2021-04-20
Colossians 4:6 NKJV
The Chinese Christian leader Watchman Nee devoted a chapter in his book The Normal Christian Worker to watching what you say and how you say it. “Because of unrestrained speech, the usefulness of many Christian workers is seriously curtailed. Instead of being powerful instruments in the Lord’s service, their ministry makes little impact on account of the constant leakage of power through their careless talk.”
Paul writes, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt.” That means when you speak, make sure it’s in good taste. And the look on your face and the tone of your voice can determine whether a person receives or resents what you’re saying.
Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul’s words this way: “Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out” (MSG). Again Paul writes, “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT). So before you speak, check your attitude and ask yourself, “What frame of mind am I in right now?” And don’t stop with that question. Ask yourself also, “Will what I’m about to say help or hurt, clarify or confuse, make me feel better or the other person feel better?”
Acknowledging his propensity to say the wrong thing, David prayed, “Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil” (Psalm 141:3-4 NLT). It’s not enough to be talented in life; to succeed in life, you must speak wisely.
Soul food: Dan 8-10; Mark 3:1-6; Ps 103:13-22; Prov 10:14
2021-04-19
1 Chronicles 29:14 NKJV
Generous people are always comfortable talking about money, and they are even more comfortable giving it. Self-centered people obsess over keeping what they have, and how to get even more. That’s why Jesus, who was the most generous person in history, spoke so much about money. He understood its source, its use, and who owns it all. Sixteen of his thirty-eight parables deal with how to handle money and possessions. In the four Gospels, one out of every ten verses deals with the subject. The Bible has five hundred verses on prayer, roughly the same amount on faith, but over two thousand on money and possessions. Is God trying to tell you something? If so, what?
It’s this: Everything you have came from God! So you’re not an owner, but an administrator of His estate. That means when He taps you on the shoulder and says, “Give to this person or to that cause,” you don’t argue or rationalize but say, “Yes, Lord!”
After raising the money to build the temple, David prayed: “Both riches and honour come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You” (vv. 12-14 NKJV).
When you give to God, you are just giving back to your supplier.
Soul food: Dan 5-7; Mark 2:23-28; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 10:13
2021-04-18
Psalm 55:22 AMPC
After preaching about taking our worries to God in prayer, a lady approached the great preacher G. Campbell Morgan and said, “I don’t bother God with little things; I only take the big ones to Him.” Morgan replied, “My dear lady, everything we take to God is little.”
The Bible says, “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you.” God knows you’re not built to carry the weight of worry, so He invites you to give it to Him today. Anything that’s big enough to be a source of anxiety should be turned into a prayer.
Peter writes: “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully” (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). Note the word “casting.” That’s the opposite of “carrying!” The moment you recognize that a worry is beginning to weigh you down, “cast” it on the Lord, knowing “He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”
Now if He was a distant God who didn’t care about you, you would have reason to worry. Or if He was a weak God who couldn’t do anything about it, you would have reason to worry. The truth is, it’s as you give your worries to God that you discover how big He really is. The songwriter Joseph Scriven put it this way: “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Soul food: 2 Ki 6:8-23; Matt 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-36
2021-04-17
Romans 8:16-17 NKJV
When our Favourite sports team wins, we say, “We won!” What do you mean “we?” You weren’t on the field. You didn’t get tackled. You didn’t throw or kick the ball. You didn’t even score a single goal. What do you mean “we” won? You mean that because the team you support and identify with won, you won too.
There’s an important spiritual truth here for you as the redeemed child of God. When Jesus died, you died with Him. When Jesus arose, you arose with Him to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). The difference between you and the team that won is that you will never actually be part of it. But when Jesus won at the cross and you accepted Him as your Saviour, God positioned you “in Christ.” Today He sees you clothed in the righteousness of Christ (See 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Paul explains it this way: “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” Did you get that? As a redeemed child of God, you are an “heir” of everything your heavenly Father owns. And it gets better; you’re also “a joint heir with Christ,” meaning that whatever Jesus is entitled to, you are also entitled to.
When you understand this truth and begin to walk according to it, you start to identify and claim the blessings God has promised you in His Word. These blessings include such things as grace, forgiveness, healing, provision, guidance, strength, etc. Your identity in Christ entitles you to all these things.
Soul food: Dan 3-4; Mark 2:18-22; Ps 130; Prov 10:12
2021-04-16
Isaiah 42:9 NKJV
The same people who declared Jephthah “persona non grata” were the same ones who turned to him for help when they were threatened by a powerful enemy.
So here’s lesson one: Other people don’t determine your future, God does! The Israelites were living in slavery when God made them this promise: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope'” (Jeremiah 29:11 TLB). God’s plan for you will prevail over every other plan.
Here’s lesson two: A unity walk requires unity talk. Jephthah immediately embraced the new relationship. “Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: ‘What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?'” (Judges 11:12 NIV). Note the words “me” and “my country.” He put the hurts of his past behind him and fully embraced the cause. One author writes: “He was ready to walk in unity. And a unity walk requires unity talk. You would be surprised at the impact unity talk will have on your attitude and relationships. You’ll find yourself being less critical of others once you make such “team talk” a habit.”
That doesn’t mean you’ll always see eye to eye on every issue. It just means the cause and the vision you share are greater and more important than your differences of thought and opinion. The Bible says, “Make every effort [you’ve got to work at it] to keep yourselves united in the Spirit [not necessarily in opinion], binding yourselves together with peace” (Ephesians 4:3 NLT).
Soul food: Dan 1-2; Mark 2:13-17; Ps 127; Prov 10:11
2021-04-15
Matthew 3:8 NLT
When Israel’s leaders turned to Jephthah for help, they were in distress and wanted to “use” him. So Jephthah said, in essence, “Let’s get an understanding of the type of relationship we’re going to have.” At that point, he negotiated with them and ended up in a top leadership spot.
When your trust has been violated, you need to forgive. By doing so, you set yourself free. But you must exercise wisdom in how to move forward. God doesn’t expect you to put yourself in a position to be hurt again. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the guy who went to the doctor with a severe burn on his right ear. He explained, “I was ironing and watching television when the phone rang, and I picked up the iron instead of the phone.” Puzzled, the doctor said, “But how did you get the burn on your left ear?” The man exclaimed, “Because he called back!”
Bottom line: when you’ve been “burned” by someone, be careful about putting yourself in a position to be burned over and over again. Forgiveness must be immediate, but trust must be earned. Your offender must show the fruit of repentance – consistent behavior that gives evidence that he or she has had a change of heart. Jesus said, “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.”
You need two things: grace and wisdom. Grace means extending to others the same forgiveness that God has extended to you. Wisdom means knowing what kind of relationship you can have with that person in the future.
Soul food: Phil 1-4; Mark 2:1-12; Ps 43; Prov 10:10
