Tag Archive for: Encouragement

What’s Your Power Source? | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Are you handling your stresses, pressures and situations just fine on your own? Then you can skip this video and God’s words showing another way. But, if you’re like most of us, you need to know where your power comes from in order to deal with those issues. And for you, read on...

Game Plan:

“I can do [handle] all things through him [Jesus] who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13, ESV

“I [Jesus] am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides [remains connected to and dependent] in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit [love, joy, patience, kindness, faithfulness, courage, eternally significant influence…], for apart from me [Jesus] you can do nothing.” John 15:5, ESV

Time Out:

Simply stated, you and I can’t do anything that is eternally pleasing or significant without God. We were not made to operate on our own intellect, efforts and emotional resilience. Nor were we made to operate on psychological insights, extrinsic rewards, or mood-altering activities and substances. We were made to gain our identity in a dependent relationship with the God who made and rescued us. When we admit we are weak, we allow Him to be our strength. That is far more strength and power than we can muster up in any other way.

Simply stated, you and I can’t do anything that is eternally pleasing or significant without God.

Go Deep:

Write a list of all the things you are trying to handle on your own…things you don’t invite God to deal with.

Write a list of all the techniques, approaches, activities and substances you utilize in your attempt to survive, succeed or be happy on your own? Read that list and tell yourself that you’re an idiot. You’ve been duped by the enemy.

Begin a conversation this week with God. Tell Him you’re sorry for trying to be your own power source, for leaning on your ways instead of His, for running your own life.

Ask Him to reveal to you how much He loves you and to show you how to abide in Jesus through daily connection, surrender, joy, gratitude, praise, communication and dependence. Open the bible.

Ask God to open your eyes and heart to what He wants to say to you. Read it, journal about what you read and learn. Abide.

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Your Purpose…LIFT | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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There was something very special about Jack Kemp. Take a minute and find out what it was, and how you can do it.

Game Plan:

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11, NLT

Time Out:

So how can we LIFT our spouse or ex-spouse, our children or in-laws, our friends or people at work? Affirm their gifts, strengths and character. Value them and their role. Validate their personality and example. Thank them specifically. Encourage their influence. Inspire their impact on others. Express trust and confidence in their future.

What is the purpose of life? I think life’s purpose is to get to know God and to glorify Him.

That means we have to learn how to accept His love. It also means we will change…become more like God designed us to be.

Life Is for Transformation…LIFT. 

To bring things from “not good” to good, from “not God” to God, we are to become more like Jesus. We change.  We lift others. We are to become a life-giver, an encourager, created to help people become their best – someone who brings hope to people and to tough situations.

What is the purpose of life? I think life’s purpose is to get to know God and to glorify Him!

Go Deep:

Who lifts you? If you’re struggling to answer that, run to God’s love letter to you and  read Genesis, Psalm 23, John, Romans 8, Colossians. Are you a glass half empty or half full person?  Either way, you have water in your glass….and God has an unlimited supply. Make it your goal to fill other people with encouragement, confidence and hope.

Who are you lifting? 

Who needs your lift?

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Don’t Assume…Pray | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Find out why quarterbacks throw dumb interceptions…and why you and I do dumb things in relationships.

Game Plan:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT

Time Out:

Interceptions occur when quarterbacks predetermine which receiver they will throw to, even if he’s covered. Assumptions lead to trouble. But, reading the field leads to success.

What mistakes have you made…what mistakes are you making…because you assume things about others, especially your spouse and kids?

Don’t assume they know how much you love and believe in them. Don’t assume they know you’re sorry and didn’t disappoint them on purpose. Don’t assume your kids won’t see porn on their friend’s phone, or their own.

What mistakes have you made…what mistakes are you making…because you assume things about others, especially your spouse and kids?

Go Deep:

The solution to assumptions and errors is to trust God, not yourself.

Pray. Ask God to give you sensitivity and insight into the needs of your loved ones.

Ask. Ask them to help you understand more about them and their lives.

Learn. Learn from God and others, instead of assuming and guessing.

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Blocking is Love | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Why are linemen more like Jesus than quarterbacks? Check it out and practice their greatness.

