have to give up your whole life to do it? Yes! You have to trade your life for the life of God. You have to trade your sickness for His healing, your poverty for His prosperity, your anxiety for His peace, your sin for His righteousness.

So why hesitate? When it gets right down to it, you really have nothing to lose.

Source kcm.org