Ruth Triumphed Over Great Adversity

by Barbie Breathitt

Adversity and death pursue sinners, but the righteous gain happiness and prosperity. Our emotions will either produce positive or negative motions in our circumstances. Life is about learning to love God and serving others. Ruth is a good example of humble service and overcoming great adversity. Ruth, the Moabitess, continually spoke words of hope, and she obtained the power of grace to change her life. Boaz, Ruth’s kinsman redeemer, was a man of great wealth. He decreed over his reapers, “May the Lord be with you!” (Ruth 2:4) He inquired “whose young woman is this?” (Ruth 2:5) because Ruth stood out in the field. God looks for outstanding women. Our best years are ahead because God is with us; positive changes will bring success! Adversity will only cause us to gain strength and momentum as we learn to press into God.

Doors of Opportunity

Fear hinders our potential by causing us to remain in our current negative situation. In contrast, Ruth concentrated on the abilities God gave her and the love she felt for Naomi. She walked through the door of opportunity determined to overcome adversity. Positive attitudes give us energy to move forward. By managing our thoughts and moving in the Spirit, we will find ways to create solutions. God has a plan to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11). Be diligent in seeking God’s heart on every matter. Work hard and solve problems as they arise. Placing God’s will first in our lives will ensure our success (Matthew 6:33). Abiding in His presence develops intimacy which enables us to carry His atmosphere into the world. His presence makes our path straight. The thoughts we think and the words we speak determine our success or failure. Ruth determined to find favor to prosper, and she did. How do we prosper? When condemnation, fear, or negative opinions enter our mind, cast them down. Refrain from entertaining critical, jealous evaluations. Refuse to listen to the accusing lies of the enemy. There is no condemnation in Christ, only love, hope, and grace. Ruth clung to Naomi and overcame devastation. Orpah, “the one who is quick to flee,” kissed her opportunity for a godly life good-bye. When opportunity presented itself, Orpah chose familiar comforts. She ran back to her dead gods, forsaking salvation.

What Do YOU Pray for During Trials?

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. — If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. – James 1:2-5

Last night I was at my church’s weekly prayer meeting, and God brought this scripture passage back to my heart. Well, let’s back up…

Yesterday morning I had to go to the doctor to have some testing done. Long story short, he did not give me the report that I was hoping for. In fact, he said the issue was worse than he originally thought. He told me I’ll have to have minor surgery for testing and treatment before we would even know the severity of the issue, or if it could be reversed.

Your Thoughts Can Bring Healing

SARAH STEGALL

(http://www.stockfreeimages.com)

When it comes to your health, your thoughts are key. The Bible tells us to fix our thoughts on what is true, honorable and right. We're told to meditate on those things that are pure, lovely and admirable (see Phil. 4:8).

You must consciously monitor your thoughts on a daily basis, choosing forgiveness and love over the dangerous emotions that ultimately destroy your health. At first it may take minute-to-minute monitoring until you get control.

One way to overcome playing old tapes of pain, self-doubt and anxiety is to go deep into the Word of God. Invest in inspirational tapes or praise and worship music.

God heals today as He did in the past; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. So it follows that we can be healed of our past, set free in the present and be all that we can be in the future. In other words--whole, healed and free!

Give thanks for all things...

By Fred Gillett, Crystal Cathedral Pastor

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy is forever." -1 Chronicles 16:34

It takes a lot of self-control to let thankfulness be the cornerstone of all my thoughts. I often don't center my thoughts in thankfulness. Being thankful for all things helps me keep in touch with my God.

It is hard to be thankful when you're sick or you are standing next to a bed where there is pain and suffering. You think, "I know God hates to hear me grumble. I shouldn't dare to question his sovereignty and wisdom."

Thoughts On Rain

by Julie Ackerman

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Matthew 5:38-48

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. —Matthew 5:45

When torrential downpours beat on the heads of my newly planted petunias, I felt bad for them. I wanted to bring them inside to shelter them from the storm. By the time the rain stopped, their little faces were bowed to the ground from the weight of the water. They looked sad and weak. Within a few hours, however, they perked up and turned their heads skyward. By the next day, they were standing straight and strong.

The Five Levels of Intimacy

Written by Barbara Wilson

Does God care about your love life?

First comes love…or sex?

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then here they come with a baby carriage.” You may recognize this little rhythm my generation used to sing to embarrass each other.  Based on today’s culture the rhythm could go: “First comes sex, then comes living together, and the baby carriage could happen anytime or with anybody, as does the sex.”

