The Good News Blog

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…Love is kind…” -1 Corinthians 13:4, NIV

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

You may have heard this verse many times before, but one translation says that “love looks for a way to be constructive.” In other words, kindness isn’t just about being nice; it’s looking for ways to improve someone else’s life. It’s bringing out the best in others.

When you start your day, don’t just spend time thinking about yourself or how you can make your own life better. Think about ways you can make someone else’s life better, too! Ask yourself, “Who can I encourage today? Who can I build up?” You have something to offer those around you that no one else can give. Someone in your life needs your encouragement. Someone in your life needs to know that you believe in them. We are responsible for how we treat the people He’s placed in our lives. He’s

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” -1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Spiritual maturity isn’t measured by how long you’ve been a Christian, how much you know, or how often you go to church. Spiritual maturity is measured by the way you treat other people. It’s measured by the love you allow to operate in and through you.

1 Corinthians 13 gives us a picture of what love looks like. When we are walking in love, we treat other people with courtesy and respect. In other words, are you kind to the person at the checkout counter that may be moving too slowly? Are you gentle when you are driving down the highway and someone cuts you off? Are you patient with your family and coworkers?

These are all characteristics of love. The Bible tells us that love

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you” (Proverbs 4:25, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

What are you looking at today? Not in the natural, but with your spiritual eyes. In other words, what is in the forefront of your mind and in your heart? Are you constantly dwelling on your problems or things that have happened in your past? In the natural, you will move in the direction that your eyes are looking.

In the spiritual, it works the same way. Whatever you focus your mind and heart on, you will move toward. That’s why today’s verse tells us to look straight ahead. If you are constantly dwelling on your problems or things in your past, wondering “what if,” then you will stay right where you are. But if you choose to forgive and release the past, then you can focus on what is ahead

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”  -1 Samuel 16:7, NIV

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

When the Lord looks at your heart, what does He see? Every one of us has an outer life and an inner life. The outer life is our public life that the people around us see. The inner life is made up of our thoughts, attitudes, and motives. Only you and God know what’s going on inside of you.

Too many people go around today pretending—acting one way, yet on the inside they’re thinking something totally different. Their heart and their actions don’t line up. But we have to understand that God is looking on the inside. We can fool a lot of people, but we can’t fool God. He would rather us be open and honest than

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” -Ephesians 1:4, NIV

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
Did you know God had a plan for you before the foundations of the earth? He created you to be holy and blameless in His sight. Why? He chose you to be His ambassador, His representative on the earth. God created you to reflect His glory. He created you to reflect His character, His righteousness, His holiness. Think about that for a moment.

Part of your purpose on this earth is to be a representative for the King of kings and the Lord of lords. That should make you want to walk a little differently. It should make you want to talk differently. It should make you think a little more carefully about the places you go and the things you do.

Are

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…choose for yourselves this day whom will you serve…” -Joshua 24:15, NIV

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Every day, we make thousands of choices. Some choices have more impact on our lives than others. Some require more thought. Some may even require the input of others. Making Jesus the Lord of your life is the best choice you could ever make!

However, once you do, you have the opportunity every day to make choices to support that choice. For example, are you choosing to serve the Lord with your attitude? Are you choosing to serve the Lord with your finances? Are you choosing to serve the Lord by what you say? What you watch on TV? What you listen to?

Today I encourage you to examine your thoughts and actions. Choose this day to serve Him in every area of your life. As you submit your ways to Him, He promises

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“You will also declare a thing, and it shall be established…” -Job 22:28, NKJ

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

In the Old Testament there was an Israelite woman who was about to give birth. She had just heard that the Ark of the Covenant that housed God’s presence had been stolen. She was so upset about it that she named her baby boy Ichabod, which means “the glory has departed.”

Notice what she did; she named her future by what was happening in her present. She could have just as easily named him “the glory will return,” but she was so focused on the negative, so caught up in where she was at that moment that she defined her future by it.

Friend, don’t ever name your future by your present day circumstances. You may have had some hard times in the past, but get that “Ichabod” spirit off of you. It

Follow Him Daily

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” -Luke 9:23, NIV

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Every day there are things that come against us, distractions that would try to pull us away from our faith in Christ. That’s why Jesus said that every day we have to make the choice to follow Him. Sometimes it’s easy to think, “Well, I go to church regularly” or “I read my Bible on Sundays.”

But really, the Christian life isn’t about how we live on the weekends, it’s how we live every single day. Are you spending time with Him, daily? Are you reaching out and putting others first, daily? Are you sowing seeds to help those in need, daily?

If you know you need to make some adjustments in your daily walk with

The Levels of Life
by Dr. Charles Stanley

Living accommodations vary widely in the physical world, ranging from mansions to crude shelters. In the same way, the spiritual realm also has different levels.

In our passage today, the Lord reveals three ranks of spiritual life:

1. The Natural Man—Everyone who has not accepted Christ as his Savior is in this category. Many in this group are capable of good deeds, but since their sins remain unforgiven, they are separated from the Lord. Because the Holy Spirit does not dwell within them, they cannot understand the things of God.

2. The Spiritual Man—This group is composed of Christians who are filled with the Spirit and surrendered to His control. Though they’re not perfect, they are quick to recognize transgression, confess sin, and genuinely repent by turning back to God. Because the Holy Spirit is ruling in their lives, He is able

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…time and chance happen to them all” -Ecclesiastes 9:11, NIV

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

When God laid out the plans for our lives, He lined up the right people, the right breaks, and the right opportunities that we needed to fulfill our destiny. The Scripture talks about how time and chance will come together for every person. In other words, there are moments of favor that God has already released into your future. If you’ll let that sink down into your heart today, it will change your whole outlook on your future.

So many people miss out on the good things because they allow fear to distract them and hold them back. They say, “What if I fail?” “What if they don’t like me?” “What if I make a mistake?” To that I say, “What if you succeed?” “What if they like you?” “What if you do it better than