2022-01-29
2 Corinthians 5:16 NKJV
Paul writes, “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh…anyone…in Christ…is a new creation; old things have passed away…all things have become new” (vv. 16-17 NKJV). Here is an important spiritual principle. When you’re trying to help a believer who is battling adversity, addiction, or physical affliction, speak life to their regenerated spirit. Speak to the part of them that’s capable of rising up in faith and responding to God’s Word: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 KJV). How does faith come? By hearing what God thinks, says, and can do. Until God has been heard, the last word hasn’t been spoken.
God instructed Ezekiel to stand in a valley full of dead bones and say, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life” (Ezekiel 37:5 NIV). And guess what? It happened! Ezekiel said, “As I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together” (v. 7 NIV).
Now let’s be clear; you can’t hold on to a loved one when God in His sovereign wisdom decides it’s time to take them home to heaven, which Paul describes as “far better” (Philippians 1:23). But until that happens, speak God’s Word to their regenerated spirit. Faith doesn’t deny the reality of the circumstances, but it refuses to be intimidated, limited, or ruled by them. “Spirit can be known only by spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:14 MSG), so when someone is a redeemed child of God, don’t speak to their human intellect – speak life to their spirit.
Soul food: Rom 3:21-6:23; Luke 6:37-49; Ps 107:10-16; Pro 3:19-20
2022-01-28
Job 16:5 NKJV
Even when a surgery is successful, the patient can carry within them scar tissue that causes lingering pain and discomfort. And it’s the same in life. Some people around you wear a mask of success, but within, they carry wounds they’re unable to talk about.
Comedian Jonathan Winters said in an interview that his life was scarred by cruel things his parents said to him as a child. “I’m no crybaby, but I remember things with almost total recall – there’s a lot of pain there.” His father said to him, “You’re the dumbest kid I know.” And when he joined the marines and traveled to the South Pacific during World War II, he received no support from his mother. When he returned home, he discovered she had given away his special, personal things he had stored in the attic. He was distressed, but her reaction was, “How did we know you were going to live?” Winters went on to become one of the world’s most popular entertainers and comedians, but the emotional scar tissue remained.
Understand this – your words can wound or heal. They can inspire someone or reinforce their sense of failure and worthlessness. Job, who suffered greater loss than most of us will ever know, said, “But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief” (v. 5 NKJV). How can you help someone who is hurting? By giving them your opinion? No, by giving them the only opinion that matters – God’s! And here is what God says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV).
Soul food: Rom 1:32-3:20; Luke 6:27-36; Ps 107:1-9; Pro 3:13-18
2022-01-27
1 Corinthians 9:22 MSG
It’s easy to develop “spiritual amnesia.” You forget what you used to be like. And that attitude affects the people you deal with each day. One author writes: “I’ve a workplace acquaintance who embodies all the negative stereotypes of evangelical Christians. She’s judgmental…her behavior borders on bizarre…she’s completely (and purposefully) out of touch with culture. She considers any attempt to tone down her evangelism as persecution…None of us wants to be like that so we hop on the pendulum as it swings in the other direction and our efforts become so subtle, they’re imperceptible.” How can we share our faith, while maintaining a high level of integrity?
(1) Ask sincere questions and listen with a caring spirit.
(2) When appropriate, tell others you’re praying for them – then do it!
(3) Pray driving to work and ask God to help you see your workplace as a mission field.
(4) Don’t downplay the importance of your faith. When it naturally fits a conversation, talk about church, prayer, Scripture, and Christian community. Let others see joy and purpose in your life.
(5) Demonstrate God’s love for all people by initiating a company food drive…or organizing a blood drive.
(6) Strive for excellence. Be the person that your manager and co-workers rely on to do a solid job.
(7) Invite coworkers to events with your Christian friends. Nonchurchgoers are often open to going on holidays like Christmas or Easter.
(8) When you’re not sure about when to speak, check in with God and “when the time comes…the Holy Spirit will make his witness in and through you” (Mark 13:11 MSG).
