2022-04-10
Matthew 12:34 NCV
When Mary Southerland came down with a raging fever, her doctor suspected viral meningitis. “How long have you had the solid white coating on your tongue?” he asked. Mary was puzzled. Why did that matter? The doctor continued, “The health of the tongue is a very strong indicator of the health of the entire body.”
And spiritually speaking, the same principle applies. “The mouth speaks the things that are in the heart. Good people have good things in their hearts… so they say good things… evil people have evil in their hearts, so they say evil things” (vv. 34-35 NCV). The problem isn’t the tongue itself; it’s more serious. The problem lies in your heart, your attitude, your outlook, and your temperament.
Southerland continues: “The tongue is a spiritual thermometer that reflects the condition of the heart… Words are power tools that can build… encourage… destroy and cause confusion. We have all been hurt and even defeated by words spoken in anger or words rising out of a wounded heart… If my words are boastful, my heart is insecure. If my words are filthy, my heart is impure and if my words are critical, my heart is filled with pride and anger…
Solomon said, ‘A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver’ (Proverbs 25:11 KJV)… The right word, spoken at the right time and in the right way can bring order in the midst of confusion and light on a very dark path. ‘Good people know the right thing to say’ (Proverbs 10:32 NCV). God gives us spiritual ‘radar’ so we can assess a situation and speak the right word for that circumstance. We just need to check the ‘radar screen’ before we speak.”
Soul food: Matt 21:1-16; Ps 118:19-29
2022-04-09
Ezekiel 36:26 NIV
When you have been hurt, it’s easy to put up barriers. But be careful – a protective shell can turn into a “heart of stone”: resistant, unreceptive, impenetrable even to God.
One Christian author writes: “The only thing more painful, and with… more serious ramifications than a broken heart, is a frozen one… Paul warns us [about]… allowing our hearts to harden. ‘They are darkened in their understanding… separated from the life of God… due to… hardening of their hearts’ (Ephesians 4:18 NIV). A soft heart is not weak or naive. To the contrary, wisdom, experience, and faith make for a strong heart, weathered by compassion and seasoned with mercy. A hardened heart is not protected, it’s merely encased in injury, and it is painfully obvious to everyone but you…
After a weekend that felt like one painful test after another, I called my best friend in tears. ‘Why won’t this end? How strong does God want me to be? I can’t take it anymore!’ Being a godly woman… she replied, ‘Perhaps it’s the other way around. You have been strong enough. God wants your heart to be soft and open.’ I hadn’t thought of it that way.
In response to heartbreak, betrayal, or shame, it is… easy to develop a heart of stone. We think this will protect us from… more pain. The problem with stone is… it feels nothing – no pain, but no love. It is a trap that feels like self-preservation, but it is actually self-destruction. [God] wants to give you a heart of flesh. With His love you can emerge from a painful season of loss with a heart that is yielding, porous, and ready to receive the gifts He has… for you.”
Soul food: Lev 15-17; Luke 22:54-62; Ps 25:1-7; Pro 10:1
2022-04-08
John 9:4 NKJV
Like the rest of us, Jesus sometimes got tired (See John 4:6). But He was never stressed out by the job. He was led, but never driven. He knew what needed to be done and the amount of time required to do it, and He picked a team to accomplish it. Three of them – Peter, James, and John – were in His inner circle. It wasn’t that He showed favouritism; He just recognized the particular gifts of the people He worked with and what He needed from each of them to get the job done.
An important step toward accomplishing something big is knowing the kinds of people you will need. In other words, you need to know who should be on your team. Jesus spent three-and-a-half years training His disciples before delegating responsibility to them. Was He afraid they would make mistakes, outshine Him, or make Him look bad? No, He told them, “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12 NKJV).
Jesus was a team player who got things done through others. But even when you break a task down, strategically plan it, and recruit terrific people, you need one more component to succeed: teamwork! Teamwork is the glue that brings people together – and keeps them together. There are more than a billion Christians in the world today. And it all started two thousand years ago with one man who had a vision, a man who recruited and trained a team to fulfill that vision. If you’re wise, you will study His work philosophy.