Game Plan:

“Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You’d rather eat and be served, right? But I’ve taken my place among you as the one who serves.” Luke 22:27, NLT

Time Out:

Who would you rather be? The quarterback or the lineman? The visible one who gets the benefit or the invisible one who serves?

A lineman’s blocking is a sacrifice to help others. So is love.

(P.S. God is love and He rewards love – service done in love.) What are the ways you can be the servant of great relationships in your family, at work, and everywhere else?

Go Deep:

Pray for People. Do an errand or task for someone else. Schedule it around their schedule. Ask questions about their life and interests. Defer to their choice or desire. Consider and meet their need. Apologize first. Forgive first. Coach and assist them to succeed. Communicate clearly and respectfully with a desire to understand them.

Stay Connected:

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Help Your Team | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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You may not be rooting for your favorite team. Watch this and recommit yourself to bringing out the best in your ultimate team.

Game Plan:

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” I Thessalonians 5:11, ESV

(So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.) – from The Message, by Eugene Peterson

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” Hebrews 10:24, NLT

Time Out:

Is your life about “me” or “WE”?

Are you very conscious to identify yourself as a teammate to others?

Are you looking for encouragement? Or giving it?

When you drive your car… or have a free moment in the day…or when you get quiet to pray… and when you lay down to bed…do you think, pray and plan how you can help others know their value, feel loved and be their best?

Ask God to give you humility and a heart to identify yourself by the quality of your relationships.

Go Deep:

Ask God to give you humility and a heart to identify yourself by the quality of your relationships. 

Think team.  Act team.  Speak encouragement to the team. 

Cheer for your spouse and kids. 

Pray for God’s best ways to serve, encourage and assist them. 

Help God bring out the best in them.

PS.  Over 10,000 couples registered to get away to a Weekend To Remember during the last two weeks.  That’s way more than last year at this time.  Marriage rejuvenation on the way

Stay Connected:

To get this video and devotional guide delivered to your inbox each Monday, SUBSCRIBE TODAY.

To get your copy of Facing the Blitz CLICK HERE

And, Like us on FACEBOOK and follow Jeff on Twitter

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Give Up Your Seat | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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It’s crazy how we can be blind to our own hypocrisy and selfishness. Watch this story and return to being the best version of you.

Game Plan:

“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” Luke 6: 31, ESV

Time Out:

When you get in line at the airport or look for seats or overhead luggage space on a plane, does your concern for yourself crowd out any consideration of others? Do you want to be served and treated special? That was not the way Jesus lived. Remember that your character is who you are in all situations, with all people.

Go Deep:

Our character won’t be golden unless we follow the Golden Rule. A great starting point is to consider how much grace and undeserved love God has showered on us. Gratitude. If we start with gratitude, treating others well will be way easier. If we take joy in treating people well, we will start to do it naturally and consistently.

Next time you travel, consider the other people’s comfort, even giving away a good seat.

Next time you are in traffic, drive your thoughts toward gratitude to God. Then, slow down to make room for cars trying to merge into your lane. Ya…that’s a tough one!

Next time things get stressed in your marriage or family, be grateful for your spouse and kids. Then, make an effort to improve their day or sacrifice to make their situation easier.

Oh…don’t forget to look at last weeks video about hope for marriages and the special half price Weekend To Remember. Invest in your joy and his or hers To find a Weekend to Remember near you, go to https://weekendtoremember.com

Stay Connected:

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Turn Your Marriage Around | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Ray and Felissia were headed toward divorce. Hear their turnaround story and watch to see the hope and help available for you too.

Game Plan:

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice [ just ways ] of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” Galatians 6:7, NLT

Time Out:

We reap what we sow. We get out what we put in. Assets grow when we invest. Effort pays off. If this is so, why do we dream that marriage will be easy and automatic? Why think that relationships shouldn’t take work?

Why would we think that ‘struggling and unhappy’ is the best we can get? God invented marriage to succeed when we depend upon Him and follow His blueprints.

Go Deep:

Don’t give up on your marriage or settle for average. Get some coaching and put some effort every year into building your marriage.

