Written by TWFYT
Wednesday October 21

"This far you ay come, but no farther." Job 38:11 NKJV

Just as God established boundaries for the oceans so that the tides come in only so far, you must set limits on how far you let people go interacting with you. When you fail to express your boundaries, people become unclear as to what behaviors will be accepted by you. They are left to decide based upon their own preferences, convenience, and whims. God has made you a Seward over three key areas of your life, where the lines of interaction will become fuzzy if you don't clearly define them: your time, your talent, and your treasure. It's important to set clear boundaries in these three areas. And as you become secure enough to establish your personal boundaries, you must also go a step further and express the consequences you are willing to implement when someone violates them. This may sound a little harsh, but boundaries without consequences are just wishes. Wishes won't change anybody's behavior toward you. It's sad to watch parents who constantly threaten to punish their children for wayward behavior, but never follow through. Some people who believe that mercy should endure forever deem it ungodly to set boundaries and impose consequences. But God does it! Here are two of them. (1) "If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name," says the Lord Almighty,  "I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings" (Mal 2:2 NIV). (2) "If you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Mt 6:15 NIV). So the word for you today is—learn to set boundaries.

Written by TWFYT
Tuesday October 20

"The path of the just...shines ever brighter unto the perfect day." Proverbs 4:18 NKJV

We've talked about priority giving and percentage giving; let's talk about progressive giving. As long as you're alive on this earth, God intends for your faith to be growing. "The path of the just...shines ever brighter." God's agenda is that you be gradually transformed into the likeness of Christ (see 2Co 3:18). That's the nature of faith. Its progress is steady, and its target is Christlikeness. Now, when it comes to your finances, you need to be growing in faith there also. But you can't grow as a giver if you don't also increase your giving. If you've been tithing for twenty years and you've never increased your percentage of giving, can you say you have really grown? Sure, you've been faithful, and that's great. But in order for your faith to grow, it needs to be stretched from time to time. And that means progressively increasing the percentage you entrust to God, who is the owner of your finances. When you first start tithing, it's such a spiritual experience. You can hardly believe you're voluntarily doing something with your money that flies in the face of normal economics. But the thrill of honoring God while also trusting Him to intervene on your behalf makes it irresistible. It's exciting because you encounter God through it all. After a while, it's easy to tithe. It becomes second nature, like a reflex you hardly notice anymore. But giving should always be an exciting, spiritual, close-encounter-with-God experience. So if it has become a mundane routine, maybe it's time to stretch your financial faith a little. That's what a growing faith is all about.

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Monday October 19

"When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." James 1:15 NKJV

The root of temptation is a sinful desire, the shoot is a sinful is a sinful decision, and the fruit is a sure and certain defeat. Let's look at each. (1) The root. The word desire means "a strong urge, a craving of the soul." When you begin to desire something that is outside of God's boundaries, conception takes place and sin takes root. Sin grows, and at some point, it bursts out into the open. If you don't uproot it immediately, that desire will, like a weed, eventually produce fruit in your life. That's why you should be quick to pray, "Lord, I renounce this wrong thought in Jesus' name and submit myself fully to You." And then reach for your Bible and feed God's Word. "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might  not sin against you' (Ps 119:11 NLT). (2) The shoot. Left alone, the root of selfish desire will inevitably give way to the shoot of a sinful decision. "When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin." The Greek phrase suggests a child in the mother's womb before making its appearance in the world. The evil desire cannot stay hidden any more than a child can stay in the womb indefinitely. That desire will, for sure, "give birth." (3) The fruit. the Bible says that sin "brings forth death." Besides death and eternal separation from God, it can also mean the death of dreams, relationships, ambitions, reputations, opportunities, and so much else that is good. So resist temptation: the root, the shoot, and the fruit.

