2020-04-22
Galatians 1:10 NLT
People pleasing does two things: (1) It makes you neglect your own needs in order to meet other people’s. (2) It causes you to make decisions based on their approval. Either way, you can end up feeling like a doormat. Maybe you became a people pleaser early in life to get the attention you craved and couldn’t get any other way. Or maybe you never learned to trust your own judgment. The Bible says, “Fearing people is a dangerous trap” (Proverbs 29:25 NLT), because it always backfires. Not only do others get upset with you, you end up disappointed with yourself when things don’t work out. Peter struggled with people-pleasing. The night before the crucifixion when “a servant girl…said…’You were one of those with Jesus’…But Peter denied it in front of everyone. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about'” (Matthew 26:69-70 NLT). Afterwards he ended up weeping over his failure. When Samuel confronted Saul about his decision not to completely destroy the Amalekites: “Saul admitted…’I was afraid of the people and did what they demanded'” (1 Samuel 15:24 NLT). Paul, on the other hand, wrote, “I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” It’s good to be considerate, loving, and patient, but you can’t let yourself be intimidated and manipulated: “God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power” (2 Timothy 1:7 NAS). When you yield to the fear of others you allow them, not God, to control your life. God doesn’t want you to serve people out of fear, but out of love for them – and Him.
Soul food: Dan 1-2; Mark 3:7-19; Ps 16; Prov 10:15
2020-04-21
Luke 10:42 NLT
Here are two enemies that threaten your spiritual life: (1) Boredom. Missionary and educator Frank Laubach said, “If you’re weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are.” Walking with God is the most rewarding life possible. “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11 NKJV). (2) Busyness. Jesus told Martha, “You are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it” (Luke 10:41-42 NLT). And what was Mary doing? Sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to Him! Martha loved Jesus and she couldn’t do enough for Him. But she was so busy serving Him that she didn’t know how to relax and enjoy being with Him. Maybe like Martha, you think that unless you do the job yourself, it won’t get done right. And you may be right. But God will never ask you to do anything that takes His place in your life. He wants to be your top priority. Sometimes we approach God with a list of requests the length of our arm because we’re more interested in His presents than His presence. David said, “The one thing I ask of the Lord – the thing I seek most – is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple” (Psalm 27:4 NLT). Can you imagine having “one thing” at the top of your agenda at all times: needing and desiring to spend time with God? Think how that could revolutionize your life.
Soul food: Phil 1-4; Mark 2:23-3:6; Ps 103:13-22; Prov 10:14
2020-04-20
Philippians 4:13 AMPC
The Bible says, “Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring” (Proverbs 27:1 NLT). The truth is, when you wake up every morning you have no idea what will happen to you that day. You hope for a trouble-free day where your expectations and wishes will be fulfilled – but you know from experience this isn’t always the case. We live in a real world with real problems. Your enemy the Devil is real, and he works in every possible way to bring discouragement, fear, and failure. Knowing this, the psalmist wrote: “If you make the Lord your refuge…no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go…The Lord says, ‘I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation'” (Psalm 91:9-16 NLT). No matter what comes your way, you must trust that when it arrives God will give you the grace to handle it. Remember, Satan loves to attack those who are in line for God’s blessing. That’s why Paul wrote, “[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me.]” Inner strength is better than outer strength. Why? Because as long as you remain strong inwardly, you can handle anything that comes against you outwardly and keep moving forward. So today – be ready.
Soul food: Lev 26-27; Mark 2:13-22; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 10:13
2020-04-19
Proverbs 11:14 NKJV
To succeed in life, you need wise and competent people around you, informed people with a proven track record who can assist you. But be advised: The best people with the most knowledge will challenge, stretch, and confront your previously held viewpoints. That doesn’t mean you should avoid them. On the contrary – that’s exactly why you need them! You must get over your fear of people who are smarter, more talented, and more experienced than you are, and learn from them instead. What stops many of us from approaching competent people is that we feel ignorant when we’re around them. It’s okay to be ignorant – but it’s not okay to stay that way! Don’t keep running back to familiar, mediocre interactions with people who don’t challenge you to grow. The more you move into new arenas in life, the more you need “the multitude of counselors” who will push you to be more than you are, even if it’s uncomfortable at first. Go where they are, listen to what they say, and evaluate their opinions. If you’re going to build yourself up spiritually, emotionally, and financially, you must go outside your comfort zone. If you don’t, you won’t have the information you need to move beyond the familiar and attain your future goals. Only those who are willing to be stretched achieve their dreams. And remember, the people you need most are usually busy people. Generally speaking, they won’t reach for you, so you must reach for them. And be prepared; some of them may turn you down, while others, recognizing your hunger for wisdom and knowledge, will respond and help you to succeed.
Soul food: Matt 5:7; Matt 18:21-35; Ps 103:8-18; Lam 3:22-24
2020-04-18
Romans 10:8 MSG
If you’re not careful, it’s easy to speak words of doubt that contradict what God says in His Word. Paul writes, “The word that saves is…as near as the tongue in your mouth…It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us.” So, speak God’s Word over your situation and watch Him go to work on your behalf, setting things right for you. The word “confession” comes from the Greek word homologia, which means “to come into agreement with, or say the same thing.” That means you must come into agreement with God’s Word and learn to say what He says, no matter how bad things look at the time. If it’s not what God is saying, it’s counterproductive. But if it is, your words become powerful weapons. The Bible says, “How forcible are right words!” (Job 6:25). This word “forcible” comes from the Hebrew word marats which means “to press.” Just like a king’s signet ring pressed his seal of authority onto a document, your confession of faith seals the matter before God. Jesus said: “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore…whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:23-24 NKJV). Don’t just speak to God about your mountain – speak to your mountain using God’s Word! When you make God’s Word your word, your mountain will begin to move.
Soul food: Lev 23:26-25:55; Mark 2:1-12; Ps 130; Prov 10:12
2020-04-17
1 John 2:1 NLT
The moon and stars you can see on a clear night are mere drops in the vast sea of the universe. Our sun is one of more than 100 billion stars that make up the Milky Way galaxy. And there may be as many as 100 billion other galaxies – billions of which may have hundreds of millions of planets like ours. The Hubble Space Telescope relays images of galaxies as far away as twelve billion light years – that’s twelve billion times six trillion miles! And all this was created because God uttered one sentence: “Let there be” (See Genesis 1). But here’s something even more amazing: The One who created it all loves you and cares about every detail of your life. When you are weak, He is strong. When you blow it, He forgives you. The Bible says, “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins.” God’s grace is truly amazing, and you don’t have to do anything to deserve it. Because God is your Father, you can call home anytime and find a welcome. You’re “connected” to the One who “understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT). You’re connected to unending mercy and grace – how awesome is that?
Soul food: Lev 21:1-23:25; Mark 1:35-45; Ps 127; Prov 10:11
