2023-11-21
Colossians 3:12 NLT
The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.” In his documentary on twentieth-century wars, Jonathan Glover refers to what he calls “sympathy breakthroughs.” Even in the situation of war, acts of compassion supersede the conflict. Most sympathy breakthroughs, according to Glover, are triggered by eye-to-eye contact, and that eye-to-eye contact displaces hand-to-hand combat.
Have you ever had a sympathy breakthrough? If not, pray for one. It’s a moment when your tendency to hate is overcome by your will to love. A moment when proactive compassion overrules negative anger. A moment when you’re concerned more about someone else’s pain than your own. Those are the moments when you discover what it really means to love God with all your heart.
It’s much simpler to act like a Christian than it is to react like one. Anybody can put on an act. But your reactions expose what is really in your heart. And if you love God with all your heart, you won’t merely act like it. You will react like it.
The apostle Peter puts it this way: “Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony” (vv. 12-14 NLT).
Soul food: 1 Chron 26:20-29:30; John 10:34-42; Ps 76; Prov 27:4-6
2023-11-20
Exodus 33:13 NIV
Listen to more of Moses’ friendly talk with God: “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you.” Moses is in a national crisis that could end Israel’s relationship with God, and what is he praying for? Not, “God, I’m in a tough spot. You have to resolve this for me!” But, “teach me your ways so I may know you!”
Moses wants more than just to know God’s awesome works. His heart cries out to know God’s heart and what makes it tick – the inner ways of God. “To know Him” includes all the other things Moses could ever seek, including the solution to his problem. And God gave him what he asked. “He made known his ways unto Moses” (Psalm 103:7 KJV).
Here is more of that conversation: God responded, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (v. 14 NIV). That “you” in the Hebrew is singular. God promised to accompany Moses and give rest to him. Anybody else would have accepted gladly. Not Moses. His prayer was bigger than his own concerns. “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (v. 15 NIV). In other words, “Lord, it’s not for me I’m praying; it’s for us!” And God answered that prayer.
Are your prayers bigger than yourself and your own needs? The Bible says, “For God so loved the world” (John 3:16 KJV). Do you pray for your town, nation, and the world? You have been called to and you should!
Soul food: 1 Chron 23:21-26:19; John 10:22-33; Ps 81; Prov 27:1-3
2023-11-19
Exodus 33:12 NIV
Moses talked with God like a friend, sharing what he felt and thought. And God wanted it that way. Here is how the conversation went: “Moses said to the Lord, ‘You have been telling me, “Lead these people, “…’You have said, “I know you by name and you have found favour with me.”‘” Moses is mirroring back to God what God had previously said to him. Remember saying to your spouse or your best friend, “You were the one who said…”? That’s what Moses is doing here: reminding God of His own words.
And God wants you to remember His Word and to speak it back to Him (See Isaiah 43:26). Not because He needs to be reminded but because you do! And because His Word is the only Word that He is committed to fulfill (See Matthew 24:35).
When you pray using God’s Word, you are praying in His will, and you’re guaranteed to get a hearing. So, learn and memorize Scriptures that touch on your needs and desires, and when you talk to God, recall them, and pray them back to Him. For example, when you pray, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24 NIV), God will acknowledge it!
The more you learn of His Word, the more your prayer time will conform to His will and the more you will feel aligned with Him. Keep your Bible handy when you talk to God so that He can direct your thoughts to the words He wants you to pray.
Soul food: Num 9:15-23; Gal 5:13-26
2023-11-18
Zechariah 13:9 NAS
If you’re being tested today, you’re in good company! Job, the most righteous man on earth, was tested beyond what most of us will ever have to endure. And when he emerged, he told God, “I heard about you from others; now I have seen you” (Job 42:5 CEV). In the heat of the furnace, you experience God up close and personal.
Sheila Schuller Coleman says, “Some tests are intended to assess what we’ve learned; others are intended to teach. We learn our most profound lessons when we’re tested… Like what we’re capable of… where we need to grow… and that there’s still more to learn! When your faith is being tested, the last thing you’re thinking about is learning a lesson… you just want to survive. But the lesson we learn from Job is that when we keep our faith in the most testing of times, we’ll ‘come out as gold’ (Job 23:10 NAS).
Think about it: Did you ever hear a testimony that wasn’t about someone surviving a test? James says, ‘Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials’ (James 1:2 NIV). When we suffer, when people say hateful things, when we lose our homes, when we encounter rifts in our family, when the doctor calls with a dire diagnosis – the last thing we feel is joy… If anyone could speak with authority on praising God in trials, it was Paul. He was beaten, thrown into jail, and run out of town. How does your week compare to his?”
When you get through this test, you will have a testimony to God’s strength and faithfulness, and be able to say, “The Lord is my God.”
Soul food: 1 Chron 19:1-23:20; John 10:11-21; Ps 50; Prov 26:27-28
2023-11-17
Jeremiah 3:15 NIV
Seeking to impress the congregation, a young seminary graduate incorporated the biggest words he could find into his Sunday-morning sermon. It was a disaster! Stepping down from the pulpit, he met an old preacher who said, “Son, you spoke over their heads.” Irritated and defensive, the young seminarian said, “Then why don’t they stretch their necks?” To which the old preacher replied, “Jesus said, ‘Feed my sheep,’ not my giraffes!”
Whether you’re in a pulpit, a classroom, a board meeting, or talking to someone one-on-one over coffee, you must decide whether your goal is to impress people – or help them. God said, “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.” Your aim shouldn’t be merely to communicate knowledge – but understanding. The measure of a good teacher isn’t what he or she knows – it’s what the student learns.
Making things simple is a necessary skill if you want to connect with people. To put it in the words of Albert Einstein: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough.” If you’re serious about trying to reach people, keep these four words firmly in mind:
(1) Heart. To move someone, you must touch them on an emotional level.
(2) Hope. By spelling out their potential and their possibilities, you will inspire them to try.
(3) Help. Show them how to apply what you’re saying in a tangible way.
(4) Humor. By laughing at your own mistakes, you let people know their problem isn’t unique – and to someone who is struggling, that can be the best feeling in the world.
Soul food: 1 Chron 16-18; John 10:1-10; Ps 105:1-15; Prov 26:23-26
2023-11-16
1 Chronicles 11:10 NKJV
Success in any endeavor calls for surrounding yourself with the right people. That’s why you should always seek God’s input in your relationships. Rehoboam should have listened to the advice of his father Solomon’s wise and experienced inner circle. Instead he heeded the advice of those who agreed with his own opinion – and it proved fatal.
David, on the other hand, chose people who helped make him great. “These were… the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel” (v. 10 NKJV). Notice four important things here:
(1) David built a strong inner circle before he needed it. He started building his team long before he was crowned.
(2) He attracted people with varied gifts. He reached for them, rewarded them, and wasn’t intimidated by those who had skills that differed from his. With the help of these “mighty men,” David felt ready for anything.
(3) He cultivated loyalty. He drew people close to him, shared his life with them, and in the end, they were willing to lay their lives on the line for him.
(4) He delegated responsibility based on ability. Because he was secure in his own identity and calling, David wasn’t afraid to delegate authority and responsibility to those around him.
In the beginning some of his mighty men were misfits, but he transformed this ragtag group into a winning team (See 1 Samuel 22:1-2). David made his inner circle great, and in turn his inner circle made him great. So, the word for you today is – pick the right people!
Soul food: 1 Chron 12:23-15:29; John 9:24-41; Ps 8; Prov 26:17-22
