Today's Scripture

Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.
Mark 6:31, NLT

Stay in Balance

Everywhere Jesus went, He was healing people, teaching in the synagogues, pouring Himself into His disciples. People made constant demands on His time and energies. Imagine how He felt. As the Son of God, He had this incredible power, anointing, wisdom, so much to offer. Yet at times, when He was exhausted, He would go away from the crowds and get alone so He could be refreshed. Despite the pressing needs around Him, Jesus knew that He had to take care of His temple.

If the Son of God had to be alone and rest, if He couldn’t meet all the demands of the people around Him, why do we think we can go all the time and be everything for everyone? No matter how anointed, strong, smart, or gifted you are, you get depleted. Despite all the needs around you, you have to get alone and recharge your batteries. There will always be needs, always be something to do, always be someone who needs your attention. You have to make it a priority to stay in balance.

A Prayer for Today

“Father, thank You that You know my needs and You make provisions for me all along my life journey. Thank You for the example of how Jesus would get away and be refreshed when He was tired. Help me to be wise about taking care of myself and living balanced. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God‘s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV

Get Your Joy Back!
 
Did you know that it is God’s will for you to be joyful always? He wants you to be happy and carefree. He wants you to love your life no matter what your circumstances look like. In fact, when you have joy in the midst of difficult circumstances, that is evidence that you have faith and trust that God will bring you through.
 
Joy is strength. When you have His supernatural joy, you can stand strong no matter what’s going on around you. You might say, “I’m just not a real jovial person. I’m more serious. I never laugh much.” And of course, God made us all differently, but you can train yourself to laugh more. One article said that the average child laughs over 200 times a day, but the average adult only laughs 4 times a day. What’s happened? We’ve allowed the pressures of life, stress and more responsibilities, little by little, to steal our joy.
 
Make the decision today to get your joy back! Decide that you are going to look beyond your problems and look at what God will do on your behalf. Ask Him every day to fill you with His supernatural peace and joy so that you can live in His strength and victory all the days of your life!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:
 
Heavenly Father, I humbly receive Your Word today. I choose to open my heart to You and invite You to fill me with Your joy and strength. Thank You for showing me Your goodness and empowering me with Your grace. I bless You today and always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

"All these things shall be added to you." 
Mt 6:33

Some folks think that God's sole purpose is to save their soul, help them become as morally upright and as spiritually mature as possible, and one day take them to heaven to live with Him. And in a sense that's true. But here's what isn't true - that God is not interested in your job, your health, your relationships, your finances, or your dreams and goals because somehow those things are carnal, worldly, and temporal. 

When you think like that, you "spiritualize" every promise you read in Scripture, and when you pray, you believe the only thing God wants to do is help you become more spiritual. Let's look into the Scriptures and see what God really says about this. The truth is, in fact, the exact opposite. By maintaining that God plays no part in when you do that, you're on dangerous ground, because you're making yourself the sole source of your success, and the Bible calls that - pride! What Jesus taught is this: "Do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles [who do not serve God] seek... For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. - Matthew 6:33. 

So let's be clear: God wants you to succeed in life for the right reasons, and He wants you to have all the things ​you need to do it. 

"Having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]."
Eph 4:23 

We can learn a lot about the importance of a good attitude by looking at the children of Israel.

It's estimated that about 1.5 million Israelites came out of Egypt. God delivered them from slavery and led them to the Promised Land. The trip should have taken about 11 days, but instead it took 40 years. Why? Because they were constantly complaining about everything! They complained about the food God sent from heaven each day. And any time something difficult crossed their path they were ready to give up and go back to Egypt - back to slavery. What's astounding is that out of the 1.5 million people who left Egypt, only two from the original group made it into the Promised Land.

And today there are many Christians who have also escaped from "Egypt" (their former life of slavery to sin), believers who are always looking forward to the Promised Land, yet they end up wandering in the wilderness their entire lives, dealing with the same old problems and issues. Are you one of them? Do you feel like you've been circling the same mountain for too long?

​If so, here's your answer: "Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old un-renewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God's image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness." 

In other words - change your attitude! 

"We all stumble in many things."
James 3:2 

Striving to do better is a good thing, but try to have realistic expectations. Everything in life isn't black or white; there are gray areas and some "in-betweens." Everything can't be perfect all the time, and everything isn't horrible all the time. Deciding to skip a meeting or social event because you're running five minutes late or have a blemish on your face, or cancelling an entire trip because a flight is delayed, or feeling like a terrible human being over one innocent mistake, is sometimes referred to as "polarizing." 

This leads to frustration and negativity. To maintain your joy in life, you must accept that you won't be perfect all the time, and neither will the people or things around you. When you expect perfection from life, you tend to expect the same from other people. And that kind of unrealistic thinking not only meets with a great deal of disappointment when your expectations aren't met, it puts unbearable pressure on the people you care about and can eventually destroy those relationships. Why not give people a break and stop demanding something from them that they have no ability to give you? The apostle James said we all stumble, fall, and offend in many things. So if we all make mistakes - and we do - learn to accept that it's just part of the human experience, and relax! 

Question: In what specific ways do you need to be more accepting of the imperfect areas" in your own life, or in the way someone else's imperfect areas affect you? And before you answer, think about this:
​"Love is patient, love is kind" - 1 Corinthians 13:4 

"God has placed the parts in the body... just as he wanted them"
1 Co 12:18 

Do you feel like joining a different church where people are "more like you"? A team of missionaries to Kenya were being driven across the plains to their destination by a Masai tribal escort. En route their attention became riveted on the herds of wildebeests and zebras migrating together. Their escort explained why two massive herds of such different species would travel together. He said that while wildebeests have poor eye sight, they have a keen sense of smell, whereas zebras have good eyesight and a poor sense of smell. So together they were less vulnerable to attack because their differences compensated for their weaknesses, Paul writes, "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?" 

That reminds you of those zebras and wildebeests, doesn't it? When we join a club, we usually choose to be with people who are more or less like us. But membership in Christ's body throws us together with people who are as different from us as a hand is from a nose. And while those differences can rub you the wrong way at times, they are differences God designed to benefit you. Zebras and wildebeests don't have to like each other, but their survival and success depend on getting along together. Your spiritual growth doesn't depend on agreeing with everybody, but it does depend on loving them enough to live together agreeably! ​

"Train up a child... [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent]."
Pr 22:6

The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it." The truth of the matter is that while certain universal principles apply to all children, no two are alike, and it's a mistake to treat them as if they were. In fact, here are two of the most common blunders you can make as a parent: 
(1) Trying to mold your child into what you used to be. Just because you were a star football player in college doesn't mean your son will want to follow in your footsteps. And just because you made straight A's in school doesn't necessarily mean your children are capable of a 4.0 grade point average. While you should never tolerate or reward laziness, you need to accept that not all children are equally gifted athletically or intellectually.
(2) Trying to make them into what you want them to be. Don't try to relive your life through your kids. You had your chance, and just because you didn't make the grade as a professional athlete doesn't mean you should force your son or daughter in that direction. The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent]," not necessarily the way you should go, or want him or her to go. There are three hallmarks of healthy self-esteem you should continually strive to teach your children: (1) Know who you are; (2) Like who you are; (3) Be who you are.