Monday
God Has A Plan
Read Hebrews 12:1c(NLT);Jeremiah 29;11
I’ve said many times that God has a plan for your life. But what I want to emphasize is that his plan, which Paul describes as a race in today’s verse, is custom-designed for you and you alone. You are supposed to run the race God has set for you. Not the race you set for yourself, not the race other people set for you, and not the race culture sets for you. You only run the race God has set for you. If you try to run any other course, you are going to fail and get discouraged. The reason why so many people are discouraged today is that they are trying to please other people. Living for the approval of others is a weight that holds you back. You need to stop!
How do you know what is the race God wants you to run? Look at your Shape. Your Shape is your Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences. What are you gifted to do? What do you love? What are your abilities? What is your personality? What are your experiences?
God doesn’t want rabbits to fly and eagles to swim. They are shaped to do what they are supposed to do, and you are shaped to do what God wants you to do. So stop trying to run other people’s races and go run God’s race for you!
Points to Ponder: What’s your Shape? What are your gifts? What do you love? How are you using these things in the Kingdom or in what ways could you use them to further the Kingdom?
Tuesday
Everyone Has A Dream
Read Genesis 37:3-11
“Welcome To Hollywood” “Everybody Has A Dream” “What’s Your Dream?” These are the ending lines to the movie “Pretty Woman”. Everybody has a dream! This statement could not be truer. “You may think that dreams only happen to someone else, but you carry a Dream hidden deep in your heart. You have a big dream too. God has put a driving passion in you to do something special. Why wouldn’t He? You are created in his image the only person exactly like you in the universe. No one else can do your dream. The journey toward your Big Dream changes you. In fact, the journey itself is what prepares you to succeed at what you were born to do. And until you decide to pursue your dream, you are never going to love your life the way you were meant to. Yet millions of people never take the first step.” “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson. There is a Joseph or Moses in each one of us.
Points to Ponder: Take a Moment and think about these statements: Do you have a dream? What is your dream? Take a moment and write your dreams down, it always helps to see something in writing. If you think you do not have a dream ask the Holy Spirit to help you recognize the dreams inside of you!
Wednesday
Is Your Vision Blurred?
Read Joshua 23&24
How many of you wear glasses or contacts or have had some sort of corrective surgery for your vision? I began wearing glasses when I was in the 3rd because I wasn’t seeing things in the distance clearly; they were blurred. At school I had to strain to figure out what was on the board. Eventually (I was slow to get this), such clues made it clear that I needed help. Today, I wear glasses for distance and to see up close, If I don’t wear my glasses, I can read fine but can’t see beyond my hand with clarity. Without help, I cannot focus correctly. In a similar way we need help to focus our lives on God; otherwise, we end up missing what is most important in life because our vision is blurry. We cannot follow that dream for the course of our lives without that focus. We can learn a lot form the story of Joshua’s life Joshua kept his vision focused on God for his entire life. Only once did Joshua fail to focus on God, when he did not consult Him about making a covenant with the people of Gibeon, as we discussed last week. Every other time that the Bible mentions Joshua, we see him following that dream by walking closely with God. We must make an effort to see God clearly; it doesn’t just happen; we must work on it.
We have to focus on God. It starts with a learning Him and having a relationship with Him. To keep our focus on the dreams God has placed in us. We must become aware of a personal dream or calling and then decide to pursue it. We should face fear as we leave our place of comfort. We must realize we will encounter opposition from those around us. We can endure a season of difficulty that tests your faith (remember it is only for a season). Take time and learn the importance of surrender and consecration to God. Stand up and fight the giants that stand between you and the fulfillment of your dream. You will reach your full potential as you remain focused on achieving your dream and by bringing honor to God.
Thursday
When All Been Said
Read Acts 2:17; John 1:1-4; 14; Luke 8:11; Ephesians 4:15-16
God loves you and has placed his seed in you. He sent you prepackaged with a dream. God has placed in us His thoughts and words for today’s world. You may not be cognitively aware of the dream, but there is one in you. It may just be a faint concept, desire, or need, but it is there. It is important to become aware of your dream. A seed does not grow without some action. To Grow your dream you have to plant it by speaking it out and you have to live your Dream to make it grow. Dreams are defined and clarified by time, difficulty, and opposition. We come into our dreams as we help others realize and come into their dreams.
“See our life is like the grape on the vine we go through life wanting to be that wine; In life Being tested squeezed and crushed; To bring satisfaction to our maker is a must! From one faint single seed; HE grew in us His precious gift indeed Love, compassion, and to serve HIS name; Just like that wine in the glass but not in vain" Brian Rogers (Inland Hills Church, California)
When we come to the end of our dream we realize that it is not for us, but for the kingdom of God and the people of God.
Friday
Dream Big!
Read Acts 2:17; Ephesians 2:10
When God gives you a dream, it's always bigger than you are. It's usually so big that it will take your breath away because of the impossibility of it. When God calls you to do something there will always be things that God wants to accomplish that feels impossible - and in the natural it is. You may even say to the Lord "you've got to be kidding! You're asking me to do THIS?" That must have been how Moses felt when he was tasked to lead the children of Israel out of captivity. But, he did it and he did it by faith in a God that was bigger than himself - bigger than the dream.
"Those who choose to live by sight will always outnumber those who live by faith". But it’s those who live by faith that have their dreams manifested. When you're doing what God has called you to do and in the foxholes with bullets flying over your head - with people who are always willing to tell you what you're doing wrong, it's easy to forget what you are doing right. Sometimes you just need to pull out the map and look at all the territory you've taken. Sometimes we just need to get out the dreams God has placed within us, dust them off, get the Word of God out concerning them, and pick up that big 'ole dream and begin to envision it again - stir it up. Yes, we CAN do it!
"Great it is to dream the dream when you stand in youth by the starry stream...but a greater thing is to fight life through, and say at the end, the dream is true" (John Osteen's quote). The dream is true! Dream big!
The Weekender
Looking Back
Today is the day that we take time to look back on what we have learned this past week. To reflect on what the Holy Spirit has highlighted in our lives and how we can implement the changes needed in our lives to be fully all we can be. What is your Shape? What do you love? Have you realized your dream?
Father, we ask that you bring back remembrance of changes and what we need to do to change in our life to be fully who and what you have purposed us to be in your kingdom, Father thank you for being at work in our lives, in Jesus’ name, Amen
Take a few moments and Journal what the Father is speaking to you:
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