A promise a day keeps the devil away—I believe that is true. So here are seven promises to get you started for the week ahead—a week where you can know victory over all the onslaughts that the enemy throws your way. Then you can easily find seven more and keep doing this each week.

Our promise for Sunday is Isaiah 54:10:

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Seems like this year behind us has shaken our foundations, doesn’t it? Our normal lives have been turned upside down, and we don’t know even yet what our new normal is going to look like. Many of our freedoms have been taken from us, and we’ve been isolated and frightened a lot. Sure feels like our mountains are shaking and the hills we once knew and loved have been removed.

Could that be where you are? Well, here’s God’s promise for you for Sunday: His unfailing love has not been and never will be shaken and nothing or no one can take his peace from you. The Lord, the Creator of the universe, has compassion on you. Claim it because it is true. It is his promise to you and his promises never fail. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ, as we read in 2 Corinthians 1:20.

Here’s your promise for Monday: 2 Thessalonians 3:3:

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

I said that a promise a day would keep the devil away, right? So, here is the promise you can claim for protection from the evil one. The Lord will strengthen you.

Do you feel like your strength is about gone? Maybe you’ve been defeated lately by some temptation, some sin, and time and again your good intentions to resist the devil have just failed you. Here’s your promise for Monday: The Lord is faithful and he will give you the strength and will protect you from the evil one. You’ve failed because you don’t have the strength in yourself—none of us do. So, just claim this promise: God you are faithful; please strengthen me and protect me from all those arrows that the devil keeps sending my way. Take this promise with you on Monday; quote it and claim it. It’s there for you.

But what about Tuesday? Is there a promise for you on Tuesday? Absolutely: Deuteronomy 31:6:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Fear is usually at the root of most of our concerns, is it not? That’s why over and over and over in scripture God says to his people, to you and me, “Do not be afraid.” He speaks to us as a loving parent whose child is afraid of the dark. That parent knows there is no need for fear, but she also knows that her child is nonetheless afraid of it. So, she says with all tenderness and care, “Don’t be afraid.”

Well, you have a heavenly Father who speaks to you in his compassion and love for you: There’s no need for you to be afraid. I’m going with you. I will always be with you. Nothing can separate you from me. Be strong; don’t be afraid. What are you facing that has you gripped by fear? Who has terrified you by lies and threats? On this day claim this promise—you are not alone, never ever. And if the Lord is for you, who can be against you? You have every reason to be strong and courageous because you have this promise from the true God, the only God. Take it as yours.

Now you’re at mid-week, Wednesday. Sometimes Wednesdays seem interminable, don’t they? The weekend seems a long way off, and the doldrums set in. You need a promise for Wednesday, and here it is from Isaiah 58:11:

The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.

A promise a day keeps the devil away—I believe that is true. So here are seven promises to get you started for the week ahead—a week where you can know victory over all the onslaughts that the enemy throws your...

The Bible says words aptly spoken are like apples of gold in settings of silver (Proverbs 25:11). If I had a silver bowl full of gold apples, not only would it be a thing of great beauty, but obviously one of very great value, too. There is great power in our words to do wonderful, beautiful things. And one way is through timely words—aptly spoken words. They are delightful.

What is a timely word? That's when you say something to someone at just the right moment. How often people have done this for me. I'll be having some discouragement or doubts, and someone will call or say to me a word that simply delights my heart and picks me right out of the dumps. You've had that happen to you. Just when you feel like you look terrible, someone says, "Wow, you really look nice today.” Just when you feel like a failure, you hear, "That was a terrific job you did.” And just those few words can turn you completely around.

One principle I taught managers was, "Try to catch your employees doing something right—and the minute you do, tell them.” That's a timely word, and it can do more for morale and productivity than any other management technique you can learn. Try it on someone. Catch them doing something right, and tell them immediately.

Words of encouragement are beautiful as well. Can you think of someone who needs encouragement today? Take the time to give them that aptly spoken word of encouragement

When someone is suffering, you may not have any great words of wisdom, but you can always say, "I'm so sorry. I know how it hurts.” Frequently, a sympathetic word—simply hurting with those who are hurting—is just what that person needs.

Well, the Bible sure has a lot to say about the words we speak. And there's no question that we have the power of life and death in our tongues. I want to challenge you t­o join me in determining, by God's grace, to use your tongue to bring life and not death, to yourself and to others. What a testimony that would be! Why should we settle for anything less? Let's go for it.

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The Bible says words aptly spoken are like apples of gold in settings of silver (Proverbs 25:11). If I had a silver bowl full of gold apples, not only would it be a thing of great beauty, but obviously one...

The Bible tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Why, then, don’t we use it for life instead of for death? I believe that we as Christians, more than anyone else, should be very...

The Bible tells us that the power of life and death is in the tongue. Why, then, don't we use it for life instead of for death? I believe that we as Christians, more than anyone else, should be very careful that we are not speaking words that hurt others or ourselves.

