Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 8 Aug 07

The word of encouragement for today is giving careful thought. In yesterday’s word the challenge for us all was to put our faith into action, to know that we have not been forgotten. Now, we need to give careful thought to every aspect of our life, so that we are not blindly moving forward, but we are being strategic. Let us ask ourselves this question, the things that we are doing right now, is it beneficial to my future, is it helping others around me, am I growing?

I love this verse written by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. This verse is something that we need to incorporate into our daily lives, because if we don’t, we will always be walking on the fine line of our convictions.

It is interesting how we try to reason with God, making excuses why by doing “this” it is permissible. Sometimes we say to ourselves, if I just lie this one time God it will make my work load easier, it will please my boss. Another most common thing we say to ourselves, it is ok to build with someone of the opposite gender, and we are all part of the same spiritual family anyway. Another example, it is ok for me to watch this movie even though there are some scenes which go against my convictions, but I’m seeing it because everyone else says it is ok. Married couples are often trapped by this, reasoning their way to prove why it is ok to build with a single woman or man. The list goes on and on, but 1 Corinthians 6:12 best defines everything we have doubt in. Let us ask God today, what are things in my life that are mastered over my life other than you Father? What are things that I am reasoning with God to try and prove that it is permissible? And God is it beneficial?

There are boundaries that we all need to place in our lives, especially when it comes with the opposite gender. As a married man or woman, as a single man or woman it does not matter, this verse still applies, everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.

By: Shaun Lee

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 7 Aug 2007

In Habakkuk 1:5 Our Father has a promise for us all. "Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told."

How big is your faith today to believe and know that God is going to do something through you to make a difference for God's Kingdom? How big is your faith to know that you are part of God's plans, that you have not been forgotten?

It is time we put our faith into action. As I was writing this word of encouragement for today, I saw a vision of us all, that at this very moment our faith is being stirred up by God reading this. As our Father speaks to us, as His hand is once again anointing us of our calling. Remember the promises that God has given you.

Samson denied his calling, Esau gave up his birth right and gave it to Jacob for food, and Saul was insecure, jealous, and was removed from his throne because of disobeying simple instructions from God because he was more concerned about pleasing men than God. All these men written in the Bible had one thing in common; they took for granted their calling in life.

Today, let us receive the Lord's blessing, and watch God do something amazing through each one of us. So amazing that many would not believe it! Remember you have not been forgotten!!!

-- By: Shaun Lee

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 6 Aug 2007

Today’s word of encouragement is “going the extra mile.” I’m not sure how many of you are like me, but find it a chore to run. With the days that I go for a run, I try to run 2.4km; however recently I’ve been pushing myself to go more, to not give up so easily, as tired as your body is and you will just keep going.

Going the extra mile is an example of God pushing us, challenging us to do things differently, to expand our minds, stretching us to our limit. Today’s word of encouragement is to spend quality time with God and ask Him what areas of our walk with God can we all go the extra mile in. It could be writing down a list of friends we have which we can reach out to, people in our office whom we can reach out to, for those that are married it is spending time with your wife/husband building that relationship no matter how long you have been married for. Furthermore, developing and growing the gifts that God has given us, serving in a ministry at church which God has called us to help out in, and not just attend church on Sunday’s. There are so many areas where God can challenge us to go the extra mile in, I ask you what area do you see God challenging you in today?

Time is ticking away and God is waiting for us to take action, to get up, to do something, to go beyond what we are already doing. I pray that we all would be challenged today to ask God what are areas in our lives that we can go the extra mile in.

In 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 our Father says to us all, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” -- By: Shaun Lee

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 5 Aug 07

As we head into a new week, let us be on guard and expect challenges; expect the Lord’s tests, especially in our character. As I was praying for today’s word of encouragement, God was indicating to me, that many of us feel discouraged already about facing Monday and the upcoming week. The work load, the people we have to work with, deadlines, pressure, stress, it seems so overwhelming.

I pray that today we would be encouraged that we can face tomorrow, with the spirit of God leading us. Jesus goes before us in every situation, it is a matter of us seeking God in prayer, desperately crying out for Him to guide and lead.

God’s hand of protection is around us as we face every challenge, every battle, and every weapon thrown at us by the enemy. Our Father’s shield and armor are around us, nothing can penetrate, nothing can pull us back, and nothing can discourage us from facing our battles with our heads held high.

As we pray tonight for our week ahead, I pray that we will be on guard over every situation that the enemy will throw at us, and be alert. God wants us all to be a blessing to others, and through this watch and see God bring a miracle, a blessing, and answer our prayers over situations.

Psalm 16:8 “I will set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will never be shaken.”

By: Shaun Lee

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 3 Aug 2007

Throughout my teenage years till now, I have always loved studying lions, tigers, leopards, and cheetahs. The excitement of a predator attacking its prey gets my adrenalin going, and the moment they catch the prey and they start eating, it makes me hungry every time. Out of all the big cats, lions are one of the few that hunt in packs, work together, and live together in a pride—a family. There are certain aspects of studying these animals which can be incorporated to our lives. “Isolation” is one of the most powerful weapons the enemy uses to pull us away from God. At this point in time, I would just like to say, “I LOVE ENLI!”

