2021-01-27
Luke 14:28 NLT
Reality is the difference between what you wish for – and what is. If you’re a naturally optimistic person you may find it difficult to think realistically. Indeed, you may think it’s the opposite of having faith. No, faith doesn’t deny the problem, it connects you with God through whose strength you can overcome. Here are two things that thinking realistically will do for you:
(1) Minimize unnecessary risks. All actions have consequences. Thinking realistically will help you determine what those consequences could be. This is particularly important when your actions affect others. The old motto, “expect the best but plan for the worst,” has merit. By thinking that way you minimize unnecessary risks. It gives you a goal, with a plan to reach it. Here’s the good news: You need a sense of hope in order to succeed. Here’s the bad news: Hope is not a strategy.
(2) Show you what needs to be changed. People who rely solely on hope for their success, rarely make change a high priority. If you only have hope, you imply that success is out of your hands. It’s a matter of luck and chance – so why bother changing. There’s nothing like reality staring you in the face, to help you see what needs to be changed. Change alone doesn’t bring growth, but you cannot have growth without change.
Following Christ is the most blessed and joyful life you can live, but there’s a price to be paid for it. And Jesus was realistic about it: “If you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple…Don’t begin until you count the cost” (vv.14:27-28 NLT).
Soul food: Isa 30-33; Matt 10:21-31; Ps 104:24-35; Prov 3:11-12
2021-01-26
Acts 17:27 NKJV
The Bible says God “is not far from each one of us!” God does not play favourites. From the masses on the city avenues to the isolated villagers in valleys and jungles, all people can enjoy God’s presence. But many don’t. They plod through life as if there were no God to love them. As if their only strength was their own. As if the only solution comes from within, not above. They live godless lives. But you don’t have to do that. You can: (1) Lean on God’s presence. “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you'” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV). (2) Lean on God’s people. “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20 NKJV).
When Moses and the Israelites battled the Amalekites, God commissioned Joshua to lead the fight in the valley below while Moses ascended the hill to pray. But he did not go alone. He took his two lieutenants, Aaron and Hur. While Joshua led the physical combat, Moses engaged in a spiritual fight. Aaron and Hur stood on either side of their leader to hold up his arms in the battle of prayer. The Israelites prevailed because Moses prayed, and Moses prevailed because he had others to pray with him. Just as an army calls in air support, you can call in prayer support. Jesus said, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (v.19 NKJV). So lean on God’s presence and His people.
Soul food: Isa 26-29; Matt 10:11-20; Ps 104:1-23; Prov 3:9-10
2021-01-25
Proverbs 2:6 NIV
Personal growth involves four things:
(1) Environment. You must place yourself in a setting that fosters growth. Certain fish grow according to the size of their surroundings. If you keep them in a small tank they stay small, but when you release them into the ocean they grow to their intended size. The same principle applies to you. You must spend your time with the right crowd, in the right place, doing the right things, in order to grow.
(2) Strength. Author and leadership expert Peter Drucker said: “The great mystery isn’t that people do things badly, but that they occasionally do a few things well. The only thing that’s universal is incompetence. Strength is always specific!” When you try to be good at everything, you end up being good at nothing. God gave you specific strengths – identify them and use them.
(3) Change. Most of us want things to get better without having to change anything. The Bible says, “Let us…be taken forward to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1 NIV). To grow, you must commit yourself to not only accepting change, but to pursuing it.
(4) Enjoyment. Most grandmasters of chess learn and relearn their moves over a period of fifteen-years before winning their first world title. That’s almost one-fifth of their lives! If you’re going to spend that much time doing something, you’d better enjoy it! If the destination appeals to you but you’re not enjoying the journey, you’d be wise to seek God’s guidance and make sure you’re heading in the right direction. If you’re on the wrong train, don’t keep going – get off at the next station!
Soul food: Isa 22-25; Matt 10:1-10; Ps 100; Prov 3:7-8
2021-01-24
Proverbs 3:13 NIV
Here are three reasons we don’t experience personal growth:
(1) We think it comes strictly from experience. Believing personal growth comes only from experience, is like an archer shooting arrows off-target and thinking he’s improving simply because he keeps on shooting. Experience is only profitable if you learn from it and start hitting your target. Pulitzer prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti said, “Hell begins on the day God grants us a clear vision of all we might have achieved…the gifts we wasted…and all we might have done but didn’t do.” Don’t end your life regretting the time and opportunities you wasted. Use every opening God gives you to grow, starting today.
(2) We think growth comes strictly from information. Have you ever known someone who was absolutely brilliant yet never seemed to accomplish anything of benefit for God, themselves, or others? They’re like an encyclopedia filled with knowledge that has no value because it’s never used. The greatest obstacle to personal growth isn’t ignorance; it’s the illusion of knowledge! The Bible says, “Be…doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
(3) We assume growth is automatic. When we are children growth comes naturally. During that time there are parents, coaches, and teachers challenging us to develop on a daily basis, so we get used to growth. The problem comes when we get out of school and nobody is pushing us to grow or go any further. The price of growth is always less than the cost of ignorance and stagnation. And the truth is, if you don’t take responsibility for your personal growth – it won’t happen!
Soul food: Dan 6:1-24; Acts 12:1-19
2021-01-23
1 Corinthians 12:14 NIV
You cannot determine your spiritual gift any more than you can determine your eye color. The Holy Spirit gives us His gifts “as He wills” (v.11 NKJV). Notice three things:
(1) We are different from one another. “A body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body” (v.12 NIV). Why are there different gifts? Because there are different needs!
(2) We are dependent on one another. It takes every part working together to have a healthy body that will function properly. Paul writes: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!'” (v. 21 NIV). Not only is every member of the body equally needed, they are equally important. Some of us are verbal and others are quiet. Some are dynamic and others laid back. Some are leaders and others followers. Some are high profile and others are inconspicuous. But all of us are equally needed and equally important. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit, as long as the job gets done and God gets the glory.
(3) We are to be devoted to one another. “God has put the body together…so that there should be no division…but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a part of it” (vv. 24-27 NIV).
Soul food: Isa 17-21; Matt 9:27-38; Ps 96; Prov 3:5-6
2021-01-22
