2021-04-03
1 Corinthians 15:17 NKJV
Fox News reported that a professor in Florida told his students to write the name Jesus on a sheet of paper, put the paper on the floor, and stomp on it. All of the students did – except one! Out of love and loyalty to Jesus, he said he wouldn’t do it. Even when threatened with dismissal, he refused to submit.
This leads us to ask the question, “Why would a teacher, even an atheist, do such a thing?” Answer: Because sometimes we fight what we fear. It’s called “living in denial.”
Think about it: Hatred and resentment normally end at the grave because the person is dead and no longer has any power over you. So why then do some people still hate Jesus? Fear! Deep down they fear He’s alive and that His influence in the world is growing. And His influence will continue to grow! “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9 NKJV).
The historical truth of Christ’s resurrection is beyond dispute to any honest, open mind. But the greatest proof of His resurrection can be seen in changed lives. Paul writes: “You have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by the same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:10-11 NLT). Songwriter Alfred Ackley put it this way: “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.”
Soul food: Num 21:4-9; Matt 27:51-66; Ps 69:7-21; Deut 21:22-23
2021-04-02
Colossians 1:20 MSG
Carolyn Arends writes: “Easter Sunday is the Christian faith’s gold medal victory lap…the Happily Ever After…But here’s the rub: I dread Good Friday…images of torture and suffering…somber music…the terrible recollected cry, ‘My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ Left to my own devices, I’d probably skip Good Friday. But…if I did, Easter morning would become increasingly hollow. I’d forget how much my salvation cost….I’d start to believe that you can have victory without sacrifice…that you don’t have to die [to self] to live the resurrection. I’d buy the lie that Christ’s…victory over death – and my decision to follow him – means life will be trouble-free…The biblical writers…encourage us to consider suffering…an opportunity to identify with Christ…to take up his cross. Yet…when the job is lost, or the tumor is malignant, or the friendship is betrayed, we grieve not only the wound but also the fact that we can be wounded. We feel…Jesus has let us down. We don’t consider it ‘pure joy.’…We consider it failure….So how do we become Easter Sunday Christians? When I’m expecting Easter Sunday and I get Good Friday…[I try] to remember that God’s definition of ‘good’…far exceeds my own…that almost all the new beginnings…have come from what felt…like terrible endings….What seems like a small (but devastating) death is actually a chance at new life….We must be…broken…to grow into what we were made to be.”
If you’re struggling to see the “good” in your situation, hear this: “He was supreme in the beginning and – leading the resurrection parade – he is supreme in the end….Not only that, but all the broken…dislocated pieces…people and things…get properly fixed and fit together…because of his death” (vv. 18-20 MSG).
Soul food: Gen 22:1-18; Matt 26:69-27:50; Ps 22; Isa 53
2021-04-01
Malachi 2:6 NKJV
From the very first chapter of Genesis, it’s clear that a relationship with God is the foundation upon which everything in our lives must be built. If we try to build on anything else, we’re building on quicksand. Why? Because sooner or later our relationship with our children, our siblings, our spouse, our parents, and our friends will break down.
If we don’t understand that we were created with an intense hunger for a relationship with God, we won’t understand where the inner void and loneliness come from. And as a result, we’ll try (unsuccessfully) to fill it with three things:
(1) People. Having the right person in your life can help fulfill your need for love and emotional intimacy, but no one other than God can fill the spiritual emptiness within you.
(2) Things. Having material things can give us comfort and convenience. Having money can give us options to do good; options the less fortunate can only dream of. But you can have material things and still be lonely and unhappy.
(3) Religion. God’s not interested in religion; He’s interested in having a relationship with you. Religion only becomes significant when it enhances that relationship, which it doesn’t always do. Oftentimes religious rules and regulations become a deterrent to a relationship with God. The Bible is filled with religious people who missed connecting with God altogether. Sometimes we’re so preoccupied with our religious ideologies, teachings, doctrines, and principles that we fail to understand that what really matters most in life is a personal, intimate, daily, talking-and-listening relationship with God.
Soul food: Lev 1-4; Matt 26:47-68; Ps 31; Prov 8:34-36
2021-03-31
James 1:2 MSG
It takes a long time and an incredible amount of pressure to turn a worthless piece of carbon into a valuable diamond. That’s why James writes: “Consider it a sheer gift…when tests and challenges come at you from all sides…under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way” (vv. 2-4 MSG).
Once you grasp that scriptural truth, whenever your life is interrupted by problems or circumstances you didn’t anticipate, you’ll begin to see God’s hand at work in all of it. The truth is that you’re either in a trial right now, just coming out of one, or heading toward the next one. James talks about “various trials” (v. 2 NAS); they come in every conceivable variety. Like the letters you get in your mailbox, some are addressed simply to “The Occupant.”
Will Rogers once read a newspaper headline that said, “Innocent Bystander Shot in New York.” He quipped, “How about that? All you have to do to get shot in New York is be innocent and stand by!” That’s how it is with life’s trials. Just stand by – and you’ll get hit. But the fact remains that it takes adversity to produce spiritual maturity. It can’t come any other way. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV). Jesus was an overcomer, and because He lives in you today, you can be an overcomer too.
Soul food: 2 Thes 1-3; Matt 26:30-46; Ps 6; Prov 8:32-33
2021-03-30
Job 23:10 NIV
Job lost his family and his fortune in a single day. Yet, looking back he wrote, “When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” It takes much more heat to produce gold than it does to produce tin. So which of the two do you want to be? To enjoy the blessing God has in mind for you, you’ve got to pass life’s tests.
In the early days of television programming, schedules were routinely interrupted by a thirty-second test of “The Emergency Broadcast System.” And those tests are a lot like the ones that come into our lives – unscheduled…unwelcome…and they always seem to come at the worst possible time. But unlike television test patterns, life’s tests don’t last for thirty seconds then go away. No, they can last for weeks, years, and in some cases, for a lifetime. And the reason why may never be completely clear to you.
However, there’s an aspect of the test you can control – how you respond to it. The truth is, tests are an invaluable, integral, and indispensable part of your spiritual growth. Without them you’ll never grow and mature as much as you need to. And it’s how you handle your “tests” that decides your “testimony.”
Paul writes: “Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace…more and more praise! So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside…not a day goes by without his unfolding grace” (2 Corinthians 4:15-16 MSG). Bottom line: you’re “graced” for this test.
Soul food: Est 5-10; Matt 26:1-17; Ps 18:1-29; Prov 26:24-27
2021-03-29
John 15:3 KJV
Your new nature is programmed to want to obey God in much the same way a calculator is programmed to compute numbers. When you put in the right information, you get the right response. And when you feed your new nature with God’s Word, it’s designed to give you the right response. That’s why Satan tries to keep you so busy doing other things that you don’t spend time reading your Bible. His goal is to keep you weak and ineffective.
Paul writes, “We all…beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV). A mirror is simply a reflector. And the more time you spend in God’s Word, the more you begin to reflect His likeness. But it won’t happen by just grabbing a verse here and there or skimming through a passage. No, it calls for renewing your mind every day with God’s Word, to the extent that the Holy Spirit connects with your spirit and produces a Christlike lifestyle.
Jesus said: “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:3-4). When food dries on a plate, that plate needs to “abide” in some hot, soapy water so that all the junk can be removed. That’s why you need to soak your mind in God’s Word. It removes not only gross sin, but hardened, baked-on, stubborn attitudes that keep you from growing in grace.
Soul food: Est 1-4; Matt 25:41-46; Ps 69:19-36; Prov 8:30-31
