Promise for Today - Eternal Realities

Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. This is why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen. 

2 Corinthians 4:18 (CEV)

Everything you see around you is temporary. It’s what you can’t see that will last forever. And those eternal, spiritual realities are what truly matter.

The truth is, spiritual realities are just as real as physical realities. And you need to be sure to focus on the spiritual ones—because they are part of reality. Here are five spiritual realities you need to understand:

God made you to love you. 

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (NIV). God created you to love you, and he wants you to learn to love him back. This is the most important reality of life.

You were made to last forever. 

The Bible says, “He has... set eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). The evangelist Billy Graham talked about death this way: “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” He is in the presence of God now.

God has prepared two eternal places. 

Both heaven and hell are real, literal places. They’re not just “states of being.”

You get to choose where you’ll spend eternity. 

You won’t accidentally find yourself in heaven or hell one day. You’ll be where you are because of a choice you made. If you choose to make Jesus the boss of your life, you’ll spend eternity with him in heaven. If you choose to reject him, you’ll spend forever in hell. There are no other options.

Once you die, you don't get a second chance to make your choice. 

You have your entire life to make the decision about where you’ll spend eternity, but you can’t change your mind after death.

What you do with these five truths will affect your eternal destiny and transform how you live on this side of eternity.

Life on earth is always uncertain, so if you haven’t already made the choice for Jesus, go ahead and do it today. 

Talk It Over

Why is it important to keep your mind focused on the things that cannot be seen?

What unseen spiritual realities has God helped you to be particularly aware of?

Why do you think God gives you your whole life to make a decision about Jesus, but he doesn’t give you a second chance to decide after death?

- by Pastor Rick

******************************************

If you’re ready to commit your life to Jesus, then pray this prayer:

Dear Jesus, 

                 You have promised that if we believe in You, everything we’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven. We will learn the purpose You have for our life, and You will accept us into Your eternal home in heaven one day.
         We confess our sin, and we believe that You are God, our Savior. We receive You into our lives as our Lord. Today, we're turning over every part of our life to Your management. You have the right to call the shots in our life.
         Jesus, we want to relax in Your love. Thank You that we don’t have to earn it, deserve it, or work for it. You did it all for us already. We want to use the rest of our lives to serve You instead of serving ourselves. 

I humbly commit my life to You, and ask You to save me and accept me into Your family. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

Promise for Today - Wise Investments

Though I appreciate your gifts, what makes me happiest is the well-earned reward you will have because of your kindness. 

Philippians 4:17 (TLB)

Every time you’re generous, you invest in your eternal home.

Jesus called this principle “storing up treasure in heaven.” He actually used this phrase six times in the Bible! When Jesus says something six times, you'd better pay attention. If you don’t, you’re going to miss seeing the blessing.

In Matthew 6:19-20, Jesus said, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal”.

Most people get less than 100 years on this planet. And when you leave, you leave all earthly treasure behind. But you will get to enjoy your heavenly treasure for eternity.

So how do you store up treasure in heaven? How do you send it on ahead? One of the best ways to do that is by investing in people. And I’m not talking about earning your salvation, because that’s already been secured by Jesus.

God wants you to invest in people because those investments have eternal effects and rewards. There are only two things that will last forever: the Word of God and people. People will spend eternity in either heaven or hell, and your investment in someone could make all the difference.

Philippians 4:17 says in The Living Bible paraphrase, “Though I appreciate your gifts, what makes me happiest is the well-earned reward you will have because of your kindness.”

Paul wrote to the Philippians to express his appreciation for their support. But he said what meant the most—what brought him the most joy—was knowing that their sacrifice and generosity gave them treasure in heaven. They invested in him, but they also invested in their eternal home.

You will be rewarded for everything you’ve given away. Are you giving away your time? You’re going to be rewarded in heaven. Are you giving away your energy? You’re going to be rewarded in heaven. Are you giving away your money? You’re going to be rewarded in heaven.

There are opportunities all around you to be generous with your love, time, energy, and money, and invest in your eternal home. Don’t miss them!

