Walking in the Spirit. That's the key to overcoming the flesh. If you follow the prompting of the Spirit of God within you, you won't be dominated by the pressure your flesh tries to put on you.

As you listen to the written Word and the Holy Spirit telling you what to do, you'll constantly be making little adjustments in your life according to what He says. And those little adjustments will keep darkness from overtaking you.

You see, God knows just what you need. He can look ahead in your life and see the traps and pressures the devil is laying for you. So follow the Holy Spirit's leading and He will maneuver you safely around them to victory.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."
— Ephesians 6:10


When he was little, my son had a habit of wandering. One day, we were in a hotel and came to an elevator. He ran ahead to push the button. I told him, "If the elevator comes, wait until Dad gets there." Just as I arrived at the elevator, the doors closed, and he was inside. He was gone.

I frantically pushed the button for the other elevator, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the doors opened and I jumped in. I went down to the lobby. He wasn't there. I ran back to the elevator, pushed every button for every floor, and as the doors opened, I would scream out his name.

I didn't care about decorum. I wanted to find my son. And I found him, about three floors up, wandering around.

But you know what? After that experience, he didn't wander anymore. He got separated from his dad, and it was scary for him. He learned how important it was to stay close to me.

As Christians, we should want to stay as close to our Heavenly Father as possible. The devil is a powerful adversary, and we are no match for him in our own strength. We don't want to venture out in this life on our own abilities and suffer spiritual defeat. I have a healthy respect for the devil's ability. Thus, I want to stay as close to the Lord as possible. I want to be strong in Him.

If ever there was a time to be walking closely with the Lord, it is now. This is not the time to be playing games with God. This is not the time to wander away.

"He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles."
(Proverbs 21:23)



There's just no two ways about it. To live a life of blessing, we have to make our words agree with what God says. Not just for a few hours or a few days, but all the time.

If you've ever done that, you know it's not easy. As time wears on and the circumstances around you appear to be stubbornly determined to stay in the same miserable condition, it can be hard to keep on speaking God's Word. But you have to do it if you ever want your harvest of blessing to come in.

Even when prosperity is not evident and your financial woes are, keep believing what God says! I knew my financial problems didn't change what the Word of God said. I knew His prosperity promises were true even if I hadn't been able to tap into them yet. So, even though I felt foolish at times, I just kept on talking about God's generous provision for me.

I realized later that Word went to work for me from the first day I began to believe it and speak it and order my life according to it. My prosperity crop began to grow the moment I started putting seeds in the ground. It just took time for them to come up.

Sometimes, believers don't last that long. They start planting well enough, but then when they don't see immediate results, when the bank account gets low and rent is past due, they get discouraged and begin to speak words of lack and defeat. They tear up their crop with the words of their own mouth, and they never get to enjoy the fruit of it.

The next time you strike out on faith, whether it's in the financial realm or any other area, keep that in mind. Determine from the beginning that you're not going to let that waiting period discourage you. Then hang on until the Word of God is manifested in your life. Put patience to work and keep your words in line. You will receive your harvest.

We were created to praise God. It should be our aim every day to glorify Him through our thoughts, actions, and words, amounting to a life that is ultimately not about us but all about Christ. Haydn understood this well and carried it out wonderfully during his life. He knew that the reason he was able to create such masterpieces was that God had blessed him with a gift. He spent his life using that gift to bring glory to the Lord.

Scripture tells us we are to "Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name" (Psalm 29:2). Whatever we do, let us do it to honor and glorify Christ Jesus the Lord.


It all comes down to this one thing; that God may be glorified in me, through me, and by me.

I once heard the story of two friends who were camping in the woods. As they were having their morning coffee, they heard some rustling in the bushes. Suddenly, they saw a very large grizzly bear coming toward them at full speed with a very hungry look on its face. One of the campers immediately started putting on his running shoes. His buddy turned to him and said, "You don't think you can outrun that grizzly bear, do you?" 

"No," the man said. "I don't need to. All I have to do is outrun you."

Great leadership is not about making the decision on your own.
Great leadership is about owning the decision once it has been made.
-Andy Stanley

"So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as an inheritance. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb . . . because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of Israel."
— Joshua 14:13?14


Today I want to look at one of the unsung heroes of the Bible. His name was Caleb, and he never lost his edge spiritually. In his own words, he said, "I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then" (Joshua 14:11). What makes that statement so significant is that Caleb was 85 years old when he said it!

What was the secret to Caleb's spiritual longevity? Caleb wholly followed the Lord. If we want spiritual longevity, we must do the same. But this means giving 100 percent to God.

Often, when our lives are in trouble, we expect God to drop everything, run to us, and take care of our problems. Then when it comes to us doing our part for Him, it is amazing how busy we can be. My schedule is so full. I don't have time for Bible study. I have tons of time for TV and reading magazines and talking on the cell phone, but I don't have time for the Word of God. I don't know if I have time to go to church this week, either.

If your heart is right with God, it will be shown in the way you spend your time. It will be shown in the way you live your life. If you are wholly following the Lord as Caleb did, then you will want to give God your best, not your leftovers. That was the secret to Caleb's spiritual longevity.