2024-01-30
Revelation 2:11 NKJV
You can read the same Scripture on different occasions, and it will speak to you in totally different ways. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is attributed with saying, “You never step into the same river twice.” And you never read the same Bible verse the same way twice. That is a testament to its heavenly author. And His illumination is based on His intimate and unlimited knowledge of your circumstances, your desires, your fears, your past, your personality, and your destiny. But you must take time to listen and cultivate your sensitivity to what He is saying.
The story is told of a music trainer hired to work with opera singers who could not hit certain notes even though they fell within their vocal range. It was a musical mystery. The trainer did extensive testing on their vocal cords, but he couldn’t find any reason why they couldn’t hit those notes. Then, on a whim, he tested their hearing. And what he discovered was that these opera singers could not sing a note they could not hear. The problem wasn’t singing. The problem was hearing. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says.”
Until you hear the voice of God, you won’t be able to sing His song. Why? Because you’re out of tune. That’s how we get trapped in sinful lifestyles and negative cycles and destructive patterns. But when you open up the Bible and truly hear the voice of God – His loving voice, His affirming voice, His graceful voice, His convicting voice, His authoritative voice, His powerful voice – your life begins to harmonize with the Holy Spirit.
Soul food: Num 7; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 107:1-9; Prov 3:13-18
2024-01-29
Hebrews 10:23 NKJV
You will notice that during the creation process, God counts days based on the previous nights. The Bible doesn’t say, “The morning and evening were the first day.” No, it says, “God called… the evening and the morning the first day” (Genesis 1:5 KJV). That means God specializes in bringing light out of darkness – you just have to get through one to get to the other!
God told Moses that the angel of death would come at night, and wherever he saw the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, the inhabitants of that house would be saved. (See Exodus 12:12-13). Exodus states that God “sent a… wind that blew all night until there was dry land… and the Israelites walked through” (Exodus 14:21-22 CEV).
The psalmist wrote, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NKJV). The dawn is all the more brilliant because of the darkness that preceded it, just as your progress is all the more rewarding when set against a backdrop of pain, gain, and breakthrough. Great mornings come by getting through rough nights.
When you see somebody who is having a great day, chances are you’re looking at somebody who has been through a long night. When you hear them shouting the victory, it may be because they have spent the night praying and weeping before God. The Bible says, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (Hebrews 10:23 NLT). Trusting God is more than just wishful thinking. It’s knowing that if He said it, He will do it. It’s realizing He doesn’t just control creation, He controls your circumstances. So, “hold fast.”
Soul food: Num 4:34-6:27; Matt 9:27-38; Ps 104:24-35; Prov 3:11-12
2024-01-28
Psalm 34:8 NCV
What you believe about God is crucial to the quality of your life, especially in difficult times. So, starting today, tell yourself, “God is good – all the time,” and keep saying it until it gets down into your spirit. What does it mean to be “good?” It means living up to the best and highest one knows. And since God always knows what’s best and highest, His goodness is beyond question.
If God is good – genuinely, practically, consistently good – then your cup of well-being, security, peace, confidence, and joy should be overflowing! A good God can’t break His promise, abandon His children, or fail to love and provide for them. In every trial and circumstance, you can be sure He will treat you in the best possible way.
When things seem to be falling apart, when you stumble confused in the dark, it’s hard to see God’s goodness or feel that things will get better. That’s when you must draw on the faith God has deposited in you (See Romans 12:3), and by an act of your will, trust Him.
A troubled parishioner once asked his pastor, “Does the world look like a wreck to you too?” He replied, “Yes, like the wreck of a bursting seed! Without the ‘wreck’ stage when its world appears to be falling apart, the acorn could never give birth to an oak tree.” So, embrace God’s will in your time of testing because it’s “good, and acceptable, and perfect” (Romans 12:2 KJV). Ultimately, you will “see how good the Lord is” and that “happy is the person who trusts him.”
Soul food: Exo 20:8-11; Isa 58:13-14; Luke 4:16; Heb 10:19-25
2024-01-27
1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV
There is a tale about a boy who comes home and doesn’t know his mom is visiting with their pastor. He carries a dead rat in his hand. “Mom, you’ll never guess what. There was a rat running around in the garage. I saw it, threw a stone, and hit it. It just lay there, so I went over and stomped on it. Then I picked it up and hurled it against the wall.” Then he sees the pastor, and if his mom’s looks could kill, he knew that he would be one dead kid. So, he holds the rat up and adds in a pious voice, “And then the dear Lord called him home.”
That’s called “God talk.” The old hymn “Just as I Am, Without One Plea” is about taking off the mask and knowing that God loves you in spite of your problems. If there was a true “just as I am” church where people could bring their baggage and brokenness, if there was a group where everyone was loved and no one faked it, we couldn’t make enough room for them inside the building.
Paul acknowledged that sometimes he acted like Dr. Jekyll, other times like Mr. Hyde. He talked of the times when he wanted to do good but evil took over. But he refused to throw in the towel because he realized he was a work in progress. “I… do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect” (vv. 9-10 NIV).
Soul food: Num 3:1-4:33; Matt 9:14-26; Ps 104:1-23; Prov 3:9-10
2024-01-26
John 12:43 NLT
The Bible says: “Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God” (vv. 42-43 NLT).
How secure are you as a leader? When someone else has a great idea, do you support it or suppress it? Do you celebrate other people’s successes, or feel threatened by them? If your answers are that you suppress and feel threatened, you have a problem with insecurity and you need to deal with it in order to fully succeed in what God has called you to do. Observe:
(1) Insecure leaders create insecurity in others. The old saying goes, “You cannot give what you do not have.” Likewise, without security, you cannot make others feel secure. And to be an effective leader, the kind that others want to follow, you need to make those who follow you feel good about themselves.
(2) Insecure leaders take more from people than they give. They are on a constant quest for recognition, validation, and love. Because of that, their attention is on finding security and not imparting it to others. They are mostly takers not givers, and takers don’t make good leaders.
(3) Insecure leaders continually limit their best people. They hoard power. In fact, the better their followers are, the more threatened the leaders feel – and the harder they work to limit their followers’ success and recognition.
If these things describe you, read this: “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other” (Romans 12:10 NLT).
Soul food: Num 1-2; Matt 9:1-13; Ps 100; Prov 3:7-8
2024-01-25
1 Timothy 4:14 NKJV
The only way to keep improving is to keep practicing. Nancy Dornan says, “The longest distance between two points is a shortcut.” That’s really true. If you desire to grow in a particular area, figure out what it will really take, including the price, then determine to pay it. David didn’t suddenly discover his talent as a harpist when he arrived at King Saul’s palace. He developed it through years of practice on lonely hillsides while tending his father’s sheep. Paul instructed Timothy: “Till I come, give attention to reading… Do not neglect the gift that is in you… Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all” (vv. 13-15 NKJV).
When you’re through growing – you’re through. Progress, success, and growth don’t happen by osmosis, they demand discipline. There is no easy way to become a disciplined person. The reason last year’s winner was this year’s runner-up is because one was willing to go the extra mile when it came to practice and discipline, and the other wasn’t. Anyone who does what he or she must do only when they’re in the mood or when it’s convenient will get left behind.
Improvement comes through discipline. A disciplined person doesn’t make excuses or accept excuses; they eliminate excuses. As French classical writer François de La Rochefoucauld said, “Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we think up to hide them.” If you have several reasons why you can’t be disciplined, realize they’re just a bunch of excuses – all of which need to be challenged if you want to succeed in what God has called you to do.
Soul food: Jam 3-5; Matt 8:28-34; Ps 96; Prov 3:5-6
