Creating Jesus Habits For 2013

Mark 1:35 While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed. Simon and those with him went looking for him. They found him and said, “Everybody’s looking for you.”

Gauges are placed in your car to help manage and monitor your vehicle more successfully. How successful would you be if you ignored your oil gauge, your fuel gauge, your temperature gauge, or even your speed gauge? No doubt if you were to ignore it, you would see blue lights in your rearview mirror. Most of you have made changes to your habits as a result of the pain level you have experienced.

Princeton University says that if we do something for 28 consecutive days, it will become a new habit. About 90% of all we do is governed by our habits. When we talk about habits, most of the time we think about the negative ones that we have dealt with. Jesus, in his life created powerful successful habits that produced positive and powerful forces . Is it possible for you and I to create those same habits?

If you desire to live a successful life, you can also create Jesus habits.  If you were to study the gospels, Jesus had 31 habits, one for every day of the month. Can you imagine 31 Jesus habits working in your own life?

One of Jesus' habits was seclusion. He knew that in order to be effective in His mission and mandate, He had to get away from the noise and the crowds. Many of us deal with the noise and the demands of the day that stretch us and we end up being depleted and exhausted with life. 

George Barna says, "Think of the benefits emerging from thinking and living like Jesus. We are promised physical gains, emotional benefits, superior decision making capacity, relational advantages, lifestyle enhancements, and spiritual health. The more we devote ourselves to emulating the thought and behavioral patterns of Jesus, the more God is able to bless us and use us for His purposes. The Jesus Habits will lead you to blessing and success."

Why not choose a time every day to withdraw yourself from the noise of emails, texting, Twitter, Facebook, and even your workplace? Create a new habit each day of temporary seclusion, so you will find yourself with more vitality, energy, purpose and power to do the will of the Father.  Say with me today, "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me."

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Top 5 of the Year "New Beginnings"

Genesis 9:1-29

So many in life are overshadowed and are driven by their fears, their hurts, their blunders, their mistakes, their burdens and their hick-ups in life. Noah and his family are now back on dry ground. It's been a rough ride but now God has dried up the waters of the earth. God hangs a rainbow in the sky and says; " Never again will a flood destroy the Earth"

This is a sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. (12)

Even God says it's time to move forward. Too many of us in life live in the past instead of our future. None of us can do anything about our mistakes, our failures, our shortcomings, the things we wish we could change in the past. It's time to move ahead.

"Twenty years from now, you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than the ones you did do." Mark Twain

There is a reason that you are still on planet earth. God isn't finished with you. There are still more mountains to climb, valleys to cross, victories to win, storms to overcome, and challenges to conquer. God is taking you and me somewhere. Regardless of the past or the forecast, like Noah; "I have all intention of staying on the boat till I see the sun shine again, and I see the heavens open up over my life and fulfill the mandate and the promises of God in my life.

What are you dealing with today? What keeps lingering in your fuzzy thought life? Allow the Holy Spirit of God to overshadow you with fresh vision, fresh energy and fresh faith to go places you have never been, to do things that you have never done, to become someone that you have never been.

Through the spirit of God within you say; " No longer will I allow my past to overshadow my life, but I will be driven by Christ alone and the faith He has placed in my heart. He will take the steering wheel of my life, and I will become all that He has created me to become for His honor and glory. In the days He has assigned my life on this earth, "I declare; today is a new day with new beginnings, yes new beginnings." dannysdevotional.com

Top 5 of the Year "Quit Squawking About The Waves"

Luke 8:22  “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” 


Jesus told his disciples to get in the boat, "Were going to the other side of the lake." On the trip across the lake, Jesus decides to take a nap in the boat. As they're crossing the lake a huge storm comes down on the lake and the waves are breaking over into the boat. The disciples became so frightful and fearful they thought the boat was going to sink.

They wake Jesus up and he rebukes the wind and says to them in verse 39 "Be quiet, calm down." Luke 8: 25 He ask them in the storm, "Where is your faith?" The storm your in today is attempting to hinder you from going somewhere in God's plan and design. Many miss the real deal behind the wind and the waves in the storm. Jesus was on a mission to deliver a man that was bound by a devil in next verses.

