2020-11-29
Romans 12:2 NLT
Our high-tech society is producing stressed-out people. Next year we will have even less time because statistically for every hour technology saves you, it consumes two more. Author Keri Wyatt Kent writes: “Every time you say ‘yes’ to something, you’re saying ‘no’ to other options. Activity cloaked in ‘Christian window-dressing,’ is still activity. Don’t copy the behavior…of this world; our world is hurried. Take time to listen and care. The hallmark of a Christian is love, and you can’t love in a hurry.”
So to slow down you need to: (1) Simplify your life. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table…or whether [your] clothes…are in fashion” (Matthew 6:25 TM). Put God first and everything else will follow. When Marlene Eissens decided to switch careers, she set out for grad school with only the stuff she could fit in her car. Today she’s in ministry. She has a house, but resists filling it, and anything she hasn’t used for six months goes to charity. She says, “I feel real freedom because with less stuff I’m free to focus on God.”
(2) Keep the Sabbath. Todd Gitlin says, “We’re a nerve-wracked society. We have difficulty sitting back and thinking of the purpose of what we do.” Set aside at least one day a week to rest, spend time with your loved ones, and fellowship with your church family.
(3) “Be satisfied with…[what you have]” (Hebrews 13:5 AMPC). You’ll still be tempted to hurry and wish for more or nicer stuff, but you’ll grow closer to God by making more space in your life for Him. As J. I. Packer says, “We dishonour God when we proclaim a Saviour who satisfies and then go around discontent.”
Soul food: Josh 1; Ps 27:11-14; 2 Tim 2:1-13
2020-11-28
Philippians 3:13 NLT
We live in the day of multitasking. We talk on the phone, apply makeup, drink coffee, eat lunch, feed the kids, and even read text messages while barreling down the highway. Dr. Richard Swenson says: “In some instances we are more productive…some people crochet while watching the news. And in certain jobs it’s considered necessary; clerks on the Stock Exchange floor are required to run around doing five things at once. But isn’t it bizarre that when a 48-year-old broker drops dead, his colleagues keep working around the lifeless body receiving CPR?
The dramatic escalation of busyness has given us too much to do in a short time. The standard strategy…instead of refusing to take on more…is to do two, three, or four things at once. It’s an extension of the do-more-and-more-with-less-and-less philosophy. But someone forgot to do the math! By doing two things at once you divert 30 percent of your attention from the primary task; you sacrifice quality for quantity, which leads to more errors. You may end up finishing more tasks, but with poorer products and frazzled nerves. The downside of multitasking isn’t well-advertised…so we keep experimenting to see how far we can push the envelope.
However, when it comes to relationships, multitasking can be disastrous. We don’t listen…it takes too much time. Families need focus…babies need what they need when they need it. You either parent them or you don’t.
Paul didn’t live like that. He focused ‘on…one thing,’ which was the person in front of him.” A dog has four feet, but it doesn’t try to walk down four roads! So slow down and establish a pace that’s sane and sustainable.
Soul food: 2 Chr 32-34; John 14:15-25; Ps 118:19-29; Prov 28:5-8
2020-11-27
Isaiah 58:5 NIV
God never commanded you to examine your emotions, experiences, or sins. What He did say is, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NAS). Victory over sin comes from focusing on Christ – not beating yourself up!
In the Old Testament the Israelites reached a place of despair. They’d fasted and “afflicted” their souls, yet God ignored their efforts. They sought spiritual restoration in their own self-directed way, and God rejected it, saying: “Is this the kind of fast I have chosen…for people to humble themselves…bowing one’s head like a reed…in sackcloth and ashes? Is that…acceptable to the Lord?” Clearly, God is not pleased with the misery that comes from self-focus! He has a more effective way to liberate us.
Rather than have us weighed down with remorse, He said: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice…set the oppressed free…break every yoke…share your food with the hungry…provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not…turn away from your own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6-7 NIV).
