No More Shame

TODAY’S VERSE
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.”
Joshua 5:9 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Shame is a state of mind. What you are a slave to can do that to you. Many things can have you in bondage. You can be held captive by abuse, abandonment, emotional struggles, addictions, poverty, or your shame-based thinking. But the Lord comes along and says, “Today! Today, I have rolled away your shame!” They were in the wilderness for forty years, and now they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. They stepped out of slavery into freedom. When you decide to step out of your shameful thinking, you too can come into a new reality. When you choose to believe that you are deeply loved by God, completely accepted and forgiven, you are stepping out of slavery. No shame will be able to stand when you choose to agree with God that in your very core, you are His creation made significant and loveable. So today, God has rolled away your shame; live in this new reality!

TODAY’S PRAYER
Dear Father, I have been in the bondage of slavery for too long. Thank You for Your love and freedom. Today I choose to accept Your unconditional love and leave all my shame behind. In Jesus’ Name.
AMEN

_________________________________________________

CLICK HERE to send this to a friend

You can get this Daily Devotional sent to your e-mail as “Moment In the Word”. CLICK HERE to have this Daily E-votional sent to your e-mail

Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?
Now You Can. CLICK HERE to Get your FREE Spiritual Gifts Survey

For more information go to http://www.ronovitt.com

Significance

TODAY’S VERSE
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Where do we get our significance from? Is it the accolades for the skills that we have? Is it praise for our achievements? Perhaps it is our job, money, or notoriety in some field of endeavor. Maybe we get significance from those we align ourselves with, those teams that we cheer, or the position we have on specific topics. These all can manufacture some kind of significance. But the most striking significance of all is that which comes from the way God created us, our very innateness. Our significance comes from being chosen as a specific creation of God that He loves unconditionally. He created us to be holy and without fault in His eyes. In his book, “The Deeper Journey,” M. Robert Mulholland Jr. writes, “Here is the ultimate ground of our identity. You are a beloved child of God, spoken forth out of the heart of God’s love before the foundation of the world. The union of a man and woman that brought about your physical conception is only the secondary cause of your being. The primary center of your identity is the heart of God’s love.” So today, if you start to doubt yourself, if you begin to buy the lie that you are anything less than a loved child of God, remember this, God loves you and chose to make you His child before the world was ever created.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, thank You for creating me before You created the earth! Thank You that I am part of Your plan and dearly loved by You. Thank You that in You, I have all the significance I will ever need.
AMEN

_______________________________________________________

CLICK HERE to send this to a friend

You can get this Daily Devotional sent to your e-mail as “Moment In the Word”. CLICK HERE to have this Daily E-votional sent to your e-mail

Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?
Now You Can. CLICK HERE to Get your FREE Spiritual Gifts Survey

Shame and Grace

TODAY’S VERSE
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
II Thessalonians 2:15-17 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
Shame and grace are perhaps the two of the most potent words in molding and shaping our beliefs about ourselves. Shame keeps us from accepting all the love God has for us. Grace invites us to embrace it. Lewis Smedes, in his book, “Shame and Grace,” writes, “The feeling of shame is about our very selves – not about something we did or said but about what we are. It tells us that we are unworthy. Totally. It is not a few seams in the garment of our selves need stitching; the whole fabric is frayed. We feel we are unacceptable.” How do we overcome such devastating feelings? How can we ever shake such deep emotion? Only through God’s grace. Paul says that it is God who loves us and by His grace gives us encouragement and hope. His grace encourages our hearts and strengthens us. Smedes writes, “Grace overcomes shame by simply accepting us, the whole of us, with no regard to our beauty or our ugliness, our virtue or our vices. We are accepted wholesale. Accepted with no possibility of being rejected. Accepted once and forever. Accepted at the ultimate depth of our being. We are given what we have longed for in every nook and nuance of every relationship.” Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Are you listening? Today, read this devotional again and believe. God’s grace says it all. You are loved.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Oh, Father, melt my heart. Open me and pour your grace deep into my soul. I believe, but today help my unbelief. Lord, I renounce my shame and accept your unconditional love. Flood my being with the joy of Your grace I pray.
AMEN