There never has been anyone yet that God didn't love and couldn't deliver and couldn't get to. Hell was attempting to stop the Lord's mission in getting to the man that was bound by Satan. Do you have a son or a daughter bound by drugs, alcohol, porn, being stubborn in their sin and bondage?

Jesus knows how to get to your boy, your daughter, your dad, your mom, your family member. The storm that came on the lake was a resistance from hell to sink the mission from heaven. I have news for the devil and his attempt to stop God. It won't work. Tell hell, "Your mission to stop God and me won't work." Will see our miracle come to pass.

Get that in your spirit today. God's ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Satan can scheme and plot and plan and work overtime to stop the Lords mission, but it won't work. Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves and there was a calm.

Jesus is greater than any devil out of hell to stop His will for your boy or daughter. Jesus calmed the storm, climbed out of the boat right on time, right on mission and delivered the man from the demons that had tormented his life.

All God is looking for are those who will get in the boat and trust His hand, His direction, His mandate, His mission, His words and His command to go to the other side.

In the name of the Lord, keep moving with His love and His plan, and for the sake of your coming miracle, quit squawking about the wind and the waves. Jesus never said on the mission some water wouldn't get in the boat. As long as He's on board, no devil will sink the mission that He has purposed and planned.

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Top 5 of the Year "Lost Your Ax Head?"

2 Kings 6:1-7

I have watched over my years in ministry those who have been doing the work of God lose their zeal, excitement and enthusiasm along the way. Somewhere they lost their cutting edge. Somewhere they lost their passion, their "get up and go" left them. Their tenacity to go the distance faltered before the finish line.

How do you get it back? How does one who is in the will of God, doing the work of the ministry, fighting the good fight of faith, get up from their own doubts and discouragement in ministry?

Elisha, the man of God said to the young preacher "Where did you lose it? Show me the place that the ax head came off?" Where was it that you became weary, and said "I can't do this anymore, "I've had it, this assignment is too hard, I'm going under, I'm drowning in my pain." Do you remember the place that the waters took you under? Do you remember the place where you sank in your own dilemma and despair?

Seventy percent of pastors quit after seven years of ministry. Eighty-five quit after 25 years of ministry. Why is the percentage so high? How does one lose their cutting edge? How does one who knows they have a calling on their life, hit bottom? If you have been in the ministry very long, you know that hell hates the call of God on your life. Why did Elijah run from Jezebel and say, "I quit?" God had to take him back to the fact that it's not over till I say it's over!

Notice that these men were doing the work of God just as God had led them. Friend don't be surprised  when something goes wrong in the midst of doing God's work.There will always be challenges, chaos, controversy and confusion in doing God's work. Hell doesn't just sit by in the rocking chair waiting to see if you're going to get discouraged along the way. Satan works overtime to discourage and deceive those who are doing the work of the ministry. Paul said to Timothy; "Fight the good fight of faith"
(1 Tim. 6:12).

Each of us must have courage to keep going. One of the young men said when they lost the ax head, "Hey we can't quit now, where is the man of God?" They found the man of God and shared their loss. Did you know that God is interested in your loss? He cares when you hurt, when the pain is more than you know how to bear They showed Elisha the place where the ax head was lost.

When Elisha was shown the place, he cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Notice that Elisha did something tangible to get it back. He cut a stick and threw the stick into the water. Moses didn't just pray at the bitter waters of Marah, he cut a tree down and threw it into the water. That's when the miracle of sweetness came to the bitter waters.

You can't just sit and do nothing. Go back to where you lost it. Ask God what to do next. I have learned that getting a fresh supply of passion comes when I get a fresh connection with God in prayer. God is no respecter of persons. He knows we can't do this thing with our own might and power. We must have His cutting edge on our lives if we plan to finish His work. When Elisha threw the stick into the water, the ax head floated to the surface.

Have you gone back to the place where you lost your cutting edge? Have you ask the Lord to touch you one more time? Have you asked Him for fresh oil, fresh passion, fresh anointing? When Samson lost his cutting edge, even in his failures he said to the Lord, "Would You touch me one more time?" He killed more Philistines that day than in his entire lifetime.

