bible

Being peculiar. That's not something most of us work to achieve, is it? But, you know, we should.

God has called us to be peculiar—to stand out from the rest of the world as living proof of His power and His love (1 Peter 2:9).

He doesn't, for example, want us to share the ailments of the world. He doesn't want us to share their sickness and poverty and failure. He's never wanted that for His people.

Walking in the spirit. That's the key to overcoming the flesh. If you follow the prompting of the Spirit of God within you, you won't be dominated by the pressure your flesh tries to put on you.

As you listen to the written Word and the Holy Spirit telling you what to do, you'll constantly be making little adjustments in your life according to what He says. And those little adjustments will keep darkness from overtaking you.

Choosing to side with God's Word is a continual challenge. It's not something you do just once. It's a process of choosing to believe and act upon the Word of God over and over in every circumstance.

There's just no two ways about it. If you want to live a life of blessing, you're going to have to make your words agree with what God says. Not just for a few hours or a few days, but all the time.

And if you've ever done that, you know it's not easy. As time wears on and the circumstances around you appear to be stubbornly determined to stay in the same miserable condition they've always been in, it's hard to keep on speaking God's Word. But you have to do it if you ever want your harvest of blessing to come in.

Recently, God has been raising up ever-growing numbers of people who are hungry. Hungry to know their Lord in a deeper way. Hungry to serve Him—in pulpits, on mission fields, in homes, in office buildings and anywhere else He might choose to send them.

They are people who simply aren't content to find the path of least resistance and coast their way into heaven. No, they're determined to run the race...to run, as the apostle Paul said, to obtain the prize. Spiritually speaking, they are on the road to excellence.

Are you among them?

Right now, at this very moment, you have hidden within you a treasure that can change the world. A treasure that can change a man's eternal destiny, that can take him to heaven and save him from hell. A treasure that can turn a person's poverty into prosperity, his sickness into health, his sorrow into joy.

You have within you the all-powerful Word of God.

Don't keep it to yourself. Plant it wherever you go! Sow it into the hearts of those you meet. Share it at every opportunity.

"But I don't know how!" you may say.

How long has it been since you were backed into a corner, hemmed in by a seemingly insurmountable problem? If you're anything like most folks, it hasn't been very long. Some of us spend years trying to work our way out of financial binds only to end up more bound by debt than ever. Others work fanatically on marriages that, despite their best efforts, deteriorate from year to year. Still others fight battles against fear or depression, drug addiction or disease.

As you fight the good fight of faith today, remember this: Your mind is where the battle will take place. Whatever you allow to captivate your mind will rule your life. Will it be the Word of God or the lies of Satan?

The decision is yours.

If you want the Word to reign, make up your mind now to resist the devil when he comes to plant doubts within you. Refuse to surrender to the circumstantial pressure he brings your way. Decide at the outset that you will not succumb to this trial. Dig your heels in and stand immovable upon the promises of God.

Like the bursting forth of waters. I love that phrase! It paints such a powerful and accurate picture of a breakthrough.

Do you remember the story of the little boy who saw a leak in the dam and plugged up the hole with his finger? He knew that the force of the water flowing through that one tiny hole would have enlarged the leak with every second that passed. And, as the dam gave way to the pressure, that tiny trickle would have quickly become a raging flood.

The world's order of things is unsure and indefinite. Desperate words of uncertainty are crying out daily from radio, television and newspapers. Everything around us seems to be in turmoil.

But, praise God, if you're a believer you have something you can depend on: the unchanging Word of God!

God has no double standard. He doesn't say one thing today and something else tomorrow. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Jesus is the beginning and the ending. He is the Almighty. When He told us that in the book of Revelation, He wasn't just giving us a general piece of information about Himself. He was giving us a powerful truth we can apply now, today!

Let me show you how. He said He is the beginning. So no matter what challenge or situation you may be facing right now, you need to start with Him. John 1:1 says Jesus is the Word. That means, if you're going to start with Jesus, you're going to start with the Word. Don't do anything until you find out what the Word has to say about it.

Have you ever been in a room full of babies? Infants crying. Crawlers hollering for certain toys. Toddlers pushing and whining to get their way. It can be quite a handful, can't it?

We have what we say. As believers, we know that's a vital biblical truth. We can see it in Mark 11:23, Matthew 21:21, James 3:2 and many other verses. Yet we often let it slip.

We allow ourselves to begin talking like the world instead of talking the Word. And eventually we get what we've been asking for—a big mess.

When it comes to faith, a lot of believers feel like they have one foot nailed to the ground. No matter how hard they try, they just can't seem to make any progress.

If you'll watch them, you can see why. They literally haven't "gotten themselves together." One minute they'll be telling you, "Oh yes, amen, I believe the Word," and the next minute they'll be spouting unbelief like it's going out of style. "I know God says He'll prosper us, but I'll tell you what, my business is doing so badly, it's about to give me ulcers. I can't sleep at night for worrying."