Written by TWFYT
Sunday October 18

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." Psalm 37:23 NLT

How does God lead us? One step at a time. How involved does God want to be in our lives?
'He delights in every detail." That means there is nothing too big or too small to trust Him with. The Christians life is a journey, and the Holy Spirit is our guide. He is always guiding us to what is best for our lives. The key to a  successful and enjoyable journey is to follow Him. Many times, wee get impatient and rush ahead of God. We think we know the best direction to take or get restless with His timing and make a wrong turn because it looks quicker. The bas news is, when to road we are on leads to a dead end, we have to go back to where we got off course. The good news is, God is there waiting to take the lead again and show us the right way to go. The Lord has each of our journeys perfectly planned. We need to fully understand that He loves us, that He is good, and that we can trust Him. "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble" (Na 1:7 NKJV). We can trust Him to lead us in the direction that is right for us, to correct us when we stray, and to guide us back to the right place. We just need to follow the Holy Spirit lead because He knows the way and He will always stay with us. Prayer: "Father, direct each step I take this day, and be present in every detail of my life."

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Saturday October 17

Romans 8:37 NIV

Maybe you're battling cancer, going through a divorce, or drowning in debt. Id so, hear this: When you experience a setback, you may take a step back, but God is already preparing your comeback. It was the setback on the cross that set up the greatest comeback in human history: the resurrection of Christ. It's no coincidence that the word testimony begins with the word test. Pass the test; get the testimony. There is no addiction so strong that God's power cannot deliver you, no failure so final that God's grace cannot forgive you, and no wound so deep that God's love cannot heal you. No matter how bad it is, His grace is sufficient (see 2Co 12:9). And no matter how good it is, the best it yet to come. Never have the odds been more stacked against someone than they were the day Christ was betrayed, arrested, flogged, and crucified. But Jesus overcame the odds, and because we are "in Christ," that makes us overcomer! And He will make us like a ring. "'On that day,' declares the Lord Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel...and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you'" (Hag 2:23 NIV). A signet ring was the king's official seal, symbolizing his royal authority. Once invoked, it could not be revoked. That's you. You are God's signet ring. To not think of yourself as "more than a conqueror" is false humility. Pride is believing something about yourself that is true. And here's the truth: you are more than a conqueror!

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Friday October 16

"The vision is yet for an appointed time." Had 2:3 NKJV

Grace Hopper was born with a desire to discover how things worked. At age seven, her curiosity led her to dismantle every clock in her home! She eventually completed a doctorate in mathematics from Yale University. During World War II, she joined the navy and was assigned to its computation project at Harvard University. There she met
Harvard Mark I, "the first functional digital computing machine. Once again, she set about to learn how its 750,000 arts and 500 miles of wire worked! While most experts believed computers were too complicated and expensive for anyone but highly trained scientists to use, she had her own idea: make them easier to operate so that more people could use them. As late as 1963, each large computer had its own master language. Grace became an advocate for university accepted systems. She had the audacity to envision a day when computers would be small enough to sit on a desk, be more powerful than Harvard Mark I, and be used in offices, schools, and at home. After achieving the rank of rear admiral, she retired from the navy at age seventy-nine. More importantly, she had lived to see her dream of personal computers come true. Do you believe that God has given you a dream to fulfill? Though you face obstacles and opposition, stick with it and stand on this Scripture: "The vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, was for it; because it will surely come." So persevere, and your vision will be fulfilled!

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Thursday October 15

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35 NIV

At 53 years old, John D. Rockefeller earned about a million dollars a week. Unfortunately, he had stomach trouble and had to live on a boring diet of milk and crackers. Sleep eluded him as he constantly worried about money. Solomon said, "As for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep" (Ecc 5:12 NIV). It seemed that Rockefeller's days were numbered. But then he discovered one of the Bible's secrets to success: "Those who give to the poor will lack nothing" (Pr 28:27 NIV). So he started pouring dramatically, and he actually went on to live to the ripe old age of ninety-eight. The Bible says, "Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness around you shall be as bright as day. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy you with all good things, and keep you healthy too" (Isa 58:10-11 TLB). Always keep in mind that even though your name is on the house deed or the bank account, God owns everything. He simply entrusts you with money that you are to manage for his glory. So when He moves your heart to give to someone in need or to a worthy cause, be quick to respond. God rewards obedience. He told His people, "Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will god well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God" (Dt 12:28 NLT). 

