The Faith of the Centurion (-Matthew 8:5-13, NIV)

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The Faith of the Centurion

 ⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”

 ⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

 ¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. (Matthew 8:5-13, NIV)

 

Give Your Faith a Voice (— Joel & Victoria Osteen)

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Give Your Faith a Voice

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak.”

(2 Corinthians 4:13, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Every believer has been given a measure of faith. In order to see the promises of God come to pass in your life, you have to give your faith a voice. You must declare what God says about you in His Word. Those seeds of faith inside you are activated when you speak them out into the atmosphere. That’s why the scripture tells us, “Let the weak say I am strong. Let the poor say I am rich.” When you give your faith a voice and send forth the Word of God, the Bible says that He watches over His Word to bring it to pass in your life. Every word you speak is a seed. Don’t dig up your seed by speaking against your faith! Don’t allow words of defeat or negativity come out of your mouth. Instead, water your seed by continuing to declare the Word of God. When you wake up every morning, thank Him that His promises are coming to pass in your life. As you do, you will see those things come to pass and live the life of victory God has prepared for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, today I humbly come before You giving You my thoughts, my actions, and my words. Help me to give my faith a voice by speaking Your Word daily. May my words and my thoughts be pleasing to You always in Jesus’ name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

I Can (— Joel & Victoria Osteen)

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I Can

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

(Philippians 4:13, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

When was the last time you declared “I can” out loud? It’s not something people think to do every day. In fact, most people tend to magnify their limitations. They focus on their shortcomings. But scripture makes it plain: all things are possible to those who believe. That’s right! It is possible to see your dreams fulfilled. It is possible to overcome that obstacle. It is possible to climb to new heights. It is possible to embrace your destiny. You may not know how it will all take place. You may not have a plan, but all you have to know is that if God said you can...you can! Today, why don’t you begin to open yourself up to possibilities in your future by simply declaring this verse, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength?” At the stoplight, when you’re waiting in line, any time you have a second just quote this verse to yourself again. Let it sink down deeply into your heart. As you do, His word will transform you. Faith will rise up in your heart and will boldly embrace the blessings that He has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, thank You for empowering me by Your spirit to do everything that I'm called to do. Thank You for Your hand of blessing on me as I submit my ways to You. I declare “I can” do all things in Jesus’ name! Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

File It Away (— Joel & Victoria Osteen)

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File It Away

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.”

(Psalm 131:1, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

When things happen in your life that you don’t plan, do you find yourself trying to reason it all out or look for a “file” so to speak in your mind to put it in? What happens when you can’t reason it out or make sense of it all? Here’s the answer: Every one of us needs to create a file in our thinking called the “I Don’t Understand It” file. When things come up that don’t make sense, things that you can’t figure out, instead of getting frustrated or confused, put it in your “I Don’t Understand It” file and leave it alone. If you go through life trying to figure out why something bad happened or why things didn’t work out, it will cause you to become bitter and stuck in life. Part of trusting God means trusting Him when things don’t make sense because we know that His plan is always for good. We have to know that He will reveal all things in His time — even if that means in eternity. Is there something that didn’t make sense in 2012 that you know you need to file away? Choose to trust God. Choose to keep moving forward. Know that He loves you, He is for you, and He has a great plan for your future!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, today I surrender my past. I surrender my need to have all the answers, and I choose to trust You. Fill me with Your peace. Fill me with Your grace and compassion as I press forward into the victory You have prepared for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen