Many personal development books and coaches emphasize the importance of controlling what we think about, because our thoughts influence what occurs in our lives. Some also say that if you dwell on your fears they are more likely to occur, and conversely if you focus on the positive, those things are likely to occur.

It is interesting that this idea has its origin in the bible. Proverbs 10:24 says, “The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.” This ties in also with Jesus’ words in several places including Matthew 8:13, saying “..because you believed, it has happened.”NLT

Dear Lord, help us keep our thoughts on the positive; our hopes, dreams and prayers, and help us avoid negative, self defeating thoughts that lead us to question your power. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Do you remember, as a child, having done something you knew was wrong, against your parent’s rules, and were caught. Then feeling so terrible and repentant that you came, possibly crying, to your parents expecting severe punishment. However, your parents seeing how sorry you were for your mistake, and how seriously you were punishing yourself emotionally, they let you go, un-punished.

If you are like me, you may have experienced this situation from both the child and parent’s perspective.

This situation is modeled for us by God.

In Joel 2:12-13, God tells Joel, the prophet, to tell the people, “That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me all your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, mourning. Let your remorse tear at your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered; he is full of kindness and anxious not to punish you.”

God loves us and wishes for us to correct our ways on our own, without the need for His punishment and discipline.

This is ultimately demonstrated by Jesus Christ coming to take the punishment for us. John 3:16-17 says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

Dear Lord, we can get a very small understanding of the love you have for us by witnessing the love we see between parents and children. Help us remember that you love us, and come to you in humble repentance, thankful for your grace and mercy. And Lord, if this is not type of love we received from our parents, let us be the new creation and show this type of gracious love to our children. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Jesus meets a man named Nicodemus, who is a Pharisee, one of the smart/educated men of his time, and tells him he must be “born again” to enter the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus replies, “How are these things possible?” Then Jesus says to him John 3:8, ”The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

Jesus then said, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?” John 3:10-12

Aren’t we like Nicodemus on many occasions. Though we all know there are many mysteries in our world, we often will reject the things we do not understand. However, it is the things God tells us that we don’t understand that are the critical things to accept. Things like, Grace, Eternal Life, the Holy Spirit’s work in people, how God answers prayer, and the many miracles that occur in our world.

I recently heard someone say, “Failure is a blessing when it forces one to depend less upon material forces and more upon spiritual forces.” This made me stop and think that this is how God would have us live. We should depend more on God’s power than the material things we can understand.

Dear Lord, We tend to think that we must know how things work in order to accept them. But you teach us that we must put our trust and faith in something we do not understand, which is your power and love. Help us make this shift. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We read about the Devil also known as “the Deceiver” and his deceit many places in the Bible, including the temptation of Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4. The Devil is a crafty supernatural being described as the “ruler of this world” in Ephesians 2:2. He is like “a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour” in 1 Peter 5:8. We can only imagine how effectively he can manipulate our thoughts and perceptions with thousands of years of experience. 1 John 5:19 writes, “We know that we are children of God and all the rest of the world around us is under satan’s power and control”

But in 1 John 5:18 writes, “No one who has become a part of God’s family makes a practice of sinning, for Christ, God’s son, holds him securely and the devil cannot get his hands on him.” TLB

Although the devil may be stronger than us on our own, he is nothing compared to us with Christ. Our Faith in Jesus’ power and love is what protects us from this enemy.

Dear Lord, as we pray in the Lord’s prayer, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. When we feel “the tempter” working on us, help us have faith in you to protect us and those we love from the devil’s ways. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I remember when I was young and had the opportunity to go to the go-cart track. It would be fun, but I wished the go carts could go faster. They all had what are called “governors” on the engines. The governors limited the engine and the go-cart’s speed. In modern days, with the development of electronic engine controls, modern cars have computerized limiters on their maximum speeds. Without the limiters, most cars could go much faster.

In a similar way, Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.” TLB

When it comes to God’s power in our lives, we are like the governor, or speed limiter on a car. We are the limiter of what God can do through us. The Gods Word translation says He is capable of doing “infinitely more than what we can ask or imagine.”

Let’s take the limits off of our belief in God’ power, and believe for much more.

Dear Lord, You created all things, from the sophistication of the atom and smallest cell, to the unfathomable majesty and vastness of the universe. Help us remember that your same power lives in us, to do great things that glorify you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.