2024-03-25
2 Peter 3:18 NIV
When Peter exercised enough faith to get out of the boat and walk on water, he sank and looked worse than any of the other disciples. When he tried to defend Jesus, he cut off a man’s ear. When he promised to be loyal, he fell flat on his face. When he tried to advise Jesus, he was the devil’s advocate (See Matthew 16:22-23). Eventually he became a leader in the church – but he got worse before he got better. And his behavior didn’t surprise or discourage Jesus one bit.
He will never stop helping a follower of His who is sincerely seeking to grow. He will always lead us forward in growth; but growth requires risk, and risk sometimes means failure. Jesus knows that, but He never gives up on a student just because he or she fails. For example, if you haven’t been confronting people when you should, once you start, the odds are that you will do it badly. If you have rarely encouraged people, your initial attempts may be clumsy. If you have never shared your faith, the first time you do, you may stumble all over yourself. Go ahead and stumble! Failure isn’t about falling down; it’s about refusing to try.
One man told his pastor, “If I were God, I wouldn’t put up with someone like me.” The pastor replied, “Then be glad you’re not God, and I’ll be twice as glad – for we would both be sunk.” As long as you hunger for God, He will work with you and in you. Growing in grace means growing spiritually through the stages of childhood, adolescence, and into maturity. So, don’t give up on yourself – God won’t!
Soul food: Hos 11-14; Matt 26:57-75; Ps 13; Prov 8:14-16
2024-03-24
Matthew 6:2 TLB
Jesus said: “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, for then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give a gift to a beggar, don’t shout about it as the hypocrites do – blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you…they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you do a kindness to someone, do it secretly – don’t tell your left hand what your right hand is doing. And your Father who knows all secrets will reward you” (vv. 1-4 TLB).
Give generously and gladly but keep it to yourself. It’s nobody’s business but yours and God’s. And if you make it somebody’s business, you immediately have your reward and forfeit the opportunity to receive something even greater when you arrive in heaven. And you will receive it because, “God… will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people” (Hebrews 6:10 NIV). Others may not notice your generosity, or quickly forget it, but God won’t, and He will reward you for it.
The next time you’re sitting in church, realize there are faithful people all around you who have given and given again without ever letting it be known. You may even be one of them! Every Sunday you rub shoulders with some of the greatest givers of our day, and they do it “as to the Lord” (Colossians 3:23 KJV) by keeping it to themselves and waiting for His promised reward. Others may never know – but God will never forget.
Soul food: Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
2024-03-23
Matthew 16:16 MSG
One of the most convincing proofs that the Bible is truly the Word of God lies in the number of prophecies fulfilled during the life of Christ. Daniel prophesied the coming of the one and only Jewish Messiah prior to the temple’s demise. The Old Testament prophets declared He would be born in Bethlehem (See Micah 5:2) to a virgin (See Isaiah 7:14), be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (See Zechariah 11:12-13), die by crucifixion (See Psalm 22), and be buried in a rich man’s tomb (See Isaiah 53:9).
Jesus Himself predicted He would be crucified and rise bodily from the dead three days later. “The Jews then responded to him, ‘What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’ They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken” (John 2:18-22 NIV).
Napoleon Bonaparte said: “I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him.”
Soul food: Hos 6-10; Matt 26:47-56; Ps 116:12-19; Prov 8:10-13
2024-03-22
Galatians 5:22 NKJV
You can enrich and strengthen any relationship by developing and demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit. The Bible speaks about being filled with the Spirit (See Ephesians 5:18) and walking in the Spirit (See Galatians 5:16 AMPC). To be “filled” with God’s Spirit means you’re a receptacle, whereas “walking” in the Spirit means you’re a dispenser – a vessel God can fill and pour out into the lives of others.
“What’s this ‘fruit’ you’re talking about?” you ask. The Bible describes it this way: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV). Look carefully at these nine different character qualities.
The first three – “love, joy, peace” – are atmosphere-changing fruits. As you yield to the Holy Spirit, He will throw a wet blanket on the unkind words you may want to say. He will build a fire in your heart that will bring warmth to a cold atmosphere and love to a bitter, revengeful atmosphere.
The next three fruits – “longsuffering, kindness, goodness” – are attitude-changing fruits. Each of us has the potential to have a bad attitude. God sometimes lets us go through difficult situations to reveal what’s really inside us. When we see our own helplessness, weakness, and despair, it causes us to cry out, “God, I need you!”
The last three fruits – “faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” – are attribute-changing fruits. Through the Holy Spirit, you have strength and ability that you can’t attribute to anyone but God. And you have peace that transcends human understanding (See Philippians 4:7).
Soul food: Hos 1-5; Matt 26:26-46; Ps 116:1-11; Prov 8:8-9
2024-03-21
Psalm 84:7 NIV
The phrase “discover your strengths” was made famous by researcher Marcus Buckingham in what’s referred to as the “Strengths Movement.” It calls us to stop focusing on our weaknesses and name and develop our strengths – which reflects God’s design. God didn’t say, “Moses, your craftsmanship skills are weak. Let’s have you stop leading this people for a while and try to become more like Bezalel.” (See Exodus 31:1-5). The Bible speaks of going “from strength to strength.” And a strength is an activity which when you engage in it, makes you feel strong.
Certain activities will thrill and challenge you; others will bore and drain you. Once you discover this, you’re not simply engaged in “career planning,” you’re acknowledging God’s handiwork and your own core strengths. It matters that you do this, because the single little patch of creation you’re responsible for stewarding is your own life.
Dorothy Sayers said: “Work is not, primarily, a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he offers himself to God.”
What if your job doesn’t fulfill your need for purpose or utilize your God-given gifts? Sometimes necessity requires that. That’s why the Bible says, “Whatever you do, do well” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 NLT). In the meantime, pray for opportunity, prepare yourself, and volunteer in an area that utilizes your strengths. Sometimes people who don’t enjoy the work they do are miserable, and they make everybody around them miserable too. But God expects better from you!
Soul food: 2 Kings 24-25; Matt 26:1-25; Ps 19; Prov 8:6-7
2024-03-20
John 13:3-4 NKJV
When it came to serving others, Jesus went first. He “rose from supper… laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself… poured water into a basin… began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded… Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, are You washing my feet?'” (vv. 4-6 NKJV). Try to imagine God incarnate with an apron on, kneeling to wash the feet of those who were unworthy. The Bible says, “Jesus… laid aside His garments.”
If you want to serve others, you must be willing to lay aside your image, your comfort, and your agenda. By laying aside His garments, Jesus demonstrated that God has no time for form or fashion. Real ministry isn’t image conscious; it’s done with complete disregard for distinction.
But Peter didn’t get it! He was embarrassed to think Jesus would let Himself be seen in such a demeaning light. So, Jesus said: “You call Me Teacher and Lord… If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you…. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (vv. 13-15, 17 NKJV).
There are certain things in your life that must be set aside in order to serve others and do the will of God. If you want to be blessed, don’t join those who delight in their own speeches and who trumpet their own accomplishments. Set aside everything you privately glory in and pick up the towel of servanthood. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. You go first!
Soul food: 2 Kings 21-23; Matt 25:24-46; Ps 11; Prov 8:4-5
