2020-04-04
Psalm 31:12 NIV
When your mate breaks your marriage vows, it can break your heart. And after the initial shock wears off, your driving desire can be to hurt them in return. So what should you do instead? (1) Take time to process your emotions. A quick, “I forgive you,” or just sweeping things under the rug, will sabotage any hope of rebuilding a strong relationship. (2) If your mate is a habitual betrayer who wants to live as he or she pleases, God’s Word gives you the right to be set free from them. But don’t move too quickly. Ask yourself if work and family pressures may have caused you to neglect each other. Did you inadvertently open a door for the Enemy? These are hard questions – but they must be answered, because the decision you make is one you will live with for the rest of your life. You may not believe it right now, but God can make a good marriage out of a bad mess. Yes, it will take time – trust can only be rebuilt slowly. And that means: (a) Learning to be sensitive to one another. (b) Acknowledging that your mate may need detailed accountability, and you may have to go the extra mile to rebuild the trust that was lost. But it can happen. “The righteous cry out…the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:17-18 NKJV). God can turn your situation around. If you’ll work with Him – He’ll work with you.
Soul food: 2 Thes 1-3; Matt 27:1-10; Ps 32; Prov 9:10-16
2020-04-03
Amos 3:3 NKJV
When it comes to forming relationships, read the fine print. Somewhere in the fine print of meeting, dating, and interacting with someone, it warned you, albeit ever-so-slightly, that they were going to be a certain way. The red flags were always there, even though they started out as a lovely shade of pink. You saw how quickly he got angry. You knew she was always late when you picked her up. He invariably went into a panic checking every line item on the restaurant bill. She never failed to flirt with the waiter – and anyone else who looked her way. You noticed, but you didn’t listen to the little voice inside of you. Poet Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time!” Before you order something, read the fine print to make sure you can afford the payments. Maybe the fine print became obvious when you saw how he interacted with his family – or didn’t! Maybe it was in the way his eyes lingered on every woman who walked by. Or in the phone calls she took out of earshot when you were around. Chances are you saw it, but you didn’t pay attention. You overlooked the temper tantrums, the possessiveness, the jealousy, and lack of integrity, thinking you could change them, or that they’d change for you. Now you know better. There’s a reason the Bible asks, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” Yes, the God who gives “beauty for ashes” can change your partner’s heart (See Isaiah 61:3). But if you’re dating or considering a long-term relationship, pray about it and read the fine print.
Soul food: Est 5-10; Matt 26:65-75; Ps 18:1-29; Prov 26:24-27
2020-04-02
1 Peter 1:6 NLT
In 1962, in a classic study called Cradles of Eminence, Victor and Mildred Goertzel investigated the family backgrounds of more than 400 highly successful people. They sought to identify the early experiences that may have contributed to their remarkable achievements in life. They included people like Einstein and many others who are famous and admired. Their backgrounds proved to be very interesting. Three-fourths of them came from troubled childhoods, enduring poverty, broken homes, or parental abuse. One-fourth of them had physical disabilities. Most of those who became well-known writers or playwrights watched their parents embroiled in one crisis after another. Here’s what the researches concluded: The need to compensate for disadvantages was a major factor in their drive toward personal achievement. These people had one thing in common – the overcoming attitude: “This is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 John 5:4 NKJV). When you have faith in God and yourself, you can end up doing things that astound you. The problem that seems so formidable today, can become the very thing that launches you into greatness tomorrow. The Bible puts it this way: “There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold…So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor” (1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT).
Soulfood: Est 1-4; Matt 26:57-64; Ps 72:12-20; Prov 9:7-9
2020-04-01
1 Peter 4:12 NKJV
The Bible tells us: “Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (vv. 12-13 NKJV). In The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases Peter’s words: “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.” Times of testing feel “strange,” but they are normal and necessary! They are how you grow in grace. They are how God equips and prepares you to do great things in His kingdom. God never afflicts us, but He most assuredly tests us. And His tests measure us, reveal us, strengthen our faith, purify us, and cause us to grow spiritually. To quote the apostle Paul: “Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace” (2 Corinthians 4:15-17 MSG). If you could see the blessing that’s waiting for you on the other side of this fiery trial, you’d cancel your pity party and start planning your promotion party.
Soul food: Job 40-42; Matt 26:47-56; Ps 72:1-11; Prov 9:1-6
2020-03-31
Matthew 13:28 NKJV
The Bible says: “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and…when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop…the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this'” (vv. 24-28 NKJV). We all need a spiritual wake-up call from time to time. Sometimes the problem we are dealing with isn’t of human origin. Jesus said, “While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” Yes, it’s foolish to blame everything on the Devil, but it’s even more foolish not to recognize when he is at work. Paul writes: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but…against the powers of this dark world and…spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” (Ephesians 6:11-13 NIV). He goes on to say, “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (v. 16 NIV). So the word for you today is: Recognize when Satan is at work, stand up to him, and he will flee! (See James 4:7.)
Soul food: Job 38-39; Matt 26:36-46; Ps 31; Prov 8:34-36
2020-03-30
2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT
When you lose someone you love, you go through a grieving process. And God will comfort you and walk you through it. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4 NIV). Grieving is the healthy way to process your emotions, to express your pain and move beyond it. Recovery doesn’t happen overnight; it happens in proportion to the size of your loss. Only small losses are healed quickly. Zig Ziglar says: “The longest twenty hours of my life were those right after my daughter’s death. When making her funeral arrangements, I had to listen to a salesman who was an incessant talker, and who told me thirty times that he wasn’t a salesman. Twice I had to leave the room; I simply couldn’t handle him. The night before, half asleep and half awake, I kept thinking my daughter was wondering when her daddy was coming to get her. The next morning I took a walk, praying and crying the whole way. When I returned, the Lord spoke to me in such a distinct way: ‘She’s fine. She’s with me, and you’re going to be fine too. I’m all you need. Keep walking. Keep talking. Keep praying. Keep crying.'” Grief and loss can’t be solved, but they are experiences you don’t have to go through alone. The best-known Psalm in Scripture says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me” (Psalm 23:4 NKJV). The sun will shine again. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Your joy will return – God promises it!
Soul food: Job 35-37; Matt 26:26-35; Ps 6; Prov 8:32-33
