2023-08-06
Matthew 19:5 NKJV
The word commit means “to bind, or obligate, or pledge.” And for some of us, it evokes pictures of servitude, restraints, and the loss of our freedom. In other words, it frightens us. Today as women become more economically empowered, some of them have also become more reluctant to commit to a relationship in which the Bible says the husband is called to be a leader in the home (See Ephesians 5:22-24). But it’s typically the man, however, who desires to keep the relationship fluid and flexible so he can use his stay-or-leave option whenever he wants. The partner desiring the commitment finds such a relationship frustrating and unfulfilling. So, what should you do if you’re reluctant to commit to the relationship?
Two things: (1) Be honest with yourself about your fears, feelings, and motivations. David said, “You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6 NKJV). Notice, wisdom comes from being honest about what is going on inside you. What are your memories of your parents’ marriage and how it affected you? Have you observed similar patterns of behaviour on your own part or that of your potential mate when it comes to dealing with relationships?
(2) Admit the role you may have played, even as an enabler of poor behaviour, in the collapse of a former relationship. Have you changed now? Are you willing to? If so, then here is God’s promise to you of a better future: “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing” (Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV).
Soul food: 2 Kings 5:1-17; Luke 4:16-30
2023-08-05
Ruth 1:16 NKJV
One of the greatest Scriptures on commitment in the Bible are the words of Ruth to Naomi: “Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” Why are we afraid to commit to a relationship?
(1) Fear of losing control: “Why forgo my independence?”
(2) Fear of lack: “What if he or she ruins my finances?”
(3) Fear of inadequacy: “What if I can’t meet his or her expectations?”
(4) Fear of loneliness: “What if he or she deserts me?”
(5) Fear of pain: “I’ve been hurt before, and I don’t want to be hurt again.”
So, what do you do? Today the answer has become a “trial marriage,” but it doesn’t work. Living together without marriage is like renting a room versus buying a house. If a repair is necessary for the rented room, the renters are apt to abandon the room for another. If a repair is necessary for their home, the owners make the required commitment to protect their investment.
Psychology Today reported the discoveries of Yale University sociologist Neil Bennett that cohabitating women who later married were 80 percent more prone to separate or divorce than women who had lived apart from their spouses before marriage. Contrary to what you may think, those who play around and move from relationship to relationship don’t experience lasting happiness. Whereas, those who commit themselves to God and to one another experience true and lasting happiness.
Soul food: Deut 11-13; Mark 2:23-3:6; Ps 78:65-72; Prov 17:1-2
2023-08-04
Luke 22:61 NKJV
The Bible says, “Peter remembered the word of the Lord… ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So Peter went out and wept bitterly” (vv. 61-62 NKJV).
What is it that saves us? Our good works? No, it’s our faith in Christ. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV). Now you understand the words of Christ to Peter: “I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail” (Luke 22:32 NKJV). When you have faith in Christ, you can bounce back. When it comes to God’s grace, there is no statute of limitations.
Peter denied Jesus not once but repeatedly. Perhaps that’s your story too! This wasn’t a moment that Peter would be proud of but an experience he would grow stronger as a result of. When someone fails badly, we say that they “crash and burn.” And when something is burned, all that’s left is ashes. But we serve a God of restoration who gives “beauty for ashes” (See Isaiah 61:3).
If you had seen Peter swearing that he didn’t know the Lord, would you have picked him to be your pastor? God did. He made him the head of the New Testament church. We tell people, “Don’t get into messes” and “Don’t sin.” And that’s good advice – God doesn’t want us sinning. But we should really say, “Don’t walk headfirst into sin when you know better. But when you fail, as you surely will, turn to God and He will restore you and use your failure to strengthen you.”
Soul food: Deut 8-10; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 16:33
2023-08-03
Luke 22:31 KJV
Jesus knew Peter would deny Him, yet He called him to be His disciple, saying: “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren” (vv. 31-32).
The mistakes you make and the messes you create usually don’t happen by accident but by choice. Yet they don’t put you beyond the reach of God’s grace. The secret of victory is to let God use your mistakes to develop you rather than let Satan use them to destroy you. Note the words “Satan hath desired to have you.” Satan wants to take back what he lost – you. When you doubt, he has the power to bring you down; you’re setting yourself up to fail.
Have you ever seen wheat going through a threshing process? It’s not a pretty sight. And when it happens in your life, it doesn’t feel good. So the question is, if Peter, one of Christ’s handpicked disciples, could fail, how much more likely is it to happen to you? And when it does, what do you suppose the Lord wants to accomplish through it?
Today your life may be a mess, but if you turn to God, He can make something beautiful out of it. And one more thought: Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed for thee.” Today, Jesus is praying for you. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1 KJV). So, if you have fallen, Jesus will lift you up and restore you.
Soul food: Deut 5-7; Mark 2:1-12; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 16:32
2023-08-02
Proverbs 3:2 NIV
By the year 2030, one in five of us will be seventy years of age or older. That’s about 20 percent of the world’s population. Millions of us will live to be a hundred or more. When asked at his birthday party how he felt about turning eighty, President Dwight D. Eisenhower replied, “It sure does beat the alternative!”
Anita Bogan died in 2007 at the ripe old age of 106. Her obituary in the Los Angeles Times read: “Blessed with good health and a sound mind, Bogan spent most of her old age doing what she wanted to do, with a feisty, what’s-age-got-to-do-with-it attitude. In the decades following her 80th year, she created a non-profit foundation to build senior housing… opened a floral shop, played golf daily… took cruises to celebrate her… birthdays… and inspired people. On Bogan’s 100th birthday, the Kern County Board of Supervisors declared an ‘Anita Bogan Day.'” By her attitude toward life, Anita changed the way people around her viewed aging.
And the Bible doesn’t just promise long life, it promises quality life. “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity” (vv. 1-2 NIV). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For through wisdom your days will be many, and years will be added to your life” (Proverbs 9:10-11 NIV). The secret of enjoying the aging process is to build a close relationship with God and live according to His principles.
Soul food: Deut 3-4; Mark 1:35-45; Ps 78:32-39; Prov 16:31
2023-07-31
Psalm 78:41 NKJV
The Bible says: “They provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power” (vv. 40-42 NKJV). The Israelites continually provoked God’s anger and grieved His heart in the wilderness. How? By limiting Him. By limiting what He could do for them and through them. And we do the same when we fail to recognize and use the gifts He gives us and the creative ideas He places within our minds. God wants you to break out of the “box” of your own history, hang-ups, and personal limitations.
One of the ways in which you do that is by constantly exposing yourself to new ideas, new places, and new people. God’s Word says: “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left” (Isaiah 54:2-3 NKJV). Note the words “enlarge” and “stretch out” and “lengthen” and “strengthen” and “expand.” Creativity is just teachability. So, are you teachable?
The words on a tombstone read: “Died at forty, was buried at eighty.” Unless you keep learning, growing, and expanding your thinking, that can be your fate too. You say, “But I’m not naturally creative.” Creativity is not necessarily something you’re born with; it comes from developing your God-given gifts and seizing the opportunities He sends your way in life. Do you want to break out of the box? That’s how you do it!
Soul food: Acts 27-28; Mark 1:9-20; Ps 78:9-16; Prov 16:25
