Beloved in Christ Ministry

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians  5:18 , NIV) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria So many people today wonder what God’s will is for their lives. Oftentimes, they look for big things, signs and supernatural events. But really, God’s will for us unfolds each and every day as we obey Him and serve Him with a thankful heart. When you wake up every morning with an attitude of praise and thanksgiving, you just took a step toward your destiny — you are walking in the will of God. When you go throughout your day thanking God that His hand of blessing is upon you, thanking Him for ordering your steps, thanking Him for a new day, you are taking another step in His will. Today, remember to keep the right perspective. We should have goals and dreams and look forward to a bright future, but the way you live your life today is what’s going to get you to where you need to be  tomorrow . Keep prai

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree...” (Psalm 92:12, NIV) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria Have you ever seen a palm tree in the midst of a great storm? That tree may be bent so far over that it’s almost touching the ground, but when the wind finally stops, that palm tree bounces right back up. What’s interesting is that while that palm tree is hunched over under the pressure of the storm, it is actually becoming stronger. See, the reason God said we’d flourish like a palm tree is because He knew there would be difficult times. He knew things would come against us to try to steal our joy and victory. But God said, “You’re going to be like a palm tree because when the storms of life blow, you are going to come right back up stronger than before.” As you reflect on the events of your life, remember, the storms you have encountered have only made you stronger. You are wiser, you are more alive, and you are headed for victory. Your brigh

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12, NIV) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria Have you stopped to consider that today is a special gift from God? Sometimes, our days can be so full and busy that we forget how fragile life really is. The little things try to creep in and steal our peace and joy. Maybe something doesn’t go your way, or someone says something upsetting. Even traffic can cause you to lose focus if you let it. We have to remember that each day is ordained by Almighty God. If we choose to focus on the wrong things, we’ll miss the blessing that each day has to offer. Today, don’t let the precious moments of life pass you by. Don’t wait for holidays and birthdays to show people that you care. Remember, each day is unique and irreplaceable. You have been given time that can be invested or wasted; hours that can be used or misused. That’s why the psalmist prayed to God, “Teach us to number our days.”

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” (Proverbs  4:25 , NIV) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria What are you looking at today? Not in the natural, but with your spiritual eyes. In other words, what is in the forefront of your mind and heart? Are you constantly dwelling on your problems or things that have happened in your past? In the natural, you will move in the direction that your eyes are looking. In the spiritual, it works the same way. Whatever you focus your mind and heart on, you will move toward. That’s why the Bible tells us to look straight ahead. If you are constantly dwelling on your past, wondering “what if,” then you will stay right where you are. But if you choose to release the past through forgiveness, then you can focus on what is ahead of you. Today, make the decision to meditate on God’s goodness and focus on His promises. Forget the past, good and bad, and fix your gaze straight ahead so you ca

John  11:41 –42 …And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me… After Jesus had said these words, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” And the man who had been dead for four days came out of his tomb! This is one of the greatest miracles that Jesus performed. Lazarus had been dead for four days when Jesus raised him to life. Wouldn’t you agree that death is indeed an extreme problem? Having no money in the bank, being sick and losing your job, bad as they are, are not as bad as being dead! But what I want you to see is this: If Jesus, in the most extreme of problems, shows us that the solution is still, “Father, I  thank  You,” then how much more should we thank God in the midst of the less serious problems we face. If thanksgiving can raise the dead, then let us give thanks in spite of the negative circumstances and we will see victory. Unfortunately, we tend to do the opposite—murmur and com

1 KINGS  20:23 Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they.   In 1 Kings 20, we find the Syrians being defeated by the Israelites. Then, some of the Syrian king’s advisers gave the king what they thought was the reason for their defeat. They said that they had fought on the hills and lost because Israel’s God is the God of the hills. So if they were to fight the Israelites on the plains or in the valleys, they would win. What stupid advice! They thought that the God of Israel only helped His people up in the hills and mountains, and not down in the valleys. Now, mountains refer to our good times, and valleys, our bad times. Some people have this idea that God is the God of our good times, but He is not there when we are going through bad times. They think that He leaves us helpless in the valleys, especially when the t

ROMANS 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”   You are blessed today because all your sins are forgiven in Christ. God does not count your sins against you. Instead, He counts you righteous in Christ. That is why you are the blessed man to whom the Lord  does not  and  will not  impute sin! What happens to such a man? Let’s look at the story of Jacob to find out. The Bible records how Jacob had deceived his father and cheated his elder brother Esau of his firstborn blessing. (Genesis 27:1–41) Yet, in spite of his sin of deception, God chose to speak to Jacob. And no, God did not say to this cheat, “You terrible sinner! How can you deceive your own father? You are cursed!” No, to deceitful Jacob, God said, “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants…Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you