Talk It Over

In what ways are you using your time, energy, and money to invest in people?

Is it hardest for you to be generous with your time, with your energy, or with your money? Ask God for faith to be generous in that area so that you can experience his blessing.

How can you cultivate a lifestyle of storing treasure in heaven rather than here on earth?
- by Pastor Rick

**************************************

Prayer:

Father, 

          Forgive us for being selfish with our love, our time, energy, and our money. Help us to keep uppermost in our minds to be like You - indescribably, overwhelmingly generous to all and in all. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today - Not Your Job

Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 

Romans 8:32 NLT

Anytime I needed something when I was a kid, I’d talk to my dad. Sometimes what I needed was expensive, but not once did I worry about where my father was going to get the money for it. That wasn’t my job! It was my dad’s job to figure out where the money would come from. It was my job as a kid to simply ask.

In the same way, it’s not your job to figure out how God’s going to provide. It’s your job to ask.

When you worry instead of asking, you’re acting like an atheist, like someone who believes they don’t have a heavenly Father. Worry is practical atheism. It’s living your life like God doesn’t exist or can’t be trusted.

The Bible is clear: God wants you to come to him in prayer about everything. James 4:2 says, “You do not have because you do not ask God” (NIV).

Worry less and ask more. Instead of worrying, pray about everything.

As Philippians 4:6 says, “Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests”.

Did you catch that? God wants you to come to him in every situation. You can talk to him about everything—no matter how big or small it seems to you.

Romans 8:32 says, “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”

God has solved your biggest problem—your sin—and everything else is small by comparison.

If God loved you enough to send Jesus to die for your sins, don’t you think he loves you enough to help you with your finances? Don’t you think he loves you enough to help you with your health? With your relationships? With career decisions? With your deadline?

God is interested in every single area of your life. In fact, he already knows what you need. But he still wants you to ask him for it.

Are you ready to reduce the stress in your life? God is waiting for you to come to him with your needs. Choose to worry about nothing—and pray about everything.

Talk It Over

If God already knows all your needs, why do you think he wants you to ask him to meet those needs?

What keeps you from asking God for the things that you need?

Think of a time that God clearly answered one of your prayers. How does that answered prayer encourage you to keep praying about other needs and others' needs?

 - by Pastor Rick

*******************************************

Prayer:

Father,

         We know that the trials and stresses we're facing now are not meant to defeat us but will instead be used by You to strengthen and equip me. We have faith in Your plan above our own. So Lord, help us to consider it joy when things come our way. Let us not lose hope, but be encouraged that You’re working something out for us! 'We're sorry for carrying the stressors of life when we don't have to. We know Your Word says to lay all our worries and cares at Your feet. We acknowledge that it's not our job to worry. So we now surrender all of that to You in prayer. Holy Spirit, help us distinguish between what is urgent and what is not. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today - The "Uns" of Worry

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

Work doesn’t keep you up at night. Worry does. In the Bible, God gives clear direction about the role of worry.

Why do you need to let go of your worry?

Worry is unreasonable. Here are a couple of reasons why that’s true. First, worry exaggerates the problem. Have you noticed that, if somebody says something bad about you, the more you think about it, the bigger it gets? Second, worry doesn’t work. To worry about something you can’t change is useless. And to worry about something you can change is a waste of time. Just go change it!

Worry is UNnatural. No one is a born worrier. You might think you are, but you’re not. Worry is something you learned. Since worry is unnatural, it’s also UNhealthy. Your body wasn’t designed to handle worry. When people say, “I’m worried sick,” they’re telling the truth. Doctors say that a lot of people could leave the hospital today if they knew how to get rid of guilt, resentment, and worry. And Proverbs 14:30 says, “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body” (NLT).

Worry is UNhelpful. Worry cannot change the past, and worry cannot control the future. All it does is mess up today. The only thing that worry changes is you. It makes you miserable! It’s never solved a problem.

Worry is UNnecessary. God made you, he created you, he saved you, and he put his Spirit in you. Don’t you think he’s going to take care of your needs? So then, there’s no need to worry.

