2023-09-16
2 Thessalonians 3:10 NIV
Compassion without accountability is just indulgence. The Bible teaches that we have a responsibility to feed those who are truly hungry and can’t provide for themselves. But let’s face it, there are some folks who would rather go hungry than go to work. Solomon writes, “Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger” (Proverbs 19:15 NKJV). Centuries later the apostle Paul was even more explicit: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.'”
Listen to what Solomon says about the sluggard: “The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting” (Proverbs 12:27 NKJV). “A lazy man buries his hand in the bowl, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again” (Proverbs 19:24 NKJV). Talk about laziness! He wants his bread buttered, but he wants someone else to butter it for him. If he kills a deer while he is hunting, he won’t even clean the meat and cook it; he wants someone else to cook it for him and serve it to him.
What’s the Bible talking about here? It’s talking about the person who never starts a job; and if you give them one, they either won’t finish it or they will do it only halfway. Then Solomon wraps it all up in one final zinger. “The desire of the lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labor” (Proverbs 21:25 NKJV). There are no two ways about it; if you want God’s blessing on your life, you have to be willing to work!
Soul food: Num 29:1-6; Matt 24; Rev 11:15-19; 1 Cor 15:50-58
2023-09-15
Hosea 8:7 NKJV
According to one Christian leader, here is how:
“(1) When your child is still an infant, give him everything he wants. This way he will think the world owes him a living.
(2) When he picks up swearing and off-colored jokes, laugh at him, encourage him. As he grows up, he will pick up cuter phrases that will floor you.
(3) Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is twenty-one and let him decide for himself.
(4) Avoid using the word ‘wrong.’ It will give your child a guilt complex. Later, when he is arrested for stealing a car, [he will think] that society is against him and he is being persecuted.
(5) Pick up after him – his books, shoes, and clothes. Do everything for him so he will be experienced in throwing all responsibility onto others.
(6) Let him read all the printed material he can get his hands on – [don’t monitor his internet use or TV programs]. Sterilize the silverware, but let him feast his mind on garbage.
(7) Quarrel frequently in his presence, and then he won’t be too surprised when his home is broken up later.
(8) Satisfy his every craving for food, drink, and comfort. Every sensual desire must be gratified; denial may lead to harmful frustrations.
(9) Give your child all the spending money he wants. Don’t make him earn his own. Why should he have things as tough as you did?
(10) Take his side against neighbours, teachers, and policemen; they’re all against him.
(11) When he gets into real trouble, make up excuses for yourself by saying, ‘I could never do anything with him; he’s just a bad seed.’
(12) Prepare for a life of grief.”
Soul food: Eze 34-36; Mark 13:12-23; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 20:25
2023-09-14
Proverbs 13:3 CEV
Here is a Bible verse we should all commit to memory: “Keep what you know to yourself, and you will be safe; talk too much, and you are done for” (v. 3 CEV). Simply put, your tendency to speak without thinking will keep getting you into trouble.
The story is told of a vacuum cleaner salesman who had been given a remote rural area as his territory. He was going from farmhouse to farmhouse on his first day on the job, attempting to sell vacuum cleaners. As he arrived at one farmhouse, he knocked on the door and was met by a farmer’s wife who asked him what he wanted. Without asking permission, he shoved right past her into the kitchen and said, “I’m selling vacuum cleaners.” Shocked, she replied, “Wait a minute!” But he demanded, “Ma’am, before you say anything, I want to show you something.” Then he reached into his bag, pulled out a pail of dirt, and threw it across her kitchen floor. “If my vacuum cleaner won’t pick up all that dirt,” he bragged, “then I’ll eat it!” She looked at him and said, “Then you better get busy, ’cause we ain’t got no electricity!”
How often we have to eat the words we so recklessly toss on the floor of everyday living! Be careful. Jesus said one day we will give an account for every idle word we speak (See Matthew 12:36). An unknown poet wrote, “Be careful of the words you say and keep them soft and sweet. You never know from day to day which ones you’ll have to eat.” So unless you want to eat your words, think carefully before speaking.
