2021-03-10
Galatians 6:9 NIV
There’s no such thing as instant success, with either people or problems. Whether you need to lose ten pounds or one hundred pounds, the weight can only be shed one pound at a time. Standing on top of the mountain is a thrill, but you can only get up there one step at a time. Nothing great is created suddenly; almost every significant success in life comes at the end of a long, arduous wait. And unless you accept that truth, you’ll give up too soon and settle far short of the success God has in mind for you.
Jell-O celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary in 1997, but if the inventor were still alive, he would probably take little comfort in his product’s success. In 1897 Pearl Wait wore many hats. He was a construction worker who also experimented in patent medicines, and he went door to door selling his therapies. In the midst of tinkering and experimenting, he hit upon the idea of mixing fruit flavouring with granulated gelatin. His wife promptly named it Jell-O, and Wait had one more product to peddle. Unfortunately, the initial sales of his jiggly snack were not as strong as he hoped, so he ended up selling his Jell-O rights to Orator Woodward for the paltry sum of $450. Woodward was a savvy businessman. He knew the value of marketing, and within eight years he turned a $450 investment into a million-dollar business. Today, not a single relative of Pearl Wait receives one penny from the one-million-plus boxes of Jell-O sold every day. Why not? Because Wait couldn’t wait!
Soul food: Gen 50; Haggai 1-2; Matt 22:1-14; Ps 27; Prov 7:10-20
2021-03-09
2 Timothy 3:15 NKJV
People are intimidated by the Bible for any number of reasons. For some, it’s such a big book that it scares them, and they don’t know where to start. Others think because it’s such an ancient book, spans such a long historical time period, and includes so many themes, that they could never figure it out. So let’s try to simplify it.
Think of the Bible as a library of books that includes sixty-six volumes of widely varying length, written over a period of fifteen-hundred years, by more than forty people from all kinds of cultural and educational backgrounds. It’s extraordinarily unique and cohesive in that the words of each book were “given by inspiration,” or literally “breathed out” by God (v. 16 NKJV).
Taken together, the books of the Bible tell the story of God’s amazing love for us, culminating at the cross. As Paul wrote to Timothy: “You must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (vv. 14-15 NKJV).
The Bible is principally the story of God’s love for you. So every time you read it, allow it to unfold in your heart as a love letter written to you by God. As you read and meditate on it your fears and worries will be resolved, your questions will be answered, and you’ll find strength and guidance for daily living.
Soul food: Gen 47-49; Matt 21:33-46; Ps 112; Prov 7:6-9
2021-03-08
Matthew 21:22 NKJV
You say, “If God loves me and knows what I need, why should I have to ask Him for it?” Because prayer means talking to God and listening to God, which leads to building a relationship with Him. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33 KJV).
When your prayers are based on your relationship with God, your needs get met. When you love God and spend time with Him, His Word says: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT). Did you get that?
God has a level of blessing in mind for you that your natural eye can’t see nor your natural mind can comprehend. And when you pray, He reveals things to you by His Spirit. When that happens, your faith grows and you’re able to receive what God wants you to have. So develop a lifestyle of prayer – praying all the time, everywhere you go, in the midst of your daily routine. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV).
God cares about every detail of your life. So when you become anxious about something, talk to Him about it. And don’t forget to read His Word. That way when a problem comes up you can say, “Father, you said in Your Word You would do this for me,” then quote the promise and stand on it.
Soul food: Gen 44-46; Matt 21:18-32; Ps 106:24-48; Prov 7:3-5
2021-03-07
Exodus 28:3 NKJV
God told Moses: ‘You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments’ (vv. 2-3 NKJV).
Note the word ‘artisans’. God gives us artistic ability, and when we use it we glorify Him. Clothes ‘for glory and for beauty’ call for creativity. Stop separating the spiritual from the secular! ‘Whatsoever [you] do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord’ (Colossians 3:17 KJV). How do you become creative?
1) By acknowledging that God made you to be creative.
2) By asking Him to reveal your areas of talent and creativity.
3) By valuing creative ideas. No matter what you currently do, or how well you do it, a creative idea will enable you to do it better.
Creativity is being able to see what everybody else has seen, and think what nobody else has thought, so that you can do what nobody else has done. Sometimes creative thinking lies along the lines of invention, where you break new ground. Other times it moves along the lines of innovation, which helps you to do old things in a new way. But either way, it’s seeing the world through sufficiently new eyes so that new solutions appear.
‘On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made’ (Genesis 2:2 KJV). Notice that creativity involves work, which is why many people tend to avoid it. But if you’re willing to work at being creative, God will use you to do great things.
Soul food: Joel 2:23-32; Acts 2:1-21
2021-03-06
Genesis 1:28 NKJV
Your heavenly Father created the world – and you are made in His image. That means you are wired to think creatively. God finished His creative work in six days, then our work began. God said, in essence, ‘I’ve provided you with all the resources and talents you need to have an abundant life. Now do something good with it.’
The sheep He made give wool, from which we create beautiful fabrics in differing colours for matching outfits. God didn’t make cheese; He made cows that give milk so that we can create cheese from it. The Bible describes the beginning of all things in these words: ‘Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply.”‘
The word ‘multiply’ means that God wants you to end up with more than you started out with. But to do that you must begin to think creatively! Instead of simply accepting what is, you need to take what is and make something more out of it. When you do that, you’re following in your heavenly Father’s footsteps.
Sometimes churches pour cold water on any thought or activity that isn’t religious, saying it’s ‘worldly’ and therefore God is not pleased with it. That’s like saying God only works within the four walls of a church. No, ‘The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein’ (Psalm 24:1 KJV).
Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you do in life, God wants you to put your creativity to work so that you can glorify Him and bless others.
Soul food: Gen 42-43; Matt 21:12-17; Ps 106:1-23; Prov 7:1-2
2021-03-05
Philippians 2:13 NLT
You will only have good ideas if you value ideas. Otherwise you’ll drift through life living off other people’s ideas. Creative thinkers:
1) Explore every option. Exploring a multitude of possibilities helps to stimulate your imagination, and imagination is crucial to creativity. Albert Einstein said, ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge.’ Why? Because it looks for new ways to put your knowledge to work.
2) Embrace ambiguity. Creative people don’t feel the need to stamp out uncertainty. They see all kinds of inconsistencies and gaps in life, and they take delight in exploring those gaps or using their imagination to fill them in. When you find an unmet need, you can either conclude that nothing can be done about it, or pray and look for a way to meet that need (see Philippians 4:19).
3) Celebrate the offbeat. Creativity explores off the beaten path. Kingman Brewster, former president of Yale University, said, ‘There’s a correlation between the creative and the screwball. So we must suffer the screwball gladly.’ To foster creativity, you must be willing to tolerate originality and oddness.
4) Are not afraid of failure. American philosopher Charles Frankel said, ‘Anxiety is the essential condition of intellectual and artistic creation.’ Creativity requires a willingness to look stupid. It means going out on a limb knowing that limbs often break. Creative people know these things and still keep searching for new ideas. They refuse to let the ideas that don’t work prevent them from coming up with ones that do.
Soul food: Gen 40-41; Matt 21:1-11; Ps 136:13-26; Prov 6:32-35