EPHESIANS 2:7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.   Have you ever blown things out of proportion and gotten angry with God when you were going through a trying time? This happened to Jesus’ disciples when a storm hit them hard. In their fear of drowning, they cried out to Jesus, who was getting some much-needed sleep in the boat, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38 ) For accusing Him of not caring, you would think that they received a rebuke from Jesus. But it was the wind which received His rebuke, and a great calm followed. (Mark  4:39 ) Because of His tenderness toward His own, Jesus did not waste time taking offence. Instead, He wasted no time taking care of the problem that had caused His disciples so much anxiety and fear. This also happened to two sisters, Martha and Mary, who did not hesitate to let Jesus know how they felt when He finally showed up days after their

LUKE  15:22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.   If you are a believer, you are probably familiar with the touching story of the prodigal son that Jesus shared. Who do you think the father in the story represents? Jesus’ Father in heaven, of course. Jesus was giving us a picture of His Father, who is also our Father. In the story, the father was seen running toward his son, who was returning home. (Luke  15:20 ) Do you realize that God is never described as being in a hurry in the Bible? He is always cool and composed. The only time He is portrayed as being in a hurry is in this story. Though improper in Jewish culture, the father held up his robe and ran. Where was he running to? Why was he in such a hurry? The father was in a hurry because he had seen his son, who was still a long way from home. He was running toward his son as he could not wait to embrace and kiss his child aga

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings...” (Proverbs  22:29 , NIV) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria Too often, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut, doing the same thing the same way over and over every day. But if we are going to live at our absolute best, we should constantly be growing and sharpening our skills. We should strive to learn and grow every single day because when we stop learning, we stop growing. When we stop growing, we stop living. What are you doing to stretch yourself? What are you doing to improve your skills? Don’t get trapped into thinking that “good enough” is good enough. You were created for more than just average. Today is a new day, and there are new heights for you to climb. Pursue what you love and keep developing that area of your life. Take a class or find a mentor that will help you live skillfully. As scripture promises, you’ll go before leaders and rulers and excel in every area of li

LEVITICUS 27:12 …the priest shall set a value for it, whether it is good or bad; as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be.   Your colleague says that this week is going to be a lousy one because the new boss is mean. You disagree and say that it is going to be a blessed week. Both of you will go through the same week, but with very different outcomes. While your friend’s week will indeed turn out to be a lousy one, yours will be filled with the favor of the Lord! In the Old Testament, when someone brought what he had to the priest for a valuation, whatever the priest assessed the value of the item to be, it was so. If he assessed it to be of good value, then it was of good value. If he assessed it to be of poor value, then it was of poor value. Today, you are also a priest because of Jesus’ blood. (Revelation 1:5–6) And “as you, the priest, value it, so it shall be”. If you assess your year to be one of financial breakthroughs, so it will be for you. If you assess your life

EPHESIANS  4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.   People like to say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does God tell you to forgive and then to  forget . It is not in the Bible! The devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome. God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favor because harboring bitterness and unforgiveness can sometimes destroy our health! So just forgive and let God take care of the rest. When you really forgive, sometimes, He makes you forget. But sometimes, you still remember the incident because it was a major thing in your life. Yet, when you look back at it, the pain is no more there. The sting is gone and you are not bitter. Joseph had forgiven his brothers before they came and bowed before him. He remember

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might...” (Ecclesiastes  9:10 , NIV) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria When you do something to the best of your ability because you want to honor God, it opens the door to His blessing. That means it will be easier, it will go better, and you will accomplish more. That’s why no matter what we do, we should give it our best. This is especially true even in the little things. For example, when you’re doing the dishes or mowing the lawn, don’t drag around sour and frustrated. Mow with enthusiasm! Mow like you’re on a mission from God. With every step, thank God that your legs work. Thank Him that you’re healthy and strong. At the office, don’t just do enough to get by. You’re not working unto people; you’re working unto God. Do it with your whole heart. When you volunteer at church, don’t wake up and think, “Awe, man. Why did I volunteer? I want to sleep in!” No, serve Him with all your heart becaus

JOHN  10:10 …I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.   Though Jesus is completely God, He was born completely human. He went through temptation after temptation and conquered every one of them. (Hebrews  4:15 ) And all that overcoming power is found in His life. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He conquered sickness, the winds and waves, the powers of darkness and death. It is His life that brings victory over the devil and all his works. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! Finally, Jesus went to the cross. And that life in Him put an end to everything that was natural of the Adamic race—sickness, poverty, failures, pains, curses and death. All that was natural ceased to be in that life of His. But all that was supernatural remained in Him. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you! Then, Jesus rose from the dead. And in that life of

