2019-10-15
Ephesians 4:15 NIV
Before you confront someone over an issue, stop and examine your motives. Is your goal to help or humiliate them? Jesus was in the business of lifting and restoring people, and you should be in that business too. Ask yourself, would you approach things differently if you weren’t so personally involved? Are you confronting this person to make yourself look better? Cutting someone else down in order to lift yourself up is the lowest form of ego gratification. Poet Kahlil Gibran said, “To belittle, you have to be little.” Don’t do it! It’s a sign of insecurity. Remember Nehemiah’s response to those who tried to discourage him from rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls? “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3). Don’t allow your critics to break your stride. Don’t give more credence to the sentiments of a critic than you would to the encouragement of a friend. Before you put somebody else’s life under the microscope, stop and examine your own. Are you grappling with the same issue, or one just as bad? Have you succeeded where you’re accusing somebody else of failing? In other words, have you earned the right to be heard? Paul writes, “Speaking the truth in love we will grow…in every respect.” Could it be that the situation you’re dealing with right now is an opportunity to measure your own maturity and make it a spiritual growth experience?
Soul food: 2 Pet 1-3; John 4:27-38; Ps 87; Prov 24:1-4
2019-10-14
Psalm 30:5 NIV
It’s hard when you work all day then come home to an empty house and sleep with your arms wrapped around a pillow, wishing you had someone to hold. No amount of makeup can hide that kind of loneliness. It’s the pain of having so much to share and nobody to share it with. But God knows your plight, and He cares. It’s why He made Eve for Adam, found Boaz for Ruth, and Rebekah for Isaac. It’s why His Word deals with real-life issues like sexual frustration, loneliness, failure, and lack of self-worth. Natural voids and thirsts exist within all of us, and how we fill them determines our ability to survive and find happiness. If you’re struggling on your own to face the challenges of life, you need to know that you’re not alone! “The God of all comfort” is with you (2 Corinthians 1:3). No one understands like Jesus. His family rejected Him, His disciples forsook Him, and the world crucified Him. That’s why the Bible says He’s “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” and was “in all points tempted as we are” (Hebrews 4:15 NKJV). He knows when you feel like nothing you do is ever good enough. He knows that as well as being a parent, you’re a person. He knows, He understands, and He invites you to come to Him. The season you’re in right now won’t last forever. A new one is coming, with new energy, new relationships, new experiences, and new joy. Until then remember: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Your joy will return!
Soul food: Lev 23:33-44; John 7:1-40; Zech 14:16-21; Heb 11:8-16
2019-10-13
Mark 5:19 NIV
The most powerful testimony of all – is a life that can’t be explained without God! People may dispute your theology, but your testimony, that’s something else! Six different times Paul stood before hostile audiences, and each time he gave his personal testimony. No arguing, no debating – just his story. Dr. David Yonggi Cho built the world’s largest church in South Korea (one million members). He was won to Christ by a lady he met only once. She shared her testimony, moved on, and Cho, a former Buddhist, never found her again. Your testimony is an awesome thing, especially when it’s backed by a consistent lifestyle. People who won’t listen to others will listen to you, relate to you, and respond to you if you’ll share your story. And when you do, keep in mind four things: (1) Be interesting. Give them the short version and avoid clichés. Jesus is exciting; He came to bring “[life] more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV). (2) Be specific. Talk about: (a) how it used to be; (b) how you met Jesus; (c) how it is now. (3) Be honest. Don’t say, “All your problems will disappear when you become a Christian.” The Christian life is a battlefield, not a playing field. Let people know you still have struggles but something important has changed – you’re no longer alone: “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). (4) Be warm. Don’t try to arm-wrestle them into the kingdom. Be gracious, sow the seed, and leave the harvest to God. Now, “Go…tell them how much the Lord has done for you.”
Soul food: Exo 34:29-35; Mark 9:2-27; 2 Cor 3:7-18
2019-10-12
Joshua 8:1 NKJV
When you’re under spiritual attack, you need to surround yourself with “the people of war.” They are experienced in spiritual warfare and know how to deal with the Enemy. They have proven strategies for victory and a tenacious faith that rises up and says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). The truth is, the people of war are the people of the Word. They know how to take the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God, and use it to defeat the Enemy (See Ephesians 6:17). They’re not hesitant about marching into the Enemy’s camp and taking back everything he has stolen from them (See 1 Samuel 30:8). Anybody can stand with you in the good times, but when you find somebody who can stand with you in the bad times, treasure them and build a relationship with them. The Bible says, “A brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17). Did you get that? They’re born for battle! They’re not just strong in faith, they’re strong in fight. And you won’t necessarily find these people in pulpits and choir lofts; they blow no trumpets, wave no banners, and demand no applause. But they know how to boldly approach the throne of grace and claim the promises of God (See Hebrews 4:16). After Joshua conquered Jericho, God said to him, “Take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king…his people…his city, and his land.” So if you’re in a battle today, take “the people of war with you.”
Soul food: 2 Sam 22:31-24:25; John 4:13-26; Ps 32; Prov 23:29-35
2019-10-11
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
God’s peace is a wonderful thing. And some of the people around you today are in need of it. It comes when you commit your life to Christ and live by the principles laid out in Scripture. When you “commit” something to the Lord, you transfer every part of it from you to Him (See Psalm 37:5). Peter writes, “Casting…the whole of your…concerns, once and for all, on Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). What a privilege. Have you been availing yourself of it lately? “How do I cast all my cares on Him?” you ask. Through prayer! As soon as you become aware that you’re starting to worry and lose your sense of peace, take it to God immediately and leave it with Him. Don’t give the Devil time to work you over. The longer you wait, the greater his hold over you becomes. “But I can’t help thinking about it,” you say. “What can I do?” These two things: (1) Give it to God and then start to focus on other things. It’s a learned response, one you’ll have to practice daily. Paul writes, “Whatever is true…honorable and worthy of respect…whatever is lovely and brings peace…think continually on these things” (Philippians 4:8 AMP). In other words, redirect your thoughts! (2) Find out what God says in His Word about your situation. Then line your thoughts, words, and actions up with it. When you do this, “You will experience God’s peace” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Soul food: 2 Sam 20:1-22:30; John 4:1-12; Ps 100; Prov 23:22-28
2019-10-10
Philippians 3:14 NIV
In 1972, Life magazine published a story about the amazing adventures of John Goddard. When he was fifteen, his grandmother said, “If only I had done that when I was young.” Determined not to make that statement at the end of his life, John wrote out 127 goals. He named ten rivers he wanted to explore and seventeen mountains he wanted to climb. He set goals of becoming an Eagle Scout, a world traveler, and a pilot. Also on his list was riding a horse in the Rose Bowl parade, diving in a submarine, retracing the travels of Marco Polo, reading the Bible from cover to cover, and reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. He also planned to read the entire works of Shakespeare, Plato, Dickens, Socrates, Aristotle, and several other classic authors. He desired to learn to play the flute and violin, marry, have children (he had five), pursue a career in medicine, and serve as a missionary for his church. Sound impossible? At age forty-seven, he had accomplished 103 of his 127 goals! Now, your list of goals may not be as extensive as his, but if you don’t have some goals for your life you’ll have little motivation to get up in the morning and little satisfaction when you put your head on your pillow each night. And unless you try something beyond what you’ve already mastered, you won’t grow. So set your goals in prayer, and with God’s help work toward them each day.
Soul food: 2 Sam 17:14-19:43; John 3:22-36; Ps 89:38-52; Prov 23:19-21
