2020-10-10
1 Timothy 4:14 RSV
Luigi Tarisio was born in Italy in 1796. A collector of violins, he took great pride in scouting out rare finds, and purchasing only instruments of the finest quality. No one really knew about Tarisio’s passion, however, until after he died. It was while his estate was being appraised that some 246 valuable violins were discovered in his attic! One of the most expensive, hidden in the drawer of an old dresser, was a Stradivarius he’d purchased from someone who had also bought it solely as a collector’s item.
Commenting on the matter, Dr. W. Y. Fullerton, the gifted Baptist preacher, noted that in preserving the instrument Tarisio “had robbed the world of all that music.” And others before him had done the same. In fact, by the time the greatest Stradivarius in his collection was finally played, 147 years had elapsed!
One psychologist said, “Don’t die with your music still inside you…Don’t get to the end of your life and say, ‘What if my whole life has been wrong?'” God gave you gifts and He expects you to use them. If you wait until you can do it perfectly, you’ll never do it at all. Jesus said: “You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavour, what will happen to the world? And you yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the world’s light – a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see” (Matthew 5:13-14 TLB).
Understand this: God will hold you accountable for discovering your talents, developing them to the fullest, and using them to glorify Him and bless others.
Soul food: Eph 1:1-4:16; John 2:1-11; Ps 110; Prov 23:6-9
2020-10-09
Proverbs 15:18 NKJV
Solomon repeatedly advises us to be “slow to anger” (Proverbs 14:29; 15:18; 16:32). Take your Bible and read those Scriptures slowly, thoughtfully, and prayerfully. Pay close attention to the occasions in Scripture when Jesus got angry (which are few), and something will immediately jump out at you. He never became angry over what someone did to Him. He never retaliated or lashed out at people who wronged Him. Even as His executioners nailed Him to the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34 KJV). Pretty amazing, right?
So if you’re serious about following Jesus, you must learn to follow suit! The Bible says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NKJV).
Have you ever noticed how professional firefighters almost never fight fire with fire? Most times water is a much better tool. In the same way, a soft reply to an angry comment is like pouring the cool water of calmness on the fire of a hot temper.
A Kenyon college speech research unit confirmed through a series of experiments that when people are yelled at, they almost always yell back. The research also proved that you can control another person’s tone of voice, depending on the tone you adopt. If you keep your voice soft, not only will you avoid becoming angry, but most likely you will prevent the other person from getting upset too.
Do you want to be more Christlike and more successful in dealing with others? Then the word for you today is – “Be slow to anger.”
Soul food: 1 Sam 27-31; John 1:43-51; Ps 23; Prov 23:4-5
2020-10-08
1 Thessalonians 5:16 NKJV
Ever find yourself asking, “Why me, Lord? How come You don’t answer my prayers? Why doesn’t Your Word work for me like it does for others?” Well-meaning friends tell you to keep your chin up, things will get better, but you can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. And just when you think things can’t get any worse, you pick up your Bible and read, “Rejoice always…In everything give thanks” (vv. 16-18 NKJV), as if you’re supposed to enjoy your situation!
Alexander Maclaren said, “Seek to cultivate a buoyant, joyous sense of the crowded kindnesses of God in your daily life.”
The fact is, however, when life overwhelms you the last thing you feel like doing is giving thanks, right? But as Nancy Leigh DeMoss observes: “Unless you just love the way duty feels when it wakes you at three in the morning, or hijacks your plans for your day off, or hands you an unexpected bill that wasn’t in the budget…don’t try living the Christian life without gratitude. By sheer willpower and effort you may succeed at ‘gutting out’ right responses, but your Christianity (so-called) will be hollow, hard-edged, and uninviting…If all our faith had to offer were words that only fit in a theological textbook, it would be unkind to extend them to someone struggling to survive. True Christ-centered, grace-motivated gratitude fits life’s most desperate moments and difficult situations. When there are no answers, it gives hope. It transforms overwhelmed strugglers into triumphant conquerors…Gratitude is a hard-fought, grace-infused, biblical lifestyle…and [its] transforming power is reserved for those who know and acknowledge the Giver of every good gift, and who are recipients of His redeeming grace.”
