2019-09-03
Proverbs 22:6 CEV
A mother who smokes passes on the nicotine to her baby in her breast milk. Unintentionally she pollutes her child with her own vices. And it’s the same when we pass on things like bitterness, guilt, and insecurity to our kids. That’s why we need God’s help; only He can bring healing to the root of our problem and break the cycle. No one else can teach faith to your children like you. The foundation must be laid by you and built on by them. And don’t just teach them your doctrine; expose them to your faith. Tell them Who brought you through the tough places. That way, when they encounter their own tough places they’ll be armed with more than a set of religious rules; they’ll have confidence in God for themselves. And stop beating yourself up over past mistakes; there are things all of us wish we’d done differently. The truth is that God can alter the effects of your past and prevent tragedy in your future. He’s the God of restoration who makes “all things new” (Revelation 21:5 NKJV). He can bring right out of wrong, good out of bad, and enable you to pour His wisdom and love into your children. This is your chance of a lifetime – seize it! Let go of yesterday and take hold of tomorrow. Your children are your tomorrow; they’re being shaped by you. Give them a taste of the things of God when they’re little, and when they grow up the world will never satisfy them.
Soul food: Ezek 27:25-30:26; Matt 23:1-12; Ps 112; Prov 20:1-4
2019-09-02
Acts 26:19 NIV
When God gives you a vision for your life, you need to know how to: (1) Hold it. Your vision is governed by a time frame: “The vision is…for an appointed time…though it tarry, wait for it” (Habakkuk 2:3). Some of us can conceive a vision, but we can’t carry it to full term because we’re not willing to endure the stretching and discomfort involved. We rush ahead of God and our vision is stillborn, or too weak to survive. Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). When your vision is born of the Spirit, it’ll be sustained by the Spirit. But when it’s born of the flesh, you’re on your own! (2) Hide it. It’s a mistake to share your vision with those who can’t appreciate it. Joseph did that, and he landed in a pit. Not everybody will celebrate your success, especially if your light shines brighter than theirs. So ask God for discernment. Judas may seem like your friend right now, but inevitably he’ll betray you. (3) Water it. Read these two Scriptures carefully and prayerfully: “David encouraged himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6); “Building up yourselves on your most holy faith” (Jude 20). You must know how to encourage and build yourself up spiritually and how to water your vision. God told Habakkuk, “Write the vision, and make it plain” (Habakkuk 2:2). Write your vision on a three-by-five card and carry it with you. And start acting like the person you expect to be when it becomes reality – and it will!
Soul food: Ezek 24:1-27:24; Matt 22:34-46; Ps 20; Prov 19:24-29
2019-09-01
Micah 6:8 NIV
The prophet Micah asks: “With what shall I come before the Lord…Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings…with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for…the sin of my soul?” (vv. 6-7 NIV). Do you feel like you can never be good enough to please God? Does religion look to you like a set of impossible, guilt-inducing demands designed to appease a distant deity who takes delight in making us squirm? Thank God for Micah, who comes along and dispels that notion by telling us, “He has showed you, O man, what is good” (v. 8 RSV). Because you’ve been redeemed and filled with God’s Spirit, you can: (1) “Do right” even when nobody else is. Why? In order to maintain your confidence before God! (See 1 John 3:21-22). Nothing in your life is more important than that. (2) “Love mercy.” Remember the old Nancy Sinatra hit song, “These boots were made for walkin’, and that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you”? Jesus went through life lifting people up, not walking all over them. And His Word to you today is: “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37). (3) “Walk humbly with your God.” When God promotes you, your greatest challenge will be to make sure He gets all the glory. Every good thing you have today is a gift from Him; try to remember that! So the word for you today is: “Do right…love mercy…walk humbly.”
Soul food: Jonah 1:10-2:10; Matt 12:38-42
2019-08-31
1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
Next time you pass a McDonald’s, think about this statement from the founder Ray Kroc. “Press on! Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” As you read about the heroes of faith listed in Hebrews chapter 11 you discover that they shut the mouths of lions, administered justice, fulfilled promises, and even raised the dead. It’s a spectacular list of accomplishments. But in the middle of the account you also find these words: “Whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle” (Hebrews 11:34 NIV). Notice, they started out weak and became strong. How? Through persistence and determination! The problem is we’re not always willing to fight for what we want. But without conflict there can be no conquest. An Anglican bishop once quipped, “Why is it that everywhere the apostle Paul went they had a revolution, but everywhere I go they have a cup of tea?” Paul didn’t blend in, he stood out! On his first missionary journey he was stoned and left for dead. On his second they threw him in prison. And how did he handle it? On one occasion he prayed and praised God until his prison doors opened. So the word for you today is: “Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully.” If you’re looking for a statement of purpose to live by, adopt this one.
Soul food: Ezek 22-23; Matt 22:23-33; Ps 142; Prov 19:21-23
2019-08-30
Job 1:21 NLT
Have you ever heard the saying, “Old too soon, wise too late”? Don’t let that be your story. Three of the titans who built America were Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Rockefeller. After attending Vanderbilt’s funeral, Carnegie and Rockefeller spent the rest of their lives seeing how much money they could give away to do good. Death has a way of showing us the brevity of life and changing our perspective. Carnegie died in his eighties and Rockefeller in his nineties, but they both died! We all do. The question is will you merely make a living or will you make a difference? One businessman told his friend: “I don’t think I’m trapped on this treadmill forever, but I’m certainly involved with it right now…it’s the old merry-go-round of how much money is enough? And it’s never enough. Three years ago I thought: ‘Just a little more…now I make twice as much, and it’s still not enough.'” Solomon writes, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NAS). Have you told yourself that when you get a certain amount of money you’ll be happy and secure? Maybe and maybe not. When you trust in anything other than God, you live fearfully because you’ll always be vulnerable to circumstances you cannot control. Jesus bottom-lined it this way: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT).
Soul food: Ezek 20-21; Matt 22:15-22; Ps 111; Prov 19:18-20
2019-08-29
Joshua 1:5 NIV
The Bible says, “After the death of Moses…the Lord said to Joshua…’Moses my servant is dead…get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to [you]'” (vv. 1-2 NIV). Joshua knew Moses was dead, and Israel knew it too. So why did God remind him? Because Joshua wasn’t just following a leader, he was following a legend. Moses had been Israel’s security blanket for forty years. He was the quintessential go-to guy. He led an entire generation out of 400 years of captivity in a single night. He parted a sea with the wave of a stick. He prayed and God rained down bread from heaven each day. When the nation was about to die of thirst, he struck a rock and water filled canteens. By any measurement, Moses was a massive success. But why? Was it his ingenuity? His creativity? His genius? No, it was the presence of God in his life. But now Moses was gone, and for Joshua that was bad news. But the good news was that God remained. “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” You say, “But that’s an Old Testament promise.” Then read this: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV). Today God has promised to be with you. Believe Him!
Soul food: Ezek 16:53-19:14; Matt 22:1-14; Ps 103:13-22; Prov 19:17
