Today’s Thought

By Vonette Bright
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“Always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
 (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NLT)

Many years ago, our personal world seemed to be crumbling around my husband and me.

All we had worked and planned for in the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ was hanging on a slender thread.

Because of a series of unforeseen circumstances, we were facing a financial crisis.

But years before that, we had discovered God’s faithfulness.

When we express thanksgiving, obedience and gratitude to God, He releases His great power on our behalf.

So we began to thank God for who He is and what He had already done for us. Supernatural peace flooded our hearts. In a matter of days, apart from our abilities to solve the problem, God provided the solution.

Dear one, always be thankful…especially in crisis. 

God can turn your tragedy to triumph, discord to harmony, and your defeat to victory.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2008/08/24/vb_be-thankful/

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Vonette Bright is the co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International and host of ‘Women Today with Vonette Bright’, a series of national radio spots which can be found at: http://www.womentoday.org

by Max Lucado
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Through Christ, God has accepted you. Think about what this means. You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you.

Rejections are like speed bumps on the road. They come with the journey. You’re going to get cut, dished, dropped, and kicked around. You cannot keep people from rejecting you. But you can keep rejections from enraging you. How? By letting his acceptance compensate for their rejection.

Think of it this way. Suppose you dwell in a high-rise apartment. On the window sill of your room is a solitary daisy. This morning you picked the daisy and pinned it on your lapel. Since you have only one plant, this is a big event and a special daisy.

But as soon as you’re out the door, people start picking petals off your daisy. Someone snags your subway seat. Petal picked. You’re blamed for the bad report of a coworker. Three petals. The promotion is given to someone with less experience but USC water polo looks. More petals. By the end of the day, you’re down to one. Woe be to the soul who dares to draw near it. You’re only one petal-snatching away from a blowup.

What if the scenario was altered slightly? Let’s add one character. The kind man in the apartment next door runs a flower shop on the corner. Every night on the way home he stops at your place with a fresh, undeserved, yet irresistible bouquet. These are not leftover flowers. They are top-of-the-line arrangements. You don’t know why he thinks so highly of you, but you aren’t complaining. Because of him, your apartment has a sweet fragrance, and your step has a happy bounce. Let someone mess with your flower, and you’ve got a basketful to replace it!

The difference is huge. And the interpretation is obvious.

God will load your world with flowers. He hand-delivers a bouquet to your door every day. Open it! Take them! Then, when rejections come, you won’t be left short-petaled.

God can help you get rid of your anger. He made galaxies no one has ever seen and dug canyons we have yet to find. “The LORD … heals all your diseases” (Psalms 103:2–3 NIV). Do you think among those diseases might be the affliction of anger?

Do you think God could heal your angry heart?

Do you want him to? This is not a trick question. He asks the same question of you that he asked of the invalid: “Do you want to be well?” (John 5:6). Not everyone does. You may be addicted to anger. You may be a rage junkie. Anger may be part of your identity. But if you want him to, he can change your identity. Do you want him to do so?

Do you have a better option? Like moving to a rejection-free zone? If so, enjoy your life on your desert island.

Take the flowers. Receive from him so you can love or at least put up with others.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2008/08/24/ml_bouquets/

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Max Lucado
From: A Love Worth Giving
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2004) Max Lucado
Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

by Katherine Kehler
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“I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead”
Ephesians 1:19

This is dandelion season. Whole fields are covered with bright yellow flowers. They are so cheerful and brighten the landscape. But they are not appreciated by most people because they are weeds - weeds that multiply profusely through their root system and their seeds which fly through the air. Children love to blow the “puffy balls” but each one is filled with many seeds. If not destroyed, dandelions can take over a lawn or field.

Not only are they cheerful, dandelions are tenacious and powerful. I have noticed the heads of dandelions push through our paved driveway. They also grow above the grass that surrounds them.

My friend Lena is like that. She has had Multiple Sclerosis (MS) for over 30 years. Early on she decided she would determine her attitude each day. She would be a thermostat and she would set the thermostat to “cheerful” and “thankful” each day. Throughout all the years, every time I am with her she is cheerful and thankful.

There are three lessons I have learned from dandelions:

• Be bright and cheerful all day long.
• Be tenacious. Live above the circumstances.
• Multiply - reach people for Christ and teach others to reach and teach.

God offers us His supernatural power to enable us to live supernaturally. You can appropriate His power today.