______________________________________

CLICK HERE to send this to a friend

You can get this Daily Devotional sent to your e-mail as “Moment In the Word”. CLICK HERE to have this Daily E-votional sent to your e-mail

Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?
Now You Can. CLICK HERE to Get your FREE Spiritual Gifts Survey

Don’t Condemn Yourself

TODAY’S VERSE
Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I.”
John 8:10-11 (NLT)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
I love the account of Jesus listening to the men who wanted to stone a woman to death for committing adultery. Jesus instructed them, “the one without any sin should throw the first stone.” One by one each man left until only the woman and Jesus remained. Jesus asked, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” The woman stood there, no doubt astonished and said, “No Lord.” Then Jesus said those words of extreme freedom, “Neither do I.” Paul brings the point home after explaining our human condition of doing things that we don’t want to and not doing those that we should. He shouts this victory cry, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Hallelujah! That should be enough to set anyone free. Or at least you would think so. However, it is not always, others that accuse us. It is our inner voice that has picked up the stone. It is the internal dialog of guilt, shame, remorse, worthlessness that is pelting us, leaving us bloody and beaten. You see, we can be free from the condemnation of those around us. We can believe, in our mind, that Jesus has forgiven us, but if we do not deal with the inner conflict, the lifelong attitudes of low self-worth, we are not free from the pain of condemnation. We must take an inventory, exercise self-compassion and one by one watch all our internal accusers leave. Each one, unqualified to condemn us, until there are none left and then Jesus can say to us, “Where are your accusers?” And we can lift our heart in deep gratitude and say, “There are none!”

TODAY’S PRAYER
Lord, I thank You that You have forgiven me for my sins. However, there are attitudes inside my heart that constantly condemn me. They are full of shame, guilt, and legalism, tying me up and keeping me from experiencing the freedom You have given me. Today, help me renounce these inner condemnations and celebrate your forgiveness. Help me live in the reality of Your love.
AMEN

______________________________________

CLICK HERE to send this to a friend

You can get this Daily Devotional sent to your e-mail as “Moment In the Word”. CLICK HERE to have this Daily E-votional sent to your e-mail

Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?
Now You Can. CLICK HERE to Get your FREE Spiritual Gifts Survey

Mind Your Mind and Heart

TODAY’S VERSE
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:15-16 (NIV)

TODAY’S THOUGHT
William Backus, in his book “Learning To Tell Myself The Truth” writes, “Sadly, misbeliefs, whether verbal or visual, are the direct cause of emotional turmoil, maladaptive behavior, and most self-destructive behavior, such as overeating, smoking, lying, substance abuse, or adultery, to name a few.” It is true, the consequences of misbeliefs, misinterpretations of events and skewed predictions about outcomes all too often lead to us to despair and the dysregulation of our emotions. Therefore, it is crucial that we protect our heart and our mind. Paul shares how we can do this. First, he says that we are to let the peace that comes from knowing Christ rule in our hearts. The heart is where our emotions, imagination, visualizations, dreams, and aspirations come from. We need to let Christ rule in each of these areas. He should fill our imaginations, dreams, and visions with His peace. Satan uses our imagination. Have you ever noticed that you fear in technicolor, surround sound and 3-D? It is the same with anger, hopelessness and any other of our painful emotions. Our imagination goes wild. Instead, we need to let Christ’s peace fill our hearts. We need Him to be the Lord of our imagination. Second, Paul writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” It is the word of God that challenges and helps correct any negative core belief. As His word dwells in our minds we will begin to see it spill over into our belief system. This happens through, “admonishing one another with all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Today give God both your heart and your mind. Let Him be the Lord of your thoughts and imagination.

TODAY’S PRAYER
Father, please let Your peace rule in my heart. Let Your word dwell in my mind. Help me grow with others as we admonish each other with all wisdom. May I be blessed through the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. And may I be filled with gratitude in my heart to You dear God. In Jesus’ name, I pray.
AMEN

______________________________________

CLICK HERE to send this to a friend

You can get this Daily Devotional sent to your e-mail as “Moment In the Word”. CLICK HERE to have this Daily E-votional sent to your e-mail

Do You Know What Your Spiritual Gifts Are?
Now You Can. CLICK HERE to Get your FREE Spiritual Gifts Survey