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Wednesday October 14

"In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33 NKJV

Dr. Ashley Montagu met two young men shortly after the end of World War II. They had pent two years at Auschitz, the cruel death camp operated by the Nazis. Prior to Auschwitz, they lived in Vienna in a cellar where they had been kept hidden by Christian friends. All of the others housed there with them had been found and exterminated because they were Jews. After the war ended, these two men walked from Vienna to Berlin, hoping to find relatives there. They were picked up by an American Jewish soldier, who brought them to America. Both of them wanted to become physicians, and that's how Dr. Montagu, a professor in a medical school, came to meet them. Noting that they "didn't exhibit any of the scars that one might have expected from their unhappy existence," he asked them how they came to be such cheerful people. They replied, "A group of us decided that no matter what happened, it wouldn't get us down." They told him they had attempted to be cheerful regardless of their circumstances, never yielding for a moment to the idea that they were either doomed. Dr. Montagu said, "They are living proof that even under impossible conditions, it's possible to be happy." Solomon said, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength" (Pr 17:22 NLT). Jesus said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." So this is the word for you today: "Be of good cheer."

Written by TWFYT
Tuesday October 13

"God made us to do good works." Ephesians 2:10 NCV

Having described a false faith, James illustrated it. He painted the picture of someone in need of food and clothing. A person claiming to have faith put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Have a good day. Be careful out there and try to stay warm. I hope you find something to eat. Bless you." Them James wrote: "Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works" (Jas 2:18 NKJV). Here the spotlight is placed on those who seem to prefer words over works, yet they have no impact on the world around them because their faith does not produce enough evidence to convict you? Would anyone be able to take the stand on your behalf and say: "I was hungry and you have Me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me" (Mt 25:35-36 NKJV)? In the ancient world, someone finding a person who appeared to be dead would hold a mirror under that person's nose. If the mirror got cloudy, it indicated that side was still in the body even though the person was barely breathing. If the mirror stayed clear, it was evidence the person was dead. So James takes the mirror of God's Word and holds it under your nose. Is your faith breathing? Is it producing works of faith? If so, you're pleasing God.

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Monday October 12

"Faith...if it does not have works, is dead." James 2:17 NKJV

James the apostle wrote to Christians "scattered abroad" by persecution (Jas 1:1). He said to them: "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you ays to them. 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (Jas 2:15-17 NKJV). Notice carefully that James wasn't referring to someone who has faith, but to someone who says they have faith (see v. 14 NKJV). James was addressing a false claim of faith, not the nature of genuine faith. Much of the unnecessary confusion in the "faith-versus-works" debate stems from the translation of James' second question: "Can faith save him?" (v. 14 NKJV). The Greek text has an article infant of the word faith, indicating that this faith is the same faith just mentioned in the first question of verse 14—that is, a false faith. Properly translated, the question reads, "Can such a faith, can that kind of faith save him?" James was certainly not saying that faith cannot save a person, but that faith characterized only by intellectual assent but exhibits no fruit is, in the final analysis, a false faith. The only way to know if faith is genuine is by its fruit. That doesn't mean that we're to become self-appointed fruit inspectors passing judgement on others. Jesus warned, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Mt 7:1 KJV). Martin Luther said, "We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone."

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Sunday October 11

"What does if profit...if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" James 2:14 NKJV

Our eternal salvation rests entirely on God's grace (unearned and undeserved favor) and is appropriated through our faith in the finished work of Christ. It's a free gift of God to everyone who will receive it. The Bible also says that saving faith will produce good works. After all, how could the living Christ take up residency in you and not make any difference in the way you think and act? The entire "faith-versus-works" debate hinges the failure of some of us to make a distinction between the requirement for true salvation and the result of true salvation. Good works are never a requirement for salvation, but they are certainly the result. People who have passed fro, death to life and from darkness to light, who have had their sins forgiven and have become new creations in Christ, can't help but see the world differently and respond accordingly. In the "faith-versus-works" debate, people tend to gravitate toward the extremes. Some overemphasize the faith aspect while they completely neglect the fact that is should result in good works. And the adherents of a works salvation think that there's a way to earn our way into eternal life. Salvation is not about faith and works; it's about a faith that works! If you can grasp the simple sentence, you will understand the heart of the entire issue. The church today desperately needs to rediscover a faith that works—a faith that bears fruit. After all, a faith that has no fruit is a false faith, a futile faith, and worse, a fatal faith.

