2020-10-16
Matthew 6:31 NIV
No matter what happens in life, try to keep things in perspective. When you don’t, you end up viewing minor problems as major ones. Or you do the opposite, treating significant situations as “no big deal.” Either tendency – “awfulizing” or “minimizing” – leads to problems. So do your best to see things as they really are and don’t let them get blown out of proportion. Develop the habit of looking at the big picture, instead of dwelling on the one issue that’s upsetting you.
Thinking excessively about your problems makes them appear larger than they really are. When you run up against a situation that upsets you, deal with the panic before you try to deal with the problem. Sit down quietly, calm yourself, and take time to purposely recall the good things you enjoy also.
The truth is, worry never goes away. When you resolve one issue, another one is waiting to take its place. It’s a fact of life; you can’t change it. So what should you do?
Change your perspective! Instead of focusing on your worries, factor God into the equation. Has He ever failed you? No, and He never will! The grace of God that sustained and brought you through the last worrisome situation will be with you in this one – and the next one!
Notice what Jesus said about the things we worry over most: “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’…For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (vv. 31-33 NKJV).
Soul food: 2 Sam 12:1-14:20; John 4:13-26; Ps 32; Prov 23:29-35
2020-10-15
Matthew 6:26 NLT
You may not like the political party that’s in power, but you’re much better off than the Jewish people Jesus was speaking to here. Their country was occupied by the Romans, and they paid extortionate taxes to keep them in power. They lived as slaves so they worried a lot. Then Jesus came along and said: “Look at the birds. They don’t plant…harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (vv. 26-27 NLT).
In other words, if you worry a lot – try bird watching! Birds don’t know where their next meal is coming from, yet you never see one sitting on a branch having an anxiety attack. So here’s the question: “Aren’t you far more valuable to God than they are?”
A man who was out of work, despondent, and worried about feeding his family noticed some birds eating strawberry shortcake from a dumpster. All at once it dawned on him – “If God can feed the birds strawberry shortcake, surely He can take care of me too!” Even if you suffer from a poor self-image and think you’re not worth taking care of, aren’t you still more valuable than a bird?
So look at how well your heavenly Father takes care of them, and remind yourself that He will take care of you too. If anxiety is robbing you of happiness during the day and sleep at night, make up your mind to live by this Scripture: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT).
Soul food: 2 Sam 7:18-11:27; John 4:1-12; Ps 100; Prov 23:22-28
2020-10-14
2 Timothy 4:5 NIV
A woman was sitting in her family room when a small black snake suddenly appeared, slithered across the floor, and made its way under the couch. Being deathly afraid of snakes, she ran to the bathroom to get her husband, who was taking a shower. He came running from the shower with just a towel around his waist, grabbed an old broom handle from the closet, and began poking under the couch. At this point the family dog awakened. Curious to see what was happening, the dog came up behind the husband and touched his cold nose to the back of the man’s heel. The man, thinking the snake had bitten him on the heel, fainted. The wife concluded that her husband had collapsed with a heart attack, so she ran from the house to a hospital just a block away. The ambulance drivers promptly came to her house and placed him on a stretcher. But as they were carrying him out, the snake reappeared from underneath the couch. One of the drivers got so frightened that he dropped his end of the stretcher and broke the man’s leg. Seeing her husband’s twisted leg, the wife collapsed on the spot. Meanwhile, the snake slithered quietly away!
An old African proverb says, “There are forty kinds of lunacy, but only one kind of common sense.” Acting impulsively usually means things will get worse before they get better. So before you panic, calm yourself and ask God for wisdom and help, even in the simplest things.
Soul food: 2 Sam 3:22-7:17; John 3:22-36; Ps 89:38-52; Prov 23:19-21
2020-10-13
Galatians 2:21 NASB
Chuck Swindoll says as believers we’re often intolerant “of those who don’t fit our mold – an attitude that reveals itself in the stoic stare or caustic comment. Such reactions will thin the church ranks faster than fire in the basement or flu in the pew.
