Everything Is Under Control - life is full of knots and twisted threads and frayed ends that lack meaning and beauty. But from God’s perspective, it is all under control

At the heart of life’s major struggles is a theological issue. 

Putting it in the form of a question: “Is God in charge or is He not?”

If we could, by some wonderful force from heaven, be allowed to slip from this earth in our present state and into the glory of heaven, we would not find one shred of evidence that reveals panic. 

You would never once hear “oops” from the lips of God, or “I wonder what we’re going to do about that down there?” 

Nor would we ever observe anxiety across the face of the living God. 

We would be stunned with amazement at how calm things are around His awesome throne.

From this side of glory we see the tapestry of life from underneath. 

It is full of knots and twisted threads and frayed ends that lack meaning and beauty. 

But from God’s perspective, looking at the top of the fabric, it is all under control.

by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

from Charles R. Swindoll, Encouragement for Life: Words of Hope and Inspiration

insight.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5aOzEqDN98

What A Mighty God We Serve - Don Moen

lyrics

what a mighty god we serve
Angels bow before Him
Heaven and earth adore Him
What a mighty God we serve.

and he is the great I Am
He is the bright and morning star
and without him I would fall

what a mighty god we serve
Angels bow before Him
Heaven and earth adore Him
What a mighty God we serve.

Hezekiah Walker

Related Links:

If God is good why does He create evil? God can make light or darkness and create peace or calamity

Blaming God for everything that happens since He is in control of everything

God over-answers prayer - He opened the windows of heaven and poured blessings they dared not even hope for

Seasons and Reasons - seasons are part of God’s grand design for this earth: winter, spring, summer, fall. They are also part of God’s grand design for you and me: joy and sadness, struggle and peace, highs and lows, birth and loss. The word “season” implies a time that will pass. Even hard seasons have a reason. No matter what season we find ourselves in, we can be sure God is always there. If you’re in a tough season, know that it won’t last forever

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens …” - Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

One of my family’s favorite beach cottages to rent had a screened-in porch on the second floor, overlooking a weather-worn dock. 

Fuchsia myrtle bushes dotted the landscape like splashes of paint, and the outdoor back stairway wrapped around a palm tree that reached for the sky, its fronds at eye level with the porch.

Early in the mornings, I snuggled in a rocking chair on the porch with my coffee and Bible. 

One day, I noticed a turtledove sitting on a nest in the palm tree. 

I watched her. 

She watched me.

I saw two tiny eggs peeking out from under the stubble.

For an entire week, this mamma bird did one thing — rest in the palm, protecting her two tiny charges.

When a violent storm came, she didn’t budge. When children ran up and down the stairs, inches from her nest, she didn’t move. 

When cranes, pelicans and seagulls swooped and strutted, she stayed. 

For this season of her life, she remained faithful to the task at hand.

We all go through seasons in life. 

Raising a child. 

Caring for a parent. 

Building a career. 

Strengthening a marriage.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

Seasons are part of God’s grand design for this earth: winter, spring, summer, fall. 

They are also part of God’s grand design for you and me: joy and sadness, struggle and peace, highs and lows, birth and loss. 

But no matter what season we find ourselves in, we can be sure God is not absent from it — He is always there.

The word “season” implies a time that will pass. 

If you’re in a tough season, know that it won’t last forever. 

But even hard seasons have a reason: In them, we sink our roots deep into the soil of faith, spread wide the branches of trust, sprout new growth. 

In the dormancy of winter, we rest to catch our breath before the next season begins.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” - (Galatians 6:9, ESV). 

On the last morning of our vacation, I was enjoying a final cup of coffee on the porch with Mrs. Turtledove.

But this time, she flew over to join Daddy Dove on the porch railing, and two downy hatchlings with eyes yet to open reached their yellow beaks heavenward.

God had given me a precious gift — a front-row seat to observe the contentment of a mother who reveled in her calling during this short season of her life.

Regardless of storms, strangers or the strutting of others, she stayed true to her purpose.

While I was musing about motherhood in my own life, my teenage son stumbled sleepily onto the porch. 

I’m not sure if he saw the tears in my eyes as I looked at his ruffled hair, sleepy eyes, and face that needed a shave. 

The seasons of his childhood were quickly coming to an end.

“Look, Buddy,” I said. “The eggs hatched today.”

