2021-05-08
Matthew 25:23 NIV
To succeed in life you need thick skin when it comes to handling criticism. It’s what separates those who say they want success from those who are prepared to pay for it. For example, if you’ve been praying for a mate to share your life, ask yourself if you’re prepared for the sacrifice and responsibility that comes with marriage. Are you stable? Are you unselfish? Are you mature enough to provide for a family? Or if you’re asking God to increase your business, are you providing outstanding service to your existing clients? Someone quipped: “A peacock that rests on its feathers is just another turkey!”
Sometimes we’re in love with the image of success, but we haven’t counted the actual cost of succeeding. It’s a good thing God doesn’t automatically give us everything we ask for. Often we want something because it looks good in someone else’s life. But God in His wisdom knows that right now it would hurt us because we’re not mature enough to handle it.
God tests us with what we have, in order to develop our consistency and strength. He observes how we handle the pressures that accompany the blessings He’s already given us. He wants to bring us to the place where we’re impervious to adversity; where we’ve learned to appreciate the giver more than His gifts. When we reach that point, we’ll hear Him say, “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (v. 23 NIV). Those words will make everything you’ve been through worthwhile.
Soul food: Num 30:1-32:24; Mark 7:24-37; Ps 44:9-16; Prov 11:10-11
2021-05-07
John 4:35 NIV
Jesus said, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’?…open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Someone close to you today may be in desperate need of God’s love. Wouldn’t it be worth risking rejection to find that one who’s ready and willing to respond? The fact is, you may be the only Christian they will meet – or meet today. So if you don’t tell them, who will? Generally speaking, there are five reasons we don’t share our faith more often.
(1) We think it’s the preacher’s job to do it (See Acts 1:8).
(2) We aren’t certain about our own salvation (See 1 John 5:13).
(3) We’re afraid of being rejected (See Luke 12:8-9).
(4) We’ve never taken personal responsibility for learning how to share our faith (See 1 Peter 3:15).
(5) Our love for Christ has grown cold (See Revelation 2:4-5).
Josh McDowell tells of a corporate headhunter who liked to get potential executives relaxed, then look them square in the eye and ask about their purpose in life. Most were shocked and fell apart under the question. One day after talking for a while to a man named Bob, the headhunter leaned over, looked into his eyes and said, “And what’s your purpose in life?” Without blinking, Bob replied, “To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.” The headhunter said, “For the first time in my career I was speechless.”
Today someone’s eternal destiny may rest on your willingness to share God’s love with them. That’s your God-given assignment – so tell them about Jesus.
Soul food: Num 27-29; Mark 7:14-23; Ps 44:1-8; Prov 11:9
2021-05-06
Matthew 25:21 NIV
When you stand at the judgment seat of Christ, you’ll have one final opportunity to hear the word “good”: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Note, He doesn’t say well thought, or well intentioned, but well done! You’ll be rewarded for what you do. On that day, God will zero in on your actions, not your opinions or intentions.
Goodness should be the last thing you think about when you go to bed and the first thing you think about when you wake. The Bible says, “Even small children are known by their actions, so is their conduct really pure and upright?” (Proverbs 20:11 NIV). You know what you’re really like on the inside, but the only you others see is from the outside.
One Christian leader writes: “Talk is cheap. No matter how much you claim to be a good person, the only public measuring stick is your actions. You may think that by being good you’re not doing a lot of good. But never underestimate the power of even one person to exert tremendous influence by simply doing the right thing, at the right place, and at the right time.”
Mother Teresa always shied away from the limelight. She saw herself as a servant, not a star. Her greatest desire wasn’t to be famous, but to be faithful. As a result, she ended up touching the lives of multitudes even though her only thought was to help the next hurting person. Among her Favourite Scriptures were these words given to us by Christ: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these…of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NIV). So today, seek to do good.
