2020-08-07
1 Peter 2:23 NLT
No one mastered the art of dealing with difficult people better than Jesus. The Romans wanted to silence Him, Herod wanted to kill Him, Pilate washed his hands of Him, religious leaders envied Him, His family thought He’d lost His mind, His townspeople wanted to stone Him, Thomas doubted Him, Peter denied Him, Judas betrayed Him, soldiers beat Him, the crowds shouted for His crucifixion, and His closest followers ran out on Him. Yet Jesus never prayed for God to remove the difficult people from His life. If He had, there would have been nobody left. Sometimes even prayer can be misused as a way of avoidance. Sometimes we ask God to remove a difficult person from our life because we’re not willing to confront that person honestly. And if God answered that prayer the way we wanted, we’d lose the opportunity for growth that is His great desire for us. Jesus’ teachings about dealing with difficult people flowed out of deep, intimate, painful experiences and wisdom. And they’ve influenced world leaders and movements like no other words that have ever been spoken – from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr. to Nelson Mandela. Peter writes: “If you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps…He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly” (vv. 20-23 NLT). And you are called to follow His example.
Soul food: Deut 18-21; Luke 12:1-12; Ps 119:17-24; Prov 17:7-10
2020-08-06
Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV
God designed us in such a way that in times of intense difficulty, we have a built-in moment to turn to Him for help. The primary place in your brain that processes strong negative emotions, such as rage and fear, is called the amygdala. And when it’s removed from certain animals, they become incapable of expressing rage and fear. Normally when input comes into your brain, it goes to the cortex for processing. In about 5 percent of cases, however, when something extremely emotional happens, it goes to your amygdala, and the thinking part of your brain gets short-circuited. But in between your brain’s intake and your body’s response time, there’s what researchers call the “life-giving quarter-second.” And that quarter-second – although it doesn’t sound very long – is huge. Paul writes, “In your anger do not sin…and do not give the devil a foothold.” That quarter-second is the time when the Holy Spirit can take control. That’s when you can choose to give the foothold to the Holy Spirit, or you can give it to sin. That one quarter-second in your mind can be an opportunity to say, “Holy Spirit, I’ve got this impulse right now; should I act on it?” It’s amazing how the desire to hurt someone you love can be so strong, then lead to such pain when you indulge it. But another piece of good news is that when you blow it – and you will blow it – God sends another quarter-second right behind the first one. He’s committed to you, and He will keep working with you until you get it right!
Soul food: Deut 14-17; Luke 11:45-54; Ps 119:9-16; Prov 17:4-6
2020-08-05
1 Thessalonians 5:15 NIV
Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as “the helper.” And as you submit to Him, He’ll help you handle the difficult people in your life the right way. Paul writes, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30 NIV). Don’t offend, or inhibit, or block the Holy Spirit from working in your life. You say, “How would I do that?” Paul answers, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (v. 31 NIV). That’s a list of pretty nasty stuff! And Paul’s point is this: Either you allow your responses to be ruled by that nasty list, or to be ruled by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The choice is yours. The Bible says, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (vv. 26-27 NIV). When you retaliate in anger, you give the Devil a foothold in your life – a beachhead from which he can attack you in other areas. When that happens, not only are you dealing with the hurt caused by the difficult person in your life, you’re dealing with the added hurt that comes from giving the Devil a foothold. So what should you do? The Bible says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (v. 32 NIV). In other words, remember the love, patience, and grace God has shown to you, and extend it to others. That’s a strategy that never fails!
Soul food: Deut 11-13; Luke 11:29-44; Ps 119:1-8; Prov 17:3
2020-08-03
Matthew 7:7 AMP
Observe three things: (1) Jesus never said that following Him would be easy. “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33 NKJV). So when you attempt great things for God, expect difficulties – and delays. When construction crews work on a road, they often put up a sign: “EXPECT DELAYS.” The walk of faith is littered with these signs. Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years for Isaac to be born, so why do you think your answers should be instant? (2) You must persevere to receive. Waiting is an uncomfortable concept for us. We’re used to having everything “on demand.” If someone tells us to wait, we find an app on our iPhone and speed up the process. But there’s no shortcut when it comes to perseverance. Sometimes faith is painful because God is stretching your capacity to receive. So press through the pain – there’s gain on the other side! “Keep on asking and it will be given you.” (3) The end result of faith is larger territory. Twice after Isaac dug a well, the Philistines laid claim to the water. But when he dug a third time, the conflict stopped, and he named the new well Rehoboth, which means “a broad place” (See Genesis 26:18-22). Isaac kept on digging, and when the breakthrough came, he declared, “At last the Lord has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land” (v. 22 NAS). And the lesson Isaac learned is still part of our faith curriculum. We must stretch our faith when there’s no stretch left, and we must pray beyond delay.
Soul food: Deut 5-7; Luke 11:1-13; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 16:33
2020-08-02
1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV
During his lifetime, nineteenth-century British evangelist George Muller “prayed in” more than $7.5 million to feed the orphans in his care – more than $113 million in today’s terms. He didn’t believe in broadcasting his financial needs, yet he always had enough to pay his grocery bill – because God supernaturally provided. However, Muller’s faith was stretched in other ways. For example, he prayed regularly over a list of five men he earnestly desired to see won to Christ. The first man gave his life to Christ after five years, the second and third after ten years, and the fourth after twenty-five years. But here’s the clincher: Muller prayed for the fifth man’s conversion for a whopping fifty-two years! In fact, the man made a profession of faith in Christ a few months after Muller’s funeral. Would you pray about something for fifty-two years without some visible sign of an answer? You should, and you must! In Muller’s own words: “God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hands as a means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith.” If you’re praying and asking God, “Will You?” His answer is, “I will!” Psalm 91:15 tells us, “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him” (NKJV). And in Jeremiah 33:3, God says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (NKJV). So the word for you today is – keep praying and believing.
Soul food: 1 Sam 16; 1 Sam 17:32-51; Acts 13:21-22
2020-08-01
1 Samuel 30:8 NKJV
Are you battling a stubborn habit like drugs and alcohol? Gambling? Overeating? Pornography? Here’s good news. Jesus said He came “that captives will be released” (Luke 4:18 NLT). You can recover. You can get back what you’ve lost, or something better. How? By doing two things David did when the Amalekites destroyed his home and took his family captive: (1) He turned to God for strength. “David strengthened himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6 NKJV). Face it; if you could solve the problem yourself you’d have done it. Acknowledging your powerlessness is the first step to victory. But acknowledging it is not the same as giving in to defeat and despair. It means that you can’t, but God can, and He will when you surrender to Him. (2) He turned to God for a strategy. “David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?’ And He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all'” (v. 8 NKJV). Note the word “pursue.” David was relentless; he didn’t stop until he recovered everything the enemy had stolen from him. And that must be your attitude too. You say, “But I’ve failed so often.” The Bible says, “Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again” (Proverbs 24:16 NIV). You say, “How can I be righteous in God’s eyes and keep falling?” Because your righteousness is not earned by your performance, it’s transferred to you through Christ’s performance on the cross (See 2 Corinthians 5:21). Knowing that will give you the faith and courage to “pursue…overtake…and recover all” – and bounce back.
Soul food: Deut 3-4; Luke 10:38-42; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 16:32