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Saturday October 10

"The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter." Luke 22:61 NIV

The Bible says: "About an hour later another asserted, 'Certainly this fellow was with him'...Peter replied, 'Man I don't know what you're talking about!' Just as he was squeaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter...And he went outside and wept bitterly" (vv. 59-62 NIV). When you want your kids to tell the truth, you say to them, "Look me in the eyes." right? That's because it's much harder to lie that way! Eye contact is a powerful thing. When you're in love, words aren't necessary. You get lost in each other's eyes. So Jesus made eye contact with Peter at this critical moment. If you had just denied Jesus three times, wouldn't you think your career as a disciple was over? Peter would have given up in himself, save for a look. It was the look that changed his life. And it was a look of utter love and absolute forgiveness. With one look, Jesus said, "I forgive you; I love you—I'm still in your corner." And that's how Jesus looks at you. We have the mistaken notion that God is keeping His eye on us for all the wrong reasons—to catch us doing something wrong. God has His all-seeing eye on you indeed. In fact, He never takes His eyes off you. But it's not because He's some cosmic killjoy who wants to catch you doing something wrong. He can't take His eyes off you because you're the apple of His eye. He loves you too much to look away! So the word for you today is: Jesus still loves you.

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Friday October 9

"He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'" Matthew 4:19 NKJV

A missionary surgeon in one of China's hospitals restored sight to a man who had been nearly blinded by cataracts. A few weeks later, to his great surprise, forty-eight blind men showed up on his hospital doorstep. They had all come to be cured. Amazingly, these blind men had walked more than 250 miles from a remote area of China to get to the hospital. They had traveled holding onto a rope chain. Their guide and their inspiration was the blind man who had been cured. The Christian evangelist Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman concluded from his study of the New Testament gospels that Jesus healed some forty people personally and directly. Of this number, thirty-four were brought to Him or to His attention by friends or family members, or Jesus was taken to an ailing person by others. Only six go through forty people healed found their way to Jesus, or He to them, without someone assisting. When Jesus first recruited His disciples, He told them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." And He did. The Bible says of Andrew, Simon Peter's brother: "He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah'...and he brought him to Jesus" (Jn 1:41-42 NKJV). Again we read: "Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, 'We have founded Him of whom Moses...and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth'" (Jn 1:45 NKJV). So the word for you today is this: Never let an opportunity go by without telling others about Christ or leading them to the Lord.

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Thursday October 8

"Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the...king's delicacies." Daniel 1:8 NKJV

Daniel held a top spot on Babylon's' government. But he lived by a different set of convictions from those around him. Because he wouldn't eat their food or worship their idols, he landed in a lions' den. But God brought him out and promoted him. Daniel didn't live by the "just go along to get along" philosophy. If he had, his name wouldn't be remembered today. Popular thinking  loves the status quo. It puts its confidence  in "the idea of the moment" and holds onto it with all its might. As a result, it resist change and forfeits growth and progress. And that's particularly so as we age. Because it took all out energy to get to where we are I life, and the idea of "moving" or "changing" doesn't appeal to us as we age. But that doesn't have to be your legacy. "They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh (Ps 92:14 NIV). When the Promised Land was being divided ups among the twelve tribes, Caleb was eighty-five. But he didn't have a retirement or rocking-chair mentality. He announced: "I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, bother going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day...And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb" (Jos 14:11-13 NKJV). A marker on a grave on Mount Everest says it all: "He died climbing," Let that be said of you!

