“Glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.” Ephesians 3:20 (TLB) Through faith, God-given dreams become reality. Nothing happens until dreams and faith start working together! The Bible is full of people who had God-given dreams. Abraham dreamed of being the father of a great nation. Moses dreamed of setting God’s people free. Joseph dreamed of saving a nation and his own family. Throughout Scripture, all kinds of people were inspiring d ..read more

“Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all boldness.” Acts 4:29 (GNT) We all have fears. Too often, though, we let them rule over our lives; we let them stop us from taking a stand for what we know God wants us to do. Like Daniel standing in the lion’s den, we face people and situations that threaten to destroy us and our witness for Christ. But we have a choice: Will we succumb to our fears, or will we stand up for God in spite of those fears? If you want to overcome the fears that are dragging you down, you need to clearly ..read more

“If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.” Matthew 6:15 (GNT) If you are unwilling to forgive someone and you don’t want God to forgive them either, that reveals bitterness and resentment in your life. If you want someone else to be punished but you expect forgiveness for the bad things you’ve done, you’ll just make yourself miserable. You’re not hurting them; you’re only hurting yourself. Jesus said, “If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done” (Matthew 6:15 GNT). Forgiveness involves your past ..read more

“My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways.” Isaiah 55:8 (NCV) Life is full of interruptions. Sometimes we have big plans—for a career, family, or ministry—but God takes our lives in a different direction. When our plans and God’s plans don’t match up, we often try to kick down the door. Then things get worse. Just ask Jonah. He learned the hard way how to respond when God’s plans and his plans didn’t match. God told Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh that they needed to repent of their evil ways. But Jonah ran from God and ended up in the belly of a big fish ..read more

“Jonah obeyed the LORD and went to Nineveh. The city was so big that it took three days just to walk through it. After walking for a day, Jonah warned the people, ‘Forty days from now, Nineveh will be destroyed!’” Jonah 3:3-4 (CEV) When God sent Jonah to Nineveh, his mission was to warn the people about the severe consequences for their disobedience. God wanted them to know that his judgment was near, but that they still had a chance to repent and obey him. God wanted to give the people of Nineveh a second chance. But he had to give Jonah a second chance, too, because the prophet ended up f ..read more

“It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, LORD Most High! It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce how faithful you are.” Psalm 92:1-2 (CEV) God loves to give second chances. Consider Jonah. God gave him a mission to tell the people of Nineveh to repent. But Jonah didn’t like Nineveh and wanted the people to experience God’s judgment. So Jonah ran away from God and ended up in the belly of a fish. Still, God gave him a second chance! He’ll give you one too. What do you do when he does? Live gratefully. That’s how Jonah responded, at least ..read more

“I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving. I will keep my vow. Victory belongs to the LORD!” Jonah 2:9 (GW) When you feel hopeless, it seems counterproductive to express gratitude. Why would you feel grateful when you’ve hit rock bottom? Just ask Jonah. At the end of his prayer from the belly of the big fish, before God rescued him, he shows us how to thank God in advance for answering our prayers: “I will sacrifice to you with songs of thanksgiving. I will keep my vow. Victory belongs to the LORD!” (Jonah 2:9 GW). What’s the difference between gratitude before and gratitude after ..read more

“All who worship worthless idols turn from the God who offers them mercy.” Jonah 2:8 (CEV) When we’re in trouble, we’re often tempted to find some sort of quick fix—or at least something that will relieve our stress. People’s families may be falling apart. Their finances may be falling apart. Their careers may be falling apart. Their health may be falling apart. With their backs against the wall, they try everything imaginable to solve the problem. Everything, that is, except asking God for help. We need to reject any attempts at a false fix, and instead turn to God for help. Jonah had time ..read more

“When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord.” Jonah 2:7 (TLB) When you feel hopeless, choose to think about the one thing you know will lift your spirit: the goodness of God. How did Jonah do it? Here’s what he said: “When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord” (Jonah 2:7 TLB). That’s the answer to hopelessness! You turn your thoughts to God. You think about his goodness, his greatness, his love, his fairness, and his kindness. In the New Testament, the Greek word for this is metanoia or “repentance.” Repentance doesn’t just mean you stop ..read more

“I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the land of the dead, and LORD, you heard me!” Jonah 2:2 (NLT) When you pray, do you only tell God what you think he wants to hear? Maybe you start with a simple, “Hi, God. How’s it going? I hope you had a good day today.” Then you move forward with a predictable prayer that sounds a whole lot like the last time you prayed. But God isn’t looking for a trite, memorized, mechanical prayer. He gets bored with prayers like that. Instead, God wants you to pray passionately. Jonah can teach us a lot about how t ..read more