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Shepherd Daily Devotional

Don’t Quit!

Challenges don’t quit.

As you work on your goals, day after day, there will be days you won’t feel like moving on.  Realize that the challenges of life never go on break.  Don’t think there would ever be a time when everything will be perfect. It never will. The world that we live in, is not perfect.

Recall that Jesus was constantly conflicted by challenges, from the time He was born till the day He died. Life itself is a challenge. Each day, confront it with the mind of a warrior.

Never quit!

Written by Ben Dankaka

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Shepherd Daily Devotional

Fight Your Battles

You are meant to fight your own battles.

The Apostle Paul said to Timothy, his protégé, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7).

Paul used the letter “I” three times in that statement. That means, he wasn’t referring to a group fight. But the personal struggles he had to go through in life. Clearly, Paul wasn’t the kind of Christian who ran away from his problems. Though he experienced a lot of travails, He fought really hard and eventually won every battle that the enemy brought his way. Isn’t it interesting that even though he was highly talented and anointed, life still hit him hard with challenges?

I don’t know what you are currently go through. Whatever it is, realize that your personal battles won’t go away until you fight to a standstill. Keep fighting.

Written by Ben Dankaka

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Shepherd Daily Devotional

It’s Up to You

Your mind is in your hands.

There are Christians who wouldn’t mind to ask Jesus to do everything for them. Instead of serving Him, they would rather have Jesus serve them. Each morning, they would expect Jesus to wake them up and then drag them out of bed and tell them what to do.

If that is what is expected of Christ, then why did He say to His disciples, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19).

If it is His job to do EVERYTHING for us, why did He give us the key? The very act of giving us the key suggests we are all expected to take charge over life’s challenges. You have a powerful mind inside of you. Use it.

Written by Ben Dankaka

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Shepherd Daily Devotional

The Power of a Focused Mind

A double-minded person cannot win a battle.

Believe it or not, your mind plays an important role in any kind of battle. A double-minded person cannot win a battle.

When Moses gave his farewell address in the book of Deuteronomy, he said, “The officers shall say to the army: Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it” (Deuteronomy 20:5). Why did he say that? Moses knew that if a soldier goes into a battle with thoughts of an unfinished project in his mind, he will be unable to face the enemy at the same time.

To overcome adversity, your mind needs to be focused, even if it seems there’s no hope. And every battle begins in the mind. Your mind actually determines the direction of your mental and physical strength.

Written by Ben Dankaka

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Shepherd Daily Devotional

Change Your Mind

Nothing changes until you change your thoughts.

In the parable of the lost son, Jesus shared a story of a man who had two sons. The younger one demanded for his share of inheritance and left home. After he had spent everything on reckless living, an economic recession hit his country. To survive, he had to work in a farm where he was assigned to feed pigs.

This went on until one fateful day when he suddenly realized that while he was starving to death, the servants in his father’s house had food to spare. So, he got up and returned to his father, who restored his position in the family.

In Luke’s account of this story, you would notice that the son didn’t arrive at that decision until “he came to his senses” (Luke 15:11-32 – NIV). This story illustrates the power of the mind. Nothing changes until you change your thoughts.

Written by Ben Dankaka