“For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”
James 1:21–24 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 11 - A sharp flurry danced in the air—transformation occurred everywhere. People who were blind since birth could suddenly see, the deaf had the joy of listening to parables of the Master, the disturbed were vibrantly whole, and thieves became as honourable as the temple rabbi. Yes, there were some who were unwilling to change. Many thought the Teacher, the Messiah, was merely another man, but because they were unwilling to embrace change, the miraculous for them was as distant as the Mediterranean Sea.

Ultimately, excellence can be devoured through our unwillingness to change. Life passes us by and causes us to live in regret over the lack of productivity from our past. The moment we become unwilling to embrace change is the moment we no longer achieve or reach the high standards to which Christ calls us.

Inherently, humanity has within itself the desire to settle, to hit a plateau and go no further. However, as men and women of excellence, we must refuse the cosy invitation to settle. We must be resilient and continue to climb the ladder of excellence. It is a daily pursuit requiring focus and persistence. When we are dedicated to this call, we walk victoriously over the enemy of mediocrity. Mediocrity can be beaten… we can overcome! We must, nevertheless, pursue excellence every day of our lives. The only question is this: Will we or won’t we pursue?

Father, I thank You that I am a doer of Your Word. I look into the perfect law of liberty and continue in it. I am not a forgetful hearer but I am an effectual doer and I am blessed in all I do.

Family Scripture Reading

December 11

Featured Resource

Winning The Heart Of God - Book

What is the ultimate prize that this world has to offer? The Nobel Peace Prize? An Oscar? A Super Bowl ring? A lucrative recording contract?

Certainly you can find all types of contests in which to compete and a host of valuable prizes to covet in today’s society. But in this book, Dr. Robb Thompson tells you how to win the ultimate prize of life – the heart of your Heavenly Father.

Using illustrations from the lives of Biblical men and women, Dr. Thompson vividly portrays what it means to be a person after God’s own heart. In the process, he tackles the all-important topics of submission and covenant loyalty – scriptural concepts that are frequently shunned and swept under the collective rug in Christendom today.

As Dr. Thompson so succinctly asks, “What else do you have in life, if you don’t have the heart of the Father?” That’s a question only you can answer for yourself. Pursue the prize of your Father’s heart, and watch everything else in your life fall into place (Matthew 6:33).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: A Submitted Heart
David: A Man After God’s Own Heart
The Subtle Trap of Rebellion
God’s Way of Relating to Authority
Choose Obedience
God’s Only Path to Fulfillment

Part 2: A Loyal Heart
The Foundation of Faithfulness
The Steadfast Loyalty of our God
Loyalty: Our Link to Divinity
Loyalty is a Choice
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author

Posted under Mediocrity

“My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart…”
Proverbs 4:20–21 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 10 - Involved in an intense conversation with her teenage daughter about boys, sex, and God, suddenly, the doorbell rings. Now who’s that at the door? I’ve already broken my train of thought! One of our greatest enemies in life is broken focus. The Bible tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” People of excellence refuse to break focus, because they realize doing so results in their demise. The mediocre always focus on what they go through…the excellent focus on what they go to.

How many times have we decided to rise earlier in the morning to have more prayer time? Then, the distractions begin. Perhaps an untidy area catches your attention and you want to straighten it; your child calls and you tend to them; and then a phone call which eats away your time. All the while, in your mind, you tell God, “I’ll be back in a minute.” One thing leads to another and before you know it, the day is half gone. This type of situation is not uncommon, and days lead to weeks, which lead to months, until one day we look back at our lives and ask, “How did I get here and how do I change my life?”

During His lifetime on earth, Jesus’ focus was constantly upon the cross, His assignment for mankind. Now, Jesus’ focus is on our future—preparing Heaven, interceding, looking straight ahead, being ready to perform the Father’s will at any given moment. And so must we continue to look straight ahead and not allow ourselves to be distracted.

Father, I thank You that I attend to Your Words, and incline my ears to Your sayings. I keep Your principles before my eyes; I keep them in the midst of my heart, for they bring life and health to all my flesh.

Family Scripture Reading

Mark 12

Featured Resource

You Are Healed - Book

From God’s perspective, health is not something that we lack and must try to attain. Rather, it is a possession that is already ours – but the thief is trying to steal it!

