Your Future Begins Now

Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 3:13-14 WEB*

Now, brothers, I entrust you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build up, and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
— Acts 20:32 WEB*

Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
— John 8:31-32 WEB*

"I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,—the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you."
— John 14:16-17 WEB*

Regardless of your past, today can be a new beginning for you. Your life is what you make of it, and what you allow God to do in it.

Your past should not dictate your future. With God, you can have a fresh start.

God is waiting to forgive your past, and to help you forgive yourself. God can make you into the person you know you should be.

Your life can be different. But not if you continue as you always have. For your life to change, you must make changes. And you can, with the help of the Bible, prayer, and the Holy Spirit.

The first part is God's Word, the Bible. Immerse yourself in it. Read it and memorize important verses and passages. Make them part of you. Remember that what you put into your life determines what comes out of it.

God's Word will build you up. Jesus said it would make you free. But only if you continue in it.

The Bible is God's answer to the problems of mankind. It gives us life and hope and instruction so we can walk in victory.

Prayer is also vital. Prayer is communication with God. All relationships require communication to keep from growing cold. And the more, the better.

But our prayer would be meaningless without the Holy Spirit, that aspect of God which Jesus Christ asked God the Father to send to us. We receive the Holy Spirit when we give our lives to Christ. From that moment, God's Holy Spirit is with us always. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that gives the full power to our prayers.

Through prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit, we talk to God and we listen to Him. We bring to God our joys and our sorrows, our triumphs and our defeats, our needs and our thanks. We praise and we worship. We meditate on Scripture and gain insight and understanding.

Actively involve God in your life. Consult with Him on every decision. God is the best helper you will ever have.

Your future can be better. The choice is yours. Invite and involve God in your future.


* WEB - The World English Bible, a Public Domain, Modern English translation of the Holy Bible developed by Rainbow Missions, Inc. URL: ebible.org

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A Daily Precription

Here is a prescription for living, written by the Apostle Paul:

Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, "Rejoice!" Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

— Philippians 4:4-7 WEB*

All day, every day and in every thing, we should celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ—really celebrate Him! We should make it clear to all that we support them and want to help them in any way that we can, remembering that Jesus is with us always, and that He is returning soon--perhaps today!

We should not fret or worry about anything. Instead, we should pray. All of our joy, our sorrow, our concern, and our gratitude should be conveyed to God in an ongoing conversation of prayer. In this way, the fullness of God's peace will come to us, protecting and directing all that we feel and all that we think, with Jesus Christ at the center of our lives.

* WEB - The World English Bible, a Public Domain, Modern English translation of the Holy Bible developed by Rainbow Missions, Inc. URL: ebible.org

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The Call to Pray

If you have been saved by the grace of God, and are a followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are called by God to certain tasks. In all and through all, you are called to pray.

“If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now my eyes shall be open, and my ears attentive, to the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and made this house holy, that my name may be there forever; and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually."
—2 Chronicles 7:13-16 WEB*

Yahweh is near to all those who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
—Psalm 145:18 WEB*

Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, if you have faith, and don’t doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you told this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it would be done. All things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
—Matthew 21:21-22 WEB*

He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What, couldn’t you watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray, that you don’t enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
—Matthew 26:41 WEB*

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4:6-7 WEB*

Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.
—1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 WEB*

I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times; to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire therefore that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger and doubting.
—1 Timothy 2:1-8 WEB*


* WEB - The World English Bible, a Public Domain, Modern English translation of the Holy Bible developed by Rainbow Missions, Inc. URL: ebible.org

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