Twenty Building Blocks Of Vision

1.     A vision begins as a concern.             As a pastor, you probably have a vision of great revival for your city. But it began as a concern for souls, then it grew into a burden for souls. It grew till it consumed your thoughts. This is the birthplace of   vision. God has placed that vision there.

2.     A vision does not necessarily require immediate action.

When God speaks to you, he may not be giving you a vision for the immediate.  God’s timing is not our timing. When David was anointed king, he did not take the throne for many years.  He went through many hardships before he finally became king.

3.     Pray for opportunities and plan as if you expect God to answer your prayers.

The Bible says that the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. Begin to pray for the right people and opportunities to be brought into your life...God will order your steps.

Don't Just Sit There...Arise!

"Now four men who were lepers were at the entrance of the city's gate; and they said to one another, Why do we sit here until we die.... So they arose." (2 Kings 7:3,5, The Amplified Bible)

No matter how bad the problem is you may be facing today, no matter how far under the circumstances you may be, in 24 hours you can be back on top!

"Oh, Brother Copeland, that would be impossible!"

That's what the Samaritans thought in 2 Kings 7. Their land was being ravaged by famine. Enemy troops had surrounded them and cut off all source of supply. Mothers were eating their own children just to survive.

Talk Like God!

"Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." (Mark 11:23)

Jesus didn't say, "Whosoever shall speak to God about this mountain." He said we should speak directly to the mountain the desired end result.

From a worldly point of view, that sounds foolish. But 1 Corinthians 1:27 explains that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. It's always going to sound foolish to the world when a Christian talks as if what God has promised is reality, especially when those promises seem to contradict the natural evidence around us. But if you want to keep the enemy defeated, that's the kind of talking you'd better be doing.

Surprised By God

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Ephesians 3:14-21

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. —Ephesians 3:20

After 10 years of renting in a charming location, we discovered that our landlord suddenly needed to sell the house. I asked God to change the circumstances and make it possible for my wife and me to stay in this place we’d made home, where we’d watched our children grow up. But God said no.

When it comes to my needs, I worry that I’m asking for the wrong thing or that I’m not worthy of the request I’m making. But God’s no doesn’t need to shake our faith when we’re grounded—surrounded I like to say—in His love. In Ephesians 3, Paul understood that those who know the love of Christ intimately (vv.16-17) can trust God to have a loving reason for saying no.

The Joseph Story

Written by John Grant

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18

Recently, we attended a drama presentation of the story of Joseph and his family. The Bible story became alive to me as I witnessed one of the greatest stories of reconciliation.

God prepares His servants in many ways to accomplish His purpose. The story of Joseph is repeated every day in the lives of His people. The circumstances may be different, but the results are the same. God trains His servants through sometimes difficult “boot camps.” When that training is complete, He places them in strategic places to be a provider-both physically and spiritually.

Is There Such a Thing As Coincidence?

Jon Walker

“Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, ‘Would you give me a drink of water?’” (John 4:6-7 MSG)

During this week of Thanksgiving, give some thought to this question: Is there such a thing as coincidence?

In Kingdom reality, there simply cannot be. Random doesn’t happen in God’s Kingdom. Oswald Chambers says God is the Great Engineer, creating circumstances to bring about moments in our lives of divine importance, leading us to divine appointments.

Was it a coincidence that Jesus came upon the woman at the well? Was she just a random woman who walked into a discussion of God’s grace and omnipotence and then told a whole village about God’s forgiveness? Would God have left that all to chance?

Would he do any less in the details of your life?

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PRAY FOR BLESSING?

Sheila

I’m on Twitter. I love Twitter. I can send out little soundbites about my day, complain about aches and pains or the weather, or make little jokes, and get instant feedback. It’s fun!

And I have a lot of followers, and I follow quite a few. Yesterday this Tweet came across the board from a certified Life Coach. She said:

Start by blessing yourself. “May I be safe, may I be happy, may I be healthy, may I live with ease.”

I thought this was interesting. I’m speaking at a retreat as you read this (I actually wrote this post and scheduled it to appear today), and I’m speaking exactly AGAINST all of those things.