Father, I realize that so often I live a mediocre life. I offer You my life today - fill and empower me with Your Spirit. Change me into a person who lives above the circumstances and fills the air with cheerfulness and gratitude. Amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2008/08/23/kk_dandelions/

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Katherine J. Kehler, an innovator, entrepreneur and writer has launched and developed many successful ministries and websites.
Together with her husband, Marvin, Katherine directs Thoughts about God

by Alec Niemi
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‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.’ Zechariah 4:6

Some years ago while we were living in the Gulf Islands, in British Columbia, my brother Tim helped me landscape our yard. I was trying to move a wheelbarrow full of rocks. It was quite heavy and I should have waited for help but I didn’t. I grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow, lifted, leaned forward, pushed with all my might, lost my footing and drove my face right into the load of rocks. A few scratches, a bloody nose and injured pride!

We were building a rock garden had to move several large rocks. Some were very heavy and it took both of us to lift them and some we would just roll into place. I was trying to roll one of the heavier rocks and it wouldn’t move. Then Tim said, “Let me try.” I had visions of him doing the same thing I had done with the wheelbarrow the previous day because he had to take a similar stance. He grabbed hold of the rock, lifted, leaned forward, gritted his teeth, shouted, “praise the Lord anyway,” and rolled the rock into place.

I have always remembered this and whenever I am struggling with something that seems heavier than I can handle I quickly say, “praise the Lord anyway.”

My prayer for you this week

“I pray that you are always ‘praising the Lord anyway’, acknowledging that in all things it is not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord Almighty. Amen.” Zachariah 4:6

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2008/08/23/an_praise-the-lord/

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Alec Niemi, an entrepreneur, lifestyle evangelist and pastor is passionate about helping people find Christ. He lives in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

‘And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’
Philippians 2:8-11 (NKJ)

Jesus, having all power and all authority, submitted His life to the authority of His Father. He consistently responded under authority, pointing back to the Father. The Father, in turn, rewarded His obedience and humility and exalted Him.

In our individualistic world, we try to avoid submission to authority. There’s a Chinese saying: It’s better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox. We want to be our own boss; make our own decisions; answer to no one. Truth is, we answer to the One.

Our act of saying yes, to make Jesus Lord of our life, is our primary act of submission. From that day onward we keep bringing our lives and our decisions before Him, acknowledging that there is One greater than we are. It’s a relationship of submission, rooted in our understanding that the Father loves us even more than we can comprehend. Jesus was no doormat—He understood His worth—but His authority flowed out of a heart submitted to the Father. In that place He had the power to heal the sick, raise the dead and transform lives. That’s the place I want to live from today.

Reflect:
Who do you point back to?
What do you need to surrender to the Father today?

Prayer:
Father, thank You for loving me beyond my selfish human heart. Thank You that submission to You is a safe, beautiful and even powerful place. I submit my life to You today. May I live my life in such a way that I am consistently pointing back to You. In Jesus’ exalted Name, Amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2008/08/22/im_under-authority/

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Idelette McVicker is founder and editor of www.globalgirlnetwork.com.  She’s lived in South Africa and Taiwan, but home is now in Vancouver, Canada, with her husband and two young daughters. Her mission is to “clothe this generation in Amazing.”

By Dr. Bill Bright
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“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:4, KJV)

Susie seemed outwardly to be a well-poised, lovely young wife and mother with everything under control. She was active in her church and attended other Christian gatherings during the week. But secretly she was filled with fear from which psychologists and psychiatrists with whom she consulted were unable to set her free.

She became very discouraged and depressed. “What can I do?” she asked through her tears. “I have everything to live for and no real reason to be afraid, but my days are consumed with worry and dread and fear, as I anticipate all kinds of evil things happening to me, to my husband , to my children.”

“Do you believe that God in heaven has the power to remove your fears, Susie?” I asked.

“Yes, of course,” she replied.

“Do you believe He loves you?”

“Yes, I believe that.”

“Do you believe He wants to remove that fear from you?” And I read her the above passage.

We turned together to 1 John 5:14, 15: “If we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears and answers.” This is the promise that every believer can claim whenever there is a command or another promise. I asked her if she would like to join with me in a prayer of faith that God would deliver her according to this promise.

Together we prayed, and though there was no immediate, dramatic deliverance, with the passing of days God set her free. Day after day she claimed by faith this and other promises from God’s holy, inspired Word.

Are you plagued with fears? Are your days consumed with worry? Saturate your mind with God’s truth - God’s supernatural promises - and begin to claim by faith this supernatural life which is your heritage in Christ.

Bible Reading: Psalm 34:1-7

Today’s Action Point:

At the first sign of a fear in my life, I will commit it to the Lord and trust Him for deliverance, and I will seek to help others whose hearts are filled with fear. I will seek to introduce them to the Prince of Peace - the God of all comfort.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2008/08/19/bb_deliverance/

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As the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, along with his wife, Vonette, Dr. Bright established one of the most successful evangelistic movements in the world - resulting in more than 4 billion exposures to the Gospel of Jesus Christ since 1951.
On July 19th, 2003 at the age of 81, Dr. Bill Bright went home to be with the Lord