Andre Crouch wrote a song many years ago, "Take me back; take me back, dear Lord to the place where I first received you." You have everything to gain by going back to where He called you and anointed you for the work and assignment that He gave you.

He never called you to just go, 45% of the way, 65%, 85%, but rather to have a testimony that says like Paul. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith"(2 Tim.4:7). Finish strong what He called you to do and you'll never regret it at the end on Judgment day. O, I want to hear him say, "Danny you did it just like I told you. Well done thou good and faithful servant."

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Top 5 of the Year "The Test Before The Dream"

Have you ever said; "When is my dream going to come to pass?" How long have I got to wait? Is it really going to happen? Joseph was 17 years old when God gave him his dream, but there would be many test and trials and temptations before it would come into reality.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12) How many nights have you wasted tossing and turning, questioning God's thoughts and the dream that he placed in your heart?

Those thoughts only lead to a sick heart. It will only lead to doubt, and discouragement and disbelief and depression concerning your future. God says; "Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph's character." (Psalms 105:19)

You can't get to where God is taking you without a test. Soldiers are tested before they go to battle. Students are tested before they can be promoted to the next grade. Doctors are tested before they ever practice on patients. Pilots are tested and have to pass the test before they can ever get their pilots license.

Life is a test. The one your in today is only getting you ready for the next step, the next promotion, the fulfillment of the dream that He created you for. "Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind the stronger the trees." - J. Willard Marriott

Why fret, why worry, why be flustered and frustrated? The dream is for an appointed time, and the one who called you will surely bring it into being. Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not. (Galatians 6:9) Smile God's always on time in delivering the dream and His promises.

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Top 5 Of The Year "Treating Her Right?"

Are You Treating Her Right?

1 Peter 3:7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

Guys, can you remember you and your wife's first date? You had sweaty palms, nervous steps to the car, pulling out the chair for her at dinner? You were so careful with each word, each action you took to impress this incredible lady that sits beside you?

You are shocked that she would even accept your invitation for dinner. You put on your best jeans and shirt, your hair was just right, your breath is mint and your teeth are sparkling. You were not about to pass up this opportunity to make the best impression.

After many months of putting on your best, one day she sees you're a real person. She sees you get stressed with the flat tire, the car beside you cuts in front of you, the waitress fails to bring you a refill your entire meal. The steaks you've ordered are overcooked, now she sees the real deal, and your a real person.

After a few years the two of you fall in love and in spite of one another weaknesses you decide to get married. The honeymoon is short lived and now both of you get stressed under the pressures and burdens of real life.

Fellows there are no perfect people in the world. Were all made out of the same stuff. Anyone who lives in this life very long has to depend on a God in heaven to give him grace for each step of the way.

All of us want to keep the favor of God on our life and our marriage. Peter tells us; "Treat your little lady right." God says; "So your prayers don't run aground, just so your prayers are not hindered, treat her right."

If you're having a hard time understanding that principal, you don't need to understand Greek to get this. Just go back to doing what you were doing before you put a ring on her finger. Go back to those first dating days. I think you get the point.

There are great benefits in treating your lady right. Guys let's work on it and God promises us that life will go so much better.
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Hope or Checkmate?

Matthew 2:13  When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.                         

Can you imagine the celebration that Mary and Joseph experienced when the God dream of Christ's birth came to pass? Wise men from the east came to bow down to worship Him.  Shepherds in the fields became part of this celebration. King Herod told the wise men; "Tell me where He is so I may also come and worship Him."

Mary and Joseph were still dealing with the incredible chaos and pain from the ugly chatter and gossip about their apparent misbehavior before marriage. Again, Joseph was warned by God to take the child down to Egypt. "Herod will seek to destroy the child."

When you play the game of chess, you play until the King has no more moves. When you checkmate your opponent's King, the game is over. Would Joseph and Mary have one more move? Would Herod trap them and kill the Child?

Herod thought he had fooled the wise men. "I've got the Christ now." He wasn't interested in worshipping Him but was at war to kill the Child. Friend, take heart from this story. God always has one more move! Just when it looks like it's over, smile, for God hasn't finished His plan and power to fulfill His promises.

