2020-05-13
Daniel 2:21 NIV
Realize that rough times won’t last forever. As surely as God created spring to follow winter, “He changes times and seasons…He gives wisdom.” The season of adversity you’re in will end. And when it does, you’ll glean from it the wisdom to build a better future. Sometimes your greatest blessings come from your most negative circumstances. Paul writes, “Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). Tough times don’t last, but tough people do! Out of your greatest tests come your greatest testimonies. Don’t make major decisions during a storm. Thoughts and feelings often run wild in the midst of a crisis; those are times when you need to be careful about making decisions. Remain calm, discipline yourself to focus on what you can do, and trust God to do what you can’t. Just as a pilot error can cause a plane to be diverted from its intended destination, or have to make a dangerous emergency landing, a bad decision can divert or delay you from reaching your destiny. Let your emotions subside – before you decide. You may not always have that option, but as much as possible, put significant decisions on hold until your storm passes. Just as the wind blows about wildly during a storm, your thoughts can become wild and frantic, and that’s not the best time to make crucial assessments. What should you do? Paul answers, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and…His peace will guard your hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).
Soul food: Num 27-29; Mark 8:27-38; Ps 62; Prov 11:15
2020-05-12
Philippians 4:8 KJV
We all need “an attitude adjustment” from time to time. It’s crucial to maintain the right attitude when the going gets rough. No matter what happens in your life, determine to go through it with the right attitude. In fact, determine beforehand to keep a positive mindset in the midst of every negative situation that arises. If you make this a conscious decision and meditate on it during the good times, when difficulties arise you’ll already be prepared. Paul writes: “Whatsoever things are true…are honest…are just…are pure…are lovely…are of good report; if there be any virtue…any praise, think on these things…and the God of peace shall be with you” (vv. 8-9). Some of the greatest writers and composers in history created masterpieces during the worst times of their lives. Beethoven’s most famous symphonies were written when he was almost totally deaf and experiencing great sorrow. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to think, “I could never be like those people.” If you think like that, you’ll be defeated before you even try. Maintaining a right attitude is always much easier than regaining a right attitude. So as soon as you sense yourself becoming negative, make an immediate attitude adjustment. The Bible says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7KJV). The moment the Enemy sends negative thoughts into your mind, stop them midstream. Discipline yourself to stand strong with a positive attitude in every circumstance. When you do, “the God of peace shall be with you.”
Soul food: Num 25-26; Mark 8:14-26; Ps 57; Prov 11:14
2020-05-11
2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV
God called David “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22 NKJV). But David struggled with a weakness in his life. What was it? A lustful spirit that surfaced from time to time, and the people closest to him knew about it. When he grew old and couldn’t get warmed, they brought a young girl to lie beside him in bed that he “may get heat” (1 Kings 1:1-2 KJV). They figured if that didn’t get David’s circulation moving he had to be dying! But there’s something sad here. David passed on his weakness to his son Amnon, who ended up raping his sister. And although David was angry about it, he didn’t confront or punish him. After all, what could he say? Like father, like son! Lust isn’t just a whim or a passing fancy, it’s a sin. And when it passes from one generation to the next it becomes a “stronghold.” Today psychologists refer to it as “a genetic predisposition.” Maybe somewhere in your family tree there’s a workaholic father, a mother who was emotionally unavailable, or a brother or sister who drank too much, and now you’re wrestling with the same issues. Don’t be discouraged; Paul says, “The weapons we fight with…have…power to demolish strongholds.” So before you run off to a divorce court or a rehab center, name your stronghold, then pray, believing God to break its stranglehold on your life. Do it before it infects the next generation. Don’t pass it on – pass it back to where it came from.
Soul food: Num 22-24; Mark 8:1-13; Ps 44:17-26; Prov 11:12-13
2020-05-10
Romans 10:17 NKJV
Let’s define the word “faith” more clearly. The Bible says faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). Faith isn’t empty hope, or simply a positive confession of something we want to be true. Faith is recognizing something that’s already a reality despite the fact that it can’t yet be seen. The Bible says Abraham “believed – God, who…calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Romans 4:17 NKJV). Based on this verse some people think that whatever they want they can simply “speak into existence.” Read the verse again! Abraham didn’t speak Isaac into existence, God did! Abraham simply believed God, acted on His promise, and as a result Isaac was born. “Not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (vv. 19-21 NKJV). Your faith must be in God, not in your faith! In and of itself, faith has no creative power; it just affirms what already exists in the unseen world and in what God has promised, knowing that in His time it will come to pass because it’s His will. Whatever you claim by faith must be based on what God has clearly promised you in His Word. And how do you develop that kind of faith? Read the Word! “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Soul food: Matt 5:10; 1 Thes 2:13-3:5; 1 Cor 4:11-13; Rev 6:9-11
2020-05-09
Genesis 41:37 NIV
God gave Joseph a dream that one day he’d be in a high-profile leadership position. But when he finally arrived at Pharaoh’s palace, he didn’t walk in and announce, “God told me I was to be the boss round here!” No, he had to work for it! There was worldwide famine at the time and Joseph gave Pharaoh a plan not only to survive it, but to prosper because of it. Notice what Pharaoh said about Joseph: “Can we find anyone like this man, one in whom is the spirit of God?” (v. 38 NIV). So what’s your dream? And what’s your plan? Your dream and your talent are important, but long-term success won’t happen without a plan. The Bible says, “A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men” (Proverbs 18:16 KJV). Your talent may bring you to the attention of key people, but you’ll have to be able to answer the question “What’s your plan?” A plan takes your dreams and talents and maximizes them by bringing structure to the concept. It involves being committed to a budget; it means constantly working on specific goals and details. Joseph gave Pharaoh a specific plan with a time line: seven years. He told him, “This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine” (Genesis 41:36 NIV). So here’s what you need to do: Write down your plan, which includes specific actions and deadlines to fulfill it. Will God bless your plan? Yes, but you must have the right plan in place before He can bless it.
Soul food: Num 19-21; Mark 7:24-37; Ps 44:9-16; Prov 11:10-11
2020-05-08
Psalm 40:8 NKJV
There’s no joy in life that compares to knowing that you’re walking in the center of God’s will. Not fame, not riches, not pleasure. Nothing compares to knowing you have the smile of His approval on what you’re doing each day. Will doing God’s will always be easy? No; it’s enjoyable, but it’s not always easy. Indeed, the size of your God-given assignment in life determines the level of attack that will come against you. But your joy comes from knowing that God is strengthening you to do – by the power of His Spirit – what you could never do on your own. So in that sense, Satan’s attack is confirmation that you’re truly in God’s will! Paul writes: “In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness – besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak?” (2 Corinthians 11:23-29 NKJV). So rejoice – you are in the will of God!
Soul food: Num 16-18; Mark 7:14-23; Ps 44:1-8; Prov 11:9