Soul food: Num 25-26; Mark 7:1-13; Ps 37:32-40; Prov 11:7-8
2021-05-05
Proverbs 11:3 MSG
Did you know there’s a correlation between goodness and the national economy? A Christian author writes that when, in public and private life, “lying, laziness, irresponsibility, dishonesty, and corruption become commonplace, the national economy grinds down.”
A society that produces white-collar criminals and blue-collar predators shells out hundreds of dollars a day to keep offenders incarcerated. A society with rampant drug abuse has to pay for drug treatment centers. Broken families mean more foster homes, and more students who drop out of school, who can’t hold down a job, and who get locked into generational cycles of welfare. The less goodness there is, the more the government has to intervene – and the higher the cost to society. Just as moral goodness leads to tremendous economic and financial benefits, the collapse of morality comes with an enormous financial and economic price tag.
You say, “But I’m only one person, what can I do?” Jesus answers, “Let your light…shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16 NKJV). St. Francis of Assisi said, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” Instead of complaining about the darkness, let your light shine wherever you go. John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”
If every redeemed child of God lived by that formula, we could turn society upside down – or right side up.
Soul food: Num 22-24; Mark 6:45-56; Ps 37:25-31; Prov 11:5-6
2021-05-03
1 Corinthians 9:26 MSG
Long-distance runners don’t just focus on speed, but on endurance. They pace themselves so that as they approach the finish line, they can pull out all the stops. Paul said, “I’m running hard for the finish line…giving it everything I’ve got…I’m not going to get caught…telling everyone else…then missing out myself” (vv. 26-27 MSG).
For long-distance runners, quitting isn’t an option. Despite delays and disappointments along the way, they know they’ll never be satisfied sitting on the sidelines cheering for those who’ve paid the price to run the race. So if you’re the kind of person who longs to fulfill your God-ordained purpose in life – give it everything you’ve got. Go for it, and don’t forget that Jesus said, “Great gifts mean great responsibilities” (Luke 12:48 MSG). It’s one thing to achieve success; it’s another thing to handle the pressures that go along with it. “Jesus…finished this race…Because he never lost sight of where he was headed…he could put up with anything” (Hebrews 12:2 MSG).
Having something great to look forward to enables you to endure. And God will expose you to opposition and criticism to strengthen your character; that way when greater blessings and responsibilities come, you’ll be able to handle them. Success is only possible when you have a passion to cross the finish line.
So the question is, can you pay the price? When the pressure is on, can you stand up like Nehemiah when he rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls and tell your opponents this: “My work is too important to stop” (Nehemiah 6:3 CEV)? If your answer is yes, fix your eye on the goal and run to the finish line.
Soul food: Num 16-18; Mark 6:14-29; Ps 37:8-15; Prov 11:3
2021-05-02
Psalm 56:9-11 CEV
The approval of others is something we all enjoy, but you don’t need it in order to have self-worth. In fact, people pleasing will cause you to lose self-worth. You turn yourself inside out for others, and just when you think you’ve succeeded, they change their minds. Besides robbing you of your peace of mind, people pleasing makes it impossible to follow God’s direction – and that ultimately is your greatest loss.
If you’re a people pleaser, changing the habits of a lifetime won’t be easy. It will require facing what you fear and asking God for the courage to follow through. David said, “I know…you are with me….I…am not afraid. No one can harm me.”
When it comes to people pleasing, you must understand two things: (1) Breaking the cycle means risking rejection by saying no when others expect to hear yes. When the people in your life are used to meek, compliant responses, they’ll react negatively until they get used to “the new you.” Navigating these waters will be intimidating at first, but is it really any worse than living your life in fear of other people’s reactions?
(2) You may have to explain to others that in the past you sought their approval because you felt insecure, but that’s no longer the case. The important thing is to act now!
Breaking any habit involves temporary discomfort, but your only other option is to spend your life feeling trapped. You can choose to suffer short term on the way to freedom, or long term by continuing to engage in the struggle to please others. Today make the right choice.
Soul food: 2 Ki 5:1-27; Matt 6:19-34; Acts 5:1-11