Casual sex has changed the landscape of relationships and marriage.  Before 1960 most people saved sex for marriage, but now according to a recent survey, most people have sex before marriage. So how has this new trend impacted today’s marriages? First, the divorce rate: prior to 1960 the divorce rate was less than 25%, today it’s closer to 50%. As the rate of promiscuity has risen, so has the divorce rate. But secondly, and what this article will discuss is how casual sex has inhibited our ability to build emotional intimacy into our relationships, and how this emotional deficit is impacting marriages today.

The Way to Live with the Mind of Christ

by Joyce Meyer

One of the greatest revelations of my life is: I can choose my thoughts and think things on purpose. In other words, I don’t have to just think about whatever falls into my mind. This was a life-changing revelation for me because as Proverbs 23:7 (AMP) says, “As [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he.” I like to say it like this: Where the mind goes, the man follows.

Now God is concerned about the hidden man of the heart, which is our inner life. Our inner life is what we think about. And like the scripture above says, the way we think determines how we live and who we are. That’s why we need to think about what we’re thinking about.
It’s so important for us to understand this because if we don’t learn how to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:4-5), we won’t live the life Jesus died to give us – a life of peace with God, peace with ourselves, great relationships, real joy and the ability to become all God has created us to be. It comes down to choosing to believe what God says (the truth) more than we believe our feelings, what other people say or our circumstances.

Theology of Memory

Written by Eric Reynolds
“These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:7)


“Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24b)


One look at history will tell you we forget. We make the same mistakes again and again. Progress and evolution seem more like circulation!


The truth is, we are forgetful.


To add to the issue, us guys aren’t the most sentimental. We might not even enjoy reminiscing! But here’s the deal:

Avoid Big Failures

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness." (Ephesians 4:17-19)

There's a subtle strategy Satan uses to take control of our lives. The Bible calls it lasciviousness and it means "to have no restraint."

Lasciviousness has been preached as being extreme immorality, but it doesn't start out that way. It begins with just a few seemingly innocent thoughts. Then those thoughts grow and grow until they begin to produce serious sin.

One afternoon as a nine-year-old boy, for example, I just yielded to the desire to curse. I knew better, but I did it anyway. I had a relative who was so good at West Texas cussin' that I thought he invented it. I was intrigued and I wanted to try it.

When I let go of all restraint and began to say those curse words, something evil moved in on my thinking that seriously affected me for some 20 years. A law was set in motion. As a result, my flesh gradually became boss over my entire being.

Your Life Is Shaped by Your Thoughts

by Rick Warren “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2 NLT) You cannot become all God created you to be until you understand the five factors that influence your identity. The first two are chemistry (how you are made) and connections (your relationships). You are a product of the way God created you and of the relationships in your life.

It is not what you have that counts

2 Corinthians 10:3-7 (King James Version)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?


Our warfare is spiritual and not in the natural realm.  If we learn to win the battle in the spiritual realm we will then see differences in our circumstances.

This passages teaches us:

Do not look at the outward appearance.

Are you looking around for an unused basin?

Word from Scotland: 

In John Chapter 13, where Jesus has stooped so low to wash the disciple’s feet we have that profound conversation between Jesus and Peter, where Jesus explains to Peter that what he wants is not necessary. Peter does not need to be washed from head to toe, but that desire and longing too has its significance. Peter wanted to be totally committed to Jesus Christ.

Jesus explains further. As I wash you in this way, you will be clean, but Peter, there is somebody else here who is not clean and he is so dirty that washing his feet will not do much good. Not only are his feet dirty Peter, but unlike you, his hands are dirty and his head is dirty. Judas had already agreed to sell Christ.

Jesus wants to come and wash us – clean our hearts and thoughts and minds – so that what we say and do will be worthy in His presence and sight. We need to know that deep within our hearts and minds and we also need to be reminded of it frequently.

LIFE OF GOD

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10 

JOHN 10:7-10

The Greek word translated "life" here is "zoe" and it means life in the absolute sense or life as God has it. Everyone who is breathing has life in the sense of physical existence, but only those who receive Jesus can experience life as God intended it to be. 

Jesus came to not only save us from the torment of eternal hell, but also to give us this "zoe" or God-kind of life in abundance. 

The life of God is not awaiting us in heaven, but is presently possessed by every born-again person in his spirit. We can release this "zoe" life and enjoy it now by losing our natural life and finding this supernatural life. 

