2022-05-17
Proverbs 20:30 NIV
Another way God changes us is through circumstances. Problems, pressures, sorrows, hardships, and stress always get our attention. C.S. Lewis said, “Pain insists on being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures… but shouts to us in our pain.” The J.B. Phillips translation of Romans 8:28-29 reads: “To those who love God, who are called according to his plan, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good… God… chose them to bear the family likeness of his Son.”
Nothing can come into your life without your heavenly Father’s permission; it must be “Father filtered.” The interesting thing about how God uses circumstances is that their source makes no difference to Him. We often bring problems on ourselves. Sometimes they’re caused by other people. Other times the Enemy causes things to happen to us. But the source of the circumstances is irrelevant. God said, “I will make it fit into my plan for your life, to make you like Jesus Christ.” That means there is no circumstance from which we can’t learn if we maintain the right attitude.
Why did Solomon say, “Blows and wounds scrub away evil, and beatings purge the inmost being”? Because we change only when our fear of change is surpassed by our pain. If you want to become more like Jesus, think about this: “Though He was a Son… He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8 NKJV). If God used the challenges, conflicts, and circumstances of life to prepare His Son for His destiny, won’t He do the same in our lives? So instead of trying to escape your circumstances, learn from them and grow stronger.
Soul food: Num 30:1-32:24; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 22; Pro 11:16-18
2022-05-16
2 Timothy 3:16 NLT
One of the ways God changes us is through His Word. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (vv. 16-17 NLT).
The story is told of a converted cannibal in the South Sea islands. He was sitting by a large pot reading his Bible when an anthropologist approached him and asked, “What are you doing?” The native replied, “I’m reading the Bible.” The anthropologist scoffed and said, “Don’t you know that modern, civilized man has rejected that book? It’s nothing but a pack of lies. You shouldn’t waste your time reading it.” The cannibal looked him over from head to toe and slowly replied, “Sir, if it weren’t for this book – you’d be in that pot!” The Word of God had changed his life – and his appetite.
If you’re serious about changing your life, you have to get into the Bible. You need to read it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it, speak it, and apply it. “But my faith is weak,” you say. Are you reading your Bible regularly? Are you studying it? Are you memorizing it? No? Then how do you expect your faith to grow? The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 NKJV).
Bottom line: The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us more like the Son of God.
Soul food: Num 27-29; Matt 9:27-38; Ps 62; Pro 11:15
2022-05-15
Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV
The Bible says, “Work out your own salvation… for it is God who works in you… to will and to do… His good pleasure.” This Scripture almost sounds like a contradiction, doesn’t it? But instead, it is a paradox. And G.K. Chesterton described a paradox as “truth standing on its head to get attention.”
The key to understanding this particular paradox lies in the little word out. Notice that the Bible doesn’t say, “Work for your salvation.” To work for something means to earn it, deserve it, merit it. And the Bible plainly teaches that salvation isn’t something we have to work for or earn. It’s a free gift of God’s grace (See Ephesians 2:8-9). When Paul says, “Work out your salvation,” he is talking about a “spiritual workout.”
What do you do during a physical workout? You develop and tone the muscles God has already provided you. To “work out” means to grow and make the most of what you have been given. What Paul is saying here is this: Develop your spiritual life! God has a part in our spiritual growth, and we, too, have a part. He provides the power, but we must access it, flip the switch, and let it flow through our lives to fulfill His will for us.
Practically speaking, how do we do that? By spending time praying and reading God’s Word each day. By sharpening and strengthening one another through fellowship. By exercising the gifts God has given us. The fact is, He has already done His part; now it’s up to you to do yours.
Soul food: Gen 2:7-25; 1 Cor 15:39-55
2022-05-14
Exodus 8:10 NKJV
Every plague God sent on Egypt mocked one of their gods. For instance, the Egyptians deified lice, so God sent them a lot of lice – and frogs. Finally, Pharaoh called for Moses and said, “All right, I give up.” But when Moses asked him, “When do you want me to get rid of the frogs?” Pharaoh’s response was classic; he said, “Tomorrow.” He must have been insane! Why would you wait any longer to have the frogs removed?
But we do the same, don’t we? We procrastinate by putting off the changes we know would be good for us. Maybe we’re unconcerned. Maybe we’re too lethargic to change. Maybe we’re fearful because we don’t know what the changes will entail. Maybe we’re just too proud and stubborn. Whatever the reason – we procrastinate.
NASA space engineers tell us most of the fuel that is used in a rocket launch is burned during the initial few seconds of liftoff. It takes enormous energy and thrust to move the rocket off the launching pad. Once it’s moving and headed for orbit, it needs much less fuel and is simpler to control and direct. It has conquered inertia. It’s one thing to know God can solve your problem and change your life. It’s another matter to overcome your inertia and let Him begin to do it now! We keep saying, “One of these days… “
The truth is, Jesus Christ has the power to make changes in your life today. He will give you the power to begin and the power to keep going. It’s not too late. He can put your life back together again. So the word for you today is – do it today!
Soul food: Num 25-26; Matt 9:14-26; Ps 57; Pro 11:14
2022-05-13
Genesis 22:16-17 NKJV
God won’t ask you for what you don’t have, but sometimes He will ask for the thing you really want to keep. Why? To see if there is anything you value or depend on more than Him. Abraham was tested like nobody else in history. But he passed the test and was blessed like very few others in history.
Imagine having God say to you, “Take now your son, your only son… whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (v. 2 NKJV). Can you envision the questions that would swirl through your mind? Little wonder Abraham was called “the friend of God” (James 2:23 NKJV) and “the father of all… that believe” (Romans 4:11 KJV). And when the test was over, God said this: “Because you have done this thing, and… not withheld… your only son… I will bless you, and… multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand… on the seashore… In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:16-18 NKJV).
So here is the question: What is God asking of you? Are you wrestling with it? Are you withholding what He wants, or are you “all in”? Isaac was the hardest seed Abraham ever had to sow. But that seed produced a harvest of blessing greater than anything Abraham ever dreamed or thought possible. What is God asking you to do today? When you say yes to Him, you will experience a whole new level of blessing in your life. Try it and see.
Soul food: Num 22-24; Matt 9:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Pro 11:12-13
2022-05-12
2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
Have you ever watched a medical professional administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and the patient came back to life? That’s what happens when you meditate on God’s Word, because “all Scripture is God-breathed.”
Imagine yourself at a party where people are blowing up balloons and popping them with pins. A scientist could figure out which balloon was yours because your DNA (the genetic configuration that makes you unique) is in your breath. Now apply that principle to reading the Bible, and you will understand how vital it is to your spiritual life.
John tells us “the Word was God” (John 1:1 NKJV), so anytime you ingest God’s Word, you’re ingesting His attributes. That’s why the Enemy will try to keep you so busy that you have no time to read your Bible. The truth is, many of the issues we struggle with could be resolved or eliminated altogether if we developed a hunger for God’s Word.
Job said, “I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12 NKJV). Jeremiah, who was so dejected that he became known as “the weeping prophet,” said, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV). Jesus experienced every test and trial known to man; He even went toe-to-toe with the Tempter. What was the secret of His strength? He said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God'” (Matthew 4:4 NKJV).
Today get God’s Word into you – it’s His DNA.
Soul food: Num 19-21; Matt 8:18-34; Ps 44:9-16; Pro 11:10-11
