2024-09-21
Genesis 12:1 NKJV
The two parts to God’s “go” are going from and going to. Ur, Abram’s home, was considered the place to be. Setting out for ancient Mesopotamia, all the trading wealth from around the Mediterranean had to travel through Ur. It was a place of immense affluence, trade, education, and technology. One author writes, “The first written legal code that began civilization was there in Ur.” So, it would have been a hard place to leave – especially if you were going to Canaan. Canaan was unsophisticated, unrefined, and underdeveloped. No one who had enough money to live in Ur, the great center of civilization, would move to Canaan.
Here is the point: You must trust God with your future when the path He has called you to take doesn’t look like the obvious one. But if you’re willing to go, you will discover that God has blessings in mind you never dreamed of.
He told Abram, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (vv. 2-3 NKJV).
The reward God gives you will always be greater than any sacrifice He calls you to make. Has God called you to go, but you want to stay? Is He telling you to stay, but you want to go? Here is the score: If you obey God, you will never regret it. And that’s a guarantee!
Soul food: Zech 1-4; Luke 22:63-71; Ps 3; Prov 24:23-25
2024-09-20
Psalm 91:15 NKJV
If you are battling illness today, God says, “I am the Lord who heals you” (Exodus 15:26 NKJV). If you are facing a problem that seems as big as a mountain, Jesus says: “Whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:23-24 NKJV).
If you are in trouble today, God says, “I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him” (Psalm 91:14-15 NKJV). Notice who this promise is made to – those who know “My name.” As a redeemed child of God, that’s you!
Here are four things that God has promised you:
First, to answer your prayer.
Second, to be with you in your troubles.
Third, to deliver you.
Fourth, to honor you.
These are four stages of answered prayer. Whichever stage you are in today, be confident that God loves and cares for you (See 1 Peter 5:7). And His willingness to answer your prayer is not dependent upon your performance but upon Christ’s performance on your behalf. “To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved [Jesus]” (Ephesians 1:6 NKJV). Because you are “accepted” in Christ, you can be sure that God will answer your prayers.
Soul food: 2 Tim 1-4; Luke 22:54-62; Ps 19; Prov 24:19-22
2024-09-19
Hosea 6:3 KJV
Having a “statement of faith” is a good thing because it lets people know your beliefs and values and where you stand on the issues. But it also carries with it a certain danger; you can end up believing you know all there is to know about the subject or at least all that is important to know. The Bible challenges us to keep learning and growing spiritually: “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord.” The New King James Version says, “Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.” In Scripture, the word “reveal” is used thirty-eight times.
Clearly, God wants us to get that there is more to know about Him than what we think we know. That’s why you must always keep your mind open. The day you stop “following” God or “pursuing” God is the day you stop learning more about God and growing spiritually. God has more to reveal to you!
Paul writes: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us” (1 Corinthians 2:9-12 NLT). So, the word for you today is – you have more to learn.
Soul food: Mic 5-7; Luke 22:39-53; Ps 24; Prov 24:15-18
2024-09-18
Proverbs 2:6 NKJV
Maybe you’re facing graduation. More frequently than ever before, people are switching to different jobs and companies and changing their whole careers. In 2014, career specialist Andy Chan observed that young adults will face, on average, twenty-nine jobs over their lifetime. In 2013 Oxford researchers predicted that about half the jobs will be replaced with technology by 2033. So, how do you adjust to a constantly changing environment?
Perhaps you’re in a rut. Your life is safe but unrewarding. You want to do more or be more. Perhaps you’re facing an empty nest. You abruptly find independence and time and options that have been unavailable to you for a few decades. What’s the best way to use them? Possibly you’re retiring. What might God have next for you? Maybe you have traveled abroad and seen a great need, or have investigated a problem and want to make a difference. What should you do next? Perhaps you’re considering marriage. How can you tell if this person is the right one? What if you make a mistake? Or maybe you have been agonizing over a lost opportunity in your past. Will God give you another one?
In answering these questions, you must keep two things in mind. First and foremost, God is more interested in what you become than where you go or what you do for a living. His goal for your life is “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29 KJV). Second, you will save yourself time, trouble, and possible heartache by consulting God before making any decision. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6 NKJV).
Soul food: Mic 1-4; Luke 22:24-38; Ps 78:65-72; Prov 24:10-14
2024-09-17
Genesis 12:1 NLT
One author pens: “Would you want the kind of kids you have to tell their whole lives, ‘Wear these clothes. Take these classes. Go to that school. Apply for this job. Marry that person. Purchase this house,’ and you always have them do exactly what you tell them as long as they live? No… Why? Because your main goal is… that they become people of great character and judgment. The only way for them to do that is to make lots and lots of decisions. Of course, that means they’ll make a lot of wrong decisions. That becomes a primary way they learn.
Very often God’s will for you will be “I want you to decide,” because decision-making is an indispensable part of character formation. God is primarily in the character-forming business, not the circumstance-shaping business.” Abraham didn’t say, “Lord, exactly where are you taking me? How is the economy there? What are the job market and the housing market like? Do they have good medical facilities and schools?” The Bible says, “By faith… Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8 NLT). Abraham decided to follow God, and trust God with everything else. And he came out on top!
God does not promise to give us details but to give us wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally” (James 1:5 KJV). Why does God do it this way? Because decision-making is character building.
Soul food: Neh 11-13; Luke 22:14-23; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 24:5-9
2024-09-16
Acts 27:25 NIV
Third, anchored by God’s promises. The third anchor that gives us confidence in a crisis is found in Paul’s words, “I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.” If you have ever been betrayed by an unfaithful spouse, you may have lost trust in marriage. If you were a victim of the subprime mortgage crisis, you may have lost your home and your trust in bankers. If you voted for someone you believed had integrity only to discover they were in the pocket of special interest groups, you may have lost your trust in government.
But never ever lose trust in the promises of God! Look in the face of your storm today and sing the words of this famous hymn by Russell Carter: “Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling winds of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God, I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God.” You may lose your cargo, you may lose your ship, you may even go overboard – but you’re going to prevail because of God’s promises to you. As the old saying goes, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!”
If you’re in crisis today, here are some Bible promises you can stand on: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV). “You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great” (Psalm 18:35 NLT). “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you” (Isaiah 46:4 NIV).
Soul food: Neh 8-10; Luke 22:1-13; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 24:1-4
