Tag: bible

Believe It or Not, God’s Word Covers It

So often, we forget that God’s Word covers everything that we could possibly need or want. Yes, even in 2016, God’s Word is still relevant and able to affect change in our lives. We can choose to believe what God has said…or not. He has given us the freedom to choose.

I recently read a passage from the Believers Voice of Victory Magazine that drives this point home:

“No matter what kind of situation we are facing, no matter how terrible, dangerous, and confusing it appears to be, God’s Word covers it, sees through it, and reveals the answer to its defeat. The living Word of God will penetrate the darkest difficulties and shed light on the most impossible situations.” ~Kenneth Copeland

God’s Word Covers It!

If you’re involved in a struggle or facing an impending challenge, rest in knowing that God’s Word covers it. It’s up to you to find what He has said about it and then stand on it until you see it manifested. Ask Him, ” Lord, what is it that I still need to see in Your Word that will bring me victory?”  God will always gladly answer this question!

God's word cover itI remember hearing Dr. Bill Winston say that he found his ministry airplane in the Word. That got my attention! There were no airplanes 2000+ years ago when the Bible was written; how could it be in the Word? But he had prayed asking God to show him how to pray to meet the needs of his fast-growing ministry which was requiring an inordinate amount of travel for him to preach. Some time later, a preacher from Africa was speaking at Dr. Winston’s church and in the middle of his sermon, stopped, turn around, looked at Dr. Winston and said, “Your airplane is in Ecclesiastes 10:20” and then turned back around and went right on preaching. Of course, Dr. Winston feverishly flipped through his Bible to find that passage and there it was…his airplane:

“for a bird of the air shall carry the voice”

Don’t tell me that Scripture isn’t applicable in 2016 (and beyond)!

No matter what you’re facing today, rest in knowing that God’s Word covers it. Your solution is embedded inside the Bible. It’s up to you to choose to discover it and the use it as a tool that will manifest the victorious life that God intended for you to live.

After all, He wants you to LIVE TO WIN!

Will you take time today to find a Scripture that addresses your need/challenge?

You can find more information and encouragement about effectively using God’s Word in my book, Live to Win.

Monday’s Marinade – Wise Words Give You Life

Monday’s Marinade is provided to you as a means of “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God at the beginning of your week. Start your week by meditating (thinking and muttering to yourself) these words from the Bible.

Here’s your spiritual marinade:

Wise Words - Proverbs 10

What life-giving words will you allow to come from your mouth this week?

Monday’s Marinade – Light in Your Darkness

Monday’s Marinade is provided to you as a means of “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God at the beginning of your week. 

Start your week by meditating about how God lives in you and fills your life with His Life and His Light.

Repeatedly think about this and quietly say it to yourself.  

Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!

 

Here’s your spiritual marinade:

Light in Your Darkest Moments

Spiritual Tools :: YouVersion Infertility Bible Reading Plan

I have a YouVersion tool that you might find helpful.

It’s a Bible Reading Plan specifically for women struggling with infertility. You can easily access it on your phone, tablet, computer, and maybe even your watch! 🙂
YouVersion_logoREV
My infertility Bible reading plan is free on the YouVersion site. It includes applicable scriptures for the season of infertility as well as  brief biographies of women who struggled with infertility and overcame it. You’ll also find some great affirmations to use as you encourage yourself by speaking life to your life. It’s always good to be able to have a go-to resource when you need some encouragement.

Check it out:https://www.bible.com/search/plans?q=infertility.

Bonus tool:

The Appendix of my book, A Seed of Hope: God’s Promises of Fertility, is full of multiple scriptures that will give you a good start in addressing the spiritual aspect of infertility. I hope you’ll keep it handy and use it daily to encourage yourself by using God’s Word.

Focus Friday

Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!

 

Psalm 5-12

YouVersion Infertility Reading Plan

YouVersion_logoREV

Last year I announced that my submission for an infertility reading plan on the YouVersion website had been approved. Here’s a snippet from that post:

Recently, I received a request from a reader to write a Bible study plan that specifically addresses infertility and post it on the YouVersion Bible website. [According to their website, “YouVersion is a simple, ad-free Bible that brings God’s Word into your daily life,” via your phone, tablet or computer.]