Jesus went to the cross to deliver us, once and for all, from the curse of sickness and disease. So, why does divine healing often seem to be so elusive? It’s because the only proof we have of our healing, until it is manifested, is the written Word of God.

Nevertheless, God’s Word is all the proof we need! Dr. Thompson shows you how to apply the principles of God’s Word to your life, until you experience the divine health in which God intends you to walk. This book equips you with the spiritual prescription needed to attain health, wholeness, and vitality in your body.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Man’s Opinion or God’s Word on Healing?
2 Healing Must Be Pursued
3 Different Ways Jesus Heals
4 Believing God For Yourself
5 Adjusting Your ‘Receiver’

Posted under Focus, General

“For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, He will give you many opportunities to do good, and He will produce a great harvest of generosity in you.”
2 Corinthians 9:10 (NLT)

DECEMBER 9 - We must be conduits for God’s blessings. Solomon tells us, “…those who withhold what is justly due, come to want.” Everyone has within them the desire to hoard, the desire to keep, the desire to save. But God tells us that prosperity belongs to those who freely give. The world undoubtedly understands this more than the body of Christ does.

The principle of giving is taught in self-help seminars all across the nation, yet Christians still hoard. Sowing is proof that greed has been conquered. The moment we prove to God that we have conquered greed is the moment God begins to release what He intended for us to have. He is just waiting for those who will allow Him to distribute His finances freely throughout the earth. Will you be that conduit? I believe you will!

Father, I am a giver and not a taker; I give freely, yet I continue to gain. I choose to be a conduit through which You can distribute Your blessings to Your people.

Family Scripture Reading

Proverbs 28

Featured Resource

You Are Healed - Book

From God’s perspective, health is not something that we lack and must try to attain. Rather, it is a possession that is already ours – but the thief is trying to steal it!

Jesus went to the cross to deliver us, once and for all, from the curse of sickness and disease. So, why does divine healing often seem to be so elusive? It’s because the only proof we have of our healing, until it is manifested, is the written Word of God.

Nevertheless, God’s Word is all the proof we need! Dr. Thompson shows you how to apply the principles of God’s Word to your life, until you experience the divine health in which God intends you to walk. This book equips you with the spiritual prescription needed to attain health, wholeness, and vitality in your body.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Man’s Opinion or God’s Word on Healing?
2 Healing Must Be Pursued
3 Different Ways Jesus Heals
4 Believing God For Yourself
5 Adjusting Your ‘Receiver’

Posted under money

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 8 - An abusive father; an argumentative sibling; bad grades in school; destructive relationships; embarrassing addictions; getting fired from a job—God cannot rewrite our pasts, so He provided us a new one. Friends, it won’t do us any good to hold on to the past. I come from a past that is worthy to forget. I could sit here and think, “Boy I sure hope that someday old things pass away. I sure hope that someday all things become new for me. Oh, God, please do something for me. Please free me from my past.” But I don’t do that; I always find out what the scriptures say.

God said, “If anyone is in Christ…” I know I am in Christ. The scripture above says that if I am a believer, old things have passed away, and if something has passed away, then it is dead. Our pasts are dead. That old sinful creature that dwelled within is dead. Our old lives can only live if we resurrect them from the dead. The devil cannot resurrect the past. He can scream all day long, but that doesn’t change the fact that God says our pasts are dead.

When the old self gives us problems, attempting to direct us toward a carnal lifestyle, then that is the time to remind ourselves of what we already know—our old self was crucified with Christ. And if our old self was crucified with Him, then our old self cannot make us do anything! We must decide today that we are going to embrace the new future God provided, and then we will experience the true freedom for which we have been searching.

Father, I thank You that You do not lie. What You speak comes to pass in my life. I place an expectation upon the promises in Your Word, knowing that it is done unto me as I believe.

Family Scripture Reading

Mark 11

Featured Resource

You Are Healed - Book

From God’s perspective, health is not something that we lack and must try to attain. Rather, it is a possession that is already ours – but the thief is trying to steal it!

Jesus went to the cross to deliver us, once and for all, from the curse of sickness and disease. So, why does divine healing often seem to be so elusive? It’s because the only proof we have of our healing, until it is manifested, is the written Word of God.