Soul food: Lev 13:38-14:57; Luke 22:39-53; Ps 4; Pro 9:13-18
2022-04-07
John 4:34 CEV
Instead of confining Jesus to church on Sunday, let’s study His work philosophy (attitude, values, and beliefs) on how to get things done. The principles He lived by call for these: (1) Being clear about your assignment. He said, “I must finish the work… he gave me to do.” Jesus understood that focus maximizes skill and opportunity. So if you’re talented, energetic, and active and you’re still not seeing concrete results, your problem may be lack of focus. When Nehemiah was rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, his enemies said, “Come, let us meet together” (Nehemiah 6:2 NKJV). That’s when Nehemiah sent back this message: “I am doing a great work, so… I cannot come down” (v. 3 NKJV).
(2) Prioritizing tasks in the order of their importance. When you don’t do what has to be done according to its importance, jobs start to arrange themselves according to their urgency. And when that happens, you miss great opportunities. The Bible says Jesus “needed to go through Samaria” (John 4:4 NKJV). To the disciples, this probably looked like a diversion because it wasn’t the shortest route to where they wanted to go. But there was a woman in Samaria Jesus wanted to redeem; a vessel through which he reached the entire city with the gospel. Bottom line: Jesus was clear about his priorities. Are you?
(3) Creating a definitive timetable. In other words, set deadlines and stick with them. Jesus knew He had only three-and-a-half years to get the job done, and He made every day count. One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is, “I’ll get to it later.” To succeed in life, let Jesus’ work philosophy become your master plan.
Soul food: Lev 11:1-13:37; Luke 22:24-38; Ps 50:16-23; Pro 9:12
2022-04-06
2 Timothy 1:7 MSG
The foundation of good leadership is security. Paul told Timothy, “God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.” You must know with certainty that God called you, equipped you, and guaranteed your ultimate success. And you must keep this in mind when people stop liking you, when funding drops, when morale dips, and others reject you. If you feel insecure, fear will eventually cause you to sabotage your own leadership.
Confident leaders see what is, while maintaining their vision of what can be. They’re rarely content with things the way they are. As President Ronald Reagan once quipped, “Status quo… is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in!'” By definition, “to lead” is to be out in front, breaking new ground, vanquishing new worlds, and proceeding away from the status quo.
Dissatisfaction with the status quo doesn’t mean having a bad attitude or complaining; it has to do with a readiness to be different and to take risks. A person who won’t risk change is someone who fails to grow. A leader who loves the status quo is someone who soon turns into a follower. Raymond Smith of Bell Atlantic Corporation once remarked, “Administrators are easy to find and cheap to keep. Leaders – risk takers – are in very short supply. And the ones with vision are pure gold.”
Many people are more comfortable dealing with old troubles than doing what it takes to find new solutions; risk seems dangerous to them. The secret lies in having a winning attitude – one that comes from being secure in who you are and what you have been called to do. Think about it!
Soul food: Lev 8-10; Luke 22:14-23; Ps 50:1-15; Pro 9:10-11
2022-04-05
John 8:32 NKJV
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” It takes courage to face a painful reality. It’s easier to bail out of a troubled marriage than to stay and work your way through to a better place. It’s easier to give in to despair and self-pity than go back to school and train for a new career.
It takes guts to stand up for your convictions when you’re under fire. But somebody said, “Unless you stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” The truth is, anytime you’re willing to stand for something or try something new, somebody will take a shot at you.
The English word courage is derived from the French word cœur, meaning “heart.” Hence the phrase “don’t lose heart.” It’s easy to be brave when you feel strong, but it’s much harder when you feel weak and inadequate. Yet, that’s when you need courage the most.
General Omar Bradley remarked, “Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.” And the courage he is referring to isn’t hollow hype. It has nothing to do with a “fake it till you make it” mentality. Courage means saying, “If God promised it, I believe it” and moving forward despite the obstacles.
If you need an injection of courage today, read and meditate on these verses: (1) “Be strong and do not give up… your work will be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV). (2) “Energize the limp hands, strengthen the rubbery knees. Tell fearful souls, ‘Courage! Take heart! God is… on his way… He’ll save you!'” (Isaiah 35:3-4 MSG). Now that’s courage!
Soul food: Lev 5-7; Luke 22:1-13; Ps 26; Pro 9:8-9
