Today we continue our series entitled, “Pursuing Grace-Based Success!”
Here are our foundational scriptures:
(Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV)
8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.
9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.
10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.
(1 Corinthians 1:30,31 NLT)
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.
31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
(2 Timothy 1:9 NKJV)
Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
This series is about becoming a success in life, but it is also about the amazing grace of God. By teaching the pursuit of success through the lens of #TheGraceLife, I hope you can see by now how much God loves you and how much He wants you to succeed. There is nothing that God will withhold from those who walk in accordance with His plans for their lives (Psalm 84:11).
I pray that you settle this in your heart:
— God is not at odds with you, He is not out to get you, He does not think evil of you, and He is not holding your past against you.
— God loves you, He made plans for you before you were born, He pursued you before you accepted Him, and He is pursuing you now, so you can accomplish what He sent you to this planet to accomplish, in His name and for His glory!
— God loves you with an everlasting love, and He wants you to have and enjoy the life Jesus died to give you access to.
Because of His unmerited love, God wants you to enjoy His best in every area of your life—spirit, soul, and body.
— A successful spirit is one that is Born-Again.
— A successful body is one that is healthy.
— A successful mind is one that is renewed by the Word.
— A successful marriage is one that has peace.
— A successful home is one where God abides, and His love permeates.
I could go on and on. God wants us to have and enjoy life, but we sometimes fail to position ourselves to receive God’s best because our priorities are out of order. Let’s talk about that today.
So what does this mean for you today? Let’s see.
1. Make knowing God and becoming like Him (so you can fulfill your divine destiny) your #1 priority.
The Prophet Jeremiah said, “This is what the Lord says: “The wise must not brag about their wisdom. The strong men must not brag about their strength. The rich must not brag about their money. But if someone wants to brag, then let them brag about this: Let them brag that they learned to know me. Let them brag that they understand that I am the Lord, that I am kind and fair, and that I do good things on earth. I love this kind of bragging.” This message is from the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23,24).
— Every morning in this series, we go through a list of scriptures that are designed to take your focus OFF of you and place it squarely on God. I remind you that you did not save yourself, that you are not saved by the things you have done, that you are not that good, and that God called you according to His purpose and grace, not your goodness or performance.
— If you are going to boast, your boast should be in the Lord!
— If you are going to boast, boast in the fact that you have come to know God in the pardon of your sins, that you are saved by His grace, and that you are also empowered by grace to do what God called you to do!
— Your life should be ALL ABOUT HIM! The more you magnify God, the more He will elevate you.
2. If you focus on being a success in God’s eyes, God will make you a success in the eyes of the world.
In the Kingdom of God, you don’t need to overly concern yourself with things that people in this world seem to always focus on. Paul said, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.” (Romans 14:17,18).
— Focus on living a life of Godliness, peace, love, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
— When your focus is on God, you will be able to see life through the proper lens, and seeing properly is critically important. Your legs will never take you where your soul has never been. So the more you see yourself the way God sees you, the more you will become what you behold.
— When the Lord told me to share His Word in people’s email inboxes early in the morning before I went to work (which was in December of 1997, by the way), I made a vow to the Lord. I said, “Okay, Lord, I will do just what you asked. My request is the following: I will take care of your work BEFORE I go to work. But since I am putting you first, please take care of mine.” This arrangement (where I take care of God’s work and He takes care of mine) has been working out pretty well for me for the past 25 years. When you make God your #1 priority, everything else will seemingly fall into place.
3. Powerful things happen when you keep ‘the main thing’ the main thing.
When your priorities are not in order, and you seek “things” more than you seek God, your life will be out of whack. Jesus said, “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what He wants you to do; then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself.” (Matthew 6:31-34).
— People in this world measure success by the accumulation of “things.” In this series, I am giving you a different perspective. In God’s Kingdom, success is measured in purpose.
— If your focus in life is solely on “things,” then you are no different than the world, and God has called you to be different.
— When you pursue God instead of pursuing “things,” you will wake up one day and realize that “things” are pursuing you.
— When you get your priorities in order and consciously align with God’s assignment, you position yourself to walk in God’s best by His grace.
— To experience divine success, your priorities need to be in order.
— When you walk with God and allow God to walk with you, God has a way of making the right things happen for you at just the right time. But when you are not walking with God and trying to make a life for yourself, you will have to create every opporunity and then attempt to deliver what is needed to make the opporunity successful. That is a hard way to live. I am not that smart (in my humanity). I don’t have that kind of energy (in my own strength). However, when I get up every morning, and I yield to God, knowing that my calling is calling me (and I answer the call), then God’s SUPER is on my natural, and I get to experience the life God called me to live. This is NOT ABOUT ME. This is ALL ABOUT HIM! This is NOT ABOUT MY INTELLIGENCE. This is ALL ABOUT HIS GRACE! This is #TheGraceLife, and (I believe) it is how we are supposed to live.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me about grace-based success.
The more I study Your grace, the more I realize how much You love me.
You love me with an everlasting love. You made plans for me before the world began. You go out of Your way to help me make decisions that line up with Your best for my life.
By faith, I declare that my mind is being renewed by Your Word. I see myself and my future the way You do. I believe what You believe about me. I make decisions that line up with Your best. I humble myself before Your mighty hand, and I know You will exalt me in due season.
I die to self, I make knowing You my #1 priority, and in turn, You make me an earthly success. Instead of pursuing things, I pursue You. But since I pursue You, You have a way of making things pursue me.
Everything I need to be successful in life has already been prepared for me by Your grace, and You will release them to me at just the right time.
Thank You, Father, for helping me keep my priorities in order and blessing me not just to make it to heaven SOME DAY but to experience heaven on earth EVERY DAY! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