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Wednesday October 7

"Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature." Luke 2:52 NLT

This is what we know about the first thirty years of Jesus' life: He grew spiritually and intellectually as well as physically. Think about it: He spent thirty years preparing for a ministry that would last three and a half years. That's a ten-to-one ratio. But His three and a half years changed the world! Bottom line: Jesus was a thinker who lines up His thought with God. And as His disciple, you're called to do the same thing. That's not easy, and it may not make you popular. Most people want to take the patch of least resistance. Or they fear rejection. Or they believe there's wisdom in doing what everybody else does, or that other must be right because they write books and appear on television. But if you want to succeed, you must know what's true according to God's Word and what's best for your life, not what's popular. As you begin to think against the grain of popular thinking, remind yourself: (1) unpopular thinking, even when resulting in success, is largely underrated, unrecognized, and misunderstood; (2) unpopular thinking contains the seeds of vision and opportunity; and (3) unpopular thinking is required for all progress. Popular thinking brings mediocre results. Here is popular thinking in a nutshell: popular—equals normal—equals average. It's the least of the best and the best of the least. You limit your success when you adopt popular thinking. It represents putting in the least amount of energy to just get by. But if you want to accomplish uncommon results, then you must reject common thinking and be guided by the unchanging truths of God's Word.

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Tuesday October 6

"My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge."  Hosea 4:6 NIV

Professor Benno Müller-Hill said that one morning, he stood last in a line of forty students in his schoolyard. His physics teacher set up a telescope so that each student could view a planet and its moons. The first student looked through it. When then teacher asked if he could see anything, the boy said no; his near-sightedness hampered his view. The teacher showed hi how to adjust the focus, and the boy finally said he could see the planet and moons. One by one, the students stepped up to the telescope and saw what they were "supposed' to see. Finally, the second to last student looked into the telescope and announced that he couldn't see anything. "You idiot," shouted the teacher, "you have to adjust the lenses." The student tried, but he finally said, "I still can't see anything. It's all black." The teacher, disgusted, looked through the telescope himself, and then he looked up with a strange expression. the cap still covered the telescope lens. None of the students had been able to see anything! Until Jesus came along, everybody thought the Pharisees had figured out the truth about God and how life should be lived. But Jesus said, "You don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God" (Mk 12:24 NLT). He also said, "You will know the truth, and there truth will set you free" (Jn 8:32 NLT). Note the words: "You will know." The only way to know the truth is through intuition, investigation, and application. It's not intellectual knowledge that comes from something you've heard, but intuitive knowledge that comes from experience.

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Monday October 5

"The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods." Job 12:11 NLT

John Maynard Keynes said: "The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping old ones." Going against popular thinking can be difficult, whether you're a businessperson bucking company tradition, a pastor introducing new types of music and ministry to the church, a mother rejecting old wives' tales handed down from her parents, or a teenager ignoring peer pressure. If you value popularity over good thinking, you will severely limit your potential in life. John Maxwell says popular thinking is: "Too average to understand the value of goof thinking. Too flexible to realize the impact of changed thinking. Too lazy to master the process of intentional thinking. Too small to see the wisdom of big picture thinking. Too satisfied to unleash the potential of focused thinking. Too traditional to discover the joy of creative thinking. Too naive to recognize the importance of realistic thinking. Too undisciplined to release the power of strategic thinking. Too limiting to feel the energy of possibility thinking. Too trendy to embrace the lessons of reflective thinking. Too shallow to question the acceptance of popular thinking. Too proud to encourage the participation of shared thinking. Too self-absorbed to experience the satisfaction of unselfish thinking. Too uncommitted to enjoy the return of bottom-line thinking." So be teachable, and never stop asking questions. The truth will always stand up to honest investigation. The Bereans were thinkers: "They  received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed" (Ac 17:11-12 NKJV).

