2023-09-22
Matthew 9:13 MSG
Author Nicole Unice says the suspicions people have about Christians include, “They judge me. They are better than I am. They won’t approve of me. I won’t fit in with their religion. They are all serious and no fun. Jesus hung around enough parties for the Pharisees to accuse him of being a drunkard. He befriended forbidden women. He interacted with people so he could introduce them to his Father. He broke through stereotypes and communicated God as he is – approachable, merciful and graceful. The people who were most upset… were the ones who preferred… the rules of the religion… The concept of a free and joyful life with Jesus may seem basic for you. But is that what your neighbours think? It feels as comfortable as sweatpants to hang out with people who believe and feel as we do. Fellowship among believers is a wonderful gift. But if we are truly to follow Jesus’ example, we need to look for opportunities to engage those around us.”
Jesus goes a step further: “Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick?… ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
How can you share the gospel if all your friends are Christians? Some of us have become so isolated and disconnected that we have no meaningful interaction whatsoever with nonbelievers. And the more time passes, the more insulated and comfortable we become, until eventually we lose touch with the very people Jesus came to save. Paul says, “Find common ground with [nonbelievers]… tell [them] about Christ… let Christ save [them]” (1 Corinthians 9:22 TLB). It’s called thinking outside “the religious box.”
Soul food: 2 Cor 1-4; Mark 14:43-52; Ps 39; Prov 21:9-13
2023-09-21
Psalm 68:19 NKJV
When you speak words of faith over your life based on the Scriptures, Jesus taught that you will “have whatever [you] say” (See Mark 11:23). David refers to God’s blessings as “benefits,” and says that God “daily loads us with benefits.” Note the word “loads.” We’re not talking here about the capacity of a teacup but a dump truck! God is waiting, willing, and wanting to do these things for you.
That’s why the psalmist writes: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed… The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy… He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust… But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children” (Psalm 103:2-6, 8, 10-14, 17 NKJV).
Understand this: You activate the power of God’s Word when you confess it over your life.
Soul food: Eze 46-48; Mark 14:27-42; Ps 3; Prov 21:4-8
2023-09-20
Mark 11:22-23 NKJV
Jesus taught us that when we speak His Word in faith, we will “have” whatever we say. That’s a powerful faith! When you speak God’s living Word over your situation, it’s like flipping a switch; His power is activated, and His promises start coming to pass in your life. So, begin each day by speaking the following Scriptures over your life:
(1) “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24 NKJV). Confession: “Lord, thank you for the gift of this day. I will celebrate your goodness and enjoy each moment of it.”
(2) “His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV). Confession: “Lord, today I will seek to honour You in all that I do. And if I fail and fall short, I will still walk in Your mercy and grace.”
(3) “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary” (Isaiah 50:4 NKJV). Confession: “Lord, I will know what to say because You have instructed me and given me the tongue of the learned.”
(4) “This is the day in which the Lord has delivered [your enemy] into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?” (Judges 4:14 NKJV). Confession: “Lord, regardless of what comes my way today, You will defend, protect, and vindicate me. So, this day I will walk in your joy, favour, mercy, guidance, protection, and blessing.”
Soul food: Eze 43-45; Mark 14:12-26; Ps 19; Prov 21:3
2023-09-19
Acts 2:47 NKJV
The church has only two options: evangelize or fossilize. When we fail to share our faith with those outside the church, we either end up in a holding pattern or in death throes. The New Testament church’s growth is described in these words: “The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Not only did they influence every level of society, but their enemies said, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too” (Acts 17:6 NKJV).
Question: If your church closed its doors tomorrow, would anyone other than your congregation notice the difference? Think about those early believers. Their assignment seemed geographically impossible; most people still believed the world was flat. They had no air travel, radio, television, printing presses, internet, or any other modern means at their disposal for communicating the gospel. It seemed legally impossible; they were forbidden by the government authorities to speak in Jesus’ name. And it seemed socially impossible; after all, who would really listen to a bunch of Galileans, devoid of culture and class?
Yet they were witnesses through the power of the Holy Spirit, and people did listen. They did so much with so little, and we seem to do so little with so much. It’s reckoned that if just 10 percent of the members in the average church got serious about evangelism, their church would double in one year. By the way, the word translated “witness” is the same word from which we get our English word martyr. These early believers reached the world for Christ because they were willing to lay down their lives for His cause. You must be too.
Soul food: Eze 40:10-42:20; Mark 14:1-11; Ps 24; Prov 21:1-2
2023-09-18
Acts 1:8 NKJV
Coach Vince Lombardi led the Green Bay Packers football team to victory after victory. But one day, they lost to a team they should have easily defeated. So, Lombardi gathered his team together. He put his hand into a bag and brought out a football. With his inimitable smile, he told them, “Gentlemen, this is a football!” In other words, it was time to get back to basics.
Jesus is “the captain of [our] salvation” (Hebrews 2:10 KJV). And before He went back to heaven, He gave us the game plan: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NKJV). And since a person’s last words are some of their most important ones, it leads us to ask this: Who was Jesus talking to? You! “You shall… be witnesses to Me.”
There are people around today who will never go to church. Their only chance of hearing the gospel is through you; through what your lips declare and your life demonstrates. What is this “power” Jesus spoke of? “The Greek word for “power” is dynamos, from which we get the word dynamite. Dynamite is an explosive force, which when properly harnessed can remove any obstacle that stands in the way of progress. You say, “I have never been to seminary, and I don’t feel qualified to share the gospel!” God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called by filling them with His Spirit and using them to reach a hurting world. Today you have been called to do that.
Soul food: Eze 37:1-40:9; Mark 13:24-37; Ps 78:65-72; Prov 20:26-30
2023-09-17
Proverbs 22:6 KJV
The Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (v. 6). Observe the word “child.” You must begin early when:
(1) Their will is flexible. A twig is much simpler to bend than a trunk. In the early years, your child’s will is like soft clay; malleable and flexible. You see, it’s when they’re young that you are to “set their ways,” because when they grow older, their “ways are set.” The Hebrew phrase “train up” refers to training a vine to grow in a certain shape or direction. If you wait, it will be too late!
(2) There is still hope. “Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction” (Proverbs 19:18 NKJV). When a parent says, “My kids are hopeless,” too often you find out those parents didn’t train their children while there was still hope. Listen to the urgency in Solomon’s voice: “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Proverbs 13:24 NKJV). The Hebrew word for “promptly” refers to dawn, or early in the day.
So, start early! Maybe you have a little darling running around in your house right now that you think is an angel. But someday those legs will grow longer, those wings will become shorter, and sometimes a little “angel” even sprouts horns! While your child is young and more apt and ready to listen to your advice and counsel, teach and train him or her how to live God’s way. If you do, you will never regret it.
Soul food: Judg 16:23-31; John 15:1-17
