Blessed to Receive Two Nice Emails and Prayers from the Osteen's Today!

 

Joel Osteen said in his email today that, "Every day is a gift. The longer I live, the more I realize how valuable each day is. We’re not going to be here forever. It’s easy to live uptight, frustrated, and worried, but in the big picture, most of the things that are upsetting us don’t really matter. Is it worth losing your joy over bad traffic or something someone said that was offensive? If you found out you only had a day to live, you wouldn’t even pay attention to many things that upset you now.

If you let a grouchy boss or a bitter relative keep you from being happy, it’s your fault. You are as happy as you want to be. You have to put your foot down and say, “This is the day the Lord has made. I’m not going to let what people do or don’t do, what they say or don’t say, or what I have or don’t have keep me from being happy. I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to enjoy this day.”

I really agree with Joel! Thank you God for today and every day, my life, and all your blessings! 

Joel's sister Lisa sent a nice reminder for all of us who say we are Christians and followers of Jesus Christ! Lisa said in her email, "You have influence! In fact, you have a God-given influence to reach certain people that only you can reach. God wants to use you to help others and to be a carrier of His presence and power. You are not only influential, but you are needed in the Body of Christ. You are called to minister to others in your life by encouraging them, praying for them, and telling them about Jesus. When you do these things, you allow the love of God to flow through you to others.

Our parents founded Lakewood in 1959 with 90 faithful believers, but the church didn’t grow until God spoke to my father specifically about 2 things. He told him, “Don’t worry about preaching fancy sermons. Teach the people who they are in Christ Jesus, what they can do in Christ Jesus, and what they have because of Christ Jesus.” That is when the “This Is My Bible,” declaration was born. Daddy would have us hold up our Bibles and declare it over ourselves. And the people began to grow spiritually. They began to walk in their authority as a believer. Another thing my dad taught was that he knew what Ephesians 4:11-12 says, that every believer is a minister. He knew that as one person, he could only do so much. So, he wanted the church to know that each person was anointed to do the work of ministry and called to share the Gospel. And that’s when the church began to explode in attendance. The people believed that God would use them—and they brought their friends and loved ones to church.

We have so much potential to reach people for Jesus if we only allow God to use us. I want to help you walk in that calling and step into your full potential to do the work of God. There are some practical ways that I want to share with you on how we can minister. The first thing you can do is to realize that you are anointed to minister to people. Ministry may not be your occupation, but it is your calling. The anointing is God’s power and ability working in you to help fulfill your purpose. You may feel unqualified at times, but the anointing is in you to help you! The purpose of the anointing in you is so that you can do the very same things that Jesus did. You are anointed to bring healing to those who are broken and wounded. To bring freedom to the oppressed! To pray for the sick! People need a touch from Jesus—and it comes through you!"

Joel's sister is great too! I liked her message today about how all of us as Christians are disciples for Jesus and should be encouraging all toward God!  We are all ministers! What a blessing!  I love his mother Dodie too, her books and story are amazing! They are so positive and live in faith, they really trust the Lord, it is so nice to see! A wonderful family for sure! So blessed to receive all their words! 

I really liked Joel's prayer today:

A Prayer for Today

“Father, thank You that this day is a gift from You, and I’m not going to live sour and defeated. Thank You that I have the power to not allow what others say or do or what I don’t have to steal my happiness. I’ve made up my mind that I’m going to keep my joy. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”