2020-03-17
Luke 4:16 NLT
When someone takes a sabbatical, it’s because they need time to rest and recharge their batteries. God took a sabbatical: “On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day” (Genesis 2:2). Now, the Bible says that God “neither slumbers nor sleeps” (See Psalm 121:4). So if He took a day off in the week, you need one too! Not long ago most families went to church on Sunday morning, came home and ate lunch together, and spent the afternoon resting and enjoying one another. Now we huff and puff seven days a week, hurtling down the road toward burnout or even an early demise. Scientists say that our bodies are genetically wired to require one day out of every seven for physical, emotional, and spiritual restoration in order to perform at our highest potential. When Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in 1946, The Dwarf House, he established the tradition of closing on Sundays. Back then that was an accepted practice, but now it’s extremely unusual, especially for a restaurant chain with hundreds of outlets in malls. But Cathy, a committed Christian, never wavered. And rather than costing him, it paid huge dividends. He built one of the most popular and profitable food chains in the USA – Chick-fil-A. God knows that the fastest way to burn out is to try and burn the candle at both ends. That’s why the Bible says, “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work (Exodus 20:10 NKJV). Every week you need a one-day sabbatical, so take it!
Soul food: 1 Thes 1-5; Matt 23:13-22; Ps 11; Prov 8:4-5
2020-03-16
Isaiah 11:2 NLT
Isaiah said of Jesus: “Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot – yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word” (vv. 1-4 NLT). You say, “That’s nice, but how does it influence my life?” More than you may think! When Jesus Christ sits on the throne as Ruler of your life, the Spirit that rested on Him will rest upon you too! With that in mind, go back and reread the words in italics slowly and thoughtfully. If you see evidence of them in your life, nurture them with prayer and water them with the Word of God. And if you don’t see any evidence, get down on your knees and pray, “Father, make me more like Jesus.” Before you buy a car, the salesperson usually lets you test-drive a demo. Chances are if you like it, you will buy the car. We are each called to be a “demo” for Jesus. This is no small matter! Why? Because in the final analysis, your words, attitudes, actions, and reactions either drive people away from Christ or attract them to Him.
Soul food: Gen 50; Haggai 1-2; Matt 23:1-12; Ps 115; Prov 8:1-3
2020-03-15
Hebrews 12:1 NKJV
On a recent radio broadcast, Dennis Rainey talked about Double Eagle II, the first hot air balloon to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The men piloting the magnificent craft caught an air corridor that carried them all the way across the Atlantic. But when they were just off the coast of Ireland, they flew into heavy cloud cover and ice began to form on the balloon’s outer shell. They lost altitude, dropping from twenty thousand to ten thousand feet in a matter of hours. They did everything they could to save the balloon. They threw out video cameras, food rations, and even a glider with which they had planned to land. At about four thousand feet they transmitted their location and then threw the radio overboard. Finally, at three thousand feet they broke through into sunlight. The ice came off in sheets, and the great balloon soared all the way into France. The Bible says that in order to run and win your life’s race, you must “lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares.” And it’s a lot easier to identify the sin you need to drop than the weight you need to drop. Why? Because often the weight is legitimate, and includes responsibilities, pressures, obligations, schedules, and entanglements. Today you need to stop and take an inventory of what you’re carrying. You need to face each thing squarely and ask yourself, “Did God give me this to carry, did someone else give it to me, or did I decide on my own to pick it up?” Whatever is weighing you down today – lay it aside!
Soul food: Matt 5:4; Isa 51:1-16; Ps 30; 2 Cor 1:3-7
2020-03-14
2 Corinthians 6:17 NKJV
Stop and think about the products we once considered not only to be harmless, but actually beneficial: asbestos, lead, mercury, etc. A generation later we are still treating sick workers who installed asbestos and breathed in its toxic fibers. With that illustration in mind, beware of the toxins in your workplace and don’t get infected. The Bible says, “‘Come out from among them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.'” Now, God is not telling you to separate yourself from your co-workers. And He’s most certainly not telling you to adopt a spiritually superior attitude. He’s telling you to watch out for toxic attitudes, toxic behaviours, and toxic values. What are the toxins in your workplace? The obvious ones are complainers, gossipers, backbiters, and harassers. When these agents come your way, do whatever you can to distance yourself from them. Just being associated with them can be dangerous to your emotional health and spiritual health. And beware of the toxin of workaholism, whether it is the expectation from your boss or self-induced. Be willing to go the extra mile when it’s required, but maintain clear boundaries between your work life and your home life. Learn to separate business from pleasure. If you don’t allow yourself time for physical rejuvenation and spiritual restoration, you’ll burn out. As a result, Satan will be able to trip you up. The most effective antidote to toxins is good nutrition. And spiritually speaking, that calls for daily prayer, Bible reading, and fellowshipping with believers who strengthen and encourage you.
Soul food: Gen 47-49; Matt 22:34-46; Ps 26; Prov 7:26-27
2020-03-13
Isaiah 54:3 NKJV
Today God may be saying to you what He said to His people Israel: “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left” (vv. 2-3 NKJV). Most people automatically stay within lines, even if those lines have been arbitrarily drawn or are terribly out of date. Remember, most limitations we face are not imposed on us by others; we place them on ourselves. Lack of creativity often falls into that category. If you want to become more creative, challenge your boundaries. One inventor said, “All human development, no matter what form it takes, must be outside the rules; otherwise, we would never have anything new.” When you want something you don’t have, you must be willing to do something you haven’t done yet. You say, “But I don’t have his education,” or “I don’t have her talent.” You don’t need someone else’s talent or education. When God made you, He deposited within you everything required to fulfill your destiny; you just need to unlock it and put it to work. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’…Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over…every living thing that moves on earth'” (Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV). Note the word “likeness.” There’s a part of you that’s like God. You have divine DNA. You’re capable of being creative, so lift the limitations on yourself.
Soul food: Gen 44-46; Matt 22:23-33; Ps 24; Prov 7:24-25
2020-03-12
Proverbs 23:23 NKJV
In the early 1970s, the Iraqi government arrested a group of American students on trumped-up espionage charges. In order to elicit admissions of guilt, they tortured them. They were told that if they confessed they were spies, they would go free. In other words: “Compromise the truth – admit to a lie.” One by one, as the pressures and the pain mounted, they all confessed to crimes they had not committed – except for one student. The torture intensified and the loneliness of isolation became unbearable, and he came close to breaking. But he didn’t. Finally they announced that they were finished with his case, and that he could simply confess or die. A confession lay before him as they raised a pistol to his head, cocked the hammer and started the countdown. He had heard executions from his cell and knew what his captors were capable of. “Sign your name,” he was told, “and you will live,” but he refused. He closed his eyes, grimaced and prepared to die. They pulled the trigger. When he heard the click, he thought he was dead. The gun, however, had not been loaded. The student was eventually released, but he discovered afterward that every other prisoner who had confessed was hanged in the public square. He was the only survivor. That day he learned a valuable lesson about facing tough times: Compromise represents a far greater risk than courage. So the threefold word for you today is: (1) It is always right to do right. (2) It is never wrong to do right. (3) It is never right to do wrong.
Soul food: Gen 42-43; Matt 22:15-22; Ps 135; Prov 7:21-23