Joseph was still listening to God and quickly obeyed a move to travel into Egypt. Have you been backed into a corner? Are you in a place where it looks like there are no more moves? Does it appear that regardless of where you turn, there is seemingly no hope? Does Satan have a checkmate move on you?

A word in this Christmas season, "God always has one more move." Satan will never checkmate God. You are His child. All you need to do is look up to God like Joseph; He has one more move for you in the night.

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Hope In The Dream?

Was this dream that Mary and Joseph experienced really from God? Were they to actually bring the Messiah into the world? Would they survive the incredible pressure and stress from the appearance of sin in their own life?

Hell is always out to kill the dream in its infancy. Herod would appear to be in love with this new coming King. He was truly up to no good and would seek to kill the Child.

A team of scientists tested a group of rats in a slippery tank of water. They would see how long they could swim before they drowned. The average rat swam 17 minutes before losing hope and drowning. The test was repeated. This time they would RESCUE them just before they drowned. They would return them to their cages, feed them and let them play. The test was repeated; this time they lasted not 17 minutes but 36 hours! What was the difference? They had hope.

Satan works overtime to destroy hope in your drowning dilemma. When it seems like all hope is gone, your humanity questions whether God will come through. It's awesome to get a dream from God, but it's another thing to keep it alive. Without a divine perspective, you will miss the dream.

It's easy to lose hope in the tough seasons of life. In the first stages of your dream, hell works to destroy that young marriage, the infant ministry, the new job, the new baby and the dream He has placed in your heart.

Would God come through for Joseph and Mary? Would they overcome the evil chatter and the gossip of their apparent misbehavior? Their hope stemmed from three things. They would listen, believe and obey. Those were the things that fed their dream. Without them, they would have quickly drowned in their doubts. You will sink and drown in your dream without LISTENING to God. Then they chose to BELIEVE what He said; then they simply OBEYED what He told them to do.

When you feel like you're drowning in your dream, get back to the basics and watch it flourish before your eyes. God didn't birth the dream in you to watch you and the dream drown. He WILL bring it pass if you listen, believe and obey.

dannysdevotional.com

Jonah Paid For His Own Troubles

Have you ever bought something that you know you paid more than you bargained for? Jonah had been instructed by God to go to Nineveh; instead he buys a ticket on a ship to Tarshish. He never dreamed his purchase would cost him so much.

On his journey, the sea becomes extremely violent. All the men quickly realized they were in trouble. They began throwing cargo overboard to save the ship and their lives. Jonah knew he had made a bad choice. He knows that God has His all seeing eye upon him. You can run thousands of miles in the wrong direction but God still knows right where you are.

Things quickly went from bad to worse. When we’re out of the will of God, things usually do get worse before they get better. Jonah reveals to the men on the ship, "Cast me overboard and the sea will calm down." Sure enough, just like Jonah declared, the seas came to a calm when they threw him overboard.

It's the love and mercies of God that will come chasing after each of us when we're heading in the wrong direction. Have you ever seen someone driving down a one-way street the wrong way? Everyone is honking their horns at them and they're wondering why people are being so mean to them.

God was doing more than honking His horn at Jonah. He sends a wind and then a whale to turn this disobedient servant around. God has given Jonah an assignment and He isn't taking his actions lightly. After spending three days and nights in the belly of a whale, Jonah has an awakening. It wasn't until now that he comes to realize the best thing for him at this point is to do it just like the Heavenly Father had asked him to.

God in His mercy causes the whale to spit him up on the shoreline. Now, Jonah chooses to travel back the mileage that he's gone in the wrong direction and to move on to the place called Nineveh where God called him in the beginning.  His obedience would see 120,000 people saved. He realizes that his own prejudices and feelings against Nineveh are wrong and that God loves people regardless.

Are YOU pursuing God's will and direction for YOUR life? Have you chosen to do it GOD'S way, or have you allowed your head to get in the way of the heart of God? One of the greatest portions of peace you will ever find in life is to do things God's way. Choose today, friend to do it just like God directs, and you'll never regret it.

dannysdevotional.com

Drifting From God's House?