(9) Above all – maintain a humble attitude!
Soul food: Ecc 9-12; Luke 6:17-26; Ps 104:24-35; Pro 3:11-12
2022-01-26
Isaiah 51:1 NKJV
If you want to win people to Christ, you won’t do it with a holier-than-thou attitude. Sadly, this is how society sees many Christians; their hearts are in the right place, but their ability to relate with compassion to those outside their immediate circle does God no favours. If you want people to respond to the gospel, take a leaf from Paul’s book. He “voluntarily [became] a servant to…all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious…moralists…immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized – whoever” (1 Corinthians 9:19-21 MSG).
Now before you get bent out of shape about Paul being soft on sin, he adds: “I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ – but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become…every sort of servant…in my attempts to lead those I meet into a…saved life…I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” (vv. 22-23 MSG). Paul could relate to unbelievers without endorsing their lifestyle because he remembered what he himself was like before God transformed him on the Damascus road.
It’s the kind of humility that only comes from looking back and remembering “the pit from which you were dug” (Isaiah 51:1 NKJV). Being the recipient of God’s grace enabled Paul to write: “Here’s a word you can take to heart…Jesus…came into the world to save sinners. I’m proof – Public Sinner Number One – of someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy” (1 Timothy 1:15-18 MSG). Today, remember what you used to be like.
Soul food: Ecc 5-8; Luke 6:1-16; Ps 104:1-23; Pro 3:9-10
2022-01-25
1 Corinthians 4:7 NIV
Your success isn’t found in your similarity to others, but in your difference. Instead of comparing yourself with somebody else and competing with them, try to discover your point of God-given difference, for that’s where you will excel. Singer Pearl Bailey said, “There are two kinds of talent, man-made and God-given talent. With man-made talent you have to work very hard. With God-given talent, you just touch it up once in a while.”
Paul writes, “God has…given each of us different gifts” (Romans 12:6 CEV). Would you rather fight to develop skills where you have a small natural gift, or run with the talent God has given you to find out where it takes you? Dreams don’t come true because you do something well every once in a while. They’re fulfilled because you perform with excellence day after day. And that happens only if you work within an area of strength.
You can’t be like the high school home-run hitter who received an invitation to spring training from a major league baseball team. After the first week, he emailed home to say, “Leading all batters. These pitchers aren’t so tough.” The second week he boasted, “Hitting .500. Looks like I’ll be starting in the infield.” The third week he wrote, “They’re starting to throw curveballs today. Will be home tomorrow.”
You can’t achieve success without consistency, and you can’t achieve consistency working outside your God-given strengths. It will take all the talent you have to achieve your God-given dream. Following that talent will give you the best chance to be consistently good at what you do. So the word for you today is – build on your strengths.
Soul food: Ecc 1-4; Luke 5:27-39; Ps 100; Pro 3:7-8
2022-01-24
Ephesians 5:7 NLT
Letting go of a person doesn’t mean you no longer love them; it just means the relationship is not right for you. How should you handle it?
(1) A gradual separation is sometimes the best solution. There are relationships you need to get out of for your own good. But because you have a cord to cut doesn’t mean that it should be ripped. Dissolving a relationship is stressful, so try to end it graciously. If the cord that binds you is constant phone calls, emails, and visits, that’s a good place to start.
(2) Don’t keep going back. Some of us are just so “nice” that we can’t end the relationship and move forward. We keep going back, second-guessing ourselves and reevaluating our decision. Make it one time, make it right, and make it decisive. Often people will come back to entice you by suggesting you were wrong the first time. That’s why you must resolve any doubt before you make the decision in the first place.
If you find yourself in a pattern of going back to old, unhealthy relationships, you may be drinking from the wrong well. You may be trying to fill an emptiness in your heart that only God can fill. When Jesus met the woman at the well, she had been through five failed marriages and was living with man number six. He told her: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14 NKJV).
Soul food: Gen 50; Haggai 1-2; Luke 5:12-26; Ps 96; Pro 3:5-6
