2020-09-10
Luke 9:23 NLT
Here are three Bible examples of radical commitment: (1) Commitment on the job. In the past, employers appreciated their workers, and workers valued their employers and their jobs. Today’s workplace is often adversarial, with employees criticizing their bosses and doing the minimum required to get by, while many bosses have become increasingly demanding, taking their workers for granted. This isn’t God’s way. His way calls for mutual commitment between management and labor. Paul says: “Obey your earthly masters…always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by…work heartily…keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God” (Ephesians 6:5-8 MSG). (2) Commitment at church. Many Christians have adopted a cafeteria-style approach toward church. We pick what we like and leave what we don’t. But membership in Christ’s church involves a covenant relationship with a body of believers who watch over, cherish, and pray for one other, and fulfill the great commission together (See 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). (3) Commitment to Christ. Christ is not looking for wishy-washy, “lukewarm” followers (See Revelation 3:16). He told the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.'” That means you no longer follow your own wishes and will, you follow Christ and His will. That’s radical commitment, and you are called to it.
Soul food: Eze 24:1-27:24; Luke 21:1-11; Ps 78:17-31; Prov 20:15-19
2020-09-09
Galatians 2:20 NIV
Many people today want to get as much as they can for themselves while giving as little in return as possible. They want to be there for their friends in the good times, but absent in the not-so-good ones. Sadly, national statistics confirm this lack of commitment. The marriage rate is down while the divorce rate is up. Involvement in ministry and worthy causes that help the needy are all down. Why? Because people don’t want to put themselves on the line, or be pinned down by responsibility. We often view opportunities to serve others as obligations, therefore we avoid them. We’re a sound bite generation with a short attention span, accustomed to fifteen-second advertisements and fast food. We want our sermons simple, entertaining, and “feel-good.” Yes, radical commitment is rare – but it’s what God requires of you. Commitment means your promise is binding whether it’s convenient or not. Let’s look at a few examples: Commitment to marriage. Marriage, as God sees it, isn’t a fifty-fifty arrangement. It’s a mutual agreement to give 100 percent of ourselves. It’s a lifetime covenant between you and your spouse: “for better or worse; for richer or poorer; in sickness and in health; until parted by death.” And that covenant is a lot easier to live up to when both partners have learned, like Paul, to say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” That means dying to self-interest is the key to great relationships.
Soul food: Eze 22-23; Luke 20:41-47; Ps 78:9-16; Prov 20:11-14
2020-09-08
Deuteronomy 15:6 NLT
Sometimes life beats you down so much that you give up hoping and believing that anything good will ever happen for you. If that’s where you are today, read these words: “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord…’plans for good…to give you a future and a hope'” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT). God has a good plan for each of us, but not all of us experience it. Why? Two reasons: (1) We don’t realize we have rights and privileges. We believe God can save us and take us to heaven when we die, but don’t think He can do anything about our past, present, or future. (2) We live far below the level He intended because we see ourselves in the wrong light. We believe He can bless anybody – except us – because we’re not worthy. God has clothed you in the righteousness of Christ, so you’re worthy in His sight and He has plans to “bless you as He has promised.” In Bible days when a new king came to the throne, he made sure the old king and his family were put to death; that way nobody could rise up against him. So when David replaced King Saul, Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, fled to the wilderness in fear. But David was a different kind of king. Instead of seeking to wipe out his predecessor’s family, he asked, “Is there still anyone…left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9:1 NKJV). “Why would God bless me?” you ask. The answer is simple but clear: for Christ’s sake!