Because I know how much enlightenment comes from reading the Bible, I thought it was a wonderful idea and followed up on that suggestion.

I’m glad to say that I submitted a proposal to YouVersion and they have approved it!

To say the least, I am very excited about providing this resource to bring hope to those in the midst of infertility and to encourage people around the world that infertility is not too hard for the Lord! (Genesis 8:14)

 

YouVersion Plan
Image courtesy of Vectorgirl | Fotolia

Well, I’m THRILLED to tell you that the plan will go live on the YouVersion site on Thursday, April 10, 2014! Woo Hoo!! Presently, it will be the ONLY reading plan on that site that addresses infertility. Thanks so much to the reader who suggested I provide the plan [you know who you are :)].

I hope this plan is only the first of many that I’ll be able to provide through this wonderful Bible app.

If you haven’t already downloaded the YouVersion app, get it now. I’ll update you soon with more details.

Successful Like a Cow

“Meditation” is defined as contemplation, reflection, rumination and spiritual introspection (Source: Dictionary.com). Most people relate this word with TM, Transcendental Meditation, a “new age” technique based on Hindu writings. But did you know that there is a biblical form of mediation?

Joshua 1:8 gives us great insight into what biblical meditation is and how it differs from TM or any other type of meditation.

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (NIV)

In this verse, God is instructing Joshua about how to succeed as the new leader of Israel. But we can also glean from this scripture about how to be successful in life today, especially as we look forward to the new year. “Meditate” here means to ruminate, to speak (utter sound), to imagine, to speak with oneself (muttering) in a low voice (whisper). It is not simply reading the Word, thinking about it for a brief moment and quickly forgetting it. Biblical meditation involves using your voice to affirm God’s Word for your life and is an action you take frequently throughout the day.

But God didn’t tell Joshua to say anything and everything that came to his mind. He instructed him to meditate on the Book of the Law. God wanted Joshua to read, think about, and mutter God’s words! He wanted Joshua ruminate the good things about God and His love for him and the people of Israel.

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Rumination usually brings to mind the picture of a cow chewing it’s cud. When a cow chews it’s cud, it is regurgitating the food it has eaten earlier, chewing it again, swallowing it, and then regurgitating again, chewing, and swallowing that same food repeatedly to gain the most value out of the food. We are to do the same in our meditation of God’s Word. To gain the most value from God’s words of life (John 6:63), we are to read His Word, speak His Word, think about that Word, and again speak His Word and think about His Word, repeatedly during our waking hours. I have found this can easily be done in snippets of 60 seconds here and there throughout our day.

For example, Psalm 1:3 tells us that the people who frequently meditate God”s Word “are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” In meditating that particular verse, you can frequently whisper to yourself throughout the day, “I am like a tree planted near water, always bearing fruit at the right time, never unhealthy, always prospering.” Change the words if you like, but think and speak about how God loves you and firmly establishes you for success through His Word in every area of your life. There’s something in the Word of God that is the solution for our every problem and need! Speaking God’s Word is one of the keys to unlocking and unleashing it’s problem-solving power.

To become more diligent at doing meditating, I set the alarm on my phone to go off at a specific time every day, Sunday-Saturday, to remind me to take just 60 seconds, right at that moment, to meditate on God’s Word or to pray in the spirit. I can’t tell you the level of peace I’ve begun to experience and the insights for my life that I’ve gained just my incorporating this quick habit into my day. It has made a huge difference in how I view God’s love for me and His work on my behalf.

I’m considering providing a program that helps you understand, establish, and gain the most from this habit of 60-second biblical meditation. Would you like to become more like a cow, getting the most value out of God’s Word by incorporating this habit of success into your day? Let me know below.

Focus Friday

Success Habits

Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it: for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have GOOD success.”

Joshua 1:8 [Paraphrased from NIV and KJV] (emphasis mine)

Focus Friday

Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!

“Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will.
And I know that I will not be put to shame.” Isaiah 50:7 (NLT)

Image courtesy of nuttakit/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of nuttakit/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Focus Friday

Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!

[Photo from jasoncrandall.org]
[Photo from jasoncrandall.org]

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”  ~Joshua 1:8 (NLT)