Daily Bible Reading - Sunday - January 17th

Oftentimes, people set their focus on what God has done in the past—how He parted the Red Sea or stopped the sun for Joshua or fed thousands of people with just a little boy’s small lunch. Yes, God has performed many amazing miracles throughout history, and it’s important that we give Him praise and glory, but at the same time, we also have to look forward to what God wants to do in our lives today. In the devotional scripture verse, Paul says that “in the ages to come God would do things that far supersede anything He’s ever done before.  I believe that the “ages to come" that He’s talking about is this day and time we’re living in right now.  God wants to outdo Himself in our generation.

Remember, God is a God of increase.  Where you are today is not where you are supposed to stay.  He has greater levels of His favor and blessing in store for you.  Dare to dream big! Dare to keep a God-sized, vision in front of you at all time.  Dare to take hold of every blessing that the Lord has in store for you.

Daily Reading

Genesis 35:1-36:43
Matthew 12:1-21
Psalm 15:1-5
Proverbs 3:21-26

Daily Devotional

Ephesians 2:4-7
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus"

I have a friend named Robert who grew up with an alcoholic father. He grew up out in the country, and his dad was known as the town drunk. Robert was a star football player. He made the high school All-American team and went on to play in college. Football was his life. But as far as he knew, his father never saw him play one single football game. His father never encouraged him and never told him how great he was. Robert so longed for his father's approval. Years later, he found out that his dad did come to some games, but he would stay to the side because he was so embarrassed about being the town drunk.

After Robert's college football days, he went to seminary and became a great pastor and leader. One day, he got a call saying that his father had a heart attack and might not make it. Robert rushed to the emergency room. His father was a little disoriented. He was coming in and out of consciousness, and he thought Robert was the doctor. He said something to Robert that changed his life forever. He said, "Hey, Doc, have I ever told you about my son, Robert? I am so proud of him. He was a great football player and now he's a pastor of a great church. He's so smart and talented. Doc, I just wish you could meet my son, Robert."

That day, Robert heard the words that he had longed to hear for more than 35 years. He received the blessing from his father. A void was filled on the inside that only his father could fill. It was like a healing balm going all through him.

Who in your life needs to hear a blessing from you? Sure, you may be proud of your children or loved one, but understand that a blessing is not a blessing until it's spoken. The fact is, Robert's father had the blessing on the inside, but he never released it. He never verbalized it. He thought, "Oh, Robert doesn't need to hear from me. He's successful. He knows how great he is." But you have to remember, there is a blessing that only you can give.

I know some people weren't raised to be affectionate or expressive with their feelings. You may say, "Joel, we don't do that in our family. We don't talk. We don't hug. We don't kiss. We don't compliment." But, you need to be the one to break out of that rut. Just because it hasn't been done in the past doesn't mean that it's the right thing. You're attitude should be, "I may not have seen this kind of love and expression modeled in my home growing up, but this is a new day. I'm going to draw that line in the sand. I'm going to start telling the people God put in my life, ‘I love you. I'm proud of you. I believe in you.' I'm going to start speaking the blessing."