Paul rebuked the Galatians for ‘deserting Christ’ (See 1:6), ‘nullifying the grace of God’ (See 2:21), and becoming ‘bewitched by legalism’ (See 3:1)…Sure, there are limits to freedom. Grace does not condone license…The opposite of legalism isn’t ‘do as you please.’ But the limitations are broader than most of us realize.
I can’t believe, for example, the only music God smiles on is highbrow or hymns…Nor do I believe the necessary garment for entering the Veil is a suit and tie…Let’s remember who gets wrought up over outward appearances. It’s not God! He ‘looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16:7 NAS)…
Jesus reserved His strongest and longest sermon…for…legalists – present-day Pharisees. When it came to self-righteous showing off, Jesus pulled no punches. He found it was the only way to deal with those who hung around places of worship distaining and despising others. No less than seven times He pronounced ‘Woe to you,’ because that’s the only language a Pharisee understands…
Two final comments: (1) If you tend toward Phariseeism in any form, stop it! If you’re the type who bullies and looks down on others…you’re a twentieth century Pharisee. (2) When modern-day Pharisees try to control your life, stop them. Remind those religious phonies that the splinter in your eye is between you and God, and they should pay attention to the tree trunk in their own eye.”
Soul food: 2 Sam 1:1-3:21; John 3:1-21; Ps 89:15-37; Prov 23:15-18
2020-10-12
John 4:10 MSG
When the woman at the well offered Jesus a drink of water, He replied, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you…living water.” Jesus routinely showed mercy to the people who least deserved it, and this woman was no exception.
How do you measure up when it comes to extending God’s grace to others? Are you generous, or do you take it upon yourself to dole it out sparingly?
Jon Walker says: “Grace allows people to make choices…it’s free…flowing…unencumbered by guilt or shame. It says, ‘I know all about you, and I still love you’…
Most of us, if we’re honest, function as if God were stingy with His grace. We fear His punishment…we think He is like the high school principal walking the halls, taking down names…but God already knows who did what and who’s to blame, and He loves us anyway. His interest is in redeeming us, not in keeping us on the hook for our sins.
Unfortunately, many of us Christians live our lives as if we’re still on the hook…therefore we have to keep everyone else on the hook. We use weapons of the flesh – the sarcastic comment, the angry stare – to get people to straighten up and live right.
By contrast, when the woman at the well went back to her village, she said, ‘Come see a man…who knows me inside and out’ (John 4:29 MSG). Nothing was hidden from Jesus, yet He communicated in such a fashion that she left feeling loved and accepted. That’s God’s grace!”
Soul food: Eph 4:17-6:24; John 2:12-25; Ps 89:1-14; Prov 23:10-14
2020-10-11
Proverbs 22:24 NLT
Ever seen an oyster shell without an oyster inside, and wondered how the oyster got out? Look for a small hole in the top of the shell made by a whelk. This little ocean creature has an appendage that works like an auger. With it the whelk bores into the shell and sucks the oyster out through the hole, little by little, until it has devoured it.
Don’t allow somebody’s angry outbursts or critical remarks to bore a hole in your good nature and rob you of your sunny disposition. If you aren’t careful, you can become irritated to the point where anger and bitterness begin to seethe in you. And that can be dangerous to your health.
There’s a mountain of medical evidence to support the fact that certain kinds of depression are simply anger turned inward. Remember the old adage, “It’s not what you’re eating, but what’s eating you that’s making you ill.”
The Bible says, “Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people, or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul [emotions]” (vv. 24-25 NLT).
If you’re wise, you’ll try to avoid people you find continually negative or habitually angry at life, as well as those who seem to delight in needling you. In other words – avoid whelks!
John Mason writes: “One way to be free of unwanted baggage is to take your mind off the things that seem to be against you. Thinking about negative factors simply builds them into a power they truly don’t possess. Talking about your grievances merely adds to those grievances. Attach yourself to God’s forgiveness, plan, and Word. Then watch yourself become loosed from former ‘sticky’ situations.”
Soul food: Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:25-35; Luke 2:41-51; Acts 1:13-14
