2024-10-30
Job 12:8 NIV
The patriarch Job wrote to “speak to the earth, and it will teach you.” George Washington Carver is considered one of history’s greatest scientific minds. Around the turn of the twentieth century, agriculture in the southern states of America was suffering. The boll weevil was destroying cotton crops. And the soil was being emptied of nutrients because farmers planted cotton year after year.
It was George Washington Carver who pioneered the idea of crop rotation. He urged farmers to plant peanuts, and they did. The plan revived the soil, but farmers were upset because there was no market for peanuts. Their plentiful peanut crops decayed in warehouses. When they grumbled to Carver, he did what he had always done – he prayed; he regularly got up at 4:00 a.m., walked across the woods, and asked God to disclose the mysteries of nature to him. One of his favourite Scriptures was “speak to the earth, and it will teach you.” Carver literally asked God to reveal the secrets of nature, and God did.
As a result, Carver discovered more than three hundred uses for the peanut. Or perhaps more accurately, the Lord revealed more than three hundred uses. They comprised everything from shaving cream to glue to cosmetics to soap to sauces to insecticide to linoleum to wood stains and to fertilizer. Carver said, “I love to think of nature as wireless telegraph stations through which God speaks to us every day, every hour, and every moment of our lives.” Today God will speak to you in many different ways; you just have to be sensitive and listen.
Soul food: Isa 26-29; John 7:1-13; Ps 114; Prov 28:1-4
2024-10-29
Isaiah 43:4 NLT
Guess who said, “You are precious to me?” God. So don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Why is this important? Because understanding who you are as a person and genuinely believing that you merit love and attention from another person is essential to your self-worth. The capability to convey that successfully and in a considerate manner is essential for any healthy, mutually satisfying relationship.
A sense of self-worth is not arrogance. It helps you to set boundaries and guarantees that no matter who you meet, those boundaries will never be compromised. Often when we feel used in relationships, it’s because we have permitted those boundaries to be crossed. Or worse, we have never thought about where the boundaries should be. The way to prevent this situation is to be clear about who you are and what you are willing to do in a relationship. Disregarding the truth about another person, or yourself, may be okay temporarily, but over time, it usually leads to disaster.
With a solid foundation of knowing who you are and what you represent, you will possess the bravery to ask the right questions and discern the answers. You will acquire information and evidence that help you realize who a person really is and if they fit into your life. You will be truthful with yourself and others about who you are, your needs, and the way you want to live your life. Outside your relationship with God, there is no other more important relationship than the one you have with yourself. God says, “You are precious to me.” Believe it, and live accordingly.
Soul food: Isa 22-25; John 6:52-71; Ps 127; Prov 27:25-27
2024-10-28
2 Corinthians 5:7 NKJV
Impalas are one of the most powerful animals in Africa. They can leap to a height of more than ten feet and cover more than thirty feet in one jump. Yet the impala can be kept in an enclosure with a fence that’s no more than three feet high. Why? Because it won’t jump unless it can see where its feet will land. In a sense, impalas walk by sight, not faith. What does it mean to “walk”? To put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward a step at a time.
What does it mean to have “faith”? To trust the Lord, obeying His Word regardless of how things look or feel to you. Now, faith doesn’t do away with intelligent thought and reason. But there is a difference.
When intelligent thought and reason won’t take you another step, faith keeps right on going. Why? Because intelligent thought and reason hold the hand of man and go only as far as he can travel, whereas faith holds the hand of God, the God who makes a way where there seems to be no way.
That was Abraham’s story: “[Urged on] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go” (Hebrews 11:8 AMPC). Are you anxious about the future? Don’t be; just take the next step of faith, and you will be one step closer to the blessings and rewards that God has in mind for you.
Soul food: Isa 17-21; John 6:35-51; Ps 98; Prov 27:23-24
2024-10-27
John 2:5 NKJV
A Christian leader informs us: “There was not a bigger social happening in Jewish life than a wedding. It usually began with a ceremony at sundown in the synagogue. Then the entire wedding party would leave the synagogue and begin this long candlelight procession through the middle of town. The couple would be escorted past as many homes as possible so everyone could come out and congratulate them… They went home to a party lasting several days! There would be gift-giving, speech-making, wining and dining. Hospitality at a wedding was considered such a sacred duty that the master at the wedding could actually be sued for ‘breach of hospitality.’ So running out of food or wine was considered a tremendous insult.”
It’s notable that Jesus’ first miracle was not healing cancer or raising the dead but resolving a domestic crisis and rescuing newlyweds from embarrassment. It’s a mistake to think that God only cares about major stuff like divorce, bankruptcy, or death. He also cares about minor stuff like broken dishes, toothaches, grumpy bosses, lost dogs, flat tires, and late flights. The Bible says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). What matters to you matters to Jesus.
Notice that when these newlyweds sent out wedding invitations, they sent one to Jesus. And He showed up and met their need. Notice also how it happened. Mary, the mother of Jesus, said to them, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” What Jesus told them to do didn’t seem rational, but when they obeyed, they received a miracle. And if you will pray, trust God, and obey Him, He will work a miracle for you too.
Soul food: Ruth 1:8-18; Ruth 2:5-12; Ruth 3:1-6; Ruth 4:9-13
2024-10-26
John 14:6 NKJV
A minister writes: “Between the human race and God stands a barrier called sin. If we are going to be reconciled with a perfect God, that barrier has to be dealt with. We cannot go around it or over it. Sin demands a payment. Jesus came specifically to make that payment. He lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death to pay for everything we’ve ever done in the past, present, and future. If your home is on fire, you had better call a firefighter and not a policeman. If you break a leg, you had better call a doctor and not a firefighter. If your home is broken into, you had better call a policeman and not a doctor. If you are drowning, you had better call a lifeguard, not a plumber. If, as a sinful human being, you want to come to a righteous God, you had better get in touch with the Saviour, because He is the only one who can help.”
Jesus didn’t merely say, “Come to me, and I’ll show you the way.” He said, “I am the way.” He is the way to forgiveness. He is the way to peace and joy. He is the way to fulfillment in life. And He is as close to you today as a prayer. Here it is: “Lord Jesus, I believe that you died for me on the cross and paid for my sins and that through faith in you, I am made righteous and reconciled to God. I accept you today as my Lord and Saviour and receive from you the gift of everlasting life. Amen.”
Soul food: Isa 12-16; John 6:25-34; Ps 85; Prov 27:20-22
2024-10-25
1 John 2:1 AMPC
There is a story about a guy who had his picture taken. When he saw it, he said to the photographer, “This picture doesn’t do me justice!” The photographer looked at him, smiled, and said, “With a face like yours, you don’t need justice; you need mercy and grace!” Seriously, that’s the situation we are all in. And the reason God extends mercy and grace to us is because Jesus fulfilled all the demands of God’s justice for us at the cross.
Some folks think that God’s grace (unmerited favour) atones for all your sins up until the moment you make Christ your Saviour. But from then on, you have to earn it and prove yourself worthy of it by your performance, like a joint effort. So instead of trusting alone in Christ’s performance on the cross, they trust also in their own performance. Here is the problem: There are three ways to sin – commission, omission, and disposition. If you commit one of these sins every day, that’s over one thousand sins a year. And if going to heaven depends on your remembering and repenting of each of them, what if you forget?
Don’t worry; God has you covered! “If anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father – [it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father’s will in every purpose, thought, and action]” (v. 1 AMPC). Only one person measures up to God’s standards: Jesus! And when you place your trust in Him, you are unconditionally loved and accepted by God.
Soul food: Isa 8-11; John 6:1-24; Ps 126; Prov 27:17-19
