2020-05-15
2 Corinthians 7:10 NKJV
There’s a difference between confessing your sin and repenting of it. In Scripture, the word “repentance” means “to turn away from sin.” By confessing your sin you acknowledge what you have done; by repenting you turn away from it. And the good news is that there’s no limit to God’s forgiveness. The moment you ask for it, you receive it. However, God doesn’t intend you to keep repeating your sinful patterns over and over again. That’s where “godly sorrow” comes in. Paul writes, “You sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you” (v. 11 NKJV). The purpose of godly sorrow is to make you more diligent when it comes to changing behavior. When you allow sin into your life, you violate your core of righteousness. “For [God]…made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). At the point of salvation God literally made you “the righteousness of God in Christ.” You’re a regenerated spirit living in an unregenerated body, and when you permit sin into your life, it violates the very core of who you are! And that will cause you godly sorrow, leading to repentance and turning away from sin. Don’t settle for saying, “This is a habit I can’t break. But it’s okay because God will forgive me.” Yes, He will forgive you, but He doesn’t want you to settle for a cycle of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and then repeating the same sin. He wants you to be strong and effective in His service. That’s why He’s calling you to a higher level.
Soul food: Num 32:25-33:56; Mark 9:14-29; Ps 18:1-29; Prov 11:19-21
2020-05-14
Proverbs 3:5 NLT
When it comes to having the right attitude – stay in touch with the control tower. Air traffic controllers “see the big picture” when it comes to what’s going on in the sky. They have the knowledge and authority to tell pilots to slow down or speed up, fly higher or lower, avoid or navigate through storms, or take alternate routes. Amazingly, air traffic controllers in the United States handle some 87,000 flights every day, and 64 million takeoffs and landings every year. They manage commercial flights, private aviation, military, and cargo air traffic, as well as air taxis. In fact, if all the flights air traffic controllers handled at any given time were to be posted in airports, more than 460 monitors would be needed! With so many flights taking off and landing every second, pilots have to stay in touch with the control tower. Similarly, you must stay in touch with God – the One who sees the big picture for your life and orchestrates everything that involves you. He makes sure everything that needs to happen, happens at the right time, and moves at the appropriate speed to make sure you arrive safely at the destination He’s planned for you. That’s why staying in communication with God should be at the top of your daily to-do list. He will help you navigate the ups and downs of life, and find your way through cloudy days when you can’t see the next step you need to take. In short, when you “seek his will in all you do…he will show you which path to take.”
Soul food: Num 30:1-32:24; Mark 9:1-13; Ps 49; Prov 11:16-18
2020-05-13
Daniel 2:21 NIV
Realize that rough times won’t last forever. As surely as God created spring to follow winter, “He changes times and seasons…He gives wisdom.” The season of adversity you’re in will end. And when it does, you’ll glean from it the wisdom to build a better future. Sometimes your greatest blessings come from your most negative circumstances. Paul writes, “Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). Tough times don’t last, but tough people do! Out of your greatest tests come your greatest testimonies. Don’t make major decisions during a storm. Thoughts and feelings often run wild in the midst of a crisis; those are times when you need to be careful about making decisions. Remain calm, discipline yourself to focus on what you can do, and trust God to do what you can’t. Just as a pilot error can cause a plane to be diverted from its intended destination, or have to make a dangerous emergency landing, a bad decision can divert or delay you from reaching your destiny. Let your emotions subside – before you decide. You may not always have that option, but as much as possible, put significant decisions on hold until your storm passes. Just as the wind blows about wildly during a storm, your thoughts can become wild and frantic, and that’s not the best time to make crucial assessments. What should you do? Paul answers, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and…His peace will guard your hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).
Soul food: Num 27-29; Mark 8:27-38; Ps 62; Prov 11:15
2020-05-12
Philippians 4:8 KJV
We all need “an attitude adjustment” from time to time. It’s crucial to maintain the right attitude when the going gets rough. No matter what happens in your life, determine to go through it with the right attitude. In fact, determine beforehand to keep a positive mindset in the midst of every negative situation that arises. If you make this a conscious decision and meditate on it during the good times, when difficulties arise you’ll already be prepared. Paul writes: “Whatsoever things are true…are honest…are just…are pure…are lovely…are of good report; if there be any virtue…any praise, think on these things…and the God of peace shall be with you” (vv. 8-9). Some of the greatest writers and composers in history created masterpieces during the worst times of their lives. Beethoven’s most famous symphonies were written when he was almost totally deaf and experiencing great sorrow. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to think, “I could never be like those people.” If you think like that, you’ll be defeated before you even try. Maintaining a right attitude is always much easier than regaining a right attitude. So as soon as you sense yourself becoming negative, make an immediate attitude adjustment. The Bible says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7KJV). The moment the Enemy sends negative thoughts into your mind, stop them midstream. Discipline yourself to stand strong with a positive attitude in every circumstance. When you do, “the God of peace shall be with you.”
Soul food: Num 25-26; Mark 8:14-26; Ps 57; Prov 11:14
2020-05-11
2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV
God called David “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22 NKJV). But David struggled with a weakness in his life. What was it? A lustful spirit that surfaced from time to time, and the people closest to him knew about it. When he grew old and couldn’t get warmed, they brought a young girl to lie beside him in bed that he “may get heat” (1 Kings 1:1-2 KJV). They figured if that didn’t get David’s circulation moving he had to be dying! But there’s something sad here. David passed on his weakness to his son Amnon, who ended up raping his sister. And although David was angry about it, he didn’t confront or punish him. After all, what could he say? Like father, like son! Lust isn’t just a whim or a passing fancy, it’s a sin. And when it passes from one generation to the next it becomes a “stronghold.” Today psychologists refer to it as “a genetic predisposition.” Maybe somewhere in your family tree there’s a workaholic father, a mother who was emotionally unavailable, or a brother or sister who drank too much, and now you’re wrestling with the same issues. Don’t be discouraged; Paul says, “The weapons we fight with…have…power to demolish strongholds.” So before you run off to a divorce court or a rehab center, name your stronghold, then pray, believing God to break its stranglehold on your life. Do it before it infects the next generation. Don’t pass it on – pass it back to where it came from.
Soul food: Num 22-24; Mark 8:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Prov 11:12-13
2020-05-10
Romans 10:17 NKJV
Let’s define the word “faith” more clearly. The Bible says faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). Faith isn’t empty hope, or simply a positive confession of something we want to be true. Faith is recognizing something that’s already a reality despite the fact that it can’t yet be seen. The Bible says Abraham “believed – God, who…calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17 NKJV). Based on this verse some people think that whatever they want they can simply “speak into existence.” Read the verse again! Abraham didn’t speak Isaac into existence, God did! Abraham simply believed God, acted on His promise, and as a result Isaac was born. “Not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (vv. 19-21 NKJV). Your faith must be in God, not in your faith! In and of itself, faith has no creative power; it just affirms what already exists in the unseen world and in what God has promised, knowing that in His time it will come to pass because it’s His will. Whatever you claim by faith must be based on what God has clearly promised you in His Word. And how do you develop that kind of faith? Read the Word! “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Soul food: Matt 5:10; 1 Thes 2:13-3:5; 1 Cor 4:11-13; Rev 6:9-11