The Supreme Memory Book Is A Complete System For Memorizing Scripture

Attention Christians: Stop struggling trying to memorize scriptures the hard way!

Long-Lost Manuscript Resurfaces With Easy-To-Learn Techniques That Will Have You Memorizing Biblical Scripture In No Time...

From the desk of Don and Dawn Publisher of "Memory Delight" Christian Newsletter

Dear Fellow Christian,

Let’s face it, memorizing scripture is tough!

There’s no doubt, it’s one of the most important and also, most difficult things for any Christian to learn.

STRONGHOLDS OF THE MIND

2 Corinthians 10:5 - We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ

The nature of the battle for your mind is clearly presented in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

The first thing you need to know about the battle for your mind is that it is not fought on the plane of human ingenuity or ability. You can't outsmart or outmuscle the flesh or the devil on your own. Your weapons must be "divinely powerful" if you are going to win a spiritual conflict.

The main targets which must be destroyed are the "fortresses" in the mind. The King James Version uses the word strongholds . Strongholds are negative patterns of thought which are burned into our minds either through repetition over time or through one-time traumatic experiences.

USE YOUR SEEDS OR YOU WILL LOSE THEM ALL!

Serge Roux-Levrat

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower to the large crowds that had come to listen to him. What He told them can be found in Matthew 13:12: “Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” We all have good seeds to plant, so what is this scripture telling us? It basically reveals to us that if we use (i.e. plant) our seeds, we shall reap abundance.

This is certainly also true in the natural world. If a farmer would only get back one seed from each seed that he plants, then he would not continue sowing seeds as he would be spending his time in utter futility. With just one apple seed, for example, a farmer can expect a harvest of more than 100 apples each year. As the law of harvest applies everywhere, what is true in the natural world is also true in all the aspects of life. Reaping more than we sow is essential, otherwise no one would activate the law of harvest. Thus, we can reasonably expect someone who keeps planting his seeds to be blessed abundantly over time.

→ Let’s now address the warning part of the scripture. If we all have seeds to plant, how can we then find someone who hasn’t any? The answer is not as difficult as we could imagine. We all know people who tell us day after day that they have no talents, that their dreams will never come to pass, that they will never get the job they hope for, that they wished that they were like someone else. Do you see what’s happening? They are not planting good seeds, but bad ones. Where are those seeds coming from? From their thoughts! They basically “engineered” them. Guess what? The law of harvest gets in motion and produces in their lives truckloads of bad fruits.

Motherhood Is Not a Competition

Three ways to confront and overcome the destructive nature of jealousy.

by Dr. Meg Meeker

Twenty-some years ago, I was driving down the highway very early in the morning. I was a senior pediatric resident at Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was trying to get to work early enough to check on the younger residents’ patients before I started morning rounds. It was spring and I was pregnant with our second child. I was driving about 60 mph in a 65mph zone when I saw, with my peripheral vision, a friend trying to pass me in the left-hand lane on her way to make rounds.

Want to Be More Creative? Get Bored

By Martin Lindstrom | FAST Company

Quick: Survey your friends, your family, and colleagues and ask them when it is that they get their best and brightest ideas. How do they come to solve insurmountable challenges? And when despairing over the unsolvable, how does their breakthrough moment occur?

Don’t be surprised if many of those you ask say something like: "I sleep on it. Then as soon as I get in the shower in the morning… voila!"

For what it’s worth, the shower doesn’t do it for me--I’m a pool man. When my head is cluttered and I can’t think straight, I don my goggles and go for a swim. After the first couple of laps, the confusion begins to lift, and the answers start emerging. What the shower and the pool have in common is they’re both places where you’re rarely disturbed, allowing solitary contemplation. The warm water sure doesn't hurt, either.

This is all related to a phenomenon that’s been identified by Edward de Bono, the legendary creative thinker. He calls it the "creative pause." In de Bono’s book Serious Creativity, he asserts that even when things are going along, well, swimmingly, "some of the best results come when people stop to think about things that no one else has stopped to think about."

Although most people are unaware of the name for it, creative pauses are happening wherever people are solving problems. They occur among harassed CEOs, design directors, and small-business entrepreneurs. The creative pause allows the space for your mind to drift, to imagine and to shift, opening it up to new ways of seeing.

There’s just one small problem: The creative pause might soon become a thing of the past. When was the last time you remember being bored? Or even having a moment free from distractions?

