2020-03-29
1 Corinthians 4:4 NIV
Daniel was forced to decide if he was going to be a conformer or a transformer. What’s the difference? Pressure controls a conformer. If you place enough pressure on them, they’ll cave. If you put enough pressure on them, they will smoke the first joint, they will take the first drink, they will do what everybody else is doing. But principle governs a transformer. You say, “Living that way is very demanding.” Yes; and it’s very protective. God knows better than we do how to avoid pain, frustration, and destruction in our lives. Because He sees the cliff’s edge clearer than we do, He places guardrails next to the drop-off. And when we follow His commands we avoid heartache, pitfalls, and the loss of our reputation. Refusing to eat the king’s meat was not a matter of diet, but of dedication to God. Now, we’re not advocating the idea: “let conscience be your guide.” Your conscience is not always a good guide. Because you don’t think something’s wrong doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think it’s wrong. Your conscience can be damaged and it can be burned. The Bible speaks of “having [your] conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). Paul writes, “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” Nevertheless, the conscience question is the first you should ask when faced with a difficult decision. Rarely do you make a good choice to do something, if you know doing so will take your conscience on the dreaded guilt-trip. So, live by your convictions.
Soul food: Matt 5:6; Isa 55:1-7; Ps 63:1-5; John 4:1-34
2020-03-28
Daniel 1:8 NKJV
The Bible says, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.” This particular food and wine was offered to pagan gods as an act of worship, and for Daniel that was unacceptable. He was being asked to compromise his character, and he wouldn’t do it. Daniel had good reasons if he had chosen to say yes. He was far from home and could do as he pleased. Nobody back home would ever know it. Plus, if he didn’t eat it, he would be insulting the king – not a good career move! Daniel knew God’s Word was clear when it came to idol worship, and God blessed him for it. He ended up being protected, preserved, promoted, and prospered in unthinkable ways. His philosophy was: “When God says yes, I say yes. And when God says no, I say no.” And he had established his convictions before he got to Babylon. Question: Have you decided what your core convictions are? Have you spent the good times determining what you will and won’t do during the hard times? If not, you need to. Daniel’s friends probably told him, “Nobody will know.” But his thinking was: “God will know, and so will I. I don’t have to live with you, but I’ve got to live with me.” Your thoughts and ideas must always be open to change and improvement, but your core convictions must be nonnegotiable. So, live by your convictions.
Soul food: Job 32-34; Matt 26:14-25; Ps 69:19-36; Prov 8:30-31
2020-03-27
Philippians 3:14 NKJV
Part of Paul’s amazing success was because he was so focused. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call.” Focus can bring energy and power to almost anything, whether spiritual, mental, or physical. Sociologist Robert Lynd observed that “knowledge is power only if a man knows what facts not to bother about.” The birthing of a potential breakthrough often results from sharing many good ideas. But to take ideas to the next level, you must shift from being expansive in your thinking to being selective. A good idea becomes a great idea when it’s given focus time. It’s true that focusing on a single idea for a long time can be very frustrating, but your perseverance will pay off. The mind will not focus until it has a goal. But the purpose of your goals is to focus your attention and give you direction, not identify a final destination. As you think about your goals, make sure that they are: (1) clear enough to be kept in focus; (2) close enough to be achieved; (3) helpful enough to change lives. Paul described his goal as “the upward call.” When you think only of yourself, you’re thinking “downward,” but when you think of others, you’re thinking “upward.” These three guidelines will get you going. And be sure to write down your goals. If they’re not written, you can almost be guaranteed that they’re not focused enough. And if you really want to make sure they’re focused, take the advice of theatrical producer David Belasco, who said, “If you can’t write your idea on the back of my business card, you don’t have a clear idea.”
Soul food: Job 29-31; Matt 26:1-13; Ps 69:1-18; Prov 8:27-29
2020-03-26
Psalm 139:16 TLB
Iyanla Vanzant said, “Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We can’t…draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.” That means how we see ourselves determines the kind of relationships we establish. Many of us harbor a low sense of self-esteem. We deem everyone else as being more important than ourselves and think meeting their needs is more important than meeting our own needs. We compare ourselves and allow others to determine who we are, and become dependent on their approval to prop up our identity. But it’s a slap in the face to God to look at another person and say, “I wish I were like them.” God made you for His own purpose, that you might reflect a unique aspect of His glory. As believers in Christ, we’ve been given a new identity as children of God. We weren’t created to live dependently on any other person. Rather, God is restoring us to the image of His Son and making us whole (See 2 Corinthians 3:18). In Him we don’t ever need to be afraid to be who we really are. It’s time to develop a true opinion of yourself based on the truth that God made you exactly, precisely, intricately, wondrously, and uniquely you – a one-of-a-kind creation for which there’s no comparison. The psalmist wrote: “You…scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe…How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly!” (Psalm 139:16-18 TLB).
Soul food: Job 24-28; Matt 25:31-46; Ps 38:13-22; Prov 8:24-26
2020-03-25
James 1:15 NKJV
When God says no to sin, He’s not being demanding – He’s being protective. The Bible explains the dangers and subtleties of sin this way: “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (vv. 14-16 NKJV). Today some folks are advocating the idea of legalizing certain drugs, such as marijuana, for recreational use. But the idea has already been tried, and it failed disastrously. In the late 1980s, the Swiss set aside city property in Zurich, where addicts could legally shoot up and where free needles were provided, hoping to slow the spread of AIDS. The area of Platzspitz became known as “Needle Park.” So how did the experiment work out? Almost overnight the number of drug users visiting the park soared from 200 to 20,000. Ten thousand “consumption events” occurred per day, as users from all over Switzerland came to get in on the fun. They soon outnumbered the local population. The death rate went through the roof, as health officials sought to resuscitate as many as fifty overdose cases per day. And the crime rate, instead of decreasing, went through the roof too. City officials finally called off the experiment and closed the park. Almost immediately the crime rate dropped to its former levels, and the program ended in total failure. When God says to you, “Don’t go there,” it’s because He loves you and wants only the best for you. So be wise, listen to Him, and don’t go there!
Soul food: Job 21-23; Matt 25:14-30; Ps 38:1-12; Prov 8:22-23
2020-03-24
Romans 4:5 NIV
There are only two ways you can become “righteous.” The first is through trying, and the second is through trusting. When you try to earn God’s approval by your performance, you can never rest because you can never really be sure you’ve done enough to please Him. But when you place your trust in Christ’s finished work on the cross, the Bible says you enter into God’s “rest” (See Hebrews 4:3). Paul writes, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation (something that didn’t exist before) has come. The old (appetites and actions) has gone, the new (appetites and actions) are here” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV). You don’t have to struggle to be seen as righteous in God’s eyes. The moment you placed your trust in Jesus, God made you “the righteousness of God [in Christ]” (v. 21 NIV). Why did He do it that way? Because any righteousness you could achieve through good works and keeping rules falls so far short of what He requires that He sees it as “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). So God credited His righteousness to you (See 2 Corinthians 5:18). Paul writes: “David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it: Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight…whose record the Lord has cleared of sin” (Romans 4:6-8 NLT). Hymnist Edward Mote wrote these words: “Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.” Rejoice! That’s how God sees you – made righteous by faith!
Soul food: Job 18-20; Matt 25:1-13; Ps 55:12-23; Prov 8:19-21
