I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18 (NKJV) In today’s verse, Jesus specifically mentions He’s building one thing—His church. Why? Because it’s through His church that salvation is brought to cities and to countries. Government puts systems and structures in place for a nation, but it doesn’t touch the heart of the population. Only Jesus can touch the heart of a nation, and only Jesus is able to change that heart! We need strong, healthy churches and ministries who bring hope, passion and Jesus to the world in a spiritually contemporary way. And the purpose of our lives is to be part of His church on this mission. When we’re without purpose, pleasure and success …

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Psalms 100:4 (NKJV) If you want to sense the presence of God, start with thankfulness. On rough days we may think, “Well, I have nothing to be thankful for.” But truthfully, we always do. We just need to make a choice—we can focus on the problems in our life or focus on God and give thanks for all that we have in Him. You see, even in the midst of deep hurt, true loss or grieving we hold the power to choose gratitude. Now we certainly aren’t thankful for pain or losses. But despite them, we can be thankful for an ever-present God who loves us and never leaves us. In the middle …

I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. Psalms 119:15 (NKJV) Meditation is one of the most powerful ways to encourage yourself! Everyone meditates, although few do it on purpose. Without even realizing it, we often meditate on the future. Biblical meditation is different. It’s about picturing the future—filled with God’s promises—in your mind. Memory looks back into your past, but the type of meditation I’m talking about looks ahead into your future. Television, books and social media often feed us our content for meditation. For example, maybe you’re struggling with a job situation and you start focusing on newscasts about the poor economy, or while watching documentaries on cancer, you begin to fear you’ll become one of the statistics they’re quoting. You …

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) Prayer can strengthen you, but not all types of prayer. Many of us were raised to believe prayer involves begging, bugging and pleading with God to get Him to do something. However, at the root of begging and pleading is the misbelief is that God is unwilling or is withholding what it is we’re praying for. Contrary to this idea, the Bible tells us to ask and believe. (See Luke 11:13, John 16:24, Matthew 21:22, Philippians 4:6-8, Matthew 7:7-11.) Notice that today’s verse doesn’t suggest we timidly creep up to God, hat in hand, tugging on His sleeve …

David was greatly distressed because the people spoke of stoning him… But David felt strengthened and encouraged in the Lord his God. 1 Samuel 30:6 (AMP) Did you know that encouraging yourself influences those around you? 1 Samuel chapter 30 provides an example of the power of encouraging yourself in God and its effect on others. David and his men had just returned home to discover their homes had been destroyed by the Amalekites. Their wives, children and all their possessions had been taken. David and his men “wept until they were too exhausted to weep [any longer]”. They were devastated! Their distress quickly turned to blame, and they turned on David. When we’re discouraged, it’s easy to make poor choices and say or do …