2021-04-26
Zechariah 14:21 KJV
Holiness should always be “unto the Lord.” Any time we make it “unto men,” it’s wrong and misguided because it’s just pride and pretense. Jesus condemned the Pharisees not for their acts of piety, but because they performed them to impress others. Not only did they live by a long list of religious “do’s and don’ts,” they also kept a scorecard on others who didn’t live up to their list and denounced them for it.
Some of us grew up in homes and churches that did this, and when the word “holiness” is mentioned, we squirm and think of Christians with somber faces and pointed fingers of accusation. That’s not Bible holiness, that’s legalism! And God hates it, and the Bible condemns it.
To understand what true holiness is, think of the word “contamination.” It’s one of every hospital’s greatest concerns. It’s why doctors in an operating room insist that their surgical instruments be constantly sterilized; caps, gowns, and gloves worn; and the environment in the room maintained at a temperature where germs can’t live. Are you getting the picture? Now adjust the lens a little bit, and you’ll see the spiritual application.
True holiness does not isolate you from the world, it insulates you from its contaminants. Paul corrected the Corinthian church for their approach to the communion table: “In eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk” (1 Corinthians 11:21 NKJV). So Paul addresses their spiritually sloppy, anything-goes attitude. “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep [have died]” (v. 30 NKJV). What’s the answer? “Holiness – unto the Lord!”
Soul food: Num 3:1-4:33; Mark 4:26-41; Ps 144:9-15; Prov 10:22-23
2021-04-25
Psalm 51:4 NKJV
We need a new way of looking at sin; a fresh understanding of it. John Ortberg writes: “All sin involves denial. It carries with it a certain moral myopia – nearsightedness.” And the only way to see it clearly is through the eyes of the One we’ve sinned against. The psalmist prayed, “Against You, You only, have I sinned.”
A Christian college professor put it like this: “I’m nice to my students; respectful to my colleagues; love my family; don’t steal, commit adultery, use drugs or swear; and I floss regularly. But when I look at myself honestly, I see that I harbor bitterness, hoard my time, and resent others intruding on me. I’m vain and consumed with how others perceive me. I wrestle with my sexuality and have strayed with my eyes and my heart. I pretend to listen, but I don’t. I think more about being great than being good. I act more spiritual than I am. I’m a mess – broken in every way – and my only hope is God’s mercy.”
When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne, he cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:5 NKJV). Then an angel took a burning coal from the altar and touched his lips, saying, “Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged” (v. 7 NKJV).
The realization of our sinfulness can be as gentle as a nudge, or it can knock us down with hurricane force. What’s important is how we respond. Regardless of how often you’ve fallen or how badly you’ve failed, today God extends to you His grace, and a chance to begin again if you’re willing to accept it.
Soul food: 2 Ki 6:1-7; Matt 14:22-33
2021-04-24
John 12:24 NLT
Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels.” Someone has estimated that one kernel of wheat will produce a stalk bearing three heads of wheat. In each head there are fifteen to thirty-five kernels, altogether producing close to a hundred kernels from a stalk. After they are planted, these kernels will produce ten thousand kernels. When those are replanted, they will produce a million kernels. And if you keep going, you will cover the whole earth with wheat!
It’s amazing what one person can do when they commit their life to Christ and start where they are. D.L. Moody once said, “The world has yet to see what God can do through a man who is yielded to him.” He decided to be that person and ended up impacting the world for Christ.
When Peter, James, and John met Jesus, their goal in life was to make a living. Then Jesus invited them to follow Him and make a difference. And today He’s inviting you to do the same thing. He’s inviting you to find a need that no one is meeting and give yourself to it. He’s asking you to find a cause greater than self-interest, namely His cause, and pour your life into it. When Jesus asked the disciples to leave their jobs and their security, He was turning their world upside down. But when they said yes to Him, they became so successful that their enemies accused them of “turning the world upside down” (See Acts 17:6).
Soul food: Num 1-2; Mark 4:13-25; Ps 144:1-8; Prov 10:19-21
2021-04-23
Philippians 3:10 MSG
One pastor tells of a lady who was battling a weight problem. She had tried just about every diet there was, but her weight kept fluctuating up and down. A few months passed without him seeing her at church. Then one Sunday she appeared, and he was shocked. He barely recognized her because she had lost so much weight. How did it happen? She had met a man and fallen in love! She explained to the pastor that they were going to get married and that she wanted to look her best for him in her wedding dress.
There’s an important lesson here. When your approach to Christian living is based on rule keeping, you’ll find that it’s a hard, up-and-down road to travel. But not when your approach is relationship based. This woman was able to conquer what had plagued her for years because she had developed a relationship and was seeking his pleasure.
Intimacy with Christ brings power. It also brings joy. That’s why Paul wrote: “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself.”
How close to the Lord are you today? Would you like to get closer? You can; He’s just waiting for you to make the first move. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8 NKJV). How do you draw near to God? By “giving up all that inferior stuff,” and making it your life’s goal to know Christ intimately.
Soul food: Jam 3-5; Mark 4:1-12; Ps 7:10-17; Prov 10:17-18
2021-04-22
Jonah 2:10 NKJV
Some folks question the story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale and living to tell about it. Here are two reasons you should believe it:
First, because Jesus did. “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 NKJV).
But here’s a second reason for believing the story. In 1891 off the Falkland Islands, two fishing boats encountered a huge sperm whale. The first boat shot harpoons into it, while the other boat came around to do the same thing from the other side. The whale’s tail hit it and knocked it over. There were two men on that boat. One drowned, and the other was not found. Two days later, a few other boats found the same sperm whale and killed it. They brought the whale to the shore and slit it open, and guess what they found? The second man. He was unconscious but still alive, and after care, resumed his life.
Dr. Tony Evans comments: “The miracle is not that a fish swallowed a man, because that has happened before. The miracle is that the fish paid attention to the Lord.” You say, “What has any of this got to do with me?” Simply this; when you turn to God for help and He speaks to you, supernatural things begin to happen on your behalf. Jesus said, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24 NKJV).
Soul food: Jam 1-2; Mark 3:20-35; Ps 7:1-9; Prov 10:16
2021-04-21
2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV
Paul writes: “We make it our aim…to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (vv. 9-10 NKJV). If you are wise, you will live each day with this truth uppermost in your mind. You’ll have a “preparation perspective!”
Think about it this way: You don’t just wake up one morning and say, “I’ve decided to be a lawyer, or a doctor, or an accountant, etc.”; no, you make that decision many years earlier, and then you work toward it. Now let’s be clear. As a Christian, you’re not working to earn your salvation, but to earn your reward in heaven. Salvation is the foundation you build on, and the Bible says, “No one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11 NLT).
Then Paul goes on to say: “Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials – gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames” (vv. 12-15 NLT).
When you stand before Christ, you have two options – rewards or regrets. So get a “preparation perspective.”
Soul food: Dan 11-12; Mark 3:7-19; Ps 16; Prov 10:15
