2023-11-27
Psalm 1:2-3 NKJV
Thomas à Kempis wrote, “If you wish to grow in your spiritual life, you must not allow yourself to be caught up in the workings of the world. You must find time alone, away from the noise and confusion, from the allure of power and wealth.” You say, “Does that mean God doesn’t want me setting goals and achieving things in life?” No, quite the opposite!
The Bible says, “In His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (vv.2-3 NKJV). What’s the secret of a tree’s fruitfulness? Having deep roots that are connected to life-giving streams of water.
And as the demands on your time and energy become greater, you must discipline yourself to spend even more time in the Scriptures, not less. When your inner life is not in order, your outer life becomes dysfunctional and begins to fall apart. And working harder will only make it happen faster. You will be like the pilot who announced to his passengers, “Folks, there is bad news and good news. The bad news is, our instruments have failed and we don’t know where we’re going. The good news is, we’re making great time!”
What’s the answer? David says: “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word” (Psalm 119:14-16 NKJV).
Soul food: 2 Chron 18-20; John 11:45-57; Ps 114; Prov 27:20-22
2023-11-26
2 Corinthians 1:9 NLT
Are you feeling hopeless about the situation you’re in and don’t know which way to turn? Maybe you’re struggling to find a reason to keep going, but you’re so tired and overwhelmed that you just want to give up. If that’s the case, you’re in a vulnerable place. Look out – Satan will try to convince you there must be sin in your life, or that you’re out of God’s will, or that He is unhappy with you because you have disobeyed Him in some area you’re unaware of. Don’t buy it! You can be in the center of God’s will doing everything the right way, and still experience adversity.
The apostle Paul writes: “You ought to know… about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety” (2 Corinthians 1:8-11 NLT).
Two elements are at work in your life today. First, God is teaching you to lean on Him instead of on yourself. Second, people around you are being strengthened and encouraged as they see the grace of God at work in your life.
Soul food: Exo 19:16-20:22; 2 Tim 3:14-4:8
2023-11-25
Psalm 23:1 NIV
We need to know two things: (1) Our shepherd’s character. Jesus distinguished good shepherds from bad ones (See John 10:11-16). Bad shepherds look out for their own interests, not the welfare of the sheep. They’re unreliable; when a threat arises, they abandon the flock. But Jesus claimed, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11 KJV). What makes Him good? “The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (v. 11 NKJV). Their needs and their security come before his own, and if necessary, he will die for them. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (v. 14 NIV). Jesus knows each of His sheep individually and desires an intimate relationship with them. He calls each one by name; they trust Him and follow where He leads (See John 10:3). You can rely on your shepherd to protect and guide you!
(2) The sheep’s condition is the shepherd’s business. He can’t be a good shepherd if his sheep’s needs aren’t being met. Sheep don’t know the path to the pasture, the location of the watering hole, or the strategy for their own safety. But the shepherd does. His sheep believe in him, rely on him, and follow him. But believing in and relying on His protection and provision isn’t instinctive – it’s the only decision you make; an act of your will. Regardless of your feelings or circumstances, you make up your mind to trust the shepherd to handle things and act as your security. When you turn your worries and concerns over to Him and rest in His goodness, He fulfills His promise that you will “lack nothing.”
Soul food: 2 Chron 13-17; John 11:38-44; Ps 95; Prov 27:17-19
2023-11-24
Psalm 23:1 NIV
Perhaps you memorized Psalm 23 as a child. The vivid visual images remain with us lifelong. Author Hannah Whitall Smith said, “What we all need is just to get back into the nursery again, and take up our childish verses once more, and, while reading them with the intelligence of our grown-up years, to believe them with all our old childish faith.” As adults we become jaded, losing the simple joy that stress-filled lives require. We need to remember these three things:
(1) Who our shepherd is – “The Lord.” He is the source of everything we will ever need, beginning with salvation. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11 NKJV).
(2) What the shepherd’s job is – protector and provider for the sheep. And He knows how to handle wayward, headstrong, vulnerable sheep and care for them. Long before Jesus came as our shepherd, the Father said, “I will rescue [my flock] and no longer let them be mistreated… I will give you a shepherd from the family of my servant King David… All of you, both strong and weak, will have the same shepherd, and he will take good care of you” (Ezekiel 34:22-23 CEV).
(3) What the sheep’s job is – to trust the shepherd completely. Attempting to do His job will exhaust and defeat us. We must believe “with all our old childish faith” that Jesus is a dependable, committed, and capable shepherd – and then act like we believe it. Knowing that His goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives lifts our present worries and dispels all our future concerns.
Soul food: 2 Chron 9-12; John 11:28-37; Ps 102:18-28; Prov 27:13-16
2023-11-23
Psalm 139:14 NIV
Despite your aches and pains, you are a living, breathing, walking, talking wonder. The psalmist said, “You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (vv. 13-14 NIV).
One author explains: “Most of us take our eyesight for granted, but even the simplest of processes is divinely complex. The retina, for example, conducts close to ten billion calculations every second, and that is before an image even travels through the optic nerve to the visual cortex. The human nose can detect one-millionth of one milligram of garlic floating in the air and distinguish among ten thousand distinct odors. The hairs blanketing your body magnify the sensation of touch so that you can discern a thousandth of an ounce of pressure on the tip of a half-inch hair. Amazing, isn’t it?”
Trillions of chemical reactions are taking place in every cell of your body every second. You are inhaling oxygen, metabolizing energy, digesting food, maintaining equilibrium, purifying toxins, producing hormones, exhaling carbon dioxide, repairing tissues, and circulating blood. As you read this, millions of electrical impulses are firing across billions of synaptic pathways, and you don’t even think about it.
But you should, and you should praise God for the gift of life and the multitude of His blessings you enjoy. And you should do one more all-important thing: Discover your life’s purpose and dedicate yourself to fulfilling it. It has been said the two most important days in a person’s life are the day they’re born and the day they discover why they were born. Think about it!
Soul food: 2 Chron 6-8; John 11:17-27; Ps 102:12-17; Prov 27:10-12
2023-11-22
Job 6:14 NKJV
A pastor writes: “What makes you glad or sad or mad? What puts a holy smile on your face? What causes your spirit to sob uncontrollably? What makes you pound your fist on the table out of righteous indignation? Somewhere in the mixture of that gladness, sadness, and madness is your God-ordained passion. Or maybe we should say compassion, because you are feeling what God feels. And once you identify it, doing something about it isn’t optional. You can’t not do something about it.”
In 2006, Blake Mycoskie was touring Argentina when he noticed that many of the children didn’t have shoes. He could have returned to the United States and gone about his business. Instead, he started TOMS shoes, a business with a mission of putting shoes on the feet of children in third-world countries. It works like this: When you buy a pair of TOMS shoes, you’re giving a pair of shoes to a barefoot child somewhere. For every pair of shoes purchased, a pair is given away. Their mission is straightforward: one for one. Blake identified a need. He personalized it. And he decided to do something about it.
It didn’t start out big, it started out small. Yet that is how primal moments begin. A person decides to do something about something that makes him glad or sad or mad. It was barefoot kids who broke Blake’s heart. And he literally placed shoes on his faith. When you discover the thing that makes you glad or sad or mad, the only question left is this: What are you going to do about it?
Soul food: 2 Chron 1-5; John 11:1-16; Ps 102:1-11; Prov 27:7-9