Soul food: Eze 31-33; Mark 13:1-11; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 20:22-24
2023-09-13
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 NKJV
When God tells you to “go,” remind yourself that every detail of your future is already known to Him. Centuries ago when a mapmaker ran out of the known world before he ran out of parchment, he would frequently draw a dragon at the edge of the scroll. This was intended as a sign to explorers that they were entering unknown territory at their own risk. Many, however, didn’t regard the dragon as a mapmaker’s warning sign but instead as a prophecy. They foresaw disaster beyond the known worlds they traversed, and their fear kept them from pushing on to discover new lands and peoples. Other more adventuresome travelers, however, saw the dragon as a sign of opportunity and a doorway to new worlds worth exploring.
Each of us has a mental map that contains the information we use for guidance as we begin each day. And like the maps of long ago, our mental maps have edges to them, and sometimes those edges seem to be marked by dragons or fears. We fear failing, or being rejected, or ridiculed, or that we won’t have enough, or that we will lose what we have.
If that’s how you feel today, read these words spoken by God to His people when they stood on the threshold of the promised land without knowing what awaited them when they went into it. “The Lord, He is the One who goes before you.” So, write down your goal, map out a strategy, and set a deadline. Then commit it to God, believing that He has gone before you to prepare the way.
Soul food: Eze 27:25-30:26; Mark 12:28-44; Ps 78:32-39; Prov 20:20-21
2023-09-12
Genesis 2:16 NAS
Adam had the perfect job, perfect home, perfect marriage, and the perfect environment; all the things we strive for. So how did it come about? As a result of his relationship with God! God basically gave him two rules to live by: “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will certainly die” (vv. 16-17 NAS).
So, the two rules are these: (1) With God, what you get back is always greater than what you give up. “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat.” But what we so often do – and what legalistic religion does – is look at that Scripture and similar Scriptures and focus on what we can’t do. The truth is, when our list of can’t do’s exceeds our list of what we’re free to do, we have gone far beyond what the Scriptures intended. The Christian life should be measured by what you’re free to enjoy, not by what you’re denied.
(2) When you live your life according to God’s Word instead of your own impulses, you’re blessed. “Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to… keep all my commands… so that it might go well with them” (Deuteronomy 5:29 NIV). The only thing God denies us is the right to determine for ourselves what’s “good or evil,” because He knows we’re not qualified to do it. We must live by divine revelation rather than human inclination. God in His love and wisdom set this limitation in place to protect and bless us.
Soul food: Eze 24:1-27:24; Mark 12:13-27; Ps 78:17-31; Prov 20:15-19
2023-09-11
Hebrews 4:16 NIV
If you feel unworthy to approach God in prayer, stop and read these words: “Let us… approach God’s throne of grace with confidence… that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (v. 16 NIV). The word “grace” means “undeserved kindness, mercy, favour, and help when you need it.” Notice three important things:
(1) When you need grace, you can approach God with complete confidence. Why? Because you’re coming to a throne of grace and mercy, not a throne of judgment. All your sins – past, present, and future – were paid for the moment Jesus said, “It is finished.” Satan, whom the Bible calls “the accuser,” wants you to feel condemned, guilty, and unworthy to approach God. But the moment you placed your trust in Christ, God clothed you in Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, you can always come to Him with confidence.
(2) When you need more grace, pray more. God has all the grace needed to help you, but you must go before His throne and ask for it. A prayerless Christian is a graceless Christian. The Bible says, “Grow in grace,” and if you’re not praying every day, you’re not growing in your spiritual life. So, what’s the answer? Spend more time hanging around the throne that dispenses grace.
(3) God’s grace is given based on your need at that moment. He won’t give you tomorrow’s grace until tomorrow, so don’t bother asking for it. But don’t be concerned; the supply of grace you have in Christ will not run out tomorrow – or ever! That means you can’t wear out your welcome by going to the throne of grace too often.
Soul food: Eze 22-23; Mark 12:1-12; Ps 78:9-16; Prov 20:11-14
