2020-06-05
Job 11:16 NLT
Let’s talk about arrested emotional development. When you don’t get help for your past emotional hurts, you’ll find yourself “acting out,” treating others like you were treated, and repeating your past in your present. Indeed, you may end up hurting the most important people in your life, maybe even destroying those relationships without knowing why. You’ll blame the failure of the relationship on your partner’s habits, looks, attitudes, and way of going about things. And in so doing, you will remain emotionally stuck, trapped by the unhealed, unrecognized sources of your dysfunction. What you’re dealing with here is “emotional junk”: regrets over past mistakes, grudges over being wronged, and all the other hurts you hide under clouds of anger, cynicism, and reclusiveness. You will never know what you have, or what you truly need, until you get rid of your emotional junk. How do you do that? The answer can be found in God’s Word and God’s presence: “Prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you. Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear. You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away. Your life will be brighter than the noonday. Even darkness will be as bright as morning. Having hope will give you courage. You will be protected and will rest in safety…and many will look to you for help” (vv. 13-19 NLT).
Soul food: 1 Kings 21-22; Mark 14:27-42; Ps 129; Prov 12:27-28
2020-06-04
Hebrews 5:12 NKJV
Addressing the early church, Paul said: “I have a lot more to say…but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up the bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one – baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago!” (vv. 11-14 MSG). It’s known as “arrested development,” and it can happen to any of us. Among the first evidence that a child is healthy and growing is that they no longer need to be fed from a bottle, or have their food cut up and put into their mouth. They may still prefer candy to carrots, but hopefully they’re closer to understanding why they need carrots. If the only time you’re fed spiritually is in church on Sunday morning, why would you be surprised that you don’t have the faith to believe God for answered prayer, the strength to overcome temptation, or a sense of God’s guidance in your life? How long do you think you’d last if you only ate once a week? Job said, “I…treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12 NKJV). David said, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103 NKJV). Jeremiah wrote, “Your words were found, and I ate them…Your word was…the joy and rejoicing of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16 NKJV). To grow spiritually, you need the “strong meat” of God’s Word (See Hebrews 5:14).
Soul food: 1 Kings 18:16-20:43; Mark 14:12-26; Ps 124; Prov 12:26
2020-06-03
Galatians 5:13 NKJV
Before He went to the cross, the Bible says that “Jesus…took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:3-5 NIV). Then He said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you…Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (vv. 15-17 NIV). What a lesson! Love can’t be manifested in isolation. It can’t be done sitting alone in front of a TV or PC. To quote the singer Michael W. Smith: “Love wasn’t put in your heart to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away.” Note, Jesus “showed them the full extent of his love” (See v. 1 NIV). How? By donning a servant’s towel. And where can you do that? Anywhere! How about tomorrow at the office, the warehouse, or the job site? Your workplace can become a sacred place where God’s presence blesses the mundane, day-to-day routine, because the love of God within you wears a servant’s towel. “Let me make those copies for you…I’ll cover your calls while you run to school to bring your son his lunch box…you look like you’re going through a rough time, and I’m a pretty good listener. I may not have all the answers, but I know Someone who does.” Paul bottom-lines it: “Through love serve one another.” So go out of your way to serve someone today.
Soul food: 1 Kings 16:1-18:15; Mark 14:1-11; Ps 4; Prov 12:25
2020-06-01
1 Samuel 10:1 NKJV
Here’s the remarkable story of how Saul became Israel’s first king. He was out scouring the countryside for his father’s lost donkeys when he met the prophet Samuel. “Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.’ And he went on. ‘But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.’ Then Samuel took…oil and poured it on his head, and…said: ‘Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance?'” (1 Samuel 9:27-10:1 NKJV). Think about it: Saul went out looking for donkeys – and discovered his destiny! And it can happen to you too! God has a habit of calling people who are busy doing other things. James and John were mending their fishing nets, Matthew was collecting taxes, Elisha was farming, and Saul was out looking for his father’s lost donkeys. It was just another day on the job, working to make a living. But when God has a destiny for you, and a date on His calendar with your name on it, He will come and get you. You say, “But I’m nobody special!” That’s what Saul said too: “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?” (1 Samuel 9:21 NKJV). Your social status doesn’t limit God. When He has a plan in mind for you, He will reach into the background and bring you into the foreground. So stay faithful, keep serving Him, and your time will come!
Soul food: 1 Kings 12-13; Mark 13:12-23; Ps 117; Prov 12:20-22
2020-05-31
Colossians 4:6 NKJV
John Grisham, author of blockbuster books that become blockbuster movies, has been called “a straight arrow making his way along a very crooked path.” His novels often depict sleazy lawyers, corrupt politicians, and trigger-happy cops – the underbelly of a world of wealth and respectability. His heroes, on the other hand, are generally the innocent or children, such as the eleven-year-old boy in The Client. Grisham said he would rather be a nice guy than resort to filling his books with sex and gore. He refuses to write anything that would offend or embarrass either his mother or his children. Contrary to what many in the publishing world might have predicted, his approach has paid off big. The Firm now has over twenty million copies in print. So far, the oldest fan to write him is ninety-six years old, the youngest ten years old. Most of his readers commend him for leaving out graphic violence, obscenities, and profanities. The Bible says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” Note the words “seasoned with salt,” or in good taste. Jesus said: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things…every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:34-37 NKJV). So, speak “in good taste.”
Soul food: John 7:37-41; Exo 17:1-7; Isa 35:1-7
2020-05-30
1 John 2:19 NKJV
Every relationship in your life is for a reason and a season. Your commitment to your family should be for a lifetime; other relationships may have term limits. So when someone walks away, don’t try to talk them into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, or staying attached to you. Your destiny is not tied to those who leave you. John writes: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” People leave you because they’re not joined to you. And if they’re not joined to you, you shouldn’t try to make them stay. That doesn’t mean they’re bad people; it just means their part in your story is over. You’ve got to know when a relationship is over, and graciously say goodbye knowing that whatever relationships God means you to have, He will provide. Stop begging them to stay – let them go! Clinging to a relationship whose season has ended will only lead to heartbreak. After Lot left him, Abraham entered a new level of God’s blessing. When Orpah left Naomi and went back home to Moab, Ruth stayed with her, and both Naomi and Ruth were blessed by God. You’ve got to know who belongs in your life and who doesn’t. If you’re holding on to someone who doesn’t belong, and who is not intended to be in your life, the word for you today is – let them go!
Soul food: 1 Kings 10-11; Mark 13:1-11; Ps 82; Prov 12:18-19
