2024-02-17
Psalm 51:17 NLT
Brokenness is the process by which God strips us of pride and self-sufficiency so that the character of Christ can shine through. Brokenness doesn’t necessarily mean experiencing some tragedy. Many people suffer tragedy without drawing closer to God. The issue in brokenness is not so much your circumstances but your response. What’s God trying to teach you?
Brokenness is when God strips you of self-sufficiency to the extent that you have no strength left to fix yourself. When He blocks every exit you try to take and you come to see that He alone is the answer, you make a life-changing discovery. What’s that? When God is all you have, God is all you need! The truth is that God’s power is reserved for those who have given up trying to do it in their own strength or accomplish it for their own ends.
Note the words “the sacrifice you desire.” Sacrifice means something has to die on an altar. So, if you want to experience a new level of God’s grace and power in your life, you must be willing to die to self-interest, ego, and independence. For a plant to rise from the soil, the seed must be broken. For a baby chick to experience life, the shell must be broken. For a thoroughbred horse to win, its will must be broken and harnessed.
After a breaking encounter with Christ on the Damascus road, Paul prayed, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6 KJV). Are you in the breaking process today? Here are your options: (1) resist, (2) run, or (3) respond and say, “Yes, Lord.”
Soul food: Heb 5-8; Matt 13:47-58; Ps 149; Prov 4:25-27
2024-02-16
2 Kings 3:16 NKJV
All things don’t come to those who wait but to those who prepare. There is a great illustration of this in 2 Kings 3. As part of God’s strategy for defeating the Moabites, God told the Israelites to dig a ditch and He would fill it with water until it became a mighty river. They did, and as a result they experienced a spectacular victory. But don’t miss the point here. God said, “When you have dug the ditch, then I will fill it!” (See v. 17 NKJV). God can use anybody, but He doesn’t; He uses prepared people.
Moses lived to be 120. His first forty years were spent in a palace, his second forty years were spent in a wilderness, and his last forty years were spent fulfilling his God-given assignment. That’s two-thirds of his life in preparation!
What happens when you’re not prepared? Things you hope won’t happen, do. Often the dividing line between winning and losing is preparation! Singing, “When you wish upon a star,” won’t make your dream come true – you have to prepare yourself! Paul’s ministry begins with the words, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Whereupon God takes him into the desert for the next three years to teach him and prepare him for his ministry.
Whether your vocation is sacred or secular, you have to know what it will cost in terms of time, effort, and resources, and prepare for it. “Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts” (Proverbs 24:3 TLB). So, the word for you today is – prepare yourself.
Soul food: Heb 1-4; Matt 13:36-46; Ps 145:14-21; Prov 4:23-24
2024-02-15
1 John 5:13 NIV
You would be surprised how many people harbor doubts about their salvation. So, let’s open God’s Word and settle the issue once and for all: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life… I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (vv. 11-13 NIV). Are you trusting Christ to save you instead of depending on your own good works? Then you’re saved! Jesus said, “He who believes in Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47 NKJV).
Doubts always arise when you go by your feelings instead of your Bible. Your feelings are like the weather; they constantly change. The devil will also try to tell you salvation is fine for other people, but it won’t work for you. The Bible says Satan is “a liar” (John 8:44). Paul writes, “I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return” (2 Timothy 1:12 NLT).
The old-timers used to testify, “I thank God for His saving and keeping power.” You’re not keeping your salvation; your Saviour is keeping you! So when your faith feels shaky, stop and pray: “Lord Jesus, I have placed my trust in you. Your Word says that I can know I have eternal life. It’s not a matter of feeling good enough or worthy, but of believing that you are worthy. So, I put my trust in you, choose to believe your Word, and reject my doubts.”
Soul food: Tit 1-3; Matt 13:24-35; Ps 145:1-13; Prov 4:20-22
2024-02-14
Psalm 131:3 MSG
David said, “Wait… for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always!” When you decide things are hopeless, you slam the door in God’s face. For most of us, as long as we’re in reasonably good health and know where the rent is coming from, hope doesn’t work.