I know it sounds strange, but I welcome boredom. It forces me to ponder. But to make sure we’re on the same page, when I speak of boredom, I’m not referring to killing time on your smartphone, your iPad, or your laptop. I’m not even talking about paging through a book. I mean bored as in doing absolutely nothing.

Because here’s the rub--when we’re at our most bored we’re forced to push our creative boundaries, and unearth the root of whatever problem we're working on. A quick glance around and you’ll notice that it’s almost impossible to be bored in our 21st-century environment. Every bar now has at least one television blaring. And just as night follows day, your eyes will be drawn to the moving pictures above, sapping whatever creative thoughts you could be having. Or take, for example, the last time you were alone at a restaurant waiting for a friend to join you. Chances are you reached for your phone and did something with it, anything to avoid appearing like the lonely loser in the corner.

If you’re still struggling to remember your last bored moment, consider the younger generation. When you were younger, perhaps you hung out on the street with other neighborhood kids. Or maybe you shot a few hoops or cycled down to the drugstore. There were no PlayStations, Xboxes, Wiis, or the latest game apps to play on or offline. Have you noticed how quiet suburban streets are these days?

Back in the 1990s, when Lego asked me to explore the consequences of digital play versus physical play, I discovered how many kids were preoccupied with the tactile aspects of play--how kids were already preoccupied with Tamagotchis, those handheld digital pets that need regular feeding, walking, and sleep. Tamagotchis hit the toy world like an out-of-control virus, making a huge dent in Lego’s Christmas figures. It seemed the more kids played with a screen, the greater their chances of losing their creative skills. Digitized pocket toys have a set sequence of steps to follow, and as soon as kids get the gist of the game, they fall into a passive-interactive mode.

This new development in the toy market was potentially disastrous for Lego, who, in principle, requires a user to bring their imagination to the connecting plastic bricks in order build the object of their fancy. However, as I was busily conducting experiments with interactive play, I accidentally stumbled upon a small realization. It began as an ordinary day. The children were involved in interactive play on a computer screen, and I was handing them the Lego bricks, asking them to create something. But then something extraordinary happened. The entire network broke down, and it took a long 20 minutes for the IT engineers to restore the system. Then it was back to business as usual. Except this time, when I handed over the bricks, the activity level increased. I began seeing Lego castles, trains, bridges, roller coasters, and monsters being built. Those 20 minutes of boredom gave rise to a remarkably productive output, and taught me the value of being bored.

Boredom, however, is becoming an endangered activity. Once lost, it’s not likely to return, because being entertained 24/7 is what kids have come to expect. In fact, by the time I began researching the power of word of mouth for my book Brandwashed, a frenzy of digital toys, apps, games, and screens had become endemic.

These days, I schedule a regular dose of boredom into my day. Furthermore, I don’t check messages if I’m waiting for a friend. I choose, instead, to watch people in bars, cafes, and restaurants. I don’t play games on my phone or my computer. I carry an old Nokia that no one would dream of stealing. More often than not, I hit the pool at the end of the day. As I power up and down the lanes, I rethink what I’ve learned. I now have the time and space to solve whatever problems have arisen. It’s an important meeting with myself, and I keep it religiously. Because the day I lose it, I’ve lost myself.

gotquestions  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/want-to-be-more-creative--get-bored.html;_ylt=AnExTy8o.2ghPD1H947xxfAX34dG;

Sweet and Powerful Moments of Prayer

Lucy Neeley Adams


Before I left church Sunday, my friend Linda asked if she could come to my house later that day and talk with me about prayer. Since she was a very busy person, I was glad for the opportunity to listen to her and share what I had learned about that all important subject.

I knew that for some Christians, prayer comes easily. It depends on one's relationship with Jesus since childhood. Heartfelt prayers can be a natural part of growing in the faith. For others, their life of prayer needs to have a definite beginning.

That afternoon Linda and I sat at our cozy kitchen table as we sipped from our mugs of coffee. She got right to the point. "Lucy, I am ashamed to tell you this since I am so active in our church. But I do not know how to pray! If I am asked to pray in a group, I read a prayer, but I can't say the words that will form my own prayer."

I told her about the time I too discovered I did not know how to pray. I was the wife of a minister and was often expected to lead a group in prayer. So I read the closest one at hand. The day I discovered a booklet entitled Adventures in Prayer by Catherine Marshall, I discovered the reason I could not pray: I had no relationship with God the way that Marhsall did. That is always the turning point of one's prayer life. First, develop a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and then talk with Him as if talking with your best friend.

