2019-11-08
Ephesians 4:26 NLT
The first mention of anger in Scripture is when Cain got so angry with his brother Abel that he murdered him. Sixty percent of all murders in America are committed by family members. But anger not only kills others, it can kill you. Dr. Redford Williams, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Duke University, states: “The hostility and anger associated with Type-A behavior is a major contributor to heart disease. People who struggle with anger are five times more likely to suffer coronary heart disease, and people with heart disease more than double their risk of a heart attack when they get angry.” Of course, there’s a difference between anger and mere aggravation. A little girl asked her father to explain that difference. So he picked up the phone, dialed a number, allowed his daughter to listen in, and when the other person answered, he said, “Hello. Is Melvin there?” Back came the answer, “There’s no one here named Melvin. Why don’t you look up numbers before you dial them?” The father waited a moment, then re-dialed the number. “Hello. Is Melvin there?” The man yelled, “I just told you there’s no Melvin here! Don’t call this number again!” then slammed down the receiver. The father looked at his daughter and said, “Honey, that was anger. Now let me show you aggravation.” He dialed the number again and when a voice roared back, “Hello!” her dad calmly said, “Hi. This is Melvin, have there been any calls for me?” The word anger is only one letter short of the word danger. So ask God to help you manage your anger. He will!
Soul food: 1 Chr 19:1-23:20; John 9:24-41; Ps 115; Prov 25:26-28
2019-11-07
Philippians 3:13 NIV
The Bible says that the greater the offense, the greater the need to forgive your offender in order to go on with your life. Remember when you were growing up, how your parents would tell you to close the door? That’s because in winter you were letting in the cold and in summer you were letting in the heat. Forgiveness shuts the door on your past! Paul, who martyred Christians before becoming one, writes, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching…unto those things which are before.” Only when you release your grip on the past can you secure your grip on the future. Forgetting is a decision, one you sometimes have to make daily or even hourly. Bottom line: You need to forgive every time the issue that’s hurting you rears its head (See Matthew 18:21-22). Complete healing can take months or years. When someone hurts you deeply, you must purpose in your heart to keep forgiving them until you’re free from their influence. No matter what they took from you through abuse, abandonment, betrayal, manipulation, or deceit, bitterness will take more! Like making a rod for your own back, unforgiveness lets the person who hurt you keep doing it. So until the issue is resolved, you may have to get down on your knees every day and pray, “Lord, by an act of my will, I forgive ________ and ask You to bless them. I’m turning them over to You and getting on with my life.” There’s no shortcut – it’s the only path to freedom!
Soul food: 1 Chr 16-18; John 9:13-23; Ps 105:1-15; Prov 25:23-25
2019-11-06
Joshua 4:21 NIV
One of the most effective ways to teach is through “teaching moments.” Jesus did that. When a fig tree didn’t produce fruit, He cursed it and it immediately withered up. That got the disciples’ attention (See Matthew 21:18-22 NKJV). Then He explained that unless you stay filled with God’s Spirit, you won’t be fruitful in His service. He could have taught this same lesson in the synagogue. But then His listeners would’ve had to imagine a fig tree, and the message would have been diluted depending on the ability of the hearer. When three drunken high school students crashed their car into a tree, the wreck sat in front of their school for several days. Every day the students had to look at it. That’s called a “high-impact teaching moment.” They say timing is everything. That’s certainly true when it comes to learning the important lessons in life, so don’t miss them! If you’re a parent, it’s futile to constantly “preach” at your kids. If you’re a leader, it’s a mistake to keep “lecturing” the people who are answerable to you. Let the experience speak! Then ask for their thoughts, and listen without interjecting! People learn more through discovery than dialogue. That’s why God instructed Joshua to build a monument of twelve stones on the other side of Jordan after He miraculously parted its waters so they could cross over (See Joshua 4:1-9). What He was really saying was, “When your children ask what this monument is all about, use it as a teaching moment about My love and faithfulness.” So look for the teaching moments in life – and use them.