I’ve talked about the bad things that happen when we speak the wrong words, and how our words can inflict great damage on others as well as ourselves. Here are some of the good things we can do with words. By avoiding deadly words and speaking words that have life in them, our words can do wonderful things for others as well as ourselves.

Consider Proverbs 15:1a: A gentle answer turns away wrath. If you speak with gentle words, you can dissipate someone else's wrath. I remember a public service ad on television depicting parents saying awful things to their children. Such things as I'm sorry you were ever born. You'll never amount to anything. You can't do anything right. You're nothing but trouble. The ad made the point that as parents we need to be careful what we say to our children, because our words will shape them into the people they become.

It's true for parents and everyone else; our words shape how others behave. So often managers get the wrong reaction out of their people and demotivate them by their poor choice of words.

Did you know that your tongue has healing powers? Proverbs 12:18b says that the tongue of the wise brings healing, and in chapter 16:24 we read, "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

Your own pleasant words can bring healing to your own soul and bones. And they can bring healing to others, too. How? Well, pleasant words can surely heal wounds of bitterness and broken relationships. Often physical problems have their beginnings in the mind and the emotions. And many times those problems began with either the wrong spoken words or the absence of needed words.

Well, we can't do anything about the words we've already spoken, but we surely can, by God's grace, start to control our words now so that we're speaking words of life, not death.

Have you ever thought about the damage that you do yourself by the words you use? You may be surprised to see just how your life has been affected by your own words. I have noticed that I can make...

Have you ever thought about the damage that you do yourself by the words you use? You may be surprised to see just how your life has been affected by your own words.

I have noticed that I can make myself truly exhausted by saying out loud, "Wow, I'm really tired.” So often I hear people talk themselves out of doing something good by citing all the reasons it can't be done, instead of finding ways to make it happen. Many of us limit our potential and ourselves by saying "I can't" instead of "I'll try.” We talk ourselves into emotional depression by talking about our troubles instead of reciting all we have to be thankful for.

We're frequently victims of our own words. We speak words of doom and they become self-fulfilling prophecies. My friend, I want to tell you something: the words you are saying are having a great influence on your attitude, your productivity, your motivation, your self-respect.

I was talking with someone who said she was due to have a review by her boss the next week, and he had promised her a raise, but she didn't think she'd get it. He wouldn't come through, she was sure.

I wanted to say to her, "Don't even say that!” Why? Because she's wounding herself with her own words. If she keeps saying that, she'll believe that her boss is not going to fulfill his promise to her. Do you think that might affect her performance? Good chance. Do you think her boss might pick up on that attitude? Good chance. Her words of fear and doubt could very well trigger the results she fears. Then if she doesn't get the raise, she'll say, "See, I knew it.” And then there will be more negative words to feed back into her mental computer and the problem will compound itself.

Are you speaking words of doom to yourself? Words like "I can't do it," or "I'm really afraid," or "I know something bad is going to happen"? Do you frequently say "I'm so tired," or "I just don't feel good today," or "I'm getting a headache again"? It could be that you are doing great damage to yourself by filling your mind with your own negative, harmful words of doom.

Listen to yourself talk and stop wounding yourself with words of death.

Undoubtedly you know someone who just cannot stop talking—just a real motor mouth. We all know people like that. Do you like to be with them? Probably not that much. But talking too much is more than just an irritating bad habit. We need to see what God has to say about talking too much.

Proverbs 17:27 says a man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a few verses later it tells us that a fool delights in airing his own opinions, and that it is shameful for a person to answer before listening.

How much do you talk versus how much you listen? James tells us to be quick to listen and slow to speak, but if you're like me, you may find it much easier to be quick to speak and slow to listen! Do you think God is sending us a message by giving us two ears and one mouth, telling us that we need to listen twice as much as we talk?

Proverbs 20:19 says to avoid a person who talks too much. Why? Because they're shooting off their deadly weapon all the time, and you could get hit. Abundance of words leads to sin. Proverbs 10:19 says when words are many, sin is not absent. Have you noticed that if you just keep talking long enough, pretty soon you'll say something you shouldn't? Do you have a reputation for talking all the time? Then chances are you say much that is inappropriate, because many words lead to sin.

In Matthew 12:36 Jesus said, "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” Think about giving an account for all your careless words. Little scary, isn't it? Talking too much is not a laughing matter, or just an irritating bad habit, but rather something we should take quite seriously.

WORDS! They are very powerful things. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can do far more harm than a few broken bones. You know, once you speak words, you can never un-speak them. You can erase with a pencil or delete from your computer, but once those words are spoken, they cannot be unsaid.

It's really difficult to heal the damage done by careless words, so check it out and eliminate some of those excess, unnecessary words that so frequently get you into trouble.

Undoubtedly you know someone who just cannot stop talking—just a real motor mouth. We all know people like that. Do you like to be with them? Probably not that much. But talking too much is more than just an irritating...