On the Third Day

"He was buried...he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."
(1 Corinthians 15:4, NIV)

As we get ready to honor the resurrection of Christ this weekend, I think about when they crucified Jesus. On that Friday, it was the darkest, most painful, discouraging day of His life. In fact, it was so bad that He sweat drops of blood. It looked as if His enemies had gotten the best of Him. But God had other plans. They put Him in the grave on Friday, celebrating their victory, but Sunday morning it was a different story. The grave could not hold Him! Death couldn't contain Him! The forces of darkness couldn't stop Him! On the third day, He came out of the grave and said, "I was dead, but now I am alive forevermore!" One principle that the resurrection teaches us is that God will always finish what He started. No matter how dark it looks, no matter how long it's been, no matter how many people are trying to push you down; if you will stay in faith, God will always take you from Friday to Sunday. He will always complete what He started in you!

Remain in Him

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

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Have you ever thought about the relationship between the branch and the vine? We don’t use these kinds of word pictures very much anymore, but think about it—if the branch is not attached to the vine, it withers and dies. The very life of the branch depends on being attached to the vine. The same thing happens if we try to operate in this life without Jesus. Without Him, we can do nothing. We are cut from our life source. But when you remain in Him by daily connecting with Him through prayer, worship and study of the Word, then your life will be fruitful. You’ll walk in joy and blessing. I love that this verse says “much fruit,” which means you will have an abundant harvest in your life. God doesn’t want you to just barely get by. He wants to overwhelm you with His goodness. Remain in Him today. Choose to make Him top priority, and you’ll see His hand of blessing operating in every area of your life!

Take Hold of your Dream

"Fight the good fight of the faith..." (1 Timothy 6:12, ESV)

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One of the keys to seeing your dreams come to pass is to first see them come to pass in your mind’s eye. One of the greatest baseball players of our time told me that all through the day he sees himself hitting the ball. Before he gets up to the plate, he visualizes getting on base. He has this picture of himself succeeding. It’s gotten deep down on the inside, and now he’s moving toward it. Of course, it takes more than just visualization to see our dreams come to pass. It takes obedience; it takes prayer, and it takes diligence to follow the leading of the Lord. What I’m saying is that if you’ll keep the right pictures in your imagination, seeing yourself rising higher, seeing yourself healthy and whole, that’s going to get deep down on the inside and set the course for your life. When your mind is in agreement with God’s Word, it will help guide you toward your destiny. You will have a supernatural strength and power to see those dreams and desires come to pass in every area of your life!

Dream It, Believe It, Live It!

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion..." (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

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Learning to walk in the destiny God has for you is a process. The first step is to get a vision, a clear picture from God that you can see. The next step is to trust Him – to believe in faith that it will happen. And then finally, you take a step of faith and live out what God has promised no matter what your circumstances or people around you have to say. First you dream it, then you believe it, and then you live it. Every dream I’ve ever received from God has followed this same pattern. We see in scripture that even the great men and women of the Bible walked through this process. They had to overcome doubts; they struggled on their journey, but they held fast to what God said knowing that He is faithful to complete what He started in us! Today, if you are having a hard time believing that what God has promised will come to pass, understand that you are in a process. Don’t empower doubt with your words. Instead, keep declaring that He who promised is faithful! Keep the vision in front of you knowing that it is for an appointed time. Dream it and believe it because it won’t be long until you are living the blessed life God has prepared for you!

Dream Boldly

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
(Joshua 1:9, NKJV)

When you look out into your future, what do you see? What are the dreams and desires that you hold close to your heart?

So many people start with bold dreams, but then opposition comes. Life doesn’t turn out the way they planned. They lose a loved one or encounter difficulty they didn’t anticipate. Today, if that’s you, I want to remind you that the Creator of the universe designed you with specific gifts and talents that no one else has. He has you on this planet for a specific purpose. When you commit your life to Him, He promises to be with you wherever you go. Even though some things in life may have caught you by surprise, they didn’t catch God by surprise. His good plan for your life remains. You can trust Him because He loves you with an everlasting love, and He doesn’t want to see you settling for anything less than His very best.

I want to encourage you to be bold, be strong and be courageous. Put aside the past and lift up your eyes to Jesus. He is the Author and Finisher of your faith. Live boldly and dream boldly so you can embrace the good things He has in store for you!