There are lots of ways to deepen your marriage…books, videos, mentors and counselors. One pathway has helped over a million people. It’s what we do at FamilyLife where I work…the Weekend to Remember marriage getaway.

INVEST…get away for a weekend of fun and fueling your marriage or tell a young couple or friends that you’ll pay for their registration.

I really want you and your spouse to be blessed and to thrive. Take advantage of our SPOUSES GO FREE promotion by September 19 and use my group name, JeffKemp. It’s the best price we offer all year! Find locations and dates and register at WeekendToRemember.com

Stay Connected:

To get this video and devotional guide delivered to your inbox each Monday, SUBSCRIBE TODAY.

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You’re Not Disqualified | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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It’s not too late to change or make a positive impact. Check out this divorced dad’s story…and the one to follow about a prostitute who made an awesome comeback.

Game Plan:

“People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13, NLT

(Read about Rahab in Joshua chapter 2 & 6; Matthew 1:5,17; Ruth 4:20-22)

Time Out:

My buddy Terry demonstrated unconditional, sacrificial love. He’d probably fallen short on that in the past. He was a divorced dad, not married anymore, but he tapped into Jesus and modeled great husbanding to his watching daughter. He set a great example.

If it were not for Jesus’ forgiveness, everybody would be disqualified. Two things: let’s stop hiding our sins and stop condemning ourselves for our past.

Made mistakes? Tough past? Get in line. Let God rewrite your present and your future. You are not disqualified. Make a difference in someone’s life.

Go Deep:

I just read about a young lady named Rahab in Joshua chapter 2 and 6. She was a prostitute. That didn’t stop her from stepping up to help God’s men spying out the city of Jericho. She insisted that they protect her family. Her life and lifestyle changed. She later married a guy named Salmon…and they spawned (pardon the pun) children and a great-great-grandson, King David…who was related to King Jesus.

Let God rewrite your present and your future. You are not disqualified. Make a difference in someone’s life.

Stay Connected:

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Fire Yourself | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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I’ve been traded and cut by coaches before, but check out this story about firing myself.

Game Plan:

“Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” Daniel 2:20-21, ESV

Time Out:

I ­­didn’t want to resign and give away our organization…but I was faced with a blitz and knew God was up to something, even though I didn’t know what it would look like.  It comes down to trusting Him or trusting myself.

Read chapter 2 in the book of Daniel. Daniel worked for a “secular” boss. The King didn’t believe in or tolerate Daniel’s God. He was about to kill all his wise advisors, including Daniel, because no one could interpret the king’s dream. Daniel heard from God but didn’t know if the king would change his mind or not. That’s when he declared that God can change things in any way He wishes and we should ask for wisdom to handle those changes. 

You don’t need the circumstances or outcomes you want. You need God.

Go Deep:

Ask yourself this question a few times this week, and every week: “How attached am I to my version of my life… career, circumstances, finances etc?”

Attach yourself more to God and His sovereign plans for your life than to your version of your life. Ask Him for wisdom and knowledge of what to do. Then trust Him and do the new thing He shows you.

Fire yourself. Put God in charge.

Stay Connected:

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Brothers Compete in Love | Facing Your Blitz Weekly Video Devotion

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Love is a feeling. Right? Wrong. Love is sacrifice as illustrated by these two brothers. Enjoy.

Game Plan:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35, ESV

Time Out:

God has always coached us humans on how to live well: love others as we love ourselves. But, Jesus set a way higher standard. He instructed us to love each other the way He loved us. Think about that…He left Heaven, endured temptation, and chose to die for us when we did not deserve it!

To love sacrificially is the best thing for us…for others… and for God. Do anonymous things to bless other people.

Go Deep:

To love sacrificially is the best thing for us…for others… and for God. Do anonymous things to bless other people. And, prepare yourself to copy the love of Jesus and give up much to do what is best for your spouse, child, sibling or parent…particularly when it’s hard.

Stay Connected:

To get this video and devotional guide delivered to your inbox each Monday, SUBSCRIBE TODAY.

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And, Like us on FACEBOOK and follow Jeff on Twitter

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