When I was a kid, I was “drugged up” pretty bad. “Drugged” every Sunday to church worship, to Sunday School, to revivals, to midweek services and to prayer meetings and church work days. It was only by the grace of God that I never did place any weird chemicals in my body.

I did learn as a child the discipline of going to the house of God that has stayed with me all my life. I'm very concerned that in today's society, many kids have never been taught the discipline of going to church on a regular basis. Sunday has become just another day of the week.

We go to the church to hear the Word of God. We go to be renewed in our faith. We go to reboot and to refocus on what's really important in life. Jesus says, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and He shall add all these other things." (Matthew 6:33)

The average time people spent committed to charitable organizations 20 years ago was 11.8 hours. Today people will give only 2 hours per week to church and charitable organizations. What has happened to our society? Have we gotten so busy that we no longer have time for God in our world?

Yes life is busy. We go to work; we take our kids to school, to dance, to soccer, to baseball, to basketball… but to church? Have we become so exhausted with other things that we just can't find time for God in our schedule? Have we taught our kids that sports are more important than spending time to hear what God has to say?

I know you say. "Wow, he is on a band wagon today." Well my heart hurts to see America and our families drifting away from the principles of God's Word. We say we can't interfere with our kid’s education, but just how concerned are we about their eternity in heaven? How concerned are we about them having power to overcome the schemes and deception of the enemy?

Hebrews says; "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more as ye see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) As a pastor I have observed over the years that people take off more frequently from the house of the Lord than they did 10 and 20 years ago. How about you? Are you drifting from faithfulness to God’s house?

I have never seen a world more distracted with sports, gadgets, Facebook, Twitter, smart phones, entertainment, and on and on I could go. Don't allow your distractions to get in the way. Ask yourself today; “Do I have a discipline like David that describes going to the House of the Lord?” David said, "I was glad when they said to me; Let us go to the house of the Lord."(Psalm 122:1)
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Drifting From God’s Whispers?

When we first moved to Florida, my dad taught me to be cautious in swimming in the ocean. He said, "Avoid drifting into an undertow." His words of instruction are what saved me one day to successfully swim out of those strong currents. Drifting from God's whispers can be a threat to your journey and success in Him. Jesus said to His followers, "My sheep hear My voice." John 10:27

I wouldn't be saved today without hearing God's whispers. I am saved today because I heard the whispers of God's love for me. "For by grace are you saved through faith and not of yourselves" "Behold I stand at the door and knock."

I wouldn't be in ministry today without hearing God's call. There is no way that I could stand up to the pressures and stress without His call and whispers of encouragement

I wouldn't be married to my pretty little wife today without the whispers of God. I can't take the credit for God's smile on bringing her to me. She is an awesome blessing to me and our children

I wouldn't be in Jacksonville Floridatoday without the whispers of God. As a sophomore in college, He spoke to my heart, "One day you will go to Jacksonville Florida to pastor a church. I cannot take the credit for where I am today.

I wouldn't succeed under His protection without those dear whispers from God. Driving home from church one night on a two-lane road, I heard this small whisper, "Slow down." My wife asked me, "Why are you slowing down?" I heard that whisper again, "Slow down." That whisper got louder and louder till I got down to about 30 miles per hour. When I came over the hill on that dark 540A, there stood a big black cow in the center of the highway. God has taught me, "Listen to that still small voice.” It paid off that night and saved our lives without any harm.

I wouldn't live with His peace without His whispers in my spirit. We all deal with so much anxiety and stress and pressures in life. Life is to short to live without His peace that passeth all understanding. He is able to keep our heart and minds on Him.

I would't live with His power without His whispers. There is power in His word, His voice that says, "I'm with you."

When God whispers and speaks, Listen. He has something to say to you that will give you success for the journey. Without it, you will live in fear, worry and much anxiety. His voice, His whispers are what will bring you peace and purpose and success in the journey. Jesus spent much time listening to the whispers of the Father. His success came from taking the time to listen. Miracles, blessings, breakthroughs, healings, salvations, directions all come by the whispers of God.