Heavenly Father, I’ll admit I long for joyful seasons to linger and difficult seasons to pass quickly. 

Help me to remember stages of life are called “seasons” for a reason. 

They come and go. Help me to be at peace in every season, doing what You want me to do in that period of time. 

In Jesus’ Name, 

Amen.

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

We are so excited about Sharon’s latest book, Praying for Your Child from Head to Toe: A 30-Day Guide to Powerful and Effective Scripture-Based Prayers. Prayer is a parent’s greatest superpower! This unique prayer guide leads you through 16 areas of a child’s life, from their head (thoughts) to their shoulders (burdens) all the way down to their feet (the path ahead). No one will be a perfect parent, but we can be praying parents who confidently pray for God’s protection and provision in the physical and spiritual realms. This is a prayer guide you will use again and again, from your child's birth to the day your nest is empty.

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Ecclesiastes 3:4-7, “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to castaway; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak …” (ESV).

by SHARON JAYNES

Sharon Jaynes served as vice president and radio co-host for Proverbs 31 Ministries from 1996-2006. She is a best-selling author of 24 books and Bible studies, including Enough: Silencing the Lies that Steal Your Confidence, Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe: A Daily Guide to Scripture-Based Prayer, Take Hold of the Faith You Long For: Let Go-Move Forward-Live Bold, and her latest release--Lovestruck: Discovering God's Design for Romance, Marriage, and Sexual Intimacy from the Song of Solomon.

Encouragement for Today Devotions 

proverbs31.org

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Embrace Your Season - we would love for every season to be a time of increase, but without the other seasons, we wouldn’t be prepared for promotion. God has given you not only the grace to endure this season but to enjoy the season. You will come out of winter and into your springtime

The Meaning of Life - the meaning of life is wrapped up in the glory of God - we were made is for God’s glory. Any time we substitute our own glory for God’s, we become idolaters and miss the meaning of life

Life is meaningless without the Lord sitting on the throne of our lives - the cycle of life and death is unaffected by a man's position, power, prosperity, or poverty, for all are destined to die. Life has meaning in Christ for without Him we am nothing

Tough Times Toughen - the tough times allow us to appreciate and grow toward more good times. They also toughen us to develop a resistance to sin that appears pleasurable but ends in torment. Remember that the trials that come into your life are no different from what others experience. When you are tried and tempted, God will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. God is faithful. He will keep the trials from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. Times can be hard but there is a payoff to them. Be thankful that God has provided a way to deal with our trials and temptations. Good can come out of bad things and bad situations

.

Wow, tough times can be hard, but is there a payoff to them?

Good can come out of bad things and bad situations.

When those of us who love God are tempted or troubled by ungodly thoughts, don't we better understand at that time more than any other the need for God?

Of course, when we're in that state of temptation, we feel sad and we sigh and we pray, because we're in misery.

Then we get tired of being in misery, tired enough to make some changes that will set us free from that struggle.

So the tough times allow us to appreciate and grow toward more good times.

They also toughen us to develop a resistance to sin — sin that appears pleasurable, but ends in torment.

So, I've got to be thankful that God has provided a way to deal with our temptations!

Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.

"And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. 

"When you are tempted, he will 
show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." - (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT)

by Paul Faulkner
Making Life Work for Your Family
heartlight.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuljQ3ueaxk&t=14s

What A Faithful God Have I - Robert & Dawn Critchley

lyrics

Lord, i come before Your throne of grace

I find rest in Your presence,

And fullness of Joy

In worship and wonder

I behold Your face

Singing what a faithful God have I

What a faithful God have I

What a faithful God

What a faithful God have I

Faithful in every way

Lord of mercy, You have heard my cry

Through the storm Youre the beacon

My song in the night

In the shelter of Your wings

Hear my hearts reply

Singing what a faithful God have I

What a faithful God have I

What a faithful God

What a faithful God have I

Faithful in every way

Lord all sovereign

Granting peace from heaven

Let me comfort those who suffer

With the comfort You have given

I will tell of Your great love

For as long as i live

Singing what a faithful God have I

Robert Critchley

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Our Daily Trials - God allows trials - for us to grow, develop character, and produce intimacy in relationships. Trials become an opportunity to form the character of Christ within us and release our true identity

A teardrop on earth summons the King of Heaven - God takes special notice of those tears of yours. The Lord takes note of our inner friction when hard times are oiled by tears- He enters them into the record He keeps on our lives