Soul food: 1 Sam 24-26; John 1:29-42; Ps 131; Prov 23:1-3
2020-10-07
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NKJV
Giving thanks infuses joy and resilience into your daily life. British theologian John Henry Jowett said, “Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road.”
Without gratitude your faith becomes a hollow religious practice, and your love for others crashes and burns, leaving you feeling drained of joy and acting like a martyr. When Paul says, “In everything give thanks…this is the will of God,” he’s not saying every circumstance you encounter is necessarily God’s will.
Pastor Jack Hayford observes: “In every insurance policy is this provision, ‘except it be an act of God,’ and culturally defined, [they’re] the worst things that happen. I’ve heard people interpret it, ‘Well, whatever happens is the will of God…give thanks…and praise God’…The Bible doesn’t say everything is God designed…it says in it, through it, and beyond it He can work good…’The will of God in Christ’ is that we give thanks and praise God in the middle of it. Why, because we feel good? No, but because praying without ceasing introduces a song of praise into the situation…Muddling and praying our way through the best we can isn’t going to be good enough. Whereas the best He can make of it will be something that will bring the reason the Bible tells us ‘in everything give thanks.'”
Bottom line: In any given set of circumstances you can choose to whine or choose to worship – and you can’t worship without giving thanks!
Soul food: 1 Sam 20:30-23:29; John 1:14-28; Ps 29; Prov 22:26-29
2020-10-06
Ecclesiastes 11:4 NIV
Should you risk investing, or wait for a “lucky break” that could make you rich overnight? Solomon answers, “Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return” (v. 1 NIV). That means invest prayerfully and wisely, and be patient because it may take “many days” before you’ll get a return.
The get-rich-quick mentality isn’t scriptural. “Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land” (v. 2 NIV). So invest, but diversify; allow for market fluctuations. This is a play-it-wise approach, not a play-it-safe one.
Be faith-driven instead of fear-driven. Fear allows the unpredictable to determine your actions. Godly wisdom, plus faith, is the key to investing. Waiting for “the ideal time” will keep you paralyzed. Success isn’t in the absence of challenges, it’s having the wisdom to manage them and keep moving forward.
The Bible says, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.” If you let the odds immobilize you, you’ll never sow – which means you’ll never reap.
The bottom line is this: Life is full of unknowns, and just “as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb…you cannot understand the work of God” (v. 5 NIV). You don’t have to know it all or be able to predict the outcome. Just seek God, then act on the wisdom He gives you (See James 1:5). You don’t have to understand how He’s going to work on your behalf – you only need to believe He will!
Soul food: 1 Sam 18:1-20:29; John 1:1-13; Ps 92; Prov 22:24-25
2020-10-05
Philippians 2:16 NKJV
You must give up short-term gratification for long-term fulfillment. Paul bottom-lines his life and ministry in this verse: “That I have not run in vain or labored in vain.”
Nothing is more important in life than the choices you make. The Bible says, “Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom” (Genesis 13:12 NLT), and for a while he prospered. But in the end, everything he worked for went up in smoke. Next we read: “The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are – northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you'” (vv. 14-15 NKJV). Lot chose the wrong direction and lost. Abraham chose the right direction and won.
Choices! Choices! Choices! When it comes to choosing, make a habit of asking yourself, “How will this choice affect my character, my sense of self-respect, and my confidence when I approach God in prayer? How will it affect my influence and respect with other people? How will it affect my family, and those who are following in my footsteps?”
The Bible gives us the answer: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT).
Soul food: 1 Sam 16-17; Luke 24:45-53; Ps 63; Prov 22:17-23
