Anxiety, materialism, and unforgiveness are like fevers in our souls. When we harbor these feelings, our spiritual health gets so hot that it becomes unstable. We hear one wrong word, and boom, we break down! What could possibly heal us? Only a touch from Jesus. His peaceful and restorative power works instantly. Let’s plead with Him today to touch and heal us and remove any feverish outlook from our lives.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Haggai encouraged the Jewish people to prioritize building God’s physical house over theirs. God used to dwell in a physical temple, but no more. We, His people, are His temple! Now, as believers in Jesus Christ, we must prioritize building God’s spiritual house over our interests.

When we feel downhearted and utterly defeated—remember, God isn’t bestowing that feeling! Satan lays guilt on us, but God says “There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Look up from your earthly struggles! Don’t define yourself by what you see—define yourself by Whose you are. There’s nothing that the devil can hold against you that beats the power of Jesus.

Too often we enjoy Jesus at church—but He's not so prominent in our homes. Why? Because we let the fire of the Holy Spirit burn down in our lives. But as the Lord instructed Moses, "the fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out" (Leviticus 6:13). Let's rekindle the fire by seeking God again! When we do, He will not fail to heal our families and our homes.

It’s a shame that many of us have gotten lazy in our faith—we don’t prioritize worship like we did when we first got saved. The problem in Americanized Christianity is that we’ve expected church to be entertainment instead of adoration of Almighty God! Let’s humble ourselves and plug back into church. We are there to serve, grow, and worship, not to be entertained!

The world’s language is judgment, but the language of Christ is love. When we see a brother or sister struggling with sin or caught up in harmful matters, it is not our place to judge or shame them—we must gently and lovingly bring them back to God. Jesus bore our sins instead of judging us. If He could do so great a feat of love, we can choose to help those who need it!

Christians aren’t using the Holy Spirit enough. It’s not emotionalism or fanaticism—the Scriptures detail gifts of the Spirit such as faith, healing, and prophecy. We must ask God for our hearts, minds, and spirits to be not just indwelt but filled by the Holy Spirit. Only then can we experience His power from heaven.

Don't work. Wait for the Father's gift. We can't do the work we're supposed to do without it. We can be sincere and even saved, but without power. All born-again Christians have the Holy Spirit, but God promised the twelve something more. We need to be filled, ongoing. Not emotionalism—the true filling of the Holy Spirit. Some Christians think the fullness of the Holy Spirit was already given and we get no more. But that's not true of examples in Scripture, or in church history.

Typhoons are wildly turbulent—but underneath the storm is a peaceful stillness. In the same way, Christians face turmoil in the world every day, but we can live with peace in our hearts because of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. God dwells in peace. Any thought that brings agitation to our hearts and minds is the devil trying to rob us of peace—don’t let him! To live with Jesus in our lives is to live with peace.

How effective are your prayers? Jesus said that if we don't forgive those who have hurt us, our prayers will be hindered. God forgives our sins—and He also forgets them. If Jesus can completely wipe away our sins, can’t we forgive others? Today let's bring that person or situation to God and see how it will clear the way to effective, powerful prayer.

Where would we be if God didn’t protect us from our own foolishness? Many of us have stories about things we did or places we went without seeking God first. But God is so patient and merciful—He blesses us even when we don’t deserve it! Abraham, the father of faith, learned that firsthand, and we can too. If we’ve lapsed recently and fallen out of step with Him, let’s get back in line. His ways are so much better than ours!