Through the Fire - There are joys that can come to us only through sorrow. There are blessings which we cannot obtain if we cannot accept and endure suffering. There are harvests which can grow only after the plowshare has done its work

Flight or Fight - sometimes, we encounter one trial after another, or they pile up all at once. In the midst of our suffering, we can be driven to near despair. Some of us may grow paranoid, our thoughts running wild about worst-case scenarios. It doesn’t matter how encircled we may be by oncoming trials. No matter what direction the assaults come from, the Lord has us covered. This is true not just in some circumstances but in all of them. God has control over all our concerns and worries. He is a shield that covers every inch of our being, leaving no opening for the enemy’s piercing arrows. Today, let God’s very presence be your greatest shield in whatever trial you may face

“O Lord, how many are foes!

"Many are rising against me” - (Psalm 3:1 ESV)

Often, we are assured we can reasonably face one problem, but an avalanche of problems that are. 

We grow panicked over what may happen to us.

When David wrote this opening verse, he was either experiencing many people attacking him on a single front or being attacked on many fronts. 

Sometimes, we encounter one trial after another, or they pile up all at once. 

In the midst of our suffering, we can be driven to near despair. 

We grow panicked over what may happen to us.

Often, we are assured we can reasonably face one problem, but an avalanche of problems that are beyond our abilities troubles the soul. 

We spend every waking hour preoccupied with our difficulty, unable to shake our anxiety and fear. 

Despite our best intentions, like David, we turn to flight instead of fight. 

We have to accept that even in life’s toughest trials, the greater battle is always with principalities and powers that attack our mind and soul.

These are our most vulnerable areas during times of great struggle.

In Psalm 3, David begins the prayer of a beleaguered king who despaired over the mounting odds stacked against him.

By verse 3, things begin to change. 

David had another prayer in his heart, a prayer of awesome hope.

“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” - (Psalm 3:3). 

David had moved from being overwhelmed by “many” things to a single-minded focus on one thing: his source of deliverance. 

He was no longer worried about being surrounded by many trials but instead was lifted by the help he knew he had in God. 

David saw his shield, the Lord himself, surrounding him. 

Psalm 3 tells us that it doesn’t matter how encircled we may be by oncoming trials. 

No matter what direction the assaults come from, the Lord has us covered. 

This is true not just in some circumstances but in all of them. 

God has control over all our concerns and worries. 

He is a shield that covers every inch of our being, leaving no opening for the enemy’s piercing arrows. 

Today, let God’s very presence be your greatest shield in whatever trial you may face. 

This devotional has been adapted from Gary Wilkerson’s book, The Altar of Our Hearts: An Expository Devotional on the Psalms.

Gary Wilkerson

Gary Wilkerson is an author, public speaker and the president of World Challenge Inc., an international ministry organization founded by his father, David Wilkerson. He has traveled to speak at mission leadership conferences in 70 different countries and supported church planting, relief and evangelism among some of the most unreached people groups on earth.

worldchallenge.org

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Spiritual Warfare - our battle is against spiritual powers. We are to stand firm with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and by praying in the Spirit. Our offensive weapon is the Word of God - it is the Spirit’s sword. And we are to pray in the power and will of the Holy Spirit. We can only stand strong in the Lord’s power - it is God’s armor that protects us

Full Armor of God - the full armor of God describes some of the blessings of God in the life of a Christian with which He has equipped us to stand firm against the evil one and have spiritual victory over the enemy. Prayer is an often forgotten part of the armor of God, but is essential to using the armor of God well. Prayer is the way we draw strength from God and rely on Him. In essence, it is what "activates" the armor. The Word of God is our best offense

God Will Rescue You - when we say what God promise us, He will deliver us from every trap of the devil. He will cover us with His wings like a mother hen covers her chicks when danger is near. He will be our shield from every fiery dart of the enemy. We can walk through life oblivious to the calamity that the enemy has planned for us as God snatches us out of every snare. Our responsibility is to fear not - it’s a divine order

God’s Provisions in Adversity - God doesn’t necessarily keep believers from distress or disappointment. Stopping the storms may be our goal, but the adversity may be necessary to mature us spiritually. The Father stays with us in the struggle, and nothing can separate us from His love. God walks with us through the hardships, providing guidance and speaking truth into the situation. While difficulties cause many people anxiety, God’s peace is available to us. As we recognize the Lord’s provision during trials, we can genuinely express gratitude. Doing so will enable us to fix our eyes on Him rather than on our circumstance. As unpleasant as trials are, there’s still reason for giving thanks

"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 

"See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:14-18 English Standard Version

Jesus told us that we would have hardships (John 16:33), and He was right, wasn’t He? 