ROMANS 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   We are not trying to get peace with God. We already have peace with God, having been justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace  with  God brings us the peace  of  God, which guards our hearts and minds. (Philippians 4:7) Then, the peace of God  inside  us will also translate into the peace of God  outside  us—in all our outward circumstances. Firstly, we will find that what would normally cause us much care and anxiety will no longer be the case. Secondly, not only will everything turn out well, but we will also be blessed in more ways than one. This is what happens when Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is our peace. A church member, though stricken with cancer, enjoyed the peace of God, knowing that He was her healer. She later received confirmation from two different doctors that she had been completely healed of cancer. In addition to receiving her ble

Matthew 8:3 Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. When you see someone receiving a miraculous healing or financial breakthrough, do you ask, “What about me, Lord?” I believe that the leper who came to Jesus must have asked the same question. He must have heard or seen from a distance, since he was not permitted to be in public places by the law, how Jesus had healed the sick. So he had no doubt that Jesus could heal him, but he was not sure if Jesus would . He said to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” (Matthew 8:2) He was confident of the power of God, but not the love of God for him. Like the leper, maybe you don’t have a problem believing that God can g

“Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.’”  ( John 4:34  NIV) My daughter requested that I go get pizza for dinner for the children. As I was leaving the house, I stopped to have a conversation with someone else. That is when I heard the words, “Stay focused, Daddy! Go get the pizza!” What an illustration this is for the person practicing KingdomNomics. We need to stay focused on the important things in life. Jesus was on a mission. His will was to do the will of him who sent him, and to finish the work he was sent to do. We should have the same desire and goal. That is, we want to finish the work God has gifted us to do before we leave this world. We are on a mission: a mission to help fulfill the Great Commission. Today, ask yourself: Have I captured the vision of the mission God has gifted me to do? Am I focused in some way in helping to fulfill the Great Commission?

Psalm 91:11–12 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You are about to step onto the road when something pulls you back just in time to avoid being hit by a speeding car. You are shocked. When you come to your senses, you ask yourself, “Could it be that an angel just saved me from a fatal accident?” I believe that angels walk with us. The verse tells us that God has given His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways. And in their hands they will bear us up, so that not even a stone will trip us up. But we may not know it when we encounter an angel. (Hebrews 13:2) This was probably the case with a couple in our church who were holidaying a

Isaiah 61:6–7, NIV And you will be called priests of the Lord...You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame My people will receive a double portion…they will inherit a double portion in their land... You are called “priests of the Lord” because Jesus has cleansed you with His blood and made you kings and priests to God. (Revelation 1:5–6) And as priests of the Lord, God says to you, “You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.” And you will “inherit a double portion in their land”. This promise came true for a church member who received his double portion while working for one of the top American companies in Singapore. Within a short time, he received two pay increments. And w

Psalm 94:22 But the Lord has been my defense, and my God the rock of my refuge. Imagine being a poor widow, a stranger in the land and holding one of the lowliest jobs in society. That was Ruth’s situation, so it would have been easy for her to feel vulnerable and defenseless. But because she trusted the Lord (Ruth 1:16 ), He placed her under Boaz’s protection. Boaz, the owner of the field she worked in, commanded his young men saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.” (Ruth 2:15 ) What he was saying to his men was this: “She might be a gleaner, but because I care for her, treat her with respect and make sure she is not put to shame.” Boaz is a picture of our Lord Jesus. If you are feeling vulnerable and defenseless right now,

Ephesians 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools. (Ephesians 5:15 ) Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”. (Ephesians 5:18 –19) As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God kn

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (Psalm 24:3–5, NKJV) TODAY’S WORD  from Joel and Victoria You were meant to rise high in heavenly places. You were meant to stand with God above the cares of this life. But notice that this verse tells us that in order to ascend, we have to make sure we have clean hands and a pure heart. How do we have clean hands and a pure heart? First of all, only Jesus can make us clean and new. Once we receive Him as our Lord and Savior, we have to choose every day to stand against the enemy and his attempts to bring us back down. It all happens in our thought life. We have to guard our thoughts by guarding what we allow to influence our thoughts. We can’t just watch any old thing on TV. We can

1 CORINTHIANS  1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God…   It is believed that there has never been a wealthier king than King Solomon. God gave him wisdom that not only made him wise in matters of justice, but also brought him gold and silver. (1 Kings  3:12 –13) According to a report by the Illinois Society of Architects in 1925, the cost of Solomon’s temple in terms of existing values would have been about US$87 billion! The priests wore garments costing more than US$10 million! These amounts only cover what Solomon spent on the temple and not his personal assets. We can go on talking about the riches of King Solomon, but the Bible tells us that there is one greater than Solomon. (Matthew  12:42 ) His name is Jesus, and He is the most prosperous Man who ever lived and who will ever live. If there was a need to feed the hungry, He simply multiplied whatever food was placed in His hands. On one occasion, He multiplied five loaves and two fi