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
2021-04-08
John 20:25 NIV
Some of us have taken the message of Christianity and put it in a box marked “Don’t ask – don’t tell.” Ever feel like you need permission to weep when you lose a loved one? Or feel intimidated about admitting, “I really don’t know for sure?”
The story of doubting Thomas teaches us that not only is it okay to doubt – sometimes it’s necessary! If you don’t, you won’t grow. You’ll wind up with somebody else’s answers, and in many cases they will be inadequate for your questions – even if you’re honest enough to ask them.
Question: Has some well-meaning religious soul pushed you into a corner and tried to make you believe that your questions are an offense to Christ? If so, it’s time to listen anew to the tender words of the One who knows your doubts and fears better than you do: “Peace be with you. Look at my hands and feet. Look with eyes of faith and believe. You are blessed when you believe in spite of your doubts.”
It’s okay to pray, “Lord, like Thomas, I still struggle with some doubts. I haven’t put my life all together yet. Not until I’m with You will that happen. Thank You for accepting me in my struggles, and not ignoring my questions. Thomas finally reached the place where he could say, ‘My Lord and my God.’ Thank You for being patient with me as I strive to reach that place as well.”
So, how do we get through our doubts? Like Thomas! By facing them honestly, bringing them to Jesus, and growing spiritually as a result of them.
Soul food: Lev 13:38-14:57; Mark 1:9-13; Ps 25:1-7; Prov 9:17-18
2021-04-07
John 20:25 NIV
Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus first appeared to His disciples after the resurrection. And like many of us, other people’s experiences weren’t good enough for Thomas – he had to have his own. And Jesus made sure he got it. Note, He didn’t put Thomas down for having doubts. He understood that any question arising from an honest heart isn’t a skeptical question; it’s a search for truth.
The Bible tells us: “After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came…stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!'” (vv. 26-28 NKJV). We glean two important lessons from this story:
(1) Your doubts can actually lead you to a new level of faith. When the bottom drops out of your world, when the pain of your circumstances seems unbearable, when some shattering event occurs and doubt marches in unannounced, don’t deny it – acknowledge it. Times of doubt become classrooms of learning when they drive you to God for answers. As you work your way through them, you reach a new level of faith.
(2) Your doubts can lead you to a deeper relationship with Jesus. The testimony of others will only carry you so far; ultimately, you need your own personal experience with the Lord. And you can have it! Thomas started out doubting Jesus and ended up dying as a martyr for His cause. Think about that!
Soul food: Lev 11:1-13:37; Mark 1:1-8; Ps 32; Prov 9:10-16
2021-04-06
Joshua 24:15 NKJV
People who succeed in life set their priorities early and maintain them daily. That way they don’t have to keep reestablishing them. That’s a good idea for two reasons:
(1) It takes the emotion out of it. If you’re not careful, you can make a life-altering decision based on a temporary situation rather than God’s will. Or worse, base your decisions on your feelings! By establishing your life’s priorities before you have to, you can do it without your emotions manipulating and controlling you. Plus, you’re more likely to set them with integrity. Joshua did that: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
(2) It makes managing your life easier. Once you nail down what’s important to you, you can live based on those principles. Let’s say you’re a compulsive gambler and you decide to quit. Your task then becomes ordering your life in light of that decision. That probably means not hanging out at the racetrack or vacationing on the Strip in Las Vegas. Or, say you want to build a better marriage: that may mean spending less time at work or on the golf course, and planning a weekly date night with your spouse.
It takes honesty, born in prayer, to know what your real issues are and to make good decisions accordingly. And it takes character and perseverance to follow through once those decisions are made. The great thing is that once you decide, then “commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed” (Proverbs 16:3 NLT). He will give you the strength each day to live by your decisions.
Soul food: Lev 8-10; Matt 28:16-20; Ps 72:12-20; Prov 9:7-9