As unpleasant as trials are, there’s still reason for giving thanks. 

Protection 

God doesn’t necessarily keep believers from distress or disappointment. 

Stopping the storms may be our goal, but from His point of view, the adversity may be necessary to mature us spiritually. 

However, the Father offers protection by staying with us in the struggle. 

What’s more, we have assurance that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). 

So, our ever-present God walks with us through the hardships, providing guidance and speaking truth into the situation.

Peace

While difficulties cause many people anxiety, God’s peace is available to us. 

This serenity does not depend on whether circumstances improve. 

Rather, it’s a result of our relationship with Him. 

Our main focus shouldn’t be on fixing the problem; rather, we should seek and trust the Lord.

As we recognize the Lord’s provision during trials, we can genuinely express gratitude. 

Doing so will enable us to fix our eyes on Him rather than on our circumstance. 

While we often aren’t aware of the purpose for each trial facing us, we do know that God is trustworthy and good — and He won’t waste our suffering.

Bible in One Year: Amos 5-9

Charles Stanley

Charles Frazier Stanley Jr. (September 25, 1932 – April 18, 2023) was an American Southern Baptist pastor and writer. He was senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta for 49 years and took on emeritus status in 2020. He founded and was president of In Touch Ministries which widely broadcasts his sermons through television and radio. He also served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, from 1984 to 1986.

In Touch Ministries

intouch.org

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Seeing A Greater Purpose In Adversity - how often we are so busy looking for deliverance from our circumstance that we miss God completely. God is looking to do miracles if we will only look for them. Sometimes we become so obsessed with our goals we miss the process that God involves us in, which may be where the miracle lies. Our adverse situations can often be the door of spiritual opportunity for those who need it. When God said that "all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purposes" He meant all things. It is up to us to find the "work together for good" part by being faithful to the process. Ask God for discernment to see the real purpose for the adversity

Refined by Fire, for God’s Good Purposes - the fire only refines; it does not destroy. Fire strengthens those it refines. They do not seek the fire, but neither do they shrink from it. We are to be brought through the fire, not left in it. The Lord values his people as silver, and therefore he is at pains to purge away their dross. If we are wise, we will welcome the refining process rather than decline it. God refines us in our suffering and graciously explains why: “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.” True gold does not fear the fire

The Purpose of Crucibles - the significant leaders who make the greatest mark for the Kingdom had to experience their own crucible and fire. Without it, the dross can never be removed from the human heart. Without it, the encumbrances weigh us down. God understands the human heart. He understands that for us to become all that He hopes for us, there are seasons of fire. The greater the use in the Kingdom the greater the crucible to prepare the right foundation. Some of God's greatest crucibles are found in the workplace where we live every day. Each of these is a test from God to find out how we will respond. His grace has been provided that we might pass the tests that He brings before us

Streams in my desert: Problems Prepare You for Eternity - the trials you’re going through now don’t compare to the rewards of heaven. The troubles you’re experiencing now may even be painful. They’ll make your faith stronger and will produce perseverance. You’ll experience trials of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of intensity. When your faith is tested, your faith grows stronger. Problems purify your motives. God is much more interested in your character than in your comfort. He’ll use trials to refine your character. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. Have hope, no matter what’s going on in your life right now

Streams in my desert: Sometimes it's hard to understand adversity - but there's a purpose - let's learn from the trials and tribulations we go through because God has a purpose in them. We may not enjoy it, but when all's said and done, enduring trials faithfully will produce perseverance, character, and hope. when we understand there is a greater purpose involved, then we can pass through adversity with hope, expectation and steadfastness knowing these events are for our greater good. We truly can trust in the God who loves us with an everlasting love because He knows the direction we need to go. And He knows exactly how to get us there

Streams in my desert: Out of the Wreck I Rise - “Shall tribulation …?” - tribulation is never a grand, highly welcomed event; but whatever it may be — whether exhausting, irritating, or simply causing some weakness — it is not able to “separate us from the love of Christ.” Either Jesus Christ is a deceiver, or some extraordinary thing happens to someone who holds on to the love of God when the odds are totally against him. Never allow tribulations or the “cares of this world” to separate you from remembering that God loves you