Soul food: 1 Chr 12:23-15:29; John 9:1-12; Ps 68; Prov 25:21-22
2019-11-05
Luke 17:10 NKJV
If you have a tendency to remind people of all the good things you do and the sacrifices you make, read what Jesus said: “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say…’We have done what was our duty to do.'” We all deserve recognition for the good we do, and we thrive on appreciation. But lots of times we don’t get it, so we’re left with three choices: (1) We can succumb to self-pity and go around complaining about how the world doesn’t treat us right or give us a fair shake. (2) We can give way to resentment, walk around with a chip on our shoulder, and end up wondering why people don’t want to be around us. (3) We can adopt the attitude Jesus taught and say, “I’m only doing what God expects of me. And knowing He is pleased with me is reward enough.” If you try to run on the fuel of other people’s encouragement and praise, when it doesn’t come you’ll have no joy. And that’s bad because “the joy of the Lord [the joy that comes from knowing you walk under the smile of His approval] is your strength” (Ne 8:10). Living this way will make you a self-starter and a successful finisher. And when that happens, you’ll find favour at home and on the job, and end up with more friends than you know what to do with. Plus your real reward, the one that matters most, is guaranteed when you stand before the Master one day and hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23).
Soul food: 1 Chr 10:1-12:22; John 8:42-59; Ps 49; Prov 25:18-20
2019-11-04
Luke 6:28 NKJV
Night after night, Mary was beaten by her father when he came home from the bar in a drunken rage. So the first chance she got, she left home. Given time, most physical scars begin to heal, but emotional scars can last a lifetime. They can keep you stuck in the pain of the past and cost you valuable relationships. Even the people who love you can grow weary and despair that you’ll ever get better despite their efforts to help you. Do you know someone like that? Are you that someone? Do you want to move toward healing and find joy? You can. Mary found it when she decided to forgive her dad and start praying for him. That’s when she started to become spiritually and emotionally whole. And she kept on forgiving him and praying for him until her old memories no longer held her prisoner. Jesus said, “Pray for those who spitefully use you.” The word “spiteful” implies you did nothing to cause or deserve it, that your offender hurt you for reasons you may never understand. That’s why Jesus prayed on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34 NKJV). That doesn’t let your offender off the hook. They will live with the guilt of what they did, and unless they turn to God for forgiveness they’ll have no peace. But you will have peace! When you decide to forgive someone and pray for them, you take back your power and reclaim your life.
Soul food: 1 Chr 7:20-9:44; John 8:31-41; Ps 30; Prov 25:13-17
2019-11-03
1 John 2:27 NKJV
The word “anoint” means “to pour on and rub in.” In the Old Testament a priest had oil poured over his head, symbolizing the Spirit of God resting on him as he carried out his duties each day. Now fast-forward to the age we are living in and read it again: “The anointing which you have received from Him abides in you.” The word “abide” simply means “to take up residence and live in.” In other words, you’re a container for God’s Spirit. And when His Spirit lives within you, it affects every area of your life. Try to imagine the advantage this gives you when it comes to your relationships, your career, your health, your decisions, your struggles, your marriage, and your ministry. Imagine what it does when you’re under stress and handling overwhelming problems. And furthermore, the anointing of God’s Spirit that “abides” in you is transferable to others. When you speak scriptural words of kindness and encouragement to someone, those words are still at work long after you’re gone because they’re infused with the presence of God. In the Old Testament, God told Moses, “You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations'” (Exodus 30:31 NKJV). “Generations!” That means your children and grandchildren can be anointed with God’s Spirit too. The psalmist said, “I shall be anointed with fresh oil” (Psalm 92:10). Every morning when you wake up, pray, “Lord, anoint me afresh today.” Then go out and touch others with that anointing!
Soul food: Gen 5:22-24; Heb 11:5; 2 Ki 2:1-12; Acts 1:9-11