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Sunday October 4

"Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good." 1 Thessalonians 5;21 NLT

Paul wrote: "Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good." That's a scriptural principle you should live by! Jesus questioned popular thinking and it made Him unpopular. But it turns out that He was right, and they were wrong. Why don't we think for ourselves? Because good thinking is hard work. It's easier just to do what others do and hope they thought it out. Popular thinking once said the earth was the center of the universe. But Copemicus studied the stars and proved mathematically that the earth revolved around the sun. Popular thinking once said surgery didn't require clean instruments. But Joseph Lister studied the high death rate in hospitals and introduced antiseptic practices that have saved millions of lives. Popular thinking once said women shouldn't have the right to vote. But Susan B. Anthony fought for and won that right. Popular thinking put the Nazis in power in Germany, yet Hitler's regime murdered million and nearly destroyed Europe. Millions follow the popular thinking of "buy now, pay later"—so they pay, and pay, and pay. Many promises of popular thinking ring hollow. Don't let them fool you. When it comes to thinking, the path of least resistance often leads to a ditch. If you want to know what's right for you, spend time reading God's Word. It will never lead you astray. Job said, "With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding" (Job 12:13 NKJV). God's wisdom will show you who you are and the assignment in life you are called to fulfill. So turn to Him for understanding.

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Saturday October 3

"Put no confidence...in the flesh." Philippians 3:3 AMPC

When we talk about confidence, we usually mean "self-confidence." We think that we must believe in ourselves if we are to accomplish anything worthwhile in life. However, that is misconception—we need to believe in Jesus in us! We do not dare feel good about ourselves apart from Him. When Paul said, "Put no confidence...in the flesh," he meant just what he said—do not put confidence in yourself or in anything you can do apart from Jesus.  Most of us fall into one of two categories: (1) We never accomplish anything no matter how hard we try, and we end up feeling negative about ourselves because of our lack of accomplishment. (2) We have enough natural talent to accomplish great things and take credit for all our achievements, which fills us with pride. Either way, we're a failure in the eyes of God. The only truly successful individuals in God's eyes are those who know they're nothing themselves, but everything in Christ. Our boasting must be in Jesus alone, for He is to have all the glory for whatever accomplishments we may achieve. Paul preached in five languages, wrote half the New Testament, and was used by God to build the church. Yet here's what he said about himself: "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God" (2Co 3:5 NKJV). Then he added these words: "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2Co 4:7 NKJV). So, be confident in Christ.

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Friday October 2

"The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up." James 5:15 NKJV

Let's look at some examples of healing in the New Testament church. In Acts chapter three, Peter and John were used by God to bring healing to a crippled man who sat begging each day at the temple gate (vv. 1-10). In Acts 9:33-35, we read: "A certain man named Aeneas...had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.' Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord" (NKJV). Acts 19:11 says: "God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body  to the sick, and the diseases left them" (NKJV). We read that when Paul was shipwrecked and landed on the Island of Malta, "The father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentry. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed" (Ac 28:8-9 NKJV). The apostles practiced divine healing, and they also preached it. James declared: "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up" (Jas 5:14-15 NKJV). So the word for you today is—pray, and believe God for your healing.

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Proverbs 10:4 NIV

When David was twelve years old, he convinced a restaurant manager that he was actually sixteen and was hired as a lunch-counter waiter for twenty-five cents an hour. The place was owned by two Greek immigrant brothers, Frank and George, who had started their lives in America as a dishwasher and a hot-dog seller. David remembered that they set high standards, and they never asked anything of their employees that they wouldn't do themselves. Frank once told David, "As long as you are willing to try, you can always work for me. But when you don't try, you can't work for me." Trying means everything from working hard, doing whatever needed to be done, and treating customers politely. Once, when Frank noticed a waitress giving s customer a rough time, he fired her o the spot and waited on the table himself. David determined that this would never happen to him! The usual tip for waiters back in those days was ten cents. But David discovered that if he brought out the food quickly, was especially polite, and gave great service, he sometimes got twenty-five cents as a tip. He set a goal for himself to see how many customers he could wait on in one night. His record was on hundred. He went on to become the founder of Wendy's International, Inc., a chain of 4,300 restaurants. He also founded a charity called Wendy's Wonderful  Kids, which helps to place nearby children into adoptive families. His life privies that when you strive for excellence, work hard, and seek to hep others, God will bless the work of your hands.w