Linda laughed as she replied, "Yes, I imagine you see me talking with many people. But how can I talk to God like that?" I opened the Bible to the Psalms. We discussed the psalmist's conversations about everything from heartache to praise and thanksgiving. His love for God and his reliance on Him was straight from his heart.

We discussed coming to God with a clean heart free of any trash of the past. "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened, but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer" (Psalm 66:18-19). Sometimes we forget to pray first for ourselves so that God knows we desire to be pure vessels through which His power will flow.

Turning to the window, I said, "Look at that sparrow slowly hopping along the rock wall." We smiled as we noticed the leaf in its mouth was almost the size of its small brown body. The nest hidden among the ivy was probably its destination. But during the short flight there, the bird sank to the ground and dropped the leaf.

"Linda, sometimes I am like that bird," I said. "I stumble under the weight of worries and thoughts that I am not able to carry. Prayer is always the answer to that heaviness, as I call on God's wisdom and ask for His will to be done in the situation. Then I try to let it go," I sighed.

The remainder of our time together was joyful and filled with excitement about a new life of prayer. Before she left, Linda prayed a prayer of thanksgiving because her burden was gone. She talked to God straight from her heart not from a book of prayers.

After she left, I continued to think about our visit, and realized we did not discuss the hymns that we sing. Many of them are actually prayers put to music and they feed the deep needs of my soul. The well-known hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer" is a perfect example. I am encouraged as I sing its powerful invitation:

Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care.
And bids me at my Father's throne make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief.
And oft' escaped the tempter's snare, by thy return, sweet hour of prayer.

My burdens are not so heavy when I know that this hymn writer found relief from his distress and grief through prayer. An English lay person, William Walford, was the author of these beautiful words. He showed his work to a visiting clergyman from America and asked that he take the poem with him when he returned to his country.

So it was that Rev. Thomas Salmon returned to his home in New York and immediately sent the lyrics to the editor of a newspaper. It was printed in The New York Observer in September 1845. There is no doubt that many readers were touched by its simple but profound message.

However, it was a musician who made the difference in the poem's travels through the church worldwide. The lovely tune was composed by one of the most outstanding musicians of his day, William B. Bradbury.

Oh God, we thank You for wanting to express Your love to us from our birth. We come in humble adoration that You make this possible with the living presence of Jesus Christ our Lord. It is an honor to talk to You in prayer and to sing to You in prayer. It is too marvelous for words, so we softly sing a loving "Hallelujah." We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Lucy Neeley Adams has always loved music. She began telling the story of hymns on Christian radio WWGM in Nashville, TN, in the '80s. She then wrote a newspaper column titled "Song Stories" for five years. During that time Lucy's book, 52 Hymn Story Devotions, was published by Abingdon Press in Nashville. Each of the 52 stories contained in the book is written in a devotional format, with the words of the hymn concluding each devotion. Lucy lives at Lake Junaluska, NC, with her minister husband, Woody. They have four children and fourteen grandchildren. She may be reached for comment at lucya424@aol.com. Visit her at 52hymns.com

http://www.crosswalk.com/church/worship/sweet-and-powerful-moments-of-prayer-11541259.html 

Become A Powerful Money Magnet

Do not speak or think of the lack of money for a single second.
Be grateful for the money you have. Appreciate it as you touch it.
Make lists of all the things you will buy with an abundance of money.
Do whatever it takes for you to feel wealthy.
Affirm to yourself every day that you have an abundance of money, and that it comes to you effortlessly.
Appreciate all the riches around you, including the riches of others. Look for wealth wherever you go, and appreciate it.
Be certain that money is coming to you.
Love yourself and know that you are deserving and worthy of an abundance of money.
Remind yourself everyday that you are a money magnet, and ask yourself often during the day, am I attracting money now or pushing it away with my thoughts?
Always, always pay yourself first from your wage, then pay your creditors. In that single act, you are telling the Universe that you are worthy and deserving of more.
Repeat over and over every day, "I am a money magnet and money comes to me effortlessly and easily."
Write out a check to yourself for the sum of money you would like to have and carry it in your wallet. Look at it often.
Do whatever it takes to feel good. The emotions of joy and happiness are powerful money magnets. Be happy now!
Love yourself!
Wealth is a mindset. Money is literally attracted to you or repelled from you. It's all about how you think.
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