Do you want to learn to better manage stress? A great first step is to refuse to worry about anything. Why? Because worry is unreasonable, unnatural, unhelpful, and unnecessary.

The Bible tells us to “Leave all your worries with him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 GNT).

God personally cares about you and for your needs. So what should you do with all those things you’re stressed, anxious, and worried about? Let them go. Give them to God.

Talk It Over

What does your current state of worry say about how much you trust God?

What are you worried about right now? What can you do to change the situation or to let the worry go?

In what practical way can you leave all your worries with God (1 Peter 5:7)?

- by Pastor Rick

*******************************************

Prayer:

Father,

        When our minds start going down the road of worry, guide us back to Your path of peace. Remind us that You are not bound by time. You have been in our past, You are in our present, and You’re already in our future. Whatever we have to walk through, You’re already there. You know it. You are sovereign over it. We have nothing to worry about.
         Help us to cast all our cares on You, because we know that You care about us. When our finances are tight, You provide our daily bread. When our hearts are heavy, You are our consolation. When our health is precarious, You are the strength of our hearts and our portion forever.
         Your Word is full of promises about how you sustain us, You lift us up, You provide. Help us to take You at Your Word. Your Word is Truth.
         Thank You for being a good Father. When we ask for bread, You do not give us a stone. You give us exactly what we need. When we turn to worry, remind us of Your faithfulness. Your steadfast love endures forever. We lay all our worries into Your capable hands. Help us not to reclaim them. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today - Regular Checkups

I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be. 

Philippians 3:12-13 (TLB-The Living Bible)

Paul knew the importance of humbly growing and learning. When Paul wrote this, he was an older man in prison in Rome. He was at the end of his life. He was an incredibly mature person. Yet he said he hadn’t arrived. If anybody had the right to say, “I’ve arrived spiritually,” it would be the guy who wrote so much of the New Testament. But Paul said, “No, I haven’t arrived. I’m still growing, learning, and becoming more like Christ.”

The Bible says in The Message paraphrase, “Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith . . . Give yourselves regular checkups” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Do you give yourself regular checkups? Try this: Wake up every day and ask God, “What do I need to work on today?” This takes humility, but it’s a habit that will lead to happiness. Humble people are happy people. Why? Because they never stop growing and learning.

Pride is the trap that so often keeps Christians from following Paul’s example and continuing to grow in Christ. Why? Because when you think you’ve got it all together, it’s harder to make an effort to grow in spiritual maturity. Humility, on the other hand, leads to happiness because it makes you teachable.

Happiness and humility go together because you’re compelled to ask, “How can I be a better follower of Jesus? How can I be a better spouse? How can I be a better friend? How can I be a better boss? ” When you aren’t asking these questions, you’re missing out because you’ve stopped growing—and God made you to grow.

Take a step toward happiness today by humbly praying Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV): “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” 

Talk It Over

Who in your life do you consider a happy person? How do they also model humility?

How have you grown spiritually in the last year? What evidence of growth can others see in you?

Why is it important to have the support of a small group as you strive to grow spiritually?

- by Pastor Rick

************************************

Prayer:

Father, 

           Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us into all truth and show us things to come, according to Your Word (John 16:13). Help us to grow in You by taking Your Word into our hearts. We pray for spiritual growth according to the promises in Your written Word.

Ephesians 3:16, Strengthen us in our inner man.

Ephesians 3:17, That we may be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love.

Ephesians 3:18, Let us grasp God’s love – the breadth and length and height and depth of it.

Ephesians 3:19, That we might be filled through all our being with the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:19, That we might become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.

Philippians 3:10, That we may know You and the power of Your resurrection.

Ephesians 1:17, That You might grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation.

Ephesians 1:18, That the eyes of our hearts be flooded with light.

Ephesians 1:19, That we might know the greatness of Your power in us.

Philippians 1:10, That we may learn to sense what is vital and of real value.

Philippians 1:11, That we may abound and be filled with the fruits of righteousness.

