Week 10 - SEEKING TO KNOW HIM

Hosea 6:3 NLT
“Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him! Then he will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”

God isn't some stranger, sitting in heaven and waiting to punish us. He wants us to know Him but He won't crash into our life and force Himself on us. However, if we want to know God, we just have to ask Him to show Himself to us. That prayer won't fall on deaf ears - it's the prayer God longs to hear. He will reveal Himself to us.

We can count on it just as we know the sun will come up in the morning or rain will come in the spring.

Week 9 - I CAN DO ALL THINGS

Phillipians 4:13 NASB
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Before Joshua led the Israelites across teh Jordan River into the Promised Land, God instructed the priests to stand in the middle of the raging river. When they took that step of faith, God stopped the river and the people crossed.

Our strength comes from Christ. However, He doesn't give us the strength before we face difficult situations. We must take a step of faith first. When we step out, trusting Him, He gives us the strength we need when we need it.

Week 8 - FOCUS ON HIM

Psalm 37:4-5 NLT
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desire. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.”

When you commit yourself to the Lord and focus on Him, He'll enable you to live your dreams. He doesn't want you just to settle for an ordinary life. Instead, He longs to give you His vision, His strength and His dreams for your life.

The more you center your life on Him, the more His dreams will become your dreams. And remember, He formed the mountains and scattered the stars in the sky. His dreams will take you beyond anything you'll dream on your own.

Week 7 - FOCUS ON THE GOAL

Phillipians 3:13-14 NIV
“... Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

The past is the past - our sins, our failures, our pain, our disappointments. We can't change it. But we can learn to accept it and instead, switch our focus to what lies ahead. The life God offers through Jesus Christ is full of promis and heaven.

Week 6 - STRONG AND COURAGEOUS

Jushua 1:9 NIV
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God wil be with you wherever you go.”

When we face difficult or challenging situations, we can crumble into our weakness or we can choose to trust God. He's already promised us that He's with us. He won't leave us alone. He's with us at all times.

Now, it's up to us to take Him at His word. If we trust Him, He'll give us the strength and courage we need. And, wherever we go, we can tap into that strength and courage so we can do anything.

Week 5 - DON'T GIVE UP

2 Corinthians 4:8  NLT
“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit.”

Have you ever watched a butterfly struggle out of its cocoon? It looks like it's never going to make it. When it finally does, it's exhausted. Is it worth it? Yes, because it's that struggle that pumps blood into its wings, enabling it to fly.

That's why it doesn't give up. It keeps struggling to get out. We can look at our struggles that way. No matter what we go through, it's producing something good in us. Therefore, we shouldn't give up.

Week 4 - HIS POWER THROUGH US

John 14:13  NLT
“... anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it...”

It's so easy to fill up our lives with admirable activities and valuable service. Often, in the process, we leave the Lord out of all of it. Then, activity just becomes activity - dull and boring and time-consuming. We can begin to equate the energy-sapping endeavor with serving God. But when we focus on the Lord, he takes us on adventure.

We actually begin to see him working through us. Instead of sapping our energy, serving God refreshes and renews us.

Week 3 - HE LISTENS

1 John 5:14  NIV
“This is the confidence we have in aproaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

God promises that if we ask anything, according to his will, he hears us. Anything. But how do we know if we're asking something that's in God's will? The more we grow in his image, the more we become like him. His will becomes our will.

This doesn't mean that everything we ask is always in line with his will. We're still human. But, we can confidently approach God, knowing that he's listening to us. He wants to answer our prayers.o stand firm if we give ourselves fully to him. Then, he can continue to work through us.

Week 2 - STAND FIRM IN HIS WORK

1 Corinthians 15:58  NIV
“…my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

Nothing we do for the Lord is in vain. He works through us to love other people. That’s why he wants us to stand firm and not give up. A lot of things compete for our attention. If we’re not careful, good things will pull us away from the best thing - serving God.

We don’t have the strength on our own. However, he’ll give us the strength.o stand firm if we give ourselves fully to him. Then, he can continue to work through us.

Week 1 - NEVER GIVE UP

Luke 18:1  NLT
“One day Jesus told His disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up.”

The story that follows this verse is about a woman who persistently went to a judge who ignored her. Now, Jesus wasn’t saying that he was like that evil judge. But, he commended the woman for her perseverance. She never gave up.

How often do we give up serving God because we feel like we’re not getting anywhere? Ask God for his strength. He’ll help you keep going, even when you feel like giving up.