2024-02-05
Proverbs 18:24 NIV
Cicero said, “Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.” The fact is, it’s impossible to have more than a few close friends, because true friendship takes time, attention, and commitment. “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (v. 24 NIV).
The hallmarks of real friendship include these: (1) Trust. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “The glory of friendship is not in the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.”
(2) Giving and receiving. Sometimes one person will be the primary giver, and sometimes the other. But true friendships are always two-sided.
(3) Sharing your lives. Helen Keller said: “My friends have made the story of my life. In a thousand ways they have turned my limitations into beautiful privileges and enabled me to walk serene and happy in the shadow cast by my deprivation.”
(4) Mutual enjoyment. In a true friendship, you spend time together just for the joy of it. What you do isn’t necessarily of significance. Unfortunately, the busyness of life makes us forget what a joy this can be.
(5) Respecting one another. How do you build respect? By not letting obstacles or circumstances become more important than the relationship. When the pressure is on, you continue to treat one another with patience and kindness. And when the relationship is struggling, you work to preserve it.
Soul food: Num 19-21; Matt 11:10-19; Ps 111; Prov 3:29-30
2024-02-04
Proverbs 8:11 NLT
To keep learning and growing, you must recognize these: (1) Successful people view learning differently than unsuccessful people. Joshua learned from Moses. Timothy learned from Paul. Who have you chosen to learn from? Author Sydney J. Harris wrote: “A winner knows how much he still has to learn, even when he is considered an expert by others. A loser wants to be considered an expert by others before he has learned enough to know how little he knows.” It’s all a matter of attitude. It’s truly remarkable how much a person has to learn before he or she realizes how little they know.
(2) Nothing is interesting if you’re not interested. In Quality Is Free, Philip B. Crosby writes: “There is a theory of human behavior that says people subconsciously retard their own intellectual growth. They come to rely on clichés and habits. Once they reach the age of… personal comfort with the world, they stop learning and their mind runs on idle for the rest of their days. They may progress organizationally, they may be ambitious and eager, and they may even work night and day. But they learn no more.”
The Bible says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52 KJV). He didn’t just grow physically; He grew spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. It’s a tragedy when you let yourself get into a rut and never climb out; you miss out on the best that God has to offer. By contrast, teachable people are completely engaged in life. They are enthusiastic about things. They’re interested in discovering, discussing, applying, and increasing. So, never stop learning and growing!
Soul food: Exo 20:12; Jer 35:1-19; Prov 1:8; John 19:25-26
2024-02-03
Ecclesiastes 2:13 NKJV
The most important skill you can acquire is learning to learn. Gifted people can sometimes act like they know it all, which makes it hard for them to keep growing. Teachability isn’t so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude; it’s an innate hunger to grow. It’s a willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn. The famous football coach John Wooden said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” Only as you remain teachable will you keep growing and continue to make an impact on the world around you.
Lifelong learning is an ongoing daily pursuit. The Roman scholar Cato the Elder started studying Greek at eighty years old. When asked why he was tackling such a difficult task at his age, he replied, “It’s the earliest age I have left.” Unlike Cato, many of us regard learning as an event instead of a lifelong process. It’s estimated that only one-third of adults read an entire book after graduating from school. Why? Because they view education as a period in life, not a way of life.
Science confirms that while your physical body may atrophy, your mind retains much of its capacity for continued growth. Every stage of life presents lessons to be learned. You can choose to be teachable and keep on learning, or you can close your mind and stop growing. Try this simple experiment for a week; ask others for their advice… deliberately withhold the advice you would normally give… and at the end of each day write down what you have learned by being attentive. You will be amazed!
Soul food: Num 16-18; Matt 11:1-9; Ps 107:33-43; Prov 3:27-28
2024-02-02
Proverbs 5:1 NLT
Solomon told his son: “Pay attention to my wisdom… the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword…. Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house! If you do, you will lose your honour and will lose to merciless people all you have achieved. Strangers will consume your wealth, and someone else will enjoy the fruit of your labor… You will say… ‘If only I had not ignored all the warnings… now I must face public disgrace'” (vv. 1, 3-4, 8-10, 12, 14 NLT).
It’s always easier to dispense good advice than to follow it. Solomon’s life proves it. He tells us repeatedly and with great conviction that only fools fall into adultery. Yet he failed to heed his own advice and God’s explicit warning about taking too “many wives, or his heart will be led astray” (Deuteronomy 17:17 NIV). Solomon married seven hundred women. And what was the result? “His wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord” (1 Kings 11:4 NKJV).
Here is an interesting question: Was the reason Solomon had so much to say about this particular subject because it represented an area of struggle and vulnerability in his own life? Sometimes leaders do that; they speak out against areas of weakness they see in their own lives. One thing is certain; if Solomon had taken the advice he gave his son, his life story would have been very different. So, the word for you today is – heed your own advice.
Soul food: Num 14-15; Matt 10:32-42; Ps 107:23-32; Prov 3:25-26
2024-02-01
Psalm 127:3 CEV
A Christian psychologist writes: “Several months ago I talked to a man who described one of the most painful experiences of his life. When he was seventeen, he was one of the stars on his high school football team. But his father, a very successful man in the city, was always too busy to come and see him play. Quickly the final game of the season came around, which happened to be the state championship. The boy was desperate to have his dad there. The night of the big game he was on the field warming up when he looked into the stadium just in time to see his father arrive with two other men, each wearing a business suit. They stood talking together for a moment or two, and then left.
The man who told me this story is now fifty-eight years of age, and yet he had tears streaming down his cheeks as he relived that moment long ago. It’s been forty years since that night, and yet the rejection and pain are as vivid as ever. I was struck again by the awesome influence a father has in the lives of his children. When he is uninvolved, when he doesn’t show love or care for them, it creates a vacuum that reverberates for decades. My friend’s father died not long ago. As he stood by his dad’s body in the mortuary, he said, ‘Dad, I never really knew you. We could have shared so much love together – but you never had time for me.'”
Mom, Dad, your children are a “gift” from God. Treasure and enjoy them.
Soul food: Num 11-13; Matt 10:21-31; Ps 107:17-22; Prov 3:21-24
2024-01-31
Philippians 4:7 NIV
When you feel anxious and afraid, here are two things you should do:
(1) Find a “faith friend.” When anxiety grabs your mind, one of the most powerful ways to break the worry spiral is to disclose it to a “faith friend.” When Israel went out to occupy the promised land, here is what God said to them: “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too” (Deuteronomy 20:8 NIV). Pessimism, fright, and discouragement are contagious. And so is courage!
(2) Take action and face your fear. Sermons about how God will take care of you aren’t in and of themselves sufficient to remove anxiety from your life. You must do certain things, like stepping out in trust. The way to get God’s peace from your head to the rest of your body is to trust Him to the point where you can confront your fears head-on.
So, with that in mind, (a) meditate on passages like Psalm 23; imagine yourself being shepherded by the Lord through green pastures and led beside still waters, (b) talk to your “faith friend” before worry gets a foothold in your mind, (c) use a “breath prayer” such as, “God, I’m casting all my cares on you,” (d) exercise; physical exercise is one of the best ways to stop excess adrenaline from building up, (e) identify your fear and take even one small step toward confronting it, and (f) get sufficient rest. David said, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8 NIV).
Today, give your worries to God!
Soul food: Num 8-10; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 107:10-16; Prov 3:19-20