First: Ask yourself what’s your strongest desire. Imagine you’re eighty and looking back. Are you satisfied? If not, challenge yourself to come up with an answer. Hope must be personal, not the kind you think you should have. It must be fervent enough to govern everything you do.
Second: Give it a symbol – something you can center your thoughts around. Jeremiah taught God’s people a lesson in hope by buying land at Anathoth (See Jeremiah 32:9). He knew they would be taken into captivity, and during those long years, the memory of that faraway field in Judah would act as a symbol of future restoration.
During World War II when Leo Algimas and his family were herded into concentration camps, they maintained a symbol of hope, a tiny piece of paper from a box of chocolates with an American flag on the bottom. They passed it from hand to hand, looked at it, held it, and whispered about the liberation army that was coming. Symbols help us fix our minds on what’s possible.
In fact, the greatest symbol the world has ever known was the hardest to believe. A baby in a manger signaled God’s kingdom on earth and changed mankind’s destiny. And He can change your destiny. Define what you hope for, ask in His name, and no matter how impossible it looks, expect it to come true.
Soul food: Eph 5:21-33; Song 2:1-7; Ps 45; Prov 5:15-19
2024-02-13
1 Samuel 17:50 NKJV
Chuck Swindoll says: “Goliath reminds me of the cross-eyed discus thrower. He didn’t set any records… but he sure kept the crowd awake! Every day Goliath paraded along the slopes of the Valley of Elah issuing threats… The only response from the Israeli troops was the sound of knees knocking and teeth chattering! The giant’s strategy of fear and intimidation worked… until David introduced him to the Lord of Hosts, and ‘with a sling and a stone… struck the Philistine and killed him’ (v. 50 NKJV). To this day, two timeless truths remain.
One: You won’t win the battle by employing the Enemy’s technique. When you fight with the world’s weapons, you become like the world. The Bible says, ‘There was no sword in David’s hand’ (v. 50 NAS); his most powerful weapon – the thing that made him unique and gave him the victory – was his inner shield of faith. It kept him free from fear, cleared his vision… and gave him composure amidst chaos.
Two: Slaying giants takes skill and discipline. Wielding the sling and stone of the Spirit is much more delicate than swinging the club of the flesh. Paul says, ‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities… powers… rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places’ (Ephesians 6:12 kJV). Note: Wrestling isn’t a team sport. Goliath said, ‘Choose one man to come down… and fight me!’ (1 Samuel 17:8 NLT). For the duration of the battle, you’re the Enemy’s sole target. If you’re facing your own personal giant, be like David; turn him over to God, load up your sling… and let God win the victory for you.”
Soul food: John 1-4; Matt 13:10-23; Ps 141; Prov 4:18-19
2024-02-12
Exodus 33:11 NLT
When you talk to a close friend, you’re relaxed, trusting, unguarded, and open. There is no need to watch your p’s and q’s; you can express how you feel without fearing you will be judged or rejected. That’s how Moses and God talked to each other – like two friends, trusting and transparent. They said what they felt and thought straightforwardly, not in churchy language or religious jargon.
The Israelites had made a golden calf to worship, and God was angry enough to disown them and choose a new people. Moses had a crisis on his hands, and he engaged with God in a serious discussion over the outcome. In essence, what he told God was, “You see it one way, Lord. I see it another – and your perspective is making me very uncomfortable!” Sounds like a candid exchange between friends. Moses wasn’t being disrespectful; he was being up front and honest with God. They knew each other well enough to speak “face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”
Do you pray like that? No posturing – just saying heart-to-heart what you want to say to your friend, God? That’s the kind of relationship God had with Moses, and it’s the kind He wants you to have with Him too! Religious clichés and “the usual” request lists miss the opportunity to connect deeply and personally with God. Instead, open up with Him. Get down to the nitty-gritty. Tell Him where you’re coming from, what you really feel, think, and desire; then listen to His perspective. In other words, be a friend with God!
Soul food: Num 34-36; Matt 13:1-9; Ps 138; Prov 4:14-17
