Do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you."

JOYCE MEYER THOUGHT

You Are Never Alone

Grief and loneliness are major problems facing people today. The two often go together because many Christians and unbelievers grieve over being lonely. In my ministry, an increasing number of people request prayer for loneliness.

God's Word tells us plainly that we are not alone. He wants to deliver, comfort and heal us. But when you encounter painful losses in your life, you can lose sight of this simple truth.

Satan wants you to believe you are alone. He wants you to believe that no one understands how you feel, but his claims are false. In addition to God being with you, many believers understand what you are experiencing mentally and emotionally.

You are not alone now nor will you ever be, no matter what confronts you.

You may not understand much when you are hurting and the pain of loss is ripping through your soul, but know and hold on to this one truth: God loves you, and He has a future for you. Hope in Him and trust Him to turn your mourning into joy (see Isaiah 61:1-3).

Prayer Starter: God, I can't always see through my grief and loneliness, but I know that You never leave me. Help me to remember that You are near, and guide me to other believers who I can join with to fight off the enemy's attacks.

Joyce Meyer Today

The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!"
Saul finally consented. "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!"

JOYCE MEYER THOUGHT

God Can Deliver

In times of crises, it's easy to feel like God can't deliver. To bolster your faith, consider these biblical accounts of when God delivered His children from their afflictions.

In 1 Samuel 17:37, David knew he could defeat Goliath because God had already saved him from a lion and a bear.

In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused the king's edict to bow to his idol, and continued to worship God. As a result, they were thrown into a fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. But God delivered them so completely from this ordeal that they didn't even smell like smoke! He even showed up with them in the fire!

Daniel is another example of God's willingness and ability to deliver. Thrown into the lion's den for praying to God, Daniel knew such deliverance that he came away from the ordeal unscathed while his enemies were completely vanquished (see Daniel 6).

Do you notice a trend here? God can deliver His children out of any circumstance. Know today that His power to deliver is bigger than your problem.

Prayer Starter: God, time and time again, You have delivered Your children from trouble, and I know You won't fail now. You are more than able to deal with my situation, so I trust in You.

Read John 6

Meditation: Why did Jesus offer himself as "food and drink"?
The Jews were scandalized and the disciples were divided when Jesus said
"unless
you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you." What
a hard saying, unless you understand who Jesus is and why he calls himself
the bread of life. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves
(John 6:3-13), when Jesus said the blessing, broke and distributed the
loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, is a sign that prefigured
the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper.
The Gospel of John has no account of the Last Supper meal (just the foot
washing ceremony and Jesus' farewell discourse). Instead, John quotes extensively
from Jesus' teaching on the bread of life.
In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in a thanksgiving sacrifice
as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator as the giver and sustainer
of life. Melchizedek, who was both a priest and king (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews
7:1-4), offered a sacrifice of bread and wine. His offering prefigured
the offering made by Jesus, our high priest and king (Hebrews 7:26; 9:11;
10:12). The remembrance of the manna in the wilderness recalled to the
people of Israel that they live – not by earthly bread alone – but by the
bread of the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3). At the last supper when Jesus
blessed the cup of wine, he gave it to his disciples saying, "Drink
of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, poured out for
many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Jesus was pointing
to the sacrifice he was about to make on the cross, when he would shed
his blood for us – thus pouring himself out and giving himself to us –
as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the world. His death
on the cross fulfilled the sacrifice of the paschal (passover) lamb whose
blood spared the Israelites from death in Egypt. Paul the Apostle tells
us that "Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians5:7).
Paul echoes the words of John the Baptist who called Jesus the "Lamb
of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus
made himself an offering and sacrifice, a gift that was truly pleasing
to the Father. He "offered himself without blemish to God" (Hebrews
9:14) and "gave himself as a sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2).
Jesus chose the time of the Jewish Feast of Passover to fulfill what
he had announced at Capernaum – giving his disciples his body and his blood
as the true bread of heaven. Jesus' passing over to his Father by his death
and resurrection – the new passover – is anticipated in the Last Supper
and celebrated in the Eucharist or Lord's Supper, which fulfills the Jewish
Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory
of God's kingdom. When the Lord Jesus commands his disciples to eat his
flesh and drink his blood, he invites us to take his life into the very
center of our being. That life which he offers is the very life of God
himself. Do you hunger for the bread of life?
"Lord Jesus, you nourish and sustain us with your very own presence
and life-giving word. You are the bread of life – the heavenly food that
sustains us now and that produces everlasting life within us. May I always
hunger for you and be satisfied in you alone."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

