Category: Book Excerpt

(The following is an excerpt from Bob Nichols’ book, “How to Change Your Destiny.”)

So, what do you do when the deck is stacked against you?  What do you do when everything says you cannot make it? When life is against you, you can do what Jabez did.  He prayed. He prayed to the Lord his God. And I am telling you, you cannot keep a praying man or woman down.  He prayed.  That is what the Bible says, “And Jabez called on the name of the God of Israel”  (I Chronicles 4:10).

One has wisely said, “Until I pray nothing significant is going to happen, but after I pray the options are unlimited.” So when everything seems to be against you, what can you do?  First of all, you can pray about it.  I want you to notice the flow of his prayer in verse 10.  He prayed: “that thou wouldest bless me indeed” – not a little bit – but God bless me abundantly!  It is okay to ask God to bless you abundantly if you are going to give tithes and offerings to Him and bless others in the process.  It is selfish to pray, “God bless me abundantly,” and do nothing to help others.

God bless me indeed. I am a blessed man.  I am a blessed pastor.  My wife, Joy, is a blessed woman.  We’re blessed! And we have learned that we stay blessed by blessing others.  God said to Abraham, “I am going to bless you and make you a blessing.”  If your motive is to bless others God will see to it that you are blessed.

Jabez prayed, “Lord, enlarge my coast.”  In other words, expand and enlarge my influence.  Enlarge my ability to help others.  As a church we can pray, “God, multiply our outreaches. Multiply the workers for our outreach. Give us more territory and give us more people to help us take that territory.”

(The following is an excerpt from Bob Nichols’ book, “How to Change Your Destiny.”)

When I was in school very few students owned cars. I remember a certain student, whose father was a doctor, had a brand new Ford convertible.  That young man always had more money than he knew what to do with.  He had a brand new car when everyone else was walking, but he was given too much too quick, and it ruined him.  He became an alcoholic.  The last time I heard about him he was on his last leg and I pray to God that something turns his life around.

You can be born with a silver spoon in your mouth and turn out to be a zero. This young man thought his future was made because he had wealth, but in reality he was heading toward disaster because he had no one directing his path. He was in need of a master and he chose the wrong one. As long as you are partners with God, you can make BIG plans. It is not up to chance, it is Jesus being the Lord and the Savior of your life that makes the difference. It really is!

(Below is an excerpt from Pastor’s book, “How to Find Life in Dead Situations”)

So many things happen in the world today.  Sometimes you wonder what it is going to take to wake people up.  We are facing some challenging days ahead.  We need to pray that Jesus will be glorified in these times.  I heard a story from a United States Marine cadet.  He went to chapel for the first time on his base, not knowing what he would find.  He told me that the chapel was full of young cadets praising and worshiping God.  He said, “When the service was over, we were all on our faces before God praying and crying out.”  Listen my friend, God is at work all over the world.  We need to just keep the switch of faith turned on.   I know the Word of God says that God “. . . is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). Our most exciting days are yet to come.  I believe the church is being positioned for God’s glorious outpouring across the world.

The final thing that happened in John 11 is so simple; I had never noticed it before.  The Bible says, “. . . then many . . . believed.”  Many believed – that is what happens in every church service, every time you open the Bible or read a book like this.  “Many . . . believed . . . But some of them went their ways . . .” So many people leave a church service without really knowing what the preacher said.

Some just shuffle off down the freeway of life.  Folks, we need to hear from God every day.  We need to use our faith.  We need to stay excited and thrilled about the things of God.  We must press in with our faith as never before.  It is all by faith.  God help me not to be lazy in my faith.  I must press in for myself, my family, and my church.  We must press in.  The will of God is not going to happen because it is a good idea or because it has happened in the past.  It is going to happen because we keep our faith on the line.

Some of you have been through tough situations.  But I tell you this situation is not unto death, but it is unto the glory of God.  God’s going to receive the glory.  You can believe to see the goodness of God in the land of the living.