But just knowing Jesus could heal their friend was not enough. They had to be determined to do whatever was necessary to get that paralyzed man into the presence of Jesus.
Jesus saw their faith in their determination to get to Him—even if it meant ripping up someone else’s roof. He saw their determination to connect with the source of all life and power.

How determined are you to get into the presence of Jesus? How determined are you to take the time to meditate in the World of God and allow God to speak to you? If you find yourself unable to spend much quality time in the Word, perhaps you have an overcrowded life.

I don’t know the need you may facing today, but connecting with the life and the power of God begins with your determination to get into His presence. And when you do, you’ll find sufficient grace to meet your every need.

Confession: Father, I thank You for giving me the wisdom I need to adjust my schedule so that I can spend more quality time in Your presence. I am determined to keep You as the highest priority in my life.

Do you know why the Word of God and the orders God gives to you in your spirit are not burdensome or oppressive? Because everything He tells you is for your good and for your victory!

God knows what it takes to live in victory in this present evil world. In fact, He’s the only One who knows. The people of this world cannot tell you how to live victoriously. They don’t know how. But God does! He can make things work, even in the middle of darkness, and if we’ll follow His instructions, commands and precepts from His Word, we can, too!

Let me give you an example. One commandment that God gave to us is to love one another and forgive one another as He has forgiven us. This command is not grievous because it’s the key to our freedom. If you can walk in the love that’s been shed abroad in your heart, you’ll have joy every day. But if you don’t walk in this commandment of love, someone will get your joy before lunch! God knows that. So, He made a command of love and forgiveness because love works! Without love, there won’t be any joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Don’t resent God’s teachings. Don’t consider His ways a burden to your lifestyle. Rejoice over them. Take them gladly by the hand and let them lead you all the way to victory!

Scripture Reading:
1 John 5:1-5

I used to worry about making decisions for God. I used to be afraid to step out on faith and declare I was going to do something new that He’d shown me to do. I’d think, What if I fail? I was so scared of failing, I’d muddle around in indecision for weeks. Then one day I found out it wasn’t my power that was going to carry it out anyway. But it took my decision to move God in on the scene. Once I decided what I was going to do, and committed myself totally to it, God backed me!

What I learned is a truth from the Word of God that, if you’ll pay attention to it, will revolutionize your life. It’s truth that carries an awesome responsibility with it, but it’s a fabulous thing to realize.

Here it is: The right, the privilege and the power to decide has been left by God in the hands of men.

You have the right, for example, to decide where you’re going to spend eternity. You have a right to make that decision, and God will back your decision.

God can do everything for you but decide. He’s provided the power. He’s provided His Name. He’s provided the blood of Jesus. He’s provided the kingdom of God. He’s even made us partakers of it (Colossians 1:12).

But He’s not going to stuff that inheritance down our throats. Somewhere down the line we each have to make the decision to receive it.

Now the beautiful part is this: When you make that decision, God will back you to the hilt with His power. Once you make a decision to be born again, there’s no devil in hell big enough to stop you. All you have to do is decide.

Decide now. Declare your decision. Let it be done unto you according to your words.

Is God leading you in some new direction? Is He leading you to step out in faith for healing or prosperity or to take a whole new step of ministry? Don’t let fear hold you back.

Scripture Reading:
Romans 4:13-21

Unfortunately most of us don’t know the first thing about fighting the kind of war this scripture refers to. For, as Ephesians 6:10-12 says, it’s not a battle of flesh and blood, but of the spirit.

Most believers are so earthly minded (or carnally minded) that they never even realize where the enemy’s attacks are actually coming from. They blame circumstances and people, and they waste their energy fighting natural conditions instead of supernatural causes.

We need to wake up to the warfare that’s going on in the heavenly realm!

We can get a glimpse of it in Daniel 10:12-20. There, we find that Daniel had been fasting and praying for 21 days, awaiting a word from the Lord. Then an angel appeared to him with the answer. What took him so long? He was fighting the enemy in the heavens.

That confuses some people. They say, “Devils fighting in heaven? I thought God reigned in heaven!” What they don’t understand is that the Bible teaches there are three different areas called heaven:

1. The heaven where God resides

2. The stellar heavens (what we call “outer space”)

3. The heavens around this earth (the atmosphere surrounding this planet)

This last heaven is where spiritual war takes place. (That’s why Ephesians 2:2 calls Satan “the prince of the power of the air.”) “The air” is where wicked spirits operate. From there, they attempt to rule the nations to which they’ve been assigned.

And rule them they will unless the prayers of God’s people keep them from it.

God has an army marching in this land. If we band together, we can prevent the wickedness in high places from ruling our nation. The time has come for us, as believers, to pray as believers. So, put on your full armor and take your place in the ranks of the faithful in intercession for our country and the nations of the world!

Scripture Reading:
Daniel 10:1-14