Nevertheless, God’s Word is all the proof we need! Dr. Thompson shows you how to apply the principles of God’s Word to your life, until you experience the divine health in which God intends you to walk. This book equips you with the spiritual prescription needed to attain health, wholeness, and vitality in your body.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Man’s Opinion or God’s Word on Healing?
2 Healing Must Be Pursued
3 Different Ways Jesus Heals
4 Believing God For Yourself
5 Adjusting Your ‘Receiver’

Posted under General

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?”
Luke 14:28-31 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 7 - The Father created a meticulous plan for salvation: The miraculous Birth, an outstanding Life, an excruciating Death, and the glorious Resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. There is nothing God does without first laying out a detailed plan. Solomon tells us, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” God is into details. When we are committed to our dream and express it with a detailed plan of carrying it out, we provide ourselves with a visual reminder of where we are going, and how believe we will arrive there.

The journey of life always starts with a vision, but too many individuals stop right there, parking as if permanently stationed in the lot of a supermarket. They go no further than the vision. We must understand that every journey has great costs associated with it. These costs may be in terms of time, energy, finances, choices, sacrifices, and a number of other factors.

We must begin to take the vision we have for our lives and carefully write it out, making it plain before our eyes. As we do, God begins to birth within us a roadmap that will give us the necessary directions to
fulfill what He assigned us to do. Without a detailed plan of action, our destinies are never reached; but with it, our lives become a dream come true.

Father, I thank You that I have a vision for my life. I consider the cost and carefully write out a detailed plan of action to bring it to fulfillment.

Family Scripture Reading

Mark 10

Featured Resource

Winning The Heart Of God - Book

What is the ultimate prize that this world has to offer? The Nobel Peace Prize? An Oscar? A Super Bowl ring? A lucrative recording contract?

Certainly you can find all types of contests in which to compete and a host of valuable prizes to covet in today’s society. But in this book, Dr. Robb Thompson tells you how to win the ultimate prize of life – the heart of your Heavenly Father.

Using illustrations from the lives of Biblical men and women, Dr. Thompson vividly portrays what it means to be a person after God’s own heart. In the process, he tackles the all-important topics of submission and covenant loyalty – scriptural concepts that are frequently shunned and swept under the collective rug in Christendom today.

As Dr. Thompson so succinctly asks, “What else do you have in life, if you don’t have the heart of the Father?” That’s a question only you can answer for yourself. Pursue the prize of your Father’s heart, and watch everything else in your life fall into place (Matthew 6:33).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: A Submitted Heart
David: A Man After God’s Own Heart
The Subtle Trap of Rebellion
God’s Way of Relating to Authority
Choose Obedience
God’s Only Path to Fulfillment

Part 2: A Loyal Heart
The Foundation of Faithfulness
The Steadfast Loyalty of our God
Loyalty: Our Link to Divinity
Loyalty is a Choice
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author

Posted under Planning

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 6 - It was through self-control that Jesus endured death upon a cross, a death which ultimately led to resurrection, manifestation of the light. Self-control begins when we decide to expose our thoughts and feelings to the Word of God before we ever put them in front of others. If we walk in the light as God is in the light, we have fellowship with Him. But that means I must continually expose my thoughts and feelings to the light of the Word of God. Once God’s Word reveals the true nature of my thoughts and emotions, I have to decide whether or not I want to unload them on people. It becomes so much easier to exert self-control after spending time in the light.

Therefore,

• When we are full of the Word, why would we want to put our brothers and sisters in the Lord on red alert just so we can spend a few hours, days, or weeks in the flesh?

• Why wouldn’t we expose our bad attitudes to the Word of God and let the Word correct them before we ever unload those bad attitudes on other people?

It is important for us to be changed in God’s presence. We must allow God to continually transform us by His Word, each and every day!

Father, I walk in the light as You are in the light. I fellowship with You and with those who love You. I am cleansed and washed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Family Scripture Reading

Genesis 47

Featured Resource

Winning The Heart Of God - Book

What is the ultimate prize that this world has to offer? The Nobel Peace Prize? An Oscar? A Super Bowl ring? A lucrative recording contract?