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Wednesday September 30

"Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." Luke 12:15 NIV

Few people have undergone that trails and tribulations of Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn. He suffered decades of horrendous hardship as a political exile in the Siberian prison system known as the Gulag, and through faith in God, he survived and impacted the world. We can learn from him not only because he is a survivor, but also because he had been in a situation that few of us have ever known—an existence of near total deprivation. He not only lived without luxuries, but he also lived without necessities. Note carefully what he wrote in The Gulag Archipelago: "Don't be afraid of misfortune and do not yearn for happiness; it is, after all, all the same: the bitter doesn't last forever and the sweet never fills the cup to overflowing. It is enough if you don't freeze in the cold and if hunger and thirst don't claw at your insides. If your back isn't broken, if your feet can walk, if both arms bend, if both eyes can see, and if both ears can hear, then whom should you envy? And why? Our envy of others devours us most of all. Rub your eyes and purify your heart—and prize above all else in the world those who love you and wish you well." Now there's a man who had figured out what really matters in life: not material things, but your relationship with God and with your loved ones. Jesus said, "Watch out! be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life doesn't consist in an abundance of possessions."

Written by TWFYT
Tuesday September 29

"The things you have heard me say...entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others." 2 Timothy 2:2 NIV

The writings of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn exposed the horrors that multitudes of innocent people suffered under the old Russian prison system. And here's how he became a Christian. Jewish physician Boris Kornfeld was imprisoned in Siberia. There he worked in surgery, belong both the staff and prisoners. He met a Christian whose name is unknown, but whose quiet faith and frequent reciting of the Lord's Prayer moved Dr. Kornfeld. One day, while repairing the slashed artery of a prison guard, Dr. Kornfeld seriously considered suturing the artery on such a way that the guard would bleed to death internally over time. The violence he recognized in his own heart appalled him, and he found himself saying, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Afterward, he began to refuse to obey various humane prison camp rules, knowing it would put his life in danger. One afternoon, he examined a patient who had undergone a caner operations. He saw in the man's eyes a depth of spiritual misery that moved him, and he told him his own story, including his secret faith in Christ. That night, Dr. Kormfeld was murdered as he slept. But his testimony was not in vain. The patient who had heard  his confession became a Christian. And the name of that Christians? The 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Don't keep it to yourself; share with others what Christ has done fore you. "The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."

Written by TWFYT
Monday September 28

"Full of grace and truth." John 1:14 NKJV

The faith the disciples put in Jesus isn't that remarkable—after all, they were eyewitnesses to His miracles. What's remarkable is the faith Jesus put in them—and the faith He puts in us! It's not easy to see past people's problems, much less their personalities. But that's what Jesus does and it's how we should treat others too. Jesus certainly put the disciples in their place when the occasion called for it. When Jesus told His disciples He would die and be raised in the third day, "Peter...began to rebuke him...'This shall never happen to you'" (Mt 16:22 NIV). Whereupon Jesus said to him: "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me" (v. 23 NIV). But in the same chapter, Peter identified Jesus as "the Son of the living God" and Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (see Mt 16:16-19 NIV). Healthy relationships require both "grace and truth." Grace means, "I'll love you no matter what," and truth means, "I'll be honest with you no matter what." No one was more graceful and truthful than Jesus. And when these two elements combine in your life, you're loving peep the way Jesus did.

Written by TWFYT
Sunday September 27

"The works that I do he will do also; and greater world than these." John 14:12 NKJV

A school district picked three teachers to pilot a special program. They were told, "You are the best teachers we have. We want you to teach ninety high-IQ students and see how much they can learn in a year." By the end of the school year, after having heard how special they were and what great potential they had, these students had achieved 20 to 30 percent more than the rest of the school district. That's when the principal called the three teachers into his office and told them: "I have a confession to make. You did not have ninety  high-IQ students. They were run-of-the-mill students randomly selected." The teachers felt pretty good about what they pulled off. Then the principal said, "I have another confession. You are not the best teachers we have. Your names were the first three out of the hat." So if they were average students taught by average teachers, how did they achieve above-average results? Because someone  believed in them and told them so! The German poet Goethe said, "Treat a man as he ism and will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be." No one modeled this better than Jesus: "The works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do." We need someone who believes in us more than we believe in ourselves. That's who Jesus is. That's what Jesus does. That's why you need to feed in His Word each day.