2022-04-04
Joshua 1:9 NKJV
Knowing the battles he would have to fight in order to conquer the promised land, God told Joshua this, no less than three times: “Be strong and of good courage.” Anytime you move forward, obstacles will block your path. Count on it! H. G. Wells asked, “What on earth would a man do with himself, if something did not stand in his way?” What did he mean? That adversity is your friend – even when it feels like your enemy. Every obstacle you face reveals your strengths and weaknesses. It also shapes you and makes you wiser and more confident.
Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.”
Anytime you leave your comfort zone and step out in faith to follow God, you will be tested. But you will also reach heights you thought were beyond you and go further than others who had greater talent but settled for the status quo.
Paul tells us: “Every detail works to your advantage… So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace” (2 Corinthians 4:15-17 MSG). Courage can be defined as simply “not giving up.”
Soul food: Lev 1-4; Luke 21:25-38; Ps 18:30-50; Pro 9:7
2022-04-03
Romans 6:14 MSG
If you want to grow roses, you must declare war on weeds; otherwise, they will run amok in your garden. In other words, you must beware of weeds! There is a spiritual parallel at work here, and it’s this: Unless you deal decisively with sin, it will take over your life.
Paul puts it like this: “Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life – no longer at sin’s… beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God…. That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time – remember, you’ve been raised from the dead! – into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God” (vv. 6-14 MSG).
So, the word for you today is – say no to sin!
Soul food: Josh 2:1-24; Acts 9:20-30
2022-04-02
Galatians 5:22 TLV
Panic and anxiety are often our first reactions to conflict and problems. In those initial moments, choosing peace seems impossible. Your subconscious whispers, “If you really care, you will worry.” But a seasoned counselor writes: “Don’t panic! No matter what the situation or circumstance, we usually have… a moment to breathe deeply and… let peace flow through our body and mind… Panic, not the task, is the enemy.”
Anxiety just empowers and enlarges the problem. Your best problem-solving resource is always peace. Fear and anxiety block solutions; answers flow more easily and naturally from a peaceful state of mind. And God’s peace is always available to us – if we choose to use it. Paul writes, “When the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce… in us… peace.” Refuse to let your negative emotions run amok or decide your response.
Jesus said, “[Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful… intimidated… cowardly and unsettled]” (John 14: 27 AMPC). That means you have options; you can choose between peace and inner conflict. In the same verse, Jesus also said, “My [own] peace I… bequeath to you” (v. 27 AMPC), and “bequeath” relates to executing a will. When someone dies, they leave their most cherished possessions to the people they love. But just because Jesus left us His peace doesn’t mean it will automatically operate in us. Plus, when we lose our peace, it’s harder to hear from God.
When Paul says, “Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule… in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15 AMPC), the word “rule” means “to govern and to control.” So instead of letting yourself get anxious and panicky today, choose peace.
Soul food: Phil 3-4; Luke 21:12-24; Ps 18:1-29; Pro 9:4-6
2022-04-01
Hebrews 10:38 NCV
Living by faith is something you learn to do by practicing it daily. Before you became a Christian, you trusted in your own ability and intellect. But those things only took you so far and no further, right? Now you’re trusting God for the wisdom, guidance, resources, and ability to fulfill His will for your life. The Bible tells us, “By faith Noah… prepared an ark for the saving of his household” (Hebrews 11:7 NKJV). Think about it: When Noah built the ark, there had never even been rain.
Living by faith doesn’t always make sense. It doesn’t mean your problems will vanish into thin air. Sometimes faith changes your circumstances; other times it changes your perspective. How? By giving you the tenacity to hang in there when the check doesn’t come in the mail, or the doctor says the condition is incurable, or your spouse asks for a divorce, or the kids are running amok, or the company where you have worked for the last twenty years closes its doors. Faith gives you the fortitude to endure, confident that God will work things out on your behalf. Paul tells us, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).
Living by faith means (1) obeying God and believing He will never let you down, (2) following in the footsteps of ordinary people who did extraordinary things for God, and (3) using your faith because you know it’s the only currency heaven recognizes. When the Bible says, “The just shall live by faith,” it doesn’t mean little, sporadic bursts of faith; it means making faith a lifestyle.
Soul food: Phil 1-2; Luke 21:1-11; Ps 31:14-24; Pro 9:1-3
2022-03-31
Matthew 11:29 CEV
Jesus spoke to people who had given up on religion. People who were burned out trying – and failing – to observe a long list of rules and regulations. Here is what He told them: “If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light” (vv. 28-30 CEV).
The “yoke” Jesus spoke of was a harness that went around the necks of two oxen so they could pull the plow in the same direction. In each team of oxen, one was the leader and the other would follow. There is an important lesson here – don’t miss it. Jesus will take the lead, but you must stay in sync with Him to enjoy His blessing on your life. He promises His yoke won’t choke you; it won’t be wearisome or confining, and you won’t chafe under it.
In fact, if you want to be truly free, you must let yourself be yoked to Jesus by submitting your will to His. But it doesn’t work to accept Christ’s yoke for a while and then start pulling the other way when things don’t go the way you want. When you do, the load gets heavier and you start to feel worn out. Peace and rest come when you relax in the yoke and let Christ lead. Jesus said, “You will find rest.” That means your options are to resist Him or to rest in Him! Which will it be?
Soul food: Job 40-42; Luke 20:41-47; Ps 31:1-13; Pro 8:34-36
2022-03-30
2 Peter 1:5-6 CEV
Ever notice how we tend to blame our circumstances for our character deficiencies? We attribute our problems to poor upbringing, financial difficulties, or other people’s shortcomings. Your circumstances may be beyond your control – but your character isn’t. You can no more blame your character flaws on circumstances than you can blame a mirror for how you look.
Integrity is always a choice, and every time you make a character-based decision, you take a step forward in your spiritual growth. Think about the times you have faced temptation and adversity. Jot them down, and beside each one, note your choice: to escape, excuse, capitulate, avoid, persevere, or overcome. What problem areas can you identify? How can you do better? If the things you listed were due to circumstances beyond your control, then choose to take greater control of your life. How? “By adding… self-control” to your arsenal.
Our lives resemble icebergs, in that 15 percent is visible; that’s our reputation. The rest, our character, is hidden below the surface. Character is what we think but don’t necessarily share. It’s based on what we do when nobody’s looking, how we handle life’s little aggravations, how we handle failure – and success. At the end of a brilliant career, Joshua challenged Israel with these words: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15 NIV). Character is based on self-control, and self-control is about making the right choices. And the good news is, you don’t have to do it alone: “God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him” (Philippians 2:13 CEV).
Soul food: Job 38-39; Luke 20:27-40; Ps 6; Pro 8:32-33