John 6

Meditation: What do you most hunger for – wealth, peace, health,
love, the good life? Jesus addressed this issue with those who sought him
after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. Were they simply
hungry for things which satisfy the body or for that which satisfies the
heart and soul? Jesus echoes the question posed by the prophet Isaiah:
"Why
do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for
that which does not satisfy" (Isaiah 55:2)? There are two kinds of
hunger – physical and spiritual. Only God can satisfy the hunger in our
heart and soul – the hunger for truth, for life, and for love.
Jesus also spoke about the works of God and what we must do to
be doing the works of God, namely to believe in God's Son whom
he has sent into the world. Jesus offers a new relationship with God
which issues in a new kind of life: A life of love and service, and the
forgiveness of others which corresponds to God's mercy and kindness; a
life of holiness and purity which corresponds to God's holiness; and a
life of submission and trust which corresponds to the wisdom of God. This
is the work which Jesus directs us to and enables us to perform in the
power of the Holy Spirit. Do you hunger for the bread which comes down
from heaven and thirst for the words of everlasting life?
"Lord Jesus, you alone can satisfy the deepest longing and hunger in
our hearts. May I always hunger for the imperishable bread, that I may
be satisfied in you alone as the True Bread of Heaven. Nourish and
strengthen me that I may serve you with great joy, generosity, and zeal
all the days of my life".
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

Today's Joyce Meyer

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Eph 6:10

JOYCE MEYER THOUGHT:

The Lord Is Your Strength

We must realize that part of Satan's plan for end-time believers is to make us weary. Daniel 7:25 gives a vivid description of a vision the prophet Daniel received regarding the last days: "And he 'shall wear out the saints of the Most High'" (AMP).

But God wants you to be encouraged. Romans 8:37 (AMP) gives Christians this good news: "Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us." 'More than conquerors' means that before trouble ever starts, we already know who wins. I like that, don't you?

We can purpose in our hearts to maintain such an intimate relationship with God through prayer and His Word that we are constantly being strengthened by the power of His promises. Intimacy with God produces strong Christians who can outlast the devil!

Live your life totally confident in God's strength and have no fear of the trials that can produce weary warriors and fainting saints. Remain strong 'in Him' and in the power of His might.

Prayer Starter: God, You alone are my strength. I won't let Satan make me a weary Christian, but I'll remain strong in my intimacy with You.

Reflection on John 3:7b-15

Meditation: Do you know the healing power and victory of the
cross of Jesus Christ? Jesus spoke to Nicodemus of a "new birth in the
Spirit" which would come about through the victory he would accomplish
through his death and rising. The Hebrew word for "spirit" means both "wind"
and "breath". Jesus said to Nicodemus: "You can hear, feel, and see the
effects of the wind, but you do not know where it comes from. In like manner,
you can see the effects of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those the Spirit
touches." Jesus explained to Nicodemus the necessity of the crucifixion,
his atoning death on the cross, and the resurrection, his rising from the
tomb on the third day, by analogy with Moses lifting up the bronze serpent
in the desert which brough healing and deliverance from the curse of death.
When the people of Israel were afflicted with serpents in the wilderness
because of their sin, God instructed Moses: "Make a fiery serpent, and
set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live"(Numbers
21:8).
The bronze serpent points to the cross of Christ which defeats sin and
death and obtains everlasting life for those who believe in Jesus Christ.
The result of Jesus "being lifted up on the cross" and his rising from
the dead, and his exaltation and ascension to the Father's right hand in
heaven, is our "new birth in the Spirit" and adoption as sons and daughters
of God. God not only frees us from our sins and pardons us, he also fills
us with his own divine life through the gift of his Spirit so that we may
share in his glory. Jesus makes us a new creation through the gift and
working of his Holy Spirit. His Spirit also gives us boldness and confidence
to openly share the good news of the gospel and to defend it by our words
and action, and to never be ashamed of the Cross of Christ. The Holy Spirit
gives us spiritual gifts, especially the seven-fold gifts of wisdom and
understanding, right judgment and courage, knowledge and reverence for
God and his ways, and a holy fear in God's presence (see Isaiah 11), to
enable us to live in his strength as sons and daughters of God. Do you
thirst for the new life which God offers you through the transforming
power of his Holy Spirit?
"Lord Jesus Christ, your death brought life for us. Fill me with your
Holy Spirit that I may walk in freedom and joy in the knowledge of your
great victory over sin and death."
This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager (c) 2012, whose website is located at http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings

From my Samsung Galaxy Pro GT-B7510
Robin K Brookes
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