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Week One: Introduction
Week Two: It's Time To Believe
Summaries of Previous Joel Osteen book studies:
Become a Better You
7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day
JOEL’S NUTSHELL POINT– STAY PASSIONATE ABOUT LIFE: When you prepare for God’s favor in your life you make room for blessings and good things to happen. Don’t make plans for defeat, make plans to prosper. Collect big jars, prepare for victory, put action behind your faith. God has placed a song and a well of joy deep inside you. Find your song and sing it with gratitude for all God has done and is doing in your life. Smile. Stand tall. Make your body language communicate the reality of who you are: a child of the Most High God. Your gratitude and song of joy energize and refresh you, activating the power of God to see the good in your life. Move from believing to expecting. Wait on God’s goodness like you’re preparing for a guest. Put actions behind your faith. Water seeds of hope with gestures of expectancy—do something that shows you are waiting for God to act. Fan your flame of faith. Make a gratitude list, remember how far God has brought you, focus on God’s goodness, and be on the lookout for God’s goodness and favor. The best is yet to come!
JOEL’S NUTSHELL POINT – EMBRACE THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE:
Life happens. Storms come into our lives. But God is with us and at work. The power of God’s peace comes when we embrace whatever situation we find ourselves in and discern God’s hand working behind the scenes. Sometimes God is using us to touch others. Remember God’s goodness in the past. Put out some “memorial stones.” And whatever happens, believe that God is doing something—see the signs and trust God to turn things around at the right time!
JOEL’S NUTSHELL POINT – FORM BETTER HABITS:
We all have been shaped by the habits we have formed and repetitive choices we have made. Take stock and identify the habits that make you who you are. You can change! Make a decision to do something different, to create new behavioral life patterns. Ask for God’s help and power. Practice, practice, practice. You can retrain your mind and reprogram your mental computer by choosing to be adaptable, focusing on God, knowing that you don’t have to have your way to be happy [content]. Eliminate the negative, accentuate the positive, and refuse to let the “slingers” and “controllers” in this world to steal your joy. Run your race!
JOEL’S NUTSHELL POINT – DEVELOP BETTER RELATIONSHIPS:
Make it your mission to bless others every day. Nothing is more important than having healthy relationships and we nurture those relationships by believing in others, bringing out the best in them, and showing them mercy. Avoid strife, be a peacemaker, show appreciation and affection to others. Fight for your family and those who need someone to be family to them. Make more deposits than withdrawals in the emotional accounts of others. God made you to love and give. The secret to becoming a better you lies in discovering and living the image of God within you: an image of loving, giving, blessing generosity toward others. Love life, everyone’s life. And be the power that wills their flourishing.
You are made in the image of God (imago Dei). Negative thinking about yourself is an obstacle to experiencing God’s best; it brings forth more negativity. God loves you. We are human. We make mistakes. But one of the biggest mistakes we can make is to believe the lie that God is disgusted and done with us. When we repent and ask for God’s forgiveness we must also receive God’s mercy and see ourselves the way God sees us: as precious children. A new image of ourselves and a new attitude forms as we learn to speak words of faith and hope over our lives—countering the countless negative words from our past and, worse, from ourselves. Ask for help. Receive God’s mercy. Agree with God and echo God’s words over your life: “You are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.”
JOEL’S NUTSHELL POINT – KEEP PRESSING FORWARD:
God has placed in all of us both a longing for divinity (to be like God) and the very things we need to live the abundant life. As we recognize this deep truth and trust God, we undo the lies and destructive life patterns in our lineage that keep us from God’s best—even as our new attitudes and choices accumulate to create a generational blessing. God’s power and gifts are present in us and are activated in our lives by faith that recognizes God’s goodness, receives God’s mercy, and expects God’s best. We are “pressing on to the higher calling of our Lord!”