Certainly you can find all types of contests in which to compete and a host of valuable prizes to covet in today’s society. But in this book, Dr. Robb Thompson tells you how to win the ultimate prize of life – the heart of your Heavenly Father.

Using illustrations from the lives of Biblical men and women, Dr. Thompson vividly portrays what it means to be a person after God’s own heart. In the process, he tackles the all-important topics of submission and covenant loyalty – scriptural concepts that are frequently shunned and swept under the collective rug in Christendom today.

As Dr. Thompson so succinctly asks, “What else do you have in life, if you don’t have the heart of the Father?” That’s a question only you can answer for yourself. Pursue the prize of your Father’s heart, and watch everything else in your life fall into place (Matthew 6:33).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: A Submitted Heart
David: A Man After God’s Own Heart
The Subtle Trap of Rebellion
God’s Way of Relating to Authority
Choose Obedience
God’s Only Path to Fulfillment

Part 2: A Loyal Heart
The Foundation of Faithfulness
The Steadfast Loyalty of our God
Loyalty: Our Link to Divinity
Loyalty is a Choice
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author

Posted under Self-Control

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 5 - David said it so perfectly—God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Every time we go to the Word of God, we must go with a willingness to surrender to the Word of God. We must look to do whatever we read. When we surrender our lives to the Word of God, heaven is able to guide our footsteps.

Many people see God’s Word as a history book or some informational book about God. We cannot degrade the Holy Scriptures by taking it to the same level as just another ordinary book. God’s Word is not written to increase our knowledge, but to direct and transform our lives. His Word contains the answer to every problem and question that could ever arise.

As we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, He begins to teach us the meaning of what we read. We can go to the Word and expect to hear God speak to us. The words on those pages are God’s voice to His people. He desires to speak to us and guide us in the path of righteousness. His Word is the lamp we are to shine upon the path we are called to take.

As we continue to use the Word of God as our roadmap for life, we experience true and abundant blessings along the way.

Father, I thank You that I use Your Word as a guide for my life.  Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I understand scripture was not written to increase my knowledge, but to direct my life.

Family Scripture Reading

Mark 9

Featured Resource

Winning The Heart Of God - Book

What is the ultimate prize that this world has to offer? The Nobel Peace Prize? An Oscar? A Super Bowl ring? A lucrative recording contract?

Certainly you can find all types of contests in which to compete and a host of valuable prizes to covet in today’s society. But in this book, Dr. Robb Thompson tells you how to win the ultimate prize of life – the heart of your Heavenly Father.

Using illustrations from the lives of Biblical men and women, Dr. Thompson vividly portrays what it means to be a person after God’s own heart. In the process, he tackles the all-important topics of submission and covenant loyalty – scriptural concepts that are frequently shunned and swept under the collective rug in Christendom today.

As Dr. Thompson so succinctly asks, “What else do you have in life, if you don’t have the heart of the Father?” That’s a question only you can answer for yourself. Pursue the prize of your Father’s heart, and watch everything else in your life fall into place (Matthew 6:33).

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: A Submitted Heart
David: A Man After God’s Own Heart
The Subtle Trap of Rebellion
God’s Way of Relating to Authority
Choose Obedience
God’s Only Path to Fulfillment

Part 2: A Loyal Heart
The Foundation of Faithfulness
The Steadfast Loyalty of our God
Loyalty: Our Link to Divinity
Loyalty is a Choice
Notes
Acknowledgments
About the Author

Posted under God's Word

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 4 - God sees you in Christ— He sees greatness in you. He has a destiny for you. When He looks at you, He sees success and a winner. He sees Jesus, His Son! You are not destined to lose, because He made you victorious through Christ. Second Corinthians 2:14 says, “Thanks be to God who always leads us into triumph in Christ Jesus.”

If God made you a winner, then what are you waiting for? If God already gave you the victory and sees you as a winner, then what keeps you from success? God waits for you to believe it about yourself. Truly, it doesn’t even matter what God believes about you; what really matters is what you believe about you. Which are you going to believe, your past or what God says?

Whatever you meditate on and think about soon manifests into action reflecting the thoughts you harbor, good or bad. Your life is an outer image reflecting your inner projection. Every thought God has concerning you is written on the pages of His Word. He tells you who you are, what you have, and all you can do through Jesus Christ. You are born into the family of God through the incorruptible seed of the Word of God.

