2021-04-14
Judges 11:1 NKJV
Jephthah was the illegitimate son of a man called Gilead. His mother was a prostitute. He grew up in the household of Gilead’s other legitimate sons who later chased him away. “‘You will not get any of our father’s inheritance,’ they said” (v. 2 NLT). So he ended up living in a cave.
While there, he took a band of misfits and rebels and developed them into a great army. When the Ammonites threatened Israel, the elders turned to him for help. “But Jephthah said to them: ‘Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble?’ ‘Because we need you,’ the elders replied. ‘If you lead us in battle against the Ammonites, we will make you ruler over all the people of Gilead'” (vv.7-8 NLT).
Not only did Jephthah lead them to victory, he’s named with honour in the Bible along with people like Abraham, Moses, and David. His life is rich with lessons. Here’s an important one: Rejection can be part of God’s plan for your life. Jephthah was rejected for reasons beyond his control – he was illegitimate. But instead of growing bitter, he moved on and did something good with his life.
Perhaps you’ve been rejected because you were old, young, intelligent, dumb, pretty, ugly, privileged, poor, attractive, unattractive, male, female, white, black, etc. By God’s grace Jephthah took an ugly situation and turned it into a beautiful one. And if you’ll turn your situation over to God today, the same grace is available to you.
Soul food: Lev 26-27; Mark 1:40-45; Ps 56; Prov 10:8-9
2021-04-13
2 Peter 3:18 NLT
How do we overcome past hurts in relationships? How do two people combine separate and unique perspectives to create a satisfying and loving relationship?
There’s a very special ingredient called “grace” that must be added to the mix. It calls for extending to the other person the same grace that God extends to you. It bandages broken people and permits the defeated to develop winning ways to escape their pasts. It gives strength to those who struggle to be functional in areas where historically they’ve been dysfunctional.
Grace restores the heart and resolves the troubles of a tormented spirit. It is loving-kindness and forgiveness. It’s the Favour of God. And as He bestows it on us, we should extend it to those who need our compassion and love. We are all broken in certain areas, and we need to learn to accept that and help mend the brokenness in others.
Peter didn’t believe he was capable of denying his Lord. He swore he would never do it. But Jesus not only predicted it, He promised to pray for him until he was fully restored (See Luke 22:32). And we are called to do that too; to extend to other imperfect people the same love and grace that has been shown to us.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other” (2 Thessalonians 1:3 NKJV). Then Peter adds, “You must grow in…grace.” And it’s a process, so you’ve got to work at it!
Soul food: Lev 23:26-25:55; Mark 1:35-39; Ps 50:16-23; Prov 10:4-7
2021-04-12
Acts 2:39 KJV
Every family has unique and different strengths. And you can give an inheritance to your children by passing on the values, insight, and love that got your family as far as it is today. Having a sense of your history can inspire in them a desire to perpetuate the greatness. You need to tell them how you made it over your Jordan River and into your promised land. You need to pass on the generational blessings that helped your family for years.
It is necessary to highlight each family member’s gifts. There’s something in each person that makes him or her stand out from all the others. All of us have special talents, and all of us want to hear what we do well. We need to recognize and verbalize the uniqueness of each member. We need to emphasize that while we may be part of a great family, we’re not restricted by our heritage; we have the freedom and ability to exercise our own individual gifts.
Inspire your family to be proud of where they came from, where they are, and where they can go. Our past binds us together, but it’s the individual members utilizing their unique gifts and fulfilling their particular roles that make a family resilient and give it a strong future in the promises of God. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children.”
Don’t be the last link in the chain. Don’t let it end with you. Take the blessings God has deposited in you and pass them on to your children – and to your grandchildren as well.
Soul food: Lev 21:1-23:25; Mark 1:29-34; Ps 50:1-15; Prov 10:3
2021-04-11
Philippians 2:3 NKJV
You can learn to love and accept someone, without necessarily agreeing with their opinions and endorsing their actions or lifestyle. An important key is learning to see people as individuals. The more we realize that despite certain differences we’re all human and all created by our Father in His image, the freer we become to focus on our common needs. When we don’t understand someone else’s motives, views, or personality, it’s easy to assume the worst about them and project irritation and anger.
Communication and trust go a long way toward increasing our patience and understanding toward those who do things differently from us. You can provide these two things in a relationship by simply asking the right questions. Too often we’re afraid to ask someone where they’re coming from, or what the problem is. Or when we do ask, we do it in a way that only increases the fear and hostility the other person is experiencing. If we ask with kindness, or at least in a respectful and gracious manner, we free the person to open up and we get to know them better. Keeping a sense of humor can help smooth things out if there’s discord or conflict. Such a constructive exchange builds trust, which increases the probability for more and better communication between the two of you.
The Bible sets the bar high when it comes to loving and accepting others: Paul says, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT).
Soul food: 2 Chr 7:12-16; Matt 6:5-15; Luke 18:1-8
2021-04-10
Romans 8:32 NKJV
George Müller is considered to be one of the spiritual giants of the church. Do yourself a Favour and read his life-story. Faced time and time again with overwhelming needs, he turned to God in prayer, claiming His promises and experiencing amazing miracles. But great faith does not come overnight; it comes over a lifetime of walking with God.
Müller said: “My faith is the same faith which is found in every believer. It has been increased little by little for the last twenty-six years. Many times when I would have gone insane from worry, I was at peace because my soul believed the truth of God’s promises. God’s Word, together with the whole character of God as He has revealed Himself, settles all questions. His unchangeable love and His infinite wisdom calmed me. I knew, ‘God is able and willing to deliver me.’ It is written, ‘He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?'”
You say, “How do I get this kind of faith?” The Bible says, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Just as a daily diet of good nutrition strengthens you physically, so do reading, meditating, studying, verbalizing, and standing on God’s Word each day strengthen you spiritually. The “secret” of successful Christian living is not a secret at all – just get into God’s Word and get God’s Word into you. You can’t avoid anxiety-producing situations in life, but when your faith is strong you can overcome them.
Soul food: Lev 18-20; Mark 1:21-28; Ps 25:16-22; Prov 10:2
2021-04-09
2 Corinthians 11:3 NLT
Have you heard of the velvet ant? It has a coat of tiny hairs that feel smooth and velvety. But it’s all a disguise. It isn’t an ant at all, but a wingless wasp with a nasty sting. After injecting its victims with a venom, it lays eggs in their incapacitated bodies.
One of Paul’s greatest concerns was that, after being saved by grace, the churches would go back to living under the Old Testament law. He constantly warned them about basing their salvation and their relationship with God on their own performance. “I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed” (vv. 3-4 NLT). Another Jesus! Another spirit! Another gospel! Again Paul warns, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (v. 14 NLT).
Yes, your work for God on earth determines your rewards in heaven. But only by trusting in the finished work of Christ will you get to heaven. No one in heaven will say, “Look what Jesus and I did!” Legalism will not only infect you, it will incapacitate you. Scottish minister Horatius Bonar wrote, “Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another’s life, another’s death, I stake my whole eternity.” How do you protect yourself against “the sting” of legalism? By depending on God’s grace alone.
Soul food: Lev 15-17; Mark 1:14-20; Ps 25:8-15; Prov 10:1
