2022-01-23
Proverbs 13:20 NKJV
Not everyone who starts out with you is capable of going where God wants to take you. Sometimes they don’t have the emotional capacity required. Other times their vision differs from yours. So how can you know when it’s time to exit a relationship?
Avoid relationships that leave you depleted. This calls for establishing clear boundaries for the relationship up front. You don’t have time to spend your life straightening out misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and injured egos. How far are you willing to go? How much are you inclined to invest? When you overspend your budget, you go broke. Bankrupting yourself emotionally and physically to make someone else feel needed might sound noble, but it’s not. Emotionally and physically bankrupt people end up with everything from nervous breakdowns to extramarital affairs. And even when they don’t, they fail to reach their God-given destination in life because they’re dragging too much weight.
When you feel a relationship is not working, pause and take a look. View the situation objectively instead of emotionally, examining all the facets of it. Sometimes certain aspects of a relationship should be terminated, and other areas maintained. It’s possible to have relationships that work in one area but not in another. Compartmentalizing will save many important relationships because it requires you to see them in sections. It’s possible to remove a section and still have a lot left to enjoy. Yes, it takes work and communication, but it is often worth it. There may be common interests that need to be maintained, while others need to be invalidated before all is lost.
Soul food: Ezek 47:1-12; Rev 21:22-22:5
2022-01-22
Amos 3:3 NLT
Having the right relationships will help you to soar in life; they’re like the wind beneath your wings. But the wrong relationships will drag you down; they’re like a ball and chain around your feet. To know which relationships are good for you and which are not, here are three guidelines:
(1) When a relationship is not working, acknowledge it. Sometimes you must cut your losses. The old saying goes, “When you’re in a hole, stop digging!” Accept the fact that sometimes your efforts are not enough and that you can’t help everyone. Releasing someone doesn’t mean they will never get better; it just means that God is more qualified to help them than you are.
(2) There is a difference between helping someone and carrying them. This is particularly so when you’re dealing with a person who always turns to you for help and tries to make you feel guilty when you’re “not there” for them. Don’t try to be someone’s God. Your constant help may actually be a hindrance – you have become a crutch and an enabler. Step back and let them learn to walk on their own.
(3) Don’t allow your fear of criticism to restrain your common sense. Here is a fact of life that you must learn to live with: Not everyone will be pleased with you! The truth can hurt and often alienate, but it’s still the truth. There are times when you must “tell it like it is” and accept the consequences and disapproval. The only way to avoid criticism is to always say what everyone desires to hear, which is equal to living a lie in a relationship.
Soul food: Gen 47-49; Luke 5:1-11; Ps 91; Pro 3:3-4
2022-01-21
Psalm 90:1 NKJV
Even though the Israelites were God’s people, they “wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them” (Psalm 107:4-5 NKJV). If you feel that way today, perhaps your soul needs a “dwelling place.” A home where it’s at peace, secure, and nurtured; a place where you can lay down your worries, weariness, and frustrations. David said, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and…flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:2 NIV).
Good news! Jesus wants to be your home! He said, “Live in me. Make your home in me” (John 15:4 MSG). You can treat Him as an emergency shelter you run to in times of trouble, or you can live in Him. You say, “How do I make Jesus my ‘dwelling place?'” Think about it: if someone gave you the gift of a beautiful home, how would you enter it? You would check to make sure the giver was serious, inspect the paperwork, then pack up, move in, and enjoy it, right?
Jesus is serious when He invites you to live in Him. So by the act of faith, pack up and move in today. God said, “My people will live in peaceful places…in safe homes and…calm places of rest” (Isaiah 32:18 NCV). The English poet Hartley Coleridge penned these insightful words about faith: “It is an affirmation and an act, that bids eternal truth be present fact” (emphasis added). The spoken Word of God is powerful! So when you get up every morning, make this your affirmation: “Today, God is my dwelling place!”
