2022-04-16
1 Corinthians 15:55 NKJV
In a “sting” operation, law enforcement agents set the bad guy up in order to bring him down. That’s what God did to Satan at the cross. For three days it seemed as though Satan had won. Then Jesus rose from the dead and turned his plans upside down: “He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them at the cross” (Colossians 2:15 NLT).
The thing Satan feared most, the birth of a church with the power to change the world through the gospel, had come to pass. “The rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord” (1 Corinthians 2:8 NLT).
Christ’s enemies even tried to stop the truth of the resurrection from getting out: “They decided to give the soldiers a large bribe… ‘You must say, “Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body'”… So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say” (Matthew 28:12-15 NLT). Normally hatred for a person ends when they die.
So why then do some people hate Jesus? Because the resurrection is the ultimate proof that He is Lord! Indeed, you cannot be saved unless you believe in the resurrection: “For if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10 NKJV).
Soul food: Lev 26-27; Luke 23:50-56; Ps 69:7-21; Pro 10:6-7
2022-04-15
Matthew 27:29 CEV
The hymnist Isaac Watts wrote, “See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e’re such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?” Jesus wore a crown of thorns so you could wear a crown of glory. Thorns in Scripture represent sin.
In Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed, God said, “The ground will be under a curse… [… it] will produce thorns” (Genesis 3:17-18 CEV). Later He told Israel that unless they purged the land of their enemies, “they will be like… thorns in your sides” (Numbers 33:55 NCV). Solomon cautioned: “Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road” (Proverbs 22:5 NLT). And Jesus warned, “You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes” (Matthew 7:16 TLB).
A well-known author writes: “The crown of thorns Jesus wore represented all our sins. As we were caught in the brambles of envy, anger, shame, discouragement, guilt, bitterness, and unforgiveness, so Jesus, who knew no sin, became ‘an atoning sacrifice for our sins'” (1 John 4:10 NIV). Not once did Christ use His supernatural powers for personal comfort. With just a word He could have transformed the hard earth into a soft bed… hurled the spit of His accusers back into their faces… and paralyzed the hand of the soldier who braided the thorns. But He didn’t. Instead, ‘He cancelled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to Christ’s cross'” (Colossians 2:14 NLT). And He did it with you in mind. Amazing!
Soul food: Gen 22:1-18; Luke 23:26-49; Ps 22; Isa 53
2022-04-14
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NIV
David was “on a roll.” He kept winning battle after battle. He had the Midas touch; everything he touched turned to gold! But success can go to your head, and David wasn’t exempt. He started wondering, “Just how strong are we?” At that point, he conducted a census and discovered he had “one million one hundred thousand [fighting] men” (1 Chronicles 21:5 NIV). That could tempt any of us to think, “With an army this size, and given our track record of success, who needs to pray for God’s help or ask Him for a plan?” That was the point at which God stepped in and judged David, and seventy thousand Israelites died needlessly (See v. 14 NIV).
So here is another aspect of leadership you need to be aware of: Your mistakes have the potential to hurt others. You’re not just accountable to those who are over you; you’re responsible for those under you. After all, if your good decisions have the ability to bless and guide people, your bad decisions have the potential to harm them.
“David said to God, ‘Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd, have sinned and done wrong… let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people'” (v. 17 NIV). God graciously answered David’s prayer, and judgment was lifted from Israel.
So, you need God’s guidance for your own sake, the sake of the people around you, and to give you the grace to accept responsibility when you fail. Don’t try to hide your failures, blame others, or run from God. Acknowledge them, grow through them, and go on to become wiser.
Soul food: Lev 24-25; Luke 23:18-25; Ps 69:1-6; Pro 10:5
2022-04-13
1 Chronicles 21:1 NIV
Fresh from a major victory over the Philistines, King David made a major mistake. Instead of trusting God for his next battle, he conducted a census designed to measure his military power and determine his chances of winning. As a result, seventy thousand Israelites perished. This story teaches us three very important lessons about leadership responsibility:
(1) As a leader, you’re Satan’s special target. He knows that in order to get to others, he must go through you, so he will use every strategy he has to bring you down. “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census.” The average board of directors would probably have considered it a good idea, but God saw it as an act of arrogance and unbelief.