God’s way eliminates the “paralysis of self-analysis” by commanding you to forget about yourself completely; to stop dwelling on your imperfections and get involved in the lives and needs of others. His four-point plan for overcoming your flesh is: (1) Acknowledge His grace and see yourself as “righteous” in Christ. (2) Fix your eyes on Jesus. (3) Shun obsessive self-focus. (4) Serve God by serving others.
When you do all these things, “Your light will rise in the darkness…The Lord will guide…and…strengthen [you]” (vv. 10-11 NIV).
Soul food: 2 Chr 29-31; John 14:1-14; Ps 118:10-18; Prov 28:1-4
2020-11-26
Psalm 25:15 NIV
Hannah Whitall Smith writes: “It is no use for us to examine self, and tinker with it in hope of improving it. The thing the Lord wants us to do is to get rid of it.”
Your old nature is determined to hold your attention; it would rather be thought of badly than not at all. In the process of examining your flesh and feeling miserable, you’re apt to think you are being humble, honest, and spiritual. But the only spiritual and safe way to handle your fleshly nature is to consign it to the “ignore file,” and anchor your attention and expectations exclusively on the Lord.
David understood how this principle worked: “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” Looking at your own “clay feet” (weaknesses and failures), and the “snare” (your unregenerate flesh) you’re tangled in, won’t free you from the trap. You’ll just end up further entangled. Only God, together with your cooperation, can release you from the trap of the flesh. Keeping your “eyes…ever on the Lord” is His way of giving you the victory.
Listen again to what David said: “I keep my eyes always on the Lord…I will not be shaken…You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:8-11 NIV).
Your job is simple, though not necessarily easy. It’s to ignore your fleshly cravings and stay focused on Jesus. His job is to transform you by His mighty power!
Soul food: 2 Chr 25-28; John 13:31-38; Ps 118:1-9; Prov 27:23-27
2020-11-25
Ephesians 4:22 NLT
Does God expect us to work on growth and self-improvement? Yes! But just as examining yourself is futile, so is trying to change if it keeps you self-focused and defeated. The Bible’s path to change is to turn away from self and focus on Christ. Paul says, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV).
God isn’t interested in improved flesh. In His eyes “improved flesh” is still flesh. He’s in the character- transformation business, not the self-improvement business. All your self-improvement strategies can’t transform your old self-nature. Only God, “by the Spirit,” can make you more Christ-like. As you “behold (look at and study) as in a mirror (the Word of God)” you become “transformed into the same image (the image of God you’re looking at) from glory to glory (grade to grade).” It doesn’t happen because of your grit, but because of His grace.
“So what will happen to my flesh?” you ask. God’s ultimate plan is to replace it and give you a new heavenly body. That’s why Paul writes: “Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.” No altering, adjusting, and patching-up allowed – you must “throw it off!” Like a lobster growing and shedding the confinement of its old shell, as you focus on and fellowship with Christ, you are released from the dominance of your old nature and grow into your new one. You’re transformed – from the inside out.
Soul food: 2 Chr 22-24; John 13:18-30; Ps 114; Prov 27:20-22
2020-11-24
Luke 12:37 NKJV
When dealing with self-focus, you may ask, “What about those Scriptures that specifically tell us to ‘watch’? Aren’t they all about keeping an eye on ourselves?” That’s a good question, so let’s take a look at some of those “watch” passages in Scripture.
In Mark 13:34-37 (NKJV) we read: “A man going to a far country…left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming – in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning – lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
What Jesus was teaching here is the exact opposite of self-focus. The doorkeeper wasn’t to watch himself, but to watch for his returning master. Jesus expects us to forget ourselves, work conscientiously for His kingdom, and be watching and prepared for His return. He said, “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself…have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.”
Far from an obsessive self-introspection that leaves you exhausted, discouraged, and disappointed with yourself, Jesus wants you to be excited and involved in His work here on earth, to actively watch for the coming again of your Lord and King. “Look to Me, [not to yourself!] and be saved…For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22 NKJV). So focus more on God – and less on yourself.
Soul food: 2 Chr 19-21; John 13:1-17; Ps 95; Prov 27:17-19
