My Morning Thought

If I always worked out of my strength, first of all, I would be very limited in what I could do. Secondly, would I really be doing everything for God’s glory? To do for the glory of God is to allow God to be seen as God. And how do people see Christ in me if I am always leaving to my own strength, will, and might?  Instead, I’ll recognize my weakness as a strength because it is through my weakness...

We exert so much energy fighting one another that our defenses are down when our enemy, the devil, approaches. Then we are not alert. We don’t see him coming, and we are deceived. We are misguided. We are divided and subsequently fall.

Obedience to God’s will every time is the right choice. It is more important to spend the time on the front end, communing with God, to know His will. When we surrender to the Holy Spirit and know what is being asked of you, you won’t be swayed by our feelings. It is important to remember we deal with very limited information, so when God asks you to do something, even if it is not how you would h...

Every time I lose sight of my “why,” it puts me in a bad place. I can find myself sad and depressed, prideful and arrogant, or indifferent. I want to always remember it is not about me or anyone around me. It is all about Jesus. There is freedom in that knowledge.

Jesus gave His life so we might live with Him eternally. He is coming back again for His bride; His church. Now, when we look around, sometimes it's hard to imagine why He has not come. But we find that He is not slow to come in terms of how we think, but He is patient and doesn't want anyone to perish.

How do you spend your time? Is it on things that have earthly value? I’m not just talking about seeking to amass wealth. Your heart will lead the crusade, so where does it take you? 

Each of us is uniquely different by design. So, let’s appreciate the differences. When we are living for God’s glory, there is beauty in our differences. Those differences bring a sense of fullness to us. So, don’t be afraid to take your place and offer a seat to someone who might not think they belong.

What if we really glorify the Lord? You know, magnify Him? That is to make Him the focal point of all things. You know we make him bigger than our problems. Making the Lord increase in size instead of our troubles, our limitations, and our reliance on ourselves. It is through that magnification, that glorification, that we can exalt the Lord. You know, lift Him up. And then you’ll notice a funny t...

Anna has only three verses, which contain four sentences, but yet, we get a front room seat to her life. Could four sentences sum up your life? What would your four sentences say? Does it say what you would want to be written for all to see for generations to come? What if we lived, not necessarily simple, but with focus and purpose, every day? Would your life be different? Would others' lives...

Yet. A simple three-letter word meaning “still.” We can also look at it as meaning “in spite of - without being affected by the particular factor mentioned.” So, no matter the circumstances, I will live in hope. Hope is not a wish or a dream, but rather a confident expectation that what God said would be, will be.

How do you best learn? How do you teach others? There are different ways in which we teach and not one way will fit all circumstances, but I think in all teaching, there needs to be a practical application. Here is one way Jesus taught in John 13. He showed them first and then He told them what and why. Finally, He sent them to do what they had learned.

"Our" denotes my connection, not just to the Father but also to my sisters and brothers.

Remember, God wants only what is best for you. Also, His ways are not your ways and His thoughts are not your thoughts. He knows what was, what is, and what is to come. Trust and not doubt. Follow the plan He lays out for you. Lean not to your own understanding, even when it doesn't make sense.

It is easy to think our strength lies in our abilities or in the alliances we form, but when we seek to do our will or rely on alliances with people outside of God’s Spirit, we have gotten it all wrong.  Our real strength lies in an unlikely source; repentance, rest, quietness and trust.

God has a plan and a purpose for you. What’s for you is for you. No one can take what’s for you, but it is important to get out of your own way to get it. Stop doubting yourself, and also stop being prideful. Seek God. He wants to tell you about it, teach you how to get it and support you along the way. Go get it. Link to my thankful list from yesterday .

Have you ever had some news you just couldn’t keep to yourself? You just had to tell somebody. Maybe a test you passed or a job offer. Perhaps it was someone you saw. Well, I want to challenge you today to write down seven things you are thankful for each hour over eight hours and then tell someone. You can even tell someone each hour. Please share it on My Morning Thought’s Facebook Page

Sometimes things get “real” hard. It may feel like the waters are at our neck and steadily coming. Sometimes we find ourselves there because of our choices. Sometimes it is by no fault of our own. What you must know is God sees you. God knows. Even if it is our fault, don’t lose hope. If it is by no fault of our own, take hope that God trusts you to glorify Him and bring others unto Him because of...

When you move at God’s command, you can be sure He’s going to bring you through. So, we listen and be obedient. He will position us right where we are to be for our good and for Him to receive the glory. Exodus 14:14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Being still doesn’t necessarily mean doing nothing. It means not doing your will, but surrendering to His will. It means showin...

To love sincerely means that what you see, my actions for and towards you, are what I’m really feeling inside. It means I will always think and seek good in and for you and always want you to be your best. How many sincere relationships do you have?

Sometimes our problems feel so great. It feels like there is no way out. It may be the things you are facing that seem hard, or it may just be you feel like you are not enough. Maybe statistically, the odds are not in your favor. Hang on, your strength comes from the Lord, which means how it looks doesn’t matter because you know how it ends.

There is a song titled “Changed” and a line in the song says, “A wonderful change has come over me.” What makes for a changed life? Is it when I make a difference in the things I do? I say not because there are things I want to be different or things I want to do differently, and yet I find myself doing the same things I’ve always done. What makes for a changed life? It is a willingness to surrend...

What if every interaction was your last time, with that person, in that place, performing that task? Would you do things differently? Would the things I spend most of my energy on get the same attention? What if I exerted most of my energy on things that had eternal value rather than temporary importance?

Do you ever feel amazed or perhaps overwhelmed by God’s love for you? Can you just, for a minute, think of how He loves you? He was not willing to withhold anything to redeem you. And He does it always, even when you are unaware. Woke up this morning with this song ringing in my head. Amazed by Phillips Craig & Dean.

May is mental health awareness month. It has caused me to think about all the people whole are living with constant pain that many others don’t understand because it’s not a broken bone or a cough. Know that God knows and He cares. Cry out to Him. Give your grief to God.

Communication is a three-step process. It is what we say, what others hear and what we actually walk away with. Often we come to the table only ready to hear and not ready to listen. What I mean is we come ready to let the other person say what they need to say, but I’m only listening so I can use it to prove my point. Because I've come with the sole intent of making sure you understand what I...