(2) Don’t be presumptuous. Don’t let your last victory make you overconfident about your next battle. There will never be a time when you don’t need God! The fact that God had just granted David a great victory should have made him more, not less, dependent on God. Paul wrote, “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NIV).
(3) Listen to wise counsel. Joab, one of David’s generals, warned him he was making a grave mistake. “The king’s word, however, overruled Joab” (1 Chronicles 21:4 NIV). You may have great gifts, but you don’t have all the gifts. Where you have blind spots, others often have 20/20 vision. “In the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14 KJV), so listen to the people God put in your life to guide and protect you.
Soul food: Lev 22-23; Luke 23:8-17; Ps 32; Pro 10:4
2022-04-12
Romans 12:3 NIV
We have exaggerated ideas about our capabilities. We like to think we can do it all. But no matter how disciplined you are or how hard you try, without a “sane estimate of your capabilities,” you’re setting yourself up to fail.
John Ortberg says: “Willpower is… finite… You don’t get separate stockpiles for different areas… That’s why a long list of New Year’s resolutions is almost certainly doomed… It takes a whole lot of willpower to get on an exercise… program to lose weight… If you add on the list: get on a budget… keep your office clean, and read Calvin’s Institutes every week, you set yourself up for failure… For most of us… our wills get depleted… more quickly than our bodies.”
Ortberg suggests these: (1) Schedule your most important tasks for when your willpower is strongest. For many people, that’s the morning. One study shows prisoners have a better shot at parole if their case is heard in the morning when the judge has a higher reserve of willpower and is more inclined to take a chance.
(2) Spend willpower wisely by not taking on too many tasks at once, even after you have prayed about them. Generally, God works through your will, and He seldom gives you a free pass to disregard the laws of finitude He created.
(3) Set goals – but not too many. Lacking a few, we drift, but having an overabundance means we worry about them, accomplish less, and suffer emotionally and physically.
(4) Remember that the one act of your will that replenishes willpower instead of depleting it is surrender. God meant for prayer, solitude, worship, and meditation to be done in a way that restores us.
Soul food: Lev 20-21; Luke 23:1-7; Ps 25:16-22; Pro 10:3
2022-04-11
Galatians 6:2 KJV
Have you ever said something you wish you could take back? You have, haven’t you? Chuck Swindoll writes: “We act impulsively and realize, after the fact, how foolish we were… On top of all that, we hurt the ones we love the most. All this stuff caves in on us… and we wonder how anybody could ever love us… especially God. When we start thinking like this, we need to turn our mind to the ‘one anothers’ in the New Testament. Love one another, build up one another, live in peace with one another, confess your sins to one another, speak to one another, admonish one another, comfort one another, pray for one another. ‘Bear one another’s burdens’ (Galatians 6:2 NKJV).
Imagine two mountain hikers. One… has a… light pack… while the other poor soul… is… loaded down… It could be a long-standing grudge… poisoning his insides… [Or,] a broken relationship with his wife or one of his kids. That pack could be loaded with unpaid bills. The question is, Where can… [he] go to unload? By sitting in church alongside a… couple thousand other folks? Hardly. What he needs… is… a place where there is person-to-person caring and… authentic sharing. Where he will feel free, without embarrassment… to tell his secret or state his struggle; where someone will listen, help him unload, and give him fresh strength.
Adult fellowships… are not miniature church services. They are pockets of people who love Christ and believe in helping one another. They don’t point fingers or preach or compare. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ… Are you involved in a… fellowship group? If not, consider joining or starting [one].” Once you begin unloading, you will discover how much easier the journey seems.
Soul food: Lev 18-19; Luke 22:63-71; Ps 25:8-15; Pro 10:2
