Taking Your Temperature

“The tongue is the thermometer of your spirit.

  26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.  

James 1:26

 35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  36But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  37For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  

Matthew 12:35-37

39 I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.

Psalm 39:1

172 My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Psalm 119:172

Whatever people talk about the most is what they are focused on most of the time. What we read, watch or listen to will eventually show up in our conversation. You don’t have to talk to someone too long before you start to understand where they are spiritually. Our words betray us. Especially when we are under pressure from circumstances. If your meditation is on God’s Word then that is what will come out of you when you speak. The Bible says, life and death are in the power of the tongue. So it is very important to your life the words you say. Speak life!

Victory Action

I will fill my spirit with the things of God, so when under pressure, my words will be God’s words.

Lips of the Righteous

“You are snared by the words of your mouth, so say words that you want to get snared with you.

 2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.  Proverbs 6:2

 20The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.  21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.  

Proverbs 10:20-21

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Matthew 12:35

Snared means to be trapped. Your words can trip you, what you say can cause you to stumble, and it can keep you from your potential. Don’t set the limits for your life with your words. Fill your heart and your mouth with scripture and release the unlimited power of God in your life.

 Victory Action

I will allow the Holy Spirit to convict me of my negative words. I will listen and change what I say so that it lines up with Scripture. I will walk in the victory that God has for me!

Abundance of the Heart

“What you really believe in your heart will eventually come out of your mouth.

34O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  35A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 

Matthew 12:34-35

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10:8-10

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm, impenetrable] Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 19:14 AMPC

 Victory Action

I will store the good treasure of God’s Word in my heart and speak it forth from my mouth.

Bible Faith

“Victorious Bible faith sees and speaks before it actually receives the manifestation of the thing desired.

22And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.  23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 

Mark 11:22-24

11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

Hebrews 11:1 AMPC

13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

2 Corinthians 4:13-15 MSG

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Romans 8:25

At creation God used faith filled words to create everything we see today. He said, “light be”, and light was. If God had looked out and said, “Wow, it is dark in here”, it would still be dark in here! But His words were faith words that had the power of creation in them. Our words, when based on scripture, have that same power in them. He gave us this is the pattern so we could use our faith and our words to bring His will to pass in our lives.

 Victory Action

I will see and say what God has for me, then wait patiently for it to manifest.

Prayer and Confession

“You have to pray it before you say it!

14And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:  15And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

I John 5:14-15

 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 

Mark 11:23-24

If you are wondering why your prayers aren’t answered – then you need to examine what you are praying and what you are saying. God is faithful and He does answer prayer but He also gave His Word so we would know what to pray for. God’s Word is our standard for life and it outlines God’s will for our lives. The Bible tells us what God has provided for us. It tells us what Jesus won for us when He died on the cross. It should be the foundation of what we are praying and what we are saying. When you find a promise in the Bible, apply that to your life through prayer. Then no matter the circumstance stick to it! Keep saying what God says about your life. Not what you see now. God confirms His Word with signs following. (Mark 16:20)

Victory Action

I will go to God for the keys before I put my mouth in gear.

A Way of Escape

“Your shout is your way out.”

Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart. 

Psalm 32:11

 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.  

Joshua 6:20

I will be glad and shout in triumph. I will sing praise to your exalted name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:2 TPT

Have you ever felt trapped by your circumstances and couldn’t see any way out? You need a new perspective. God’s perspective to be exact! God has provided a way of escape. But as long as you sit there and complain about those circumstances you are going to stay right there. Instead it is time to stand up spiritually and shout in triumph. It is time to release your faith and proclaim you are the victor over the circumstance, not the victim of it. Use your voice to declare for a decree what God’s Word says about your life. Things will not change until you change. Change what you say and watch the circumstances around you begin to move.

Victory Action

I will praise God for His power to deliver me from any negative situation.

Jesus has the Answers

“Keep your eyes on Jesus, not people, for answered prayers.

25And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,  26And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,  27When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.  28For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.  29And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

Mark 5:25-29

2 We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation[a] onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection.[b] His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his,[c] he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation,[d] and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!

Hebrews 12:2 TPT

Victory Action

God may choose to answer my prayer through people, but I will always look to Him as my source.

How to Get Answers

“When the Spirit starts dealing with you, do not let go until you have gotten the answer.

24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.  25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.  26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.

Genesis 32:24-26

Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:7 AMPC

Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking. The way to trouble God is not to come at all.

D.L. Moody

The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God’s glory, they should pray until they get it.

George Muller

Victory Action

 I will persist in faith until I receive the answer I need from God.

Availability is Important

Seeking God is making yourself 100% available to Him regardless of time, cost or inconvenience.”

13And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

 29And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,  30But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Mark 10:29-30

Seek more of his strength! Seek more of him! Let’s always be seeking the light of his face.

Psalm 105:4 TPT

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.

Psalm 119:2

The seeking of the kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life.

Jonathan Edwards

The Bible says that we should seek God with our WHOLE heart. That implies we don’t leave anything out. We need to be all in! We should be giving God access to everything. It takes time to listen and hear the direction of God. It takes time to be in His presence. It takes faith to respond to God when He speaks. It often means sacrifice to seek God. But it is worth it! You can’t give anything to God that He won’t multiply and return to you in ways you can’t even imagine.

Victory Action

 I am committed to being 100% available to God no matter what it takes.

Partnership

“Partners catch more fish.”

1And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,  2And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.  3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.  4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.  5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.  6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.  7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

Luke 5:1-7

When people come together and share their resources and skills more can be accomplished with less effort. A bigger impact can be made. There are some things that just can’t be done without a partner. When you become a partner with another person or organization you become part of a team. Everyone benefits from the partnership. We see in the story in Luke that Jesus needed a place to teach the crowd from. When he saw the ships He knew they had been out fishing already because they were washing their nets. But after Jesus was finished teaching He wanted to bless the boat owner. It took faith on the part of Simon to do what Jesus said. When he obeyed he received a huge blessing! So much so it was more than he could bring in himself so he had to call for his partners to help. When we partner with God we will always reap an abundant harvest!

Victory Decision

I will choose to look for opportunities to partner with God. I will be ready to give of my time, my finances or anything else He asks for me to give.