Until we are willing to give the kind of time and attention to God’s Word that produces change in our thinking, we’ll continue to be swayed by our feelings and the things we see and hear. All the devil heard from the lips of Jesus when tempting Him was “It is written,” and he was powerless against Him. Whose report are you going to believe, the devil’s lies or the report of the Lord?

You are alive and all that is alive has potential. You can begin again if you don’t like who you are or the direction you’re going. It just takes a quality decision and the ability to stop allowing time to dictate to you what you can and can’t achieve. Don’t look back at what might have been—look forward to what can still be!

People wonder why God isn’t moving, and He’s wondering why people aren’t moving. Jesus’ part is done and His job complete. God has given us the power to do what He does. It is a power over sickness and over devils. It’s no longer a matter of what He is going to do, but rather, what are WE going to do?

Be careful of the age attitude. In the 1940s a basketball center was about 6’4″, and they would shuffle their way back and forth on the court as centers normally do. Today, a basketball center is 7′, and the 6’4″ point guards run like cheetahs on the court. What’s the difference? How they see themselves! Don’t shuffle through life. You can have what you go after with God on your side!

The Bible is a mirror, not a book of rules. When you look in a mirror you say, “This is who I am.” When you look at a book of rules you say, “This is who I’m supposed to be.” As you speak out the truth of God’s work in you and His promises to you from His Word, you’re rehearsing what is in the mirror and are being transformed. Your thinking is being changed from the old nature habits of thinking to a life that reflects the truth of who God has created you to be!

The same Holy Spirit, with the same resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead, also indwells you as a believer. What does that mean for you? It means the very light and life of God resides in you—giving His life to your spirit, soul and your body too (Romans 8:11). It means there is no longer anything in you that belongs to the devil. (Colossians 1:13) It means all the authority and power that Jesus walked in on the earth now dwells in you to do the works that He did (John 14:12). What is your part? Enter into the rest of faith and receive it all as a gift of His grace to you. Stay connected to the power source, and you’ll be a walking light bulb everywhere you go!

Jesus said that we will have trouble in this world, but to stay happy! Why? How? He overcame everything that could keep you down, sick, weak, or poor! If you’re born again He lives within you, giving you the strength and wisdom you need to overcome in any situation. “I have told you these things, so that IN ME you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 emphasis mine).

“Reconcile” in the Greek is an accounting term meaning to balance or say the same thing. For us to be reconciled to God, Jesus had to give us His place—His inheritance, His power, His peace, the life of God—everything that He had. This is why we can say along with the Apostle Paul, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”! (Galatians 2:20)

We are equipped with the indwelling Spirit of God to focus on solutions, not problems. We are equipped to speak what we want, not what might be currently happening. We are equipped to experience joy in the expectation of answers, rather than the stress of waiting for them!

If you don’t know God’s vision for you then you’ll be shaped by the vision of others. There are many voices in this world and they all want your attention. But the loudest voice you hear is the voice on the inside of you that speaks what has been fed into your life. It’s the voice that either tells you that you can do amazing things in life, or that you’re doomed to be a victim of circumstance. It directs the trajectory of your life, which is why feeding on God’s Word and His plan for you is the most important thing you can ever do for success in life—both now and in the future!