Soul food: Gen 44-46; Luke 4:31-44; Ps 89:38-52; Pro 3:1-2
2022-01-20
Proverbs 14:17 NIV
When a person loses his or her temper, one of the most common expressions used to describe their reaction is “flying off the handle.” The phrase refers to the head of a hammer coming loose from the handle as you attempt to use it. And several not-so-good things happen as a consequence.
(1) The hammer becomes useless. Your message may be all-important, but the manner in which you deliver it determines whether or not you get the results you desire. Simply stated, when people don’t take you seriously, you don’t get the outcome you hoped for.
(2) The hammer head does damage. By flying out of control, it’s likely to damage anything in its path. Words spoken in anger cause wounds, and sometimes those wounds can last a lifetime. James writes: “Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger” (James 1:19-20 MSG).
(3) Repairing both the hammer and the damage may take a long time. In some cases, it simply can’t be done. Here are some Scriptures to keep in mind before you vent your spleen. Again, “A quick-tempered person does foolish things.” “Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil” (Psalm 37:8 NIV). “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11 NIV). “Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9 NIV).
So the word for you today is – “Don’t fly off the handle.”
Soul food: Gen 42-43; Luke 4:14-30; Ps 89:15-37; Pro 2:21-22
2022-01-19
Ezekiel 36:26 NKJV
Cyprian, a wealthy noble who lived during the Third Century, enjoyed galloping about Carthage in his gold and bejeweled chariot. He wore fancy clothes studded with diamonds and precious stones and lived a debauched life. In a letter to one of the Christian theologians of his time, Cyprian said he couldn’t possibly conceive how he could change his life – the life he had lived for so long. The inveterate habits, tastes, and desires that he had developed, the sins he clutched to his bosom, how could he possibly give these things up? How could he ever become like the Christians he saw? He said it seemed to him to be an utterly impossible thing.
Yet in the mysterious providence and grace of God, that which seemed utterly impossible came to pass and Cyprian was transformed. God reached down and took out of Cyprian’s breast that stony heart and placed within him a heart of flesh – a heart tuned to love his God and sing his praises. Cyprian, who later became one of the great Christian leaders of the early church, said things that before had seemed utterly impossible, mysterious, and difficult to understand had all become plain. All his problems had disappeared.
You say, “But I don’t understand the new birth.” The good news is you don’t have to. You just have to trust in Christ and be born again. All kinds of people – the great and the mighty, the base and the low, the noble and ignoble, the savage and the sophisticate – have experienced the regenerating power of God and enjoyed a new life in Christ. And you can too.
Soul food: Gen 40-41; Luke 4:1-13; Ps 89:1-14; Pro 2:20
2022-01-18
Proverbs 13:18 NIV
When someone corrects you, be teachable and not unreachable. “Let every man be quick to listen but slow to use his tongue, and slow to lose his temper” (James 1:19 PHPS). If you do the first two things, the third one naturally falls into place. If you are quick to listen and slow to answer back, you’re going to be slow to lose your temper. “Whoever heeds correction is honored.” So use your ears more than your mouth, and be willing to accept correction.
The wisest people have a “teach me” attitude and are willing to learn from others. You can learn from anyone, if you just know the right questions to ask. It is important that you never stop asking questions, because the moment you’re through learning in life, you’re through! Period! Be teachable, not unreachable.
Husband, can you learn from your wife, or does that threaten you? When she makes a suggestion, do you get defensive? Do you take every comment as a threat to your manhood? Wife, can you learn from your husband? Parent, can you learn from your children? If you want to end up lonely in life, never admit your mistakes, never learn from anyone, and never let anyone teach you anything. How long has it been since you admitted to your spouse, “Honey, I was wrong; it was my fault”? Some people haven’t said that in years.
The Bible says, “Humbly accept the word planted in you” (James 1:21 NIV). The word “humble” here means “gentle.” When you approach God’s Word, you ought to approach it with a gentle, or humble, attitude that says, “Lord, I’m willing to be taught.”
Soul food: Gen 37-39; Luke 3:21-38; Ps 84; Pro 2:16-19
