How can a young man stay pure? By reading your Word and following its rules.
—Psalm 119:9 (TLB)

Many of the difficulties we experience as Christians can be traced to a lack of Bible study and reading. We should not be content to skim through a chapter merely to satisfy our conscience. Hide the Word of God in your heart! A little portion well digested is of greater value to the soul than a lengthy portion scanned hurriedly. Do not be discouraged because you cannot understand it all. Go on reading. As you read, the Holy Spirit will enlighten the passages for you. Reading the Bible has a purifying effect upon the heart and mind.

Read more about how to meditate on God’s Word.

Prayer for the day
Let the enlightenment of the riches of Your Word sink deep within my soul, Lord.

For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning…to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness].


Romans 8:29, The Amplified Bible

As a believer, you’re destined to be molded into the image of Jesus, to grow in spirit until you look just like Him. God’s supernatural power began that process the moment you were born again. You were changed on the inside instantly. How successful you are in allowing this change to progress to the outer man is mostly up to you. We grow up spiritually just like we grow up physically.

What can you do to speed this growing process along?

Spend more time pursuing the things of the Spirit than you spend pursuing the things of the flesh. Become dedicated to the Word of God and to fellowship with Him. Be willing to pull aside from the busy things of life and get alone with Him, so He can guide you, teach you and share His likeness with you.

Have you ever noticed that if you spend time around people who have strong personalities, you will automatically be affected by them? You’ll find yourself doing the things they do. Their mannerisms will rub off on you. You can’t help it. They just influence you, especially if they are people you respect and admire.

The same thing is true in your relationship with God. If you spend enough time with Him, He’s going to rub off on you! His ways will become your ways.

So make yourself available to Him by praying in the spirit and worshiping and loving Him. Hang around His Word and the people who love His Word and live it.

Before you know it, you’ll begin to notice yourself changing. You’ll find your character becoming more like His. You’ll begin to think like He does and talk like He does and even act like He does. His image will begin to shine forth in you!

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 3:5-18

Don’t panic, Beloved. The cords of death shall NOT entangle you. Do not fear or be dismayed for the battle is already won. I am the King of Glory, strong and mighty. 

You need not fight in this battle. I say to you this day, stand still and see the salvation of your God. I am FOR you. I am the God who sees. Nothing escapes My sight and I have seen the enemy’s tactics against you and those you love. You are not fighting flesh and blood, but principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places.

Did you know, Beloved, that I have a War Room? I am THE Strategist with ALL knowledge and all wisdom. I see the end from the beginning. You have the mind of Christ and My Spirit dwelling within your heart. What can stand against you, My Child? I knew what would be happening to you before you were born and I have made provisions for you to withstand the evil one and be victorious in all things. You are an over comer by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony. For GREATER is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Again, I say to you STAND IN FAITH, REST in Me and see what I will do on your behalf.

Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of your God which I will accomplish for you; for the enemy whom you have seen today, you will never see again. No adversity shall overcome you because I have provided an escape! YES! Your LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still. It is finished

…Psalm 116:3The ropes of death entangled me, and the anguish of Sheol overcame me; I was confronted by trouble and sorrow. 4Then I called on the name of the LORD: “O LORD, deliver my soul!” 5The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion

…2 Chronicles 20:17 You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf.

…Exodus 14:13 “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; for the enemy whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. 14 “The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.

…Psalm 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in!

…1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation (adversity) has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are (targeted with adversity from the enemy) tempted, God will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
amazing artwork by Ricardo Colon; used with permission

I heard the Lord say,”What do you love about stained glass windows?” As I thought about it, I realized I love all the color, the way the sun shines through and makes rainbows on the floor. 

I love that the size, shape and color are only limited by the artist imagination. It was then I heard the Lord say,”Your life is only limited by your own imagination.”

Your preconceived ideas and old mindsets of who you are and what you are capable of. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20). You have the power of Jesus Christ at work on the inside of you, so nothing shall be impossible to you. Do you believe that you are beautiful and multifaceted, like the rarest of gems?

You are altogether beautiful , My darling; there is no flaw in you (song of songs 4:7). The God of the universe created you, then looked and said,”It is good!” I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well (Psalm 139:14). The Lord is day by day stripping away the old and creating the new. Neither do people pour new wine into old wine skins.

If they do, the skin will burst; the wine will run out and the wine skins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine skins, and both are preserved (Matthew 9:17). Let the Lord preserve you, keep you, test you, try you; whatever it takes to become all he has created you to be. The Lord has your days planned out for good and not for evil. What he has planned for you is so much better than what you have planned for yourself. Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord‘s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:21).

So then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in My presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). I continue to perfect you until the day of my return. Be ye perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Not that I have already obtained all this, or that I have already reached perfection.

But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me (Philippians 3:12). Let the Lord possess you today. Say,”Here I am Lord, have your way!” Don’t let your own mind minimize what you can do in the kingdom. You were created to soar with eagles. So what are you waiting on warrior. It is time to take flight….

Tammy Lang Jensen

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25 NIV).

God is the source of everything you need to live. He is the Good Shepherd who feeds, leads, and meets your needs. You don’t have to look anywhere else. You don’t have to look to Wall Street. You don’t have to look to the government. You don’t have to look to your spouse, your individual retirement account, your Social Security, or your job.

If you’re going to put your security in something, you need to put it in something that can never be taken from you. You can lose your health. You can lose your job. You can lose your good looks. You can lose your family. You can lose your life. You can lose your mind. You can even lose your way.

God, however, is never lost. And there is nothing you need that God can’t supply. Philippians 4:19 says, “God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (ESV).

So why do we worry so much? Worry may be the most common sin on the planet. It is the direct result of forgetting that God is good all the time. You can pray, or you can panic. If you’re not praying, you’re panicking. You can worry, or you can worship. If you’re not worshiping, you’re worrying. As soon as you invite worship in the front door, worry goes out the back door.

The Bible says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25 NIV).

Clearly, God doesn’t want you worrying about anything. Yet it’s hard for all of us to stop the worry habit. It’s just in our nature!

The best place to start is prayer. Once you’ve recognized how worry keeps you from the goodness of God and you’ve decided that you don’t want it to get the best of you, you can take things to God in prayer instead.

Talk It Over

How has worry affected you physically? What about emotionally? Spiritually?
When was the last time you worried about something? Five minutes ago? Last week? Are you worried about something right now?
Spend some time right now praying for the things you are worrying about. What difference does it make?