Soul food: Eze 20-21; Luke 20:27-40; Ps 78:1-8; Prov 20:7-10
2020-09-07
Philippians 4:8 CEV
It’s reported that in 1949 Captain Edward Murphy, an engineer working on a project for the United States Air Force, became angry because of a wrongly wired transducer. Scolding the technician responsible, Murphy said, “If there’s any way to do it wrong, he’ll find it!” Over time such thinking became known as Murphy’s Law. Basically it states, “Nothing is as easy as it looks. Everything takes longer than you expect, and if anything can go wrong, it will – at the worst possible moment.” How negative! Who would enjoy life if they lived it according to that philosophy? Because they always expected the worst – they’d get it! God’s law disagrees completely with Murphy’s Law. The world may expect Murphy’s Law to operate in their lives, but as a redeemed child of God, you need to resist that kind of thinking and embrace God’s law. In essence, here’s what it says: “If anything can go right, it will. Nothing is as difficult as it looks. Everything is more rewarding than it appears, and if anything good can happen to anybody, it’ll happen to me.” Think how much more you could you enjoy life if your thoughts agreed with God’s law, and not Murphy’s. The fact is, God has a great life for you – one He wants you to enjoy to the fullest. So instead of blowing everything out of proportion and contradicting God’s Word, stand on this promise: “We know…all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NKJV). That’s what it means to live by God’s law – not Murphy’s!
Soul food: Eze 16:53-19:14; Luke 20:20-26; Ps 27; Prov 20:5-6
2020-09-06
Proverbs 1:7 NKJV
Three Hebrew words are used to define the word “fool” in Proverbs. (1) “Kesil.” This refers to a hard-headed person who thinks he or she needs no advice. (2) “Ewil.” This word has a root meaning of “growing thick of fluids.” It refers to a thick-headed person who refuses to listen to counsel. (3) “Nabal.” This refers to an empty-headed person who demonstrates his or her lack of wisdom through a foolish lifestyle. So the fool is an empty-headed, thick-headed, hard-headed person who gets a failing grade when it comes to the school of wisdom. They may be intellectually brilliant, financially successful, and socially admired, but they’re morally and spiritually bankrupt. Solomon warns, “Fools die for lack of wisdom” (Proverbs 10:21 NKJV). Just as a body will die from lack of oxygen, a man or woman will ultimately and eternally die from a lack of wisdom. Then Solomon bottom-lines it: “Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge” (Proverbs 14:7 NKJV). The message is clear: Only a fool hangs around with fools! So when you’re forming a friendship, here are some questions to which you need answers: Does the other person bring out the best or the worst in you? Do they have a positive or a negative attitude? What other kinds of friends do they keep? Are they involved in things that violate your values? Do they exercise restraint and control their temper? Do they draw you closer to God or drive you farther from Him?
Soul food: Matt 16:13-23; Matt 26:69-75; John 21:15-19
2020-09-05
Psalm 13:1 NIV
When Kelly James and two climbing buddies died on Oregon’s Mount Hood, his brother Frank, a professor of theology, admitted: “It’s one thing to talk about death in the abstract. It’s another to cope with the death of someone you love…Death is ugly. We can’t – and shouldn’t – try to make it palatable with pious platitudes…One question haunts me, ‘Where was God when Kelly was freezing to death?’ For me not to ask would be a failure to take God seriously…I’m not suggesting mere mortals stand in judgment of God…God doesn’t report to me. But an honest question from a broken heart is a good and righteous thing.” David wasn’t afraid to ask God, “How long will you hide your face?” Then a few verses later the same distressed David declares, “But I trust in your unfailing love” (Psalm 13:5 NIV). Frank James continues: “Amid all the spiritual consternation God manifested Himself in my grief. Somehow He’s found in the disappointment, confusion, and raw emotions. This doesn’t exactly make sense to me, and I don’t like it. But my concept of faith has become Abrahamic…I must trust God even when I don’t understand…as Christians have confessed for centuries, ‘We look for the resurrection of the dead’ (See 1 Corinthians 15:42)…Amid enough tears to fill an ocean…we’ve had to bury loved ones. But we bury them with this promise, ‘For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive’ (1 Corinthians 15:22 NIV). It doesn’t indemnify us against grief…It does, however, take faith to depths where hope begins to poke through the heartache, like a sunbeam piercing a cloudy sky.”
Soul food: Eze 14:1-16:52; Luke 20:9-19; Ps 112; Prov 20:1-4