Streams in my desert: Beauty From Adversity - God does not promise smooth sailing in life. But when adversity strikes, I sometimes get confused and disheartened, asking all the wrong questions. I forget that adversity is a good and necessary part of my Christian growth, something I can actually rejoice in because it produces perseverance. I love the analogy that compares our faith to gold that must be refined. The refiner's fire only destroys impurities that mar its beauty and have no value. And the finished product brings the jeweler praise, just like our persevering faith brings God glory

Streams in my desert: Embrace your fiery trials - persecution and trials are part of the Christian life, so we must understand how God wants us to respond to them. We learn the following principles that help us in our own fiery trials. Faithfulness to God must prevail over fear. The only things that are lost in the fire are the things that bind you. In a trial we discover new truths about God and ourselves. God is always with you in the fire. Our fiery ordeals benefit us, and God also uses our faithful attitude as a witness to others

Streams in my desert: The Trial Of Our Faith - every challenge that comes your way is scrutinized from heaven and only what you can handle is allowed to hit you. The circumstances you face are there to test your faith, to remove the impure and prove the genuine. Just as gold is tried or tested by fire our faith will also be tried and tested. Fire represents adversity or challenges. It separates real faith from what looks like faith. Do not lose heart in the midst of that difficulty. Let the lion in you roar and bring to subjection whatever is challenge to your life in Christ

Streams in my desert: The Teaching of Adversity - if you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God

Streams in my desert: The Trial Of Our Faith - every challenge that comes your way is scrutinized from heaven and only what you can handle is allowed to hit you. The circumstances you face are there to test your faith, to remove the impure and prove the genuine. Just as gold is tried or tested by fire our faith will also be tried and tested. Fire represents adversity or challenges. It separates real faith from what looks like faith. Do not lose heart in the midst of that difficulty. Let the lion in you roar and bring to subjection whatever is challenge to your life in Christ

Streams in my desert: Be an Eagle Christian - the eagle doesn't have an identity crisis. He knows what manner of creature he is and what he is able to do. He knows that he can hunt skillfully for prey or simply soar majestically in the sky. We need to become just like "eagle" Christians — fearless and confident in the face of adversity, snatching victory from defeat as we soar to greater heights. We can know who we are in Christ and what we have in Him, where we're going in God, and how we're going to get there. We can live in continual victory as we apply those spiritual truths to our lives. It's not enough to just know the Word. You have to act like the Word is so; that's the only way to experience real victory

Blessed to be a Blessing - God’s desire is for you to prosper in every way. God is interested in our welfare, and He wants us to possess enough to meet all of our obligations with sufficient left over to give for every good work. Our heavenly Father wants to bless us because He loves us — but He also wants to love and bless others through us. God does give you and me the power to gain wealth and to succeed materially. God is interested in you and your struggles, wanting to help you meet all your needs. There is a deeper and more profound reason that God desires to bless you - that the Gospel might go out to the four corners of our world. God wants to bless you to make you a blessing

God’s desire is for you to have a blessed life.

Christ’s sacrifice opened the way for the fullness of God’s blessing to touch every area of our lives.

In Isaiah 53:5, speaking of the reason for Christ’s suffering, it states (parenthetical quotes mine),

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities (that purchases forgiveness and salvation for our spirits); the chastisement for our peace was upon Him (that purchases peace for our minds), and by His stripes we are healed (that purchases healing for our bodies)."

Interestingly enough, the word translated “peace” is the Hebrew word shalom. 

The Hebrew concept of this type of peace is both inward and outward. 

So yes, it means peace and tranquility for our minds, but it also can involve the outward things that help us live peaceful, stabilized lives.

That is made clear in the various ways shalom is translated in the Scripture. 

For example, 

- in Genesis 43:28, shalom is translated “in good health”; 

- in 2 Samuel 18:29, it is translated “safe”; 

- in 1 Chronicles 18:10 (KJV), it is translated “welfare”; 

- in Psalm 35:27, it is translated “prosperity”; 

- in Song of Solomon 8:10 (KJV), it is translated “favor”; 

in Zechariah 8:12 it is translated “prosperous.”

Without a doubt, God’s forgiveness and the new birth are the crown jewel in what our blessed Savior has wrought for us — but the blessing extends beyond that. 

