DON’T GO THROUGH LIFE THINKING LITTLE OF YOURSELF, FOCUSED ON YOUR WEAKNESSES, DWELLING ON YOUR FAILURES. THAT ONLY MAKES YOU FEEL BAD ABOUT YOURSELF.

28/09/23

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
Today’s Word

Today’s Scripture
…that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
Philemon 6, NKJV

SHINE
If we want our faith to be effective, we must acknowledge every good thing we have in Christ. You can’t go around acknowledging the negative—your weaknesses, the times you didn’t measure up, or how you should be more disciplined. Don’t go through life thinking little of yourself, focused on your weaknesses, dwelling on your failures. That only makes you feel bad about yourself.

Start acknowledging the good that Christ has done in your life, step into the potential God has put in you, let that personality He gave you come out and shine. Don’t be your enemy; be your asset. Be your biggest fan. Nobody should think better of you than you, because you recognize God breathed His life in you. When you acknowledge the good, when you say, “Lord, thank You for the strengths and the talents You put in me, thank You for Your gifts and for Your favor, thank You for taking me where I’ve never dreamed,” then your faith is made effective. You’re going to see God show out.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You for entrusting me with good gifts and talents and dreams. I acknowledge that I have greatness in me because of what Christ has done for me. Help me to step into my potential and let my personality shine. I believe You will show out through me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

SECTION TWOWould you agree with me that more Christians today know about the Ten Commandments than about the new covenant of God’s unmerited favor? For that matter, if you walked down Times Square in New York City and started to interview people at random, most would probably have heard about the Ten Commandments, but know nothing about the new covenant of grace that came by Jesus Christ.

In fact, the world identifies Christianity with the Ten Commandments. Isn’t it sad that the world knows us by the laws that are obsolete and not by the unmerited favor that Christ died to give us?

It is no wonder we are losing a whole new generation of young people to the world! The law holds no appeal or attraction, and the Bible itself calls the law obsolete (Heb. 8:13). If we keep on shoving the Ten Commandments down the throats of our young people, don’t be surprised when they are turned off by legalistic forms of Christianity.

More importantly, don’t forget that the strength of sin is the law. The law has no power to stop sin. The law will not impart to them their precious identity in Christ, which will give them the strength to abstain from premarital sex, prevent them from getting into drug abuse, and stop them from losing their sexual identity. Only God’s own sacrifice on the cross can give them their new identity as a new creation in Christ Jesus!

Young people, when you catch a revelation of Jesus and just how precious you are in His sight, your lives will be supernaturally transformed. You will stop being harassed by suicidal thoughts. You will stop wanting to put yourselves at risk to “fit in” or to get the attention that you crave.

Young ladies, you will come to see and value yourselves differently as you learn to value yourselves in the same way Jesus values you. Overflowing with Jesus’ perfect love for and acceptance of you, you will not be under the illusion that you need to give your bodies away to find acceptance and love from some guy. You will love yourselves as Jesus loves you!

Young men, you will develop supernatural self-control to manage your raging hormones. You will do it not by your own willpower but through Jesus’ power flowing through you. You will learn how to flee youthful lusts. You will know that being “cool” means respecting the opposite sex, and not putting yourselves and your girlfriends at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases and having unwanted pregnancies.

Young people, when you know that Jesus has an awesome destiny laid out for you, the desire to be involved in gangs and destructive activities such as alcohol and drug abuse and promiscuity will dissipate in Jesus’ unmerited favor and love for you. Supernaturally, your desires for the things of the world will disappear as they get replaced with the desire for Jesus!