Today’s word of encouragement is about people, not only from our natural family, but people that God brings into our lives to build us up, to guide us, to fight together with, and spur each other on. God’s called us to build with people, so that we will never have to fight our battles alone. When lions work together as a team, the prey is fearful. When buffalos work together as a team lions are unable to penetrate. Ants are one of the most amazing creatures because they all work together as a team, to get the job done. Ants know that working alone they are useless, but together they are powerful.

There is power in team, God’s called us to build with one another, and I pray that we would be encouraged today, to be accountable, be open, learn to trust others, so that God can fully use us. Don’t hold back things in your life that you know God wants to expose. Being vulnerable, is exactly what God wants us to do. The enemy wants us to keep quiet, to isolate ourselves from others, and not to expose our deepest secrets so that we will never change. But most importantly, the devil doesn’t want us to change, because he knows if we do, we will become a soldier in the Lords army, we will be a blessing to others, we will be a light in the darkness, and we would expose the enemy.

As we head into the weekend, I pray that we would take time to bless those that we are close with, bless our families at home, some far away, and we would use God’s wisdom to guide us, so that we would learn the tricks of our enemy. The enemy uses these to destroy us 1) Isolation 2) Deceive 3) Distract 4) Offense 5) Condemn

1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."
-- By: Shaun Lee

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 2 Aug 2007

Life sometimes throws many unforeseeable balls at us. Two key words of encouragement come from this, firstly how do you respond and secondly don’t get distracted. We would be foolish to think that life will only throw us easy balls that we can catch. If that is all we expect out of life, then really we are not seeing the “Big picture” of God’s plans.

As I was praying for this word of encouragement for today, God was encouraging me to say that many of us are going through seasons in life where we are uncomfortable; we don’t understand why God is throwing at us so many different types of balls that we can’t easily catch. But God wants us to be encouraged today because He has begun a work in us already, and He is stirring our hearts, our lives, in preparation for the next season in life we are about to embark on.

Firstly, how we respond to the unforeseeable balls thrown at us? When life throws things that are unforeseeable at us, I see this as an opportunity rather than a risk. I see this as God stirring in us to rise up to the challenge. If we are never stirred up by God, then most often we get comfortable where we are at, we then become stagnant.

Finally, don’t get distracted. Sometimes when God throws us into the deep end of the ocean, throws us unforeseeable things in life, and rocks our boat, it is because God has more in store for us, or He is preparing us for more responsibility, leadership, and to get to the next level. However, we respond to this exactly the opposite, we question God, we internalize, we worry, we start getting confused, and soon we get distracted.

God has started a work in us, for a reason, to seek Him, to hear Him, to turn our eyes to Him, and not on the chaos. God stirs our lives, to test, to be reminded of God’s purpose in our lives, to be challenged by God. If we don’t focus our eyes on God through the stirring, through the shaking, we will get distracted, and soon we will miss the mark! Let us not miss the mark today!

In Haggai 2:5-7, our Father is going to shake us, and watch and see God’s power move in our lives causing the earth to shake again. “And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear. This is what the Lord Almighty says: In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord almighty.” As we pray today, let us claim this verse over our lives. Let us allow God to shake us once more so that our house may be filled with His unfailing love and glory.

By: Shaun Lee

Word of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 1 Aug 07

In Hosea 6:6 our Father states this, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” Today’s word of encouragement comes from this verse, and the fact is we all need a “self check”. Sometimes we get caught up with the frills of Christianity where we become more in love with religion rather than in love with God.

The word God keeps saying to me is simple, “BE REAL”. In the world we are always trying to impress people, and sometimes we over exaggerate ourselves, the best example of this is our CV, especially applying for a job. We write whatever we can just to impress the person reading it so that we may get that job we want.

God looks deep into our hearts and He see’s who we really are inside. We can’t fool God, and what He desires is our Character, how much we are willing to change and grow that character. Sometimes we get caught up on the religion than the relationship we have with our Father. We start becoming spiritually proud, self-righteous because we are more “pure” than others. We act more “godly” around our old friends just to show how we have changed from our old ways. Or sometimes we feel like we have to put on a show in front of other Christians to prove how “spiritual” we are. Sometimes we act humble by serving others when really we are doing it to gain attention. The list keeps going on and on.

God states it simply in Hosea 6:6. God desires mercy, not the act of sacrifice. He wants our full hearts, lives, and complete surrender to God, walking in obedience to Him and Him alone. He wants us to acknowledge that He is our father, rather than burning offerings, which to me simply means showing to others how we are so “godly” by what we say, how we act, how pure we are, etc.
Let us today strive to be real! Our identity is in Christ, not in man. May we turn our eyes to our Father today and seek His forgiveness, and pray our hearts out that God will begin a work in us, and reveal areas in our lives where we have been blinded.
-- By: Shaun Lee