Through Christ’s sacrifice God has made provision for every area of our lives!

In 3 John 1:2 the apostle John makes reference to this fact as his prayer expresses a whole range of blessings that have been made available to believers.

"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers."

This is a prayer for a threefold blessing … material, physical, and spiritual blessing. 

And it points to the fact that God’s desire is for you to prosper in every way.

For a moment, let us consider material blessing. 

God is interested in our welfare, and He wants us to possess enough to meet all of our obligations with sufficient left over to give for every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Now, I know there are those who don’t believe that is true, like the group of Christians I was associated with when I was a young believer. 

This group believed that anyone who prospered materially was ungodly.

If somebody had a nice car or any other nice possession, statements would fly about how worldly and ungodly they were. 

They truly believed that God wanted His children to remain poor. 

And you couldn’t serve God if you were materially blessed.

Then there are those who tend to dwell at the opposite end of the spectrum … those who seem to think that the heart of the Gospel is about possessing things. 

For them, the “crown jewel” seems to be about their comfort and possessions.

I am convinced that God does want to prosper us, but what does that really mean? 

And more importantly, why does He want to bless us?

Now it is certainly true that our heavenly Father wants to bless us because He loves us — but He also wants to love and bless others through us!

Listen to how Moses put it in Deuteronomy 8:18.

"And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? 

God does give you and me the power to gain wealth and to succeed materially. 

But note the rest of the verse: “that He may establish His covenant.” 

The covenant he’s referring to is the Abrahamic covenant … that all the families of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s seed, which is Jesus Christ!

Perhaps you’ve recently lost your job. 

Or maybe you are struggling to make ends meet and just don’t know how you’re going to make it.

Friend, I want you to know that God is interested in you and your struggles, wanting to help you meet all your needs. 

But His desire to help you goes beyond just meeting those needs. 

There is a deeper and more profound reason that God desires to bless you.

That reason is so that the Gospel might go out to the four corners of our world. 

God wants to bless you to make you a blessing.

And remember, He can open doors that no one else can open. 

He can give you favor, cause you to be safe, and prosper you — even in the world’s present economic situation. 

Trust Him. 

Look to Him for direction. 

Expect to see good things happen. 

And continue to demonstrate your faith by giving consistently and generously for His work.

In his eye-opening message, “Two Kinds of Treasure,” Bayless Conley expounds on several biblical facts about material and spiritual treasure you cannot risk to ignore. Learn how to steward wisely what God has entrusted to you, so you can truly appreciate and enjoy all of His blessing. Available on CD, DVD, and MP3.

Answers with Bayless Conley

My wife Janet and I are pastors of Cottonwood Church, a thriving church located in Orange County, California. We truly believe in the concept of local church as the center of Christian community.

There is an old saying that goes, “The light that shines the farthest shines the brightest at home.” We are able to reach the world through our broadcast because we have a strong home base. This allows us to shine the light of the Gospel even farther and in a more powerful way.

baylessconley.tv

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Multiplied Blessings - the blessed one is the man that delights in the Word of God. It is this man who contemplated the beauty of the Lord. When decisions are to be made he seeks God. When he rests or rises, he carries God’s word in his heart all day. Blessed is the man that meditates upon Him day and night. Only the one that abides in Christ, the true vine will bring forth fruit ... more fruit … much fruit, to the glory of the Father - all that this man turns his hand to do shall prosper. The LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish"

The True Source of Wealth and Prosperity - the blessing of the Lord goes beyond material wealth and encompasses the richness of the soul, mind, and spirit. It is a holistic approach to prosperity that includes spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. The wealth and prosperity that come from God are not tainted by deceit, wrongdoing, or negative outcomes. This aligns with the teachings of Jesus who stressed the importance of spiritual wealth over material possessions. God’s blessings are freely given to those who seek His guidance and trust in His provision

Wealth Transfer - The Wealth Of The Wicked Is Laid Up For The Just - it is laid up for the righteous. Jesus makes us righteous. God is in charge of the wealth transfer; so, we don’t go and ask the rich for money. Believe God. Faith only puts pressure on the word; we do not put pressure on people. Choose today to believe for the wealth transfer to come into your personal life. We have to actively believe God and release our faith for that wealth transfer. Jesus said, whatever you believe you receive when you pray, you receive it