God—the Creator of the universe—knows us each by name. He has a purpose for our lives. He loves us more than anything else in the world! The apostle Paul saw that love firsthand when Jesus called him by name and radically changed his life. Another man, Annanias, was also called by name to do something great for God. The Lord calls us all to something. Let’s be available to Him.

Although we may not feel like it, every Christian body is a temple for the Holy Spirit—God Almighty is living inside born-again believers! The odd thing is, we still try to act with our human desires, and thus we don’t please God. Only the life-changing power of the Spirit can make us do things for Christ! Tell your human spirit that it’s not in control of your life—God is!

What a curse grumbling is! The Lord has given us more than we could ever need, yet we still find ways to complain. But God is with us, and He has a purpose for our circumstances. We should give Him thanks in the hard times as well as the good—the Bible tells us to be thankful for everything! Let’s pray for spirits of thankfulness today. May we never forget God’s goodness.

Jesus told us that we would do even greater works than He did—but what does that mean? We often aren’t even bold enough to share our faith or overcome sins in our daily lives! But it's not up to us to convert people or produce spiritual fruit on our own! If we just get in the presence of God and behold His holiness, He will fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit. We’ll be so full of awe that we can’t keep God's love to ourselves! Let’s behold the Lord's goodness today and watch what happens.

The difference between being rich and poor could be as simple as one good deed. A five-dollar bill doesn’t mean much here on earth—but if it’s used to bless others, it has extreme value in heaven! On the other hand, $50,000 on earth is meaningless if it is used only for selfish reasons. If we have Christ, we are rich! Let's be like Him and bless others today!

Taking up a cross sounds like a daunting task. We all have a spiritual cross to bear—not to punish us, but to set us free! As Christians, we have to surrender our own will for our lives in favor of God’s will. We must lay our sins at the cross, but we can’t get there on our own. The power of the Holy Spirit takes the wills and ways that we offer, and He gives us new life! If we show up in faith, the Spirit meets us there.

Life is a waiting game—waiting for the train, a call, a delivery. What’s important is how we act during those times. As Christians, we are waiting for the return of Christ. Until then, we represent Him here on earth! Do our words and actions reflect the love and holiness of God our Father? We are commanded to be holy, even in waiting periods. Only through the Holy Spirit can we succeed.

Haven't we all tried telling God how to run our lives? We connect all the dots and explain to the Lord how He should fix our issues—but the more we run the show, the worse it gets! Our Father wants us to trust Him, not control Him. Beautiful things happen when we release our hold on life and let God make it better than anything we could ever do ourselves!

Sometimes what seems logical is not actually best. Abraham found that out when he ran to Egypt during a famine and ended up in big trouble with the leader of the land! God has a perfect plan—and moving away from His will can send us into a spiral. But praise God, even when we wander, we can go back to where God wants us to be! His arms are always open to welcome us home.

We live in a society that pitches different ways we can totally change our lives. The reality is, we can’t change ourselves. But we don’t have to! God Almighty offers us transformation, including forgiveness and freedom. If we live like we’re in control, we will fail over and over again. But if we believe God to work within us, He will do in us all that we need Him to!