Father, I thank You that I am crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and through me.

Family Scripture Reading

Mark 8

Featured Resource

Your Spiritual Checkup - CD Series

Have you accepted your new identity in Christ or do you continually deal with shame, guilt, and low self-esteem. The thoughts we identify with, whether good or bad, sculpt our destiny. Envision the marvelous transformation that would take place if we learned how to walk in our true identity. Imagine what life would be like if you were able to confidently identify with Christ instead of your old sin nature – nothing but victory, joy, and fulfillment. If you desire to learn the keys to walk in your new identity, this series is for you!

Posted under Identity

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God…
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (NKJV)

DECEMBER 3 - Unwilling to join in the criticism, jokes, and complaints about their bosses during lunch hours and breaks, the newlywed woman stayed to herself, remaining loyal to the company’s lawyers inwardly, as well as when she approached them face to face. When it was time for reviews, she consistently received the highest marks, and even when she could no longer work for the firm, citing family duties, the firm’s founding father did everything he could to keep the conscientious employee from leaving since whenever she received an instruction, it was instantly carried out.

Christianity today embraces the person of Christ, but woefully neglects His principles. The person of Jesus creates your peace; His principles create your productivity. Both, however, are necessary! People want to prosper, but very few are willing to accurately apply God’s principles to their lives. Our willingness to do what God says is the key to experience what God promises.

God never promised you something without first giving you an instruction. God rewards obedience. He does not hand out promises and rewards to just anyone. He is selective in whom He blesses. You are the one who determines whether or not God blesses your life.

Father, I thank You that I diligently obey Your Word and I observe Your commandments.Blessings come upon me and overtake me because I choose to obey You.

Family Scripture Reading

Mark 7

Featured Resource

Your Spiritual Checkup - CD Series

Have you accepted your new identity in Christ or do you continually deal with shame, guilt, and low self-esteem. The thoughts we identify with, whether good or bad, sculpt our destiny. Envision the marvelous transformation that would take place if we learned how to walk in our true identity. Imagine what life would be like if you were able to confidently identify with Christ instead of your old sin nature – nothing but victory, joy, and fulfillment. If you desire to learn the keys to walk in your new identity, this series is for you!

Posted under Principle Driven

“If you do this, you will live and become a great nation, and the lord your god will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.”
Deuteronomy 30:15–18 (NLT)

DECEMBER 2 -

• Should I go to church tonight in this pouring rain, or just stay home and relax?

• Although this book has a lot of curse words, should I read it anyway?

• Even though God’s Spirit is prompting me to turn off the television, another thirty minutes or so wouldn’t hurt, would it?

One of the greatest gifts anyone could ever receive is the power to choose. God graciously granted us the power of choice. Whether it is prosperous or disastrous, the choice is ours. The apostle Paul encourages
us with these words, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey Him and the power to do what pleases Him.” God doesn’t just leave us as orphans to fend for ourselves. He knows there is a devil out there whose desire is to lure us into wrong choices. Satan knows that if he can convince us to make just one
mistake, it may cause a lifetime of consequences. We can see throughout the scriptures that God did not predestine our choices. He did, however, predestine our consequences. We are to surrender our lives to the Spirit of God and trust in Him to help us make right choices.

The Holy Spirit is our helper. In the above passage God lays it out, “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death…” It is our choice.

Father, I thank You that You work in me giving me the desire to obey You and the power to do what pleases You. I choose life and not death.

Family Scripture Reading

Proverbs 27

Featured Resource

Your Spiritual Quotient - CD

What did Abraham, Enoch, Joseph, Jesus, and Paul all have in common? Why can some people withstand the trials of life and others buckle under pressure? The Answer: The SQ Factor.

In this dynamic series, Dr. Robb Thompson answers these questions and more. He teaches you not only what the SQ factor is, but also how to develop it in your life. With clarity and convincing scriptural support, Dr. Thompson illustrates that every failure in life can be traced back to a compromise of one’s integrity and character. You will be reminded that the choices you make are the only factors that decide whether you will be overtaken with rewards or with consequences.

Make the decision to rise above self-interest and personal gain. Develop your Spiritual Quotient and embrace the greatness that lies within you!

Posted under Choices