John 17:12, That You will keep and protect us from the evil one.

Colossians 1:9, That we may know Your will.

Colossians 1:11-12, That we may be strengthened with all power, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks.  In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today - Invested

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. 

Philippians 3:10 (NLT)

Happiness is found in getting to know God more every day.

Another translation says that Paul became “thoroughly acquainted” (AMP) with God because he had a relationship with him and took the time to get to know him. He understood the difference between knowing ABOUT someone and actually knowing someone—and Paul wanted to really know Christ.

You don’t become thoroughly acquainted with God by accident. You don’t just wake up and accidentally fall into a relationship with Jesus. Paul says it’s a determined purpose. It’s something you have to do something about. You have to invest your time in it. You have to invest your heart in it. You have to invest your resources and your energy. Getting to know God requires the best of everything you have!

One trap that can keep you from getting to know God better is busyness. Just like busyness can destroy your relationships, it can also destroy your relationship with God.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (NIV).

To grow in your relationship with God, you need to make time for him and be still. Just a few minutes of focused time every day can make all the difference in the world. I’m not saying you have to spend an hour in prayer every day. You can start with 10 or 15 minutes each morning, reading the Bible and talking with God.

The most important thing is to make it a habit and commit to getting to know God. Only then will you, like Paul, begin understanding the wonders of God with greater clarity.

Make this your daily prayer: “Lord, if I don’t do anything else today, I want to get to know you a little bit better and I want to love you a little bit more.” As you pray and live this out, you’ll begin to experience greater happiness in your life.

Talk It Over

What are some things you do every day for at least 15 minutes? Do you do them because they’re essential or just because they’ve become habitual?

What distractions can keep you too busy to spend time with God?

How will you adjust your schedule so that you can spend more time with God?
- by Pastor Rick

*****************************************

Prayer:

Father,

         Thank You for loving us every moment of every day since before we were born. Help us to keep our focus on what is the most important part of our lives - to love You back. To spend time with You. To learn Your ways and to know You more. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Promise for Today - Love You Most

We Christians glory in what Christ Jesus has done for us and realize that we are helpless to save ourselves. 

Philippians 3:3 TLB

Realizing there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more is one of the most liberating feelings in the world—and it’s a key to happiness. He already loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). Each time you forget this truth and think you’ve got to somehow earn God’s love, that’s legalism, and it robs you of happiness.

Legalism is trusting in what you can do for God instead of trusting in what Jesus has already done for you. Legalism is following a list of rules and regulations to try to prove yourself worthy, and it’s a trap that keeps you from relaxing in God’s grace.

Paul knew how to relax in God’s grace. He said in Philippians 3:9, “I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ” (NLT). In other words, the way you earn the love of God is this: You don’t earn it. It’s not about your performance; it’s about his pardon.

How do you know when you’re being legalistic? When you realize you’re often judgmental of other people. That’s because it’s easier to be critical of others when you don’t feel accepted and loved yourself. Why would you want other people to feel good about themselves when you don’t feel good about yourself?

On the other hand, how do you know when you’re living by grace? When you’re living by grace, you’re gracious to others. You find it easier to forgive because you recognize that God continues to forgive you. And since you’re not trying to earn your way to heaven, you can relax.

Every morning, remind yourself of God’s grace by praying, “Lord, today I’m thankful that I am completely forgiven. There’s nothing I can do to make you love me more. And there’s nothing I could do that would make you love me less!”

The more you live by grace, the more joy you’ll have.

Let's talk about this. Have you trusted Jesus with your life?
The Bible says you can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot earn your way into heaven: “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).

If you’re ready to confess your sins and trust Jesus with your life, start with this prayer:

Dear God,
You have promised that if I believe in Jesus, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day. I believe Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and then rose from the grave. And through His death and resurrection, my sins are forgiven, and I can have a relationship and a forever home with You. I confess the ways I’ve sinned against you and lived for myself, and I submit to Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Jesus, I want to follow you and serve you. I commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

From Pastor Rick:
If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.